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A/N: OH. MY. GOODNESS! IT'S FINALLY DONE! AGH! Alright, so, I started this after I had completed my "special secret story", called "It's A Wonderful Hunter's Life" (It you haven't already, you should go check it out because it is awesome because I am awesome and I wrote it therefore with me being awesome and me writiing it, it is naturally awesome), and that was in November. However, I didn't have much time to work on it that weekend as I had to help my brother move on both Friday and Saturday. Then, I had a minor writer's block (nothing too bad) on Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I had to watch my nephews for a few hours and that resulted in a major writer's block. Also, I got a cold from one of my nephews (as I was just getting over one) and that contributed to my writer's block. But, it finally got done. And now, it's on to Chapter 8! Yay?
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Chapter 7: Youth Potion Number 9

Kitkura came into the library while I was trying to figure out how the book worked. I tried closing it and opening it, trying to get the words I'd read yesterday to appear. Nothing happened. I tried shaking the book, but nothing happened. I even tried to turn the book upside down, but no words ever appeared.

"Boys!" Kitakura snapped as he entered the room.

His voice was much less raspy and it seemed like he was mad about something. I could have cared less about what Kitakura wanted because I was busy with the book. I told Gon to go see what he wanted while I tried to figure out how the book worked. I knew there had to be some kind of secret. There just had to be!

"Yes?" Gon asked as he got to the rail on the second level of the library.

"You've been in here all day," Kitakura seemed less angry when he was talking to Gon, "You really should come and eat something. My daughter has made a meal that I'm sure you'd enjoy."

"Not hungry!" I shouted from my position on the floor, still turning the book to make words appear.

"I'm not really that hungry, either, Mr. Kitakura." Gon added.

"Very well, boys," Kitakura said, "but you best not miss out on breakfast."

He was about to leave when I shouted, "Oi! I really like the story in this book, but I'm feeling a little tired."

"Then you should go to bed, Killua," he said in a harsh tone that was thinly disguised as caring, "The book will still be there tomorrow."

"But I don't really want to put it down," I said, "Could I take it to my room and read it?"

I wasn't expecting my ploy to work, but I really wanted to find out how to work the book. I knew that if I took the book to my room, then I could discuss it with Gon in private. In the library, somebody could walk in at any minute and hear what we were talking about. I didn't want that. If I was supposed to go on a quest to find this fountain, then I was taking Gon with me and if I was taking Gon with me, I needed to discuss my plans with him.

Gon obviously knew I wanted to study the book and talk about it because he pleaded, "Please?"

"Well," Kitakura began, softened by Gon, "All right, but have it put back first thing in the morning, before breakfast."

"Thank you!" Gon said.

Kitakura walked out of the library. I stood up and stretched out, with the book still in my hands. I walked down the stairs leading to the second level and looked out the door of the library very cautiously. If Kitakura was around, he'd probably want to see what book was so interesting that I had to read it in the room. Fortunately, he wasn't around, so I motioned for Gon to follow me and we walked to the room.

In the room, I sat on the bed and opened up the book again. This time it was blank. No words, no pictures, nothing. I flipped through the pages to find that each one was like that. However, on the very last page, I noticed a mark. It wasn't anything too significant, probably just a slip from a pencil or something nearby when the book was opened. What intrigued me was that it wasn't faded and it looked like a word. A single word that I couldn't make out.

I turned to Gon to show him, but he was already asleep. I had an urge to punch him and wake him up, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He looked so peaceful and he had a big smile on his face. It was the exact opposite of how I felt. I couldn't place it, but there was something off about Kitakura today. I decided to put the book aside and go to sleep.

Morning came when I had a similar dream to the one I had last night. It was all that stupid fortune teller's fault that I was having these nightmares. They had been suppressed deep in my mind for the longest time and ever since that lady touched my shoulder and brought the thought out, I started having the nightmares. I couldn't quite explain it, either, but I also felt something different last night. It felt like someone, or something, was getting power from the dreams. I vaguely recall seeing a face that wasn't there before, but I'm not sure who or what it belonged to.

