"Readyyyy, GO!" Gon and Killua cheered, leaping from the back of the Dragon. They'd crossed the archipelago overnight, and covered some serious ground, more than making up for any back tracking they'd have to do if they ran into any more natural obstacles. They could get to Nesting and Sky an entire month early at this rate!

Gon cheered as he and Killua shot through the clouds, slipping downwards towards a forest. But not just any forest! A mushroom forest! These biomes were super rare, and Gon had only seen one once before! The second he'd seen it, he'd known it was the perfect time to get off!

The Dragons hummed their goodbyes, disappearing as they continued their journey.

Gon and Killua dropped down directly on top of one of the enormous mushrooms, and bounced right off its surface like it was a trampoline. Killua laughed out loud, flipping in the air as they were slung back up.

"See?" Gon exclaimed. "I told you this'd be fun! You need to listen to me more often!"

"Nah, I don't think so!" Killua shot back. "You're still a total idiot!" The Valkyrie flicked his tail, and suddenly crashed into Gon, sending them tumbling back downwards. Gon yelled in surprise when they missed the roof of the next mushroom, plummeting to the forest floor.

Killua cackled like a madman as they crashed to the ground, tumbling across the cushy ground. Instead of grass, the underbrush was made entirely of a thick, spongy green fungus. It was like falling on a pillow! But that didn't mean Killua had known that! Where had this reckless streak come from?!

Gon squeaked when they rolled over the side of a dip in the ground, rolling around and around until they hit the bottom. Gon lay splayed on his back. Killua had landed on top of him. Arghhh, he was so dizzy! Killua was still in hysterics, he was having the time of his life!

The hybrid tried to sit up, but Killua didn't let him, keeping him stuck on his back.

"Nope!" he chirped, tail swishing mischievously behind him.

"Uh, come on, Killua–"

"Hm, I dunno. I'm kinda comfortable where I am now~" The Valkyrie shifted his weight, and blood rushed to Gon's cheeks. Damn it! Of all the times for Killua to start rough housing!

"Killuaaa, please?" Gon whined. He couldn't handle this. Killua was too close! Far too close! Ever since Gon had developed this awful crush on his best friend, close contact was pretty difficult. I mean, Gon was fine with hugging and stuff! But not anything like this… not Killua sitting on top of him like that.

The silver haired menace leaned forward, bracing his elbows on either side of Gon's head and resting his head in his hands. "What's the matter, Gon? Do you not want me to lay on you?"

Gon's stomach dropped.

That's exactly what the problem was. But he couldn't let Killua know that.

He had to act like normal friends no matter what! They'd been able to fully recover from the events of Yorknew City over the past month of traveling… but that didn't eliminate Gon's insecurities. If Killua knew that he had a crush on him… then they wouldn't be able to be close like this anymore. Gon didn't like that. Killua liked Gon as a friend, and messy feelings would just get in the way.

Gon had already let his emotions get in between them once… he wasn't gonna do it again.

He had to keep this hidden from Killua no matter what!

Gon swallowed his awkwardness, and forced himself to completely ignore Killua's heaviness against his groin. If anyone was a master at suppressing a boner, it was Gon. Job requirements, you see. He'd had an… let's just say interesting period of employment for a while there.

The hybrid forced a lazy smirk onto his face. "I'd let you sit on me all day if you weren't so heavy, I can…" he gasped dramatically, "Hardly breathe!"

Killua blinked, taking the bait.

Good. So I haven't lost my touch… that's a relief.

Though… at the same time… I don't actually like that realization…

Especially with Killua involved.

"Yeah right!" the Valkyrie retorted, baring his fangs in a challenging grin as he prodded Gon in the forehead. "Quit being such a damn drama queen!"

"You can't hold me here forever!" Gon declared dramatically, talking in a voice that was way too over exaggerated. Maybe he'd been watching too many action cartoons… "My escape is inevitable!"

Killua barked a laugh, immediately playing along. "Try as you might, my power is all consuming! I'd like to see you try!" He grabbed Gon's wrists and pulled them over his head, leaning closer and further pinning him down.

Gon gritted his teeth as Killua squirmed on top of him. Nope! Not today!

He grinned, and bucked his hips, shoving Killua up. The Valkyrie gasped, his grip loosening. Gon saw his opening and took it, flipping their positions and securing his victory–

"Ow!" Gon wailed, Killua kicking square in the stomach, launching him several feet away. The assassin launched himself back at Gon, who quickly rolled to his feet. The hybrid darted away, running in circles around the trunk of one of those enormous mushrooms.

