The warehouse's interior was damp, with some moss scattered around the cracks in the walls. Old wooden crates were found stacked against a wall, but some were strewn across the ground. Taking a deep breath, the place smelled like the rain for some reason, even though it was completely dry outside. But as you followed Killua to a specific corner of the warehouse, the smell of rain started to mix with something... metallic. It was a familiar scent that you weren't sure you wanted to be reminded of.

Killua crossed his arms. "There's not much here, but it's still pretty recent... and suspicious." He narrows his eyes.

Upon closer inspection, Ryu and Senka looked as if their worries had been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Alluka makes her way to the front, eager to see what Killua was talking about. As soon as she did, she immediately cowered behind him. "Onii-chan... why is there so much blood?"

'What?!' That metallic scent made sense now.

Ryu sighed. "Thankfully, it's not enough to conclude that someone just died here." He looks at the surrounding floors. "There isn't a blood trail... that's odd..."

You made your way to the front as well. Just like Killua said, there was some blood on the floor, and some splattered on the walls. It wasn't completely dry either, so whatever happened must have been recent.

You found yourself frozen in place, seeing everything turn blood red, just like that moment from all those years ago.

"...(Y/N)?" Killua immediately recognized your dark, trance-like expression. He placed a hand on your shoulder, snapping you out of it.

"O-Oh! Uh..." You whipped your head to face Killua's. "What do you think happened here?" You managed to gather your thoughts, ignoring the tightening feeling in your chest from that faint, yet invasive, metallic scent.

Killua gave you a worried stare, before letting out a deep sigh and looking at the bloodstain once more. "Just like Ryu said, there isn't enough here to safely say that someone bled to death here." He put a hand to his chin. "And since there's no blood trail from here, whoever was injured managed to stop themselves from bleeding."

Senka put her arms to her hips. "Do you guys think a fight went down? Then one of them got injured somehow..."

"What?" Ryu frowned.

She shrugs. "I mean... how else could this have happened?"

Alluka pokes her head out from behind Killua. "So... Sanguis wasn't alone?" She looks up at Killua worriedly.

"I never saw anyone go here except Sanguis though..." Senka says, referring to her Wandering Eyes.

Ryu nods. "Plus, doesn't he usually work alone?"

Killua glances at you through the corner of his eye. "Still, I don't think we should dismiss the idea just yet. In fact, this could explain why he's been acting weirdly."

Senka and Ryu share a look of realization. "That could explain why he's been staying in this abandoned place... for a long period of time..." Senka mumbles.

"Wait." Ryu puts a hand up. "If Sanguis is with someone. Why would they fight?"

Senka sighs. "Ryu, this other person might be Sanguis' enemy as well."

Ryu frowns. "So if they're his enemy, maybe they're on our side?"

"Not necessarily..." Killua mutters, before whipping his head toward the warehouse's entrance. "Anyways, we should probably get going. We already found a bunch of things, and we can't stay for too long."

Senka's eyes widened. "Is there someone coming, Killua?" she whispers, going into her fighting stance.

Killua shakes his head. "No, I don't sense anyone, but we should get going just in case."

Senka nods. "Good idea. Let's go, Ryu." Grabbing Ryu's hand, she led him to the doors.

Alluka follows, as if in a hurry. Killua was about to follow as well before he noticed you hadn't said a word the entire time.

Killua cranes his head to look back at you. "(Y/N)?"

You were seemingly staring off into nothing, wearing that same expression you had earlier.

With a worried frown, Killua walks up to you, gently tapping you on the shoulder. "Hey, what's up?"

You jumped in your place, taking a sharp inhale. "Sorry, I must have spaced out." Giving Killua a sheepish smile, you quickly turned towards him.

"Killua, (Y/N), what's taking you guys so long?" Ryu calls from the door.

Your eyes slightly widen. "Oh! We should get going, then." You give him a small smile, before grabbing his hand and following everyone else out.

