Killua's Choice

Killua stopped at the corner of the corridor.

Beyond the window lay no Forest Sea. Great swaths of earth had been hurled into the air and slammed back down. Century-old trees had snapped in half, their trunks crushed by an incomprehensibly powerful blunt force rather than cut by a blade. Farther away, half the roof of the rear mountain training ground had collapsed. A stone gate lay embedded in the rubble, its dragon relief gleaming dark blue-green under the moonlight.

It looked as though some enormous beast had stepped on the entire Zoldyck estate.

Killua narrowed his eyes. It wasn't Nanika. When Nanika used that power, black traces of Nen remained, like the scorched edges of paper. But there was nothing on these ruins. Only pure, savage physical destruction.

"Saitama," he blurted out.

As the name left his lips, Killua suddenly understood why Silva wanted to see him now. It wasn't because he had run home only to leave again. A far more dangerous guest had arrived.

He quickened his pace.

Silva's private rooms were unlocked. Killua pushed the door open, and the draft sent the candlelight swaying wildly, throwing twisted shadows across the walls.

Silva sat behind a low table, as still as a boulder. He didn't look up. His hands rested on his knees, fresh scrapes marking his knuckles.

"You're finally back." Silva's voice was deeper than usual.

"...I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." Silva finally raised his eyes. In the candlelight, the catlike eyes he shared with Killua looked strangely clear. "You followed your instincts. The Zoldycks have been assassins for generations. The talent is in our blood. We were born to kill. But Killua—"

He paused, his gaze cutting across Killua's face like a blade.

"I made you a promise. Once you were grown, you'd have the right to choose. Be an assassin for the rest of your life, or stop being one. It would be entirely up to you."

Killua's fingers tightened around the doorknob. He remembered Gon asleep at the inn, the hatred Kurapika kept buried in his eyes, and the beer foam that had splashed from Leorio's bottle when he shouted, "We're friends!"

If he didn't go back, they would keep charging into danger. Without him watching out for Gon, that reckless idiot would sooner or later run straight into a monster that could crush him.

"I want to be with them." Killua raised his head. His voice was quiet, but every word struck like a nail driven into wood. "I'm not just messing around. I want to be their friend. Travel with them. Protect them..."

Silva was silent for a long time.

The candle crackled and spat a spark.

"All right," he said.

Killua's shoulders had just begun to relax when Silva's next words turned his blood cold.

"But you must promise me one thing. Swear a blood oath." Silva bit his fingertip. A bead of dark red blood welled up, taking on an eerie hue in the candlelight. "Never betray your friends. If you abandon your companions and turn your back on those bonds—"

He stared at Killua, enunciating each word.

"Then you abandon your family. You abandon the Zoldycks. We will no longer be your parents and brothers. We will be your enemies. The entire family will hunt you until you're dead."

Killua stared at the drop of blood. If he betrayed his friends, he would lose not only them but his life. Yet if he stayed, he would lose them right now. Gon and the others were outside, fighting to push that gate open, and he knew how heavy it was.

"I swear." He didn't hesitate.

The door flew open with a bang.

Kikyo's electronic eye flashed so rapidly it looked ready to short-circuit. She lunged forward and seized Killua's shoulders, her nails digging through his clothes into his skin.

"No! Silva! How can you let him leave?" Her shrill voice tore through the air. "Those outsiders will get him killed! Do you know how many people out there want to tear him apart without the Zoldyck name to protect him?! They'll devour him down to the bone!"

She turned to Killua. His calm face was reflected in her electronic eye. "Killua, stay! Mommy will get you a new torture chamber, buy you the latest electric-shock toys—whatever you want—"

"Let him go." Silva raised a hand, and Nen Pressure formed an almost tangible barrier in front of Kikyo. His voice remained calm, but it carried a weight that brooked no argument. "Killua has made his choice. Even if he gets hurt, hits a wall, or regrets it someday, it will be the path he chose."

He looked at Killua. Something flickered deep in his eyes.

"One day, he'll understand his destiny. Or—" Silva paused. "He'll find a path none of us has ever seen."

