Hi, minna! Here's another chapter for you guys, hope you like it. Remember to tell me what you think, and don't forget to vote for my book for the HxH Watty Awards. You only have until June 17! This chapter is dedicated to I_Am_Number1. Hope you're reading this, dude, cuz this chapter's a big one! Stay awesome! Happy New Year!

As I surfaced back to consciousness, a rush of headache crashed through my skull. It was like a thousand needles were piercing through my brain, and I haven't even opened my eyes yet. When I slowly cracked them open, the morning light coming from the window burnt my vision. I immediately fled underneath my covers. My stomach was feeling so queazy that I had no choice but to curl up in a ball, holding it tight from bursting. What was the matter with me? Why was my head pounding so much?

Suddenly, I heard the door open and quietly closed. Someone walked over to the side of my bed, settling down a heavy object on my bedside. The person gently patted me on the shoulder. "Hey, Yuki. Are you awake?" a voice softly whispered. There was no mistaking who's voice that was. I lowered my blanket to confirm that it was  my boyfriend. "Good morning," he smiled.

"Kil... lua?" I groaned. "Wha... what are you... Doing here?"

"I figured you wouldn't be feeling so well in the morning, so I took the liberty of nursing you back to health. Can you sit up?"

I lowered my blanket and slowly tried to slide myself up against my pillow. It felt like every force in the universe was coursing into my head, so much that was too painful to hold in. I couldn't really understand anything, like why was I feeling so sick.

"Here, drink this," Killua said as he handed me a glass of what looked like orange juice. "You need to stay hydrated." He picked it up from the tray with a cereal bowl. I picked up the cup, holding it hard so that I wouldn't drop it, then brought it to my lips. Killua helped me tip it up so that I could sip the refreshness of citrus.

"Thanks," I said after three gulps. I pressed my palm hard against my forehead. "What happened last night? My head hurts so much... I can't remember anything."

"Uh, well..."Killua suddenly averted his eyes away, his cheeks tinted pink. "You just slipped and hit your head, that's all," he quickly stated.

"Ouch. Is that what really happened to me?"

"N-nothing else happened, if that's what you're implying!"

"Okay, all right," I said awkwardly. Killua seemed a bit jumpy for some reason.

He handed me the cereal, and I placed it on my lap. I didn't feel like eating because my stomach was like a knot at the moment, but I guess I have to eat something. "Hey, Yuki. I've been thinking..." Killua started.

"What is it?" I asked, scooping a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. I slowly munched on the crunchy honey oats, sucking in the cold milk.

Killua nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well... I've kinda been avoiding this for a while, mostly because I was scared... Heh, still am..."

I swallowed. "I'm listening."

Killua put his hand down and looked at me straight in the eye. "I think it's time that I should meet your mother."

"Oh," was my response. I guess it wasn't fair that mom allowed me to date but never actually met my boyfriend before. There were times that she asked to meet him, but Killua always claimed that he was busy when I knew he was just running away. It wasn't like he actually does his homework. "I think that's a great idea. It's actually about time, you big chicken."

"Hey! It's a lot scarier than you think. What if she doesn't like me?" He began to sound stressed.

"Oh, don't worry. My mom is an easy person. She's super nice, and I'm sure she'll like you as long as you're open. Just stay calm."

"But how will  she react once she knows about my secret?"

"That's why it's a secret," I said. She doesn't necessarily need to know. And besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Mom may be a friendly, reasonable person, but she would flip if she knew I was dating an ex-assassin.

Killua had this look of uncertainty. "So you think she'll really like me?"

"Trust me. She'll love you." To be honest, I couldn't remember mom ever hating anyone. The only times she ever got mad at anyone was if they messed up her schedule, or got her order wrong. "I can ask her for a date she's free and we can have a family dinner together."

"Okay. That sounds like a plan," he forced a smile, his feet still shaking. I giggled from watching how adorably messed up he looked.

"Yeah. I sure hope-" out of nowhere, I felt a gush in my stomach rushing up fast, warning my hand to cover my mouth. I bent over naturally through the nausea. Something warm was coming up from the back of my throat.

"Oh crap," Killua muttered as he hastily pulled up a trash bin which he had prepared next to him. I plunged my face inward and let it all out, Killua patting me on the back.

When I was all done, Killua filled me in about Leorio and Kurapika. Apparently, they were leaving today, which was a shame, because I wanted to spend some more time with them. They seemed to be very busy people I guess, Leorio working hard to become a doctor, and Kurapika as a tough bodyguard for a very important business person. Killua kept me companied throughout the morning until my head cleared up and I was feeling better.

