First off—HAPPY NEW YEAR! xD Hope everyone had a blast. Hope you enjoy this first update of the year for me! Hahah. Special thanks to my vocal readers aka angels. Hueheueheuehue. Cookies to those who faved, followed, and/or C2d the story as well! I hope you enjoy, and pls don't forget to send me your thoughts.
WARNING: I'm telling you in advance. This story will not be ending any time soon. xD
Disclaimer: I wish I own Hunter x Hunter.
…
CHAPTER 21: Distance x Blood x Wake
Inside the large high-tech hospital room, Gon and Killua sat peacefully on the floor: her head on his shoulders, their hands entwined. They looked alternatively at the two younger kids, Zushi and Alluka, sleeping in the bed and the only couch respectively.
There was a massive amount of energy that came out from Zushi and Alluka during the granting, a couple of hours after Alluka arrived and collapsed from fatigue. It made both Gon and Killua's bodies to freeze at the sheer power of Alluka's ability. The sensation was both amazing and terrifying, but they firmly believed it was a gift. Them witnessing Zushi's eyes opening again was proof of that.
Zushi closed his eyes again afterwards however, as if still very very tired. It seemed that it would take while to really wake up from a such deep slumber and soon enough, Alluka herself fell onto the couch. Gon and Killua decided to wait for Zushi's return on the carpeted floor.
In any case, they didn't disturb Alluka's sleep. They decided to put off healing Gon for a while. After all, Alluka's power couldn't be that limitless. The couple sat there, like that, for long minutes. Other than the fact that they were both used to stakeouts, time just flied when they were with each other. It always had. Which was kind of unfortunate, in some cases.
As they sat there, they imagined what and how it'd be like when Alluka took the needle out some time in the future—when her health was back to normal. "Sometimes good things fall apart—to give way to something better." Gon said.
She lost her memory of him, he avoided her to keep her alive, yet they still ended up together. There was simply no need to rush anymore. But really, it also meant their relationship. Now they'd have no choice but to treasure every single moment because once upon a time, these moments were dreams.
She raised her head to check the kids closer for a second, and Killua turned his head to look and watched every miniscule movement she made. She had taken off her jacket earlier, and now she was wearing her conservative long-sleeved blouse for a top, with the top buttons unclosed for comfort. It revealed the rarely-shown skin on her neck and his hand moved on its own to touch it.
When her breath hitched, he was reminded how sensitive it was, and he remembered that close call in Greed Island. He had to stop himself from leaning down to feel that skin on his lips. For the next moments he was at war. To act or not to act. He was incredibly tempted, but everything else told him not to do it. She was a forbidden fruit, in a sense, and he dared not go south at all in case he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"I wish Bisuke was here to punch me to the sky when I cross the line." He said, breathing heavily and she shuddered and her hold on his shirt tightened. His cold lips ended up on her neck anyway.
Then Alluka let out an innocent yawn, and stretching her arms, just before she began snoring again.
Both Gon and Killua were suddenly two meters apart then, an automatic reaction every time someone interrupts an intimate moment (especially Alluka), and they cleared their throats and fiddling with their clothing to calm themselves down. "What… do we do with Zushi?" Killua voiced out, as the boy was one of the first distracting-enough entity his eyes spotted. "He might look like a teenager but he's still just a kid."
"He can stay with Mito-san," Gon told him. "It's a great place to live and train"
"I didn't really mean I wish Bisuke was with us."
She tilted her head, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Bisuke and Pariston are with Mito right now." And he paused. In retrospect he wondered how their conversations never ended up with Mito. Gon did originally come here—out of the Dark Continent—to see Mito. Was it because it connected much too deeply to her imminent departure?
Gon was staring at him for a while before she reacted."Eh?"
"Kurapika asked for their help for their protection."
"Yes… but why Pariston-san?"
Killua told him, keeping his smirk down at the anticipation of her reaction. Needless to say, he wasn't disappointed. "R-Really?" She voiced out, mouth open in shock. "Pariston's animal is a rat right? I didn't think Bisuke's rat of a son, and Ging's rat of a rival were the same." She shook her head in amusement. "Small world."
