Apex Predator

Hyena III

Kikyo giggled, raising a hand to touch her bandaged face. When her fingers grazed along the bandages she let out a shudder. Her demeanor softened as if caught up in a memory. "Ah... did I tell you that my dear Killua did this to me? I was so proud of him, so very proud..."

Miwa wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"He did this out of love. He showed me his murderous rage. It was wonderful. So proud of him," dotted Kikyo, her voice trailing off.

Miwa didn't entirely understand, but she thought it was nice that a mother could be proud of her son. She was proud of Killua, too. She puffed her chest. "He's pretty neat! Did you know that he's an emitter?"

Kikyo gasped in delight. "Oh! He's learning nen? When? Tell me everything."

With a big smile on her face Miwa regaled Kikyo with what happened at Heaven's Arena. Kikyo was ever so delighted to learn about Killua's time spent in the arena, learning nen, and when Miwa told her about how they cut a head in half together Kikyo squealed with glee.

She clapped politely at the end of the tale. "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful. Ah, I wish I could have been there to capture the moment. I've got so many videos of my children."

Kikyo tapped at the viser thing around her eyes. "All of it here. I never miss a single precious moment. From their first steps, to their first kill."

Miwa's smile brightened. "Wow. You're a great mom."

Kikyo cupped at her face, squirming in place. "Ah. Ah. You think so? You think so, do you? Ah. What a lovely daughter-in-law you'll be. I know, I know, you can call me Mother. Go on."

"Mother," repeated Miwa obediently, a little shy to be using such a title. She wasn't sure how Killua would take it.

Kikyo clapped again. "Yes. Perfect! Yes, yes! I've always wanted a daughter. My sons are wonderful, and I have two that will dress like daughters but they still want to be my sons, you know? I can't call them daughters if they're my sons. But oh they'd make for such pretty daughters... Have you met Kalluto? When Gotoh comes back I'll tell him to fetch Kalluto. I hope the two of you will get along."

Miwa inclined her head. It wasn't long after that did Gotoh bring out a tray of poisoned foods that looked equally delicious. Miwa tried a few of them, marveling at how she couldn't taste anything wrong with them.

Oooh. Interesting.

But apparently they had some pretty strong stuff in them! A couple of the cute little sandwiches made Miwa throw up blood in her mouth—she swallowed it back down—and one of the mini cakes made her head spin. It had been a while since Miwa was poisoned—she only remembered one time since waking up—and she had to admit it was an intriguing experience. She had absolute faith in Kurama's chakra, coupled with her own self-healing capabilities. She didn't feel endangered by the toxins, but it was a bit of a trip.

Each time Miwa conquered a poisoned meal Kikyo squealed in delight and cheered her on, which emboldened Miwa into trying more and more.

Far too soon the treats had been eaten up, the tea gone, and Miwa's belly was satisfyingly full. She had grown accustomed to only eating one meal a day—dinner—because it upset her stomach to smell Meteor City. And that dinner, while nice, was nowhere near as extravagant as the tea party Kikyo had prepared for her.

Miwa licked her lips. "This was great. Thank you."

"No, no, thank you," gushed Kikyo. "Come along inside. I'll show you my laboratory and we'll take a look at those soil samples. Gotoh, send Kalluto over to us when you find him, okay?"