***

Tonight was a big night. In a few minutes, Killua would come to my house to have dinner with the family. He and my mom would get to know each other, Rin can start warming up to him, then Killua and I will continue having a happy and healthy relationship together.

Right now, Rin was watching TV while mom was getting her special lasagna ready. I could smell the various cheese and tomato sauce rising from the oven. I turned to the mirror hanging on the wall next to the door. I check my hair and clothes, making sure nothing was out of place. I pulled a lock of hair behind my ear and fixed my brand new white headband perfectly. For this occasion, I decided to wear my lavender blouse with a V-neck, a white spaghetti strap underneath, and black pants.

My mother sighed as she wiped her forehead. "Almost done," she said. "How's my hair? Is my hair still okay?" She began running her fingers through her hair in attempt to fix what was not messy in the first place.

"Your hair's fine, mom."

"It's about time I get to meet my little girl's mysterious boyfriend."

"Mysterious indeed," my brother commented.

"You met this Killua before, Rin. What's he like?"

Rin made eye contact with me from the mirror, and I shot a glare back in that same reflection. "A pretty cool guy, I guess," he answered. I nodded at him in approval. Good answer.

The doorbell rang. "Oh my gosh, he's here!" I panicked.

"Good. Right on time," my mom said as she opened the oven, putting on her mittens to take the tray out.

I was getting so nervous that my heart was pounding. Over the past three days, I was the one who kept telling Killua to keep his cool, but now that this moment have arrived, I was a nervous wreck. I suddenly realized that it was very important that Killua would make a very good impression on mom.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Killua stood there smiling at me, wearing a purple dress shirt with dark denim pants and shoes. Man he looked handsome.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey. Come right in." I held the door open and stepped aside as he entered. When mom straightened up with dinner in her hands, she exchanged a bright smile.

"Why hello, there. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Good evening, ma'am. My name is Killua Zoldyck, and it is a ple-" Killua's sentence was interrupted when the glass tray shattered onto the floor, the lasagna making a tomato mess in the kitchen. I was startled when that happened. Rin immediately turned off the television, paying more attention to what was going on. Mom's face drastically changed, as if she saw a ghost.

"What... What did you say your name was?" she asked horrified.

Shoot! I should have taken account that she might've heard the Zoldyck name before. "Now, mom," I began to speak calmly. "I know what you're thinking, but-"

"Get out," she sternly demanded before listening to reason. Her expression immediately transformed to rage. I was shocked to see her this way. Even though the Zoldycks have made a reputation of being the most deadly assassins, she was too quick to judge and anger. What could Killua have possibly done wrong to upset her? "I said get out of my house. Now!"

"I'm terribly sorry." Killua bowed and turned back toward the door.

"Killua, wait for me outside, okay?" I quickly whispered to him. He didn't give me any response, for he was already out of the door, closing it quietly behind him. I turned to mom furiously.

"What was all that about?" I yelled at her. Rin winced as mom glared at me with the stare that always intimidated me, but not this time. This time I was more mad at her than afraid.

Rin just sat there in the middle of our fued, sinking deeper in the couch to take refuge from the battle taking place. "Rin, got to your room. Right now."

"Okay." Rin, being the obedient baby he was, obeyed without question and scurried into his room. I wouldn't blame him. It was best to avoid the fight and not witness what was about to go down.

"Mom, why did you say that? Did you really had to be hard on him like that just because of his background?"

"You knew about this?" She pointed at me accusingly, eyes filled with fire.

"Yes, but Killua isn't like his family. He's completely different."

"Have you met his family before?"

"Uh... well, not entirely..."

"You mean you actually met these killers in person?!" she snapped back with an even more powerful roar. "Since when?"

For a moment, I almost hesitated, but I had to keep defending Killua, Alluka as well in that matter. "It doesn't matter. You don't even know him. He's not even an assassin anymore." I really hoped that Rin couldn't hear any of this through his walls. I hoped he was playing his mindless video games with the volume on high, drowning out the noise.

"I don't need to, and I don't care what he is. No child of mine will associate with any Zoldyck!"

"Why?!" I yelled.

"Because!" My mother was clenching the chair when she screamed that. She paused and retracted a little as she tried to recompose herself. We both managed to calm down with the few seconds pause we had. "I never told you, did I?" she asked more calmly.

"Told me what?" I took a step closer in anticipation.

"It's about your father," she said.

"What?" This suddenly came out of nowhere. She rarely brought the subject of dad up, and of all times, why now? "What did dad have to do with any of this?"

"Your father was murdered... by a Zoldyck."

