Hey, minna! Sorry that it has been a while, but I got a life too, ya know. As you read this, let's play a fun game. Who can spot the Easter Egg in this chapter? This chapter is dedicated to @Adilene2003. Remember, guys. Vote, comment, and stay awesome!

Another author's note: When you guys see [press play], that means you should play the video to listen to the music in the scene. Thought it would have more of an impact. What do you guys think? All right, enough yimmering yapping and let's get back to the story!

Update: Due to the chapter UNF having trouble loading the video for some reason, I placed the link in the section. Play from another app/window/device if you like. Sorry for the extra steps.

It was a normal day the mall, and was especially full of people today. Many shoppers walking in and out of stores with purses and shopping bags, people filling up the tables at the food court and cafes, and pedestrians traveling up and down the escalators.

The water fountain at the heart of the mall was sparkling from the light shining down from the sun roof. It was a beautiful day today. Alluka's birthday.

"So where are we meeting them again?" Lizz asked. We came to the mall together. Lizz wore a yellow buttoned shirt with a navy blue sweater to match with her short skirt and beret. I chose to wear a simple pair of jeans with my favorite T-shirt with a shooting star design.

"They said they'll meet up with us at the fountain." I said, rereading the text Killua sent me this morning.

We sat down on the foundation of the fountain to wait for our friends.

"So, what did you get Alluka for her birthday?" Lizz asked me.

I facepalmed myself for my stupidity. "Idiot!" I said to myself. "I can't believe I didn't think about that."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up for it after only finding out yesterday," Lizz giggled. "And look where we are. The perfect place to get a girl a birthday present."

"Oh yeah, you're right..." I said, now feeling like a bigger idiot.

"While we're shopping, pay attention to the things that Alluka likes and get her that. See? What would you do without me?" Lizz said as she casually leaned back. She is a shopping expert.

"Hey, Yuki-chan! Lizz-chan!" We both turned our heads toward Alluka, who was waving her hand at us, walking to the fountain with Killua. Killua was wearing regular guy clothes, where Alluka on the other hand was wearing a kimono. The top half pink, and her long skirt green. Her traditional costume looked oddly placed in a public place like this, but at least she looked really cute, especially with that white ribbon head band, and the brown purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Hey guys," Killua greeted with his hands tucked inside his pockets. Another thing I noticed about Killua was that he was still wearing the tapped bandage I wrapped around his head. I wondered how he was doing. He seemed to be pretty all right.

Lizz and I said our hellos and birthday greetings to Alluka. Alluka gave a cheerful smile.

"Arigato," she said.

"All right, I hope you girls have fun." Killua said, then turned to Alluka. "You be careful now, okay? Don't go anywhere without these two."

Alluka gave an adorable pouty face. "Oniichan, I'm not a little kid anymore!" she groaned.

Killua laughed and patted her on the head. "That's right. It's your birthday today, little sis." Alluka brushed his hand off upset and fixed her hair. She flushed in embarrassment.

"When you girls are done, come hang out at our place. Alluka, you have the address, right?"

Alluka patted her side pocket of her skirt. "Hye!"she said with confidence. That was strange; I thought Killua would text us the address. Oh well, as long as we get there.

"All right. You girls have fun now," he said as he turned his back and started walking toward the exit.

"Hey Killua, wait!" After I became aware of my action, my heart suddenly turned cold. Why did I say that? Killua turned around, expecting me to say something. "Uh, why don't you hang out with us a little bit?"

"Hmph," Killua smirked. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass," he said, then continued moving forward.

"Bye, Oniichan!" Alluka waved.

Idiot! Stupid! Of course he won't hang out with us; he's supposed to stay at their house so that he can set up Alluka's surprise party. Why did you have to say that?

"He could've at least stayed a little while," Lizz commented. "I mean, how long does it take for one guy to set up a-" before Lizz finished her sentence, I quickly covered her mouth, stopping her from unconsciously spoiling the surprise.

"What was that?" Alluka asked cluelessly.

