Chapter 21 Meeting the Zoldycks
A short distance into the Zoldyck property was a charming three-story wooden cabin where all the guards lived when they were off their respective shifts.
Rayleigh found the house amusing. Each door weighed 200 kilograms. The guest slippers weighed 20 kilograms. The cups and plates weighed 20 kilograms each. They were also given weighted vests, which started at 50 kilograms in weight but could be increased to 500.
Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio spent the next two weeks running, climbing, and pushing themselves while slowly increasing the amount of weight they carried.
During that period, Rayleigh started the next stage of his will power training.
Jedi increased will power by strengthening their dedication to peace and the Force. Rayleigh obviously could not do that, but he was not out of options.
Amongst the thousands of books he read in his past life, there was a single book that included a detailed and rigorous mental training regimen, and Rayleigh decided it was a good time to use it. It wasn't that he hadn't tried it before, but there was no effect until you reached a certain level of mental fortitude, and trying it before then was just fooling yourself.
It was the Alar Training from Name of the Wind. In the book, Alar is the mental ability to hold a belief firmly enough that it affects reality. It was related to a skill from the series, but its training would prove extremely useful for Rayleigh as well.
Alar Training had six stages. Each required full mastery before the next stage could be started.
The first was Absolute Belief, where you believe something is an absolute truth no matter what.
After that is Contrary Belief, where you can believe that two things that are contradictory are both absolutely true at the same time.
Then came Mental Division, where you could clearly think two or more different things at the same time.
Following that was Mental Separation, where you could separate different thoughts into independent minds.
Next was Mental Isolation, where you could hide the thoughts of one mind from another.
And the final aspect was Connection, where you believe things that are not connected are in fact connected.
The magic system in Name of the Wind was unique, but Alar Training could easily be applied to hundreds of other systems, especially when it came to the matter of splitting the mind. Jedi were inherently bad at multitasking with the Force unless they had a lot of experience. Mastering the art of dividing his mind would allow him to easily perform multiple feats with the Force at the same time or strengthen a single action by focusing multiple minds on it at once.
One might think Rayleigh was already on the level of Absolute Belief, but he knew there was still a way to go before he mastered that facet. Otherwise he would have been able to open the seven sets of doors.
Rayleigh practiced Absolute Belief by placing a finger on a rock on the ground and imagining that when he lifted his finger, the rock would fall upwards. Without assistance, this was obviously impossible, which made it a good way to practice. He certainly looked odd sitting on the ground, placing and removing his finger from a rock over and over, but he didn't care. The original practice was to hold a rock in the air in the belief it would stay aloft when dropped, but Rayleigh figured he might unconsciously use the Force trying that, so upside-down falling was a better method.
It worked since the rock never moved as he wasn't using the Force even subconsciously. The fact that it didn't move did not matter. What mattered was how strongly he believed the rock would move, and that his belief would not shake just because the rock didn't move any of the previous times.
Rayleigh continued to train Absolute Belief while everyone else trained with weights. After ten days, Gon's broken arm fully healed, and after fourteen days, Kurapika and Gon were able to force open one side of the two-ton door, while Leorio was able to open both sides at the same time after twenty days. Once Gon trained with his other arm a bit longer, he'd be able to do the same.
With all four able to open the door, they bid farewell to the guard and entered the inner area of the Zoldyck property leading to the main house.
The massive property had a worn trail up the mountain that was easy to follow, but a half hour of walking later led them to a small wall with a dark-skinned girl the same age as Gon and Killua. She wore a suit, and the hand behind her back seemed to hold a weapon of some kind.
Ray approached and said, "Hello, can you direct us to the Attendant's quarters? I believe we are expected."
The girl looked up and down the group a few times and said, "Okay. Follow me."
Most of the attendants knew of their group, and Rayleigh had felt a number of presences spy on them over the last few days, so they were certainly expected.
"One moment, I'd like a word with them."
Everyone's heads quickly turned to the side to spot the presence none of them felt a moment ago. The one who spoke was a slender woman wearing a beautiful purple Victorian-style dress and hat. Her face was covered in bandages except for her red lips, and her eyes were covered by a visor of some sort.
Behind her was a short, black-haired girl wearing a kimono who looked a little younger than Rayleigh and Gon.
The woman looked over at Rayleigh first and said, "You're Ray, right? I've heard about you and Gon from Illumi. Your manners are quite good for someone so young. We told Killua you were here about three weeks ago, and he requested we tell you this. 'I'm happy to hear that you came, but I can't meet you right now. Sorry.' I myself am Killua's mother, and this here is Kalluto."
