The Bond Between Two Boys

"Stop. This is the Zoldyck Family's private territory. Outsiders are forbidden from entering. Anyone who crosses this line will be killed without mercy." Canary's voice was steady, but the fingers gripping her whip had turned slightly white.

"We came to see Killua! Let us in!" Leorio stepped forward.

"I obey only my master's orders. All unauthorized personnel will be expelled."

Gon crossed the white line without hesitation.

"I have to see Killua."

The whip cracked through the air.

Electricity burst an instant before it struck his chest. Gon was sent flying, his back slamming into the gravel, and a bloody welt immediately appeared on his shoulder. He coughed, climbed back up, and crossed the white line again.

He was knocked down again.

He got up. Crossed the line. Fell.

By the time he stood up for the thirteenth time, half of Gon's clothes had been soaked in blood. Yet his steps were steadier than they had been the first time, and there was no hesitation in his eyes—only something Canary recognized. It was the obsession she had once seen in the eyes of stray dogs scavenging through the ruins of Meteor City.

"Why?" A crack appeared in Canary's voice, and the tip of her whip lowered slightly. "You clearly can't beat me. If this goes on, you'll die."

Gon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Because Killua is my friend! I promised him I'd come get him!"

Canary's whip froze in midair. She remembered Killua giving her a skateboard when he returned, remembered how she had been an orphan from Meteor City before the Zoldyck Family took her in as a butler. The hand holding the whip slowly dropped.

She suddenly stopped attacking and fell to one knee. "Please... save Master Killua! Since he came back this time, he hasn't slept for three days!"

Before her words had even faded.

A gunshot tore through the night sky.

The bullet entered through Canary's shoulder blade. She pitched forward, blood splattering across the white line. Wutong stepped out from the shadows beneath the trees, smoke still curling from the barrel of his silver pistol.

"Rules are rules." Wutong's face was expressionless, but the muzzle had been shifted half an inch—that shot could have hit her heart. "Take her with you. Her life belongs to you now."

He put away the gun, turned, and vanished into the shadows without looking back.

Canary clutched her shoulder as blood streamed through her fingers. She bit her lip and rose to her feet, her face pale, but her eyes flickered like sparks bursting from dying embers.

Canary held her wounded shoulder and struggled to her feet. She did not look at Wutong. Instead, she looked at Gon.

"Follow me." She bit her lip. "I'll take you to the butler's quarters."

Wutong put away his pistol without expression and did not stop them.

Canary led Gon and the other two across the gravel path in the courtyard and into the butler's quarters in the side wing of the Zoldyck Family's main residence. The room was spacious and solemn, its dark wooden floors polished to a shine, with a dragon-crested emblem hanging on the wall. The butlers were already lined up, and a tea set and medical kit sat on the table, as though they had known the group would come.

Wutong stood behind the long table with his hands folded before him. "Welcome to the butler's quarters. Master Killua is on his way. Please wait a moment. Before Master Killua arrives, why not pass the time with a little game?"

"If you guess wrong, you will lose the right to see Master Killua forever."

"We don't have time. We need to see Killua right now!" Leorio said.

Wutong ignored his protest and took a coin from his pocket. "The rules are simple. I'll toss the coin and catch it with one hand. The three of you will guess which hand it is in. Whoever guesses wrong will be eliminated." He tossed the coin, his hands crossing and shifting rapidly, too fast for the eye to follow. Finally, he held both fists in front of him. "Answer within three seconds."

"Left!" Leorio shouted.

Kurapika stared at Wutong's hands. "Right."

"Right," Gon said.

Wutong opened his hands—the coin was in his right hand. "Mr. Leorio, you have been eliminated."

Leorio's eyes widened. Before he could protest, Wutong had already tossed the coin again. This time, his hands moved even faster, leaving almost nothing but afterimages. "Continue. Answer within three seconds."

Kurapika and Gon exchanged a look.

"Right," Kurapika said.

"Left," Gon said.

Wutong opened his hands—the coin was in his right hand. Kurapika's expression did not change. He merely nodded slightly. "Mr. Kurapika, you have been eliminated."

Now only Gon remained.

Wutong looked at Gon and fell silent for a moment. "Now you are the only one left. I will increase the difficulty." He beckoned, and two butlers came to stand beside him. The three of them placed their hands behind their backs at the same time. Wutong tossed the coin, and their hands crossed and passed it rapidly. In the end, all three held their fists before them. "Guess. Which hand holds the coin?"

Gon stared at their hands for a long time. His left eye had been swollen shut by Canary's whip, making his vision blurry. Suddenly, he picked up the short knife Leorio had placed on the table earlier and sliced into his swollen eyelid.

"Gon!" Leorio shouted.

Gon wiped away the blood and tied gauze tightly above his eye. His vision became clear. He looked again at Wutong and the two butlers' hands.

"The coin isn't in any of the hands in front of you," Gon said. "It's in the pocket of the butler behind you."

Wutong and the two butlers froze at the same time. The butler standing behind Wutong slowly took the coin from his pocket.

Wutong was silent for a long time, then began to applaud softly. "Excellent. You possess not only sharp powers of observation, but also the determination to hurt yourself for your friend."

Wutong put away the coin, his tone turning solemn. "Master Killua is the heir of the Zoldyck Family. His fate is a heavy one. I hope you remember this: deep within Master Killua's heart, there is a dark switch. If one day he truly loses control, I hope you can stop him, or... kill him."

"I won't kill Killua." Gon looked at Wutong. His voice was not loud, but every word was firm. "I'll stay by his side and help him find his own path."

Wutong was silent for a moment, then bowed slightly. "Master Killua is in your care."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the butler's quarters was pushed open. Killua rushed inside.

"Gon!"

Killua ran to Gon. When he saw the freshly cut wound on Gon's face and the whip marks covering his body, he frowned. "Hey! Gon! How did you end up looking like this?"

Gon looked at the bruise on Killua's face. "You're one to talk! Killua, what happened to your face?"

"Nothing. That bastard Milluki hit me."

Killua turned his head away, unwilling to let Gon see the injury on his face. He walked over to Wutong. "Wutong, you can ignore my mother's orders."

"Yes, Master Killua."

Killua turned to the three of them and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Let's go! Let's get out of this hellhole!"

The four of them walked out of the butler's quarters together. Sunlight streamed through the arched windows in the corridor, casting neat patches of light across the floor. Gon walked at the front, while Killua followed behind him with a faint smile.

Just as he was about to catch up, his footsteps suddenly halted.

For an instant, his pupils dilated, then abruptly contracted. He raised a hand to his temple, his knuckles turning white, but it lasted only half a second. He took a deep breath and quickened his pace as if nothing had happened.

Kurapika walked at the very back and glanced at the open door to the butler's quarters at the end of the corridor.

An icy chill surged through Kurapika's heart.

Wutong was still standing where he was, maintaining his bow without moving.