Chapter Seven:

Confrontations
...

After that whole ordeal with her roommate, Himeko wasn't able to follow her morning jogging plans through and ended up staying in her room with Theodora until it was time to leave for class. They didn't exchange any more words after their initial exchange, and whatever spirit possessed Theodora spent over half an hour sobbing with grief and sorrows. Himeko was too taken back to find words, but she sat beside her all that time and comforted her by soothingly patting her back. Theodora ended up losing consciousness eventually, and Himeko helped put her back to bed as she was unfit to go to class.

The sound of her mother's sorrows still echoed through Himeko's mind, wrenching at her heart. Well, for now she could only assume that was her mother without any explanation from Theodora. The fact that she knew her name could've just been pure coincidence, after all, she was her roommate and left her belongings behind in the room they shared. Could it be Nen? But their dormitories was for Transmuters only. Then again, there was no building for Specialists, and there had to be a small number of students attending the academy who were Specialists.

"'Sup, it's rare to see you out so late." A familiar voice managed to break through to her, and she was finally aware of her surroundings again. Idle chatter of students exiting the buildings to get to their first classes surrounded her all of the sudden. "You didn't pick up my calls, I was going to wait another minute before coming up to your room."

A rare worried expression clouded Killua's face as he saw Himeko so exhausted before the day had even started.

"You look miserable!" In an attempt to lighten to mood, he put aside his worries and said something characteristically mean. "Did you even brush your hair?"

"Of course I did!" She exclaimed, her words coming out louder than they were meant to. After earning brief glances from those around them, she huffed, being back to her old self. "Stop being so annoying, it's just 8 o'clock."

"You could've at least sent a text saying that you were running late."

"You could always leave without me next time if something like this happens again."

"You practically threatened me to wait for you over text last night." Killua opened up his messaging app on his phone and showed her their last conversation. Himeko grew silent after reading her demanding texts, now that the memory was slowly flooding back to her.

"Now that you mentioned it, I do recall saying something like that last night."

"The hash browns got cold, so I ate them instead. Besides, they've finished serving breakfast at the canteen." He lifted the hand that was gripping a small cardboard box of chocolate milk. "Just have this for now and get something to eat during break time."

"Thanks!"

Killua's eyes stayed on her as she used the attached straw to poke a hole into the milk carton. It was out of character for her to be showing such an agitated expression in front of a strangers. She was perfectly fine last night.

"I won't ask, so you don't have to be so on edge."

"I'm sorry, Killua."

"We all have our own worries. Like the fact that we have maths as our first period today."

"With your favourite teacher?"

"Piss off!"

Killua wasn't completely off, the first period ended up turning out worse than he imagined. He didn't completely understand Williams' hostile attitude towards him, but at the same time he didn't exactly care either. He remembered how his classmates Soraya and Aster's issued a kind warning the previous day, and they kindly reminded him and Gon, who were their seat mates, to try not to get on his bad side. But for some reason, although Killua tried his best to sit back and act like any other average, well-behaved student in his class, Mr. Williams found every chance to pick on the boy.

"He used to be a Blacklist Hunter before becoming a teacher. Apparently he went after the Zoldyck assassins in the past."

There was no way for anyone to find out that Killua was a Zoldyck. Even the Hunter website had restrictions to protect their personnel's confidentiality. A Blacklist Hunter turned teacher: Killua thought this wouldn't pose any issues as long as he remained low-key. But it turned out he underestimated his teacher's instincts, which he admitted was an amateur move on his part.

"Silva, since you couldn't solve the last question why don't you do this one?" He called Killua by his alias, before waiting for the boy's response. Killua however remained seated, knowing all too well that the question asked wasn't part of today's syllabus. Killua's eyes softened immensely since the Hunter exams, but it was his collective composure and natural confidence that still displayed a hint of danger from him.

"I don't know."

Just like every other question that was directed at him this past class, he gave the same calm response. Williams' class being intense was an understatement. Maybe the fact that Killua remained so relaxed despite all the provocations made him pick on him even more.

"Hale."

"Yes sir!"

The lesson alternated between easier questions that related back to the taught subject, and questions that weren't taught in class yet and were more challenging unless a student self studied them outside classes, which only a small handful of students actually did. Williams knew the classes strengths and weaknesses, so he knew exactly who was capable of what. After several questions, he used his black whiteboard marker to lazily scribble down another impossible question.

"Silva." He scanned the small crowd before letting out a heavy sigh. "Never mind, Vermillion, you do this one."

And another one.

"Let's see. Silva, attempt this one."

