Hisoka: I am indeed the most normal

"Huh? Where did those two go?"

Coleman scratched his head while looking at the tracker in his hand.

The red dot on the screen indicated this exact location.

This thing had been stuck to his brother for ages without falling off, so why did it suddenly drop today?

Puzzled, Coleman scanned his surroundings.

This was an abandoned town on the outskirts.

Dilapidated streets and shops that no one cared for.

Fallen leaves covered the ground, and weeds sprouted from the cracks in the walls.

The sun was already setting.

Orange-red afterglow dotted the distant sky.

It shone through the gaps in the narrow alleys, casting light onto the walls.

The blend of red and yellow brought a hint of warmth to this desolate place.

But even so, it could not hide the decay.

As his gaze swept across the area, Coleman nodded slowly.

Hisoka had a good eye; this place was deserted.

It was a great spot for a fight.

And there was no need to worry about property damage.

But... where were they?

Frowning, he felt confused.

Could the battle have been so intense that his brother even lost his shoes?

He couldn't believe it.

Coleman couldn't imagine how his brother could fight in a place full of gravel without shoes.

However, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to find his brother in the short term.

After a moment of thought, Coleman decided to go join the fun himself.

He would gather some intelligence.

And maybe ask about some good food while he was at it.

He would treat it as preparation for his trip.

Having made up his mind, Coleman quickly left the uninhabited area.

He planned to hitch a ride to the town his grandfather had mentioned.

Outside the suburbs, atop a desolate mountain.

"Illumi, I just wanted to take you to an interesting place; there was no need to change your entire outfit."

Hisoka looked on, puzzled, as Illumi swapped one purple bodysuit for another.

He truly didn't understand what there was to change.

He had assumed this guy would put on something nice for their appointment.

And yet, this?

What, was he bothered by the dust his previous outfit had picked up during their fight?

They hadn't even been fighting for long before stopping; where could there have been any dust?

If not for the fact that the interesting party started at five in the afternoon, Hisoka wouldn't have ended their fight just now.

"Aren't you trying to hide from Coleman?"

Illumi answered with a non sequitur, his expression serious.

Hearing this strange answer, Hisoka tilted his head, then suddenly realized.

He spoke in disbelief: "No way, your brother put a tracker on you?"

"No."

"I knew it..."

"It's a tracker and a bug."

Illumi remained expressionless, speaking as if it were a matter of course.

This was normal; he often placed them on Coleman as well.

Especially when he had business elsewhere and couldn't be with Coleman for long periods.

Hearing Illumi's calm reply, Hisoka was momentarily speechless.

You two brothers sure know how to play!

In any case, if someone were to place a surveillance device or something similar on Hisoka, he would feel incredibly uncomfortable and be a hundred percent unwilling.

Who would want their whereabouts revealed to others at every single moment?

Wouldn't that mean having absolutely no secrets at all?

But looking at Illumi's expressionless face, Hisoka couldn't help but ask, "Then did you put one on your little brother? A bug or something?"

"Ah, I did."

Illumi said it as if it were only natural.

Otherwise, why would he be at ease letting Coleman stay in a place where he could come and go freely at any time?

"So, you have his location right now?"

"That's right."

Nodding, Illumi reached his hand into his clothes.

Under Hisoka's bizarre gaze, he pulled out a tracking device display of moderate size.

"Here, look."

Handing it to Hisoka, Illumi said, "That little red dot is Coleman."

Hisoka looked left and right, discovering that Coleman was heading toward the edge of the city at a strange speed.

"He seems to be leaving."

"Hm?"

Illumi took the display back and watched the red dot moving at a constant speed.

He said with realization, "He must be bored. He's gone out for some air; he's probably in a carriage."

Gone for some air?

Is that the right word to describe a person?

And isn't it almost dark out?

Hisoka had a mountain of retorts he wanted to spit out in an instant, but he felt it wouldn't be appropriate, so they remained stuck in his throat, neither coming out nor going down.

He felt that if he stayed with these two brothers any longer, he would turn into a sarcasm machine.

Compared to them, Hisoka felt he was much more normal!

What kind of brothers monitor each other like this?

The one being monitored takes it for granted, and the one doing the monitoring thinks the same way!

Don't you two realize there's something wrong with you?

Hisoka: As expected, out of the three of us, I'm the only normal one!

