The night was quiet throughout Whale Island with not a cloud in the sky and the moon shining brightly in the sky. Crickets chirped and the stars twinkled- the picture of peace. It was 3:15 in the morning and the inhabitants of the small island were sleeping soundly in their beds without a care in the world.
Gon was one of these inhabitants, his fourteen-year-old body lying in bed. His chest rose and fell, soft snores leaving his mouth as he dreamed of adventuring in far off lands with his friends. His left hand rested on his stomach while his right lay beneath his pillow.
On the right side of the bed lay his best friend, Killua. However, unlike the sleeping boy next to him, Killua was not resting so soundly. His white hair was strewn about on his pillow, his face contorted in a painful grimace, and his body was crumpled in on itself in pain. Small whimpers of pain escaped his mouth periodically as he struggled in his dreamless sleep.
A particularly loud whimper caused the older of the two to stir. Gon opened his eyes, lazily rubbing the sleep from them as he looked around trying to figure out where the noise came from. He laid still for a few minutes, considering trying to sleep again when he heard it again. A whimper. His eyes widened as he realized that it came from his friend. He sat up quickly, frowning in worry.
"Killua? Ne, Killua, are you okay?" The white-haired boy stayed still, other than small trembles throughout his body. Gon's frown deepened and he grabbed his shoulder, shaking it. "Killua, wake up! What's wrong? Killua!" The boy finally opened his eyes, blue looking up at brown. Gon felt his heart constrict seeing the pained look in those usually guarded eyes.
"G-Gon… it hurts…" He whimpered, a rare sound that Gon had never actually heard from him before. And it scared him.
"What hurts?" His eyes darted from body part to body part of his dear friend, trying to find evidence of injury. Killua decided to help him out by placing a hand on his right cheek, wincing. "Your cheek?" The boy shook his head.
"Tooth… or jaw… I'm not sure which…" The pain had spread throughout the night and Killua couldn't remember where it had started. He mentally cursed, wanting to be able to hide his suffering from Gon. He never liked feeling weak. But here, lying in bed, with a searing pain in the right side of his jaw and tears pricking his eyes, he really did feel helpless. And as much as it embarrassed him to admit, he wanted nothing more than to cry and for his best friend to hold him as he did so. "It hurts so bad…"
"I'll get you some pain killers- and an ice pack!" Gon ran quickly out of the room, wanting desperately to make his friend feel better. He went to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer on the way out. He hurried to the bathroom where they kept the first aid kit and balanced the water and ice pack on top of it. When he got back into the bedroom, Killua was completely under the blankets. Gon sighed and set everything down on his desk. "Okay, I'm back." He turned on the light, hearing a groan from under the blanket.
"Turn it off!" Gon giggled hearing his friend whine.
"Nope. Medicine first." He dug through the first aid kit before settling on a pain killer that would help Killua sleep. He brought the glass and pills over to the bed. "Come on, open up." The former assassin slowly peeked his head out from under the covers, before finally pulling them down.
"Okay, fine." He muttered, wincing. Slowly, he grabbed the pills and glass from Gon and popped the pills, taking a sip. His face contorted in pain and he whimpered, his cheeks flushing as he did so. Gon frowned and handed him the ice pack.
"Here, maybe this will help a little." Killua smiled a little at his friend, taking it and placing hit gingerly against his swollen jaw.
"Thanks. Sorry about all of this." Gon shook his head, smiling brightly.
"Don't be! I love taking care of you!" He giggled as Killua flushed and looking away.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to say stuff like that!" He winced and Gon laughed louder. "And be quiet! You wanna wake everyone up?" Gon's laughs died down as he looked at his friend sheepishly.
"Sorry. Are you okay to try to sleep again?" Killua nodded, getting back under the covers. Gon shut off the light and laid down next to his friend. "Let me know if you want any more medicine or anything, kay?"
"Yeah. I will. Thanks again." Killua sounded tired, his eyelids already falling shut. Gon smiled and snuggled under the covers as well.
"Good. Good night, Killua." Killua hummed in response and the two fell back to sleep.
...
Two hours later, Gon was awakened by the sound of Killua yelling and thrashing in bed. He sat up quickly, staring at his friend. Killua rarely had nightmares, but then they were, they were horrifying. Gon never asked him about them, wanting to respect his privacy. But that didn't mean that he didn't worry about him.