"I haven't gone over that topic yet, sir."

"I really hope you find more enthusiasm for my classes soon." Another nonchalant comment, before his eye moved through the pupils sitting in front of him. "Who haven't I asked yet? Maeda, I hope you won't disappoint me."

Himeko rose from her seat, feeling irked by the way this man has been unfairly treating her friend. Although she wished she could freely express her feelings through her facial expressions, she held back and proceeded with a neutral smile. Once she was at the front of the class she looked onto the class, all eyes on her. She looked at Gon, who was sat by the window towards the back of the class, barely able to control his anger. Killua on the other hand who sat a few seats down looked indifferent. He looked back at her not changing his expression, but with that stare alone she understood that he didn't want her to do anything reckless on his behalf. It was reassuring, this didn't bother him, he didn't feel embarrassed being called out that many times in front of his peers.

"He's too nice. If it wasn't for Kurapika's instructions, Gon and I wouldn't be able to sit still."

She knew she was right. Even Gon held back for the sake of the mission. They couldn't afford to get into trouble by provoking a well established teacher, even if what he was doing was considered abuse of power. She took the pen off of her teacher's hand and quickly scribbled down what would be considered a model answer, in a similar lazy handwriting he used. It was petty, and she knew she wasn't going to gain anything out of it other than potentially being called out for having an attitude. But it gave her the satisfaction that she rebelled in some kind of way. That she wanted her teacher to at least feel a small portion of the humiliation her friend would have felt if he really did care. However, although Killua didn't seem bothered, she still didn't have the heart to let it go.

"With all due respect sir, if you continue to test us on a future topic we are meant to cover in two weeks time, we won't have any material left to cover when the time comes to go over it."

"Very well, I'll accept your feedback and will keep it in mind when creating future curricula."

Williams' response this time around wasn't out of spite, he kept composed as he answered Himeko. But she wished she could've at least seen his gobsmacked face- no, she wished everyone in the class including Killua could've seen it. Feeling defeated, she went and took a seat at her desk. Killua's expression remained neutral, but she knew he was cursing her in his head. But at least Gon looked to have calmed down. He was older, grew more mature during his time on Whale island, but his strong sense of justice grew along with it. Although she trusted him not to have an outburst in the middle of class, there was only so much they could witness Killua going through.

The rest of the class proceeded without hitch, and Williams didn't utter Killua's name even once. Whether the mistreatment would continue in future classes they didn't know, but at least they could get through the first class of the day.

During their first break of the day, the nagging began. Having had no breakfast that morning, Gon and Killua accompanied Himeko to the cafeteria to grab a late breakfast. Of course, Killua took the opportunity during their time alone to scold the pair for getting so worked up over nothing.

"Why would anything that loser said bother me? Whether he did it out of spite because I look like someone or he just doesn't like my face, I don't give a shit."

It was the same charade as yesterday. He cautioned the pair not to respond to any of the teacher's nasty words, not wanting it to affect the turnout of their main objective.

"But we care." Gon slammed his fists down on the cafeteria table, earning a few curious looks from students sat nearby. He hastily apologised, before lowering his voice. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's unfair!"

Himeko too didn't bother to hold back on her opinion this time.

"If you ask me, that guy can go and choke on a fucking dick. What an asshole!" Upon hearing that crude comment, Killua pinched her pastry filled cheeks.

"It's about time you stopped swearing like a fucking twelve year old." Regardless of his words, deep inside Killua felt grateful for their words. But he thought it was selfish, feeling happy to have people defend him in a situation like this.

The school day continued as normal after break time. During lunch, the trio spent time separately, each trying to build a small social circle of their own to gather information. Himeko had lunch with Anastasia, Vivian, Mina and Hasumi as she had promised the girls the day before. Gon easily gathered a small group of his own with Terra, Aster, Soraya and Amanda. Killua honestly wasn't surprised that he was suddenly surrounded by half the girls in the class. The once smaller group extended out to Shirou, Alice and Allen, whom Gon noticed they kept to themselves and managed to get them to let their guards down.

Nathan on the other hand was so impressed by how Killua handled Williams during maths, he physically dragged him out of the class with poor Arnaude following his high strung friend close behind. Although he was initially planning on tagging along with Gon, this situation worked perfectly in his favour, especially after Arnaude turned out to be one of the students they were supposed to keep an eye on.

