Here's a small index of the stories to expect.

Story 1: Fortieth Chance (Chapters 1-3) 14,013 words, Complete
Gon is on his own in nearly every aspect of his life. A hospitalized dad, no mother, and an overtime job he's much too young to work, he doesn't realize how lonely he is until meeting Killua. Instant connection and now he wants to stay together forever. The world was not that forgiving.

Story 2: XL Chocolate (Chapters 4-6) 16,899 words, Complete
Killua as you know him; sarcastic, the heir to the Zoldyck family, bored with life…but not a hunter. He tried running once when he was twelve. It was all in vain. Now he's isolated and more shut off from the world than ever. Obviously the one entity who could break through his shell, make him feel love for the first time, is a dirty black puppy.

Story 3: I've Found You (Chapters 7-9) 45,109 words, Complete
Gon works as an unpaid slave under the watchful eyes of the Spiders, his family dead and forced to live out his days paying back his father's debt. He thought this was it until a strange man walked in and bought him out. Not as a slave, but a bride for some wealthy but snappish CEO named Killua.

Story 4: Picture Perfect (Chapters 10-12) 24,529 words, Complete
Killua is a journalist serving the corrupted government which uses his passion for photography and boyish charm to catch S-ranked criminals. The method? Get him to seduce each crook's daughter and gain their trust. But the first target he has trouble with in years, a moronic boy Gon Freecss, may pull the exact opposite.

Story 5: The Addictive: Falling Down (Chapters 13-) ? words, Incomplete
Adopted from kIlLuAl0v3s
Gon decides to take the job as a janitor at a suspicious brothel as a last-ditch effort to pay off bills, despite having a phobia of germs and sexual contact. That seems easy, right? There are two important rules: the customer is always right, and never fall in love with any of the hookers.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Story 1: Fortieth Chance Part I

A small body flung out from the appendages tangled on the bed barely a moment after the clock struck six. Six A.M. That was always the time Gon woke up. He could already hear the chirping birds and yawning sun as the barely audible moans of 'five more minutes' resonated throughout the building. Not him, though. When he struggled to brush his teeth and change while cooking breakfast all at once, he was beaming with excitement at the prospect of meeting his dear friend this morning.

Hinges on the door whined a second after the young teen burst out of the worn-down apartment, clad in school uniform and hands filled with fish snacks. He loved fish snacks. But sometimes he wished they weren't so hard to make. Not to mention- ah, I can't be late! That promise had given his stride an extra spring for the next half hour he ran; only taking time to stop when he reached his destination in the form of a carved yet smooth stone. Finally, he swallowed the last of the crunchy crackers in time to let out one bold yell.

"Mito-san!" Bags and jacket left forgotten, he ran to his guardian and crouched in front of the statue. Energy still overfilled despite running several kilometers. Willing himself to calm down enough to run small fingers across the grave in content, he checked for any new scratches. Not that he minded scratches, of course. Gon thought they were an animal's way of saying hi to Mito since she was such a great mother. He smiled and beamed once more, "guess what Gonta did yesterday? I'm so proud of him!"

And there he stayed for the next hour.

Gon should've guessed this morning he'd be tardy. What was the point stressing out? So, he found himself walking back rather than sprinting as he had just before. His school was kind of weird. It was perched on a tall hill where students would have to walk up stairs just to get to it. Almost to show how important it was. Everyone else just said it was a dumb plot to make their students less obese but Gon thought it was cool. As he finally reached the hills overlooking school grounds without bothering to check his watch, a strong wind blew past him. It almost made his feet lose their balance up the stone steps but luckily he caught himself.

He shook himself from the leaf that landed in his hair, looking up. "Ah, it's windy toda-"

And froze.

And blinked.

There was someone else there other than him.

A unique sight, but a boy with naturally pure white hair and eyes a shade that would leave most seething in envy sat before him on the top step. Counting by his casual yet fashionable attire, he didn't go to the same school. Gon noted that the other hadn't noticed him yet. On the contrary, he seemed bored and what little attention he had was focused on his shoes and a worn out skateboard. The rest seemed to be reserved for something else that was on his mind. Something he would claim to never tell anyone even if threatened at blade point. And now that he looked again, he seemed sad. He just knew he was. The sight looked almost inhuman. In the next moment, the edging on bewildered look Gon wore instantly transformed into a smile.

At first sight, he knew he wanted to be friends.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Gon sighed in slight exasperation as he reached his seat and rested his forehead against the wood of the desk. He wasn't in a bad mood. Just a disappointed one at not being able to talk to that boy on the stairs. Just as the spiky haired teen was about to call out, the other had suddenly upped on his skateboard and left without giving him a single glance. He supposed he really was that distracted. Gon decided it wasn't his own business, but he hated that prospect for some unfathomable reason.

