A/N: Regarding the last chapter… what's a lil' friendship without a lil' laughter? :)

On an unrelated note, I finally figured out why everyone is mentioning I-Island in their fanfics. It's because of that MHA movie, which I apparently need to watch now. I still haven't figured out Knuckleduster though. Is he an anime exclusive too or did I just somehow miss him in the manga?

Guest responses:

kiru anon: I must've read your review at least three times when I first saw it; it made me so happy. I'm really glad you liked the last chapter! I was cracking up too after I read it. And yes, Gon really is a ray of sunshine. T.T Can't spoil anything here, but you painted a beautiful picture in my mind of Bakugo meeting Gon. "small demon filled with killer instinct" heh, of course that'd be what Bakugo thinks.

Knee: 'Allo again, and glad you liked that last chapter. *grins* I actually didn't know Bakusquad was a thing, so now I did some more wiki research and have decided more firmly to really catch up on the MHA anime and not just the manga, 'cause I missed all that. (Also. Are you suggesting that the tables would be turned and Bakugo would start rumors about them? I feel like it would slide off Gon like water off of a water lily, though Killua would probably be bothered. They just… have such a pure friendship I'd probably be bothered to do anything like that. Unless you mean Gon being an incidental charmer.)

Guest: Heyo, I'm really glad that you're liking it! Thanks for dropping a word in; it's appreciated. Slowly, but surely, I think this story is getting a little less short too. :)

Chapter Fifteen

Mirio laughed when Killua told him about his morning adventures.

Since the morning teasing, Killua hadn't had the chance to be alone, the day whirling by in different classes, the other students constantly crowding around him and asking questions, Mina most of all. Now, after lunch, it was time for his next tutoring session and he was faced with the boisterous but strange Mirio.

"The new Class 1-A sounds like a fun bunch!" Mirio said. "I'd like to meet them sometime. But Killua," his face grew more stern, "you don't do this sort of thing regularly, do you?"

Killua put on a picture perfect face of innocence, which, really, was only a giveaway.

Mirio shook his head, chuckling. "Well, as long as it's not harmful to any of your classmates…"

Killua perked up. Mirio was approving?

"Say…" Killua said, leaning in with interest. "You've been here for three years, right? What sort of things have you gotten up to?"

Mirio's beady eyes sparkled with mischief, that perpetual smile still on his face. "Oh, I've been around and had my fun." He leaned in close. "Let me tell you a secret. When the firsties get to their provisional license exam, a group of us third years are supposed to go and give them a quick lesson. I've got tons of things planned."

He drew back, looking pleased with himself.

Before Killua could say anything, however, Mirio put on a more serious expression, face stern and lecturely, before it creaked back into a smile.

"Alright, time for the lesson!" he said. He shuffled the stack of papers in front of him, drawing Killua's attention back to the equations and perfectly typed lines.

Mirio had a strangely indomitable spirit. He would laugh and joke one minute, then proclaim heroic nonsense the next, like "a heroic spirit will guide you to victory". Somehow, he used his exclamations and energy as a subtle teaching method, always connecting his heroic aphorisms to back to the subject method. Today, as it had been yesterday as well, that subject was "algebra".

Killua had never seen algebra before arriving in this universe. He had never even heard of algebra. And yet, somehow -

An hour into the lesson, under Mirio's guidance, Killua had solved his first problem.

"So you see, the spirit of a hero is unbeatable!" Mirio exclaimed, eyes burning bright as he turned to look at Killua, his smile determined.

Killua was staring at the equation, eyes dazed.

Like a spark in his mind, it had suddenly come together, the same way letters had once turned into words, words into sentences, sentences into pictures and stories. He could see it, how this equation was meant to be balanced, how these relationships between letters were defined to form pictures.

He returned Mirio's look, eyes lighting up to match the spark in the older students' eyes.

"Ahh, thanks!" he told his tutor brightly, crossing his arms in a sign of respect. He felt very smug, and victorious. "I have conquered my sadness and grown as a person, sensei."

He, proudly, said it without a trace of irony in his tone, though he couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face.

Mirio's eyes widened in surprise, then, remembering what he himself had said the day before, laughed. "Fighting against sadness only brings you more pain. Laugh with it; cry with it; express it." … Killua remembered the strange words well, though he still couldn't quite make sense of them.

