As always—THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT. And by support, I mean awesome amazing support. You people are fabulous and any writer would be inspired to update weekly with how we're going right now! :D Oh, and don't worry about me rushing—a lot of you felt like I was the previous chap. I'm actually apologizing in advance here because the outline told me to do the opposite. Te-hee
Anyway, ENJOY and please don't hesitate to leave feedback! I love to hear from all of you! :D
WARNING: SHORT Chapter! See that scroll bar over there? The end will be a little beyond halfway. Sorry. I just hope it's eventful enough to merit your love. xD
Disclaimer: I wish I own Hunter x Hunter.
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CHAPTER 5: Denial x Chase x Reunion
NOSTRADE RESIDENCE
Emerald eyes stared deeply at the deep valley below the balcony. The balcony wherein she stood still, and looking at the view as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. That was not true, however, as the emerald-eyed girl was looking at nowhere in particular and was thinking of a lot of things. Particularly thoughts pertaining to a certain blonde.
The blonde who took over the organization when her father lost it—his sanity and her abilities... It had been 5 years and he had no good progress, but Neon thought she was lucky to still have many good and caring people by her side.
She closed her eyes. Now that they knew that girl was alive there was no way Kurapika wasn't going to find her—she knew this, and this was something she had to accept. Still, she knew him well enough that he'd find a dilemma in leaving responsibilities behind. So she made a decision.
"You've done much for my family." She said as calmly as she could some time before. He had been doing paper work then, probably trying to finish everything (which wasn't possible in the near future) so he could find Gon. "It's time for you to do something for you."
She smiled at how easily the answer to his problems came to her now. Five years ago, the concept of 'letting go' was something alien, now she didn't even have to think too much about it. After looking just a little shocked, he smiled at her and this made her insides flutter like never before.
He touched her shoulder, which made her shiver as he very rarely touched her on his own accord. "Thank you." He said,
And she knew that all the change in her was all worth it.
…
"What are you still doing here?" She asked Leorio who was then sitting at his desk. Senritsu only smiled and proceeded in making the doctor his tea.
"The princess no longer wants the medic in the castle?" He joked and Neon thought it was absolutely infuriating the way he called her that.
"Who'd want an annoying doctor around, anyway?" She said even when she knew full well the responsibilities he had to her father. She was not going to go out of her way to call him honourable. No way.
"A doctor's a doctor." He grinned and she fumed. It was then that Senritsu handed Leorio his cup, and the clink of porcelain hitting the glass tabletop somewhat signalled Senritsu's intervention.
"You know you two actually look good together."
And the two whipped their heads towards Senritsu. "We do not!" The smaller woman only shrugged and listened to their frantic heartbeats. Senritsu always knew it was there, and it had been growing through the years.
It was only a matter of time.
…
Elsewhere, a young assassin couldn't help but gape at the new figure standing before him. It's her.
He froze. "Gon…" He said, whispering, heck he thought he just breathed out, but the sudden turn of her head told him she heard it anyway.
"You know me?" His brain didn't even register the lack of recognition in her voice. She was there… and she was looking at him wide eyed and worried. "E-Eh? W-Why are you crying?!"
What?
By instinct, his hand moved to catch the tears which were, indeed, there. He saw her move towards him and he stepped back by reflex. Gon batted an eyelid at the gesture, demurely tilting her head—like she always did when she was confused. Kami-sama she's really here.
He wanted to hug her so so much, but as he stared back at her… he finally realized that when she looked at him like she didn't know him. Sure enough, she confirmed his fears a second later. "Ne…have we met before?"
He was silent for a while—trying to figure everything out. She didn't recognize him—she no longer knew him. He might not have even passed through her head these past five years.
Why?
Images of what had been done to him to forget Alluka appeared and suddenly it all made sense. He frowned deeply at the implications. The world is too cruel, he thought, whether he said it to no one or to the universe it didn't matter—it was a fact.
Killua quickly caught all self-control he could muster and shook his head. "…no." He said. "We never met."
"Then why do you know my name then?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed at the combination of confusion, worry, and curiosity. "You look really familiar."
Killua couldn't find enough composure to answer. He wanted to touch her face, hug her, tell her everything—but there was a reason she did not remember him. Swiftly, images of that fateful day when they parted dominated his brain and his knees weakened. They gave her a second chance—for reasons he dare not challenge—and he would not endanger her because of his selfishness again.
He needed to suck it up. "You're a hunter." He said, as coolly as he could possibly do. "I've heard of you."
Unsurprisingly, Gon scratched her cheek in embarrassment, obviously flattered. Although… a part of him wished she didn't believe the lie so quickly.
