Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: Violence. Language.

Beta: Arii-hime.

CRYING WOLF

by: Riseha

Interlude 4

Killua

Gon glanced worriedly at his best friend—one of his best friends, Gon corrected himself, his other best friend was Illyria—who was seething all the way to the port and on the boat, now. Finally, he decided to speak with his friend. "You shouldn't have yelled at her like that."

"I didn't!"

Gon squinted at him. "You're unhappy."

"Well... duh—I mean, no. Ugh, what should I be unhappy about?" Killua was still looking away from him.

"Why did you yell at Illyria like that?"

"I did not," cried Killua, aghast, and Gon would've believed him had he not been there to witness everything. "Fine, I did. But so what?"

"That's not very nice," Gon pointed out. "You're the older brother, right?"

"By twenty minutes. We're still the same age. It changes nothing."

Gon sighed, his friend was very stubborn. He wasn't surprised, one had to be as stubborn as a mule to be Gon's best friend, they balanced one another out after all. Gon gazed out at the water that seemed to spread endlessly. He really wanted to let Illyria see this.

"Why didn't you just be honest to yourself and to her and say that you'll miss her if she's not there and you want her to be by your side?"

"Honest?" Killua snorted. "I'm a Transmuter and how could I ever say something so cheesy to her?"

Gon wasn't cruel or anything but he knew his next words would pierce Killua. "But the last time you argued like this, you didn't see her for four years and thought she was dead." Killua stilled. The assassin's body had gone so stiff, he looked like he was made out of plywood.

He looked so stricken Gon nearly relented. "Nothing confines her to you. And, you didn't really have to come back with me. You could just say you'd rather go with Ria to Kurapika's. And I'll follow. My plans can wait."

Killua scowled. "Since when were you so... Are you my psychiatrist or something?"

"Just pointing out the obvious," said Gon, utterly cheerful. "Are you going to call her to apologize?"

"Never!"

"She might be buried as we speak." Killua gawped at Gon. "I mean, she might be in trouble or something. Shouldn't you call to make sure she's okay?"

"She didn't call," his friend insisted stubbornly.

Gon's smile was a bit stiff. "You can't force her to choose between you and her choice of friends. You said so yourself that she'll die soon as the younger Zoldyck twin, she doesn't have much longer and you can't even indulge her?"

Killua grounded his teeth together; Gon was right. He didn't go into specifics about the Zoldyck twins stuff, but Gon got the gist of it anyway. He darted a glance at Gon, scowling when Gon stared straight back. He wasn't too used to admitting his faults and Gon was about as stubborn, if not more, stubborn than he was.

Gon would never drop this topic until he ended it himself.

"Y-you might be right..." Damn, admitting that he was wrong had always been hard. Time and love for his sister hadn't changed it one bit.

Maybe, just maybe, when he sees her again, he won't bring it up and instead, he'd greet her with a grin and a hug. His lips tugged upward slightly.

Yeah, he'd do that.

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Chapter 19

Trust

"This place..." I glanced at the map for confirmation that we'd gotten the right place before raising my gaze again. "...is not as impressive as the Zoldyck mansion and mountain." I glanced at Kurapika. "Which family do you think is richer?"

Kurapika smirked. "Yours. Your family doesn't need bodyguards after all."

"I'm taking that as a compliment," I said as I held out my hand to the detector. The Zoldycks had no fancy technology like this—Mike was our doorman—but I was sure Millu-nii's technology could outdo this. "I'm Illyria Zoldyck, this is my friend, Kurapika. We were referred here by the Sengi Guild."

The gates opened.

I squinted at the large front-yard. "Are those horses...?" No one answered me. Kurapika looked as impressed just as I was unimpressed. I mean, why would anyone keep horses? They crap and poop and repeat. Mike knew to how clean up.

An old guy greeted us. "Welcome," he said, his voice raspy as if he hadn't used it in a long time. "Please follow me to the meeting place."

He walked with a snail's pace though neither of us said anything about it. Kurapika looked too impressed to be saying anything. The walls were cinnamon colored with expensive and rare paintings hung there. I could tell, with my sharp eye, that they were authentic.

