Speak of the Devil // COMPLETED ✔

Homecoming Weekend

When Killua and Illumi returned, Killua expected an empty house and the most obvious task of finding Hisoka.

Killua's immediate response to Earth was how blinding it was. Bleary-eyed from the tears and sore from days of walking, sunlight was a welcome yet disorienting sensation. It warmed his skin at once and brought him back to life.

The air in his grandfather's house was crisp and clean—gone was the stuffy staleness of the palace's abandoned and cluttered corridors. One breath was all it took for Killua to break into a startled sob of shock.

Killua reached a hand out in search of Illumi and caught his elbow. Illumi held him in kind, squeezing him. They were both alive.

"Holy shit," Illumi said.

"We made it," Killua said.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Illumi whispered, "Do we... need to find Grandpa's body or...?"

They did, in fact, need to find their grandfather's body. The most obvious place—his bedroom—was then approached from down the hall. The door was shut and, before reaching for the handle, Illumi gestured Killua back.

"I can do it," Killua said.

"No, trust me," Illumi insisted, and at Killua's challenging look, Illumi glowered at him. "I'm just checking. We don't need to go in there."

"Fine," Killua said.

Ultimately, a coroner was called, their parents rung, and Killua cleaned Gon's bloody tears from his face before anyone was due to arrive. By nightfall, Illumi had already spoken with their grandfather's lawyer and arrangements were being made to bring the rest of their family down for the funeral set for Sunday.

Killua waited in the sunroom on the one chair that had a distant view of his grandfather's office. Leg bouncing, eyes on the door, Killua waited for the telltale sound of a chair scraping away from his grandfather's desk.

The lawyer shuffled out a moment later, escorted by Illumi. Before they ever properly reached the foyer, though, the front door was opening.

Killua straightened at the sight of a beige coat on bright purple fabric. And then, Hisoka's red hair came into view.

He stood there, hand on the doorknob, staring at Killua.

Killua pushed to his feet.

"I'll be off then—seems like you already have visitors," the lawyer said, shaking Illumi's hand. He then put a hand out to Hisoka who, in a daze, took it. "My condolences."

"My what," Hisoka said, but the lawyer was already off down the stoop. Hisoka stared after him until Illumi took the door and properly shut it, forcing Hisoka to move.

Hisoka jolted as if shocked, staring down at Illumi. "Jesus—Christ. Where's Gramps?"

"With Meruem. Indefinitely," Illumi said.

"How in the Hell did that happen?"

Illumi looked to Killua to explain, and Killua merely sighed. "It's a long story. I thought we'd show up the moment Kurapika gave Meruem the earring."

"Yeah, normally you would," Hisoka said, unnaturally flabbergasted. "But in case you forgot, you've been dealing with moi. As in, linear time. Time doesn't stop for me once I visit."

Illumi put his hands on his hips. "Curious how singular that demonology is now."

"Curious," Hisoka repeated with a long, drawn out hiss of an 's'. When Illumi did nothing but raise his eyebrows, Hisoka leant back with a bemused, wicked grin. He glanced at Killua. "Oh. He didn't."