Gon directly asked, "Why can't Killua see us?"
The woman answered, "He's in isolation. Killua struck me and his brother and ran away. But he regretted his actions and returned. His isolation is self-imposed, and he has not decided when he will leave."
Ray spoke up, "That's fine. We can be here for another month, so we would like to wait until then. If he decides not to come out, then we can only leave."
The woman stared at him in silence for a few moments. Rayleigh felt her desire to kill him spiking and vanishing at random intervals. This woman was nuttier than a peanut factory. If Rayleigh took any kind of defensive stance, he had no doubt she'd attack on instinct alone.
Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio seemed to get the same impression, and none of them moved in the presence of this insane killer.
She then turned to the attendant and said, "Canary, you may take them to the Butler's quarters."
The young attendant bowed and answered back, "Yes, my lady."
Killua's mother gave the group one more look before turning back. Killua's sister gave them all an assessing glance, especially Rayleigh, before turning and following her mother.
Only after the woman was gone did Leorio and Gon let out a breath of relief.
Kurapika asked, "Rayleigh, how strong do you think she was?"
"Very. Stronger than Illumi anyways."
The attendant, Canary, asked, "You can feel the lady's strength?"
She was likely surprised because hiding your strength was essential for an assassin.
Rayleigh shook his head, "No, I can feel the strength of her mind and used that to determine her strength."
"I see. Please follow me."
Canary led them along a side path that ended at a five-story mansion. One would almost think this was the Zoldyck Estate, but it was actually just where the Butlers lived.
The front of the mansion had five butlers standing in front of the door. None were weak, but the strongest one stood in the middle and wore glasses.
Once their group approached, the butlers gave a polite bow and said, "Good evening. Madam contacted us and asked us to welcome you as official guests."
They were led inside and served some delicious tea. The one with glasses introduced himself, "My name is Gotoh, the head Butler. Please make yourself at home."
Rayleigh felt the resentment of a few of the Butlers. From what he could feel, they had been trained to serve the Zoldycks and only the Zoldycks, so this was the first time they had ever been instructed to receive guests.
Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika couldn't get a read on them due to their expressionless demeanors, but nonetheless felt awkward as they had nothing to do but wait until Killua came out of 'self-imposed isolation.'
Rayleigh asked, "Would you like to hear about the Hunter Exam with Killua?"
The mood shifted from resentment to interest. Empathy was a very useful skill for a Jedi who wanted to deal with antagonistic groups.
Though no one openly answered yes, Rayleigh continued, "Then you can get some more chairs for yourselves. So, Killua arrived at the site for the Hunter Exam a few minutes after I did. Seeing we were the same age, he approached me."
Rayleigh retold the entire story of the Hunter Exam, focusing specifically on what Killua did. Gon and Leorio would pitch in at a few points, and Leorio took over during the fourth trial when they were separated and he met up with Killua first.
The Butlers obviously had no interest in anything they did, but they were very keen to hear about every action Killua took. They looked especially proud when Rayleigh described the fight between Killua and Netero as well as Killua's execution of the criminal in the Trick Tower. Leorio described all the horrible things the murderer did and said having his heart ripped out couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
Sometimes Gotoh would ask a question about some of the insane things Rayleigh did, and Ray answered each one honestly and even showed Gotoh his Lightsaber.
Almost exactly when the story finished, the phone rang, and Gotoh picked it up.
He spoke in hushed whispers for a moment before hanging up the phone. He then returned to the group and said, "Killua has left isolation and is on his way here."
Gon shouted with excitement, Leorio smiled, and even Kurapika revealed a smirk.
Gotoh continued, "Since you entertained us with a story, how about we pass the time until he arrives with a game?"
Without waiting for an answer, he flipped a coin into the air and seemingly grabbed it with both hands. "Now, which hand is the coin in?"
Everyone pointed at his left hand.
Gotoh revealed the coin in his left hand and said, "Correct. Let's do it a little faster."
He did it again, but his arms moved about three times faster. Still, everyone easily saw the coin get grabbed by the left hand and pointed it out.
He revealed the coin once more and said, "Let's get a little serious."
He flipped into the air again, and his arms practically seemed to multiply due to the speed. Multiple afterimages of both hands grabbing the coin could be seen.
When finished, he asked, "So?"
Rayleigh answered, "Left hand."
Gotoh flipped it again, and his speed tripled once more. Dozens of afterimages filled the air, his hands moving at a speed that Rayleigh was unable to match.
