A New World

~24~

Killua knocked Kalluto out as quickly as possible, he could tell his little brother had nearly completely let his guard down the moment Stain had lowered his blades. I didn't even notice his presence until he spoke, I didn't know Kalluto had gotten that good at stalking. Killua thought, feeling simultaneously impressed and worried. Who knew what his parents had been doing to him for training, if it was even close to anything like his he couldn't let Kalluto go back to them.

"I'll deal with you later."

Killua murmured softly to Kalluto, making sure to keep his eyes on stain as he gently propped his little brother up against the wall beside Todoroki. Todoroki gave him a grim look, but Killua turned away. "But first, I have to take care of you." Killua growled, sliding a yoyo out of his pocket. Stain's eyes narrowed. "That brother of yours said killing was the family business. If that is so, what right do you have to wear the title of a hero? Your past has obviously been stained with blood."

Killua's teeth gritted, damn this guy was pissing him off. "People change. Don't you think for a damn moment that I'm anything like my family. Killua spat, approaching the hero killer. Stain kept his distance, Killua could practically smell his fear. "My path isn't set in stone just because my wretched excuse for a mother gave birth to me. I write my own story." And with that, Stain tried to aim a slash at Killua's thigh. He smashed the metal with his bare hands, grabbing onto the bastard's head and bringing his foot down hard on his stomach.

The hero killer hacked, reaching for his blades. Killua grasped his arms in another one of his hands and squeezed them until the bones creaked. "Surrender." He ordered, staring Stain right in the eyes. "I'd rather not hurt you any more than I have to." Killua waited for a handful of moments, before deciding to just knock the guy out. He aimed for the pressure point, and the guy was out like a light. Killua stood up, exhaling deeply. I'm so fucked.

"It's not true...is it?"

Killua turned his head. He could tell both Midoriya and Iida were free of the hero killer's quirk, but were frozen in place by something else. He swallowed hard as he tried to think about how to reply to Midoriya. What was he even supposed to say? "When you said your family weren't good people, I had a feeling this is what you meant. But I didn't think you were a part of it." Todoroki said softly. His trust in Killua had cracked, he could see it in his friend's eyes. Killua gritted his teeth, trying to think of the words to say.

His eyes landed on Kalluto, and Killua felt tears sting his eyes. He walked over and brought Kalluto close to his body, holding him in a tight but comforting hug. "I...Yes. I used to kill people." He admitted. The look of betrayal on his classmate's faces hurt a lot more than he thought it would. "I wasn't much younger than him when I decided to turn my back on that lifestyle." Killua said softly, holding Kalluto tighter. He was feeling so many emotions right now. "You don't understand, violence is all he knows. H-He doesn't know any better. As kids we weren't taught to feel empathy, we were taught to see murder as a tool to do our jobs with."

Before he knew it, the tears were rolling freely down his cheeks. He was powerless to stop them, overwhelmed by his emotions entirely. "How could someone so young be a murderer?" Midoriya murmured softly, staring at Kalluto with such a conflicted expression. Killua knew what he was about to say was almost guaranteed to land him in jail, but he had to protect Kalluto. It was the least he could do. "My first kill was when I was six." A look of horror spread across their faces, unable to believe what Killua had just said.

Killua pressed Kalluto's unconscious body close to his. "You don't understand the kind of place we grew up in, the kind of world it is." Killua said, gently stroking Kalluto's hair. "I...I'll take the fall for his crimes. He doesn't deserve to be in jail, he's just a kid..." Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped up, and he saw Todoroki's face staring at him. "You can't. You'd be throwing away everything. Your life as a hero, your future, all of it. You've come so far, worked so hard to get here. You can't just..." Killua refused to look back up, he couldn't stop staring at Kalluto's face.

"LOOK! OVER THERE!"

Killua's head shot up as a group of heroes suddenly peered down the alley. Killua tensed, his eyes snapping from Kalluto, to Todoroki, to Iida, to the pro hero he'd pretty much forgotten about, to Stain. Killua didn't have time to think, he activated Zetsu and sprung upwards, laying himself flat against the top of one of the buildings, Kalluto pressed close to his chest. Oh Kalluto...I'm so, so sorry.

907 words

To Be Continued...