"So, why are we going to that party?"

Illumi was a bit puzzled; why did Hisoka want to attend something like that today?

And how did he even get tickets?

"Ah, didn't you say you didn't have a chance to make a move on that young lady? I'm just finding a legitimate reason to sneak into their home to facilitate your work."

Hisoka walked with his hands behind his back, circling on the ground with a face full of smiles.

He looked like a big dog begging for praise.

His face practically read, "Praise me, praise me!"

But in Illumi's eyes, he was just a husky wagging its tail and shaking its head.

The kind that would pounce on people and tear the house apart.

He couldn't help but look at him with utter disdain.

My Samoyed (Coleman) is still much cuter.

However, facing a dog that had taken the initiative to take on a job, Illumi still gave him some face.

"Mm, you're really great!"

"Perfunctory."

"..."

"Can you accompany me for another fight in a while?"

Hisoka's eyes brightened; he hadn't had his fill of fighting yet.

Illumi pondered for a moment, looking at the display in his hand.

There was a high probability that Coleman wouldn't be coming back tonight.

A fight wasn't out of the question.

But I'm so tired.

"Fifty thousand Jenie."

"Deal!"

The agreement was so swift, it was as if he feared Hisoka might change his mind.

The corner of Hisoka's mouth twitched.

Damn, why is this brat so obsessed with money?

"Well, this is about the last time for a while."

Illumi calculated the days; his mother should be giving birth soon.

He still had to go back to see the Zoldyck Family's newly born cub!

"Hmm? You're going home? Can I come along?"

Hisoka offered a constructive suggestion, thinking that this way, Illumi could fight him for a longer time!

"No."

Illumi refused decisively.

The Zoldyck Family rules were written clearly.

Assassins are not allowed to make friends.

Illumi did not want to be electrocuted by his strict and irritable father.

He certainly wasn't going to bring anyone back.

Besides, Hisoka shouldn't count as a friend anyway.

He was just a sparring partner with decent sensory perception.

"Then I'll go back with Coleman."

Hisoka set his sights on Coleman instead.

"That won't work either, you can't catch up to him."

"Huh?"

Illumi looked at the monitor in his hand. From a certain moment on, his younger brother's movement speed had suddenly increased.

Not only that, but if things continued this way, Coleman would be out of the searchable signal range in five minutes.

Did he find his prey?

Illumi thought to himself.

He looked up at the cloudless sky and the crescent moon hanging in the corner.

He smiled slightly.

It really was a good day for hunting.

However, he tilted his head when he looked at the monitor again.

His brows furrowed slightly.

He saw the red dot on the monitor suddenly turn back, darting and weaving at an even faster speed.

Oh, it seems he's been treated as the prey.

"I'm not lying to you. If Coleman travels at full speed, very few people can catch up to him on foot."

The assassin known in the underworld as a 'Spider' moves much faster than you'd imagine.

His elusive, thin threads alone would be enough to give you a hard time.

If you still think you can catch this fleeing Spider during this process, you're probably dreaming.

"And believe me, you'll be killed by someone else before you even catch up to him."

Illumi shrugged, his face full of smiles: "Coleman is different from normal assassins. Rather than associating with 'colleagues,' he prefers to learn about things from the underworld."

In other words, the people he knows are either fugitives, information brokers, or the kind of mafia that ordinary people wouldn't dare to provoke.

And on that basis, there is only one possibility for Coleman to be fleeing.

One of his 'friends' got into trouble with someone and sold him out.

Watching the frantically moving red dot.

Illumi felt a sense of schadenfreude.

He always runs off for no reason.

Look, didn't trouble find him?

"Alright, we need to move quickly."

After dealing with that young lady, he still had to go fish his brother out.

He walked up to Hisoka and patted him on the shoulder.

He gestured for him to follow.

"Oh? Has little brother Coleman gotten himself into trouble?"

"Mmhmm."

With a soft hum, Illumi did not deny it.

"Oh, right, when we go in later, we have to say we're the nephews of the head of the Caxton family, here to see the world."

"?"

"Otherwise, how are two kids supposed to get in?"

"...Fine."

He had gained a strange uncle out of nowhere.

Illumi didn't slow his pace, thinking silently to himself.

I hope my little brother is lucky enough.

Don't die before I get there.

Don't even get severely injured.

Otherwise, I will be very troubled.