Three months later…

Gon hid inside a bush, looking at the clearing below him where Mike was sniffing, trying to find him. Gon grinned when the animal perked up in his general direction before running full speed, making the earth shake with each fall of its massive paws. The raven teen let out a laugh as he jumped out of his hiding place, hitting the ground running into the forest, the beast hot on his heels.

"Run, Mike, run!" Gon yelled, hopping onto a boulder, looking back to check if the beast was following before sliding down the side of the hill. Mike had been a bit sluggish lately and when Gon found the large flab of fat on the animal's belly, he had scolded the animal for being too lazy and had taken it upon himself to see that Mike was properly exercised.

Mike obediently chased after his young caretaker. Gon had played with him every single day since he had entered into service, being appointed as an apprentice butler. When Gon had entered the estate, he was strong enough to be on par with the veteran butlers. By then, he was both young and inexperienced in being a servant so Gotoh had initially placed him along with the other trainees for proper instruction. But Gon proved to be too much to handle. He was on a different level than his classmates and the instructors had decided that they had nothing to teach him and the only thing lacking in him, compared to the other servants, was loyalty to the Zoldyck family. They had agreed that it was something Gon would have to gain by himself through experience, so he was fast-paced from trainee to apprentice butler in a little over two weeks when it would have normally taken other applicants two years.

Gotoh made full use of the fact that Gon grew up surrounded by nature and made him a roaming butler. He didn't have a permanent post to guard, but is free to run around the forest surrounding the mountain. However, he was also in-charge of the upkeep of the forest, making sure than the animal populations were well-balanced and the eradication of diseased plants before it spreads to other trees. It was also his role to get rid of intruders, though Canary is very efficient at her post already. Gon actually never had a chance to fight once the intruders reaches Canary's post so he's already lucky to see action if he manages to find the intruders before Mike does.

Gon spent his days climbing the tallest trees in the forest and getting a feel of the place, watching out for any abnormalities. When he gets bored, he play-fights with Mike, and has tea with Zebro and Seaquant at the gatehouse for afternoon snack. He has his own room in the Butler's Mansion which he rarely uses. He only ever comes back there to change his clothes and take baths, and only sleeps there at most thrice a week. Though he takes most of his meals in the house along with the other butlers, he also eats in the forest every once in a while so when he doesn't show up on time for meals, the others knew he was eating elsewhere.

Since Gon was good at looking after himself, Gotoh and the others no longer bats an eye when they fail to see Gon for 2-3 days, though they also start commissioning a new uniform for him whenever he does so, seeing as he often finds ways to ruin his high-quality combat-ready uniform in ways they could never imagine. His uniform consisted of the standard uniform suit, but for Gon, they had the pants altered to shorts so he could move around easily because the poor kid looked like he'd suffocate, as well as it just did not generally look right on him, if forced to wear a formal suit all the time.

Gotoh watched from the balcony of the Butler's Mansion as Gon was chased by Mike across another clearing. The teen's childish behavior did not surprise him anymore. Ging was almost the same when he was alive. But unlike Gon, who accomplished his work diligently and responsibly before doing what he wants, Ging was always getting into trouble and was highly irresponsible. Ging never took his duties as "Head Butler" seriously so the managerial legwork fell on Gotoh's shoulders, who juggled taking care of the family as well as overseeing the other servants.

Ging's carefree attitude towards his job often left everyone in despair, but, for some reason, everyone was fiercely fond of him, and Gotoh, unfortunately, was just the same. Ging had an uncanny ability to pull everyone around him into his own pace. Gotoh broke into a rare sincere smile. Despite his numerous idiosyncrasies and gross misdemeanors not limited to showing up butt naked at the Mansion (his excuses had varied from being attacked by rabid perverted female raccoons to falling into puddles that magically dissolved textiles) after going MIA for days, Ging was well-loved.

Even after his death, Gotoh would not dare inherit the title of "Head Butler". In his mind, he would never do a better job than Ging, and no one was worthy to replace him. No one had the same level of power and loyalty to the Zoldyck family like Ging Freecss. It was those same qualities that had led to his untimely demise.

When Gotoh first laid eyes on Gon, who by the way had arrived at the mansion in only twenty minutes, he was convinced that the young man was special, in every way like his father. After saying his standard condolences for the death of his father just for courtesy's sake, he had informed the boy about his father's lack of belongings. Ging had set all his belongings down to his uniforms to self-destruct at the moment of his death, like he was determined to wipe out all the traces of his existence. Gon was surprisingly pretty accepting, despite looking like he had lots of questions with those wide brown eyes of his. He had obediently done all that Gotoh required of him, with so much vigor like he was proving himself with every little thing he does. If everything goes according to Gotoh plans, Gon just might be what he was looking for as the Head butler for the next generation of Zoldycks.

"Hishita," Gotoh called out and Hishita appeared at the doorway with a small bow. "I think Gon would require additional uniforms again," he said, Hishita walking over to him to share his vantage point. Indeed, Gon would soon be coming home again to get clothes. The teen was currently caught under Mike's paws. The two didn't even bat an eye as the gigantic dog proceeded to swallow the struggling teen whole.

