You've been standing outside the closed door for ages, hovering your hand in front of the doorknob.

Shaking your head, you drop your hand down to your side for the millionth time, before slowly and hesitantly raising it in front of the door again.

'Why am I like this?' you thought to yourself, clutching your head in frustration.

Finally, you took a deep breath, clearing your throat and knocking on the door.

"A...Alluka?" you called out, hoping that she could hear you from the other side. "...Can I come in?... Please?"

No response.

Your thoughts were racing.'Is... Alluka mad at me? –I mean, who wouldn't be after everything that's happened?' You pursed your lips into a thin line. Even Killua would be seething at this point. You were sure of it.

"I hope she's okay..." you mumble, looking hopefully at the door. 'Nii-chan said I could see her anytime, so that must mean she's okay, right??'

You were about to try knocking again when you heard a distinct clanking sound. The sound of long and heavy chains.

"...Alluka??" Your eyes widened in horror. Immediately, you placed your hand on the doorknob, gripping it urgently. "I'm coming in, okay?"

'I hope it's not what I think it is.'

You pushed the door open, and sure enough, your fears were confirmed.

In the corner of the room, you spot Alluka sitting on a makeshift bed, knees to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs as she looked down on her knees, not even making eye contact with you.

Immediately, you see a shackle chaining down her ankle. You could tell it prevented her from even reaching the door.

"O-Oh my god..." you gasped, rushing to Alluka's side. "...Did Illumi do all this?!" You were shaking, clutching your head with your hands, and staring down at the shackle.

Without thinking, you started fumbling around with it, trying to find a way to free Alluka.

"–Should you really be attempting that right now?" A voice echoes from right behind you. You froze at the familiar, oppressive aura. Slowly, you turn around to see the same pitch-black eyes and deathly pale skin.

You could feel Alluka tense up right beside you. Meanwhile, you just stared at him with wide eyes, feeling your heart beat faster and faster in fear.

But despite that, you found it in yourself to speak up. "Why...?" you ask, letting go of Alluka's shackles and clenching your fists. "Why are you doing this to Alluka?!" you blurted out, almost yelling at him.

Illumi just stared back at you with a watchful gaze, observing your every move.

You could feel anger start to seep in as you furrowed your brows. "Free Alluka right now!!" You exclaimed, about to lunge at him with your fists.

But before you did anything reckless, a cold, small hand grabbed your wrist.

"Onee-chan... don't do it..."

You gasped at Alluka's freezing touch. With widened eyes, you tilt your head back to look at her.

You could see her face clearly now, and it completely stopped you in your tracks. Dark circles surrounded Alluka's round eyes from extreme lack of sleep. And as she looked at you pleadingly, you noticed the usual shine in her eyes was almost gone.

Alluka silently tugged on your hand, making sure you won't do anything hasty again.

Your gaze softened and you gripped her hand back in reassurance. You turned to Illumi with a slight frown instead, standing protectively in front of Alluka.

Illumi narrowed his eyes at you in suspicion, watching every one of your minute movements. After confirming that you won't attempt to unlock the shackle again, he finally shrugs and turns away from you.

You almost breathed a sigh of relief, but not before you suddenly felt something zip past your cheek, landing on the wall behind you with a thud.

Alluka's eyes went wide like saucers. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand, stopping herself from screaming.

Meanwhile, you held your breath, trying to process what just happened. 'What was that?!'

Slowly, you craned your neck to face the wall behind you. There you see a familiar gold-colored pin needle stuck on the wall, with Illumi's usual malicious aura oozing out of it. If you had been stabbed with that, you would have died instantly.

"Just a little warning," Illumi says nonchalantly, looking back at you with the slightest smirk before walking away.

You waited a few seconds to make sure he was far enough, before finally taking a deep breath and sinking down to your knees.

"Onee-chan...!"

You looked at your hands. They were shaking rather violently, just like the rest of your body. You sigh and close your eyes. Just when you thought you were finally getting used to Illumi's presence, he goes and pulls something like this.

You opened your eyes, feeling a hand pat your back in comfort. "Thank you for staying, Onee-chan." You hear Alluka say.

You nod, flashing your best smile.

'If only I was so much stronger...' you thought, getting up on your feet and helping Alluka up as well.

"Are you okay, Alluka...?" you ask, checking up on her to make sure she's fine.

Alluka nods ever so slightly, but you can tell she doesn't mean it.

"...Don't worry, Onee-chan. I'll be fine." She tries to smile. But to you, it looked more like a cry for help than anything.

_ _ _

Unfortunately, you couldn't stay with Alluka for too long. You vividly remember Illumi coming in and harshly grabbing you by the wrist, dragging you out of the room.

