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A/N: OH. MY. GOODNESS! FINALLY! Gosh! I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter! AH! Man, progress has been REALLY slow since the v-day fic. But, at long last, I finished the chapter. What does this mean for the rest of my stories? Well, I'm still gonna try and do this and the crossover with Pokémon (the "Hunter Version") as I have been doing them. How long will it take? Hopefully not as long as this. But, nevertheless, I want to sincerely thank all of you for your patience. And enjoy the chapter.
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Chapter 21: Through Town

Sometime during the night, I was woken up by a knock on the door. At first, I tried to ignore it, but whoever was knocking wouldn't stop. I got out of bed, pissed off, and went to the door. When I opened it, I was about to yell at whoever it was, but when the figure behind the door was in my sight, I stepped back. The person that stepped into the room had long black hair and a cold expressionless stare.

"Hello, Kill," my big brother said.

"I-Illumi," I responded, "W-what-? W-why-? H-how-?" I couldn't find words to say.

Illumi grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up to meet his eyes. He said, "I'm disappointed in you, Kill."

I couldn't breathe. Illumi lifted me up even further. I looked up and saw that the ceiling fan was spinning at high speed. Illumi was lifting me towards the fan. Was he planning on killing me?

He threw me up towards the fan. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable split second of pain. It never happened. Instead, I fell back down and Illumi caught me again. This time under my chin.

"Your recent actions," Illumi's voice seemed older than usual, "have brought shame and disgrace on the Zoldyck name, little brother. You deserve to die."

I was frozen with fear. Illumi raised his hand so it was level with my face. His hand turned into a claw before my eyes. He really was going to kill me! His hand reached back before shooting forward.

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I sat straight up, almost going over the foot of the bed with my sudden start. It took me about a minute to realize where I was and who I was with. I looked around the room, noticing that it was dark but I could see everything clearly. The fan on the ceiling was going at a normal speed and not the killer death speed I had seen. Gon was lying peacefully next to me, murmuring in his sleep about wanting to put his tongue in my mouth.

I realized that it had just been a dream. Illumi wasn't actually in the room and he wasn't going to kill me. But then, I began to wonder. Illumi's voice in the forest and the dream. What did it all mean?

Was it all just in my head? Was Illumi actually sending his thoughts to me through some kind of Nen? Was it how I thought of myself? I didn't know the answer to these questions. I needed to clear my head.

I decided having a shower was the best way to do that. I got out of bed, making sure I didn't disturb Gon, and found my way to the bathroom. After closing the door so I wouldn't wake up Gon, I ran the water for my shower and got in. I let the water roll down my body and, after what I had gone through, it felt great. But I still had some thoughts going through my mind.

I couldn't help but think that maybe a part of me actually did want to be involved with Gon in that way; beyond just kissing. It was that thought that led to Illumi's voice saying I was a disgrace to the family name. I quickly put that thought aside. I didn't give a damn about the family name. If I did, I wouldn't have left in the first place. But why did it weigh so heavily on me, then?

"It's so stupid!" I hit my head against the wall of the shower to get rid of the thoughts. "Why is it like this? Can't I just be with Gon without being haunted by my past?" I hit my hand next to my head. "I just want to be rid of my past." I closed my eyes.

You will never be rid of me, Kill.

"Huh? Who's there?" I lifted my head from the wall and opened the shower curtain to find Gon stripping naked. "Gon?"

"Ah! Killua!" He said, shocked, "I was going to surprise you."

"I thought you were sleeping," I said.

"I was," he confirmed, "but then I felt something leave me. I woke up and saw you weren't there. Then I saw the light on in the bathroom and I heard the water running. So, I thought I'd surprise you."

"Oh," I said, "Uh, did you hear anything?"

Gon looked at me blankly and said, "No, why? Did you say something?"

"No, no," I said quickly, "It's just the water must be playing tricks on my hearing. Anyway, there's really no need for you to get in; I'm done now."

"Eh?" Gon said, "How do you know I wasn't planning on getting in to have a shower like you?"

I turned the water off and got out, grabbing a towel off the rack. I said, "Because you came in here to 'surprise me'. If you were going to have a shower, you would have waited until I was done."

Gon didn't say anything, but put his clothes back on. I put my clothes on as well and we both went back to the bed. Once we were under the covers, Gon asked if I was alright. I thought it was a weird question to ask, but I told him that I was. He turned his body over mine and looked me in the eyes. I was a bit surprised because I hadn't expected him to do that.

"Are you sure," Gon said, "you're alright?"

"I'm fine," I said.

Gon didn't say anything, instead he just looked into my eyes. I tried not to stare too long into his eyes because I knew guilt would soon overcome me if I did. But, there was just something about those big, brown eyes of his that had me moving back to them every time I looked away. It didn't help that they were filled with concern. Genuine concern for me. I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.

I pushed him back to the side of me, saying, "Seriously, I'm fine. Now go back to sleep."

Gon got out of bed and turned the lights on in the room. I asked him what he was doing because neither of us could sleep with the lights on. He said he wouldn't turn the lights off until I told him what was wrong. I insisted that nothing was wrong and told him to turn the lights off. When he refused, I got out of bed and turned them off, only for him to turn them back on.

