A/N: SPOILERS AHEAD, TREAD WITH CAUTION.
So, our favourite author, Yoshiro Togashi, has decided that after the end of the Alluka/Rescue Gon arc, that Gon ought to lose his Nen, return to Whale Island and become a regular person…while Killua hits the road with his sister/brother. This authoress is obviously not pleased with this idea, hence the birth of the story. Except instead of re-writing the ending, I am writing a new epilogue.
6 years later.
A lot can happen in 6 years, at the same time, some things never change.
"Thanks Ossan! I'll see you at 6pm!" Gon waved enthusiastically at the fisherman who dropped him off at the city.
The burly old man waved the overenthusiastic youth off, it was always a pleasure to have that kid on the boat.
17 year old Gon Freeces has been retired as a hunter for 6 years now, much to Mito's delight and is starting his first day at high school on a nearby town. Transport to the school had been a problem, until the fishermen on the island stepped up to ferry their favourite kid to and fro school. So here is Gon, all ready for his first day of school. Real school, not some virtual classroom on the boxy screen of his antique computer.
"Oh crap!" A quick glance at his watch and Gon knew that if he did not hurry, he would be late for the entrance ceremony. A giant leap and him on the roof of the nearest building, leaving bystanders to gape at the teen flying from roof to roof towards Winter Academy.
17 year old Mina Chele looked out the window at the gate of the school boredly. Another day, another school year. Having been at Winter Academy since age 6, she had long since grew bored of the repetitive school life year after year. She wanted to leave the town, see the world! But…
Subconsciously, Mina grabbed her legs and sighed…it was nice to dream.
It was then that she realized something odd with the scene outside the window. A black dot was approaching the school gate at an inhuman speed, then jumped over the gate completely before disappearing from Mina's view.
"Was that a…-OH MY GOD!"
Right by her window was a young boy with the wildest hair she has ever seen, looking at her with a sheepish grin.
"Hi, I'm Gon Freeces, can you open the window for me please?" Said the boy.
Mina nodded dumbly and opened the window. Gon lept in gracefully, leaving her to gawk at him as he adjusted his windblown hair and uniform.
"Where are my manners," Gon admonished himself. "I'm Gon Freeces from Whale Island, you are?"
"Mina Chele from Fiore," she replied automatically. The part of her brain that was still functioning face palmed at her own reply, of course she is from Fiore, the freaking school is in Fiore.
"Nice to meet you Mina-san!" Gon said with a bright smile.
The bell chose then to ring snapping Mina out of her reverie.
"Oh crap, the entrance ceremony! Shall we go?" Gon asked with urgency in his voice.
Mina nodded and waited…
"Um Mina-san?" Gon asked again.
Well this was new, Mina blinked; releasing the brakes on her wheelchair she wheeled herself to the door where Gon waited. Usually people would offer to help her, then again the boy before has already defied enough common sense today, she shouldn't be so shocked.
Looks like it wouldn't be a boring school year after all.
Mina chipped another block off the wood in her hand as she listened to the chatter behind her, trying to tune out all the noise. It has been two months into school, but the buzz surrounding the new student still have not died down. Logically she understood, Winter Academy was a selective school, students in the school usually enter when they are 6 and stay all the way through to high school. New students are rare, and students from outside Fiore even more so. And it definitely did not help that the new student was apparently a retired Hunter.
"Gon-san! Can you tell us about the Hunter Exam again?"
"Gon-san, is it true that you fought in the war with the Chimera ants?"
With popularity came jealousy, once people found out Gon was a Hunter, many disbelieving male student had come to class to pick a fight, only to have their ass handed to them, cheerfully, by the bright-eyed raven.
Mina never doubted though, she had seen him perform inhuman acts first hand after all. Her question was, what was a Hunter doing in school. Being seated behind Gon meant that she was privy to many humble retelling of his glory days, and the more stories he shared, the more confused she got.
Why would he trade a life of adventure for the boring classroom!?
Gon, with his natural charm and charisma found himself swimming in popularity before the first week of school was up. Studies were undoubtedly harder, but he found the social environment in school a refreshing change, and although his classmates were no Killua or Leorio, they were all kind and amiable people. 'Except for Mina-san,' his mind supplied as he felt the frosty stare of the girl seated behind him. He had apologized for scaring her on the first day of school but it seemed that the girl held a grudge, for there was nothing else that could explain her hostile demeanor towards him.
