SOUR CANDY | killua z. ✔

31 | quiver

tw: implied past childhood sexual assault, some descriptions of violence

"SEN, PUT your hand like this. No, like— ugh."

Kotaro's two-year-old sister stared at him silently.

"Look," he sighed. "People think you're stupid 'cause you can't talk yet. If they try something, you gotta fight 'em off. You gotta know how to make a fist. Okay?"

The toddler nodded in understanding. That frustrated him further because it was obvious his sister wasn't stupid. She could figure out how much change to give customers faster than most adults. 

Despite that, everyone else looked at her and saw a weak fox pup. And those didn't live very long. Sen would have to get stronger if she was going to survive.

"We're gonna try again," Kotaro said firmly. "Make your hand like this, don't put your thumb in or you'll get hurt."

Sen looked at his fist, then back at her little chubby hand. She held up her own fist. Her thumb was still inside.

He groaned. "Watch me, Sen. Watch how I do it."

"Watch me, Sen," Kotaro said earlier. 

Sometimes, Sen was brutally reminded of how much she took her brother for granted. He did things like deliberately draw out fights with tough opponents just so Sen and Mai could learn. 

"CLEAN HIT! THAT'S ANOTHER POINT FOR KOTARO! IS IT JUST ME, OR IS HE BARELY BREAKING A SWEAT?"

When Sen did well in training, Watanabe told her stories of ancient kitsunes. Stories of glowing eyes in the tall grasses, of beguiling people who came from nowhere and left dark trails in their wake. All instinctual grace and terrifying precision. Silently, gleefully, circling unaware rabbits. 

In this case, the rabbit was a giant, muscly man with a mustache. 

Kotaro was the fox.

Sen was glad he was her brother and not her enemy. She glanced over at Mai, who watched the fight in disbelief. 

"Oi," Sen elbowed her. "We're not here to boost Kotaro's ego. Pay attention to what he's doing."

"How?" She hissed. "I can barely follow him!"

"Try."

Mai huffed, tucking her knees up.

In the ring, Kotaro dodged a punch that should've shattered his orbital bone. In one sweeping movement, he landed a kick that took out the other guy's knees. When the guy doubled over, Kotaro turned and swiftly chopped the back of his neck. 

The referee awarded Kotaro with a critical hit and knockdown.

"Something's wrong," Killua frowned. "With his skills, your brother should've won ages ago."

Next to Sen, Mai snorted derisively. 

"He's doing it on purpose," Sen explained, glancing at her sister curiously. "He wants us to watch him first. Then we apply the skills in our training."