The Fountain Redux
Chapter 1: Old Friends and New Enemies
"Are you coming with us, Bisky?" Gon asked the girl.
"No, I don't like guys with kids." Bisky replied.
Even though she looked to be around our age, she was actually really old. She used Nen to keep herself looking young, because she doesn't like how she originally looked. She was our Nen teacher while we were in Greed Island. She liked to be called "Bisky", but her real name was "Biscuit Krueger".
"Gon, let's do this." I said.
Gon nodded his approval and said "Yeah. Let's go meet him."
"Ging." I said.
"My dad." Gon said.
"Good luck, you two." Bisky said.
We thanked her for everything she had done for us. Gon held the card he took out of Greed Island. It was a card we used very often in the game, a card that would take us to anybody we met in the game. And now, it was time to use it to meet the first person Gon had met.
"Accompany On." Gon said, holding the card up into the air, "Nigg!"
In a matter of seconds, Gon and I were engulfed in a light and it felt like we were flying through the air. I looked over at Gon, who had a huge smile on his face. Just seeing him smile made me smile, though I also noticed he seemed a bit worried. I wanted to reach out and grab his hand to reassure him, but before I could, he looked at me. He saw me smiling and it made him smile even more and his worry seemed to disappear.
We finally landed in the clearing of a forest. There was a lake a few feet in front of us and a man, sitting beside a tree, fishing in the lake. Was this the man we had been searching for? Was this Gon's dad? Was this Ging? Neither of us had seen Ging before, so it was possible that this was that man.
The man by the tree looked in out direction. He must've noticed we were there. It wasn't until he got up until I saw his face. He was a man in his mid-twenties to early-thirties, I'd guess. He had black eyes that were surprised to see us.
"Gon?" The man asked cautiously.
"Kite?" Gon asked in return.
"Gon, I can't believe how much you've grown since I last saw you." Kite said, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we were trying to get to Ging." Gon said.
"To Ging?" Kite asked.
Gon told him about our adventures in Greed Island. How he had collected all the "specified slot cards" required to win the game. He told Kite that after he had collected the cards, there was a quiz and that he had answered the most questions correct. He told of how he had met with List and Dwun and that he was able to take three "specified slot cards" from the game. He told how we had taken the "Accompany" card from the game and used it to get to the one called "Nigg".
"I see…" Kite said, pausing to gather his thoughts, "Ging told me he was using a fake name in the game and told me to do the same."
Gon looked frustrated by this fact. He said that he'd been tricked. Kite just laughed and said he was sorry. Then he noticed me.
"Who's your friend, Gon?" Kite asked, pointing to me.
Gon replaced his frustrated look with an embarrassed one. "Oh, sorry. Kite, this is my bo-" He stopped himself before he finished and I looked at him, puzzled. After a slight pause, he continued saying, "This is my best friend. Killua Zoldyck."
I was still a bit confused, but I managed a "Nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Killua." Kite said, "I've heard of the Zoldycks before, but I never thought I'd get to meet one. How did you two meet?"
Gon told Kite all about how we had met at the Hunter Exam the previous year and everything that happened during that time. He said that he and our other friends, Leorio and Kurapika, went to my house on top of Kukuroo Mountain to "rescue me". I didn't know that I needed to be "rescued", but I certainly didn't bring it up.
By the time that Gon had finished telling Kite of our adventures, the sun had been down for a few hours. Kite seemed like he was very interested in what Gon was saying and it almost looked like he was trying to relive it in his head. After Gon had retold our Greed Island adventures, everyone was silent and we all just stared at the fire Kite had started. It was several minutes before Kite spoke, breaking the silence.
"Well, Gon," he said, "I'm sorry that you weren't able to find Ging after that, but I'll tell you what. Why don't you two rest here tonight and in the morning, I'll take you to the nearest town. You can get yourselves some plane tickets and continue your search."
"But where will we start?" Gon asked.
"Ah, good question." Kite said, "I hadn't really thought of that."
I almost fell off my log stool. Was this guy serious? Greed Island was our best bet at finding Ging and he says we should just go on with no information?! I was beginning to think I couldn't trust this guy. I don't know why, but he seemed like he was stalling for Ging. Maybe it was because Kite trained under Ging. At least, that's what Gon said Kite had told him.
"Well," Kite began, "now that I think about it more…" He trailed off to keep our attention. "Hm… yes, that could work…"
I was beginning to fell a bit frustrated by him trailing off. "What?" I said anxiously, "What could work?"
"I'll tell you in the morning." Kite said, "For now, you two need to sleep. I'll keep the fire going and take watch. Dawn shouldn't be too far away and I don't really sleep that often, so I should be good."
Kite had a sleeping bag that we could use. He said that he didn't use it that often and he barely slept when he wasn't at a hotel. It was big enough for two kids but I felt a little worried about sharing a sleeping bag with Gon, especially with what he almost introduced me as. I climbed in shortly after Gon, anyways.
