Gon and Killua exploded into the town square. The trip was much shorter now that they were living in the center of the village rather than on the far edge. The two of them crashed to the ground on their feet, spraying little chunks of the mosaic bricks in all directions.
The two fell into battle positions, a clear plan in mind.
…
Gon, Killua, and Circe wandered the forest of serpentine bodies. Killua still couldn't get over how brutal the aftermath of this battle was. It had been eight years ago, but the evidence was plain as day. Some of the warriors had left paths of destruction so clear that Killua could map their motion out perfectly in his mind.
"You can learn from this," Circe commented. "From the paths left behind by the battle, you can learn the way the warriors fought the serpents."
"Exactly what I've been thinking," Killua said. It sounded rude on paper, but the Valkyrie's tone was kind. He liked Circe. She was the one Neko-Girl he didn't detest. He did notice that she was a little standoffish with Gon, though. Perhaps it was the cloud of ominous aura that followed him everywhere.
"Gon!" Killua called out to his friend, who was currently climbing on one of those enormous rib cages.
The hybrid looked over at Killua, grinned, and then began to swing himself back and forth. Once he built up the momentum, he flung himself through the air in Killua's direction, executing a series of acrobatic flips. "What is it, Killua?" He asked with a shit-eating grin.
"Show off," the Valkyrie grumbled as he shoved the other boy around a bit.
Gon snickered.
"Look at this," Killua commanded as he gestured at the serpent corpse before him.
"Okay.." Gon prompted.
"Here," the Valkyrie pointed to a set of years old footprints, leading in a head-on dash towards where the fallen serpent had once stood. "You see the line of motion?"
"Yup!" Gon declared, eyes sparkling as he was able to identify it as well.
"This warrior took out the serpent in one fell swoop. We need to teach ourselves their technique, that way we can kill the final serpent without any trouble. See how her path of motion curves at the last second here?"
"It's really faint but yeah."
"This is her moving through the creature's blind spot. We didn't know it had one, so this information is invaluable." Killua led Gon over to the place where the path curved, and squatted in the rubble and dusting of snow. He pointed to the ground, and then up to the creature. "Look at the way it fell, envision how it would be standing, and where, right before it was taken out."
"Okay… I sorta see it."
"Good job, now, do you see the blind spot? The place she was making sure to stay in as she came in for her final blow?"
Killua watched Gon's eyes. Sure enough, they lit up like stars, amber depths flashing in joy when he realized. The Valkyrie felt his chest warm up. "It's just behind the eye! The serpent can turn its eyes completely backwards in the socket, but based on the structure of the socket itself they are unable to see in this section of their peripheral vision!"
"Exactly!" Killua exclaimed, suppressing an urge to wrap his arm around Gon and squeeze him against his side. He kept having urges like that lately. "Now, based on her trajectory and the shape of her push-off point, it looks like the spot she was aiming for was-"
"-under the jaw!" Gon interrupted.
Killua grinned, "Yes!"
"The scales must be softer there!"
"And that must be the location of the jugular."
"They fight with spears, so I bet the best way to take it out is a direct blow!"
"Right!"
The two boys exchanged their intricate handshake. Circe watched from a couple feet behind them, a smile dusting her lips. Seeing such joy on Lord Killua's face… made her feel so light.
…
"Ya ready?" Gon asked, voice deep with battle-readiness.
"Yeah," Killua growled out.
The ugly beast stared directly at them, empty black eyes flashing in rage. The Neko-Girls in the area rushed out of the way, gathering at the edge of the square to watch. This was a showdown, no doubt about it. The two Champions had managed to drive the creature away two times so far, and the creature hated them for it. It also had a vendetta for all the damage they had caused it.
Killing it would be so easy… but we can't.
Also…
Killua flicked his ear, and he felt Gon prickle as he noticed what he had been telling him.
Camilla was here. Those cold eyes watching, scrutinizing their every step.
This is clearly a test. If anything this proves that she has something to hold over us. If we step out of line here, she will likely make her move using whatever that is. Gods, I wish I knew what she had. I hate the position she has us in. It's a good thing Circe found a lead. Tomorrow we'll be going into town to check it out. All me and Gon have to do now is drive this thing off all nice and neat to give Camilla a false sense of security.
The two boys and the serpent circled each other. The enormous monster towered over the young men, giant claws scraping along the mosaic bricks, fat serpentine body sliding across it like ice skate blades on a frozen pond.
Gon growled, low and guttural. It was different from any sounds Killua would make, this one was animalistic and emanated rage. The noise should have scared him off, but it only made a shiver of anticipation run up his spine, and his stomach gave a warm flip.
