As soon as Killua said that, you felt a powerful, yet otherworldly presence emanating from Alluka. The force of it blew yours and Illumi's hair back.

'What....what's this?! It's unlike anything I've ever felt before...'

With Illumi's guard down and his grip loosened on you, you pry yourself away from his grip. Falling to the ground, you clutch the side of your neck that was pricked by the needle, before running as fast as you can to Killua's side before Illumi can react.

Even though you see Killua glaring daggers at Illumi, bloodlust dripping from him as he did so, he pulled you close to him, gripping your shoulder protectively.

You look at Alluka. To your surprise, you see her face turn white. Her eyes and mouth were pitch black, like a mask.

"Ai," she said.

Killua seems unfazed by this sudden change in appearance and presence. Instead, he turned to face her. Meanwhile, you stared in shock at the sudden change in Alluka, yet you made no move to step away from Killua. You remained silent, pushing your numerous questions to the back of your mind.

Illumi seemed to regain his composure, as he frowned slightly at Killua. "Kil--"

"Nanika!" Killua commanded, cutting him off. "Send the three of us far away from Illumi," he says, looking down, letting the shadow of his hair cover his murderous glare.

"Ai," Alluka said simply. You look at both of them in confusion. 'Did Killua just call Alluka Nanika?'

Suddenly, you feel your feet leave the ground. Your vision turns into a flash of white, as Killua's grip tightens on you. A split-second later, you find yourself in another forest, yet you can tell it's a completely different one, as the trees looked much greener and more flowers were present, compared to the much denser, darker green forest you camped in.

Meanwhile, Illumi simply watches as the three of you disappeared from his sight. He sighs in frustration, yet his expression remained monotonous. "Just when I found them...." he mumbles, walking away from the scene, deactivating his control on the Needlemen and leaving them to die from exhaustion.

_ _ _

"What... what happened just now?" You ask quietly and hesitantly, wide-eyed as you tried to process everything that just transpired in front of you. Suddenly, you drop to your knees, clutching the injury in your shoulder, as the pain starts to seep in after your adrenaline rush from earlier.

"(Y/N)!" Killua exclaims, about to rush over to you.

"Don't! Take care of Alluka first, she's the most injured," you say, wincing in pain. You remove your hand from your injury, feeling your slick blood in between your fingers. You stare at it for a second, before shaking your head profusely. 'No, no, not now. I have to find a way to help Alluka.'

"Alluka, Nanika, are you okay?!" You hear Killua yell in worry and panic. He examines Alluka's wound in her stomach. 'Crap, it's deep. She's losing blood too quickly. I'm gonna have to issue a command to Nanika again.'

You struggle to get up and limped over to where Alluka is. Killua stopped you from going any further. "You idiot, stop being so reckless, you're just gonna worsen your injuries if you keep moving like that," he grabs both your arms to stable you, while carefully making sure to not touch your injury. You look at him. He was in a nervous sweat, while his eyes held the most fear and worry you've ever seen as he scanned your body for injuries.

"Nanika," he calls to Alluka, who still had the same white face and pitch-black features. "Heal (Y/N) and Alluka's injuries."

"Ai,"

You see Alluka or rather, Nanika, touch her stomach with a glowing finger. In a blinding flash of light, all her injuries disappeared, as if nothing happened. You stare in awe as she stands up and walks over to you, touching your shoulder with the same glowing finger. You feel yourself being enveloped in a flash of white. As soon as you saw color again, you looked down to see that not only was your shoulder injury healed, but all of your other minor injuries as well.

"Wh-What...?" you mumble to yourself, looking at your now clean hands and body.

"Killua, pat my head!" You hear Nanika say, facing Killua eagerly. "Yeah, yeah. Good job, Nanika," Killua replies with a soft smile, patting Nanika's head generously.

"I... don't understand..." you say to Killua, watching him as he continues patting Nanika.

Killua looks at you with worry. "Can you stand?" he asks, gently bringing you to your feet. You nod. "Yeah, I feel as if nothing happened," you say, looking at Killua expectantly. He sighs in understanding. "This will be a long story... Nanika, I want you to meet someone," he says, grabbing Nanika's attention once more. "(Y/N), this is Nanika. Nanika, this is (Y/N)," he casually spoke, patting Nanika's head as he did so.

"Hi... Nanika," you wave reluctantly, she waves back in acknowledgment. "U-um... is Nanika like... an alter ego of Alluka or something?" You ask.

"No, Nanika is a different person. Nanika calls me "Killua," while Alluka calls me "Onii-chan". Aside from that, Nanika has a special power, one that allows her to grant any wish."

He continues explaining Alluka and Nanika's situation and powers, while you listen intently, only asking more questions once in a while.

"Is Nanika's power the 'Nen' thing you talked about yesterday?" you asked.

