They met again two days later, spotting each other across a classroom packed full of students.
Back against the wall, Killua had been scanning the crowd when his eyes meet hers and she looked just as shocked to see him. Then her face lit up in a smile and she weaved through the crowd to join him by the wall. She was wearing green again, he noted. Maybe it was her favorite color?
"Fancy meeting you here, Killua."
He glanced at her and nodded shortly, trying to maintain his cool, collected demeanor. Their first meeting had been an embarrassing one for him and he was not going to let it happen twice. "Gon. Cause any accidents on your way here today?"
"I didn't cause that accident! I just happened to be around when it happened."
He rolled his eyes and she huffed a laugh, bumping his shoulder with hers and throwing him off balance. Flustered, he nudged her back and soon they were on the verge having a full-fledged mock-fight until the instructor stepped in to start class.
Turns out they both had the same obscure subject, Ancient Combat Techniques, as part of their curriculum and he couldn't think of a better class to finally have someone to talk to in. Particularly since the Professor was his older brother's creepy friend, Hisoka. The red-haired man had introduced himself as a "Magician", but Killua knew a clown when he saw one.
Gon glanced around at the seating choices and he stared meaningfully at the seat next to him, trying to be subtle. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she took the hint and settled in.
Hisoka's gaze lingered on a select few students as he forced the class to introduce themselves, making weird, slightly predatory comments. Killua was one of the special few and so was Gon, he figured it meant that they were some of the more skilled pupils in the class. His remarks to Gon were particularly uncomfortable, calling her a green fruit or something equally bizarre. Killua decided he'd help Gon avoid Hisoka as much as possible.
Hisoka's high pitched voice droned on for the next forty minutes and he listened at first, but eventually his mind began to wander. He had copied down the notes on the board already and sat slouch in his seat. To his right, Gon was paying attention, her hands folded in front of her and her back straight. As he watched, he saw her eyelids start to droop and he smirked beneath his hand.
If she fell asleep, he would play the part of dutiful classmate and awaken her. In his own special way, of course.
He was debating the effectiveness of a ruler versus a pencil as a bludgeoning tool when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning with a snarky comment already on his lips, he found not Gon but Hisoka standing beside him.
"Is my lecture boring you, Killua?" He smiled, which was somehow worse than if he had just looked angry. "It certainly seems to have put Miss Freeces into a meditative state."
Dread pooling in his stomach, Killua leaned back to look around him and saw Gon sleeping soundly, somehow still upright.
At a loss for words, he met Hisoka's ever growing smile with a weak one of his own. "Ah. She's been really tired recently…"
"I'd like you both to stay after class."
Killua groaned. So much for avoiding him.
They had a ten-minute break before the second half of the lesson resumed and the class was allowed move freely. When Gon had awaked, by ruler, he relayed Hisoka's message which she accepted meekly. She didn't seem nearly as horrified as she should have been in his opinion. Either she was very brave or very foolish; he suspected it was a bit of both.
"You don't like sweets?" Killua asked, looking at Gon as if she thought the world was flat and the moon landing was staged. His Chocorobo-kun box sat half empty in between them and she was playing with the robot toy prize that came with it. "How can you not like sweets?"
"I like honey," Gon retorted defensively and paused to consider what else she enjoyed. "I like chocolate chip cookies, too, but just that kind of cookie. I like cake, I guess."
"What about ice cream? Everyone loves ice cream." He tossed a chocolate into the air and caught in with his mouth.
Gon shrugged, fiddling with the small robot so it stood in a fighting position. "I'll eat it if it's there. Oh!" She nearly jumped out of her seat in her excitement. "I got it!"
Killua paused mid-chew to raise an eyebrow at her.
"I can't believe I almost forgot about it, I get it every single time I pass through town. Green Apple Tart frozen yogurt! That's my favorite dessert!" She proclaimed proudly, snagging a chocolate from him and popping it into her mouth with a grin.
Hisoka snapped the chalk he had been writing with in half. Clutching the chalkboard with one hand and smearing the notes, he pressed the other to his face, looking flushed.
A chill ran down their spines as he stayed hunched against the board. Gon spoke up, despite Killua's furious shake of his head. "Professor?"
He mumbled something under his breath about unripe apples that made Killua very uncomfortable for her sake, as she didn't seem too bothered.
"Right…" Killua muttered, standing up and gesturing for Gon to do the same. "Let's go get something to drink."
"Sure!"
They hurried out into the hallway and Gon muffled a laugh. "You should have seen your face, Killua. I thought you were going to faint."
"Shut up, I was not! He's just… really creepy, and he reminds me of my brother in a way. Which makes sense." He folded his arms behind his head, keeping pace with her as she searched for the nearest vending machine. They found one right around the corner.
"Why?" She pulled out some coins and pushed in her order which came clunking down the shoot a few seconds later. "Are they friends?"
Killua shook his head. "No, I don't really think they care that much about each other but they hang out sometimes."
"I think that means they could be friends?" Gon stepped aside and let him put in his own coins. He debated briefly and decided to get a strawberry soda. A few seconds later, he popped it open with a hiss of fizz. He scoffed, "Trust me, my brother does not have friends."
"Why not?" She took a sip of her can of green tea, no sugar added. He glared at it in disgust.
"It's kind of a rule. Mafia families aren't fond of outsiders," he said casually, it would be pointless to lie and he was tired of deceit anyway. "But I'm done following them."
"Oh," Gon replied cheerfully, placing her hand on her chest, "I'm glad, for a second I was worried that you didn't consider me your friend."
He paused with the can at his lips, eyes wide. What did she say? "We're friends?"
"I know, it was stupid of me to doubt it." Gon scratched her head, clearly mistaking his question for an affirmation. "I'm glad I have a friend in this class, we can partner up for the practice fights next week. I'll do my best so don't hold back, okay, Killua?"
"Ah, yeah, sure." Ducking his head, he hid his smile with the soda can. "I won't hold back. Definitely."
Gon glanced at her watch, sighing, "Well, we have a few more minutes. I can't believe I fell asleep in class again. That reminds me, what's you're reason for coming to this school? I'm here so I can find my father."
Encouraged by her lack of fear, he decided to continue telling her the truth, "I'm done with the Mafia, I want to choose my own path, not follow the one my family already has laid out for me."
She smiled. "That's a good reason."
"Yeah," he agreed, feeling the weight of his hidden dream fall from his shoulders. "Yeah, it is."
A few minutes of silence passed by.
"So, Mafia, huh?"
"...Yep."
"That's kinda cool."
"It's really not."
They both were still laughing when they walked back into class.
