Highschool

Josh stayed uneasy until his parents left the station with Gon. He watched as Gon stared out the window with a smile on his face as his parents drove to their house. Hesitantly, he reached out to get his attention.

"Hey, Gon?" he asked. Gon turned towards him with glazed eyes.

"Yeah?"

Josh didn't know whether he should approach the subject. If the officer earlier was right, would this mean Gon was just as dangerous as Killua? "You're not… um, gonna kill me, are you?"

Of all the questions Josh could've asked, Gon wasn't expecting anything even remotely close to what he did. Gon's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why would you ever think that?" he asked.

"Oh, uh -" Josh nervously fiddled with his fingers. "It's just the other kid that you were talking to… The reason he was in the station was because he, um, did kill someone today."

Gon's mind went blank for a second before the car nearly shook under his laughter. A few seconds passed before he was able to calm back down. "What's so funny?" Josh asked.

"I already knew," Gon said.

"Then why would you rile him up like that?" Josh asked defensively.

"He's harmless," he said. When he saw the deadpan look Josh was giving him, he sighed. "I know killing is wrong, but I'm not afraid when I'm next to Killua. On the contrary, I felt the happiest and safest when I was talking to him than I have all day. Yes, he's killed before. You can see it in his eyes, but that's no reason to shut him out," he shrugged.

Josh just let the subject go and turned away from Gon. His uneasiness never left him during the rest of the car ride home. However excited he was to no longer be an only child for the time being, his thoughts were clouded with concern over Gon's rather unexpected reaction to death.

~ 0 0 0 ~

Killua watched from his chair as Gon walked out of the police station with the other boy and two adults. Without Gon beside him, he felt as if a piece of him were missing. He frowned and focused on the new emptiness on his heart, trying to figure out what his interaction had meant if it had impacted him this greatly. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming in his direction and recognized Tyler.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. Killua shrugged, unable to put his confusion into words. When Tyler gestured over to his arm, he shrugged again.

"I don't know what you guys are so worried about," Killua said as he moved his arm around for the officer to see. "Nothing's wrong with it other than the way it looks."

"Do you want to get out of those clothes?" Killua froze and looked at Tyler. "My shift here is over. We can go shopping and get you a change of clothes since I don't think any of mine would fit you."

At the idea of changing his clothes so he wouldn't smell like the sewers anymore, he nodded and got up from the chair. Killua followed Tyler into his car and they drove to a Walmart since everything was closed at this hour. Along with some clothes, they bought school supplies, and toiletries. Killua insisted they bought some chocolate while they were out.

When they got to Tyler's house, Killua went into the shower. While he was in the shower, Tyler set up his guest room and placed Killua's new belongings on the dresser. Killua walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and walked over to the table in the dining room where Tyler had set out a meal. Killua didn't talk while he ate and went straight to the room he'd be sleeping in after. Tyler noticed a large variety of scars on Killua's body, but decided it was best to let him be by himself. Tyler got himself ready for bed and closed the door.

~ 0 0 0 ~

He was glowing while he ran through the trees, leaving sparks of electricity in his wake. "Alluka!" he called while he followed the shadow ahead of him. He climbed the nearest tree and stood so he could find whoever had taken her. The shadow appeared to his right before it started running again, taunting him. Killua leaped from tree to tree, trying to catch up with the shadow. The moon above them suddenly turned red and he heard a scream. He turned and Illumi's emotionless face filled his vision.

Killua sat up, panting heavily. He wiped the sweat off his face furiously and looked around the room. After a few breaths, he remembered where he was and started to relax. He saw the light turn on outside his door and heard footsteps in the hallway. He quickly untangled himself from the blanket he was sleeping under. He opened the window to his right and scaled the house until he was sitting on the rooftop. From there, he saw Tyler's shadow as he entered the room. After a few seconds, the house went dark again.

He sighed and watched the stars in the sky disappear one by one as the sun rose in the east. He held his arm and thought about the dream that had woken him up so suddenly. He thought about Alluka, and why he was chasing her. He thought about the fear he felt when he saw the expressionless face. The strange sense of familiarity of it all set him on edge.

"Who were those people?" Killua asked himself, deep in thought. The song of a bird cut through his thoughts as the sun began to light up his surroundings.