"You two!" A voice roared behind them and suddenly another burst of auras exploded.
Killua sighed. He forgot about them.
.
The three men had their auras constant for a while now, which was impressive in itself, and they looked furious—no doubt humiliated at being ignored.
Then he felt an aura beside him, easily pulling his attention. It was clean and controlled and just enough aura to deal with the other three. It was then he noticed Gon was, indeed, dripping wet, but he couldn't quite bring himself to ask about it.
Killua turned back to the raven-head men. Did they sense he was in desperate need for distraction? No?
Well, tough luck to them.
…
A few minutes later, the three top assassins lay unconscious on the ground. It wasn't difficult—now that the soreness of his body was momentarily gone because of the adrenaline rush Gon caused. And there was, of course, Gon herself.
Gon was beaming, satisfied with the exercise, and started stretching her body. Killua couldn't help but stare, and he shook his head immediately. He couldn't afford to stay here any longer. It was then Gon whipped her head to him, grinning.
"We sure work well together, ne—Eh?" Gon's eyes widened and she looked around her for any sign of the mysterious boy who cried for no apparent reason. A heavy feeling on her stomach caught her attention. What could've made her feel that way?
Her sharp ears then caught an almost indiscernible sound of a leaf ever slightly being moved opposite to the direction to the leaves adjacent to it. Her feet moved on its own and she sprinted to his direction. He flinched when he saw her only a few meters away. And just when she raised her hand, about to greet him—
He ran.
…
"Why do you keep following me?" He yelled as he jumped from tree to tree in a speed that Gon rarely saw in humans—even in the Dark Continent. Still, she frowned at the weird question. (And at the back of her head she noticed she was already dry, she had just been playing with the dolphins before a whale threw her into the air).
In any case, as she ran, she opted to answer his question. "Why do you keep running away, then?"
"Because you're creepy! Leave me alone." He said, telling himself to keep his voice level. Assassins did not squeak. "You've seen how strong I am."
"And you've seen I can take you on." Gon retorted, and indeed she could. It was surprising how much she has grown (otherwise he would've outran her by then). Still, he didn't say anything and sprinted faster instead.
He was operating on pure instinct now—turning off all thoughts and focusing on avoiding her at all cost—because his mind wasn't working as it should.
Ironic, really. He depended on instinct because he remembered everything. She depended on it because she couldn't remember a thing.
The cat-and-mouse pattern went on for many excruciating minutes. Partly, he was just happy—exhilarated—to be talking to her again during those moments she pulled out his consciousness with her voice. But the more logical part of him—the part he'd been using almost exclusively these five years and the brain capable of forcing himself to run away—was winning, hands down.
He'd seen too much, he caused her too much, to allow her to be involved with him again.
Besides, who was to say this wasn't all just a cruel dream? He dare not remember what those did to him during their first year apart.
He didn't realize he stopped at a clearing. He turned to her, and she stopped at a distance away from him, too. She was waiting for him to say or do something. He dreaded the fact that he forced her to be careful with him.
"I'm… an assassin, my family is." He said firmly, adopting a glazed look that had once been so easy.
"All of them?" A similar image of many years ago—in a blimp—imprinted on his mind. A very painful déjà vu. "…Hello?"
"You do not want to be associated with the Zoldyck family."
"Why?"
"You'll only die." He said, adopting a face he'd been using since he lost her. "Do you want to die?"
Her hopeful face got softer, as if she was seeing through him again. It was both unnerving and stirring and he was pretty sure he wouldn't want to be operating on feelings right now. "I'm stronger than you think."
He gaped at her for a moment, and he swore she could hear his strong heartbeat. "Why risk your life for someone you just met?"
"We haven't just met." She said firmly. "That's why I want to know why I don't remember you."
He forced a scoff. "You think I'd know what happened to you?" He said as sharply monotonous as he could. If she was surprised at his answer, she didn't show it. Instead, she only stood firm, never breaking eye contact.
She nodded.
"You're crazy." He snapped, sharpness in his tone exaggerated, and turned away. But he didn't even take a step further when he felt her warm hands on his arm, causing that almost-forgotten sensation that coursed through his body every time they touched. It never failed to wreak havoc with his senses.
He whipped his head at her, no longer in control of whatever revealing expression was on his face, only to meet with her bright russet orbs—pleading. "At least tell me your name."
"Killua." He cracked out before he caught himself, before finally gaining enough composure to escape from her hold and stand imposingly over her again, at a safe distance. Unsurprisingly, she did not even wince and instead mouthed his name.
He could feel his spine tingling and his stomach doing summersaults but this time he didn't show it. How long has it been?
