It's been two days, seven hours, and 56 minutes since Hisoka left. That's two days, seven hours, and 56 minutes with Aki just lying on the bed, drowning in her own misery.
They say heartbreak was a pain in the arse, but depression was the bigger stick. (Those who get it, get it 😏)
There was something about the separation that angered Aki to the depths of her soul. It maddened her⏤to the point of disability. Aki didn't leave the hotel room, except to eat. She didn't talk to anyone when she got back. She just... lied there in bed.
Killua and Leorio let her be. Despite their concern for Aki, they couldn't stop their money-making business. Even Gon⏤ever the older brother figure who accompanied Aki most of the time⏤had to leave too.
Aki was left in the hotel with all the demons in her mind to keep her company.
The first day, she cried a little when no one was there to see her sob. Memories kept replaying in her mind⏤her unprecedented past, mixing with the memories she made with Hisoka⏤like an old vintage film. Aki laughed bitterly at the analogy.
It's like, the movie only gets worse as the plot advances.
Nothing seemed logical anymore. And, for a manipulator like Aki, the absence of reason in her life was devastating. It was the only thing tying her mind down to reality.
Theories swarmed her mind, as she tried to reach a plausible conjecture, trying to answer the why's. Why did he leave? Why was he there that night? Why... why did he feel regretful? Sadly, none of her made-up theories seemed to tickle her intuition for the truth.
Not long after, she grew bored of watching the unmoving ceiling. She would move to the windows and watch people walk by. But, eventually she grew tired of it too—because it reminded her of Hisoka's retreating back.
After three days of moping, Aki decided to pull herself together. It was not enough time to put away the pesky questions that never left her mind. However, it was enough time for her to get her wits back together. Those three days were enough to chip away at her repressed feelings.
The moment she started helping in the arm-wrestling business again, the gang didn't question her. They did their best to act like nothing happened. For that, Aki felt grateful. However, that didn't mean that they weren't dying out of worry for her.
Five days after the event, Leorio finally asked her after they got home from 'work.' As a medical student, he was able to quickly establish rapport with Aki. It wasn't long before she opened up about it.
At first, she tried to keep it short. But, the more she talked with Leorio, the more she found herself ranting. She raved about the unfairness of the world. She told him Hisoka's farewell and his confusing actions. But nothing of the Shinikage, she mentioned.
For a while, Leorio was silent. Then, Gon and Killua turned up at the other side of the door. Apparently, they happened to overhear the whole conversation. Gon immediately went to Aki's side and patted her on the back. He offered her soothing words of courage. It gave her strength, and she thanked him.
"You know, from his words, it's highly probably that Hisoka has found himself a deal with someone. And it involved you." Killua stated after a moment of ruminating over the facts.
"But, why? Why did he have to leave?" Aki stubbornly asked. Because it didn't make any sense⏤not after more than a year of cohabitating.
Killua had no answer to that. Gon watched Aki suppress her tears, and in the moment, the brunet made a new resolve.
"Alright!!" Gon stood from his seat, all pumped up. "Let's go find Hisoka and beat the truth out of him!" He seemed determined to do just that.
"Hah? Are you an idiot? Where would you even find that guy?" Killua retorted.
"I don't care! I'll find him!!" Gon shouted. "That's why Aki⏤"
A small fit of giggles slipped from Aki's lips. It stopped Gon on his tracks and quenched his thirst to hunt down Hisoka. Killua's eyes softened and a feeling bubbled to the front of his chest⏤a mixture of joy and sadness.
"It's fine Gon. Let that asshole be. I'm fine now." She was not. However, the new company of friends made her feel more than welcome. It felt like home.
"That's right! Forget about Hisoka, Aki. I can be your new old man!" Leorio jested, pointing his thumb to himself and eyebrows wiggling. Aki scoffed, covering up her laughs. Then, Aki's eyes went to Killua. However, the guy wasn't looking at her.
Killua's gaze remained rooted to the floor—seemingly in deep thought.
"Don't worry Aki. We won't ever leave you like that." Gon comforted, patting Aki's head. She nodded, albeit absentmindedly. Her eyes reached out for Killua's, and in the same moment, Killua met her gaze.
She saw the hint of apprehension in his eyes⏤a look that screamed, 'I'm not used to this kind of confrontation'. And honestly, Aki couldn't help but empathize. She recognized the same fear in his orbs⏤the fear of abandonment, not just by others... but by their own actions.
The gaze of a person afraid of their own capabilities... scared of losing the closest people to them, by their own hands.
