"Currently we have a 3,000,000 diamond and 2,400,000 jenny in leftover cash. And we also have 2,750,000 jenny from the arm wrestling. That give us a total of around 8,000,000."

"8,150,000," Rukei corrected.

Leorio glared at her, waving his arms around, "I said around, around! Anyhow, we need to turn this into at least 9 billion the minimum opening bid for Greed Island... I don't see how we can pull that off by legitimate channels."

Gon smiled uneasily at Leorio's evaluation. "I wouldn't call that arm wrestling legitimate."

"All the challengers towards the end were half-desperate losers trying for revenge," Killua pointed out, pulling his arms behind his head.

"That's fine," Leorio grinned, "That was my original goal."

"Huh?"

Leorio continued to explain, not in the best way so Rukei didn't really get it, "We need as many people to embellish the tale."

"What do you mean?"

The man claimed that the arm wrestling was "bait" to draw out "the moles". Leorio's plan had worked apparently, when their 'moles' offered to sponsor Gon to allow him to enter some underground arm wrestling. Just as the spiky-haired boy was about to step up to the plate, someone jumped into the ring, announcing that the event was canceled for some conditional auctioning.

"To win you must play hide-and-seek! We'll start by passing out flyers. Examine the pictures on the flyer. Those seven people are your targets!"

Rukei accepted one from one of the ladies with a mask, looking the paper over; surprisingly enough, the lady that Gon had wrestled with yesterday was included among the seven. The majority of those in the pictures appeared to be playing some kind of card game when the picture was taken.

"In order to win the bid, you must capture and deliver a target to us. For each target brought in, you will receive a nice sum of 2 billion jenny! There is no time limit! It doesn't matter if your target is dead or alive. Please contact us once you've capture one!"

Gon looked up, baffled, "Two billion each?!"

"If we catch them all, we'd have fourteen billion!"

Rukei wasn't sure how she was feeling about participating. Two billion was a high number just to catch one of them so the amount of difficulty must be equally as high, if not higher. But no matter how she felt, they signed up for the job anyways.

Leorio seemed to be in good spirits for this golden opportunity, "We need to hurry."

"There's no need to rush," Killua assured in a bored tone of voice with his hands in his pockets, "They won't be able to catch our targets. After all the mafia's having trouble with them."

"What do you mean?"

"This conditional auctioning is nothing but a bounty hunt," the white haired boy explained, "In other words, the mafia is admitting that, alone, it can't capture it's targets."

Leorio mulled over the boy's words, "You have a point. They were willing to suspend everything to track them down."

But this wasn't the end of Killua's information, "I just heard that the underground auction was attacked last night."

"The underground auction?!" Leorio echoed, "Was it them? That's why there's a reward for their heads?"

"Yep. They must be crazy to steal from the mafia. And we already know who'd be crazy enough for that."

"The Phantom Troupe!"

Gon was reminded of their blonde friend upon those words. "I wonder what Kurapika's doing..."

Killua nodded, "Yeah, he should be in this city, but he hasn't made contact."

"I'll call him."

There was no answer.

Leorio put in a possibility as to why, "Maybe's he's working. I heard that he got a job as a bodyguard, probably for some VIP... He's trying to track down the Scarlet Eyes, so it must be someone from the underworld."

Gon pulled the phone away reluctantly, "What if he was guarding that person at the auction house and got caught up in the attack?"

"He wouldn't have been caught up in the attack," Leorio shot down the idea quickly, "If the Troupe attacked, he'd be actively tracking them down. It's possible that he's already captured two or three!"

"I hope you're right..."

-

"But Noriko, I-"

"No 'buts'! You, missy, are too young and too inexperienced to even think about dealing with the Phantom Troupe. Tsujou would kill me if I gave any information to you."

Rukei withheld a groan as her friends watched her call the sixth Alliance member in hopes of getting information. Unfortunately, Rukei knew almost all the information gatherers in the Alliance and they doted on her and treated her like she was five.

Rukei hung up after a few more words and sighed.

"No luck?" Gon asked hesitantly and as she shook her head, he gave her an encouraging smile as he pulled off his headphones and rolled away from the computer he sat in front of.

Killua slumped in the chair, "A two billion reward per spider is pretty appealing but finding them will be impossible."

