Killua and Daniel get to experience their first day of school, although, it's very unusual to say in the least.
Killua hummed as he looked Daniel up and down, a hand rubbing his chin. The problem wasn't with Daniel's uniform, not much could be changed about that. It's his style, mainly his hairstyle which is the problem.
"What? Why are you looking at me like a piece of chocolate?"
Killua let out an annoyed huff, "If I was, you wouldn't be wearing anything right now. Kids are ruthless, especially when it comes to styles."
"And you know this how…?"
"Because unlike you, I listened to the other students as we walked by them."
"I'm sorry I had a very attractive partner two feet away drawing my attention."
Killua blushed, eyes narrowing slightly, "Sappy. How about…" Killua circled the boy, looking over his long hair. It wasn't a popular trend for guys, but with Daniel's current physique, it works. It won't work with him the older he gets, but for now, his not about to suggest Daniel getting a haircut "a ponytail?"
"Just leave it like this. Who cares if long hair makes me girly… or whatever?"
"I'm trying to make sure we draw the least amount of attention to us, on our first day no less."
"It's the end of the year, Killua…"
"We're still coming back next year, so… I care."
Daniel held a finger out as Killua got to work, "If anyone is going to draw attention, it's you."
"Not if I'm in complete Zetsu…"
"We can't use any of our Nen abilities, at least not right now. So that's not possible. Let's be realistic here… You have a nice physique, white soft fluffy hair and beautiful blue eyes… You'd stick out like a pretty thumb. The girls will be drooling all over you, and I'm pretty sure some of the straight dudes who'd see you, would question their sexuality…"
Killua's cheeks were burning now; he highly doubted that was true. Daniel could say whatever he wants about his 'prettiness'… but when it comes to others, he'd make sure he's unapproachable in that sense. He can barely hand Gon's and Daniel's compliments. The idea of others complimenting him on his looks, let alone looking forward into getting in his pants, isn't something he'd like to play a part of.
Right now, he could only see Daniel in his life; he saw this sort of perfect balance within his relationship with the boy, and nothing really could change that. He enjoys having Daniel playing a part in his development, including, his sister as well. She refuses to watch her brother part from him; she loves Daniel like a brother.
Shifting his weight, Killua finished wrapping a hair tie around his partner's hair, circling back around to the boy's front.
"Nope…" Killua let out an annoyed huff; he shouldn't have pulled all the hair back into a ponytail that extended from the back of the boy's neck. It doesn't look good on Daniel. It showed off too much of the boy's slightly pale complexion and his eyes would ultimately draw everyone's attention.
Maybe if he messes up the boy's hair, allowing a few strands to fall along his side as well as the front of his face, it'd hide abnormal pupils; he can still pull some of it back into a ponytail, but it should start from the back of his head, somewhere near the middle.
As Killua once more got to work, Daniel addressed his own concerns, "I like that you're doing this for me, but you need to think about yourself as well. What do you plan to do, in order to well… merge with the masses? It's not like changing your hairstyle is going to decrease your attractiveness…"
"Glasses… I'm going to go the bookworm route, to make it seem like I'm more interested in my studies than to socialise. That way, I can not only watch you from a distance without drawing attention to myself. By the way, if you do end up drawing attention to yourself, I'll look out for any suspicious behaviour…"
"Suspicious behaviour like…?"
"Constant staring, stalking… the normal, abnormal behaviour." Finishing up the knot, Killua circled back around Daniel, appreciating his handy work, "done. You look better. Take notes, because I don't really want to do this every morn-"
Daniel pulled his partner closer, a hand gliding through his partner's hair as he leaned forward, his lips ghosting along Killua's, "Aww… but I like it when you touch my hair." The boy gave Killua a quick kiss, "Is it ok if I draw attention to us by announcing that you are my partner?"
Killua expression softened, a smile being offered at his partner's question, "No… let's keep it under wraps for now. I want to focus on mainly the other's expression to your existence. If they ask, you can say you have a partner. But don't include me in the mix… I don't want them looking at me suspiciously."
"Aww…" Daniel whined. The boy adjusted his hand, allowing his hand to explore Killua's hair.
Daniel hadn't noticed his unconscious expression, but Killua certainly had. He swallowed thickly; the puppy dog eyes… the warm, loving expression that would only be directed at him. That's right, in Daniel's eyes there was no other comparability. The hottest dude or girl could walk by, and Daniel would be none the wiser.
He was a Manipulator at heart; not the controlling kind like Illumi. No, he was taking rein of his own feelings to make sure Killua would always remain in his heart. At this point, he highly doubted anyone with the Nen ability, could sway his feelings to make him think otherwise.