So it was no surprise that fate, being the bitch that she was, would assign her as his project partner for art.
"Mina-san, for the art project, I sort of need to catch the ferry home afterschool, could we maybe discuss it at lunch time tomorrow?" He asked sheepishly. Mito had suggested that he move into the school dorms, but Gon felt that he had been away from long enough during his Hunter days and stubbornly refused. So commuting between home and school cost him his social life, he could live with that.
"I'll follow you back," she replied matter of factly as she packed her bag.
"Sorry?" Gon asked, blinking rapidly in confusion.
"I'll follow you back to Whale Island," she stated again. Looking at the gob-smacked face before her, she asked again, "Is there a problem?"
Gon opened his mouth and closed it again, Mito-san have been bugging him to bring friends home for a while now…it was just… "Won't your parents worry?"
Defiance flashed in her eyes at his question, "School comes first," she answered diplomatically.
Gon nodded, "Lets go then?"
Mina nodded and wheeled herself out the classroom.
That was how their friendship started, and as the friendship between the two blossomed, Mina only found more questions about her hyperactive friend.
At first she had assumed that he had retired due to injury, but that did not seem to be the case as he took her fishing for the King of the Swamp for the school's biology project. Then she thought perhaps he had grown tired of the volatile lifestyle. But Gon's eyes always light up whenever he talks about his old adventures, or whenever someone brings up some new exciting development/discovery that is on the news. The more she observed her classmate, the less excuses she had for her friend and it had come to a point whereby she could find no more reasons for his retirement. And so, she asked.
"Gon, why did you retire as a Hunter?" She asked him one day after dinner at his house.
"…Well," and then Gon launched into the fateful battle that rendered him almost dead, how Killua and Alluka saved him, how he lost his Nen, what is Nen, his dad's advice, how Mito had him catch up on school…
Mina listened respectfully as she sipped her tea and when Gon finished his tale, she stared at him for minutes before speaking up.
"So…why did you retire as a Hunter again?" She repeated her question.
Gon was about to repeat his story but was cut off by her.
"No no, I understand the whole you lost your Nen thing but aside from that all I got was, your Aunt signed you up for school… that doesn't explain why you retired. Did you even actually decide to retire?" She asked.
Gon stopped short and looked contemplative, "No…I didn't…I guess it just sort of…happened? I mean, Ging told me to think about what I want to do and school seemed like something good to do while I thought about it."
"Well, have you thought about it?" Mina asked expectantly.
"About?" Gon asked.
"What you want to do with your life!" Mina all but exclaimed. Really this was getting ridiculous.
Gon opened his mouth to answer, only to find that he had nothing to say. What did he want to do with his life?
"You have to be kidding me…" Mina muttered. "Gon, why are you in school? What you studying for?" She asked.
"I…I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do," He answered truthfully.
"But what do you WANT to do!?" She pushed.
"I…" Gon trailed off.
"You loved travelling no? Exploring the world? Finding your father can't be your only life dream!" She ranted, more to herself than him.
"I do! Travelling was amazing, the world is amazing. There are so many different species of animals, and people with all sorts of different stories out there," Gon defended. But it only served to incense Mina even more.
"Then!? Gon, I may only have known you for half a year but anyone with eyes can see that you're a free spirit. Above and beyond that, you have all these strong beliefs…don't even try to deny it!" She said as Gon poised to retort. "Every time we bring up some policy you disagree with in class, you get so angry that even the teacher gets scared. Thing is, unlike the rest of us, you actually have the power to change them, you're a Hunter! And from what you've said, it's obvious that you love being on the road…Why are you settling for this life!?"
Gon wanted to have an answer for his friend, but fact was, he didn't have one, not one that will satisfy her. Why indeed? But there was on query of hers that he could answer, "Mito-san will miss me if I leave again."
"Excuses…"
"What?"
"I thought you had a good reason. I really did, but at the end of the day you were just another one of those people wasting your life away when you can do anything you want to. You're an ungrateful bastard Gon Freeces. You have everything. You have the freedom to see the world, the power to change things and yet you build yourself a cage, sit around in it wasting your life away." She spat out.
It took Gon a while to realize why his friend was so upset that she was crying when he saw how hard she was gripping her own legs.
"I'm sorry…" he said. It's always been her dream to travel the world wasn't it.