"Your house doesn't have these collections," whispered Kurapika, walking closer to me. Obviously, this village boy was intimidated by the sheer richness of this mansion. I doubted this was the main house though. I bet our supposed charge wasn't even here.

"We keep our skeletons in the closet," I sneered back.

Kurapika shot me an unamused look. Clearly, he didn't buy it nor did he thought it was impressive. The old butler—well, I must say as loyal as he was, my butlers were more impressive—led us to the meeting place. Out of instincts, I scanned the place for other exits.

I saw a flight of stairs leading up and to who-knows-where. There were five people lounging in the room. All were proficient Nen-users. This might not be so boring after all.

"Have a seat."

I probably could've stood for hours but out of pity for the old dude who was only doing his job, I sat down beside Kurapika. I was small enough for the single sofa to seat us. Kurapika and I studied the occupants of the room. Abruptly, Kurapika flinched and latched onto my hand. I flushed slightly, glaring at the direction he was gaping at and flinched back myself.

"Monster," I muttered. The shortest and stockiest occupant with buck teeth, like a rodent with a bald patch of head and long maroon sideburns. I saw what he was looking at and what the person (?) was trying to cover: warped and lurid lilac-colored skin. I instantly felt bad for calling her that though; she looked hurt as she rushed to cover her skin. "Sorry," I said, louder. She had very good hearing to hear my muttering.

She smiled at me, her brown eyes twinkled kindly. "It's okay." Her voice was soft and melodious.

"Melody?"

She blinked. "You know me?"

I shook my head. "No... just... uh, your voice is very beautiful."

She beamed at me. "Thank you. No one ever told me that before."

I smirked. "Glad to be the first. I'm Illyria Zoldyck, this," I gestured with our laced hands at Kurapika. "is my friend Kurapika." He noticed our linked hands and hurriedly remove his hand, cheeks a little red. "Say hello."

"Uh, hello..."

I noticed that Melody was looking particularly longer at me. "Is something wrong?" I wondered, brows furrowing.

"Ah, no, just that you're a..."

"Zoldyck?" I finished, glancing at my nails, wondering how freaked-out the eavesdropping people would be. "Yes, why?"

The other woman in the room glanced at me with renewed interest. "I'm Baise," she said, finally acknowledging me. She was a beautiful woman with sharp green eyes and dark pink hair that was twisted into a long braid that stood upward, with some strands falling on her forehead. She wore pink lipstick. "That's Squala."

A man with dark skin and frizzy long black hair waved. He had a small red dot on his forehead. "Hey, kid."

"And I'm Basho." The bare-chested man grinned at me. His muscles flexed with every movement. His brown eyes were light and determined; he had brown hair and side-burns and a mustache. Probably about in this thirties, could he still fight? "That guy over there is Shachmono Tochino."

Shachmono—I aptly named him Monkey—had sideburns that curled up to his cheek, like a monkey's. His skin was a pinkish sort and his light-colored brown hair resembled a monkey's fur. Even his cheeks puffed up like one! Or was it a squirrel?

We exchanged painfully polite greetings—how fake. "Thanks for waiting," Another butler said, stepping down the stairs, a remote control in hand. "Now, we'll explain our contract."

I shifted in my seat, using one hand to cover my yawn. "Tell me when this pointless talk is over." I barely had time to nod off before Kurapika nudged me. "Already? I thought it'd go on and on for hours." I frowned, seeing Kurapika's pale face. "You okay?"

Basho overhead my inquiry, turning to grin at us. "Sick of it already? This is just a level one request though, they'll request something more outrageous and disgusting once they've hired us. There's this one time, one of my sickest employers wanted a baby and I—"

"We don't need to hear this," Kurapika told me, glaring slightly at Basho as he handed me a data card. Apparently, we can choose whichever treasure we want to retrieve. "Shut up. Don't ever speak to us again."

I sprang out of my seat. "Let's get going. Collect something valuable..." I smirked. "Will a heart count?"

"It doesn't open," Basho declared, twisting the doorknob like he was contemplating snapping it in half just to get out. I sniffed. How uncouth.

