Disclaimer: The characters and events of Hunter x Hunter are owned by Yoshihiro Togashi.

"Grayscale" Chapter Twenty

Fan-Fiction For: Hunter x Hunter / Killua Zaoldyeck

Begin.

Karasu sighed as she sat down beside Killua in the arena. She tore the top off her carton of chocolate covered peanuts and crossed one leg over the other.

"Wing said not to sign up for any matches for the first two months," she reminded Killua, glancing over at him as Gon's match started.

Gon was fighting a person named Gido. This Gido guy had to support himself on a cane, as he appeared to not have any legs. Karasu clicked her tongue as he unleashed several tops, nailing Gon twice in the back and once in the face before getting sent off the arena.

"He wanted to test out his Ten," Killua replied, digging his hand into Karasu's carton and throwing a few peanuts into his mouth.

The two watched Gon run at Gido, only for Gido to start spinning and knock Gon away.

"Gon! Don't bother attacking, he'll get dizzy soon!" Killua shouted. Karasu hissed beside him before tossing a few more peanuts into her mouth.

"That's amateur thinking, kid." A grizzled man sitting behind the two of them scoffed. "That's simple to overcome with training. Why, world class figure skaters ca-"

He had no chance to proceed, as Killua had punched out his lights. Karasu's eyes widened when she watched Gon release his Ten.

"He let his aura go," she whispered, catching Killua's attention and getting him to turn his eyes back to the match. His eyes widened as well.

"You idiot!" he shouted. "Wing said a defenseless body may as well be kindling against a Nen attack!"

"Oh my God, look... Killua, he's dodging!" Karasu pointed down at the arena where Gon was, indeed, dodging the tops. "Killua, maybe he'll be alright! Maybe he'll-"

A top slammed into Gon's side, giving Gido his last needed point for victory.

"Never mind," she muttered, going back to her peanuts.

Karasu sat in a chair in Gon's hospital room. She had finished her peanuts and had moved onto a milkshake, drinking it as she watched Killua reprimand Gon for his idiocy.

When there was a knock at the door she lifted herself from the chair and went to answer it.

"Who is it?" Killua called to her as he rested his feet on Gon's stomach as further punishment.

She opened the door to a familiar face. "Hi, Wing."

He nodded to her as he entered into the room, his eyes immediately going to Gon.

"Oh! Wing, um... I'm sor-"

Gon was silenced by the slap to his face. Karasu rubbed the back of her head and kicked the door shut, sucking on her milkshake as he watched Gon continue to be reprimanded.

"Don't apologize to me! What were you thinking?!" Wing shouted. "You saw the ones who were initiated, you could've ended up like them!"

"I already pointed that out," Killua piped in, leaning back and resting his hands behind his head.

Karasu rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "You're such a rat, Killua."

He narrowed his eyes and frowned.

Wing sighed and placed a hand on Gon's shoulder. "I'm just glad it wasn't worse."

"Wing, I really am sorry," Gon repeated quietly.

"Not good enough, you're not off the hook yet," Wing stated with a glare. He turned to the other two. "How long will it take for Gon to heal?"

"The doctor said two months," Killua answered, and Karasu nodded in agreement even though she knew for a fact the doctor had said four months.

"I forbid any matches, nor any training or studying of Nen for two months," Wing said to Gon, "if you can't keep this promise then there's nothing I can teach you."

Gon nodded. "I promise."

Karasu watched as Wing wrapped a string around the pinky on Gon's left hand. "This is proof of your promise. Look upon it so you never forget."

Gon stared down at the string in fascination. Wing turned to the other two and nodded slightly. "Killua, Karasu, may I speak with you a moment?"

The two exchanged a glance and then followed Wing out of the room. Karasu offered Killua a drink off her milkshake, only to watch in despair as he downed half of it. She snatched it back from him with a pout on her face as Wing led them into the lobby of Heaven's Arena. They walked in and out of groups of strangers until they found a place empty enough to sit. Karasu and Killua sat beside each other while Wing remained standing.

"Killua, Karasu... what are your goals here?" Wing asked.

The two exchanged a look. Karasu went back to drinking what was left of her milkshake while Killua replied with, "Plans have changed a lot since we got here. Before we met you and Zushi all I cared about was getting some pocket change. Gon's here for training so that he can beat this guy, Hisoka and..."

"I'm just along for the ride," Karasu added. "None of us really care about Battle Olympia, although..." She looked over at Killua with a slightly furrowed brow. "Gon was enjoying himself."

He chuckled and nodded. "He says he only cares about fighting Hisoka but he was clearly thrilled during the fight yesterday."

"Oh, when he got to dodging all those tops?!" Karasu exclaimed, grinning widely. "That was so exciting! I nearly chucked my chocolate peanuts!"

"To figure it out in the midst of battle, too," Killua agreed with a smirk. "Bet you never coulda done that."

She scowled and punched his arm. "Oh, shut up, Killua."

Killua exaggerated rubbing where she'd hit him and turned back to Wing. "You don't have anything to worry about, though. Gon would never break the same promise twice."

Wings expression turned to one of frustration. Karasu sucked the last bit of milkshake from her cup and nudged Killua's arm.

"It's too late. We've already learned the facts about Nen, and if you don't teach it to us, we'll just learn from someone else."