"It's not even a legit excuse! No one's asking you to leave home for good. You can always come back and visit!" She cried out indignantly.
Gon nodded.
Maybe it's time to take his dad's advice seriously…What did he want to do with his life?
In a theme park somewhere
A white haired teen crumpled the letter in his hand angrily before setting in on fire with a spark.
"Onii-chan?" Alluka asked as she felt Killua's killing intent leak.
The gentle tug on his sleeve brought him back to reality and Killua quickly reeled in his killing intent. "Sorry, it's just mom." He spat the last word out bitterly.
6 years was a long time, and innocent Alluka had grown up to be an intelligent young lady. "Is it about that again?" She probed carefully.
The narrowing of Killlua's eyes was all the answer she needed.
They had spent the last 6 years travelling the world in relative peace. Relative because although their dad have not issued a home-coming order, they had Illumi trying to hunt them down and drag Killua home and the dangerous missions Killua sometimes found himself on to pay for their travels.
Despite the peace however, Killua never stopped training, he had someone to protect now, and he'd be damned if he was caught in a situation where he was too weak to protect Alluka. He had long since surpassed Illumi and Hisoka's harassment had grown to become exactly that, harassment. Killua was pretty sure he could give his dad a run for his money now, a fact his mother never shut up about in her letters to them. Letters that were always burnt.
A few months ago however, a note that wasn't from their mother came for them.
'It's time to come home.'
The message was simple, and there was no signature, but Killua didn't need a signature to figure out the handwriting. It was Siva, their dad. Following that, his mother had started mailing in profiles of young women they wanted him to marry so he can take over the family business.
But he doesn't want to go home and he doesn't want to get married…
If only the problem was this simple though. In the span of 6 years, the two siblings have pretty much travelled everywhere (that was safe, because no way he was taking Alluka to some dangerous dessert in the middle of nowhere) and they have both ran out of things to do. Killua's life had always revolved around one person or another. At first it was helping Gon find his dad, then it was taking Alluka around the world…now that he has done both…there was nothing left. All he knew was that he wanted freedom, to forge his own path. Anything but the family business…but what?
Alluka sighed from next to her brother. His aura had gone dark again, a stark contrast to the cheery theme park music. That just wouldn't do now would it?
"Onii-chan, maybe you should talk to Gon-kun about this? Your annual meeting is coming up soon no?" She suggested.
The friendship between the two boys had managed to endure the years and distance apart, they kept up email correspondences and always met once a year, although lately, the letters were starting to become stagnant.
"Mmm…maybe," Killua said offhandedly and ruffled Alluka's hair absentmindedly.
"Onii-chan!" She bristled, she hated it when her brother waved her off. "I'm serious! Talk to Gon-kun about it! Maybe he can help."
Killua let out a tired sigh, "I know you mean well Alluka, but Gon lives in a different life now, I don't want to burden him with this." Indeed, Killua still shared his adventures with Gon, and his letters were always met with excited responses. However there was no denying the rift between their lives as he read Gon's letters. Letters about assignments, friends and teachers…Killua wanted to relate but he simply couldn't. But Gon always sounds so content with his life, who was he, a killer and an assassin to break the peace over his best friend's life? He missed Gon sorely, but if this was the life Gon chose, then Killua and the crazy life that followed him around will stay away respectfully.
Alluka mentally kicked herself, how could she forget about her brother's Gon complex. "I still think you should talk to Gon-kun about this though," she said petulantly. "I know you think you shouldn't disturb his life, but you're his best friend. Even if you guys live a different life now, he still cares about you and will want to help. Besides, maybe he'll have a differently perspective on the matter because his life is different."
"Yea maybe," Killua said with a fake pensiveness.
Alluka knew that this was the best she would get and let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Hey come on now, no sighing," Killua said immediately. Still a siscon, Killua lived to please his dearest baby sister, "Look, I'll talk to Gon about it alright? Just don't sigh," he lied convincingly.
Alluka glared cutely at her brother before smiling happily, "In that case, come on Onii-chan, I want to try out that roller-coaster!"
Killua let his sister drag him away as he drafted what he will share with Gon in their upcoming meeting, he'd rather kill himself before worrying Gon again.
Gon slept poorly that night, Mina's words echoing in his head.
What did he want to do with his life?
Perhaps before contemplating this question, he should answer her first question, why did he retire?