Only those who are able to wipe his memory clean would have a chance with him, and even that was a stretch at this point. He's seen Daniel fall in love with him twice, for different reasons.
The boy more often than not would stroke his ego, giving him compliments left and right, and now that both of them were silent and looking at each other for a reason to fall in love once more, Killua found his.
He was Daniel's world, and it's time he starts to cherish that ideology. No matter how cheesy, embarrassing, or how many butterflies it gives him; he'll accept that this won't ever change. Daniel fears he'll be weak forever, it's time Killua taps into that strength the boy seems to overlook, and start chipping away at it until it becomes a shield Daniel can be proud of.
As cheesy as that sounds, now that he thinks about it, he should be returning some of the boy's love in a manner he deserves. It's only fair considering Daniel has been matching his own wants and needs.
Plus, it provided this sort of balance with each other…
Daniel will meet his needs, and he'll meet his partner's needs.
Killua scoffed at the idea, but soon he found himself leaning forward, surprised at the height difference. Seems like Daniel was at the perfect height to kiss his forehead all the time; he never really noticed though until now, when he was forced to recognise those feelings…
He pulled Daniel in savouring a kiss between the two. Daniel's dopey smile only made the scene more worth it when he pulled back to look into the boy's eyes, "I understand your feelings, but let me make things clear. I'm ok with other people knowing about us, it's not like they can do anything about it… I just want to make sure that if we're ever going to be surprised, we'll be ready for it…"
Killua moved a few strands he left untied, tucking them behind Daniel's ear. He couldn't believe he was about to be a cheesy as Daniel right now, "Next year, considering everything is going to be finished in a month… If people ask, you can point at me. It'll be interesting to see their reaction to the news. I'll even pretend that you opened me up…" Killua offered a warm smile.
"Only if one day you ditch the glasses…"
Killua fumed, approaching the dressers to put on the glasses. Once he had placed them on his face, the boy adjusted them slightly before turning around, "It's not my fault you can't handle all this intellect…"
"Scratch that…" Daniel's jaw dropped slightly, his eyes slightly glazed over. He was completely lost in his own world, unable to think of a way to best describe how attractive Killua looks with glasses on "glasses make you hotter… keep them on!"
Killua rolled his eyes, "Alright, move your stubborn ass out of this room. I don't want to be late, especially when I want to see where Alluka needs to go first. Thankfully, her class starts before ours."
"By an hour, which means she'll be on her own until our class finishes."
"Don't remind me…"
With a final shove, Daniel was out of there room and they were on their way to a long, endless school lifestyle.
"~"
"Alright, settle down class. I'm just as surprised as you are." The teacher huffed, drawing in the other students' attention as he grabbed the nearest marker, writing the newcomers name down on the board "I want you to give a warm welcome to Kyle Cilka and Daniel Aleksandr, they'll be studying alongside some of you for the next few coming years."
Daniel and Killua bowed, Killua keeping his eyes diverted to the floor, pretending to be someone who's considered shy amongst crowds. The quicker he's able to meld with the masses, the better off he'll be when it comes to observing Daniel from afar.
It was hard to tell if this was considered a normal layout, as this will be their first class of many. But considering what Daniel had grown up watching, he somehow pictured this. It had 42 single desks; seven horizontal and six vertical, 22 which were currently empty, with the last two back rows, mainly being unoccupied, while the rest were scattered across the remaining four.
The front of the room consisted of an interactive whiteboard, one that acted as both a TV display screen and whiteboard. It was interesting, to say the least, but not as interesting as the teacher's desk. It had textbooks opened on the desk and laptop with the desktop icons being displayed.
The boys wondered if he planned on using his laptop to put up work.
Just like the two of them practice earlier, Daniel spoke calmly "I'm Daniel Aleksandr; I hope we can be friends…" Daniel looked up, offering a smile he'd only reserved for closest friends. He genuinely hoped to make new friends, but considering his and Killua's lifestyle… he highly doubted he'd be able to keep most of them.
Right now they were in constant danger, but none of the other students needed to know that; it's not like they could do anything anyways…
Killua glanced upward, observing the students reaction, some of them were awestruck from Daniel's smile, so nothing new there. He was a little bit jealous though, he liked seeing because it's the one thing that reminds him of his friendship with Gon, although that boy's was more like a flashbang. Daniel's was easier on the eyes.
Then again, in all fairness, this smile has only been recently developed by Daniel, so it could morph into Gon's trademark smile… hopefully not. He'd rather Daniel develops his own sort of smile.
