Happy Friday.

Hiya Childrens. How's life been treating ya? Have you missed me? Welllllllll I'm here with a new chapter! Without further ado, I present to you:

Why This: Chapter 11

Kurapika stood up from his desk. With all the files of evidence clutched in his hand, he opened his mouth to finally confront Killua.

"Killua…"

Killua looked at Kurapika. The Kurta's expression conveyed seriousness.

"What's up?" Killua asked casually, ignoring the somber mood.

Kurapika stared at Killua for a few seconds, as if trying to decide something. Then he adverted his gaze, and prepared to say the words he so dreaded.

"How many?"

The question came out as a blurt, and Kurapika silently scolded himself for not thinking of what he would say beforehand.

Killua raised his eyebrow. "How many what?"

Kurapika weighed his words, then looked Killua dead in the eye. "How many people have you killed?"

Surprisingly, the boy didn't seem alarmed. "I don't know, it was kind of mindless…I mean, how would I know? I didn't count my kills. Even if I did, I wouldn't remember. I gave up killing so long ago…"

Kurapika shook his head. The boy misunderstood him.

"I mean how many have you killed in present time…not in your past."

Killua shook his head. "I don't know what you mean. I haven't killed anyone. I gave up killing." He looked dead serious. "Why is everyone accusing me of murder? I know that a lot of people have died in this area lately, but that doesn't mean it was me."

"Killua-"

"I get it. I've murdered people before, and I'm not, by any means, innocent. It's normal to suspect someone like me. I'm telling you though, I didn't do it."

If Kurapika could read minds, he would see that Killua was flat-out lying. But he couldn't.

On the other hand, Killua knew Kurapika found lying "dishonorable", but what was he supposed to do?

Who needs honor anyway? It seems useless. You do all this goody-two-shoeing, only to get rewarded with the chore of doing MORE goody-two-shoeing to protect your "honor". Screw honor. Lying to get out is better than having "honor" and having to see the change in their faces...

Kurapika might not have been able to read minds, but he wasn't completely clueless.

"Don't lie, Killua." Kurapika tried his very best to stay calm. If he lashed out at Killua for what he had done, then Killua might not react well, and things could go south. Quickly.

Killua stared icily at him. "You really should just drop this whole "Killua is the murderer" thing. I'm not a liar. If I say I didn't do it, I didn't do it and that's that."

Just as Kurapika opened his mouth to reply, a figure entered the room and tackled Killua.

"You let your guard down, shame on you Killua." Bisky chided him.

It was Gon who had tackled him. He looked at the raven haired boy on top of him, and pretended to be annoyed. In reality, he was relieved Gon and Biscuit had saved him from further arguing with Kurapika.

Gon grinned as he looked down at the annoyed Zoldyck. "Gotcha."

Rolling his eyes, Killua shoved Gon off of him, and got up.

"That didn't count. Kurapika was lecturing me. I was practically falling asleep!"

Kurapika took a breath. Then he did something not even he himself expected.

"I wasn't lecturing you, Killua." He sounded serious. "I was trying to prompt you to tell the truth. It isn't a big secret that you're the one murdering all the people in this area. So there is no use in being dishonorable and lying in a futile attempt to cover things up."

Killua froze in shock. His face was blank and relaxed, but inside his mouth dropped.

Bisky stared. She knew from all the stories Gon had told about him that Kurapika wasn't one for public confrontation. Normally, he would approach the person in private, and discuss his accusations with them. Then he would judge them, and if he found them guilty he would take care of them himself. If he found them innocent, he would drop the whole thing, and let it go. Through it all, he would never get anyone else involved.

Through her surprise at this out of character move, Bisky saw an opportunity. "He's right, Killua. It will be easier if you would stop trying to play innocent. We're on to you. You're going to face the consequences wither you admit to your crimes or not, so why not go down in an honest manner?"

Gon shook his head at Bisky's words. "You guys, if Killua says he didn't kill anyone, then I believe him.", he said defensively.

"Why don't we hear what Killua has to say? I'm sure there's a lie he has to say in his defense." After saying this, Bisky turned to Killua. Well?"

With a smile, Killua replied, "What are you guys on? Seriously. You want to talk about being dishonorable? I'm pretty sure being high is dishonorable."

...

No one laughed.

Kurapika was about to say something back to Killua, when they all heard the door open.

"You all won't believe what I heard. Someone on the news said a recent ongoing investigation found that the killer of this woman was one of the Zold-"

Leorio stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the severe expressions of Bisky and Kurapika.

"What's going on?" The bewildered doctor said.

Well, he had already dragged Gon and Bisky into this. Why not Leorio? Just as Kurapika was about to reply, he was interrupted, yet again.

"These idiots are debating Killua's innocence in the recent murders." Bisky said.

"What? There's no way the kid is the criminal…" Leorio looked at Kurapika, and again saw the expression on his face. Kurapika's look said it all: Killua was the murderer.