But then she kept repeating it.
"Why do you keep saying my name? Is it that difficult to pronounce?" He said stoically, but his insides were swelling. She blinked at looked up at him again, staring back at him confusedly. She didn't know the answer, either.
His heartstrings were being plucked again and they were slowly becoming unbearable after being unused for so long. He found himself spending all of his energy into stopping himself from acting on his desires.
Then she called his name again, this time with a hint of worry (what was he showing her?!), and stepped closer. He was about to step back, but he held his ground and channelled the rest of his energy into appearing unfazed. "Don't come closer." He said, hopefully telling her not to step on his space.
"Sorry." She mumbled and touched the back of her neck as she looked away. She was embarrassed for acting like that to him, and she didn't understand why.
"I'm sorry, but you cannot be friends with me." He finally said, but it came out way softer than it should. She whipped her head back to stare at him, maybe to see how serious he was, and he could see all the confusion in her eyes. But this was something that had to be done, so he no longer waited for her to respond.
"Who are you to say that?" She said stubbornly, eyes bright with the tenacity he had loved about her (once, he added). It made him frown even deeper, getting his face to look a little craggy. Why did she have to be so like… Gon right now? "This is my decision as well!"
Something cracked, then.
"What part of 'leave me alone' do you not understand?" He asked, bellowed—because he could not allow himself to crack. But what truly made Gon's eyes widen was the intensely dark aura that surrounded him. His aura almost disappeared then, but he caught himself. He needed to be stern.
He turned away. "Sorry." He said, whispering. "I have to go now. Nice meeting you, Gon."
She knew she sent him a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes, even without looking, and he fled as quickly as he could. He didn't know if he was relieved or sad—both, he realized later—that she didn't follow.
It made him think once more that the world was cruel.
.
.
END OF CHAPTER 5
COMING SOON:
CHAPTER 6: Hunting x Arrow x Stealth
REPLIES TO ANGELS
Kawaiishiella- Yes they have! The reunion eh? XD Well, that will happen… but not in the nearest chapters. Oh, and thank you for commenting~
Dolce-tasie – Thank you for reviewing~! :D I'm super glad you liked a lot of sections in this story and I agree~! Some charas need some more limelight. Thank goodness for fanfiction! xD
LittleChomper – Fast update, indeed! I'm so lucky to have you people as my readers. xDD And yep! Noisy Pair. Lovely, yes? XD And Nerys suffering more? SURE. Haha. Thx for reviewing, btw~! :DD
Guest [July 12 2014] – Haha, thank you for reviewing Bynnu-chan~! :D Well, I'm glad I got to give you even more feels. xD The questions will be answered in this and the following chapters~ And Kya! I'm happy this was your fave fic. I'll try to maintain that lol!
KG-Ai – aahahha I'm glad to have made you feel those different feels. xD And thank you for reviewing~! By the way, did the whole country, like, lose power that day? We had no power until around 2 pm.
Darlingfedz- Thank you for reviewing, and I'm happy to know I can make your day. xDD Oh and the answer to your question shall be answered in this chap! Hehehe. And I'm from Quezon City, btw! :D
XxHunterxX- Ahahaha then I'll tried to update before 1 week. Did I succeed? Lol Anyways, super glad you liked the chapter as much as I did, and thank you for reviewing! xDD
HibarixZhen- Yes she finally appeared~! xD Hope this chap was somewhat satisfactory and thank you for reviewing! ;DD
Yuki Candy Heart- Hahah well the answer to how Killua'll react is shown here! Was it satisfactory? XDD Oh and thank you for commenting! :D
Dragfillia- Yes, yest they finally meet~! xD Was Killua's reactions rational enough? Not sure. Anyway, thank you very much for the comment!
Grapes- Whoa Glad you think the chap was perfect! And hahah you too? I love reading and rereading reviews. Best motivation ever! And thx for being one of the vocal supporters. :D
Chess- Aww thanks for telling me I'm a great writer and decent non-annoying love triangles I shall try! xDD Thank you for the review, btw~
Trizsh15 – Yes, yes I dare! Hahaha I update weekly nowadays anyway *cackles* Thank you for the review, btw! And glad you loved it xD
Digilover23- Yay for happy Yinyang pair fans like us! xD Oh, she does have the same name in FB, search it! :D Thank you for reviewing and I shall try to maintain that love til' the end. xD
Retz- Omg that is so polite! Hahah. Well you did say you love him, technically, it just won't increase. Oh! OH! Don't die, I'll update as quickly as I could I swear. xD Thx for reviewing btw~
SucreTeen123- Yes finally! Hahaha Unfortunately, they still have a long way to go. Hope that's fine! And thx for the comment~!
