Killua narrowed his eyes, and snapped his head behind him.

Huh.

He could have sworn he sensed someone…

"Killua! Oh my gods, we're going CLOTHES shopping!"

The Valkyrie startled as he was suddenly and violently dragged by Ryder into the sketchy looking supply shop that Ging had chosen. The Alien-Cryptid was very excited, he enjoyed clothes just as much as Killua did (if that was even possible).

Once Killua entered the shop, that prickling of his assassin sense vanished. It must have been nothing.

Killua ignored whatever that had been, and allowed himself to be taken away by his one and only true love: clothes shopping.

He had been VERY skeptical when Ging had been the one to select their space-disguise essentials destination, but this was actually amazing! It was like some sort of space thrift store! There were all kinds of unique clothes dotting the walls! It was just like the shop Bisky had brought them to for their Sorcerer getups. All the clothing was clearly designed to be layered, and Killua could not WAIT to challenge himself with the task of putting together a fashionable space suit for their mission to Chimera.

Come to think of it, he'd lost ALL the clothes he'd brought with him when they'd escaped the ship, so now was the perfect opportunity to purchase an entire wardrobe–

"N~O~pe!"

Killua and Ryder gagged as Ging grabbed the collars of their suits, stopping the two of them in their tracks. The Valkyrie and the hybrid whipped around, annoyed.

"What the hell man?!" Ryder snapped.

"Listen," Ging shot back, "I'm not made of money, alright? So you each have a STRICT 200 gold budget! No more, no less! I'm not paying more than 1,000 gold at this shithole, you understand?!"

Killua stuck one leg out. "Well you may not be made of money, but Gon and I certainly are."

A dark shadow crossed across Ging's face. He frowned at Killua, and then slowly turned around to look at Gon. His son quickly threw his hands up in surrender from where he'd been hanging back beside Pariston.

"Who's to say we can't buy our own shit?" the Valkyrie purred.

Ryder giggled, "HahA! Yeah! Put'er there, bae!" Killua slapped his hand against Ryder's.

Ging's eyebrow twitched. He clearly did not want other people purchasing their own gear. He got a kick out of the power that came with being the sole person in charge of the finances.

As Killua had said MANY times before.

Superiority complex.

"I, unlike Gon, remembered our cards from Yorknew City~" Killua announced.

"Wait, really?!" the horned male perked up. "I thought we'd left them behind!"

"As if I'd let all that cold hard cash go to waste?!" the Valkyrie exclaimed, whipping his and Gon's debit cards from one of his pockets.

"Yeah, that's not happening," Ging snapped, snatching the cards from Killua's fingertips.

"Wha- Hey!" the assassin gasped, lurching forward to try and get them back. Ging simply pushed Killua back by the head. "Give them back, old man!"

"No! I'm confiscating these!" Ging pouted, stashing Gon and Killua's cards away on his person.

"What the hell, pops?!" Ryder complained.

"Yeah, what the hell!" Killua agreed, stepping back and leaning an elbow on Ryder's shoulder.

"You didn't consider that it might be a bad idea to use Yorknew City credit cards?" Ging retorted.

"Uh, no?" Killua shot back. "Space is, like, the only place we can actually use them outside of Yorknew without going through a bank to withdraw gold! Why would this ever be a bad thing?"

Ging rolled his eyes, "Your debit cards are SPECIFICALLY tied to Yorknew City and the Heaven's Arena, Overworldian currency! And unlike flat coinage, digital payment methods can be tracked! Easily! We're under cover, remember? What, do you want someone to bust us and turn us into the Chimeras? Because paying with your fancy-shmancy Arena debit cards at a place like THIS is a surefire way to stick out!"

Killua grumbled, tail twitching behind him in annoyance, "Guess I didn't think about that."

"Yeah!" Ging snapped, tossing a pouch of coins into each of their chests. "200! Gold! Got it?"

Killua just growled low in his throat as he peeked inside the bag. He frowned. Fine. So maybe Ging was a little smarter than he was with the whole money thing. It wasn't gold in the pouch. Like Ging had said, that was distinct Overworldian currency. But what was in the pouch was the equivalent of 200 gold in Berayneese coin, shimmering chips of obsidian shot through with neon blue Beraynean granite.

"You have an hour," Ging ordered, "And then we're moving on to weapons and gear."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Meet you at the front of the store or whatever." He turned on his heel and marched into the maze of racks and messy bins.

