Chapter 1: Awakening

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Oddly enough, the sun was high and cheerful that particular day. It shone down on top of the hill in a reminiscing manner. The ocean was also calm; the soothing sound of waves dancing across the water's surface and the tide hitting the cliff ever so frequently could be heard from that small grassland. A soft breeze blew as his snowy white hair brushed against his alabaster cheeks.

It had been a while...

The small round meadow, surrounded by thick forest, was empty despite its beautiful flower field and sparkling spring; these things usually attracted wandering children like moths to a flame. Killua chuckled softly. He didn't really expect anyone to follow him, of course. He had gone through the only town in Whale Island, and he knew news traveled fast in small towns like this.

By now, everyone and their dogs would know to stay away from the white-haired stranger who had painted the stoned floor of their town square with dripping crimson blood. But that didn't matter much to him; Killua preferred it if no one disturbed his peace right now.

The young man stood in front of the small stone in the middle of the meadow. He opened his mouth to speak, only to quickly close it when all words died on his lips and his rarely used sore throat. The usual silence flowed around him; he was never the talkative one among them, after all. Instead of saying nonsense, he decided to simply wait a bit, softly contemplating what to say.

"You're the rational thinker of us two after all, Killua!"

"...I'm done." He rasped out, a dull smile marring his pale face. The gem-like blue eyes that used to sparkle with cheek and mischievous mirth were now dark and haunting. "You've grown up, little brother."

"I... I'm really happy to be back." He said softly. "I kinda missed you... I guess."

He was so tired that he literally felt the little nen he had left inside his body slipping out of his very life force. Killua did nothing to stop this. Instead, he gave the adjoining gravestone of his favorite sibling and his surrogate brother one big grin, dark eyes lighting up a bit. "I wish I'd have gotten those robot-chocolates..."

Three hours later, Ging entered the very same meadow to find the last Zoldyck's motionless body near his son's grave. A soft, happy smile curved on the young man's face even as blood freely flowed around him like a puddle. Ging sighed softly, approaching the body with a bittersweet smile marring his own face. He took his cloak and settled the body right before covering it. For now...

After a year, it seems that the two friends would be meeting each other again... a long-awaited reunion.

"Welcome him with a hug, son." He whispered to the quiet air, gently tilting his head to get the best of the breeze. "... He needs it."

The two living legends among the Hunter world were no more.

Killua felt like he was floating on clouds as a strange sensation of relaxation and calmness washed over him. He felt like he was back at his first Hunter exam, long ago; jumping down the cliff to get the large spider-eagle's egg along with his newfound friends. No care in the world worried him then; he was happily floating on thin air, he was free...

"Open your eyes..." Killua tensed in seconds when the soft, muffled whisper reached his ears. The whisper was that of a woman, he realized with some caution. Not many women in his life were very kind to him... or were they that sane, now that he thought about it. "Open your eyes, my child." He stiffened even more when those words escaped the unseen lips of the female speaker.

That woman.

The only one who would ever call him with those words was that woman... But... the voice was not the same. This voice was calm, disciplined, gentle, hopeful. Not the usual madly soft voice or shrill screech of his mother. No, this was not that woman. That woman was dead, dead before he could even confess his true hate towards her. Dead before she could even protect Kalluto and Alluka.

So, who was speaking... who was speaking... who was speaking...?

"Open your eyes, son." The voice at first seemed commanding and stern, yet with a gentle edge that reached Killua's trained ears like a desperate cry. It may have seemed calm, but it was begging him to do what was asked of him. "Open your eyes." The voice demanded.

And he did.

The first thing he saw was the face of a woman he had never met before in his life. Killua quickly realized that separating her and him was a glass wall... and... he seemed to be underwater. Yet he was breathing without any problem. How was that possible? Was he wearing an oxygen mask... was he in a test tube...?

The second thing he noticed was that he could not move a muscle in his limbs. Even when the woman regarded him with a happy smile, even when some people in white coats started blocking his vision of the woman; shaking each other's hands and patting each other on their own backs, he couldn't twitch a finger to save his life.

Yet, he was so drowsy that he couldn't think quite right as he should. Panic could not reach him in such a state.

Soon, the woman was back in his sight of view. On the other hand, most of the strange men seemed to be leaving his sight on her command. She put her right hand on the glass, an area where - just beyond the glass wall - he felt his heart beating steadily. He cautiously watched the woman for any sign of malice.

He saw none.

In fact, now that the other people were gone, the green-eyed woman's sharp and cold eyes softened into a look he had only seen very rarely. A look he first saw on Gon's aunt when she gazed at his surrogate brother. A look he never received before in his life.

A look he didn't notice he craved this much until now.

"You're fine now." Hearing the woman's voice was like listening to sounds through a seashell Alluka and he used to play with. Soft and warm, yet it seemed to be so far out of reach. This was probably thanks to the water and glass that surrounded him. "You can sleep now, Steffon, sleep my child. Your twin brother awaits your recovery."

And thanks to the soft look the woman bestowed upon him, he found himself - an assassin with very big trust issues - closing his eyes and dozing back into sleep, fully trusting the woman to keep him safe. His mind was, after all, still a bit foggy. Then a thought crossed his mind once more before the darkness consumed him...

Who's Steffon?

... And where is his brother...

... Where's Gon...

Hours later, when they were back for him, he continued to sleep. Though a bit of his consciousness was awake. He felt the water drain, he heard the muffled voices and he felt the soft touches and the dry towel wrapping around him.

Had he shrunk? He was not sure as he was not fully awake. And strange enough, he found that he couldn't care less in his half-conscious mind. He could worry about that later when he was fully awake to inspect the problem.

Right now, all he wanted was to sleep.

(I got this part from: Struck Twice by RoyalBlueXCherryPink) Check it out, I just want to finished what they started.

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