"Which hand?"
Leorio answered, "Umm, left."
Ray, Gon, and Kurapika chose right.
The coin was revealed in the right hand, and Gotoh smiled, "One down."
He flipped it again, but this time there were no afterimages, only streaks of light impossible to make out with the human eye.
Kurapika chose, "Right,"
Gon and Rayleigh chose "Left."
The coin was revealed in the left hand, and Gotoh said, "We're down to two."
Gon and Rayleigh shared a competitive look and smiled.
Gotoh flipped the coin again, but thankfully his speed only increased marginally. Ray and Gon called out "Left," almost simultaneously, but Ray was a little faster.
Gotoh seemed a bit impressed and said, "Let's up the difficulty."
Two more butlers appeared on either of Gotoh's sides and with another flip of the coin, all three began exchanging their hands rapidly in the air.
Gotoh then asked, "Who has the coin?"
"Him, right?" Gon asked, pointing to the Butler behind their couch.
Rayleigh added, "That was pretty sneaky of you to do a big flip like that."
The last flip of the coin didn't come back down, Gotoh flipped it harder, making it arc over their heads while distracting them with the multiple sets of rapidly moving hands.
The butlers applauded their observation skills and a moment later, the door in the back opened.
Gotoh hear the door and said, "It seems Killua has arrived."
Gon looked excited and shouted, "Killua!"
But the one who walked into the room was not Killua, but a bulky man built like a tank who had a roaring lifeforce like that of an exploding nuclear warhead. He had long silver hair, which matched Killua's in color, and sharp eyes and features.
Gotoh immediately stood up straight and bowed, "Lord Silva!"
When the man's name was spoken, an invisible pressure seemed to fall upon the mansion's inhabitants. It fell equally on guests and butlers and didn't seem intentional. The man's presence was simply that strong.
Silva Zoldyck, Killua's father and the head of the Zoldyck family, waved his hands for the Butlers to leave. Not another word was required, and the reception room was empty save for the guests.
Silva looked at Rayleigh and sat on the couch across from their group. He asked, "Do you have that assassin robot head? I'd like to see it."
Rayleigh was somewhat able to mitigate the man's pressure using the Force, but only because it wasn't intentional. If the man was really trying, he doubted he'd be able to breathe, much less move. Rayleigh kept HK-47 in his backpack with the zipper open so the droid could continue to catalogue more information about this world, so taking him out wasn't an issue.
The head was placed on the table, and Silva regarded it for a few moments. He stated, "My name is Silva, I am Killua's father. I have never met an assassin robot before, so I would like to ask you a question."
HK-47 was unaffected by pressure and responded quickly.
[Statement: What is it you wish to know?]
"What do you think of assassins?"
[Commentary: Assassins are a measure of the standard of any civilization. The higher the standard of the civilization, the higher the standard of the assassins within. They are a necessity for any world with any form of civilization. Without assassins, civilization will regress.]
Silva nodded. He then looked up at Rayleigh and asked, "What about you? What do you think about assassins?"
Rayleigh answered honestly, "I am not an expert, but I trust HK-47's judgment. I'm only a pacifist because the nature of my abilities would negatively affect me if I harmed someone without a very, very good reason. However, my abilities are unaffected if I do not prevent someone else from harming another."
"Oh? So you're saying you cannot use your ability to move things with your mind to harm someone without suffering repercussions?"
"That's right."
Silva nodded, "I see, I see." Rayleigh spoke the truth, and Silva could easily tell. He then turned to Gon and said, "What about you?"
Gon answered, "I don't really care what he does, as long as he does what he wants and is happy."
Silva smirked, pleased with both answers. He turned to the side and said, "Alright, please take care of my son in the future." Without another word, he then got up and left.
Only when his pressure was gone did everyone let out a sigh of relief.
The door opened again, and everyone froze for a moment, thinking Silva or someone worse was about to show up, but everyone was relieved when they heard a familiar voice shout, "Ray, Gon!"
Killua entered the room and then said, "Plus Leorio and Kurapika!"
Killua then noticed the odd atmosphere and lack of butlers. "What happened to you guys?"
Ray gave a half-hearted smirk and replied, "Oh, we were just waiting for you. Hey, Gotoh! Killua's back."
Gon and the rest took Rayleigh's silence to mean not to speak of Silva's little interrogation. There was no point in bringing it up as it was apparent that Killua didn't know his father was going to do it.
Gotoh returned and greeted Killua. Though Killua was covered in bruises, no one wanted to say anything while they were still inside the Zoldyck property.
