Chapter 31
It was early in the morning, and the sun was beginning to rise as it casted a bit of daylight on the devastated area around Kamino Ward. Gon and Killua were still at the scene. They watched as there were dozens of reporters trying to interview All Might in his revealed true form. All For One was being taken into a secure police van, and Endeavor was standing behind the van to make sure the villain did not try anything funny. The police and other heroes searched for the other members of the League of Villains, but they found no trace, and All For One did not reveal any information about their whereabouts.
All Might suddenly pointed at a camera facing him without even turning it over. "Next, it's your turn," the hero said without showing his face to the crowds of people still watching him on the big city screens or in their houses and apartments.
Gon and Killua glanced at each other and shrugged. They did not quite know what he meant by that. They figured he was saying the other villains were next on his list, or he was trying to inspire current and future heroes to take action and stop villains like he did, almost like a way of saying anyone can become a hero.
The two boys had not gotten any attention yet, but their realization was like a cue. Now that the media finally got something out of All Might, they turned their attention to the powerful boy who was confirmed to be from a different world and his powerful friend who they were already assuming was from a different world too.
Reporters crowded around the boys. Half of them focused their attention on Gon, and the other half were on Killua.
"Freecss! Are you from another world too?!"
"Killua, were you not working with villains?"
"Was that your boss?"
"Are you from the same world as Killua?"
"Why did you switch from villains to heroes on the fly?!"
Gon was intimidated by the questions he received and genuinely tried responding to them as they came. He never finished a single answer before he heard another question and began to respond to it, leaving all the reporters confused because nothing there was nothing coherent coming out of his mouth.
On the other hand, Killua's eye was twitching as he silently listened to all the questions he got. He closed his eyes and focused on drowning all the noise out. After a few seconds of that, Killua raised a hand out with his palm facing towards the media as a sign of telling them to stop.
Surprisingly, they understood the message and went silent. The other side around Gon noticed the lack of noise coming from Killua's side and quieted down too. Killua opened his eyes and quickly scanned his eyes over everyone without lingering on any person in particular. "To answer your questions, yes, Gon is from a different world. The same one as me, actually. About the questions to me, I'll explain that later. It's more complicated, and I think it's time Gon and I get going."
The reporters did not like that second answer. They wanted answers now. Noise began to climb, and Gon felt bad about not answering so he was about to answer when he felt Killua's hand grab his wrist and pull him away by jumping into the air over the annoying reporters. "Ah! Killua!"
"We should go, we've spent a lot of time here," he replied and let go of Gon's hand. The two began jogging with no specific location in mind, eventually ending up at the motel they stayed at.
A couple hours later, there was a knock at their door, which they feared could be the media if they decided to stalk the two. Killua peered through the tiny hole of glass that allowed them to see who was outside. He could not see the person's face, but he saw a lot of blond hair, so he had an idea who it was.
He turned the knob and opened the door which showed All Might. "May I come in?" he asked slowly and politely.
"Uh, yeah sure," Killua stuttered, surprised to see the hero of all people waiting at their door.
All Might entered, and Gon's smile grew huge when he saw who it was. "All Might!" he exclaimed with a wave to which the hero smiled at. "Why are you not buffed up?" Like most other people would be, Gon was not surprised by the hero's appearance. He obviously did not see All Might for anywhere near as long as the other people in this world did.
"Uh, I can only keep that form for a short amount of time because there's a limit," he replied quickly, not wanting to tell these boys the secret behind him and One For All. "I am also very tired. I have not slept yet, but I wanted to drop by here first and talk for a bit before going to sleep."
"Yeah, what's up?" Killua asked as he entered the 'main' area of the room, which was essentially just a bed, TV, table, and chair. He sat on the bed next to Gon and gestured for the older man to take a seat in the chair because of how exhausted he looked. He was wrapped in white bandages covering around his wounds on his face and arm.
All Might pulled the chair out away from the table and faced it towards the two teens sitting on the bed. He took his seat and said, "Thank you, for helping me with All For One. Without you two, I do not know if I could have beaten him."
The two boys exchanged uncertain glances. Killua did not look like he had anything to say, but Gon piped up. "No problem! I was glad I was able to convince Killua to not fight you." The silver haired teen shot a glare towards his friend, but Gon ignored it.
"I actually wasn't going to fight you, All Might," Killua said after turning his glare away from Gon. "But I didn't know if I'd fight All For One either. He said it was his goal to kill you, so I would have left it to him anyways."
"Despite the differences between our worlds, which I am assuming is quite large, you both have some elements of heroes in you," All Might mused, hoping to put the kids in a better mood. Gon looked normal, but Killua may have needed it.
Surprisingly, Killua shook his head. He glanced at Gon from the corner of his eyes. "Well, I don't know about Gon, but I know I'm not a hero. I went against All For One because I'm not his fan."
"But you put your own ambitions aside," All Might tried explaining, feeling slightly dejected that Killua would not even accept his compliment. Even if Killua was not a hero, he could still have elements of heroism. "That alone, the fact that you gave up your one guaranteed way of going home. That takes courage, and the heart of a hero. I do not know how many heroes would make the same decision as you if they were in your position, especially if they really needed to go home."
