HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

Cyr crouched on the ground, stuffing tissue into his nose.

"…I'd rather fight Silva than keep searching for this thing."

Everywhere he looked—trees, trees, trees, trees, people, trees, trees, trees, dog, trees, trees…

From what he could see with Six Eyes, the Zoldycks didn't just have hundreds of servants.

They had an absurd number of strange plants.

And an entire menagerie of magical beasts.

Living, dead—it didn't matter.

If something existed, Six Eyes could sense it.

It was like using a thermal imaging device and seeing the screen flooded with glowing red dots.

He could tell something was there.

But who or what?

That was the problem.

Just like thermal imaging couldn't reveal someone's face, Six Eyes only showed him energy masses.

If it was someone he knew, he could recognize them from their energy signature.

But…

He'd never seen Water Sapphire before.

So how the hell was he supposed to pick it out of a crowd of nearly identical energy clusters?

He still had a shovel slung over his shoulder, too.

At this rate, he was going to start digging up the entire mountain.

He turned and smacked the large, empty-headed creature next to him.

"Use your nose and find it for me."

Sora blinked at him, then flattened his ears.

"…I don't even know what Water Sapphire smells like."

His voice sounded pitiful.

He was only a year old.

He had never seen Water Sapphire before.

Even a regular dog needed a scent sample before tracking something down.

"…Water Sapphire is a plant," Cyr muttered.

That meant all he had to do was find plant energy.

But.

He stood on the mountainside and looked down.

Everywhere—towering green trees.

Dense, thriving vegetation.

If someone were watching from above, they wouldn't even be able to see him.

This mountain was covered in plants.

Like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Or gold in the ocean.

Sora lowered his head and sniffed a weird-looking flower.

Then he sneezed.

A gust of wind blasted through, stripping the flower until only the bare stem remained.

The beast stole a glance at his master.

Cyr's face was twisted in frustration.

Dark energy practically poured off him.

Sora silently took a step back.

Then another.

…No reaction.

So he casually turned his back—

Wiggled his hips—

And pranced away, moving with exaggerated, feline grace.

If Cyr didn't allow it, he would've said something.

Since he didn't, that meant he didn't mind.

Even with his back turned, Sora knew his master could see him.

Cyr continued scanning his surroundings inch by inch, eyes glowing faintly.

Slowly stepping forward, he muttered without looking back—

"…No patience at all."

A one-year-old having no patience was normal.

But as a pet? As long as it was cute, that was enough. Cyr never expected much from his pet in the first place.

He searched from morning until afternoon, but not even a shadow of Water Sapphire appeared.

Calling it a day, he decided to try a different direction tomorrow.

The big cat that had run off to play hadn't returned yet.

According to Six Eyes, Sora seemed to be playing with someone?

…A person?

Something about the energy felt strange…

Cyr lazily stretched out his voice.

"Soraaa—time to go."

A white tiger came sprinting toward him, riding on a miniature tornado.

Fast.

And carrying something in its mouth.

A child.

Pink top, green skirt.

Long, straight black hair down to the waist, decorated with four ball-shaped hair clips—each showing a different emotion: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Gray-blue eyes.

…A boy?

With that androgynous face and outfit… a Zoldyck kid?

Well, they were on Zoldyck territory. It wouldn't be surprising if one of their kids was out playing.

Zoldyck siblings—aside from Killua—all looked like girls.

There was Illumi, the long-haired ghost woman.

Kalluto, the black-haired little doll.

And this one.

Then there was Milluki.

Too fat to tell, but if he ever lost weight, he'd probably look like Illumi, too.

Killua probably took after his father.

The rest? His mother's genes ran strong.

Cyr glanced at the child in Sora's mouth.

"…Did you just kidnap someone's kid?"

Sora blinked innocently.

"…Their scent feels familiar."

He set the child down.

Instead of panicking, the kid grinned, scrambled to her feet—

And launched herself at Cyr.

"Big brother!"

A bright, beaming smile.

And a hug around the waist.

Ah.

A Killua sibling.

And mistaking him for Killua.

…Wait a second.

Sure, they looked similar, but not that similar.

His eyebrows and eyelashes were white—Killua's weren't.

His eyes were a more vibrant, chaotic shade of blue.

Their facial structure wasn't even identical.

…Okay, fine. Maybe people didn't care about the details.

They just saw white hair and called it a day.

Even with his longer hairstyle, they still had a 70% similarity.

But.

The black cursed markings on his face and body—

Did no one notice those?

Did they think Killua had suddenly gotten into tattoos?

"Big brother? What are all these…"

Alluka reached up, fingers brushing his cheek.

Gray-blue eyes stared curiously at the markings.

