Happy Halloween, minna! At least, I hope it's still Halloween wherever you are. Sorry that this came late, but I tried my best to make it on time. I really wanted to post two chapters, but due to mid terms and other college work, my time was cut short. But do not fear, for I am working on the continuing chapter right now and it will come a lot sooner than this one. You guys deserve an update as soon as possible. This chapter is dedicated to @SrcsticLif3. Thanks for reading and for the support! You guys can show your support by voting or making comments, and hopefully a future chapter will be dedicated to you. Have a safe & spooky night! Stay awesome. Trouble out. Mwa ha ha ha!

"Attention, everyone. Single-filed, please," our teacher instructed while holding a brochure over his eyes for shade. It was hard for everyone to stay in one place, though, with all the excitement about our field trip floating in the air. After five long, sleepy hours of flying, everyone walked out of the plane like a herd of zombies, but then suddenly rejuvenated once we stepped outside on new land.

A week after I was finally ungrounded, I had almost forgotten that we had a class field trip to Loes, a town in Otaly. The country is known for its beautiful plains and agricultural landscapes, authentic rural towns and villages, and ancient architecture that were built centuries ago. For our field trip, we would be staying here for two nights, taking tours in museums, sightseeing the landmarks, and doing some shopping in the markets.

After what had happened last month, I was almost afraid that my mom wouldn't let me go on this trip anymore. It was a good thing that I already submitted my payment and permission slip in advanced, so I couldn't be helped.

As we stepped out of the airport, I could feel the toasty warmth of the sun. Even though it is the end of fall, the climate here is much warmer than back home.

"So what's the first thing we're going to do?" Shiki asked. Shiki looked more like a tourist out of the rest of us. She wore a sun hat and sunglasses, along with a summer flower blouse and beige shorts. Lizz was also wearing a sun hat, but for her Chimera Ant reasons. "I didn't really memorize the activities schedule, so I have no idea what we're doing right now."

Lizz and I replied with a common glare of silence.

"Am I supposed to read your minds or something?" Shiki fumed.

"Not cool, girl." Lizz shook her head. "Don't ever mess with a girl's beauty sleep."

"What are you talking about?" Shiki demanded as she lowered her glasses so that we could see the full depression of her displeasure. She crossed her arms. "I didn't bother Sazuki at all in her sleep. In fact, we did make overs last night."

"That wasn't a makeover," I countered. "You were drawing on my face while I was sleeping in the plane.

"Oh, speaking of which, you still got a little smudge of ink right there," Shiki mocked as she gestured her finger at my lower cheek.

"Awe man, really?" I pulled out my phone to use the camera as a mirror. It turned out I missed a spot. "I can't believe you can be so immature. That's the last time I'll be sitting on the outside seat across from you." I licked my thumb and smeared the black mark off. After washing my face three times last night, it was hard for me to fall asleep. I didn't trust sleeping close to her after that. Thankfully, a couple of students agreed to switch seats with Lizz and me, far away from Shiki. I was still thankful that she didn't use a permanent marker. Otherwise, I would still have a drawn monobrow and mustache on my skin.

"Well if you don't appreciate the makeover I gave you, then why don't you tell the teacher on me?"

"Because I knew that even if the teacher banned you from any of the field trip activities, you would sneak away anyways and go on your own solo trip." Plus frankly, I was a little too scared to find out what would happen if I snitched on an assassin.

"Ho ho ho, I am untouchable," Shiki scoffed.

"Don't get too cocky," Lizz challenged. "We're gonna be bunking together tonight. You better sleep with one eye open because the moment you fall asleep is the chance I get to avenge Yuki."

"I can detect pests like you in my sleep."

"Guys, guys," Alluka intervened. "Can't we get along? We're on a class trip. Let's focus on having fun."

"Oh, Alluka. You're always right! I can't understand how you can always stay so positive about things." Shiki praised as she smothered Alluka in a hug.