Leorio had almost forgotten the kid could kill. It was easy to forget, especially since Killua didn't bring up the fact that he was currently an ex-assassin often. Or, was an ex-assassin.

"Killu-"Leorio was cut off by Killua.

"This is ridiculous. I'm telling you, I didn't do it. You have no proof to back up your false accusation anyways."

"Nothing in what you just said is true. We do have evidence." Kurapika replied.

Kurapika revealed a yellow folder, and displayed its contents. "All of these are the clues and hints that led me to realize the culprit. Every document, object, and tape recording is proof of your crime."

So there is evidence, Bisky thought. She had thought the only backup to their claims were Killua's recently odd actions and behaviors. Well, nope. Leave it to the trustworthy Kurapika to have evidence when they needed it.

"OK, let's just take a moment to-"Leorio was, again, cut off by Killua.

"All of that 'evidence' you just showed is trash. It all comes from unreliable sources." Killua said, annoyed.

"How would you know?" Kurapika put down the folder, looking Killua in the eye.

"Bisky decided to have us try to solve the case before all of this. I ran into some of the same stuff you did, and I looked deeper into it. I found out all of it was trash, a waste of time." Killua looked right back at Kurapika.

Leorio watched the two eye each other, each trying to convey their rightness. While he wanted to believe Killua, the look in Kurapika's eyes convinced him that Killua was lying. Something about the way strength, pride, and truth in those eyes created a thin veil to the pain in them assured him that what he was about to do was the best way to protect those around him.

"Killua, I'm sorry." Just as Killua turned to Leorio, he fell to the floor.

"Killua!" Gon started to go to him, but Kurapika blocked his path.

"Wait Gon. Leorio, dumb as he is, knows what he's doing." I hope, Kurapika finished the sentence in his brain.

Oh crap. Why did he knock out the kid? Oh Jesus. Leorio approached the fallen body. Then he rubbed his temples, and took a breath.

Ok. You have an unconscious kid murderer in front of you. What do you do? No, what would a police officer do? A doctor? Think, think! Anyone other than yourself!

Leorio turned to Bisky, who had stood completely still since he'd knocked out Killua.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to make sure a room is completely locked, would you? Locked enough that no one could escape it?"

Bisky looked at him. "As a matter of fact, I do. While there is no way to guarantee that escape will be impossible, I can make it so that it will at least be extremely difficult."

Leorio relaxed. "That's what I need."

Everything was fuzzy. He could see the outline of a woman. Then, his vision became clear. Crystal clear. He could see blue eyes, and a kind smile…

Suddenly everything was red. Blood red. The eyes were hollow, the smile looked more like a scream, and all he could hear was someone whispering.

The whispering got louder and louder. "Skillet Monster, Skillet Monster, SKILLET MONSTER-"

"Killua! Wake up!"

"Huh? What?" Killua bolted up, and looked around in search of the whispery voice.

He saw Gon in front of him, and rubbed his eyes. "Gon?"

He looked around the room again. It was their hotel room, but the windows were black, and when he tried the door it was locked. Then he remembered looking to Leorio, and seeing black. He turned back to Gon.

"What happened? Seriously, what the heck? First Leorio says 'I'm sorry', then I'm here."

Gon smiled. "Now that you FINALLY woke up, I'll fill you in." Gon recapped the events that followed Leorio's unexpected apology, while Killua sat and listened with mild interest.

"Geez, that old man is so weird", Killua said.

"Maybe. Well, are you coming?"

"Coming where?"

"Coming with me to find a way out of here."

Killua paused. Gon told him that Bisky had told Leorio that it would be EXTREMELY hard to "escape" the room he was locked in. To him, that meant getting out was an impossibility. He told Gon this, and Gon replied with, "We have to try! Come on, It'll be a fun challenge!"

Killua shook his head, smiling. He knew he wasn't going to be able to talk Gon out of this. "Alright."

One hour later, after some shouting, Nen explosions, wall punching, and lock picking, they were out.

"I told you we could do it!"

Killua smiled at the statement. Gon was always such an optimist.

"How the-wh-" Killua and Gon turned to find a LIVID Leorio in their midst. They looked at each other, then took off.

"-YOU STAY RIGHT HERE, KILLUA. YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO."

Killua and Gon made a mad dash down the hall. Just as they were about to jump out of a window, they felt themselves being dragged away.

"Bring them here, Biscuit", Leorio commanded.

Pursing her lips, she glared at the doctor. "Excuse me? I happen to have my own plans for them, thank you very much."

Bisky turned on her heel, still dragging Gon and Killua.

"Biscuit, let us go already." Killua struggled against her grasp.

"I do NOT like being ordered around, in case you haven't noticed. You're lucky I dragged your butts away from that idiot. I doubt he even knew what he was going to do with you two."

Gon sighed. "'Come on, Biscuit. If you won't let us go, at least tell us where we're going."