Lizz understood my gestured and stopped talking against my hand. "She was saying how long does it take for a guy to drive from your house to the mall. After all, the drive couldn't be that long, right? Ha ha ha." I said nervously, trying to keep my cool. I saw the look that Lizz gave me, saying smooth.

I shot a look back at her saying, Oh, shut up. This was your fault in the first place. I removed my hand from her mouth, leaving a moist feeling on my palms. Gross. "So where do you guys want to go first?" I asked, wiping my hand on my jeans."

[https://youtu.be/asiL6OH9CO0]

"Mm... I don't know," Alluka said. "Where ever you want to go."

"Are you sure?" Lizz asked. "It's your birthday, so we should go to where ever you want to go."

"Thanks, but I'm still new to this town, so I don't really know the stores here."

"Then we can go to my favorite store," Lizz suggested. "We definitely need to something about your fashion sense," she said, eyeing Alluka's outfit head to toe.

"Do you always dress this traditional?" I asked Alluka. She nodded.

"Mostly at home, but this is a special occasion."

"Well, we need to get you some new duds," Lizz said. Great idea, Lizz. Maybe I could buy Alluka some new clothes; maybe a dress for her birthday.

On the second floor, the first store that we went to was called Charming and Classy. Behind the glass window stood female manikins wearing trendy dresses and Autumn outfits with hats and other accessories. Next to the entrance stood a red sign with black letters that said Buy one Get one 66% off in the entire store.

"Eek, there's a sale!" Lizz shrieked. "Today's a very good day. C'mon, you guys!" Without a moment to wait, Lizz dragged us inside the store against our own will.

Inside the store, there were divided sections of dresses, tops, pants skirts, bags, and other accessories. Everything was colorful and refreshing, it was probably like walking into a candy store for Lizz.

My hand touched each dress we passed as we walked down aisles of clothes. These were all really cute and nice clothes, but I barely afford one. I could only imagine myself wearing them. On the bright side, one of the benefits of shopping with friends was that they get to see all of the pretty outfits you put on. My hand stopped at one hanger. I pulled it out to look at the most gorgeous dress I've ever seen. A strapless purple dress with wavy silk at the second bottom half. A white ribbon sash around the waist. Not too long, and not too short; over the knees, just the way I like it. I looked at the price tag to see that it costed most of the bills I held in my wallet, which I hoped to use for Alluka's present. I let out a sigh. Once again, a beautiful dress must slip away from my reach. This usually happens to me while shopping. Whenever I see something nice, I would always think about saving the money for birthday or Christmas gifts instead. I was okay with it though. I always preferred to spend money on others before myself.

When I placed the dress back, I saw Lizz measuring a long, flowery dress over Alluka's body. I abandoned my dream dress to rejoin my friends, not missing out on any of the fun.

Each of us took turns waltzing in and out of the fitting room, modeling our cute outfits. When we walked out of the store, Lizz ended up buying a dress and bracelet. As for me, a sapphire necklace and matching earrings to go with it for Alluka.

As we roamed around the mall, Alluka kept staring at the store windows and merchant wagons at awe. When we encountered a clown making complementary balloon animals for children, we told him that it was Alluka's birthday and he gladly made a twisty balloon hat for Alluka. She was really enjoying herself.

After two hours of walking around the mall and checking out the stores, we decided to take a break. At that same area where we met up at the fountain, there was an ice cream shop with round tables around it. We were tired and hungry, and we were in the mood for a sweat, cold creamy treat.

"I'll have one ice cream taco," Lizz ordered.

"I'll have sea-salt ice cream," I said. "What do you want, Alluka?"

"Hmm..." Alluka had her eyes closed as she thought about what flavor to choose. "I'll just have strawberry," she finally decided."

"Will that be all?" The employee behind the counter asked.

"Yes, please."

"Great! That will be 7.89 Jenny." I pulled out my wallet and payed the nice lady. In return, she gave us our orders.

Instead of sitting at one of the tables, we thought it would be a lot nicer to sit on the fountain. While Lizz and Alluka took their first bites into their ice creams, I dug into the icy, sweat ocean taste of my popsicle.