"I forgot," said the man in the projector. "To be strong is the minimal criteria for this job. To at least get out of this mansion alive is another—"

"Can we kill?" I brandished my claws, ripping the first shadow that lunged at me. The head went lolling. Ah, not human after all. Nen-made people. Oh, too bad. With practiced ease, I weaved my way through the bullets.

"Dowsing Chain!" A pendulum attached to chains shot past me. I grumbled, stopping in my tracks as the chains caught the bullets. Our assailants drew their swords when their guns ran out of bullets and charged my friend. I grabbed from the air, thrusting my hand into his ribcage.

I hurled the Nen-made man off me, turning to see Kurapika landing gracefully on the stairs above. Two more assailants appeared from behind Kurapika, forcing the Kuruta to jump onto the chandelier. Basho laughed something about killing intent and weak before he punched the lights out of one of them.

From above, Kurapika's eyes met mine. His black eyes (contacts) darted around. He was trying to tell me something. Warily, I turned, seeing Monkey standing nonchalantly—otherwise ignored by the cloaked assailants.

I jumped over the herd flocking him, claws out and throttling him. "Listen, squad-muck, you have three second to stop them before I rip your throat out."

"Okay, okay!" The cloaked assailants dissolved, leaving their weapons behind. Melody and Baise—both whom had not done anything but stand and gape—looked shocked, though the latter hid it well and only expressed it with a cocked brow.

"Just as I thought," commented Basho, clenching and unclenching his fist. "I felt it when I punched it. A human-shaped aura. But I didn't realize it was his Nen. How did you two know?"

I glanced at Kurapika. He directed his intense stare at Shachmono as he spoke. "You were hiding it well, but from above, it's painfully obvious you're the only one not being attacked. I noticed it when I was upstairs and two of them attacked me. Their fighting ability was low and they kept stupidly swinging their sword at me even when I was on the chandelier."

"From this," I cut in, trying to save us all from a long explanation as Kurapika tend to get into. "We can deduce they were given simple orders such as attack the closest enemy—so they're weak as you didn't instruct them to improvise. I'm assuming this ability is Emission-type. And as Emitters are painfully weak—"

Kurapika shoved me out of the way. "What she meant is that the size of the aura isn't that impressive, and judging from the range which is limited, we can assume the user is in the room."

Shachmono smiled at Kurapika though he shot me a filthy glare. "Yes, that is correct." He held up his hands in a placating manner. "I'm a Hunter as well and as such, I'm your senior." He directed this sentence at me with a pointed look. With a tight smile, I pulled back, jumping so that I'd land a few feet away from him. "No offense, the boss told me to test you guys. Well, if ya ask me, I think all five of you can get out easily."

Suspicion filled Basho's face. "One more among us...?"

Kurapika held up a hand, the same pendulum I had seen earlier swung back and forth. He pointed at me, watching the ball swing carefully. What on earth is he doing? I stared incredulously at him as he did this to everyone and stopped at Squala. "You. You're the infiltrator."

Squala was a good actor. He glanced at us incredulously. "What? How dare you accuse me! What proof do you have?! A chain merely moved."

"It's called dowsing," interrupted Melody, her soft voice as melodious as her name.

"So what? It's not proof!"

"He's right. When you're pointed at, your heart pounded loudly. A false accusation would make someone's heartbeat grow louder from nervousness or anger. But your heartbeat got louder before calming, and that's a definition of liar. Your heartbeat calmed down because you thought you could shrug the accusation off, no?"

Squala opened his mouth to argue. "How do we know you two aren't plotting something together and you're actually the two infiltrators?"

Kurapika snorted. "Melody's not the infiltrator, nor is Illyria."

Melody shot me a curious glance. "He isn't an infiltrator either, his friend's a candidate too."

"This is pointless," snorted Squala. "We won't be able to find out this way—"

"If no one is going to admit anything," growled Basho, drawing out a brush and a piece of card and glaring at every one of us. "Then I shall draw out the truth!"

"That sounds so corny," I muttered.

"Shut it, brat!" Basho snapped, writing with precise strokes. "My hand makes a fist/Anything I punch with it/Will burst into flames." He said as he showed us his card, before he did as the card said. His hand balled into a fist and he punched the closest chair.

It burst into flames instantly.