Kikyo's sob caught in her throat. She didn't dare defy Silva, but the red light of her electronic eye stayed fixed on Killua's back like a curse.

Killua turned away. Something inside him had finally settled—not relief, but a cold clarity. He stopped wrestling with the ties binding him to his family and headed straight for the butlers' quarters. Gotoh wouldn't need to prepare any more training for Gon and the others. Killua would go get them himself.

The scent of food drifted from the banquet hall.

Saitama popped the last piece of marbled wagyu into his mouth. He looked up and saw Killua striding down the back corridor with a bag slung over his shoulder. There was a spring in his step, as if he'd just finished an exam rather than come out of an interrogation room.

"Saitama!" Killua's eyes lit up, but then his gaze fell on the ruins outside the window, and his mouth twitched. "...That mess on the rear mountain. Was that you?"

"Yeah. The gate was too heavy. It was an accident." Saitama sounded as though he were talking about the weather. "Silva made hot pot. Want some?"

"I'm not hungry." Killua shook his head. "Where are Gon and the others?"

"At the Trial Gate." Saitama looked toward the Forest Sea. His expression gave nothing away, but there was something behind his words. "Go wait in the butlers' quarters. Though—"

He paused.

"That gate might not be quite what they expect anymore."

Killua froze. He wanted to ask what Saitama meant, but Saitama had already gone back to eating. Killua pushed aside his questions and hurried off.

The Forest Sea training ground.

Ruts crisscrossed the gravel. Twenty days of weight rings grinding over it had gouged furrows of varying depths into the ground.

Gon unwound the last layer of bandage. The gauze fell to the ground in a small, pale heap. He flexed his fingers. The joints moved freely, without stiffness or pain. The fracture had healed, leaving only faint red scars that curled across his skin like little snakes.

Gotoh lowered his stopwatch, his gaze lingering on Gon's fingers. "Take off the vest and try."

Leorio and Kurapika stripped off their fifty-kilogram weights. They pressed both hands against the gate, muscles taut and teeth clenched.

The Trial Gate gave a low groan and opened a crack. Then—

It stuck fast.

Leorio's arms began to tremble violently. Kurapika's breathing turned into the rasp of a broken bellows. The gate stood like a mountain, motionless, as if mocking them.

Gon pulled away the last strip of gauze and walked up to the gate.

"Let me try."

The three stood shoulder to shoulder, palms pressed against the cold dragon relief. Gon felt it shudder beneath his hands. This was the first time in twenty days they had truly touched the gate. Before, the pressure alone had flung them back.

"One—"

Leorio's sweat dripped into the gap.

"Two—"

Nen began to gather at Kurapika's fingertips.

"Three!"

All three poured the last of their strength into one heave. Their bones creaked under the strain, and sweat splashed onto the gravel. The Trial Gate rumbled like thunder as it slowly swung inward. Dust fell from the dragon relief, and moonlight poured through the widening gap.

Until it stood fully open.

The three collapsed onto the ground, their lungs wheezing like broken bellows.

"It opened..." Leorio raised a fist, his voice hoarse. "It really opened!"

Kurapika leaned against a gatepost, blond hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. But he was smiling. "Twenty days. Gon, your hand—"

"Completely healed!" Gon sprang to his feet, his face smeared with dirt and scraps of gauze, his eyes shining. "Come on! Let's find Killua!"

Gotoh nodded and gave a rare hint of a smile. "Follow the road up the mountain. Someone's waiting for you."

Xikean leaned against the guardhouse wall, tossing a coin. "I thought you'd give up halfway through. Not bad. You've got some backbone."

The three got up and ran along the gravel road toward the mountaintop.

They hadn't gone far when a white line stretched across the road.

A girl stood beyond it. Her skin was dark, and the night wind whipped her short orange hair. She held a long whip, faint currents of electricity crackling along its length. There was no warmth in her large eyes, only a wariness sharp as a knife.

She raised the whip and pointed its tip at the three of them. Her voice was cold and hard.

"Opening the Trial Gate doesn't mean you get to see Master Killua. If you want to pass, you'll have to get past me first."