Hi, minna! Missed me? I miss all of you. I also miss summer vacation, but hey. Summer can't last forever. I hope you all had a good start on back to school. As of now, I am a college student. Will that change anything? We'll see. After reflecting on some of the previous chapters, I've decided to take a little break from the seriousness and bring the fun back. Here's something I hope you guys will enjoy. Also, please let me know if you guys like the Cast Talks and if I should keep doing them. Like always, feel free to vote and comment. This chapter is dedicated to @NabilaYoworldian. I see you! Thanks for showing your support. Stay awesome, everyone! Trouble out.

(Killua's P.O.V.)

Dear Diary, so far things are finally settling in with Shiki around. I mean, sure she sometimes breaks into my room without permission just because she has nothing to do during her suspension, but at least we're making progress in getting along. It can get annoying sometimes though whenever I'm trying to concentrate on my studies. She just sits there at the corner of my room, playing with my brother's game council which she claims that she "borrowed." Sometimes, I catch glimpses of her watching me. It's really creeping me out. But it's not like she has anywhere else to go. She can't hang out in Lizz's house because Lizz doesn't trust Shiki looking through her stuff. I'm more worried that they might bite each other's heads off. Ain't no way I could let her hang around in Killua's place either, even if it meant Alluka and Gon staying there too. Which by the way, Killua told Shiki that Alluka is his sister, but not the part about Something. I guess that secret stays with us. Shiki was very surprised that Alluka was his little sister, but soon started kissing up to her more. Although, I think Alluka being Killua's sister is just a bonus for her, because it's obvious Shiki genuinely likes Alluka. I mean, she's adorable.

Even though staying friends with Killua is enough for Shiki, she still tries to steal him away. I should be worried, but not that much since Killua seems like he's about to puke every time she tries to flirt with him. That's my man.

My one month grounding will end in just one more week, which means I will finally be free to leave the house, hang with friends, and possibly go on a date with Killua. I feel like it's been so long since we've done something romantic together. I hope we could do something fun, like-

Before I could read the rest, Yuki's door clicked open with Yuki attached to the other end. She paused and processed as she saw me with her journal in my hands, then her eyes widened with fury. "Killua, what are you doing here? And is that my diary?"

I closed the book and settled it flat on her table, then I casually leaned back on her chair. "Maybe?"

"Oh, my gosh!" She shut the door behind her, grabbed her book and started pelting it at me. I raised my arm in defense, which she still continued hitting in her rage. It didn't hurt me, of course. There wasn't even any need to use Nen to protect myself, but I still let her do what she needed to express herself. She looked so embarrassed that it made me snicker. "How many times do I have to tell you not to read my diary!"

"If it's that precious, don't leave it lying around in plain sight."

Yuki put the book down but still held her firm ground. "I'm serious. Our relationship should be based on mutual trust. How can I trust you if you keep digging into my private life?"

"You can trust me just as much as I can trust you with our secrets," I said.

"I... Mm..." Yuki didn't had any words to counter that. She knew my family's secrets were much bigger than whatever sap she could write in her journal. She also knew as well as I do that she would never blackmail us for any personal gain. She's too sweet for that. "What did you read anyways?"

I smirked as I leaned back again, resting my feet up on the desk. "Just today's story. I limit myself into reading one entry per visit."

"Maybe I should add bars to my window."

"Only kidding. So you say you wanna do something together?"

Yuki started swinging her arms around as her eyes wandered off in thought. "Well, we haven't done something fun in a while. Winter break will be coming soon. Maybe we could... go Christmas shopping together or something?"

I blinked at that suggestion. "Christmas shopping?"

"Y-yeah! Sales are at best during the holidays. We could go out and buy Christmas gifts for our friends and stuff." Or maybe she just wanted us to go window shopping so that she could get ideas on what to get me.

Yuki looked upset when I started laughing. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"We can't go Christmas shopping together. Do you wanna risk each of us knowing what we're getting each other?"

Yuki blushed. "Ugh, oh please! Of course I knew that! I wouldn't go looking for your gift with you around me. I just wanted us to shop just for our friends, alone. Besides, I already know what to get you." She turned her chin up with her arms crossed.

"Yeah right," I teased.

"I so do!"

"Then what is it?"

"Psh! I'm not telling you. It would ruin the surprise.

"Humph." I sank back into the chair. "Even if you do have an idea on what to get me, forget it. You don't have to get me anything."

"What?" Yuki looked at me puzzled.

"I don't celebrate Christmas."

"What?!" Yuki's mouth dropped as she threw her arms down in shock. "Why not?"

"My family never celebrated Christmas once, and there was no point since I could always get whatever I want when I needed it."