Unable to think properly lying down, Gon threw off his sheets and climbed out his window, to the top of the tree that had entwined itself with their house. The starry sky on Whale Island looked the same as it did 6 years ago, when Killua visited home with him.
"Wonder what's Killua up to right now?" He said to himself. Their annual meet up was coming up and he couldn't wait to listen to more of Killua and Alluka's travel stories. Although he wouldn't admit it, there was always a small part of him that was incredibly jealous of Killua's adventures. Whenever Alluka pulls out photos of a new mountain, an uncontrollable impulse of 'I want to go there!' will bubble from within him, but he always squashed it with his logical mind. 'You have an exam coming up' 'Summer break is too short for you to travel that far.'
"Excuses!"
Mina's voice sounded in his head again.
Gon tilted his head up towarde the sky and sighed. They were excuses. He hadn't given a damn about all that when he decided he wanted to find Ging. It was like he said, he wanted to find Ging more than he wanted to meet Ging. He was an explorer at heart…so why did he retire?
'Aunt Mito will be sad,' his mind supplied.
Gon let his thoughts drift to the darker part of his mind.
If he was honest with himself, when Aunt Mito looked at him with that happy and relieved smile when he told her that he had returned to normalcy that was when he decided to retire. He was selfish when he declared that he wanted to search for Ging, supportive or not, he had upset Mito-san and matured by his experiences, he realized he can't be that selfish anymore.
'And you don't want her to hate you,' the brutally honest voice in his head supplied again.
Gon sighed. That was the biggest reason wasn't it?
Mito-san always spoke of Ging so negatively, of his travels and big dreams with such a bitter voice that Gon never wants her to think of him in the same way. So bitter and full of hate. Gon didn't think he could live with himself if Mito-san hated him. That woman was his mother. So he stayed, he went to school, because it made Mito-san happy and made sure that she didn't end up hating him.
"Excuses." Mina's angry voice said again.
The simple part of his mind knew that his fear was stupid and unfounded. Mito-san loved him and she wouldn't hate him if he made a choice she didn't approve of…he was just being a coward, not wanting to face confrontation with Mito-san, not wanting to upset her…but then, he wasn't being fair to himself was he?
"Bah!" Gon punched the air in frustration, obviously this train of thought just led to a vicious cycle. So instead he decided to focus on Ging's question for him.
'What do you want to do with your life?'
Gon knew he wanted to do something, that was for sure. He wanted to do something fun, different and most importantly, help people.
How does being a hunter help people though?
Gon thought about it, he supposed Gourmet Hunters discovered new delicacies for people while Blacklist Hunters hunted down dangerous bad guys…but in general Hunters were selfish people. Bisuke hunts down rare gems, and though she has fought in many deciding battles that saved man-kind and taught many young hunters, her jewel hunting doesn't actually do much for anyone. Come to think of it, most Hunters became Hunters for selfish reasons, such as access to money, information or resources to achieve their own dreams.
Leorio was an exception to that…he became a hunter to become a doctor to help people.
Thinking of his long-time friend, Gon smiled. Leorio had definitely achieved that dream of his. With his unique Nen ability and medical knowledge, Leorio have invented many procedures that cured diseases and afflictions normally would be incurable. Leorio was now part of the Hunter Association's medical team and was a well-respected practitioner.
So what could he, Gon Freeces, do to help people?
Gon knew he was stubborn and bull-headed and talented in fighting…but that somehow didn't seem all that helpful. He knew he always stood up for what he thought was right, 'And have Killua chew my head off for being stupid', he added with a grin.
He couldn't even fight for people anymore though, ever since he lost his Nen powers… Gon had briefly toyed with the idea of training to gain access to Nen again, but he had pledged to give up anything to win the battle, it didn't seem fair that he can just casually train and become a Nen user again.
So what does that leave him?
"Gah! I don't know!" Gon screamed.
But he knew one thing though, he will talk to Mito-san about his fears and problems. That's at least one step forward. He's been stagnant long enough.
"You are an idiot," Mito said promptly as Gon confessed his fears.
"Hehe…" Gon laughed, rubbing the back of his head habitually.
"How can you think I'll hate you just because you want to gallivant around the world!" She asked angrily.
"Well you always talk about Ging's travels so scathingly…" Gon said with a tiny voice.