"Killua?" He placed a hand on his shoulder, regretting it immediately. Killua drew his claws in his sleep and, when Gon placed his hand on his shoulder, the assassin swiped at it, his claws slicing his skin. Gon yelped and pulled his hand back, watching the blood drip onto the sheets as the assassin continued to thrash. Gon didn't know what to do. He was worried that Killua would hurt his jaw more. That being said, he didn't exactly want to be a human scratching post either. He sighed and jumped on him, wrestling with the boy and trying to grab his hands.
…..
Killua groaned in pain, stretching as the sunlight crept through the window. He held his jaw before looking over to find Gon missing. He frowned looking around before seeing his friend asleep on the floor.
"Gon? Why are you on the floor?" The boy in question pulled his blanket over his head, ignoring him. Killua started to grow annoyed, hopping off the bed and walking to him. "Hey, what are you doing down there?" He kicked his friend lightly and Gon tossed the blankets aside. The white-haired boy gasped, his eyes widening, as he was finally able to see his friend's face. He had a black eye and scratches running diagonally down his face. He had even more scratches on his arms and hands as well. "Gon, what-" He gulped, seeing the look in his eyes. Gon was pissed.
"You used your claws in your sleep. You punched me. Care to explain what you were dreaming about?" Killua paled under his friend's glare, taking in his injuries. He did that.
"I- um… It was Illumi… He was coming after us and-" Killua looked down, devastated that he would hurt his friend like that. Gon sighed, sitting up, his eyes soft again.
"Yeah, well, you sleep like a rock. I couldn't get you to wake up for anything!" He grinned and Killua couldn't help but grin back. Though it was short-lived, a sharp pain shooting through his jaw. Worry shown in his friend's eyes. "Does it still hurt? Maybe we should tell Mito-san. She might know what to do." Killua groaned, not wanting to be babied.
"I'm fine." Gon casted him a disapproving glance. On cue, another sharp pain shot through Killua's jaw and he yelped in pain.
"Forget it. I'm telling her. Mito-san!" He yelled before Killua could stop him and sprinted out of the room, Killua right on his heels. "Mito-san! Killua's jaw hurts!"
"Shut up! I'm fine!"
The boys both ran to the back yard where Alluka was helping Gon's aunt and great-grandmother hang laundry. The women gasped when they saw the boys- Killua with his swollen jaw and Gon with his various injuries from the night before.
"Boys, what happened?" Mito dropped her laundry basket and ran over to them, crouching a bit to their level, inspecting their injuries. "Gon, where did you get that black eye and those scratches? Killua, what's wrong with your jaw?" Killua flushed under her gaze, feeling uneasy.
"Oh! Killua just had a nightmare last night and kinda sorta beat me up when I tried to wake him up." Mito's eyes widened, looking from Gon to Killua. Killua looked down, ashamed.
"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to…" Mito sighed and shook her head, smiling a little.
"It's alright, sweetie." Killua blushed deeply, earning a giggle from Gon. She got serious, examining Killua's face and he wondered if that was the type of concerned look mothers were supposed to give their sons. "Now, what happened to your cheek?" She lightly placed a hand on it, causing the boy to flinch. "Oh, sweetheart, it's so swollen! That must be painful! We'll have to get you in to the doctor this afternoon." Killua felt extremely uncomfortable with her fussing over him, not used to the attention. Wait… Doctor?!
"U-Uh, no thanks! That's fine! I don't need a doctor!" The boy had never been to the doctor before since his family was so private. He usually didn't get sick or badly injured, and when he did, they usually just let it run its course. So the idea of a doctor was not a welcome thought. Mito narrowed her eyes and he found himself tensing.
"You're seeing a doctor and that's final. You may need a tooth pulled." Killua's eyes widened and she smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry. The doctor on the island is very good at what he does. There's nothing to be afraid of." Killua looked at Gon for confirmation and he nodded.
"Yeah! He's really nice! I've never had a tooth pulled before though…" Gon frowned and Killua inwardly groaned.
An hour later Killua was dragging his feet, walking with Mito to town to see the doctor. He frowned, hand on his jaw as Mito continued to ramble on about something. Yep, she's definitely related to Gon. Though he was beginning to feel nervous and her talking did distract him, if only a little. Doctor? Pulling teeth? With the nerves came anger. I was trained to be an assassin. Why am I freaking out about a stupid doctor?