Yuki shook her head. "But Christmas isn't at all about the presents. It's so much more than that. You spend it with the family and friends you care about."

That was the thing. Back then, I didn't like spending time with my family, and I had no friends. I stretched my arms out before folding my hands behind my head, relaxed. "I can do that anyway. Sure the festivities seem cool and all, but Alluka and I walk through it like any other day."

"No way. Not Alluka too." Yuki sounded sad and disappointed, mostly sorry for us. I didn't understand why she was so surprise that a family of killers didn't celebrate the birth of Christ. "In that case..." Yuki started thinking as she began pacing in her bedroom with her finger to her chin. When she looked at me, her eyes suddenly widened with recollection. "Wait a minute, what are you still doing here? I'm still grounded."

"Technically we're on the second floor, so..."

Before I knew it, Yuki started rocking the chair to push me off. "Out out out! Before my mom sees you." When I abruptly got back on my feet, she was still in a hurry to send me off.

"Agh! Okay," I surrendered. As usual, I opened her window and jumped down, landing on my feet, which was cushioned by the fallen leaves of autumn. I straightened up and took a deep breath of the cool air.

"Psst!" Someone whispered. I turned around to see Rin standing behind the glass screen door slightly opened.

"Oh, hey," I greeted. It has been a while since the last time I spoke to him. It made me curious why he was calling me so suddenly.

As I approached him, he looked both ways and back before discretely coming outside and closing the door in a smooth silence. "So what's up, Rin?" I asked.

"Can I... Can I ask you something? Man to man." He sounded nervous, but also serious.

"Sure," I shrugged.

Rin calmly took a deep breath. "How did you win my sister's heart?"

"Say what?"

"I want to know the secrets on how to get a girl to like you."

This was an odd thing I never expected to be asked. How old was Yuki's brother again? Twelve? The age when puberty kicks in.

"Oh, wait. This has to do with that Sally girl, doesn't it?" When Yuki brought me to her house for the first time, I remembered in my half consciousness hearing her tell Rin something about a girl he liked named Sally.

"How did you know?"

I chuckled as I rested my elbow on his perfect-height shoulder. "Kid. I know a lot of things, but that doesn't mean I'll help you in your current situation."

"Why not?" he asked disappointed.

As much as I would like to help him as a brother, this sort of thing was beyond me, despite being in a relationship myself. I was also not exactly sure how to answer his question, other than it was his sister's idiotic charm that captivated me, but I can't admit that. I guess I could tell him that it started when I saved her from danger. However, I can't let him do anything crazy and have Yuki blame me for it. In fact, if I manage to screw this up, Yuki might get mad at me for causing her brother's broken heart. "Let's see, how to explain this... I don't think I'm the right guy you should turn to for romantic advice. If anything, you should turn to a girl for what a girl wants. Why not talk to your sister about it?"

Rin vigorously shook his head and crossed out his arms. "Nah-ah. No way. She cannot know about this. If she finds out that I'm trying to woo someone, she'll only embarrass me and tease me about it for the rest of my life."

I could tell this kid has got some major confidence issues. When I was his age, the only thing I worried about was not dying on the job and running out of candy.

"Hmm... Maybe I know someone who could help. Care for a little field trip?"

"My mom's working right now so you better take me back home before six."

"All right, then. Hop on my back," I said as I turned around and lowered my back.

"How old do you think I am?" Rin said offended. "I don't do piggy-back rides anymore!"

"You're sister rides on my back all the time and she doesn't seem to be ashamed of it."

Rin threw his hands over his ears. "Ewe, I don't want to hear it!"

"Is this girl really important to you?" Embarrassed, Rin gave a hard nod. "Then swallow your pride and get on."

Rin groaned as he reluctantly moved his arms around my neck and uncomfortably climbed on. As his knees touched my hips, I had this sudden chill through my spine. "On second thought, we're not in a hurry. Let's just walk there."

"Agreed." Immediately, Rin hopped off. We walked the rest of the way in our awkward silence.

***

After walking five minutes, we finally arrived to Lizz's house.

"This is it?" Rin asked in disappointment. "This is the expert you think will help me? She's the first person who will tell my sister everything."

"Don't worry. You'd be surprised how good Lizz is good at keeping secrets." I patted him on the shoulder.

When we met the door, I rung the doorbell and waited a few seconds before a reply. "I'm coming!" Lizz called out from inside. When she opened the door, she was surprised at the sudden sight of Rin and I together. "Hey. What brings you two here?"

"This little man," I said as I placed my hand on Rin's shoulders. "needs some tips on how to get a date."