"Well, sure, elements of heroism, I guess that works," Killua mumbled and stared at the blank TV screen. All Might could tell that what the hero complimented was not the thing on Killua's mind.
He placed his hands on the armrests at his sides and pushed himself to his feet. Gon and Killua's eyes followed him as he stood up. "Well, that is all I came to say. Thank you again for your help." He began walking while Gon gave an enthusiastic goodbye while Killua said his own in a much somber tone, but he remembered something and stopped. "By the way, this is of importance to you both. Over a dozen people around the world with teleportation Quirks would like to try helping you if their Quirks allow for interdimensional travel. I was told that there were two people who wanted to help earlier, before you two stepped in against All For One, but Japan's authorities were unsure of bringing them to you, Killua. It was because they were uncertain about you and your intentions, and if they should actually help you."
"So after we fought All For One, they saw Killua as good, and now more people want to try using their Quirks for us?" Gon deduced with a confused look, not knowing if he was right or wrong.
All Might nodded. "Yes, exactly. I believe the authorities are more likely to permit it as well. At least, most of them will be. I have no doubt some of them are still against helping you two, especially given what they know about Killua." The silver haired teen kept a blank expression on his face. What All Might said came as no surprise to him.
"Thanks for telling us that All Might," Gon said with a beaming smile that radiated how excited he was to go back home. "You should get some sleep. You deserve it."
All Might chuckled and glanced over at Killua. The boy cracked a small grin too. "Yeah, you need it. Thanks for the info. I hope someone can take us back soon. We'll see each other again before Gon and I leave."
The hero nodded and left the room with Gon and Killua staying inside. The green haired teen was still smiling and staring at the wall in front of him. He felt Killua's eyes on him, so he turned his head to his friend. "What?"
"You're awfully happy," he observed with eyes that studied Gon's face.
"Yeah, I'm just happy that nothing's really left here," the green haired teen exclaimed proudly.
"Nothing left here? What do you mean?"
"We're pretty much free," Gon explained. "No All For one. No other villains. Heroes are mostly fine with us. All we have to do is wait and go home!"
Killua huffed and stared down at the comforter on the bed. "Yeah, waiting. That sounds great." He rolled his eyes. "Hopefully we're not waiting long." He sensed that there was more behind Gon's happiness and eagerness to return. He turned his head back to his friend, "You're really looking forward to it. What changed? Something changed you here?"
His friend met Killua's eyes. Gon dropped his smile and gave a serious look. "Yeah, I think I know what I want to do after getting Alluka out." Killua raised an eyebrow to prompt Gon to continue. "It's similar to being a hero. There are some things I like about heroes. I think I want to be a terrorist or criminal Hunter back home!"
Killua was only a little surprised. A terrorist Hunter did have a pretty similar job to what heroes had to do here, but the Hunters had more benefits and less restrictions. "That's cool. Glad you found something to do rather than sitting around Whale Island."
"Mhm!" Gon nodded enthusiastically. "I can fight strong people too. I'd like it more than being a hero. Heroes have too many rules to follow, and that gets hard to remember."
Killua turned his head to stare at the wall and nodded absentmindedly a couple times. "Right…"
Gon tilted his head to the side and peered at Killua worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," came the reply, but Killua's voice was quiet and mellow. "I just don't know what I'll do when I get back. Take Alluka with me again, and then what? I need to Hunt something to be a Hunter. I don't know if I want her around all the time because things can get dangerous, but I don't where it's safe for her to stay, so I don't want to leave her anywhere."
Gon nodded sympathetically. He understood the situation, and he patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll figure something out. Travel with her some more if you want. Maybe we can travel together again? That way, we'll both be there to make sure nothing happens to her!"
Killua smiled. A true genuine smile. He turned to his friend, "Yeah, that sounds good. I could do some terrorist hunting for a bit. Hopefully I can find something else to do if I don't end up liking it. But we'll have to see."
Over the next week, Gon and Killua were introduced to all the people who may have Quirks that permitted interdimensional travel and were willing to help. None of them were promising yet, and they had met with 15 people so far from all over the world. Surprisingly, only three of them lived in Japan which showed just how rare these types of Quirks were.
The two teens figured there were definitely more people with a warping Quirk, but they were not showing themselves yet. They talked to each other and reached out to a popular news channel, saying they would give a quick interview each. Killua was less of a fan for that idea, but Gon convinced him, saying it could be unique for the people of this world to learn about their own. They agreed not to go overboard with the details because they knew this world was much softer than their own.
Unfortunately, the news company made a big show of it and created a special 30-minute program with lots of advertising. The program was expected to be translated to different languages or have subtitles so people in other countries could understand it too. It was a live broadcast too, so they had to come up with answers on the spot with no preparation time.
Killua went first because he knew the world was a bit more curious about him than Gon. They knew what he was doing before and talking to someone who worked with villains was supposedly more interesting.
He stepped into the recording room and scowled because of all the bright lights around him to make the studio lighting good. It was not too dark out yet considering it was 7:30 PM on a summer evening, but of course, natural lighting would not cut it for a broadcast. Definitely not for a broadcast as hyped and anticipated as this one.
