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A/N: I just want to apologize for this chapter coming before the new "Killua's World" chapter. It's just that after the last chapter, I just couldn't bring myself to write Killua without Gon. So, I'm sorry. However, I think these last two chapters have been my best. *shivers* Goosebumps. Heh-heh.
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Chapter 11: The Fight
We got off on the first floor and walked to the lobby. There, we saw Kurapika standing alone. I figured Leorio would have been with him, stressing out about where Gon and I could have been. But he wasn't there. We walked up to Kurapika who had only noticed us when we said hi.
"Oh." He said startled, "Gon. Killua. I didn't notice you."
No duh, I thought then said, "Where's Leorio?"
"I don't know," Kurapika said, "He was supposed to be here a few minutes ago." He looked at his watch, "I don't know if we can go to the conference without him because I don't know where it is."
Gon suggested we split up and look for him. It would have been a good plan if he hadn't suggested Kurapika look in one direction and him and I search another direction. I hit him on the head accusing him of just wanting to kiss me some more, because I wouldn't let him kiss me in public. He just giggled at this and that's how I knew my accusations were right.
"God, Gon," I said, "You're impossible. Why not think of something other than satisfying your cravings for once?"
"I think of other things sometimes," Gon defended.
"Name one thing you think about that isn't just you satisfying your cravings," I challenged.
"Well," Gon thought, "I think about food."
"Craving."
"Um…Killua?"
"Craving."
"Uh…" He trailed off and slumped his head in defeat.
I wore a victorious grin for a second before Kurapika chimed in, "Boys, we need to be serious about this. For all we know Leorio could be in grave danger."
Just then, Leorio came through the hotel doors. He was running and obviously out of breath. I pointed him out to the others and Kurapka gave a sigh of relief. Leorio ran right past us when Kurapika called his name. He stopped and turned around to face us.
"Oh. There you are," he said. He stood up straight and put a hand behind his head. "Sorry I'm late. The meeting on how the conference was going to run went a little over time. And I had to find a new cab, because the other guy had left even after I told him to stay! It was like he didn't understand what stay meant."
Leorio went off on one of his tangents. He always did that when something upset him. I rolled my eyes. Kurapika cleared his throat and Leorio stopped. He then led us outside to a waiting cab.
The cab took us to a building that I assumed was where this conference was being held. The outside wasn't very big; it just looked like a meeting house or something like that. The inside wasn't much bigger. I couldn't tell exactly what it looked like because there were round tables, each with white tablecloths and flower vases, spread around the room. There must have been about twenty tables.
Leorio had led us to our table as other people were finding their own tables. I took a quick look around the room, as my suspicious nature often forces me to do, to see if there were any signs of a threat. I didn't see any immediate threats at first, but as I looked around the room a second time, when almost everybody was seated, I noticed a familiar face. It was a face I had hoped never to have seen again. A long, hairy face that resembled a dog's or, probably more accurately, a wolf's.
I elbowed Gon lightly and whispered to him, "Kitakura."
Gon whipped his head to look at me. His eyes were a mix between shock and 'Are you joking?'. Having noticed my head tilt slightly in the direction I saw Kitakura, he looked and immediately looked back at me. His eyes were bouncing around in fear. He looked into my eyes and, seeing how calm they were, he immediately regained his composure.
"What's he doing here?" Gon asked.
"How should I know?" I replied.
"Should we do something?"
"Not now. He wouldn't try anything in this crowded room. We'll wait until after the conference is over."
Gon nodded. The house lights went out and a spotlight that was focused on the stage came on. A man came out from behind the curtain and introduced himself as Dr. Nathan Jules, the MC for the night. The doctor tried to tell some jokes, but he wasn't very good at them. Most of them were either lame or ones I'd heard a billion times. And even the ones I'd heard a billion times were lame.
