Hey, minna! Happy Autumn! Next chapter should be posted in October because I'm planning it to be Halloween themed. Because I've been gone for a long while, I just want to say thank you to all those who are still reading my book, old and new readers. Speaking of old and new readers, this chapter is dedicated to @Pieday120204 and @FantastikYazar102. Two part chapter, two part dedication. Thanks for reading! One last quick note, I have a tumblr account, which you should still find me as @tomboytrouble. Come say hi! With that said, stay awesome, guys! Trouble out.

(Yuki's P.O.V)

I laid down dramatically on the couch, staring blankly at the pale ceiling with complete boredom. Being grounded was to the worst time to have no homework. I wish that I could talk to Lizz or Alluka on the phone, but mom's punishment policy prohibited me from doing so. I hate to admit it, but I also wish Shiki would visit me again so that I could at least have someone to talk to.

At the moment I prayed for someone to keep me companied, Ren walked out of his room, heading straight for the front door with his head down. "Hey. Where are you going?" I asked with my head raised. He put his shoes on in haste while keeping away eye contact.

"I'm just going out to visit a friend," he simply stated.

"Does mom know?" I asked.

"Y-yeah." There was a pause of hesitation before he replied, which gave me the impression that he was lying. Something seemed off about him. He almost seemed nervous.

"Which friends are you visiting?" I inquired.

Rin opened and walked halfway through the door. "Oh, you know... Omar. I'll be back later before dinner."

"Okay. Just be car-" before I could finish what I was saying, he closed the door behind him. He sounded like he was stammering. It may be possible that he was just in a hurry, but he always acted this way whenever he tries to hide something from me.

***

(Killua's P.O.V.)

I glanced from left to right, checking if anyone was revealing their poker face. Lizz seemed to be calm. Alluka concentrated on her cards really hard, like if she started hard enough, one of the cards might transform into the one she needed. Shiki had a cocky grin, probably has something up her sleeve. We all sat on the floor as a circle in Lizz's bed room, with a bonfire of tossed cards in the middle. It was my turn, so I finally laid down my best chance. A row of three eights, with a five of hearts and three of spades.

"Three of a kind," I said as I dropped it on the pile.

"Ha!" Shiki laughed. I knew she had something. "Read 'em and weep." She threw another three of a kind with three tens, a four of diamonds and five of spades.

When it came to Lizz's turn, she gave a deep sigh. "Well I got nothing. How about you, Alluka?"

"Hmm... I'm trying to think," she said as she scratched her chin. As always, she took her time to overanalyze.

This made Lizz groan. "Well don't take another five minutes to think it over."

"There's no shame into succumbing to defeat," Shiki gloated.

"Do we have to keep meeting up like this just to check on him? Can't we wait until the weekend or something?" I asked as I fanned myself with my cards.

"Of course," Lizz answered. "Besides, it's not like it'll last long. All he needed to do was deliver that letter, and if she says no, then that's the end of it."

"Wow, I'm actually surprised that you would give up that easily," I remarked.

"A girl wants what a girl wants, and a boy has to respect that no matter what. That's my tip for you and Yuki," she winked.

"Well what if I don't like what she wants?" I teased.

"Then you could always leave her for a more humble girl like me," Shiki said while fluttering her eyes at me.

"Oh brother." I gave an eye roll as I leaned back a little. As I checked my watch to see what was taking Rin so long, Alluka poked me on the shoulder.

"Psst! Onii-chan," she whispered. When I gave her my attention, she showed me some of the cards for help, which I assumed she planned on using. "Can I use these?" She asked, revealing three kings with two extra cards. Obviously, she still didn't fully understand how to play this game, but at least lady luck was on her side.

I simply shrugged my shoulders. "Go ahead." I cared more about seeing Shiki's shattered face of utter defeat rather than winning. We were only doing this just to pass the time as we waited for Rin. It was better than studying together.

"Lizz!" Lizz's mother called from downstairs. "Rin is here!"

"Okay, mom!" Lizz replied back as Alluka made her move. "Tell him he can come up."

Shiki gasped through outrage as her gaze planted on the higher cards. "W-what?! How's that possible? You didn't even know how to play this game before we got here."

"It's all about odds, I guess," she said smiling as she shrugged her shoulders.

A weak knock came from the door. "Come in," Lizz hollered, not bothering to get up to open the door for him. When he entered, he wore that same expression that he had yesterday. Failure.

We all noticed this, especially his silence. "What happened this time?" Lizz implied.

