Illumi: "Why do you call Kusuo Killua's brother? Am I not one? At least call me the second brother."
That was what Illumi meant.
As they walked, Illumi suddenly stopped. Hmm, Hisoka was ahead.
From his thoughts, Saiki Kusuo heard that Hisoka probably wanted to warn Illumi not to kill Gon or something like that.
"Oh right, we should bring back some gifts when we go home. This isn't a place we visit often. Kusuo, take Alluka to buy some local specialties."
Illumi suddenly said this.
This habit of bringing home gifts after missions was basically something Illumi alone kept up.
Killua's generation didn't have to, Kalluto didn't either. Now Kusuo, as one of the older brothers among the four younger ones, had to learn it too.
Saiki Kusuo understood right away and took Alluka away.
He led Alluka out of the exam site and, wanting to go back quickly, went straight to the souvenir street, the place with higher prices but more complete options.
[Alluka, you can pick whatever you like.]
"Can we also bring something for Killua?" Alluka looked up and asked.
[And for Kikyo, Milluki, Kalluto too.]
"Yay!" Alluka happily ran around everywhere.
Leaving the trouble of picking gifts to someone else was really great. Saiki Kusuo followed slowly behind.
Alluka said it was shopping, but it looked more like playing. Saiki Kusuo already knew he wanted to visit every shop on the street, so he prepared himself for a long stroll.
After a long while, Alluka got tired from walking. Saiki Kusuo bought two coconuts for drinking and sat with him on a bench to rest.
From afar, footsteps were coming straight toward them.
It was… Gon? Kurapika and Leorio too. Saiki Kusuo was surprised—obviously, Gon was here to find them.
"Killua's brother!" Gon ran ahead and stopped in front of Saiki Kusuo. His fingers were still injured, which suddenly reminded Kusuo.
He couldn't just let a main character walk around with broken fingers.
Saiki Kusuo reached out toward Gon. Gon didn't understand, but Kusuo touched his hand.
Time rewound to one day earlier.
"Huh? My hand…" Gon was shocked. Suddenly, the pain was gone. "Killua's brother, what did you do?"
[I healed it. But you can't take off the bandage until you reach the Zoldyck house, got it?]
"If I take it off, I can't enter Killua's home?" Gon asked.
Saiki Kusuo closed his eyes and didn't answer.
Gon just accepted it. Compared to that, he had something more important to ask.
"Killua's brother, why didn't you save Killua?"
Even though Saiki Kusuo had already heard this from Gon's thoughts, for a moment he didn't know how to answer.
Save him? Save his younger brother from Illumi? What would that even mean?
"If you were willing to risk losing your chance as a Hunter just to go in and save Alluka, then why not save Killua too!"
…Yare yare.
Dealing with someone like Gon gave Saiki Kusuo a headache.
Normal people followed logic, so you could answer them with logic. But Gon was a straightforward Enhancer type—he just said what was on his mind. His thoughts could be heard, but there weren't many of them.
Why was Gon so hung up on this? Why not save Killua? Why did Killua need saving?
A lot of people had been unhappy with the story where Illumi "scared" Killua, but think about it—they're family. Family understands each other on a level outsiders can't judge.
[Saiki Kusuo also values family very much.]
Saiki Kusuo felt that what Illumi did wasn't wrong. Even when reading the manga, he had thought so, and now even more.
For example, when Illumi threw his nen needle at Alluka, there was no malice. He did it to protect Alluka. That was his way of protecting family.
And no matter how much something might look excessive to outsiders, as long as it wasn't too extreme and was accepted by most of the family, then it could be understood and forgiven because of the bond of family.
Family ties can't be judged with common sense. A family is like a smaller society of its own, bound tightly by blood. It's a special environment that can never be recreated again in life.
Why did Kusuo understand family so deeply? Well, because in his original world he was also the one who caused his family a lot of trouble. And in that family, there was also a model example—Saiki Kuniharu.
Saiki Kusuke would send bombs to our house by mail, and even put poison into coffee jelly. There were times when he hated me with all his heart, but also times when he cared for me with all his heart. He wanted countless times to open up my brain and study it, and at critical moments, it was also him who made the power-suppressing device.
So, what should I do with a brother who's both good and bad like that?
My answer is: because he's family, I forgive him without conditions.
If I carefully reflect and assume more cases—for example, if Toritsuke Renta wanted me to use my powers for him every day—I wouldn't do it unless it directly involved me.
But when it comes to my parents, they often need my powers. Like being late for work, bumping into the corner of a table, carrying heavy stuff, or forgetting something at home… there are so many situations. Even if I don't want to help, in the end I still do, because they're my parents. No matter what, family is a different kind of existence.
So, what's wrong with Illumi then?
Unless one day Killua truly hates Illumi, wants to break ties, or even kill Illumi… well, that kind of thing happens in normal families too—brothers hurting each other and such.
Other than that, I won't step in.
It's not only because I don't want to mess with the story. He accepts that within this family, things happen that go against normal ideas.
[Killua right now doesn't need help.] In the end, that's how Saiki Kusuo answered the boy. Killua really didn't need help. If you said Illumi still had some control over him, Killua would later put up an amazing fight against it—Saiki Kusuo already knew. Besides, after this trip back, Silva would also allow Killua to go out and make friends.
"Gon! Looking for Killua won't help, and it'll only cause trouble!" At this moment, Leorio and the others finally caught up with Gon.
"Why?" Gon asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Look at his age, then you know who's the eldest in his family. He's scared of his big brother too!"
"Huh, is that so?"
No. Who's scared of Illumi? Scared? There's nothing in this world that makes me feel fear.
"Then at least tell me how to get to Kukuroo Mountain!" Gon insisted.
"You could just look it up online. After passing the Hunter Exam, we can log in to the Hunter website for free." Kurapika took out his license.
That kind of site? I hacked into it and roamed freely years ago. I'm even a level-five user there.
Saiki Kusuo muttered, then suddenly remembered—once you open it with a Hunter license, it starts a new account. Should I secretly link my two accounts together?
But I'd need to log in with the Hunter license account first.
Kurapika was just about to take them to an internet café when Saiki Kusuo stood up, and four pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
[Don't mind me, I also need to look something up.]
Saiki Kusuo followed them into the internet café, but didn't sit in the same row as them. Instead, he instinctively looked for a corner seat.
Then, in that corner, he caught sight of a familiar head of blond hair.
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