AN: There's some concepts that are very difficult to understand at first and in Killua's case, it's friendship.

The squad finally makes head way to Zaban City with two new people just dying to greet them.

THE PLOT THICKENS MUAHAHAH. Slowly. Thanks.

Enjoy.

Silhouettes of a Ghost

14

There was a loud, obnoxious whine, and then.

"I said no, Hisoka. Don't make me repeat myself."

"You're no fun, Illumi. No fun at all." The man dubbed 'Hisoka' complained, throwing himself into a pout as he lay straight-backed atop a bench. A lone bench, that might be added, was surrounded by rubble and debris as far as the eye can travel; a sea of unlivable ruins now. This bench just so happened to be one of many few things to survive the destruction and Hisoka was more then willing to steal it for himself, however long he chose to lay there that is in an ocean of bones and corpses, blood and dirt.

"I'm not supposed to be fun." Illumi; as Hisoka called him, said flatly while he brushed some of his long, cascading ebony locks away from a set of hollow, empty charcoal eyes. Even his pupils did not show; they were just too dark to discern from. "This is our job. People do not have fun when they're working. People should be taking their jobs very seriously."

"That depends on what kind of job it is, then." Hisoka thrust a finger into the air, drawing invisible shapes and patterns above his head with his eyes closed, "Because last time I remembered, some jobs can be extremely fun."

"If you're referring to our earlier job, that was the least bit pleasant. Chimera Ants are insufferable creatures that really have no right to coexist with humans. The sooner they are extinguished, the sooner we can return to our previous business."

"Killing humans and not supernatural mutants!" The clown man with his painted white face and outrageously styled cherry-top hair was positively beaming with pride over his own words and if it were easier to tell, Illumi was rolling his eyes to this.

"Hisoka."

"Hmm?"

Illumi glanced down from where he stood at the side of the bench, locking gazes with stark, molten-yellow eyes, and he brought his hand back down from his hair to rub the bridge of his nose in earnest. "Shouldn't we be returning to base soon and prepare for the upcoming battle and arrival of the other squadron?"

"I don't wannaaa.."

"Hisoka."

"Don't wanna."

"Hisoka."

"No."

"Hisoka."

"Oh f-fuck, right there. That's the s-spot. Don't stop. H-harder! Hnnnngh. Illumi. Oh God, Illumi."

"Hisoka."

"Hi-so-ka."

"Hisoka."

The aforementioned man did a face palm and dragged his hand dramatically down with a groan, staring up at Illumi, who, throughout the time, had yet to budge an inch or even show an ounce of changing emotion across an already emotionless face. Hisoka often remarked him to be a doll; a pristine and fine work of expert craftsmanship, that, in the process of being made, was forgotten to be given a heart and a sense of righteous, human feeling.

Hisoka loved that noteworthy fact about Illumi, dearly, he did.

"Fine. We can go back, since you so rightfully insist. Whatever makes sweet Illumi happy."

"I'm not happy." Illumi spoke, voice plain like his posture; upright and rigid like he still had an iron rod shoved down his spine that was keeping him ramrod straight. Or possibly up his ass, too. He was regarded as a soldier with the carefully orchestrated march he made wherever he went and even Hisoka's constant mockery and ridicule couldn't curb that habit out of him for the world. "We should go back. This place is boring and uneventful. Why you wanted to come here is beyond me."

Hisoka scrutinized Illumi with a snide, shameless grin and a quick look over. In return he got the assassin's back firmly planted his way and effectively stopping him from staring holes through Illumi's crotch if it meant he'd have needles for eyes soon. He really, really loved Illumi's Nen needles. A lot. In a lot of places, even. Illumi still gutted him for that, just not with his needles like he wished he would. "But I like it here. It still smells and tastes just like it did when we were done slaughtering them."

"Like death, you mean."

"Exactly!"

"I'm leaving." Illumi didn't hesitate in the slightest to start walking away, in the same foot fall pattern he did naturally, and Hisoka was whining audibly from his spot on the bench.

"Awe, come on!" He swung up and over the side, doing a flare of skill as he back-flipped so if it might impress the long-haired man; but he was ignored, like always, and followed behind Illumi anyway. "Illumi! I was only joking."

"You don't joke."

"Yeah, but still. I was sort of this time."

"Liar."

"I'm that too, but Illumi, come on!"

"I'm going back to base. The other squadron should be arriving in less then half an hour. I want to be prepared for the Chimera Ant attack."