Shifting his stance, Killua spoke up "M… My name is Kyle, n-nice to meet you." He avoided eye contact, just in case Daniel was right about his eyes. The last thing he needed was for people swooning over him.
The teacher drew his attention to the other students once more "Alright, so my name is Max Hensfield, you can call me Max if you wish. I'll get Daniel to sit over near… Sarah, middle aisle third chair from the back; Kyle can take a seat near David, first row from the left and second from the front. You can introduce yourselves to them later as this room will be free for the next thirty minutes after class. After then, you're going to need to shoo…"
As the two sat down, Mr Max continued on with his lesson, from what Killua could gather, they were studying Algebra right now. It was interesting his sense of style when it comes to the teacher. He gave off this presence as if he liked the sound of his own voice. But when it came to working out the solution, he'd pick a student at random, coaxing them into finding out the solution on their own.
He didn't seem as the judgemental kind, the kind that would graciously point out everything you did wrong. He just stood there in silence, watching the flow of equations. He only pointed out the mistakes at the end, helping not only the student but the ones who would've made the same mistake.
After it seemed like everyone was getting the hang of it, Max held out his hand "Alright, I'll get you to head over to page… 456, and finish off questions 1 to 30." The kids let out a collective groan of sighs, which earned a chuckle from the teacher, "I know, I know… but the last of the exams for the end of this year is coming up isn't a competition, guys and girls…"
He held up an accusing finger, "just do the best you can. Now, if you really feel like giving your brain a workout, do 40 to 60."
Killua's looked to his right when he felt a poke, a boy offering his book out for Killua to write down the equations from. He assumed it was David, as when he announced who Daniel was sitting next to, there was a girl beside Daniel. He kept his shyness up when he offered a quick nod to the boy, his eyes skipping the first set of questions, going straight to the second set.
He looked up once more taking note of what Daniel was doing, it seemed like she was more interested in striking up an actual conversation than doing the questions. The teacher didn't seem to mind; his eyes were drawn to his screen, doing some work on his laptop, rather than telling kids to quiet down.
Seeing as though Daniel didn't look like he was in any danger, Killua went back to his work, figuring the answers out to the equations.
"So, where are you from?"
The question made Daniel pause, his eyes drawing up to meet the girl's. She offered a weak smile, her shyness shining through her expression. This is the first time he has ever spoken to someone that hasn't met Gon first hand. He doesn't know how to draw people in like Gon does, "Alair taus…"
"Ah…" Sarah pushed her book closer, her fingers drumming against the textbook, "I've never been there. What's it like…?"
"Really hot… or cold, never in-between…"
The girl giggled softly, a small smile curving upward from the girl's reaction. Daniel savoured the moment, wondering what Gon or even Killua would've said in this situation. He could pry information about this school from a student's perspective "What do you think about this school?"
"It's very expensive, but as long as you know the right people, you can get most of it covered. I'm doing this course because I need to catch up with the basic necessities, but I'm hoping to go into jewellery crafting later down the track… maybe silversmithing."
"Oh, that's interesting."
"Yeah, but it's not as interesting as you two rocking up this late in the year. What's your story?"
"Change of circumstances, really…" He offered a smile, hoping to not broach the topic any further.
The girl offered a smile of her own, now sliding the book closer to Daniel "Here, you can borrow my book for the questions for today. This teacher is pretty lax when it comes to using materials, but others are not so much. So you should buy the books whenever you can, or borrow if you don't plan to continue this particular subject."
"So I've heard…" Daniel hummed in approval, his eyes glancing to the first set of questions. It looked easy enough; knowing his partner well, Killua most likely has already skipped the first set of questions and gone straight to the second.
Maybe he should do the same…
"If you want my opinion, I'd say study what you want to do. It helps in the long run if you pick a single series of topics related to what you ideally want to study so that you don't rack up a huge bill by the end of the year."
"Thank you for the notice."
"And if you ever need help, don't hesitate to approach the teachers or even the Deacon, he's willing to help everyone, no matter what. He's very kind, although forgetful at times…"
Daniel smiled at the news, looks like everything Eifion has said, is being repeated by the students. That's good to hear, that no matter what, they could go to the Deacon for help. He's not just saying it because he knows his father.
At least he has some news to tell Killua.
"~"
As soon as class finished, the two were bum-rushed. They weren't able to get in a single word in before they were drowned out by questions. Daniel held up his hands, trying to calm his group down so he can answer at least a few of them "Hold on… one at a time."
Killua, on the other hand, acted shy, "P-Please… I-I can't answer everything."
"Where are you from?"
