Hey, minna! Just a short announcement this time. Here's the chapter you guys ordered for! It's a long one, so it's sure to be good. This chapter is dedicated to @KillualsForever. Thanks for reading & commenting! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Remember to vote, share, and comment. Stay awesome!

The streets were quiet with the van the only vehicle parked outside. Ikalgo and I sat quietly on the front seats of the van, waiting patiently while putting our hopes in our friends that they would return safely.

"Hey, did you hear that?" I asked with my head raised.

"Hear what?" Ikalgo responded.

I pointed behind us. "I think I heard something from the back."

Ikalgo gave me doubtful look, but turned to the side mirror anyways to check the rear. "Hmm... I'll go check it out. Wait here." He opened the door, hopped off, the shut the door behind him. When he walked away out of sight, I quickly dove for the keys and yanked them out of the ignition. Once I had the keys in my possession, I quickly, but quietly, exited the van, softly closing the door behind me, then made haste to the back.

When I heard the clicking sound of the back door from the right, I swiftly moved behind the octopus without him noticing, shoved him inside with surprise, and slammed the door shut while locking it.

"Oi, what are you doing?!" Ikalgo yelled as his tentacles banged against the metal doors.

"I'm sorry," I apologized as I clicked on the lock button of the car key remote, the headers flashing once with a loud beep. I had to make sure that even if he slipped through the glove window, he wouldn't be able to use the front doors. "I have to do this. I promise I'll come back to unlock you out."

While ignoring his muffled calls, I ran toward the symphony building, the adrenaline powering my legs as they carried me there.

I knew that it was dangerous and Killua ordered me to stay behind, but I didn't care. This was a family matter, my family, and no one was going to stop me from trying to save him.

***

I tried going through the back door at first, but it was under a security lock which would be impossible to open without a pass code. I had no choice but to sneak my way through the front entrance. I was surprised that the front door was opened, but thought that I shouldn't be since the caller would be expecting me.

When I entered through the glass double doors, I no longer felt that rush of adrenaline through my veins, only fear. I felt stupid for letting my emotions take over my actions and making me do something stupid again, but I couldn't turn back after coming this far. Even though I could get myself into trouble and get hurt, I just felt this sense of duty to be the big sister my little brother needs right now. No, it wasn't just that. It was because Rin is my brother and I wouldn't let anything happen to him, because I love him. So I forced myself to move onward.

Inside, the lobby was dark, but I was able to make out the chandeliers dangling from the ceiling just by the outside light glimmering against the crystals. The marble reception counters were clean, and the vases of artificial plants remained still and lifeless. The main stair case of velvet red carpet escalated from the middle to the second floor. Two other doors stood on either side. I took the one on the left.

I have never been inside of an ample theatre before. The room inside was breathtaking. Five columns of at least forty rows of chairs stretched down to the stage, two open stories of more rows of chairs, and several balconies on each side of the stage. The walls, balcony windows, and the stage were framed with red drapes and curtains. At the top the room displayed a dome window, showing the glass ceiling of stars, providing only a little light in the room.

I walked down the isle blindly, not sure where I was supposed to go, or where to even begin searching for Rin.

The thought of encountering Killua and Gon at some point struck my mind, and I instantly felt scared and reluctant. Killua would be so mad at me. He would scold me before sending me back to Ikalgo. I ran my hand roughly through my hair. Ugh, what am I going to do?

Suddenly, a beam of light shot down from the ceiling directly to the stage. As I followed that bright yellow light, I gasped when my eyes hit the other end. In the spot light shone Rin sitting on his knees, hands behind his back and eyes closed.

"Rin!" I cried as I raced down the sloping isle to the stage. My heart was picking up speed as I didn't take my eyes off of him. I became overly worried of why Rin was such a state. Is he sleeping? Is he even alive? When I finally made it to the bottom, I climbed over the edge and followed the light toward the unconscious boy kneeling at the centre of the stage.