Killua felt uncomfortable by the profound understanding that he saw in Aki's eyes⏤as if she understood his fear. He looked away, clearing his throat, bringing all the attention to him. Crap.
"Ahem!" He repeated. "More than that, I think we should focus more on that Cain dude and Haizel. They kidnapped you right?" Killua fumbled to cover up his embarrassment.
"Well, technically. But, Cain⏤"
"Do you know why?" Killua cut off. The mention of Cain kinda reminded him of Con. It annoyed him.
"... I'm not sure." There were too many factors in play. However, her talk with Cain made it pretty darn clear, that they were after something from her. Nothing was still clear though. She needed to get more info.
Something tells her that finding her brother was the least of her issues⏤rather, it was the clan massacre itself and the remaining survivors. She had to know the status quo. But, where the hell does she even start? Everything seemed to have started way back, before she was born.
As she mulled over this, Aki remembered Gon's reaction last time at the mention of the Shinikage clan. Now, that was a start.
"You know what, we still need to grab dinner right?" Aki brought up, eyes glued to Gon.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. Killua and I ended up eavesdropping instead of getting dinner." Gon sheepishly apologized.
"Nah. It's fine." Aki waved off. "In fact, let's go get it now." Without missing a beat, Aki grabbed Gon's arm and dragged him away.
Gon blinked. But, before he could even say, 'huh?' Aki was already shutting the door on Leorio and Killua's faces.
Left alone in the hotel room, Leorio and Killua looked at each other in confusion.
"Do you think he's still mad at me?" Killua asked.
Leorio hummed to himself in thought. "I gotta say, Killua. You are pretty hate⏤" the man stopped at his words, when he saw the look on Killua's face.
"Uhhh, lovable! Yeah, I'm sure he's just peachy. Ha ha..."
Leorio couldn't help but pray for Gon and Aki to hurry up.
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As soon as they were out on the streets, Aki stopped pulling Gon. She looked around cautiously, before ducking into a small alley. Confused, Gon scratched the back of his head, but followed her nonetheless.
"What are we doing here, Aki?" He asked.
"Look, I just wanna ask you again. About last time I told you about my clan."
"Oh! You mean the Shini⏤!!" Aki clamped a hand over Gon's big mouth.
"Don't. Mention. The. Name." She hissed. Aki stared at Gon's apprehensive brown eyes, before she gently let go of her hold on him.
"Okay... what's wrong?" Gon asked. Aki hesitated. She drew back a sigh.
"Well, the people who kidnapped me... they were after people from my clan." Aki disclosed.
"Oh... Why didn't you tell us back at the⏤?" Gon realized then, that Aki didn't seem to like to tell the others about it. He studied her, looking for any clue to the query in his mind.
"Why didn't you want to tell the others?" Gon pushed through with asking.
"I⏤I just don't feel comfortable disclosing this fact to anyone... It's not that I don't trust Killua or Leorio. But, this is a really sensitive topic for me."
"Then why tell me?" Gon asked.
"... I just, feel like you're connected somehow. Like, how the doors of death were present at your hometown." Aki bit her lip. She was making up conjectures, imaginary lines connecting the dots. However, her gut feeling was strong. Gon was connected somehow.
"Doors of death?" Gon asked. The more he listened, the more confused he was. He wasn't really that much of an intellectual. That was Killua's thing.
"Your aunt, Mito-san. Well, I don't wanna go into details, but she told me about how the Shi⏤how my clan used to live in your island, the Whale Island. Do you really know nothing of it?" Aki asked.
"Hmm... Mito-san used to tell me stories when I was younger. There was one story about the doors that I remember... I⏤I think, she used to say that the 'doors of death' was the passage to the 'other world'."
"Like the afterlife?" Aki asked.
"Maybe. I don't really remember the details." Strange. Gon could remember most of the bedtime stories that Mito-san told him. However, the story of the doors of death left only a hazy image in his mind.
And the scent of a woman⏤familiar, yet obscure.
Aki sighed. "Do you know anything about the... Shinikage?" The girl whispered the last word in Gon's ear.
Gon jolted at the mention of the clan, just like last time. However, no headache ensued. Instead, an image brought itself on the front of his eyes. It was Aki... but not quite Aki. Gon realized it was a different woman⏤the woman with the scent.
The image was gone before Gon could contemplate what it meant.
"⏤hey. HEY!!" Aki yelled at Gon's ears.
"Ahh!!" Gon stepped back in surprise.
"What was that?" Aki asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you have an absence seizure or something?"