Eventually the long school day came to an end, and the students began to pack up their belongings ready to go back to their respective dorms. Himeko's slowed down her pace, knowing this was going to be her first day at the student council. Her eyes occasionally wandered off to look at his classmate Luca, the only other person in the class who was in student council. Not noticing her gaze, Luca continued to pack his backpack as he would normally do any other day.

When he was done, he turned back to see if the newcomer was done, only to see her intensely staring back at him, all packed up and ready to go. He was startled not expecting this, but quickly composed himself and made his way over to her desk.

"I'll show you the way."

He didn't wait for a response and approached the room's door, but his speed of walking was slow enough to tell her that he was waiting for her to tag along behind him. Even when they were walking through the corridors and making their way to the next building he kept a comfortable distance between them.

"You must have been at this school for years." Himeko was hoping to break the ice, something she wouldn't have done normally. But she managed to learn a vital piece of information in Williams' class thanks to his habit of calling students by their surnames. Although he was an asshole of a teacher, he somehow managed to make himself useful.

"How do you figure?"

"He took the bait," she thought, her mood instantly becoming much brighter. "You have the same surname as the Principal, so I figured you could be related. Just a guess, though."

This wasn't just a lucky guess though, she was pretty certain that he could be the grandson of the Principal based on how the teachers walked around on eggshells around him.

"Professor Watson's my grandfather."

"I can kinda see the resemblance, minus the age of course." She used this opportunity to catch up to his pace, until they were walking side by side. "That means you must know the campus by heart. Any good spots?"

"Not really."

"How about any cute cafes outside the campus?"

"Haven't been to any."

"Want to check some restaurants out with me over the weekend then?" With the continued lack of responses, Himeko resorted to fluttering her eyelashes, gazing directly into his eyes, and giving him a small yet sweet smile to add as the cherry on top.

"I prefer to eat alone."

This boy was officially a hard nut to crack: or that was what Himeko thought to make herself feel better after all those failed attempts. He didn't exactly sound annoyed by her talking, but he felt more uncomfortable speaking to someone whom he considered a complete stranger.

"Maybe he isn't into girls who make the first move." This was another thought that ran through her mind to soothe her hurt pride. And thus, she settled on that conclusion to make herself feel better. "Yes, that must be it!"

"We are here."

The door looked just like any other door in the old arts building. Upon examining it after Luca opened the door, the room was indeed a little bigger than the average classroom. Most of the older students were already inside and seated. It looked like they were only waiting for a handful of people. Kurapika was already inside waiting for the meeting to start and scanning over the meeting's agenda.

The seat next to him however was already taken by another boy, who looked roughly the same age. Disappointed that she couldn't sit beside him, she resorted to sit next to Luca who was the only other person she knew in the room. It was then when she decided to ask, "you don't mind me sitting next to you, do you?"

"You've already taken the seat next to me. But no, I don't." His response was a little blunt and awkward, but maybe he wasn't used to talking to girls his age. But as soon as she settled down with a single ballpoint pen in her hand and a notebook, she noticed one of the last people walk into the room.

An older boy in a burgundy red jumper, the same jumper that was worn as a uniform by the other members of the student council. She had only seen him once, but she could recognise that mean expression anywhere. The boy in question looked around the room, having heard the news of two newcomers joining. As if having to deal with this day wasn't burdensome enough, she saw a troubling smirk creep up his face.

"Would you look at what the cat dragged in today," he briefly glanced at Luca, who was sat quietly, wanting to avoid the scene completely. "So that's why you thought you could act up yesterday. You were thinking of getting a free pass just because you were in the student council."

Himeko knew the boy she talked back to in the hallway was in the student council, and she knew it was a bad idea. But in the moment she couldn't stand sitting back and letting someone like him walk all over her. She remained wordless, but didn't regret it. In the now silent room where all eyes turned towards them however, she didn't utter a word.

"Guess all that spunk from yesterday's gone now. Not that it matters anyway, just remember your place from now on and show some respect." He proceeded to give her form a thorough scan. "Looks like you can't even follow basic school uniform rules. Your skirt is too short."

"That's because I'm sitting down. No matter how long a skirt is it'll ride up a bit when you sit down."

"Then just wear a longer skirt. Not like Watson seems to mind though, I didn't think I'd see the day he'd make a friend. But then again putting two and two together, it makes sense why he suddenly wants a friend."

He sounded rather bitter about Luca's presence in general, something that surprised her. After all, even the teachers tried not to get on his bad side. This guy however took every chance presented to him to make a jab at the younger boy. The normally indifferent Luca looked rather bothered by his comments, and his furrowed brows were more than enough evidence for this. Before he could retort back, Himeko beat him to the punch.