Right when I was close enough to grab him, there was a mechanical sound of instant clicking and turning coming from the stage, then suddenly his body disappeared into the floor, slipping through my arms. Under my nose was a square hole which immediately shut closed with the hidden door on the floor. I dropped down to my knees with my hands pressing against the trapped door that swallowed my brother. The wooden surface was too firm for me to open by force. Why did that happen, I thought. He was right there. I was so close.

Someone else turned on another head beam from up stairs. I looked up toward the direction of the light, and standing in the spotlight was a man with long, raven black hair and black eyes, wearing green pants and a green vest with yellow buttons poked-dotted around it. His expression was emotionless and unreadable.

I stayed down as I stared silently at the stranger standing at the far side of the stage from me.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Yuki," the stranger spoke first, breaking the silence. I immediately recognized his voice as the caller on my phone. This was definitely the man who took my brother.

"H-how do you know my name?" I managed to asked. Every fiber of my body was telling to get up and run for my life, but I couldn't abandon Rin now. Either way, I don't think I could move at all. It was like staring at his eyes alone formed an anchor on my legs, restricting me from getting up.

"That's because I've been watching you," he simply answered, which creeped me out. I waited for his reason, but he was taking too long. It was obvious that he has been watching Killua and Alluka all this time, and I just happened to be in the picture, so he wanted to use my brother as a wager for Alluka for whatever his reason may be. Wishes, power, whatever he wanted, but he wasn't going to get any.

"Look, I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Alluka, but please let my brother go. I'll do anything else you ask. Just let him go," I literally begged on my hands and knees, hoping that he might want anything else. It scared me thinking that I might give this creep even my life, but this was all I could say for now until Killua and Gon could reach me.

The strange, tall man tilted his head. "Oh, that's okay. I had a feeling you wouldn't bring Alluka. I just wanted to meet to you."

"What?" I let out in bewilderment. This guy was insane. If he really wanted to meet me, he could've just walked up to me and say hello instead of going through all this trouble. Who exactly was this guy? "If it's only me you wanted, then why did you threatened my little brother's life?!" I yelled back, and without knowing, I somehow found the strength to stand again.

"I was testing you to see how you would behave. If you had done what I said and brought in Alluka for a trade with a stranger... I would've killed you." My heart stopped for a second as I gulped down something in my throat. Probably my courage. This man was testing me if I would betray Alluka or not. If I had done the other way, I would've been done for. He said it so casually too, like it was a small penalty for getting the wrong answer. "But you came here without her and brought Gon and Killua instead, which was the right choice."

I remembered to breathe, then cleared my throat and engulfed some more air. "How do you know Alluka and Killua?" I slowly asked.

The man slightly slammed his fist in his palm of a sudden brain burst. "Oh, where are my manners? I guess I should've introduced myself first. Silly me," he sighed, knocking himself on the head, then placed his hand politely on his chest. "I'm Illumi Zoldyck."

"Zoldyck... Zoldyck?!" I gasped in astonishment, not comprehending this at all. "You mean... you're... Killua and Alluka's older brother?"

"Indeed, I am Killua's older brother," he confirmed. My head was spinning at this point. So Killua's brother was the one who kidnapped my brother, just so that I could bring Killua and Alluka to him? That didn't make any sense. Why couldn't he meet them in person. Just what kind of family did they come from? I then instantly remembered what Alluka told me about their family a while back. They used to keep her locked up in a basement, so Killua and her ran away from home. Since Illumi was speaking to me now, would that mean he was here to take them back?

I had so many questions swimming through my mind, but I had to be careful about what I say, because if there was only one thing I learned about Killua's family, it would be that they are not normal people. This guy even told me that he could kill me if he wanted to. One wrong word, and it would be lights out.

"So if you're their brother, why come to me if you can just go up to them yourself?" I asked, trying to sound strong and brave, when really, I was just hiding behind those words.

"I can't get near them," he replied. "Besides, it's really you I wanted to see, not them. That whole thing about wagering your sibling for Alluka was just a fares to bring you here."

"So what do you want with me then?" I asked suspiciously. If his objective wasn't Alluka or Killua, then what would he want with a normal girl like me?