"How's you're ice cream, Yuki-chan?" Alluka asked me.

"It's salty... But sweet," I answered, taking another bite.

"Hey guys," Lizz scooted closer and brought her phone in front of us, facing her and Alluka, set on camera mode. "Let's make a memory."

I scooted closer to get inside the frame and smiled. "Everybody say selfie!" she said as she pulled a wide, cheesy smile.

"Selfie!" Alluka said while holding her smile. I only held a closed mouth smile. Lizz took the shot. We all looked cute and happy, holding our ice creams close to our faces.

"Send me that picture, okay?" I said. After finishing my popsicle, I stood up. "I'm gonna go throw this away," I said.

"Okay," Lizz replied, still finishing off the last of her ice cream taco.

When I went to the trash can to toss away my wooden stick, I casually walked to the front counter of the ice cream shop to swipe a white napkin. Without Alluka and Lizz looking, I pulled out the jewelry I bought for Alluka and wrapped it with the napkin, tying it with a blue ribbon I bought from one of the stores. Although the presentation may look cheap, every gift should be wrapped.

When I got back with a grin, it disappeared when I only saw Lizz sitting on the fountain, texting on her phone. "Where's Alluka? I asked, looking both ways.

"She said she had to go to the bathroom," Lizz replied.

"Oh, okay," I said as I took a seat next to her. There wasn't a bathroom around this part of the mall, so hopefully Alluka won't get lost.

As the minutes grew longer, my stress was increasing. My mind kept thinking of the worst. What if she really did get lost? I could imagine Killua's face if we told him that we lost his sister at the mall.

I pulled out my phone to call Aluka. Her phone rang several times until it answered with a voicemail. Why wasn't she picking up her phone?

Then a scary thought came to mind. What if she starts asking people requests? If someone fulfills a request for her, then her secret would be out! They'll see Something's face and cause a panic. And what if they won't fulfill her requests? If that happened, then Alluka would...

"Let's go find Alluka," I said in a serious manner as I stood up.

Lizz looked up and just turned off her phone. "Yeah, I guess," she sighed. She has no idea what was at stake.

"Which way did she go?"

"She went that way," Lizz pointed. We went to the direction where Lizz directed, where it lead to the food court. We went inside the girls bathroom to check, but it was empty.

"Where do you think she went?" I asked.

"Maybe she went back to meet up with us."

"If she did, then wouldn't we have met up with her on the way?"

Lizz texted Alluka the second time, but she still hasn't replied back. We ditched the restroom to search the rest of the mall. As we retraced the stores we've been to, we showed people our recent group photo if they have seen the girl in the middle, each head nodding no. It was like we were searching for our lost puppy.

Suddenly, somewhere near a centered area, a woman screamed. Our heads turned to the source and followed it out of curiosity, but for me, mostly out of fear. Could she have really done it?

We walked to a crowd of about several people, which was spotted beside and escalator. Inside the circle laid a woman's body over a puddle of blood. My blood went cold at the sight. "I-is she dead?" I hardly spoke, my vocal cord straining my speech.

The woman's eyes blinked open and calmly lifted her head. A man bent down next to her, offering his hand. "Are you all right, Madame?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you," she replied.

"Huh?" Another look at the scene, and I undoubtedly acknowledged the tilted soda cup next to the red liquid and the yellow WET FLOOR sign.

"She only slipped and fell, no need to get too hysterical," Lizz told me.

I sighed in relief. The man helped the woman back onto her feet, and everyone just resumed to their daily lives. So if Alluka didn't encounter that woman, then where could she be?

Suddenly, I felt a buzz in the side of my pants. I pulled out my phone and saw that there was a message sent from Alluka.

"It's Alluka!" I exclaimed.

"What did she say?"

I read the text out loud. "Where are you guys?"

I furiously texted her back, beating my thumbs hard against the keys. 'We should be asking you the same thing!' I pressed send. In a matter of seconds, she replied.

"She's back at the fountain," I said after reading the text.

