Chapter 9: Reunion
I ran towards the sound and found one of the trench coat guys on the ground, holding his hand. The way he was holding it, I knew that Gon had bit it. I looked around the man on the ground for signs of Gon, but I saw none. I once again looked at the man on the ground. I was pissed at him for taking my best friend, but I only allowed my eyes to show it. I crouched down beside him so he could see my eyes.
"Hey," I said in an icy tone, "Where is he?"
The man was wearing sunglasses, but I could tell that his eyes were wide in terror. His lips were quivering. His whole body was shaking. I thought back to my assassin days and how often I saw people in this state of pure terror. Back then, it both bored and excited me to see them this way, but now, it just bored me. I decided to ask again, this time with a little incentive.
I transformed my hand into a claw and put it up against his throat. "Where is he?"
"I-I-I-I" the man began, terrified, "I don't know. He bit my hand and ran off somewhere. M-my partner probably has him now."
I stood up and the man heaved a sigh of relief that I wasn't going to kill him. I looked around for the other trench coat guy. I didn't see any trace of him. I did, however, hear him scream in pain. I assumed that it wasn't Gon that had made the man scream in pain, as I figured he had seen what happened to his partner and had take measures to prevent that from happening to him. After the man screamed, I heard his voice coming from the direction of the doors of the airport.
"You bastard!' He yelled, "Watch were you're going!"
I ran towards the doors just in time to see Kurapika, the real Kurapika, punch the man in the stomach. The man dropped Gon and I ran in to grab him. I picked him up off of the floor and stopped by Kurapika's side. Before Kurapika could make another move, the man started to turn around to run away. However, Kurapika tripped him and the man fell flat on his face. I could tell that Kurapika was pissed. Almost as much as I was.
I noticed Gon had a gag in his mouth and his hands were tied together. I was amazed that one man could have done that to Gon, who was probably fighting the whole time, and in such a short amount of time. I let Gon stand up and untied his hands. When I untied the piece of cloth used as a gag, Gon leaned in to kiss me. I put a hand over his mouth and whispered in his ear.
"Not now, Gon," I said, "There're people staring at us."
It was true. Most of the people in the area of the airport had stopped and looked when the man in the trench coat had yelled at Kurapika. Even Kurapika was staring at us. I thought he had noticed a slight change in Gon's behaviour towards me, but thankfully, he asked something different. He wondered why the trench coat guy was kidnapping Gon. When I told him I didn't know, his attention turned to the man on the ground. He turned the man over only to find out that he was unconscious. He cursed and said we'd have to wait. I told him of the other trench coat guy that was only a few steps away from us and we were about to go over there when we saw him being carried by somebody we recognized.
"Hey," Leorio said, "Kurapika! Gon! Killua! Glad you cold make it!" He noticed we were staring at the man we had over his shoulder and said, "Oh, him? He bumped into me and I thought he looked a little suspicious. So, I decided to ask him politely what he was doing."
When Leorio said 'ask him politely', I figured he meant he punched the guy in the face for bumping into him. Turns out, I was right. When he noticed the other trench coat guy on the ground, Leorio tossed the man he was carrying onto the other guy. Then the cops showed up and arrested the two men in trench coats. We all turned our attention to the fact that we were reunited again.
As we walked out of the airport, Kurapika told us that his bodyguard job was going to be over soon and that he'd use the money he earned to go searching for the eyes of his clan. He wasn't sure what he would do after that. Leorio said that he was on his way to becoming a famous doctor. He told us that this conference he was going to would help him get his degree because he was speaking at it and many famous doctors were going to be there to hear him. When asked what we did, Gon told of how he had beaten Greed Island and how a name he thought to be an acronym of Ging, had turned out to be Kite. He didn't say anything of Natsuki, the Kite impostor, Kitakura or the impostors of Leorio and Kurapika. When he was asked what we were going to after this, he was going to say how we were going to find the Fountain of Youth, but I nudged him and he quickly replaced it with 'finding Ging'.
While we were walking, a police officer ran up behind us and called out to get our attention. He wanted to ask us questions about what happened at the airport. He said that the people at the airport had told him that the trench coat guys were trying to kidnap Gon. He wanted to know why. We said that we didn't know why and he then asked if we had seen them before. We said we hadn't and the officer told us we could go.
