A/N: Hi there! We would like to thank all of you out there who took the time to leave us a review! It makes us so happy! Also, of course, we'd like to thank anyone who follows and favored us. So, here it is, the fourth chapter. Just like the boys planned, the four of them will head out to amusement park. Once more the focus shifts a little more to Leorio and Kurapika, but there is still some stuff going on between Gon and Killua, too. We hope you'll enjoy what's in store for the four. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Kurapika woke up to a slight headache when the bright morning sun peeked into their room. Groaning softly, he put his hand over his eyes as he stretched his body in the big bed. The uninhibited space he had to stretch out in prompted last night's argument with Leorio to rush back into his head, and made him acknowledge the fact that he was alone in the bed that was meant for two. He vaguely remembered throwing the second pillow to the floor. Had Leorio taken the hint and was sleeping on the plush carpet? Or had he not returned at all? With the way they had parted ways yesterday, Kurapika wouldn't be too surprised if the emitter was fed up with his vendetta and stubbornness and didn't want to spend any more of his celebratory vacation time with him.

A night of sleep told Kurapika one thing that he could not admit to last night; Leorio had a point. Well, not just one. His parents had loved him and they would have been relieved that he had escaped the massacre instead of being resentful about him surviving. The same definitely was true of his best friend Pairo and, after giving it more thought, Kurapika could believe that his clansmen were just too kind to hate him. Maybe he was the only one that had to forgive himself for being the sole survivor. He had thought it was fitting that he would live a life of revenge and never find real happiness again in his life, that he would die for this purpose, but maybe that was just wrong. Enough lives were lost to senseless violence. His peace-loving people would not want to cause more deaths, especially not his own; he could see that now.

Taking the hand off of his eyes, Kurapika slowly rolled to one edge of the bed, but did not see Leorio lying there. It would be easy to try and feel the other one out, but his head hurt and he didn't want to wake the doctor by prodding him like that. So he slid silently to the other side, but the emitter wasn't lying there either. When Kurapika looked up though, he was relieved to discover Leorio's form huddled on the chairs.

Taking in the position the tall man managed to sleep in, Kurapika was torn between a chuckle that was trying to force its way through his lips and feeling pretty bad for the other. One arm was up at an angle, making for a makeshift pillow/headrest, most of the upper body rested in a kind of curled up way on one chair while one of the other's feet rested on the seat and the other on the armrest of a second chair. Since Leorio was so tall though, the chairs were far apart and most of his legs were resting on thin air. Kurapika had a good idea that this would be hard on the doctor's knees, not even mentioning the other's twisted back. Looking at him for a moment, Kurapika felt guilty at putting him through this when, in the end, he had to admit that Leorio not only was just concerned about him, but was right about what he had said to boot.

Even though he understood that Leorio was right about his arguments concerning the Phantom Troupe, Kurapika still wasn't keen on apologizing. It wasn't like he was really wrong with his feelings about the Spider. Also, Leorio had caused a scene at the restaurant by shouting like that and making his eyes turn in color! Clinging to these thoughts, Kurapika felt justified in not exactly apologizing, but he could 'extend an olive branch' in good conscience. As silently as possible, he called room service and ordered coffee to their room. A moment later, he was waiting at the open door for it, not wanting the knocking to wake Leorio up.

Once he had signed for the service, he went back inside with the serving tray. The Kurta filled one cup with the fresh, hot coffee. He then held the aromatic smelling beverage close to the doctor's nose.

"Leorio... Leorio, wake up."

Gently then, he shook his taller friend with his free hand, too.

Leorio's night of sleep hadn't gone well, just as the doctor himself had expected. He was able to fall asleep for hour long intervals, but would wake up every time because of his aching back begging him to change positions. The taller man tried sleeping upright in one of the plush chairs for a few hours, then he had actually traversed to the floor (it wasn't that comfortable by the way, and he was planning on filing a complaint). He tried to sleep there for a few hours before he decided to sleep across two chairs. It took the rookie hunter about ten minutes to figure out the exact setup for his outrageously tall, gangly body, but he had finally found it…and it wasn't any more comfortable than the other two positions.

The tall brunette grumbled angrily then as he heard someone disturb his precious, yet uncomfortable slumber. He heard his name being called out, and someone was shaking his shoulder as well…and was that the smell of coffee?

Ever curious now, the young doctor struggled to open his eyes in order to figure out his puzzling circumstances. When Leorio finally managed to open his eyes, his brown orbs took in the coffee cup filled with the enticing beverage practically under his nose (which actually caused the exhausted doctor to go cross-eyed for a second).

"C'ffee…?" the emission user grumbled out in an almost unintelligible manner, wondering why the beverage in question was actually in his face. When the young doctor's eyes fell onto the hand holding the coffee mug, and then followed up from the hand to the rest of the mystery person's torso until Kurapika's face came into view, a sudden jolt went through his system and instantly woke him up.

"Kurapika?!" Leorio sat up abruptly in surprise, the sudden movement actually causing him to fall back out of the side of the chair, and topple the second one over where his feet had been resting.

Now with his body aching even more than it originally was, Leorio groaned pitifully as he dragged himself to his knees and crawled into the chair that had served as his makeshift bed last night. This was not the way he had wanted to spend his first day and night of vacation.

"W-What…? Why?" Leorio stuttered out incoherently then as he pointed to Kurapika and then the coffee in his hands after he had sat back down, the doctor's sleep addled brain unable to comprehend the situation he found himself in. When the Kurta actually handed him the coffee mug the next second and said it was for him, Leorio was practically floored. Why…why was Kurapika giving him coffee? Shouldn't the other hate him?

"Did you poison it?" Leorio unconsciously asked in a stupefied fashion as he stared down at the mug in his hand in disbelief. Kurapika had to be trying to kill him for being a bad friend, right? Wait…that didn't seem right…

The taller man just rubbed his aching temples then as he tried to get his brain in a properly functioning order. Apparently, even though he thankfully wasn't experiencing a hangover since he hadn't drunk too much last night, the lack of sleep on his part wasn't doing too much to help him think coherently. Ugh! Why wouldn't his brain function?! Hell, even if the coffee was poisoned, Leorio was actually contemplating drinking the stuff just to help him wake up a little more for clarity's sake!

The doctor's eyes opened slowly and seemed to have trouble focusing at first. It was kind of funny how Leorio went cross-eyed when looking at the cup in front of him. The young doctor's eyes followed the hand holding it then. It was only owing to Kurapika's quick reflexes and supple, agile body that the coffee didn't spill the next moment, when a shocked Leorio fell off his chair and toppled the second one while he was at it.

When the taller man had dragged himself back into his seat, he still looked shocked and flustered and questioned Kurapika's gesture. Once more, the Kurta held out the coffee cup looking utterly calm and unaffected by Leorio's outburst.

"Coffee, and because it's a customary morning beverage. Here, take it."

The next question out of the doctor, though, affected the conjurer. What the hell?! Was this how Leorio was seeing him now? A vengeful psychopath?! Fury was about to take over Kurapika's mind, when he saw the confusion and the signs of pain in the other man's face. There wasn't the suspicion or even accusation in the other's gaze that would have to go with it, if he actually meant what he was saying. Still, the words stung even if they were just the ramblings of a half asleep idiot.

"Oh, damn, you found me out. And I thought it was such a clever way to get rid of you," Kurapika answered sarcastically. Taking the cup from the startled doctor's hand, he took a sip and then handed it back to the surprised man. "Feeling safer now?"

Kurapika didn't wait for an answer and neither expected one. He just turned around with an annoyed huff and went to pour himself a cup. Stupid idiot, he thought to himself. He wasn't even sure if he only meant Leorio by that. Kurapika shouldn't have ordered the coffee and maybe he should have just gotten dressed and headed down to breakfast, leaving the other man here. Yeah, maybe that would have been best. Maybe their years apart had broken whatever there had been between them for good.

Still not facing the other man, he asked, "Do you want to use the bathroom first?"

Kurapika's response was, unsurprisingly, sarcastic as he took the coffee mug out of Leorio's hands and took a sip of the 'supposedly poisoned' beverage. As soon as the Kurta handed back the coffee mug to the dumbstruck doctor, he asked if he felt safe then.

"Um…Yes?" Leorio answered tentatively, still not feeling even remotely safe with the glare Kurapika was sending him. The blond hadn't waited for his answer, though, because he was already across the room pouring himself a cup of coffee by the time Leorio even tried to respond. The young emitter took a sip of the warm beverage in his hand then, liking the flavor of the blend as it slipped smoothly down his throat.

As the older man took a longer swig of his delicious drink, he contemplated on why there was coffee in their room to begin with. Was that just custom for the hotel to serve coffee to its guests in the morning, or had Kurapika ordered room service? The very thought that the angered Kurta had actually ordered something not just for himself, but for him as well, sent the poor doctor spiraling down into even more confusion. Why would the other do that if he was still angry with him…or…maybe…it was a sign of forgiveness?

Leorio was so lost in thought then that he almost missed his blond friend's grumpy question. Thankfully, he didn't, because Kurapika would have probably gotten even more frustrated with him if he had to repeat himself.

"Uh…no, you can…" Leorio offered, trying to be courteous as he tried to test out if the beverage he was drinking was actually some sort of peace offering. "…Thank you for the coffee, Kurapika. Did you order it?"

When Gon opened his eyes, he yawned heartily and started to stretch his body in the soft bed until he realized Killua had scooted close to him during sleep. While the enhancer usually slept on his back, the transmutation user liked to curl up on his side, reminding Gon of a content cat sometimes. Right now, Killua lay curled up against him, his head resting on the enhancer's outstretched arm.

His friend's features were utterly calm and content. It made Gon happy that Killua seemed to feel safe while being close to him. He was an ex-assassin, and the training regime his family had made him go through was something the taller teen didn't like to contemplate. His friend was trained to trust no one, not even in his own family. But looking at him right now, his guard seemed down, his usual vigilance even in sleep had dropped, too. Killua trusted him when he didn't even trust his own brothers (except for Alluka, but she was technically his sister, right?). It made Gon feel very special and made him all warm inside.

With a smile, he rested his head again on the pillow after he had stared at his sleeping friend's face long enough. He concentrated on the silky feeling of Killua's hair on his arm then. It had felt so good last night to really touch it. Of course he had brushed against it before, but that was something different. Still, when he had gone all out on it, Killua hadn't like it. But...but he had said he wouldn't cut it...right? Gon concentrated back on the night before. He remembered the words, but didn't remember when they were being said. Had he only dreamed it? That would be sad. He really liked the soft, longer hair of his friend, but he would understand if Killua hated it now more than ever. Just why had he made it such a girly hairdo? Because...because he didn't know any better. But still, it had looked really good on Killua. It had shown off his long, white neck that the other liked to hide not only beneath his hair but also behind the turtleneck shirts he wore as soon as it got a little colder.

At this moment, Killua stirred on his arm. Gon turned around to him. Unsure where exactly they stood after last night's events, he tried a lopsided smile and a soft "Good Morning."

When Killua opened his eyes the next morning, his sleepy sapphires were met with warm hazel as he stared up into Gon's face, the other too close for Killua to handle so early after he had woken up.

"Morning…" The former assassin mumbled out in embarrassment as he looked away from his friend to notice that he had unconsciously moved in his sleep to the point that he was practically cuddling Gon's side and his head was placed over the other's arm. With his blood rushing to his cheeks then, Killua abruptly rolled over several times to the opposite side of the bed and made sure he was facing away from his friend when he apologized for sleeping so close. It had been so long since he had moved around in his sleep. In truth, he had been really bad at that, and he had learned that Gon was like that too at first, which only made their friendship grow since they had shared something in common. But, after their grueling training with Biscuit on Greed Island, where they had learned to always sleep lightly when they could, Killua and Gon had actually broken their restless sleeping habit and now slept peacefully throughout the night with no sporadic movements from either of them. This was the first time in several years that Killua had moved unconsciously in his sleep, and the silver-haired teen wasn't sure on how he was supposed to take that. What did that even mean?!