Strangely enough, after I had climbed in to the sleeping bag, I felt my worry disappear. It was a bit tight, because the bag was normally designed for only one person, but being that close to Gon just felt natural. Before I got to sleep, I felt Gon put his arm around my body. My back was to him so he must've been facing the same way. I thought that was a good thing because my face felt like it was burning and I was glad Gon couldn't see it.
He snuggled in closer to me and said, "Mmm. Good night, Killua."
"G-goodnight, Gon." I managed before falling asleep myself.
Morning came and I opened my eyes to see Gon's hair and feel my arms wrapped around his body. As much as I enjoyed the feeling I had, embarrassment came over me and I immediately let go and got out of the sleeping bag. This woke Gon up. He rubbed his eyes and asked me what was wrong.
"Uh, n-nothing's wrong, Gon. "I said, "I was just excited to get this new day started, that's all."
I figured Gon was still tired and couldn't tell that I was lying because he said, "Oh. Okay then." and got out of the sleeping bag himself.
After we rolled up the sleeping bag, we looked around for Kite. I noticed that the fire had died down to almost nothing. All that was in the fire pit were red and white ashes. Gon had checked by the lake where we first met him, but he wasn't there, either. I was about to check the woods when I heard a startling roar followed by rustling trees from where I was going to look.
I told Gon to stay by the fire pit and ran off into the woods to see what was happening. As I was running, the roaring and rustling became louder and more frequent. I stopped before I came to a clearing and saw Kite fighting something that looked like a cross between an animal and a human. I wanted to go in and help him but before I could make a move, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Several situations were running through my head. I could turn around and stab whatever it was that had a hold of me before it could do me harm. I could grab the arm and flip whatever it was over my should and finish it off. Other situations like these were going through my head and all of them ended in whatever it was getting stabbed by me. I was about to get up and turn around to stab it when it crouched down beside me.
"I don't think we should get involved in this, Killua." Gon whispered to me.
"Gon!" I yelled at him in a whisper. "What's the big idea sneaking up on my like that!? Don't you know I could have killed you!?"
Gon just smiled at me and my anger went away in an instant. Gon seemed to have that effect on me. Whenever he smiled, it was like you just took a bath in the deepest, most serene and calm water ever. I may not have been angry anymore, but I was still curious.
"Gon," I whispered to him, "when you were going to introduce me to Kite, you were about to say something. What was it?"
"I-I don't know what you mean, Killua." He looked away and I could tell he was embarrassed. I knew that he didn't want to talk about it just yet so I decided not to push the matter.
"Okay," I said, "So, why shouldn't we get involved in this fight? I mean, Kite's your friend, right? Doesn't it make sense to help him?"
"It does," Gon said, "but I believe in Kite's strength. I don't know what he's fighting, but he's probably fought dozens like it before."
I figured Gon was probably right so I just watched. It looked like Kite was winning against the thing but I could tell he wasn't in great shape, as well. The creature was starting to get the upper hand and knocked Kite against a tree on the other side of the clearing. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Gon about ready to jump in. I held him back.
"You idiot," I said while holding him around his waist, "Don't you remember what you said? 'I believe in Kite's strength.'" I did a mocking voice, "'He's probably fought dozens like it before. We should just watch and not get involved.' If you go in now, you'll betray that trust you had in his strength. He may not know it, but you will and I know you'll feel bad about it for the rest of your life!"
This was enough to make him calm down. I hit him on the head and said, "idiot." Then we went back to watching Kite fight this new enemy. While I was trying to stop Gon from rushing out there head first and without a plan like the headstrong idiot he is, Kite had pulled out a scythe from somewhere and more creatures had arrived. I figured they were friends of the first creature, but they all looked different. I couldn't get a good look at them so I don't know what they were supposed to be.
"You don't stand a chance." The first creature said. I didn't even know it could talk. "There's more than a dozen of us and only one of you." The creature let out a hissing chuckle. "And after we're through with you, we'll take care of your two friends hiding over in the bushes."
For a brief instant, I saw the creature look over in our direction. How did it know we were here? Did one of its friends tell it? If that was the case, then how did we not notice whichever one it was that was spying on us? I felt a chill run down my spine, but I stayed as low to the ground as possible and told Gon to do the same, practically ripping his shirt as I pulled on it.
Even though his face was almost fully covered, I saw Kite smile. "You can have them," Kite said. I immediately wanted to get up and shout at him, but Gon held me down. "That is, if you can kill me." Kite got into a ready stance with his scythe and said, "Now, come and get me."
The creatures charged at Kite all at once and in the blink of an eye, they were all dead. Kite had swung his scythe so fast that the normal eye could not have seen it. His scythe went away and he walked over to us. As soon as he reached the edge of the clearing, Gon and I stood up and Kite smiled at us like nothing happened.
"I hope you boys slept well." He said, "Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up, I was just looking for some breakfast. Unfortunately, there isn't anything edible in these woods." He looked over at the bodies of the creatures on the ground by the other end. "So, why don't we go into town now?"
