Daniel learns a little secret from Scarlet, and it's bound to get awkward. Gon becomes intrigued by what Iason meant by "physically, physically", going as far to ask everyone, how does one go further than kissing?

Killua eventually made it back, with Daniel being cradled in his arms, fast asleep; this time, however, the boy clung to him. It looks like he won't be putting Daniel back to bed anytime soon, and thank whatever deity was up in the sky, no one was awake to witness him carry Daniel like a princess.

Then again, the warmth, or in Killua case, the desire of Daniel needing to be close to him was not only reassuring, but it also made him feel a sense of pride. Sure, his cheeks were burning, flushed with embarrassment, but it was being outweighed by Daniel's desire to be close to him.

He wanted him now more than ever, and the deal the two just made shows that he is making way into a territory he has wanted to explore for a long time. It's just a matter of baby steps at this point before he's able to get his wish.

When he walked back into their cabin, Scarlet had so many questions, but he rather the two of them kept silent, especially with the implication of her smile. She had juicy some gossip to tell, which may, or may not involve Daniel in some way or another.

Should he even discuss anything at this point without Daniel? His partner might even need to hear this, but the boy's sleeping figure made it virtually impossible to wake him at this point. He was leaning against Killua, his mouth slightly parted, tongue sticking out slightly.

It was extremely cute, considering he was at peace, like nothing at this point, could weigh him down. Then again… he so badly wanted to poke the boy's tongue, just to see his reaction.

"You remind me so much of my younger self."

"Which part…?"

"Young love… being hopelessly in-love, that feeling of being completed by someone."

The boy was caught off-guard; he's not that bad… is he? Sure he loves Daniel, but he isn't hopelessly in love with him… is he? Daniel returns the passion, although, in a somewhat cheesy fashion, he wants to be with him. They are in a mutual relationship.

They both have boundaries, and both of them are trying to reach compromises with each other, "We're not hopelessly in love with each other."

"Oh, I know… it's more… pure. You care for each other. The hopeless part is if Daniel were to say bark, I'm betting nine out of ten times you would bark."

"N-NEVER!" Killua panicked, "I would never bark if he told me to…"

"It was a joke… ease up…" Scarlet offered a childish smile, the boy soon relaxing at the situation. Seems like Scarlet could be as conniving as him… although, if he told Daniel to bark… he wondered if the boy would do so? Nah, he wouldn't even bottom for him… At least not right now…

It situation still, however, felt awkward, it's just… Scarlet still had something to say, something he may not want to hear, "Alright, spit it out…"

"You wanna know who I was hopelessly in love with… or if I still am?"

"Sure…"

"You can't tell Daniel…"

"I'm not making any promises. He has a way to pick up on things I'm lying about."

Scarlet chuckled, Killua, a teen who possibly had their emotions stunted since birth, has a weakness in the form of child his age, his parents must be rolling on the floor in agony right now. The kid values life and it shows in his unconscious gestures, the way his hand glided along the boy's side "Zaikaria…"

"That cow?!"

Scarlet reeled back in surprise; she wasn't expecting that kind of response. Sure, she knew about Killua's disgust towards Zaikaria, but she wasn't expecting him to outright call her childish name, "I never understood what you don't like about her?"

"Likewise, except the opposite. What is there to like about her?"

"Well, she has this way with… words. So to speak… After the whole incident with Vastorie, she was the first person I met around my age. She tended to lean towards the overprotective side…"

"Overprotective is an understatement."

Scarlet frown at the reaction, but continued anyway "Well, she was one of my first few friends… and crush. She showed me her special place. It was somewhere in the forest… behind Vastorie's home, but it was a small area that was secluded, lush grass, a waterfall with the purest of water… it was one of the most beautiful places I've seen, and I'd still rank it really high up there because it means something special to me…"

"Oh… did you share a kiss?"

"No… nothing like that; it made me feel… I guess at peace. No matter how fucked up the world gets… there will always be places like that out there, that provide peace… comfort… a sense of serenity. Some of my friends even provide that… Zaikaria included…"

"Well, sorry to be the bearers of bad news, considering you're going back to that place. Zaikaria… is in a relationship."