Killua internally berated himself for a little more before he calmed himself down enough to roll over again and face his friend. They didn't have time to waste on such trivial things; they had to get ready and find Leorio and Kurapika before the two angered friends decided to go do their own thing for the day.

"You should go get ready first, Gon. I'll go last because I want to think over our plan again for today. We need to make sure we can convince both of our friends to come along with us to the amusement park."

After Gon nodded his head in agreement and made his way into the bathroom, Killua contemplated on what his plan for the day was as he walked out onto the balcony. As he leaned against the railing and stared out at the ocean view, he took in the atmosphere to note that it was already relatively hot, and that some humidity was in the air. Today was going to be a hot day it seemed.

The former assassin was only outside for a few minutes when Gon came and told him he could use the bathroom then. With a soft smile for his best friend (Gon was just so cute when he was courteous), Killua made his way to the bathroom to get ready after grabbing some clothes from his suitcase. After he was done brushing his teeth, changing into a light purple tank top and khaki shorts that went down to his knees, and brushing his hair, Killua put his silvery locks up into its customary ponytail. When he was done, the silver-haired teen stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, his pleased smile turning into a slight frown as he remembered what had happened the previous night. Gon hadn't shown any signs that he remembered what had happened (in fact, Killua was more than surprised that his taller friend was as bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed as he was considering the fact he had gotten drunk the night before), or if he even remembered Killua mentioning that he'd keep his hair long. At that thought, the former assassin's eyes fell onto the purple hairclips that were still sitting upon the bathroom countertop. Remembering how hot it was probably going to get that day, Killua grabbed the hairclips and stuffed them into one of his short's pockets. Maybe he'd ask Gon to do his hair up later to show that he wasn't upset with the other anymore. After all, if his hair was up higher, it would help stave off the heat, if only slightly.

When Killua eventually left the bathroom, he noticed Gon was sitting on the bed and watching T.V. Taking in the sight of the local weather channel displayed upon the large screen against the wall, Killua noted how it really was supposed to be hot and humid that day, and that because of that humidity, it was expected to rain the next day.

Storing that information in the back of his head, Killua turned towards his awaiting partner-in-crime.

"Alright, Gon, convincing both Leorio and Kurapika to come to the amusement park with us falls upon you," the transmutation user explained matter-of-factly as he stared into his friend's unsure eyes. "I'm pretty sure that no matter what you do, or how you say something, Leorio and Kurapika would never be able to deny you. So, if you ask them all excitedly that you want the four of us to go to the amusement park and watch the fireworks tonight, they won't be able to turn you down."

When Gon said that he'd do his best and accepted his mission, Killua decided then to revisit their plan for the day.

"Alright then, Gon," Killua said as he joined his friend on the bed and they huddled close together in a conspiratorial manner. "Remember the plan for the day, okay? Leorio and Kurapika have no idea that we know that they fought the other night, so act as if nothing happened, alright? As soon as we get to the park then, we'll try to get them on the bumper cars first. This way they'll be able to get out whatever frustrations they have with each other, so that they can begin the process of forgiving each other…hopefully. Just to make sure, maybe we should ride the bumper cars twice, and make it so we team up on them instead of going solo like we'll do the first time around. That way they'll be forced to work together and forget their differences. From there, we'll try to get them on a bunch of rides, especially the Ferris wheel! The Ferris wheel is the most common romantic cliché out there, so it's our best shot for any progression between the two, got it?"

Seeing some smoke coming out of his friend's ears, but seeing him nod nonetheless in understanding, Killua just sighed.

"It's alright, I'll remind you along the way, just because we're short on time. Now, let's go over to our friends' room and see if both of them are there."

Gon saw the blush rush to his friend's cheeks before the other turned away from him and even rolled over to the edge of the bed. Confused and a little concerned, he watched Killua's back. What was wrong? Was the other still uncomfortable around him from last night? Had the hairstyle really been that bad? The spiky-haired teen never even thought of the possibility that their sleeping positions might have been the reason for Killua to feel embarrassed. The two of them were as close as brothers, considering the Zoldyk family's kind of ties even closer. They still bathed together at their age. Sleeping cuddled up (which was actually stretching the term of what they had been doing) didn't seem anything mentionable, even if they usually slept like unmovable stones these days.

For a long, long moment, there was silence between them while Killua still faced away from him. When he finally turned around, it was only to send him away. At least it felt that way to Gon. Of course they had to get ready and all, but... He just nodded and got up. Taking along his green shorts and a black tank top, Gon headed into the bathroom to take care of his necessities and change into his fresh clothes. He was fast, knowing they didn't have too much time.

When he was done, he found Killua on the balcony. At least he got a little smile out of the other as he told him the bathroom was free now. Gon stayed on the balcony for a moment to breathe in the already warm air. He knew it would get very hot that day, just by looking out at the ocean and smelling the air. Hot with high humidity, he decided, and he had an inkling the weather would turn tomorrow. The climate on this island wasn't too much different from Whale Island, he felt.

Since he was waiting for Killua anyway, he went back into the room and turned on the TV. The weather channel was just confirming what he had thought himself. With the way the weather would turn out tomorrow, they should enjoy today to the fullest, because they most likely would have to stay inside the next day.

Killua returned from the bathroom then. As the silver-haired transmutation user approached him, he told him what he wanted him to do next. To get on Killua's good side again, he accepted his mission to get the other two to go to the park with them, even though he had no idea how was going to go about it. All he knew was that he wanted his friend to be happy and normal again.

"Okay, I'll do my best!"

Once he agreed, Killua joined him on the bed. Gon felt much better when his friend sat close to him and they huddled together to review the plan. Maybe everything was good again? He very much hoped so. There was rarely any arguments between them; at least, no real ones. They liked to quarrel about little things sometimes but that was done for the fun of riling each other up a bit. Gon wasn't used to having bad feelings between them, and just the thought of it made him uncomfortable.

Killua talked about their plans again and Gon did his best to listen closely and remember everything. As usual, this wasn't easy for him, and the last points about the Ferris wheel became hard to remember. At least Killua promised to tell him again later and didn't seem too annoyed about it. Then it was time for action, and Gon felt way better about that.

"Okay! Let's go!" He exclaimed after putting on his boots. A moment later they headed over to the next room.

Once Leorio told him he could go first, Kurapika put his traveling bag onto the bed to get fresh clothes. He stopped in his tracks when the other one thanked him for the coffee. The question that followed up his thanks was pretty stupid, though.

"No, of course not. It magically appeared on the table. I'm a conjurer, remember?" Kurapika couldn't help but answer sarcastically again. He was still kind of angry at Leorio for insinuating he wanted to poison him when all he had wanted to be was...nice.

That aside, when he riffled through the bag, he only pulled out a light, white, short-sleeved shirt and opted for the light pants from yesterday. He very well remembered Leorio's concern about his clothes being too warm, and decided to wear less to make the doctor happy.

Kurapika headed into the bathroom then and got himself ready for the day. He had just returned and told Leorio he could go in when someone knocked at their door. Since he was closest to it and already dressed, he opened after being told it was Gon and Killua.

"Good Mo~rning!" The spiky-haired teen piped up happily and entered the room with a spring in his step.

Kurapika raised his eyebrows in wonder. "You seem to be much better by the look of you."

Puzzled, Gon stopped to look at the Kurta questioningly. "Better?"

Leorio was beyond irritated by this point because of Kurapika's second sarcastic response. He had just asked a well-founded question! It seemed like civility with the Kurta was out of the question for the moment, in fact, Kurapika was acting like he always did back before they went their separate ways in York New City; he was cold, distant, matter-of-fact, and hardly, if ever, spoke kindly to him.

The rookie doctor just grumbled to himself as he took another sip of the beverage, completely disregarding the coffee as a symbol of forgiveness between them based on the Kurta's attitude.

Speaking of the Kurta, Kurapika was currently grabbing a simple white, short-sleeved shirt and the pants he was wearing yesterday before heading into the bathroom…Was…Kurapika actually wearing something lighter for his sake?

Shaking his head in disbelief, (there was no way the other was doing something considerate with the blond's current attitude) Leorio just downed the rest of his coffee before going over to his own suitcase to pick out what he wanted to wear for the day. Opting for a white, buttoned up shirt with a tropical hibiscus floral print on it, and some khaki shorts and leather sandals, the emission user waited for his turn to use the bathroom with another cup of coffee.

Thankfully, Kurapika didn't take too long, and was out of the bathroom after fifteen minutes. As soon as the Kurta offered for the other to use the bathroom, a light knock rapped against their door. A look of confusion scrawled across the young doctor's face as Kurapika went and opened it to see who it was. What greeted them were a bright and cheery looking Gon, and a laidback Killua.

Gon's morning greeting to them was just as bright as the huge smile on his face, and it literally threw Leorio for a loop. The dark-haired teen looked the complete opposite of what he did the night before. Kurapika noticed this, too, and even commented on it the next second to a very confused Gon. Leorio was just starting to wonder why the other was confused when Killua butted in.

"Yeah, Gon's feeling a lot better than he did last night. A good night's sleep was all he needed it seems."

"Ah! That's good to hear," Leorio commented then as he made his way over to his two youngest friends, his change of clothes still in his hand. He just had to get a good look at Gon for himself to assess if the other really was better. "Wow, you do look better, Gon! I'm glad to see that!" A look of curiosity came over the young doctor then as he looked between the beast and blacklist hunters. "So…why are you guys over here so early?"

"Well, Gon insisted that we do something today," Killua began to explain as he sent a look Gon's way and nudged him in the side. What was that about?

Only when Killua jumped in to answer Kurapika did Gon remember that he was supposed to have been sick last night. He had totally forgotten about that!

"Ah, yeah. I just needed some sleep. That was all," he agreed lamely to his best friend's answer.

Still, Leorio had to see for himself it seemed. He came pretty close to look him over. Gon was really glad he didn't have to act now. He was feeling well and that showed. When the examination was over, he was glad to hear a question he could answer without thinking too much.

"Breakfast," he burst out happily only to get an elbow nudged into his side. Shit! Killua wanted him to bring up the amusement park right now? "Ehm...uh...when we came back last night, we saw these brochures and...and when I was holed up in the bathroom I went through them...ehm..." Gon was trying to explain how he knew about the park but it was very awkward, not only for him, but everyone who was listening, too, it seemed. His scrunched up face just lit up then when he decided to skip to the important part. "There's this amusement park close by and they have a fireworks display tonight. I really, really, reeeeaaally want to go and want you to join! It's gonna be awesome! They have roller coasters and water rides and carousels and I wanna see the fireworks! Will you come along? Pleeeeeeeeaase!"

He looked from one friend to the other. Even though they had fought last night, they were still in the same room and it didn't seem like they didn't talk to each other. Those were good signs, right? They didn't seem to be too mad at each other anymore. Gon really had a feeling this could work out.

Kurapika considered the request for a second, his eyes flitting to Leorio to judge his reaction, but he was really fast and discreet about it. He didn't want to make it look like his decision depended on the other man, even when in reality it kind of did. If they actually both went to that park then that was a good way to get back on good terms again, wasn't it? Kurapika was sure Leorio wasn't keen on letting the boys know they had a fight, so the two of them had to act friendly, which, when done long enough, it had a way of becoming reality, right? With these thoughts and calculations running through Kurapika's mind at lightning speed, he smiled at Gon.