Lizz gasped, then melted. "Awwwwwe!" She tilted her head in adoration as she teased her hands to her chest. Rin looked away as he blushed.

I leaned in closer and whispered, "But keep it a secret, you know what I mean?"

Lizz smiled as she did an imitation of zipping up her mouth and flicking off the zipper. "My lips are sealed."

"Great. Are your folks home? Are you busy right now?"

"Well, my parents are working, but I do have company. But don't worry. They can help too."

She led us inside her home and up the stairs. This was my first time inside of Lizz's house. It looked pretty normal. As we went up the staircase, I took note of the framed family portraits on the wall, showing Lizz's growth from childhood.

After walking passed two doors in the hallway, she stopped in front of the door to the right, probably her bedroom. "Sorry for the wait, guys," Lizz said as she opened the door. At the other side of the door was Alluka sitting on the pink bed and Shiki lying on the yellow bean bag on the floor.

"Nanni? What are you guys doing here?" I asked surprised.

"Killua!" Shiki exclaimed as she jumped up and attempted to hug me. With her eyes squeezed shut in her own excitement, I swiftly stepped aside, letting her accidentally hug Rin instead. "I knew you would want to come and see me! Have you come all this way to ask me out?"

Rin was bewildered. He couldn't take it anymore so he pushed himself away. "Get off of me, weirdo!"

Shiki blinked her eyes and found me standing at the other side of the room, snickering to myself.

"Didn't you get my text?" Alluka asked. "I said I would go hang out with Lizz today."

I was sure that I didn't receive any notification, but I double checked my phone just in case. Just as I suspected. "You didn't text me anything."

"Oh, right. I forgot."

"Alluka. You shouldn't go out without me knowing."

"I'm sorry, okay? You don't have to worry about it. I've been to Lizz's house hundreds of times." That wasn't what I was worried about. Something could've happened to her without me knowing. It didn't matter if she knew the route to Lizz's house like the back of her hand. Someone could've picked her up from the street along the way. She may be older, but still doesn't stop me from worrying about her.

I gave a deep sigh. "Well I can understand why you're here. But what about her?" I demanded while pointing at Shiki. She didn't like the way how I addressed her, pouting while resting her hands on her hips.

"I was on my way to Lizz's when I ran into Shiki. She said she wasn't doing anything, so I invited her to come. After all, we're all friends."

"Right..." Lizz and Shiki agreed halfheartedly.

"Anyways, what are you two doing here?" Alluka asked.

"Oh, right. Yuki's brother needs help."

"Suzuki's got a little brother?" Shiki asked, scanning the kid head to toe. This made Rin very uncomfortable.

"Rin here has a crush and wants our advice on how to reach the next level," Lizz explained.

"Awe, how cute," Alluka remarked.

"So can you all help me out?" Rin asked, insecurely.

"Of course we can," Lizz said. "I've helped your sister with her relationship, so I can definitely help you."

I clapped my hands together. "Welp, my part here is finished. I'll just be heading out now." Before I could exit the door, Lizz fiercely grabbed me by the shoulder.

"Oh, no you don't," she said. "You're gonna help too." She leaned closer, whispering in a menacing manner, "You are not leaving me here with Shiki."

"Why do you think I'm trying to leave?" I whispered back.

"So tell us all about this lucky gal," Shiki said as she sat back on the yellow sack, ready to listen. Rin told us about his classmate Sally, explaining how they met and how their relationship stands of now, including descriptions on why he likes her. Perhaps too much details for my interest.

"This is what she looks like." Rin took out his phone and showed us a selfie of himself with a girl behind him, unaware of being in the background. She looked pretty with cream pigtails tied with green ribbons.

"You couldn't take a better picture?" Shiki asked, unimpressed.

"I didn't want to be creepy!"

"I meant of yourself. You couldn't tell that you needed to fix your hair?"

"Well she seems nice," Lizz commented. "From what you told us, your relationship with her right now is plutonic. She only sees you as a classmate. You need to be more intimate with her. Try to be close friends."

"H-how do I do that without being weird around her friends?" he asked nervously.

"You don't need to be too abrupt with it. You just gotta build up the relationship. Try saying hi to her frequently. Work together on assignments."

"Yeah, and be very nice to her," Alluka added. "Even the smallest things will do, like holding the door for her. Girls love a gentleman."

"Hmm... Okay. I guess I can do that. Sounds easy." Rin's eyes lit up with his new found courage. Hopefully he'll bring that with him to school tomorrow.

***

"Onii... Oniichan... Wake up!"

"Yeow!" I snapped back my head, groggily sitting up in my desk. "What was that for?"