"You make it sound like you're looking forward to fighting." Hisoka smirked and Illumi chided him with his blank, cautious stare.

"Maybe just a little."

Seeing the blood-thirsty Zoldyck assassin admit he was openly looking forward to a slaughter fest made Hisoka's smirk grow in volume, consuming half his face with his evil intent. Face turning dark considerably, he followed each of Illumi's foot steps, one right after the other. A twirl of his right hand magically conjured an array of playing cards and he thumbed through each one until he pulled free the joker on the end, holding it between two fingers with a purr.

"A little isn't true when we all know it's a lot, dear Illumi."~

He tossed the joker to the ground behind him, splintering the dirt and gravel in two at the point of impact and leaving behind a lengthy crack traveling at least three feet in length forward and back. The earth even shook a moment, groaning its protest; but still the two men walked on through the rubble and dust, the shadows of the deceased hot on their heels.

"We all know we're going to massacre those things, so let's not lie about it." Hisoka continued, stretching his arms out behind his head to cross, finally catching up to walk in stride alongside the lither man, grin aimed more then just his way this time. "Tell me how excited you are to kill some pesky creatures for a change? It's been, say, a week or so since we had some action, right? Then aren't you dying to wrap your hands around something and watch it bleed? Illumi.~"

"Overjoyed." The bored, dead tone of Illumi had even the magician chuckling in earnest. Brutal honesty. He loved it.

"Overjoyed, it is then."

And death. He loved that a lot, too.

Killua's entire world was wobbling back and forth the faster Gon shook him. Any moment and he was mentally and emotionally prepared for the dying embarrassment he'd experience when throwing up all over his teenage companion, but somehow he just couldn't will himself to care for the matter. Not unless Gon stopped anytime soon. "Ne, ne, Killua! Look, there it is. It's there! Right there in the distance. Can you see it-?"

"Yes. Gon. I can see it." Killua pulled Gon's brawny hands from his shoulders and glowered at the cheeky bastard's sun-shiny grin and face, "Now, please. Stop shaking me."

"Zaban City." Gon breathed in deeply, turning to face the land slowly drawing nearer by the second. He gripped the boat railing and leaned dramatically over the edge, eyes wide and curious in interest. "It's not as big as I pictured it would be."

Killua picked absently at his teeth and rolled his eyes. "What you're seeing right now in the distance isn't necessarily Zaban City, Gon. It's further in after we dock at Dolle Harbor, and the city is just a few miles past that. Zaban's actually a pretty big place in its own right but it's not that great. It's just like any other small city you'll find here in Padokia."

"A city. I've never been to a city." repeated Gon and he crooned, draping himself along the railing with a dreamy sigh.

"Oh, right." Killua perked at the reminder, "You've lived on Whale Island all your life. So this is your first trip to a city then."

"Yeah."

"Well, don't take it to, to much heart. It's not going to be the kind of place you expect to be." Carding through his silver tresses, Killua walked to stand at Gon's side, scouting out towards the city afar.

"Why not?"

"Because, moron. The other Silver Squadron destroyed it when they were clearing out the Ants. It's nothing but a pile of ashes now. All the buildings are in shambles and there's not a person in sight. They were cleared out when the Ants invaded so there's nothing left of Zaban City to see."

"Oh." Gon sounded genuinely disappointed but his expression spoke otherwise. "I see. That's okay then. I'm sure I'll still like it."

"You're really bizarre, Gon."

The Freecs teen chuckled, undeterred, and leaned away but still held onto the railing, his attention now trained on the beautiful expanse of blue sky stretching overhead as far as the eye can see. Not a cloud in sight. "The sky is nice and calm today. There's no storms coming anytime soon."

Killua rose a brow. "How can you tell?"

"The smell in the air." A twitch of his nose and Killua fidgeted, disturbed. "And the birds. When there's a storm coming, you can smell it in the air and the birds warn others, too, when it's approaching." Not a bird in sight, either; a clear sign it was safe on the sea for the time being.

"That's... weird." Killua barely managed, chin upturned to stare at the same spots he thought Gon was trained on. "But I guess that makes sense. The air does smell different when it rains, so I don't see why not when a storm is brewing."

"It's more salty then anything. At least every time I have smelled one before, it tasted like salt." Gon laughed, neck rubbed in his casual sheepish gesture.

"I still am convinced you're related to a dog, Gon. Maybe like one of those hunting hounds or something. Nobody has a crazy sense of smell like you do."