I know Gon. It's so frustrating to hold back against a creature that is so painfully easy to defeat. Especially one that has been terrorizing these girls for so long. I know how much you just wanna kill it, but we have to hold out just a little longer. Circe says this lead is promising.
The two boys snapped their eyes together, and then jumped in at the creature. The serpent screeched in surprise, but dashed forward to meet them. It slithered and dragged itself across the mosaic bricks, thundering towards them like a moving train.
Killua glanced out of the corner of his eye to see a grin on Gon's face.
Little psycho, he thought affectionately.
Once they got within five feet of the monster, Killua jumped left and Gon jumped right. In flawless synchronicity, they both leapt up towards the side of the thing's neck. Killua braced his leg, pumping Valkyrie power into the appendage. He twisted himself through the air, flipping around to gain momentum, and once he came into range he brought his foot crashing down against the creature's weak spot.
He smirked victoriously as the serpent cried out in pain, and retreated.
It may be big, but it fights cautiously. At the slightest hint of adversity, it will leave. Clearly this serpent is playing a game of attrition. However. That's not a game you can play against Gon and me.
And definitely not one you can win.
Killua landed on his feet, skidding across the bricks in a wide-legged stance. He grinned at Gon as his friend did the same. The fight hadn't even lasted a minute! That had been awesome!
Applause exploded from the crowd of Neko-Girls, and the two boys were flooded with grateful bodies. The grateful women held their hands, touched their arms, and brushed up against them with their tails, all the while congratulating them and praising them like mad.
Killua grinned, basking in the attention.
He hated this village, but being praised like a God was great!
"Lord Gon!" Killua turned his head in curiosity at the shrill yell. He saw a Neko-Girl with silky dark hair, deep tan skin, and golden eyes shoving herself through the crowd to get to Gon. It was Alvara.
The girl he saved the last time we fought off the final serpent.
Killua watched as she crashed into Gon, and wrapped him up in a tight hug. Gon looked surprised, but being Gon, returned the hug before the pause got too awkward. Alvara buried her face in the crook of his neck, and mumbled words that Killua could not make out.
My chest feels… tight. But, in a different way than when Gon pinned me down earlier.
Now it's… pain.
Killua had grown up with physical pain his entire life. He was completely immune to it. He had had flesh sheared off, bones broken, wings ripped, and nails pulled off. All for pain tolerance training. Oh the many months he had spent drinking poison after poison, all to suffer the effects and build up tolerance. He could have his arm ripped off in battle and wouldn't bat an eye. He could be stabbed straight through the heart and keep fighting until he went brain dead. He could be shot through the eye with an arrow, rip it out, and continue fighting.
Physical pain meant nothing to him.
But emotional pain… that was something he had no tolerance to at all.
If anything, he was more vulnerable to it than anyone else. For his entire life, Killua had been forced to suppress his emotions. Before meeting Gon, he hadn't experienced friendship, acceptance, and companionship. Before he attempted to free Alluka from Nanika, he had never experienced grief, pain, and guilt. Before he had run away from home, he had never experienced homelessness, and the wandering pain that came with having no one - not even a horrible someone - to return to.
Emotions were foreign to him, and he had absolutely no shield from them.
He watched as Alvara suddenly leaned up on the tips of her toes and kissed Gon on the cheek. A sick feeling wave rolled through him. It was a small wave, one that just barely pulled at the sand under your feet, but it was a wave all the same. It was an emotion he was unfamiliar with, and a negative one at that. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, and left him feeling rubbed raw and uncomfortable.
Is this… jealousy?
Killua all but winced as he watched Gon's face flush at the sudden affectionate display, and he barely registered the Neko-Girls hanging off his arms and threading their fingers through his silky hair.
Make some distance between the two of you… push her away, Killua found himself thinking. Why was that? What was this feeling? It was so foreign, and even though he knew what it was, he didn't know what to do. He was glued to the spot. Watching in a daze as Gon - being the polite boy that he was - didn't protest Alvara.
Why do I care this much? It's just some girl-
One of the girls crowding around him laced her tail with his, an assertive signal of affection. Others around her sighed in disappointment, wishing they had made the move first. Killua looked down at her, a head shorter than he was. He met a pair of dazzling blue eyes. Eyes that gazed up at him with the same expression that Alvara had turned on Gon.
A twined pair of tails was the equivalent of a kiss on the cheek, and depending on the situation, more. Yet Killua felt nothing. His face did not flush. He felt a little uncomfortable, but that was all. His heart did not race, he did not freeze on spot as Gon had done when Alvara kissed his cheek out of nowhere.