"Sounds like you're more interested in my legs than Luca is. I'm sorry but I'm not into loud, obnoxious guys. I prefer the quiet type."

Himeko could just imagine Kurapika heaving a heavy sigh somewhere behind her in the room. She was right, he was disappointed. As much as the scene in front of him disgusted him, he didn't stop it. He expected her to do the same and let the rabid dog bark as much as it wanted. But she didn't, she did the same thing the younger Himeko would have chosen to do. This wasn't the place to act righteous.

Whatever argument would've erupted was halted by a tan, fairly well built boy. Kurapika immediately recalled seeing him with Leorio before, he was his roommate. Valentino, who has walked into the room broke the disagreement apart and stopped the troublemaker from saying anything further.

"Harry, that's enough welcoming the new girl." Surprisingly, the same Harry who acted cocky towards the Principal's grandson fell quiet in front of Valentino. "Save the energy for the meeting."

"You heard what she said. She called me a pervert in front of everyone."

"You reap what you sow mate," he simply said shrugging, before patting Harry's shoulder in a fake, over-exaggerated motion to sympathise with him. "But I guess we've become lax when it comes to checking uniforms. Can someone check take the high schooler's outside and check their uniforms?" He looked around the room, attempting to search for a college girl who could take the younger girls to check their uniforms. "I'll take the boys, and Aria, would you mind taking the girls?"

"Oh, golly!" Aria exclaimed sarcastically, rolling her eyes to show how annoyed she was. Despite her protest, she ushered the younger girls out of the room before Harry could even take another breath, leading them to a nearby room. The girls' uniforms were all rather neat, so she didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Valentino was the vice president of the student council, and though he led meetings often in the president's place, she knew from her past years in the student council that the knew how to diffuse a tense situation.

She took a 30 cm ruler to measure just how short and scandalous Himeko's skirt was. When standing up, her skirt was an appropriate length which was just two fingers above her knees. Aria sighed at the pointlessness of all this just to satisfy Harry's ego. She tucked a stray strand of her wavy hair behind her ear before lowering her eyes to look at the younger student.

"Don't feel bad, we need one or two people who don't give that prick what he wants."

"I don't bad."

"Good. He acts up just because his dad is one of the school's sponsors." His father was rich, so it made a lot of sense why he acted so entitled. Anastasia was right from the beginning, Harry wasn't someone Himeko should've messed with. "Your surname's Maeda, right? I guess you're Toshiro's sister."

"Yeah."

"I'm in your brother's classes. If that prick doesn't give up and continues to pick on you, just let me know." Aria watched as Himeko obediently nodded, and her eyes softened in response. "Your uniform's fine, let's gather the rest of the girls and go back. This is such a waste of time."

Once they returned to the meeting room, Harry was already sat in a corner of the room, possibly after Valentino asked him to sit far away from Himeko. The high school boys who were taken out to get their uniforms checked returned back with their uniforms looking untouched, and it was the same with the girls. Aria let out a snarky comment about how she couldn't even find a crease on any of the girls' shirts or skirts, making sure her voice was loud enough to reach the far ends of the room. Valentino, though he knew his hands were tied was still gobsmacked by her sudden sarcastic tone. After the room quietened down, the meeting began.

It was nothing special, and definitely nothing worthwhile was said for Kurapika and Himeko to pick up. Just a few past incidences that needed to be discussed, ways on how to prevent these in the future, as well as any upcoming events that needed to be planned such as the school's festival. An hour later, the meeting was complete and the long school day came to an end for the student council members. But it was as Himeko was packing up her bag that the vice president approached her desk with a grim expression.

"Miss Maeda, I apologise for today's incident, but I would also like you to take caution in the future on what you say. Please bear in mind that Harry is your senior at the academy, so you should treat him with the same respect you would show me or the president." It was pretty evident that his scolding didn't come from his heart, and that he'd rather not do this. "Please stay behind on campus after school this week and organise the files in the student council room's cabinets. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me for help."

The students watched on, disappointed by their vice president's decision to push the blame onto the younger girl who was provoked first. Harry wasn't made to apologise, neither was his name said even once. His hands were tied, Harry could go home and shed some crocodile tears just to get what he wanted. Valentino knew about Himeko's achievements that led her to join the student council. He also knew that she was unaware of Harry's position at the school. The school has its handful of Harry's, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. If anything, he wanted her to get off with just a flick to her wrist instead of something that could kick her right out of the student council on her very first day.