After about an hour of walking, we finally made it to a hotel. It was the hotel where Leorio's conference was being held. The lobby was huge. It had a crystal chandelier hanging from a very high ceiling, marble pillars, and an intricate design of floor tiles. I assumed they were just coloured laminate or something like that because the tiles were gold and silver and no hotel ever had real gold and silver floor tiles. We walked up to the counter and Leorio said he was part of the conference. The lady behind the counter informed him of his room: a regular two queen-size bed with internet access.
Leorio looked me and then at Gon and said, "You two probably want your own room, don't you?"
"Why do you think that?" I asked.
"Well," he began, "It's just that with two beds, two people will have to share a bed."
"Uh-huh." I said disbelieving, but decided not to press it, "Yeah, OK. We'll have a room."
"Great," he said a little too enthusiastically and turned back to the lady, "I'd like to get another room, please." He leaned in close to her and whispered, "With only one bed, though."
He looked back and noticed my quizzical stare. He knew that I heard him get a room with only one bed for me and Gon. He winked at me and I looked away, pretending to admire the decorations and paintings on the walls. In truth, they really were something to be admired. The decorations had complex designs on them and the paintings looked like there could have been real people standing there. That is, if it weren't for the frames around them and the fact that they were hanging from the walls.
Leorio turned around and handed me a key card envelope saying, "Here you go. Your room is on the third floor, room 302. The conference has me staying in room 206, so our rooms won't be close to each other."
I didn't really mind that much. I couldn't speak for Gon, however, because I knew he was looking forward to spending time with his friends. I looked over to him to see his reaction to the news that we'd be on different floors, and to my surprise he was perfectly okay with that. I almost felt like asking him what he'd done with the real Gon, but said nothing. We all walked to the elevator and rode it up. On the second floor, Leorio and Kurapika got out and Leorio stopped and turned.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he said, "The conference starts at-" He was cut off by the door closing.
As soon as the door was closed, Gon turned to me and said, "Hey, Killua."
"Yea-" I started, turning my head, but was cut off by his lips touching mine.
It was only a few seconds, but it felt more like a minute. The elevator dinged and I broke the kiss by pushing Gon away. The doors opened and we walked out to find Leorio standing to the side. Well, actually he was bent over, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. It was like right after the elevator door closed on the last floor, he ran to the staircase and up the flight of stairs just to catch us getting off.
"I almost," he said through deep breaths, "forgot. To tell you. The conference. Starts. At 8. Tonight."
Gon and I looked at each other, deciding which one of us would break the news to him. It was decided that I should so I told him, "Uh, Leorio, you could have just phoned our room."
A look of embarrassed realization crossed his face and he said, "Oh." He then stood up straight and continued, "Well, I just wanted to make sure you guys knew that. So, I'll see you around ten to eight, alright?"
"Alright," I said indifferently.
Leorio was walking back to the stairs when I pointed out the elevator. He said that he needed exercise so he was taking the stairs. I thought he was just taking the stairs to grumble to himself about how stupid he was, but I guess the way he said it sounded better. After Leorio left, Gon and I walked into our room. After I locked the door, out of impulse, I asked Gon what he wanted to do with the remaining hours before the conference.
"I want to kiss." Gon said in a way that made me blush.
Ever since he first kissed me on the plane, I hadn't given him much time. It was partly because I was a little embarrassed to kiss him in public, but also because I was a little unsure if it was a good thing. Since the first kiss, I'd buried myself in the book, only stopping to eat and get off the plane. Then we were in a crowded area and continuously moving. The only time we were alone after that was in the elevator and that was only for a few seconds.
"Um, Gon," I said as I walked towards the bed, where Gon was sitting. I wasn't sure where my thoughts would take me so I decided to just go from the top of my head, "about that…" He looked at me intently. "Um, do you think it's a good thing to kiss?"
"Huh?" Gon said, confused.
"What I mean is," I explained, "Do you think it's right for us to kiss? I mean, we're both boys and-"
"Of course I think it's right!" Gon exclaimed, cutting me off, "It's because I love you, Killua. And Aunt Mito said, 'when you really love somebody, then everything you do with them is right.' And I really, really love you."
"I…" I was at a loss for words. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before. I felt something on my cheek and wiped it off to look at it. It was a tear. I didn't know why, but I was crying. It was strange. I tried to speak again, "I…" I couldn't.