With gloom, Rin trudged his way to the bed and laid down on his stomach, face down. "I put the letter in the wrong locker."

Everyone stayed silent for a processing moment until I was the first one to break it with an outburst of laughter. Once again, he failed to do something so simple, which was too hilarious to take seriously. Lizz had the inverted reaction, slamming her palm to her forehead. "How... How did you get the lockers mixed up?" I spoke between chuckles.

"I thought I put it in the right locker. I was so sure that was hers. But it turned out to be the one next to it." Rin let out a huge, muffled groan against Lizz's bed.

"You've been going to class with this girl for how long and you don't even know which was her locker? Why didn't you ask?"

"Killua, don't be rude," Lizz snapped.

"I didn't want to sound too weird asking people that," Rin defended. "Anyways, when I saw a different girl grab the letter, I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to confront her and tell her who that letter was meant for, but I also didn't want her to feel stood up if I didn't show up at all. I couldn't tell her then, because then people would look and laugh at me. So I waited until the end of the day and went to the spot where I said we would meet up."

"I'm sure she understood that it was a complete misunderstanding once you've cleared it up," Lizz assured.

"Actually... I never had the chance to. You see, when I actually met her outside of school under the oak tree-"

"Oh my gosh, Lizz is feedinf with cheesy romance!" Shiki interrupted, sounding like this story was a drag. "Under a tree? Really? That's so cliché."

"It's romantic."

"Shh!" Alluka shushed the two of them, then turned to Rin. "Go on. What happened next?"

"Because she read that letter, she obviously assumed that I liked her. So before I had the chance to speak, she immediately shot me down softly, telling me that I wasn't her type and that we should just be friends. I couldn't get the words out, so just she left."

"So she turned you down and left? Ouch. I actually feel sorry for you," Shiki said.

"How come you didn't say anything?" Alluka asked.

Rin sat up, crossing his legs Indian style. "I don't know. It was my first rejection, even though it wasn't really real. I guess I was a little shocked at the moment. It felt like a practice run. What if Sally says no? I'm not sure if I can handle that kind of rejection... again."

Rin was beginning to freak out, which was my cue to get up there. I stood next to him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "You'll be okay, dude. At least now you know what to expect."

The jaws of all the girls in the room dropped. Rin's eyes were filled with even more worry. I could even feel his pulse harden. Alluka shot up like a rocket and smacked me on the shoulder. "Onii-chan!"

"Ouch! I didn't mean it like that," I said as I rubbed my shoulder. Now that I think about it, the way it sounded sort of came out wrong. I fail at being an older brother-figure to this kid.

Shiki let out a sigh of distress as she pinched the notch of her nose. "I guess it's time for me to step up."

"M-maybe we should stop. I can just wait for the right time and-" Rin suddenly stopped talking when, out of nowhere, a dagger was shot right in front of him, piercing the bed in a blink of an eye. "Holy cow!" Out of surprise, Rin jumped up and stood away from the bed, arms raised up in fear. We all stood up flabbergasted

"Shiki, are you crazy!" I yelled.

"My bed!" Lizz screamed as well in anger.

Shiki took the higher ground by standing up on the bed, looking down at Rin. "Listen up, you," she firmly said as she pointed at Rin dramatically. The poor boy backed himself up against the wall, not knowing what was going on. "I don't want to hear another complaint out of you about giving up. If Sally is staring at the face of danger, would you give up and abandon her?"

"What?" Rin was completely confused by her words.

"Uh, Shiki. That's not the same..." Shiki didn't allow Alluka to finish as she continued with her supposedly motivating speech.

"If you're a real man, then you would do everything in your power to make her happy." She spoke so boldly with fire in her eyes. She seemed so passionate about this. Does she really care about him winning the girl, or does she see him as a reflection of herself in a way? She reached down for the dagger she threw and used it as a pointer. "Listen up, runt! You're a weak, puny wimp. But I'm not losing hope on you yet. There's still a chance that you can win that girl's heart. So I shall do everything in my power to assist you. Like I always say, never admit defeat."

"Pfft! Yeah right," I side-commented. That did not seem like her principle two minutes ago when she was losing in a game of cards.

"So, are you still with me?"

Rin took a deep gulp before nodding his head. "Yeah. I've come this far. It's go big or go home." I wouldn't actually say he had come far. More like a step back. And did that speech actually inspired him? Wow. So he has stooped down to that level of desperation. It made me wonder, and worried, what kind of crazy idea Shiki will come up with.

"Okay, so what's the game plan this time?" I asked.

