Third person POV
Killua couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't want to anyway. He never thought that his worst nightmare would come true. But that was only because his brain always woke him up before such a horrific idea covered his mind. And now he was seeing something his eyes won't ever be able to erase.
The look of disappointment in Rin's teary eyes.
Her disappointment in him... for betraying her.
Betrayal.
That was the only thing he wanted to avoid at all cost. But now, it was too late. There was no turning back. She knew. And he knew she will never forgive him for that.
"Look what you've done, Kil." Illumi's voice resonating in his head causing his eyes to tremble in fear. "I told you... you have no right to make any friends."
Killua stood on the brink of something he couldn't describe. The weight of everything seemed to press down on his shoulders and he struggled to take even a single step forward. It was too much. All of it.
The darkness grew darker; the pain grew sharper; all of it seemed to only grow in strength and he began to wonder if things could ever get better.
But the answer was already clear.
"Damn it!!!" Killua cried out before dashing out of the room leaving the rest of them to stare at his disappearing silhouette.
"Killua!" Gon called out but it was already too late. Killua was gone.
Gon snapped his head to Illumi with anger visible on his face. "Illumi, you bastard!"
Son Gozu strode inside the room with his hands in his pocket standing a few steps away from Illumi.
"Man, that's a dirty way to play with a kid's feeling, ya know. And talking about me in my presence is just plain cruel." He glanced at Illumi from the corner of his eyes.
"I'll do my job and you'll do yours. There's still work that needs to be done."
With that being said, Illumi left the room.
Son Gozu took one last look at the leaving figure before setting his attention to the girl who already had her knees on the ground.
"I told you so... that you wouldn't like it if you leave."
"..."
"Does that info hurt that bad?"
"..."
"This is bad...." Gozu let out an exasperated sigh the moment he laid eyes on his daughter's eyes.
Rin's eyes were frozen over like the surface of a winter puddle, robbing them of their usual warmth.
The sadness had already flowed through her veins and deadened her mind. It was a poison to her spirit, dulling her killing off her other emotions until it was the only one that remained.
So this was betrayal. It was like being left alone in the desert at dusk without water or warmth. It left your mouth dry and will broken. It sapped your tears and made you hollow.
"Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if papa takes your pain away, right?" Gozu crouched down in front of Rin staring deep into the puddle of nothingness.
When his fingers brushed against her pale skin, Gon shouted.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? She's your daughter!"
"I know. I'm just doing her a favor." Gozu said before glancing to the boy.
"Can't you tell? Those eyes that she has right now, are not suitable for her. It'll only show how suffering she is on the inside... and what kind of father is willing to see that?" Gozu said whispering the last sentence.
"But what you're doing is wrong! Taking Rin's eyes aren't going to change anything! If you really are Rin's father, you should be the one consoling her. After all, it's your death that she is depressed about!" Gon stared at Gozu with fire blazing in his eyes.
Gozu observed the spiky-haired boy for a while before a smile crept on his face.
'You're Ging's son alright.'
Son Gozu let out a soft chuckle.
"You're right, but sometimes life is too uncertain to have any regrets," Gozu said with a smile on his face leaving Gon in confusion.
Gozu shifted his attention to the broken girl. That was when his eyes turned stone cold.
"I really hate doing this but I can't go against my will. I am merely just a copy of the original's soul. However, if it was the real Son Gozu, he would rather die than doing this to his only daughter."
Slowly, Gozu reached his hands to cup Rin's face. Rin didn't even flinch as his fingers brushed her cheeks because right now, she was nothing but an empty shell. She was lifeless... just like a doll.
"...!" Gon was alarmed the moment their eyes began to glow.
"No, don't!"
Using every ounce of strength he had left, Gon ripped his sleeve off and dashed towards Gozu aiming his fist straight to his face.
Noticing this, Gozu jerked his head back dodging Gon's fist. Without leaving any second to spare, Gozu gripped the boy's neck and threw him off the window.
CRASH!
"Oops. Did I throw him too hard?" Gozu rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the broken window. "Man, it's hard to control your strength in this fake body."
With that being settled, Gozu turned his head to the kneeling Rin.
"I should be taking your eyes now..."
"But they already look dead to me."
*********************
The moment Killua took a step out of the mansion, he heard the sound of breaking glass. The next thing he knew, Gon was falling down from the second floor.
THUD!
Gon landed on top of the broken shards and winced in pain.
"Gon! Are you alright--" Killua was rooted at the spot the moment he saw his brother approaching.
"You're being silly, Kil," Illumi spoke. "You're bound to betray your friends, one way or another."
"...!" His sapphire orbs trembled at his brother's words.
"You've already betrayed your friend Rin. What makes him any different?" Illumi said referring to Gon.
"No! I--"
Before Killua could say anything to retort his brother, Illumi interjected.
"Let's put it to a test, shall we?"
"...?!"
"Kill me."
Killua's eyes widened.
"If you don't, I'll kill this kid," Illumi added.
"What?!" His fingers were curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm.
'I shouldn't be fooled. He's nothing more than a puppet!'
"Ugh..."
Killua heard Gon's low grunt and jerked his head at his fallen friend. "Gon!"
Before he could take another step, his brother flashed in front of him with a haunted look whispering the words that could shatter Killua's sanity in an instant.
"Come on, Kil. Hurry up and kill me."
Killua could feel the sweat drenching his skin, the throbbing of his own eyes, the ringing voice vibrating in his ears, and the thumping of his heart against his chest.
