Part 1
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Chapter 4

///

Seconds later, Illumi jumps onto the roof, landing meters away from you and Hisoka.

The conversation between you and Hisoka is over, but his words left a lasting imprint on your mind, like the flash of a lightbulb in your vision. Memories of you and Illumi training remain fresh in your mind, and you know that when Illumi takes his disguise off later, you will not be able to look into his soulless black eyes the same.

"(Y/N), let's go," Illumi says.

You do not look at the real Hisoka, or the Hisoka-looking-Illumi. Eyes trained on the ground, you approach Illumi silently.

///

The inside of the Troupe's hideout is disgusting.

Rocks and dust litter the ground and pollute the air, but, in a sense, it is perfect. Nobody would suspect the Troupe of all people to claim such a nasty place as their meet-up location.

Illumi doesn't say anything. He's walking a few paces ahead of you, perfectly replicating Hisoka's stride in his steps by putting a gentle sway in his hips and extending his legs further than he normally does.

Hisoka sure does have a handsome body. Your heart thumps as you feel the remnants of Hisoka's finger touching your cheek earlier.

"This is it."

Illumi has stopped. He's standing in a doorway that opens up to a long hall ending in a set of downward-aimed stairs.

"Feitan is down there," he says, glancing at you. His eyes are narrow and shadowed, like Hisoka's, but his mouth is a flat, emotionless line. "I'll take the lead."

"Will I have to fight him?"

Illumi looks away. "Yes."

You take a breath. Shit. I can't fight Feitan alone. He's crazy.

Illumi starts to walk down the hall. You follow.

Down the stairs. Dim yellow lights illuminate the path ahead, which is littered with pebbles that roll beneath your shoes. You would focus on them, but your mind is racing.

Illumi won't fight Feitan, since he's disguised as Hisoka. But now Feitan is going to think Hisoka is the traitor. Illumi wants them to think that so the Troupe doesn't kill Killua, because they know that's who Illumi is after. Instead, Feitan will kill Gon for revenge on Hisoka, which is who they will think is behind all of this because of Illumi's disguise. Illumi won't care as long as him and Killua make it out alive.

At the bottom of the stairs is a small, square room, lit by oil lamps in each of the four corners. Feitan is sitting with his spine against the run-down wall, one knee raised cooly to hold up his arm by the elbow. His eyes are narrowed to slits above the neck of his dark, shiny jacket. He glances at you and Illumi, suspicion glazing over his dark irises.

At the other end of the room, Gon and Killua stand chained to the wall. Surely one of the Troupe's Nen is making the chain cuffs stronger than ordinary cuffs, otherwise Gon would have broken out already. Or maybe they haven't broken out because they're scared of Feitan.

Gon's eyes brighten at the sight of the fake Hisoka, whereas Feitan's do the opposite.

"I told you not to come back down here," Feitan says to Illumi, his voice dark.

Illumi is smirking with Hisoka's lips, but he says nothing. His left eye twitches a bit.

You straighten your back, knowing that confidence is key, despite Illumi's words telling you not to fight an enemy that you know is stronger. "You're Feitan, right?"

Feitan looks at you. He stands up, then whips a thin sword out of seemingly thin air. He's already prepared for a fight.

"Have you come to die, (Y/N)?"

Your eyes widen a bit. How does he know your name? Forcing yourself to hide your shock, you frown and take battle stance. "I came to say hi, and I intend to take Killua and Gon with me when I leave."

Killua stares at the two of you in silence. Surely, his mind is running through every possible outcome of the present situation. By now, he probably figured out that Hisoka is actually his older brother in disguise.

Feitan chuckles. "That won't be happening."

There is a moment of silence. You and Feitan are both waiting for the other person to make the first move.

Just then, Feitan jumps into the air and leaps forward with impressive speed. Illumi slides out of the way, leaving you out in the open. You whip your red folding fan out and jump up in the path of Feitan's blade, preparing to ruin his attack—and his weapon. Feitan's eyes widen with shock at your unexpected move; he surely thought your only option was to dodge.

In an instant, Feitan's blade is in two.

He lands on his feet, eyes glistening with abhorrence. You used your Nen-strengthened fan to cut his blade in half. The pointed end of metal falls to the ground, shining against the dusty concrete.

He sneers under the cover of his jacket. "Once I kill you, I'll torture both of those rascals until they're begging for their lives," he growls.

"You won't get the chance if you're dead!" you snap.

You notice that Feitan's keeping a close eye on Illumi. This means that Illumi cannot make a move to break the boys out or else someone will die.

