My Dad Is The Strongest?: Ch.21

“Morning,” Killua groaned as he walked into the cafeteria, making Momo raise an eyebrow as she turned to the smirking Mai who followed in after.

“What's up with him?”

“He spent up all night last night thinking about the 'discovery' they all made that they can't tell us about. I told him to go to bed early, but in his exact words…”

“A true hunter never gives up when they're getting close to their prey,” Killua mumbled as he flopped onto the table, taking a few quick whiffs before his eyes instantly locked onto the pot of black coffee sitting in the centre of the table.

Right as he reached for it with a smile of anticipation, he whined as Momo's broom smacked his hand away, glaring at the owner who huffed as Noritoshi shook his head.

“You are a growing boy with a developing mind and I do not want us to be the reason you're addicted to coffee.”

“Mom lets me drink it.”

“You were raised in a brothel, Killua. I do believe they give out coffee to anyone there,” Momo spoke up and while her words would have sounded cruel to any outsider listening in, Killua just huffed as he laid his head back down.

“Fine~ but then I want chocolate milk.”

“Why do I feel like that was what you wanted all along?”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Mai just rolled her eyes at Killua's quick response while walking over to the cafeteria, picking up one of the chocolate milk bottles and tossing it to the young sorcerer.

“Thanks,” He murmured as he caught and downed the entirety of the bottle in the span of a second, a pleased smile on his face while the others just shook their heads.

“Yep, he definitely wanted the milk.”

“Well, yes. Why would I drink coffee when I can have something sweeter? Besides, Mom would beat the crap out of me if I decided to try out coffee,” Killua answered with a shrug, smirking as all but Kamo rolled their eyes while his fellow heir looked at him with a frown.

“How goes your investigation in finding out who the traitor is?”

“Can't say, but I did talk to Dad last night and I think I've got my eye on one,” Killua spoke with a shrug as he picked up a boiled egg from Mai's plate, the girl glaring at him as he smirked and popped it into his mouth.

“You do?”

“Like I said, I think I've got them. Unfortunately, they're someone that's very hard to keep track of, so I'll have to ask Dad if he can take over. He's got the better eyes for this kind of thing, after all.”

“And what are you going to do, then?”

“Brother and I will keep tabs on our end and inform Gojo of whatever information we may acquire,” Todo spoke up and Killua rolled his eyes as Noritoshi sighed.

“Of course, you've decided.”

“Wait, what about me, then? I'm not allowed to know of what you guys are doing, remember?”, Mai spoke with a raised eyebrow and Killua looked at her before nodding.

“Right, you can stay at the Gojo compound and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa. They've always wanted to meet you.”

“The parents of Satoru Gojo…wants to meet me?”, Mai asked with a frown and Killua grinned as he detected the slight hints of hesitance in her voice.

“Oh, yes, they do. Good luck with that. Grandma's going to have about a couple hundred questions for you,” Killua spoke with a grin as he hopped up and out of his chair, enjoying Mai's pained groan while making his way to the entrance.

After all, the Kyoto team would be leaving for their own school today so he might as well see how it's going with the Tokyo Team.

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“Huh, I guess you guys really like training, huh?”, Killua said as he walked down the steps, Yuta stumbling with a slash while Maki raised an eyebrow as she saw the silver-haired boy walking towards them.

“It's calling preparing for the next Goodwill Event, especially since I will be able to partake in it next time,” Maki spoke with a smirk, which Killua matched as he felt the challenge in her stare.

“Is that like you telling me that you could keep up?”

“I think it is. Think you can?”

“I think I might,” Killua answered with a light shrug, but Maki frowned as she noticed the casual tone in his voice.

“Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren't you from the Kyoto team leaving today?”

“We are, but I wanted to first say goodbye to my dad's favourite student.”

“I-I'm not Gojo-sensei's favourite student,” Yuta spoke with a shake of his head and Killua rolled his eyes as Maki snorted.

