Breathe | k. kurta & c. lucilfer x reader

23. SEE YOU AGAIN

The last rays of the setting sun painted the hallways in an eerie orange glow. You watched with a heavy heart as your younger brother's small figure, dwarfed by the shadows, began to walk away. A figure appeared from the corner of your vision. Kikyo, your mother, stood tall and imposing, Kalluto by her side.

"Killua," she spoke, her voice laced with a deceptive softness, "it's too late. Those three have left."

A jolt of realization ripped through you. You'd almost forgotten about your friends, consumed by the turmoil within the Zoldyck estate. The lie in your mother's voice was unmistakable. You shook your head, disbelief twisting in your gut.

"Return to your cell," Kikyo added, her tone hardening a touch.

"No way," Killua retorted, defiance flickering in his eyes. "I'm leaving."

You remained rooted to the spot, a silent observer in this tense standoff. Kikyo had acknowledged your presence earlier, but her focus was solely on bringing Killua back to heel. She reached out, intending to grab him, but her hand froze mid-air. A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes met Killua's.

"Out of my way," Killua said, his voice colder than you'd ever heard it. You'd always approached Mother with a cautious respect, a fear of her fragile sensibilities. Now, after witnessing her blatant manipulation, that fear had begun to curdle into something else entirely.

Kikyo watched Killua slip past them, a flicker of something akin to panic crossing her features. "Oh, Killua," she called out after him, a tremor in her voice. "Your eyes... so cold. Did you hear what he just said, Y/n dear? Aren't you proud of your brother?"

Her gaze swung towards you. In that moment, the truth hit you with the force of a sledgehammer. Kikyo, like most of your family, wasn't just ruthless â€" she was delusional. You weren't close to her, never truly had been.

Turning away, your voice laced with quiet rebellion, you spoke, "I hope you remembered what Father told you last night. I was the one who helped Killua escape. You should be angry at me, Mother."

A humorless smile stretched across Kikyo's face. "Why would I be, Y/n dear?"

"Because you're furious," you countered, emphasizing each word. "You want me punished just as much as Killua. Just like the good old days, isn't that right, Mother?" You lingered on the word "good," a bitter irony coloring your tone.

As you began to walk away, you could feel the weight of her furious gaze burning into your back. You weren't just her prized daughter, the one she groomed for a life of high-society pretense. You were a potential threat, a wild card that refused to be controlled. It was your potential, glimpsed in a fleeting moment, that Kikyo recognized as defiance, as rebellion. Something she couldn't, wouldn't tolerate.

The air grew thick with unspoken tension as you left Kikyo and Kalluto standing in the fading light. But within you, a spark had ignited.

The memory of a younger you, bathed in the warmth of your mother's affection, felt like a cruel mirage. Back then, before Killua's birth, Kikyo had been fiercely protective, a stark contrast to the woman you knew now. But the day Killua entered the world, was the day you also failed your first critical mission, her warmth vanished. The sting of the whip, the first brutal punishment, marked a turning point. It became a chilling pattern- your failures the catalyst for Kikyo's monstrous outbursts.

Where was the motherly love you craved? The stories you'd heard, the whispers of families supporting each other, felt like a cruel joke. Your family nurtured assassins, not children. They encouraged murder, not bonds.

Kikyo, consumed by a silent fury directed at you, unintentionally dug her nails into Kalluto's wrist. His muffled whimper finally pierced her focus. Shame washed over her face as she released him, her eyes never leaving your retreating form.