The main group bid farewell, only to encounter the Count once more.

Kurama did not answer immediately. Illumi, however, didn’t seem to care much; he simply nodded at Kurama and went to sit in his place. His constant shadow, Hisoka, arched an eyebrow and gave Kurama an inscrutable look before taking the seat beside Illumi, which made Killua across from them tense up from head to toe.

Kurama suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the silver-haired kitten. Consider it: the formidable “kindred spirit” who had always been such a source of dread had, in a flash, become his sister-in-law... Especially since Killua’s relationship with Illumi had only just begun to thaw, not yet fully repaired or improved—it wasn’t hard to guess how complicated Killua’s feelings must be now.

Yet it was clear that the now-enlightened Illumi possessed more than enough skill to soothe his little brother’s nerves. “Don’t mind Hisoka; just pretend he’s Wu Tong,” he said, smiling with narrowed eyes at the stiff-faced Killua, his tone light and casual.

At these words, Killua’s mouth twitched violently, while Hisoka let out a low, humming chuckle. Wu Tong, who had been standing silently by, attending the family’s breakfast, pushed his glasses up with an expressionless face, clearly wanting to ask his young master: in what way, exactly, was he comparable to that...um, lady of the house?

Compared to Hisoka’s untamable ferocity, he was far more gentle, after all.

Evidently, Killua shared Wu Tong’s sentiment, but he only coughed awkwardly and nodded in response to his brother’s reassurance.

Seated at the head of the table, Silva had remained silent throughout, but seemed quite satisfied with the turn of events. Thus, breakfast passed in an unexpectedly harmonious atmosphere, with no sign at all of the tense confrontation between Hisoka and the Zoldyck family the previous night.

Kurama and Mokona watched the scene with considerable amusement.

It seemed... Hisoka had already passed the parents’ test?

Although he regretted missing the development firsthand last night, the reactions of those present and the general mood at breakfast were more than telling.

Kurama raised an eyebrow and shared a knowing smile with Illumi.

The eldest Zoldyck son appeared unchanged from his usual self, but Kurama could sense that Illumi was actually in quite high spirits.

So, did he have reason to believe that his guess from yesterday was correct? That Illumi was not entirely oblivious to his feelings for Hisoka, and that he hadn’t simply accepted Hisoka out of resignation?

Although it couldn’t be said everything had been orchestrated by Illumi...

In this new, uncertain relationship between them, perhaps it was Hisoka who was being led by the nose—just as when they’d merely been good friends.

With an unhurried grace, Kurama lowered his eyes and began cutting the tender, golden roast lamb into bite-sized pieces, placing them before Mokona, his lips unconsciously curving into a look of great interest.

***

After the meal, Illumi volunteered to give Kurama a tour of Kukuroo Mountain. After all, since their arrival yesterday, the two had only rested in their rooms before being swept up in the bizarre events of the dinner party. Aside from the scenery on the way up the mountain, Kurama had yet to see the full extent of the Zoldyck estate.

He accepted gladly, and accompanying them were Hisoka and Killua. The former, as always, followed wherever Illumi went, his arm in a sling but his face wearing that same sweetly sinister smile. The latter had, for some reason, actively requested to join, much to Illumi’s evident delight.

The four strolled leisurely out of the main house, Kurama and Hisoka guided by the two hosts as they wandered the grounds. The scenery was indeed beautiful, but Illumi’s various commentaries—“I trained for this here,” “Ah, that’s the field where I practiced such-and-such”—left Killua looking a little green, while Kurama and Hisoka could only listen with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

“Lil’ Illu, was your entire childhood nothing but training, training, and more training?” Hisoka finally asked, pouting dramatically as their steps paused in a small garden, his tone somewhere between a joke and genuine concern.

Illumi turned back and gave him a matter-of-fact look. “I’m a Zoldyck,” he stated seriously.

The magician only looked more dejected.

“I’d like to hear more interesting stories from your childhood,” he whined, “especially the one your mother mentioned yesterday—about you in a dress... mmph!”

A nen needle whistled past Hisoka’s cheek, flung from Illumi’s hand, the latter watching him with a perfectly blank expression, his large black cat-eyes calm and impenetrable.

“You do change your tune quickly,” Illumi remarked coolly, making no mention of dresses, just offering a subtle tease.

Hisoka took the hint, leaning over to drape his arm around Illumi’s shoulder. “Of course. After all, I paid a hefty price for this recognition,” he said, deliberately shaking his bandaged arm, though his sugary smile gave no hint of self-pity.

To Kurama’s surprise, Illumi only looked at him again and quietly put away his nen needle.

Kurama was rather intrigued by this response. Could Hisoka’s injury be worse than it seemed? He raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering over Hisoka in silent assessment, but said nothing, simply standing aside with a pleasant smile, as if he didn’t mind being ignored as the official guest.

At that moment, he felt a tug at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw Killua gazing up at him, a little awkward, a little curious.

Kurama had to admit the silver-haired boy’s unconscious cuteness was quite lethal. Softening his tone, he asked, “Killua?”