"Oh, I expected her to stay single for the rest of her life. What changed her mind?"

"She met someone who is able to circumvent her ability to read their mind, well… most of their thoughts. She wasn't even aware that her travelling companion was attracted to her."

"That's… strange…" Something was a little off about the situation, she was always aware that Zaikaria could read minds, but to hear that he was able to hide some of his thoughts was very unusual. Then again… Zaikaria never addresses her own feelings for her, so maybe he isn't the only one out there able to resist her ability… did she have a chance to even date her "what's his name?"

"Only if you promise not to… overreact…"

Scarlet rubbed her cheek, "On a scale of strange to normal, how strange is this person?"

"He's an eleven… promise?"

"I promise…"

"Ok… she's in a relationship with a guy, named Akshasamat… a magical beast."

The woman's jaw dropped, she wasn't expecting that to be an eleven… "That's a twenty!"

"Well, I'm friends with an octopus, my best friend is not only pansexual and Polyamorous, but he also has a crush on me… and Daniel, the guy who has tunnel vision for only me. So… eleven…"

Scarlet's mouth gaped open, "But… I…" she's completely lost in the situation. How and when did this all happen? Wait, wasn't one of Gon's friends a person with scales along her arms and legs…? How could she have forgotten that information for so long? It doesn't help the fact she's still lost about some aspects "I'm a little lost here."

"On the news, there was a new magical creature discovered, they're called Chimera Ants. Practically, they are half-human, half-animals. Depending on the genetic make-up of the human and the animal being eaten at the time, a different Chimera Ant pops out; theoretically, Akamut, the shortened version of his name is around less than a year old, but in reality… he could be somewhere from his teens to 100s."

"This doesn't ease me in any sense…"

"Well, he's a Naga, Merman or whatever you want to call them. Half-human, with all the features of a snake; he also has a Mohawk… which is funny, because it's the only hair on him. I'd say his human age, is in-between his 20s to 40s, due to his hairstyle…"

"You don't find this whole situation… weird?"

"I don't like her at all, so no… I can't say whether or not it's weird."

"It's not because he's half-human… believe me, I've seen stranger shit in my life. She never wanted to date anyone… ever… she said that to my face." Sure, that was back when we were in our teens… but it never sounded like she excluded gender from the mix. And now race it would seem…

"People change, I guess…"

"Why don't you like her. I find her very attractive, smart and intelligent… so I can see why Akamut likes her?"

"She wiped Daniel's memories… of Alluka… of me. She wanted us to play no part in his life because she thinks we're going to get him killed. She also wanted to wipe our memories of him, but I wouldn't allow it. She kept trying to push me aside, to make Daniel believe being with me will be the worst decision of his life. So no, I hate her guts…"

"Her reasoning…?"

"My past profession was assassination… she doesn't like the fact I'm a Zoldyck, believing for years I tried to kill her brother, when in fact it was my brother who tried to kill him. I was trying to save him. Although, my memories of that time are… a bit fuzzy…"

Killua paused his thoughts; he wondered if the situation was possible. He has a Nen exorcist in front of him, what's stopping him from asking her to do it for him, when Zaikaria couldn't do so "speaking of which, you're a Nen exorcist… so you should be able to remove the thing blocking my memories, right?"

"Because I have a deeper understanding of you, I could… but, I can't."

"Can't…?"

"It's buried in your skull, it's tiny enough to the point I can trace it… but it's too small from me to grab. I can't remove it on my own."

"Tiny… like a small needle tiny?"

"I guess…"

"How about you help me remove it? You guide me and I'll personally remove it…"

"It don't see why not. It's a lot easier for me to exorcise Nen when it's attached to an object than it is to remove a curse. Wait, you know who did this to you… didn't you?"

"Yeah… my brother. He must have put it in my skull after I met with Daniel."

