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[hisguardian]

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early january

[killuwatt]

(( takes place a day after this ))

this is Killua

we need to talk about this. your friend's in danger. I'm not the enemy

[hisguardian]

how did you get this number???

[#priorities]

[killuwatt]

Hank

[ What does it matter?? ]

look, just because you ran off yesterday doesn't mean the problem's gonna go away

[hisguardian]

[...]

i know that!!

but its not a new problem!!

there are always people who hate me and my liger friend. especially in midas

it was like that back home too

[killuwatt]

oh ok no need to worry about it then!

[ Does the sarcasm carry via text? Does it?? ]

you got lucky they told ME and not someone who would actually kill him

[hisguardian]

[......]

do you know who it was that hired you?

[killuwatt]

i didn't see his face. he wore a mask

but if I had a reason to meet him again, maybe I can find out more

[hisguardian]

what did he tell you about him

and me?

[She was, in no small part, angry about that implication. When he asked if Liger really attacked people at random... he must have heard that from the man who hired him. Why would he believe something like that from someone targeting her friend? What else could he have been told?]

[killuwatt]

meet me in diedo, we can talk there

you pick the location

[ Hopefully she'll find that less suspicious, since she's being so paranoid. Killua can't really blame her... but he's a little surprised and frankly rather annoyed that she's apparently decided he's the untrustworthy one. He was trying to watch out for her because she was Gon's friend! And now... what a mess. ]

[hisguardian]

[She doesn't like the sound of that.]

theres a cafe in hyaline we can go to. its quiet

ill send the address

[Which she'll forward to him -- now far more worried about it than she was before. There's a lot of things someone could have told him about her, especially someone who wanted to see her liger friend (and maybe even her) dead. The fact that he's still willing to talk to her is probably a good sign... but still...]

[killuwatt]

[ Killua thanks her and heads out immediately when he receives the address. He's a bit relived Arietta is willing to meet him and isn't choosing to avoid him instead, but in truth, he has no idea what to say to her.

When he gets to the cafe, Killua finds a table in the back and orders a hot chocolate to wait. ]

[hisguardian]

[She shows up not long after he does, not ordering anything as she silently moves to join him at the table.]

[Unlike yesterday, where she was all anger and yelling, today she's much more leaning towards the gloomy side.]

...uhm. Hi.

[killuwatt]

Hi.

[ Killua indicates the chair when she comes up, waiting until she sits before leaning forward, elbows on the table, pitching his voice just quiet enough for her to hear without it carrying, but comfortable. ]

You asked me what that man told me about you and Liger. He showed me pictures. He said Liger attacked people throughout Midas.

[ And this next part is a bit of a twist on the truth, but: ]

I also caught him looking at an article about a certain Market Elite getting caught up in the collapse of the Her Bay tunnels last year.

Would you know anything about that?

[hisguardian]

[...pictures? Someone had pictures of that? That alone has her looking concerned, frowning--]

[But her expression changes entirely when he mentions Her Bay, eyes growing wide in... fear? Even without saying anything, it's clear she knows what he's talking about.]

You're sure... it was about an Elite?

[killuwatt]

[ Killua catches sit immediately. He affects a frown, thoughtful. ]

I only caught a glimpse. I think he was trying to hide it from me.

...Why?

[hisguardian]

[And she... relaxes, a little. Good. If the one after her is an elite, then it can't be that man.]

[But she still has to answer his question, so--]

...because most of the people I killed that day were mongrels. Only a few were elites.

[Which means it narrows down the list of suspects a bit. Normally she might show a bit of restraint when talking about killing people so casually, especially nowadays. But considering Killua got involved with someone like this in the first place, she doesn't think he'd be very judgmental about it. Some worlds are just like that.]

[killuwatt]

[ Not at all.

...Killua was down there killing people too. ]

Do you happen to remember their names? I think this guy wasn't supposed to be revived, but either he was, or a friend of his is bitter about it and wants revenge.

[hisguardian]

I never learned their names. Just their faces.

[Which is edging towards a very uncomfortable topic. The topic that explains that picture of her in the cage.]

[...but in a situation like this, she can't exactly dance around that anymore, can she?]

[killuwatt]

[ Killua watches her, sensing the nervousness. He tries to gentle his voice, leans in a little closer. ]

Tell me what happened.

