Well, here's the chapter. Lots of things have been going on with me, but I'm fine for the most part. Little banged up and bruised, but hey, that's life!

Replies to Reviews:

SilverDewDrop - I would like to thank you for all the support you've given me. :) I hope i can get some sort of schedule down and give you a proper chapter soon. Thank you for being there, and good luck with your own stories!

The last Nightwalker - My greatest thanks go out to you my friend, both for the advice and for even reviewing for my other story! I'm sure I'll be getting to yours soon! Hope this isnt the crap i fear it is! ^^'

MidoriEmerald13 - Yep! Everyone has something they want to hide ;)

Isella of the wolf tribe - Thanks for the faces, hope you enjoy!

Neonkoi - Aww, thank you for the complements. I'm sorry I had to keep you waiting so long, especially just after you found the story. I hope you can enjoy what comes next!

Hannibal Not the Cannibal - Thanks for being willing to wait. Hopefully i can get something deacent out soon.

BizzyLizy - Thanks! Good luck with your story!

So, here's the next chapter, chapter 17! Hope you like it. :)

After the four otters left, it was a simple routine to prepare themselves for bed. They each took a turn in the shower and brushed their teeth. It was then that Aala noticed that they were running out of clean clothes. They had left Kukuroo mountain with all clean clothes but each of them had only a few changes in clothes each. There was a laundromat a few blocks away from the arena, so Aala decided to do the laundry after they were assigned rooms the next day and her meeting with Lux.

While they were brushing their teeth, Gon asked, "Hey, Aala, what does 'skeletons in the closet' mean exactly?"

The questioned girl looked at the boy and simply explained, "The term refers to a secret or secrets that someone wants to hide badly, ones that would have negative consequences if they were to get out. The severity of each 'skeleton' could vary from murdering someone, to an affair, to even something as trivial as wetting the bed or something embarrassing like that."

"Where do your 'skeletons' fall on that chart?"

Aala looked at Killua who had chimed in and gave a snort of laughter. "Well, I can tell you that I've never killed anyone or betrayed someone. They're on the lighter end of the scale, but, still, it took both my sister and my cousin on a long car trip to drag those out of me."

Gon looked like he was prepared to do just that, but Aala put up a hand to prevent him. "No need for that. They will undoubtedly be revealed as soon as shit hits the fan."

"'Shit hits the fan'...?" Gon tilted his head curiously.

"When things get out of control, presumably when the first attack comes." Aala responded with a laugh.

They finished brushing their teeth and started packing what little they had away for the next day. Both Gon and Killua looked on in amusement as Aala triple checked everything, even when they told her that everything was accounted for.

She shrugged when they teased her. "I can't help it. Whenever I leave a room that I'm meant to stay in temporarily, especially hotels, I always feel like I'm forgetting something. Always. It's damned annoying."

As they got into bed, Aala remembered the previous night's events. She looked at the clock and saw it was roughly 10:30. I can function just fine with four hours of sleep, so if I set an alarm for 8, that means I can stay up till 4. If Killua has another nightmare, he'll need comfort.

With that plan in mind, Aala laid down and feigned sleep until the other two had fallen asleep. Once they had, Aala pulled out her iPad, set the alarm, then played some pre download games to keep herself up. Every so often, she would glance over at the other bed, to make sure everything was alright.

It wasn't until a few minutes past one in the morning that any movements that Killua made in his sleep became more sudden than before. Instantly, Killua had Aala's full attention. When barely audible sounds made their way past his lips, she threw her device to the side and went to kneel next to Killua after turning on the lamp.

And that is what Killua woke up to. He bolted upright, expecting to wake in a dark room, instead of the faintly lit room with Aala next to him. "A-Aala, w-what-"

Killua was interrupted by a warm hand on his shoulder and concerned eyes brown looking into his own blue ones. "Are you okay?" she questioned softly.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine, but what are you still doing up?"

"I was looking out for you." Seeing the boy's surprised face, Aala went on, "I know you lied to me last night. You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Killua looked away and nodded. "St-still, why did you stay up? Just because I had a nightmare last night?"