The brunette stood up straight, ready to get a break from the constant calling; she was tired of answering the numerous questions of 'Aw.. Is my wittle Iron Face doing okay?' and the like. "I know it's late," Rukei started, "But is anyone hungry? I can get something."

There was a short discussion on what everyone wanted before Rukei was off to get it. It really was late; it had become completely dark outside before she knew it. They had all been cooped up with the computers for hours in the small hotel.

Rukei looked up to the sky, there wasn't many stars to be seen across the blank blanket. The city was too bright for that. Of course, she was used to this type of scenery; she lived in a busy city that shone at night too, flashing signs, tall buildings, and crammed streets. She-

The girl quickly fished out her phone when she heard it ring, and answered it cautiously when she saw that the number was 'unknown'. "Hello?"

"And the little lady answers."

Rukei tensed. Of course, of course, this crazy, creepy, psychopathic man would have her number. "What do you want?"

There was a familiar chuckle from the clown. Her finger rested on the red button to hang up. "Would you like to hear a story?"

"No, I don't."

No one payed heed to her wishes. "A little lady and her friends traveled to a great big city in search of her friend's father."

Rukei did not have time for Hisoka's trash.

"But what a scary and dangerous city it was! Danger on every side. Spiders, swindlers, thieves... What a bad, bad place for the little lady and her friends to be in!"

"I'm hanging up," Rukei stated dully. But she didn't hang up fast enough.

"But they didn't know that they were already taking shelter in the worst place of all." Part of Rukei told her to put down the phone and not answer any calls for the rest of the night but another part of her desperately told her to hold on and listen carefully. "Naive and innocent were they to sleep under the Witch's roof-"

She didn't need to hear anymore than that to be spinning on her heels and sprinting back to the hotel.

What was she doing? He must have been lying; it must have been one of his stupid jests. He couldn't possibly know their plans of action. But he knew something, he knew something about her that he shouldn't and something about them that she didn't. She was an idiot! She had been so stupidly relaxed, so stupidly careless after they had left Heaven's Arena, she should have known that they would be perfect targets here, in this city at this time. They couldn't have gotten to them yet, could they? They were cautious, so they couldn't have but what if-? How much farther? She was too slow! When she got back there, would they be gone? Or would they be waiting there with a gun pointed to their heads and she would be there just in time to see them-

They were there.

Gon, Killua, and Leorio were talking with each other, the latter two looking at the first, who was holding up his license, like he was an idiot. They all turned to look at her, slightly confused and concerned after she had thrown open the door with so much force.

"What's wrong?" Gon questioned, a worried look marring the proud 'great idea' expression, "You don't look so good."

Rukei wasn't quite sure what to say as she stood there in the doorway, staring, the door falling closed behind her. "You're... You're alright."

Killua stood up warily at her comment, albeit very bewildered, "What do you mean by that?"

The first thought that ran through her mind was that the clown had tricked her and she had been made a fool of. But panic had still it's firm, clawing grip around her heart and mind as she straightened her posture and strode forward briskly. "Pack your things. Now."

Leorio stepped in front of her, demanding for an explanation for her actions and commands, "Rukei, seriously, what's wrong?!"

"Is there something the matter?"

She whirled around to see a tall, pretty lady in a uniform standing at the door, hands delicately folded as she stared at the group, politely concerned.

Leorio turned and seemed like he was about to say something or apologize to the woman, but was held back as Rukei moved in front of him in a stiff, swift movement. "Who are you?"

The lady furrowed her eyebrows, rather confused by the girl's question and cold demeanor. "I am the receptionist, my name is Elaine Callaway."

"You aren't the same receptionist. This small hotel only has one."

The lady laughed dryly, "What are you talking about-?"

Rukei continued on warily, watching very carefully for the lady's movements. "Your right hand is folded over your left hand. The first receptionist folds her left hand over her right hand. You aren't the same person."

The lady's false concerned smile widened into a grin as she pulled one of those delicate hands up to rip off the mask and wig, "You really are something else. Flask did this disguise for me, I'm thoroughly impressed, Rukei."

The lady who stood there had narrow peridot colored eyes; a familiar face.

"Witch."

"Please, don't call me that," Witch chided, her heels clicking against the floor. Rukei wanted to flee but behind her were them, the people she needed to protect, "I said my name is Elaine Callaway. Codenames and alias are useless and childish, are they not?" Elaine tilted her head to the side, a couple loose strands from her bun falling lightly, "Isn't that something that Wistle would say?"