Killua took a seat in front of a glass table with a microphone in front of him to amplify his voice into the broadcast. The news anchor, a middle-aged female, sat to his left as the two faced each other. "Welcome, Killua Zoldyck," she began with a smile, and the program was underway. "Thank you for taking the time to sit with us. Many people have had questions about you and your story."
"Thanks for having me," he replied easily, though deep down he was quite annoyed he let Gon convince him. Might as well give them some entertainment, he reminded himself why he came here in the first place.
"So, I wanted to start off with a very popular question. I myself am very curious. What was life like for you as you were growing up?" It was a harmless question with harmless intentions, but the reporter did not miss the darkening in Killua's eyes for a split second before it returned to normal. She felt a bit uncomfortable, but she forced the smile on her face to stay there despite how dangerous the boy in front of her looked there for a moment.
"Not the greatest," he answered honestly and a second between the end of the anchor's question and the start of his answer. "The kids here are very sheltered. That's not how I was raised. I'm not getting into my backstory, but just know that I didn't have a normal childhood in any sense of the word."
The anchor feigned a very interested look. "Well, keeping it so mysterious would naturally want us to know more-"
Killua cut her off with the shake of his head. "No. Next question."
The woman restrained herself from looking too irritated. She was being watched around the world, and more would watch this in a few hours in the timezones where people were likely asleep, so she kept her cool. "Okay," she forced out slowly. "Can you tell us how you got here, then?"
"Sure. My sister has a weird power that can kind of do anything. She sent me here, and Gon too, to…protect us," he finished hesitantly. He knew what was coming next…
"Protect you?" she repeated in shock. "You and Gon Freecss are so strong. What could you possibly need protection from?"
The silver haired teen chuckled dryly. "Trust me, there are many other people much more powerful than us."
Her eyes widened, and she slowly nodded multiple times, quickly understanding the power scale in their world which Killua appreciated. He was sure other people would have a hard time believing that. "So does your world have special powers too, like we have Quirks?"
Killua nodded. "We do, but I'm not saying anything more on that. It's a secret in our world, so I'm not going to spill that secret here."
"That's interesting, a secret power," she mused with a finger to her chin, her eyes peering into Killua's to read if he would reveal any more information. "Can you tell us why it's a secret?"
"Uh, well, not everyone knows about it because it's not common knowledge," he replied, though he knew that all he just did was explain 'it's a secret' by using more words. "Only certain people know about it."
He was then asked how he knew about it, so he explained Hunters and that it is a power that mostly only Hunters know about, just like Gon explained on the train ride to Kamino Ward.
The anchor nodded along. "Right, okay. Now, we mostly know your story about what you did here thanks to All Might and the other U.A. staff. But can you tell us what happened with that dangerous villain he fought last week, All For One? Did you know him? Was he your leader, the villain you were listening to while you worked with the villains? What were the two of you talking about that night?"
"Oookay, calm down," Killua said and raised both hands as a signal to slow the questions. "Yes, I knew All For One. Yes, he was the leader of the League of Villains, and yes, I was listening to his orders because he could return me to my world. The only guaranteed option, by the way." He paused for a moment before continuing, "During that fight, he told me if I attacked All Might, he would send Gon and I back. I didn't know if I believed him, but Gon convinced me not to listen to him, so somehow we ended up fighting. The rest is history. I hope I made the right decision."
The reporter nodded along. "Wow, that's fascinating, and scary at the same time. I would think you made the right decision. We could've been living in a world that would be very different from what we have right now, and I suppose it's thanks to Gon's persuasion and your decision. Who knows what the world would have looked like had All Might not defeated that villain?" Killua shrugged, but he knew it was a rhetorical question. "So what made you switch sides?" she asked. Noticing the questioning look on Killua's face because of how casually she asked that, she added. "Not that I'm ungrateful that you helped us rather than the villains, but I, and I'm sure many others, are curious to know the reasoning."
The silver haired teen gave a sly smile, confusing the woman next to him. Here's where it gets interesting… "So, remember when I fought All Might?" She nodded. "Well, that was just a fake fight. We weren't really aiming to hurt each other. It was part of a plan."
The anchor's jaw dropped, and millions of others who were watching reacted the same way, including Kirishima, Kaminari, and Midoriya. Even Bakugo was surprised because he had not seen it coming. All Might was watching too, and he was shocked Killua revealed that. It was a controversial statement that could get All Might in some controversy too even though he just announced his retirement yesterday.
"What could that plan be?" she asked almost immediately after.
Killua was impressed. This lady recovered quickly, but it was practically a part of her job to do so. "Get the world's attention, and then tell the world I'm from a different world. Let All Might, a respected hero, tell the world to feel sympathetic for me and try to help me. He posed me more as a victim that just wanted to go home, and he was a hero who wanted to help me any way he could. That was the plan." He left out that it was a backup plan, but he felt that might come back to him. This reporter was pretty sharp.
The reporter pondered over the answer for two seconds before asking, "So why fight? Why not just tell All Might and get him to do a press conference and say that? The media would take any chance at getting a press conference with him, so why scare the media and the public by fighting him?"