“Yuta, everyone can see it. He shows a lot more attention to you than he does for the rest of us.”

“That's because he wants to make an equal to you, Yuta. Don't worry, though. You're doing fine, but just don't break under it.”

“That's going to be hard for him considering that he breaks under any sort of pressure,” Maki spoke with a smirk, amused at Yuta's blush while Killua snickered with a nod.

“Oh, then I guess you better make sure he doesn't break. Anywho, it was nice to finally meet the student that Dad adores. Maybe one day, I can finally get that one on one with you, huh?”

“Uh, maybe?”, Yuta sounded unsure, but Killua just nodded before nodding to Maki, turning and beginning to make his way back to the others.

“Before you go?”, Maki called out and Killua blinked as he turned only to see her having a confident yet anxious smirk on her face.

“Think you can go a round before you go?”

“You want to see where you lie?”, Killua figured her true intent was to see where she lied in terms of power compared to the truly strong and it seems he was right as her eyes narrowed and she didn't deny it.

“Got it. How do you wanna do this?”

“First to get knocked down sounds fair.”

“Uh-huh, any handicaps for me?”, He asked and smirked as Maki narrowed her eyes.

“You think you need one?”

“I admit that you feel somewhat strong, but if you want me to take this seriously, this will not be a fun match for you.”

“Good, fun is for weaklings,” Maki spoke while cracking her neck and Killua chuckled as he rolled his shoulders, walking back down the stairs with a smirk.

Stopping a few meters in front of her, he simply gestured for her to begin before stepping to the side as she lunged in with a swift thrust of her staff.

Tilting his head as the weapon missed him, his body sparked as he rushed in, delivering a palm strike to her chest that made her wheeze as he kept his other hand in his pocket.

“You okay?”, Killua asked as he stood waiting, watching as Maki was sent skidding back a bit by the strike before she nodded and stood up straight with a deep breath.

“Cool. That one was to see how good you can tank a hit. Now, let me give you a real one,” With that said, Killua shot forward, vanishing with the sound of electricity and reappearing at Maki's side with a fist already aimed at her head.

The teenager was quick to try and move her head back, but Killua smirked as he stopped his feint and dropped low, delivering a leg sweep that made her stumble.

Hopping up as Maki caught herself, he brought his leg around and delivered a powerful heel kick that smacked her back first into the ground.

“Well,” Killua began as he caught the staff, looking down at Maki with a smirk, “I think I've won this one, right?”

“You're just like your father.”

“Hey, you're the one who said not to go easy,” Killua spoke as he twirled the staff before tossing it back at her as she got to her feet, smiling at Yuta's awe before chuckling as he saw Maki's smirk.

“You're not bad. Next time, though, I'll watch out for that quick feint.”

“Uh-huh, but then I'll just complete the blow and knock you out with the first punch.”

“That…was pretty cool. You didn't even use your cursed energy.”

“Oh, I did at the end. If I didn't I'd be stuck fighting against her raw strength for a while. You've got some real power, Maki, but you just need a little more speed to balance things out.”

“Uh-huh, I'll add that to the list of things I need to improve on. You Special Grades are getting really annoying to try and counter.”

“Hey, you're the one who challenged me. Anyway, now I gotta go before Mai decides to come find me.”

“Did you and Mai talk about what we talked out?”, Maki asked as Killua walked up the steps and he blinked before shaking his head.

“Nope, should I?”

“No, I think you don't need to know. You! Let's get back to your training!”, The quick shift to her trainer persona made Killua snicker as Yuta was bewildered by the rapid change before he began to make his way back to the others.

Mai might come looking for him and if she did, he did not want to deal with Todo coming with.

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“Hey, Mecha. I missed you at breakfast,” Killua spoke with a smile as he sat down beside the robot on the bullet train, the others sitting together as the cursed robot turned to him and nodded.

“You did.”

“Also, you were a bit late to breakfast as well. Did you struggle to plug yourself in for charging last night?”

