Hey guys! Back with Chapter 3! Sorry chapter two was so short, but I'll try to extend things a bit with this one ^^

- I won't claim your heart like this -

The things I've never thought about are always the most painful. They are the treacherous ends, the sadistically placed consequences that result from our joy. These thoughts which I've never encountered before, these regrettable faults.. They lead me to your sky-held gaze, just as they start to fall... just as they slip from my view.. & as the first raindrop falls, they cloud over with a misplaced gray.. A gray that should never have existed in this all-too colorful world. And as the thud finally reaches my ears, I wake to an even more dull nightmare: a world without you there.

Where have you gone?

- not with these death-ridden hands -

The first thing Gon noticed was the cold.

It was sharp against his bones, and dug into him in a million different places, seeping through like poison from a needle point. Gon felt frozen, but in a different sense of the word. Movement wasn't impossible, at least, not physical movement. But he seemed grounded: fixated at the point of each needle's separate insertion. He was more than just cold, he was a puppet, strung up on icy fear from deep within, and left to dry under an absorbant sun, which sucked the heated life right out of him.

At least, that's what it felt like before he opened his eyes. But when he finally mustered the strength to make his lids flicker open, something changed. It wasn't the cold; that was still there. But before, it had felt like there was a light shining on him.. A light that stole away all his vital energy. He could see it beneath his lids; the light of day.

But now there was nothing. Had he gone blind? All there was now was darkness. Steep, smothering darkness that clouded everything, to the point where he couldn't even see himself, let alone where he was lying.

The darkness seemed more like a living mass than an empty space though. It seemed to move, to breathe.. Like a liquid creature that captured lost souls in its deepest bowels. This darkness was simply stripping Gon of his warmth, like an animal would digest its food after having just eaten.

Gon had a million theories racing around in his head.. all of them blatantly simple, and all of them were 100% dreadful. But, being Gon, he decided to try and stay on the optimistic side, and focused instead on whether or not he could stand.

Slowly, being careful not to strain too many muscles at once, Gon turned on his side, and tried supporting his weight on one hand and knee. It was hard, and very painful.. And his legs were wobbling so much that it took him several tries [each resulting in him losing his balance and falling on his face] before he could actually manage balancing himself into an awkward crouch.

But as soon as he took the next step, and tried to stand, he fell again. And after three more tries, Gon decided to take a break and slumped over onto his back to stare into the nothingness.

Gon had to wonder whether or not this was a dream.

Last he remembered though, he had definitely fallen asleep after Killua had reassured him. So this definitely SHOULD have been a dream. But.. it didn't feel like that to him, which is what really scared Gon.

He could feel his every muscle, his every pore, all the way up from his scalp to the pads of his toes. Not only that, but he could feel the pain. It was alive, and squirming around inside of him.. It gnawed and gnawed at his nerves, and made it impossible to ignore the ever-present agony that wormed it's way through his system like a twister that had just touched ground.

It was brutal, and felt more real than any dream ever could. But then.. why..

... "Go..nnn..nn.."

It was a whisper, nothing more.. but it broke through Gon's painful thoughts like a slice of reality.

He froze, instantly reacting to the sound as though it were a sonorous boom. Gon froze his muscles in place, despite the ever more insistent pangs that struck its way through his veins, and perked his senses to their full potential, waiting for the voice to strike again. He ignored the darkness.. the cold.. the pain.. and concentrated. Concentrated on something, anything, that could break through his pain like that again.

It could have been hours, days, months even, for every agonizing second that ticked by. Time was his enemy here, for every beat of his heart was another second he lost his concentration to the pain. The pain was everything. The pain was everywhere. And Gon knew that if he succumbed to it, he may never hear that voice again.

He had to do this.. He had to concentrate..

It was an agonizing 158 heartbeats later before the voice came again.

"Go..nn.."

His eyes snapped open. The darkness. Was it.. blurring? There seemed to be a hint of dark dark gray amongst the black.. Gon coughed, painful shards erupting in his chest, before rolling over, and balancing his weight on one shaky arm and knee again.

