XP: Lol sorry guys HisoKil next chapter alright, I need this chapter to act as the bridge. Also, IlluKura comes a lot easier to me, I have no idea why. I guess a psychotic, obsessed stalker is easier to write compared to a perverted, protective clown. Or maybe /cough/ secret fantasies.

A short chapter.

***Start***

"Kurapika what should I do? I made a big mistake!" Gon wailed hysterically over the phone.

Kurapika sat up straight in his recliner chair instantly. He had been dragged to the swimming pool of the hotel where all of Neon's staff currently were, all dressed in swim suits. Kurapika himself was no exception, dressed in navy blue trunks. The young mistress was pretty willful with her demands, then again anyone would most likely abuse their authority as a teenager if they had the power and money to do so. She was pretty proud that she finally forced him out of his stuffy suit, so she didn't press it when he refused to go under water.

He had been suntanning peacefully, contemplating the poems of Edgar Allan Poe that he lightly read the night before, with shades helping him to cover the harsh glare of the sun. In the background, he heard splashes as Neon tried cheerfully to teach a frantic Senritsu how to swim, after she persuaded the self-conscious girl out of the dressing room. It took Kurapika's complete and firm assurance that she looked fine and no one would laugh at her that Senritsu dared to step from the hallway out to the swimming pool.

"Wait, what happened?" Kurapika tried to calm his younger friend with his soothing tone, and he stepped away from the loud area of chatters over to the balcony, 100 floors off the ground. He wan't fazed as he leaned against the rails, feeling the wind lightly rustle his hair. People and cars looked like ants as they traveled far below. It made him wonder if that was why all the other rich young masters he met on the floor were so egocentric, feeling so much more important than the common people going about their lives. Neon started using him as an excuse to reject them, and thus they had been giving him some pretty heated death glares. She said she wouldn't date anyone less attractive than Kurapika, although Kurapika had humbly said he himself was pretty plain. The deadpanned look she gave him told him otherwise though.

"I- At the Island of Illusions... Killua..." Gon stuttered, clearly in a mess.

"Is he safe?!" Kurapika asked immediately, rather worried right now by the clear distress Gon was in. Gon sobbed, clearly not in a state to answer clearly.

"Yeah, I t-t-think so. Oh, Kurapika... How could I have..."

"Where are you right now?!" Kurapika asked hurriedly.

"I'm near Redonver Port..." Gon replied miserably.

"Okay, I'm coming to get you. Just stay there and try to calm down, alright?!" Kurapika said quickly, running back to his previous suntanning spot to grab his tower from the chair, even though he was completely dry anyways.

"Where are you going?!" Neon hollered from the pool, her cheeks cutely puffed up. She finally got Kurapika to take a break, but it seemed like whenever she wanted to spend time with him, he was always rushing off somewhere. Kurapika shot a quick glance to Senritsu, who nodded, clearly having heard his phone call.

"Neon, one of Kurapika's friends seem to be in trouble," as Senritsu was explaining for him, Kurapika ran ahead to the dressing room to get changed. Since Neon took it upon herself to get him some clothes befitting of summer, he rushed off in his grey tank top and red shorts, his flip flops making loud sounds as he ran.

"How uncultured," a blond teen insulted as Kurapika ran past him. Kurapika vaguely remembered him as the guy Neon rejected last week. He scoffed back, knowing anything else would just make the stupid guy feel more validated by getting a response out of him. "Hey! Are you ignoring me?! How rude! So what if you're good looking, huh? You don't even have one percent of my money!"

Bah, he's just jealous anyway. Kurapika rolled his eyes as he stepped into the elevator, and that action was clearly seen by the haughty teen. "Why you little! Get back here!"

Kurapika couldn't resist as smirk as the door closed before the enraged boy could reach the elevator. He quickly remembered the issue at hand however, and was running out the front doors of the hotel once the elevator stopped, hailing a cab to make his way there. His mind ran wild with speculations of what was going on. Did they get into a dangerous situation and Killua hurt himself to protect Gon? Was that why Gon seemed so guilty and full of self-blame?

He drummed his fingers on his thigh impatiently as the cab drove down the highway, full of worry. He pursed his lips. There was no way, right? Killua always knew when the situation was too much to handle and backed out of them. He was smart in that sense, knowing that being alive was much more important than anything else. Gon, however... was a little too stubborn about doing things sometimes, and was too reckless to even consider the risks. He did have good intentions at heart, and a good fortune that saw him through the toughest of situations, and Kurapika prayed it would last. He included it in his prayers he did every now and then as it gave him a peace of mind. Perhaps it was merely a psychological effect, but he felt doing so appeased the angry souls of his brethren.