"How many times does that make this month?" Hishita sighed, pulling out his radio transmitter to call the resident seamstress.

"Eighth this month, the second this week, he said a baby foxbear clawed his uniform on Monday," Gotoh answered, watching as Mike headed back to the forest.

Hishita scoffed, walking back to the house with a fond smile, "I'd force him into the bath when he arrives, don't worry," he informed Gotoh, knowing the man disliked disorderly things and smelly things even more so.

Gotoh nodded, and looked at the slowly darkening sky, thunder rolling in the distance. He went back inside the mansion and had all the shutters closed. Ever since Ging died, rainy days gave him bad feelings and it seems this day was no exception, he thought as he basked in the dim glow of the lights.

It had started out as mere taunting on his part. He just wanted to get back at Killua for wounding him last time and Illumi, Silva and Zeno happened to be out on jobs. He had heard that Killua hardly cared to retaliate or even reacted for that matter anymore from his mother so he had confidently ventured into the freezing room, whip in hand.

He barely opened his mouth and cracked his whip when Killua stared at him, eyes dripping with bloodlust. From then on, Milluki vaguely remembered seeing Killua move towards him, hand morphed into claws, lunging at him. And when he opened his eyes, he was laying on the ground with a hole in his shoulder, his mother shrieking over him, blaming him for Killua's escape.

He immediately staggered to his feet, and into the deserted corridor. The house had a certain stink to it again. It smelled like blood and death more than any normal day. Milluki turned a corner and paused as he saw the way blocked by bodies upon bodies of servants, in varying states of dismemberment. Whether it was by Killua's hand or his mother's rage, he didn't know. Despite the wound not bothering him as much as it would a normal person, his vision was beginning to fail him. He must have been bleeding profusely for more than ten minutes already before he had been woken up. He reached his room and went inside, plopping into the chair in front of his computer, eyes searching the screens. His brother can't be too far ahead.

Milluki gritted his teeth as he scanned through the surveillance footages around the whole estate, looking for Killua. He'd make sure that stupid brat of a brother would pay for his insolence. Seeing that Killua was nowhere inside the main house, he started searching through the forest. He slammed his fist against the keyboard when he found out he can't use his bird cameras because of the storm outside. Without further ado, he picked up a phone and called the butler's mansion. Gotoh picked up the phone.

"Find Killua immediately! And bring him back here at all cost!" he shouted before slamming the phone back on its stand. He sat back on his chair, eyes scanning his screens for a certain runaway brother.

"Have you found my Kil yet?" his mother's irritatingly shrill voice demanded from his doorway.

"No, but he still hasn't left the estate. He's hiding somewhere in the forest, but it's hard to see from the cameras, the weather's interfering with me, mother," he answered.

"It's your fault he escaped in the first place! Why did you have to bother him, my Kil's already suffering enough!" he watched his mother leave in a huff, Kalluto silently trailing after her like a baby duckling.

Milluki cracked his knuckles. He'd bring that little idiot back alright.

"We found him. He's currently two miles to the east from here. The butlers are already engaging him, but they're having trouble holding out," Hishita reported, expression grim. The number of casualties was steadily mounting at the moment. The servants, even the veteran butlers, were having a really hard time restraining the young Zoldyck. Tsubone and Amane were already wounded.

Gotoh nodded, "I'm heading out. Issue an immediate retreat for the others when I get there,"

He barely made it out of the room before Hishita rushed after him, phone in hand. "Gotoh-san, it seems young Killua has already been stopped,"

Gotoh's eyes narrowed, "The masters aren't here. Who in the world-," he stopped, his expression morphing into a look of sudden realization.

Hishita confirmed his suspicion, "Gon did."

They had all been called to retrieve the young master who had escaped from his isolation. It had been raining hard and the wind blew harshly, impeding their search. But eventually they had found him, making his way towards the gates. They had all frozen when they came upon him, the blood and the murderous aura he emitted from every pore of his body could never be denied. It was so much worse than it had been a few months before and Canary can't help but feel that it wasn't the kind young master she had grown fond of.

When asked to go back to the mansion quietly, Killua had just stood there in the middle of a circle of armed butlers, one hand in his pocket and the other limp against his side, claws out. Canary held on tighter to her weapon when she caught a glimpse of Killua's eyes. If she knew any better, she should be running as fast and as far as she could right now. But orders were orders so she stood her ground, the others around her doing the same, one of them even shaking in fear. Killua looked like he didn't even care what or who he was looking at, as long as he got it out of his way.

Tsubone came forward, bowing in respect, "Please go back to the house, young master. Your mother is very worried about you,"

They gasped when, in the blink of an eye, Killua was almost in front of the old lady, clawed hand aiming for her throat. Tsubone barely managed to dodge but her thigh had been grazed, slicing a line clean from her right hip to her knee. Amane jumped in to help her grandmother, but had been knocked back instantly into a group on incoming butlers. Canary gripped her weapon in front of her. She was the only one left standing in the way, and Killua was slowly walking towards her, rain washing away the blood dripping from his clawed hand, eyes as unforgiving as his stance. Killua suddenly disappeared.