"What the hell, Gon?" I said.

"You're hiding something from me, Killua," he shot back, "and I don't like it!"

"I'm hiding something-?" I repeated, "What the hell makes you think that?"

"I see it in your eyes," he said, "And you're always avoiding my question. If- If you don't want to be with me anymore… I can understand that."

I hit him on the head and said, "Who else am I gonna be with, if it isn't you, you idiot?"

His solemn mood didn't change when he said, "I don't know… Maybe that other me?"

"Eh?" I sad, confused.

"Well, he does things to you that I don't," he reasoned, "And… And they make you feel good."

I hit him on the head again and said, "Like hell I want to be with that bastard! Sure, it felt good, but it was just plain weird. And he tricked me. Now, stop saying stupid things, turn the lights off and let's get some sleep."

I turned around and walked toward the bed as Gon said, "Okay," rather reluctantly. He turned the lights off as I was getting into bed. I breathed a small sigh of relief, thankful that it was so easy to win Gon over. A few seconds later, I felt Gon get into bed and snuggle up close to me. He wrapped his arms around mine and put his head on my shoulder.

"Killua," he said, "Tell me that you love me and I won't bother you for the rest of the night."

I sighed. "Idiot," I murmured.

"Hm?" Gon asked.

"I said, 'I love you, Gon'. Happy?"

He kissed me on my cheek and said, "I love you, too Killua. And I couldn't be happier."

He laid his head back down and instantly fell back asleep. As much as I wanted to fall asleep, I had to stay awake and think. I thought of what Gon had just said and I had to come to the same conclusion. I couldn't be any happier as long as I was with him. As my eyes closed, I wished that we could stay like this forever.

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When we left the hotel in the morning, we found the tour lady from yesterday standing in front of the stairs. I told Gon not to say anything because I didn't want to be dragged on another boring tour. At first it seemed like we'd just sneak right past her, but she noticed us and stopped us. Grabbing us by our shirts, she almost choked us. She insisted we take another tour to get to where we were going.

"Look, lady-" I began.

"Coco." She insisted.

"Whatever," I shrugged her off and continued, "We got enough of the tour yesterday. I'm pretty sure we can find our way around town."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," she said wagging her finger in front of my face (which, honestly, made me want to bite it off), "You don't understand. These tours aren't just to show people around town. They tell the history of this iconic city and the blood, sweat, tears, and passion put into making it! It's so marvellous what a single tour can accomplish!"

"What makes you think we give a damn about the history of this stupid place?" I argued, "We'll be gone by tomorrow and we'll never be back!" I grabbed Gon's arm and started walking away saying, "Come on, Gon. Let's go."

We walked down the street away from the tour lady. I'm not really sure why I was so mad at her. Maybe it was because she was treating me like a kid (I hated to be treated like a kid) or because she thought a couple kids couldn't be left on their own. Seriously, a whole bunch of adults walked by her before we were stopped and she never insisted they take a tour. Whatever it was, it pissed me off.

I felt a pain on the back of my head and said, "Ow!" I turned to face Gon and yelled, "That hurt, you idiot!"

"Good!" Gon shot back.

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"Because you were so mean to Coco!"

"Eh?"

"All she wanted to do was help us out and you were so rude to her!"

"Yeah?" I countered, "So what? We don't need her, anyway. We went all over town with her yesterday and I didn't even get to kiss you once until we got to the hotel!"

I closed my mouth as soon as I said that. I had tried not to admit the real reason I didn't want the tour lady around. At one point during that boring tour, Gon had wanted to kiss me but as soon as our lips touched, she pulled us apart. I was so pissed at her that I actually wanted to kill her. The way she had treated me earlier reminded me of that.

Gon looked at me with eyes that suggested he was scheming, which is hard to believe. "So, that's it," he said.

"W-what?" I said, acting as if I hadn't said anything.

"That's why you didn't want Coco around," he said leaning in to me, "Because you just want to kiss me."

He put his lips to mine before I could say anything else. I tried to bring up my hands to push him away, because it was embarrassing in public, but he held my arms at my side. I felt his tongue enter my mouth and he started to wrestle with my tongue. It was a few minutes before I felt his grip loosen and I was able to break his hold. I pushed him away and hit him on the head.

"Idiot!" I yelled, "It's embarrassing when you do it in public!"

Gon just had a victorious smile on his face. I could never bring myself to tell him, but I always liked that smile. Even when it was used after a scene like that and I was pissed at him for doing it, I just couldn't stay mad when he used that smile. I didn't know if it was because I secretly liked what he did or if it was his innocence in doing it. Unlike recent events…

"You're impossible," I said, trying to get my mind off the last couple days, "Now, let's just go get supplies."

"Um, Killua," Gon said, "Remind me again why we need supplies."

"Weren't you listening in the hotel?"

"Um…" The way he trailed off told me he was only paying attention to the movement of my lips at that time.