"Get back here, you jackass!"

"I didn't do anything!" Gon exclaimed, giggling as he frantically ran and evaded Killua's swift hands. This? This he could do. This was just Killua. Just them. Then why… then why even now did Gon…

Why still, was Gon unable to properly look Killua in the eye?

Sprinting through this mushroom forest, bouncing off the trunks and splashing through puddles of turquoise colored dew… Killua's hair sparkled in the sun that shone between the mushrooms. His face… was so carefree. This past month, Killua was different. In a way. He seemed… almost, happier. Seeing Killua smiling like this, chasing after him. He was clearly… at peace.

Killua had suffered so much. He deserved this. This happiness, this joy. He deserved the entire world.

Gon was bringing Killua joy, he was making him feel at home.

So why… why did Killua's eyes make his head feel light? Why did his silky skin make Gon's face flush? Why did his slender waist dry out Gon's mouth? Why did that strong demeanor and threatening aura make Gon pause?

His heart… was beating so fast. Killua… was so incredibly beautiful.

Even in doing innocent, playful things such as this, Gon's mind still wandered.

Killua made him feel so fluffy and light. He wanted to wrap Killua up in his arms, he wanted to kiss him silly and drown him in that glorious heat–

He wanted to show Killua just how much he cared… he didn't want Killua as a friend, he wanted every part of him. Every inch of his body and every tiny corner of his mind. Gon wanted Killua in full, he wanted to experience him like no one else ever had…

But no… why? Why was he thinking this way?

He wasn't… he wasn't doing that anymore. He'd moved past that part of his life. Hadn't he learned that it was wrong? Hadn't he already been through this?

No. He couldn't taint Killua with something like that… Killua who was so light.

Killua who was everything, the very sun Gon orbited.

I can do it, Killua. I swear I can! I won't let my darkness ruin what you have here. I can still be your friend! I'll prove it to you, I swear I will! I'll protect this happiness, I'll protect everything you've fought so hard to gain. Together, we can do this. We'll save Alluka, and we'll free you from the chains tying you down.

I won't mess this up for you.

I swear on my life.

Killua yawned big, stretching his arms high over his head. Gon internally winced as his eyes were magnetized to the bar of skin revealed at his waistband. Dammit. Gon seriously had no self control whatsoever.

"According to the map," Killua mused, "We'll be in this forest for quite a while."

"Yeah, it's pretty large," Gon commented, trying and failing to look where he was going. He couldn't help it… The mushroom forest was so beautiful, and Killua looked even more beautiful standing in it. They were red capped mushrooms, spotted with white. They were as big as trees, and their trunks were a pale pink. The spongy ground was more vibrant than any grass Gon had ever seen, and the sunlight trickled through, buttery and yellow. Butterflies flitted about, drinking from the dewdrops lining the cool trunks and moving from flower to flower. Vines of pretty blue flowers hung from the undersides of the mushrooms, and little puddles of dew were sprinkled about.

Gon felt so tiny! Like he was a little fairy! It was like they were in their own world… just him and Killua. It was so peaceful out here, so isolated. Killua looked so happy and relaxed, Gon could see it in his tail! It was wagging behind him like a pleased cat, and his ears were loose against his head. Just seeing Killua like this made Gon so incredibly happy.

And when he'd turn back and smile at him… those teeth sparkling in the sun…

Oh, gods. Gon really was head over heels, wasn't he?

It was really bugging the crap out of him. He had always thought Killua was beautiful! He hadn't thought that developing feelings for him would make him appreciate that beauty even more, but he was sooo mistaken. It was like he'd been looking at a cheap knock off of the real thing! How had he not seen it before?

The crinkling of his eyes when he laughed. The adorable little skip in his step whenever he made a joke. The lilt to his lips whenever he teased Gon. The curve of his neck, dipping into his shirt–

Okay. See? This was where the problem arose.

Gon could handle being aware of Killua's body, that was okay.

But being too aware was when he ran into an issue…

It was always like this. Gon would be thinking about Killua and how much he liked him… and then his brain would start to get all weird. His belly would get all hot, and he'd start to get squirmy. Gon wasn't an idiot, he knew what the heck sex was. And that's why he knew exactly what this was.

He wanted to…

Ohhhh, just thinking about it made his face turn all red!

He reallllyyy liked Killua. Too much, actually. He was lusting over him so bad. Gon knew that was a part of liking someone, but still. He was just… it was just… dammit! Every single time all Gon could think about was Killua's body! Was it all in his head? Was this okay? Was this normal? Gon had experienced his fair share of sexual interaction… that was an understatement, considering all the crap he'd gotten himself into, but that was beside the point.

