"He gave up eating."
With the new addition of Pro Hunter Biscuit Krueger on their team and as their new mentor; Gon and Killua were both on their way to becoming quite the well-versed Nen users. It was by chance they met her through their trek past a mountain gorge filled with monsters (the weaker ones at least gave them something substantial to earn cash from); and she saved their skins when faced with an indomitable threat – Scissor man as Gon called him (Killua laughed and called him a Barber with the promise to recommend him to Leorio for a close shave). A classic name for a guy who used just used Nen-enhanced scissors to fight.
Killua could still feel the remnants of a few scarred cuts he received when training with this dastardly foe, although near the end he lost his 'dastardliness' and became much less volatile and more like a tired jack rabbit out of juice and ready for the picket. It didn't help Gon was so bashful and thankful to the man for letting them fight him for a week. Sure, Killua was impressed by the improvement they made facing this stranger; but he wasn't remotely prepared to be lavishly thanking him for his time. Not like Gon, anyway.
After all, it was Scissor man who attacked them first; lacerating a good-sized cut clean through Gon's calf muscle in a surprise ambush attack. He was lucky to even come out with that type of wound and Killua dreaded his own weakness being Gon's downfall. Albeit now he walked with a slight limp, Gon shrugged it off like he normally did. Hell, he even laughed and said he wouldn't mind getting cut up more, like some cruel, sick joke. Killua felt no remorse for what the guy got, even if he helped them better their skills in the meantime. He wouldn't have hesitated the cut the man down when they had him cornered. But Gon was all smiles and giggles, gifting the once-mass murderer with excessive praise and Killua felt nauseous just watching him.
It wasn't funny.
Something was certainly wrong with the boy, Killua told himself with a gulp.
At least Biscuit had the decency to guide them and not just toss them aside like trash to be slaughtered, doomed to watch the flash of the Game Over title for the rest of their dead, wasted lives – because she saw something in the two of them that Killua was blind to see. He could understand Gon maybe; Gon was the pinnacle of stars, destined for greatness if given the chance and direction needed to excel. Killua wrote himself off as a lost cause for a life of trekking in the underground dealership did that to a boy too young to experience the horrors of the darkness beneath the bustling streets of normal everyday life. Even if he carried no hope for himself at a bright future he still wanted to secure Gon one.
Even better was the fact Biscuit happened to be Wing-san's own mentor which made her the mentor to their mentor and so fourth. It was her perfect excuse to train them. But the fact they shared a history and were being mentored by their previous mentor's mentor was a tongue twister that frazzled even Killua's logic-filled brain and Gon smoking sausages from the steam out his ears.
After finally being guided to Masadora and passing 'Phase One' of Biscuit's training regime, Gon and Killua were quick to sell away all the cards they collected prior to meeting her and cash in for some much needed Greed Island game currency.
Killua shamefully held back in secrecy that he was fast to divulge and spend more then 75% of his portion in the alcoholic beverages now filling up half of his free spaces – promising to himself he'd slow his bad habit gradually down to nothing. One sip at a time. He didn't know what Gon did with his share.
The newly assembled group of three turned around; much to everyone but Biscuit's complaint and bemoaning, and returned back to the rocky cliff area they had fought Scissor man in. When the cards she held up exploded in a cloud of white and down clattered the wheel barrow and digging tools; Killua felt his cerulean eyes go blood shot with regret and the hinges on his jaw go tense, knowing now that this may have been one big mistake.
This was so a bad idea.
"Now, we return to Masadora." Biscuit piped up and Gon all about wailed out his frustration in silence as Killua was gaping holes through that blonde haired woman's skull, "But, this time, we'll be going in a straight line!"
"Eh? A straight line? You can't possibly mean.." Sweat dropping, Killua felt his pupils shrink in realization and Biscuit pointed directly at the mass of rock right behind her, grin in place.
"Yep. It's time to dig!"