I was tempted to hit him on the head again, but I didn't. Instead, I sighed and said, "Look, we're going to a place that's relatively unknown, right?" Gon nodded and I continued, "Therefore, we don't know what's going to be there, right?" Again, Gon nodded, "So, we should get supplies here so we can be prepared for what's there. Make sense?" With one final nod of Gon's head, I said, "Good. Now let's go."

We walked through town, looking for a market area like what we had seen in Yorknew during the auction last year. We saw a lot of buildings with signs over the doors, but we didn't see any outside vendors. I decided to go into one of the buildings, telling Gon to wait outside and that I wouldn't be long. Inside, I saw all kinds of weapons. I counted about 20 different kinds of pistols, 10 different kinds of rifles, about 40 swords, 100 different knives and various other weapons that I did and didn't recognize from my training as an assassin.

"Hey, kid!" A large man behind the counter yelled, "Get out of here! I don't do business with kids."

"I'm a professional Hunter," I explained, pulling out my Hunter's license and showing it to the man.

"I don't care if you're the Chairman of the Hunter's Association," the man said, "My policy is 'I don't do business with kids'. Now get out of my store."

"I just want-" I began.

"Out!" The man yelled.

I turned around and left the store in a bad mood. Something about the people in this town gets me so pissed at them. I didn't know what it was, either. Gon asked me what I learned from inside, to which I told him nothing. He was slightly confused by this and volunteered to go inside, instead.

"Gon," I tried to reason with him, "if I didn't get anything, what makes you think you will? Let's just try another building."

He reluctantly agreed and we walked down to another building with a sign over it. I volunteered to go in, but Gon said he wanted to. He told me to just wait outside but when I told him I'd go in, he insisted that he go in alone. I agreed and leaned up against the building. I wondered why Gon had been acting like that.

I looked around my surroundings. There were people walking on the street going from one place to another. Most of them were going into buildings. I was beginning to wonder if all this town had was buildings when I saw one up on a hill. It looked different from the rest of the buildings and I didn't notice it on the tour.

It was a ways away so I had to lean forward and squint my eyes to get a good look at it. It looked kind of like a castle. Why would there be a castle in a town for travellers? I didn't have long to think about it, because I heard a loud bang come from inside the building behind me. I didn't care that Gon had wanted me to stay outside.

I rushed in, yelling "Gon!"

I looked around, but I didn't notice anything out of place. There were shelves lined with food and other stuff that I couldn't make out at first that were standing just fine. When I looked over to the counter, however, I saw Gon with his fist in the air. I ran over to get a better look. I saw him holding a man by his shirt over a broken counter.

"First come rock…" Gon said, "Jan…Ken…"

"Gon, stop!" I yelled, grabbing his arm, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Back off, Killua," Gon snapped, "this is none of your business!"

"None of my business?" I questioned, "Like hell it's none of my business! As your bo-" a mid sentence thought changed my words, "A-as your best friend, I'm making it my business to stop you from doing something stupid! Now, come on!"

I grabbed Gon's other hand to make him let go of the man. I dragged him out of the store by his wrists, despite his protests. Once we were outside, I let go of him and he stood up. I immediately hit him on the head afterwards. However, this time it actually hurt my hand.

Choosing to ignore the pain, I yelled at Gon, "Just what the hell happened in there?"

"Eh?" Gon blinked, "In where?"

"Don't play dumb with me," I said, "What happened in the store?"

"I…" Gon looked down, "I don't know." He paused for a moment and continued, "It was like… Like I saw what was happening and I knew it wasn't good, but I couldn't control my body."

I would have passed Gon's story off as bullshit if it weren't for two reasons. The first reason was that Gon's voice sounded sincere and I knew him well enough to know that when he sounds sincere, he is. The second reason was the more puzzling one. When I had hit him, I felt a small prick that hurt my hand. I could only imagine that prick was the result of something being planted on him to control him.

"Gon," I said in a softer tone, "When I went into that first building, did something happen?"

"Eh?" Gon asked, slightly confused.

"I mean," I explained, "Did somebody touch you or anything?"

"Um…" Gon thought, "Now that you mention it, an old lady did come up to me. She asked me for directions, but I told her I wasn't from around here."

"Then what happened?" I asked.

"She patted me on the head and said I was nice." Gon paused and continued, "You don't think that old lady was the one controlling my body, do you?"

"No," I said, "I think she might have been a helper. She might have planted something on you. But what could be small enough that it could be put on somebody unseen?"

I noticed a small gleam on the ground from the corner of my eye. I looked to where I saw it, bent down and picked it up. It was a small needle-shaped object. I wondered what it was doing on the ground, but thought that it might have been the thing that was planted on Gon. Though, this raised new questions in my mind.

If this needle was the thing that controlled Gon's actions, then who did it belong to? Who on Earth would want to control Gon? Did they know about his Nen? Was it somebody we knew before or somebody we've never met that was controlling him? Maybe they wanted me, but I was inside so Gon was the next choice?

"Killua," Gon said tapping my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I said, looking up.

Gon pointed to a person walking down the street, coming towards us. It was a man in his early twenties with long, black hair. I only had to look at the expressionless face to know that it was my brother. I grabbed Gon, who was getting ready to fight, by the arm and dragged him into an alley between two buildings. I hoped that my brother didn't see us.