Illumi was not a combative person, or rather, he was a highly goal-oriented, energy-saving individual who didn't waste superfluous effort.
To put it more plainly, when he didn't want to fight you, his attitude would be extremely passive. No matter how you attacked him, you couldn't provoke him into attacking. I could now understand Hisoka's feeling of being deflated upon seeing Illumi, even with Hisoka's battle-hungry nature.
Although I used to spar with Illumi a long time ago, before I started learning "Nen," and that was the last time we fought, engaging with him now still allowed me to vaguely grasp the trajectory of his next move. As students of the Zoldyck family's private lessons, our fundamental physical training was the same.
I remembered in the Election Arc of the original story, Illumi and Killua's near-certain predictions of each other's behavioral patterns. I had to admit, after spending a long time together, one inevitably gets to know and be known. I saw parts of him, and he would see parts of me. With his intelligence, he probably saw more than I did.
So, after several exchanges, he knew that I, who had come with fierce intent, had no intention of killing him. Thus, he shifted from solely dodging and defending to completely giving up resistance, falling back onto the grass.
Yes, I didn't want to kill him at this moment. After all, he was an important plot character, and I tried my best not to disrupt the main storyline and lose the advantage of foreseeing the future.
"Alright, Sister, you win," he said with a tone of helplessness. "I surrender."
"..." That's it? What was that?! Did you think you were placating a child?!
No, he simply didn't take me seriously.
He didn't believe I could do anything to him, short of actually killing him.
He was ruthless, unafraid of pain, and nothing could instill fear in him. He was truly abnormal; he was a monster.
Retracting my claws, I walked to his side, crouched down, and placed my hand on his abdomen, pressing lightly. Inside, his organs were fully present and wriggling slightly.
Following Illumi's chin, I looked at him. He blinked, like a cat exposing its belly without caution.
It was so annoying. He was always so confident, and what was more infuriating was that his judgments were always correct.
Harming him here would do me no good. He truly had reason to be so nonchalant.
I propped myself up with one hand on his chest and straddled him. I heard Illumi say, "Sister, everyone misses you since you haven't come home. Especially..."
His words were cut short because I pressed my index finger against his Adam's apple.
Behind the Adam's apple were the vocal cords, and beyond that, the esophagus and trachea.
In other words, if I pressed down, he would suffocate and die.
I observed Illumi's reaction. As expected, he remained expressionless, showing no fluctuation.
Relaxing my index finger, it was as if nothing had happened. His voice was just a little hoarse as he continued, "Mizai. He ran away from home for you too."
"..." No, Mizai ran away for himself because he didn't want to diet and wear a dress. I, Mols, would not take this blame.
"Mother was very angry at first."
The vibration against my fingertip suddenly stopped. I shifted my gaze from his neck to look at Illumi.
"Ah," he took a shallow breath. "Sister, you surely wouldn't guess what Mother did."
"..."
"Want to guess?" he asked.
Raising my hand, I thrust the dagger, "[Equip] Dagger Specially for Killing Illumi," towards Illumi's eyes. Illumi tilted his head at the opportune moment, and the dagger left a thin, bright red line on his cheek.
"Want to guess?" he repeated, his tone flat, like an automated doll.
The blood seeping from the line was very close to his eyes, like a few drops of tears. As he straightened his head, they slid into his temple, and the scattered red was instantly swallowed by the thick blackness, disappearing without a trace.
Oh, Illumi wouldn't shed tears, except perhaps as an infant.
"Want to guess?"
"..."
Stop repeating yourself, you're really annoying.
I pressed down on the button that made him speak, his Adam's apple, looking down at him from above.
The other party showed no positive or negative reaction, which was quite disheartening for me.
The wound on his face would soon stop bleeding, then scab over, heal, and leave nothing behind. Reluctantly, I leaned down to lick the wound, licking away the semi-congealed blood. Following the edge of the wound, I licked it until it became red and swollen.
After I had vented my frustration, I realized Illumi had placed his right hand on my back, as if to comfort me.
"Sister, you shouldn't leave marks in such an obvious place," he said. "It would be a bit troublesome for me."
I abruptly sat up straight. His right hand didn't linger; it slid down with my movement and returned to rest on the grass.
Was he really prepared to let me do as I pleased?
When he killed my first hawk, the Zoldyck family gave me the chance to punish him with a whip. At that time, I was disheartened and merely went through the motions. Later, I regretted more than once missing the opportunity to leave him covered in bruises.
Such officially sanctioned opportunities for revenge were clearly gone.
I didn't seize what I should have; what a fool I am.
If I wanted to leave no trace, I still had hundreds of towels in my game backpack. Should I give him waterboarding?
"To make you give up, Mother..." Illumi said solemnly, "had a sterilization surgery."
"!!!" Kikyo, you are truly ruthless!
"Just kidding," Illumi said in the same serious tone as before. It was hard to tell which of his words were jokes. "I just said it casually."
"..." Why hasn't your mother beaten you to death yet?
"I heard Sister wanted a sister because of Killua?"
"..." Silva! How did Illumi know too?! Do you two often gather and talk bad about me behind my back!!
"There's nothing wrong with having this concern," Illumi said. "But Sister, have you ever thought that Killua is still very young, his memory is limited, and you've been gone for so long, he's almost forgotten you?"
"!"
I had calculated everything, but I had forgotten this point!
A child's brain under the age of three is not fully developed, so most children do not remember events before the age of three.
When I met Killua again ten years later, I would become that distant relative who could only engage in awkward small talk with topics like, "I even held you when you were little, haha."
If it weren't for life or circumstances forcing my hand, I would really like to be a lazy, good-for-nothing person.
