READ: Gon's and Killua's current abilities in this fic are how I think they would have progressed if I follow their current status in the manga. They've always been overpowered youths anyway, so I guess, this isn't much of an exaggeration for Gon. Killua did open up to the 5th gate just after the Chimera Ant arc. In this fic, just imagine they had already gained all their Nen abilities.

Gon stared in awe as he stood in front of the massive gates of the Zoldyck estate.

It had been almost a week since he had left Whale Island. The very same night he received his father's message, he had informed his Aunt and Grandmother about his plans of going to his father's place. It pained his heart to break the news of his father's death to his family members. Aunt Mito's voice broke as she refused to cry, trying to give Gon an encouraging smile. The two women then went about making dinner in silence. Gon thought he should appreciate their effort to make at least his last meal in the house a happy occasion. By the next morning, he was waving at the two of them as he sailed away in a passenger ship that would take him to the nearest airport in the next continent over.

It had been all too easy to find the place. After searching briefly on the Net, he learned that the Zoldyck family was considered the deadliest and most infamous assassins the world. The family owns and lives Kukuroo mountain, a dormant volcano in the Dentora region of the Republic of Padokia. It had been indicated as a famous tourist destination, but only up to the main gate. The whole mountain was a restricted area, surrounded by high walls.

He had joined a tour group which had taken him to where he was standing now. He took a deep breath, loving the smell of the breeze, like mystery and danger.

"Outta the way, brat," a brash voice said after bumping into Gon's arm. The teen rubbed his arm and gazed up at the man who spoke. The burly man had a confident smirk on his face and was brandishing a huge sword on his back. Another man, with a lanky build, stood a little off to his side, with a wolfish grin on his face. Gon, deciding that the two were not worth his time, stepped aside quietly. He had sat near the two on the tour bus and they were laughing obnoxiously all through the ride, disrupting the tour guide and other passengers.

He watched as they forced the gatekeeper to open the gate. He was about to open his mouth and call them off when someone grabbed his wrist to stop him from walking over to the guardhouse. "Wha-, can't you see what they're doing to the old man?" he reiterated.

"Shut up and just watch," the man blew a puff of smoke at the black-haired teen's face, causing Gon to wrinkle his nose in discomfort. His eyes went back to the aggravated old man, who was handing the two assailants a key for the small brown doors off to the side of the main gates. The two had even laughed out loud before shutting the doors after them, bragging to themselves about how easy it was to enter the famous house.

"Old man, are you alright?" Gon asked as he went over to the old gatekeeper who was wiping his face with a handkerchief. He didn't know if it was just his imagination but the gatekeeper seemed more than a little surprised to see him but did not voice anything out. Only straightening up and smiling at him, a soft expression on his wizened face. "Does anything hurt?"

Right then, his attention snapped to the brown double doors when two blood-curling screams filled the air. He could feel all the other tourist freeze, some even starting to step back to the bus. Then the door opened, and two skeletons appeared, but what drove the other tourists screaming and Gon in alert was the large clawed paw they were dangled in. It dropped the skeletons and retreated inside, the doors automatically shutting.

Sensing that the danger was over, Gon relaxed with a deep sigh. He had prepared himself for increasingly bizarre encounters when he decided to leave Whale Island, but still, he was still caught off-guard. He then cracked a smile, thinking that the world seemed to get more unexpected and more exciting by the minute.

After informing the guide that he wasn't coming back with them, the bus left leaving him alone. The old man was already disposing the skeletons into a garbage can, mumbling about the two men upsetting Mike's meal times. "Well then, who do we have here?" the old man addressed him as he moved closer to where Gon stood, wiping his hands after handling the skeletons. The brown-haired man who stopped him before made his way to the gatekeeper's house, leaving the two of them.

"I'm Gon Freecss. I came here after I received a message from Ging, my father," Gon explained.

"Oh," The old man tapped his fist into his palm in realization, "You're Ging's son! I thought you looked alike! So that's it!" he exclaimed, reaching for Gon's hand and shaking it, "Hey, Seaquant!" he turned towards the guardhouse, and Seaquant popped his head out the door with an uninterested look, "That Ging's son actually came!"

Seaquant gave him an annoyed look, "Tsk. What kind of woman put up with that moron, I'll never know," then he went back inside again.

"My name is Zebro and I knew your father before-," The old man turned his attention back to Gon, who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the mixed reception, "Do you already know about Ging?" he asked.

Gon nodded, "Yes. By his message, he told me to presume he is already gone from this world."

"Hmm. Then are you here to collect his belongings?"

"No. He asked me to come here," he said with a determined look on his young face, "So, here I am,"

Zebro chuckled heartily, "That Ging, bothering people even in death," he then walked back to the guardhouse, "I'd make a call for you to the butler's quarters, come over here,"

Gon cricked his neck and followed, finding the man named Seaquant reading a newspaper in front of the desk and Zebro on the phone on another side table. Gon stood in the middle of the small room, waiting. He didn't know how to go about it but he was determined to stay for as long as he can.