"Good job, kid," Mirio said, still chuckling. "You're learning all right. Or should I say, learning like All Might?"

Killua stopped his internal chuckles and stared at the guy blanky.

"No?" He looked disappointed. "Guess that one falls flat when you're from another universe. It's usually a hit at my agency."

Killua thought for a moment, considering his next words.

He said, slowly, "Is that guy… All Might… really famous or something?"

Mirio stared at him almost flatly, disbelievingly. It was a strange expression on his face, but he quickly recovered, laughing, regaining his boisterous charm.

"Oh, kid," he said then, shaking his head, chuckling. "Looks like you still have a lot left to learn…"

So that was a "yes". Got it. All Might was more relevant than he had thought.

"Before that though," Killua said, interrupting the lecture Mirio was sure to go on. He pointed down at the paper before him. "What's the point of all this anyway?"

Killuia glanced down at the scribbled equations. Nezu had told him these tutoring sessions were very important for adapting to this world and honing his mind, but he didn't understand yet what these equations were doing for him.

"Ahh…" Mirio smiled, then rubbed his neck. "I've never had to explain this to anyone before…"

Killua looked at him curiously. "Is it really that hard to answer?"

"No, it's just that…" Miruo paused. "Most of the time, when someone's come to me for tutoring, they've always looked up to me as a hero, not as an educator. They think that all there is to hero work is smashing and fighting, and whatever opinions that have on the rest of the curriculum are already set." He smiled, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling momentarily.

"The truth though," he continued, returning his attention to Killua, "is that these other courses, though they might seem silly or inconsequential to real hero work, saving lives, they are equally important. They are what train us to think of inconsequential details, to piece together puzzles on the fly. For example, the faster you get at math on an exam, overcoming that pressure to succeed, the faster you can pull the mental calculations you need to use your quirk effectively or determine the steps to victory on the field. It's all about visualizing your next move."

"Ahh, I get it," Killua said, pounding a fist into his other open hand like a lightweight hammer to the anvil. He narrowed his eyes at the paper before him, seeing it in a different light. "So it's about being able to tackle any problem before you without hesitation?"

Mirio's smile didn't change, but Killua thought he still looked pleased at the question. "Exactly. My quirk, for example, requires extreme control to use." He demonstrated by abruptly phasing his hand into the table. Killua watched with wide eyes; he had never seen this before. "I can make any part of my body intangible. But, if I make my entire body intangible, I fall through the ground, and can't see, hear, or feel anything." He pulled his arm out of the table, and turned his gaze back to Killua calmly.

"In combat scenarios," he continued, "I have to do thousands of minute calculations to control my quirk and make predictions based on the enemies' speed, direction, and fighting style. After all, no matter how powerful the enemy, their movements are still limited to simple physics. Though the equation you just solved is trivial, it's the start to being able to visualize and formalize an enemies' movements in predictable and absolute terms, not to mention the sheer benefit of pushing yourself to think quickly and think outside the box." His smile brightened. "This kind of thinking helped me in my own growth, at least. There's a reason why I'm number one at UA."

"Ahh." Killua stared at Mirio in admiration. "So that's why you're tutoring me, right? To keep those skills sharp?" He had been wondering about that, especially when he had first heard that the older boy was so highly ranked in the school. It hadn't seemed like a proper use of the boy's time, even if Killua liked him. He had half-thought Mirio had been placed on him out of suspicion.

Mirio nodded, lifting a finger, smile curving across his face.

"Exactly. The best way to learn is to teach, even if nothing beats actual experience."

Killua looked back at the paper. This was interesting…

"Can you show me again?" he asked. "This time with a harder problem."

He wanted to learn.

The end of the tutoring session rolled around, and Killua sat in the next class, English again, with the other Class 1A students. This time, he paid more attention, though it was obvious he was far behind the high school students. He could hardly pick up any of the "English" words.

Was there something in this, too, like in "algebra"? Was there something he was missing, about this dry teaching on a chalkboard?

