It was a bright, sunny morning at Pangling Beach. The waves were calm and the sky was clear and blue, dappled with white, wispy clouds. Further along the coast, in the small but surprisingly busy seaside town of Pangling, people of all sorts could be seen rushing from shop to shop as merchants garbed in colorful clothing eagerly boasted about their various products, each trying to outdo the other.
At the edge of town, gull cries rang loud in the sky, and a cool breeze brought the smell of the ocean to where a tall, slender figure was leaning against an old, clearly abandoned, building. All the hustle and bustle was merely background noise to him as he waited, completely still and silent.
With his sharp senses, he could sense his target's aura approaching—his target and one other person. As they walked down the street towards him, snatches of their conversation reached his ears.
"Just admit it Killua! I totally won that race!"
"Don't be ridiculous Gon, I reached the tree a second before you did."
"Liar! You cheated anyways, you pushed me!"
"I only bumped you a little, it was an accident."
"Hmmph!" From his spot against the building, Illumi watched the black-haired boy beside his brother pout indignantly. He was displeased but unsurprised to see that Killua's "best friend" had accompanied him to the beach. After the white-haired boy had left Kukuroo Mountain with those three, Gon, the serious-looking blonde, and the dark-haired man with glasses, he and Gon had been virtually, annoyingly, inseparable. Occasionally, in between missions, Illumi had checked up on Killua, only watching, never interfering as Father had ordered. Every time, Killua had been with Gon, laughing, teasing, and playing together.
"Fine, whatever, let's just split the lunch bill."
"Okay Killua! You know, I'm really surprised you were willing to compromise."
"You idiot, I know I won, I was just tired of your sulking."
Illumi continued to observe the two as they walked together down the street towards him. They passed right by his spot, but did not notice him, instead they veered towards an ice cream stall, the petty squabble completely forgotten.
The stall was owned by a short, skinny man dressed in faded yellow clothes and a raggedy-looking green hat. There were an absurd number of flavors to choose from and Illumi watched as his brother, quite predictably, chose as many as he could fit on a large ice cream cone. Gon got only three flavors, smiling cheerfully at the man as he paid him and the two continued walking, joyfully indulging in their ice cream.
Illumi narrowed his eyes slightly as Gon affectionately threw one arm around Killua's shoulders. He would have expected a Zoldyck to react instantly to such a move by attacking the offender, but his brother only hesitated for a moment before doing the same for Gon. Watching closely, Illumi noticed the warmth in Killua's eyes as he leaned in closer to his friend. Inwardly, he frowned. Zoldycks were not supposed to form any close attachments to anyone outside the family as it could easily affect their loyalty and distract them from the path of an assassin. Yet Killua had still stayed with Gon and from what he had seen, their relationship had only become stronger instead of weakening. This is not good, Illumi thought as the two continued to stroll away together, disappearing from his sight when they rounded a corner.
Left alone against the building, Illumi pondered what he had seen. Not only was his brother determined to stick to Gon's side, their relationship was becoming dangerously close. Briefly, he considered killing Gon and leaving his brother with no one to turn to except for his family. It would be easy enough, the actual kill; Gon was no match for him. The two friends presumably didn't spend every single moment together and all he had to do was catch the black-haired boy by himself and stab him with his needles. He could burn the body discreetly or perhaps throw it deep in the ocean, and the loss of this distraction would strengthen his brother, harden him until he was more like an assassin again.
It would be so easy, but Father had forbidden doing anything to Killua or his weak, silly friends. For reasons unknown, he was content to leave Killua to himself, despite how much he was wasting his potential.
It doesn't matter, Illumi decided. His brother was an assassin and would always be an assassin no matter what. Eventually, the unstable attachment between him and Gon would fray, and then break and Killua, left on his own, would revert to his old, murderous ways.
Having seen enough, Illumi straightened, tucking his hair behind his ears, and strolled back towards his hotel, moving as swiftly and silently as he had come.
Later that night...
"Hey Killua, I had a lot of fun today. It's always nice traveling with you." Gon grinned at the white-haired boy from where he sat cross-legged on his bed in their hotel room.
Killua, lying down on his own bed peered sideways at his friend. "Really Gon, you're acting like this isn't all we've been doing for the past year."
"I know. But it's still really great. In fact, I think I'd be happy to do this forever. I mean, if you want to of course."
Killua raised his head and blinked at Gon, looking slightly surprised for a moment.
"You want to travel together, forever?"
"Yeah!" Gon replied, "Traveling is always much better with a friend and you're my best friend."
Feeling a small flush of warmth go through him, Killua couldn't help smiling faintly. He had been traveling with Gon for about a year now, but his friend's blatant, easy affection for him was still startling. However, little by little, he had begun to get used to it, no longer shying away and, to Gon's delight, often responding in kind.
The white-haired boy lay back down on his bed, traces of a smile still on his face. "Well, I guess I don't have any other plans for the future, and you'd definitely need me to save you from trouble. So, I suppose I'll come along."
"That's awesome!" Gon exclaimed, already making new plans for exciting adventures. "There are so many cool places we can go to together. What about the Damatian Jungle? I hear they have these huge poisonous snakes that can't be found anywhere else! Or, we could go to the Memeru ruins! I think it's restricted, but the Hunter licenses will let us pass. What do you think?"
"Gon," Killua sounded vaguely amused, "We don't need to plan what we're going to do right now. We have more than enough time for that, and I'd like to go to sleep. I may not need it, but it's always nice."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize how late it was. Well, as you said, we'll have plenty of time to decide what we're going to do. Good night Killua!"
"Good night, Gon"
End