"For your information, this is a haiku," he said as he started writing again. I could see real panic flash in Squala's eyes. "Now, this is the real deal. Liars will burn in hell." He glanced at Kurapika and I. "Question: are you an infiltrator?"

"No." I echoed Kurapika's answer when he pointed at me. After a collective no's and one yes from Monkey-man, he turned to Squala. "For your sake, be truthful. Are you an infiltrator?"

Squala chucked, raising his hands in surrender. "Pfft. My cover's blown. The answer is yes." He lounged lazily on the couch. "Well done, guys and girls. I'm Squala, I don't have a license but I can use Nen. And I have already given orders to some things."

"What orders?" I demanded.

"Ha," Squala snorted, irking me. "As if I'll tell. You can torture me all you want but I won't—umph!"

I only have time to blink before Kurapika's hand covered my eyes. I could hear the embarrassment in his voice: "Don't look!"

"What? I'm twelve, not a baby. Let me see!"

"Instant Lover!" Baise said, smirking at us as she licked her lips. "I'm a Manipulator, those I kiss become my slave until I release them."

I still couldn't see with Kurapika blocking my eyes, but from what I could hear, I figure that she was stepping on his face. "Let me see," I insisted, prying at his fingers.

Baise was laughing. "Hahaha... look at yourself, I'll record it too! Now tell us: to what did you give orders to? If you don't say it, I'll stop stepping on you!"

I stilled. "Isn't that a good thing?"

But the charmed Squala caved. "No, I'll say it, just please don't stop treating me like this! I'm a poor dog master! In this mansion, many dogs are roaming around under my orders and they are at..."

"What a horrible ability," muttered Kurapika, finally removing his hand.

I laughed when I saw Squala's pathetic state.

As expected, we escaped safely from the mansion with Baise's help. Now, we just needed to collect those important body parts. I brought out my communicator, dialing speed-dial for Millu-nii. "Hey."

"Millu-nii," I said, just to let him know who he was talking to. After all, I was the only one who would call him that.

Milluki sighed, sounding annoyed. "First, Killua called and now, you?" My eyebrows rose at the information. "What do you want? I already told Kil everything I know about Greed Island."

Ah. "We're not after the same thing." My voice came out harder than I meant to.

"You're not together?" Fortunately, Milluki did not pry about our separation and why I sounded so upset. I think it was pretty easy to figure out.

"No. But I need your help. Do you know anything about Scarlet Eyes?... Ah, can you tell me where they are? I want it now."

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Kurapika was the first to present what he'd found. He looked completely serious when he said, "Actress Sarah's hair complete with DNA verification."

Basho grinned, not about to be outdone. "Mummy's right hand in Egyptian tomb."

Melody smiled shyly as she presented what she found. "Dragon skin, infected with disease."

"Skull of unicorn tribe," said Baise.

Everyone turned to me. I held up the container with two floating eyes. "Scarlet Eyes of the Kuruta Clan."

I could see Kurapika's jaw tightening, his eyes flashed with a warning to not mess with him. I scrutinized him heavily. Did he really think I would ever betray him like that? I realized, with a stab of sadness, that he'd changed and was completely psychotic when it came to his clan's eyes.

"Your five are formally hired. I'm Dalzollene, head bodyguard. Nice to meet you." His eyes lingered on me, particularly on my treasure. "Boss has always liked pretty things, would want those Scarlet Eyes."

I could practically feel Kurapika tensing. I clucked my tongue disapprovingly. "Not for sale, not for offerings. As far as I'm concerned, these eyes are mine. I don't recall having to give up my possession to be a bodyguard."

Dalzollene's jaw clenched. "Suit yourself. Boss would pester you endlessly for that." I closed my eyes, concentrating hard—I'm not the best when it came to conjuration—and instantly felt the space beside me rip open. I have a higher chance of learning conjuring as it's category was beside mine. I dumped the eyes inside the space—full of my junk—and watched it zip close. Hopefully, I could summon it back when Kurapika asked for it.

Truthfully, I wasn't even sure they were authentic. Milluki assured me that his contact only goes for the real deal. Dalzollene was saying something but I tuned him out, trying to blink away the sleepiness that always came when I use a Nen-ability out of my Specialization Category.

