That evening, A Luo ate dinner distractedly.
Still in a daze, she retreated to her room.
She kept turning it over in her mind. What exactly had that certain someone meant by scaring her with a prank in the stands at Heavens Arena that afternoon?
As Malena cleared the dishes, she glanced curiously toward her daughter's room. Something about A Luo seemed a little off tonight.
The girl had been distracted ever since she returned from Heavens Arena.
What was wrong?
Had something happened at Heavens Arena today? Hadn't she won her match?
In her room, A Luo went over every bit of the plot she could still remember, using it all to analyze Illumi.
Illumi Zoldyck, the eldest son of a family of assassins, Killua's big brother, expressionless, a money grubber and suspected control freak... He didn't seem to kill people on a whim like those Spiders in the Phantom Troupe, nor was he a battle maniac like a certain perverted fruit farmer, always chasing people down for a fight!
Outside working hours, he generally wouldn't attack anyone unless he was in a particularly foul mood or someone was foolish enough to provoke him.
Wait, Killua loved sweets so much. Could Illumi like them too?
In the Hunter Exam arc, there seemed to have been a scene of Illumi eating cookies while disguised as Gittarackur.
At that thought, A Luo sneaked into the kitchen after her parents had gone to bed... and carried plenty of the Shell Cakes and assorted little desserts Malena had made that day back to her bedroom.
These Shell Cakes tasted like cookies, with a texture somewhere between cake and a cookie.
They were one of Killua's favorite desserts among her mother's specialties.
Maybe Illumi would like them too?
A Luo remembered reading somewhere that studies showed eating sweets could make people feel happier.
So most people should be in a better mood after eating something delicious, right?
And once they were in a good mood, naturally they wouldn't attack anyone.
If the Zoldyck Family's eldest son really showed up tonight, uh! (╥╯^╰╥)... Maybe she could try coaxing him with these treats?
A Luo lay stiffly on her bed, her mind full of wild thoughts.
Suddenly, the girl sensed a chilling pressure in the room.
She quickly opened her eyes and noticed a dark figure behind the door.
Illumi?! It should be him, right?
A Luo clutched the corner of her blanket. In her shock, a cry lodged firmly in her throat!
"Quiet. If you shout, I'll attack. The same goes if you don't answer my questions or try to deceive me."
"Don't worry. I just need to verify a few things with you. As long as you behave and tell the truth, I won't do anything to you."
The dark figure behind the door spoke in a flat, utterly emotionless voice.
He also held a large-headed pin. Its sharp tip reflected light in the darkness, the gleam appearing and disappearing as he moved.
Sweating with fear, A Luo nodded repeatedly, trembling as she tried to use every gesture and facial expression to demonstrate just how obedient and honest she was.
"Name!"
"Lola Reno."
"What's your relationship with Killua? Are you friends?"
"Who's Killua? Oh! The new contestant at Heavens Arena. I think he's pretty impressive, so I tried talking to him. But he's really aloof and hardly responds to anyone."
She couldn't completely deny any connection with Killua and say she didn't know who he was.
Illumi had clearly seen her watching Killua's match that afternoon. Playing completely dumb would be too obvious. Better to mix truth with lies.
"You know who I am?"
"Who are you?"
"Normally, if you knew nothing about me, you wouldn't have any reason to be this afraid of me on our first meeting, before you'd even seen what I can do. Have you seen me kill someone, or do you know my true identity? But I have absolutely no memory of you!"
"Uh... I watched a horror movie before. There was a female ghost in it who could turn her whole head 180 degrees, just like you did today... It scared me so badly I didn't dare sleep for a month."
A Luo stole a cautious glance at Illumi and asked in a tiny voice:
"Are you a ghost? I've really never done anything bad! I've told you everything honestly. Could you please not eat me?"
"Huh! Eat you? A ghost...? A horror movie? What's that?"
"..."
Seeing that Illumi had no intention of taking her life for the moment, the girl climbed out of bed, turned on the television with trembling hands, and dug out discs of various horror movies. Then she spent the entire night watching films like The Ring, Ju-On, and Final Destination with a certain assassin.
By the time it was broad daylight, the assassin had finished all of A Luo's stockpiled snacks and was ready to get up and leave.
Before leaving, the expressionless man offered an opinion that practically begged for a punch:
"Those shell-shaped cookies tasted all right. The movies weren't very interesting, though. Why are they called horror movies? Oh, right. That last one, Final Destination, might offer a little inspiration for my work... though the chances of putting it into practice aren't high."
"Thank you for your thoughtful hospitality tonight. But why do you like watching such boring films?"
Faced with the assassin's question, all A Luo wanted to say was, Which eye of yours saw me enjoying them?!
If you hadn't been watching me, I'd have had to be out of my mind to watch horror movies this terrifying in the middle of the night!
Unfortunately, her pinprick-sized courage only stretched far enough to see the assassin off respectfully.
The next day, at Heavens Arena.
A Luo had just stepped out of the elevator when she saw Killua waiting beside its doors with a grave expression.
"A Luo, did anything happen last night?"
"Huh! No!"
(Yes! Yes! I had the rotten luck to run into your freak of a big brother yesterday, and he deliberately scared me for his own twisted amusement. Then he actually came over at night to test me, and I was forced to watch horror movies with him all night!)
"Oh, good, then. My big brother suddenly asked about you. I was worried he'd do something."
"Your big brother? Killua, did he come here specifically to see you?"
(So Illumi really had come to see his little brother. He probably saw her walking with Killua that afternoon, so he came over that night specifically to test her. And somehow, she'd actually managed to bluff her way through.)
"As if! He probably just had a job nearby."
"A job?"
"Yeah, an assassination job!"
"What about now? Has he finished the job and gone home?"
"Huh!... You're really weird! You actually asked follow-up questions so seriously!"
"Because everything you just said was true!"
"Huh! How did you know? Making it impossible to tell when I'm telling the truth is a talent I was born with!"
"Uh!"
Of course A Luo couldn't tell Killua that this was a manga world and she knew the entire plot.
"That's just how it felt!"
"Aw, that's kind of depressing!"
"Uh..."
When A Luo said nothing, Killua thought for a moment, then began explaining his background to her in all seriousness.
"My family's actually in the assassination business. My full name is Killua Zoldyck, and I've been undergoing strict assassination training from my family since I was three. Right after my birthday this year, Dad packed me off here, saying I wasn't allowed to come home unless I made it to the 200th floor!"
Looking at the little kid in front of her, his eyes lowered as though he was feeling down, A Luo felt a little sorry for him.
It seemed they were all pitiful kids under their strict fathers' thumbs!
But before A Luo could offer any comfort, the little brat suddenly lit up and declared:
"Hah, I finally get to do whatever I want out here. Who wants to go back?! This time, I'm definitely going to take the chance to have all the fun I can here first!"
"Uh..."
Sure enough, she'd worried for nothing.
This kid didn't need any sympathy or pity!
She'd better feel sorry for herself first!
Before you continue