After he felt that the crowd was 'warmed up', he introduced the first speaker of the night. It was a woman named Dr. Joy Hartfelt. I wondered what these people were going to talk about, as I'd never been to one of these conferences before. As the woman was talking, she used a lot of technical terms that I didn't really understand. I looked at Gon, who looked like his brain was about to explode, but he didn't show it. He just sat there pretending to listen.
Sometime during her talk, I had fallen asleep. I wasn't sure when it happened or why it happened. I could only speculate that all the technical terms she used and the way her voice sounded had been a couple factors. I wasn't sure how many speakers I was asleep through but it didn't really matter because Gon elbowed me when Leorio's name was called.
Leorio went up to the stage. He took some folded papers out of the inside pocket of his suit, unfolded them and started reading. He was doing pretty badly at first, as expected, but I noticed him look in Kurapika's direction and suddenly, he gained new confidence. I was beginning to wonder if anything had happened between them.
Leorio talked about his reasoning to becoming a doctor. He said that he took the Hunter Exam to get money. He told about his studies at the school he went to. He also said how the studies and the tests gave him 'a better understanding' of medicine and how to treat patients. I found myself nodding off and catching myself nodding off.
After Leorio's talk, everyone applauded, and the MC got up and said, "Thank you, Dr. Paladinight and everyone that has spoken. Our final speaker of the night will be Dr. John Kitakura."
I froze. Kitakura was considered a doctor? It didn't make sense. He wasn't a doctor. He couldn't have been a doctor. There was just no way. Everybody except for me applauded him, even Gon. I wanted to hit him on the head for doing so, but I restrained myself.
"Thank you," Kitakura said in a voice reminiscent of the one he had on the day after we met him, "As most of you are well aware of, my wife has been sick the past few years with some unknown disease. I made it my life's work to find the origins of this strange disease and to cure my wife of it."
I slammed my hands on the table as I stood up and yelled, "This is bullshit!" Everybody stared at me, but I continued, "This man isn't a doctor! He's a monster!"
Kitakura stared at me, to my surprise, with wide shocked eyes, like he didn't know what I was talking about. He said, "Young man, I'm sorry, but you must hae me confused for somebody else."
The oldest trick in the book: feigning ignorance. I continued, "Look at his face! No man's face is that hairy or that long! He lives in an abandoned town; abandoned by its residents because of monsters like him! He tried to use me and my best friend in a youth potion!"
Kitakura chuckled, "A youth potion? Young man, I am a man of science. I have no need for potions or magic."
"That's a lie and you know it!" I yelled, "You tried to use Gon and I in a youth potion! You gave us a list for it the day we left." I turned to Gon and said, "Gon, help me out here."
Gon did nothing but look away from me. I turned to Leorio and Kurapika saying the speaker was the one I told them about, but they also looked away. I was in shock. I felt two arms grab mine and pull me away. I struggled, cursing and swearing, the whole way to the door until I was thrown out.
I landed on my butt outside and watched as the two men that ejected me closed the doors again. I got up and swore at the building, taking my bow tie off and throwing it in the process. I then called for a cab to come. I got in and told the driver to take me to the hotel I was staying at.
The driver looked in the rear-view mirror at me and said, "You look miserable, kid."
"What's it to you?" I asked in a sour tone.
"Well, it ain't really my business to pry, but I know that when I see a kid miserable, I wanna try and cheer them up." The cabbie said.
"Forget it," I said, "I don't need cheering up."
"Alright, kid," the cabbie said, "but you can't say I didn't try."
The rest of the way was silence. I lied when I had said that I didn't need cheering up. The truth was that I couldn't have been cheered up by anybody. I wanted to stay miserable for the rest of the night. The cab pulled up to the hotel and I paid the cabbie for the ride.
I walked into the hotel and to my room slowly. Nobody disturbed me on my way, which was a good thing since I probably would have snapped at the first person to come in contact with me. In the room, I noticed the two pillows on the bed and the couch still facing the bed. The first thing I did was turn the couch around so it was facing the opposite way. Then I took Gon's pillow and threw it on the couch. I took off my suit and just left it laying on the floor, not bothering to place it neatly. I was about to climb into bed, but I looked at the couch with just the pillow. I sighed and picked up the hotel phone and called the front desk.