Killua held up two fingers. "Two reasons." He wiggled one finger and said, "One, a regular press conference probably wouldn't make waves across the world like I wanted it to. Fighting All Might worked for that purpose." He wiggled the other finger, "And secondly, even if a normal press conference was seen all over the world, how believable would my story be for people who were never shown any reason to believe I'm from a different world? In the fight, I showed that I had power that could rival All Might's. There probably aren't any other 15-year-old teenagers from this world who can do that."
"Right, I would imagine you are correct with that," she admitted. "But why did you go to the villains after your 'fight' with All Might? Wouldn't that make you more of a target?"
"Well at the end of the day, All Might isn't the person who makes the decisions on what to do about me, so I had to run," Killua explained. She asked a valid question. "I went to the villains and stayed with them for some time. I didn't want to get chased or arrested. I know it's not a great idea, but I really didn't do anything criminal while I was with the villains. I just stayed with them."
The anchor nodded next to him. She briefly turned to the camera before turning back to Killua. "This has been a very fascinating discussion, Killua Zoldyck. I would love to ask more, and I'm sure others would love to hear more, but unfortunately we are out of time." She extended a hand for Killua to shake, which he did, but then he just sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. The anchor turned back to the camera completely. "We'll take a quick break, and then we'll get into the interview with Gon Freecss. Stay tuned!"
The recording equipment took a break too, and Killua exited the room and went back to Gon. "Did you watch all that?"
Gon nodded, "Yeah, I could see it all here." He pointed at a wide TV in front of him that was currently playing some commercials but streamed the interview when that was happening. "I guess I'll get going since it's my turn next!" His friend nodded in agreement, so Gon went to the recording room and nervously waited. He had never spoke in front of such a large audience, even though most of them were watching from their own screens in their homes, but he still knew millions would be watching.
A few minutes later, the second interview with Gon began. The anchor was still the same woman as the one who interviewed Killua. "Hello, Gon Freecss. Thanks for taking the time to be on this program."
"Uh, yeah sure, no problem," he said nervously.
She started off by asking many similar questions to how the beginning of Killua's interview went. He explained in great detail about his childhood, including things like Whale Island and being raised by Aunt Mito because Ging left him. As he continued talking, he became more comfortable with speaking in front of so many people. People were bewildered by how lightly he talked about his father, Ging, leaving him and his eventual success in meeting him for the first time since he was a baby which did not really count as meeting Ging anyways.
The conversation was more normal in the viewpoint of the world when Gon was asked about how he convinced Killua. "I didn't want to fight All Might, and I didn't want Killua fighting him either. We both agree that All Might is a great hero! I just had to remind Killua about that because he also believed it. And also making sure that the people we became friends with in this world don't suffer because of something we do."
"That's good, I'm glad you can both see what a great hero All Might was for us," she replied with the nod of her head, though she had a hint of sadness in her tone. She straightened her tone out and asked, "So how did this world impact you? You can see that All Might is a great hero. Did we change you in any way?"
"Hmmm," Gon thought about it for a moment. He knew roughly what he wanted to say, but he did not know the exact wording. "Yeah, I guess. Fighting villains can be cool, and I can do that once I get back to my world. But besides that, I think our worlds are too different for me to change much here."
He was asked more about his time in this world. How he liked U.A., the system of heroes and villains, anything he may have learned. Gon answered everything to the best of his ability.
Soon, the program was close to ending its 30-minute run-time. The anchor thanked Gon for the interview, and the show was done.
In the days following, Gon and Killua were constantly pestered by the media and random citizens, even when they were at their motel. They had no idea how people found out about where the two lived. It must have been someone in the media who knew and then leaked it.
The boys did their best to ignore everything. The media got their scoops already, nothing more was necessary for them to see or hear.
Gon and Killua continued meeting new people from all over who had potentially useful warping Quirks. The process to figuring out if any Quirk could allow for interdimensional travel was tedious. Nobody had any idea of what a trigger for interdimensional travel could be. Ideas of all kinds were tried like imagining the location Gon and Killua wanted to be sent or physical contact to see if that made a difference. Nothing worked yet.
At last, someone a little promising came up. The man was from Costa Rica, a country in the Central America subregion of the Americas. He explained that he had a Quirk that sent people back to their area of origin, whatever that meant. It sounded familiar in Killua's mind because All For One had said something similar to him a while back. When asked to describe it in more detail, the man said he once sent a friend of his immediately back to their hometown. The friend did not end up at the exact place he was born, but he was in that city. Gon and Killua felt this could be the Quirk that would send them back.
Feeling that this might be the end of their time here, they decided to notify the people of U.A. that they might be leaving because of a person they found. The two were cautious and hoped no one else would find out.
Nezu was the one who coordinated this meeting between Gon and Killua and the man with a Quirk that might be able to send them back. As such, they were at U.A. during the short summer break the students received before their next semester started up.
Most of Class A and Class B were gathered at U.A. for the potential farewell. Several staff members including Nezu, All Might, Aizawa, and Kan were there too.