His stomach didn't flip, his face didn't turn cherry red, his heart didn't race.
Not like they did when Gon had…
Stop.
His brother's voice, ringing from his head.
Halting his thoughts.
Killua frowned, trying to pin-point which "lesson" with Illumi this reaction was stemming from. He had been punished for so many things… purged of so many thoughts and behaviors… molded into so many different shapes… that he couldn't even tell where the change had occurred sometimes. The silver haired boy fished his mind, sifting through dark memories that hung in his mind like tattered cobwebs. Memories he always kept shoved to the back recesses of his consciousness, until a time came in which he would retrieve them, find the "lesson" and whatever conditioning it had imposed on him, and revolt against it.
He had done this time and time again during his stay at the Clawthorne, it was all a part of getting his mind back, and purging it of that imposing Dragonite influence. The dark shadow of his family. He focused on the pain in his chest and the flush that rushed to his cheeks whenever Gon got to close, and right when his fingertips brushed against the outer edge of the memory; grabbing a specific manila folder from the shadowy depths of a messy filing cabinet drawer-
His concentration was broken.
By Camilla.
Stupid bitch.
"Our Champions, Lords Killua and Gon, have saved us once more!" the High Priestess called out, projecting her regal voice across the entire town square. Various cheers arose from the crowd of Neko-Girls. "Come! Let us throw a celebration in their honor! Join us in the palace, my dear sisters! We will throw a celebration into the night in honor of our saviors!"
The cheers became louder, so loud that Killua's thought process was overwritten by the dull ringing of over-stimulated eardrums. He welcomed the pain in his ears, it grounded him. Physical pain was something he knew. Not like emotional pain…
The Valkyrie felt himself slipping into another mental spiral, when a familiar, chilling presence grated at his senses. It was a discomfort so welcomed that its mere existence at his side was enough to pull him out of his stupor.
But better yet: a warm arm brushed against his own, and the object of his thoughts leaned against him in an effort to ground himself in the excited pulsation of the crowd.
"Gon!" Killua breathed out.
A sharp-toothed grin, bright as the sun.
A warmth, bubbling in Killua's chest. Tiny, a mere seedling, but bright as a shining star.
"What happened to Alvara?" the Valkyrie found himself asking, not entirely sure what had possessed him to ask. Though if the twinge in his chest was any indication, the little flame of jealousy from earlier was the catalyst.
"Oh!" Gon said, eyes widening slightly like Killua had reminded him of something he had forgotten. "I must have lost her in the crowd!" Speaking of which, the Neko-Girl who had twined her tail in Killua's was gone as well.
He completely forgot Alvara was there… he was so focused on getting to me that he-
Stop it! Don't turn this into something it's not!
A hint of Illumi's voice in that last statement? Yes. But Killua couldn't, wouldn't dwell on the implications of that presence in his mind. Not when Gon was right here and he felt so very alive…
More sappy thoughts.
"Here," Gon said simply as he grabbed Killua's hand with his own. "Let's not get separated again! I'm not really sure where we're going, other than there's gonna be a party! It's gonna be super hard to find you if we get lost, so let's stick together!"
Killua's face heated up and his heart began to race. He was just barely aware of the two of them being pulled along with the crowd like leaves in a bubbling brook. No, his mind was preoccupied with the feeling of Gon's palm pressed against his own.
What's with this all of a sudden? You hold hands all the time! Stop freaking out like this! Killua (frantically) scolded himself. Idiot. He's your friend, stop being weird.
"Have you ever been to a party before, Killua?"
There Gon went again, pulling Killua out of his head like a beam of light in the darkness.
"Yeah, a couple of times. But both of them were for jobs," he answered truthfully.
"This is great!"
"H-how come?" Killua asked, drawn aback and very unprepared for another one of those blinding smiles.
"This'll be your first for real party! Without work and stuff to worry about! This'll be so fun! I can't wait! Come one! Let's hurry so we can see where it's being thrown!" If Gon had a tail, it would be wagging like a puppy's right now. He hopped from foot to foot in an excited little dance, and Killua couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, alright! Just stop pulling my hand so much," he said this in false annoyance. He was the exact opposite of annoyed at the moment. He was happier than ever. Gon could pull Killua across the entire globe, for all he cared.
Damn it! More sappy thoughts.
The two boys weaved through the moving crowd of Neko-Girls, fighting their way to the front of the pack. Gon with a smile on his lips, and Killua with a smile on both his lips and in his heart.
AN: a ball! cause I just can't help myself :3