"The answer is simple. The problem is that Rin tired to go for an indirect approach and wound up courting the wrong girl. He should be more straight forward!"

"You don't mean have him confess his feelings already. We should take it slow and have him ask her out," Lizz insisted.

"No! Of course I don't mean having him confess out of the blue. But I have the perfect plan that'll lead up to that. What they need is some sort of catalyst. A force that would bring them together and start the foundation of their new relationship."

"Like what?"

"Killua. Tell me how you and Yuki first met?"

"I saved her from a few goons from an alley. But we're not putting Rin or the girl in any danger."

"Duh, I know that. That's why for this plan, it'll all be staged." Shiki rubbed her hands together as she smiled deviously.

"Wait, how did you meet my sister again?"

***

According to Rin's reliable sources, Sally should be finishing up her clarinet lessons and should be taking this route home. Gon and I made sure that we were standing at a street where there wouldn't be a lot of people. Shiki said that she and Lizz would do whatever they can to bend her path, steer her on the right course. As everything should go to plan, the girls would watch us from afar. As I leaned back against a brick wall, Rin stood by the window of a book store from the inside, waiting for his cue. Gon and I wore hoodies and dark, baggy pants to ensure we looked threatening enough for the plan. My sleeves were cut off, and Lizz added a chain dangling from Gon's pocket at a finishing touch.

"I can't believe we're doing this," I said. "Thanks for helping us out on this one, Gon."

"Anytime, Killua," Gon said with a smile. "It's not like everyday we get to play bad guys."

"Yeah," I laughed, not used to seeing Gon dressed as a gangster. "Just... Make sure you don't act like yourself. Remember, we're bad, so we gotta act mean."

"But she's only in middle school. We gotta be careful and-"

"And that's what I'm talking about. Relax. This is all just pretend." When I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out to check if everything was following the plan.

The train is on track.

I assumed that was code for Sally is on her way. Hopefully there wouldn't be any small hitches. Gon and I will act like two high school jerks, Rin comes in and save her, and hopefully all will end well.

"Hey, Killua," Gon asked, interrupting my train of thought. "Which looks better? Glasses off or on?" He then pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and wore it over his eyes, bouncing his eyebrows humorously.

I laughed while shaking my head at the same time. Although, wearing sunglasses might conceal his innocent eyes. Before I gave a clear response, popping from the corner of the street was the young target carrying a clarinet case. "Oh, quick! Back up!" I whispered. Gon quickly left the shades alone and recomposed himself. We got into position.

She was wearing a pink sweater over her school uniform, as well as her signature look of ribbons on her pigtails. Before she thought she could pass us, Gon and I casually blocked her path. She cautiously looked at us, then averted away by taking a turn to a smaller street. So far so good.

"All right. Break," I said. Gon ran off through an alley to cut her off the at the other end. I continued to pursue the target at a safe, but noticeable distance.

As I continued walking only a few feet behind, she started walking faster, but I was keeping up with the paste. Finally, she seemed annoyed enough to stop and turn around. "Excuse me, sir, but is there a problem?" I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was very bothered by my stalking. She tried to sound intimidating, but there was a hint of fear in there. This spot seemed to be right. I could still see the book shop from here with Rin in place, just as he should be.

I curved a grin as I took another step forward with hands in my pockets. "As a matter of fact, there is. What's a girl like you doing all by herself around these parts at this time?" Even though it was only like five in the evening.

She clutched onto her instrument case tighter, taking a step back. "I'm just walking home. It's not too far away."

"Then you probably don't mind if we walk you home, then." As I forced her to step back by slowly moving forward, Gon was already standing behind her when she accidentally bumped her back against him.

"Watch your step," he said in a deep, sarcastic tone. This startled the girl, now trapped between the two of us.

"W-where did you come from?" She stammered. She was beginning to feel scared now. Although this felt weird, this was also a good sign because in the end, she would feel protected by Rin.

"What do you think, Killua? She's pretty cute, isn't she?"

"Hmm... Doesn't seem much of my type, but I guess she'll have to do." We closed in on the gap between us and her slowly, not just for suspense and effect, but to give Rin enough time to run in to the rescue. She seemed frozen in place from fear, now clutching her case close to her chest, not even thinking that she could use it for defense. Her mind probably went blank from the panic inside of her.

Right when Rin took the first step out of the door, for some reason, he hesitated and ran back inside.

