This is an entry for Under-appreciated Pairs contest held by Nispedana (my beloved *coughs* ane-ue, Nis-san), with Shorty Pair (FeiKalu) as its main pairing.

Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter and its characters belonged to Togashi Yoshihiro.

Warning: Fem!Kalluto (as requested in the prompt) and Fem!Alluka. Bad English. There might be typos and grammar errors.

Anyway, enjoy. Hope this will satisfy you.

It's Just the Rain

Family? What's that?

Feitan came from the city of nothingness. He was someone who never had anything. What was it like to have a family? He never thought about that. He never imagined ever once what it would be like to live with a family. Family, parents, siblings, home... He didn't want them. He didn't need them.

Those people had thrown him away after all.

Everyone in the troupe was the same with him. They had nothing, and it didn't matter. Just like what the Spider head said, they would just steal whatever they want. They didn't want a fragile bond called family thus they never seek for it.

Everyone was all like that... everyone but that girl.

She was different. That little girl didn't come from Ryuuseigai. She had a family. She had a home. She had a social status. She had everything. Why had someone like her ever thought of joining the Troupe?

As a person who was extraneous to the concept of family, he couldn't understand her.

"This is our new member."

It was a certain day in Greed Island. Feitan and Phinks were in their player-killing game when other members of the Troupe visited them. The two didn't fail to notice that there was an extra among them, whom they introduced as an addition to the Spider. They stared at a little girl in kimono, who didn't seem to be intimidated by either their killer aura or bloody corpses that scattered around them.

"My name is Kalluto Zoldyck." The kid introduced herself. She looked directly at the two men without the slightest fear in her eyes.

"Zoldyck?" Phinks looked at her skeptically. "As in the Zoldyck?"

"Yes. She is a daughter of that infamous assassin family." Shalnark explained while the girl in question only nodded.

Feitan frowned. She was a part of the renowned Zoldyck family. What kind of business did such a person have with the Troupe?

"You say she's a member, but Danchou is the only one who has the authority of accepting new member. Have you forgotten about that?" He said in disapproval.

"Well," Shalnark shrugged. "I think it's okay to let her come with us. She has great potential. Danchou will probably like her right away after they meet."

Feitan's brows furrowed deeper. Shalnark got the point. Indeed, she had an extraordinary aura, not to mention that she was still young. It was unquestionable that she would become a great additional to the Troupe. But, still, he didn't like her presence. There had been times when some of the Spider's limbs had almost let her to its destruction. Hisoka was the latest case.

"She's gonna replace Hisoka," Machi said. "You don't have any problem with that, right?"

"It didn't really matter whom she replaced." Feitan scoffed.

"She has the power to find an exorcist for us," Nobunaga emphasized. "You know we need them for Danchou's sake."

Feitan and Nobunaga glared at each other for a while until finally Feitan sighed in defeat.

"Do as you like."

The short man then summoned his book, used a card and left.

"Say, Kalluto, why do you join the Troupe?"

It was Shizuku, one of a few friendlier members of the Spider. She asked that question out of the blue during the Spider's stay at Ryuuseigai. They had just accomplished the elders' request to exterminate some inhuman creature called chimera ants and decided to stay in the city for a while.

The other limbs of the Spider turned their head to the youngest member. Some of them were also quite curious about it. Feitan was among them, even though he would hate to say it out loud.

The young girl thought for a while before she answered. "There's someone I'm looking for."

"Huh? Don't you have the ability to search people?" Shizuku tilted her head.

"Yes, but..." Kalluto's big eyes became smoggy. "That person is different. They're in a place where my Nen can't reach."

"Why don't you just use your family's influence to do that? Isn't it much faster, and easier, than to use our help? You know we won't get anywhere until we find Danchou." Feitan remarked coldly.

Kalluto's eyes widened slightly when she heard that statement. She clenched her small fists and hung her head. "My family is the one who has separated me and that person. I have no other choice than to rely on my own power," she paused for a while, clenching her fists tighter, before she continued. "And I'm not asking for anyone's help. I just believe I can get stronger if I join the Phantom Troupe."

There was an uncomfortable silence following her words. Some of the Spider looked apologetically at the young girl while some other glared at Feitan with oh-look-what-have-you-done-mr-heartless look, which got completely ignored by the said guy.

Feitan just looked straight at Kalluto's back.

That girl was weird.

But he was even weirder.

Somehow... Somehow, he felt sorry for her.

The black haired man strolled alone in a small town. He turned to some random alleys, walked past the settlements and finally arrived at the town quarter. The weather was gloomy and there were only a few people around. The townsfolk who walked passed him looked like they were in hurry. They might want to head back to their home as soon as possible, as it was going to rain soon. Unlike the others, he nonchalantly walked toward a bench next to a big clock in the middle of the quarter and sat there. Leaning back to the bench, he wearily looked up at the grayish sky.