At least teacher – Present Mic, he had learned – was interesting. Every now and then, he'd encourage the class to stand up and speak, his own attitude boisterous. Midoriya, who Killua sat behind in this class, seemed to be quite good at this "English" when he stood up, stammering the words but obviously getting the point across, by Present Mic's pleased smile and loud praise.

"Hey, Midoriya," Killua said, walking by the boy's side when the class was over and they were walking to the door. The brown-haired girl, Uraraka, walked beside them. Bakugo was lagging behind, talking to Kirishima in the back. He had been shooting Killua heated looks all day, likely because of the teasing earlier. "What's the point of learning English?"

Midoriya gave him a startled glance.

"Didn't you learn it in your school, Killua?" Uraraka asked curiously, taking the lead.

Killua shook his head. "We don't have that language in my world… I think." He wasn't an expert on the subject, that stuff was for archeologists, linguists, and culturally-inclined hunters. "Besides, everyone just speaks the universal language, other than some backwater tribes." He shrugged.

"But you still speak Japanese," Midoriya noted with surprise. He had apparently gotten over the morning's embarrassment faster than Bakugo had.

"Yeah," Killua said, smiling. "Lucky me. Landing in a place with the same language."

"Huh," Uraraka said wonderingly. "It's a bit strange, isn't it? It doesn't sound like you speak differently at all! And you're from a completely different world?"

Killua frowned. That… was a good point. For all she acted like an airhead, that girl could think. He supposed all the hero students had to be able to, if they were striving to become heroes, remembering Mirio's words.

"Maybe…" Killua speculated, "there was some 'divergence point' between our worlds that caused them to split. That would explain why Japan even exists in both our universe, but not why the language is exactly the same…"

"What if it's not exactly the same? Ooh, what about an idiom?" Uraraka said. "Have you heard this? 'Ten men, ten colors'." She put on a serious face as she said these words, lifting her pointer finger firmly into the air.

Killua shook his head. "No, I haven't." It had been a good thought, though. So most linguistic phrasings were similar, but culturally relevant ones, were not the same...

Midoriya frowned thoughtfully. "Well, that's the expected result…" He shook his head. "But even if it were a 'divergence point', like you said, it'd have to be recent. Language evolves quickly and you don't speak like an old man… even your dialect is perfect."

Killua quirked an eyebrow. Old man? "Naomasa told me quirks first appeared some hundred years ago. It'd have to be before then, since my world doesn't have quirks." He had already told Midoriya this, but Uraraka gave him a curious look at those words.

Midoriya shook his head, adamant. "That's too long ago." He pressed a finger parallel to his chin, hunching over himself as he walked. "Could there be… pre-existing communications between our worlds?" he mummbled, obviously thinking to himself.

Killua stopped in his tracks. He stared at the boy. It took Uraraka and Midoriya a moment to notice, and they looked back at him quizzically, stopping to wait for him.

"Oi," Killua said, voice shocked, not moving. "You mean…"

Midoriya's face lit up in alarm. "Ah! It's just a theory! I mean, it could be anything." He began muttering. "A natural convergence point, our universes somehow 'synchronizing', a linguistic root that took form in both worlds in the same way, or… anything, really. No one knows anything about this sort of thing; it's completely new."

Killua shook his head. Those theories sounded ridiculous to him. Pre-existing communications was the only thing that made sense to him.

"But if it's true," Killua said darkly, his mind whirling. The magnitude of it, if this were true... "It changes everything. It means that someone is playing behind the scenes. No matter how long I wait, or how much the heroes search, they won't find someone with an interdimensional quirk."

Uraraka and Midoriya blinked at him.

"Huh?" Uraraka asked, cocking her head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because someone is actively suppressing them," Killua said, waving a hand in the air frustratedly. "Isn't it obvious? With as many people as you have in your world, if interdimensional travel were possible, the quirk would have manifested and been on the news way before I came here. And if someone is somehow spreading information between our two worlds, communicating so much that even our language is the same… then it's obvious that someone already knows about my universe and they're stopping everyone else from figuring it out."

He blinked, another thought occurring to him. "And that must mean that Hakira Kyoshi was out of the system, then, whenever she was in your universe, starting six years ago." He snapped his fingers. "They couldn't find her, or she escaped. Another clue." This speculation only confirmed that she was still his best bet at getting home.