Frustrated with not being able to think of an answer, he sighed and moved to climb back into his room. He walked over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of light brown pants and a dark purple turtleneck. He swung a black backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the room. Tyler was already dressed for work and drinking a cup of coffee.

"You came back," he commented as he looked Killua over. He nodded.

"How did you sleep last night?" Tyler asked absentmindedly. Killua said nothing as Tyler finished drinking his coffee. He placed his cup by the sink. "Well, let's not be late then." He grabbed his keys and the two of them left the house.

The drive to the school was silent. Killua ignored Tyler and ran his dream over and over through his head, hoping that it would make sense if only he thought about it long enough. Tyler parked the car in a parking spot close to the school's main doors where students were making their way inside. Tyler opened the door and waited for Killua to follow him into the building.

Some of the students turned their heads in Killua's direction as they entered the office. A few were curious about the new student, they would've remembered him by his unusual hair color, and most of the students' interests piqued when they saw him escorted in by a police officer. Whispers floated in the air. Whenever Killua would be able to pinpoint who was talking in the sea of students, he would send them glares that glued their mouths shut until they couldn't see him anymore.

"Do we have another new student, today?" the secretary asked as Tyler walked forward.

"Yes. He's going to need to be registered today, along with his schedule," he said.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes to see what classes are available," she handed Tyler a clipboard with several papers attached to it. "While I do that, I need you to fill in these forms. What year is he entering in?"

"Sophomore," he said and accepted the papers.

Killua felt the seat next to him move as Tyler sat down and began filling out the papers. Killua held his arm and continued to watch the sea of students on the other side of the glass. He watched as two familiar teenagers walked through the halls. The younger one looked his way like many of the others before putting his head down. The movement alerted the older brother and he bent down to ask what made him uneasy.

"It's nothing," Killua heard the younger teenager whisper. Killua sighed and closed his eyes. He had himself to worry about, and he began rethinking his dream again when Tyler got up from the chair he was in and walked over to the desk. Killua stood and followed so he could receive his schedule from the secretary.

"Alright," Tyler said as he turned to him. "I'll be back to pick you up when the dismissal bell rings." When Killua didn't say anything, Tyler thanked the secretary again and left the office. He looked down at his schedule.

"Where are my classes?" Killua asked the secretary. She looked over at him.

"All of your core classes should be downstairs, and your other classes will be here on this floor," she said sweetly before typing on her computer. Killua left the office just as the first bell rang.

The hallways were now nearly empty aside from a few late students who scrambled by him without a word. Killua sighed and looked at his schedule again. He had history in room 221 first hour. He walked down the stairs and into a common area with hallways leading to different directions with different signs above them. He looked up and saw a sign that said 200s. He walked down the hallway until he reached number 221. He pocketed his schedule and walked into the room. The students all looked over at the late student coming in. Two students shrunk when they saw who it was, while another called out excitedly.

"Killua!" Gon shouted over the students, effectively silencing them, from the back of the room and waved over to him. "Come sit by me!"

He looked at Gon from the doorway. The first thing he noticed was Gon's forehead. It was no longer wrapped, and the only evidence of the injury was a red spot over his eye. He was wearing a sleeveless, cream colored tank top that showed off his tanned skin and muscular arms, and camouflage pants tucked into the boots he wore last night at the station.

The silence in the room was deafening and made Killua realize he was staring. His face turned red at being caught by the class and he shook his head just enough to let his bangs cover his face. He walked on the outside of the desks towards the back quietly. He slid into the empty seat next to Gon and placed his bag next to him and hid his face in his hands. Conversation buzzed through the air. Gon laughed at how easy it was to turn Killua's albino skin red and looked over to him. He leaned closer to him so he could hear him.

"It's nice to see you again," Gon nearly whispered. Killua felt Gon's breath on his neck and tried to bury his face further in his hands as his skin reddened deeper. Gon laughed and leaned back in his seat.

"Stop being embarrassing," Killua weakly said into his hands after he was able to find his voice again. Thankfully for him, the teacher called for everyone's attention before Gon could continue.

"Could everyone quiet down, please?" he asked. Once it was relatively quiet, he looked to the back of the room. "We have two new students today. I want you all to welcome them warmly to our school. Now, please open your textbooks to page number 348, and we'll continue where we left off from Friday..."

The bell rang and the room filled with students shoving their textbooks back into their bags. Gon looked to Killua and found that he had his schedule in his hands.