Thanking the cab driver politely, Kurapika step out to the whipping winds that blasted at his face. He shielded his eyes with his arm as he looked around for Gon. He spotted the spiky head of his friend at the edge of the harbour where he was sitting. "Gon!" He called out loudly.

Gon turned around, and it was the most miserable face Kurapika had ever seen the boy make, full of snot and tears as he hiccuped, sniffling as his lips trembled with sobs. "Gon!" Kurapika rushed over, and at the same time, Gon ran to him, hugging Kurapika with such a force that Kurapika almost stumbled. Kurapika took at step back, hugging his younger friend back. Sometimes he had to remind himself that although Gon always looked so confident and sure of himself, Gon was just a little kid, a pre-teen who just wanted to look for his Dad.

"What happened, hm? You can tell me all about it," Kurapika used his best comforting tone, taking the role of the intelligent, reliable friend he took in the hunter exams. He ruffled Gon's hair soothingly, doing his best to ignore how gross it would be to get all that snot and tears on his shirt.

"Kurapika... Killua came to find me..."

Kurapika waited patiently for Gon to continue his muffled words, because Gon had his head buried in the front of Kurapika's tank top. Gon looked up at him, taking a shallow breath before he started to talk again.

"We had a fight like last time, about my dad and me, he said some mean things, and so did I, and I don't know what happened, but I hit him in a fit of anger, and Killua fell down, and he was crying, and Hisoka was so angry he wanted to kill me, but Killua stopped him, and I ran away, and I don't know what to do anymore, Kurapika, he was my best friend but I dont deserve to be, oh Kurapika, what should I do now?" Gon said in a fluster, his distress making him speak jibberish.

"Calm down!" Kurapika grabbed Gon's shoulders, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to process the information in his brain at a slower speed. " Okay, so from what I get, Killua went to the Island of Illusions to find you?"

"Yes! He saved me from the cliff!" Gon nodded rapidly, showing his agreement.

"And then you guys had a fight like last time, about your Dad and how you're too reckless?" Kurapika guessed.

"Yes," Gon simpered.

"Gon, it's true about Killua. He's always been there to help you out of the toughest situations selflessly, you should listen to him more often and show him gratitude," Kurapika admonished lightly. "You know he's not against finding your Dad, he just wants both of you to be safe. How bad did you hit him?"

"He said I was a terrible friend, and I punched him across the face with all my strength!" Gon confessed desperately, hoping that Kurapika wouldn't show a face of disgust and call him a terrible human being. He knew he was a pretty shit friend after he made that move, however. It wasn't right to treat Killua that way, not when Killua always helped him unconditionally and saved his hide every time.

Kurapika's face contorted to an expression of barely concealed rage, and he breathed deeply to control his own emotions. "Gon, I am very, very disappointed in you. You know that everything Killua said was, no, is right, don't you? You need to stop thinking only about yourself and your goals. Killua isn't a pawn or your knight, he's your friend and you ought to be looking out for his interests too." Kurapika tried to be patient as he talked sense to his younger friend. He knew that this wasn't particularly Gon's fault. He was too young and lacked the emotional maturity to even consider how other people felt sometimes. And from what Kurapika knew, the lack of a father figure in Gon's life and no friends his age at his place probably led to Gon's lack of tact and consideration for others, or simply put, a lack of any sort or semblance of moral responsibility.

"I know now, Kurapika," Gon replied, depressed. "What can I do to make it up to him? Will he even forgive me?"

"He will, Killua's not the sort of person to hold grudges, not against you anyway," Kurapika gave a little smile, seeing true repentance shining in Gon's teary eyes. "Well for starters you need to apologise and change for the better."

A sudden blast of murderous nen had Kurapika flinging himself and Gon aside, and needles pierced the ground where Gon had been standing. The familiar pins had Kurapika double-taking. Illumi?! Wait, so he followed Kurapika here and heard all of that?

Kurapika took a protective stance in front of Gon immediately, as Gon shook on the ground behind him, befuddled by what was going on. Illumi soon appeared, dark nen radiating off him in such strong waves that his face was a dark mask of swirling purple and black. Kurapika swallowed as he strengthened his own nen to withstand the immense pressure Illumi gave off.

"Move aside," Illumi said chillingly, poison dripping off his tone.

"Illumi, this is between the two of them, and they will resolve it themselves, "Kurapika tried to reason.