"Wait," Midoriya said, a disturbed look on his face. "Isn't that jumping to too many conclusions? I mean… the quirk dispersion rate isn't that high… it's very likely the quirk never manifested before…"

Killua hissed. "But…"

"I understand that you're worried about getting home, Killua," Midoriya said apologetically. "But leaping to conclusions won't help. We can report this to the pro heroes and tell them your theory, but they'll know the best what to do…"

Killua grimaced.

"What, here it's always 'leave it to the heroes, they know best'. Isn't there anything you guys would do on your own?" he asked.

His voice came out more frustrated than expected. Uraraka and Midoriya exchanged glances.

"Killua…" Uraraka said hesitantly. "We think this way because we've seen what could happen. A month ago… there was a villain attack on UA, during one of our rescue classes. None of us knew what to do. When Kaminari and Bakugo charged in to stop a villain, they actually stopped Thirteen from taking him down safely." She bit her lip, and Midoriya looked at her in surprise. "We were all fighting hard then, but there is a reason why heroes have to be licensed to act. Otherwise, we might mess up a situation and make it worse than when we started." She stared at Killua levely, obviously believing her words.

"I hadn't noticed…" Midoriya said, voice full of admiration as he stared at her. "You're amazing, Uraraka. We were all so scared and surprised, but you still took the time to analyze the situation."

She blushed and looked away, an embarrassed but pleased look on her face.

Midoriya suddenly went red. "A-ah, I mean – !"

Killua had to interrupt their cutesy moment.

"So you're willing to wait three years to graduate before you can actually do anything?" Killua asked seriously.

That sobered them quickly. Uraraka scratched her chin.

"Well, I…" she began. "I hadn't thought about it much." She smiled sheepishly. "I thought I'd just do what felt right in the moment, you know?"

Killua's glance drifted to Midoriya. He looked disturbed by the question, almost shaking.

"I… couldn't," Midoriya confessed, his fist clenched. "If something was happening in front of my, or even half a city away, to a friend, I…"

"Ah, that's right," Uraraka said, smiling at him. "You saved Iida that way, didn't you?"

There was clearly a lot of history here that Killua was missing. This class had been through more than he thought, for all their sloppy fighting moves at training.

"Y-yeah." Midoriya said shakily, face flushing again at the attention. Then his face turned more stoic. "B-but Detective Naomasa let us off the hook if we didn't take the credit…"

Killua abruptly remembered the conversation Naomasa had with Bakugo, when Bakugo had first entered the police station room oh so many days ago.

"Ah, so that was the hero killer incident," he said, looking at Midoriya more closely. Bakugo had been upset that Midoriya, Iida, and Shoto had gotten into trouble, hadn't he? "Didn't that villain guy, Stain, save you in the video though?"

Midoriya's eyebrows furrowed, looking somewhat disturbed. "Yes, he…"

"Hey, extras!" A loud voice shouted behind them. Bakugo had caught up, Kirishima with his bright red hair trailing after him. "Whaty're you doing, just standing in the halls, wasting time to chit-chat, huh?"

"Hey, man, calm down," Kirishima said, stepping forward, looking at Bakugo. He sent an apologetic glance to Killua and the rest of them. Then he brightened. "Hey, why don't we all walk to lunch together, since we're all here?"

Bakugo looked at Kirishima like he was fucking stupid. "Walk with these extras?" He scoffed, managing to shoot both Deku and Killua a death glare in the motion. "No thanks."

Without another word, Bakugo stilted forward, walking past them with a fast shuffle in his step. He didn't look back.

Kirishima shrugged, then smiled at the rest of them. "Ah… I guess whatever happened this morning got him into a twist."

"He didn't tell you, Kirishima?" Midoriya asked, surprised and relieved.

Kirishima shook his head. "Nah, and it's fine." He grinned, standing straighter. "A man's got a right to his secrets, after all."

"I don't know if it's just because of that," Uraraka said, eyebrows furrowed. She looked after the stomping, angry figure headed away from them, down the hallway. Bakugo had a way of changing any conversation to be about him. "Doesn't it seem like there's something else going on too?"

Killua was silent. He was surprised that she had noticed.

