"I heard you went to see that Kastro?"
November 17th, overcast. As autumn turned to winter, the days grew colder. A person's luck seemed to take a sharp downturn with it.
In the long corridor leading to the training room, Roy walked as usual in the morning light with Yukibashiri at his waist. Beside him was Illumi, hands in his pockets, a deadpan expression permanently fixed on his face.
The two Zoldyck brothers walked on opposite sides of the path, neither touching the other. From a distance, they looked like two parallel lines that would never intersect, always maintaining a certain distance.
"Does it have anything to do with you?"
"Yes," Illumi said, looking over with no expression. "He's not worthy of your efforts."
Roy didn't break his stride, his eyes fixed only on what was ahead. "Are you?"
Illumi was at a loss for words. He stopped and watched Roy's departing back as it merged into the morning light, then sullenly chased after him. "The fourth gate. If you can do it, so can I."
'In any case, don't even think about shaking me off!'
The young man added silently in his heart. In just a few steps, he actually used Rhythm Echo, not only catching up but also getting ahead of Roy to push open the training room door and walk inside.
He lifted his chin. "I was first."
Childish...
Roy stepped in after him, brushing past his shoulder, not bothering to pay him any mind. He looked ahead... Luke was already waiting, only this time, he wasn't holding an electric baton. In its place were two vials of poison.
A "lethal dose" of the neurotoxin LD50 and a "half-lethal dose" of LC50...
"The master said that while electroshock training is necessary, poison resistance training cannot be neglected," Luke said, pushing the "lethal dose" and "half-lethal dose" vials to Roy and Illumi respectively. He said respectfully, "Young masters, if you please."
Illumi shot his hand out like lightning, suddenly snatching the "lethal dose" vial and downing it in one gulp.
Then he wiped his mouth, stuck out his neck, and glared at Roy... The whites of his eyes rolled up, and he fell straight backward.
'I am not weaker than him,' Roy could faintly hear his inner voice.
"Young Master Illumi!"
Luke was aghast, hurriedly catching him in his arms. In just that short time, the foolish little brother's skin had turned a visible shade of purple.
"What is all this... Young Master Roy, you have to be my witness. It was Young Master Illumi who did it himself."
"There's a camera in the corner. Someone is watching," Roy said calmly.
Sure enough.
"Bzzzt~" The electronic eye in the corner flashed a red light. In less than three minutes, two more test tubes were delivered. One was poison, still a lethal dose, and the other was the antidote.
The poison went into Roy's mouth, and the antidote went into Illumi's.
Luke calmed down and checked Illumi's condition. He noticed his breathing go from chaotic to steady, and after a few minutes, he even opened his eyes. Luke was finally relieved.
"Young master, you were too reckless." Luke acted as a human shield, letting Illumi lean against him as comfortably as possible.
But the boy simply stared with his vacant eyes, quietly watching Roy, who had finished the poison and was now closing his eyes to process it. His older brother stood firm, leaning on Yukibashiri, looking... much better off than he was.
"Help me into the pit." In November, the mountain wind had switched to its cold winter mode. It poured into the training room, making Illumi's body cold and his heart even colder. He urgently needed the comfort of the earth.
Luke followed his instructions and buried him in the pit. The boy left only his head exposed, facing the training room, and reluctantly closed his eyes.
Inside the training room, Roy was left to carefully savor the numbness and intense pain brought on by the poison eroding his body. After adapting for a moment, he drew Yukibashiri with a "clang" and began to practice Sun Breathing.
Having just managed to settle Illumi, Luke turned his head to see this scene. He had never felt his life was so bitter as he did at this moment. He advised with a headache, "Young master, you can't move. It will accelerate the spread of the poison."
But, the more it spread, the more numb he felt, the more it hurt, the more he had to practice, the more he had to move!
"The enemy won't let you go just because you've been poisoned."
Dance... Blue Heaven... Scorching Crimson Mirror... Fire Wheel... When the final strike, Sun Halo Dragon, roared and linked into a sheet of fire, the young man pointed his blade at the camera and smiled silently. "Am I right, Father?"
On the second floor, in the master bedroom, ever since Kikyo had gotten pregnant, the medicinal tea in Silva's hand had been replaced with red wine.
He swirled the wine in his glass, meeting the young man's gaze through the television screen. The corner of his mouth curved up, and he summoned Tsubone. "Double it!"
'Very good, very spirited. That means the poison isn't strong enough... I don't want him to be standing.'
Tsubone replied, "Then I will make him lie down."
A few minutes later, a larger dose of poison was sent to the training room.
The result... in the afternoon, as the sun shone through the bare willow branches in the garden, Roy slowly woke up. Beside him was Illumi, who had also opened his eyes.
Illumi looked at him quietly. "And I thought you were so tough."
Roy kept his mouth shut.
Beside them, Luke, who had been watching over them, became his mouthpiece, informing the foolish little brother that the eldest young master had downed three more lethal doses in a row.
Only then had he collapsed...
Illumi: "..."
He simply retracted his head back into the pit.
The fresh soil didn't have the smell of Milluki. He heard that kid had also started his poison resistance training and had been hugging a toilet ever since... Roy finally felt his limbs again. He broke through the soil, climbed out of the pit, shook the dirt off, and turned to leave.
"Tap... tap..." The sound of footsteps grew distant. Illumi was finally willing to poke his head out again. He just silently stared at Roy's back. The sunlight cast a long, slanted shadow on the ground. For a long while, he couldn't bear to close his eyes.
...
"Young master."
"Young master."
At Grandpa Zigg's "brain storage unit," a young man arrived as usual.
His expression was serene. He gave a slight nod to Scarface and One-Eye, who were guarding the door. Scarface and One-Eye bowed in salute and pulled open the security door.
The deep, lonely passage came into view. Roy stepped inside, then paused his back foot, turned around, and said to the two men, "On behalf of Grandpa Zigg, I thank you both for your many years of service."
The young man's tone was extremely sincere. "If circumstances permit, I will tell him of your deeds."
Scarface and One-Eye looked at each other, then placed their right hands on their chests and knelt on one knee. "That would be our honor."
"Please be sure to tell the old master that everything at home is well."
Roy was silent for a moment, then he remembered the phrase, "Whose child are you?"
He took a deep breath. "I will."
With another glance, he passed through the corridor.
He saw the well-tended chrysanthemums in front of the airtight door, saw the writhing tentacles, saw the kind eye, and then his vision went black as he entered the "Dead Man's Game"...
"Get down!" Before the familiar shout could finish, having experienced it many times, Roy instantly dropped to the ground the moment the first syllable was uttered. He unleashed his Ren to form a Nen shroud, resisting the sand worm's Ren and the debris it kicked up from the ground!
Ten seconds, thirty seconds, fifty seconds, one minute... finally... at one minute and five seconds, a silver, spiky-haired head leaned over, looking at him curiously, and asked, "Whose child are you, and how did you get on the ship?"
T/n:
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