"Gonnn.."

Gon took in a staggering breath of cold air, and stood. Shuddering and sputtering, he took a step in the direction of the darker gray shades.. Icy spindles dragging at his arms and legs, tearing at his remaining warmth.

"Gon.. Where.."

Gon, frail and broken, dragged himself through the sea of dark nothingness. His heart pounded furiously with the effort, and his limbs refused to work properly. He stumbled several times, only to stand back up and follow the familiar voice. His breath came in ragged, heaving gasps that froze on his lips and made it hard to speak. "K..

"Where.. are you..?"

"... K.. illu..aa.." Gon didn't realize how hard it'd be to say his name. Each syllable was a struggle between him and his frozen lungs, which he could feel cracking under the heat he'd evoked. He stumbled again, this time with a painful gasp and a thud as he landed face first on the mysterious dark surface.

"..G-Gon..!" Killua's voice resounded now, rippling through the darkness and tearing through the cold. Gon could breathe again. He regained his wobbly stance and hobbled after the voice of his best friend, realizing now that the dark gray shades amongst the blackness were now getting lighter and lighter with every step.

"K.. Killua. Are.. you okay?" Gon stammered, hauling himself further and further into the lighter atmosphere.

"J.. Just fine. You?" Gon frowned, and hobbled faster.. refusing to answer for a few moments in order to regain his breath. The air around him became a haze now, more like a white mist than anything else, and it suddenly became much easier to walk. His pain had almost completely subsided, though he was still freezing.

But.. Killua was lying.

After a few more moments, Gon finally answered him. "Killua.. Don't move I'm coming." It wasn't a direct answer, but after realizing a few things about his encounter in the darkness, Gon wasn't quite ready to tell Killua his current state. Besides, by the sounds of Killua's voice, he was in trouble, and his first priority was to get to him and ensure his safety. Normally Gon wouldn't be THIS concerned, but recently.. he's become more protective.. And no matter how much stronger Killua is than him, Gon would never back down when it came to helping him through a tough spot.

Something happened then. Gon wasn't quite sure what it was exactly, but the atmosphere around him seemed to morph. The air churned in violent ripples, dazing the spiky-haired boy. Gon lost his balance again and fell.. But this time, the ground disappeared right beneath his shoes, and instead of landing on his rear like he had expected.. He didn't land at all. All that was cushioning him now was the violent whiplash of white mist that flew straight up against him, as he free-fell for thousands of feet.

Finally, after what seemed like a millenia, he stopped.

Gon looked around, surprised. He definitely should've made a hole in the ground with a fall like that! But instead, here he was, body perfectly intact, standing on a soft new surface.

Gon would've normally blown his brains out trying to figure out just how he managed to survive.. But now wasn't the time to get overwhelmed. Gon's first priority was to map out where he had landed and find Killua.

Unfortunately though, Gon never got that chance. As Gon turned to assess the situation, he saw Killua, and nothing else.

Killua was the world right then and there, and Gon was gravity. But Gon didn't have the same strength as gravity right then and there, or he would've moved. He would've gotten up, and met the world with arms outstretched. He would've found the problem, and immediately dispose of it. He would've turned back and waved at the world with a smile plastered to his face as usual. He would've lived on like normal.

And he would've saved Killua.

The world, with his back turned, had his eyes locked with the sky. Gon didn't get to meet those eyes.. No.. he never did.. But he could see what they were saying, as if Killua were shouting his feelings to the clouds above.

"I don't regret.. anything.."

These were the words spelled out on Killua's face.. Gon was sure of that much. But what scared him more than the words themselves was the fact that they were fading.. The message that was clearly spelled out on Killua's face just seconds before started to dissolve, and with it, the light in Killua's eyes, as red blossomed from his chest, and devoured everything.

Red was everywhere.. Red was everything..
All that remained unstained were the gray clouds above as the first raindrops fell..

.. when the sky itself started to weep.

Yeah.. that was kind of a cliffhanger sorry xD

Chapter 4 will be up soon though no worries :]