Small world
"Hmn," was all he could utter. It was quiet, and only Gon would've heard it if they had other people around. She'd be going back to the Dark Continent soon, to her father—to find her mother. She'd leave this world—the familiar world—and she'd go to another edge of the world. Gon saw this flash of expression on his face and she unconsciously leaned down a bit so they'd be eye to eye. "What is it?"
"How long do you have left here?" was his response. Gon stared at him for a while, like trying to read his eyes and his expression. Finally, she answered. Dragons were hibernating, she said. "I'll have to leave two weeks from now—" Something heavy found itself on his stomach, but it was instantaneously lifted also by her words. "You will come with me right?"
She said so with such faith that his eyes widened and he could only ogle at her. It was odd. Had he never really thought—believed, even—that he'd be coming with her? But as he stared at her he quickly realized that his reaction was because deep inside… he still didn't trust himself to be able to protect her.
But he already held himself back too many times, and they have been pulled apart twice now. Third time's a charm. It had to be, he told himself, especially when suffering itself was actually less painful than the fear of it. There wasn't any point in fearing for their happiness… it would ruin the fact that they were, in fact, already happy. So in the end, he grinned. "Yeah."
"YAY!" He watched still as she wrapped her arms around him to give him a bear hug. Her laugh was soon joined by his and his hand slid to her back as if to keep her in place. "And Gon…" Killua held her shoulders so they'd be facing each other again. "You should force me away if I'm being too forward." He said, feeling the warmth of her arms around him. "I'm a guy. We… sort of tend to do that."
She blinked at that, the pink tint on her face intensifying a bit. "I… don't really mind…"
He scoffed, because it caught him off guard and mocking her a bit would push his own blush down. "You shouldn't really say those things so easily Gon." He said, just before leaning down to slowly kiss her cheek, and allowing his slips to slide to blowing her ear. She let out an adorable squeak and he laughed at how he could tease her. Tease her, right, because planting butterfly kisses all around her face and the upper part of her neck counted as him innocently tickling her.
And then the phone rang.
Call him immature but he really wanted to throw his phone to the wall. Then he realized it was Gon's.
"Hello?" She asked, her reddish face making an adorable juxtaposition with the dull-colored floor. "Kurapika?" He found himself frowning. "What's wrong?"
Then her eyes widened, her pupils contracted in fear, and her face paled. He lifted her so that both of them to sit back up, firmly, as he waited for the tense conversation to end. Her hand lifelessly dropped to her lap as her eyes rose to meet his; her eyes completely constricted, and immediately he knew that something terrible happened.
"Senritsu-san is dead."
…
They boarded the nearest airport, carrying a slumbering Alluka—or more accurately, an unconscious one—to the blimp. She was asleep the whole day of travel, exhausted from granting two healing wishes in less than 24 hours, ensuring that the nurse was clear that she would message them the moment Zushi woke up.
The atmosphere was gloomy in the mansion. Gon and Killua peered over her coffin and were surprised that the woman there was not Senritsu—but a full-sized woman with a pretty face. They didn't say anything though, as they looked around, and decided to just ask questions when the time was right.
They welcomed the silence. Individually they have been recalling Senritsu's words to them: Neon on her growth, Leorio on his capabilities, Kurapika on his future…
It was a little later when Kurapika stood beside Gon, not saying anything other than a greeting for a while, until leaning slightly to whisper. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Gon looked at him, then to Killua, before he added: "Alone."
Gon blinked a little before nodding, and turned her head to Killua to silently tell him that she would be going for a while. Kurapika noticed Killua's jaws clenching, but the latter only nodded.
The two of them went to the memorable balcony. He let Gon savour the view. She didn't exclaim like she would have as a child, but her eyes were bright… which was now the same thing. Eventually, Gon filled her lungs with one last big inhalation of that mountain's air and she turned her head to look at him a moment longer than usual. "What is it you want to talk about?"
There was a reason he kept himself from facing her until then. His eyes always gravitated towards her lips, especially after the kiss they shared. However, it was a fond memory now. And it would remain that way. He told her what happened with Senritsu and Gon's eyes never left him, all of her attention to him. He found it horribly enticing.
But of course, he would never act on his feelings for her again.
"I have been too focused on my goals—collecting the eyes, and back then revenge…" He paused. "And my affections?" he smiled. "You know how that turned out."