"Well, you're living with him now, aren't you, Killua?" Kirishima asked him, a friendly expression on his face. "What do you think?"

Killua frowned, then looked away. He feigned nonchalance. "What, isn't he always angry like this?"

Uraraka giggled. "Well, that's true."

Even Kirishima had to acquiesce. "I guess so…But I do think something else is up today."

Then the red-haired boy brightened. "Well! He had a point after all. We shouldn't be just standing in the halls; we're wasting time before our next class. How about we get to lunch?"

Midoriya, looking thoughtful, and Uraraka, looking cheerful, nodded. The four of them began shuffling down the hall, continuing their journey to the lunch room.

"Hey, Killua," Kirishima said, as they walked, breaking the small comfortable silence that had settled over them. Killua looked up at the boy curiously. "Me and a couple of others were thinking about getting you another mask. You got that one from Recovery Girl, right?"

Killua nodded, startled at the gesture.

"Yeah, yeah," Uraraka chipped in suddenly. "Mina was saying how hard it was to tell what you were thinking with that mask. I was looking up models, and there are plenty of transparent and more comfortable-looking alternatives!"

Killua looked between them, confused. He rested his gaze then on Midoriya, who was the only one who hadn't spoken. The boy smiled encouragingly. He must've been the one to tell Kirishima that the mask was from Recovery Girl. Had the class all been talking about this when he wasn't there?

"Ah…" Killua cleared his throat. He looked away, not meeting their eyes. This was strange.

"U-unless you don't want it," Midoriya suddenly stammered, taking in Killua's odd reaction. He smiled uncomfortably. "We didn't mean to make any assumptions…"

Killua shifted. "No, it's fine," he said. He furrowed his eyebrows together, then shifted the mask on his face. Most of the time he didn't notice it anymore, but it was rather uncomfortable, and heavy. And the plastic stuck to his face. "Thanks. I'd like that."

Uraraka cheered. "Alright, Mission Get-Killua-a-mask is a go!" She twirled, then rushed forward. They had just gotten to the lunch room, and she pushed the door open for all of them. Kirishima and Midoriya walked in, and Killua trailed hesitantly after them.

"Glad you liked the idea," Kirishima said, half-turning to grin at him and giving him a thumbs up. "Can't be easy, wearing the same thing all the time!"

"... Yeah," Killua said, a strange feeling welling up inside him.

The three of them started to head to the table where Kaminari, Iida, Mina, and a few others were sitting. Killua lagged behind, standing at the entrance. When they noticed, he pointed over to Yaoyorozu's group, on the next table over. She was sitting with Jirou Kyoka, the girl with headphone jacks for ears, and Shoto Todoroki, the one Bakugo called Icy Hot and had an incredibly powerful quirk, able to use fire and ice both. "I need to ask Yaoyorozu for more food," he said in way of explanation.

Kirishima gave him a sympathetic but encouraging look. He had seen Killua eat the sludge the other day.

"Alright, see you later," Kirishima said, nodding at Killua. "I'm gonna go eat with Bakugo.." He split off, walking in a different direction, where Bakugo sat steaming and alone at the end of a table, wolfing down his food with a viscous ferocity.

"See you, Killua!" Uraraka chirped, before turning away and heading her own direction, to Mina and Iida.

Midoriya offered him a smile, before running to catch up with Uraraka.

Swallowing, Killua began to make his way to the other table, where Yaoyorozu was.

That had been… nice. Unexpectedly nice. He never thought the older students would have thought of him like that. He shifted the gas mask on his face again. Now he was thinking about it too much, noticing it too much. It really was uncomfortable, pressing against his face like this. Had they really noticed?

Too soon, he was chased from his thoughts by his own arrival at Yaoyorozu's presence. He had to focus on the present again.

"Yo, Yaoyorozu," Killua said, tone more subdued, quiet, sliding into the seat across from the two high school girls, who were talking. Shoto was now next to him, but barely gave Killua anything more than a curious glance. "Can you give me any more of that sludge? I'm running out."

Her conversation with Jirou halted, and Yaoyorozu nodded at him graciously.

"Good to see you, Killua," she said calmly, though Killua almost thought he heard a small rebuke in her words. "Just a moment." She concentrated, briefly, eyebrows furrowing slightly, and a plastic box began emerging from her arm, filled with the brown mixture. When she was done, she placed it on the table, then pushed it towards him.

