A/N; I rather liked this chapter...I've had this scene in my head for a while now and it was nice to finally get it down on paper. (Or...you know, on Word) I hope you enjoy reading it because I enjoyed writing it!
Even as Killua's breathing evened and slowed, Gon stayed where he was. The assassin was upset and confused, he could read it in every word and movement. But that was okay. It did make Gon a little sad, though. What had the other teen had to go through in order to be that untrusting?
Every breath had been cautious, words chosen carefully. There was a kind of comfort there under the surface, though it was ironic; comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Killua had been on guard and relaxed all in the same moment which spoke volumes. Guess being an assassin did things to you. Sure, it might be advantageous to never have a state of being where you could be taken advantage of, but it also meant that you never truly got to kick back and enjoy yourself.
The Hunter shook his head to dispel the thoughts. No use moping about it. Really the best thing to do would be to prove his own trustworthiness. Not difficult for him, friends were easy to come by and nobody could ever stay mad at him for more than a very short period of time. He just had that kind of effect on people. Hopefully Killua wouldn't be any different. Gon hadn't been lying when he said he wanted to learn more...who had hired him, where was he from, why not attack him before he left for a completely different continent? Just to name a few of his questions.
Again, the dark haired teen shook the thoughts from his head. They could be answered later. For now he followed the assassin's suit and made himself comfortable on the surprisingly soft ground. (Well it wasn't really that soft, but he was used to it so its hardness didn't bother him anymore.)
He laid facing Killua, obviously. Mainly because the way firelight played across those pale features intrigued him. It was like watching a story unfold across every curve and dip and the center of it all seemed to arrange itself around a small, dark scar at the corner of the assassin's mouth.
Gon hadn't even noticed it until just now, it was so tiny, but now it seemed enormous, completely understated and yet overly complicated. The more he looked, the more he found; on the flesh of a revealed shoulder, along the curve of Killua's neck, at the edge of his eyebrow, just under his ear, on the backs of his hands, the sensitive skin of his wrists and following the curve of his jaw. They were everywhere, random and tiny but seeming to make the pale teen up entirely, as if he were made of them. It only spurred Gon's curiosity ever forward until he wanted nothing more than to trace them with the tips of his fingers, wash that dye from pale hair, and remove sickly green contacts to see the blue oceans underneath. He wanted to understand and memorize and follow the tiny threads of conversation until he'd revealed the entirety of the assassin. Everything about Killua just screamed mystery and he'd never felt such a strong urge to uncover something unknown before. Maybe the pull to find his father...yes, the desires were about equal in strength if he put them side by side.
Gon heaved a sigh and turned his back, forcing his mind blank so that he might get some sleep. The fight to find his missing parental figure was a long one, so revealing Killua would probably be just as difficult. Not that he was giving up, he was just resigning himself for the night.
Killua felt...violated. He furrowed his brow and unconsciously folded his arms over his chest. The feeling had been with him all morning ever since he'd woken up and it just wouldn't leave him alone, like someone had smoothed his hair back and slid their hands under his shirt while he slept. Not that they did. If Gon, or anyone for that matter, had tried, they would have found themselves quite dead in the blink of an eye, whether he was up to full strength or not.
The assassin shivered a little uncontrollably, mouth turned down into a disapproving frown. Everything about this mission was turning out to be insanely unpleasant.
Sinking down into the water of the small pond, Killua let out a puff of breath that escaped him via several angry bubbles. His nose and lips were submerged, eyes and the top of his head the only things revealed. Beneath the water he sat cross legged though the rocky bottom was many meters below him. He didn't move, arms still crossed but managed to float as he was anyways. A few minutes later, when he couldn't hold his breath any longer, he tipped his head back, filled his lungs and retained the position again.
The disguise he'd been wearing lay at the edge of the pond, recently scrubbed and drying. (Well honestly it didn't look like it had been cleaned but it wasn't like he had soap or anything)
Killua was supposed to be cleaning himself ('Use these palm fronds, they're a little rough but it gets the dirt out of your skin!' Gon had said) but he was too busy pouting right now. The water was warm where the sun touched it, but he chose to stay in the shadow of a large cliff making up another edge of the body of water where it was colder. The cliff stretched far overhead, taller than the trees on the other edges of the lake. It seemed the island was made of two halves; a low end and a high end. As you went across it, the land just continued to slope upwards, but the progression wasn't always that smooth, as in the example of the cliff where it rose suddenly.
Glancing up at it, the assassin wondered idly if he pushed Gon from the edge if he'd hit some of the jagged edges on the way down. It wouldn't be the cleanest way to kill him, but it was a possibility.