"He's a completely different case! He just left and the next time he came back was 20 years later, with a BABY. And then he just dumped the baby here! I'm mad at him for abandoning you! You on the other hand, aside from not writing frequently at least came home to visit and even brought your friend home, that already places you above him in my book. Of course I'll miss you, but it's not like you're not coming home right…?" She asked threateningly.
Gon put his hand up and shook his head wildly, "Of course not! I'll make sure I visit at least once a month!"
"Every 3 months, but you better send emails every week and call every month," Mito-san interjected.
"What?" Gon asked, shocked. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
"I don't think you can help anyone much in just 4 weeks, 3 months seem more realistic, but I mean it, I you don't write every week, I WILL hunt you down," Mito said half-seriously.
Gon felt the corner of his eyes fill up with tears, "Mito-san…thank you."
The woman said nothing and instead got up from her seat and walked over to Gon.
"Don't stand up," she said to him as Gon was about to get off his seat too. "You're far too tall these days you know that? Gosh you grow up so quickly," she rambled on as she embraced him.
Gon returned the hug, burying his face into his surrogate mother's neck. He will never forget how home smells.
Breaking the hug, Mito looked at him contemplatively, "So that just leaves us with one problem, what will you do?"
Gon bit his lip at the question, he still haven't quite figured that part out. "Well…that's the thing, I haven't really figured that part out yet…" He said, poking his fingers together as he did. Of course, Mito being who she was wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily, and so under her glare he confessed his second insecurity.
"All I know is that I'm good at fighting? And standing up for people I guess…" He admitted shyly. Mito smiled at how humble her boy was. "But now that I've lost my Nen…I'm no use in a real fight with Nen users…and I mean administration jobs really aren't me." Gon said.
"Why don't you just learn Nen again?" Mito asked, direct as usual.
With a sigh, Gon told her about the Chimera fight that he had so carefully hidden from her over the years. A slap and a hug later. Mito finally calmed down enough to offer her motherly advice.
"You know, as much as you may not believe it," she started. Although Gon had grew up much over the years, he was still innocently and naïve in many ways, "The world isn't a fair place. There won't be some higher power up that that will punish you if you tried to learn Nen again."
Gon looked like he was about to protest the point, Mito-san evidently didn't understand Nen.
"And if Killua really did save you the way he did…there was powers in this world that defy logic and fairness," she cut him off. "Besides, if there really were higher powers, I doubt they'd punish you for learning Nen to help people," She added.
Gon nodded slowly, he wasn't learning Nen for selfish reasons…yes he loved fighting, but he needed to know Nen to be of any help…wrapping his mind around Mito-san's logic Gon came to a conclusion.
"I was being an idiot wasn't I?"
Mito looked at him with a deadpanned look.
Breaking out into a grin, he got up and gave Mito a smothering hug, "I love you Mito-san!"
Said woman would be swimming in feelings had she not be suffocating.
"Gon, Gon! We've talked about this! You're getting too old and too big for this!" She protested as she struggled to get out of the boy's hold. That boy really was getting too strong for his own good.
Gon returned to his room with a spring in his step.
Now he just needed to talk to Killua!
It was his job to come up with the idea, but it was Killua's job to think of the plan.
4 people sat awkwardly in a maid café in Fiore.
"So..." Killua eyed the girl in the wheelchair next to Gon.
"Killua, this is Mina, Mina this is Killua!" Gon introduced happily, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.
Great, now Gon was bringing strangers to their meetings. Killua sighed. "So you said that you had something to tell me?" Killua asked curtly. Alluka glared at her brother's rudeness.
"Yup!" Gon replied excitedly. He wondered how Killua would react when he asks him to train him in Nen again.
Killua stared at Mina meaningfully, was the girl going to stay around for their talk.
"Maybe I should go…" Mina said, catching the hint.
"Eh, why? I want you to listen to this too," Gon said innocently.
Mina face palmed inwardly while Killua did so physically.
"Um…I think what Onii-chan means to say is that he doesn't really know Mina-san, so he's not comfortable having her around when you guys catch up," Alluka pointed out nervously.
"Oh," Gon nodded in realization. "Well, sorry Killua, do you mind if she stayed around because…I kind of need to tell her this too…" Gon said.
Killua sighed, "Do whatever you like Gon." Some things never change do they, he smiled bitterly.
"Thank you!" Gon grinned widely and just like that Killua's anger was toned down to mere annoyance.
