kalluto's cabin (SFW)

[devil_or_angle]

*after alluka and nanika's ill-fated birthday party has passed, killua leaves her to sleep off her indigestion and sets off down the hall. there's dread in his uneasy heart, a suspicion that there's something his sisters have been keeping from him all this time. not ready yet to confront them about it, he shows up instead at his brother's door with dark circles under his eyes and unkept hair, haggard from all he's been through over the past days and nights. as soon as kalluto answers it, he questions:*

what do you know about the other alluka?

Comments

[devil_or_angle]

*killua winces as he's prodded, failing to suppress a sick shudder. he shoots kalluto a grim look.*

she ate it, you know. can you believe that? alluka got so sick...

*a brother who would sacrifice so much for her... how could she ask for more?*

[descendsanathema]

*His hand hovered over Killua's chest where Kalluto had pressed on him, immediately regretting his action due to the physical effect it had, and doubling down as Killua suddenly looked like he wanted to throw up.

Deep down, he felt nothing for Alluka. It was crowded out by so many other, heavier feelings over all these years. Even so, he was ashamed for it to be so clear, when Killua mentioned Alluka falling ill, not one of two anymore, but one rather than the other, the something... the Nanika.*

But...

*His arms tore through the air to squeeze around Killua again, breathing in, not even trying to hide that he wanted his brother's smell to permeate him, to cling deep to his bones and stay forever.

He knew he was confused. The dream used a recent memory of a different brother, but instead of relieving him, his eyes burned, his face tensed as he tried to hold everything back. He was mourning his real brother, trying to smother himself in someone else's.

If this thing was willing to hurt her, then...*

[devil_or_angle]

*killua is even more shocked when kalluto latches onto him, taking his clinging arms as worry for his brother's safety from the bloodlust of their sister. he brings a hand up to comfort him, combing through his silk-straight hair with a ginger touch.*

it's alright, i'm all healed now, and she's recovering...

*he sighs, ribs pushing against the steel brace of his brother's arms.*

i just... i'd always hoped that she... if no one else, just alluka... could be spared, from all of it...

*he trails off with a mournful shudder in his voice, twisting his fingers in kalluto's locks.*

...but it's too late. she's just as stained as the rest of us...

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto clings tighter to his brother, complicated emotions swirling around him. His toes crunch as he feels Killua's fingers through his hair, and he shivers, confused.

He opened his mouth, ready to yell at Killua, ask him where this was when it came to himself, his youngest sibling, but before he could speak, the memory of Killua shielding Kalluto with his body takes the air out of his lungs. He quivers, knowing from what Killua is saying, they can't both be the one needing to be comforted.

He squeezes Killua even tighter, takes in a deep breath, not sure of which is which as he speaks.*

I... I shouldn't have blamed her. She's the one affected the most by this curse. And...

*In the end, she wasn't spared, was she? He had no one to talk to about the scene from his nightmare. Things were very foggy in the last few weeks before the mirror, but that piece was so stark, so horrific. Did Illumi take it from him? Did he need it?*

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's heart aches as kalluto's tone fills with remorse, finally understanding just how wronged their sister was. he remembers how suspicious he was of kalluto at first, wary that he was part of the plot to imprison her -- but now he understands that kalluto was just as much a victim, kept from the truth and forced to comply with their abuse.*

it's not your fault... they took her from us.

*he tightens his grip on kalluto's hair, nails pinching at his scalp as a possessive growl creeps into his tone, laced with latent anger at their parents and most of all, the brother who'd brainwashed him.*

took you from me, too.

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto squeezed against Killua harder and harder, unabashedly took in gulps of breath, needed this to be more real than the images bludgeoning themselves against his awareness. Still not letting up, he pulled his face back to look his brother in the eyes.

He didn't know he was crying until he felt the hiccups marring the delivery of his reply.*

I'm here now. We're here. I don't... I don't wanna go again.

*So much for being the one to comfort Killua.*

[devil_or_angle]

*as his brother begins to shake in his arms, killua is once again struck with fear and remorse for his latest brush with death, grappling with his own mortality in a whole new way. for so long, all that mattered was survival, completing a mission and living to complete the next. it wasn't until gon, until alluka, until kalluto's return that he truly had something to live for -- a reason to stay alive. for them. he stutters a swallow before he speaks, interrupted by the lump in his throat.*

you won't, i... i won't leave you.

*seeing how shaken he is only strengthens killua's resolve to solve things with nanika, to get her power under control so she, alluka, and kalluto can finally live happily with their big brother. he cups kalluto's trembling chin, his own teary eyes locking onto his brother's as he vows:*

i'm gonna figure this out. i promise.

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto felt his brother's determination, felt its effect on him. Killua came here to ask one thing of Kalluto, but he wasn't sure where his mind was with the information he hadn't volunteered yet. About who Alluka loved the most, and about how little control Nanika actually had over who their power's feedback applied to.

It didn't matter. Killua already knew to be careful, and probably already feared Nanika, or he wouldn't have come to someone he still couldn't trust yet.

Kalluto deftly folded some glossy paper, silver like his brother's hair, and fashioned a bandana out of it.*

Put this on. We'll be able to talk through my ability. For if we think of anything else.

