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

[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.