"Anyways, to answer your question, I have the pamphlet right here." I took the time to pull out the folded paper from the side pocket of my backpack. "I believe we go to the hotel first to check in and unload," I recalled by memory. "Let's see... we're all gonna be taking buses, so the bus shuttle should be..." I wandered around until I found a sign post with several named directions. As I focused on the direction the bus shuttle sign pointed, something within the crowd of travelers caught my attention. As soon as enough people cleared out, I made out two teenage boys, each carrying a roller luggage, waving at us with smiles as they approached closer.

"No way," I said in disbelief. I was both happy, but mainly bewildered to see Killua and Gon here of all places.

"Hey, guys!" Gon cheerfully greeted. The attention of everyone else focused on the sound of Gon's voice.

"Oh my gosh!" Lizz abandoned her suit case as she dashed toward Gon, giving him a big welcome hug. Gon nearly fell back, almost hard to breathe, but he was happy. "What is going on?" Lizz laughed.

"Killua!" Shiki cheered, about to do the same thing. With her arms expanded, ready to embrace, Killua swiftly dragged his bag up and shoved it toward Shiki.

"Hold this for me. Thanks." Shiki unexpectedly grabbed the bag and let out a huff with a couple steps back. The bag seemed heavy. Killua never seemed like the type to pack much. With his hands free, he began walking toward me. "Did you miss me?" he smirked.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing," Killua remarked with raised brows.

"Onii-chan, this is a class trip," Alluka implored. "What are you guys doing all the way out here? You're not following us, are you?"

"Following you? Oh please, Alluka. Don't flatter yourself. Gon and I decided to have our usual bro trips together out of the country. Funny how we all came here to the same place at the same time. Talk about coincidence, right Gon?"

Gon shook his head with a shoulder shrug. "I honestly picked this place because it's the season."

"Oh, please! You already knew about our trip because I told you about it," Alluka claimed. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

"Well I don't care what the reason is," Lizz clung to Gon's arm in a carefree way. "This trip just got more exciting!"

"I agree!" Shiki was about to launch a hug attack on Killua once more when he swiftly stepped out of range, causing her to trip and fall.

"Mind if we tag along?" Killua asked as he offered his elbow, giving me a sly smile.

I smiled back as we linked arms. "Not at all."

***

We eventually did take the shuttle buses to our hotels. Lizz, Alluka, Shiki and I shared the same room with two beds. While we were unpacking, Killua and Gon made a last minute check in, but in a room three floors above us. The hotel was great. We had a flat screen TV, a polish-cleaned bathroom, and a shared balcony with a decent view of the city.

Once the clock stroke three o'clock, it was time for our first activity, which was touring through the Burgedin's Castle, the most popular tourist attraction of Otaly.

"C'mon, Yuki! Hurry up!" Lizz rushed me. The rest of the girls were already out the door while I was scrambling through my belongings, debating what I should bring.

"I'm coming!" I replied. I pulled my umbrella out of my bag and held on to my sketch book for a contemplating moment. I could get inspiration from this experience. I shrugged my shoulders and quickly stuffed the book inside, because why not. Lizz and I raced down the hallway, entering the elevator doors at the last second before they closed.

Outside of the hotel, our class and chaperones were lining up to fill in two tour buses. When we got on the bus, Gon and Killua were sitting on separate seats. Our teachers did not seem to notice them, or maybe they did not question it, considering that there are also a couple of tourists sitting in the bus. Before I chose a designated seat, Lizz patted me on the shoulder. "I'll sit with Gon this time. You have fun," she winked.

I giggled. "Gotcha," I winked back. I walked down the isle, being careful not to shove the people who standing and already seated.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" I asked when I finally reached the seats Killua was at.

"Yeah. It's reserved for my girlfriend."

I lightly giggled at his playful sarcasm. "Well, then I hope she won't mind me sitting here."

"Not at all."