"So?" Killua asked as he took a chunk of his chocolate cake. Gon was right, their cake was good.
"Killua will you train me in Nen again?" Gon said without any preempting.
Expectantly, Killua choked on his cake.
"What!?" He yelled. Oh no, hell no, Killua Zoldyck is NOT teacher material. "No no no, Gon, I can help you find Bisuke or Wing-san if you want to learn Nen again, I can't teach. I don't know how to teach!" He scrambled.
But Gon was adamant, and Killua knew he had lost the fight the moment he saw determination shining in those brown eyes.
"It's not that Bisuke or Wing-san isn't good enough. It' just…it has to be you. If it's not you, I won't be able to learn Nen again. It's got to be you Killua." Gon said earnestly.
Alluka looked up and saw the Killua's clenched fist, the only action that betrayed her brother's reaction.
Casting his eyes downwards so as to not let the tears show, Killua thought back to the dodge ball battle in Greed Island all those years ago. Stupid Gon…
"I've got no patience."
"I know."
"I'm going to yell at you a lot."
"I know."
"It's not going to be easy."
"I know."
"Fine." Killua acquiesced.
"YES!" Gon fist pumped, drawing attention of everyone else in the café.
"So what brought this on?" Killua asked with a sigh as he downed his tea, wishing it was alcohol instead.
Gon cast a quick glance at Mina, before speaking up. "I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life…for the longest time my dream was just to find Ging and well, I found him. Since then I didn't really know what to do. If I had my Nen I would have probably ran off with him, but I didn't…his path didn't become my path and for that I'm really glad. But what I'm doing now, this isn't my path either you know? It's what Mito-san wants from me…or what I think she wants for me. She just wants me to be happy…and I'm not happy just sitting around in school. I want to do something with my life. I want to help people."
Mina listened to his speech with a soft but sad smile, so he finally decided to do something with himself, it's about time. A small part of her bubbled with jealousy but a larger part of her was happy for him.
"So what exactly do you want to do?" Killua asked cooly, preparing himself for another one of Gon's crazy schemes.
"I don't know." Gon chirped.
"I see…wait what!? YOU DON'T KNOW!?" Killua slammed his drink down on the table in disbelief. "You call me all the way here to train you in Nen for a reason you don't even know!?"
"Well I know I want to help people…" Gon said sheepishly, it was just like the good old days.
"Help the people HOW?" Killua asked, ready to pull his best friend into a headlock because that was how their relationship worked.
"Well…that's why I have you right?" Gon said with a smile.
"Why you little," This time Killua did pull Gon into a headlock while the latter laughed and screamed for mercy at the same time.
Gon needed him, he was needed again. Killua felt the anxiety that had been eating away at him all these months melt away. Stupid Gon. There he was, plucking up the courage to talk to Gon about not knowing what to do with his life and there was Gon, busting in with a solution, blowing all of Killua's plans into the water. Oh how he missed his best friend.
Obviously the 4 of them got booted out of the café.
The streets of Fiore was bathed in liquid gold as the sun made is descent over the horizon.
"You can join the Hunter Association team…" Killua said with mild disdain…he was running out of ideas on how to achieve Gon's dreams.
"Yea, I don't think that'd work too well for me…" Gon said. He never did well in an organized institution.
"Well then you come up with something, you've been shooting down my ideas for the past hour!" Killua grumbled as he took a huge bite of his ice-cream with more force than necessary.
Alluka walked along-side Mina who was struggling to keep up with the boys' fast paces, smiling. Both her and the mysterious force that shared her body with her were happy to see her brother so lively after so long. "They're really good friends aren't they?" Alluka said to Mina, only to be met with the silence.
Next to her, the girl looked deep in thought.
"Mina-san?" She asked again.
Suddenly, the girl just stopped all together.
"Gon!" She called out, pausing the two boys in their steps.
"Yea?" "Yes woman?"
"I think I know what you can do," Mina said.
"What!?" The two boys exclaimed at the same time.
"Yea, I was thinking. Since you're such a busy-body and you don't really know what you want to do, why don't you form a task force and just go around looking for issues and problems you want to fix? It beats doing it with an institution where there are tons of systems and administration and this way you get to help people without limiting yourself to one thing," she explained.
"Oh..so like mercenaries, but good ones?" Alluka asked.