"That sounds like a really good idea. I think the water rides should be really nice. I have a feeling it's gonna get pretty hot today. Count me in."

Gon's grin was a mile wide then as he turned to Leorio.

"You have to come, too now! It's three against one! It's gonna be so much fun!"

Leorio watched on as Gon tried to explain what he wanted out of his friends, the topic of conversation very awkward at first when the tall teen started explaining how he had figured out what he had wanted to do for that day. Thankfully, Gon realized how he was sounding and quickly cut to the chase by exclaiming that he wanted to go to the amusement park with all of them.

The doctor's eyes widened at the thought. The amusement park? That sounded very fun, but at the same time, it sounded completely exhausting. Weren't vacations about relaxing? Seeing as Leorio's body ached like something fierce at the moment, he was considering opting out of the group activity in favor of sitting around and relaxing in the hotel's hot tub instead.

The emission user was more than surprised when he heard Kurapika agree to come along. The very thought of the Kurta going to an amusement park was just…well… Leorio's brain was having a hard time computing the image. Had Kurapika just agreed to go so that Leorio would be forced to do something else because they were still fighting and angry with each other…?

Not really sure what to think, Leorio took too long to answer as Gon stared up at him expectantly. He didn't want his youngest friends to think that he and Kurapika were fighting, because then that would ruin their vacations, too. Knowing then that he was going to agree to come along, too, even though that meant he had to deal with grumpy Kurapika all day, the Kurta himself commented on the doctor's silence, wondering aloud if the older man was afraid of the roller coasters.

"I'm not afraid of the roller coasters!" Leorio shouted out indignantly the next second as he glared at Kurapika like a little kid who had just gotten embarrassed in front of his friends. "I was about to say that I was coming, too!"

Huffing like a pouting child, the young doctor stomped off to the bathroom as he growled over his shoulder about quickly getting ready to his friends. As soon as he entered the bathroom, he tried to forget about his indignant anger as he changed his clothes and did the rest of his morning routine. It was hard, though, since Kurapika had been rude to him all morning, and it was likely that he'd be that way the rest of the day. Leorio wouldn't be surprised if Kurapika actually ignored him all day in favor of spending most of his time with Gon and Killua and making him feel like the odd one out. He had done that on more than one occasion, although Leorio wasn't certain if it had been on purpose, or if he had just been picking up on the wrong vibe from his blond friend.

After placing his familiar shaded glasses onto his face, Leorio exited the bathroom to note that his friends were talking about going to grab breakfast quick at the hotel's buffet downstairs. Since Leorio had hardly eaten any of his food last night, and he was starving now, the doctor was quick to agree with his friends as they traveled down to the ground floor for breakfast. As soon as the group entered the dining room, they were met with several tables on the far side decked out in every breakfast food known to man. There were even breakfast foods from different countries besides the typical muffins, bagels, cereals, and assorted fruits. Seeing as he had drunk the night before, and the best food afterwards, in his opinion, was waffles and syrup, Leorio made a beeline for the heated dish filled with the fluffy cakes. After grabbing some bacon as a side dish when he was done smothering his waffles in maple syrup, the doctor headed over to one of the small tables scattered throughout the room for the eating guests. Taking a seat at a round table that would seat four, the older man started digging into his waffles like a starving man, barely noticing Killua sit down to his right with a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of omurice; a Pajan specialty that Leorio was very familiar with, since his med school had been in Pajan.

Kurapika's mood had lifted considerably by the time the four of them were heading down for breakfast. The reaction, he had gotten out of Leorio when he took a jibe at his courage concerning rollercoasters had just been too much fun. The man acted like a little boy sometimes, and the Kurta couldn't help but find that trait adorable, although he would never admit to it.

There was a huge variety of food at the buffet. Since Kurapika often resided in luxurious hotels because of his employers, he was used to this. After checking the setup, he went straight for the ham and eggs, and got some smoked salmon and some fresh fruits for a healthy mixture. He joined Killua and Leorio at their table then, making sure to sit across from the doctor. Kurapika was just in time for the waitress to pour them fresh coffee.

While everyone else knew exactly what they wanted and decided pretty fast, Gon was just overwhelmed by the abundance and variety of the food. For a moment he just stood at a distance, looking at the different tables, trying to get his bearings, then he ran to one table, ever sure that he knew what he wanted, only to stop right in front of it and look to the side at all the other possibilities. This was just too much!

In the end, Gon was balancing four plates and two bowls that held a little bit of everything over to the table where the others already ate. While the spiky-haired teen was grinning happily that he had avoided having to decide what he wanted to eat, everyone else at the table was looking at him incredulously and shaking their heads. At least Killua did so with a smile.

"It all looked so good," Gon explained to his defense.

Funny enough, although he was the one with the most food, he wasn't the last to finish. He was kind of like a vacuum cleaner absorbing the food fast and clean. Kurapika, on the other hand, was enjoying his choice of dishes and took his time, finishing a little after Gon.

After their hearty breakfast they headed out to the amusement park. There was a bus stop next to the hotel, and it was only a short ride from there. When they arrived, Gon got really excited. The park looked awesome, even on the outside. The huge Ferris Wheel could be seen even from the entrance, along with the peaks of two of the roller coasters.

While Gon looked on in awe and Killua joined him as usual, Kurapika made a beeline for one of the tellers. Leorio wasn't quite as fast, and ended up three people behind him in line. Since they were still a bit awkward around each other, he didn't seem to have the courage to ask him to cut in line behind him. This was actually convenient for the Kurta. He bought all four entrance tickets when he was up. Once he had paid, Kurapika walked up to Leorio.

"You can drop out of the line," he told the doctor and waved Gon and Killua over. "They had a special offer. Four for two. It's half price to everyone," Kurapika told his friends, even though in reality he had paid the full price. There was no special offer, but he wanted to help out Leorio since the park ticket's prices were pretty steep. Kurapika himself was well off with his line of work and only spent very little of the money he earned. Helping out the boys, too, didn't hurt his savings one bit and, in keeping it all to himself, he also made sure that the youngsters couldn't blabber about his little white lie.

Leorio wasn't all surprised when Kurapika decided to sit across from him at their table instead of to his left like Gon did a few minutes later with his large assortment of food. So it seemed that they really weren't on good terms at the moment.

The young doctor just stuffed a piece of syrup covered waffle into his mouth with a huff as he focused on his food instead of the Kurta across from him, who saw fit to eat his food at his own pace and as delicately as possible, which was the complete opposite of what the emission user was doing. Leorio was wondering if Kurapika was actually mocking him again.

With his mood even sourer than it was before, the four of them finished breakfast and headed out to the nearest bus stop. The bus ride was short, thank goodness, because it was beyond awkward for the poor doctor. He was forced to sit next to Kurapika and to act like they weren't fighting at all.

When they finally arrived at the amusement park, Leorio couldn't help but gawk at all the attractions that caught his eye. There were definitely more than one roller coaster, and it looked like one of them was actually a water ride as well. That one would probably be the most fun to ride on, especially in this hot weather!

Leorio was so busy thinking over what rides he wanted to try out that he almost didn't notice Kurapika making his way over to the ticket booth. Hurrying after the other so he could get his ticket, too, three people ended up separating him and the Kurta, which Leorio was actually thankful for. He couldn't imagine the torture that standing in line with the other out of earshot of the kids would have been like.

To the older man's surprise, though, Kurapika came back into the line after purchasing his ticket to show that he had bought four of them. Leorio was about to protest, but he learned from his blond friend that he had actually bought all four of their tickets because of a special offer. Seeing as it was the cheapest route to take, Leorio didn't mind getting his ticket for half the price, and took it from the Kurta gratefully.

With that out of the way, the four of them headed into the park, their eyes scanning the surrounding area to see what they wanted to do. Personally, even though he would love to hang out with his friends, with the way things were between him and Kurapika, he actually wouldn't mind going off on his own. Before he could think of this, though, he saw Killua nudge Gon out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Gon, look!" The silver-haired teen called out so that everyone in their group could hear him. "There are bumper cars over there!"

When Leorio followed the former assassin's finger, he saw a huge circular ring looking structure that had miniature looking electric cars driving around it and smacking into each other. The ring structure was also covered by a roof structure to keep the area shaded from the sun.

The young doctor saw Gon's eyes light up at the sight, before he exclaimed that he wanted all of them to try it out. Seeing such enthusiasm in his younger friend's eyes, Leorio just couldn't deny the offer no matter how badly his back was crying for him to not go on the violent attraction. Needless to say, Leorio found himself in line with the other four as they waited their turn to ride the bumper cars, Gon fidgeting in excitement all the while.

When their turn finally came a few minutes later (the line was not that big to begin with, thankfully), the teller at the ride asked them if they wanted to ride solo or double, and Leorio could only blink in confusion.

"The four of us will ride solo," Killua decided for his friends then as he sent all of them a challenging glare, since he was conveniently in line before the rest of their group. "I bet I can hit all of you more than anybody else."

"Che! Yeah right, kid!" Leorio scoffed with a click of his tongue as he pointed his thumb at himself. "I have more experience driving than all of you guys put together, so if anybody is going to win it's going to be me!"

Gon remembered about the bumper cars and how they were part of their plan, but that wasn't the only reason he got really excited and shouted they should all try it out. It just looked so cool and fun! Killua and him were still too young to drive cars, but this was the next best thing, surely, and no one would mind if he happened to crash his car into another!

The spiky-haired teen ran after his best friend, who had taken the lead once everyone agreed with his pleading. This was going to be fun!

After him, Kurapika followed a little slower. He had decided to try to enjoy this outing, although the good doctor wasn't making this too easy on him. The Kurta had tried to be nice, hadn't he? But Leorio was avoiding him and looking at him suspiciously, and his mood was just the worst in general. When Gon had begged them to ride the bumper cars with him, Kurapika decided to go along. He wanted to have fun today and forget about the bad things in his life, and he knew that hanging out with the boys would do that for him. They just had this aura about them that drew him in. In the end, Leorio followed suit, which actually kind of surprised the Kurta.

When they were up next, Killua decided they would ride the cars solo, which actually suited the Kurta just fine. It would be a disaster if he ended up riding in a car together with Leorio the way things stood between them right now.

At that moment, Killua challenged them all, claiming he would bump into them more than anyone of them could. At Leorio's scoffing, Kurapika turned to him, grinning.

"Yeah, you might have more experience, but can you still find the gas pedal, old man? Hitting a sitting duck is just no fun."

Riling up Leorio actually was the most fun to him. The slightly older man was like a five year old then. Although the two of them had a lot in common, even Gon wouldn't fall for a cheap line like that as badly as the doctor did.

All four of them got in their cars, strapped in, and were off at the green light. Kurapika was amused to see the ambition shine on Leorio's face as he tried to show off his skills. Killua was the one to start off the actual fun, though, when he bumped his own car into Gon's, who got a push forward and hit Leorio's. Instead of taking revenge on either of those two, though, the doctor turned the wheel and crashed into Kurapika's side. When their eyes met, it was a scene right off a manga page. There seemed to be lightning flashing back and forth between their eyes.

"I'll get you for that!" The Kurta shouted out, hit the gas, and bumped hard into the older man, pushing the car against the wall.

Concentrating only on the doctor came back to bite him then. Killua overtook both of them and rammed into him with a laugh, followed by another bump by a hooting Gon. Kurapika hit the gas again, but couldn't shake Leorio, who was hitting into his side, asking who the sitting duck was now. The Kurta couldn't help but laugh in spite of himself then. This was actually more fun than what he had expected.

Hitting the brake, Kurapika let Leorio zoom past him, just to hit the gas again and bump him from the back.

"I guess that would be you!"

Kurapika's comment to him was the last straw.

