----
"Done! I'm going to my room now!" Gon said as he placed his plate in the sink. They have just finished eating dinner after that long day.
"Are you in a hurry, Gon? We still have dessert." Kurapika insisted the other boy to stay.
"Really! I won't miss it now!" Gon hurriedly took a plate and quickly sat on his chair, waiting for Kurapika to serve the last course of their meal.
"Wow!" Gon said as he scooped a spoonful of salad that Kurapika made. "You're the best, Kurapika! I hope I can eat some of this again..."
The other three were shocked at what they heard. "Gon? What do you mean by that?"
"Huh? What? Have I said anything?"
"Yeah...you hoped that you can eat some of this again." Killua answered Gon's question.
"Oh...that? Oh, don't mind that! Of course I'll get to eat some of this again, right? Don't think about it too much!" Gon tried to reason out with them, but the others knew something was wrong with their youngest friend.
"Gon, are you alright?" Leorio asked him.
"Me? Of course I am! Have you forgotten that I spent the whole day without complaining?"
"Well, yeah. But..."
"But something's bothering you, Gon. We know it." Killua butted in.
Gon ate the last spoonful of salad in his plate and placed the plate in the sink. "I'm alright, guys. Really..." Gon said with a smile. But his eyes showed the huge pain he was feeling inside. He looked at his friends, stared at them, as if memorizing their looks. 'Guys...'
"I'm going to my room now..." Gon said with a low voice.
"Hey...wait for me, Gon..." Killua called out to his friend as he placed his plate in the sink. He followed the other boy to his room.
Meanwhile, Kurapika and Leorio just stared at the two, and focused more on Gon. "Leorio...something's not right..."
"Yeah...I wonder what's wrong with Gon..." The older lad said in a curious tone. They made their way to Gon's room. They arrived there seeing the two boys arguing again.
"C'mon, Gon! Don't be so stubborn!" Killua scolded the boy in front of him.
"But Killua! Please! Just this once!" Gon shouted back.
The two older lads stood there, clueless of what was happening. "Oi...why are you two arguing again?" Kurapika asked.
"It's Gon's fault! He said he wanted to sleep alone tonight! But he still can't, right?!" Killua answered.
"Killua's right, Gon. It's alright that we let you go out for the day. But you still have your disease, we don't know when it'll cause you pain again. You still need someone to look after you." Leorio explained to Gon.
Gon can be seen pouting. "Ooohhh...c'mon! Just this once! I promise I'll call you if my head hurts again." Gon pleaded.
"No! I'm going to sleep here in your room, Gon!" Killua argued again. This time, he was forcing Gon to let him in.
But Gon was still too stubborn. He really wanted to sleep alone.
"Oooohhh...why are you so stubborn, Gon?!" Killua was so tired of this argument that he decided to agree with Gon on this one. "Fine! But just for tonight!" Killua finally agreed.
"Thanks, Killua! I'll never forget you guys...Thank you for all..." Gon said in a rather unusual tone before he closed the door. This left the others dumbfounded. They really can't seem to understand what's wrong with their friend.
"What's that?" Leorio blinked.
"Gon sure is acting strange..." Kurapika followed.
"Beats me..." Killua started to make his way to his room. "I'm going to sleep now, too. I'm really tired." He ignored the others, even what Gon said. But in one part of his mind, he knew something was wrong. 'Gon didn't mean to say that, didn't he? If he did, why?' He knew something was bothering his friend; he just can't seem to find the answer to his question. 'Nah, Gon just probably wanted us to rest. He'd be alright...' Then he felt one side of his heart ache. 'Huh? What's that...?' Then ideas came to form inside his mind—bad ones. Like Gon being... 'No! What are you thinking, Killua?! Stop it!' He shook his head to get rid of those bad ideas. 'Gon will be alright...There's nothing to worry about...Might as well get some rest for tonight...' He then went in his room, lied down on bed, and quickly fell asleep.
----
Killua woke up with an unusual feeling. He felt there was something that's going to happen, but the only thing is, he doesn't know what it is.
"Good morning, Killua! Had a nice sleep last night?" Kurapika greeted Killua as the other boy entered the kitchen. Killua began to examine the room. He saw Leorio reading a newspaper, as always. But one person was missing.
"Kurapika, is Gon still sleeping?" He asked Kurapika who was now cooking breakfast.
"Oh...Gon? I still haven't gone to his room yet." Kurapika said, not taking his eyes off on what he is doing.
"Why don't you go and wake him up, Killua." Leorio suggested.