“Why would I need to do that? I am a remote-controlled puppet that runs on the cursed energy of my user and do not require independent charging,” Mechamaru spoke with a monotone voice and Killua chuckled as he leaned back while resting his hands behind his head.

“I know, Mecha. I'm just messing with you. It's kind of hard to forget how you work when you keep telling everyone like you're proud of it.”

“I am quite proud.”

“Right, right,” Killua murmured before shaking his head as he looked at the robot and continued, “Still, I have to ask. Can you like…eat food or can your human body do that?”

“That would be a no to both. My puppet does not possess the taste receptors or digestive system needed to process food while my main body is fed food in an IV bag.”

“Oh, are you in a private hospital or something?”

“The 'something' would fit more,” Mechamaru answered and Killua hummed at that while pulling his hands back and crossing his arms.

“Hmm, that's a shame. What about dreams? You got any?”

“I…I do have one…”, That made Killua pause as he heard the hesitance and slight melancholy in Mechamaru's voice, staying silent as the robot continued.

“I wish to walk under the sun in my human body, to feel the wind directly on my skin and to speak with my own voice and not through this shell. I wish for dreams of a human life I was never allowed.”

“And what would you do if you could get that opportunity?”

“Anything,” The way he said that made Killua hum as he nodded slowly, his hunch and the gut feeling he had growing stronger and stronger by the second as he sighed.

“Well, that's a solid dream. You want to hear mine?”

“Will you listen if I say no?”

“No,” Killua answered with a grin and Mechamaru sighed before nodding his head.

“Very well. What is your dream?”

“To be free,” Killua answered simply and Mechamaru glanced at the man as the young boy looked forward with a soft smile.

“I want to be free from expectations, bloodlines and the things that people think I should be. I want to live my live for me.”

“Freedom is a rare dream for most to have, especially not those that are seen as the strong.”

“As it turns out, the strong are not free from the responsibility of nurturing and protecting the weak. While we could just leave you guys to fend for yourself, that wouldn't sit right with me so I'm deciding to keep up with helping you guys until you can fend for yourself. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I'm truly ever free so that's my dream: To be truly free from all titles, work and responsibilities.”

“…That…is quite the dream to have,”

“I know.”

“I hope you find it,” Mechamaru spoke and Killua blinked at his words before smiling and patting the robot on his shoulder.

“Thanks and hey, if you ever need help to fulfill your dream, you know where to find me.”

“I will.”

“Well, until the day that we achieve our dreams, we are nothing but cursed children trying to make sense of the chaotic world we are in,” Killua spoke with a sigh and smiled as he heard a soft chuckle coming from the robot.

“Children that are trying not to be consumed by said chaotic world.”

“That we are, my friend. That we are.”

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Watching as the bullet train with the Kyoto students took off, the older woman smiled as she stared at the silver-haired boy through the window, his cursed energy feeling both pleasing and familiar to her.

She had only felt one other with the same type of cursed energy and last she checked, he was still under contract with her so he could not have used some other form of reincarnation to come back.

“Hmm, it appears that this new element might be more fun than I was expecting,” The woman murmured as she caressed the stitching on her forehead, smiling as she took one last look at the train before making her way back up to the surface.

She had wanted to try and activate her seal on the Tokyo compound, but with it having been discovered by a student from Kyoto and with her latest informant under constant watch most likely, she'll have to take her time once again.

'Oh well, it's not like I'm not used to waiting until the right moment to take care of some loose end. Perhaps I'll ask a few of my men in the Kyoto school to keep a look out for that Killua boy,' After all, if the God of Thunder had a descendant walking around, Kenjaku could only wonder what else the chaotic mess that is fate in store for her.

A/N: And we end it off with the mastermind themselves finally revealed as well as another hint of who Killua's ancestor could be.

I mean, at this point, I'm just being blatant about it without being blatant about it.

Anyway, next chapter: Back in Kyoto and a new Special…Wait, what is that?

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!