"What?!" Leorio all but screamed at his blond friend as he pointed accusingly at the other in indignation. "Of course I can find the gas pedal! And what's with this old man business? I'm two years older than you for crying out loud!"

Kurapika just smirked as he walked into the bumper car area with their other friends, which only fueled the young doctor's irritation. If it was a fight that Kurapika wanted, then he sure as hell was going to give it to him!

The four of them chose their cars then, Gon immediately staking claim to a green one, while Killua chose a purple. Kurapika climbed into a red one, so Leorio decided to choose the opposing color; blue. The game was on!

As soon as the light turned green, all of the bumper cars flew into motion. Leorio expertly drove through the chaos of his friends and the other people's cars, not getting hit once. Who had skills now?!

Sadly, his clean streak was destroyed the next second when he saw Killua crash into Gon out of his periphery, and the beast hunter, in turn, was sent careening towards him from the momentum. The doctor had no choice but to take the hit. Instead of retaliating, though, he saw Kurapika coming towards him and couldn't let go of the opportunity presented to him. He was at the perfect angle now to hit the other!

Turning the wheel as fast as he could, he rammed his car into Kurapika's, the two of them staring at each other in a challenging deadlock as the smaller man's car was pushed away from the impact. The Kurta exclaimed that Leorio would pay for what he did, and slammed down on the gas the next second, his red car crashing into Leorio's blue and sending him into the wall. Before the emission user could retaliate, Killua came out of nowhere and hit Kurapika's car, followed by Gon. Not wanting to just sit there, the Kurta drove off then, and Leorio followed in hot pursuit after getting hit by Killua again for only having his eyes set on his blond friend. Leorio couldn't help it, though. He was so frustrated with Kurapika, he couldn't let go of this perfect opportunity to act out!

With that thought in mind, Leorio easily caught up with the fleeing Kurta, and started ramming his car into the other's side constantly as they drove side by side.

"Who's the sitting duck now, huh?!" The young doctor laughed out in glee, more than glad that he finally seemed to have the upper hand over Kurapika in something for once. Leorio's victory was short lived, though, because Kurapika hit the brakes the next second, making the doctor fly past him. It was a moment later that he felt a violent bump come from behind. Looking over his shoulder, Leorio found a smirking and laughing Kurapika. The tables had turned it seemed.

Leorio couldn't help but notice how much Kurapika seemed to be enjoying his circumstances…but not in the way the doctor was expecting it. He sensed no malice from the other as he chased after him the next second, following the taller man around the outside of the area along the wall. Maybe Kurapika was just having some good fun, and wasn't angry with him anymore?

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment to focus on his steering, Leorio weaved through numerous bumper cars, trying to lose his pursuer, but Kurapika kept hot on his trail. The doctor really had to admit that Kurapika's driving skills were quite impressive.

Seeing an opportunity to get back at the other as he continued to drive along the fence then, Leorio shot out perpendicular from the wall the next moment, and glanced back to make sure Kurapika was following him. Sure enough, the Kurta was directly behind him, which caused Leorio to enact the next part of his plan. Kurapika was a few feet away from him, so the distance was just right for a massive hit!

With that thought in mind, Leorio immediately went into reverse at full speed, his back end crashing into the front of Kurpika's car and sending the Kurta back until the back of his car hit the wall. Before his blond friend could recover from the impact, though, Leorio continued to reverse until he crashed into the front of Kurapika's car again, effectively trapping the Kurta between him and the wall.

"Aww, what's this?" Leorio teased as he placed one of his arms on the back of his seat, the other hand holding onto the steering wheel as he glanced over his shoulder at his trapped friend, who was trying in vain to get loose and drive away. "Is the little ducky stuck?"

Before the taller man could gloat in his victory for too much longer, Killua came out of nowhere again to crash into his side, effectively setting Kurapika free…only for the Kurta to be smacked by Gon from the opposite side. No fair! Those two looked like they were teaming up more than fighting solo!

Before Leorio could enact his revenge, though, the buzzer for their time limit went off, and he and his friends had to leave their bumper cars where they sat and walk out of the ring.

"Heh, I won," Killua sneered in a teasing manner as the four of them walked out of the bumper car area. "I hit Leorio three times, Kurapika once, and don't get me started on how many times I hit Gon. I honestly lost count."

Leorio couldn't help but chuckle as he saw Gon pout at the news and demand a rematch. That kid never liked to lose.

"What? You don't know how many hits Kurapika and I have, so how can you say you won?" Leorio asked then with a slight scoff. He knew that he had a point…but he honestly hadn't been keeping count of his hits, so he really had no reason to bring it up in the end.

"Oh please," Killua stated with a roll of his eyes. "You and Kurapika were so focused on each other, I seriously doubt that you even kept track of the hits. Besides, the both of you never even touched Gon and me."

Leorio just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly then, realizing the truth of his younger friend's words.

"Ehehe…" The young doctor laughed out a bit uneasily as he glanced the Kurta's way, his eyes shining apologetically for his obsessive attacks. "I guess the both of us got a bit carried away, huh?"

Although his hit shook the doctor up pretty good, Leorio stepped down on the gas again fast and tried to escape him. Kurapika had no intention of letting him, though. He kept hard on his tail, even when the emission-user zipped through the other bumper car drivers trying to shake him. Kurapika was able to keep up with him, and he was pretty proud of it, too.

When they had passed the bulk of the drivers and were back at a free stretch, they were racing along the wall. The young Kurta was getting ready to hit his prey again when, suddenly, the tables turned and the hunter became the prey. Kurapika wasn't even quite sure how it happened. Out of the blue, Leorio's car was in reverse and hit his own car hard, driving him backwards into the wall. The impact made his brain rattle, and the seconds it took to get back his bearings were all that the doctor needed to ram his car into his again, locking him in tight. Now Kurapika was caught between the wall at his back and Leorio at his front. Any hitting of the gas to get the car to move was useless and only made the wheels turn in place, burning the rubber with an acrid smell.

The doctor turned in his seat then. It was obvious he was enjoying himself and his little victory to the fullest. His teasing might have annoyed the Kurta if not for the boyish glint in Leorio's eyes and the happiness that was just flowing from him in waves. Kurapika could feel his heart-rate speed up at the sight. He couldn't help himself; he loved this side to the other man, but, for one, this wasn't the best moment to crush on Leorio, and secondly, he had sworn to smother any such feelings anyway! Why did they always have to resurface at the worst of times? His annoyance and embarrassment about this only made the situation worse as he felt a blush coming on.

Luckily, right at that moment, Killua bumped into Leorio, distracting him and setting the Kurta free. He had barely hit the gas again, though, when Gon hit him. 'Those sneaky little...' he thought, planning his revenge, but the buzzer sounded and the cars abruptly stopped.

Killua was bragging about how he had won their little bet as they moved away from the cars. Of course, Gon wasn't too happy about that and wanted a rematch. That boy still had a strong challenging streak it seemed. Leorio kind of was the same, though, because he challenged Killua's claim that he had won, and rightly so, Kurapika thought. The self-satisfied speech of the little transmuter did it for the Kurta then. Although Kurapika knew he was the same as the doctor in that he had not counted their hits, he was pretty sure Killua and Gon would have him beat if he and Leorio had done so. And anyway, Killua was right about one thing, but that could be rectified. He looked at the doctor then.

"Actually, our little friend here is right, Leorio. We never even touched the two of them. Since they were already doing so on the track as it seems to me, they should be true to their colors and join up. And the two of us will see if we can't straighten out our poor track record and show them how it's really done. What do you think?" Challenge was gleaming in the Kurta's eye. He really wanted to show-up those little brats after what they had done to him moments ago.

Only when he saw the utter surprise in Leorio's eyes then, did Kurapika fully realize that he had just asked the other to join him in one car. He had been mortified of the thought only ten minutes prior, hadn't he? His heart was beating erratically in his chest now as he unconsciously held his breath. Would Leorio even agree? Had their little fight on the track released enough stress and tension that they could work together now? Although he tried to appear calm, there was a little insecurity in his gaze as he looked at Leorio, awaiting his answer.

When Kurapika spoke up the next moment, everyone seemed a bit taken by surprise (and affronted on Killua's part by the 'little' comment), but no one was more surprised than Leorio was when the Kurta's brown eyes met his. Kurapika had just asked him to join up with him and tag team against Gon and Killua on the bumper cars!

The young doctor was completely floored. He knew that he hadn't sensed any animosity from his smaller friend on the bumper cars, even when he had trapped him up against the wall, but to think that Kurapika would just forget their fight like that and want to…well…be with him…Leorio didn't know what to think.

It was only a short moment later that Leorio came to his conclusion; he didn't care about the fight anymore. If Kurapika forgave him and still wanted to be his friend, the taller man was more than happy to reciprocate.

"I think you have a point there!" Leorio let out then with a laugh as a huge, relieved smile broke out onto his face. "I'm glad that I wasn't the only one to notice how these two were practically double teaming us to begin with. I say it's time to get even and show them what we're made of!"

Leorio sent a cheeky glare Gon and Killua's way, daring them to say anything.

"Oh wow, I'm so terrified, Old Man," Killua uttered in a sarcastic tone before a confident smirk spread across his lips. "But you two are about to go down. If Gon and I can kick both of your guys' butts going solo and without even trying to team up, then just imagine what it will be like when we actually do."

"Yeah, but you'll be in one car instead of two, so it will be even between us!" Leorio pointed out triumphantly with a pleased look on his face, confident that he and Kurapika would win.

"That's true, but at least Gon and I can team up without clawing at each other's throats," Killua teased before he turned around and started heading back towards the line. "You guys might want to work on that."

Leorio just shook his fist angrily at Killua's retreating back.

"I swear that kid is such a snot sometimes!" The young doctor huffed out in irritation as he tried not to think of how Killua had been right. He and Kurapika were known for constantly squabbling so…could they actually pull this off? Leorio would love it if he could actually get through a whole day without fighting with the Kurta (it hadn't happened yet, though).

"Well, let's show them up, Kurapika! Not only with our skills but with our partnership as well!" Leorio stated then as he turned to his smaller, blond friend, and ignored Gon and Killua who were waving at them and taunting them in the distance from the line. "Yeah, we'll show them who's wrong by demonstrating how in sync we are! We won't fight at all!"

With a nod of determination then, like he had to agree to his own declaration or else he wouldn't follow through with it, Leorio then stated with gusto, "With that settled, I'm driving!"

A huge rush of relief almost left the Kurta lightheaded when Leorio agreed to double team. Kurapika had put himself way out there with his proposal, however accidentally it had slipped from his mouth. With the doctor agreeing, though, it all turned out well. Maybe now they were on the right track to forgive each other for what had happened last night and to reclaim their friendship. Kurapika would like that very much.

"Nope, that was as obvious as it gets," he agreed.

Once more Killua showed off his snobbish self-assurance, getting the Kurta even more annoyed with him.

"You definitely need to get taught a lesson, Killua! You got lucky, that's all, and only because the both of us were preoccupied."

The ex-assassin teased them about that point exactly. Leorio and him were so intent on hitting each other that they had not cared about the two boys. But with the way his idea had just been accepted by Leorio, and how hyped up the other one seemed to be about the double teaming, they were back on the same page, right? They would be able to work together and show those little brats, right?

"You just watch out for your own throat, or you soon might feel my claws there," Kurapika told Killua to mind his own business with a dark gleam in his eyes. Oh, they really needed to show that little brat!

Leorio took the words right out of his mouth the next moment. They couldn't let this go, and they certainly wouldn't lose against the boys. The kids were skilled in many things—they were fast learners and adapted easily to new situations—but this was a game of experience as well as skill, and they definitely had those two beat in that regard.

"You are right, we'll show them a perfect example of team work," he agreed as he saw Gon taunting them from the queue.