He began walking toward me, which made me shudder. "I brought you here to tell you one thing." His face then became serious with his eyebrows scrunched. "Stay away from Killua."

I was taken aback by that somewhat request. It was scary, but at the same time rude. I didn't know why he said that, but it made me very angry. Who was he to order me around? "Stay away from- Are you threatening me?" I snapped back. I didn't even care that I raised my voice at him, no matter how powerful or frightening he may be. He ruined my night by kidnapping my brother, luring me here in this musty place, and threatened my relationship with the guy of my dreams.

His expression seemed to calm down. "No. I'm trying to warn you."

"Of what? Killua and Alluka would never hurt me."

"Alluka is one thing, as long as Killua has it under his control, but Killua on the other hand is the one you need to look out for."

When I heard Illumi call Alluka 'it', something stirred inside of me, straining the muscles inside my hands to lock them into fists. He may think that Alluka and Something may be a monster, but referring them as an object was going too far. Have they had no compassion to their family member? "You say that you're their brother... yet you don't sound like it. How could you say such things about your siblings!" I screamed, the echoes bouncing back and forth from the walls of the auditorium.

"Because Killua was born a killing machine."

"Stop that! Killua isn't like that," I continued to protest. Sure Killua is amazingly strong and spilled some blood in the past, but the Killua I met was a kind, sweet and gentle person. He would never go psycho and massacre people.

"But it's the truth. Our parents and I made sure he was raised that way."

"What?"

"Allow me to share with you a little family insight. You see, I'm not sure if you've heard of us, but the Zoldyck family is infamously known to be the most deadliest assassins in the world. Since birth, the children would be trained in the art of assassination. Even at a young age, Killua learned and became a skilled fighter."

"What? Killua... an assassin?" My whole world began spinning around in a mash as I processed this new given information. "No... you're lying. Killua's a Hunter, not an assassin!"

"It's true that he's a Hunter now, but he's an assassin at birth. He has killed more people than you can imagine, target or not a target."

"Stop it! I don't want to hear it!" I yelled as I covered my ears, shaking my head. I didn't want to implant the ideas of Killua being a senseless, bloody murderer in my head. With one last step, I was already looking down at his feet. Up close, I noticed that the yellow circles weren't actually buttons, but needle heads. I looked up to see the traced, shadowy features of his face as he looked down on me. "As one who lives in the shadows, he can only find pleasure when people die. What good can you benefit from someone like him? Being around someone like him, your future will have nothing but suffering and despair." He then looked straight ahead over my shoulder. "Isn't that right, Kil?"

I lowered my hands to my sides as I slowly turned around. Killua was standing at the side of the stage behind the wing, glowering at Illumi.

"Aniki..." he muttered in an empty voice. Killua walked closer from the shadows, expressing nothing but a death glare. He stopped midway from me.

"Killua..." Was all I could get out. How long was he standing there? How much did he hear. Could he not be standing right next to me right now because I knew his secret? I wasn't sure how I was supposed to face him now, or even look at him. Was it really true of what Illumi said? Could Killua be lying to me this whole time? But the Killua I knew was protective, and wouldn't just kill people if he wanted to. My mind was boggled.

"Are you all right, Yuki?" he calmly asked. I could only nod in reply.

"Funny how you ask that to her, Kil," Illumi spoke. "Considering that your only concern when you meet people is wether you should kill them."

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Yuki, don't listen to him. It's not true."

I felt a sense of relief flowed into me when I finally heard words that made sense. In my heart, I knew it wouldn't be true, because the Killua I know is good.

"Killua, you can't deny what you really are," Illumi began speaking to him.

"That's right, and I'm not an assassin anymore. I'm a pro Hunter now," he boldly stated, having more vigor in his voice now. When he said that, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take it. So it's true that Killua was an assassin before. Then what else did Illumi say was true, and what else could Killua be hiding from me?