Ging turned on Gon, clearly expecting an explanation for his friend's behavior.

The younger hybrid once again threw his hands up in surrender.

"Nice try, Gonny Boy," Ryder chuckled, darting in and grabbing Gon by the wrist. "If we're gonna be on your Pop-pop's bad side then we're using you as a human shield!" Gon whined as he was whisked away, officially roped into Ryder and Killua's latest spat with Ging.

"Sorry!" Gon called out to Ging, one last olive branch before he was lost in a jungle of intergalactic-steampunk clothing.

The older male shook his head in distaste, Pariston chuckling into a hand at his shoulder.

"Now, the key to spacesuit styling is finding the right base!" Ryder declared, leading Gon and Killua through the store. Killua was clearly having the time of his life, while Gon may as well have been a war prisoner, for how upset he looked. Gon didn't like clothes, or shopping for them. Clothes were clothes! He'd just grab something, and be done with it!

But not on Killua's watch.

It seemed that the Valkyrie had taken it upon himself to make sure that Gon was only allowed to wear tasteful clothing choices.

And now that he had Ryder to back him up, the two of them were unstoppable.

There was no escape.

"Look at all these glorious colors," Ryder whined, "look at all these GLORIOUS suits of spandex and rubber, gods! Hot as hell."

Killua rolled his eyes, "Alright, that's enough."

Ryder whipped around, holding a slick black spacesuit base up to the light, "Killua, I need you to put this on!"

Gon frowned, and walked up. He snatched the suit out of Ryder's hands with a warning growl. "Stop it! We're not forcing Killua to wear tight clothes!"

"All space suits are tight, Gon! All of them! We just have to find the right fabric Gon, the right fabric!" Ryder slung his arm around Gon's shoulders, bending his knees so the two of them were huddled up like Zozzerball players. "The right fabric to accentuate that killer ass–"

Gon spun out of Ryder's hold, "No! We're not dressing Killua up like some– like some–"

"-Stripper?"

"Yes! But also no!" Gon exclaimed, cheeks turning red. He was scared to face Killua, who he could hear snickering behind him.

"What's wrong with dressing our sexy friend here up like a thanksgiving after-feast?"

Gon slapped his hands over his ears and charged at Ryder, pushing him to the next aisle over. Killua cackled as they retreated. Gon grabbed Ryder by the shoulders and pinned him up against a shelf full of mismatched boots and helmets.

"Stop it!"

"Why?" Ryder smirked. "You know you agree with me~"

Gon's cheeks burned scarlet red, "No! I am not thinking those things at all! Killua is my BEST friend, and I would never think dirty things about him! So if you're Killua's friend then you need to stop thinking those things about him!"

"So you don't wanna bang Killua?"

"No! Or, well…"

"Alright, if you don't wanna take the cake than I'll happily assume the mantle of–"

"No!" Gon interrupted, jostling Ryder's shoulders and knocking several helmets off the shelves.

A pair of green eyes rolled. "You need to stop sending mixed signals, man! You either want Killua or you don't!"

"I do want Killua!" Gon argued.

"Oh really? Then stop denying your primal urges!"

"STOP WORDING IT LIKE THAT!"

"Like what?" Ryder asked, a smirk sliding onto his face. "HEY, KILLUA! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOUR FRIEND WAS SO VANILLA–"

Gon slapped his hand across Ryder's mouth, losing his patience. He heard Killua laughing from the next aisle. The blush was crawling down his neck now. "Will you please just shut up."

"About what? Really! I want you to tell me what I'm saying that's wrong!"

"Stop talking to Killua that way!" Gon exclaimed.

"Talking to him like what?" Ryder shot right back, pushing back against Gon.

"Like he's just another notch on your belt!"

"Oh-ho-HO, THAT! Is taking it too far!"

Gon groaned in exasperation.

"Yo! Killua!" Ryder yelled over the shelves.

Gon hissed, struggling to cover his mouth again, only to find that Ryder was as slippery as a fish when he wanted to be.

"What?" the Valkyrie called back.

Gon sank to his knees on the floor before Ryder, hugging the other males legs and sobbing dramatically into his arms. This was so embarrassing–

"Does my flirtatious manner make you uncomfortable?" Ryder called out, struggling not to burst out laughing.