Gon pressed his lips to mine for a brief instant and then said, "You don't have to say anything, Killua. I know how you feel. And the way I feel when I kiss you, it's just… It feels like I'm in a different world, where there's only us."
More tears started to roll down my face and all I managed to say was "Gon."
This time, my lips voluntarily touched his and we shared the longest kiss we ever had until that time. As we kissed, I thought about Gon's words. He'd said that it felt like a different world where it was only us. I'd never admit it to his face, but he was right. I couldn't even feel the bed anymore. Then something made me break the kiss. I pushed Gon away.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, "Was that your tongue?"
Gon nodded, "Yup!"
"Where the hell did you learn to kiss like that?"
"Hisoka."
"What!?"
"Oh! No!" Gon realized how that sounded and quickly rephrased it after, "Ugh. God no!" He put his finger in his mouth and mocked a vomit sound. "What I meant was that Hisoka told me that if you really love somebody, then putting your tongue in their mouth when you're kissing is the best way to show it."
"Really?" I said, disbelieving.
"Mm-hm." Gon said.
"And you trust Hisoka to give you love advise? And just when the hell did he tell you that? I was with you practically every waking moment of every day since we left my house more than a year ago. So, if he told you something, I should have been around to hear it."
"Well," Gon said putting a finger to the side of his face, thinking, "I think it was sometime during Greed Island. After our volleyball match with Razor. Is there something wrong with taking love advise from Hisoka?"
I would have hit him on the head for his last question, but it wouldn't be punishment enough for how stupid the question was. Instead, I said, "I'm done."
"What?" Gon asked.
"I'm done kissing you," I said, "I'm not going to kiss you any more tonight. I'm having a shower and then I'm getting ready for the conference."
"But we still have at least three hours to spare," Gon said.
I got up off the bed and walked toward the bathroom while saying, "Then I'll read for three hours after I'm done getting ready."
I was about to open the bathroom door, when there was a knock on the room door. I was a bit cautious as I approached it, not knowing who was out there. I tried to jump to look through the eye hole, but it was too high up. I told Gon to give me a boost and he said he'd do it if I promised to kiss him after.
I sighed and said, "Alright. One quick kiss." I held up a finger. "Now get over here and give me a boost."
He ran over to the door and got on his hands and knees. I stepped on his back, but it was still too high, so I told him to lift up a bit more. The person at the door knocked again. When I was high enough to see through the eye hole, I told Gon to stop. He was on his fingers and toes. I looked through the eye hole and saw a man with two tailored suits that looked like they would fit children.
"Killua…" Gon said, straining to keep his voice even, "Can't… hold it… much longer…"
"Just a little more, Gon," I encouraged, "I can almost see a face."
Before I could see the man's face, Gon gave way and I fell on top of him. The man at the door knocked a third time. We got up and I unlocked the door, opening it part way. The man at the door seemed like he was in his mid-twenties, with a beard just starting to grow. He wore one of those outfits you saw in the movies worn by the workers at the hotel that take your luggage to your room, except it was black. What were they called, bellhops.
"Yeah?" I said cautiously.
"Ah, Mr. Killua?" the bellhop asked in a kind tone.
"Yeah." I said in the same tone as when I greeted the man.
"A Mr. Leorio asked that the hotel deliver these tailored suits to you," he said.
I opened the door all the way and said, "Thanks."
I took the suits and gave them to Gon. I was about to close the door, when the bellhop cleared his throat. Ah, right. Whenever you had the bellhops do something for you, you usually gave them a tip. I told the bellhop I'd be a second and went to the bed to open my backpack. I took out a bill and walked back to the door to give it to the bellhop. Using cards was nice for big stuff, like chocolate, but it helped to carry some bills around, too. The bellhop left and I closed the door and turned around to see Gon almost right up in my face.
"What?" I said.
"You remember your promise?" Gon asked, puckering his lips.
I sighed and put my lips against his for a few seconds. It was longer than what I had originally intended, but whenever I kissed Gon, it was like he just pulled me in. I had to remember that I was punishing him for asking a stupid question and broke the kiss. I then took one of the suits into the bathroom to have my shower.
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A/N: As the next chapter is goingto be the "official" chapter 10, I'm going to be doing a sort of "comment special". If you have any questions (about me, about the Redux, about the stories I write), then ask them in a review and I'll answer them at the begining of the next chapter in an Author's Note.
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