"I get that a lot." Gon, unshaped by the comments, smiled and walked forward until his chest pressed onto the wooden sides, flush. "But after awhile, I don't think I pay attention to what people have to say about me. Maybe I'm just used to it?"

"Maybe. I mean, I guess that could happen." Killua scratched his cheek, not making eye contact when those hazel eyes looked his way.

"Did you get used to being called a killer?"

The question was so sudden, so out of the blue, that Killua was caught off guard the second the word killer graced the air, coming none other then from Gon's innocent, pure lips. He saw a flash of scarlet across his vision, splattered across Gon's image; turning his hair white, his skin pale, his body red – like him back in the old days. And then it was gone before it came and Killua had to rub his eyes for a moment before he choked out a small, 'Huh' because he honestly had no clue how to respond to Gon's words.

Absolutely nothing.

"Is Killua used to being called a killer?" Gon repeated himself after a moment, head cocked to the side, "You told me you're an assassin. So that would mean people sometimes call you a killer, right? A lot of people in your squad were saying things like that when I was trying to find you. I just thought-"

"Yes. Yes they do call me that." Killua's strained, anxiety-riddled voice interjected and he held up his hand, ceasing Gon from further comment. He shook his own head, trying to clear the haze of thoughts that always happened to premeditate the fog in his mind; the cold and dark recesses of his haunted past; his fated lifestyle. Trained instinct told him to avoid this conversation at all costs; don't get others involved, but for some reason Killua couldn't find the will to fight the words that came out of his mouth next.

"And what they all say about me is true."

Gon's parted lips held a sentence on the end of them but Killua reached over and shushed him, heel of his hand digging into the foot of Gon's chin. "I know what you're going to say, and you're wrong. I know you think what they say is stupid, but it's true. I am a killer. I've killed a lot of people and I've done a lot of stupid shit. But that's because I'm a Zoldyck. We're assassins and that's our job. But, even though I am a killer, doesn't mean I want to be one."

"I knew you didn't want to be one." The tan-skinned teenager brushed aside Killua's hand to speak, stepping toward him so the space between them was too close for comfort. Killua had nowhere to go with the nearby wall of the downstairs rooms behind him. He was cornered and he didn't like it. "I knew you didn't want to be one the moment you told me you were an assassin. That's why I wanted to ask Killua if what the others say is true. Because I don't believe it."

"Gon-?"

Unfortunately, it was Gon Freec's turn to talk and he pushed both heels of his hands against Killua's small, pursed lips and stared; hard and determined and unbearably stubborn. "If Killua doesn't want to be a killer, why doesn't he stop being one then?"

"Because-" Killua's sky blue eyes narrowed and he pulled back, grappling with Gon's wrists to keep his hands away from his face and anywhere else they might think to grab, "I don't have a choice. This is the lifestyle I was born into, even if I didn't get a choice in the matter. I mean, who wants to have their life planned out for them? When I told my parents I didn't want to be one, they snapped! And well, that was pretty much the end of discussion right there. My parents have high expectations for me and they want me to take over the family business, so of course they wouldn't give me any chance of arguing it out, even when I did threaten and hurt them! They want me to be a killer. And whatever they want, they always get one way or another."

"That's not fair though!"

"Life's not fair, Gon. I told you that's reality for you. So give up. I'm a killer and that's life for yah!"

"NO!"

"Gon!"

"Killua!" Gon shoved Killua backwards with a force the assassin wasn't remotely prepared for, harder then necessary, and sent the snowy-haired teen stumbling backwards into the wall. A yelp was all it took and those dagger-filled eyes were back on him, glaring now, and even Gon sucked in a shaky breath from that threatening stare. But he didn't back down, striding purposefully forward until he was almost nose-to-nose with the other teenager, his yellow eyes just as tense as those blue ones. "Killua's not a killer. If Killua doesn't want to be a killer, then that is that and too bad for your family!"

"What the hell?" Killua openly gaped, grabbing the sides of Gon's head and shaking him back and forth as he tested to figure out if there was a brain in there. Gon started making weird noises and his skull rattled. "How idiotic are you? Do you even have a inkling of a brain in there or what? You can't seriously be this stupid. Listen to what I'm saying!"

"I am listening to every single word Killua says." Somehow, Gon managed to say while his head was being shook; that stern gaze never dropping sight of Killua near him.

"Then why don't you get that it's not as easy as you make it sound to be?!"

"Because Killua's not a killer!"