"I-- I'm actually not sure. It feels very similar, but I feel like there's more to it. the best way I can describe her power is that it's otherworldly," he replies.

"I think... I get it now," you say. By this point, Nanika fell asleep and Alluka seemed to have returned, but she wanted to rest as well. Killua settles her by a nearby tree, so she can lay in the shade.

However, you still had many questions. "But....about what happened earlier... that man with long black hair, who is he?"

Killua frowns. "Illumi, my brother," he says, gritting his teeth. "Illumi wants to control Nanika through me. He keeps saying it's for our family, but my parents already gave up on her, it's purely for his own interest,"

"I see... no wonder you had to keep her powers a secret... it's so that people like him won't go after her,"

"Exactly," Killua replies.

"He's a horrible guy.... and also really powerful to boot," you say, shivering at the memory of his presence. "Hey, Killua... what kind of family do you have?" You ask, remembering Killua's electrical abilities from earlier and now, Nanika's mysterious power.

He only chuckles, though it wasn't one of joy. "I'll tell you about it one day." You nod at his response.

He sighs, sitting down by Alluka's sleeping figure. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess," he mumbles, breaking eye contact from you, as a look of regret crossed his features. He then lowers his head, the shadows from his hair obstructing your view from his eyes. You frown at this.

"Don't say that. It was out of your control. Plus, I don't really mind. I want to help out, It's the least I can do," you reply comfortingly. "Friends help each other right? So let me help you," you say, reaching out for his hand. You held it firmly and reassuringly.

He chuckles bitterly at this, rubbing his eyes with his free arm, sniffing as he did so. He finally looks up at you, a sad smile touching his face, "You're a really selfless person, you know that?"

'No, Killua. You're the selfless one.'

A brief silence hangs over the two of you. Eventually, Killua grips your hand back. "(Y/N)," he starts in a determined tone. "I won't let something like this happen to you again. From now on, I'll protect you, along with Alluka and Nanika." He looks at you fiercely.

You stare at him for a bit, admiring how quickly he's able to get up from all this. Then, you sigh, slowly shaking your head as you did so. "I really appreciate it, but it's not gonna work."

He stares at you, flustered. "What? What do you mean it's not gonna work?" He asks, not expecting the response he was given just now.

"Look, Killua. You shouldn't be sacrificing yourself for us, it's not gonna end well," you state. "You should let Alluka learn how to defend herself. Maybe get some cool abilities like yours or something..."

Killua's eyes widen at this. "That's too risky, she could seriously get hurt. It'll be much safer for me to protect her, and you!" He whisper-shouts, careful not to disturb Alluka.

You frown. "You got it backwards, Killua. Geez, you should seriously think about yourself for once," you facepalm. "What if you're the one who gets injured, what then? Alluka can't protect you, we need to keep Nanika hidden, so we can't just use her, and I don't have the amount of skill you have. I wouldn't be able to protect you that well."

"I've gotten beaten and bruised many times, (Y/N), I can handle this. You don't have to worry about me," he states calmly and confidently.

Your eyes widen, not believing what you just heard. You suddenly grabbed his shoulders, making him face you completely. He looks at you in shock and confusion.

"Killua...did you hear what you just said...?" you state in horror. "Killua, your body is not an object. How could you say that?!" You whisper-shout, your voice cracking in the process due to emotion.

"What... are you talking about? I need to keep my friends safe. I need to keep you and Alluka safe, it's only natural I'd do this," he states matter-of-factly.

You stare at him in horror, 'Does... he never do anything for himself?' You wonder. "You stupid--" you cut yourself off, as your breath hitched in your throat, and tears started to flow from your eyes.

"(Y/N)...?"

You rest your head on Killua's shoulder, letting your tears soak his shirt. "Stop being so self-sacrificing, Killua... I get it, you're incredibly strong and smart, you could get us out of any dangerous situation, but--" you pause, sniffling for a bit. "Think about yourself for once, please? Yes, we may be safe, but how about you?" You say shakily, wrapping your arms around him. Killua stiffened at this, but he eventually relaxed. "Please, please, Killua. Let us get stronger, for all of our sakes... and--" you tighten your grip on him. "So we can protect you too,"

Killua paused, processing your words. Eventually, he hugged you back. He hesitantly leaned his head on your shoulder and rubbed your back comfortingly. "I get it, (Y/N). I get it," he states. "Fine, I'll let Alluka train, you as well. That's a promise."

You broke from the hug. Looking directly into his eyes with your tear-stained ones. You rubbed your eyes to get a clearer view. "Really?"

He smiles. "Yeah,"

You smile, with pure happiness and relief. "Thank goodness," you say.

Killua smiles back at you, though a lingering question remained in the back of his mind.

'Why... does she care so much about me?'