Her eyes remained on him, unfaltering, and very worried. He steeled himself before turning to face her, and he almost buckled. The quick recollection of Senritsu's caring face held him back up again. "I love you, Gon, you know that." He began and knew the he probably always grew to be such a huge part of his life. It would be impossible to sever her from it. "I carried these feelings for years. But… it was time for me to move on." And then, he looked at her eyes and was relieved he could do so again without being shaken. "You don't have to worry about me anymore."
Gon's eyes widened slightly, but they were relieved—warm. "I'm happy for you." She said and faced him fully. They needn't the words to go into a friendly embrace.
Some seconds later though Gon found herself batting her eyelids when she felt some vibrations from Kurapika. He was laughing and she lifted her head about to ask why, when she realized that she'd put down her guard… getting her to miss what—who—it was Kurapika was chuckling about. She slowly let go of Kurapika and turned to the balcony door and see who Kurapika was speaking to. "Did we take too long, Killua?"
Killua scoffed, appearing offended. But Kurapika knew rather than that—it wasn't even relief—what he saw in Killua's eyes were pity. Because Killua knew well what he felt. He understood.
Killua only sighed in the end and joined them into the balcony and the three of them enjoyed a companionable silence surrounded by nature's bounty. It was, however, cut short by presences he didn't know. At least not presences of staff nor guests. "Intruders." He voiced out, stance suddenly very tense. Gon and Killua's postures told him they were ready to follow orders. "Four nen users." Relatively powerful ones, as well. They weren't so strong under normal circumstances—not with the people currently inside the mansion—but now when their morale was so low?
He looked at Killua, and Kurapika did not miss the flash of bloodlust in his eyes. Killua was mostly feeling bad for him, but he was a possessive boy. He was probably very irritated. And he needed to vent. "How far?"
"Around 2 kilometers from here."
"That's a huge En sphere." Gon said, impressed, Killua agreed. Killua did the same to see if he knew the intruders and his eyes twitched. "It's them," he voiced out and the other two looked at him to continue. "The Injus who were with us. They're with another odd creature."
"What?" Kurapika voiced out, although it came out as an exclamation rather than a question. His eyes turned red until he saw Killua and Gon gesturing to head for the intruders. Gon already went ahead and with a frown Killua gestured to follow when he sensed Kurapika was to do the same. Killua stopped and he whipped his head and gave the latter a pointed look. Kurapika's eyebrows furrowed further.
"Stay here," Killua told him. It was not a request. "This is our fight. You need to stay with Senritsu."
Kurapika did not notice his eyes ending up on where Gon would've been. "And leave protecting her in your hands again?" He snapped, but Kurapika's remorseful expression a second after he slipped told Killua he didn't mean to say so. Out loud, anyway. Everybody knew slip-ups were actually fuelled by genuine thoughts. "I'm sorry I—"
"It's fine." Killua said dismissively, turning his back on him just before disappearing. "Just don't get yourself killed."
…
They entered the forest and jumped from branch to branch. Kurapika, seeing Gon doing it with him not too far away reminded him all that time ago during the hunter exam. So much had changed since then.
The three of them continued at an almost invisible pace, an unnatural fall and rustles of leaves marking their trail, with him checking the targets every second. But as they went deeper into the forest, he realized it—that they were all converging at an area, an area he roughly estimated to be a part of the massive clearing East of the mansion. "STOP!" He yelled and the two halted on their respective branches. "There are four of them," He told them, and Killua frowned. "And there are three of us. It's not that bad of an odd."
"They're meeting up at the clearing," Kurapika calmly explained. "I'm sure this is a trap."
"Is it?" The loud voice came not too far from them. "Why don't you come here and find out?"
Gon frowned at this. "NO WAY!" She yelled with that adorable foolhardy tone of hers. "Do you think we're idiots?"
"Well, if you don't get here now, we'll hurry to the estate and I'm pretty sure a lot of people will die—hss" "Oh, and Kurapika-kun~ Activate your En again." "You'll see we sent one very strong teammate to the mansion." Kurapika immediately did do as he was told and his eyes widened, confirming their fears. The snake continued nattering. "Considering you three are here, I highly doubt half the people there'd survive the night."