Was he just horny? Was that it? Hell, that's sure what it seemed like.

Gon could take care of that himself… but he was terrified that all he was for Killua was horny. But that wasn't true! That couldn't possibly be right! He liked Killua so much more than that! But like… he just… had trouble trusting himself.

With Killua.

What would Killua… how would he react if he knew where Gon had been? What he'd done for a living? He regretted it, sure. He'd moved past it, of course… but even still. That had all been thanks to Kite…

It wasn't that Kite wasn't there to snap him into line, no. It was just that… after Gon had sworn all that off for a while, he hadn't really had to worry about it. He'd been too busy… and too depressed once Kite was gone. And now that these feelings were coming back to him…

It had never been about love before, and now Gon was absolutely terrified that it was the same way again, but with Killua.

He liked Killua a whole lot… loved him even. But like a friend. He was definitely falling for him, falling hard. But he wasn't to that point yet… and still. He was feeling this way. He couldn't accept that he wanted Killua only for his body. No. The thought was just so wrong! Killua was so much more than that!

Gon could do this. Yeah, he needed to push these feelings aside. Even the fluffy ones… even the innocent ones… cause those always morphed into something more. And Gon didn't like that. Killua was his best friend, and he was so much more than a fit of release.

"What's with you?" Killua snorted, turning around. He'd started to leave Gon behind. "You look like you're about to blow a fuse."

"It's nothing!" Gon exclaimed quickly.

Killua rolled his eyes, brushing their shoulders together. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."

The two of them walked along in silence for a while.

Believe it or not, but Gon actually liked the peaceful moments like these a whole lot more than the chaotic and playful ones. Just existing with Killua by his side, merely breathing the same air and nothing more, it was everything. Gon knew he was a total cheese for it, but he couldn't help it. Killua could literally just stand beside him and everything would just be brighter.

I have it so bad, Gon whined to himself. I seriously can't believe I hadn't noticed this before. I've had to be feeling this way since at least Yorknew City! Maybe even in the Neko-Village, if I'm being entirely honest with myself… No, sooner than that. I've always liked Killua like this… Dammitttt, why am I such a dunce! How can I just start feeling this strongly now? It's so hard! Literally in some cases…

"It's so nice, just walking around," Killua murmured, thankfully pulling Gon out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," Gon breathed. "It's so peaceful around here. Yorknew City was nice and all, but out here in nature is so much better."

"For real. That place was so loud. Just being here with you… in all the peace and quiet, nothing could ruin this moment–"

"LOOK ALIVE!"

Gon and Killua jumped out of their skin, yelling in surprise as a giant cannonball of Magic hurdled straight for them. They darted out of the way, crashing to the ground. The place they had just been standing completely exploded!

"What the hell?!" Killua exclaimed.

"That was an impressive evade, I have to say, but you could have combated my blow so much smoother!"

Gon craned his neck, someone was coming down from above!

A petite woman in a hot pink dress descended from the sky, a delicate pair of feathery white wings at her back. A Light Angel?! She had two long pigtails of curly golden hair, and sparkling pink eyes. She couldn't have been older than 12 or 14! What the heck was going on?! Had she been the one to execute that blast?!

The girl landed down with a graceful flourish of her wings, blowing air in Gon and Killua's faces. The Valkyrie was frowning, his tail swishing behind him in distaste.

"Who the hell're you?!" Killua snapped. "And why the hell'd you attack us like that?!"

"My name is Biscuit Kreuger! It's a pleasure to meet you both, Gon Freecs and Killua Zoldyck!"

"Wha? How did you know our names!" Gon exclaimed, shooting to his feet. Killua snarled in warning, extending his claws.

"Put those claws away, young man," the Angel ordered, "You will not draw weapons on me!"

"And why the hell should we listen to you?! You just attacked us out of nowhere!"

"I wouldn't have thrown that blast at you if I didn't expect you to be capable of dodging sufficiently, messy as your technique may be," the girl shot back, crossing her arms across her chest.

Killua growled, and stalked towards her. "Killua wait!" Gon exclaimed, grabbing his friend's shoulder and stopping his advance.

"What the hell, Gon? Just let me kill her already! She's in the way!"

"So rude! That is no way to speak about a lady!" the Angel complained. "You have made a terrible first impression, violence is no way to address your superior!"