There is another series of attacks, wherein Feitan thrusts his half-sword at you and you are forced to dodge. He lands a cut under your left eye, then a kick over your right rib cage, which hurts really bad. After the kick, you fall backwards and slam into the wall behind you.

I'm losing.

You have to thing of something, and quick. Time is running low; at this rate, Feitan will have your head on a platter in minutes. Then, he will take care of Killua and Gon, and Illumi will be forced to take action, revealing his true identity.

"If you want, I can just kill the boys now."

A fierce exhale of hatred escapes your lips.

Feitan prepares to throw his broken sword at one of the boys. You cannot tell which one he is aiming at.

You have less than a half of a second to think.

That's right, I have my blue fan!

But is Feitan targeting Killua or Gon? Who should you move to defend? And neither of the boys know the conditions of your shield, so your defense only has a small chance of success.

Feitan prepares to launch his sword.

You make a split-second decision and start to move towards Gon.

Feitan heeds your movement and launches the broken sword at Killua.

But your move towards Gon was a feint. You knew he would throw his attack at the boy you did not move to defend. You jump in front of Killua at the last second, one hand touching the boy's shoulder and the other holding your blue hand.

"I love you," you say so quickly and so quietly that Killua would have to be listening with inhumane intensity to hear it.

You have placed all your trust in Killua. If he does not say 'I love you,' back, your fan will be deemed useless and Feitan's attack will hit you, perhaps with a lethal outcome since you have no Nen left to defend yourself. Every drop of Nen is pooled in your blue fan in the hopes that it will protect both you and Killua.

"I love you, too."

In less than a millisecond, an invincible blue orb forms around you and Killua. Feitan's sword thrusts into it, but bounces right off and flies into the opposite wall, leaving you and Killua unharmed. Now feeble, the leather-clad man's weapon clanks to the concrete floor.

Feitan takes a jarred step backwards.

You will the shield away, but you are shocked, too. How did Killua know what to say? That would mean he either took a chance and guessed the conditions on your fan or Illumi told his younger brother about your powers.

"Hisoka, knock him out!" shouts Gon.

Gon's words serve as a warning to Feitan, so now Illumi cannot make a move. Illumi is leaning against one wall with his arms crossed, glaring at Gon. Illumi's eyebrow twitches.

Gon glares back at him. He's about to say something else when Killua cuts him off.

"Gon, run!"

Gon's face falls. He is frozen.

Feitan doesn't move. Nobody does. If anyone moves, the other team will make a move in retaliation.

You shoot a look at Gon. "Escape, now!" you hiss.

Suddenly, a determined frown creases the youthful skin on Gon's face. Bright orange aura gathers around his wrists and ankles, forcing the chain cuffs to quiver and snap apart. So the reason they hadn't broken out earlier was simply because of Feitan's presence, not because the chains were too strong.

At the same time as Gon is breaking out, you summon your red fan and slash Killua's chains apart in one fell swoop.

Both of the boys are free, but now they need to escape, and Feitan needs to be taken care of.

There is a thump.

Feitan has fallen. A yellow needle is sticking out of his throat.

Gon and Killua gasp. Your eyes dart towards Illumi, who looks like his regular self once again.

He took a chance. By taking advantage of Feitan's shock, he threw a neddle at the man's neck, which, if dodged, would have surely ended up in Killua's demise.

"Come on. We don't have much time," Illumi says. He runs out of the room and up the stairs, leaving all three of you stunned.

"You heard him! Let's go!" Killua says, but his voice is quivering. Perhaps the presence of his older brother has shaken him a bit. No matter, the blunt of the fighting is over. Now all you have to do is escape.

In a matter of seconds, all four of you are outside.

Gon immediately starts yelling incomprehensibly at Killua, but his white-haired friend remains silent. You wonder vaguely why they were kidnapped in the first place. What are those devious little boys up to?

Illumi places a hand on your back.

"Gon, Kil, go into Yorknew and meet up with Hisoka. (Y/N) and I will catch up in a moment."

Gon nods, his expression clouded with determination once again. Him and Killua leave, running for Yorknew. Hisoka will probably text them, revealing his location so the boys can find him.

"Are you okay?"

You glance at Illumi. For a moment, you do not say anything under the glare of his abysmal black eyes. A quiet wind whirls through the air, making his long hair swirl around his ashen face in inky tendrils.

A plume of gratitude blossoms in your stomach. He must care if he has the conscience to ask if you are okay.

"Yeah," you tell him.

Hisoka was wrong. Illumi does care about you.

Right?