"I want you two to go and make things right. Even if Killua has to go to jail. He has to face the consequences of his actions, one way or another."

"He didn't kill anyone! If Killua says he's not a murderer, then he's not a murderer." Gon said heatedly.

"Gon-"

"No. I trust Killua. He's my best friend, and if you say another word against him…"

Biscuit narrowed her eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"Maybe I am. Either way, were leaving. Come on Killua." Gon headed out, fire in his eyes.

Killua followed him, guilt rising in him for the first time. Gon had stuck up for him, and what had he done to repay him? Lied and killed. He'd basically betrayed him…

Betrayed. Hadn't his own father told him not to betray his friends? He really couldn't do anything right. Heck, he couldn't even cover up his association in the recent killings.

"Hey Gon…" He took a breath. "Thanks."

"I don't understand! How could they not believe you? You're their friend! They should trust you!"

No, they shouldn't. No one should trust him. Killua shrugged.

"I'm telling you, they were probably high."

Gon laughed. "What do you mean?"

Killua stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait, you don't know what getting high is?"

"No."

"Gon, you…you sure are weird. You're so innocent."

Gon frowned. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Depends who you ask."

"I'm asking you."

"…Well then, yeah."

They looked forward, and found they had reached Redwood.

"I didn't know we'd wind up here. Isn't this where Bisky took us to torture- I mean TRAIN us?" Killua's eyebrows raised as he said this.

"Well, it will be like hiding in plain sight. Since the Beopika police are after us, we must be clever. And what's more clever than hiding in plain sight?"

Killua couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'm sorry, but Beopika? Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Well, I combined their names. I used to do it a lot at Whale Island when I was bored. The B is Bisky, eo is Leorio, and pika is Kurapika."

"…"Killua was at a loss for words. He stared at Gon as if the boy were an alien.

"Hey, isn't this were Biscuit almost 'killed' you?"

"Gon, please. That hag couldn't kill me if she tried." Killua puffed out his chest. "I'm invincible!"

Gon cracked up. "Ahahaha-lets-ha-go in-HAHAHA."

They walked into the dense forest, and looked around.

"Hey, why don't we sleep in a tree?" Gon suggested.

Killua shrugged his signature shrug. "Ok, sure."

The hunted for a good tree, and when they found one, they climbed to the top.

"Hey, you can almost see the whole forest from here!" Gon exclaimed.

"Yeah", Killua breathed. He gazed at the view in wonder.

"I think we should sleep here, at the top." The sunset reflected in Gon's eyes, and as he made his suggestion Killua stared at the mini sunset in Gon's eyes.

Killua nodded, just as the sunset slowly reached its end.

Kurapika stared out of the window as the last rays of sunset shone brightly.

"What's on your mind?"

Kurapika turned. "Nothing."

"Oh, come on", the doctor pressed. "I know you better than that."

"What, is my answer not adequate enough?"

"…"

Leorio sighed. "So, are we going to chase after them?"

"No. Biscuit will find them."

"Wait, she's looking for them? I didn't know that."

"Yeah. Who knows what she'll decide to do with them, but at least we know that no matter what, she'll make sure the consequences are fair."

"Fair? Kurapika, we all make mistakes. What if Killua didn't kill-"

"Aren't you the one that locked him up in the first place?"

"Well yeah, but I've thought about it. And…I…we…were a bit, uh…"

"Rash? Harsh? Look Leorio, we might not have made the absolute best deciscion then, but we did what was right. If someone killed Pedro, wouldn't you want justi-"

"DON'T bring up Pedro, just-just don't."

"Leorio-"

"I get it, your all about being 'fair' and 'just', but give him a chance. He's just a kid."

"Kid or not, he killed people. WILLINGLY."

"How do you know he did it willingly? How could you possibly kn-"

"Face the facts Leorio! He knew what he was doing, and he lied about it to our faces."

"You know what Kurapika? No one is being reasonable. I'm looking for them myself, and when I find them, I'm going to-"

"Well why don't you stop talking about what you're going to do and actually do it?!"

"FINE!"

Leorio left the room, slamming the door behind him.

…

One hour later, Leorio stood at the entrance to Redwood.

A.N:

Oh GOD. I was reading some of my old chapters and….GOD. I cringed so hard I started laughing. Honestly, I think my writing has improved though. At least, I hope it's improved. I know that one day, I'll look back on this story and say "What the flipidosaclitus was I doing?" (Flipidosaclitus-My unique way of cursing. Pronunciation: Flip-a-dose-a-c-lie-tus)

I don't know, really. Tell me if you cringed at all while reading this story. If you didn't, you get a virtual cookie. If you did…I'll give you TEN virtually cookies (one for every time I cringe laughed while re-reading this fanfic).

OHHHH anddd sorry I updated so late. Truly, I am. I love you, my Childrens. See ya next chapter!

Chu~