In the next second, Kurapika's attention was drawn back to Leorio when the other one just decided he'd be the driver.

"Wait! What? How come you get to drive? I want to teach Killua a lesson. He runs his mouth way too much," the Kurta folded his arms before his chest, looking up defiantly at the taller man. "So much for showing our teamwork", he thought.

Leorio didn't hold back, telling him how he was the better driver since he had caught him in his trap.

"That was cheating, by the way," Kurapika decided on the spot. "Those cars shouldn't even have a reverse, since they are meant to drive all in the same direction. Who ever heard of a car going backwards at a race?"

At that moment he heard Killua laughing and saw him pointing at them. "See how in sync they are, Gon? They can't even stop fighting for a minute. We've so won already!"

Clenching his fists so that the chains on his right hand softly clinked, Kurapika growled in the back of his throat.

"Okay, you drive. But you better do your best and crush them," the Kurta demanded before heading over to the line.

He would have loved to drive himself, but fighting any longer with Leorio about that would only have added more fuel to Killua's taunting. And if he was honest with himself, he had to admit that Leorio actually was the better driver. He might have been able to keep up with him for a moment there, but that last maneuver the other had pulled he had never even seen coming. Hopefully, the doctor could spring something similar on Gon and Killua, too.

It only took a split second for Gon and Killua to be proven right once again as Kurapika argued about his decision to be the driver. The Kurta was staring up at Leorio defiantly then, planning on personally dishing out his revenge like he was always used to doing, but the young doctor wasn't going to have any of it. If they were going to put Gon and Killua in their place, then the best driver (a.k.a. himself) would have to take the wheel and outdrive the other two.

"Sorry, Kurapika, but I'm obviously the better driver here. You remember how our last ride ended," Leorio backed himself up with a teasing wink towards the other. "I was the one that out drove you with my skills, so I should naturally be the one to drive for our team."

Sadly, Kurapika kept the argument going by stating that Leorio's surprise trap was a cheating gesture just because the bumper cars were not supposed to have reversing capabilities.

Before Leorio could defend himself by saying that it was perfectly logical for bumper cars to have reversing capabilities since they were made for the purpose of crashing into other cars and not for racing, Killua had the audacity to point out their argument and mock them over it. That was it! That brat was totally going down!

It seemed Kurapika had had enough with the former assassin as well, because he admitted defeat and allowed Leorio to drive. He also demanded that he better win as well, before he headed towards the line.

"Don't worry, I won't lose!" The young doctor exclaimed with confidence as an idea came to his mind the next moment. Seeing how the other would like the idea, Leorio ran after Kurapika and tapped him on the shoulder before he could get too close to Gon and Killua's destination. When the Kurta turned around to face him, the emission user leaned in close, their noses practically touching, and brought one of his hands up to cover the side of his mouth from view.

"Hey, Kurapika, I think I might have an idea we can use just in case the boys really allude us on the track," Leorio whispered out conspiratorially as a mischievous smirk made its way onto his lips. "Do you think that you can use one of your conjured chains to latch onto their car if they really start being allusive? I can only do so much with a bumper car, after all, and with us teaming up, something tells me that our cars are going to be practically dancing around each other without any of us getting a good hit. That's why, if that actually does happen, if you use one of your chains and make it invisible with that one ability—whatever it's called—and latched it onto their car, we'll be able to keep on their tail and I could probably land several hits!"

The young doctor's eyes gleamed with hope at his proposition. It was quite good, in his opinion. On the downside, though, it could be considered cheating in the grand scheme of things, but what was wrong with using what was at your disposal? He wouldn't be surprised if Killua and Gon tried to do something Nen related as well, but, the thing with their Nen types (from what Leorio could remember) was that their Nen was more direct and destructive. Gon's Nen was derived from brute strength, and Killua's Nen was about transmuting lightning, a really powerful and destructive element. Their Nen contrasted greatly with his and Kurapikas' Nen, because theirs was more subtle, and not as destructive depending on how they used it. Sadly, Leorio knew that with his hands tied at the wheel, and with the amount of concentration he had to put into driving, he wouldn't be able to use his emission Nen, despite how useful it would be in their situation. At least, at the same time, Gon and Killua wouldn't be able to use their Nen as well, because one of them would be driving, and their Nen was destructive enough that it could either destroy, or short circuit his and Kurapika's bumper car. If they did that, though, there was a high probability that the amusement park staff would kick them out for destruction of property. In the end, Kurapika's Nen was perfect for their situation, and could very well be their trump card if things got hairy.

Leorio's exclamation of that he wouldn't lose made Kurapika turn to him with a little smile. He had almost reached Gon and Killua at the end of the queue. The latter of the two kids turned around then.

"We'll see about that, old man!" He chuckled along with Gon, the both of them having fun riling up Leorio.

Kurapika was about to walk up the last stretch to the boys when his shoulder was tapped from behind. Turning around to face the taller doctor, the other man suddenly came very close, invading his personal space. Two kinds of reactions fought within his body then. His highly trained body was tensing up, the muscles ready to spring into action to defend himself at a moment's notice. The other part was tensing up too, but more in eager expectation. There was a nervous fluttering in his stomach. Leorio even held up his hand to keep from view what was coming next. Of course the rational part of the Kurta knew this couldn't be what his heart couldn't keep from hoping for. Still, the stupid thing hammered erratically in his chest.

A second later, Kurapika berated himself in his head on how he could have expected Leorio to kiss him even for one fleeting moment. Even while he did this, he still listened to what the doctor was whispering out to him. Actually, his plan wasn't bad at all.

"Yes, my dowsing chain would work for that, and I can hide it with In. They would never be the wiser, since it's hard to believe they would expect us to do something like that," Kurapika contemplated the idea. The boys only had a chance of seeing the chain if they used Gyo, but there was no reason they might do that, and even if they discovered it, they would be hard pressed to sever it if it was wrapped around the back bumper. His face lit up in the same mischievous smirk as Leorio's then. "I like that idea very much." With this plan, Kurapika would be more than a mere passenger on this ride. He would get the chance to exact his revenge almost as much as if he drove the car himself.

It was really unlikely their friends would expect them to try anything like this. Gon's enhancement ability would only wreak havoc if he tried to use it, and Killua would have to concentrate on driving. Even if he still contemplated to use his lightning, it was obvious that it was too dangerous to use on a moving car if he didn't want to hurt the passengers seriously. So, with themselves unable to resort to their special abilities, Kurapika was pretty sure that they would never suspect them as their elders to resort to using Nen. The boys might even consider that cheating, which the Kurta himself had just accused Leorio of. Still, using every skill you had at your disposal couldn't be called cheating, right? And anyway, putting those little brats in their place had absolute priority and overwrote these petty moral musings of his.

A few minutes passed before they got onto the track again and chose their cars. Maybe for superstitious reasons, Leorio decided on the blue car again. Killua seemed to show consideration and went for Gon's green car.

The little cars had a one-piece double seat, which Kurapika only fully realized once he and Leorio got in. It felt kind of weird and confusing to be so close to the other one. Even though the Kurta tried to behave like their fight last night had never happened, it was still very present in his mind and in Leorio's as well. This much was obvious. Also, his feelings for the doctor were as real and disturbing as ever, but it would not do to dwell on the awkwardness of the moment. He needed to concentrate on the mission at hand and try to just have fun with it.

At the start signal a few seconds later, the race was on. Both of their bumper cars left the other drivers in their dust. Setting themselves apart from the crowd, the two drivers tried to hit each other's side, both evading the others' attempts for the moment.

When Kurapika confirmed that he could use one of his chains, Leorio's eyes alit with hope. Would the other agree to his proposal?

A look of mischievousness overtook the Kurta's features the next moment, causing the young doctor's gut to twist in a weird way that was uncomfortable, but strangely exhilarating. Before Leorio could contemplate on the feeling, though, Kurapika announced that he liked his idea, and agreed to use his chain.

"Great!" Leorio exclaimed happily as he and Kurapika made their way over to the line. The rookie hunter crossed his arms as he stood next to Gon and Killua in the queue and sent the two youngest hunters a cocky smirk, which only made Killua roll his eyes (that brat!). No matter what the kids thought, he and Kurapika were definitely going to win now!

When they were allowed to go on the track, the young doctor went with his gut instinct and chose the blue car he had driven last time. The car had served him well, so he was certain that it would work well for him again.

Leorio watched on as he heard Gon insist upon taking the green car again to Killua until the former assassin agreed. The green car was actually very close to the blue, so Leorio knew that things were going to be heated and difficult right from the get go.

Before the young doctor could think of a strategy, though, he felt Kurapika scoot into the seat next to him, the other's arm practically pressing into his as the taller man took hold of the wheel. Leorio felt self-conscious then, and fidgeted nervously in his seat. It was only a few moments ago that he and Kurapika were angry with each other because of what had happened the night before, and now, they were sitting next to each other in a form of camaraderie, like the fight had never existed. It was strange. In fact, Leorio wasn't sure what was stranger: the fact that Kurapika and him were on friendly terms again so soon (and at all, for that matter), or the fact that he could feel the warmth of Kurapika's body and, in turn, it made the young doctor feel…very strange.

As Leorio began to wonder what the reason for that was, the buzzer went off for their ride, and the young doctor forgot everything as he automatically sprang into action. He took in the sight of Gon and Killua (the latter one driving) keeping up right next to them, and immediately went on the defensive as Killua tried to crash into their side. The two of them took turns going on the offensive and the defensive as they drove around the ring side by side, both of them deciding not to get too close to the wall so that they wouldn't be pinned down and unable to maneuver effectively.

By this point, the other people on the ride were all over the ring, either trying to attack Leorio and Killuas' cars, or trying to get out of the way in fear of being hit. It was complete pandemonium, and, because of that, Killua was able to take advantage of all the chaos and slow his car down enough until he was behind Leorio.

The young doctor had been too busy trying to drive around some crazy old lady that shouldn't have been on the bumper cars to begin with, and because of that, he was too late in noticing his mistake. Kurapika was the one to notice Killua's position first, and the emission user couldn't help but curse as he tried to shake the assassin off of his tail. Things weren't going the way he had wanted them to.

It was a few moments later, after some very close calls from Killua and Gon's car, that Leorio found his opportunity to turn the tables. Since he was approaching the end of the ring now, Leorio decided to take a chance and drove sharply to the right before going into reverse immediately. The young doctor's aim was to take Killua and Gon by surprise and back into them, but, sadly, Killua and Gon had already predicted their move and had turned the opposite way.

Even though he hadn't gotten his hit in, Leorio knew that he still had an opportunity. Immediately, he straightened out his car again and drove after Killua's retreating car. It took about a minute to catch up a decent ways with the other, and Leorio knew that there was not much time left.

"If there's going to be a time to use our trump card, it's definitely now, Kurapika," Leorio called out over the roar of the engines around him. "We only have a few more minutes, and I don't know what the kids are going to do next!"

The fight was an even one for the first few moments. Leorio tried to hit Killua on several occasions but the younger one escaped. Likewise, the former assassin was unable to get in a hit in return. They raced along the track, quickly weaving their way through the other racers. Leorio evaded the few that dared to try and hit them with ease, but that made him miss out on Killua slowing down to get behind them.

Kurapika instantly alerted his partner to the situation, pointing out the boys' position to him. Leorio was hard pressed to evade Killua's way better position, but he managed. Even though they had not been bumped into at this point, neither had they managed to hit the two boys, which was very frustrating for Kurapika. This was when Leorio managed to turn the tables on Gon and Killua with some crazy stunt driving.

