Chapter Trigger Warnings:

PTSD

Mentions of Abuse

Enjoy!

Red and blue light ricocheted off the buildings, windows and walls. Two police cars, an ambulance, and a social service member all flooding the streets to a singular house.

Four police poured out from the cars and four paramedics grabbed supplies and folded up cots.

The service agent followed suit into the home with a scowl.

She'd seen this particular kid one to many times.

The cops entered the house, guns at the ready if need be.

It wasn't hard to find the place of the call's origin. The thuds and yelping from the second floor was plenty of a hint.

The group rushed up the stairs, police first, paramedics second, scowling agent third.

Upon entering the room, the first two police women stopped short for a moment, unbelieving of the scene.

Blood was everywhere. Two grown adults were clawing and fisting each other on the floor of the small barren bedroom.

Most concerning, as they looked to the left, blood seeped into glass fragments that scattered the floor.

Two boys, one with white hair that was slowly bleeding into red, phone in hand, and one with dark blackish green hair, beaten beyond recognition.

Though the survey of the situation took seconds, it was still a waste of time and the two women quickly pulled themselves together and threw themselves between the fighting adults, stopping the fighting with cuffs and the threat of a led bullet.

As soon as given the all clear, the paramedics rushed in, sparing no time in getting the green child onto a cot and out of the room to stop the red liquids from oozing out of his limp form.

They were more careful with the white haired child, who was covered in glass, two particularly large pieces piercing his left side and stomach. His right eye was hemorrhaged and bleeding heavily. There were deep and shallow gashes and cuts all along his body, and it didn't take a trained eye to notice the age old badly healed injuries underneath as well.

These two were lucky to still be breathing. Of course, they wouldn't be for long if they didn't get a move on and do their jobs.

Careful of the glass, they brushed off what they could and did quick first aid to remove as much as possible from smaller cuts.

He'd need surgery for the larger injuries and his eye.

They carefully put him on a cot, and then shimmied as fast as possible down the stairs and to their medical equipment, and more importantly, a hospital.

The police had wrangled the parents, and were putting them in custody.

The service agent watched with pursed lips as the foster parents were dragged away and the white haired child appeared in her sights for what must've been the fiftieth time.

She sighed.

This was going to be a lot of paperwork.

Killua awoke to a hazy far away sting and blinding bright lights.

As soon as his eyelids split a crack he shut them tight immediately again as the fluorescent light infiltrated his retinas...retina? His right eye was pounding with a dull ache and didn't seem to be receiving light, lacking the sting his left eye had from the bright rays.

His thoughts were hazy and vague memories took surface slowly as they pushed through the mud in his mind.

Panic flashed through him as the thoughts rushed back.

Him getting trapped while Gon was hurt.

Gon covered in so much blood.

The phone. Glass shattering. Pain and a voice.

He sat up with a start as it all flooded back…

..and immediately fell back down with a sharp gasp as the dull aches in his body stabbed like knives.

He could feel the stitches in his side and stomach pulling uncomfortably.

Now that his eyes were open, he looked around gingerly and sat himself up on the pillows, slowly this time.

He looked himself over, there were bandages heavily wrapped around his waist and midsection. His arms were littered with bandaids and bandages alike. He ran his hand over the other and found that under some of the white wrapping were more stitches for deeper wounds.

His sight was still off, a touch blurry and obviously halved.

He lifted a hand and experimentally touched his right eye.

He found it to be covered in gauze and medical tape.

Great, my already horrible eyesight worsens.

After figuring himself out, he looked around. He'd figured out by now that he was in a hospital, and a rather nice one at that.

He looked to his right and found a wall and windows. Looking to his left, he saw another occupied bed, and relief flooded him as he recognised the sleeping figure as none other than Gon Freecss.

He was okay.

They were okay.

...for now.

His attention was grabbed by a soft click from across the room.

He looked over to find the white door swing open quietly to reveal a nurse and a woman in a black suit.

Killua watched them silently, not knowing whether to stay silent and avoid them or find out what was going on.

The two of them obviously weren't going back to that house, the government wouldn't allow it. But then where were they going? And would it really be any better?

Not in Killua's experience.

Once they finally looked over to their patients and noticed Killua, awake and moving, the nurse gave a warm smile and waved, walking over with the woman following.

"Nice to see you awake," she said sweetly. Not the cynical fake sweetness Killua was used to, but just a general warmth.

He didn't trust it.

He simply nodded, opting to not speak unless asked to.

"How are you feeling?"

Killua looked down. "Good."

The nurse nodded and smiled again. Then she turned to the woman in the suit and gestured to her.

"Not to overwhelm you, though I suppose it's a bit late for that.." She paused awkwardly, then continued, "This is Trisha. She's your social agent? She was coming to see how you were and tell you that was happening."