"Killua? Gon?" Gon and I both stiffened in surprise from that voice. I turned around to see Yuki carrying a plastic bag of groceries as the electric doors of the food market automatically closed behind her. "What are you guys doing here?"

I fully turned my body while pulling down my hoodie. "Um, uh... I-I, we just happen to be in the neighborhood." Crap crap crap! This wasn't supposed to happen. Of all times and places, why here and now? "What about you? Aren't you grounded?"

"My mom asked me to run some errands, and this store had a special sales today, limited time only."

"Hey, aren't you Rin's older sister?" Sally asked, who has seemed to calm a bit after seeing how the situation changed. This was even worse. I didn't think that she would also know Yuki.

"Yes, I am. And you're Rin's classmate, right?"

"Yeah, we're friends," she smiled. This operation was failing. I looked over to Gon who as stiff as a statue, panicking from the inside. I could tell that Lizz and Shiki were hiding behind the dumpster at the other side of the street with their heads peaking out.

"Do you know these people?" Sally asked.

"Huh? Killua, what have you and Gon really been up to? And... why are you dressed like that?

Embarrassed, Gon removed his glasses and scratched the back of his head. Without coming up with a readily explanation, I replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please, I wasn't born yesterday. I know when you're hiding something from me. In fact, you guys have been acting really weird lately."

This was getting out of hand. At this rate, we would have to aboard. Not only that, but have Yuki and Sally learn our true intentions. It was time to improvise.

"Sorry about this," I muttered in a low voice. With one confused look out of Yuki, I swiftly moved behind her, covered her mouth, and wrapped my arm around her waste, holding back her arms. When Yuki's alertness kicked in, she started muffling, dropping her bags in the process as she tried to squirm free.

It was the only way to make this act convincing.

"Gon, I got this one. You go for that one."

"Huh? O-oh, right!" Gon immediately understood my gestures and followed my lead.

As he was about to attempt attack Sally, she once again believed that the posed danger was real, and screamed. Yuki was fighting really hard. She and I both knew that she won't be able to break free. The only thing that kept her resisting was her rage and bewilderment. I know for certain that when this is over, I am going to get a mouthful.

I tried dragging Yuki away from the scene as Gon made his approach, not really intending on attacking her, but stalling for Rin. Where is that kid anyway? "If you behave, I promise I won't-"

"Stay away from me!" She finally put her tool case into use as she gripped both hands on one end, swinging the object around with her eyes closed. Gon backed away a little to avoid getting hit.

"This is all wrong!" Shiki erupted out loud from the other side of the street. She pulled her head out in outrage, not realizing that she blew her cover.

"Hey! Help us!" Sally cried out. This was just perfect. Now Shiki had to get in on this. It was bad enough that I could barely do anything as I kept Yuki at bay. Although, she seemed to be slowly giving up as I felt her struggle weakening.

"Oh, I'll help you all right." She dashed straight into the scene with a kunai pulled out. This was definitely not part of the plan, and I don't remember anything about a backup plan. She shoved Gon aside with enough force to push him against the wall.

"Hey! Watch it!" I yelled at her. Yuki muffled something as well when Shiki suddenly appeared.

With Gon out of her way, she pointed the knife threateningly at the girl while her eyes shot daggers. "Give me your money and no one has to get hurt," she demanded.

"Eh?" Sally tilted her head.

What kind of poor excuse of a script was that? I wanted to say, but couldn't. Instead of scaring the girl, she only made the situation even more perplex. I might as well have said that out loud and get this all over with, since the situation has been compromised. This whole schtick was falling apart regardless. We have already frightened the poor girl long enough. This was a stupid idea anyway. We might as well tell the girl and Yuki the truth before we get into any trouble.

"What in the world is going on here!" A young boy shouted. Everybody paused and turned their attentions toward Rin, who seemed to be panting when he ran all the way here from the book store. Is he still trying to play the hero?

"Rin?" Sally lowered her defense as she let out a breath of relief. "Oh, Rin! Thank goodness!" She ran to his side and clung on to his arm while standing behind him timidly. "All these weird people started showing up! Please, take me away from here."

Rin's face glowed red as he gazed down at the girl holding on to him like a lifeline. His mouth quivered as he tried to find the words to speak. "W-where d-do you want to g-go?"

"Anywhere but here," she stated, tugging on his arm.

Rin snapped out of his daze and firmly grabbed her by the hand. "Okay. This way." He dashed away into a different direction with his girl following closely with their hands linked together. No one bothered following them or calling out to them. We just let the two kids flee together to wherever they wanted, letting them to decide what will happen from here on out.