Much to both young boys' surprise, they fell into the new routine fairly easily even if their progress had left little to speak for. The rock was softer than they thought but as they spent two days battling the hard surfaces with cheap, lousy shovels and a poorly equipped wheelbarrow that was barely fit to carry the weight or size of two Gon's; made the process of returning to Masadora an even bigger pain in the ass and much more time-consuming than warranted.
It didn't help that Biscuit insisted when they rested they remain sitting upright, clutching onto a rope that lead to a steadily-increasing sized boulder above their heads. If they didn't keep a portion of their brain alert then they would release the rope and the boulder would surely come crashing down. Killua had expertise in this field since his parents subjected him to many similar exercises when sleeping throughout his childhood. It was a cinch for him and he got all the rest he could ask for the past few grueling days.
Gon, not so much.
Killua counted seven large lumps on Gon's head, now, as he was quietly taking his turn for a break, shoveling bite after bite of some sort of meaty soup into his mouth. His blue eyes darted back and forth between watching Gon slowly unload huge loads from the wheel barrow and making sure the food he was eating made it into his mouth and not spilled haphazardly on the ground. Food in-game would surely not be wasted. His stomach rumbled somewhat midst his third helping and he held up his bowl towards Biscuit with a sideways pout/glance/something probably embarrassing even though he loathed to admit to it. Because every time he asked of Biscuit for something she'd answer with that smug know-it-all grin and Killua hated this part of their training most of all.
Being forced to rely on another person for sustenance when your training made you too exhausted to even cook yourself a proper meal.
"Uh, more." Killua chewed on his bottom lip, feeling the blonde hunter's smile on him, "..Please."
"You sure eat a lot for a growing teenager, Killua." Biscuit laughed, picking up the ladle in the stew pot and gathering another big helping to slide into Killua's awaiting bowl. He scoffed and said nothing, keeping his eyes darted away and started back up on his next dish with haste that even his spoon couldn't keep up with the speed he was eating. "It's so endearing."
Coughing out the spoon he was choking on, Killua wrenched his glare her way and Biscuit chuckled even harder for it. "It's not e-endearing! Geez, what's your problem? I eat a lot, so what? Don't hassle me for it when you're the one breaking our backs on this stupid training exercise!"
Biscuit's brow rose but she pursed her lips thoughtfully and sipped from her glass of water a second before replying, "I guess you have a point. But I did warn you beforehand when you two accepted me as your mentor that I wouldn't go easy on you. So don't complain that much when you both willingly stepped into this situation on your own."
Huffing, because she was right, Killua shook his head and returned to slurping his food down noisily and as rudely as possible; just to maybe piss her off for fun, when Biscuit's loud, clearing cough made him flinch and her next words made that flinch turn into a wince.
"Gon's not eating."
Carefully, Killua set down his bowl and spoon and twisted slightly in his seat just to glance at her, unblinking. Had he heard her right? Gon not eating? That's impossible. He had to confirm it, because even Killua was having a hard time remembering if he had ever seen Gon eat. He had been so focused on digging through those rock structures, hating Biscuit for the crazy idea to dig straight through to Masadora in general, and keep his budding alcohol binges on the down low – that he forgot to pay attention to Gon's health and status instead of his own. Some friend I am. "What did you say?"
"He hasn't eaten since we first started for Masadora." said Biscuit, tone neutral but the underlying worry was evident, "That's four days now he hasn't had a bite to eat. I've been watching you two very closely and I know he hasn't eaten one thing, not even when he's sneaked away to do his other business."
"Seriously?" Killua swallowed the nervous lump he had been chewing on in the back of his throat. Turning, he watched Gon tilt and shove the sixth (or was it eighth?) load of rubble and dirt from the wheelbarrow and the grunting he made was easily heard from the safe distance they sat away from. "You're lying. Gon wouldn't not eat. His appetite is as big as mine, hell, our food bill was double what it normally was when Gon ate. There's just no way."
"I'm not lying, Killua."
"Damnit-" The ex-assassin cursed but Biscuit's reprimanding glare made him cringe, sigh, and call out to flag Gon down for attention. "Oi, Gon! C'mere a sec."
