"Nii-chan?" You waved your small hand in front of your brother's face.

No response. (B/N) just sat there staring off into space with a huge frown. You could see his left hand subconsciously stroking his right forearm, which was heavily bandaged due to the recent incident with your parents.

You tilted your head. "...Nii-chan?"

No response again.

A childish pout made its way to your face as you started jumping in front of him. "NII-CHAN!!"

"–What?" Your brother finally managed to snap out of his thoughts. His frown faded away as he looked at you with a small smile.

"Are you okay, Nii-chan?" you asked him worriedly. "Does your arm hurt??"

(B/N) looked taken aback for a moment before shaking his head. "My arm's fine, (Y/N). You did a great job bandaging it." He chuckles.

"Oh..." you furrowed your brows slightly. "Then, what were you staring at earlier?" you wondered, looking at the direction your brother was facing. You only saw rows and rows of trees with barely any leaves left. Winter was approaching, after all.

(B/N) shrugged and stood up. "It was nothing," he replied, patting you on the head. "Do you wanna head home? It's starting to get really chilly."

"Okay!" You nodded at him with a grin. "I want hot chocolate!"

"Yeah, sure."

_ _ _

You decided to sit by the dining table today. You sipped on your hot chocolate, letting your small feet dangle from the tall chair.

"Hey, Nii-chan... Do you hate Mom and Dad?" You asked, blowing off the steam from your cup.

Your brother sat in front of you, visibly tensing up at the question. "...Why do you ask?"

You looked down. "Well... Mom and Dad hurt you really badly..." you mutter.

(B/N) reached for his right arm on instinct. "Oh... don't worry about that, (Y/N). I don't hate them," he says, giving you a wide, reassuring smile.

You looked up at his face. "Are you sure??" you ask, furrowing your brows suspiciously.

Your brother chuckles, standing up from his seat. "Yeah of course, (Y/N)." He smiles, patting you on the head. "I'm sure things will go back to normal in no time!" He offers you a thumbs up.

"Okay!!" You smile back at him.

_ _ _

Well, too bad your brother's a liar.

It was late afternoon, and you were walking back home with your brother. Rather, your brother was the one walking. You, meanwhile, were happily skipping towards the house.

You managed to get to the front door ahead of him. But as you were about to open the door, you heard voices coming from inside. Familiar ones.

It was your parents.

Your eyes widened. Normally, you would slam the door open and run towards them with open arms. You always remembered them greeting you with warm smiles, but now, you questioned if those smiles were even real.

On instinct, you looked back at your brother's bandaged arm, then at his face. You could see the small smile vanish from his face as he looked at you worriedly.

"Nii-chan..." You watched as he brisk-walked towards you.

"What's wrong?" He put a hand on your shoulder. Soon afterward, he tensed up. It seems he heard the voices as well.

You look up at him with worry, fearing what might happen if you open the door.

(B/N) looks back at you, pulling you close to him. "Stay close to me, (Y/N)," he says, before placing his hand on the doorknob and pushing it open.

Immediately, the voices stopped. You saw your parents staring at both of you as they sat on the couch. It seems they were discussing something important. You tensed up at their gazes, before quickly hiding behind your brother.

(B/N) scoffed, glaring at your mom especially. "Oh, I thought you'd be gone for another few weeks? Why are you back here?"

Your mom sighed. "It was an urgent job-related matter." She pauses, looking at your dad. "Speaking of which, we also have something to tell you."

You find yourself poking your head out from behind (B/N), looking on with curiosity.

(B/N) gave you a stern glare, pushing you back behind him. "What is it, then?" He turns to your parents

Your mom stands up. "We recently accepted a big job which requires us to work all the way in a remote area." She pauses, clearing her throat. "Because of this, we will have to leave you for a few years at most."

Your brother fell silent, mouth slightly agape and eyes widened.

You were in shock as well as you stepped out from behind your brother once more. This time, your brother did not move to stop you.

"We're giving you a portion of our savings for your necessities. Make sure to spend wisely," your mom continued, ignoring both of your expressions.

"What? So you're leaving us behind just like that?" Your brother scoffed. His expression quickly morphed into anger as he crosses his arms.

Your mom sighed. "Don't say it like that, (B/N). Your father and I are already doing a lot just to provide for you!"

"But you're almost never here, even before (Y/N) was born! It's like I grew up without parents!" (B/N) argues back as he reached for his bandaged arm.

"(B/N), calm down. You have (Y/N) to keep you company." Your dad chimed in, rubbing his temples in frustration.

Your brother glared at him. "And you're okay with this?!"

"Look, we're Hunters! It's part of the job!" Your mom sighs.

The room was silent for a while. The air was tense, almost suffocating. You felt a chill go down your spine as you watched them. It was overwhelming, and before you knew it, you began tearing up.

(B/N) immediately noticed, pulling you towards him in a hug. He glared at your parents once more, before leaving the room with you and slamming the door.

Well, it seems your brother lied about hating them.

__________________

"...(Y/N)? Where are you going?" Killua poked his head from a doorway, catching you trying to leave in the middle of the afternoon.

You tensed up, whirling around to face him. "Uhhh..." you averted your eyes, trying to think of something. "I just wanted to look around for a bit. I've been staying inside for way too long." A sheepish smile made its way to your face.

Killua raised a brow. "Seriously? You're still injured, (Y/N)."

"Y-Yeah, but I can at least walk around now!"

Killua sighed as he walked towards you. "Fine. I know better than to try and convince you anyways," he mumbles. "I'll come with you, then."

'What?!'

"N-No!" You shook your hands wildly in front of you.

Killua tilted his head in confusion. "No?"

"I... I just..." you struggled to form words. "I just want to be alone for a bit." You looked down.

Killua fell silent. It was that feeling again. He was right in front of you, but it was as if he was standing miles away.

"Alright," Killua mumbles, looking down until his hair covered his eyes. "Just make sure you won't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be careful–"

"Will you really?!" Killua suddenly yelled, looking right at you. His brows were furrowed deeply, and his fists were tightly clenched so hard, his knuckles turned white.

You were taken aback by his sudden outburst. You looked back at him, seeing his deep blue eyes filled with frustration. "Kil–"

"You really won't do anything dumb?"

You opened your mouth, about to say yes. But when you did, you felt something like a lump on your throat, preventing you from speaking. For a moment, you felt trapped, not knowing what to say.

"(Y/N)?"

"Y...Yeah!" You force a smile. You managed to say it. "I won't!" you say, hurrying for the door. "I'll make sure to be back before it gets too dark, so don't worry!"

"Hey, (Y/N)–"

"See you later, Killua!" You give him a smile once more, before closing the door behind you.

Killua had a hand reaching out to you. He sighs, letting it fall to his side. "What is going on with her?"