He took the box, then looked down at it. The same again. His disappointment was enough to shake him out of his quiet stupor.

"Ne, Yaoyorozu," he said, looking up at the black-haired girl. He had had an idea the other night. "Do you think you can make me some pudding instead of this stuff? It's a little…" He grimaced, before he realized she couldn't see it. Stupid mask. Kept getting in the way. "... dull," he finished politely.

Yaoyoruzu looked down at the box Killua was holding, then at Killua. A dark blush spread across her face as she seemed to read beyond his words.

"... Is it really that bad?" she asked.

Killua nodded.

"It's terrible," he said. The words slipped out before he could think them through.

"Hey!" Jirou protested from beside her, half-standing, hands pressed against the table. Killua was startled by her sudden burst, leaning away, wide eyes. "Don't be so rude. This isn't easy for her, you hear! You don't know how much work she put into – "

"It's okay," Yaoyorozu said, holding up a hand, sighing. "He needs to be honest. We have to consider his feelings too – even if I admit he didn't start this conversation on the right foot."

She gave him a sharp glance at those last words. Even Shoto looked up from his food next to Killua at the tone, now watching the conversation carefully. Jirou, looking satisfied that her friend could defend herself, sat back down.

It sent Killua bristling.

Like a dog that had to bark when told… he thought. Now he really was shocked to the present. He didn't get what they were angry about.

"Sorry," Killua offered a second later, shifting his eyes away. He wasn't really.

The girl sighed, then covered her face with one hand. "It's fine," she said, very calmly. "You were only being honest." Her eyes flicked to Jirou for a moment, before returning to him. The look of embarrassment returned, coloring her cheeks darker. "I suppose… I should have expected this, really, when I couldn't taste it myself." She grimaced, looking down. "I know this situation must be frustrating to you too, but I've spent many nights studying with Recovery Girl to just make this. This is the best I can do right now."

Now Killua actually did feel a little bad. She looked sincere.

"Well," Killua said, pushing away his frustration. Maybe some feedback would help something. "If you added some sugar into it, it'd help a lot… Maybe if it just didn't taste so bland…" He waved his hand in the air; he wasn't a cook and didn't know what her manufacturing process involved.

She snapped her fingers, a light returning to her eyes. "That's it!" She perked up. "Maybe if I just didn't mix the flavors together, and keep them separate, it'll be more distinct and flavorful." She smiled, relieved. "I can't believe I didn't think about it earlier."

"So you'll add in sugar?" Killua said hopefully, his own spirit picking up. He could finally put the earlier tension aside now, getting more into the swing of things. "What about sweets? Can you make pudding!?"

She stared down back at him, disconcerted. Jirou looked at him even more strangely, a funny look on her punkish face. Shoto went back to staring at his food, no longer interested in the conversation.

"Now, Killua, too many sweets would be bad for your teeth and health…" Yaoyorozu said in a lecturing tone, drawing herself up.

"Oh, come on!" Killua complained, for once acting his age. It immediately warmed Yaoyorozu back up to him.

"But, I suppose I can try to make something for you, to make up for these previous days…" she said hesitantly. She coughed, looking away. "Sugar, after all, is a rather simple molecule, speaking in relative terms…"

Killua cheered, bottom eyelids creasing upwards. Another score. "You're the best, Yaoyorozu!"

She smiled at him.

"Alright, let me give it another try," she said, the moment passing quickly as she returned to her business-like air. She began concentrating, another box emerging from her arm. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, clearly focusing. It took her longer this time, but when she pulled it out completely, the box's contents looked vaguely less sludge-like and more… boxy? Like little weird soft cubes all stuck together.

"This time," she said, passing it to him, meeting his eyes, "just tell me how it tastes immediately." She smiled again. "I am determined to improve, after all."

Killua nodded, but eyed the new food skeptically, not yet opening the box. "And pudding, Yaoyorozu?" he asked eagerly. Jirou, from her spot across the table, frowned.

After another pause, Yaoyorozu wordlessly pulled another, much smaller box from her arm, and handed it to him.