The name reverberated in her mind, and stirred up a fire that began to burn at her mind and sense. "Are you mocking him?"

Elaine swiped away the idea with a gesture, "Of course not, Wistle was dear to me too, see? To be given such a codename like 'Witch', hearing 'Elaine' was something I looked forward to."

"'Dear to you'?" Rukei repeated spitefully, disbelief pronounced in every syllable, "Why are you supporting something that he died to destroy?"

Elaine gave her a look; a pitying, 'poor you', 'one day you'll understand' look, "You wouldn't know, Rukei, but as there will be many people dear to you and you will have to choose who is dearest."

'Who is dearest?'

"Rukei, do you know this person?" Leorio asked but he could sense the hostility between them enough to know that the woman was not one to be trifled with.

Gon had caught on since Rukei had called the woman by the name she was familiar with, "If she has a codename then..."

"She must be a part of the Zakuya," Killua finished, shifting with a new alert air about him.

Leorio twisted around to face the other two, a baffled look on his face, "The Zakuya? Haven't they already been uprooted?"

"'Uprooted' wouldn't be the right word for it," Elaine interrupted and Rukei made a motion for everyone to step further back, "A better word would be 'cut down'. And like a weed, we've sprung up again, stronger than before. Do you understand, Rukei?"

There was no door towards the back for them to flee with, only windows, and they were on the second floor. They could survive that fall. They could-

"There is no escape."

Rukei couldn't let the stupid emotions and memories get in her way now. Right now, she had to get them out of here, Rukei had to protect them.

The girl dropped her tone to a whisper as she gave the three behind her instructions. "When I give you the signal, jump out the windows."

They all nodded, though Leorio looked pretty uneasy about jumping out the building, Gon assured the older man that he would be unharmed if he used Ten to guard himself.

Elaine approached them, a little bit of a smirk on her lips, "And what may you be whispering about?"

"Now!"

The sound of shattering glass and splintering wood confirmed that they had followed her directions. Rukei stayed, drawing her weapon carefully to the surprised Elaine, who began laughing after a few moments. "Oh, Rukei. What a sweet thing you are!"

Gon quickly whipped around when he realized that the brunette was not among them when they had jumped out.

"That freakin' idiot!" Killua hissed, as he came to the same realization, ready to dart back and retrieve her. He stopped when he saw her near the window, thinking she had caught up, but he realized by her posture and look on her face that she had no intention of following them.

It was the third time. It was the third time Gon and Killua had seen her glare. The first when Hanzo beat the crap out of the Gon, the second when both boys called Rukei out for being an idiot and trying to run away, and this was the third.

Her expression was marked with a terrifying sternness and frightening narrowed gaze but in the coral eyes, there was a flare of desperation and pleading. "Run."

Yeah, right.

Rukei quickly turned on her heels back towards Elaine, only hoping that she had gotten her message across to her friends down below. She was never supposed to turn her back on her opponent, she knew that, but the consequence of not following the advice had become painfully clear. Quite literally.

The brunette tried to block a hit, only to receive a three gashes across her arm. She sprung away quickly, and spared Elaine's hand a glance. The lady had just put on her favorite glove, whose fingers came to a metallic points; a tooled version of Killua's claw.

"It's amazing how you and Shichi have both trained under the same person, but fight so differently," Elaine mused, inspecting the drops of pink that ran down the shining metal, "You're so rigid and predictable. Your sister would be so much harder to fight; I'm terribly glad you left your headquarters!"

Rukei said nothing instead and tried to evaluate everything that she could do and use in her situation and surroundings. She had to defeat Elaine, or at least hold her off long enough for Gon, Killua, and Leorio to run far enough away from her or any allies that she may have possibly brought along. Though, it wasn't highly likely.

Elaine Callaway was Subject 3.

The brunette pulled the trigger when Elaine had darted at her again, striking the lady between the eyes, stunning and causing her to back up and grip her forehead. Rukei took the moment to swing the butt of the gun into Elaine's stomach and upwards towards the woman's chin when she felt spikes dig into her wrist and her attack came to a complete stop.

"Gotcha~"

The first thing that registered when the woman easily lifted Rukei off the ground, was that she could not let her hands or wrists get damaged. She head butted Elaine, proving that apparently Rukei was not only iron faced, but also iron headed as the woman released from shock and pain.

