"I'm– I used to be... an assassin."

'Huh...?'

"An assassin? You mean the ones whose job is... killing people?" You found yourself gulping, as your eyes slowly widened.

He nodded solemnly. "That's right. The Zoldyck family... my family, are all assassins. I've been trained to be one since the day I was born," he continues, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he looked away.

"You're not cut out to be a Hunter. You were born to be... a killer. You're a puppet of darkness, without passion. You don't want anything or wish for anything. As one who lives in the shadows, you can only feel pleasure when people die."

"They all had high expectations of me since they wanted me to inherit the family business and all that," Killua sighed.

"A business, huh..." your mumble was drowned out by the surrounding chatter as you looked away as well. "If they wanted you to do that... why are you here?"

He finds himself chuckling. "I was sick of it all. Who wants to have their life planned out for them anyway?"

'So... he ran away from that life, huh? A life of... killing,' you frowned, as a flash of memories you'd rather forget resurfaced. As soon as it did though, you pushed it to the furthest crevices of your mind, turning to Killua curiously instead. "So, is that why your footsteps are always so quiet?"

He nods. "Yeah. I was trained to move without making a sound. It's one of the basic assassination techniques." He meets your gaze. "Illumi, along with my dad, taught me how to kill."

You widen your eyes in understanding. "I see... I bet the training was pretty brutal."

'No wonder Killua couldn't escape Illumi's grasp... Illumi's presence... is drilled into his mind.'

He found himself smiling as he leaned back onto his chair with his hands behind his head. "Brutal doesn't even begin to describe it," he chuckles, looking somehow relaxed despite what he was talking about. "You asked me about my tolerance for electricity. Well, that's because I was exposed to it since I was a baby," he smiled. "I was trained to develop a tolerance for a lot of things."

You widen your eyes at his statement. 'A lot of things... you can't mean–' You cut out your thoughts as you slammed your palms on the table. "Oi, you can't be serious! How are you still alive?!" you exclaimed as your jaw dropped.

He laughed once more, leaning forward to rest his chin on his palm. "Beats me." His eyes were somewhat listless.

'Killua... you're strong. Way too strong,' you thought, looking down at your lap. Slowly, you got up from your seat and walked over to his side.

"(Y/N)...? What's up?" Killua asked, slightly surprised at your actions.

Without much warning, you pulled him up from his seat and gave him a big, warm hug. You wrapped your arms tightly around him, burying your face onto the crook of his neck.

"H-Huh?! Oi (Y/N), w-what are you doing?!" Killua whisper-shouted, looking around for any watchful eyes as he tensed up at your touch. "W-Why are you hugging me? I just told you that I was an assassin. I killed people... thousands of them!"

"I know that, Killua..." You hugged him tighter. "But despite all that, you ran away from that life. You denied what has been drilled onto your mind for years! Not only that, but you had to suffer so much just to get to where you are." You paused, taking a deep breath. "All that and you still manage to be the nicest person I've ever met."

"Wh-Wha?! (Y/N), shut up! That's embarrassing!" Killua stuttered out as his face turned into a deep red hue. 'I just revealed that I was a murderer, and she still had the guts to come close to me?!'

When you remained silent just like he told you to, he let out a deep sigh as if admitting defeat, before gently returning the hug. "You're a weirdo, you know that?"

"Yeah. I know."

_ _ _

It was right before sunset by the time you and Killua were walking back to the place you were staying at. The streets and sidewalks grew progressively more crowded, as more and more people were on their way home after a long day.

"Killua, I really appreciate you telling me all that," you smiled as you walked close by his side, speaking loud enough for him to hear despite the surrounding chatter.

His hands seemed to bury deeper into his pockets. "Well, I was gonna have to tell you this someday, so it's not that big of a deal."

"Well, yeah, but I imagine it was really hard for you to suddenly reveal that you came from a top assassin family."

He waves his hand dismissively. "Not really, people recognize the Zoldyck name all the time, so they always know who I am as soon as I reveal my surname."

"But I never knew about the Zoldycks until today. This was the first time you had to explain your identity to anyone, right?" you ask, tilting your head towards him curiously.

He remained silent for a while, before meeting your gaze. "That's... right. The fact that I want to distance myself from them doesn't help either."

'He doesn't see himself as an assassin anymore, but as a Hunter.'

"Yeah, that... must take a lot of effort to come out and say, huh?" you pause, frowning in deep thought. 'What if–'

"...Killua, this may seem random but, when you see blood... does it make you feel strange or anything?"

He raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "I used to, but after a while, I got used to it. It doesn't really bother me anymore."

"Ah, I see," you mumble out a reply. 'It's just me, then, who still experiences that strange feeling after all those years.'

Killua faced forward once more, yet he still kept an eye on you. "Why the sudden question?" he asks.

"Nothing! Nothing, really," you give him a bright smile, pushing your thoughts to the back of your head. "So anyway, we're leaving tomorrow, right?" you ask, attempting to change the subject.

He sighs. "Yeah, we're going to a really big city, too. It's probably as populated as Yorknew,"

"Woah, seriously?" your eyes widened in awe. "Geez, they better not find us there."

Killua gave you a sidelong glance, as a hint of a smirk played at his lips. "Of course they won't."

You smiled, playfully rolling your eyes at him.

Just then, you heard Killua's phone ring.

In a flash, Killua picked up his phone and checked it. "It's Alluka!" he exclaimed as he sighed in relief, immediately picking up the call. "Oi, Alluka! Where in the world are you?!" He yelled onto the phone, as an irk mark suddenly appeared on his forehead.

You sweatdropped at his sudden irritation. 'Yeah, there's no way he's gonna say something like 'Thank god you're safe!' that easily.'

After a few more minutes of yelling and bickering, he finally shoved his phone back in his pocket with a loud huff. "Let's hurry. Alluka's already there."

You chuckled at his actions, picking up the pace a little. "Yeah, yeah."