"Killua, are you fond of this woman?" Illumi asked. Killua's eyes flashed in surprise. I only remained quiet as they continued the conversation. "Ah, I had a feeling. Then let me lend you a word of advice. You can't have a girlfriend because it's impossible for you to love."

"Who are you to say the things I can and can't do?!" Killua shouted at him ferociously.

"It's the same of why you cannot make friends, however, you still fail to see that. If you get too close to this girl, she'll one day betray you. If not, then you will betray her."

"You're words don't scare me anymore, and you have no control over my life," he said as he threw his index finger at him.

"If you stay with her too long, you'll just end up killing her. What if she breaks your heart? Surely, you would want to kill her then. I'm only trying to protect you."

"Shut up! Yuki, don't listen to a word he says. Run and get out of here!"

Words could no longer reach me at this point. My mind was aching, as if all logic has melted from overheating. I didn't know what to believe in anymore. When I told my legs to move and walk away, all they did was give up. I dropped down and sat on the floor again. I just didn't know what to do anymore.

"Yuki!"

"You see that, Killua? That girl is already doubting you. Poor thing."

"Shut up! Yuki, get it together."

Killua... Doubt... Haven't I already been through a situation like this before?

... I knew you would come. I mean, I did had my doubts, but not anymore...

That's right. I said that. When I was captured by the Phantom Troupe, Killua was the one who saved me. Even now, Killua's here for me. Illumi's words just didn't match Killua's actions. What am I wavering for? Killua has always been there for me, and always will be. He would never betray me.

"Killua..." I quivered. All of a sudden, tears began to fall uncontrollably from my eyes. Before I could properly face him, I wiped away the water. "I believe in you," I said with confidence. For the first time since he came here, Killua smiled. It was at that point that I didn't care what anyone says about Killua, because I knew him better than anyone else. As long as he's with me, I would always stay by his side.

"Awe, well this won't work," Illumi sighed. I turned to him to see him shaking his head in disappointment. "It appears that you're so simpleminded that you can't understand a word I say. Then there's no use in keeping you around anymore."

He began moving his hand slowly closer to my face. All of a sudden, I was immobilized by a kind of fear I never knew existed. I literally could not budge. It was almost like how a dear looks into the headlights before being killed. Everything was in slow motion now. Was this what he was about to do? Kill me? This sensation that caused the hairs on my neck to stand up was coming from the malice energy he emitted. Could this be the Nen Killua was talking about? How horrifying.

At the split second before I was touched, Illumi leaped a few spaces away with Killua suddenly right before my eyes, his arm extending outward and his hand straight like a dagger. Even his nails were sharp. "Don't you dare TOUCH HER!" Killua snared. He came in so fast that he almost looked like a blur.

He landed on his feet, standing protectively in front of me. As Illumi stood there, he pinched something from his shoulder and brought it into view. It was too small to see, but the stage light reflecting off of the thin strand revealed that it his own cut hair. When he let go, he looked at Killua with that same, expressionless face.

"My, have you grown guts, Kil," he said. I looked at Killua, who had uneven breathing and a sweat down his cheek. "You know you're not strong enough to beat me yet, which is why you still can't defy me. But mark my words, Kil. You'll regret your decision, and I will know every secret you're hiding."

"You may be stronger than me, and that we can't kill each other, but pulling Yuki and her family into this was even a low for you. If you threaten any of her loved ones again, I'll cut more than just the hair off your head."

"Gotcha." When he said that, he disappeared in a blink of an eye, moving fast like how I saw Killua moved when he left the van.

When Illumi vanished, I inhaled and lungful of air while pressing my hand against my heart, trying to maintain it from popping out of my chest. That moment would be remembered as the most horrifying moment of my life. More stressful than any test I have every taken.

Killua spun around and kneeled down to my level with his eyes flushed with concern. "Yuki, are you okay?!" he asked in an urgent voice, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Illumi didn't hurt you, did he?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. Just a little exhausted I guess. Um... Sorry for spacing out earlier."