The young boy nodded, still a little ill at ease, and pointed toward a secluded path nearby. “Would you…walk with me for a bit?” he asked quietly.

Kurama was momentarily taken aback—he hadn’t expected Killua to seek him out. Had his real purpose in joining them not been to keep an eye on Hisoka, or to try to get closer to Illumi?

He lifted his gaze to exchange a look with Illumi, who gave no sign of objection. Kurama smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

They excused themselves and strolled down the path Killua had indicated, lined on both sides with strange and beautiful flowers. After a while, as if ensuring they were far enough from Illumi and Hisoka, Killua stopped.

“I heard…you’re a friend of Ging’s,” he said, not bothering with small talk and coming straight to the point.

Kurama instantly understood his reason for seeking him out. He smiled, eyes crinkling. “That’s right. Did you hear that from Gon?”

Killua blushed faintly. “He told me on the airship. He said he’d learned a lot about Ging from you, and that it made him feel a little closer to him.”

Kurama’s smile deepened. “Ging’s always been waiting for Gon to catch up to him.”

But Killua didn’t seem interested in that; he pressed his lips together, glanced at Kurama, then away again…

Kurama quickly realized what he wanted to ask. “You want to know if Gon worried about you after you left?”

Killua froze, his ears now bright red, but in the end, he nodded, confirming Kurama’s guess.

The fox spirit couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course he did. In fact, if he hadn’t seen me with Illumi, he probably would have rushed over to demand an explanation from your brother.”

Remembering the scene in the original story where Gon gripped Illumi’s arm so tightly it nearly broke—a display of utter dominance—Kurama’s smile grew.

“Gon cares about you…” He paused, seeing Killua’s rapt attention, and was just about to say “a great deal” when suddenly a figure came running towards them at top speed, interrupting him.

“Master Killua! There are three people at the guardhouse at the foot of the mountain who say they’re your friends!”

The newcomer was a chief butler of the Zoldyck family, whose name Kurama didn’t know. But his message clearly took both boys by surprise.

Killua stared, shocked and disbelieving, while Kurama quickly recovered and gave the boy a look that said, “See? I told you so.”

“Look, you don’t need to ask me anymore—Gon’s already here.”

***

Watching the boy’s figure vanish from sight, Kurama’s smile faded slightly. He turned to glance at the empty path behind him. “You’re not going to stop him?”

After a moment’s silence, Illumi stepped slowly from the shadows of the trees.

“There’s no need,” he said, his expression somewhere between realization and resignation.

Kurama thought he must have truly learned how to get along with Killua. But letting go was always bittersweet—especially for a brother who had protected Killua for twelve years.

So the fox spirit decided to change the subject, giving Illumi time to compose himself.

“Is there something at the Yorknew auction that interests you?”

The dark-haired assassin tilted his head. “I thought there might be something to interest you. Haven’t you always collected rare treasures?”

They shared a look and suddenly burst into simultaneous laughter, much to the chagrin of Hisoka, who had been trailing along trying to find a way to join the conversation.

The rapport between these two…wasn’t it a bit too much? Wasn’t he supposed to be Illumi’s official partner?

Puffing out his cheeks in his usual fashion, Hisoka began plotting in his head how to use Chrollo to lure away a certain friend of his lover.

Meanwhile, as Kurama and Illumi chatted happily, Gon and his friends’ adventure at Kukuroo Mountain was proceeding much as expected. Even though Killua had left his confinement early, it still wasn’t enough for Gon and the others to pass through the barriers and enter the main estate outright.

“If they’re here to visit a friend, just like Kurama and Hisoka, then they should at least…enter properly through the Gate of Trial, no?” Silva said to Killua—a father he feared, but also deeply respected.

Given his father’s much more reasonable attitude compared to before, Killua managed to suppress his impatience to see Gon immediately, and obediently waited for them to finish their training and open the Gate of Trial.

Kurama was a little surprised to see the storyline still following the same pattern.

Gon and his friends had spent quite some time training at Kukuroo Mountain in the original tale. Kurama had hoped to see Gon again, but it seemed there wouldn’t be a chance after all.

Because he was preparing to take his leave of the Zoldyck family.

He had stayed nearly a week at Kukuroo Mountain—not because he was tired of life there, but because the fox spirit wanted to set out for his next destination, to explore an ancient ruin he had long planned to visit.

When Silva and the others learned of Kurama’s intention, they didn’t try to persuade him to stay; instead, they held another farewell dinner. This time, there were no mishaps—everything was conducted according to the highest standards of hospitality for a dear friend, concluding with warm farewells and, the next day, a family airship to see Kurama and Mokona off.

As for the Yorknew auction, Kurama and Illumi agreed to keep in touch—after all, the event wasn’t until September, and it was still only February. They had plenty of time to discuss the details.

And so, boarding the airship, Kurama set off for his destination.

But he did not expect, near the entrance of the ruins, to discover someone who absolutely should not have been there.

“Count?!”

Staring at the familiar figure, bloodied and collapsed in the forest, Kurama could not help but gasp in shock.