"What's that?" Gon's eyebrows furrowed, the image of that woman was still clear in his mind. And for some reason, he felt unnerved by the image... it almost seemed like⏤like, a memory.
"Um, Aki? You know that episodes you have when you suddenly remember something?"
"Yeah?"
"... I think, I had one too. Well, I'm not sure because I'm still awake but..." Gon rambled, looking down at the ground in thought. He looked at Aki, only to see her with her jaw open in shock.
"I⏤... you what? Tell me what you saw." Aki demanded immediately.
"I saw a woman. She looked exactly like you, so I guess that was your mom? That's why I thought... I mean, can you do that? Share memories?" Gon asked. Aki's mouth dropped to the floor, eyes open wide in shock. She gulped, mulling over Gon's words.
"No... memories are special. Unless you went into my mind, there's no way to share memories." Aki explained.
"Then how...?"
An eerie silence washed over them. Aki didn't even dared consider it before, but... was it possible that Gon was her b⏤
No. Absolutely no way.
Aki looked into Gon's eyes. They were the same chocolate shade of brown⏤innocent, and devoid of that foul thing. The dark-haired girl shook her head.
I'm overthinking things. Aki digressed. Gon looked confusedly at Aki, trying to figure out the cogs running in her head.
"I'm not quite sure about my amnesia, but I'm sure that I have no aptitude for memory sharing. My chakra can't do those stuff. Gon, I think that's your own memory." Aki said with gusto.
"Huh? But why would I have a memory of your mom?" Gon asked.
"I don't know. Maybe you met her when your were younger? Since the Shinikage clan used to live at Whale Island." Aki guessed.
"Oh yeah, that does make sense." Gon agreed.
"... Let's leave the rest for another time. I think we've been gone for too long." Aki left it at that.
But, one thing is for certain. Whatever it was that Gon experienced, it was basically a hint. Gon really was connected to this whole Shinikage mess⏤something that Aki would definitely try and uncover.
"Okay..." Gon replied, after a bit of silence. He seemed to be having his own series of thoughts to arrange. "But, what are you gonna do about the people of⏤uhh, your clan." The boy asked, albeit out of concern.
"... Well, I already came into contact with some them."
"Oh... Wait, WHAT?!" Gon let out a long 'ehh~'. He pumped his fists. "Alright~! So, how was it? Did you find out where your brother was?" Gon asked, oblivious.
"Uhh... no." Aki sweatdropped. "The... clan people I met⏤it was Cain and... maybe Haizel too." She added as a side note, keeping the fact that some Phantom Troupe members were also of Shinikage lineage.
"HUH?!!" Gon exclaimed in surprise. "You mean, those people⏤they were part of your clan?! Then why did they kidnap⏤oh... so, you knew why you were kidnapped." Gon caught on. Uncomfortable, Aki scratched her nose bridge.
"Not really... I mean, I had an idea. But, I wasn't sure. I did think it had something to do with my bloodline. Cain told me⏤well, he said some interesting things... But, I have to gather more info about them if I want to know what the status quo is with the remaining people of the clan. It's hella complicated, but... it's the least I can do as the former clan head's kid." Aki explained, letting out a tired sigh. Gon frowned. He didn't like seeing Aki so stressed out.
"... Okay. I'll help you, however I can. Maybe if we tell Killua and⏤"
"I told you. Don't even dare try telling him." Aki threatened, cutting Gon's word short.
"But... why? I don't really understand..." Gon asked, a little confused with Aki's adamant behaviour. The dark-haired girl let out a sigh, frustrated.
"It's just that... I don't know why, but you're the only person I feel comfortable with telling this. So don't⏤just don't betray my trust. Don't tell others. Tell no one. Okay?" Aki hardened her voice, looking at Gon with finality.
"Okay..." The boy's choco-brown eyes gleamed with apprehension. Still, his determination to help Aki was there. And that was all that she needed.
"Great. Now, let's go get some food."
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The moment they got back from their errand, Gon and Aki immediately took note of Killua and Leorio's serious expressions.
"What's with the long faces?" Aki queried. Killua glanced at her and silently handed a flier. It was a bounty post, with familiar faces lining the page. Gon took a peak too and immediately noticed the girl who arm-wrestled with him.
"AH!! The girl from last time..." Gon exclaimed.
"Yeah. I recognize these faces. But, what does the bounty post have anything to do with us?" Aki asked. Leorio looked at Killua before answering in a grave tone.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll hunting down the Phantom Troupe."
(A/N: College is killing me.)
~ End of #28 ~