Leorio told him then that this was their last chance and Kurapika agreed. As the doctor weaved them through the oncoming traffic, the conjurer lifted his hand as inconspicuously as he could, aiming for the green bumper car. Hiding the chain with In, he let it shoot outward, directing it to wrap around the back bumper. When their connection was firm and secure, he grinned mischievously at Leorio.

"I've got them. Hit the gas."

While his companion accelerated the car to close in on the boys, Kurapika pulled at the chain that was conjured with Nen and way stronger than the little electric car. With a hard smash, they bumped into Gon and Killua then, making Kurapika and Leorio laugh out loud. The Kurta gave the chain some slack then, to let the boys get a little ahead again. It was more fun if they didn't catch on to what was happening right away.

"Okay, again," he said, winking at Leorio, who again stepped onto the gas pedal, zooming straight for the boys.

Kurapika did not make the car move backwards, but he was easily able to keep it from escaping, no matter how much Killua stepped on the gas. Again they banged hard into the other car. This time, though, Killua turned in his seat to glare at them.

"Gon, use Gyo!" He shouted out to his best friend.

"You're right! It's Kurapika! They're cheating!" Gon exclaimed indignantly a second later.

"No, we're not. We're just using all our skills," the Kurta answered with a self-satisfied smirk.

Killua hit the gas again, trying to get a little distance between them.

"Try to get it off!" He demanded of Gon.

Just like Kurapika had predicted, the positioning of his chain was very disadvantageous to the other two. The spiky-haired teen couldn't reach the bumper in the moving car.

"Once more," the blond Kurta told Leorio with his smirk still firmly in place. Oh yeah, they had shown those two up real good.

Kurapika didn't answer him, but Leorio did see his blond friend move his hand slightly out of his peripheral vision. Before the emission user knew it, Kurapika was sending him a mischievous smirk and telling him that he had a hold of the other's car and to hit the gas.

Leorio immediately did what he was told and floored the poor bumper car's gas pedal for all it was worth. With a little jerk of the chain Kurapika was holding to help them in reeling the other car back towards them, their car was able to slam into the back of Gon and Killua's. The impact actually sent a victorious laugh past Leorio's lips. They had finally gotten a hit, and there was nothing Gon and Killua could do to escape their trap. They had won!

The young doctor smirked victoriously as Killua and Gon glared back at them in bewilderment, before Killua actually sped up for all he was worth as well. Leorio smirked when he saw Kurapika ease up on his chain to give the boys a false sense of security before he instructed Leorio to hit them again with a wink that sent the young doctor's blood spiraling into an adrenaline rush. Since the taller man had actually eased up on the pedal as well at the same time that Kurapika had eased on his chain, Leorio floored their little motorized vehicle and was able to hit their opponents once again.

By this point, Killua had definitely caught on to them and had instructed Gon to use Gyo. Sure enough, the two youngest hunters were yelling at them for 'cheating' and trying to get the chain off. Leorio just laughed while Kurapika told them they weren't cheating if they were using whatever they had.

Once again, Kurapika instructed Leorio to hit their opponents one more time after Gon failed to detach the chain from their back bumper. Unable to resist completely pulverizing the snotty kids, Leorio did as he was told and slammed into Gon and Killua's backend right when the buzzer rang. The two boys slowed down their cars to a stop, and Kurapika withdrew his chain. As soon as the vehicles were no longer in motion, Killua and Gon sprang from their car and rounded on Kurapika and Leorio like a pair of pissed off foxbears.

"What the hell was that?!" Killua shouted out at them incredulously. "You guys definitely cheated!"

"Nuh uh," Leorio chastised in a smug manner as he crossed his arms in a pleased fashion. "You never laid down any ground rules of what we could and couldn't do, so how could we have cheated? Kurapika and I were just taking advantage of the moment. Besides, if we hadn't done that, we would have ended that little bout of ours in a tie, and I don't really feel like getting on those cars again. Don't you think it's time for some different rides…losers?!"

Leorio just laughed after he had finished his little speech, Killua and Gon fuming up at him but unable to say anything because the doctor was actually right…although the name calling was a bit uncalled for (in Killua's opinion). Before the emission user could actually apologize for rubbing in their win, though, Killua grabbed Gon's arm and stormed off quite a distance away to talk to the taller teen. Leorio only assumed that Killua was already hatching a revenge scheme and just rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to Kurapika. The young doctor beamed at his smaller friend. Truthfully, he still felt exhilarated from their team up.

"Well, it's been a few years, but I say we still make quite a team!" The taller man exclaimed happily before he chuckled in amusement. "We definitely showed the kids up this time, hehehe! I feel a bit bad, but, at the same time, it felt so good to rub our win in!"

Everything was going according to plan, and Killua couldn't be happier…well, he actually could, but Leorio's gloating had effectively ruined his mood, and Gon was never going to stop being dense, so, yeah, Killua was just mildly happy. At least their matchmaking plans were going correctly. In fact, Leorio and Kurapika's team-up had actually gone better than expected!

As the former assassin dragged his stubborn friend away from an undoubtable rematch, the two of them stopped a few meters away from their two friends who were conversing in a friendly and affectionate manner by that point.

"Alright, Gon, calm down," Killua hissed out in a hushed command so that their friends couldn't overhear them. "You knew that we had a chance of losing in that instance anyway, and it's actually for the best that they won. Look how friendly they are with each other again!"

Killua gave Gon a moment to do just as he told him before he made his beast hunter friend turn his attention back to him by squeezing the arm he still held.

"Okay, the first part of our plan has gone more than smoothly. Now it's time that we start part two," the silver-haired teen commented as a look of contemplation came over him. "With how they're acting around each other now, I think leading them to the Ferris Wheel would be a good idea, don't you? If they keep the current mood that they are in by the time we enter that ride, it's bound to spark something between them!"

"I want a rematch! That just wasn't fair. I didn't know we could use Nen," Gon complained loudly.

He was dragged away from the track by Killua, though, and told to calm down. This wasn't too easy for him. He just didn't like to lose at a game of skill, and definitely not under these kinds of conditions. Gon was sure he could best those two; he just needed a few more attempts!

"But they cheated," the spiky-haired teen whined when Killua told him to look at the two.

Finally listening to his best friend, he took a look at their other friends. The both of them were smiling and talking amicably. This definitely looked way better than yesterday. Maybe Killua was right. Maybe it was okay to let this one go. In the end they only won because they cheated, so that wasn't a real win now, was it?

"Yeah...okay," he conceded as the blacklist hunter made him look back at him by squeezing his arm.

Killua reminded him of their matchmaking plans and finally dowsed Gon's contending spirit with it. Right. They were supposed to get their friends back together and romantically involved! Gon nodded energetically, agreeing to Killua's contemplation.

"Yes, that should work out. And we can see the whole park from up there. I want to try that out! Let's go!"

They headed back to their friends to tell them about their plans.

Kurapika had left the main gloating to Leorio. He had to admit the taller man definitely was more adept to it. It was really amusing to see the grown-up act like a little boy. The Kurta just smirked, keeping his nose a little higher than usual.

Of course, Gon was demanding for a rematch, and most certainly would go on to do so until they finally won a match if he didn't get stopped. This was when Killua dragged him away; maybe to talk some sense into the beast hunter.

Leorio turned to him then and grinned like the cat that ate the canary. He had to agree with his statement.

"Yes, we made a great team, and it was a lot of fun," Kurapika said with a warm smile. Leorio's second comment made the Kurta chuckle, though. "I know exactly what you mean. Well, it's not like they're kids anymore, and they deserved it for acting so overconfident. I enjoyed your 'rubbing in'."

Only after the words were out did Kurapika realize they sounded a little awkward and might be taken the wrong way. Long years of hiding his innermost feelings helped him with not looking flustered right then. To keep the other man from dwelling on his words, he tried changing the subject.

"You just talked about the other rides. Which one do you want to do the most?"

His distraction seemed to work out, and they talked for a moment about which rides they wanted to try and what they liked best. A moment later, Gon and Killua rejoined them, telling them they wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel next. That was actually a good idea, since they could see the park from up there and get their bearings, and might be able to decide on which rides to take next after seeing them from above.

The four of them strolled along the main park road then. At one of the vendors, Kurapika stopped to get a bottle of water. It was already starting to get warm. The others followed his example, only they got themselves sodas instead. As they got closer to the Wheel, they came across a throwing stand. Big, fluffy, plushy foxbears were displayed to reel in the kids so the parents would have to follow. This kind of worked the same way for their group.

Gon was the first of their group whose attention was caught, of course.

"Waaah! That totally looks like Kon! Except for the big eyes, but they look kinda cute!"

Killua was drawn after Gon, who pointed to a smaller version of the oversized plushies, whose faces were even cuter.

With an exasperated smile, Kurapika followed those two.

"Sometimes it's hard to believe he's sixteen already, right?" He whispered under his breath, looking sideways at Leorio.

Standing behind Gon, Kurapika also took a look at the displayed trophies then. When he saw something tugged in a little further back, though, his own eyes lit up with interest.

"I don't believe it. That...that one looks just like Ran-Ran," he said softly, disbelieving there was actually a plushy here that looked almost exactly like the one he had loved above anything else when he was a child.

"Yeah, I guess they did deserve it," Leorio laughed out in agreement as he tried to ignore Kurapika's last statement. It had sounded…rather awkward...and it didn't help that the young doctor's mind was always in the gutter.

Thankfully, before Leorio could think about it too much, Kurapika asked him about what rides he actually wanted to go on next. The emitter just smiled at that, his eyes alighting with excitement when he told his friend how he really wanted to go on the water rollercoaster, but wasn't sure on what else caught his fancy.

The two of them talked for a little longer about the possible rides they could go on when Killua and Gon decided to join them again. The two youngest hunters proclaimed how they wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel then, and Leorio and Kurapika jumped at the thought. Since they didn't really know what other rides they wanted to go on, being able to see the entire park and gathering their bearings would definitely help them.

With that decided, the four of them set out for the Ferris Wheel in higher spirits. Leorio couldn't help feeling relieved then that everything seemed to be alright between Kurapika and him again. Sadly, though, no matter what he did, the taller man just couldn't get the image of the other out of his head from last night. He had made Kurapika cry…

Biting his lip uncertainly, wondering if there was anything he could do to at least apologize for bringing such a touchy subject up with the other last night, Leorio was brought out of his thoughts when Kurapika declared he was going to get water from the vendor. Taking in how hot it was, even though it was only the late morning, Leorio and the other two followed the Kurta's example, but got sodas instead.

After they got their drinks and walked for a little longer, the four of them came upon a throwing booth that automatically caught Gon's attention, followed by Killua. Leorio wasn't surprised by the fact, since the main attraction for the throwing booth were adorable foxbear plushies. Kurapika couldn't help but comment on Gon's childishness then.

"Yeah, and he wonders why I still call him a kid," the young doctor chuckled with amusement as he followed Kurapika over to the booth. As soon as they took in the display of trophies hanging from the top of the booth, Leorio overheard Kurapika's words of recognition. A little confused, the taller man followed his friend's brown eyes until his own fell upon the head of a rabbitsquirrel plushie poking out from behind a miniature foxbear.

Looking back at his Kurta friend then, Leorio noticed how distant the other looked as he stared at the plushy's adorable face with sadness and yearning…Damn it, he had to get that stuffed toy now!

"Are any of you guys interested in trying your chances?" The staff member manning the booth asked as he placed three white softballs on top of the counter. "How about you, good sir?" He stated directly to Leorio, whose eyes had narrowed from determination then. "Think you have what it takes to win a prize?"

"I know I do!" The young doctor exclaimed with some irritation as he practically slammed his soda onto the counter. He had been planning to play for the sake of getting an apology gift for Kurapika anyway, but the vendor's words had sparked his challenging streak, which had effectively ruined his mood from earlier.