Only Himeko and Kurapika thought that she had landed herself inside a gold mine. Spending a couple of hours alone inside the student council meeting room, looking over old meeting minutes and files was obviously something that would aid their investigation more than sitting in an hour long pointless meeting. It was a pain in the neck, but the sooner they got to the bottom of the mystery, the sooner she could get the hell out of this damned academy.

Himeko frowned a little, acting the part of a disappointed honour student who just got the first scolding of her lifetime. "Alright, I'll do it."

One by one, the students left the meeting room. Aria couldn't help but feel frustrated not to have been able to protect her new friend's younger sibling. Harry felt victorious, looking as if he had just won another battle. Luca looked irked as he saw Himeko smiling, and waving him off like nothing happened. Kurapika's expression remained neutral, but there was a pleased glint in his eyes asking her to do her best during the week. The last to leave Himeko behind was Valentino, who face clearly expressed the guilt he felt for punishing the victim.

Himeko returned to her room much later than normal, and once she reached her bed she didn't even bother taking off her school uniform to dive in. Theodora was still in bed and stirred, probably having heard her entering the room. Seeing Theodora only reminded her of the ordeal from that morning.

"What a shitty day."

She thought about Theodora every moment she could spare, and she could only come up with the conclusion that she must have been a Specialist. Specialists were a pretty rare group of Nen users, so it made a lot of sense now why the academy lacked a separate dorm for them. They must have been split up and divided equally between the already existing dormitories. Although she was sure she was right, she needed to hear it from her.

Theodora opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw that her roommate returned, she slowly managed to make it out of her covers. She knew she owed Himeko an explanation, and she was waiting for the day to pass so she could return from classes just so she could tell her.

"Thank you for this morning. It seems like you missed breakfast because you helped me go to sleep."

"Sure, I was surprised. But I don't think I couldn't left you alone in that state."

As Theodora began to explain, Himeko's theory proved to be correct. She was a Specialist and would occasionally get "possessed" by someone who passed when she's near one of their loved ones. To her it felt burdensome, an ability she wished she didn't have. She won't remember anything that happened during these possessions, but as soon as she gained control of her body again she'd feel drained. If it was one thing she wanted to learn at the Nen Academy, it was how to control her abilities.

Theodora still looked weak despite having slept in the whole day. The possession that happened that morning was at random, and although she couldn't remember what happened during it, Himeko knew this wouldn't be the last time Theodora's ability would activate around her.

The week progressed uneventfully and thinking that the days could not get any worse, Himeko woke up at the sound of her phone's alarm. After struggling to wake up her roommate, she got ready for the new school day. As usual, after getting dressed she would usually head down to meet Killua. The two would then head to the dorms food hall to grab a bit to eat before it was time for their first period. Himeko was standing at their usual meeting spot waiting for Killua to join her. He would normally arrive five minutes after her, so at first it wasn't a big deal when she waited alone. But at some point ten minutes past, then fifteen, and then twenty. There wasn't enough time left to have breakfast anymore, and all they could do was head to their classroom. But Killua still hadn't arrived at their normal meeting place. When she noticed that her text messages were left unanswered, and how his phone went to voicemail, she grew worried.

Himeko knew where his dorm room was, so all that was left for her to do was sign the visitor's book for the boys' side of the dorm and climb the stairs to his floor, earning a few curious stares from male student that were heading in the opposite direction to head to class. Luckily the door was opened when she proceeded to knock. It was Killua's roommate.

"Is Killua still asleep?"

"Killua?" The boy questioned in a rather unsettling tone. "Don't you know? The guidance counsellor came to take him away. Apparently Killua graffitied the old building's walls last night."

A/n: Sorry for the lack of updates guys. Med school is harder than I thought lol. I managed to put a chapter together because I'm back home during the lockdown.

Stay safe everyone, and thank you to everyone who's still working through these challenging time!

Review corner:

Silverdewdrop: Hope you're getting more sleep these days. You're probably confused and looking back at your review right now because you don't remember what you wrote lol. Now you that you saw what you wrote last year and you're back here haha. just kidding, thanks again for always reviewing and stay safe!

TECKK: First of all, your english is really good. No need to apologise when you've put effort into learning a language that isn't your mother tongue! I liked reading your little theory, you've analysed the characters really well. Each guy has their ups and downs, and with Kurapika's quest for revenge I really want to use that to incorporate some angst into future chapters. As for who she ends up with, it'll remain a secret until the last chapter. I hope you and your friends and family stay safe!

Nielle: You're welcome for using your OCs, they were very well described so they were easy to write with! Hope you and your loved ones are safe!