"You're really going? If this works?" Kaminari asked with a look that contained mixed feelings. Like some of his friends next to him, the blond teen was happy and sad; it would be bittersweet if this ended up working for Gon and Killua. Despite their differences, Kaminari would miss Killua. He helped the blond a lot by teaching him the basics of controlling his electricity better.
Killua nodded his head. "Yeah, we just thought we might as well call you guys here. Talk a bit I guess in case this ends up working out."
"Uh well...I hope you at least enjoyed yourself here," Kirishima muttered awkwardly. The two had not really talked since the training camp invasion and subsequent fight that happened nearly two weeks ago. As such, their relationship was still a little unclear to both of them. Killua thought the redhead would be mostly fine with him now. While Kirishima was glad the silver haired teen changed his mind in the fight, he was still a bit disappointed it took so long for Killua to recognize it in the first place.
Killua shrugged and kept an impassive look on his face. "As much as I wanted to, going home was always the priority. Can't believe it took this long to get this far. I thought I'd be out of here way sooner."
"It was interesting to learn so much about your world from your interviews," Midoriya added because of the curious person he was.
"What are you doing when you get home?" Sero asked with a toothy grin.
"Uhhh…reunite with my sister," he replied quickly. He did not remember ever getting into the reasoning with his classmates before, but he did tell All Might.
Kirishima was unsure if he should say something more, but he decided to say it anyways. "I know we're different, but thanks for choosing the hero side in the end. Even though you aren't the person I met at the start of the semester, it was still cool hanging out and knowing you."
The silver haired teen grinned. "Likewise, I suppose. At least I wasn't super bored here, and part of that is just talking to you guys, as much as I tried not to do that at times."
Killua heard footsteps behind him, so he turned his head slightly and saw a familiar man dressed in mostly black clothing. "Mr. Aizawa," he greeted with the nod of his head.
"I've been suspicious of you for a long time, but I never knew anything about you until All Might said that stuff at the conference," he said in a monotone voice. His expression looked as bland as it normally did, so Killua had no idea what to expect next. "I hope you could learn something here. Good luck with whatever you do if you end up home after this."
Killua nodded. "Thanks. I might have learned some things, but I didn't change here. Well, maybe not a lot." Aizawa stared him down for a seconds before nodding and walking off.
All Might and Nezu came up to Killua and had Gon join them. "I believe you may have found your solution home," Nezu said in the friendly tone he nearly always used. A hint of regret rung in his tone as he continued, "I am sorry I was not able to help much, even with the vast resources at my disposal. I could not search the entire world."
"It's fine, Principal Nezu!" Gon said hastily but cheerily. He wanted to get back to talking with his Class B friends. "You did what you could."
Nezu nodded to show his appreciation, despite his failure in helping them. If anything, they both knew the principal had tried stopping them more than helping them. "I am glad you think that way Gon." He turned to Killua. "I hope you are not upset with me. I know I may have been a thorn in your plans, and I still do disapprove of what you did, but I hope we can part on better terms. I was only trying to follow the hero processes. I am not sorry for following the laws."
Killua cracked a smile. "I don't expect you to be sorry for that. I get it, it's your job. It was definitely annoying for me, but I understand more now."
Nezu nodded once again, and then he turned up to All Might standing next to him. The newly-retired hero had not used his buffed form since the fight with All For One. Gon and Killua wondered if that had to do with his limit. Perhaps his daily limit was used up? He told them just the other day when he came to their motel room that it has a daily limit. But maybe his limit is completely gone now, so he retired from his hero duties?
"I hope this works out for you two. I hope this man who has travelled so far to aid you will send you home," he said slowly and softly. He gazed into Gon and Killua's eyes, trying to read something in them. His face drooped a bit as if he did not find what he was looking for. "I am curious though, did you learn anything here?"
"Uh…" Killua started, not knowing what to say.
"This world helped me a bit with what I want to do when I get back!" Gon shouted out happily. "I think heroes are pretty cool. I don't like having so many rules to follow, but that's why my world is better for that, at least for me."
"Yeah, kind of the same thing with me," the silver haired teen added quickly.
"I wasn't really a hero before, and I still don't think I am," Gon continued quietly. "I like helping my friends and other people that matter to me. I didn't care much about other people before. But now I think I'm better at that thanks to you guys." All Might and Nezu smiled, but then the teen quickly interjected, "I still don't think I'd be a good hero here though." Their smiles faltered a bit, but they forced it to stay up. After all, they just found out they had at least some impact on a boy from another world with a completely different moral compass from them.
All Might nodded at the end finally. "That is good to hear. Good luck, once again."
"Thanks, you too, All Might! And Principal Nezu!" Gon waved as the two walked back towards their friend groups.
"Yeah, good luck with things here," Killua said and waved them off too with a more impassive look covering his face.
A few exchanges later, with Gon having his own some Class B friends and the Class A students too, Gon and Killua faced the man who was waiting patiently to use his Quirk.
"Bye Killua! Bye Gon!" Ashido shouted out with a wave. The two heard a chorus of goodbyes from several other people too, and other things too like, 'It's been cool knowing you!'.
Gon turned around and frowned at the students saying their byes. "This might not even work."