"Hey, Killua," he said to get the other boy's attention. Killua looked up, his eyes glazed with boredom from the history lecture. "What classes do you have?"

He shrugged and just handed his schedule over. He got up and swung the backpack on his shoulder. He had mostly zoned out during class and was still out of it when he heard Gon's loud voice again, accompanied by a small pout by the other boy next to him.

"We have every class before lunch and PE together," Gon excitedly said.

"It doesn't look like your friend approves too much," Killua said, looking behind Gon to the boy who was with them last night. He shrunk slightly over his gaze.

"Oh, that's right," Gon said as something inside his head clicked. He looked from the boy to Killua to back again. "You guys don't know each other yet. Josh, this is Killua from the station last night. Killua, this is Josh who's my acting brother until I remember something from before yesterday."

Killua lifted his hand to wave and Josh looked to Gon.

"Come on. We don't want to be late," he said with a quieted voice. Killua cocked his head to the side for a second before holding out his hand for his schedule. Gon gave it back to him and lifted his own yellow/brown backpack to his shoulders. The three of them walked out of the door to their next class.

After the fourth class, it was time for lunch. Unfortunately for Josh, he and Gon shared each class so far with Killua. No matter how Gon would remain unconcerned and welcome around him, Josh never could shake off his initial instinct around him. He constantly felt as if he were prey that was constantly under the watch of its predator. He had stayed by Gon as a futile effort to protect him, at least that was the lie he told himself. The three of them joined the line in the cafeteria and he tuned himself into their conversation.

"Have you remembered anything yet?" Gon was asking. Killua shook his head.

"I think so, but I don't know. You?"

"No. What do you think you remembered?"

"All I can say is that I had a weird dream last night," Killua sighed. "But it didn't feel like a dream; it felt more like a memory. Does the name Alluka ring any bells with you?"

"Hm…" Gon hummed as he thought about it. "I feel like it. Was Alluka in your dream?"

"Yeah," Killua said thoughtfully. "And there was this face, too. It had like, no emotion, but it was threatening all the same?" He shrugged. Gon nodded in half-understanding. They all grabbed a tray and followed Josh to a table. Killua was still talking to Gon when he stopped. The only other boy at the table looked up to Josh, but nearly dropped his fork when he saw Killua behind him.

Killua could've handled being in the same building as this teenager, but he didn't know about anything else. A low growl escaped his throat and he watched in content as the other boy squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Josh sat down in front of the boy, and Gon did the same. Killua sighed and reluctantly placed his tray next to Gon's.

"Who's your friend?" Gon's chirpy voice asked Josh. His voice seemed to startle the two teens.

"This is Nate," Josh said. At hearing his name, Killua's ears perked up and he faced the blonde teen.

"You're not going back out again with your brother, are you?" Killua asked too politely. Nate looked away.

"N-no," he said quietly. "I- uh- have to go. Bye, Josh." He picked up his tray and left the table. Josh couldn't blame him for wanting to leave. Killua nodded and took a bite of his food before spitting it out.

"What the fuck is this?!" Killua asked and pushed his tray back. Gon looked at him curiously. "You try it," Killua insisted. Gon shrugged and scooped some of the school lunch into his mouth. It didn't take him long to put his spoon back down on the tray.

"This doesn't taste natural," Gon said in a confused tone under his breath.

"I know, right?" Killua asked. "How do you eat this stuff, Josh?"

Upon being addressed, his mouth went dry and he looked at Killua. He didn't look like he was gonna kill him, but Josh decided it was best not to push anything. "Er… I've always eaten this. It's, uh, not supposed to be natural," he said slowly.

"What's it supposed to be, then?" Killua asked.

"It's supposed to, um, give you energy?" Josh tried. This conversation was making him rethink his own food and he looked at it quizzically.

"How is it supposed to give you energy if it's not natural?" Gon asked. Josh's face turned blank and he shrugged.

"I guess I don't know."

None of them ended up eating much of their lunch and Josh led Gon to his next class. Killua looked down at his schedule on his way to his next class, mentally counting the rooms as he walked past them. Someone to his right bumped into his shoulder and he reflexively shot his arm out, hitting the other teen hard in the chest. The older teenager grabbed Killua's shoulder and spun him around. The teenager froze when their eyes met.