No one at school ever talked to him.

Even the teachers didn't bother scolding or calling home anymore. He recalled one occasion he showed up with a broken leg, hair tousled with mud and eyes gleaming from adrenaline as they struggled to shine past the drops of blood covering their sight. He had missed the king fish again but had the time of his life trying.

For the next hour, the classroom was filled with the scraping of boxes and snipping of scissors as Gon busied himself to tending his injuries in his own seat. Not a single other batting an eye at the sight. He didn't eat that night.

One reason was he was always late or missing school. But there were hundreds of other kids doing the same thing. The only other cause Gon could think up of after hours of trying to do his math homework was possibly because of Ging. Ging was a drug dealer who left Mito and Gon alone for sometimes years on end, only returning to hand over bundles of cash (not that they lasted very long with his drinking habits) and claim that he had a catch. He was a good one too. No one suspected him until that one night the fox-bear was let out of the bag.

Gon had problems deciding if there was anything wrong with it. Ging was Ging, and that's all he really cared about. Bringing himself out of his one-minute depression, the boy contemplated reaching into his bag to take out a bundle of newspapers. It's not like he'd understand anything the teacher was talking about anyway. And no one bothered him. So, he flipped the papers open to the section that interested him most. Not the boring ones that made his head hurt, but the short adventure stories written by up and coming authors.

It had started out exhilarating. The story spoke of two best friends who had done everything together. Then, one day, the older of the two met with her childhood sweetheart who then proceeded to make her fall in love once more. After taking her virginity, he abandoned her with nothing but a used cigarette and an empty room filled with broken promises. She cut her ties with everyone behind to follow him around the globe, despite his constant need to hurt and betray her at every corner. Then, when she returned to her hometown after losing track of him, found him waiting for her at her doorstep. Flowers and ring in hand.

A month before their marriage, the man had once again decided to call it off in a frenzy of confusion and hate. She desperately chased after him as he attempted to weave his way through dark alleys; winds fighting and car horns buzzing. Finally in despair and tears, the woman collapsed in front of a roaring train. Her best friend who hadn't seen nor talked to her in 10 years happened to be walking by and pushed her out of the way in time. Realizing the pain and death he caused, the man proposed to her once more. Then, they moved away to live their dreams together.

Gon put the clipping down. He didn't like the story after all.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

"Hi! This is Gon Freecss."

"Good day to you. We are requesting another deposit by the 14th of October if you wish the treatment of Ging Freecss to be continued. Do you comply?"

The boy sweat dropped at the machine-sounding woman on the other end, but nonetheless talked into the phone like he was being asked about the weather. "Yup, don't worry about it. I almost have the amount I promised to pay."

"Good."

"Can I talk to Ging?" he asked, a hint of hopefulness lining his voice.

"He is currently on medication and had thoroughly requested that you may not contact him."

Gon would be lying if he said it wasn't a bit annoying each time he was told that whenever he asked to talk to his own father. It didn't hurt him exactly. Ging was always a strange topic for him. He cared for the man; but never felt much attachment to him. It was all just…normal. All normal and leveled as can be, no half a storm or preparation for explosions of rage. He guessed one could put it that way.

"Oh, alright then. Thanks for the reminder Sandy-chan and we'll talk some other time!" He always asked everyone for their name.

"Good bye," they both hung up.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Many things were different the next morning. For one, Gon woke up a whole hour later than the last, toothpaste flying to the floor as the smell of eggs filled the kitchen just enough to make his mouth water. Next, when he ran out of the building with toast clasped in his jaw, his fit legs made a turn in the opposite direction. He rarely rushed to school. But there was something he wanted to check before being forced into the gates and once again ignored by every being in the vicinity. And he didn't want time to be wasted.

Without the need to catch his breath, he halted before the familiar pattern of stone as it crossed up the hill and into the sky. They were the same stairs he was on yesterday.

No one was there.

Staring blankly ahead, Gon knew he would just have to keep trying.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

"S-Satotz-san!" Unlike the other employees, Gon didn't refer to him as 'boss' or 'manager'. The taller slightly awkward man didn't mind. He simply stared at the bloodied body of what once was an elegant-looking lady lying in a mess in the corner of the bar. Everyone else seemed to ignore the scene. This murder was a part of the everyday events in their boring lives. Not to mention they were kind of expecting it. The spikey-hair boy was much too honest and trusting for his own good. "Uh, why did you do that?"

