After mastering Ryu and spending another week running, Bisky and her charges arrived at their fourth stop. The climate was starting to change as they approached Nesting and Sky, and now they were camped out on the edge of an enormous tundra. It wasn't cold just yet, but they'd definitely have to start worrying about keeping warm at their next (and final) stop.

It was crazy… thinking about how close they were to finally finding Ging.

All Gon's life he'd dreamed of this upcoming moment… and in a mere two months Gon would finally come face to face with his elusive father. How was he supposed to react? What would Ging be like? What did he even look like? What was his species? Was he even part human in the first place? What if Ging was some crazy type humanoid, and Gon was half human and half whatever Ging was?

Would Ging be… happy to see him?

Gon supposed he would find out soon enough.

But for now? He had to focus on getting as strong as he possibly could. Ging was a Zodiac, and Gon knew Zodiacs. In order to impress Ging and even manage to catch up with him in the first place, Gon needed to be at the top of his game.

And for that to happen, he needed to master Hatsu and create his own personal spells.

"Alright, boys!" Bisky exclaimed, a wild grin on her face. "It's finally time to get serious! The two of you have now mastered all there is to know when it comes to Blood Magic. You are incredibly skilled in the use of Ren, Ko, Ken, and Ryu! There is only one step left in this process, which is creating your spells!"

"Yes!" Gon and Killua cheered in unison, exchanging their intricate handshake.

"Now, there is one thing that you must understand when it comes to Hatsu. Unlike every other ability you've mastered, this one is entirely open ended. Everything you've learned so far has been building up to this, and it is time for you to craft your own spells. Every Sorcerer possesses their own spell or set of spells. Every spell is unique, and a reflection of each person's personality and preferences, as well as fighting style and skill level."

"… How do we know what to do?" Gon asked, already confused. This sounded hard… he didn't even know where to start! Not to mention what he was supposed to be doing in the first place…

"That, is entirely up to you!" Bisky chirped with a clap of her hands. "I am giving the two of you a week to come up with what you want from your Magic, and to create a prototype spell."

"So, we have to come up with it completely on our own?" Killua clarified.

"Correct! Think about what you want your spell to be, what you'll use it for and how you can use it to enhance your strengths and fortify your weaknesses. You've seen spells in action while fighting in the Heavens Arena. Come up with what you want your spell to be, and begin troubleshooting with how much Bloodletting and Ren will be required for its activation. The key to crafting a spell is manifesting what you desire. Focus your minds, just as you have learned to do throughout your training."

Killua nodded, and Gon just stood there feeling very overwhelmed.

"I see," the Valkyrie murmured. "I've already got a couple of ideas, actually."

"As I would expect from an elite being such as yourself," Bisky cooed, only half joking.

Killua basked in her praise, tail swishing behind him with pleasure. Gon felt his eyes soften. Killua was so adorable. But still… "Gon, what do you have in mind?" Bisky asked. Gon had no idea what he wanted his spell to be!

"Uh… I'll come up with something! …Hopefully."

"I'm completely at a loss," Gon complained, collapsing onto his back in the tough tundra grass.

Killua snorted, leaning over him to dump a handful of grass into his face. Gon sneezed, blowing the abused plants off. He glared up at Killua, who snickered and just proceeded to do it again. His tail swaying behind him like that of a contented cat.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out~" the Valkyrie sighed.

"But I don't even know where to begin!" Gon exclaimed, sitting back up and slapping Killua's grass-filled hands away. "How am I supposed to just come up with a spell? That's so open ended! The possibilities are literally endless!"

Killua smiled at Gon, blue eyes reflecting the fluffy clouds overhead. A cool breeze ruffled his silver hair. "Not really, if you think about it. The power level of the spell is very specific. Just use your Ko limit to figure it out. If you use more you'll suck your veins dry, and if you use less than you'll be wasting your potential. And there's only so much that'd fit with your fighting style, right? You prefer to fight close up, and excel at hand to hand. Just make a spell that can help out with that."

The Valkyrie punctuated his speech with a flick to Gon's forehead. The hybrid scrunched his face up. He always saw the flick coming, but that would never prepare him for the sting!

"That's still too open endeddddddd," Gon whined, dramatically flopping onto his side and draping himself across Killua's lap. The silver haired menace took this as a ripe opportunity to continue covering Gon's face with grass.

The tan skinned boy just sat with his eyes squeezed shut. Nothing on the planet could stop Killua from dropping grass on your face if he had his heart set on it, and Gon didn't want to get out of his lap. He liked being this close together… and he'd jump at any opportunity to initiate physical contact.

Being in love with Killua just felt so… right. Gon always felt like he was walking on clouds, so overflowing with joy that he may as well have been dizzy. His heart buzzed and sang all day long, and his insides turned completely to mush with every night they'd spend sleeping side by side.

His soul burned with passion, his heart aching to share his feelings with Killua… to express his love and drown Killua in all the love and affection he deserved.

But… Gon couldn't do that. He couldn't confess to Killua.

He felt so bad thinking about dropping all of that in Killua's lap… they'd been doing so well. They'd just now moved past everything from Yorknew City. Gon loved their friendship, and he didn't want to compromise it. Besides, there was no way Killua liked him back. And certainly no way he loved him back.

Why the hell would he love Gon?

Killua was… Killua was Killua!

He was quite literally the best humanoid in all existence, why should he settle for Gon?

As usual, Gon wasn't used to insecurities. So whenever they popped up… he was VERY susceptible to being influenced by them.

And that's why he hadn't yet worked up the courage to tell Killua about his past yet.

He needed to do it, his lips tingled all day every day with the longing to just spill everything. But Gon just wasn't… ready. He wasn't brave enough. He'd had a million chances. Hell, he could be telling Killua right this very second!

But Killua was just so…

He was just so intimidating!

Gon cracked his eyes open, his heart melting when he found that familiar cat-smirk on Killua's face.

A whine slipped through Gon's lips. Killua flicked an ear.

What?

Gon blinked.

It's nothing. Just… frustrated.

Killua swished his tail.

I know you can figure this out. Just put your mind to it.

Gon sighed through his nose, and then closed his eyes back. It wasn't entirely a lie… he really was frustrated about all this spell business. But he just also happened to be frustrated with his cowardice over telling Killua about his past… and he also happened to be a little sexually frustrated.

But just a little!

That one was all Killua's fault anyway…

"Well," Killua sighed, leaning forward. He hovered inches above Gon's face, staring lazily into his eyes. Gon's cheeks started gaining color. "I better get back to work, huh?"

Killua was then on his feet in a flash, leaving Gon on his back in the grass.

"Uh, hey! Wait!" Gon exclaimed, jerking into a sitting position. "You've already got yours figured out?!"

"Yep!" Killua chirped with a flick of his tail. "Now I'm gonna go work on it, you'd better hurry and catch up!~"

"But! Can't you tell me what yours is? Please? Just a tiny hint?"

"Nope! Don't fall behind, Gon!"

The hybrid groaned in frustration as Killua disappeared over the next hill, going to hide so Gon couldn't see what he was doing. Aw, man! If Killua would just give Gon a tiny hint about how he was doing right now, then he'd be able to figure this out! Killua was no fair.

Gon sat up and looked down at his hand.

"To fit with my fighting style, huh?"