We laughed. I carefully secured my bag on the luggage shelf above us, then buckled myself to my seat. As Shiki and Alluka passed us, I spotted a glint of evil and desire in her eyes as she passed by. She probably wished that she came inside the bus before me so that she would be the one to take the open seat next to Killua. Good thing she didn't. I returned a smirk of victory. First come first serve.

After everyone was seated, one of the chaperones announced that the drive would take about fourty minutes long. Everyone groaned in response, but I didn't mind at all because long drives mean more sightseeing. The bus driver turned on the engine, the wheels began turning, and everyone cheered and clapped, letting out all their excitement and enthusiasm for the activity to begin.

Following the first ten minutes, the ride turned quiet, but peaceful. Whenever I wasn't talking to Killua, I would gaze out the window and admire the calming novel landscape. Sometimes, I would point out to the window and say, "Killua, look at that over there!"

When five more minutes passed, Killua fell asleep. Was he really sleeping? I lightly tapped on his cheek. His eye did not twitch, which meant he was already in deep sleep. I was a bit disappointed since I no longer had anyone to talk to, but he looked so peaceful in his sleep. His head was leaning against the window, facing slightly toward me. His mouth was partially parted as he breathed soundly. He would make a great model.

"Good thing I brought it with me," I credited myself as I unbuckled myself for a moment to reach up for my bag to pull out my sketch book and drawing pencil. I opened up to a new page and started with the head.

As I worked my way down to the posture of his stomach and arms, the bus made a long turn, which caused Killua to shift out of place, falling on my shoulder. I held still, processing what was happening. I carefully turned my head a little and looked down to see if he woke up. He did not move, and he still had that deep, gradual breathing. He was still knocked out. In fact, he fell on me in quite an awkward position. Because he was facing me, his face was right next to mine, snoring warm breaths against my bare neck. My cheeks grew warm and I felt a shiver down my spine. Each breath he aspired was skin tingling. This would drive me crazy for the rest of the road trip.

"Killua..." With my arm as my only free moveable body part, I used the eraser of my pencil to poke his face. "Killua, wake up," I whispered a little louder. I was never the best person to wake up heavy sleepers. He just looked so darn cute in his sleep that I couldn't be harsh on him. I gave up on the pencil and resorted to softly shaking him. "Killua, get off. Can you hear me?" He stirred and mumbled a bit, but he did not get off. Instead, he adjusted himself in a more comfortable position, his head now tilting against my shoulder like a pillow. Up close, his hair smelled nice, like chocolate. My attempts to wake him failed, so I gave up and just let him be. At least we were in a better position than before.

***

When we finally made it to our destination, the bus made an abrupt stopped that forced everyone to shift forward. When Killua leaned forward, he immediately snapped back to consciousness, looking around a bit dazed. "Are we there yet?" he yawned.

Did he not know that he was sleeping on me this whole time? "Uh, yeah! We're here." I looked away, hoping that he wouldn't see me blush.

The sight of the castle was breathtaking. The perimeter appeared to have a quadratic shape with mold and ivory clinging around the surface of the aged stone bricks. The fortress was surrounded by a dried up moat, a laid down draw bridge being the only bridge to the castle.

The entire class, along with our two guests, spent the next three hours walking through the exhibit, following our teacher as he explained how this castle was once a mighty fortress that protected its residence from invaders, along with other historical events this structure witnessed. We paused periodically to admire and take notice of the paintings, tapestries, and artifacts in glass cases. As we walked around, we regarded a few doors and stair cases with ropes that had signs saying off limits. Killua attempted to climb over one as a joke, but he was immediately stopped by security. Luckily, he was let off with a warning.

By the time we reached the last chamber of the tourist attraction, we all started heading back to the exit. Some students looked too tired to walk around anymore while others appeared to not have any impact from this experience at all. "Well this was boring!" Shiki grumbled. "All we did was learn history, which could've been done at school. There wasn't even a gift shop."

