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"You guys should stay here." Killua explained as the group stopped at the entrance to a long dark hallway.
"And leave Kamine alone to fend for herself?! No way!" Leorio adamantly refused as as Killua groaned, "Don't you get it? It's a 'hallucination chamber'— emphasis on hallucination. If you go down their your worst nightmares will become a reality." Killua furrowed his brows as the older male gulped, "You guys would just get in my way if you went, you should stay here where it's safe. Especially you two." He pointed at Kurapika and Leorio, "You already have enough trauma as it is." He pointed at the blonde before turning to Leorio, "And you're too much of a softie to handle those kinds of visions."
Leorio grew flustered at the boy's words as he prepared himself to deny Killua's words, "Killua is right, Leorio. We should leave this to him, since he knows the room best. Our top priority is getting Kamine out safely, it doesn't matter who does it." Kurapika agreed as Leorio bitterly grumbled before agreeing. "Besides someone has to stay behind and watch to make sure they don't run into any more trouble than necessary down there." Kurapika explained as Leorio reluctantly agreed.
"Well I'm going!" Gon frowned deeply as he turned to face Killua, "The fact someone could do something like that to someone as nice as Kamine really pisses me off Killua!" Gon retorted as Killua sighed, he had a feeling this would happen.
"Fine. Gon, you can come too. Just be careful." Killua sighed as the boy sprouted up in relief before skipping down the dark steps to follow the boy.
The further the two roamed down the dark hallway the more eerie the atmosphere became. A heavy aura protected the door at the end of the hallway as both Killua and Gon shivered in fright.
"What's this, intense presence?" Gon coughed as Killua shook his head, "I don't know, but it's why I never go down here... the moment you start feeling that weight is the moment the visions start." Killua explained as Gon frowned. Indeed it had begun to seem as if the hallway was swirling as he walked beside the boy. "We'll have to have one of us grab Kamine while the other one stays by the door, if we get locked in the room we won't be able to come out." Killua explained as Gon nodded, continuing their walk.
"Hey Killua." Gon called out for the boy who choked out a feeble response.
"Y-yeah?" The boy seemed unnerved as he forced himself through the dense fog, although that was to be expected considering Gon was also trembling at its effects.
"How did Illumi get Kamine in here in the first place?" Gon questioned as Killua furrowed his brows in confusion at Gon's inquiry, "Well I mean, he too should've been affected by the hallucinations once he entered the room right?" Gon asked as Killua finally began processing his words, "So then how did he leave once he locked her in?"
Killua frowned, he never processed that as well. He assumed with the two of them they could just hold the door open but it's likely Illumi brought Kamine in single-handedly, therefore there must have been a way to avoid or nullify the hallucinations so you could see the exit once again.
If there truly was a way, Killua as Gon would have to find it. "Hey Killua! Look!" Gon pointed at the large door at the end of the hallway, Kamine must have been on the other side. The door was also where the uneasy presence was at its strongest.
"Hey check it out!" Gon jogged over to the door as Killua quickly grabbed his arm, "What do you think you're doing?! Are you trying to get us trapped in here?" Killua hissed as Gon tilted his head.
"But look, Kamine's bag is right outside the door." Gon pointed at the small black object that was leaning against the wall. "Hey.. you're right." Killua mumbled, picking up the dark bag apprehensively as Gon pouted, "See? I told you!" He furrowed his brows as Killua sighed, gulping slightly as he approached the door.
They had to do this, Kamine was waiting on the other side of the door. Killua winced as he reached for the door handle, he was frightened by what he could possibly see. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Gon placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. We'll find her, and then we'll all escape together." Gon smiled at the boy despite his obvious fear as well. Killua gave him a soft smile, Gon's optimism was a pleasant distraction from his deep fears.
As they cracked open the heavy door, they were shocked to see the female sprawled on the floor instead of in the chair the victims are normally placed in. She lifted up her head as she looked up at the boys, her eyes were murky and dull and she looked ghastly pale, as if she was mere footsteps away from death. Her deep ocean black hair had grown strips of white as the probable stress from enduring such torturous visions removed the some of the melanin from her strands.
She gave an uneasy smile, "Hello again, Killua." She chuckled almost manically as Killua processed her words. He hadn't seen her for over two full weeks yet she had addressed him as if they had just seen each other recently.
Killua took an uneasy step toward the female but before he could reach her she lifted herself to her feet, wobbling slightly as she found her footing. She tilted her head, slightly confused as a strand of milky white hair fell in front of her face.
"Kamine..." The boy softly gripped her arm, frowning when he felt a subtle flinch in the female. Despite that she allowed him to hold her arm, staring oddly at the color of his blue sneakers. Killua's heart lurched in pain as he looked at the eerily silent female.
Looking around Killua winced when his vision started to swirl and the familiar whispering began to flood his ears, just as it had done years ago.
"Let's get out of here." He determined, pulling on her sleeve as she bounded after him, stumbling as they exited the room.
"Kamine! You're okay!" Gon smiled full of relief as he skipped toward the female, pausing when he noticed the empty look on Kamine's face. He failed to say anything as his fist tightened into a fist, a deep and obvious frown falling on his face. He clearly was upset with Kamine's state.
Killua couldn't respond, unlike Gon who seemed to be seething with rage due to the condition of his friend, Killua couldn't help the sickening feeling of guilt that clawed his stomach.
After a few moments of uneasy silence, Kamine finally spoke.
"My bag." She said, standing in front of the two as they eyed her curiously. Her voice was somehow even more monotone than before, her dark empty eyes eyeing the black bag in the corner.
"Oh... yeah. It's right here." Gon snapped out of his momentary rage as he picked up the bag, handing it to the female who dropped it instantly, stumbling when she became surprised at the bag's weight.
"Woah!" Gon gasped, grabbing the female to stabilize her as the bag landed on the ground with a large smack. She let out a breath of air as she bent down to pick up the bag once again, "N-No!" Gon shooed her hand away, laughing awkwardly when she stared at him, "Don't worry. I'll carry it." He gave a soft smile, throwing it on backwards since his yellow bookbag had already taken up the space on his back.
Killua frowned before squatting in front of the female, offering to carry her as she furrowed her brows at him. "Just get on, you won't be able to keep up with us in that condition." Killua lied, truthfully the two boys would've taken as long as Kamine needed if she insisted on walking but Killua couldn't bear seeing Kamine's thin figure stumbling around the corridor, one wrong step leading to her collapsing.
Surprisingly, the girl silently obeyed, allowing herself to lean on the albino boy, shifting when his arms snaked under her legs, almost stumbling as he stood up.
Kamine was even lighter than he remembered her being, she couldn't have been heavier than 40 or 50 pounds.
Suddenly the air felt a lot more suffocating than before, the two boys struggling to hold on to their rage as they stared at the melancholy female.
Killua gripped her legs just a little tighter, he'd make Illumi pay for what he did.
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-* notes *-
#64 - Inside Kamine's bag is a large inventory of clothes for both herself and Killua, nicely folded and organized, as well as other daily essentials needed to provide security for the two. Although it wasn't much, Gotoh hoped Kamine would appreciate what little he could do to help her as her "guardian".
#65 - Kamine had lost a total of 10 lbs (4.5kg) in the Hallucination Chamber, leaving her from her already light weight of 58 lbs (26.3kg) to 48 lbs (21.7kg).
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