"Yeah exactly. Let's first see where your Quirk sends us," Killua added while still facing the man.
The man had a questioning look on his face as he wondered if they wanted him to use his Quirk now. Gon and Killua both nodded.
His hands started glowing dark purple, similar to Kurogiri's colour. He placed both hands on Killua first, and the silver haired teen slowly faded away from everyone's sight. Gon was next, and his body followed the same process as he slowly disappeared too. And just like that, the nearly two dozen people around them watched in awe where the spots Gon and Killua were standing at were now empty.
Gon and Killua awoke in the alleyway of a city. Ironically, this was exactly how they woke up in Musutafu several months ago. That same thought ran through both of their heads. They could not shake the feeling away. What if 'area of origin' meant where they originated in the world of heroes and villains? That would be Musutafu.
Buildings surrounded them. Already, that was not a great sign. It was bright out, which meant it was daytime…exactly how it was at U.A. just moments ago.
The two stepped out of the alley. People were out and walking, but they did not see any of the unusual Mutant-type Quirks. Everybody looked like a normal person. That was not enough to rule out the possibility of still being in the same world. Cars were driving on the road too, though they looked older and more familiar than what they saw in Musutafu. Killua would bet that not every city in the world had the same type of cars as Musutafu – they could be in a less developed city for all they knew.
Gon looked down the street which gave a good view of many buildings. "This looks like Yorknew City…" he muttered. His friend turned and darted his eyes everywhere. The people were normal. No Mutant Quirks were visible yet. The cars were older. Gon said the buildings looked familiar.
"Well…" Killua said slowly and holding back a deep breath. He took his primary Japan phone out of his pocket and turned it on. There was no signal of any kind. It could still be a different city, but he felt Gon was right.
They headed to the nearest computer cafe they found – oddly enough, Musutafu did not have anything like that where you could book a computer for a bit. They had libraries with computers, but it was not the same. Gon and Killua had a good feeling about this.
The first thing Killua checked for was the Hunter Website. The page loaded up, which never happened in Japan.
They were finally back in their world. Far from the Zoldyck Estate, of course, but at least they were in the right world.
"Kukuroo Mountain?" Gon asked Killua immediately. Killua's face lit up with excitement, though he quickly realized exactly what he was going up against once he got there.
"Man…how are we going to explain where Alluka sent us? And how do we get her back?" he muttered disappointedly before he even tried.
The green haired teen patted his shoulder and offered a cheery smile. "Don't worry, we can figure it out on the way! Let's book our airship tickets for now."
Tickets were booked, and the two immediately headed off to the closest airport which was Lingon Airport in Yorknew City. There, they boarded an airship and were on their way to the Republic of Padokea where the Zoldyck family resided on Kukuroo Mountain.
Once they landed, Killua decided that they would run to an inn near the base of the mountain and stay for the night. The plan was to travel up the mountain in the morning rather than going straight ahead. The silver haired teen did not know what would await them and how things would go after entering the Zoldyck's mansion through the Testing Gate. Would they have to fight the Zoldycks to get Alluka back? Killua did not like his chances if that were the case. He wanted himself and Gon to be in top shape if that were to happen.
Morning arrived quickly enough. The two teens took their sweet time to go up the mountain. Close to noon, they arrived at the booth where Zebro stayed as a guard. The man was still in there and working, even at his old age. He noticed the two boys who seemed vaguely familiar for the split second he glanced at them before heading outside and taking a better look at them.
Zebro's eyes widened when he fully recognized who they were. "Master Killua! You have returned home?" His eyes trailed over to Gon. "And you must be Gon, right?"
Gon and Killua both gave smiles, remembering the kind of person Zebro was which they were fond of. Killua dropped his smile, "I came to get Alluka back," he said in a low and serious tone.
Zebro shifted uncomfortably. "She has been here for several months…where have you been?"
The silver haired teen sighed. He figured he would have to go through all of this. Gon patted him lightly and replied to Zebro, "We can explain that in there. We'll open the gate and head in."
Zebro grimaced slightly. It was not really his place to interfere in this, especially since Killua was involved. As curious as he was to know where the silver haired teen had been during all this time Alluka was in the mansion, he would only find out if someone told him. Beyond that, it was not his business. He slowly nodded and watched Killua first step up to the giant, imposing doors that made up the Testing Gate.
He looked like he put in very minimal effort, and the first two doors weighing 8 tons opened. He entered inside and let it close so Gon could go next. Waiting inside, Mike would want both of them to open it separately, or else the beast might attack.
The green haired teen stepped up too. Similarly, he opened the first two doors with ease. Zebro watched Gon enter too before the door closed. With a sigh, Zebro headed back to his little booth and sat there, looking out for new visitors with a bored look on his face. He always favoured Killua. He wished he had more of a chance to talk with the boy, but something in the boy's blue eyes told him he was here with a hurried purpose. He wanted to get his sister back? But if that was the case, why did it take him so long to get here? Another sigh. This was the most interesting thing that happened in quite some time. Visitors came by very often, but they were not entertaining. They would demand Zebro give them the keys, and then they would get eaten by Mike because they did not go through the Testing Gate.