After a small exchange with the person on the phone, in which he introduced Gon, Zebro handed the phone to the boy. Gon took the phone and placed it to his ear, "Hello, this is Gon,"

"This is Gotoh, a butler. What did you come here for?"

"Ging wanted me to come here."

"For what reason?"

"As for the reason, I was told to determine that for myself. He also wanted me to meet somebody, but didn't say who it is. There are a lot of things he said that I didn't understand,"

"I see. Am I to assume that you wish to be admitted to the estate for an indefinite period of time?"

"Yes. I'd like to stay until everything he said becomes clear to me,"

"We don't accept guests. If you want to stay, you'd have to work,"

"That's fine by me. I'm not here to be a burden in the first place."

"Then I accept your application as a servant of the House of Zoldyck. As your first task, do get here in half an hour."

After a click, Gon gave the receiver back to Zebro who had an eyebrow raised in question. Gon laughed sheepishly, "He told me to get there in half an hour," he didn't even know where that is.

Seaquant and Zebro looked at each other before turning back to Gon, "Stupid. You're just like your bastard of a father," Seaquant snorted, walking out of the guardhouse, leaving Gon with a confused expression.

Zebro smiled at Gon, patting his head, "Don't mind what he says. He's actually really upset your father went the way he did. He and Seaquant were drinking buddies,"

"Hey, hey! Are you coming out or what?! You're wasting your time!" Seaquant called.

Gon nodded enthusiastically, coming out after Zebro. Seaquant was standing in front of the huge gate, arms crossed, scowling at them to hurry up.

"If you want to enter the estate safely, you go through this gate or else Mike will pick you clean like those two morons earlier," Seaquant said, pointing his thumb at the steel door, "We call this the Testing gate. It has seven doors. Each panel of the smallest door weighs two tons, the succeeding panels weighing twice as much as the panel below it. It's designed to open the door corresponding to the strength of the force you put in. Opening the first door is just the bare minimum requirement for all servants. Any idiot worth his shit should be able to do it," he explained albeit looking like he couldn't give a fuck, moving away from the door so Gon could take his place.

"Give it all you've got, young Gon. How many doors you can open is also taken into consideration when they assign you a job. The gate automatically closes so when it opens, enter immediately. You'd reached the butler's quarters if you just follow the path inside, but hurry up, it's pretty far away," Zebro added, standing beside Seaquant at a considerable distance.

"Osu!" Gon readied his stance. He stood in front of the heavy gates, activating his Ren to gather all his strength. "Err…how many tons to the seventh door?"

"256! My god, simple math!" Seaquant spat out.

Gon winced. Well, what can he do, numbers always hurt his brain. "Here I go," he took a deep breath and adjusted his footing, putting his palms against the door. And with a war cry, pushed against the cold steel with all he was worth.

Zebro gaped as Seaquant let out a small whistle, both staring in awe as the doors opened…all the way to the top. No one aside from the Zoldyck family members and Ging had been able to do that. Aside from Ging, all other veteran servants could only open up to the fifth door at best. Seaquant smirked, trying to contain his laughter. Goddamit, Ging. As expected, your spawn is as much of a monster as you.

Gon stepped inside as instructed, looking back just before the doors closed, "Thank you, Zebro-san, Seaquant-san! I'll visit you sometimes!" he promised, grinning from ear to ear as he waved at them until the door fully closed.

Zebro chuckled as he put down his arm after waving back at Gon, "Ging sure produced a splendid son." Then his smiled turned into a frown as he remembered the deceased man, "It's a pity they never met."

Seaquant grimaced, "Che. Making me send that recording only if he dies," he said as he went back to the guardhouse, "I wouldn't pity the boy. I wouldn't have wanted to see the man who easily cast me aside anyway,"

The room was dark and empty, dead silent and the temperature almost freezing. The lone occupant sat on the floor against the wall opposite the door, arms folded around bended knees, staring off into nothingness. Despite wearing only drawstring cotton pants, the young man did not shiver. He had been used to extreme conditions. He had been tortured and trained as such since birth.

The young man's name was Killua Zoldyck, third child of the family of assassins, a killer with prodigious talent, able to take a person's life in the blink of an eye with little to no further ado.

But right now, that young man is sitting alone in this freezer-like prison, bruised and battered all over. His white hair was stringy with dried up blood, his various cuts with the blood frozen over due to the cold. His face was swollen, barely recognizable. His injuries were enough to kill a normal person ten times over and yet, he didn't seem to mind much.

He stared at the door. Any minute now, his older brother would come in and hurt him all over again. But in the deepest recesses of his mind, the part where he still cared about himself, it didn't matter to him how many times Illumi pushes him to the ground and brutalizes him.

Not when he had held that man's warm beating heart in his own hand.

Ging Freecss dying words as the man's limp body fell against him still resounded in his ear ever since that rainy day.

"…I will never forgive you."