"Oh, come on, Shiki," I said. "What makes this trip worth it is the experience, and we got to interact with history learning. Be thankful that our teacher set this up for us. Would you rather be learning this stuff at school instead?"

"Hmm, you got a point there, Miss Goody-two Shoes."

As we retraced our steps from back where we came, I acknowledged that there were less people around. The sun was setting, so it would make sense that the museum was closing. While walking, I noticed Alluka taking slower, awkward steps, her arms as stiff as a rod. She was biting on her lip as if trying to fight something.

"Hey, Alluka. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-yeah. Never better!" she replied in a forced cheery mood. However, it did not take long until she stopped walking and rested her hand on my shoulder. She slightly bent over with her knees quaking. "Actually... I need to use the bathroom."

"What?" was my response.

"I told you to go before we leave," Lizz argued.

"You should go now while we're still here," I advised.

"No. We're already leaving. I don't want to hold up the class."

"The more the reason why you should go now." I watched her do her little potty dance in pity. She must have held on to her bladder for a while now. She looked like she was about to explode. "Just look at you. You won't last for another  half hour. Besides, by the time we get outside the buses won't even be there yet. You got a solid five minutes to powder your nose."

"D-do you really think I can make it?" she asked unsure, her knees bouncing faster.

"Hey, you tell m-"

"I'LL BE BACK DON'T YOU WAIT FOR ME!" While holding on to her stomach, she quickly sprinted toward the opposite hallway where I assumed she spotted a restroom earlier. Not many people stared, not that there were many people to begin with. This place would be closing soon. Alluka has already gone too far for me to follow her. She hasn't even given Lizz and I the consent to accompany her. I just hope she would be able to find her way back to us soon.

By the time we reached the exit, the buses were already waiting for us, which was not good. As each passenger loaded themself up, I grew more worried. I constantly looked back, hoping that Alluka would turn up, but instead I become disappointed at the sight of strangers leaving.

"Hey, where's Alluka?" Killua asked, looking around anxiously.

"She stepped out to use the lady's room," Lizz answered.

"What? At a time like this? Urgh!" Killua groaned as he scratched his head.

"Ah, great. I'll go ahead and ask the teacher to wait, then," Shiki reluctantly volunteered. After informing our teacher, he agreed that we would wait ten more minutes until Alluka shows up. After several minutes passed, one of the buses drove ahead. Some of our classmates began to complain, saying that they're tired and starving. Lizz and Shiki volunteered to go back and look for her sense they would be the fastest.

It soon came to the point that Mr. Daichi grew impatient as well. Killua noticed this, so he and Gon used their persuasive skills to convince him that we would all remain to find Alluka and we would take another bus back to the hotel together as soon as possible. Killua and Gond showed him their school IDs so that he would trust them. He did not seem to like that idea much, but since I had his number saved in my phone, he granted their offer and urged us to contact him for any emergencies.

When the bus left, it was just Killua, Gon and I standing outside of the castle. No one was walking through those gates anymore.

"I'm really sorry, guys," I said.

"What for?"

"I should have gone with her. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Nah, it's okay." Gon gave me a dose of his cheery smile. "Stuff like this happens all the time. You can't blame yourself for inconveniences."

"That's right." Killua patted me on the head. I was almost startled because that was unexpected. I expected him to be the one freaking out right now. What if his sister is lost, or worst? "Speaking of inconveniences..."

"Wait!" We turned out heads toward the source. Shiki, Lizz and Alluka were sprinting together out through the door like crazy. "We're here!"

"Talk about bad timing," Killua chuckled. When the girls looked around outside, their eyes grew wider as they realized the entire class was gone. Not only that, but the entire drop off area was deserted. The three broke apart, panting desperately for air.

"I can't... believe it!" Shiki huffed. "We missed.. the bus?"

"How did you get lost, Alluka?" Lizz asked with her hands resting on her knees.