Killua gave a great sigh, then pulled me in an embrace. "Thank goodness." At first I felt awkward and embarrassed about him suddenly hugging me, but the relief and comfort began flooding over me. I welcomed it as I hugged him back, my arms sliding up from under his arms to his back. It was just what I needed.

The hug was cut short when he was the first to break it. He must've realized his sudden action and regretted it. "Um... Sorry."

"I-it's fine," I said. After everything that happened, I remembered something important. "Oh my gosh, what about Rin?!" I panicked, wrinkling his shirt under my curled fingers. I almost forgot the reason we came here.

"It's okay," Killua calmly said as he delicately removed my hands from his shirt. "Gon already got to him. They both should be waiting for us at the van by now."

Hearing that made my shoulder relax and my neck slouch. "Thank goodness," I sighed.

"Can you get up?" he asked.

"Unno... To be honest, I can't feel my legs right now," I said while trying to laugh. It was true though. After that horrifying episode, both of my legs felt numb from thigh to toes.

"Don't worry. I got you." With a smirk, Killua slipped his arms under my knees and back, then stood up straight while carrying me bridal style. I shrieked when he unexpectedly lifted me up, and he laughed. As he walked down the stage, I didn't complain, mostly because I like it. It was like being swept away by my night in shiny armor. Although, I didn't say anything else along the way because I was still trying to figure out what I should ask him. I know his secret now. If I'm going to put my faith in him, I want him to be fully honest with me first.

***

When we turned the corner of the sidewalk, we found Gon and Ikalgo waiting for us, sitting on the end of the opened back door. When Gon saw us, he got on his feet and began waving at us like a goofball. Leaning against the inside of the van's wall next to them was Rin, still sleeping.

"Rin!" I cried out. As I wiggled around in Killua's arms, he gently set my feet back down on the ground. I began running, but my legs still felt like jelly. It felt like my body was too heavy for my two limbs to handle. I fumbled a few times on the pavement road, but kept running and crawling toward my brother. Once I've finally reached him, I threw my arms around him in an embrace, hearing him breathe softly. I teared up, acknowledging that he was still alive. I hugged him closely so that nothing else could take him away from me again. After keeping him locked in my arms for a good minute, I checked his face and skin for any scratches, bruises, or anything out of the ordinary.

"He's fine," Gon reassured. "He's a little knocked out, but sound asleep. He'll be all right."

Another big sigh escaped my lips as a wave of relief washed over me. I turned to three of my friends, who were also heroes. "Thank you guys so much." I said from the bottom of my heart. If it weren't for their help, I didn't know how things could've turned out.

"It was no problem," Gon grinned, holding his hands behind his head.

Ikalgo was smiling at me as well. "Eh-heh... Sorry about earlier," I said, returning his keys. He humbly accepted them.

"It's all right. What matters is that you and your brother are safe now." He then hopped off of the back and began walking around the van toward the front. "I'll go ahead and drive you two home."

"Um, actually," I intervened. "Can you help me take Rin home? After that," I turned the the silver haired boy. "I want to talk to you." Killua looked at me with a disheartened expression, which meant he knew what was coming.

After agreeing to my request, Ikalgo drove us home. Gon and Killua sat up front while I stayed with Rin in the back. His head slept on my lap as I snoozed with my back against the wall throughout the trip. When we finally made it home, Gon and Killua both helped with carrying Rin quietly to his bed. After that, I asked Ikalgo to drop me and Killua off at the one place I wanted us to talk in private.

***

We both sat quietly on the bench under an oak tree in the middle of the park. This bench also had a front view of the lake, where the other side was just a massive wall of pine trees. We watched as the sun began peaking over the trees, changing the hues of the sky from violet to pink to orange.

"So... I guess you have a lot of questions." Killua spoke.

I took a deep breath from the nature air. "Is it true about what he said?"

"Which part?"

"About you used to being an assassin and coming from a family of assassins."

"Yes." We didn't look at each other as we spoke. We only faced the lake.

"Okay," was all I could say. Sure it was huge shock to me at first, but now I've passed that and just accepted the fact.

"Okay? That's all you have to say about that?" Killua began raising his voice.