Thoroughly Misguided - *rolls on the floor with you* CHEERS! Gon has returnedddd! xDD *rolls around again* And thanks for commenting~ xDD
Slytherin Studios- Thank you very much for reviewing~! And as always, I'm super glad you still find it nice! ;D
Starlovers - hahaha *catches cheese* Well, I update quickly so I'm forgiven right?! Haha. Anyway, thank you sooo much for reviewing and super glad you liked the chapter! :D
Minerbbi – Don't worry!At least they're sorta together again? Even for a little while. xD Hope the kicking of asses scenes were fine, and thx for the comment~!
Esperanz – Well first of all thank you for reviewing~! xD As you can see, I continued off with yinyang for this chap cuz' a lot of people will kill me if I didn't LOL. And yep! It'll be solved once the needle is out. *wink*
Kh07gl- Yes, yes he is! But we have a long way to go before the end so we have plently of time to fix things for him. *wink* Thank you for reviewing and yes! The four will reunite… eventually xD
Jonica77- Here's the next chap! I hope the events didn't disappoint. Hehehe. And thank you for commenting~! :DD
Denizen of the night- I'm a good assassin? I'll take that as a compliment. Hahaha. But alas! I update quickly so—forgive me? XD But I am mean, you'll see soon. xD Thanks for the review, btw! :D
drawingRAMPAGE- You're welcome. Reunions are uber fun to write, too! So glad that I can make you happy! haha Thank you for reviewing and let me join that group hug damnit. *hugs*
Kazumi Rin- Gahaha indeed! Meeting people is good. But no need to worry~! I'm not rushing this, at the time I didn't have anything else to keep the story going so I made them meet. Thank you for reviewing by the way~! And thx for telling me you can wait. ;D
Kyouno-aru – Hahaha because watching assassins being badasses is fun! Hahah Glad you liked the chapter and thank yoouu for reviewinG~! :D
CursedXQueenXDoll- Aww thank you for reviewing~! Glad you liked this as well as my other HxH story, The Hunter Club? :D I'm super glad I made you squeal (now I'm squealing) and I hope to keep it up~ XDD
Phoenix-Thunder – I shall try! xD Speaking of update rates, some of my readers are asking me when are you going to update! Seriously tho—when?! Hahah. Glad you liked most of the chapter, and thank you for reviewing~! :D
Yorumi1 – No thank you for the support~! Glad you liked the meeting and here is the next update! Hope it is fine, even when it's so short. Oh, and thanks for reviewing (twice), of course! xDD
Guest [July 14 2014]- Happy to know you like the chapter! :D And heheh, yes, they finally meet! Don't worry as well, I've outlined basically many chapters ahead. Outlined, not quite written but still—xD Anyway, thx for the review~!
Mytiaaa- Oh man, having no internet does suck! D: Atleast you're back. Welcome back! xD Thank you soo much for reviewing, and I'm so happy to know how much you love this story! *hugs*
Shiver-fire – Yay! Thank you for the review~! Glad to know I'm doing great and I shall try to do great all the way til' the end. Hahah
NariGray- Super glad you thought the chap was beautiful!. xD And I updated quickly right!? Forgive me for leaving you folks in that horrid cliffhanger? *googley eyes* Hahaha
A DUMB girl WITH a COMPUTER- Here is the next chapter~! I hope it was worth the wait, and glad the last chapter made you feel all those emotions! *cheers*
Charlotte Hevelesca- here's the next chapter! I hope I got it out quickly enough. xD And of course I do hope it's worth the wait. Thanks for the comment btw
Ot4ku-Girl24 – Awww, thank you for reviewing and soo happy you felt what you felt! Oh, you're right! I was planning on putting a middle chapter but after 4 chaps of angst I needed to write something hopeful. xD Hope it didn't seem too rushed tho~ And actually, I was fine with any pairing and I shipped Neon with Kuro and Kura before! LOL. And great to know you're a fan. *brohug* Hope I can keep you til' the end. xDD
Chani – haha glad you liked the chapter~! :D This isn't really fluffy, but they talked so it's something right? Hahaha Thank you for reviewing btw~
Baylee1100- Okay, I'll tell you! Yes. They will fall in love in this one too. Hahaha. And here's the update~! Thank you for reviewing~
Serenade Panda-Welcome to the story! xDD Haha First off thank you for reviewing~! :DD And I'm super glad I got to be one of the cause of your heartstrings getting tugged. xD Hihi
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Thank you for reading~!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter,
and do allow me to know your thoughts! They all motivate me so! :D