Killua inspected the lady. She did look familiar. Her loose nutmeg hair twisted into a bun with one of those giant clips, skin slightly tanned and thick black-rimmed glasses resting properly on her nose.

Her face was straight and blank.

Oh right, her.

Killua remembered her. She was always there when something went wrong, which, for Killua, it always did.

He was kind of tired of her.

The nurse stepped out respectfully and left them to their jargon.

Trisha sighed and walked over to Killua's bed, black heels clicking.

"We meet again, Zoldyck," she said in a firm but gentle voice.

"'S not Zoldyck anymore." Killua murmured back.

Trisha couldn't help the smirk. She had grown fond of him and honestly wished his luck was better.

She'd make sure, this time, no mistakes.

"How you always manage to get yourself into the worst case scenario every time I'll never know, but here we are again. I'm glad you've got someone else now, though," she glanced fondly at Gon, Killua following her gaze with a slight smile.

"Yeah…."

Trisha's face was serious once more and she looked at Killua.

"I've already found you a new house, a woman who has adopted before and is looking to adopt again."

Killua looked up at her, the fear he was trying to hide bleeding through his eye.

"I can't-"

She held up a hand; he silenced.

"I wouldn't dare think of separating you.I'm not making that mistake again. Besides,something tells me that'd end things badly for him, too."

Killua, for the second time, was relieved, and now that he had that small but important information, he resigned to simply listening.

"I read his file, and I've memorised yours." She continued boldly, "I think you two are good for each other. So I wrote a note and connected your files to keep you together if possible. So if this one doen't work…"

She paused for a breath. She hoped with all her heart this one worked.

"...hopefully you won't be split, like you were back then."

He knew she was referring to his sister, Alluka.

The whole reason he was in the foster system was because his family had locked the two of them up and practically tortured them for as long as he could remember.

One day the neighbours found out, and the cops and social workers had arrived in minutes.

Killua's father was arrested, (though honestly all of them should have been) and he hasn't seen them since.

He knew that they were still out and about, though. His family was rich as all get-out, and so jail fees were practically nothing.

Not that they'd be able to find him. It did worry him, but he tried not to think about it.

His father also had albinism, but unlike Killua, he had hardly any of the things that came with it besides the looks.

Killua wasn't so lucky.

His eyes were bad. Not too bad, no, he wasn't blind. But it was hard to see most times. And glasses didn't fix anything, not that his family or anyone else tried. It was just how it worked.

And his skin was unreasonably sensitive. He hardly ever saw the sun, his foster homes finding him too much trouble to keep to shady places or stay out for short times.

Even sunscreen seemed a waste on him.

He didn't blame them. He probably deserved it, after all, he was born like this right? He's got no one to blame but himself.

But Alluka never cared. She'd help him whenever she could and with all they'd endured together it was enough.

But they were separated as soon as they entered the system. The only available places separated boys from girls. And so he was left alone.

But of course, he left her too.

The only thing he had from her was a wooden hair clip with a black smile on it. He used to wear it around when he felt lonely, but he stopped that after it got him kicked out of yet another home.

So when he met Gon at the house they'd just left, it was like a light finally shining through.

Gon was messed up just like Killua, and though he'd been through way fewer houses than Killua, he still understood.

And he never judged him on his hair or skin colour or how sometimes he tripped over nothing.

And when they were locked in their rooms without food and bruises to spare Gon would talk about his aunt and somehow, it was comforting.

They became fast friends, and now they considered each other family.

Gon was as much a brother to Killua as Alluka was his sister. So he wasn't losing anyone else.

Trisha took one look at Killua and knew he was reminiscing. She sighed and arched a brow.

"Killua."

The albino's head snapped up and his once-upon-a-time bright blue eye landed on her murky like.

"This one's different."

Killua tched. "You've said that before."

Trisha nodded. "I know, but just. Trust me on this one."

She knew that Killua lost the ability to trust long ago, had she not known that she probably would've put a hand on his shoulder as a comfort or reassurance.

But she knew that would make him flinch back from her.

"Three days." She said instead, standing up and clicking a pen, "that's when you're getting discharged. The nurse will introduce you to your new foster mother. She has everything ready, we thoroughly checked everything out. And her two adopted sons are doing well."

Killua gave her a half hearted nod and waved her off.

She went for the door and left. She knew he didn't believe her. Heck, she hardly believed herself at this point.

But then again, all they could do was try.

Haaaaiiii!!!

Okay, so, I'm already head over heels for this concept so... Yeah you get more whether you want it or not :D

And, BTW, Killua and Gon haven't trained for yearsand years in this AU. They're just kids who got handed a bad set of cards.

I'm going to try and make it as in character as possible, but remember, they aren't invincible here. It's totally outside Canon.

ANYWHO ENOUGH BABBLING

Bai!!!

-Arria (Uh-rye-uh :)