"Huh? I decide who's my superior, and you're certainly not one of 'em! Come on, Gon, let's ditch this psycho hag."

"Hold on Killua, something's different about her," Gon countered, holding on to Killua's shoulder to keep him from walking off.

"That would be correct, Mr. Gon!" the woman chirped, placing her hands on her hips. "The two of you entered Sorcery training not long ago, and though you have completed the first stage of your training, you still have quite a bit of progress to be made!"

"Oh, hell no–" Killua gasped.

"I just so happen to be your second stage master!"

"No way, really?!" Gon exclaimed.

"Correct! You can refer to me as Bisky! Or Madame Bisky, whichever you prefer!"

Killua scoffed. "I think I'll just stick with hag–"

Bisky reacted so fast Gon couldn't even track her movements. She whipped a knife out from under her shirt, and slung it directly for Killua's head! The Valkyrie dodged with ease, but the blade embedded into a nearby mushroom with a thunk.

"Considering that your mastery of Hatsu rests on my approval of you, I'd treat me with the respect I'm owed," Bisky snapped.

"Well excuse me, but this is all kinda out of nowhere," Killua retorted. "We don't have time to be training right now! We have somewhere to be and important shit to take care of!"

Gon sweatdropped, did Killua really have to be so grumpy?

"I understand that the two of you are traveling for Nesting and Sky? To track down Ging Freecss?"

"Uh, yeah!" Gon breathed. How did she know all this stuff?!

"You are clearly oblivious to this fact, but Ging just so happens to be a member of the Zodiacs."

"What?!" Gon and Killua exclaimed.

Since when?! A Zodiac?! Gon didn't know anything about Ging, just, but this?!

"Correct," Bisky continued. "If you truly intend to keep up with him, you will require a refined mastery of Blood Magic. In order to achieve your goals, you must craft your personal Hatsu spells. Not to worry, we have five whole months to travel to Nesting and Sky. I will be training you on the move. The process will drag out quite a bit longer because of it, but we do have somewhere to be."

"What, so are we just… training now?" Gon asked. This was all so sudden. Everything had been so peaceful.

"Yes. This is the way Sorcerer's training is done. I was assigned to the two of you, and provided crucial information as to your situation from your files. It is imperative that Blood Magic is taught correctly, and in order to prevent the two of you from falling into any unsatisfactory situations, your training must be completed before you meet the Zodiac Ging Freecss."

Gon shared a look with Killua.

This really couldn't have happened at a worse time… Gon had really liked being able to spend all this time alone with Killua! But with these feelings constantly growing… perhaps a change of pace was what he needed to get his head out of the clouds. With this as a distraction, Gon could focus on being Killua's friend through their training.

This would be perfect.

Gon just needed to get his mind off of things… yeah.

"Well?" Bisky prompted. "Are you ready to begin the second phase of your training?"

"It's not like we have any other choice," Killua mumbled under his breath.

"Yeah!" Gon answered for the both of them. "When do we start?"

"Right now, actually. Come along. We have quite a lot of ground to cover, in a literal sense and in a metaphorical sense. First off we will brush up on the basics! We will begin running! I have plotted out specific rest stops along the way! Thanks to the month of time the two of you bought us on the Dragons, we won't have to cover as much ground as fast between stops! Your training will be completed in several stages, each of them taking place in one of the stopping places. Between each stop, we will travel constantly, honing your Ren as we travel. Understand?"

"Yeah–" the boys managed to choke out, before Bisky was spreading her wings and activating her Ren.

"Perfect! Now encase your bodies in Ren and hurry along! We have quite a bit of ground to cover, and a very tight schedule!"

With that, Biscuit Kreuger took off through the mushrooms.

Gon exclaimed in surprise, she was fast! Were they seriously supposed to keep up with her on foot alone?!

"I get the feeling that this is gonna be a lot of work," Killua complained.

Gon laughed out loud. "Yeah, same here. But hey! This way, we can finally get as strong as possible!"

"I guess so… at least I've got you here with me. I can't hate everything if I've got you here, right?"

Gon's cheeks flushed, "Y-yeah! Same here! Come on, let's hurry and get started!"

The two boys sprinted off after Bisky, trails of Ren in their wake. They had a whole lot of work ahead of them, but the next five months would pass a whole lot quicker than they could have ever expected.


AN: sorry if that felt a little rushed, I always get terrible writer's block whenever I'm trying to swap between arcs. I've got this whole fic planned out in sections - the story arcs - but I've got nothing for in between all that, so I've just gotta wing it as I string them together :')