"I'd like another blanket, please," I spoke into the phone once I heard a voice on the other end.
The voice said, "Yes sir, it'll be right up."
"Thank you," I said. There was no meaning in my words.
A minute later, there was a knock on the door. I asked who it was through the door and the voice on the other end said they had the blanket I ordered. I opened the door part way, standing behind it because I was in my underwear, and told the person to just throw the blanket in the room. They did so and I closed the door, not caring if they wanted a tip or not. I threw the blanket onto the couch and then I climbed into bed.
I looked at the clock. It was 10:30. I figured the conference would be done for the night soon. I laid in bed for a little while just staring at the ceiling. When I finally closed my eyes, I heard the door open. I knew Gon had just walked in.
"Killua?" He asked, obviously seeing the pillow and blanket on the couch, "Can I sleep next to-"
I cut him off and said, "No room."
"What?" He asked, "What do you mean 'no room'? There's plenty of room on the-"
I cut him off again. I sat up and shouted, "I said there's no fucking room on the fucking bed!" I pointed over to the couch. "Now go sleep on the fucking couch!"
"What the hell is wrong with you, Killua?" Gon yelled.
"What's wrong with me?" I echoed, "There's nothing wrong with me, Gon. The question you should be asking is 'what the fuck is wrong with you'! You knew about Kitakura. You knew he wanted to use us for a youth potion. You could have backed me up! But instead, you looked away and made it look like I was crazy. Now, you have two choices: One, either you sleep on the fucking couch and don't fucking talk to me for the rest of the night, or two, you go sleep in fucking Leorio and fucking Kurapika's room and talk to them about why I left the conference. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fucking sleep. Good night."
I laid back down and pulled the sheets over my face. I could tell that Gon was hurt. I never snapped at him like that before. However, I didn't feel guilty about doing it. He deserved it and he knew it. He also knew that everything I had said was true.
"But…" Gon began, "Killua I-"
"Good. Fucking. Night. Gon."
I heard the door open and then close again. So, Gon had chosen option number two. It was probably for the best, anyway. After the fight we just had, I didn't blame him for wanting to sleep in a different room tonight. Even though I didn't regret yelling at him, I felt a tear roll down my face.
It was a new feeling for me. It was a feeling that I never felt before. I couldn't find the words to describe what I was feeling. I think I heard people talking about the feeling I was feeling before, but I never really understood what it felt like. Until now. I was feeling heartbroken.
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The sun, shining through the window, woke me up. I stretched and reached over to wake Gon up, but I didn't feel him there. My mind raced through situations and situations as to what could have happened to him. One thought was that he was kidnapped or beaten up somewhere and left to die. Another thought was that he was safe and sound, eating breakfast in the dining area of the lobby. However, the recollection of what happened last night came into my mind.
Oh, I thought, right. I kicked him out of the room.
I looked over at the clock. 10 AM. I figured the conference would have started earlier today and that they had already gone. I had to make sure, though, so I picked up the hotel phone and called Leorio and Kurapika's room. The phone rang and rang and rang. I was about to hang up when a voice answered.
"Hello?" The voice said sleepily. It was Leorio.
"Oh. Leorio," I said, "I thought you guys would have gone to the conference already."
"No," Leorio said, more awake now, "the conference doesn't start until 1 today. Uh, who is this anyway?"
I could tell his mind hadn't registered my voice yet. I figured it was because I woke him up. I knew that if I said my name, I'd be in for a world of pain. Ear pain, that is. Leorio would yell at me over the phone and he'd keep me there with a 'don't you hang up on me' or a 'I'm not finished talking to you yet'. Sometimes both.
"Wait," he said, "Killua? Is that you?"
"Gotta go, bye," I said.
Just as I was about to take the phone away from my ear, Leorio's voice came through, "Don't you hang up on me, young man!" See what I mean? So predictable. He continued saying, "What the hell did you do to Gon last night?"