Canary opened one of her eyes prudently. The blow she was expecting never came. She had been knocked to the ground with her arms automatically coming up in front of her face in order to shield herself, no matter how futile an effort it would have been. That had been just a few seconds before. Now she was peering between her hands, there was no one in her sight. "What?"

Gon stared at the figure below him. He had purposely knocked into this person, pushing him away from his friend. But the person had reacted so fast, Gon didn't almost catch the clawed hand aiming at him. So when they hit the ground, he had pinned both wrists above the person's head with one hand, the other wrapped around the person's neck, and straddled him around the waist to prevent him from escaping. The man was so strong, Gon had to use his Nen in order to enforce his hands to hold down the man.

He didn't know who it was, but if it was an intruder, he'd have no choice but to knock him out and leave him to Mike, who had spat him out after Gon pinched his tonsils. He was making his way back to the mansion to change out of his wet and smelly clothes when he had come upon the servants fighting against a lone figure emitting an aura that sent shivers down his spine. The man was dangerous, extremely dangerous. And when he saw the person about to attack Canary, he wasted no time jumping in.

The person was now staring at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open in masked surprise. The murderous vibe was instantly gone, and Gon found himself mesmerized by the color of the other's eyes, a vibrant blue, like the sea back in his home. "I don't know who you are, but if you hurt my friends, I won't let you off easily," Gon said. He did have a record of just plain kicking out intruders after maiming them badly, but he did kill, occasionally, when his warnings are not heeded.

Killua can't believe his own eyes. This person cannot be older than himself. And yet the resemblance was unmistakable. He retracted his claws back to his normal hands. He always lost the will to fight in front of those familiar kind brown eyes. Amidst his darkness, it was like a single ray of light. Always saving him, always comforting him. "Who are you?" Killua asked in almost a whisper, unable to mask his disbelief.

Gon relaxed his guard a little. He had a feeling the person wouldn't be fighting back anymore. His expression had softened and despite the raindrops falling on them, Gon thought that the person looked like he was about to cry. He released the person's wrists and neck and skidded a little, allowing the person to sit up, "I'm Gon Freecss, apprentice butler. And you are?" For some reason, he had a gnawing feeling in his gut that this person is not bad.

"Killua Zoldyck." He choked out.

No sooner had he uttered his own name that a hand dropped most painfully on top of his head, "Even if you're our master, you shouldn't be hurting your servants," Gon reprimanded, getting off Killua's lap to stand up.

"Eh?" Killua blinked. He had no clue what the other teen was thinking. His nose bled and he had accidentally bitten the inside of his cheek so his mouth tasted like blood. "Wha?!"

"If you want a fight, you could just look for me. I'll be your opponent anytime," Gon added, arms crossed as he lectured his young master.

Before this encounter, he actually didn't know what the Zoldycks looked like. Pictures of the family, especially the children, were strictly prohibited, even in the trainees' classroom. Only when a servant was assigned to the main house were they allowed to know the faces of the family members and since Gon was posted in the forest, he didn't have to know what they looked like. The family rarely used the gates when they travel so Gon only caught glimpses of them from the dragons and balloons flying in and out of the estate every now and then.

As Killua got caught in a glaring contest against the familiar but considerably younger face, he couldn't help but crack a smile after what seemed like a very long time. He sighed, giving up on his opponent. He can't believe how very easily the father and son could alter his emotions and pull him into their pace.

…I will never forgive you.

Killua's eyes widened as his heart gave a rather hard beat that felt like his whole body pulsed. He jumped back to his feet, teeth gritted, one hand clutching his head while his dominant hand morphed into claws in what seemed an innate defense mechanism. Gon wrinkled his brows in confusion as he noticed the pained look in Killua's eyes. He tried to reach out but Killua slapped his hand and jumped further back, seeming like he was burned. Gon opened his mouth to say something when he saw the other teen's expression suddenly darken.

"Don't touch me. I'm going back," Killua said and before anyone could react, he was gone.

Gon stared at the spot where Killua had once been seconds ago. Blood and rain was dripping from his right hand where a gash ran from his elbow to his wrist where Killua's claw had grazed him when he slapped his hand away. If he hadn't used his Ren in that split second, Killua could have cut his arm clean. He checked his uniform. He would have to ask Gotoh-san for another uniform again, and he just asked not more than two days ago. He sighed in resignation. He'd get scolded again for being too careless.

He went back to the Butler's mansion along with the other wounded servants, Canary fussing over his wound as she tried to stop the bleeding and thanking him for saving her life. She kept talking to him but Gon for the life of him, can't focus on the conversation.

His mind keeps drifting back to the white haired boy and kept wondering why he seemed so haunted.

SORRY if it might not have been as good as it can get. I don't really want to focus on how their first meeting goes but how they would become friends (and maybe more...)...and I already have a lot of cute stuff I want to dash out so yeah, I rushed this chapter.