On the ground, Gon was determined not to leave Rukei behind, no matter how scary the girl's glare was or how many whacks on the head he was going to get later for it. The boy quickly turned to Killua, "Killua, give me a boost!"

The white-haired boy quickly understood what he meant, placing his hands out as a makeshift platform. Gon quickly stepped onto it and Killua sent him flying upwards towards the window.

The brunette saw Gon in the air out of the corner of her eye, and panic, frustration, and shock all ran through her at the same time. She wasn't sure what kind of action she was supposed to take but she was shown that she had no need to as Gon smashed into some kind of invisible barrier, as if he had run into some kind of glass before falling back onto the ground.

Rukei quickly rushed to the window at this and at her attempt to stick her head out, her head collided with the sturdy, transparent pane. The girl backed up with a new suspicion, before drawing back her leg and launching a powerful kick that could crack bullet proof glass, but she was thrown back instead.

"Rest assured, Rukei," Elaine started cheerfully, though the brunette could sense the dark underlying tones, "Your friends won't be able to return. This is my Nen ability, Witch's House. It keeps my designated 'target' in and everyone but my 'target' out. Do you understand, Rukei?" The woman lifted her chin, looking down at Rukei who quickly jumped to her feet, "There is no escape."

For a second, even if it was just for a second, she saw a figure standing there in his white lab coat, a figure she feared. She feared his footsteps. She feared his shadow. For a second, she thought she saw-

"Professor."

Elaine's smile widened and Rukei swung her head around, spinning left and right in search for him. She had seen him, clearly for a second, even a second, and he would take her away. Fright built up in every cell of her body as she tensed, bumping into the table of computers behind her, her hand knocking off the keyboard and mouse.

"You're afraid of him?" Elaine giggled, covering her mouth with her clawed hand, "Well, I suppose you wouldn't know after all. I happen to find him absolutely enchanting."

The snap of his footsteps.

Rukei twisted and turned in every direction, it surrounded her.

"The sound of his voice,"

A flicker of his shadow.

Rukei stumbled away, shooting wherever she saw that dark shade.

"His presence,"

Rukei's unnatural blood ran cold when she saw him. It was no longer a snap, a flicker, a second. He stood there, in his white lab coat, the figure she feared.

Elaine swooned, smiling at the man that stood in front of the girl, "Every single thing about Professor is just magic!"

"Solriss is a villain," Rukei stated dully as coral eyes met merlot eyes.

In a second, merlot eyes vanished like Solriss had never been there. No, it was almost like he disintegrated. No matter how fast or quick he was, it was not natural, the way the figure vanished. It was almost as if he were an illusion or some kind of mirage.

Elaine's smile vanished with him.

"'Sol...riss?'" The woman echoed after the girl slowly, "Is that his real name?"

The girl did not know how to respond, so she didn't, only readying the second gun from her left side.

"How do you know his real name?"

Before she knew it, she was swept off the ground and into the air, the air that she could hardly breathe in with Elaine's fingers wrapped tightly around the girl's neck. If it had been with Elaine's clawed hand, Rukei would surely have been dead. But the other path seemed to also be leading to the same destination, albeit slower, delayed by brambles and thorns.

Dots.

Black and green dotted her vision and ripped out pieces of what she saw, and sent her mind spiraling farther and farther away from the battered and torn picture. Rukei brought her gun up to the lady's neck and tried to fire, only to have it swatted away with Elaine's free hand.

"Rukei!"

Gon. Rukei could hardly move the beaten and scratched camera to look at her friends who stood where the door was, hammering against the barrier that separated them. Killua. Leorio.

She should have been angry, so, so angry but somehow, there was a small spread of happiness throughout her that kept her close as pain, hurt, and death encroached on every other side.

Suddenly air ran through her lungs, along with pain throughout the rest of her body as she was suddenly thrown into the desks and computers next to her, with every cough she felt like she was being pounded from the inside out.

"I won't kill you," Elaine concluded bitterly, towering over the girl, "Profes- Solriss wouldn't be pleased. It's not like I can kill you anyways, not while Witch's House is in effect," the lady trailed off quietly, as if the lady thought the girl couldn't hear over her fit of hacking.

Rukei staggered to her feet in the rubble of the tables and chairs. The woman stretched her armed hand and rolled it around a little, the tips glinting dangerously in the light.