Alluka tried reaching for you with her hands, but ultimately, she could not do anything.

"You're quite lucky my Kil has taken an interest in you," he states, subtly glaring daggers at you. He escorted you to an area far away from Alluka's room, before eventually letting you go.

Clenching your jaw, you look down at your bruised wrist.'If only I could do what I did last time.' You clutched your head, looking back at your last battle with Illumi. Desperately, you tried to remember how you activated that mysterious ability.

Sadly, the only thing you remembered was the feeling of extreme fear, more than what you've experienced your whole life. The next thing you knew, you were absorbing Illumi's Nen from his body. It was like you weren't even in control when it happened. Was it just your body's way of trying to survive?

You sat down on one of the empty crates, letting out a deep sigh. "No... I can't control my Hatsu with that," you mumble.

'If only I could absorb enough of his Nen, I could render him powerless...'

"Then Alluka would be able to escape," you whisper.

"Oh, planning an escape already?? You're a lot naughtier than I expected, dear (Y/N)~♡" You hear a familiar deep, honeyed voice speaking right in front of you.

You immediately looked up to see Hisoka's face mere inches from yours, narrow eyes staring into your wide ones.

"AHH!" you shrieked, almost falling back if it weren't for your quick reflexes.

'How?!' You stabilized yourself, before looking at Hisoka, who was much farther now, much to your relief.

He was in a Zetsu state the entire time, which made it incredibly easy for him to sneak up on you while you were distracted.

"O-Oh..."

Hisoka chuckled, dispelling his Zetsu. "I'd be more careful if I were you. Your reliable Nii-chan isn't always there to help, now is he♢?"

'Reliable Nii-chan??' You somehow hated the way he said it.

"I-I know..." you shifted uncomfortably, furrowing your brows as you watched Hisoka sit down next to you. "Wh...What do you want?"

Hisoka eyes never left you as he rested his chin on his palm. "I never knew you had such an intriguing Nen ability hiding inside you, (Y/N)"

You blinked twice, processing what he just said. "The... You– you knew?"

'It'll be hard to work on this Hatsu if everyone knows, especially–'

"Of course I do~ ♧," Hisoka continues, as his smile gets even creepier. "I can't wait until you fully ripen, dear (Y/N). I wonder how your Nen ability would function on the battle–"

"Does Nii-chan know?" you cut him off urgently.

Even Hisoka was taken aback for a split second. "Oh, you don't want big brother to know?" He smirks.

You didn't answer. You didn't even know why you asked. But somehow, the thought of him knowing about your ability... scares you a little.

"Well... I'm sorry to say, dear (Y/N)." Hisoka looks at you straight in the eye. "He's heard everything about it from Illumi~ ♤"

Your heart sank.

"What...?" you mumble. "But he hasn't mentioned anything to me at all..."

Hisoka watches with a smirk as your expression sinks deeper into dread.

'If Nii-chan knows, and he's working with Illumi... then I could never–'

"Just kidding! ♡"

You stopped in your tracks, looking up at him in confusion. "What?"

"I just wanted to watch your reaction, (Y/N)." Hisoka chuckles, before putting a finger over his lips. "Don't worry, only Illumi and I know of your secret ability~ ♢"

You furrowed your brows in annoyance, inching away from him ever so slightly. "How do I know you're not lying again?"

He gives you a close-eyed smile. "You won't. You'll just have to trust me, dear~ ♡"

You just stared at him in disbelief.

"But why wouldn't you want your dear Nii-chan to know, hmm?" Hisoka presses on, a knowing smirk playing at his lips.

You averted your eyes. "None of your business..."

"Hmmm, is that so~?" Hisoka muses. "What it seems like to me, is that you wouldn't want him to know because..." he pauses, giving you a sly smirk. "If he did, you would never be able to escape from him ever again."

Your eyes widened. 'Escape...?'

Hisoka watches your expression unfold once more. The look of amusement never left his face even as he stood up from his spot next to you, getting ready to leave.

You look up at him. The fact that he was towering over you only served to tense you up even more.

Hisoka chuckles, leaning forward until his lips were right next to your ear. "Make sure to keep entertaining me, dear (Y/N), okay? ♡" he whispers, before standing up straight and sauntering away.

You were left frozen in place. The warmth of his breath on your ear lingered way longer than you hoped.

But what lingered even longer was what he said earlier.

"Is he implying I want to escape Nii-chan?" you rest your head on your hands. You wanted to believe what he said was another lie. After all, why would you want to get away from your own brother?

But no matter how hard you tried to convince yourself otherwise, a part of you kept insisting that what he said was the truth.

Would you be able to find it in yourself to go against him, though?