He was sitting in his room, messing with a piano app on his tablet when he heard a noise from Kalluto's room. Killua blinked, then stopped playing around and peeked through his door. His eyes widened when he saw Kalluto trying to get out of the frilly purple dress mother had forced him into before she left. "I c-could...help you with that" Kalluto met his eyes, then nodded. He walked over and helped Kalluto out of the dress, then grabbed a shirt and some pants and helped him dress again. "Thanks..." He said, in a soft emotionless voice. Killua felt bad for Kalluto, his mother was always dressing him up and making him do things.

But... he'd never seen his little brother smile for real. He'd never seen him laugh, or enjoy anything. His eyes were always dull, like...like he couldn't feel. Killua left his room after patting his head, but tripped over something in the hallway. "O-Ow..." Killua felt himself get yanked upwards by the arm, letting out a cry of pain as the nails dug in. "Stop being so clumsy, you're so helpless" Illumi said coldly. Killua yanked his arm free with a whine. "Ow, that hurt" His brother scoffed. "Wimp" Killua shot him an injured look. "H-Hey! y-you're the one who grabbed me. I b-bet you'd be-" Killua gasped as suddenly he was jolted, and he started tumbling down the stairs.

He covered his head, tears stinging his eyes. He hit the bottom, then started sobbing. He could taste blood in his mouth, he'd bitten his tongue in the fall. His leg ached, he'd hit his head, there was a rugburn on his elbow. Illumi descended the stairs, and he was struck in the side with a foot. "Quiet you little attention seeker" he snapped. Killua covered his mouth, trying to muffle his sobs. Everything hurt, how had he'd fallen in the first place? One look at Illumi's face, and he knew. It was on purpose, his brother had shoved him.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Kil!" His father shouted, and Illumi knelt down next to him. "You keep your mouth shut. If you say a word it'll be worse" he hissed. Killua trembled, terrified. He knew his brother hated him, but he didn't...he didn't think that he'd actually hurt him. Killua was picked up by his father, who murmured soothing words to him as he felt for injuries. "Hey, shh. It's ok. You're ok" His grandfather stroked his hair, looking worried. "What happened Kil?" He opened his mouth, then his eyes fell on Illumi. Killua sniffled a little. "I-I-I...f-fell....down the s-stairs" He mumbled. His mother came in. "What's the holdup-" She gasped, then Silva sighed. "he fell down the stairs" His mother let out a huff. "You mustn't be so clumsy dear"

Zeno shot her a glare. "Don't be so insensitive, he's only a child" Illumi glared at the ground. "Hello mother, I missed you too father" He muttered under his breath, before walking away. Killua was confused, but his attention was drawn away from Illumi's back and towards his father as he spoke. "Don't play near the stairs next time Kil, you're lucky you only got a rugburn and a few bruises." That, scared him more actually. W-What if...he does it again. What if, I'm not lucky that time.

That, wasn't the last time Illumi hurt him. It started with tripping him every now and again, bumping into him on purpose. But then, he'd struck him in the face for the first time a few months later. Killua lived in fear of his brother, and he couldn't say a word to his parents. His stuttering problem got even worse, he didn't think it was possible. He couldn't say a single sentence without stuttering at least twice. He'd make up excuses on how he fell, or bumped into something. The bullying at school got worse, school used to be his favorite part of the day but that was gone now. School meant a break from the hatred of his older brother, but now it was just another opportunity to be scared and hurt and tripped.

Killua often cried alone in his room, wishing things could change. He'd thought about telling his parents a few times, but the moment he got the courage to his brother would stomp it right out with a single look. Milluki never instigated anything, but he turned a blind eye to the abuse. Kalluto was no help, he was pretty sure he didn't even know what was going on either. His mother reprimanded him constantly for his stutter, although now only when his father and grandfather weren't there due to them telling her not to. Killua wasn't sure where his life went wrong, but just when he thought life couldn't get any worse, it did.