I went over to the window again and pulled the curtain to where I had the previous day. Shielding my eyes again, I saw that nobody was outside. Nobody was walking the streets, they weren't making conversations, they weren't out of their houses. I felt a nagging sensation at the back of my mind that something was not right with this town. I was about to hit myself, to force myself to remember what was wrong, when I heard Gon move.

"Morning, Killua." He yawned.

"Morning," I replied, "I want to show you what I found in the book last night."

I sat back down on the bed and took the book from the night stand, where I left it last night. I opened the book and it was blank, just like it was last night. Gon stared at it, bewildered, as he had seen yesterday that it had pictures in it. I flipped the pages and showed him that they were all empty. When I got to the final page, I was expecting the mark to have vanished, as the book seemed to like making a fool out of me. However, the mark was still there, in the same spot as it was before. I asked Gon if he could make it out.

Gon squinted his eyes, trying to get a closer look. Then he said, "No."

"I thought so," I said, "It was worth a try."

"What did you think it was, Killua?" Gon asked.

"To me," I began, "it looked like it was a word. A word that I'd seen and heard before."

The door opened and Kitakura was in the door way. He looked to be about a thousand or so years old and very hairy. He had a full on beard with side burns that connected to it. His chest hair was poking through his shirt in bunches and it seemed like his arms and legs were completely covered. The reason why I thought he looked older was because his whole face was wrinkled up. It also looked like his nose was slightly larger.

"Good morning boys," he said.

His voice sounded like a dog's would if it could talk human. I looked at Gon and he looked at me. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: there was something strange about Kitakura. We said 'good morning' back to him and he told us that breakfast would be ready soon. He waited for us to get ready and allowed us to go out first. As I walked past him, he sniffed my hair.

I thought it was creepy that he would just suddenly do that. A few steps later, I tripped over something. Kitakura walked ahead as I looked back to find there was nothing wrong with the floor. I knew that I couldn't have just tripped over my own feet. It was just all too weird.

Gon saw me trip and offered a hand to help me up. I took it and stood up. I still didn't know why I had tripped, but I had a sneaky suspicion it was Kitakura. But I didn't feel his leg between mine, so how could he have tripped me? Once I was standing, Gon started to walk after Kitakura, but I held him back because I wanted to talk to him once Kitakura was just out of ear shot.

"I think Kitakura tripped me," I whispered.

Gon looked at me, confused, and asked, "How?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "but I think it might have something to do with how he sniffed my hair just a moment ago. I felt something come out of me. Like, energy or something."

"Huh," Gon said, "That's weird."

"I know," I said, "but it's the only reason I-"

"You don't normally trip when I sniff your hair," Gon cut me off.

"I…" I stammered, "I… What!?"

"Well, then again," Gon said, putting a hand over his chin as if thinking about something, "you're usually asleep when I do that. Mmm…" he closed his eyes as if he was remembering something pleasant, "Chocolate. Must be because of all the sweets you eat."

He laughed and I hit him over the head. I turned around so he couldn't see my face, which was about as red as a tomato, and said, "You idiot, this is serious!"

Out the corner of my eye, I saw him rub his head. He was still smiling when he said, "I know. So what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "but whatever we do, we'd better do it today. I think I want to take this book with us, too."

"But won't Kitakura notice it's missing?" Gon asked.

"I don't think so," I said, "Remember? He said he doesn't clean the section it's in. So it'll be fine."

We walked to the library because, for now, I decided to do what Kitakura wanted. What he wanted was the book back before breakfast. I could always just use one of the techniques I learned as an assassin or my Nen to get it back. I walked up to the second level of the library, to where I found the book. I was about to put it back, when I saw that the gap was wider.

There should only be a gap of one book, however, it looked like two books were missing. I know that Gon didn't take any books, so could it have been Kitakura? It seemed like he was the only one who entered the library, so that was my immediate guess. But if Kitakura took a book, then what book was it? And what did he want it for?

I thought back to all the books I saw on the shelf. It was hard because I wasn't really paying attention to any of them. I remembered seeing a book about Dragons and a book about never ending forests, but those were still there. I ran down a list of what I remembered, seeing every book on the shelf. The last one that I remembered seeing was one about potions. That was the missing book.