Satotz 'hmm-ed' for a few short seconds before withdrawing his gun and standing up like a gentleman preparing to ask a noble to dance. "If it wasn't for your sharp senses, Gon, you would be dead by now."

To no surprise, Gon sighed under his breath. He was on break when a sweet old lady had offered him some orange juice to rehydrate his body after a long day of work at the bar. Since he was under-aged, he couldn't drink any of the free beers or alcoholic beverages offered to him for being an employee. He had no chance to reach a water fountain either. So, he was thirsty all the way through. But, one sip of the liquid and Gon spat it out like poison. He could taste any impurity in food, ranging from flu medicine which could only leave a baby with a 20 minute stomachache, to deadly toxins designed to kill grown men in seconds.

It wasn't the first time someone had attempted to 'murder' him. He was Ging's son. Ging, the famous drug dealer who left countless families broke, ruined, massacred, and separated. These families often hired the mafia to take care of him so the bloodline wouldn't continue, or something. There was no penalty for either being killed or killing someone from the mafia. So, after phoning someone to take the body away, work continued as usual. Of course, after Gon thanked his boss. That was most important.

Sticking his tongue out in practiced carefulness, he reached the end of the hall to the bathroom so his mouth could be washed out. Never swish, but oh how tempting it was. After rinsing it until the bitter-salty taste was gone, he filled another cup and quenched his thirst by gulping half of the large mug in one go. Ah, that feels much better! Suddenly rejuvenated with positive fairies, Gon refilled the glass and beamed. "And just in time; my shift is almost over!"

He came back out half a different person and in a much better mood.

"Hey. How about it then, little chick?"

Only for it to be ruined as his eyes traveled to a familiar fluff of white hair slouching over an isolated counter, a completely wasted yet built man seated next to him.

Gon stared in mild shock. He stared as he noticed the way the larger man leaned into the body beside him, glistening sweat being exchanged from the touch. The way he tried to caress the other's face in an attempt of affection, a stench of his last night out leaking from every motion. The way his sleazy voice whispered sharply in the boy's ear words that no one their age should ever hear. "You're such a pretty young and hot girl. Are you looking for some company tonight?"

The way the white-haired teen's eyes slanted in hidden discomfort.

With no hesitation, Gon marched straight to their table and dumped the contents of his glass all over the perverted man. To the last drop. Bleh!

"G-AHH!" the sleaze-ball bounced up at a speed even Gon would be impressed of. Then hastily took in his surroundings to figure out what happened, the Mach pace a slurred brain could manage at work. A full 10 seconds, and he finally glared at the waiter while pointing to his drenched shirt in anger. "What did you do that for?!"

"Sorry mister!" Gon smiled sincerely, his tongue sticking out in pure childishness. Nope. No regrets. "What you were about to do is illegal and I just saved you from spending some time in prison."

"W-Why you!" The man clenched his fist, obviously pissed he was not only made fun of but embarrassed in front of that beautiful young 'lady' he was about to hook up with. Then, he inwardly smirked.

Head adorned with gravity-defying hair was tilted to express confusion. It didn't look like it'd last. But much to the shock of both him and his company, Gon stepped back a calculated amount right as the wind resonating from what was supposed to be a surprise punch met his face. Just enough for the buffed man to fall over in a heap of flushed and snoring meat. Silence engulfed the remaining two.

Gon poked him, "he fell asleep."

What he saw when he looked up wasn't that same boy he remembered on the stairs. Gon's curious brown eyes met with cold ice ones, devoid of emotion. Devoid of that childish boredom and deep sadness he could detect from a mile away. Gon almost asked how he could see with eyes like that, and if his doctor ever complained about it, but only stopped himself in awe at realizing a smirk morph its way onto the other's face. Some first meeting.

"I saw you." His sneer grew, not of fondness or playfulness, but a rather empty one.

The glass was set on the counter. "You…saw me?"

He nodded in amusement, peering at that spot in the corner where a dead body once lay. "That woman who tried to kill you just now…why did she do it?"

"Oh." Gon understood. That's one of the first things people always asked him. It was also always the reason they chose to avoid him before they even had a chance to become friends with him. He never lied though. "My father is Ging Freecss."

The boy sitting in front of him raised his eyebrow. No one hadn't heard of Ging Freecss at least once. What made the standing waiter blink next was that, instead of screaming bloody murder or coming up with some excuse to leave with his tail between his legs, the edges of his smirk grew wider. "I see."

It was Gon's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"So," he played with the glass that was once in said waiter's hands, still looking blank but by now was frowning, "you're nothing but a dirty son of a bastard that everyone would murder at any chance they have."

"Yup," Gon shrugged.

