Vulnerable

When one spoke of warriors, they often repeated the same words – magnificent, strong, brutes, speed faster than the eye could follow and so on. But when one spoke of warriors, the image that came to mind was almost always of great, hulking men in chain-mail or armor or the rags of an outlaw.

Most did not imagine Gon Freeks, Killua Zoldyac, Kurapika Kurta and Doctor Leorio Paradinight when one spoke of warriors, even though every one of them had every right to that title.

To most, they just looked like a band of misfits or some equally dysfunctional group. None could even guess what skills and knowledge of combat they possessed. They were too busy gushing over their fictional heroes to notice the real ones.

They talked of hardships and trials, of overcoming one's fear and growing stronger. They spoke of morals and damsels in distress, hefty bounties and how love always prevailed. Because fear never held heroes back. Because weakness drove heroes to seek out the strength within them.

Yet, there was a third word – a third taboo.

This taboo was one only the warriors knew about. It was the single moment of weakness, the moment you let your guard down for whatever reason.

Kurapika was vulnerable to anger, and easily lost himself to it. He'd crush anything in his path, stomp over the broken bones of his enemies and it still wouldn't be enough because those people were not of the Phantom Troop. It was rather ironic, that he was strongest at his most vulnerable.

Leorio was vulnerable to rash decisions and good intentions that went askew. There was a fierce over-protectiveness about him and that coupled with his thoughtless nature often led to trouble. He was the most vulnerable when those around him were so as well.

Gon was vulnerable only in the physical sense, and perhaps matters concerning his father. He didn't speak about it often with his companions, only to say that he would find him and that he would be just as good, if not a better, Hunter than him. There was no place for doubt in his heart.

But out of the group, no one would have ever called Killua vulnerable. He was the second youngest of the group, that was true, but he was also on par with Kurapika when it came to skills and strength in battle. He could take care of himself.

Which was the problem, actually. Killua didn't really need any of them – yet he did, in his own way. He'd drifted in and out of countries and cities and all sorts of people and yet nothing had managed to tie him down. He'd had no friends, nowhere to go to except back home, where they'd only send him out on a new mission a few days later.

To Killua, nothing had mattered... until he met Gon.

Gon himself, hadn't seen how much of an effect he'd had on his friend until he'd almost lost Killua. But, in the end, they'd been reunited. Killua had come back to them, a smile so bright and so wide the bruises on his face had probably throbbed for hours after.

And there was something strangely wonderful and fragile in his eyes during those rare, honest smiles of his. Those smiles that were there only because Gon had put them there, because Gon – selfish, childish and determined – had become Killua's first and best friend. Because Killua trusted Gon more than anyone else in the world – even most of his own family – and Gon had a way of brightening Killua's days like none other.

And selfishly, Gon was rather proud of this.

Not because he had such power over Killua, but because his friend trusted him enough to know that Gon would never intentionally hurt him.

All of them were vulnerable to each other, in their own ways.

Kurapika was vulnerable to Leorio and Leorio to Kurapika – because they could understand each others burdens and trials – and Killua was vulnerable to Gon and Gon trusted them all with his life. This friendship and loyalty, this mutual understanding and unintentional kindnesses – they mellowed each other's walls, just enough to slip past them.

They'd realized this some time ago – that each one of them was vulnerable to the others in their own ways – and, truthfully, they wouldn't have it any other way.

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