He managed to hide it from his family, but not from this stranger he'd only just t a few hours ago.
Saiki Kusuo knew why—his family trusted him from the beginning, so they slowly got used to all his little "not-quite-normal" monts. Over ti, they just accepted them without question.
But this was the first ti he'd t Hisoka. Hisoka was sharp, and he had all his attention locked onto Kusuo. That's why he slipped up.
If this keeps going, can the damage be kept under control? …Maybe not. Should I just take care of Hisoka now…
Co on, no way I'd go around fighting and killing after coming from a peaceful world. I'd rather just wait for the day the world ends and casually push Hisoka out of the way while doing so tiny, aningless thing…
"Achoo!" Hisoka suddenly sneezed.
"Got a cold?" Illumi asked, surprised.
"Aw, thanks for worrying, il-chan~ Maybe soone's talking behind my back?"
"Cold dicine's really expensive now. I can sell you a box for twenty thousand jeni."
Big bro, are you a scalper or what?
Hisoka puffed out his cheeks a little. "No need. People with Nen can't get sick anyway."
The air went quiet. Both of them turned their eyes to Saiki Kusuo, who was quietly munching on a snack nearby.
"Kusuo, when did you first notice your power was unusual?" Illumi asked. Hisoka had told him sothing was off, hoping Illumi would let him fight Saiki Kusuo a little.
It started—no, maybe in my past life.
There's no way Kikyo would say that out loud. Saiki Kusuo stayed silent, calmly took a bite of his pudding, and thought about how much he missed coffee jelly. Maybe he should teleport to Kukuroo Mountain now and beg Nanika to send him ho.
Illumi was still staring. Saiki Kusuo tried to rember a good ti he could ntion—one of those monts when a manga protagonist goes through sothing intense and suddenly awakens their power.
[That day… before Big Bro ca to save us.] Saiki Kusuo finally gave an answer.
Illumi imdiately knew which day he ant.
The day the Zoldyck house got attacked, and the fight reached the kids' rooms.
"So you awakened Nen during a crisis? And the layer of Zetsu you're using is so precise... I still can't tell whether you actually have Nen or not. Is this all instinct?" Illumi thought aloud.
Kikyo definitely didn't have Nen. She just doesn't have it at all.
"How about trying to open your Nen aura now? If you can't, that ans you've got Nen. If you can, it ans you don't," Hisoka said, cracking his knuckles with an eager look.
"You know what you're doing? One wrong move and he could die," Illumi said flatly.
"Nope~ It's my ve-ry first ti…"
Hey! Can we not talk about risking soone's life like it's a ga? And honestly, I doubt I could even open it. No one's ever tried forcing that Nen stuff into my body.
Even if they haven't tried, I just know it won't work.
Saiki Kusuo grabbed the ice cream that just arrived and scooted into the corner of his seat.
His spot was by the window, Illumi on one side, Hisoka across the table. No escape.
They say in Heaven's Arena, when a kid wants to learn Nen, a certain kind of guy always shows up. Wears glasses, white shirt, always a bit sloppy—and super enthusiastic.
[Huh? That group of kids in the corner seems to be talking about Nen.]
*cough cough cough!* No way, right? The official Nen-opening ntor guy is really here!? Saiki Kusuo choked on his dessert in shock.
"Excuse , are you kids here for Nen training?"
Wing! The guy from the Heaven's Arena arc who helped Killua and Gon open their Nen! Don't tell I'm about to get forced into training now? If he tries and it doesn't work, it'll be so awkward.
"I'm still a beginner myself, just started learning. I'd love to et more like-minded people. You two don't have a teacher yet, right? If not, our dojo…"
Bad timing! He's still a trainee!?
And he's only interested in Illumi and Hisoka—he didn't even glance at .
"No thanks. If soone needs help opening Nen, they're basically useless in my eyes," Hisoka replied lazily.
"Our family elders can help Kusuo with that. Outsiders don't need to get involved," Illumi said with a blank expression.
"I see… sorry to bother you all." Wing lowered his head and left.
Phew, crisis averted.
"Alright then. Once we get ho, we'll tell the family about Kusuo's situation. Let Grandpa try opening his Nen—that should settle it."
And just like that, a bigger crisis showed up! Sure, if Illumi knows, it's pretty much the sa as the whole family knowing. Dammit. What now? If the family finds out now, a future I already saw is going to co true.
Because in a house like the Zoldycks', if you have power, they can't help but think...
…you should beco an assassin.
That's the one thing I absolutely can't do. The one thing I refuseto beco.
Saiki Kusuo's face twitched for a mont, and Illumi caught it.
"Or do you have sothing on your mind, Kusuo?" Illumi asked.
Saiki opened his mouth but hesitated. The Zoldyck family had been assassins for generations. He couldn't disrespect the profession, but he didn't want to be a part of it either.
[I don't want to be an assassin.]
"So that's why you've been hiding your powers ever since you realized you had them?" Illumi's voice was calm, but his pitch-black eyes showed rare sternness. If you have power, you should carry its weight.
"Don't be afraid. I understand," said his brother.
[Kusuo never went through the basic training all assassins do, so it's normal he doesn't accept killing. Maybe we've protected him too well, made him too soft and kind. A kid like that will be eaten alive out there. As the eldest brother, I'm responsible for raising him right. As long as Kusuo kills a few people, he'll start to understand what it ans to be an assassin…]
No, you don't understand at all. Saiki Kusuo's scalp tingled as he heard Illumi's thoughts.
"Assassins make a lot of money, you know."
[I could make a lot of money with my powers too. Like… at the Heaven's Arena?]
Illumi looked at Hisoka, as if blaming him for corrupting his little brother.
"That kind of fast money is only for freeloaders. It's not reliable. Even if you reach the 200th floor, the money caps out. You might only make 200 million Jenny for the whole run."
Only... Two hundred million... Jenny...
Unemployed people would flip hearing that, Illumi.
[Why doesn't he want to be an assassin? Our family has the best, most complete assassin training in the world. It's the best path for any Zoldyck.]
That's not the point, big bro. I just don't want to be an assassin. There are so many other things in the world I could do.
"Kusuo, maybe you still don't realize it—this world is all about power," Illumi suddenly stood up. "You think there are lots of jobs out there you could do, don't you?"
Well… yeah. He hadn't figured out what exactly, but he couldn't imagine starving because he couldn't get work.
"That's a very naive way of thinking." Illumi frowned slightly, trying to correct his brother's mindset.
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