"Alair taus…"
Killua got the same question, "Republic of Padokea, Dentora…"
"Are you wearing contacts?"
Daniel was surprised at that question. He's not used to people asking about his eyes, mainly his pupil. They are unusual, but not many people usually say anything about it, "My dad has similar eyes as me… so I guess it's passed down."
"You have white hair, that's cool! Do you dye it?"
Killua shook his head, "Its genetics, m- my dad has it… as well as my grandpa." As long as the questions continued to remain like this, he's ok to continue answering them. Killua shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hoping that the people would switch the kinds of questions they'll ask him.
"Daniel do you have any siblings?"
"An older sister…"
"What do you plan on studying here Kyle?"
"Electrical Engineering," If I think about it, studying this kind, of course, will give me the knowledge to short circuit or jump-start equipment, without forcing me to use all my stored electricity. Plus, it may help me control the input and output better within myself "it'll be interesting studying the intricacies of computer and machine components."
"That's cool!" Some of the students stated Killua forced to hide a small blush. A few of the students awed at his reaction. He didn't mean to do that, it just happened. An out of character moment; at least when it comes to pretending he's just shy.
He really hopes that the questions will stop soon. If anything, as soon as this class is finished, the two new students will spread like wildfire, so they might as well keep up these charades until they're comfortable to break out of these false characters.
"What are you thinking of studying here Daniel?" Daniel paused, a hand being held to his chin. Killua got that question earlier and he had an answer. But when it comes to him, he has no idea. What would he ideally want…?
If it were to coincide what he is doing now, he'd want to do something to do with cooking, to become a chef so that he could learn to not kill every meal he touches. Alas, he felt like it would be a waste of time.
Maybe he could pick up courses that would push him towards becoming a pastry chef?
Ideally, seeing the smile on Killua's face upon every fresh batch of chocolate treats would lighten up his day. He'd want to be that kind of boyfriend; to surprise Killua with a gift for being just who he is… a wonderful brother and partner.
But then again, he'd be stroking Killua's addiction…
He wouldn't want to be the reason Killua got fat, losing all those muscles he has trained for these past few years. Also, he loved touching them so it would be a waste to see them go.
His third option was to pick a course involving the human mind. It'd help him understand Vastorie's motives, as well as his own. He wanted to build upon his own weaknesses, to sharpen his mind to the point he stopped thinking so negatively of himself. If he were to follow that route, something that tapped into human psychology would be a nice touch.
Philosophy could be branched into as well in that case…
When he felt a poke, Daniel's eyes lightened up for a moment. He had completely forgotten to answer the question. His face flushed with embarrassment, eyes looking away for a moment. This whole time he'd been thinking about Killua and Vastorie, and what would be the best outcome for his future. With a smile, the boy spoke "Ah… sorry, I was so distracted. Maybe Human Psychology or Philosophy in the long run… I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
The teacher clapped his hands together, earning a few whines from the other kids, "I understand the curiosity. But there's still another class after this."
A few kids pouted at that. As the students started to pack up, Max Hensfield cleaned up the last of his equipment, "Oh, Daniel and Kyle I wish to speak to you for a few minutes if you don't mind."
The two nodded, grabbing the few materials they brought to class before stepping up to meet with the teacher. He leaned against the desk with a smile, "Nothing to be concerned about. Just wanted to know your opinion so I could pass it onto the Deacon; how are you finding the school system, ok?"
Daniel addressed his concerns first, "Well, I like your teaching method as it appeals to my learning capabilities, and the students are nice."
"A philosophical approach to things, nice…"
Daniel awkwardly scratched the side of his cheek, "Ah…"
"Couldn't help but overhear. It was a joke, by the way, no need to worry about that. But if you're unsure, remember how the system works here. Take a few classes, see how you go and if you don't like it move along. Most teachers here put their lectures up on the school portal so you can catch up there if you need to." He offered the boy a smile before turning to Killua next, "What about you Kyle?"
"The students and teachers are nice; don't know how to process their prying nature though."
"Touché…" Max laughed, even though he knew Kyle was being truthful about his answer, "Well, you don't have to answer all their questions. Just let them know you're a little uncomfortable with the ones you are uncomfortable with. They'll understand… hopefully. If you feel like you're being probed for too much information, approach a teacher and I'm sure they'll be willing to help out. Maybe later some of the friends you make along your path of studies will be willing to help you out…"
The two nodded at the statement, leaving the room with a smile from the good news. First, they needed to pick up Alluka, next it was time to sit down and have a discussion. To compare the notes and see who did a better job with the Math questions.