wait for me [illumi zoldyck]

Chapter 10

(updated: March 14, 2021)

Flashback

"Illu," I shriek, running to my best friend who strolls past the entrance gates to my family's home.

Illumi, whose awareness is drawn to some of the new staff, turns on his heels, attention snapping to me. His eyes rove over me, checking to see if I'm alright, and slightly widen at what he finds. 

My eyes are puffy and red, from crying. My left cheek burns bright red. I don't care for the throbbing pain on my face but instead am overcome by emotions. My father just finished lecturing me after a full day of training.

Illumi clasps onto my shoulders, steadying me before I have the chance to run into him. I desperately want to hug him, but I know that he won't let me.

"What happened?" he demands, frowning in confusion at the sight of me. He's seen me injured on countless occasions but this is the first time I've ever cried in front of him.

"Father..." My voice trembles softly. Illumi scowls, understanding where this is going. He's known me all my life, and it is not the first time I complain to him about my father's teaching methods. 

"He hit me right here!" I point a shaky finger to my swelling cheek. The tone that my father spoke to me in has shaken me to the core. 

Illumi frowns deeply. He reaches a hand up and pats my head. "You're strong, stop crying."

I shake my head, hiccuping. I don't want to be weak, especially not in front of Illumi, my dearest friend. I admire everything about him, his strength, his composure. 

"I'm sorry."

Another hiccup.

A small smile appears on his lips. "It's your birthday tomorrow," he says calmly, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

I instantly forget about my stinging cheek and the lecture from my father. That's right, tomorrow I'm turning five years old. How could I forget?

"Did you get me a present?" I ask, beaming. My eyes roam over him, trying to see if he is hiding it anywhere.

Illumi freezes, eyes hardening. My smile falls from my face. Of course.

"Oh." 

I roll my eyes. How very typical of him.

++

Mia

River sits on her bed, going through a pile of candy I bought for her. It didn't take me long to realize how immature this girl truly is. She's both naive and stupid, which leaves her vulnerable to just about anyone who is after her abilities.

I sit on an armchair, in the corner of the room, silently observing her gobble down the junk food. The corner of her lips are riddled with smudges of chocolate.

When I asked her why the front door to her room was open, along with her window, she was very confused. Apparently, both were closed when she was leaving to go into the forest, leading me to believe that someone is after her. 

Seeing as this is quite a small town, I did not find any other hotels or inns for her to spend the night in. So, I simply decided to change her room but under a different name, considering how willing the receptionist is to give out personal information. When I asked her what room River was staying in, she didn't hesitate to answer.

"So, as I was saying. After the Hunter associating took over, the pirates left our island and my mom decided to travel the world, so I went with her. We first traveled across the Republic of Padokea and then went down from there to-" 

I immediately stand up from my chair, stiffening. River pauses, a frown appearing on her face. 

An odious aura passes over us. River is visibly shaken, for once not being completely clueless. She encases her arms around herself, goosebumps appearing on her arms. I can't blame her for feeling scared. Clearly, my assumptions were correct and someone has been looking for her.

I close my eyes, trying to figure out where exactly the aura is coming from. Someone is clearly looking for us, expanding their nen using En, to locate us. Whoever they are, they'll find us soon and we'll have to face them. 

River is nowhere near capable of standing against anyone. Meaning that I have the responsibility to make sure whoever this person is, they don't get to her. I could easily abandon her, and leave her to face this threat on her own, but I remind myself of why I'm here. Hisoka needs me to look after her, which means he'll owe me big.

Their aura radiates from the forest, outside of the inn, in the same direction I found River.

"If anything happens, you need to run, okay?" I demand, opening the only window in the small room. "Close this window once I leave, and call Hisoka right away."

"B-But what about you?" River stammers, looking up at me with frightened eyes. She gets up from the bed, chocolate wrappers rolling off her dress and onto the mattress.

"I'll go deal with whoever this is. I'll keep them away from you for as long as possible, but you need to let Hisoka know what's happening," I reply. An unsettling feeling looms in the pit of my stomach. 

I jump out of the window, my feet hitting the pavement of the parking lot, in the back of the building. In just a few moments, I reach the forest, sensing that whoever is using their En is closer than before. They undoubtedly know that I'm heading in their direction. I can just hope that they decide to face me instead of heading straight for River.

Suddenly everything stops. I can no longer sense any nen. They must be using Zetsu.

Considering the sheer power from their En, I can't fathom why they would decide to conceal their presence now. 

"Hello, my beloved fiancée. ~" 

Every muscle in my body freezes. From right behind me, a revolting voice sounds. Slowly, I turn my body around, facing them. 

Takeo strolls out from behind the lingering shadows of a tall tree, a wicked grin on his face. "Just who I was looking for."

I was mistaken. Nobody was after River. All this time, I was the one being hunted.

++

What do you guys think about: 

- Mia and Illumi as children?

- Mia and River's interactions?

- Takeo's unexpected appearance?

Don't forget to comment and vote ✔️