At that point time stood still for me. We both didn't say another word. All I could hear was the steady beating of my heart. A family member of mine was killed by Killua's family, or so she claimed. That seemed too far fetched. It was way too coincidental. There was just no way, of all assassins in the world. It had to be done by someone else with the name of Zoldyck. How would she even know the killers who did it?

"No..." was all I could get out. "It can't be... It can't be true." It was unbelievable that someone from Killua's family could've taken my father away. I didn't want to believe it.

"Yuki, why would I lie about this?" My mother said, sympathetically.

"What evidence do you have to back that up? How do you know if it was a Zoldyck?"

"Because it was your father who identified them," she simply stated, without her gaze wavering, not once. "Your father's last act was a phone call that notified the security of the situation. He was very skilled at analytic research, so he was able to identify the highly wanted assassins. Your father died a hero." She took another deep breath. "Please, just take my word for it. Don't ever see that boy again. I don't want to lose you too."

I shook my head. Was it because I didn't want to believe her statement, or disagree with her order. What did she mean by lose me? Did she think that Killua would hurt me? Not in a million years. Even though I know this, I was still very confused on how I should feel. Without telling my body to do so, I was inching farther and farther away from her. "Yuki, do you understand me?" I didn't know how to reply. I slowly backed away until I spun around and whipped the door open. I ran through, ignoring the shouts my mother gave me. "Yuki, get back in here!"

Killua was waiting in the middle of our yard. When he looked up to me, I faced down. I ran toward him without any time to stop and explain. "Come with me," I said as I took his hand while running. Killua was quick to run with me despite the confusion, and was able to keep up.

I didn't care where we ran, as long as it was far away from the house. "Yuki, what happened? Where are we going?" Killua asked me as he followed behind. I didn't reply, mostly because I needed the air to keep me going.

Eventually, we stopped in the middle of the park. I didn't know whether it was because of habit coming here, or it was just a place calling out to me to take refuge. I rested my hands on my knees, panting like crazy. My hair was probably a mess now.

"I'm sorry," Killua apologized. "Your mom must really hate me. Don't worry, I'm sure in time, we'll find a way to get your mom to-"

"October twenty-eighth!" I blurted out as I heaved.

"Huh?" I turned to him and straightened my back with clenched fists.

"Eight years ago on October twenty-eight. There was a board meeting at the Marble Complex. The CEO, one of his colleagues, and five of his bodyguards were assassinated. Does any of that mean anything to you?" I felt bad for unfairly throwing accusations at him, but I needed to confirm myself if it was all false.

Killua was baffled. "Yuki, why are you asking me this so suddenly?"

"Because... it's..." I reached for his hand, and he allowed me to take it. I was trembling for whatever I was about to say next. "That was the day my dad died. He was murdered in that scene."

[Press Play]

Killua paused, his eyes widening in fear. He held his breath, not saying a single word. "Wha-what's with that face?" I asked, etching an unnatural smile. "Isn't this the part where you ask me what that means? Aren't you going to laugh, or get angry? Say something."

"Yuki, I..." He looked down, which was alarming to me. Why was he hesitating?

"Killua, just tell me that it means absolutely nothing to you, then I'll take everything back!" Killua faced down, not allowing me to see his eyes. "Killua, please." Tears were trickling down my cheeks at this point. "Just say 'no, it means nothing to me'."

"I can't..." then lifted his face with a serious expression. "I was there."

My breath hitched as my blood went cold. I was completely stunned. His hand easily slipped out of my loose grasp. He was there. Mom said a Zoldyck killed my father. It seemed hard to believe, but the hints were there. Killua was involved in my father's death.

I was so shocked that I didn't even realize that Killua started walking away from me. "Killua, wait!" I stretched my arm out to him, but my feet were still immobilized from the shock. Killua stopped. I thought he was going to look back, but instead, he only vanished in front of my eyes with a swoosh in the wind.

"Killua?" I moved toward the spot where I last saw him, then surveyed around the lamp lit park. "Killua, where did you go? Killua!" More salty water poured down my cheeks as I looked around historically.

Tonight wasn't supposed to turn out this way. It was supposed to be a nice evening for bonds to be formed, not to be broken. I was supposed to spend it with Killua, but he was gone.

I was left completely alone in the night. Killua wouldn't have ran away without a reason, probably out of shame or guilt, which meant everything my mom said was true. That didn't even matter to me anymore. What stabbed me in the heart was that Killua left me all alone without a word of where he was going or when he would be coming back. I fell to my knees as I cried to the night sky like a baby. No one was around to watch me wallow, so there was no use on holding back.

He left me.

To be continued...
The Returning Promise