"Well, I guess you're bound to go wrong."

"Possibly."

"And," Gon didn't flinch as he heard cracks of the glass shattering into pieces in the boy's bare hands, "sometimes you want to just be rid of everyone, don't you?" Just a moment, a short but precise moment anyone else would've missed. Glints of nostalgia bled through the calm violet blue before the storm. One that could be tipped off by lifting a finger, or breathing the wrong way.

Without thinking, Gon asked. "Do you?"

"What?" For the first time, the empty tone dropped.

"You're not talking about me." Without looking away from his blank ocean eyes, "I can tell."

Suppose Gon should think things through more often. Because before he knew it, the dam fell to the waves of the tsunami. Shards of pointy glass were shot his way at frightening speed. It was only with his superhuman reflexes could he avoid any critical hits to the tender parts of his face. Pieces of material still drew thin streams of blood from his forehead to chin, some dripping into his eyebrow. Untouched remnants fell to the ground in an unpleasant ring of a symphony. He'd been cut three times total.

Ah, that was dangerous. I should tell him he could hurt himself!

Just as the painfully forgiving boy was about to turn back to the frustrated teen, he was gone. Perhaps he had been in a rush to go to the bathroom? That was the only reason Gon could think of that he would accidently leave a charred yo-yo behind. One that was obviously cherished despite its state.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

As predicted, everyone at school the next day exchanged frightened whispers at the damage done to Gon's face. Two of the larger cuts adorned his forehead, messily covered by a floppy bandage. The third, while shallow, traced his skin for far longer and had to be attended to with a cloth instead. Despite this, Gon's mood hadn't darkened. In fact, he was just somewhat cheerier that he had finally talked to that lonely white haired enigma who he was determined to have as a friend.

And once he was determined, he never stopped.

This resurrected burst of excitement lasted into lunch, when he pulled out an oversized cooked squid he had caught a day or two ago as he was talking to Mito. Relinquishing the savory bites of seafood, his sensitive hearing caught on to a conversation on the other side of the park. It was interesting. Or at least would do as something cool to think about until the hour was up. Finally someone who wasn't talking about boys or a party coming up on Saturday.

"Yeah, she was beaten day in and day out for showing the least bit imperfection in skill and intellect. Her bruises would heal pretty quickly and she didn't think much of them. She was the heir to a huge company after all." A girly with a slightly frightened aura quietly muttered in response to her friends' wide eyes. "It was all to gain her parent's approval. Of course, such a thing made many enemies for herself."

"Didn't she ever worry about her own being? Like, what if she got caught?"

"Maybe…but they say one night she was stabbed in the head by one of those many enemies out of jealousy, aiming for her frontal lobe so she would never regain her intelligence if she recovered. But they missed by a millimeter and hit her parietal lobe instead. The wound didn't kill but she was put on life support after the first surgery. The doctors said she would be alright other than some delayed responses when reading if she got better."

"Ah, that's a relief!" One of the girls who looked halfway to tears sighed.

"Not quite." The quiet voice spoke up once more. "Her parents claimed an imperfection like that in their heir would gravely damage their reputation, and the life support costed too mu-"

"I thought they were rich!"

She sighed. "They are. That would've been like a penny a day for them. But a penny is a penny, so they cut off her life support and she died. Her story was so double-bladed. Not even heaven nor the devil himself would accept her."

Gon cut the conversation off there and went back to his lunch.

Life support, huh? Reminds me of Ging.

Though, no matter what, he knew he would never abandon his father like that.

"Hey." Gon almost spat out his lunch, chunks of squid coming close to escaping the crevices of his mouth. Luckily he managed to hold his precious meal in. So instead, he choked on it. The other waited patiently for the black-haired teen's show to stop, before bringing his hand out nonchalantly yet expectedly. "Give it back."

Very intelligently, Gon replied, "huh?" And coughed one last time.

"My yo-yo," daggers were sent in the form of a glare, "I know you have it."

He blinked, and then beamed stupidly. "AH…you're right!"

Awkward silence. Tapping foot.

"So?"

Gon tilted his head, "…so?"

"Give it back!" Don't get him wrong. He wasn't the type to lose his anger often. Actually, he was known around these parts to be perfectly calm. His mind was able to handle any dire situation with a blank stare followed by a right answer. Most people feared him for it. It's just, something about dealing with this guy who carried a freaking fishing pole to school made him really pissed off. Then, he just had to drop the bombshell by grinning like a demented dolphin.

"Nope!"

"AND WHY THE HELL NOT?!" Just calm down…breathe in and breathe out.