Alluka pouted as she clutched her notebooks close to her chest. "School is over. Let's go." I looked around to see the classroom completely deserted. My friends were waiting for us at the door, though. The clock read that class ended ten minutes ago.

Those who were involved in the meeting yesterday agreed that we would meet up at the Smoothie Café today after school to see how Rin was doing. Hopefully he was able to step out of his shell and started talking to this girl.

As we all walked out of the school together Yuki asked, "So what are you guys doing after today?" We all exchanged eye contact. We couldn't tell Yuki about our outing today. Even if it was not that conspicuous about Rin's dilemma, we still wouldn't want her to feel left out.

"We're going to get smoothies," Shiki announced.

"Baka!" I fake coughed. She gave me a sneer, but she was still smiling.

"Oh... Okay," Yuki slowly nodded. She held a smile, but I could tell that she really wanted to come. Sorry, Yuki, but to us, you're grounding is very convenient to our situation. "I hope you guys have fun. See ya tomorrow."

When she walked away, Lizz took the liberty to smack Shiki on the back of her head.

"Ow! What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me? Do you want Yuki to feel bad?"

"What? Were you planning on lying to your best friend? Besides, it's not like it matters. She still doesn't suspect a thing."

"Can I come with?" Gon asked. I already told him about our situation with Rin yesterday, but Rin doesn't know. Now that I think about it, Gon knows a lot of ways with the ladies. I should've gone to him first instead of getting three girls involved. Oh well. It couldn't be helped now.

"Sorry, Gon," I said as I patted him on the shoulder. "but Rin would probably be more embarrassed if more people found out about this. He's just that kind of kid, you know?"

"Awe, but I want to help."

"If we need you, we'll give you a call," Lizz said. Gon understood and went on home ahead of us. The rest of us made no stops to the meeting place.

***

After ordering each of our drinks to kill time, we sat on a table outside, pulling in an extra chair for the client who has yet to arrive. As we all sat patiently, sipping our cold fruity drinks, I wondered to myself what kind of excuse the kid made to his mom to come out here after school by himself. Eventually, after being ten minutes late, Rin discretely walked out of the corner, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

Without speaking, he sat on the seat we saved for him, next to Lizz.

"So... How did it go?" Lizz asked. "Any progress?"

As soon as Rin took off his glasses, his face full of disappointment planted on the table with his hands over his head. "I messed up," he moaned.

"How could you have messed up something so easy?" Shiki questioned.

Rin lifted his face. "I tried taking Alluka's advice, being a gentleman and all. This morning when Sally was going to class while holding her diorama of a bridge, I thought this would be my chance. I even had a conversation thought up about her project. So I rushed over there to get the door for her and her friends, but as she was walking by, my foot accidentally tripped her, and her diorama shattered to pieces. I was about to say sorry when one of my classmates said, 'not cool, man.' As if I did it on purpose. I panicked. I was so embarrassed that I just ran out of the classroom. I didn't talk to her, or even looked at her all day."

When he finished his story, I couldn't hold back from laughing at how ridiculous that sounded. Not only he managed to mess up such a simple task, but actually made things worse. Alluka took a disliking at my behavior and pinched me on the arm. It hurt, but it was still worth it.

"Unbelievable," Shiki shook her head.

"It's not funny!" Rin complained. He then shamefully lowered his face. "She probably hates me now."

"Awe, don't give up yet, Rin," Lizz comforted as she patted him on the back. "There's still a way to come back from this. Hey! Why not try writing a secret love letter to her?"

"Huh? A love letter?" Rin slightly raised his gaze, intrigued.

"Yeah. It'll show her your romantic and mysterious side of you. Girls love that."

"Oh, please," Shiki scoffed. "Why write a letter when he can just tell it to her straight?"

"Because, Shiki, he doesn't have the best confidence at the moment. Not to mention, a sign of effort is romantic. I've seen this work before."

"How do I write one?" Rin asked. Looks like we're moving on to plan B.

"First off, the most important thing you should do is to not sign your name. Keep it mysterious. That way, when you tell her to meet up somewhere private, she'll have to know who her secret admirer is." Rin nodded in understanding as he listened to the master of cheesy romance. "Quick question; are you poetic?"

By tomorrow morning, Rin will sneak his love letter in his crush's locker, and hopefully she will receive it. Maybe I could slip that note inside someone else's locker to mess with him. That would be funny. But seriously, a lot could happen tomorrow. Someone else might see him hide the note and call him out. The girl might take it as a prank and not follow, or rather try to use that to prank Rin. Overall, there's a fifty percent chance that she'll say yes, and a fifty she'll say no. I couldn't wait to see how this would turn out.