As soon as you stepped out, you took a deep, slow inhale. "The air smells so fresh now." You chuckle. "I thought I was gonna suffocate back there."

Killua didn't answer, and he remained silent for the next few minutes as you all made your way back. Even Ryu looked back to check on you two, but shrugged it off and chose not to say anything for now.

Eventually, Killua opens his mouth. "(Y/N), is it because of what we saw back there?"

"What?"

"The bloodstains." Killua looks down, averting his gaze from yours. "If it was that... I should have told you about it first. Sorry about that."

You stared at him for a moment, blinking a few times.

Killua's cheeks start to redden in embarrassment. "Oi, (Y/N)–"

"Hey, is everything okay between you two?" Ryu asks, making his way to you and Killua. "Not sure if it's just me, but you guys have been acting strangely ever since we left that godforsaken place."

Killua steals a few glances from you. "It's nothing, really..."

"Hmm...." Ryu narrows his eyes. "How about you, (Y/N)?"

You smiled softly, gazing at Killua from the corner of your eye. "He's right. We're okay!" You give him a small thumbs up.

"Oh, well I guess it was just my imagination then." Ryu smiles back, before patting yours and Killua's head. "Have fun, you two," he says, before turning his back and catching up to Senka.

Killua's attempts to regain composure all but crumbled down. "H-Have fun? What the hell does that mean?!" He whisper-shouted, but Ryu never even looked back.

You laughed softly. "Ryu can be comforting sometimes, you know? He reminds me of my brother." You sigh.

"Yeah. Not sure if Senka will agree with that, though." Killua replies as the corner of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk.

Your eyes widen slightly. "I don't think she's that mean..." you trail off for a bit, gathering your thoughts. "Well, you're comforting too, Killua. Even more than Ryu." Looking down at the thin grass under your feet, you felt your cheeks start to get warm.

"H-Huh?" Killua almost stumbles over his feet. "W-Where's this coming from, all of a sudden?"

"It's just..." you manage to look at him directly. "You... you always make me all nice and warm inside, just like the light from the Sun, you know?" You smile.

You can see those vivid blue eyes start to widen. His eyebrows curved upwards ever so slightly, and his mouth was slightly agape. "(Y/N)..." he mumbles, feeling that same warmth blossom from his chest.

After all these years of living in the darkness, who knew that even he could be a source of light to others?

__________________

Only when he was knocked down to the ground did the gash on his abdomen open up.

Sanguis scoffed. "If I were you, I wouldn't be smiling like a creepy idiot." He looks down at the man with bright Fuschia hair, watching as his blood trickles down to the floor.

He said nothing, only looked up at him with that same honeyed smile. The hand that he used to clutch his bleeding abdomen was stained crimson, just like his clothes and the ground beneath him. Slowly, he lifted his hand to his face, licking some blood off the tip of his finger.

This did not sit well with Sanguis. He pulls him up by the collar, before circling a hand around his neck and slamming him against the wall. "I really will kill you, you know that?" His deep voice went even deeper as it was laced with pure wrath.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "A broken toy like you couldn't even dream of it. I was done with you a long time ago," he said, completely unfazed.

Sanguis curled his other hand into a fist, ready to send him to hell. Suddenly, another man's voice echoed from the other side. "Alright, Sanguis and Hisoka, that's enough. We still have somewhere to go." Unaffected by the situation at all, Illumi remained as nonchalant as ever.

Sanguis squeezed Hisoka's neck even tighter, before finally letting go. Without taking his murderous glare off of him, he quickly fixed the sleeves of his coat, before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away.

Hisoka watched him go, before looking back at the floor and walls. "Oops, this is sure to leave a stain." He chuckles, using Texture Surprise to patch up the gash on his abdomen for now. "Oh well, this is sure to make things interesting." He wipes some dirt off of his face, smudging his face paint in the process. With a shrug, he walks off as well, leaving the area with Illumi and Sanguis.