Ray packed HK-47 back up, and Killua told Gotoh, "We're leaving, don't listen to whatever my mother says."
Gotoh replied with a perfunctory, "I understand. Have a good trip."
Killua seemed to want to get out as fast as possible, and Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayleigh had no problems leaving right away. Gon said something to Gotoh before rejoining the group and heading down the path back to the wall.
Through the big door, the Guard was waiting for them in a limousine to take them down the mountain.
Everyone got in, and the guard said with astonishment, "You actually made it. Did you see the estate?"
Killua answered, "No, they waited for me at the Butler's place."
The guard nodded, not really expecting them to have made it to the Zoldyck residence. He drove them down the mountain while Gon explained his last conversation with Gotoh.
Gotoh had shown the coin shuffle one last time, but even though Gon clearly saw the coin caught by the left hand, Gotoh revealed the left hand to be empty and the right hand to have the coin.
They made it down the mountain, where everyone got off, and Kurapika explained, "He probably did something like this."
Kurapika demonstrated the same motion, clearly grabbing the coin with his left hand, but revealing that his hand was empty and the coin was in his right hand.
He explained, "Gotoh had two coins. One already in his right, and when he caught the one in his left, it slid down into his sleeve."
Gon pouted, "That's annoying!"
Killua smiled, "He probably wanted to teach you that not everyone is as honest as you."
Gon argued, "What about Ray?"
"That's a difference between honest and naïve. Gotoh probably liked you both because he's like that too, he hates that kind of thing."
Killua then looked over at Ray and asked, "Why did you guys come here using a Tourist Visa?"
Kurapika explained, "Gon didn't want to use his License yet, and Ray said using it would get us targeted by License thieves."
Killua sighed and asked Gon, "Well, I can believe that for Ray, but Gon, why didn't you want to use yours?"
Gon fished a badge with the number 44 out of his pocket and explained, "I won't use my License until I've given this back to Hisoka by punching him in the face!"
Killua replied, "Ah, you know where Hisoka is?"
Gon gave an empty look which made Ray and Killua smile at him.
Kurapika sighed and replied back, "I know."
Leorio asked, "How can you know?"
"Because he told me."
Leorio stared at Kurapika for a moment before continuing, "You know, I've always wanted to ask. What did you and Hisoka talk about?"
Kurapika explained, "During the match, he told me that he would give me information on the Spider. The Phantom Troupe is referred to as the Spider by those in the know. When I tried meeting him later for more information, he said, "I'll wait for you on September 1st in Yorknew City." That's how I know where he'll be."
It was still February, so September was a little over six months away.
Killua asked, "What's going on in Yorknew?"
Leorio answered confidently, "Hehe, it's the biggest Auction in the World."
Kurapika nodded, "That's right. Between the first and tenth of September, auctions containing both legal and illegal treasures from all over the world will take place."
Killua stated, "That does sound like a place a bunch of thieves would show up."
With that, Kurapika said, "I'm gonna leave now. I need to find a way to get to the auction and look for serious work as a Hunter."
Leorio replied, "Yeah, I'll return home. I need to study and pass the entrance exam for the private University I'm aiming for. Since I got a License, the Hunter Association will pay for my entire tuition."
Gon asked, "You're both leaving?"
Kurapika answered, "We'll all see each other later. We'll meet up on September 1st in Yorknew."
Everyone returned to the train station and made their way to the airport where they separated.
Killua said, "Now it's just us three."
Gon asked, "What are we gonna do?"
Killua repeated, "What are we going to do? Isn't it obvious?"
Gon replied, "What? We're not gonna have fun?"
Killua looked at Gon like he was an idiot and asked, "Ray, what do you think we should do?"
"Train to get stronger," was the immediate response.
Killua nodded, "Right. Gon, do you really think you can punch Hisoka in six months as you are now? Ten years wouldn't be enough!"
Rayleigh countered, "Well, we're both the types who get stronger with a good fight. Enough of those and he might stand a chance."
Killua looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Do either of you have any money?"
Gon shook his head, and Rayleigh answered, "I have a few million from selling the properties of my clan."
Killua said, "Well, we don't want to use that, and I don't really have a lot of money either. But I know a place where we can fight and win money. Heaven's Arena."
Killua got a map and pointed to a location on the same continent but on the opposite side of their current location. "It's here. We have enough for a ticket there, and we can earn plenty of money while there and train to get stronger."
Rayleigh and Gon smiled. Money and good fights? Both shouted, "Let's go!"