"It wasn't that I was lost. There was only one bathroom in the entire castle!" Alluka was the most out of shape. She sat on the ground to catch her breath, not caring about her skirt getting dirty.

"Well, at least we're all together now," Gon exclaimed, trying to cheer everyone up. "Now all we have to do is just wait for the next bus."

"Oh, there won't be anymore buses stopping by," a woman said. We all turned to a lady who was wearing the uniform of the employees of the museum.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lizz asked.

"You see, as you can tell, the museum closes at this hour, which means tour buses will no longer make their stops here. You would have to walk to the nearest bus station, which is two miles from here."

"What?!" Alluka cried. She was going to pass out in shock until Killua caught her.

"Thanks for telling us," he thanked. The lady smiled with a nod, then went back inside to probably lock up.

"Are we seriously going to walk two miles back to civilization?" Shiki argued.

"Well, what choice do we have?" I added. I did not want to go through with it either, but we had no means of transportation. There was no point in calling our teacher since he does not have his own means of transportation. Alluka seemed like she couldn't take another step. I guess it wouldn't be too bad as long as we all stick together.

***

Within several minutes of our roadside walk, a sudden rain began to lightly shower us out of the no where.

"Ack! No way!" Lizz exclaimed. We ran under an oak tree along the road for some cover. Drops of rain started to seep through as the rain grew stronger.

"We have to head back," Killua commanded. We all agreed it was the best thing to do. We went on a full dash, splashing our feet in the fresh puddles while covering our heads with our jackets and bags. I definitely should have brought my umbrella today.

Thank goodness for us that when we returned to the castle, the doors were not locked yet. When we entered the shelter, the place was quiet. All the lights were off, and no one was at the front desk.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is there still anyone here?" Nobody replied.

"Do you think all the staff have clocked out?" Lizz asked.

"No way. The front doors were left unlocked," Gon added. It would make sense since we have not left too long ago, so there must still be some employees left in this place.

"Let's walk around and see if we can find anyone," Killua suggested. 

Using our cell phone flashlights as our only source of light, we all walked together in the dark hallways. I tried calling our teacher the second time, but there was still no luck. I couldn't tell whether it was because I couldn't get a signal this far out in the country or because of this storm. Either way, calling for help was now impossible.

"This place gives me the creeps," I commented. This place looked different than it did in the day time. It was not truly night yet, but the thick clouds out there made things a lot darker in here. The corners were more unpredictable and the people in the paintings looked like their eyes were following us.

"Boo!"

I yelped as I flashed my light behind me. Killua was laughing and I lightly hit him on the stomach in fury.

"Killua! You know I hate it when you do that!"

"What, you scared of a little old castle?" Shiki teased.

"No! It's just really weird being in a dark and unfamiliar place. I'm just trying to stay vigilant."

"Right, 'cause you'll never know when a ghost will pop out."

I paused on my tracks, causing everyone to hold up. I turned to fully face Shiki. "Ghosts?"

"You didn't think I was listening throughout the tour, did you?" She smirked mischievously. "Don't you remember? A long time ago, foreigners invaded this castle. The people living inside could not protect themselves, so they were all slaughtered in this very place. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was killed on the very spot we stand. Because they died an unjust death, their spirits must be lurking around with unfinished business. Vengeful spirits. Hey, sense we're being intruders in the castle, "Shiki lowered her phone to make the light beam from below her face, contrasting the shadowy features of her horrid face. "wouldn't that make us the ghosts' enemies at the moment?"

I nearly gasped as I quaked a little in fear, now five times more alert.

"Mwa ha ha ha ha!"

"Stop that," Killua said as he bumped her on the forehead with his knuckle. "Quit making stuff up. If this place was haunted, then this wouldn't be a tourist attraction."

"On the contrary," Lizz intervened. "I've done my research at home and there has been rare sightings of supernatural spirits in this castle and at other locations of this part of the country."

