The Sheep's Outer Garment

The afternoon sun was just right.

A gentle breeze blew, setting the tassels on the curtains by the window in motion.

The warm light surged through the window, scrambling to pour into the slightly dim room.

It brought brightness with it.

Tiny dust motes floating in the air created a stage for the sunlight to reveal itself.

They danced and played music amidst the dust.

Full of joy and laughter, they were quite merry.

This was the Tyndall effect.

It gave shape to the intangible light.

Sitting before a sewing machine, a slender youth was enjoying the music emanating from a record player.

Dressed in a white suit, he looked incredibly elegant under the radiance of the sun.

His movements were steady, graceful, and pleasing to the eye.

His gaze was careful and focused as he trimmed the fine fabric bit by bit.

Snip.

Snip.

His expression was gentle and delicate, as if he were handling some precious treasure.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door was shoved open with force, followed by the sound of a child crying in grievance.

Coleman slowly paused his work and turned his head.

He smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Milluki?"

Snot and tears streaming down his face, a somewhat chubby child walked in with a mournful expression.

"Illumi scolded me again!"

Coleman understood; he was feeling wronged once more.

How many times had he come to find him now?

Whatever, it didn't matter.

Coleman lowered his head and continued cutting his work.

"Tell me about it."

"Illumi said I'm too useless! That I can't even compare to five-year-old Killua."

"Mmhmm, and then?"

"He also said that if I keep going like this, I'll be thrown away by Father sooner or later!"

Hearing this, Coleman set down his scissors, turned around, and spoke in a serious yet kind tone.

"That won't happen. The Zoldyck Family would never abandon any of its children!"

"But, Brother!"

Patting the child's head, seventeen-year-old Coleman acted like a grown-up.

Yet, the words he spoke were quite unpleasant to hear.

"Milluki, you have to adapt. You're already nine years old."

Upon hearing this, Milluki felt even more aggrieved. His second brother, the one he loved playing with most, the one who never got angry at his lack of talent, had actually said something like that.

His eyes welled up with tears, looking utterly dejected.

Had his second brother started to look down on him too?

As expected, I really am just too pathetic!

His emotions reached a breaking point, but before he could vent them, Coleman interrupted with a single sentence.

"Baby, you have to realize that Illumi has been sharp-tongued for years. Just think about Hisoka, who is always running over to our house."

When was he not being insulted and beaten by Illumi, forced all the way out of the Zoldyck estate?

Coleman felt quite helpless about this.

He didn't know which step in his brother's upbringing had gone wrong, causing his originally dark-bellied and reserved brother, who wasn't very good with words, to suddenly unlock the skill of a sharp tongue.

Now he could speak, it was just that what he said was becoming increasingly unpleasant.

But fortunately, there was still progress.

Under Coleman's repeated "coercion," Illumi had finally learned his lesson.

He no longer randomly said things to others like "you are mine" or "you belong to me"—those terrifying, easily misunderstood words.

After all, if those words were paired with a heartwarming scene, it would be called a confession.

Paired with Illumi's inorganic, expressionless face, however, it was a yandere in the making!

In order to force his brother to improve this habit of "trouble coming from the mouth," Coleman felt he had already discarded his meager sense of shame.

Heaven knows how much he had acted spoiled in front of his brother, and how many heart-pounding, suggestive things he had said.

Finally, he had managed to keep this boy—who lacked a sense of security and possessed explosive possessiveness—under control!

Coleman: Don't ask, asking just means my life is bitter!

"This is already pretty good, you know. Think about when you were five; what kind of treatment did you get back then?"

A single sentence instantly turned Milluki's face deathly pale, plunging him into a state of terror.

Before the age of five, Illumi was a devil!

A big devil!

Even the King of Hell would be better than him!

Thinking of those inorganic eyes filled with malice and killing intent, Milluki still had nightmares to this day.

"So, you see, Illumi just doesn't know how to express himself. He's still a good boy, really."

At the same time, Coleman recalled how his brother looked back when he hadn't been "properly trained"—that "stupid, cute, and dazed" appearance.

He was just like a little wooden block.

But he was quite cute!

Back then, he was a child whose ears would turn red if you teased him just a little.

That doesn't work anymore; now, he's completely indifferent!

Thinking about how he had pestered Illumi to sleep with him yesterday, only to be ruthlessly kicked out, Coleman sighed with emotion.

It's over; the tsundere, wooden brother has vanished into the river of history.