"I didn't do anything to him!" I yelled.
"Bullshit!" Leorio countered.
"It's true!" I defended.
"Double bullshit!" Leorio said, "If you did nothing, then why the hell did he show up at our door in tears? He couldn't even get a single word in through his sobbing."
I imagined Gon knocking on their door. I imagined Leorio opening the door and seeing Gon's face covered in tears, his eyes red from the crying. I imagined Gon talking though deep breaths, but his words not being understandable because he needed to breath every second. I imagined them taking him into their room, setting him on the couch and talking to him. I imagined Gon lying on their couch, crying himself to sleep. I almost shed some tears myself, when I thought about that. But then I remembered why he had to go to their room in the first place.
"Before I tell you why Gon went to your room," I said, going on the offensive, "Would you mind telling me why nobody had my back at the conference last night?"
"What?" Leorio asked, suddenly taken aback.
"I told you all about Kitakura," I explained, "but when I tried to call him out, nobody fucking backed me up! What kind of fucking bullshit is that?"
"Watch your mouth" Leorio yelled.
"I can fucking say whatever fucking bullshit I want to fucking say," I said, "You fucking asshole! Now fucking tell me why fucking nobody had my fucking back or I'm fucking hanging up!"
There was no answer. I waited for a few seconds. I swore that if I heard the start of an apology, I was hanging up that phone so fast that not even Chairman Netero could have seen my hand move. Another few seconds went by. No answer. Then, a softer voice came on the phone.
"Killua." It was Gon.
"Goodbye." I said and hung up the phone.
I knew it wouldn't take them long to come up here, but I was in no mood for them. I got out of bed and walked over to the door. I locked it so nobody, not even someone with a key card, could get in. I felt like I needed a shower, even though I just had one yesterday.
I went to the bathroom and closed the door. Even though nobody else was in the room, I felt like it was extra padding for if, and when, somebody knocked on the door. I didn't want to deal with any annoying sounds like people knocking on the door or people chewing me out for having a fight with my supposed 'boyfriend'. I turned the water on and got in the shower. I sat down on the floor of the tub and let the water wash over me.
I was pissed. I was pissed at Kitakura, who had just shown up out of nowhere to do who know what! I was pissed at Kurapika for knowing about Kitakura, but never said anything. I was pissed at Leorio, who also didn't say anything against Kitakura and who also thought he could treat me like a child. I was pissed at Gon, who knew full well what Kitakura had wanted to do and yet, never said anything.
Most of all, though, I was pissed at myself. I was pissed at myself for yelling and swearing at Gon. I was pissed at myself for kicking Gon out of the room. I was pissed at myself for swearing at Leorio and calling him an asshole. I was pissed at myself for hanging up on Gon before he had the chance to say anything. I was pissed at myself for locking my friends out of the room.
As I was going through the reasons as to why I was pissed in my head, I felt something encircle my neck from behind. It pulled me closer to a warm, wet surface that was definitely not the wall of the bathroom. I looked down and saw that what had circled my neck, were arms. Not just any arms, though, they were familiar. I followed one of the arms up to a shoulder. I turned around and I saw, kneeling in front of me, was a boy just younger than me with black-green hair.
"Gon," I said, surprised, "How did you-?"
"I used my fishing rod to climb up on to the balcony and let myself in," he said, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I should have said something last night, but I didn't. I don't know why I didn't. Maybe it was because I was too shocked that Kitakura was actually there. Maybe it was because I was too nervous with all those people watching. I don't know, but I am truly, deeply sorry, Killua. Can you forgive me?"
"Gon," I said as tears once again started rolling down my face, but this time, they were masked by the constant stream of water coming down.
Gon pushed his lips against mine. I pressed mine against his. We were there, naked in the shower, for at least five minutes, just kissing. I was expecting Gon's tongue to enter my mouth, but it didn't. It was like heaven had crashed landed on Earth.