The woman stepped over the fragments of wood and electronics, "Let me tell you something good, Rukei. The Solriss you saw earlier? Nothing but an illusion. The main attraction of Witch's House shows the target the people they fear and the memories they don't want to face. It gives you a perfect look into the mind of your target."

Elaine wove her way through the maze of broken furniture as the brunette continued to move back, not taking her eyes away from the lady, cutting and scraping herself over glass or other destroyed items.

"Do you want to know what you fear the most?"

Rukei's back collided where the door was, her friends yelling and slamming their hands against the barrier behind her. There was nowhere to run, no safe zone, there is no escape.

"'Good-bye'."

She hated that word.

"You hate that word," Elaine spoke, tearing apart Rukei's thoughts, little by little, a dissection, "You hate what you fear. Now, why do you fear such an everyday, ordinary, normal word?" The lady questioned, smiling as if she didn't know.

The ruckus directly behind her faded away; her friends were listening to Elaine.

"It's because you're scared of what comes after. When you hear the word 'good-bye' you have a horrible feeling that you'll never see them again," as Elaine continued, Rukei did everything she could to not clamp her hands over her ears. She gripped the single gun left tightly.

She couldn't let these stupid things cloud her mind. Not Mio or Saphia, not her parents, not Wistle, not fear.

"You are afraid of being left empty."

"That's enough!"

Rukei's eyes shot behind her at Leorio who hollered at the top of his lungs and smashed his fist against the pane repeatedly.

He pushed against the barrier, as if it were the Testing Gate and it could be opened, "Stop standing around and listening to her and start doing something, Rukei! What are you waiting for?!"

Oh.

Elaine laughed, a hazardous hand stretching out towards her, "We're both experiments, so I'll give you a choice. You only have to say 'good-bye' to one of them," she cocked her head to the side, "You can choose who is dearest-"

"Trace."

The woman stared at the girl incredulously for a few moments, but was suddenly hit to the ground by a flying computer.

Elaine cursed as she struggled to her feet from the sudden blow that had been dealt by some invisible force. By the time she looked up, Rukei was gone, but that had to be pushed to her second priority as the woman had to dodge part of the table she had broken earlier, but even as she obviously leaped to the side that piece of wood crashed into the her, suddenly turning to her direction.

When the woman rose to her feet, her head spinning, she caught sight of the oddest marking in pink drawn on the desk. Paint?

"I learned something, Elaine," Rukei stated. Where was she? What was in her voice? There was something aside from the dullness and the monotony she always had, what was it?

Something about Rukei had changed.

"On my way to the Hunter Exam, I was asked who I would choose to save between my daughter or my son. There wasn't a correct answer," she told the woman after a pause, "That's why I'm going to protect them. I'm going to protect everyone."

Elaine scoffed, ready to reach out and claw the target, "H-how naive. You can't possibly follow through with such a childish and half-baked plan!"

And then she saw coral.

A burning determination and honesty. Where had those things come from? What made her eyes begin to glow with that kind of pure intensity? When had Rukei changed?

"Wait."

Rukei stopped. She didn't know why.

Elaine leaned against the window sill behind her, a vague smile on her lips but gentler and somehow more genuine than all the smiles Rukei had seen before, "I won't tell the Zakuya about you or your friends."

What?

The girl stared up at the woman. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't believe her but something inside her wanted too. So Rukei stood dumbly frozen to the ground in confusion and wonder.

Elaine's laugh ran throughout the room, melancholic but somehow warmer. "You've changed a little, Rukei. To be truthful, I was just sent to scout the area to see if you were here. We've only received rumors, see?"

The girl asked for clarification; there was no reason for Elaine to let Rukei go. This was for Solriss' sake, wasn't it? "Why are you helping us?"

I'm not sure myself really," Elaine shrugged with that faint, tired smile still on her face, "There's nothing wrong with shutting down or controlling a program you created, is there? Just now, I realized that 'this target who I'm supposed to retrieve is just a girl. And that girl wants to protect something with her life'."

Rukei didn't understand. So she stayed silent, watching Elaine huff and dust off her bloodied uniform.

"But you're not a woman yet," Elaine teased smugly, "So don't get ahead of yourself."

And with those words, Elaine leaned back and out the broken windows, falling out casually. Witch's House had been deactivated. The brunette ran to the window sill and looked over, only to find that Elaine had disappeared completely. She hardly understood a word that Elaine spoke; it was too cluttered and all over the place, as if it was some kind of code.