"Aunt Mito said that when you ask for something from someone, you have to complete one of their requests in return!" Gon had a finger up, akin to a kindergarten teacher getting ready to delve into their first lesson.

This reply only made anger vanish and cold blue eyes harden. Oh, so he was one of those people. "Fine."

"Okay! And my request is…" The teen clad in school uniform threw away his lunch. "Tell me your name!"

"…"

"…"

"…HUH?"

"That's a cool name. Is it Mexican?"

"N-No." He stuttered for the first time in his life. What the heck? He never stuttered! But, a foreign euphoria was overwhelming him, filling his common sense and flipping it backwards. It warped his view into a messed up puddle that he had no idea how to deal with. Thoughts of helplessness and stupidity were all he had. He probably just felt so sorry for how idiotic and blunt this moron was. Yeah…that sounded right. But it didn't necessarily feel bad either. "K-Killua. My name i-is Killua."

"I'm Gon. Gon Freecss." Gon was happy. Finally he could stop referring to him as that white haired kid or the boy with sad eyes. He hated attaching anyone he knew for over 5 minutes with such nicks. That was why he named every animal he encountered on his fishing trips. He ran out a lot, but that didn't stop him. Facing Killua with a small smile, he chanted, "nice to meet you!"

It feels weird. Someone talking to me…

They stood there as a second silence swallowed the space between them. It didn't feel awkward this time. But it felt funny. The frustration that inhabited the air when they met last night was almost completely gone this next day. Weird but comforting. At least, until Killua realized he'd been staring at Gon for far too long. He flushed the slightest pink.

"A deal's a deal. Are you going to give my yo-yo back or not?" And averted his gaze to the skateboard dangling near his feet.

Gon scratched his head, recalling where he had left the treasured toy seconds before running out to eat. Then, through the cover up of an embarrassed chirp, he bluntly told Killua to wait right by the tree. The same tree he had been choking on squid under just a minute ago.

Killua shoved a hand inside his pockets. "Huh, and why do I have to do that?"

"Sorry, I left it in my bag near the side of my desk. Don't worry! I won't be gone too long!" Without pausing to hear any approval or reply, Gon dashed near lightning speed in the direction of the short building, crisscrossing his way up those familiar rock steps. The wind seemed unforgiving today. Randomly, he hoped Killua really would wait for him. It was frustrating; when he would try to talk to him yet the other would somehow disappear into the wind like a quiet assassin each time. It wasn't fair.

Reaching the rundown class in under a minute, he excused himself while stuck in a state of ignorance to the second presence in the room. Instead, his small body dashed for the tattered brown rucksack near the end, fishing pole strapped to his back jingling with every step. While his arms juggled the contents in the bag, pulling out scraps of unfinished essays and broken pencils, Gon swiftly side-stepped to the window. His eyes peered down. A tuft of white shining against the sun, violet shoes picking on the dirt impatiently, and a bored look rested still against the trunk below.

Gon grinned.

"You're in a good mood today, Gon." The aforementioned snapped his head to the voice, spotting a scruffy-looking teen in a wool hat and baggy pants. He seemed to be working on a science project of some sort over eating with his friends. Despite his appearance, he was clearly the top of the class.

"Oh, Pokkle!" Pokkle was one of the only few in a list who wasn't scared to associate with him; Killua being a new addition as of today. Yet while Gon was usually missing school for work, Pokkle was constantly in student council meetings and science competitions. They barely saw each other. So, the black-haired boy's already heightened mood raised even higher.

"I met someone!" He exploded un-expectantly, oblivious to the second meaning that sentence held.

For the first time Gon has known him for, Pokkle gently put his expensive pen down and actually abandoned his work to join him by the window in curiosity. Ecstatic at showing off his new friend, Gon raised a steady hand towards the lone figure by the tree, a breeze choosing to pass through the partially empty yard at that exact moment.

"See? His name's Killua!" He bounced off the heels of his feet, dirty rucksack left forgotten on the floor along with a pile of papers. "He's kind of weird at first but he's really fun to be with. I think you'd like him too, Pokkle! Nee, don't you think?"

Pokkle stayed silent, eyes seemingly dragging across the courtyard in a slow duck walk.

"…Pokkle?"

"Uhm, Gon…" He tapped the windowsill in mild confusion, the rhythm playing an off tune note for the two to hear. Then, he turned back to him.

"I don't see anyone there."

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Before anything else, I'd like to thank Phoenix-Thunder for the inspiration behind Gon's school life in this story. So, thank you for giving permission to reuse that concept!

Hope the first chapter wasn't too horrible, confusing, and boring as I thought it was. And to make things clear, this story will be split into three parts.