Killua glared into Carl's eyes. He watched as Carl cautiously lifted his hand from his shoulder and stepped back. Carl gulped and fear was undeniable in his eyes as he remembered what had happened to The Dragon. He glanced down at Killua's nails and saw there was nothing out of the ordinary with him. He gulped again and silently walked around him, keeping his eyes on the floor. Killua watched as he walked into the theatre.

"Great," Killua muttered sarcastically as he followed him into the theatre.

The theatre was bustling with people in different groups. Some singing, dancing, or just chatting about what they did over the holiday. Killua sat down in one of the theatre's seats and mindlessly scanned the room. Both Nate and his brother were in this class. Carl must've been held back or something, he thought. He watched as one of the groups who were practicing choreography approached him.

"Hello," the brunette girl greeted. The three girls rummaged through their stuff that was by Killua for water bottles. When Killua didn't say anything in return, the brunette turned to the short red-head in the group and smiled. "He's just like you."

"You're new," the blonde with the light blue jacket pointed out after she had drunk about half of her water. "Are you a transfer student?" All Killua wanted was for the girls to go away so he could focus on whenever the class would start. He looked up at the large clock in the auditorium. He cursed when they still had three minutes before the tardy bell would ring.

"Hey," the blonde said and she started poking his arm and waving in his face. "Hello? Do you speak english?"

Killua sighed and turned to glare at the girl. She stopped poking him and stood back.

"Not everyone is as social as you, Christina," the red-head said quietly. She looked equally as uncomfortable as Killua and just wanted her group to continue practicing.

"Not everyone is as not social as you, Niki," Christina said as she intimidated her friend's voice. They both heard the low growl coming out of his throat.

"He obviously wants to be left alone. Let's just go back to sharpening up our routine before the test," Niki pleaded.

"Hey, Nate!" the brunette called across the theatre. The boy in question looked over before jogging in their direction with a raised hand.

"Hey! How's your…" he trailed off when he saw Killua glaring daggers in his direction by the group. He turned back to the brunette. "S-Sofia," he gulped. "Why is he part of your group?"

"I'm not," Killua said. He heard Christina say something along the lines of 'I knew it!' under her breath and he growled quietly again, making Nate nearly jump.

"Do you two know each other?" Sofia asked.

"No!" Nate said quickly.

"Yes," Killua said at the same time.

"So who's lying?" Christina asked and started poking Killua's shoulder again. "Did you scare him or something?"

"C-Christina, get back. Stop poking him," Nate said nervously.

"Why?" she challenged and kept poking him. Nate watched as Killua's nails started to grow in agitation and all he could see was Christina's body laying in her own blood on the theatre floor.

"I'm serious," he said cautiously and patted the air. "You need to get away from him."

She ignored him and was about to poke Killua again when he snapped. He bolted up and stood, his hand wrapped around her wrist tightly and his long nails broke her skin easily. He looked her in the eye with the same murderous intent as the night before.

"Do what you're told," he said threateningly and squeezed his hand tighter around her wrist to the point where it began turning purple. The group just stood there as Killua glared Christina down, none of them knowing exactly what to do. He let go of her wrist and retracted his nails when the tardy bell rang, and she immediately cradled it in her other hand. A short, stout lady walked in the classroom and everyone else sat in the seats of the auditorium.

"Welcome back from the holiday, everyone," the woman projected throughout the theatre. The auditorium hushed. "There's a new theatre geek here to join us. While all of you continue working on your projects, Carl and I will take our new student around the groups for introductions and find a good place to put him for the upcoming winter performance."

Nate retreated back to his group while the girls cautiously walked back over to their area. Killua tensely approached Carl and the director. He smirked slightly at seeing the older teenager's face pale when realizing who was in the theatre.

"Killua, right?" the woman asked. Killua nodded. "I'm Ms. Mairon. I'm the director, and this is Carl. He's the stage manager this year. I'm sorry to do this, but I don't have a lot of time to finish the planning for the winter production." She turned to Carl. "Would you be willing to take him around the theatre?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," he stuttered. As Ms. Mairon turned around to go backstage, Killua's gaze locked with Carl's.

"I can't wait to get started!" Killua exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. Carl gulped and began walking to the nearest group for introductions. Killua whispered just loud enough for the stage manager to hear, "And if I ever see you attacking the old man again, I will kill you."

~ 9 ~