"Killua? Are you okay?" The boy looked up at her, feeling guilty seeing Mito's worried look. He quickly wiped the angry look off of his face.
"Uh yeah. Sorry. I'm just…"
"Worried? It's perfectly natural. Nobody likes going to the doctor." She laughed and Killua found that he loved that sound. It reminded him of when Gon laughed. "I used to have to drag Gon to the doctor kicking and screaming… literally. He was always terrified." Killua's eyes widened. Gon? Afraid?
"Really? Can't picture that kid afraid of much of anything." Well not anything around here, anyway. He'd seen him afraid when dealing with Hisoka or when he dealt with the Chimera Ants. When Killua's own life was in danger as well. But for some reason, picturing a crying Gon being dragged across the island for a checkup just wasn't easy. Mito laughed again, smiling at him.
"Oh, he was horrified! That's part of the reason that I didn't think him becoming a hunter was a realistic goal." She sighed and shook her head, "Though he proved me wrong, didn't he?" Killua nodded thinking about his friend.
"Yeah, he's pretty incredible." Mito smiled.
"I'm so proud of him. I'm proud of both of you, actually." Killua's face reddened as he looked away, flustered. She ruffled his hair earning a huff from him, "I mean it. You're a friend of Gon's so you're family. I'm just as proud of you as I am of him."
"Th-Thanks…" He muttered, blushing a deeper shade of red. Mito smiled fondly at him, the smile vanishing when a thought occurred to her. Have his parents never told him something like that before? Has no one ever told him that they're proud of him?
"Sweetheart, can I ask you something?" He nodded in response, still trying to get his blush under control. "What do your parents think of you being a hunter? Of you going on all of these adventures? After all, your sister is with you. They must be worried at least a little bit." They were innocent questions, but they were enough to make Killua flinch. Part of him was grateful that Gon hadn't mentioned his upbringing to Mito, but at the same time it meant that he'd have to lie to her. That was something he really did not want to do.
"Um, it's complicated… But they don't like any of it…" He looked down and Mito frowned.
"Gon told me that your family didn't treat you the greatest." Killua looked at her shocked, "I don't know any details other than him having to get you out after the exam. I can only imagine what you've been through and I can only assume that Alluka has been through the same treatment. I won't pry. But I will tell you that you're safe and loved here. I consider you and Alluka as much of my family as Gon is. If you ever want to talk to me about anything, I won't ever judge you, okay?" Killua hadn't noticed but tears slipped down his cheeks. He never noticed until Mito wiped them away gently, smiling all the while. "Now, let's get your face checked out, shall we?" The boy nodded, still in a daze. She took his hand walking him towards the doctor's office.
….
Mito had to admit that she felt on edge, waiting in the waiting room. She tried to ignore the yelling coming from inside the office but her eyes kept glancing back to the door. She was acutely aware of the nervous stares of other patients waiting to be seen by the doctor. She sighed, slightly embarrassed by the situation, wishing that she had spent more time on the walk over properly preparing Killua for what might happen.
Inside the doctor's office was mass chaos. Poor Killua didn't quite know what to expect. And he certainly didn't expect that he would actually have teeth pulled right then and there. Everything was fine before Mito left the room. The doctor (whose name was Akio, he learned), felt around his swollen jaw. It was painful of course, but the boy expected that much. It was obvious that if the doctor was going to heal him, he'd have to figure out what was wrong. Of course that didn't mean that Killua wasn't extremely uncomfortable with Dr. Akio opening Killua's mouth and prodding around with his glove covered fingers. In truth it took every bit of the boy's self-control to not draw his claws on that man. In the end the doctor sent Mito out, stating that he needed to pull some teeth. Killua, of course, had protested asking why. The questions went ignored, much to his annoyance and Mito left the room after kissing his forehead and telling him that it'd be fine. That was when things got messy.
"Alright, Killua. Just sit back and relax. This should be over fairly quickly." The doctor smiled at him, patting his shoulder. Killua shifted in the reclined seat uncomfortably, gulping. A nurse walked through the door handing Dr. Akio a tray of something that Killua couldn't see. "Don't worry, young man. A lot of people have to have their wisdom teeth removed. It's not a big deal at all."
"Wisdom teeth?" Killua frowned, the doctor's words not calming him in the least. Dr. Akio set down the tray down near the chair and Killua's heart beat rapidly in his chest. Needles. "Wh-What are those for?" Ever since Illumi, he couldn't stand the idea of them.
