----
"Cancer..."
"Of..."
"THE BRAIN!" The three shouted in shock after finding out the true reason why their youngest friend was acting so strange.
"Well, yes...And it appears that he's diagnosed with its final stage." The doctor explained to them.
"This is bad..." Kurapika said with a low voice.
"What do you mean by that, Kurapika? Is Gon going to be all right?" Leorio asked, his eyebrows twitched with concern.
"I-I'm afraid not...I've heard that when a person is diagnosed with cancer, it will take a miracle for him to recover completely." Kurapika explained with fright in his voice, afraid of what might happen to Gon.
As Kurapika was mentioning those words, Killua's heartbeat rises each second. He can feel his heart pounding so fast. 'Why? Why am I so scared? Gon, I-I don't want to loose him!'
Silence reigned over the room. Then the doctor was the one who broke it. "Sigh...this is really bad. I told him to rest and—"
"Wait," the doctor was cut off by Killua. "You told him? You mean he knew he was sick all this time?!"
"Well, that is right. He came to me two months ago and asked me to check him up. He told me that his head always hurts...and that's when I told him about his disease." The doctor reasoned.
"Headache...headache..." Kurapika remembered the few times he caught Gon complaining about his head. "Damn! Why didn't I noticed it?!" He exclaimed.
"What? What?" Leorio was clueless. "He was always complaining about his head hurting ever since we stayed here for vacation. But whenever I ask him what's wrong, he just answers 'I'm fine' all the time." The Kuruta told them his story.
Killua clenched his fists at what he heard. "He...he knew it all along...but he didn't even dared to tell even one of us...not even me! Damn it!" Killua ran out of the room with a broken heart, tears forming in his eyes.
"Killua!" Kurapika was about to follow him but was stopped when Leorio's hand was placed on his shoulder. "Let him, Kurapika. If it hurts us knowing Gon's situation, it hurts him more. Let him have the time to think."
That day was too much for our young Zoldyick heir. He never felt so troubled, so sad, so...scared. "Gon..." He never thought he'd be this worried in his whole life. This is the first time he learned to care for someone, and the thought of loosing that someone haunted him.
He found himself walking on the seashore. He watched the moon cast its silvery light on the whole round world. He stared at its amazing reflection on the ocean in front of him. Then...without knowing it...a stream of liquid gushed out of his eyes as he remembered Gon's situation once again. Tears...it was the first time he felt them, it was the first time he cried.
He sat down the sandy path, embraced his legs, and buried his head onto his knees. He stayed like that for a couple of moments.
His moment of serenity was broken when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He turned his head and faced Kurapika. "Hey..."
Killua smiled and returned the greeting. "Hey..."
"I didn't expect I'd find you here." Kurapika walked to where Killua is and sat beside him.
"Hmph...I didn't expect to be here either. In fact, I've been doing a lot of crazy things for a while."
"Like what?"
Then tears flowed down his cheeks. "Like crying...like being scared...I don't want to loose Gon, Kurapika..." The younger boy looked at the other with teary eyes.
Kurapika felt great pity for the boy beside him. He placed his hand on the other's shoulder and spoke like a caring brother. "Stop crying. Don't worry; everything will turn out all right. Don't loose hope. Besides, have you forgotten that Gon is the strongest among the four of us? Not to mention the bravest. So...I know he'll recover soon!"
Killua smiled at the other's remark. "Thanks, Kurapika..."
"Don't mention it...Oh, I almost forgot...Gon's awake. He really wants to see you." Kurapika said with a smile.
"Really! Thanks, Kurapika!" Killua wiped off his tears and happily ran back into the rest house.
----
Killua smiled when he saw Gon sitting in his bed. "Killua! Good thing Kurapika found you. Where have you been?" Gon asked his best friend while eating his dinner. He sounded so well, but he was looking pale.
"Killua didn't mind what he saw in Gon's appearance. He marched to the side of the bed and leaned closer to Gon. "Why you! You knew you were sick all this time but you didn't even dare to tell us! I was worried sick about you!"
"Hehe...I just don't want you to worry..." Gon tried to reason with the other boy. At that moment, Kurapika and Leorio just went in to check on Gon.
"#worry...WoRrY...WORRY?!" Killua hit Gon on the head. "Do you think even if you told us, we won't worry? Of course, we will! You're our friend!" Killua moved closer to Gon and hugged him tight. Gon returned the embrace his friend gave him.
Kurapika and Leorio smiled at what they saw. "Killua's right, Gon. We're always here to help you." Kurapika mentioned.
"He's right! We're going to take care of Gon!" Leorio blurted out.
"Why don't we sleep here so we can watch over Gon?" Killua suggested.
"Eh? You don't need to..." Gon was a little shy about this.
"Don't worry, Gon. Besides, whether you like it or not, we're staying here!" Killua smirked at his remark.
"I'll go get our dinner, it's getting cold." Leorio said while heading to the door.
"I'll go get Gon's medicine. He should take it now." Kurapika went after Leorio.
"Ok! I'll go prepare the beds!" Gon shouted. He received another hit on the head from Killua.
"Are you nuts?! You know you should rest!"
"I'm fine! Don't be so worried, Killua. It's not like I'm going to die, right?"
Killua's expression suddenly changed. From being naughty and happy, it turned to a sorrowful one. "That's what I'm afraid of, Gon. I don't want to loose you."
Gon hugged Killua one more time. "I won't leave you, Killua. Promise!" Gon raised his hand as a sign of truth and promise.
"Thanks, Gon. Now...if you want to recover fast...YOU REST!" Killua layed Gon down in a sleeping position, tucked him tight, and whispered 'Goodnight'. He then went to get their beddings.