Inside, Gon and Killua were faced against the huge beast Mike. He did not attack them though because they came through the Testing Gate individually, thus proving themselves worthy. They hurried and made their way up the mountain towards the mansion.
The stopping point was when they ran into Canary, the butler who was now older than when they last saw her. Neither Killua nor Gon had seen her in years, but they instantly recognized her and she recognized them.
"You two…" she mumbled in complete shock of seeing them now of all times.
"Hey," Killua said in an almost flat tone. "I need to speak to my family. We'll be going."
Canary hesitantly nodded and flashed a look at Gon too. If Killua said Gon was coming with him, who was she to say no? She stepped aside and let the two sprint past her so quickly that she stumbled from the burst of wind that hit her. Like Zebro, she was also disappointed she was not able to speak with Killua longer.
Finally, Gon and Killua made it to the mansion. Nobody was waiting outside, so the two teens went inside and looked for the Zoldycks.
After some time, they were found in the big dining hall eating their breakfast. Kikiyo Zoldyck stood up immediately upon recognizing her son enter completely unannounced. Not that she minded that though because at least Killua came home, but the familiar green haired friend he brought along was definitely not welcome.
"Killua," Kikiyo greeted cautiously. She had not seen him in several months. Her only daughter, Alluka, never said where she sent Killua and his friend.
Silva and Illumi stood up as well, but Zeno remained seated. His face was neutral. He did not let any expression show as to what he might be thinking.
Killua noticed the absence of Milluki and Kalluto. That made things easier. Milluki was probably on a computer somewhere with a bag of chips, and Kalluto…he had no idea where his younger brother was. He did not know where he was for a few years now.
"I want to take Alluka back with me," he announced to his family with no introduction despite how sudden his appearance was. Nobody looked surprised at the announcement.
"Why now? Where have you been these past five months?" Silva asked patiently. The moment his son said he wanted his sister back, Silva knew Killua was in a hurry and wanted to leave immediately. Silva had not decided yet if he would let Killua take Alluka again, though…
Killua shot a look over to Gon. The green haired teen looked over too when he saw Killua turn his head in his peripheral vision. Killua silently asked, 'Do I tell them?' Gon's face did not have an answer.
The silver haired teen sighed and turned back to his family. "I couldn't come here until now. That's why I'm here for Alluka right now rather than sooner."
"But where were you all this time?" Kikiyo repeated what her husband said.
Killua looked over at Gon again, and he sighed once again. "This is going to sound crazy, but Alluka sent Gon and I to another world. We were there all this time." He finished answering and gauged his family's reaction. Silva and Zeno had their eyebrows merely raised, while Kikiyo and Illumi looked a lot more surprised than that.
"A different world? Is that possible, Kil?" Illumi asked in an unsurprised voice. The teen only nodded in response.
"What was it like?" Zeno asked with the smallest of smiles on his face.
The silver haired teen shrugged. "Fine, I guess. I like this world better."
"Why is that?" Silva pressed forward.
Killua shook his head and held his hands up. "I'm not here to talk about that. Let me take Alluka with me."
"Explain this world to us," his father demanded, though it was not in a rough voice. It was still an order, and Killua could tell he would have to follow it if he wanted any chance of getting what he wanted.
Killua glanced across his family member's faces once again to confirm if what he felt was true. None of them looked like they would budge, so he told the summary of his travels using the most abbreviated version he could think of.
"Those are some interesting similarities and differences between our worlds," Silva mused with his lips curved up so slightly it was hard to notice.
Killua's eyes widened imperceptibly. "You believe it all?"
Silva raised his hands to his side. "You told us so much. You could not have made this whole story up."
"Well, who knows what that boy next to him could think up…" Kikiyo said with disgust, staring at Gon. The green haired teen frowned at Killua's mother.
"Killua and I were there the whole time! Everything he said was true!" Gon defended himself and his friend.
"About Alluka," Illumi interrupted, not caring too much about the interdimensional travels Killua and Gon experienced. "Can you help us understand her unique powers?" He tilted his head a bit to his left and asked it in the most casual tone.
"What are you going to do by knowing?" Killua asked with narrowed eyes.
"We know you know the extent of that thing's powers," Silva said in a strong tone. Killua grit his teeth at the disrespect Silva used to talk about Alluka, but he could not do anything about it. Changing their minds about her would be nearly impossible. "We could all better control it if you tell us. Alluka doesn't tell us."
Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I wonder why. You treat her so poorly. Locking her up in a room like that? She's just a kid, and she was happy with me. Then you lock her back up, and now she hasn't seen me in months." He paused for a second and sharply glared at Silva. "You just want to control her, just like you want to control me. I don't want that anymore. Alluka doesn't either."
"Are you saying-" Kikiyo began, but Killua cut her off, knowing what she was about to say.
"Yeah, I want to decide my own path," he replied instantly before the question even finished. "If I want to be the heir of the assassination business, I'll let you know. But for now, I want to find my own path."
Silva regarded his son from where he stood. "You've never been this bold before. You've been bold, but not this much. Something changed over in that world."