Hey…

How long had it been since you last saw Killua?

Did you forget everything about him, except "white hair, blue eyes"?

Cyr sighed and grabbed the small hand.

"You got the wrong person. I'm not Killua."

Alluka blinked.

Then looked him over again.

Disappointment flickered across her face.

"…Not big brother?"

"Your brother's probably too busy to play with you."

Cyr grabbed the back of her shirt, lifting her off the ground.

Then shook her a little.

Alluka clapped her hands excitedly.

"Fun! Fun!"

Then tilted her head.

"…Then who are you?"

Now you decide to ask?

"Cyr." He dropped him back onto the ground, answering half-heartedly.

"Cyr-niichan! I'm Alluka!"

Alluka introduced herself.

Then raised her arms.

"Cyr-niichan! Fly me high!"

…There it was again.

That strange feeling.

Sora thought he smelled familiar.

Cyr thought he felt weird.

…Then again.

The Zoldycks were weird.

It wasn't shocking.

But through Six Eyes…

Alluka's energy was similar to those siblings he'd met during the Hunter Exam.

The inhuman ones.

Something black, fluid, and sticky flowed within her.

But unlike those two—

This one still felt… human.

If he had to guess—

Two souls in one body?

Or half-human, half-monster?

The Zoldycks produced something like this?

…Unbelievable.

And yet, somehow, totally believable.

Suddenly—

Things just got a lot more interesting.

"Alright," Cyr smirked.

"Fly high."

He slipped his hands under Alluka's arms—

And launched them into the sky.

The white tiger circled twice in the air, then—

Stepped onto nothing.

Like an invisible staircase, each step carried him higher and higher.

Amid drifting clouds, Cyr watched as Alluka reached out—

Trying to touch the fluffy white mist.

Below them, the land had shrunk into a tiny map.

Even the Zoldyck Estate, from up here, was just a small green dot.

"So high!" Alluka laughed.

Cyr lowered his gaze, smirking.

"You want something more exciting?"

Alluka's eyes widened, filled with eager anticipation.

"Yes! Alluka wants to play!"

"Alright, then."

And without hesitation—

Cyr let go.

The pink-and-green figure plummeted.

Gray-blue eyes widened in shock.

Wind tore through his sleeves and skirt.

From this altitude, a fall took less than 14 seconds per 1,000 meters.

But they were much higher than that.

At 30 seconds in, with only 300 meters left before impact—

Cyr matched his speed, appearing just below.

His arms reached out.

Caught.

"All good?" Cyr smirked.

Alluka wiped the wind-induced tears from her eyes—

And grinned.

"Super fun!"

Cyr set him down.

"Next time, don't mistake me for Killua."

At first, he found it amusing.

But being mistaken for Killua's brother and Killua himself—

Two different things.

Who wanted to be seen as someone else?

"I got it! You're Cyr-nii!"

Alluka declared it seriously.

He only called Killua "big brother" directly.

For anyone else, he added a name.

Of course, there weren't many he called "nii-chan" at all.

Because in the Zoldyck family, only Killua treated her like family.

Cyr scoffed, amused.

"Wanna go again?"

"Yes!" Alluka reached for him, completely trusting.

Cyr-nii looked like Killua—

And the big tiger reminded her of Nanika.

She didn't dislike either of them.

She liked them.

---

One Hour Earlier—Zoldyck Estate

Chaos.

The Zoldyck household was in complete chaos.

"You're telling me… Alluka-sama is missing?"

Gotoh's expression was shocked.

And beneath it—

Fear.

Those unaware of the situation only showed nervousness.

The fifth young master, long confined in the basement, had vanished.

And this—

Was a problem for everyone.

"…That thing."

Silva's voice carried a trace of disgust.

Had Cyr been present—

He'd immediately notice the difference.

The cold, ruthless Silva standing here—

Was nothing like the one he had met before.

Or rather—

This was his true self.

The head of an assassin family.

"Find it. Lock it up again."

His orders were absolute.

Alluka—

The hidden fourth child of the Zoldyck family.

To Silva, an uncontrollable danger.

A threat.

And one that might harm the family.

So, he had kept Alluka locked away since birth.

No one was allowed to interact with her.

No one—

Except Killua.

Occasionally, Killua would visit.

And every time—

Guards monitored the room, watching Alluka's every move.

Just in case.

Suddenly—

Gotoh's phone rang.

One of the Zoldyck butlers—following Cyr—had called.

"Bad news!"

The voice was hushed, but filled with horror.

"Alluka-sama has met Cyr-sama!"

Gotoh's fingers tightened around the phone.

He turned to Silva—

Silent.

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel