Sᵾđđɇn̷ Ɇm̷øŧɨøn̷s̷ a̷n̷đ Ⱥƀn̷øɍm̷a̷łłɏ Ꝁɨn̷đ Sᵽɨđɇɍs̷

Ɨn̷ŧɇł

Once Illumi was in his room, he moved to his bed and watched as Hisoka slid in as well, closing the window and locking it. The magician then turned to him and clasped his hands together.

"Do I get to...?" If the magician's eyes were open, Illumi would've seen a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"Yes, you can if you want." Illumi said dismissively, tilting his head forward a bit as Hisoka got on his bed and sat behind him, taking lengths of hair and combing his fingers through it. "What business did you want to speak of?"

"Ah, just some intel I got on your little hunt." He hummed.

Hearing those words, Illumi couldn't help but perk up suddenly which caused Hisoka to lose grip on one of the strands he was combing.

"Hey, careful. I don't want to grip on your hair and then tug at your head if you do that again." Hisoka grumbled. "Anyway, yes, intel. Your favorite even though I'm pretty sure you know that the mission is a lost cause."

Illumi didn't move the majority of his body this time, simply allowing his fingers to relax a bit. "Not truly a lost cause if mother believes that Kil can be persuaded to come back home."

Illumi could tell that Hisoka's pause was due to contemplating his words, for the magician spoke shortly after resuming his work.

"I'm unsure, Illu. Your brother made it seem pretty clear that he didn't want to come home." Hisoka said. "I can't think of any way for you to convince him to come home."

Illumi went quiet for a few moments, thinking over possible ideas which mainly involved him threatening Kil due to being uncooperative, though he was sure that Hisoka would disapprove for two main factors. One, Kil was his brother, and he shouldn't really be threatening him, two, most of the threats that he had in mind were about his so called 'friend' named Gon.

"Well, I still have to try. Mother misses him and while father says to give it some time, mother is very persistent." He said after thinking it over. "Besides, Kil will soon see that he is unfit to have 'friends' and will come back home."

"Why are you so keen on showing him that he needs to be alone again?" The magician asked, and while he worded it somewhat oddly to the ravenet, his tone held nothing more than curiosity. "You have me, do you not? And while you don't need to consider me to be a friend, I'm still your partner so to speak."

Illumi mulled over his words before deciding to change the subject and get back on track, for he knew that the magician wouldn't let up until he told him the answer that Hisoka wanted to hear.

"Look, what intel did you find on my brother?" Illumi asked, tapping his nails on the bed sheets.

"Ah, right, the intel. Just some rumors really but I thought it to be worth mentioning. Apparently, they've gone off the grid with that butler of yours and they still have your... sibling." Hisoka told him while nearing the ends of his hair. "From what intel he's gained says, they still believe him to be on their side and have no trouble or concern about showing Alluka to him. They're currently hiding out, but they move every now and then to make sure that they aren't found."

The ravenet sat quietly, his tapping coming to a halt as he found new possibilities and potential flaws in his plans. Alluka was still with them, so that would cause problems. Also, the fact that he would have to fight them alongside the others as to not blow his cover would be another problem.

"I see." Was all he said.

"I can try to get some more intel tomorrow as soon as I leave, or today if I have to leave sooner than usual. Though I don't know-"

"Did he mention Kil saying anything about the family?" Illumi interrupted, nails tapping at the sheets again.

Hisoka fell oddly silent for a long moment, the only sounds to be heard would be the tapping of his nails and the noises made when Hisoka ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, but..." His voice trailed off and Illumi closed his eyes, knowing what was left unsaid.

So, for the next few minutes they sat on the bed, neither of them spoke while Hisoka finished up and finally pulled his hands away from his hair. Once he felt Hisoka move away, he opened his eyes and stared at the wall for a long moment, ringing his fingers together.

"Well, all the more reason to begin early I suppose." The ravenet said calmly, bringing his newly braided hair to the front and glided his fingers over the delicate design that Hisoka had made.

"I'm guessing you're already making new and more fool-proof plans after I told you that." The magician said, rather quietly. "But you do realize that he might not ever come back to your home willingly now that he's found a new life."

Illumi paused, repeating Hisoka's words quietly before remembering what his parents had told him. Kil was an assassin at heart, at mind, it was all he had been trained to be and so he would eventually fall back onto that path either by remembering or by harming someone who he had become close with.

"I'm aware, Hisoka, but I believe that I might be able to persuade him to remember his true cause." He spoke as he turned to look at the magician who had his head tilted down. "Being an assassin was what he was raised to be, it's all he's ever really known. I'm sure that he'll see that soon."

But in truth, Illumi needed to say these words out loud, not just to himself but to someone else. Because Illumi wasn't just trying to show and persuade Hisoka into seeing that what he was doing was the right thing, but deep down, despite being loyal to his family, he needed to persuade himself that what he was doing was the best for Kil, and the best for them all.