"Boys," Kitakura called from the entrance of the library, "breakfast."

I put the book back and followed Gon, who started running at the word 'breakfast', down the stairs and into the dining room. We sat at the table where we had been the previous day, to find only Kitakura was there. There was no sign of his daughter or grandsons, but the food on the table was prepared how it was yesterday. There were also only three places set.

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, I thought. "Where's everyone else?" I inquired.

"They ate earlier," Kitakura said between heavy breaths that sounded like growls, "I wanted to talk to you boys in private. I have a special task for you today. You must go to the next town, about an hour away, and get the supplies on this list."

He took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and put it back before I could get a good look at it. I asked him why we had to go to the next town and he glared at me. What was strange is that I couldn't feel anything from his glare. I mean, sure I knew he didn't trust me, or even like me for that matter, but his eyes just seemed hollow. There was nothing to them. Gon asked my question.

"All the stores are closed today," Kitakura said, "One day a week, they all close down. Now, you just focus on eating."

During breakfast, I had a thought. The town was about an hour away and shopping would take some time. So, if Kitakura didn't expect us back for a few hours, we could get away. All we needed to do was convince Kitakura to take our stuff with us. I figured it wouldn't be too hard if Gon asked. The only problem was not letting Kitakura hear. While I was getting some food, my arm accidentally knocked one of Gon's utensils off the table.

"Oh," I said, "Gon, your knife just went under the table. I'll help you get it."

I admit that it was old, but I was just going with the spur of the moment. If there was anything better I could've done, I would have done it. Gon just looked at me, confused. He knew that it didn't take two people to get a simple knife, but he apparently didn't catch on to what I was saying. I decided to reiterate my point.

"I'll help you get you knife back, Gon," I said through gritted teeth, while pointing under the table.

"Oh," Gon said, "Thanks, Killua."

We slipped from our chairs and went under the table. I did some hand signs to him, but he didn't understand. I tried doing them slower, in case he couldn't read because I was doing them too fast. He still didn't understand what I was trying to tell him. So I mouthed the words to him while still doing the hand signs. He nodded in understanding.

When we got back into our seats, Kitakura looked at me suspiciously. Then he glanced at Gon in the same look before returning to me. We both smiled innocently and Gon held up his knife, showing Kitakura that we had found it. We ate for a little bit in silence before I nudged Gon, which startled him. He looked at me and I nodded. He nodded as well.

"Um," Gon broke the silence, "Kitakura?"

"Yes, Gon?" Kitakura said kindly. Though, it was hard to tell with his voice getting rougher and deeper.

"Since we're going to be gone for a while," Gon began, "would it be alright if we took our bags with us?"

"Well," Kitakura started.

"And some extra Jenny." Gon added quickly.

I looked at him in surprise. That wasn't part of my plan. I should have known that Gon would have done something. He never stuck to any plan. He must have noticed my surprised look because he winked at me. Seeing him wink made me blush and I looked away and concentrated on my food.

"I don't-" Kitakura said.

"Plea~se!" Gon said.

"Well," Kitakura said, "Alright."

The way Kitakura accepted so fast made me realize that Gon had just used the eyes on him. For once, I was glad that he had used the eyes. I was still probably going to hit him for using them and I'm pretty sure that Gon knew that because he was grinning like a mad man. I let him relish in his temporary victory.

While Gon was still eating, after I had finished, I excused myself from the table. I ran to the library and up to the second level where I had put the book on the Fountain of Youth. To my surprise, I saw that the shelf was full again. The book on the potions was back. I knew I didn't have time to read it, but I just couldn't help but wonder why the book had been absent this morning.

I grabbed the book from the shelf and turned it open. I flipped through the pages quickly and confirmed my suspicion that a page had been taken out. It was probably the piece of paper Kitakura had in his pocket. The only down side was that I still didn't know what it was for. I was going to close the book when the pages fell to the Table of Contents. It was a good thing my thumb had stayed at the page on instinct because I looked at the pages before and after the missing one, noticing the numbers.