"No, can't say that it does!" Killua responded.

"Huh!" Ryder gasped, glancing down at Gon and making him cower further. "So that means you like to be flirted with?!"

"Not necessarily, but we all know you're just a no good slut, so nothing out of your mouth holds any weight~"

"Fuck you, Killua!"

"Go ahead!"

"Don't try me! I'll take you up on that!"

"Non-con is not cool!"

Gon slapped against Ryder's knees, "Okay, okay! I get it! Just cut it out!"

Ryder knelt down before him, taking Gon's chin roughly in his hand and forcing him to meet his eyes. "Hey! Remember our deal?" he hissed.

Gon pouted.

"You don't like it when I flirt with Killua, do you?" Ryder taunted. "It makes you jealous–"

"So what if it does?!" Gon snarled. "He's MINE, and you don't get to have him!"

"Okay. Prove it."

Gon blanched.

"Not to me, to him! Prove to Killua that he's yours and yours alone!"

Gon's mouth floundered.

Ryder groaned and facepalmed. "What. Is wrong with you."

"Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me! But there is something wrong with you, you said you'd back off Killua but–"

"Yeah! I did say that! And I have!" Ryder whispered-yelled. "I'm not trying to lock Killua down anymore, okay? I just happen to enjoy a nice flirting session with my bros, alright? But I WILL start trying for Killua again if YOU don't fucking grow a pair and hit that already!"

Gon slapped Ryder in the arm, "Stop talking like that!"

"No! YOU stop being cowardly! You're madly in love with Killua, so just fucking tell him! Gods!"

"I can't just tell him–"

"Yes you can! Yes, you can!" Ryder argued, hauling Gon to his feet. He started pushing Gon to the end of the aisle. "Now go! Do it! You'd better say it today or I'm gonna confess to him instead!"

Gon gasped, "You wouldn't–"

"I would! I really would! Now stop beating around the fucking bush!"

Gon scrambled, digging his heels into the ground. Unfortunately, Ryder was still stronger than him. No amount of manifesting could make that change overnight.

"Does Killua deserve love?"

"Yes!" Gon declared immediately.

"Yeah! He does! And he's not gonna be able to be loved, because you're just gonna scare off anybody who's not you! Killua deserves to have his brains fucked out - and, no, I will NOT stop wording it like that - so you need to go fucking make your move already!"

"But the timing's all wrong!" Gon whined. "When I say it it has to be perfect–"

"So?! Killua loves you more than anything, man! Sorry for the spoiler, but it's just fucking obvious at this point."

Gon went limp in Ryder's grip, brain completely short circuiting.

"So you, Gon Freecss, are gonna go confess to him! Because NO time is the wrong time with a guy like that, ya hear? He's been waiting long enough. So, GO!"

Gon gasped in horror as Ryder shoved him down the next aisle, right into Killua–

The aisle was empty.

A horrible chill ran down Gon's spine. "Hey, Killua?" he called out. Ryder was at his side in an instant.

"Where'd he go?" the purple skinned male asked, sounding concerned.

The two of them turned in circles, looking. They stood up on the tips of their toes, looking out over the aisles. Ging and Pariston were on the other side of the store, but other than that the place was completely abandoned save for the cashier–

"Shit," Gon hissed, noticing a scuff mark on the floor. He dropped to the ground, pressing his nose against the tiles like a dog. He inhaled deeply, and sure enough.

Killua's scent.

He shot to his feet, scenting the air. It was faint, hard to detect over all the smoke and grease hanging in the air. Gon sprinted to the front of the store, but once they crossed the doorless entryway Killua's scent was just gone.

"What does this mean?" Ryder breathed.

Gon glared, scenting the air again. "It means that somebody's captured Killua."

"How's that even possible?! He's a fucking Dragonite Valkyrie!"

Gon's stomach twisted with nerves. "Yeah, but he was focusing on us. He was focusing on listening to us rather than on his surroundings. But still… whoever this is, they know Killua. They knew what would work to capture him."

"But who knows enough about Killua to get the drop on him?" Ryder fretted. "And who the hell lives out here that would wanna capture him?"

The realization dawned upon them like a cloud passing over the sun.

Gon looked at Ryder and Ryder looked at Gon.

"The racist assholes," they agreed in unison, before completely disregarding Ging's rule to stick together and sprinting off into the reeking guts of Hallah's fourth sector.