Whispers of the Sky (Hunter X Hunter)

Swindler's X Swamp (Rhode's PoV)

Clouded judgement will only delay the inevitable...
-*-

The scent of mud and swamp water invaded my senses when we reached the top of the stairs that led us out of the tunnel. A foggy bright light greeted my eyes when we emerged from the exit, the sight of a huge forest covered in thick moisty fog greeting us.

Satotz had stopped to turn and give us a long look, my eyes darting around for our 'companions'. Kurapika and Leorio were right next to me and Yllina, both heaving in labored breaths when they made it out.

"Gon!" Yllina's voice behind me shouted, my eyes easily falling to the young boy himself busy talking with a white-haired male about his age.

Cobalt blue eyes as well as Gon's amber ones turned to our direction when Yllina called out to him, the new kid's eyes easily putting me up on guard.

Aloof and cold... The eyes of a killer.

"Ah! Yllina-san and Rhode-san! You made it," Gon beamed when he ran to our direction, Yllina slipping down my back to run to Gon's side.

"Sorry if we worried you. Glad to know we made it!" Yllina piped in cheerfully before her eyes trailed to the white-haired boy next to Gon, "A new friend?" She inquired next, her comment taking the boy himself by surprise.

"His name is Killua! I met him a while back inside the tunnel," Gon grinned before earning him a scowl from the white-haired boy.

"Oi, Gon! I didn't give you permission to give them my name," He complained causing Gon this time to look at him with a disappointed look on his face, "Eeh? But Yllina and Rhode are my friends too!"

"Well, they aren't my friends so they don't get the privilege!"

"Aren't you just a big bundle of sunshine," Yllina replied with a frown while joining in on what appeared to be a small spat between the two boys which caused me to furrow my brow in worry. She may not be an adept fighter but she can be a little argumentative when she feels like it. A trait that always takes me by surprise since she usually just keeps to herself when we're together.

Is it the effect of being outside those suffocating walls for a long time?

Right on cue, Killua seemed to have noticed that my mistress had joined the fray, my own gut instinct telling me to rush to her side. The boy is dangerous, that much I can tell from the way he moved and looked at people. Children, like Gon, held curiosity and naivety towards new things. The boy who Gon called Killua did no such thing. His eyes held a calculative gaze on other people, a look more common with adults when observing their surroundings. He was studying us like a killer would to his prey and for a child to do so meant he wasn't just an ordinary kid.

"Look, you're not part of this so stick your nose somewhere else," Killua spoke up causing the frown on Yllina's face to deepen before she spoke, "Just to let you know, Gon is my friend too and he was being nice enough to introduce you to us so you could at least be a good sport about it."

"Why do I have to be a good sport about it? For all I know you could be a bounty hunter after me. Better safe than sorry,"

"Yllina's a bounty hunter?!"

"It's an example, Gon. Besides, do I look anything like a bounty hunter?"

"Idiot. That's the thing, you must be using your childish nature to approach people like us!"