You looked over your shoulder, worried that Killua might start chasing after you. However, all you saw was a relatively empty sidewalk, with no Killua in sight.

'He's... not following me?'

Your brows furrowed in confusion. You were very sure he would drag you back, calling you an idiot in the process.

Without knowing, your footsteps began slowing down as you thought about it. Soon after it happened, though, you snapped out of it. You have to meet with your brother very soon, and you can't afford to slow down now.

Pushing Killua out of your thoughts, you brisk-walk to the forest as quickly as you can.

_ _ _

(B/N) waved at you from his usual spot in the forest clearing. "Hi, (Y/N)!"

You smiled at him as you waved back. "Hey, Nii-chan."

He approached you, patting your head generously. "So, I'm guessing you were able to leave without anyone noticing?" He smiles.

You look down. "Uh... actually...."

"Hmm?"

You gulped. "K-Killua... he found out."

"Oh?" (B/N) tilted his head. "He didn't try to stop you?"

"He did, but I was able to get out." You looked up at your brother, only to see a wide grin on his face.

"Isn't that great?" he asks expectantly.

Your eyes widened. 'It... is?' you thought to yourself, staring at him.

His bright smile faltered when you didn't smile back. "Hmm... you look disappointed by it, though." A smirk makes its way to his face as he leans forward. "Don't tell me you were actually hoping that he would stop you?"

You tensed up at those words. For some reason, it seriously made you think about the possibility. You thought back to the time you looked over your shoulder on your way here, seeing if Killua would drag you back home.

"–(Y/N)?" Your brother shook you a little.

You looked up at him once more. "Huh? Oh..." you paused as you forced a smile. "No... there's no way I would hope for that, right? I mean, it would be bad if he found out."

Your brother laughs. "I was just joking about that, you know? Don't worry about it!" He pats your head. "But it's nice to know that you've been listening to me." He smiles.

You manage to smile back and nod. "Y-Yeah."

"Good! Now, why don't we explore the city together for a bit? We haven't done that since we were kids!"

You widen your eyes. "A-Are you sure that's okay?" you ask.

"Of course!" He smiles once more. "Well, unless you want to stay here in the forest the whole day. But that's gonna get boring real fast, don't you think?" he says, taking your hand.

You find yourself nodding as you put on a small smile. "Okay."

___________

"...Killua? What are you doing standing there?" Ryu raises his brow, seeing Killua standing right in front of the entrance. "You planning to go out?"

Killua glances at Ryu through the corner of his eye. "No, it's nothing." He closes his eyes and sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ryu raises a brow. "Oh, okay..." he trails off, watching Killua walk past in a strangely calm manner.

Ryu looks at the entrance door once more. "By the way, have you seen (Y/N)? I saw her walking here a few minutes ago," he asks, narrowing his eyes at Killua as he waits for his reaction.

Killua stops in his tracks. He stays silent for a bit, before turning to Ryu with a calm expression. "No, I haven't seen her since this morning."

"Oh... I see." Ryu widens his eyes a little. "Alright then, I'll be checking on Senka if you need me."

Killua merely nods, turning back and walking over to another room.

Ryu continues to watch, a bad feeling settling on his stomach. "Come to think of it, things haven't been the same between them since that fight..." he mumbles, making his way to Senka's room.

_ _ _

"...I knew it!" Senka exclaims, smirking smugly at Ryu after he finishes explaining his suspicions between you and Killua.

Ryu rolled his eyes. "Sure you did."

"No! I really knew something was up! Mostly with (Y/N), though."

"Really? What did you notice?"

Senka put a finger to her chin. "Hmm... well, she looked way more sleepy than usual, and she would space out a lot with this subtle frown on her face."

Ryu raised a brow. "Are you sure it isn't just because she messed up her sleep schedule?"

"What? Well even if that's the case, what would be her reason for doing that?" Senka asks, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Sure, there was the fight with Sanguis, but I wouldn't think someone like (Y/N) would be that affected by it," she explains.

Ryu sighs. "What's even more strange is how distant Killua and (Y/N) have been lately. They used to be attached by the hip, I swear."

Senka bursts into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Sure, just don't say that in front of Killua!" she says, calming down a little. "But seriously, we're gonna have to check on them right now."

"Right now??"

"Yeah! We gotta make sure everything's fine!" Senka sits up straight from her bed and tries to get out.

Ryu widens his eyes. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" He exclaims, gently pushing Senka back down.

"As I said, we gotta check on (Y/N) and Killua! You just said it was strange that they were acting this way."

Ryu facepalms as he shook his head. "You know you're still injured, right?" He deadpans.

"I can walk!"

"Uh-huh, sure. And tomorrow you'll be bedridden again."

An irk mark appears on Senka's forehead. "No, I won't!"

Ryu sighs. "Just calm down and wait until you're better! I'll be the one to check on them, okay?"

"Really? Are you sure you'd be able to handle that?" Senka smirks at him.

Ryu opens his mouth to clap back, but he ultimately falls silent.

Senka scoffs. "Thought so."

Ryu grumbles. "Ugh, fine, fine! At least wait until you can walk around before trying that, at least!"

"Deal!" Senka takes Ryu's hand, shakes it, then lies back down on the bed to sleep.

Ryu rolls his eyes. "What a weirdo."