"257 for the first one," I made a note, "and 259 for the second." I turned back to the Table of Contents and scanned it for page number 258. When my finger found the right number, I slid it over to see what was on it. "Youth Potion?"

That didn't sound good. My mind jumped to all sorts of conclusions. Kitakura was probably going to kill us, cut us up, and put us in a huge witch's pot to make this potion. Or he was going to boil us alive to make the potion. Other situations came to my mind, but I dismissed them because we were never coming back to this town after we left. I put the book back and grabbed the one on the Fountain of Youth. I heard Kitakura walk into the library.

"Killua," he barked. No, seriously, he barked like an actual dog.

I jumped to my feet, just enough so he could see my shoulders above the rail. "Yeah?" I said, putting the book in my shorts partly and covering the rest with my shirt.

"What are you doing in here?" Kitakura asked.

"I just wanted to get some last minute reading in," I lied, "It was such a good book that I couldn't finish it last night." I laughed nervously.

"Well," Kitakura said, apparently accepting my answer, "Gon asked me to tell you that he's almost done eating. So go get ready to leave. I expect you back as soon as possible."

Kitakura left and I sighed in relief. I walked down to the first level of the library and looked out the door for any signs of Kitakura. I was fortunate, once again, as Kitakura was nowhere to be seen. I ran to the room, closed the door, took the book out of my shorts and put it in Gon's bag. I had a feeling that if Kitakura were to check our bags, he'd only check mine because he seemed to like Gon.

Gon entered the room just as I was finishing zipping his bag up. I heard the door open and turned my head to see him. He wondered what I was doing, but I told him not to worry about it and that I'd tell him later. He was fine with this because he knew if I didn't tell him, he'd force me to tell him. I could think of a few ways he'd force me, but I didn't want to think about it at the moment. I just wanted to focus on getting away from Kitakura.

Moments later, we were at the front door of Kitakura's house. He pulled out the "shopping list" from his shirt pocket once again and gave it to me. He told me not to open it until we got to the next town. I agreed to do so. Next, he gave Gon the money he assumed would be enough to buy all the supplies. He was about to send us off when Gon reminded him about the extra money he promised to give us.

Kitakura smiled an unpleasant, hungry-looking smile, and said, "Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten." He gave Gon a stack of bundled Jenny. "There. You boys take a little extra time shopping for yourselves, but make sure to be back before nightfall."

I remembered what he said about night in this town, but I wanted to make sure he remembered. So I said, "Why? What'll happen then?"

He looked at me, still smiling-which I found disturbing-and said "Why, it'll be close to suppertime. Now, you two run along."

Kitakura opened the door and we walked out. Kita kura told us to have fun and he went back inside and closed the door. I had just remembered what felt so off about the town. I remembered that the passengers on the plane had said how monsters had scared off all the villagers here. I remembered I heard that the monsters sometimes took the forms of humans. I grabbed Gon's arm and started to run.

Gon was initially shocked by the sudden yank on his arm, but was quickly step for step with me. Of course, I still had hold of his arm for safe measure. We ran through the town, seeing it deserted and abandoned. We didn't stop running until we hit the forest. However, we didn't stop moving. We continued walking for about ten minutes before we stopped to rest. I figured it was a safe distance away from the town. Gon asked why we had to run out of town and I told him what I had remembered hearing about the town and what I had found out at the library. Gon looked at me as if he still didn't understand what I was trying to tell him.

"Don't you get it, Gon?" I said, "Kitakura's a monster. He's probably very old and he wants to use us for a youth potion."

"Why does he need a potion?" Gon asked, "Why couldn't he just find the Fountain of Youth and drink from it?"

"What part of 'very old' don't you understand?" I asked, "Don't you remember what Natsuki said about how the Fountain is very hard to get to?"

"Oh." Gon said, "Right. I remember now."

He laughed and I hit him on the head. I figured we'd rested long enough so I grabbed Gon's arm again and pulled him along in a brisk walk though the forest, hoping to reach the next town before too long. As we walked, I thought about what we were going to do. I decided the first thing was to see if our plane tickets still worked and then get to Yorknew to meet our friends. Somewhere along the way, my hand slid down Gon's arm and into his hand.