"Argh! You're ridiculous." Killua thrust Gon backwards, letting the other teen trip so he could start walking away from him, distance himself safely from the ignorant, hard-headed guy that was Freecs before things escalated to something Killua certainly could not handle right now. Not at all. "I'm leaving. You can stay here and smell your salty water until your tiny brain rots. I'm done talking about this."

Gon leaped forward, snatching Killua's wrist in a death-grip and forcing him to lurch forward into a startled stop. Rounding back out of sheer, pent-up frustration, Killua swung his newly formed clawed hand out at break-neck speed and Gon intercepted, throwing out his fist so the nails cut cleanly across his knuckles and he could grab hold of the others wrist. He effectively locked Killua in a vice and their garnering stares battled it out as their arms shook and tangled, attempting to break out of the opposite boy's hold, yet to no avail. They were too evenly matched to declare a winner and Killua slumped his shoulders in recognition; knowing words would be the quickest way out against a physically-relied upon male.

"Let go, Gon."

"No, Killua."

"Why are you doing this? What's your problem?"

"I don't know." Gon simply said, blinking as he relaxed his stance but not his hold, "I don't want Killua to walk away like this again. Not like he did earlier when he was upset."

"I'm fine, Gon. I'm not upset."

"You are."

"Not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Killua's upset!"

"Shutup, idiot! You don't need to announce it the world, sheesh."

"I am an idiot, yes." Teeth grit, Gon leaned forward as he pulled Killua unwillingly towards him, face-to-face again. "But this idiot knows Killua's not a killer. So I want to make sure you know that, too."

"Why the hell do you care so god damn much?"

Gon's strained, reprimanding expression eased into a big, goofy grin; completely knocking Killua's sanity for a loop on an unwelcome roller coaster ride. He may have just fallen and face planted to the floor if it weren't for Gon's grip keeping him upright. What made it even more worse was what Gon said next; his blunt honest-to-a-fault nature never ceasing to amaze even Killua who's seen his fair share of things in the last sixteen years of his life, thinking he may have been done with what the world had to offer.

He was dead wrong.

"I care a lot about you, because, Killua's my friend!"

"..."

Killua stared, his face a careful, blank slate of his real feelings bubbling in the depths of his subconsciousness; masked behind all those past years of walking the world alone, following in the footsteps left behind for him, planned ahead for him. It was his only pathway to go upon all that time. He had no other choice. It was the only thing well lit, illuminated and ready to tread over; for the shadows off to the side were too malicious, too full of whispers and sounds that swung out at him whenever he dared step too close. He never thought to risk side-tracking off the cobblestones coated in blood, slick with festering splashes of red and littered with unshed tears; at a chance that maybe, just maybe, the mysteries of the darkness would be his relief.

Behind the layers of screaming, of cries and soundless sobs, of weeping in agony and hurt with nothing but the echoes of your own voice to listen to, to talk back to; Killua couldn't comprehend the words he was hearing now knowing they weren't his own.

Friend?

'Assassin's don't have friends.'

What's a friend?

'You'll kill the people you befriend eventually.'

Can I have a friend?

'You only want to know if you can kill them, the moment you get close. '

Will someone be my friend?

'You only want to see them all die.'

"..."

"Haha. Killua, you're real stupid you know." Leorio said once, when they were brushing past each other in the hallway after a long mission. "But you're still cool, you know. When you want to be, I guess."

Killua stopped and it was Kurapika who was suddenly standing in front of him then, pausing in their walk to face the other teen, a smile on his lips. "Look, what Leorio means to say is thank you. And I know you aren't going to say anything, like all the other times, but we just felt like we should tell you that. We're really thankful for you helping us out back there with the Ants. We really appreciate it. And because of that, we want to make you our friend, since you are still a little new here. That way, you'll have somebody there to support you in the war. Okay?"

Friend?

"Yep. You're our friend now. You little punk." amended Leorio, but did not dare turn less he reveal the pinks of his ears or the reddish hue on his cheeks.

Killua knew he had saved their asses back then when Leorio and Kurapika had been swarmed by thirty Chimera Ants, but how did it warrant this kind of response instead of all the others he was used to receiving?

Silent stares and no words.

Out of nowhere, Leorio hissed and finally turned around and Killua's eyes went wide at the much-less cold of a stare he normally got in this type of scenario, much-less harsh and far more warming. "So, don't go abusing the privilege brat or I swear I'll pound your face in. Got it?" Killua's mouth twitched in answer. "Good! Come on, Kurapika, we have to go."