"Yeah, because I know the rest of that other stuff your brother said wasn't true." Killua paused for a moment before speaking again.

"You're not afraid of me?" he asked.

"Frankly, I'm a little more afraid of your brother than of you. And why should I be? I wasn't afraid of you before, so why should I be afraid of you now?" I turned to him, trying to give him a cheery smile. But soon, my smile faded away when I saw that tear line coming from his eye. "Killua, what's the matter?" I asked.

"How could you be so sure?" he asked, his voice shaking as that lump in his throat throbbed.

"What do you mean? You don't kill anyone now. You're a good person."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true," I persisted. I didn't know what Killua's problem was. I was trying to give him some credit, yet he was making it harder on himself.

"Yuki, back on that day in the alley, when Alluka and I were attacked, I had the whole situation under control, but then you called out to me. When you did, it threw me off and the bullet grazed me. I got so angry... I was angry enough to kill him right there." I was taken aback with no words to say. I remembered clearly about everything that happened that day. When I called his name, I was trying to warn him. I thought I saved him, but as it turned out, I was the reason he got hurt.

"I'm sor-"

"And if it wasn't for you," he pulled his hand to cover his face, beginning to sob. "I would've actually killed him and gotten my hands stained again. Don't you see? My brother was right. I still have a soul of a killer." His shoulders jerked as he continued to weep, water leaking through his fingers. This was first time I have ever seen Killua cry.

I lightly squeezed the wrist of the hand covering his face. When he looked up, I placed my hands on both cheeks, gently forcing his gaze to face me. His tears were still pouring down over my hands.

"Killua, you were only trying to protect us from bad people," I calmly, yet firmly stated. Hopefully, I could knock some sense back into him. "Whatever skill you have, you use them for good. The person I see now isn't the killer back then."

Killua blinked his eyes at me after what I just said. He looked at me in a way which told me he did understand, because after that, he sat back straight up, wiping his tears with his sleeve.

"That was embarrassing," he sighed. When his eyes were all dried up, he still held his frown and faced the dirt ground. "You know, it's still not too late to forget about us."

"What?" I asked in confusion. Last night he confessed his love for me. Now he wanted us to split apart? As if the relationship we built this far could be easily broken now.

"You see, the reason why we enrolled in your school in the first place was so that Alluka could get to know what school is like. She has already gained so much experience, and to top it off, she made some wonderful friends. We can leave here, and you and your family don't have to worry about any danger anymore."

"I refuse," I replied.

When I turned to face Killua how serious I was, Killua turned toward me with disbelief. "What? But why? It's better for you to stay away from us before you get too attached."

"Then it's too late," I simply answered back. Without giving Killua a chance to protest, I took his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. "I'm already attached to you."

Killua gasped, his wide blue eyes glimmering. He then lowered his gaze when he threw it back to the lake. He held my hand tighter. "Ever since I was born, my parents raised me to be the perfect killer. My whole childhood was full of torturous training, my mind brainwashed with only thinking the way of an assassin. My whole life was planned out for me, and I hated it. I'm sick of killing. All I want to do now is protect Alluka and the ones I care about."

Hearing Killua say those words brought comfort and joy to my heart. He may used to be a ruthless assassin, but the Killua now is a gentle, kind person who wants to protect the ones he love. I knew he had a heart. It has always been there. "See, I knew you're good-hearted," I smiled. The colors coming from the sun were so beautiful and fruitful. I felt my eyelids growing heavy, but I wanted to stay awake to continue this conversation. Although, if I were to fall asleep now, I would fall asleep happily with this view of the sunrise being my last image to remember.

"What do you know about me?" he asked, his voice began drifting away as my vision grew darker.

"All I know... Is that I want to be with you." My words began to slur.

"Why?"

It became a struggle to keep my head up, my neck feeling weak. "Because, dummy..." When my strength gave up on holding my head, it fell on Killua's shoulders. I closed my eyes as I rested my head. "I like you too." After forcing those last words out of my mouth, I let the blissful sleep take over me.