Chapter Text
Illumi stares numbly as he watches his home crumble, engulfed in flames. It’s almost funny, he thinks, how easily the estate burst into an inferno. Building the mansion on the side of an alpine forest was a self-imposed checkmate. He absentmindedly pats Kalluto’s back as the tiny child’s body shakes with pain, coughing up smoke and ash. A tug at his sleeve drags his sluggish stupor to meet Killua’s bloodshot gaze.
“Aniki,” he croaks. “What now?”
He feels the weight of four pairs of eyes, their exhausted devastation crushing his spine. Illumi feels his mouth part and open, the feeling of speech clawing from his throat both alien and painful.
“We survive.”
“Illu, look!” Milluki frantically points behind them.
In the distance, the butler’s villa explodes, a furious cloud of ash and gas bleeding into the rosy-fingered dawn. The still daybreak is silent, he notices.
They descend down the mountain, charred bodies of morning doves paving their path.
Damn, he thinks to himself as he pulls out his phone, has it really come to this?
The call barely makes it past one ring before Illumi registers that it’s been answered. He hears the sweet drawl of the most poisonous man he’s met. He can practically see the man’s sharp-toothed grin threatening to burst its seams.
“My, what a delicious way to wake up!” The voice, tinny and warped, purrs in his ear. “So unexpected, though… to what do I owe the pleasure?”
For a heartbeat, Illumi’s face softens. “I need a place.”
Hisoka’s voice falters for a moment at the sound of Illumi’s rasping voice. “You are asking for this as a favor?”
Killua’s sweaty grip on his hand tightens. He closes his eyes, breathing deeply before opening them with newfound conviction. “I’m asking this as a friend.”
The line is silent for a moment. When Hisoka speaks again, the mirth in his voice is gone. “Next bus. 8 AM. Be there.”
The call ends.
Descending Mt. Kukuroo takes longer than expected. Alluka won’t stop crying, so Illumi slings her over one shoulder. Kalluto won’t stop coughing up blood, which adds time which they can’t afford to waste, so he swings him onto his other shoulder in one swift motion. Milluki’s nervous chatter gives him a headache, but he elects to indulge him for once. Less effort, he tells himself.
The Sun’s hard to see in the smoky haze, but Illumi’s mind is the only clock he needs. Each pendulum swing of his lanky, awkward legs embeds itself in the rhythm of his mechanical heart. He can feel the shift of the cogs and crank of the wheels in his spine. It’s 7:55, he realizes as he walks towards the Testing Gate. Killua reluctantly lets go of his hand. Illumi stands before the gate, nearly drops Alluka and Kalluto as he prepares to push, and thus instead decides to kick it open.
They stand on the side of the road, the soft morning sunshine shining through the fine, drifting dust, shimmering a gentle gold. He hears the bus before he sees it, jostling and creaking as it protests the unpaved mountain road.
The bus’s breaks whine indignantly as it screeches to a halt in front of Illumi. With a hiss, the door opens. Hisoka’s lips draw into that sly smirk he’s so fond of, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Care for a lift?”
He hears Milluki breath falter, as if his words preemptively died in his throat.
“Yeah. Thanks.” He nudges Milluki, who looks at him, eyes wide. “Come on, get on.”
Milluki pauses, his face settling back into neutral arrogance, his back straightening, and steps onto the bus, ignoring Hisoka pointedly. “I call dibs on the back,” he calls over his shoulder, “I’m going to sleep.”
Hisoka giggles, his chin cupped in his slender hand. “Who’s next?”
Killua steps forward from Illumi’s side, boarding the bus in silence.
Illumi looks over his shoulders, feigning surprise at the sight of Kalluto and Alluka hanging off of him. “Well, that would leave the three of us, wouldn’t it?” He meets Hisoka’s gaze.
The magician’s eyes shine in the soft morning light. He stands up, and outstretches his hand.
“Best for last, right?”
Illumi reaches for him. His hands feel rougher than he expected. He feels the raised grooves and edges of callouses as their fingers intertwine in Hisoka’s grasp. The overwhelming impulse to lick it rushes through his brain. It probably tastes like saltine crackers. The nice ones with the wavy edges and the big chunks of salt sprinkled on the top.
Alluka’s snores interrupt his thoughts. His eyes widen. Right. He pats her back awkwardly, and his eyebrows settle. “I will sit up front. Give me a moment.”
Hisoka’s eyes crinkle at the ends. Gold and sharp, they kind of look like that one fox Killua tried to drag home from the forest. Illumi’s eyes flit to Hisoka’s soft, pink lips. It hasn’t left its far-too-elastic grin. It stretches too often for his liking. He probably has rabies, too.
When he meets his gaze, Hisoka is still looking at him, amused and expectant. “Still deciding on seats?” He teases.
Illumi rolls his eyes and turns, the abrupt motion causing Kalluto’s foot to smack into Hisoka’s face. “Oops,” he hums.
He strides through the aisles of the bus, brushing away the feeling of Hisoka’s gaze on his back. Milluki’s in the back row, curled towards the cushions. He’s still, but his breath betrays him; he’s not asleep. Illumi’s lips flatten. Killua’s on the left of the bus, his chin propped in his hand as he stares out the window.
“Killu.” His brother doesn’t move. Illumi continues. “I am putting them in the seat in front of you.”
Silence. Illumi moves to shrug Kalluto off his shoulder.
In his periphery, he sees Killua place his hand on the seat next to him.
Gently, Illumi slips Kalluto and Alluka off of himself, resting them in the seat. Kalluyo shifts in his sleep, cuddling into Killua’s chest. Alluka leans across their laps. Without taking his eyes off of the window, Killua begins to gently weave her soft hair through his fingers.
Wordlessly, Illumi makes his way to the front, delicately stretching as he slides into the shotgun seat. The shitty 1970s vinyl seat squeaks as Hisoka shifts, turning towards Illumi. He winces at the sound.
“Where to?” Hisoka prods. As if he didn’t know already.
Illumi sighs, the volume almost imperceptible. “Let’s get out of here.”