What a pity!

Meanwhile, the small, round Milluki stared blankly at his second brother's face, which shifted between happiness and regret, his mind full of question marks.

Illumi? Cute?

Does he have anything to do with that word?

Where is the connection?

"Hmm? Illumi was really cute when he was little."

Blinking, Coleman looked at the child standing on the floor and used some effort to lift him up to sit on his lap.

He casually opened a drawer and took out a photo album.

He found a picture of himself with Illumi.

"Look here, don't mind that Illumi is expressionless; he was actually shy. Look at how his eyes are darting around—he wouldn't even look at the camera!"

Looking at Illumi dressed in a qipao, Coleman was filled with emotion.

As expected, the unformed brother was still the cutest.

Now, he's all coy even when taking a bath together.

Tsk tsk.

Milluki looked at his eldest brother in the photo, whose expression was no different from now—perhaps even more ferocious—and felt even more confused.

Second brother, look at this photo, look at it carefully.

Doesn't eldest brother look like he wants to kill someone?

If looks could kill, the photographer would have been dead long ago!

But it was strange; to think someone could actually survive taking such a photo of his eldest brother.

"Second brother, who took this?"

"Hisoka, of course! Who else would dare to take it!"

Oh, that explains it.

Seeing his brother already resigned to fate, Coleman shook him awake.

"Hey, don't underestimate that big brother; he's already a qualified photographer!"

What can ten years bring a person?

Coleman would tell you that he could cultivate a ten-talented thug who could handle the parlor, the kitchen, photography, and even driving!

Look, wasn't Hisoka cultivated by him?

"Really, don't be so skeptical."

With his second brother's words in his ears, the bizarre face of that clown appeared in his mind.

This guy, photography?

He had to be joking; it would be a mercy if he didn't stick playing cards all over the camera!

Coleman admired his younger brother's stunned expression, keeping his achievements and fame hidden, smiling without a word.

You should be grateful; if I hadn't trained these two perverts so well, you never know when you might have been warped by that unreliable Illumi!

Fortunately, I acted early, ensuring Illumi went down a "bright and righteous path" from which there was no return.

I made sure his ability to accept the occurrence of anything was exceptionally strong.

This included accepting the existence of those human beings who were completely hopeless, like mud that couldn't stick to a wall.

Otherwise, you—a child with average talent in our family but above-average talent among the general population—might have been looked down upon by Illumi in ways you couldn't imagine!

"Sigh, Killua really lives in a good era!"

Flipping through the photo album, Milluki sighed like a little adult.

It was fortunate that my second brother acted early; otherwise, who knows what kind of state our eldest brother would have forced such a stunning child as Killua into!

"Ah, it's fine, I don't think Illumi would do anything particularly excessive to Killua."

"?"

Milluki looked up, his face full of suspicion.

How could there be differential treatment?

Aren't they all children of the Zoldyck family?!

Coleman tilted his head, looked straight into the child's eyes, and said with a smile, "Because Killua has white hair, and those with white hair are meant to be the head of the family! If he breaks Killua, who will be the head?"

"You!"

Milluki said righteously.

Don't we still have you in this family?

Coleman shook his head with a laugh.

"That won't work."

"Why?"

Is there discrimination even here?

We both have white hair, so why can't my second brother be the head?

Sighing, Coleman rubbed the child's chubby cheeks.

"Because Grandfather won't agree."

"..."

"He says my way of thinking is problematic!"

This completely stunned little Milluki.

He furrowed his delicate brows, his expression serious, as if he were pondering a very significant problem.

I mean, is there anyone in our family whose way of thinking isn't problematic?

"Alright, stop thinking about useless things. In the future, if Illumi lectures you again, just listen to the useful parts. If you get angry with him, you're the only one who will get hurt."

He placed the child on a chair and told him to stand still.

Coleman picked up a ruler and began to measure.

His movements didn't stop, and neither did his mouth.

"You'll get used to it; he can't really do anything to you. Besides, our little Milluki's talent might not even lie in that area."

Who says people in an assassin family must have talent for combat!

"But, won't Father be disappointed?"

"Ha? That old man? Why do you care about him? With so many sons, isn't it enough that the eldest is reliable?"

The second son in his family wasn't reliable and was scolded by their father every day.

Coleman didn't care, though; you can scold all you want, I'll do my own thing.

If he pushes me too far, I'll just go to Mother and complain!