"Wisdom teeth. Some people don't even get them. Others do and it's not a problem. You don't really need them and at times they can be a nuisance- causing a great deal of pain. So I'm just going to remove yours to keep them from causing any more pain or damage. The needles are for the sedative that I'm going to administer so the procedure won't cause you any pain." Killua paled as he lifted some sort of plastic contraption. In a matter of seconds, the tray was on the floor, the needles and other tools rolling across, with Killua wedged in the top corner of the room by the ceiling. The doctor and nurse look at him with eyes wide. "Noelie, we're going to need more supplies and a few more nurses." Killua's heart pounded, staring at them.
It took fifty-five minutes to talk Killua down from the ceiling and to ease him back into the chair. Even then it took three nurses to hold him down. Of course, Killua could have knocked all of them aside easily. But that wouldn't help the pain in his jaw. Besides, he didn't want to hurt anyone. He found out that the plastic object was to keep his mouth open. It fit inside his cheeks and was slightly painful, but tolerable. He flinched when gloved fingers rubbed a cold gel-like substance on his gums. The entire time the man over him was talking to him but the boy had no idea what he was saying, using every bit of his concentration to keep from knocking the room's occupants unconscious and running for the hills. However he did struggle when the doctor grabbed a syringe with a needle on the end. It's just a sedative. It's okay. This has nothing to do with Illumi. It's just a sedative. He winced when the needles were injected into his gums.
"Now, you're going to start feeling numb and a little tired. That's just the medicine working. Once we start, you won't feel any pain. Just some pulling. It may feel a bit uncomfortable, but bear with me, okay?" Killua nodded already feeling a bit out of it.
…
"Miss Freecss?" Dr. Akio walked into the waiting room and Mito jumped up, looking anxious.
"How was he? Did everything go well, doctor?" He smiled at her, holding up a hand as if to ease her anxiety.
"Don't worry. Killua did just fine once we got him to calm down enough to start. He was very cooperative. I went ahead and removed all four of them so he's definitely going to be sore for a while. But he'll be just fine." Mito looked relieved, letting out the breath she didn't realize that she was holding.
"Good! I'm so glad to hear that. He was nervous so I was afraid he'd be a problem." She frowned, looking around. "Where is he, anyway?"
"He's still in the office. He hasn't come down from the anesthesia, so he's going to be out of it for a bit. Just be sure to give him this medicine every six hours, and to change his gauze and flush his gums with salt water- you know the drill, correct?" Mito nodded and smiled a bit, wondering just how "out of it" Killua would be.
The doctor led her into the office to retrieve the young hunter, finding him giggling looking in a mirror. The poor boy had his red cheeks filled to the brim with cotton and gauze. His head was tilted to the side while he looked into a hand-held mirror, small muffled giggles escaping his mouth. Mito had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Hi, Killua! Are you ready to go back home?" Killua stopped giggling and looked at Mito, grinning at her.
"Hi, Mito-san! I look funny!" He started giggling again and Mito found herself giggling, trying to understand him through the gauze.
"Yes, I suppose that you do." She smiled at him, walking towards him holding out her hand, "How about we go home so Gon can see how silly you look?" Killua's eyes lit up and he hopped off of the chair, stumbling and giggling over his lack of balance.
"Yay! Gon! We gotta go exploring!" Mito giggled leading him out of the office, listening to his babbling in amusement, "I bet Oreo will come with us! And Kur-Kur-" He looked frustrated that he couldn't say Kurapika's name over the gauze.
"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to play with your friends later. But don't leave your sister out, okay Sweetie?" Killua stumbled, waving to the doctors as they left.
"She's booooring! She's always tired and whining!" Killua pouted and looked around as if he was seeing the world for the first time, waving to random strangers. Every so often he would point at something random like a tree and start wandering off. The amused Mito had to keep a constant grip on the boy's hand to ensure that he would stay by her side.
"Now, now, Killua. You have to stay near me." This is going to be a long walk back. Part of her loved the fact that Gon's friend was acting like a bubbly happy child, but there was a fine line between naïve child and complete lunatic.
"Where's Gon? He's so far! GON!" Mito sweatdropped as the boy began yelling Gon's name, trying to spit out gauze. "WOAH! WHAT IS THIS WHITE STUFF?"