"What?!" I blurted in shock without thinking. "Lizz, why didn't you tell me?" I shook her on the shoulders.

She pushed away my hands and gave me a serious look. "Because if I told you then you would've freaked out."

"Psha! As if. I just wanted to know because that kind of stuff sounds neat." I tried to play it cool, but everyone could tell from the sound of my high voice that I did not really mean it.

"Hey, what was that?" Alluka suddenly spoke with sudden interest.

"What was what?" Killua asked.

"I thought I saw a shadow or something," she said uncertain, but puzzled as well.

"Ha ha! Good one, Alluka," Shiki complimented.

"Come on, guys. Quit playing around with me," I complained.

"No, seriously. I saw something move from over there." She pointed at a stone spiral stair case that had an off limits sign chained to it. This was starting to look like a joke being taken further, but Alluka is usually not one who would joke around, especially if getting in trouble is a possible consequence. Whether she was lying or not, I was getting more creeped out.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but I'll play along," Shiki said amused as she climbed over the line.

"Oh, come on. There's nobody up there," Killua pointed skeptically. It was after he said that, a large thud was heard from the floor above us. We all hushed and directed our eyes upward. There was no other sound after that. Only a single thud, as if someone had dropped something heavy.

"Hello?" Alluka called out.

"Shhh!" I hushed in panic. "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I saw something."

"Guys, there really isn't anybody here but us," Killua said. "I just used En, and there's no one within my radius. It's probably just a fallen furniture or something."

"Yeah, but what do you think caused it?" Lizz implied.

"I say we should go check it out," Gon suggested, sounding more adventurous. He climbed over the chain, and Lizz followed him.

"Do we have to?" I asked while trying not to sound too scared.

As Killua stepped over the chain and held it up for Alluka to crawl under, Shiki shot back a grim, playful look. "Well, if you don't want to come, then you can just wait here all by yourself."

"W-wait for me, guys!" 

[Press Play]

I hopped over the boundary and followed my friends in line up the stairs. When we reached the second floor, it was filthier and more old-fashioned than it was compared to the maintained exhibit areas. The carpet was worn out, the walls looked slightly crumbly, and the furniture in the hall were covered in white sheets and dust. Even cobwebs along the ceiling and corridor could be seen through the reflection of our lights.

"Gross," Shiki spoke as she wandered around the place in disgust. "I can see why this place was restricted. It's so old and murky. Who in the right mind would come up here?"

Without warning, something made an outstanding creaking noise that stretched not too far from us from down the hall. We turned our lights toward a door that was wide open. My heart nearly stopped. I stepped behind Killua and clung onto his arm.

"Apparently, the guy who forgot to close that door," Gon said, then approached it without any signs of waver. The rest of us followed behind him.

Inside the room appeared to be a small library or work study. Two walls were blocked by large cases of books, and on one side of the room had a desk with a tattered old chair. Not a single soul was in sight, so it was safe to assume that the room was empty and the door opened by itself. Although, the timing seemed too coincidental for a draft to push the door open.

***

(Killua's P.O.V.)

Gon and I inspected the desk first, snooping through the drawers. All of them had nothing but blank pages. The architects from long ago probably collected all the documents they needed. I picked up an old ink bottle and noticed that the ink inside dried up.

Yuki and Alluka browsed through one bookshelf while Lizz scanned the other. Shiki went to a window and wiped her finger on it, leaving a clear trace on the dusty glass. She rubbed her fingers together and soon wipe it off on her clothes. It was still raining outside, and it looked like it won't stop any time soon.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning lit up the room, and a loud thunder roared. I heard Yuki and Alluka scream, which I of course expected to be their initial reactions. However, along with their cry, I heard something else. Something heavy that glided across the floor. When the room dimmed down, everything was quiet again, but an alarm in my head immediately went off. Our numbers were cut short. Yuki and Alluka were gone.