The Troupe had decided to stick together for the mean time. It had been months since their meeting with Abengane the exorcist, but they still hadn't heard anything from either Chrollo or the bastard pierrot, Hisoka. Everyone had become quite tensed and a certain eyebrow-less dude, who was happened to be his partner, had become more and more annoying to the point that he concluded that it would be better to be alone... or perhaps search for a quieter partner.

After a while the rain started pouring down. He straightened his back and looked around. The quarter was almost deserted, only a familiar little girl in red kimono was seen. She was staring at a couple of kids who were taking shelter at a newsstand across the street. Those two were happily chatting to each other and occasionally laughed. They didn't seem to have notice the first girl, who was standing in the rain while keeping an eye on them. He wondered what had made her so interested in those kids and looked at them more closely.

He then recognized one of them.

It was the Chain Assassin's friend: the witty silverhead. The one who accompanied him wasn't the boy with spiky hair whom Nobunaga was fond off though. It was a little girl with shaggy long hair.

Feitan sat up and quietly walked approaching Kalluto. He loosened his aura a bit so that she could feel his presence and didn't get surprise by his sudden appearance.

"Someone you know?" he asked.

"My brother... and sister." She replied without looking away from the couple.

He glanced at her, then to the two kids who stood several meters away. So they were siblings, huh? It was unexpected. He hadn't known the silver haired boy had been a Zoldyck like her. They didn't really look alike (not that he really paid any attention to that boy's face feature though).

"Homesick?" he asked again.

Well, she was an eleven years old brat after all. She had been sticking to the Troupe for almost a whole year so he guessed she must have missed her family and home by now.

But he was wrong. Kalluto shook her head in disagreement. "It's not like that." She frowned. She then turned on her heel and went to the opposite direction from where her siblings were.

He threw one quick glance at the two Zoldycks, who were still unaware of their presence, before walked after her. She walked in a quite fast pace, he noted. It was just like she wanted to run away from those kids. It was strange remembering how she had watched the two as if she had missed them so badly.

She looked like she wanted to meet them, but couldn't do it for a reason.

Maybe it was just a family conflict, he thought as he shoved his hands into the pockets on his trouser. He remembered she had once mentioned something about her family. Well, if that was the case, then it was better not to meddle with her business. There wasn't anything he could do anyway. As someone who lived alone, he couldn't possibly able to understand the circumstance between her and her family.

Logically, it was the best way. However, the girl who walked in the rain looked really lonely and it made a certain, weird feeling grow in his chest.

He wanted to do something for her.

Anything was fine.

He picked up his pace so that he was now walking beside her. He raised a hand, and then placed it on her head. He patted her.

Kalluto froze. She looked at him with a confused face. "What are you doing?"

Feitan stared at her magenta eyes for a while before answering with a shrugged. "Beats me."

He wasn't lying. He himself didn't know what he was actually doing. Nevertheless, his hand seemed to have its own will and keep stroking the girl's mushroom-like head.

She blinked several times then looked down. She muttered. "I wonder... how long it has been since the last time any of my brothers had done something like this..." Part of her face was covered by thick fringes, but he didn't fail to notice a single drop of water had just slid down her cheek. "Illumi is always engrossed in his work, Milluki has his own world, and Killua... He only cares about Alluka."

Feitan looked away as he heard her mentioning those unfamiliar names in shaky voice. He felt that she might not want him to see her current state.

"He searched for her; he found her... But he didn't ever realize that I wasn't at home."

He heard her sobbed. It must be her limit, he thought. What should he say at time like this? He didn't have any idea. He wasn't a type of person who could comfort others, thus all he could do was to stand there and wait.

It might sound petty, but it was more than enough.

All a lonely person needed was a companion.

They stood side by side for God knew how long. After regained her composure, Kalluto finally spoke up. "You're just like a big brother." She said as she felt the warmth of his hand.

"... I don't need a crybaby sister." He deadpanned.

Her cheeks flushed red. "I- I didn't cry. The rain got into my eyes." She made a childish excuse, even though it was clear that she had been crying.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just the rain." He repeated as stroke her hair once more before he drew back his hand and shoved it into his pocket again. "The rain has stopped. Let's go back." He made a gesture at her to follow him and stepped forward.

She watched the man's back in silence for a moment then called out.

"Feitan."

"What?"

"Thank you."

He widened his eyes for a second and then smiled slightly. Of course, he didn't let her to see that.

Indeed, he still didn't understand what a family was. However, he thought he had an idea now what it would be like to have a little sister... in one way and another.

Author's comment: Yep, no matter how much I like Killua and Alluka, I must admit that they have neglected Kalluto, and I'm quite disappointed because of that. It's said that Kalluto was looking for a brother of him (either Killua or Alluka, in this fic it's Alluka) but they have never mentioned his name even once :(

Oh well, I hope you liked this short fic. Please drop a review and share your thought. Concrits and corrections are always welcomed!

Thank you for your time.