"Alright!" The young vendor exclaimed then as he stepped back and swept one of his arms out to showcase the plethora of small metal targets behind him. "You get three balls to throw at any of the metal targets behind me. Each target has a number on them to showcase how many points they are worth, and every prize has a number tag on them, so depending on what you want, you have to hit the three targets that add up to the number on your prize. Understand?"

Leorio nodded with ease as he placed down the amount of money he needed for the special game. He only had so much on him, so he knew that he had to make his throws count. Taking in the number that was attached to the rabbitsquirrel's ear (1000) and the targets in the back which had numbers in hundreds taped onto them, the emission user had to figure out which targets he was going to have to take down in order to get the prize. Noting that the highest number was 500, and that there was only one of them throughout the display (not to mention, it was the smallest target, since all the targets ranged in size and quantity depending on the number), Leorio calculated and knew that he was going to have to at least hit that one to get his prize.

Nodding his head in determination then, Leorio grabbed the first ball and aimed for a big 200 point target in the center of the display and easily knocked it down. Following that, he took the second ball and aimed it at a slightly smaller 300 point target that was dotting one of the corners of the display. Leorio heard his friends cheer as his second target went down, until he was left with only one ball, and the five hundred point target. The target was very small, and placed between two large 100 point targets, which meant that it was very easy to miss and get the one hundred point targets instead. Aiming carefully, Leorio brought his arm back and threw the ball with all of his might, the ball heading straight for the 500 point target...

…And his ball bounced off of it uselessly.

"W-what?!" Leorio shouted out in dismay before he turned on the vendor angrily, who just smiled professionally back at him. "I swore that I hit that target!"

"Well, Sir, to me, it looked like the ball bounced off the metal rim of the display below the target. That's the only explanation as to why it would bounce off."

"Are you kidding me?!" The young doctor screamed vehemently. He was more than certain that he had hit the target and that the vendor was lying.

"Chill out, Old Man," Killua commented then. "You still got 500 points, so you should be able to get a prize worth that much, right?"

"Actually, he can't," the vendor explained then, not looking the least bit apologetic as he continued. "Sorry, but I forgot to mention that the only way you can definitely claim a prize is if all of the three balls hit down a target. Since his last ball was a dud, then he can't claim a prize even though he got 500 points."

"That's a freaking rip-off!" Leorio screamed angrily before he went against his better judgment and slammed down more money. "I'll show you that that last ball wasn't a hoax!"

Kurapika was too lost in his memories to realize Leorio had followed his yearning gaze. Only when the staff member tempted them to try their hand, and kind of taunted the doctor, did the Kurta return from his memories to the present moment. Why would Leorio of all people want to spend extra money on this game when all there was to win were plush toys? He just didn't seem the type to collect these things. Kurapika would have understood if it was Gon who had been reeled into the game. After all, he was the one who was still looking starry-eyed at the foxbear plushies.

With the way Leorio reacted to the taunting words of the young staff member, the Kurta soon suspected his friend only played the game to meet the challenge. Well, at least Gon might get his foxbear out of it. Kurapika took a step to the side to give Leorio room, and leaned casually against the counter.

When the rules were explained, they seemed simple enough. Leorio looked at the targets and numbers and seemed to know what he wanted. He knocked down the first target pretty easily. Leorio had a good swing and aim, and easily hit the second target, too. Kurapika didn't realize the small smile that lit up his face as he watched the taller man.

For the last ball, Leorio took a little more time, aiming more carefully than before. Kurapika was sure then the other would try to hit the 500 point target that was smaller than the rest and more difficultly placed. Still, with the throws that went before, the blacklist hunter was confident Leorio could hit the target nonetheless, and he did, only the target did not get knocked down like the rest. That shouldn't have happened...

Of course the young vendor had a perfectly logical explanation as to why it happened. Only it was an obvious lie and Leorio called it. This game was rigged, this much was sure. While Kurapika had seen enough to deem this a tourist trap and just wanted to leave, his friend went ballistic. Well, that was to be expected, kind of.

Killua was trying to smooth the situation over, which didn't work out. Of course there would be a tiny, little stipulation as to why the money was just lost without any form of compensation. Even though Leorio realized what this place was, he still let his pride get the better of him. The young doctor slammed more money onto the table for a second try. Kurapika had to bite back a sigh.

For pride's sake, the doctor aimed for the exact same targets, just to show off that his throwing prowess was that good. He could hit any target he wanted. The young doctor could have easily tried to reach the 1000 points he aimed for by picking the two 400 point targets and one of the 200s but he did not. And so it turned out the same way as before. The first two targets went down easily, but the 500 point target withstood the onslaught of the fastball he threw, and that was that.

Leorio started screaming hell, and Killua and even Gon joined in this time. Of course the staff member seemed unfazed, and just claimed fake sympathy, enticing Leorio to try a third time since that usually was 'the charm'. The target couldn't remain this stubbornly standing any longer, right? Kurapika rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get out of here. Some foxbear plushy isn't worth the trouble, really. We all know this is a rip-off. Let's not play into his hands anymore," the blond hunter told his friend, stepping a little closer to him to get Leorio's attention onto him and away from the taunting vendor.

Once again, Leorio aimed for the three same targets, just to prove that he was correct in his earlier assumption. But, sure enough, even though he swore he hit the 500 point target dead-center, the target didn't budge. There was no doubt that the game was rigged then.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Leorio screamed bloody murder at the nonplussed vendor, and the young doctor was surprised to hear Killua and Gon complain beside him. The vendor just said he was sorry for the taller man's second loss, but that he should try again because 'the third time was the charm'. Leorio growled out angrily at that.

It was then that Kurapika tried to reason with him, telling him that losing money over a rigged game wasn't worth it, but it was worth it to Leorio. He wanted to get the plushy that Kurapika had obviously wanted for some reason, and he was going to do it for the sake of apologizing for hurting Kurapika's feelings the night before. Even though he knew that the game was rigged, that didn't mean that Leorio didn't have the means to cheat in return without getting caught.

Smirking confidently, Leorio just placed another round of money on the counter.

"There's no way I'm going to give up now," the doctor commented as he sent Kurapika a determined look. "I have to do this. It's the least I can do…"

He turned away then from his now confused friend and grabbed the first ball that was placed on the counter. He easily hit down the same 200 point target, and then the 300 point target right after that. With the last ball now in hand, Leorio concentrated even more than before and, just when he threw the ball, he enacted his emission technique with his throwing arm, his hand disappearing from view for all of those that could see Nen. Just when the ball hit the 500 point target and bounced off again, his fist popped out of a little pocket dimension in the few seconds between the ball hitting the target and bouncing off, and punched the same target with all of his might, effectively shattering it into tiny pieces. The vendor stared at the shattered target in complete shock, not understanding what had just happened, and if he had been seeing things.

"Hah! There, the 500 point target is down. I'm ready to claim my 1000 point prize!" Leorio exclaimed happily with a wide grin.

"Um…I'm sorry, sir, but you have to knock down the target not—" The vendor tried desperately to come up with an excuse, but before he could finish, Leorio grabbed him by the front of his uniform and brought him close to his face.

"Look here, buddy; knocked down, destroyed, does it really freaking matter? This little cheap-ass game of yours is rigged anyway, and I just destroyed your money-making target, now let me get what I want or I swear I'll make you regret it," the young doctor threatened menacingly with a manic gleam in his eyes that the vendor just couldn't ignore.

"O-Of course, sir, what prize do you want?!" The vendor stuttered out desperately in fear.

"That rabbitsquirrel doll behind the miniature foxbear over there," Leorio stated with ease as he nodded in the stuffed toy's direction. He then released the vendor, who quickly went and retrieved the plushy. As soon as the vendor took the rabbitsquirrel down, though, Leorio was finally able to see it. It was a cute little plushy, but it was holding a plush heart in its hands that said 'I Love You'. It was obviously a discounted Valentine's Day doll.

Blushing furiously as he took the doll from the vendor, Leorio tried not to think of the implications of what this would look like as he turned towards Kurapika and, without making eye contact with the other, presented the plushy to him.

"H-Here…this was what you wanted, right?" Leorio mumbled out self-consciously as a blush of embarrassment overtook his face.

Something significantly changed in the doctor's behavior. He wasn't openly furious anymore. Instead, there was a diamond hard determination shining in his eyes when he turned to look at Kurapika. That combined with the little smirk the other man had sent the vendor lead the Kurta to only one conclusion. Since the park wasn't playing by the rules, then Leorio would also stop playing by them. He couldn't really blame the doctor.

"Well, I guess you have to do what you have to do then," he answered with a little smile and a shrug of the shoulders.

Kurapika himself didn't think a foxbear for Gon was worth the trouble, but, on the other hand, this stand was taking extra money on top of the steep entrance fee only to rip off the visitors even more with their rigged game. So, maybe Leorio was right; he should get his money's worth at the very least!

One sideways glance told Kurapika then that Killua had caught on to what would happen next, and that he anticipated it with glee. Gon, of course, didn't catch on, but felt the same as Leorio and cheered him on nonetheless.

There was a certain excitement building in the Kurta, as well. He realized that he had no idea what would happen. He had heard Leorio was an emission type, but he had never seen the other man's Nen ability in action. As Kurapika watched on, Leorio hit his preferred targets again. He then took a little more time for his third ball. To the trained eyes of the Nen users at the stand, Leorio's aura began to grow. It was strong, but also wild and fluctuating. The blacklist hunter immediately thought his friend needed much more training, but he had to remind himself that Leorio didn't want to become a blacklist hunter or anything like that. Also, the doctor had promised yesterday that he planned on training and getting stronger.

Yesterday... Upon this thought, other thoughts followed. Especially the events of last night threatened to overwhelm Kurapika. This was something the Kurta just couldn't allow. Concentrating on the here and now, he tried his best not to think about last night's event anymore.

Finally, Leorio threw the last softball. The moment the ball flew from his hand and headed on its trajectory toward the 500 point target, the hand that had just thrown the ball completely disappeared into thin air (which only a trained Nen user would be able to see). Once more, the ball bounced uselessly off the immovable target, but this time it was followed by the other's hand popping out from another dimension right before the target, and shattering the little numbered plate into a thousand pieces upon impact. Kurapika chuckled at the stupefied expression on the staff member's face then. He obviously never had tried to hoodwink a Nen user before.

"My goodness, Leorio, what a throw. Maybe you really should try out for the York New baseball league," Kurapika said with a little grin then.

The next second, the young Kurta looked absolutely incredulous at the vendor, who actually still tried to deny Leorio his prize. This was going too far, and Gon seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him.

"No way!" The teen exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the counter.

Leorio had his own up close and personal way of getting through to the thickheaded vendor, though. This time it was an open threat. Making the young man fear for his health seemed to be working, so Kurapika quickly checked their surroundings then. Thankfully, no one seemed to be close enough to get alerted to what was happening at their stand.

Finally, Leorio got to choose his prize, and it came as a total surprise to Kurapika. The doctor chose Ran-Ran, or better, the plushy toy that looked so much like him. Could it be that Leorio had overheard him when he had seen the toy first? Kurapika looked at the doctor in total wonder, and missed how the plushy was taken down. He only had eyes for Leorio at the moment. Had all this really been done for him? Had the other actually spent his money in order to win this prize for him?

Yes, he had, Kurapika fully realized as Leorio held out the bushy tailed rabbit to him as a gift. For some reason, the other one didn't look him in the eyes when he did so. There was a soft blush on the taller man's face. Kurapika was wondering even more at that. Was this an apology gift for what had happened last night? And was Leorio feeling so bad about it that he thought he couldn't even look him in the eye when he asked for forgiveness?

"Yeah, it was. He looks like Ran-Ran. I had him when I was a child..." Kurapika said softly when he took hold of the plushy.