"Killua, honey, please be quieter. Gon's at home and we're on our way there now. And that's gauze. Please stop pulling it out." She sighed trying to drag him along. After about five minutes of walking, she was alarmed to hear sniffling. She looked over at the boy, frowning as she watched the boy cry. "Killua? What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Wh-What if Gon doesn't like me anymore? Because I-I look funny and have wh-white stuff in my mouth?" It was hard for the woman to understand him around the bloody string of gauze sticking dangling from his mouth but she had the general idea.
"Oh, Sweetie! Of course he'll still like you!" She patted his head until he calmed down, "I bet he'll be so excited to play with you. You're such a good friend of his and he couldn't wait for you and Alluka to come to Whale Island!" Killua seemed to calm a little and smiled, sniffling.
"Y-You mean it?" She smiled back at him, kissing his forehead and standing up straight again.
"One hundred percent. Gon will always be your friend." Killua hugged her. She looked at him in surprise before hugging him back, smiling warmly. "Let's go home, Killua."
"Kay!" He pulled away, grinning before grabbing her hand again and walking. Mito chuckled to herself, shaking her head as they walked.
…
Inside their small house, Abe was making cookies with Alluka and Gon. She wanted to distract the two because she knew that they were worried about Killua. Though she had to admit that it was a bit unusual for this to be taking all day. Gon perked up, looking towards the door and Abe listened closely.
"Honey, you need to keep that in your mouth." She heard Mito say and Abe was surprised to hear Killua whine in response. Gon giggled before the door opened. Once he saw his friend, however, Gon was in a full-on fit of laughter, along with Alluka.
"Gon!" Killua brightened, seeing his friend. Gon laughed harder hearing the boy trying to talk over the gauze. Killua pouted, "What's so funny?"
"Big brother, you look funny!" Alluka giggled and Killua giggled too.
"I do! Let's go play, guys!" Alluka cheered, giggling with her brother. She found it extremely amusing that her brother was actually being silly. Gon hadn't stopped laughing yet, clutching at his stomach. Never before had he ever thought that he'd see Killua giggle.
"No way. You three aren't going anywhere. Killua has stitches that he has to be careful with and his medicine should be wearing off soon." Mito said sternly, much to Killua's dismay.
"But you said we could play later!"
"After you're all healed up. That's final." The boy crossed his arms, looking like he'd just been betrayed. Alluka whined, obviously wanting to play with her loopy brother.
"Pleeeeease Mito-san?" Mito frowned shaking her head.
"Absolutely not. You can all play together when Killua's healed." The two siblings pouted while Gon finally managed to stop laughing.
"Why don't we watch a movie instead?" The siblings perked up again and cheered, excited for something to do. Gon scratched the back of his head, sweatdropping as he watched them race to the DVD cabinet to pick something out. He quietly took out his beetle phone, turning the video camera on. Leorio and Kurapika won't believe it when I tell them.
…
The former assassin groaned, walking into the living room, careful not to jar his stitches. His gums throbbed and so did his head for that matter. He was also in quite the rotten mood since he didn't remember anything after arriving at the doctor's office. What did that quack do to me? He got suspicious hearing laughter and seeing the other four occupants of the house huddled around Gon's phone.
"What are you guys doing?" He winced, feeling pain shoot through his mouth as he talked. The four tensed, and looked at him trying to smile innocently. Killua scowled at them.
"Oh, you're up, Killua! How are you feeling?" Gon slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Terrible. Now what were you laughing about?" The women scattered quickly, sensing the white-haired boy's anger and Gon backed up waving his hands in front of him.
"Nothing! Just a funny video!" Killua raised an eyebrow, getting the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with him.
"Oh yeah? What about?" Gon laughed nervously, irking him.
"Nothing! Just someone making an idiot of himself…" Killua narrowed his eyes and lunged at the boy, tackling him to ground. Gon yelped and struggled to get out from under him only for Killua to grab the phone out of his pocket. Gon watched in horror as Killua scrolled through the videos of Killua, playing one in which he and Alluka were singing along to a children's movie. Killua's eye twitched, his cheeks turning a flaming red as he watched. What in the actual hell. Gon laughed nervously again, still pinned to the ground. "You were a little loopy on your medication… Can I get up now?" Killua just glared at him before throwing the phone and proceeding to pummel the poor boy.