"But you must listen to Mother, she likes you very much!"

Coleman said with a beaming smile.

He wasn't wrong; Kikyo certainly liked obedient children.

Only by fulfilling the first condition could one obtain the next.

"Okay."

Milluki felt a bit dejected; he didn't want to disappoint his father.

"There are three stages to growing up: the first is realizing your parents are mediocre. The second is accepting your own mediocrity. The third is accepting the mediocrity of your children."

"You can skip the first stage. Now, little Milluki, think carefully about the second. Remember, no matter what you are like, Mom and Dad will always love their children. You will always be a part of the Zoldyck family."

From the moment you were born in that delivery room, no one could ever change that fact.

Not until your death.

Coleman looked straight at Milluki, speaking these words with earnest tenderness.

Seeing the child slowly sink into deep thought, he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Glancing at the ruler in his hand to confirm the measurements once more, Coleman began his next step.

He stepped on the sewing machine pedal and started his work.

Clack-clack, clack-clack.

The old-fashioned sewing machine made a faint sound in the room.

The warm afternoon sun shone through the window, spilling across the room in abundance.

A breeze stirred the leaves outside, carrying the fragrance of trees.

It drifted through the half-open window, floating aimlessly.

It reached the two children.

The cool breath of the wind startled the child from his thoughts.

Whether he had figured it out or simply cast the problem to the back of his mind, it didn't matter.

In any case, the child blinked his dark eyes and looked happily at his older brother.

"Then, I'll work hard, but you can't look down on me before then!"

"Of course!"

What kind of older brother would look down on his younger brother?

Illumi didn't look down on Coleman, did he?

Smiling, he picked up the finished suit and looked it over.

He found that it fit perfectly.

"Come on, try it on. It's a gift for you~"

Smiling, he leaned over slightly and handed the folded clothes to the little boy.

At that moment, the sunlight was very cooperative, shining just right on Coleman.

The warm light hit his silver-white hair, causing it to shimmer slightly.

The pure white suit accentuated his slender and sharp figure.

He lacked the sharp, angular features of a man, but his soft, feminine grace did not make the youth seem effeminate.

Instead, it made one feel that this person must be gentle, kind, and a true gentleman.

His temperament was easygoing and warm, like the sun on the horizon.

He had no sharp fangs; he was like an angel dressed in white robes.

Bearing the sanctity of the heavens, he had descended into this filthy, mortal world.

Milluki stared at his suddenly transformed second brother, his eyes dazed.

For a moment, he even thought:

Where did this pure angel come from?

Why would he fall to the mortal realm?

Warm and harmonious, bathed in holy light.

Yet, he snapped back to reality upon seeing the flash of scarlet in his second brother's eyes.

He replied happily, "Thank you, Second Brother! I'll wear it every day!"

"As long as you like it, go play."

Ignoring the strange feeling that had just crossed his mind, Milluki skipped away.

He forcibly cleared away those unreliable thoughts and silently scolded himself.

If his second brother were an angel, there would be no evil people left in the world.

Then again, what if he really was an angel?

A fallen angel!

Watching Milluki skip away, Coleman's smile slowly faded.

The setting sun would not linger for the warmth shared between the two.

It hurried on its way, without a trace of dust, completing its task.

The light that had been shining on Coleman had long since moved on.

At this moment, his silhouette was cast upward by the warm orange sunset.

Hidden within the shadows.

Concealed in the darkness.

His scarlet eyes were like soul-snatching hooks, flickering vaguely in a sea of crimson.

Swaying, like the flowers of the other shore before the gates of hell.

The youth curled his lips, chuckling softly.

The pattering sound of his laughter echoed through the space.

"What an interesting little child!"

As expected, his initial thoughts had been correct.

"It's much more fun when there are still some normal children in the family!"

Talking to himself, he murmured in solitude.

Thinking of Milluki's personality, Coleman was extremely satisfied with this experiment.

"Truly, I love humans the most!"

Exclaiming, Coleman picked up the top hat placed to the side.

He swayed his body leisurely, stepping to a beat only he could understand.

Bit by bit, he walked into the darkness.

His pristine white figure slowly vanished.

Hidden away in the endless shadows.

That was a place the sunlight could never reach.

Demons grew slowly in this place.

Therefore, how could there be any pure angels?

They are merely demons who have bewitched humanity, draped in the skin of a sheep.

Harmless to man and beast, yet incomparably ferocious.