The closest town to us was about twenty miles away from the south end of the woods. At first sight, you would think it was abandoned because the buildings all looked broken and some were even in ruins. However, there were people living there and they hardly seemed to notice that their buildings were in ruins. To them, it seemed like everyday was business as usual.
Kite said that he'd been here a few times before and he took us to one of the buildings that didn't look like it was in complete ruins. He said this place was a restaurant and that they had good food. I was ready to think that anything was good food because I hadn't eaten in what seemed days, though it was only a few hours. I was going to open the door to go into the restaurant when Kite held me back.
"Gon, why don't you go on in and get us a table?" Kite asked.
Gon didn't question Kite and went right on in. Kite waited until the door was closed before he told me to follow him. I was on edge the whole time we were walking and it felt like the slightest bit of a nudge could've set me off on Kite. We were down an alley not far from the restaurant when Kite had stopped.
"Killua, I couldn't help but notice you two while you slept." He said. I thought it was obvious, seeing as how he offered to keep watch for anything.
"What about it?" I asked.
"Well, during my travels," he began, "I've heard stories of a certain fountain. A fountain that grant eternal youth to the one that drinks out of it."
I've heard stories like that from my grandpa before, too, but he always just said they were stories. If a fountain like that really did exist, then it would've been a great tourist attraction. There would also be at least one person that had a drink from the fountain and it would've been in newspapers or something like that. I decided to dismiss Kite.
"They're just stories." I told him.
"No, Killua, they're not stories." He said. I was slightly interested, but I didn't show it. "I've heard of somebody that searched for the fountain and came back with the knowledge of the universe that it gives."
"Pssh. Yeah, right." I said as I walked back to restaurant.
"Remember my words, Killua," Kite said before walking after me, "You might find something that will change your mind and then you will wish you had listened to what I said."
"Right." I said sarcastically, "I'll do that."
A short while later, Kite and I were sitting at the table Gon had gotten. It was in a secluded VIP section where the walls were decorated with fine cloth engraved with gold. The table was also gold and the silverware was pure silver, as were the plates on the table. I wondered how this restaurant had this section if their town was such a dump.
"Wow, Gon," I said, " How did you manage to get this table?"
"Well…" Gon trailed off.
"You used the eyes, didn't you?" It wasn't really a question because I knew he had done it.
"Yeah." Gon said with a big smirk on his face.
I hit him on the head. "Idiot." I said, "I told you not to use the eyes anymore."
Kite was obviously confused about what we were talking about, but he didn't bother asking. Gon sometimes uses "the eyes" to get what he wants. That's what I've called his big, wide puppy-dog eyes. If he uses the eyes, you have no choice but to obey his will.
"Ow…" Gon said while rubbing his head, "Why'd you have to do it so hard? And why can't I use them?" I was at a loss for words and Gon just grinned. He leaned in close to me and said, "I bet you don't want me to use the eyes because you think I'd use them on you, right?"
"N-no!" I said, "Of course not! It's just… just…"
"Just what, Killua?" He was about a hand's width away from my face and I was blushing hard.
Fortunately, Kite was there to interrupt. He cleared his throat and said, "Why don't we just sit down and eat?"
That was the best thing I'd heard in a long time, it seemed. We sat down at the table with Gon sitting next to me and Kite sitting across from us. After we had ordered our food, Kite told us a bit about the town. He said that it was under constant attack from a military force.
"That's why the most of the buildings are in ruins?" I asked.
"Yes." He said, "I was actually hired by this town's mayor to investigate the source of the invading army. So far, I haven't found any clues, except for one."
"The creatures in the forest!" Gon practically yelled.
I hit him on the head. "Keep your voice down!" I scolded.
"Yes, Gon," Kite continued as if Gon hadn't shouted his observation, "Those creatures were an attempt at creating soldiers with unimaginable statistics, compared to regular human beings. They tried to sneak up on me while you were sleeping and I couldn't get any information from them."
"So why are you telling us?" I asked.
"Good question." Kite said, "Frankly, I'm not too sure myself. Maybe it's because I want your help. Maybe it's because I don't want to get you involved. I can't really say."
"We're already invo-" Gon started before I put my hand over his mouth.
"Is that why you brought us here, to this restaurant?" I probed, "So you could tell us not to get involved? Aren't you at least going to give us time to decide if we want to help you?"
Kite laughed to himself. Before I could ask him what was funny, our food came. I removed my hand from Gon's mouth so we could eat. He didn't say anything about what I did. I knew he wanted to help Kite, but I wasn't too sure about it.
The conversation as we were eating was next to non-existent. Nobody wanted to say anything because everybody was still thinking about what was just said. I was getting all sorts of mixed feelings about Kite now. I'm not sure why I couldn't get a good read of him. He was a complete mystery to me. Maybe, just maybe, that was the reason why I was so hostile towards him.