"Alright. We'll see you later, Killua. Thanks again. And if you ever need anything, like help or backup, let us know. You're our friend now, too, so we'll be there if you need us."

The blonde then nodded to Leorio and Killua didn't realize how hard the lump in his throat had gotten until he swallowed it; a rock in his stomach. He was watching the two backs of his new 'friends' walk away and disappear, immobilized by the thickness in his gut and the heaviness in his feet.

Friends?

I have friends?

'Killua has no friends.'

They said they are my friends.

'You have no friends.'

No, all the words in his head, were definitely not his own; Killua concluded. He had gotten used to these constant, nagging voices in his mind talking to him at all times of the day; whispering nothings that held no meaning, no context, and no reason. But none of these words were like the stab and sting of lashes from his parents forcing him in their desired direction; their way. Neither were they the needle pricks of his older brother Illumi or the bored, charismatic drawl of fat Milluki. Or even from Kalluto; the youngest of his family, always having little to say, little to add to his life, so his words never quite reached him in the corners of his subconscious. Whatever he had said, were warnings that Killua never intended to listen to.

That only left one other person he could hardly remember in his memory, talking to him; smiling, even, their image a wispy blur off to the side, deviating from the passage he was given.

"I love you, Onii-chan."

"Killua. Daiski."

But nothing that's been said to him mentally had to come from them; from his family or his life – So then, where did they come from?

And now, as he was listening to Gon's words, grinning so broadly up at him; Killua still didn't register the real meaning behind what was it meant being called his 'Friend'. Not until he really thought back, stopped and glanced to the side, and noticed the things he didn't see before; the things that danced in those shadows.

These things, mysterious and solitary, pirouetted around on ripples of white, blotching the blackness around. Gon was there, skipping around that other blurry image of a small, frail person just short of Gon's height, waving at him with a blocked-out face split in a grin. They had long cascading hair that bobbed and beads dangling from near their ears, shaking and jingling in every step. Their tiny body was wrapped in a dress. Yet, they were both waving at him. Killua shivered.

This isn't real, he told himself. It can't be real. The lights that lit up beneath their very foot falls, scattering along the ebony backdrop, was mystical almost; a firework show on display across the floor that Killua has never truly stuck around to experience before.

And he believed it; somehow, that it wasn't just a dream, even if a part of him was lost in denial.

You're my friend.

Unbidden, Gon's arms wrapped around him and trapped Killua in an embrace he wasn't remotely ready for, pulling him in until their chests were pressed together and Gon's cheek brushed against his own, soft; warm, unwanted somewhere inside himself.

Killua didn't pull away, though, caught between watching the visual of Gon and this strange, unknown person dancing off to the side, together, hand in hand within his deepest subconsciousness. A realm, a place he considered to be his Killua was still stuck, cemented in place on his predetermined path, ripped between his desire to continue onward, ignore them and the rest of the world to follow where he should go – and stray away, join them, dance and be free.

Killua was utterly and completely torn in half on what to do.

"You're my friend, Killua." Gon's words broke the surface of his mental fortitude. He nuzzled into the space of Killua's shoulder and the assassin shuddered, stiffening instantly, resisting the touch but by no means trying to escape. "Killua's actually my first friend I've ever had, which makes you really special. Like my best friend! Ne, Killua, did you know that? You're my best friend!"

"Assassin's don't have friends."

I wish I was.

Killua's voice echoed numbly and only to himself this time. The people dancing in his world were long gone, again, and this time, Killua really was alone once more. He stared up at the wide expanse of blue sky and closed himself back to the darkness behind his shut lids, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

I wish I was, Gon.

"Kurapika."

"Leorio, no." The Kurta answered, mutely, and he folded his arms against his chest in a glare at the medical Hunter in front of him.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"What a lame ass excuse that is."

Kurapika rolled his eyes but would not have it and Leorio shrugged his shoulders to resign in his defeat, a sigh on his lips. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to spill your drink all over your favorite tabard and touch your chest like that in front of everybody when I tried to clean it off. Are you satisfied?"

"It was embarrassing, Leorio." hissed the blonde and Leorio snorted out a laugh and found himself chuckling anyway against the risk, "It's enough we had to bare witness to Gon groping Killua's butt, but I did not need you to follow suit by groping at my chest with a towel in front of everyone. Especially everyone high ranking in our squad that have mouths which love to gossip. I do not want something crazy like that getting around to everyone! Just think of what they'll say!"