"Hurry up... and... kill... me."
He couldn't hear his rapid breathing, but he could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of my lungs.
"Kil!"
Hesitantly, Killua looked at the pair of black holes before him-- his brother's haunting eyes.
"Come on. Hurry up... and... kill... me."
Illumi's hand slowly reached out for his younger brother. At that time, Killua could hear his laugh, a cruel, cold cackle that froze him in his spot and drained all hope, dreams and feeling from within him, replacing them with a feeling of despair, hopelessness and most of all, fear.
"K-Killua..." Gon muttered before wincing in pain.
'Shoot. I can't move.'
"Very good. You made the correct choice." Illumi bent so that their eyes were at the same level and in doing so, he reached his hands to cup his brother's face.
"Do not fight enemies you can't defeat," Illumi whispered those words beside his ear and Killua's eyes quivered.
The next thing they knew, Illumi's hollowed eyes began to glow bright blue with streaks of light twirling like a thread connecting the ends with Killua's sapphire's orbs.
Noticing that, Gon began to panic and dashed towards the two brothers.
"K-Killua! Stop it!!!"
Just when Ilumi had his grasp on Killua's eyes, Gon stumbled in between them, breaking the two of them apart. But in return, Illumi grabbed his arm and stared into Gon's eyes instead.
"Soul call."
"Arghhhhh!!!!"
*****************
Killua flinched as he propelled himself up from the ground. That's when he began to realize what had transpired the second before.
"Gon!" Killua jerked his head to check on Gon but the sight before him only made him feel even more dreadful than he already is.
"...!"
Illumi stood beside the unconscious Gon with a faint trace of twinkling lights floating around him. And when he opened his eyelids, a pair of eyes were already in its sockets.
"Not the ones I was ordered to take, but these aren't bad. These eyes are strange. Everything looks so bright" He said as he began to look around with his new set of eyes.
'What am I doing?'
Killua asked himself as he was still dumbstruck by what happened. However, someone's cry brought him back to reality.
"Gon!"
A blonde hair flashed through his eyes and the next thing he knew the person cling herself next to the unconscious Gon with a worried look on her doll-like face.
"Hang in there, Gon!"
"R-Retz?" Killua muttered. "Right, Gon..."
As Killua tried to get back on his feet, an image of his brother eroded his mind, paralyzing him in the process.
'At the very least, I need to get Gon's eyes back.' Killua managed every ounce of will power to stand and face his brother.
"G-Give Gon's eyes back!"
Without batting an eye, Illumi flashed behind him and glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.
"I can't do that, Kil. I was told to return with a pair of eyes."
"Don't give me that--!" When Killua tried to retort back, he was kicked in the gut and landed on the ground with a thud.
Thud.
With one last look at the white-haired boy, Illumi bid his farewell and disappear out of sight.
"Arghh..." Killua clutched his aching stomach.
"Gon, hang in there! Gon!" Retz cried.
"I'm alright, Retz." Gon assured as he covered his throbbing eyes with his hand.
Killua stared at the pair with his eyes quivering.
"Retz..."
But the sight of Retz wasn't the only thing that made his heart fell out of his chest.
Behind Gon and Retz, Rin was standing with her eyes widened. Beads of tears escaped her eyes and she could only gaze at him with those hurtful look.
"R-Rin..."
The scene before him left Killua to remember the words he once said to Gon back in the alleyway.
.
"You'll just end up betraying someone you care about."
.
'I was the one who ended up betraying the people I care about!'
Killua clenched his fist.
'When Uvogin attacked us, and when my brother almost took my eyes... They were always there to protect me. Yet I... And yet I...'
He bit the corner of his lips so hard that blood starting to trail down his lips.
'It's just like my brother said!'
With that, Killua stood up from the ground and turned on his heels, forcing his legs to make a run as it was the only thing he thought he could do. The only thing that could let him escape from this mess that he had no power to fix.
Running away was what he was good at in his entire life after all.
Killua knew that he broke his oath to his father. He had betrayed both of his friends. And It only prove that he--
'I have no rights to be their friends!'
******************
Rin stood with a blank look on her face. A few minutes had passed since the white-haired boy disappearance but she could only stand and stare at the nothingness.
With her bangs covering her eyes, Rin began to turn on her heels and walked away.
"Wait, Rin!" Gon called out, his hand still covering his eyes.
Rin paused for a moment and looked back to stare at Gon with the same expression she had before-- Empty.
Gon made his way towards Rin ignoring Retz constant yelling for him to stop. When he knew he was standing in front of her, Gon grabbed a hold of her upper arms and said--
"Listen to me! It's not Killua's fault! I'm sure he doesn't want to--"
"Shut up."
Gon was taken aback by her tone. It was low and deep but most of all, it was laced with an ominous threat that he didn't know Rin was capable of saying them.
"You... All of you..." Rin gritted her teeth as she balled her fist tight, her Nen slowly flaring in an uncontrollable way. And when the final mentos had been added the coke, Rin finally burst.
"...ARE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF LIARS!!!"
Rin's Nen was set ablaze and seconds later, she had flown up to the sky leaving Gon to scream her name.
"Rin--! Argh!" Gon winced in pain as his eyes began to throb badly.
'Don't go... Rin.'
******************
A/N
That's it for today's chapter. It's rather short but I'll try to make it up for the next chapter. I never used an actual song for a soundtrack but I find this song fit perfectly well with this chapter and then there you go!
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Love,
Pink.