"Sure..." Killua then made his way to Gon's room. He knocked on the door once, twice...but he didn't get any answer. He knocked again for the third time, but still no answer. "That's odd...Maybe he's still sleeping...Better check..." He opened the door and went inside the room. "Wake up, Gon! Time for breakfast!" But instead of Gon happily getting out of bed, he was met by something he didn't expect...
He found himself standing there at the doorstep, pale and completely shocked. Tears started to flow from his eyes because of the sight that was in front of him. Gon was there, lying on his bed, tucked under his blanket, just like any other night when he tucked Gon to sleep. But one thing was different...he was not breathing...
"Gon!" Killua ran to Gon's bed and held the limp figure of his friend close to him. "Gon! Gon!" He kept shouting until the other two heard him.
"What's that?" Leorio was startled when he heard Killua.
"Something's wrong..." Kurapika ran to Gon's room, Leorio behind him. They were shocked at what they saw. Killua was crying while he was holding Gon, who was now...
"K-Killua...w-what happened to Gon!" Kurapika marched to the side of the bed, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Answer me, Killua! What happened to Gon!"
Killua didn't answer. He just held Gon close to him, sobbing, saying Gon's name all the time.
Leorio stood there at the doorstep, tears also flowing from his eyes. "No...Gon..." He said with gritted teeth.
The three of them were there, crying. Their hearts full of sorrow and agony. Then Kurapika noticed a sheet of paper in Gon's hand. "What's this?"
This caught the attention of Killua. He grabbed the paper from Kurapika's hand and read the words written on it...
--FLASHBACK--
Gon was sitting on his bed, feeling weaker each breath he takes...he knew the time was about to come, he wanted to tell his friends, but he can't bear to see their faces. He was hurt by the fact that this day is the last day he'll be seeing them. He forced his self to walk to the drawer and get a piece of paper, including a pen. He went back to his bed and wrote this letter:
Hi there guys! I'm writing this letter to you now because I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to say this to you personally. I can feel that I only have a very short amount of time because...I...I just want to thank you guys for all! I want you to know that I'm very happy that you were my friends! I'll never forget you guys!
...I guess this is the last letter I'll be writing for you...I just want to tell you this...
Even for the last time...I really love you guys...I hope I can see you again...
Killua...Kurapika...Leorio...goodbye...
Gon
He held the paper close to his heart. He then lied down on his bed and arranged his blankets. He stared at the ceiling, remembering the moments he spent with his friends...He cried as he remembered his friends...
Killua...
Kurapika...
Leorio...
And...in a couple of moments...his eyes slid shut...
--END OF FLASHBACK--
The paper shook in Killua's hands. He burst into a cry as he finished reading Gon's letter. Kurapika's eyes turned red because of sorrow and because of the pain he felt inside. Leorio can't help but cry, he lost another friend again...
"G-Gon..." Kurapika tried to speak despite the huge pain he was feeling inside. "He...He thought of us even for the last time..." His tears can't seem to stop.
"Gon...he's so stubborn!" Killua shouted.
"Killua..." Leorio went closer to Killua.
"He's so stubborn! He..." Killua can't hold himself any longer. "He knew it...he knew he was going to die...and he hid it from us again! That's why he was acting strange...that's why I felt uneasy when I woke up...Because...because...Gon left me... he left me..."
The other two stared at Killua. Their hearts were broken because of this, but what about Killua? The boy must have felt his world collapse every single minute. He was the one who loved Gon so much, he was the one so scared when the doctor told them about the bad news, he was the one who took care of Gon most of the time, who sacrificed his time just for his friend to recover, he was the one so happy when Gon stood up again...But now...His world was the one that got shattered because of Gon's death, his best friend's death...the first person he cared for so much...
"Gon...wake up, Gon..." They can hear him say. "You promised you won't leave me, right? You always kept your promise...don't break it now!"
"Killua..." Kurapika felt great pity for the other boy.
"Gon...Gon!!!"
----
It was a windy day. The clouds sailed peacefully in the clear, blue sky. The birds gracefully flew with the calm wind hovering over the wide ocean.
And in a place that oversees the beautiful ocean, there stood our dear hunters. But something was different. If before you could see four hunters, now you could only see three, standing in front of a grave, engraved with the letters—GON FREECS.
Reality is so cruel...and it is very hard to accept...
But this is the truth...It was time for Gon to say...FAREWELL...
Still, Gon will always remain in the hearts and minds of his three, dear friends...
--THE END--
FINAL NOTES: And this is the end of the story, FAREWELL. So...what do you think? I hope you liked it. I'm sorry if you found the characters OOC. But I'm open for reviews. So...just keep them coming! I would really appreciate it.
I also want to thank all that gave a review for this fic. I would also like to thank the readers. Thank you everyone!