= w-h-i-t-e = c-a-t =
By Wusai, the Dark Phantasy
Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi.
Claimer: I own my ideas.
A.N.: This is to be submitted to the hour fic challenge at the HxH fic mailing list. Killua x Gon only if the reader's looking for it.
Start: 10:12 AM
Finish: 10:50 AM
***
I stare at the television screen, bored. The movie playing is something by 'Disney', about a bunch of spotted dogs. Really, I don't understand why someone in their right mind would own one hundred one Dalmatians. I wouldn't have enough room. If I were to come across all those dogs, I would have probably taken only one or two. But then again, wouldn't that make all the other puppies feel left out? Damn, Gon's rubbing off on me.
"Ne, Killua, what are you watching?"
I look up to see Gon, who has just come out of the shower. He dries his black, gravity defying hair with a towel, and look at me with his wide, brown eyes. My eyes briefly travel over his body, looking at his slightly muscular chest, his green shorts, and down to his bare feet.
"Oh, just a movie by Disney about a bunch of dogs," I reply, remembering that he asked me a question. Gon tosses the wet towel onto the nearby chair, and flops down onto the bed beside me, lying on his stomach. He props up his cute face with his hands, and watches the rest of the movie with me.
"You know what, Killua?" he asks. I look at him, encouraging him to go on. "I miss my animal friends at home…"
"Oh?" I reply. "Well, would you like a pet?"
"Well… I don't know. A pet is kind of different from a normal, wild animal… But… I don't think I'll have enough spare time to return home often. I suppose a pet will do, but…" Gon replied in broken sentences. He hesitated for a moment. "I suppose a pet is better than nothing."
"Ah, all right," I say, and smile. "What kind of pet would you like?"
"Let me put on my clothes, first, and let's go out to the pet shop! Even though I don't like to see all those little animals in their cages…" Gon says, and pulls on his shirt and jacket. He grabs his backpack, sticks his fishing rod in the gap between the flap and the bag, and slings his backpack over his shoulder. I turn off the television, get up, walk to the door, and wait for Gon to finish. He slips on his boots, and runs over to me.
"Kay! I'm ready! Let's go!" he claims, happily, and turns the doorknob, pulling open the door. There's a sudden clang sound, and the door refuses to open farther than an inch. I look up as Gon stares at the doorknob, puzzled. I slowly close the door, pull the chain away, and open it again.
"Ah… I knew that!" Gon exclaimed, smiling sheepishly.
"Right," I reply, and laugh, running down the hotel hall, toward the elevator. Gon runs along behind me. I press the down button and wait impatiently for the elevator to arrive. At last, during what seemed like an hour, but was truly a few seconds, the elevator arrives. Its doors open. Gon and I walk in, and he presses the button for the ground floor.
A moment later, we're on the ground floor, and walking out the large, hotel doors. We look around, seeing if there's a pet shop nearby.
"We should have done some research on where the shop was…" I say, and sweatdrop. Gon nods. Suddenly, his face lights up.
"Oh! I think I have a map of this place in my backpack… I remember the hotel giving us one when we checked in," he says, pulls back the flap, and rummages through his backpack. He pulls out a piece of folded paper, unfolds it, and scans over it.
"There it is," I say, pointing to a dot on the map. "We just have to cross a couple of streets, and we're there."
"Great! Let's go!"
Moments later, we're at the doors of the pet shop, laughing and grinning like idiots. Somehow, being with Gon makes me forget about who I am, where I'm from, and my past. It's like a great boulder being lifted off my shoulders; like a slave emancipated from slavery.
Gon pushes open the doors to the pet shop, and we're greeted with various birds chirping, various dogs barking, and various cats meowing. Among those, there's also mixed in other sounds, like the occasional snake hissing, or the occasional splash of a turtle swimming around in its tank. Gon's eyes light up as he sees all the animals, but he frowns when he sees them all in little cages far too small for the sheer amount of animals placed in them.
He and I walk around the shop, peering in all the cages, as Gon tries to decide which pet to take home.