"That's… cruel. Your brother took away the memories of someone that meant something to you at the time. Which Zaikaria… also happened to do to Daniel… She took his memories of you away from him… it's like an endless vicious cycle, which everyone so far who have involved themselves in this struggle… want you away from each other?"

Scarlet paused, a finger curled along her chin, deep in thought "Why…?"

"They could be afraid of us for all I care, I just want those memories back… so are you willing to help?"

"You saved my son, it's the least I can do for you."

Killua's expression softened, a smile widening along his lips "Where's the needle?"

"It's near the middle, 62 millimetres to your right, 24 millimetres above your eyebrow. I'll guide you on how far you need to go in."

Killua closed his eyes, clenching his jaws as he held his fingers near the spot. As his nails sharpened, he took one deep breath. This is going to hurt like hell… he allowed his heart rate to steady before sinking his fingers into his forehead.

"~"

Today was the day he finally gets his way; Gon will finally get an answer to the question which has been killing him. He wanted to know what Iason meant by 'physically, physically'; it's a statement that's kept him puzzled for way too long.

Sure, it was technically last night when Iason said it… but he really wanted to know why he stated it that way. When Mito was having the talk with him and Sakura, she didn't really talk about how exactly… to go further than kissing, and when the fanatics came to the Island, they showed more so basic techniques, without ever explaining what they were showing him.

The strangest thing about those fanatics, they never touched him… they only made him touch them.

Strangely enough, most of them reminded him of Hisoka, the only difference was they never got a thirst for spilling blood… nor were any of them were guys now that he thinks about it.

As he tilted his head to the side, the boy fumbled around in his memories, trying to figure out if they left any clues… but he couldn't remember much about back then. It was years ago… back when he was around eight to ten.

Maybe he should bring this up with Iason, talking about what happened to him as a child. Sakura should know every detail involving the fanatics, how they used him for themselves. Although he never did use any more than with his fingers… or did he?

As he tried to recall the past in its entirety, a soft voice called his name "Gon…?"

Gon looked up, his confusion turning into a huge smile. He couldn't have timed it any better, Sakura standing before him, worried about something. His expression softened, walking up to Sakura to address the situation, to see what his partner was worried about. With his hands clasped around Sakura, the boy addressed the situation, "What's wrong… did something happen?"

"Ahh…" Sakura turned his head slightly, now more confused than ever. Why was Gon worried about him, when it should've been the other way around, "shouldn't I be asking you…?"

"Me…?" Gon tilted his head slightly, cheeks puffed up in a comical manner.

That is way too adorable! "Ye-Yeah!" Sakura quickly retraced his steps; trying to get away from the idea Gon just reminded him of a confused puppy, "You were the one staring off into the distance, lost in your own world just a second ago!"

"Oh… right, actually!" Gon offered his partner a beaming smile, "Do you know what Iason meant when he said: you two, not just you… physically and mentally. Well, maybe not physically, physically, because I'm not ready yet?"

"Huh…?" Sakura's cheeks reddened. Why is this the first his hearing about it, and why is Gon looking at him so eagerly… like he has the answers to the universe? If he had to guess, it has something to do about physical attraction, but he doesn't really have the context or the background to make a sound argument. Nothing his father or Mito said comes close to what Iason was talking about.

With Mito, all they learned is how to use protection and to always ask for permission, but they have no idea when to use protection. She didn't really go that far down the rabbit hole.

With his father on the other hand… it was worse than that; he just talked about the attraction side of things, when someone knows they are attracted to somebody. But he didn't go further than that.

Sakura knows his attracted to Gon and Iason, he gets this bubbly sensation in his chest, not only when he first kissed them, but even now, those kisses feel so right… even when he has absolutely no idea what they are doing. Well, not exactly no idea, he just doesn't know how Gon kisses him. His head just implodes and his brain checks out until they stop kissing.

The same sort of happens with Iason, except his brain doesn't check out, it stands there in front of the door as if wondering if it had forgotten anything.