But before she could think too much over the lady's words, Rukei was met with those previously behind the barrier, hounding her.

"Are you alright?" Leorio asked hurriedly, already looking at her injuries, "Which cut do you think is deepest? Were her claws poisoned?"

Rukei brushed away his panic, pulling her sleeves a bit farther down to deal with the damage later, "I'm fine. I'm not endangered, I can tell."

But Gon quickly jumped back into her face, "When did you learn to do the 'Trace' thing? Was that Nen?"

"That was-"

Stars.

The first thing she saw was spinning stars as she was sent into a throbbing dizziness. She was quickly yanked out of the vision with an upwards jerk of her collar. The second thing she saw was angry blue eyes.

"You idiot! You said, you promised that you wouldn't run away! What the heck is your problem, you iron faced, lying, stupid cheat?!"

Killua never failed in getting Rukei to raise her voice. And apparently her fist.

She couldn't remember the last time she backhanded someone this hard.

"I did not run away!" She growled, not even bothering to touch the cheek that was still stinging from his punch, much less straightening the front of her yellow hoodie. She didn't have much time either as she received a barely blocked hit.

What- did this boy want to fight?! The brunette grit her teeth as her kick had failed to reach his gut and her elbow right after that did not strike his pale face. "Pulling stupid stunts like that counts as running away, moron!" He shot back as he pushed away her attack.

"'Moron'? You're the one that knows nothing!" She grabbed his wrist as he tried to go in for an uppercut and attempted to toss him to the ground, with enough force to go through the ground, but he landed on his feet and they were caught in a lock that no one was willing to give up until Gon and Leorio tore them apart forcefully.

"Let go, Gon!"

"Leorio, put me down, now."

They weren't willing to do so, with good reason. If they had released her than Rukei was completely willing to wreck this whole place even further to pound a lesson through the boy's head of white hair. From the look on said boy's face, he was quite ready to do the same. Somehow, she was satisfied to see a trickle of red run down the side of his mouth. At least her backhand had something to prove that it had been there.

Gon tried to drag Killua farther away, not that it was working too well, as the white-haired boy almost sent the other jolting into the air as Killua tried to break his arm free from his friend's grasp, "Calm down, Killua!"

Things weren't going so well for Leorio either, as Rukei kicked furiously at the air to give the man a scare into dropping her. The man flinched but he wouldn't let go and while she very, very much wanted to bruise Killua's pretty face, she wasn't outraged enough to hit the innocent doctor. "Rukei! What's the matter with you today?!"

A few seconds was enough to clear her mind from it's formerly confused, enraged, and hurt response. She inhaled and exhaled deeply and when Leorio had affirmed that she had cooled off a little by her slackened posture, he placed her back on the ground. While she could think a little bit more clearly now, that didn't mean she wasn't angry or letting anything go. Who did Killua think he was?

She didn't hear what Gon said to the white-haired boy but whatever he had said, he had gotten Killua to settle down, or at least to the point where they weren't going to be at each other's necks. He avoided her gaze, and everyone's in general.

Leorio sighed deeply, breaking the thick, tense silence, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Gon, you can take care of Killua, can't you?" The man questioned, pointing to his cheek to clarify a little. Gon nodded, it was a simple task and he had done it before when Leorio was knocked out by Hisoka. Leorio then turned to the girl, "Then let's get you patched up."

Rukei had gotten most of her injuries bandaged and cleaned, just a cut across her forearm when she guarded. The doctor had applied some cleaning alcohol to it before wrapping it over.

"You're really something else..."

The brunette looked up with a questioning look in her eyes. She hadn't spoken much since her flash brawl with Killua and still didn't feel like speaking. Perhaps it was because her jaw still hurt.

Leorio clarified for her as he quickly pulled the roll around, "You don't even flinch when I clean out your wounds with alcohol. Doesn't that hurt?" The man came to another conclusion a couple moments later, "Or is it because of Zyphon?"

She pondered over the trivial question for a while. Yes, their makeup of blood was a little different, so things may have reacted differently to them but when she remembered Wistle, screaming like no tomorrow when Shichi tried to patch up his wounds that he got for being an idiot, she concluded that it was a 'no'. "It's not because of Zyphon. But I suppose it does sting a little."