"You know what, Killua? I'd like to take only one pet, but if I take one pet, then all the other animals will feel left out, don't you think? I mean… I know that we only have enough time to take care of one, but I feel sorry for the other pets," he says, making faces at a collie.
"Well, yes, but you've said it yourself: we only have enough time for one pet. So, pick the one you like the most."
"But that's hard, Killua! Do you have any suggestions?"
"Hm… Well, a bird wouldn't be that great, since it might start chirping at the crack of dawn and wake us up. We need all the rest we can get. Turtles and fish would be too hard to move around… A dog is kind of messy, no? Oh! What about a cat? They're real friendly, and they don't seem to need too much care…" I suggest. Gon smiles.
"Oh, that's a perfect suggestion, Killua! Come on, let's go look at the cats!" he exclaims, and drags me over to the other corner of the store, where the cats are.
"Look at all the cats! What kind do you want?" I ask. He looks over all the cats, and frowns again; the choice is obviously a bit hard.
"Hmm… Well, I'm not sure… That black cat is really cute, and the tabby over there looks playful…"
Then, a cat walks up to Gon, and starts to meow at him. The cat is almost pure white, with a slight tint of blue. Its eyes are blue-grey, and its fur sticking up in some places. Gon picks up the cat, and smiles at it.
"Look, Killua! This kitty picked me as its owner! Isn't it so cute?" he cooed, making meowing sounds toward the cat.
"Yes, I guess it is," I say, surprised by its resemblance it bears with me. Quite odd, really.
"Come on! Let's buy it!" he says, holding the cat with one hand, and dragging me toward the cashier with the other. We wait patiently in the semi-long line. About five minutes later, it's our turn to pay.
"That will be thirty thousand jenis, please," the cashier says. A good price; the cat is neither cheap nor expensive. Gon fishes out his wallet from his pocket. He pulls out thirty thousand jenis, and hands it to the cashier.
"Thank you very much," replies the cashier in a monotonous voice, as though she were so utterly bored with her job. "Have a nice day."
"You too!" Gon replies, cheerfully, and hugs the cat close to him. He walks out the door, and I follow him. He looks thoughtful on the way back to the hotel.
"Ne, Gon, what are you thinking about?" I ask.
"Well… I think the cat needs a name. Don't you think so, too?" Gon asks, and I nod.
"Well… what about… Furry!" I exclaim, jokingly.
"No, Killua!" he replies, laughing. "That's not a good name! Besides, look, the kitty doesn't look too happy with that name."
"Really?" I ask, looking at the cat. To me, it looks the same. "I can't tell."
"Well, you haven't been living with animals for almost your whole life, ne, Killua?" Gon says, and the cat meows. He looks down at it. "Hm, kitty? What did you meow at?"
The cat meows again, and bats a paw at me. I make a kitty face, and mimic its movements.
"Aw! The kitty likes you, Killua!" Gon exclaims, and the cat meows again. "Why don't we name it Killua-chan?"
"Killua… chan…?" I ask, and look at the cat. In fact, it does seem to look quite happy.
"Yeah! The cat seems to like the name," Gon states. I smile, and nod.
"Can I hold Killua-chan?" I ask, and Gon hands the cat over to me. I hug Killua-chan, and it purrs happily in my arms.
If I were the old Killua… If I were the old Killua, I probably wouldn't have cared about the cat. If I were the old Killua, I might have just killed the cat on the spot, just to watch it die.
But I'm not the old Killua. I'm the new Killua. Gon has changed me with his carefree ways. I glance at my thumb, and remember the promise I made with Dad.
Never will I betray you, Gon. I am forever grateful to you; I will stay by your side.
"Come on, Killua, hurry up!" Gon says, then runs off, laughing. I run after him, laughing as well.
"Gon, matte yo!"
***
Owari
***
Matte yo: Wait up!
A.N.: Well, that was done in… *checks* thirty-eight minutes. w00t! ^_^ Please leave a review, and do tell me if this sounded rushed.
Killua-chan: =^w^= Meow!
~Wusai