"They aren't going to say anything, Kurapika. You're overreacting." There was a smile in that tone but the chain-user could not be swayed.

"I'm overreacting?!" Leorio gulped, his adam's apple bobbing nervously. He wiped away the stray line of sweat on his forehead on the back of his long-sleeved button-up.

"Well, yeah, Kurapika. You kind of are-"

"I'm not overreacting!"

Doing a face palm, the bespectacled man slumped forward while he sat in the opposite direction one should when in a chair. "Look, how many times do I have to apologize until you forgive me?"

"Well, precisely one thousand, forty-two-"

"You've got to be shitting me!"

"No, I'm not 'shtiting you', Leorio." Kurapika said, despondently, and he walked until he was a foot from Leorio, bending over with his arms crossed still. "I just want you to understand how grave a situation this is."

"How is this a grave situation?!"

"It just is!"

"What, do you expect me to go find every single person that was in that room and force them not to ever tell anybody what happened in there? Because so help me god, if you think I'm going to do something like that, you are stinking out of your mind."

Obviously unshaped, Kurapika nodded. "Then you better get started because I am stinking out of my mind."

"You bastard."

"At least I'm not a greedy, money-hoarding snob." quipped Kurapika and Leorio's teeth showed from a curled lip.

"What was that?"

"Greedy. Money-hoarding. Snob."

"YOU-!" Leorio made to lunge towards the other, completely forgoing that he was sitting on a chair backwards, and came out falling over in a squealing, comical heap of himself as he crashed to the floor and took the offending object of his demise with him. Leorio lay face planted on the shattered remains of a once-good and sturdy wooden chair and moaned his dismay into the cement tile below. "Fuck, that hurt."

"You kind of deserved that, you know."

It took Leorio a moment but he resolved himself for the time being. This was Kurapika for pity's sake, his best friend really, and only one he'd turn to when in the heat of a war. What anger he felt moments ago dissipated into a dull yet subdued fog of anger, but forgiving anger no less.

"Yeah, I kind of did."

Kurapika crouched and helped Leorio back up to a seated position even though the chair was no longer a viable option as it is. He was smiling and the older man's heart fluttered in his chest automatically. "Heh, kind of, is correct, but a little more would be sufficient."

"Oh, whatever. Meanie." Leorio crossed his legs and leaned back on his hands, a smug grin drifting up at the blonde, "But you have to admit you liked it."

"..."

"What-?"

BAM.

Kurapika's foot collided with the elder's chest and he hit the ground in a loud thud, rolling over somehow despite his massive body length, and was upright again the second his feet touched back down. Blinking wildly, Leorio gaped in the direction of his male counterpart, both eyebrows twitching against the creases of his wrinkled forehead. "What the hell was that for Kurapika?!"

Somehow, Kurapika found himself giggling and he wasn't sure why. For whatever reason, it just felt right, to laugh and feel so light and warmhearted in this situation, to laugh with his best friend considered. Leorio was a goofy man, a pinnacle of worry-free stress for Kurapika on a good day, when he'd smile and offer intelligent advice and kind concern for his well-being. It saved him the trouble of worrying too much about himself because he had Leorio there to pick up the slack where he missed out on. That gave him more time to focus on the more mundane tasks of preparing to keep their asses intact, alive, and certainly in one piece.

And spare a kind eye now and again towards Leorio, watch his back as well.

"Nothing. It's nothing." He rose a hand, brushing away the bangs loose across his brow so he could see Leorio in all his glory and genuinely grin, a shadow hidden by the faint tilt of his lips; for his closest comrade yet.

And maybe, a little bit more these days.

"If you say so, man. But I do apologize for before, even if your the one who kind of was asking for it.."

Thwack!

Leorio, you know I could never stay mad at you.

"Damnit, Kurapika!"

Ever.

"WE'RE HERE!" Somebody outside shouted over the creak and rocking of the boat when it eventually subsided and Kurapika glimpsed down at Leorio, one brow raised.

"Looks like we've finally arrived."

"Seems like it."

Offering out his hand, Leorio chuckled and slid his over the curve of the Kurta's, meshed and molded perfect to fit. "You ready to go then, Kurapika?"

"Ready?" He pulled Leorio up so they were just a foot apart in space, smiling up at the doctor with that rare gleam in his eyes. Leorio sucked in a breath, a grin breaking out on his face and laughed.

"Ridiculous. I've always been ready, Leorio. Let's go."