"Now, I'm not sure how it'll taste…" she warned, but she was too late. Killua had already flung the box open, popped the small piece underneath his mask, and devoured it.

It was sweet. Very sweet. Sweeter than the sweetest candy Killua had ever tasted.

Killua was truly moved. He gave her a thumbs up, filled with sugary bliss.

"Thank you, Yaoyorozu," he said. He swallowed the rest of it, then smiled sweetly back at her. He decided to test his luck, putting on his pleading face again. "Could you make, just a little bit more -"

The black-haired girl raised her eyebrows, and crossed her arms in a very authoritative way.

"No," she said, and that was that.

Or not.

"Come on - " Killua wheedled.

"Absolutely not," she restated, voice firm despite an amused undertone. Jirou, beside her, smirked at him. Shoto continued staring down at his food.

"Stingy…" he muttered, looking away, an annoyed expression on his face. What was the big deal, if she could make it from her arm, just like that?

Yaoyorozu suddenly lost her amusement at hearing his tone, and so did Jirou, her face turning flat and scowling. When Yaoyorozu began lecturing him on his health and Jirou quickly and forcefully piped in on about having respect for her friend's quirk and time, Killua's frustration was all too quick to return, feeling of sugary bliss diminishing away to nothingness. The lecturing felt like a slap in the face, just when Killua had started relaxing. His earlier irritation returned.

Gritting his teeth, his own amusement at the situation spent, he nodded in the right places, made sure to not snap back at either of them. Shoto looked over again, eyes wide, but he stayed out of it, not stopping either of them, carefully returning to staring down at his bowl.

...This sucked. He hadn't come here for a lecture. He had just wanted food.

He was close to snapping back, he could feel it. He had to excuse himself before he could, lifting up the two boxes, heading out the doorway of the lunch room despite concerned looks from the next table over.

How long could he stand this?

Killua's thoughts turned again to that information broker's deal.

After that near-disastrous meeting at the police station, Killua had already decided to meet with Giran again. A long shot was better than the thread of hair he was hanging on now, with Naomasa being so close to knowing Killua's past dark deeds. He needed to establish a base somewhere else, away from the hero's influence, and so far, the information broker looked like his most promising lead, however much Killua didn't like that swarmy look on the man's face.

This lunch incident, however, only cemented the decision. It seemed like Yaoyorozu had sincere intentions – and was even trying hard for him, according to Jirou and her own admission too – but like he first suspected, the dependency was too much. Good intentions didn't mean squat when those intentions didn't match with Killua's own.

The rest of the day had passed quickly after that, Killua curiously listening in on lectures and participating in the training, occasionally chatting with Mina, Midoriya, and Kirishima. Soon enough, he was again at the Bakugo household. Bakugo, on the way back from UA, had talked with him quietly about how he should behave if they spoke with the detective again – basically, Bakugo told him, he should just keep his trap shut. Bakugo wasn't much fond of the idea himself, but he explained roughly, if Killua didn't say anything, they couldn't prove anything. It was only the smartest way to act.

"And don't think I didn't catch what you were doing today," Bakugo said, scowling at him. "Trying to distract me like that. Fucking stupid, if I had really cared about that sort of thing."

Now, however, it was just half an hour before 5pm, the time when he had agreed to meet with Sencha.

"Have fun!" Bakugo's mom told him cheerily from the kitchen table. Killua was skipping their dinner time, since he couldn't eat it anyway.

"Right," Bakugo rolled his eyes from beside her. He leveled a glare at Killua. "Don't think I forgot about anything, brat. I'm watching you, you hear? Don't do anything stupid." His tone contained a warning, their most recent conversation fresh in his memory.

Killua smiled so innocently that even Bakugo's parents looked at him a little strangely. Somehow, the aura of his purity even exuded beyond the thickset gas mask.

Bakugo scoffed.

"Alright, have fun…" Bakugo's dad said, waving at him weakly, looking between him and Bakugo, as if to urge Killua out the door faster.

"See ya," Killua said, then turned out the door, shutting it behind him.

Alright. Freedom.

His smile dropped.

He was going to go out and meet Sencha now, but after the meeting, he would leave for Giran's hideout. His meeting with her was the best cover; he had made no promises about when he'd come back, after all. He didn't want Bakugo to wonder too much about where he was.