"Ever since I realized this was reality, I knew that you would probably be having nightmares." She chuckled softly. "I actually really wanted to be wrong about that."

He hugged his knees to his chest and whispered, "So? It's just a nightmare."

Surprising Killua, Aala grabbed his shoulders and made him look at her. "No it isn't Killua. Not with you. I know that your nightmares can't be and aren't 'just nightmares'." She cupped his cheek with her right hand. "I also knew that if you didn't come to me last night, I knew you wouldn't come to me tonight if you had another nightmare."

Surprising himself, Killua leaned into her touch and stuttered, "It-It's just that…"

When he didn't go on, Aala asked imploringly, "What is it? Don't you trust me enough to come to me for comfort? Know that you are always welcome to do so. Please Killua." There were small tears in the corners of her eyes now.

"No, that's not it. I-I just thought that you would think I should be able to get over it on my own." Killua had his own small tears in his eyes now.

Aala just hugged the boy, "Oh, Killua. I think it's easy to forget in all this madness that you're just a kid. You're only 12 years old. You shouldn't have to think like that. I remember when I had a nightmare when I was 13, I still ran to my mother." Her throat tightened and she knew she would regret asking the question, but she still got out, "Didn't your mother ever do anything for you?"

Just as she expected, Killua shook his head. "The one time I did, she yelled at me to go back to sleep." He felt Aala's arms tighten around him.

"Yelled at you? Yelled at you?" Killua looked up and saw that Aala's jaw was set and anger blazed deep in her eyes. "That women doesn't deserve to be called a mother." she growled. "Mothers aren't supposed to yell at their child after they have a nightmare."

"What are mothers supposed to do?" Killua asked party in curiosity and partly hoping that Aala would provide such care for him.

Aala looked down at the boy in her arms and cuddled him closer, knowing he was starved of any sort of maternal affection. In that case, she was more than happy to provide it. "Mothers are supposed to lay down with you, hug you, comfort you, and sing you a lullaby to help you get back to sleep and to tell you that everything is okay."

Then came the question that absolutely broke her heart. "Aala, what's a lullaby?"

She looked down at him in pure shock. "You mean to tell me that bitch never even-" Aala had to break off there. Of course she knew that it was unlikely that Killua would be sung any when he was growing up, but to not even know what it is? It just made Aala detest the Zoldyck family even more.

"Well, a lullaby is a song sung when trying to calm someone down enough to got to sleep and comfort them, usually from a mother to her child." Her anger got the better of her at the end and every ounce of bitterness she felt went into those last four words.

Aala's tears slipped down her face as she saw Killua merely nod his head at the information. "H-here, I'll show you." She climbed into bed next to him, and Killua accepted her.

On instinct, Aala's body wrapped around Killua's smaller form protectively and he snuggled close to her. She began to rub his back in soothing circles and sang the first lullaby that came to mind:

"Come stop your crying

It will be alright

Just take my hand

Hold it tight

I will protect you

from all around you

I will be here

Don't you cry

For one so small,

You seem so strong

My arms will hold you,

Keep you safe and warm

This bond between us

Can't be broken

I will be here

Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on

Now and forevermore

You'll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart

Always"

As she sung, Killua's own tears began to fall. He felt every ounce of love Aala felt for him in those words. He clung to her, mentally taken back to that sacred three year old, searching for comfort and affection, finally getting it after so many years.

As she sung, Aala realized how perfect the song was for this situation. It had always made her tear up when she heard Kala sing the song to baby Tarzan, making a promise to always be there for him. Now Aala was making that same promise to Killua, who might as well have been her baby brother.

Even after Killua fell asleep, Aala continued singing.

Ahhh, just reading over that, the feels. I was tearing up as I typed it. I hope it as good. I hope that I can get a real chapter posted some time in the near future. But, man, it's just so satisfying to finally get this scene out. It was one of the first I ever thought up for this story and I have to say, I'm proud of how it came out.

I'm getting back into the grove of updating now, I hope. My life is quieting down now, so it should be easier to get updates in. Maybe working on my other story in another fandom will help me keep the ideas fresh.

Well, until next time! Oh, and don't forget about my pole. ^_^