He's doing it now as Gon looks at him, his brain has left the building, and now he has no idea what they were talking about. He got lost in the sunshine smile, the smile that looks as though it asked him a question…

"Sakura…?"

"Huh?"

"Are you ok…?"

"I got lost… in your smile…"

Gon's features widened, "It's ok." The boy leaned forward, placing a kiss on Sakura's lips.

Now the boy really has no idea what is happening, just that his feeling a little disappointed that Gon didn't kiss him for longer. It was a small, short… perfect in his own mind kiss, but that doesn't help his case. He still has no idea what is going on… he just wants to continue what happened a second ago, "I'm lost…"

When Gon puffed out his cheeks, it didn't help the situation, "being mad isn't going to help the situation… nor is going to kiss me," Sakura held out his hand, stopping his pouting partner before he could actually think to kiss him again, "When and why did Iason say this…?"

"Well…" Gon offered a lopsided smile like he had the biggest secret he wished to tell, "When I was looking for you last night, all I could find was Iason."

"Uh huh…"

"He said you were in the park…"

"I was…" Sakura's raised a brow slightly; did Iason accidentally tell Gon where he was last night?

"But he didn't tell me which park. I really wanted to know, because I missed you."

Now Sakura was pouting, he feels really bad for not telling Gon anything about what they're trying to do. But he wants to surprise Gon, to reveal that he can be strong enough to follow in Gon's footsteps. He doesn't really want to be left behind with Gon and Iason, forced to watch their footsteps get further away.

He wants to be proud, proud to admit in some way or another; he was able to get Gon's Nen back. He wants to tell Gon, but at the same time… seeing Gon's giddy smile when he gets his Nen back will be all worth it in the end.

"I just went to the park for a really long walk, just to relax…" Gon's pout returned, "You doing that isn't going to help the situation, so what did you and Iason talk about? What aren't you telling me?"

"Oh, right… Well, he wouldn't tell me… At the time… I was kinda patting his tummy."

"Gooooon~?"

"I know, I know… I forgot to ask if I could… BUT! I promised I would've stopped it if Iason wanted me to stop it. Plus, he said your tummy is better to pat…"

"G- Gon! Back to the story, you devious creature!"

Gon stopped smiling "That's not fair… I'm not devious!"

"Gon the story, please…"

"Fine…" Gon rolled his eyes, "Well as I was patting his tummy… with his explicit permission," He said it so proudly like he crumbled one of Iason's walls within the moment. And he enjoyed every second of it, the comfortability of Iason giving up in a way that hadn't infringed on the task at the time "he said I could continue as long as I didn't impede on his ability to cook. Now, I then asked for where you were…"

"While patting his tummy?"

"The entire time…" Gon offered a huge smile, a triumphant one at that, "He said to my comment about wishing to take him out and go out and search for you, that: The last time I went out, I got into a relationship… I was worried, so I asked him if he sure he wanted to continue to date us?"

"What did he say?" The suspense was killing him, and not in a good way. This wasn't some book that drew his attention… this was Iason's happiness on the line… his sanity.

"He still wants to be with us… He wants to be with both of us. Plus… he likes your tummy."

"Not helping Gon…" Sakura hid his face, too embarrassed to argue with Gon. Hearing Iason or Gon for that matter likes a physical aspect about him is really nice, especially since the reveal. They both find him attractive, even though he isn't like other guys.

"Well, then he saw how happy I was to hear how much he wanted to be with us… then he started to babble. Which… brings me back to the question…"

"Which one was it?"

When Gon pouted, Sakura confessed, "When you kissed me, I completely forgot everything. It's not my fault my brain-"

Gon kissed Sakura once more, this time for longer, Sakura practically melting in his hands from the gesture. He could feel his partner hold him close, hands wrapped tightly around his wrists. He didn't remember Sakura ever being able to squeeze this hard before. When did the boy get stronger…?

However, his mind couldn't think, not while Sakura was silently begging him to not stop.