"Hai!" Gon answered, cheery like always, and he jogged over to the two of them before pausing a foot away beside Killua wearing that big stupid grin on his face he always had when greeting someone. "What's up?"
Killua thrust his bowl of soup right toward Gon and visibly the tan-skinned teen balked and took a step back much to Killua's own surprise. "Eat this." He did his best to command, sound authoritarian, but Gon shook his head and a bead of nervous sweat sliding down his cheek didn't go unnoticed. "Seriously, Gon. I want you to eat it."
"Why?"
"Just eat it."
"I'm not hungry right now. I'll eat later, Killua."
"Bullshit." Gon's chuckle sounded hollow and edgy. Killua gnashed his teeth together in a warning growl even if Gon didn't seem to mind. "Gon. Eat it. Or so help me I will shove you down and forcefully feed you myself."
"That sounds kind of hot; being pinned down by Killua and forcefully made to do something." The purr of satisfaction colored Killua's cheeks faster than he wanted; remnants of earlier when Killua had sneaked too many sips of whiskey during his bathroom break coupled with his raging teenage hormones resulting in a very wired-up young Zoldyck riding atop Gon against a wall in the furthest reaches of their latest digging assignment. He had even made an effort to keep their obscene noises to a bare minimum – when you're in something close to a cave, everything echoes. If Biscuit knew they were having sex; she'd explode.
And because Gon didn't say no per-say, there really wasn't anything wrong with it, right? Killua had demanded in a partly drunken fit and the sun-kissed boy obliged, snarly comments and all.
So, in the end, yes, Killua had sorta pinned Gon down and forced him to do something (In this case, thrust those hips faster, change the angle, grind harder, fuck me like you mean it you dirty bastard , etc) against their better judgment.
Killua with an alcohol-level to top the worst of those record-breaking charts had one foul mouth, indeed.
"...shit." slipped Killua's tongue and a heavy metal ladle flew his way, smacking him clean across the forehead and sending him falling to the side in a hilarious heap on his ass. The bowl of soup he was holding tipped, flew into the air, and splashed all over the front of his shorts leaving a nice wet stain straight across the crotch-region. Gon squealed out a chuckle and Killua bolted up, swinging his fist at Gon but missing in the dodge. "I-idiot! Stop laughing! That wasn't funny!" His entire face exploded in scarlet red and he flailed his hands in front of his shorts, embarrassment ready to be his end, when he heard a girl's voice enter the mixture of Gon's laughter.
Biscuit was maniacally giggling off to the side and Killua rounded over to her with a glare to kill, "DON'T LAUGH! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."
"Haha. You're easy to pick on, Killua."
"Yeah, you are pretty easy to make fun of sometimes, Killua. It's en-dear-ing."
"GEEZ, ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP."
"Well, back to work! Ja, ne!" Gon waved himself out to the shrieking, flustered mess that was Killua and it was the silver-haired teens turn to throw the ladle at Gon's retreating form and still miss.
"Stupid Gon." hissed Killua, pouting as he crossed his arms and glared at the ground a moment, until the spilled bowl and its contents caught the corner of his vision and he paused.
All that food he had piled in there; he could clearly see now when before it was just a murky batch of liquid with indistinguishable pieces floating in it. Chunks of steak and beef mixed with stray, scrawny rice noodles. Some vegetables like peas and carrots and stringy green beans. Noticeable pieces of seasoning; maybe things like basil or rosemary plants and garlic. All of that was now splashed along the dirty, rock-infested ground floor.
Wasted and left uneaten.
Killua cast one last look at Gon's gaunt form busying himself with shoveling another pile into the wheelbarrow; those tight-knit clothes plastered to his thin body in a layer of sweat. His ribs were showing through the see-through white material, the outlines of his hips and waist highlighted through his bulky, hanging shorts. His muscles were there, evident, but the much-needed fat was not.
Probable starting signs of slow food-deprived starvation and malnutrition no less.
Sighing to himself, Killua turned and glared forlornly at the bowl again in hopes all his anger and frustration would be transferred into the inanimate object – and soon forgotten.
Baka.