Thinking carefully, if I continued with the original plan and broke away from the Zoldycks to embark on the path of a bounty hunter, constantly on the run, would the hardships involved be any different from working for the Zoldycks?!
Don't forget the Zoldycks also provided free room and board and medical care!
More importantly, I could "pet" Killua as an employee benefit!
Was I out of my mind?! Did I think the life of a bounty hunter would be more promising than being a member of the Zoldyck family? Aren't the jobs for these two professions essentially the same?
For the sake of the little angel Killua, the Zoldycks, I can accept it again!
Standing up, I walked towards the water. Illumi asked if I was going home today.
When training under a waterfall, one naturally doesn't wear shoes. Illumi's sudden intrusion meant I didn't have time to worry about my shoes, and I remained barefoot. I turned my head, lifted one foot, pointed to the mud stuck on the sole, and gestured for him to turn his back.
Washing with water, [Unequip] dress, [Retrieve] towel to dry, [Equip] clothes, socks, shoes, after finishing, I approached Illumi, who was carrying me on his back, walked past him, and waved to indicate I was leaving.
I walked ahead, Illumi followed behind. The unchanging silence continued until the airport, and he bought the same destination airship ticket as me.
Facing my questioning gaze, Illumi shook his airship ticket. "I don't have any work for now. Let's go home together."
"..." I suspected Illumi thought I would go back on my word midway and make his trip in vain. In other words, his actions were escorting me.
What the heck? Was I that untrustworthy?!
On the way, I suddenly remembered something else. I still didn't know how Illumi found me. Illumi said this fell under the application scenario of counter-tracking courses and that I should find the answer myself. I viciously grabbed his collar, silently intimidating him, attracting the attention of passengers in nearby seats on the airship. Just before a fight nearly broke out, he finally confessed that it was because of New Orleans.
To facilitate the positioning of hawks for long-distance deliveries, the Zoldycks had embedded a tracker in the hidden compartment at the bottom of the message tube tied to the hawk's leg. When I [Retrieved] New Orleans from my game backpack, the Zoldycks knew my location.
I had never used New Orleans to send a letter before and didn't know it had an additional function.
A lapse in vigilance.
I then asked Illumi about Mizai running away from home.
It turned out Mizai hadn't even left the Testing Gate. He claimed he was too weak from hunger, hence couldn't push the door open. In reality, he had "died" midway without even leaving home. It was hilarious.
Upon returning to Mount Pkku, I indeed saw Mizai, all dolled up by Kikyo (lol). His sharp chin, slender frame – he was pitiful to behold.
Mizai's eyes welled up when he saw me, as if he had seen a close relative. As soon as he relaxed, his waist cincher came undone, and the fabric of the skirt ripped at the waist. The scene was too beautiful for me to bear.
After witnessing Mizai's miserable state, my next target was naturally Killua. Kikyo grabbed me and said she wanted to take me for a prenatal check-up.
"???"
"Mother, Sister said she's pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl," Illumi reminded her from the side.
"There's such a thing?!" Kikyo's electronic eyes fluctuated violently. "With whom?"
"Sister didn't say," Illumi replied.
They both looked at me.
I mouthed that I wasn't pregnant and that I hadn't even touched an opposite-sex person.
"Are you telling the truth, Mols?" Kikyo asked.
I nodded sincerely.
"Alright, then let's get you checked." She still insisted on taking me for a prenatal check-up.
I protested, saying she didn't believe me. She retorted by asking which of my words were true and how she was supposed to distinguish.
"We'll get the results soon. Mols, are you perhaps guilty?" Kikyo tightened her grip on my hand. "I told you long ago, you shouldn't have been allowed out alone for so long!"
Only when the instrument showed that there was no extra life inside me did Kikyo breathe a sigh of relief. Her attitude changed 180 degrees, and she started patting my head and hugging me, becoming incredibly gentle. "I knew you were Mama's good child!"
"No twins? Not even one?" Illumi asked with some regret after hearing the results. "Sister, don't you have fertility?"
What do you mean?! You're the one who's infertile! You're impotent for life!
"Il, you can't talk to your sister like that," Kikyo, who was hugging me, spoke first. "Mols isn't lying; she truly hasn't had close contact with the opposite sex."
"Oh, Sister isn't old enough to be interested in the opposite sex yet?" Illumi said. "So, it's not because you had a target person that you ran away to have a child."
"..." What are you talking about? You're just a kid who's barely a year younger than me.
"Mols, on this outing, did you not encounter anyone you liked?" Kikyo asked me.
"..." I went out to train, not to have a child! Do I need to repeat myself?!
"What type?" Illumi inquired, stating he had never heard of such a thing.
"To put it simply, a pretty boy," Kikyo replied.
Your summary is too simple and crude!
"So, you only value appearance?" Illumi glanced at me. "Sister, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person."
"..." What's wrong with me?! Is it wrong for me to like pretty boys?! I haven't eaten your family's rice! Oh, wait, I ate your family's rice for over a decade, but I'll repay it with my work! I don't owe you anything!
Anyway, my innocence had been cleared. I righteously left Kikyo and Illumi to their conversation as they continued their operation-based chat. I wanted to see my beloved Killua and hoped he hadn't forgotten me.
The butler looking after Killua kindly helped me, who wasn't wearing a voice-amplifying device, to remind Killua that the person in front of him was his sister.
He had forgotten me.
Tears gushed out.
He was only two years old; I would forgive him, but my heart still ached!
"Onee-chan." After the butler's reminder, Killua called out obediently, his large blue cat-like eyes shining brightly. His soft, milky voice sounded exactly like he was acting spoiled.
My heart no longer ached.
I was able to function again.
I enjoyed petting him to my heart's content.