[ It's phrased like an order, but the tone isn't demanding at all, quiet. ]

cw: sexual abuse, torture, underage, holy shit

[hisguardian]

[...]

[She might as well start from the beginning, huh.]

It was almost two years ago now. I had just lost someone... someone really, really important to me. But I didn't know how this world worked yet. And it was right after the castes switched, too... so when someone told me that person might be in Ceres, I... didn't know what to expect. And that's where the Black Market caught me.

They... did horrible things to me. I-I still don't... remember it all. But I'll never forget their faces. The way they laughed while they did it. Every day, for two weeks... I-I wasn't myself anymore. At all. Rin told me when he saw me at the auction and saved me, I...

...it was like I forgot I was human. It took over a week before I could even talk again.

[It's only because she's come so far since then that she's able to talk about this at all. But by the end of it, she's shivering like a leaf -- from a mix of both fear, and anger. Even now, she was so angry she was afraid what she'd do if she ever saw any of those people again.]

[Really, it's no wonder she reacted the way she did when she thought Killua might be associated with them.]

[killuwatt]

[ Killua listens without interrupting, letting her get it out. And he tries to keep his expression neutral, but there's a way his jaw tightens, a subtle coldness that comes into his eyes. If Arietta is sensitive to aura, she'll feel the coldness in the air too, the tension around him.

Without thinking, he reaches out when she's finished, placing his hand on top of hers on the table. His voice is low and vicious, barely more than a growl. ]

Those bastards.

[hisguardian]

[S-Sorry, Killua. She jerks her hand back quickly when he touches it, eyes wide, afraid-- but then she relaxes, casting her eyes downward and murmuring a soft apology.]

...when I heard about what was going on in Her Bay, I knew then I could get my revenge. It was all I could think about. I thought... even if I died down there, it wouldn't matter, because at least I would have made them pay.

[She wraps her arms around herself, trying to calm the shaking in her limbs.]

I knew that feeling, from before... I-I was like that back home, too. I was sad and angry all the time. I never got my revenge back home, but... even after I killed everyone, it wasn't enough. It still hurt. A-And it still does. If it weren't from Rin and all the friends I've made here, I... I might not be here anymore.

[killuwatt]

[ Killua lets go, doesn't comment on it. He'd gotten a little carried away. He swallows, tries to calm the anger and fresh wave of grief tightening his chest as he listens to Arietta's words and thinks about his own failed revenge, how useless he is, the mistakes he's made. He draws his hands back into his lap, squeezed into fists so tight his nails draw blood, and forces himself to look calm.

...even after I killed everyone, it wasn't enough.

He hasn't had the chance to go after everyone he wants dead, but still, Killua feels that statement viscerally.

But he doesn't make this about him. He swallows the reminders of his own pain in silence (like he often does), and watches Arietta tremble. ]

...and now they're after your liger friend. You tried the direct method. There's too many of them to just take out all of them.

Until something is done about the whole network-- [ which is extremely unlikely, but Killua won't state the obvious ] --consider taking measures to protect yourself. And Liger.

[hisguardian]

I... I have tried. But something always happens. Even when I'm really trying.

[Ah, she's going to start crying at this rate. She does sniffle, but no tears fall.]

I-I've never been able to protect the things that are important to me... I can't even protect myself. I don't know what else I can do. If something ever happened to him... I-I don't know what I'd do. It's scary to think about.

[--because she's scared of what she would do. She knows all too well what sort of person she's capable of becoming given the proper motivation. She was willing to let the world be destroyed for Ion's sake...]

[killuwatt]

[ It hurts, hearing her say things like that, and it's shitty but it hurts mostly for selfish reasons. It hits too close to home. Killua's heart squeezes, his shoulders tense. He doesn't know what to say. He never knows what the right thing to say is, especially in a situation like this.

How do people comfort each other? Does Arietta want him to even try at all? She'd pulled away a moment ago... Killua sits still with his hands in his lap, watching. ]

Help me fake his death. If we can get close to the guy who ordered it and kill him, maybe...

[ Fuck. He shouldn't have done any of this. He shouldn't have gotten involved. What is he saying? There's nothing he can actually do-- But right now, despite how stupid it is, Killua really wants to kill that man. ]