"I guess that worked in a way?" Shiki was the first to speak. "Not exactly as I hoped for it to be, and I should also feel offended by that, but at least it worked."

Feeling this wet, slimy sensation tickling my palms, I suddenly remembered I still had Yuki in my grasp. I immediately let go to wipe my hand on my pants as she took a breath and wiped her mouth.

"Ewe! That's gross!" I said in disgust.

"You think that's gross? Why not try something called washing your hands," Yuki shot back.

"Ow, that hurt..." Gon moaned as he got up, rubbing the sour spot where his face made impact with the brick wall.

"Gon! Are you okay?" Lizz came rushing to comfort Gon after the fiasco ended.

"Oh, Lizz is here too?" Yuki's fists hardened so hard that they turned ice pale. With that scrunched look on her face, I could tell that she was really short on patience. "Okay, if nobody explains to me what is going on, I am going to FREAKING LOSE IT!"

Before I knew it, everybody took step back behind me. "She's all yours, pal," Gon said as he cowardly patted me on the shoulder. I shot a glare back at him, then faced Yuki with a sigh.

***

After some time of explaining in Yuki's room everything that has been going on with Rin, she calmed down as soon as she came to an understanding. "I see. So all of that was just a set up for Rin to score points with his crush," she summed up.

"That's right," Alluka agreed.

"I'm surprised that he managed to man up in the end, even when things got a little crazy," I commented from where I leaned on her wall.

"Awe, I can't believe you've been helping my little brother with romantic problems." Yuki got up from her bed to walk over to me just to playfully pinch me on the cheek. "Mr. Love Helper."

"Hey. Stop that," I said embarrassed as I swatted her hand away. Both Yuki and Alluk shared giggles.

"That plan would've worked perfectly if Sazuki didn't show up to ruin everything," Shiki said with an eye roll.

"Well sorry for interfering with your shoujo fantasy," Yuki retorted back. "It all worked out in the end. I'm still surprised that you all kept this from me. I could've helped." That was the thing, though. Rin didn't want her help.

"Like how?" I grinned, leaning in on her with crossed arms.

Before Yuki could provide her answer, there was a light knock on the door. "Oneesan, are you there?" Rin spoke timidly.

"What is it?" She replied back.

Rin took this as a permission to enter, partially opening the door with half of his body peeking through. "Oh, you're all here," he said surprised. He turned to face his sister. "I guess these guys already caught you up to speed, huh?" Yuki nodded. "I'm really sorry about all of that earlier. None of that part about you as hostage was planned at all."

Yuki giggled. "Of course that wasn't. I know. It was kind of funny, really."

"And... I'm sorry that I made your friends keep this a secret from you."

Yuki walked closer to him, looking at him more sincerely. "It's okay, I understand. But Rin, if you're ever facing any troubles, you can always come to me for help. I know you may feel embarrassed and insecure about these things at times, but if you have any problems, I'll listen to you seriously."

This made Rin smile very brightly as he looked at his sister with admiration. "Sure," he nodded.

"Ooh, by the way, how did the rest of your day go, lover boy?" Shiki asked in interest as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh yeah!" Gon agreed.

"Did you tell her?" Alluka asked.

"Are you two in the next level?" Lizz asked excitedly.

"Well, we ran off to the park and hung out there for a while. We had fun and all..." With a brief pause, Rin smiled while rubbing the back of his neck. "But I've decided not to tell her."

"What?!" Everybody's reaction was synchronized, including mine.

"After all that hard work. Really," Shiki huffed with crossed arms.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Gon asked.

"Well, after all the things you guys put me through, it made me realize that all this romantic stuff is hard. Trying to talk to a girl is hard enough, but impressing her and living up to expectations? That's too much to be committed in. I still don't know if she likes me back. Telling her how I feel would just throw away what we've just started. So maybe until we get older, we'll just be friends."

"Awe, Rin," Yuki had her hands covering her mouth, her eyes looking glossy. She walked closer to her brother to give him a big hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Rin kindly hugged her back. As I watched the two have their tender moment, I tried to imagine myself in the arms of another family member like that other than Alluka, but nothing came up. It didn't even matter what decision Rin made in the end, Yuki was still happy and supportive of him. If only my family were that flexible. Well, it doesn't even matter, because everyone in this room is my family now, and I will do everything I can to protect them.

"Hey, wait a second," Rin said after he and Yuki broke apart. "Aren't you still grounded?"

Yuki looked at everyone, then back it her brother. "No."