[devil_or_angle]

*killua hesitates to take the gift from his brother, reminded of scraping flecks of origami paper from his moistened skin in the aftermath of an embarrassing loss of control he's not too sure was truly private. he clears his throat, hands retreating awkwardly to his sides.*

do you -- uh, do you remember leaving some paper on me the first time you showed me your ability?

*he eyes the paper in his brother's hands warily, wondering if the connection is voluntary or always active, trickling his guilting moans into his brother's ears.*

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto stared into his brother's eyes, attempting to discern between observation and his own wishful thinking. He noted Killua's arms falling away, the glance shifting down to his paper transmitter. There was trepidation, but also something else that tantalised him.*

"I don't know, big brother. Do you remember leaving it there?"

*He wore the faintest of smirks.*

[devil_or_angle]

*the curl of his brother's lips has killua's spine tingling-- not entirely in a bad way. a sharp breath exits in a huff, low and exasperated, tone just short of a scold.*

kalluto...

*he may not have given him a straight answer to his question, but the one implied has been answered clearly. without a doubt, he heard.*

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto eyed his brother's expression carefully. Had Killua simply forgot? Maybe, but that didn't explain the air of breathless excitement that was passing between them. Kalluto clasped Killua's hands in his own, raised the bandana up towards his head.*

"Just take it. I'll show you how to fry the connection with Ten for something you don't need me to hear.

But next time you do, just look for me here."

*His smirk relaxed into an easy smile that touched his bright, expectant eyes.*

"Unless it's urgent... like before?"

[devil_or_angle]

*with a hard gulp, killua raises the paper bandana to his head and puts it on. they'll have to have a proper talk about this later -- or they could just ignore it until the end of time.*

alright, show me.

[descendsanathema]

"It's funny, though..." *Kalluto moved his hands to either side of the bandana, gently touching it with both of his hands. You only needed a fingertip, really, but Killua would notice this if he's using his gyo diligently. Kalluto also needed to demonstrate that any point on the pattern would work.*

"You're the one that showed me this - sorry, the other you. Or you, he, he gave me the idea, telling me about the promise thread your Master put on Gon, and the memory box Gon's father sealed up, waiting for their son to become a Hunter. It works the same way. Do you follow what I mean, or should we start simpler?"

[devil_or_angle]

*killua pouts a little as kalluto raises his hands to his head, irked that his little brother has come to know more about these things than he was able to before he was ripped from his homeworld.*

i never did any of that.

*isolating his aura to his eyes, he tries to see what his brother is doing to him.*

but bisky taught us about ten. i'm sure i can figure it out.

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto used Ko, focusing aura into his fingertips.*

"The string breaks from the force of Nen touching it. That's why it worked for the promise to not channel any as part of Gon's punishment. The bandana will stay intact, but the aura around it will fizzle. Just let me..."

*As the Nen moves, he feels it flow around a recess in the bandana's aura, one which pushes extremely hard against his own with reactive force. Frowning, he spikes his aura, pushing an overwhelming amount into it, before feeling a familiar presence, and switching to a fighting form immediately.*

"He's here! And he's put something in you!"

*Kalluto leaps between Killua and his cabin door, with shining aura reserves that were honed through many missions with the Zoldycks and now the Spiders. Paper triangles start flowing out of every corner of the room. Every crevice between furniture, every fold in a hanging item of clothing, suddenly had paper pouring out of it. Within a few seconds, the sheer momentum of the masses of paper had created a whirlwind that tugged at the loose parts of Killua's clothes. In his eyes were death.*

[devil_or_angle]

*what started as a still moment between the two erupts into flurry of animosity toward some unseen enemy.*

woah, hey! what the hell are you talking about?!

*killua leaps off the couch and scrambles backwards, tearing the bandana off and throwing it into the stream of paper flying around him as if that might placate it. his claws unsheathe on instinct, but without a target in sight, they tense at his sides, ready to strike if provoked.*

who's there?

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto's gaze frantically darts from the door to every opening he can see. For someone as skilled as his eldest brother, that was everywhere. Over his shoulder, above him, at his feet, but always going back to the cabin door."

"Aniki!"

*Pounding heartbeats rattle his lithe frame, shifting his robes almost imperceptibly. The whirlwind slowly ebbs alongside it, as offensive hatsu gives way to Kalluto's other power. In some abstract space in Kalluto's mind, the airship occupants light up like beacons. None are unaccounted for.*

"He's not here. But... there's something deep in your skull."

[devil_or_angle]

*the tension in his hands strikes through the rest of his body at the mention of their eldest brother, freezing his blood to ice in his veins. but he can't feel illumi's unmistakable, oppressive presence anywhere in the room, just the pulse of kalluto's defensive aura. forcibly retracting his claws, he reaches for his brother's hand, giving it a gentle tug back to reality.*

in me? what do you mean...?

[descendsanathema]

*Kalluto blinks, the soft movement of his own hand grounding him. His eyes move from their joined hands, up past Killua's arm, then to his face. His shoulders give out, relaxing as a sigh releases.*

"In you. Long and thin, in your forehead. Aniki's... aura. Like when he piggybacks off my paper bugs."

*He squeezes back, shivering.*

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's heart shakes with chill, but as he pulls his brother closer, he feels his blood thawing.*

show me where.