Just the Maid

Chapter 35- Going Home

I woke up, the floor beneath me rocking back and forth. I slowly heaved myself up so I was sitting. I looked around and saw that I was on a ship. Orange light filled the floor. I froze.

'W-Where's Killua!? What happened after I blacked out!?' I got to my feet and ran out of the hold and onto the main deck. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. But my face fell when I saw him.

He was just sitting there. He was like an empty shell. His eyes were empty. Like glass. I walked over to him, slowly though, so I wouldn't startle him.

"K-Killua...?" I asked as I sat next to him. He didn't say anything. He buried his head into his knees.

I didn't know what to do. And that scares me. I don't know what to do. So I sat next to him, contemplating what I should do.

Finally, I came to an answer. Little did I know, it was the wrong one.

"Killua?" I asked again, and I reached out to pat his shoulder.

In one swift movement, he took my arm and threw me against the ship's wall. He had his fingers at my neck and the only thing that was holding them back was my hands. His eyes were still empty. This wasn't the him I knew.

"Killua!" I tried to call him back to reality. "KILLUA!" But nothing was working.

'What to do, what to do!?' My mind raced, trying to think of something, anything, that would bring him back to me. Then, I did the first thing that came to mind.

"COME BACK!" I yelled, and I hit his head as hard as I could with my head. He looked a little fazed, but kept his hold on me. So I did it again. And again. And again. My forehead was bleeding, but I didn't care. I just wanted Killua back. My Killua.

The image flashed in my head again. The one from before the exam. Now was not the time to be thinking that! I hit him one last time, but I kept my forehead connected with his, pushing him back.

"Killua, stop it! It's me! Katara! Your Kitty! Get out of that stupid hole and come back to me!" I couldn't help myself, I was crying. "I've lost too much to lose you too, dammit..." My strength was weakening. I was losing focus. "Please come back..."

"Kitty?" I blinked to see him looking at me, the color back in his eyes.

"Killua..." I blinked and the tears came rushing out.

"Wh-Why are you crying? I didn't..." He looked down. When he did, he immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry, I-"

"It's fine, I understand," I cut him off. "What happened after I passed out?"

"Well, I don't really remember much... Actually, I don't remember anything at all. But, I'm pretty sure we're on our way back to the mansion."

"I see..." I looked down at the floor boards and crossed my legs.

After a bit, I broke the silence by asking, "What's going to happen when we get back?"

"I don't know," he answered. "More than likely, I'll be punished for running away. I don't know what will happen to you, but it can't be anything good. You did escape with me, after all." He looked up at me, and I looked up at him. There was such sorrow... He quickly turned away and put his arm over his eyes.

"I'm just... I'm so sorry! I never should've made you come with me! If I didn't, you would be back at the mansion, safe and sound with your sister and... and..."

"And I wouldn't have had one of the greatest experiences of my life." I finished. I smiled softly at his back. "May I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Can I touch your hair?" He finally looked back at me, his eyes starting to get puffy. He nodded and I held out my arms. He slowly slid over to my right and put his head on my shoulder, like he was really tired.

"How about I take this one, hm?" I giggled quietly. I felt him smile and nod. It was almost as if he was a kid again. I put my left arm on his back, soothingly, and patted his hair, stroking it like a mother would. I almost cried internally. It was so soft! Like feathers in those really fancy pillows that only royalty would get!

We spent the rest of the ride like that. When we got to the port, I woke him up. I took his skateboard and we made our way through the town.

"Hey, do you want to take a bus there? There's a tour bus that leaves in five minutes," I suggested. He shook his head.

"As nice as that sounds, I'd rather not. I have an image to uphold, you know." He tried to grin, but I could tell it was fake. I understand now. He wants to prolong his arrival as much as he can. I nodded and we started to make our way up the path towards the mountain.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As soon as we saw the Testing Gates, it pained me to see that Killua had returned to his empty shell of himself. I saw Zebro in his window. I pulled my hood up, as a sort of signal to maybe warn him. He stepped out of his cottage, but when he did, I think he saw Killua's face and understood. I was carrying Killua's skateboard so his hands would be free for opening the gate.

My eyes widened a little. He opened three of the gates! We walked through.

Eventually, we met Canary at her post. We stopped.

"Killua-sama," she said as she bowed.

"Yeah," he replied as we walked by. "I made... a friend..." I saw that his glassy-eyed self had faded away and was back to himself again. Just very upset.

We arrived at the split in the path. One went to the mansion and the other to the cottage. I looked over at him.

"I guess... This is where we part..." I turned towards him, clutching his skateboard to my chest. He turned towards me as well. He was looking at the ground.

There was a pretty awkward silence. So, I just handed him his skateboard and turned to leave.

"Kitty." I turned around again.

"Yes?"

"Promise you'll come see me?"

I smiled. "I'll do my best."