When they moved, I dragged myself after them, trying to suppress a yawn. For all that I'd been trained, Illumi didn't impart the knowledge of sleeping with my eyes open.

We strode down large and spacious hallways. Eventually, as I'd expected, Kurapika fell back to speak with me. His voice was a low whisper, even though Melody must've been able to hear us. "Those eyes... are they...?" His eyes had too much hope.

My eyes softened. "Yeah. My brother said it was. I didn't know how to check, I'll show them to you later."

His shoulders slumped, his eyes shot me a quick Thank You. "You can repay me by trusting me more, you know," I mused, shooting him an accusing look. "You look ready to kill me when I offered those eyes to the head bodyguard. You don't think I'll really let him get his hands on them, right?" When he hesitated, I scoffed. "So much for mutual trust between friends—" I faltered.

You don't need friends, Illumi's voice seemed to be whispering in my head. They'll only betray you in the end. And even if they didn't, you will be the one to betray them.

My steps faltered; I dimly registered Kurapika saying something and shaking my shoulders slightly, but I was too dazed to hear. Illumi's voice was so much more alluring, commanding and I should just listen to him—

you'll only feel like killing them in the end

I tried to kill Hanzo. He was my friend, wasn't he? But it wasn't my fault! It was Illumi's fault, he made me do it! He forced me to! A voice within my head far too tiny and weak tried to argue.

when had your Aniki ever been wrong?

Every time. -never-

listen to your Aniki, you don't need anyone else but us.

"Kil..." why did you come here and abandon Kil?

Then the tiny weak voice inside my head—my suppressed conscious, everything I've been trying to hide and deny—argued: because he left me for Gon! I hate him for taking Kil away!

Wow, when I faced that fact head-on, I felt sick. It was too true. I wanted everything to be the way it was for us four years ago. But with Gon in the picture...

kill him and you'll be together again

Killua will hate me for it. But as long as he—

"Kyaah!" I balked, nearly tripping when I was tackled. To make this clear, I wasn't the one who screamed girlishly. I reached out to steady the slender figure who'd hugged me out of the blue. "So cute! I finally got a friend!"

"I'm not—" Dalzollene cleared his throat, shooting me a look that read, play along and we'll all be happy. "Who're you?" Just because she was my boss didn't mean I had to be too polite.

"I'm Neon!" The girl pulled back. She had long light blue hair pulled up into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon, and twinkling blue eyes. She had pale skin and a mischievous smile. "You?"

"Illyria." Now, no need to scare her off with my family name, hm?

Introductions were quickly passed on, and Neon waved them all away, impatient. I shot Dalzollene a quizzical look. "Right, Illyria will be the one responsible for the miss as the boss is most comfortable with her. I will, also, watch her." But the look he shot me meant that he'd probably be waiting outside the door while I entertain the miss. "The rest of you will stand guard. There will be some guest rooms prepared for the brief rest. We'll set out tomorrow."

"What about me?" My face must've conveyed a very good don't leave me look because everyone shot me sympathetic looks and left.

Kurapika hesitated but Squala hauled him out.

I turned to Neon who was staring at me excitedly. "Yes, miss?"

"Oh," she waved it off. "Neon is fine. I really hate formalities. Ne, Ria, you must've seen the outside world a lot, right? Dalz told me you're a Zoldyck Assassin, can you tell me more?"

With an internal groan, I decided that this would probably be the most torturous hour of my life.

But it was fine. I didn't really want to face Kurapika, and I certainly didn't want to speak to a concerned Melody who could hear my emotional turmoil.

I was starting to regret coming here.

If only my Specialization Ability was to turn back time.

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Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait- I used to remember updating everyday but things had been too hectic -real life stuff- for that. And I have trouble remembering what happens next so I need to read the manga and watch the anime again if I'm to get things right. The only reason I can update this month is because I had pre-written chapters stored - which I have now ran out of so the next chapter might be in a few months.

Also, I've started a collab story with Sakura Hyuga and I implore all of you to check it out- it's posted under my penname. That's not all, I've also decided to start another collab story with Lunamon810 this time, where Illyria goes to Ellilou's world. Excited? XD

Anyhow, review!