Mina nodded her head, then shook it, "Yes and no. Kind of like…a party that just goes around, doing stuff?" She tried to explain.
"Oh yes, that was such a helpful explanation," Killua threw in reflexively and then asked more seriously, "So it'll be on a project basis?"
Mina nodded, eyes pensive, "Yea, so like I guess you'll need to establish an information network of some sort, travel around a bit and find something in the area you're interested in… Like Gon kept saying that they should build some kind of air filtering system in the caves for the miners here," she thought back to Gon's outburst in class a few weeks ago.
Killua tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Excavating mountains is a good way to practice Nen," he had learned this first hand with Bisuke. "And the purifying rocks from the Gombi Dessert will probably fix the air issue…" Not to mention the trip there will be great training for Gon…
"But where will we get the money?" Alluka asked, obviously already onboard the idea.
"Your family runs an assassination business right?" Mina asked Killua.
"Yea, what about it?" Killua shot back.
"I'm sure Gon will disagree, but some people really need to die, maybe you can get money from those missions to fund the team, I doubt Gon wants to charge people he wants to help," Mina suggested.
A light bulb switched on in Killua's head, modern day Robin Hood…that could work…his mom will whine about the decreased income, his dad will probably force him to take over the house before making any changes…or he can just open a new business altogether…these things can be resolved though; plus when all else fails there are always freelance Hunter Association missions.
"As long as you don't involve me in the assassinations," Gon stipulated.
"And aren't there permits we need to get to do these things?" Alluka asked again.
"And the miners have these medical conditions too, if you want to fix things you should do it properly," Mina added.
"Kurapica!" "Leorio!" The two boys said simultaneously.
Gon's eyes were shining at this juncture, "Leorio was just saying that he was really bored of his job at the Hunter Association anyways, and he said that Kurapica is about done with all the politics in the association."
"And Kurapica wants to find the score to help Senritsu return to normal, you'll probably want to butt your head into that too," Killua added mercilessly, at which Gon just stuck his tongue out.
Things were coming together finally.
"Well it looks like you guys know what you're doing, so I'll be heading home first," Mina punctured in just as the two boys began their heated discussion.
"What do you mean?" Gon piped up.
"Yea, you're part of this now, you planted this crazy idea in his head, you better take some responsibility for it." Killua retorted.
Mina looked at the two with sad eyes, "I won't be of much help," she said after a while, gripping her wheelchair tightly.
"Excuses," Gon said, causing her to snap her head up.
"What?" Mina chortled indignantly.
"Excuses. You want to join us, I know you do, then join us!" He said.
"You think I don't want to!? In case you haven't realized, I'm an invalid here!" She yelled back.
"Excuses, what does that have to do with joining us? Just cause you can't walk doesn't mean you can't help, you didn't let your inability stop you from sculpting!" Gon yelled back.
The argument continued a little longer while the Zoldyck siblings looked on. Gently, Alluka tugged on her brother's sleeves.
"Killua," Nanika asked using Alluka's voice, "Can I?"
Killua looked at the bickering two, and shrugged, "Just this once k, don't make a habit of it, curing people is Leorio's job." Alluka and Nanika nodded happily.
Walking straight into the argument, Nanika placed her hands on Mina, and a small lightshow later, the girl was stumbling on her feet.
"How the hell!?" She looked at Killua who was now carrying a sleeping Alluka smugly.
"So will you join us now?" Gon asked.
"I hope you guys don't mind being accused of kidnapping," Mina said. Her parents are going to be so furious. But this was her chance, and she knew if she didn't take it now, it will never come again.
"Now that that that's sorted, can we please go for dinner, I miss Mito-san's cooking," Killua complained.
"And I need to write to Leorio and Kurapica too!" Gon said, still buzzing with excitement. Then after a short pause, "But we already missed the boat, how are we going back to Whale Island?" He asked.
Instead of answering, Killua tossed him a pair of keys, "If you crash my hovercraft, I will kill you," he said semi-seriously.
Gon looked at his best friend with shining eyes, a hover craft, Killua's going to let him drive his hovercraft!? A sense of dejavu hit the young Freeces, he remember being equally stunned, and happy, when he saw his bank statement for the first time after getting to the 100th floor in the Battle Tower.
"Thanks Killua, what will I do without you," Gon said sincerely.
"What will I do without you," Killua muttered back softly.
And so, all was right in the world again.