"I don't intend to quit," Wing replied. "There are many things I'd like to teach the three of you. In fact, Zushi is waiting at my hotel. You two should study with him."

"Nah, that's okay," Killua replied, standing up and offering a hand to Karasu. She took his hand and stood, brushing off her skirt and looking around for a trash can. "We wouldn't wanna get ahead of him, right?"

Karasu gave a slight nod. "I'm already a bit ahead but... yeah, I know what you mean."

Killua snorted and rolled his eyes, placing a hand on her back to lead her back toward the elevators. They were almost to the doors when they heard Wing call after them.

"Tell Gon he can practice Nen, the flame one! And tell him to focus on the Ten exercise every day!"

Killua waved back at Wing to acknowledge his shouting.

"Before we go back to Gon, I think I'm gonna buy another milkshake," Karasu said as she threw away her empty cup.

"Drink many more of those and you're gonna get fat," Killua replied with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him and shoved him into a wall.

"What was that for?!" he shouted, shoving her back.

"You don't tell a lady she's gonna get fat!" she exclaimed, regaining her balance and placing her hands on her hips.

Killua snorted. "You're not a lady, Karasu."

She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to try and look menacing. Killua adopted the same pose, even squinting his eyes at her and puffing out his lower lip. Their staring contest ended when Karasu heaved a sigh and rolled he eyes, crossing her arms over her chest after punching the elevator button.

"Thought you were gonna go get a milkshake," Killua reminded her as they entered into the elevator.

"Shut up," she muttered.

Killua nudged her with his elbow, only for her to turn up her nose and pout. He nudged her again, not stopping until the elevator door opened.

Karasu exited the elevator before him and headed down the hall toward Gon's room.

"You're not really upset with me, are you?" Killua called after her, taking his time following after her. He huffed when she continued to ignore him. "Karasu, come on."

She paused outside of Gon's room and then turned to face him. "I'm upset you drank half of my milkshake."

Killua's face contorted in confusion and then he began to laugh. Karasu raised a brow at him, clearly not amused by his reaction.

He ruffled her bangs once he got within reach. "I'll buy you one tomorrow, alright?"

She contemplated this and then sighed. "Fine. Deal."

Killua opened the door to Gon's room and paused. He gave her a small smile over his shoulder and when she entered into the room she understood why.

Gon sat in his bed, right arm in its sling and his other hand resting on his leg. His eyes were closed and a he had the slightest of frowns. Karasu and Killua shared a glance and then smiled softly before settling down on the floor to meditate.

Karasu stretched her arms over her head, cracking her back and waking her up enough for her to get out of bed. She rubbed her eyes as she headed to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. When the water stopped running she was rather alarmed to hear knocking at her door.

She tugged a robe on and tied the belt as the knocking got more insistent. She yanked the door open and met the eyes of a very surprised Killua.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, raising one brow.

"I'm taking you for a milkshake, remember?" he asked, raising a brow himself.

"No," she replied slowly. "I figured you were just going to buy me a milkshake, not take me out for one."

When she pointed this out, a small amount of color gained in Killua's cheeks and he scowled. "Just go get dressed, will you?"

She rolled her eyes and disappeared back into the bathroom.

Killua settled down on her bed as he waited, looking around at the lavish space and realizing just how unused it looked. His room looked much the same way since the two of them spent most of their time with Gon except to sleep. He smoothed the ruffled blankets and tried not to focus on the dirtied clothes at the foot of the bed. He waited quietly until the bathroom door opened.

She barely glanced at him as she straightened her shorts and adjusted her socks. Her hair was wet and dripping on her shoulders. She hadn't tied it up yet, and Killua realized he'd never seen her with her hair down before.

"Are you ready?" he asked her as he stood.

She moved to the other side of the bed and tugged her boots onto her feet. "I'm ready when you are."

Killua watched her from the corner of his eye as the two of them made their way to the store Karasu usually bought her milkshakes from. Her hair was still down around her shoulders and her eyes were on the landscape. She didn't notice that she was being watched, but Killua did.

There were boys their age watching the way she walked and ruffled her hair. They eyed her as she stretched her back and smiled at him. When she got to the counter to order her milkshake, Killua noticed people noticing the way Karasu bent slightly at the waist. He didn't like it one bit.

He paid for her milkshake and made sure to place a strong hand on her shoulder. His eyes glanced over at the watchers and he saw envy gleam. Karasu glanced at him with furrowed brows and Killua smiled at her. Her confusion increased, though he knew the watchers couldn't see that.

When she got her milkshake and they were leaving Killua wrapped an easy arm around her shoulders and glared at the watchers. He didn't like the way they were eyeing her mouth on the straw.

"What are you doing, Killua?" she asked as they left the shop.

"They were looking at you," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"Who?" she asked, clearly incredulous. When she started to look around he caught her face in his hand and then guided her back to her milkshake.

"Don't worry about it."

"Killua, I think you might be overreacting," she muttered around her straw.

He scowled at her before taking her milkshake and taking a drink from it.

"That's what got you in this mess in the first place," she scolded.

"Who says this is a mess?" he replied with a smirk.

Karasu slapped his chest and slurped up her milkshake. "Thanks for this, by the way."

"I owed you."

They walked back to Heaven's Arena and Gon, neither acknowledging the fact that Killua's arm was still wrapped around Karasu's shoulders.