"I told Killua he should never have friends. This boy... not, this parasitic leech make some flaky promise at our mansion and clung to him with a viper's grip. I always told Killua that if he didn't betray his 'friends' they would stab him in the back and hurt him," Illumi snarled. "And I was not wrong!"

"Gon, run away," Kurapika said lowly under his breath. There was no way Gon could survive against Illumi, not when Illumi was in this monstrous state with overwhelming nen overflowing from his whole being. Gon scrambled to his feet, hesitating.

"But Kurapika, what about you?"

"GO!" Kurapika screeched without taking his eyes off of Illumi, or what was shaped like him and enveloped with dark nen. He heard rapid footsteps, and knew Gon was doing what he told him to. Illumi growled maliciously, and sped by Kurapika in a flash like a predator after its prey. "ILLUMI STOP!" Kurapika thundered, thinking it would be futile to try and stop the determined assassin out for revenge for hurting his precious little brother. But to his utmost surprise, Illumi stopped dead in his tracks.

"Why should I let him live?!" Muderous rage was apparent in his almost demonic voice, and Kurapika gulped as he approached the dark being. Kurapika's mind spun rapidly. With Illumi's psychotic, barely short of incestuous love for Killua, what could he say or do to stop him?

"Give him a chance. A week to make amends. If he hurts Killua anymore, you can go ahead," Kurapika bargained, trying to mask his fear. "For... for me." He hoped he wasn't overly presumptuous with his words. He didn't know how he ranked against Killua, or against Illumi's need to avenge Killua, at any rate.

The silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Illumi's creepily floating strands of hair stopped doing their ritualistic dance in the air, and his murderous aura ceased. Kurapika approached him, and steeled his nerves, coming face to face with the the assassin he knew was barely constraining his rage. Illumi's face twitched ever so often, and his eyes were dead set in the direction Gon ran off in, looking like he wished for nothing but to rip those limbs apart.

"Thank you," Kurapika said softly.

And being unsure of whether he would regret this or not, he stood on his tiptoes and kissed Illumi on his pale lips with the lightest of touches, trying to distract the assassin from maiming and mutilating his young friend. Illumi was all over him in an instant, shocking Kurapika as Illumi grabbed onto the sides of his face, kissing him with a passion Kurapika didn't know the Zoldyck possessed. He gasped, and Illumi took that opportunity to kiss him even deeper, making Kurapika groan and fist Illumi's shirt helplessly.

He was panting and flushing a pretty red when Illumi finally released him, looking at him with such scrutiny like he was observing a specimen. "One week," Illumi repeated firmly, making his stance clear.

Kurapika wiped his moist lips with the back of his hand, feeling more embarrassed than he'd ever been. "Yes, one week," Kurapika confirmed, hoping that was enough. Perhaps the next barrier he had to help Gon surpass was Hisoka. If Illumi was this protective of Killua, maybe Hisoka would be too. For the first time, Kurapika thanked the lucky stars that Illumi was obsessively infatuated with him, or Gon would be a goner for sure, no pun intended.

"Illumi, Killua is as good a friend to me as Gon is. I assure you that what I'm trying to do here if not a futile attempt. The friendship the four of us share is thicker than blood," Kurapika spoke logically. "And, I will never hurt Killua, because I am his friend."

Illumi eyes him for a moment. "No, I know you would never."

Kurapika smiled because of the clear faith Illumi held in him. "And everyone needs friends. Killua, and even you."

Illumi raised an eyebrow, but did not contest Kurapika's way of thinking.

"But why do you like me?" Kurapika asked bluntly, the curiosity nagging at him.

" I was stalking all of Killua's 'friends' for awhile to see if I had to remove any threats. Stalking you turned from a few days, to weeks and months. You are the most beautiful human being I've ever seen."

"My looks?" Kurapika gave a little half smile in disbelief.

"Not just that," Illumi frowned, looking a little displeased at Kurapika being unable to get it. "When you fight, when you smile, when you eat, the way you move, everything. Every action enraptures me. Your untainted soul, the way you live for others, and fight for what's already dead, and those friends of yours who are alive... you are the most pure, perfect being I have ever laid my eyes on."

"I'm hardly perfect, I'm broken," Kurapika whispered beneath his breath, looking away. His psychological trauma of spiders, his haunting nightmares, his intense drive for revenge, none of it was normal.

Illumi lifted his chin, forcing Kurapika's eyes to move back to him. Illumi's eye glinted with pleasure when Kurapika focused on him again. "I will fix that." And his lips were seaked upon Kurapika's like a seal of promise.

**End of Chapter**

Anyone likes psycho Illumi? *hands up*