Killua tilted his head from side to the side, almost with a bounce. "Yeah, I ran into some manipulative freak there too. He reminded me of you guys, so I eventually went against him."
"We could just keep Alluka here, and you'll never get her," Illumi stated plainly, once again ignoring the previous conversation. "There is no reason for us to return her to you."
Killua frowned. He looked amongst his family members and frowned more because no one was saying anything to challenge Illumi. He felt his anger boiling up inside him, but it was no use. Illumi was right. Killua was powerless against them, even with Gon at his side. Illumi, Silva, and Zeno were all more powerful Nen users than them, so fighting was not really an option. At least, not a good one, and not now. Killua knew how talented he and Gon were, so they could probably match up well after a few more years. But right now, they were still too young and inexperienced. Mentally, he was still glad Gon was at his side. If he was alone, Killua felt like he would have folded in front of the Zoldycks.
"Why can't you just let us do what we want?" Killua asked almost desperately. He knew Illumi was telling the truth. There was not much Killua could do to have Alluka back.
"We have high expectations," Kikiyo replied like it was so obvious. "You could be a very talented assassin, but you're throwing all that potential away!" She turned to Silva next to him. "Convince him to stay! And get rid of that other boy!"
Silva did not look at her. He was staring directly at Killua. He was thinking hard about the choices he had. "You can have that thing back for now. But be warned, we may come after you again."
Killua almost felt like smiling. His father sounded too good to be true. "Really? You'll just let me have her?"
Silva nodded, though he did not have any hint of a smile on his face. "Sure. You know where to find her. I'll unlock the room."
Kikiyo turned to her husband in horror. "You're going to let him go?! After he came back to us?!"
"My decision is final," Silva said. Then, in a much lower voice that he knew Killua could not hear because of how far he stood, he whispered, "Let him live his life for a bit longer. He'll get bored eventually, and then he'll come back here."
Zeno overheard what Silva said, but his thought process was the opposite of his son's. He knew Killua quite well. If the boy was allowed to live his life how he wanted for the next while, there was no doubt in Zeno's mind that Killua would become too far to reach. He would not become the Zoldyck heir unless he really wanted to switch to that. But, he was not going to tell Silva. He was curious to see how Killua would forge his own path.
Killua went to the room where Alluka stayed. Gon was forced to stay back with the Zoldycks.
At last, the door opened, but Killua did not immediately see Alluka. She must have been somewhere hidden from his view, but it was not like she knew he would come back at this moment.
He stepped inside and checked her huge bed first. There she was, laying on the bed, but she did not look to be asleep. "I'm back, Alluka," he said softly and with a smile on his face.
Instantly, his sister got to her feet. She blinked a few times, wondering if what she saw was real. She stretched a hand out and lightly poked Killua and felt that he was solid and standing in front of him. Killua's smile grew, and Alluka burst into a grin before her mouth opened wide. "Big brother Killua!" She ran into him for a big hug. Killua was speechless at first, but then he wrapped his arms around her too.
"I came back for you," he repeated as he held onto her.
She pulled away from him. "How did you get back? I sent you so far away!"
Killua scratched his neck awkwardly, realizing Alluka was going to demand a lot more detail than his other family members did. But he was okay with that. He would be glad to share all the details with her. "It's a long story. Come with me. You're free. Dad is letting us go. Oh, and Gon's here too! We can go on adventures again!"
Alluka was positively beaming. She was not at all expecting this turn of events, but she greatly appreciated them. She would not question the good fortune she had right now. "Yes! Let's go!"
The two left the room and went back to Gon before leaving the mansion. Killua and Gon explained a bit more of the story to Canary and Zebro on their way out. The two butlers were happy for Killua and Alluka.
"Well, I wasn't too useful back there," Gon said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. He was thinking back to when he said he would help Killua with freeing Alluka, but he did not do anything.
"Don't worry, just you being there, it made me more confident that I wasn't alone," Killua replied with a smile. He was happy now. It was just the three of them as they walked down the mountain and talked amongst each other. There was nothing to worry about. For now, they could just enjoy life as siblings, as friends, and as Hunters.
And there's the end of this story. I'm not too happy with this chapter because it's really bland. The Alluka part was really lazy on my end, but that's entirely because I never had a plan on how they would get her back. Fighting doesn't make sense because Gon and Killua would lose, so I went with this. Oh well. Not the greatest ending, but hopefully the rest of the story or chapter made up for it.
Some of you asked about that new story I was thinking of writing now. I actually started writing the first chapter, but I don't know if I'll ever publish it. I don't really have a goal/direction for it, and I don't want to write something that I'll never finish. It's another crossover, but this time it's MHA x Avatar. The MHA and Avatar worlds will be one and the same, so it's not like this story where some characters got sent to the other world. Again, not sure if I'll ever publish it - school is super busy too, which is a big reason why this chapter took a month. I don't know how much time I'll have to write, but I hope to write more of that story even if it's just for me.
Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who read this far! I hope you've enjoyed this story! I'll put a 'complete' tag on this in a week or two so people aren't spoiled that it ends. Again, thanks so much for reading! I'll be replying to reviews over the coming days/weeks since I haven't done that in a long time.