He was dancing too on edge here to rely too entirely on the heroes. Even if it was a longshot, maybe this meeting could lead to something. In the most ideal scenario, maybe reinforcements or info against that woman, Hakira Kyoshi.

He'd just have to be extra careful with his identity. In his backpack, along with the not-sludge container, he had his robber's mask and an old set of Bakugo's clothing tucked at the very bottom. At the mall today, he'd try to buy something better to disguise his physique and hair.

But I can't think about that yet, he thought, beginning his walk to the train station. With Sencha, I need to be absolutely suspicion-free.

She wasn't like Bakugo or Gon, Killua knew. She'd never be able to accept the fact that he'd assassinated people, or was now into criminal undergoings. Something about that spark of innocence or youth in her eyes, despite the way she tried to act mature around him, told him this.

And he didn't want to lose her friendship, not yet.

So he put on a smile on his face, cleared away all thoughts of potential villainy from his mind, stepped into the station, and just prepared himself to have a good time for the next few hours.

In a world far, far away...

"I'm worried about Killua," Gon said seriously.

Leorio gave him a bit of a funny look. He had black bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping much, constantly at work at his desk.

"We all are, Gon," Leorio said, a yawn in his voice. "We're trying to find him as soon as we can."

Gon shook his head. "But that's not the point. Killua is… I mean, he is…"

"What?" Leorio asked.

Gon thought hard for a moment.

"Killua isn't good alone," he said finally. He remembered all too well how quickly his friend had lapsed into brooding, when Mito-san had scolded him for trying to kill Gota's cub to put her out of her misery. Luckily, Killua's words then - "I was only ever taught to kill" - had sparked a thought that allowed them to save Gota's cub, and Killua had then cheered up.

It wasn't the first time that had happened, Gon knew. Whenever Killua was alone, or did something bad, he always got upset about it. He would think too hard and let himself get trapped in hard thoughts.

Leorio's eyebrows creased. He didn't understand this.

"Even if Killua is safe," Gon explained, "I don't think he's be very happy... Like before, when he was with his family and no one else."

Leorio's eyebrows raised. "You think he might kill someone again?"

"No!" Gon shook his head. He frowned. "Killua wouldn't do that. I mean… not without a good reason..."

"But?" Leorio probed, still sounding tired. When Gon didn't answer, he sighed. "Look Gon, I need to keep working on decoding these results… They're damnably hard to read and I want to get them done as soon as possible."

Gon frowned, then peered over Leorio's shoulder to look at the paper. His eyes swam there was so much text. It covered the page like a thousand little ants, all swarming together. He backed away.

"I'm going to go keep looking," Gon announced, swirling around and away, heading for the motel door. He felt too useless, staying inside and waiting for nothing like this. He had to do something.

"Right, good luck," Leorio said, waving a tired hand his way.

"Mm," Gon nodded. He opened the door and waved goodbye to Leorio, closing it shut after him with a soft click. The moment fresh air hit his nose, he stopped, breathing deeply, eyes focused.

Gon had decided. He wanted to find that old man on the city council, who had told them the Toshkiyo address, where Leorio and Gon had met Zezu. The council member had acted nice, but Gon couldn't forget the gleam he had noticed in the man's eyes, raising his hackles and setting him on guard.

His instincts were warning him away, but he had thought about it hard, and… maybe he knew something about Killua.

Gon knew Killua was alive, somehow, and he was stronger than Gon besides. He knew Killua could take care of himself.

But… this feeling of urgency wouldn't leave him. He didn't want his friend to be alone again, didn't want him to collapse into brooding. More than that, he wanted to see Killua again, and laugh with him, and go to the auction with him, Kurapika, and Leorio. They hadn't finished their adventures together yet, after all. He couldn't just leave this story so suddenly and cruelly paused, couldn't let his friend be taken away from him without a protest. They still had so much to look forward to.

Frustrating, Gon thought, leaping forward, starting his run to the city council building. How could he disappear, just like that?

He didn't understand it, but he wanted to fix it. Killua would have known what to do, where to go in this strange city place, but Killua wasn't here now. Gon only hoped that he was now chasing the right lead.