He looked down at it then, fully taking in the toy in his hand. When he saw the red, little heart-shaped pillow the rabbit held in his hands, and read the words, a similar blush to Leorio's rose to his cheeks.

"Hmm...okay, he almost looks exactly like Ran-Ran, except for the...pillow." A lopsided and slightly strained smile accompanied the words.

This was just a stupid coincidence. The plushy had been too far in the back and behind the other toys, so none of them could have seen what it held in its hands. Kurapika told his heart vehemently to stop hammering in his chest and the stupid butterflies in his stomach to take a hike and fly around somewhere else. Ran-Ran No.2 was a gift from a good friend. Nothing more, but certainly – certainly – nothing less.

Crushing the plushy to his chest, Kurapika looked at Leorio then. His eyes were deep pools of whirling emotions.

"Thank you, Leorio. This means a lot to me," he said in a soft, warm voice, the blush still prominent on his cheeks.

It was like a little piece of his lost childhood had returned to him; a little piece of a long lost home.

When Kurapika explained that the stuffed animal looked like the one he had as a child, Leorio felt like he had done a really good thing in spending a good portion of his waning money on it, despite its embarrassing quality. He had been able to give Kurapika something back from the childhood he had lost so violently, so the young doctor didn't regret the money he had lost in the process.

Leorio still couldn't look at the young Kurta, though, so he was thrown in for a loop when his blond friend commented on how the plushy he had just won wasn't exactly like his old doll because of the plush heart. That just made the whole situation all the more embarrassing then!

Besides the strange change in circumstances fate had just handed to them, Leorio couldn't stop the weird feelings that bombarded him in that moment. He kept thinking back to his secret longing for Kurapika's companionship when he was still in school, how he had kept dreaming of the other…how some of those dreams had turned…strange…like how his one-night-stands-had-started-to-look-like-Kurapika strange.

The young doctor tried desperately to forget about those thoughts, fearing of what the information that he'd find there would bring, so he forced himself to look at Kurapika again.

If it was even possible, Leorio felt his face grow even redder.

Kurapika was looking up at him in such a deep and meaningful way that the poor emission user didn't know how to handle it. How was it possible that Kurapika looked so…beautiful?

"A-ah! Um…it was nothing," Leorio exclaimed in shock at first from his previous thought before he mumbled out the last part of his sentence in an embarrassed fashion while he rubbed the back of his head. Dang, he really needed a drink right then. The heat really had to be getting to him by that point.

Killua watched on in absolute pleasure as fate handed him a lucky card. No one had suspected the stuffed animal Leorio had won and had just given to Kurapika to have such a romantic connotation with it, or for Leorio to even hand over the plushy to Kurapika in the first place! This certainly hadn't been in the plan, but it was more than helping them out at this point! As soon as they entered the Ferris Wheel now, something romantic definitely had to blossom between the other two. There was just too much atmosphere between them to be ignored!

As Leorio and Kurapika were too busy being stuttering messes, Killua nudged Gon with a pleased smirk on his face.

"We got this matchmaking thing in the bag now!" The former assassin whispered out triumphantly. "There's no way they can deny each other once we get to the Ferris Wheel!"

Gon agreed with him as they watched their two friends talk awkwardly with each other, the atmosphere between the two older hunters thick with a strange, awkward tension that wasn't angry for once, and that hadn't been there before.

It was then that Killua realized something. What if Gon won him a plushy, too? Killua blushed at the thought, but the strong yearning in his gut wouldn't let the idea slide. Was there a way to get Gon to win him a prize as well?

Wanting nothing more than to at least try, but still be inconspicuous about it, Killua leaned against the counter of the throwing stand then and looked up at a large foxbear stuffed toy that had the cutest face. It was worth the same amount of points as Kurapika's Ran-Ran had been.

"This foxbear plushie sure looks cute, doesn't it, Gon?" Killua commented offhandedly again as he stared up at it with a longing expression. "If it wasn't a prize, I'd just buy it for myself so that I wouldn't have to deal with this rip-off of a game…"

Gon watched Leorio take his toy trophy and give it to Kurapika. That was kind of unexpected. But what was even more surprising was the way their Kurta friend enjoyed the gift. Did Leorio know about the special meaning this plushy had? This was kind of like super romantic! This was just perfect for their plans!

Killua nudged him then and smirked really happily. The spiky-haired teen nodded and grinned back.

"Yes. It looks really good for us, and for them, too."

This little turn of events made Killua happy it seemed, and that in turn made Gon happy. The two of them watched the sweet and awkward way Kurapika and Leorio were talking to each other. Killua had been right. The relationship between those two really was similar to his and Gon's. Yet, they had been so far apart and only been talking so little to each other. That was just wrong. He was glad if he could help to bring them as close together as he was with Killua. Although…he still had a little trouble wrapping his head around the romantic part his best friend was always talking about.

While he tried to think about its meaning again, Killua leaned back against the counter and looked up at the stuffed animals.

"Yeah! It reminds me so much of Kon. He was even cuter, when he was still a cub. He wasn't much bigger than those when I promised to raise him," Gon answered, pointing at the smaller plushies.

The vendor looked absolutely bewildered as he heard the crazy talk of the boys before his booth. Foxbears were known to be ferocious, wild beasts. There was no way in hell a kid like that had even seen one except, maybe, at a zoo.

When Killua commented, that he wanted one of those plushies, but couldn't get it because it wasn't for sale, Gon shrugged his shoulders.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I can win it for you," he said confidently.

Leorio had been able to punch down the stubborn target with a fist. Gon was more than sure he would be able to do even better than that. Getting out his money, he put it on the counter.

As the vendor saw Gon hand over his money, he thought about how the taller man from before had scared him with his bewildering trick and his manic eyes, but here was just a teen with an obviously overactive imagination. As long as he didn't have to deal with the other guy, this here would be a piece of cake.

"So, you want to try your luck? I'll even give you a little discount, since the 500 target is out of commission at the moment."

Gon happily thanked the man, and looked at the softballs before him. Then it came to him. This would be a little more difficult for him than what he thought. He had to dial back his strength quite a bit, or, not only the required targets, but the whole stand would get wrecked.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Killua. His best friend wanted one of those plushies, so he would get him one! Gon took one of the balls.

"First comes the rock," he whispered under his breath, as aura built and gathered around him and he did his best to keep it down and harnessed. "Jan – ken – pa!" (paper)

Charged with his emission type Nen the softball looked more like a fireball to Nen users as it raced towards its target; one of the 400 point plates. The force of the charged ball was enough to annihilate not only said plate, but a second 400 point target and one 300 one, and blew a hole into the back wall, too.

The vendor had no idea what just happened, except that the softball that he knew and had used for over a year now, had just exploded, and had took three target plates and part of the booth along with it. He couldn't hold in a terrified scream as he looked at the damage first and then at the self-conscious teen that was rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry 'bout that! I guess you need to repair that game. But I got my 1100 points, so I get one of those numbered prizes, right?" Gon looked as innocent as the bright, early morning.

The young staff member let out another frightened scream as he stared wild eyed at the scrawny teen.

"Take it! Take anything! But just leave!"

"Eeehm...ehehem..." Gon chuckled nervously at this reaction. "Killua? Which one did you want?"

When Gon immediately agreed to win him a prize without even a second of thought, Killua was more than happy. His little mind trick had worked it seemed.

He watched on then, while Leorio and Kurapika watched, too, with knowing smirks on their faces. The vendor seemed to want to show himself in a better light then, because he even gave Gon a discount since one of the targets was out of commission. Gon happily took the discount before he grabbed the first ball and went into a very familiar fighting position. Killua watched on with unrestrained glee as Gon then used his emission type attack when he threw the ball, effectively destroying three targets simultaneously, part of the booth, and the ball itself.

Gon celebrated his victory then as the vendor of the booth freaked out. By that point, the staff member was in hysterics and didn't care what prize Gon decided to claim. The spiky-haired teen then asked Killua which one he wanted, which caused a light blush to come onto the former assassin's face.

"That one!" Killua exclaimed with excitement as he pointed towards the foxbear plushy he had been looking at earlier. The vendor quickly went over to the said plushy, hurriedly brought it down, and then handed it to the silver-haired teen with a flourish, begging all of them to leave his stand.

Killua ignored the man, though, in favor of turning towards Gon while holding the large plushy to his chest, and with a huge smile on his face.

"Thanks, Gon!" The silver-haired teen exclaimed happily, his sapphire eyes shining with absolute glee at the gift he had gotten from his crush.

It was then that the vendor begged them all to leave again, so the group finally heeded his words and started walking towards the Ferris Wheel once more. Leorio was laughing all the while as he wrapped his arm around Gon's shoulder and rubbed the other's hair in an affectionate manner with his other hand.

"That was awesome, Gon! You sure showed that bastard!" Leorio laughed out gleeful as he finally let the poor beast hunter go.

Killua just watched on as he continued to hold his newfound plushy with high spirits. As he continued to watch his other three friends interact, though, and took in the romantic plushy still in Kurapika's possession (actually, he had just asked Gon to place it in his backpack so that it wouldn't get dirty), the happy feeling in his chest started to dwindle until sadness overtook him. Unlike Leorio, Gon hadn't gotten him the plushy of his own free will. Killua had to trick him into getting it for him. Just how pathetic was that?

The former assassin looked away from his friends then as he stared down at the plushy in his hands while they walked, his head hung in sadness, and with his bangs covering his eyes from view. The present he had received from Gon was just a lie, a mere fantasy of what Killua desperately wanted, but that he'd more than likely never have. He was a sick person for having manipulated Gon like that for his own purposes, and all that it got him was a memento to remind him of what could probably never be.

Before the poor transmuter could think on his depressing thoughts for too much longer, the four of them had finally arrived at the Ferris Wheel and got into line. It was then that Killua noticed how the booths on the Ferris Wheel could hold up to four people! He had to find a way to get Leorio and Kurapika into them by themselves.

Thankfully, just when they were next in line (Killua was in front of everyone with Gon right behind him), he declared that he wanted to talk to Gon about something in private, and, to his surprise, Leorio and Kurapika actually let him go with no fuss! That had to be a sign that they wanted to talk privately as well.

A hopeful smirk played across the ex-assassin's lips then as he entered one of the boxed booths with Gon and watched from the window as Leorio and Kurapika waited their turn.

Leorio had never felt more awkward in his life as he tried to strike up a conversation with Kurapika after he had just given him a romantic looking present. He could tell that his Kurta friend was desperately trying to get the mood between them back to normal as well, but it just made it all the more awkward between them. Thankfully, Killua brought up how he wanted one of the vendor's plushies as well, and Gon took on the challenge of getting him one.

The young doctor, thankful for the distraction, watched on as Gon completely decimated a part of the booth and claimed a prize for himself from the vendor's utter fear. The taller man just smirked in satisfaction at the sight. It served that bastard right for ripping people off!

As Leorio watched Killua get the plushy he wanted from the vendor, he couldn't help but notice the light blush that dusted the former assassin's cheeks, and how happy he was to receive his gift. In all truth, the emission user had never seen Killua smile like that before, and it was quite obvious then what his silver-haired friend had wanted from Gon in the first place.

"Um…Kurapika?" Leorio whispered into his friend's ear in uncertainty then, wondering if he should feel startled by his revelation, or hopeful for his two friends' sakes. "Is it just me…or does it seem like Killua had said all those things on purpose, just to have Gon get him a present?"

When the Kurta confirmed that he wasn't the only one who thought that way, Leorio's stomach twisted in a weird way. Did that mean that…Killua was romantically interested in Gon, but the other was too dense to figure it out? Actually, yeah, that made perfect sense now that he thought about it.