"All the way back there? Ugh, I knew we shoulda waited longer."

Lizz was a feet behind me as I speed walked back to our starting point. Sitting alone at the fountain was none other than the girl in the kimono that we've been running in circles for.

"Alluka!" I called out to her, almost exhausted.

Alluka stood up, holding two new shopping bags in her hands. "Ah, there you two are! Where have you been?" she asked.

"Looking for you," Lizz said, half as worried as I was.

"Gomen'nasai!" She apologized as she bowed her head. I payed attention her new bags once more.

"Did you went and buy something?" I asked.

Alluka made a smile and nodded.

"Why didn't you just tell us? And why did you go without us?" Lizz asked tiredly.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said as she handed each bag to us.

"These are for us?" I asked in surprise. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Since it was her birthday after all.

"I bought these for you guys, because we're friends," she said cheerfully.

Lizz and I both lifted the shopping bags off her hands. When I dug my hand inside and pulled out the item, I gasped. It was that purple dress I wanted from Charming and Classy.

"I noticed you looking at that one especially, Yuki. So I thought you might like it."

"Yeah, I love it, but you didn't have to buy this for me," I said. I wasn't sure how I was feeling. I was flowing with happiness, but also guilty that Alluka had to buy this for me on her birthday.

"Yeah, this is expensive stuff," Lizz said, holding a black fedora.

"Don't worry, having a brother as a Hunter has their financial advantages..." she winked.

"Still, it took you almost an hour to get back here. What took you so long?"

Alluka sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Well... I did get a little lost."

"You didn't ask for help?"

She shook her head. "Mm-mm. I wanted to find my way by myself."

Alluka didn't ask for help, which meant that she was trying to hold back from asking people for requests, preventing them from danger. I just remembered that she also called me Yuki, which meant we were talking to Something right now. Was it Something who was fighting back, and was it Something who thought about buying us gifts? This must be the first time Something had real friends that she felt like this was the least that she could do for us.

I patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks, I really appreciate this gift. I'm really happy that we're all friends."

Alluka's eyes stretched open, then she smiled even wider.

"Me too," Lizz added in. "You know, for some reason, I have a strange feeling about you, but I like you."

"Heh heh, yeah," I fake laughed, understanding how she felt. "Well, I feel done with shopping today," I sighed tiredly.

"Yeah, me too. Wanna start heading back to your place, Alluka?" Lizz said.

"Sure!" Alluka reached inside her side pocket and unfolded a piece of paper. "This is our address," she said as she handed me the paper.

I took it from her hand and looked down at the address. The location of their house was at the west side of town. "So... does this mean we're taking a cab?"

"Yup! That's how we got there. I'll gladly pay," she said cheerfully. I wonder if Killua knew how much Alluka was exploiting his money.

******************

After a half hour of driving, the orange sunset peaked over the top of the trees of the forest. We were getting pretty far away from the core of town. There weren't any houses showing up. How far do they live exactly?

The cab stopped where there the road intersected with a dirt path. "All right, this is as far as I can go," the cab driver said. "That will be 358.2 Jenny."

"Thank you, sir!" Alluka said as she gladly handed him her credit card. Lizz and I stepped out of the cab, surveying the area. There was nothing but trees out here. "Thank you!" Alluka said before the cab drove off.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Lizz asked unsure. I was having my doubts as well. Unless Alluka and Killua live in a cabin in the woods, we may have taken a way off turn.

"This is the place," Alluka said without a single trace of doubt. Without questioning any further, we followed Alluka into the woods, not sure where we were heading. The sky was getting dinner, and I was beginning to worry that Alluka may have the worst sense of direction.

Before I could doubt her any further, I spotted some sort of shape passed the trees of the thicket. A few more steps closer, and then the view became clear. In a clearing of the forest was an air blimp, being held down by several ropes nailed to the ground.

"Whoa," Lizz and I said in awe simultaneously. This was my first time seeing an air limp this close before, it was huge.