Too risky, Killua eventually decided. What if he doesn't hit any of the rocks and just falls into the water? That wouldn't even make him blink. Besides, that kind of method was far beneath him. He knew countless techniques, he'd be wasting them by using a freaking cliff.
Another sigh and the assassin sunk lower into the water, this time until he was completely submerged. He didn't bother closing his eyes, instead letting them adjust to new, dimmer lighting and searching out the open areas around him. Small schools of fish darted about, the kind he'd eaten last night, and a few larger species moved slowly across the bottom.
In the corner of his vision, Killua spotted a dark spot in the face of the cliff. A hole was carved out of the rock, an underwater cave, and the pale teen felt his curiosity peaked. The fish didn't seem to mind, and as he watched a few filtered in and out of the opening. Maybe there were air pockets or even dry areas to climb onto? The assassin had unfolded his body and was about to kick out towards the cave when a call from above the surface of the water caught his attention.
An aggregated huff but Killua propelled himself upwards anyways, a rush of air passing between his lips when he broke surface. Narrowed eyes searched for the source of the noise (most likely Gon, though he had left about an hour before saying something about exploring). When he found nothing amongst the trees he trailed his gaze across the top of the cliff until a small figure came into focus, waving its arms widely. Even from the distance, he could see the stupid grin on the Hunter's face.
"I'm coming down!" came the distant shout but Killua didn't bother responding to it. Instead he crossed his arms and watched the other teen with only half a mind. Maybe he'd hurt himself on the way down. One could hope, couldn't he?
Rather than immediately jump as the assassin was expecting, Gon pulled his tank top off followed by his jeans and then his underwear. Before Killua could complain, the Hunter was standing there stark naked, toes hanging over the edge of the drop. Still grinning he let out a loud whoop and jumped, curling himself into a ball as he fell.
It took Killua a moment as he was still in a state of shock, but he realized almost too late that the free falling Hunter was heading directly for him. Kicking out hard in the water, he moved just before Gon could hit him but was swallowed up in the resulting wave. When he came up again he was spluttering, hair hanging limply in his face.
"What in hell do you think you're doing!?" The words were out of his mouth the moment Gon surfaced. He was faced with a strong urge to cover himself, that same violated feeling creeping up on him once more.
The Hunter laughed, pushing his own damp hair from his face with a wide grin. "What do you mean? I'm having fun!"
Though there wasn't anymore water in his mouth, Killua spluttered again. "Naked!?"
Another laugh and Gon wrinkled his nose a little. "I didn't want my clothes to get wet. Besides, you're naked too, what's the problem?"
What was the problem? The assassin wasn't sure, he just knew there was one, and it was evident by the red tint to his face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, searching for an answer before finally settling on a disgusted snort.
"You're so weird. Wasn't your arm broken or something? Why would you jump from that high? Not to mention the fact that I'm trying to enjoy a little privacy here!"
"It was," Gon replied, completely unfazed. He lifted his left arm from the water and twisted it to show off some fading bruises. Damn the kid healed fast. "But it's much better now. Marigold is really good for wounds. It's what I was putting on your head too. If you wanted privacy though, you could have just said so. I thought we could have some fun. It's been boring being out here by myself." This time his smile was so large he had to close his eyes. "So c'mon! Your turn to jump next! I can show you the way up the hill if you like."
"Fuck off."
"...what?"
"I said fuck off. Leave me alone. I don't care if you were lonely or whatever. I'm only here to kill you, don't you remember? So go have 'fun' somewhere else."
Gon paused for a second, titling his head to the side. For a moment it seemed like he might just do as the assassin said and leave. But then he smiled gently. "I don't care either. I think we can be great friends, Killua! If you wanted to be alone that's fine though. I need to go check the traps I set anyways. See you later! I'll start making lunch soon so come back to the camp when you get hungry. By the way, you should take those contacts out. Your eyes are so much prettier without them."
With that the Hunter swam over to the cliff face, made a few handholds and quickly scaled the entire thing, presumably to get his clothes back. Killua didn't watch him, unease making his mind heavy. More and more this Gon character was throwing him into confusion. How were you even supposed to respond to someone like him?
Kill him, part of his mind answered immediately. It sounded unnervingly similar to his father, but then again most of his thoughts did.
He's interesting, keep him around for a little longer, said another part. This one wasn't a voice he recognized nor one he had ever heard before. It kind of reminded him of his own, physical voice though.
So yes...review please. This story still has quite a few chapters to go, so I'm aiming for about 100 in total. Just 'cuz it makes me really happy to read them. ^^
Other than that, I'll just thank my readers for staying with me this long and say that I'd be glad to see y'all again next chapter! (Yes, I use y'all, Im southern leave me alone)
~Xen