The man sighed, tying up the wrap and placing the roll in the briefcase, "You're weird. Well, I guess if you can take a punch from an ex-assassin that can open a sixteen ton door, rubbing alcohol shouldn't mean a thing."

It probably showed in her eyes though she didn't say anything because the man continued to press the subject after looking at her.

"Why don't you apologize?"

The brunette would have scowled if it was in her nature, but the slight narrowing of her eyes would do for now. "For what?"

Leorio was completely exasperated with the girl. He set away his materials and gave her a good, long stare. "Don't act like you don't know."

Rukei huffed and looked down at her sneakers, "He started it."

The doctor had always thought of Rukei as a little bit more mature than Gon and Killua though she did have her moments of pettiness and fussiness. But really, she was just as much as a child as the other two were. "I know he was being a little unreasonable and it's not right to hit a girl, but did you really need to backhand him?"

The brunette didn't reply, and though it was hard to tell just by the look on her face, she was sulking. Rukei was really just a girl, wearing an iron mask trying to appear as a perfect robot.

"Try putting yourself in his shoes-" Leorio attempted to explain to her but he was suddenly cut off by the child.

"I was scared."

The man leaned down to get a better look at the downcast coral eyes. They were worried, hurt, and, just as she had said, scared.

"I didn't want to lose my friends too."

Leorio knew the brunette was a little awkward and wasn't particularly socially skilled but he felt like was talking to a six year old who had just gotten into a fight with her newly made friends, "Rukei," Leorio started, "There's more than one way to lose friends."

"But I-!"

"Killua was worried," Leorio interrupted firmly and the brunette fell silent, "Heck, Gon and I were worried; I'm sure Kurapika would be too, even your crazy sister! Listen, if Killua or Gon was the one who stayed behind with that insane lady, how would you feel?"

Rukei didn't say anything. It was pretty obvious, she would do the same thing that Killua did; slug some sense into them after she saved their sorry rears. But she knew who she was dealing with-

"Hey, you don't have to go fighting alone all the time," Leorio gave her a couple pats on the shoulder, "Rely on us a little."

"And just so you know, I'm not planning on letting you get hurt either."

And the little girl grew up a little. "I need to apologize."

Leorio smiled.

But all things were easier said than done because when both were left in the same room alone, they only sat and stood in awkward silence.

"Hey-"

"Killua-"

They both glanced at each other before looking away and returning to an even more awkward silence. Killua inhaled deeply and Rukei pressed her nails into her bandaged hand behind her back. She immediately dropped it when she realized her position. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Sorry about earlier."

"I apologize."

They both whipped their heads around to face each other when they had once again spoken at the same time. Coral and blue stayed together for a few moments before blue turned away to stifle laughter and coral was shielded by a hand to hide a smile.

Killua leaned his head back against the wall he sat against, his shoulder slackening at the release of tension in the room, "You have a pretty good backhand, just saying."

"Your punch was also impressive," Rukei returned, lightly touching her bandaged cheek before letting her arm fall at her side again, "The uppercut could use some work though."

"Yeah, like your side kick."

The brunette huffed, looking down at the taunting blue eyes. But she wanted to let him know something, even if that meant she had to plunge back into those questionable waters of silence. "I didn't mean to break any promise. I was scared, I was really scared of losing you all," she confessed.

Sure, Rukei was hard to read, but Killua was getting pretty used to it. The coral color itself seemed to flicker; uneasiness.

"But to be honest," the girl continued, "When you guys came back, I was really happy. But I kept thinking what would happen if-"

There was shifting and ruffling of clothes of someone getting up and soon after a sudden knock on her head. "You think too much."

Her friend gave her a grin as he shoved his hand back into his pockets.

"Besides, Gon already said it didn't he? You don't have to worry about anything."

。。。

Rukei's 'Trace' will be explained more closely in the next chapter! But I hit over 6000 words just now so, I think it's a good stopping place.

It's actually pretty late where I am, so I might have missed a couple mistakes, be sure to notify me if there's some kinda weird jump or just plain ole grammar errors. This chapter was kinda rigid and jumpy in the first place though... I ended up changing things up a lot at the last minute and then switched up some things at the last second.

I feel like drawing a lot lately... Maybe it's just the new stylus and program XD But I like the picture in the media a lot! I had to trace the kanji because crap it was hard and the shadow is still messed up. Basically it says (or is supposed to say) 'Manipulator' like the other Nen categories at the end of Hunting for Your Dream.