"This is it!" Alluka through her arms in the air, presenting our party spot, then lead us inside. When we walked on the metal platform through the door, the inside was dark. When all of us entered, the lights were suddenly switched on.

"Surprise!"Killua chimed from a kitchen area, pulling a string attached to a party popper. The popper exploded with confetti raining in the air. Sitting next to him was a white frosted, two-stacked birthday cake with colorful candles lined around the perimeter.

By instinct, Lizz and I both cheered in unison, "Happy birthday, Alluka!"

Alluka clapped and giggled at the splendid surprise planned just for her. "Oh wow. This is amazing!" Yeah, no kidding. A surprise party on an air blimp. Someone give this guy the best older brother award.

For the rest of the night, we ate food and sang karaoke in that air craft as it took off air born. The night was beautiful, especially with the glowing city below us like a lake of stars. It was my first experience traveling in air.

Eventually, Lizz sang until she dropped. She passed out on the coach with the mic still in her hand, and Alluka was already napping, resting her head on her brother's lap. It was just me and Killua who were left awake.

I sat across from him on the coach, silently watching him as he stroke Alluka's hair. Alluka slept with a smile, dreaming so peacefully.

"Thanks for inviting us," I said quietly, trying not to wake the two up.

"You're welcome. Thanks for coming, and taking care of Alluka," he said while still looking down at Alluka in her sleep.

"You sure outdid yourself this year," I said, admiring the inside of their ship. "I can't believe you actually rented a blimp for Alluka's party."

"I didn't rent it," Killua stated. "The only thing I did was the party."

At first, I had a hard time comprehending what he just said. "Wait, you mean you own this ship?" I asked, trying to get what he meant.

"Yeah. We both live here," he simply answered.

"Just the two of you?" Then I remembered their family circumstances. "Oh yeah, that's right. You guys have family issues, right?" Killua looked down, then silently nodded in response. "Did that mean you two ran away?"

Killua lifted his face. "Well, I wouldn't consider it running away if they let us leave... sort of..." Wow, they must've had it hard. I've had a few friends before with family problems, but theirs was the most unique to me so far.

"How old were you when you left?" I continued to ask with great amounts of concerning interest.

"When I was thirteen years old."

"Wow, that young?" I asked in astonishment. I still couldn't help how sorry I felt for Killua, having to leave his home to protect his little sister. I couldn't imagine myself being on my own at that age.

"It's no big deal," he shrugged off. "We never liked our house anyways, and we can take care of ourselves pretty well. We're a lot better off here than back there." He ended his sentence with no sign of regret, sounding like it was very personal.

I scratched my arm, not sure if should continue this conversation. "You and Alluka must've really had a harsh childhood," I said honestly. Killua turned his way toward me with interest. "But at least you two are lucky to have each other. I can tell that you two really love each other."

Killua showed a slight smile. "You know, there are some things I kinda envy you for..." he whispered.

"What was that?" I asked, not sure if I heard him correctly. Killua carefully lifted Alluka's head and slipped out of the seat, replacing her support with a pillow.

"I'll drop you and Lizz off at your houses," he said, not answering my previous question. "Thanks again for making this Alluka's best birthday."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. If anything, Killua was the one who planned it.

"You see, every year Alluka and I celebrate her birthday the same way with the cake and everything. What's special about this year is that she got to celebrate it with her own friends for the first time," He turned around and beamed at me the warmest smile I have ever seen him show. "Thanks for making that happen."

*****************

At the top of a building roof stood a man in a green and yellow costume with yellow pin needles sticking out. The man had pale skin, sharp, wide black eyes, and long back ink hair that flowed with the wind. He watched as the air blimp fly passed the moon. Behind him appeared a pale joker with pink hair. "Why didn't you take it when you had the chance?" Hisoka asked him suspiciously.

The man in green didn't turn around to face him, but still answered. "One of the first things you learn about being an assassin is to wait for the right moment to take out your target."

"So what are you waiting for?"

"For the perfect opportunity," A grin plastered on Illumi's face as his dark energy began surging out of his body. "This can be very interesting."