Unfortunately, he still had a question he wanted to be answered by Sakura. He stuck out his tongue, proud of himself for having such a positive reaction with his partner, "Sakura… what do you think Iason means when he said: I want to be with you two, not just you… physically and mentally. Well, maybe not physically, physically, because I'm not ready yet. Touching is ok… as well as hugging and kissing but- what do you think he was going to say after the 'but'?"

"Honestly, I don't know…" Sakura looked away, unsure what Iason was going to talk about, but he could see the question did weigh heavily on Gon's mind. Then again, Iason did say… he's not ready yet. Gon should give the boy time to think it over, to not force it out of Iason.

Then again… Gon is going to implode at this point, "Alright, I think you should ask Iason… even if he told you he isn't ready yet. BUT, don't push him if he isn't ready to say anything yet… just ask him to at least point you in a direction to help you understand it better… ok?"

"Ok…" Gon mumbled with a relenting sigh. He feels a little jealous from how Sakura and Iason have been connecting so well lately. It's like the two of them just understand each other better… Hopefully, he'll be able to change that soon, he wants to be able to understand both of them better, to figure out every little detail he can discover.

He wants to know why they have been connecting so well. As well as eventually, pepper kisses down every inch of his partners' body. He's already discovered he likes being kissed on the neck, maybe there are other places he could find the others liked to be kissed.

"~"

Killua felt his eyes water, feeling his brain once more like he had done so during the fight with Rammot, only during that time… in a desperate attempt to get away from Illumi's voice, Daniel had told him to run… that he'll meet him later on.

A part of him believed those words, that he'll see his friend once more. He lied to himself by believing in Daniel, although secretly, Daniel was biding Killua's time, hoping that the boy would get as far away as possible from the scene.

Daniel didn't want Killua to see him draw his last breath…

If it weren't for Killua challenging Illumi's voice, he might have never been able to see his boyfriend again. He'd also have no idea what to say to Gon… or if he would even be able to face Gon again.

But now here he is, sinking his nails into his brain once more, trying to grasp a small pin Illumi stuck in there.

"A little up…"

"How little?!"

"One millimetre…"

Killua adjusted before sinking his nail in further, just as slow when he first started. If he fails here, the worst case scenario is he kills himself in the process giving himself technically a lobotomy, in order to regain his memories. Although, he could also become brain-dead; a vegetable… something he's sure Daniel doesn't want to happen, much less himself.

"Stop… the top finger is just hovering over it, now just slightly adjust your bottom nail about two millimetres to... your left…"

Killua did so, feeling his nails pinch something.

"Now pull it out slowly… Do NOT rip it out…"

Killua eased the pin out, the object slipping out of the open wound as he sighed in relief. Although, the blood trickling down from the fresh wound isn't going to help them in the long run, "I'm defiantly not becoming a doctor after this…"

Scarlet chuckled as she gave the boy a tissue, Killua pressing it to the wound as he dropped the pin in Scarlet's hand. She held the object up to her eyes, frowning at the small object that had caused so much damage, "What a cruel thing to do to your sibling… it wreaked so much havoc, for such a tiny object…"

"Can you destroy it?"

Scarlet nodded, as she held it up, "Mr Dandy…"

From out the shadows, the creature that once saved Daniel, returned, eyes gleaming with purpose. With a tip of his top hat, he clasped his bony fingers around the needle, taking it back into the darkness without a word being said.

Killua sighed as he collapsed into the couch, fingers still pressing the tissue to his wound "How long before I get my memories back…"

"Days… weeks… months… years… I can't say, but you'll remember, and I'm sure with it, you'll discover what you thought of Daniel were at that time."

Killua broke into soft laughter, body bopping in tandem with his quiet laughter. He was so tired, after everything he has been though… he just wants to rest. When he closed his eyes, his body gave in.

With his body slipping sideways, his head fell into Daniel's lap.

Neither boy moved as Scarlet held her smile, "You finally look at peace for once. Enjoy your rest boys; you're going to need it soon. Victor won't stop… but neither will you. You will grow stronger… and I can't wait to see what you achieve next…"