"Maybe it's another trap?" Killua told him, but Kurapika was already facing the castle—face torn. Where would he be needed more? Gon saw this and nodded. "We can't take that risk. We're strong, we can deal with them." Kurapika whipped his head to face her, and saw the kind of sure expression only few people in the world could make. "Go, Kurapika. And be careful!"
Gon and Killua watched as Kurapika sprinted and disappeared into the forest before facing each other again. "What now?" he asked and she shook her head. "There's no way their threat holds now, we can outrun them back." Gon was confident she could run anyone, especially in a forest, but she watched as Killua pondered on their next move. "Perhaps it's time to get rid of them? I don't think they'll stop even if we escape here. They could bring even more of the injus in."
Silence passed by them for a while, with both of them automatically weighting the consequences, the pros, and the cons of this particular path. There were almost simultaneous glints in their eyes the moment they individually came to a decision.
It was time to end it.
…
"I knew you wouldn't be able to refuse our little… invitation—sss"
Four people were already in the field, and they knew there was no one else outside it. The four formed a semi-circle around another inju. The snake guy was at his right. They were all in barefoot, and her instincts were telling her something about that, but perhaps that was just how humanoids preferred it.
"Three of them are injus." She told him, before turning to see a normal-looking human, but with a much intense feeling of anger surrounding him. "He looks familiar," she said without turning away and she saw Killua nod in her periphery. The silver head cleared his throat, and an air of nervousness around him made her feel a bit more anxious than necessary.
"Yes. He's from an assassin family." He whispered and at this, Gon turned to him with her eyebrows furrowed as soon as she placed his face. "He was one of the three who attacked you?" The boy scoffed and sent them an even stronger glare. His fist formed a rock which would've reminded her of her nen technique if his angry expression didn't look quite so… raw.
"Yeah—that was us. Because he broke our sister's heart!" he didn't mention their humiliation and the utter disrespect of an affluent family because to Aaron it didn't matter. Killua gulped and turned to Gon, scurrying to explain.
"Gon—" but Gon raised her hand to stop Killua and she continued assessing their opponents. In her time in the Dark Continent, her ability to compartmentalize improved. Only now, though, had she needed to access it so deeply.
Two of the injus have striking resemblances to Dark creature continents. One was a feathered reptile—only now he stood bipedal and snout not so long, while the other—
She was not given time to assess him because already the other three began attacking. It was a suspicious form. Three of the four approached them both, while the silver one remained in position. The snake continued attacking her directly at a quick pace, but seemingly without strategy, while the reptile attacked Killua. It all happened within five seconds and then she realized what the third, Aaron, had been doing when she felt the cold dew of the grass on her feet.
They were barefooted. Aaron sliced off their shoes.
And as if they reached their goals they immediately took their distance and, suddenly taking defensive stances, returned to their original position around the silver balding humanoid. Silver humanoid.
Silver mole
She remembered. It was the easily familiar silver mole, the creature that poisoned the water supply simply by proximity—a radius around the group was restricted to human habitation. But there was one other thing: it slowly closes chakra points, rendering even the most experienced Nen user, once affected by their disease, to be unable to heal back even by life force.
Her eyes widened and her hands quickly found Killua's arm in an attempt to pull him back. But it was too late. The silver bald humanoid instantaneously had light surrounding him and, like a stone, created a ripple wave of nen until it stopped and created a circle at least half-a-kilometer wide. The silver mole soon dug himself into the ground.
"Darnit!" Gon yelled as her hold on Killua disappeared altogether. Killua quickly adopted a fighting stance, but his attention never really left Gon. "What happened?" he asked, completely befuddled, but Gon's worried face only intensified. "We can't use nen now."
"Bravo!" The snake yelled, grinning with his fangs. "I'm impressed you figured it out so quickly." "Would've been more entertaining to have you realize when I was about to slit your throat—sss."
Killua ignored him while Gon proceeded in quantifying the threat. As she did so, Killua found himself looking down. And, not realizing earlier how his lower appendices were a bit colder than usual—his eyebrows rose up immediately at what he saw. "Barefoot?"
"Yes, that is one condition. Everyone in the circle must be barefoot. It also helps quicker access from his ground nen to everyone's chakras." He said, hissing. "Doesn't Le-om over here have such fabulous abilities?"
Gon shook her head. "But you can't use nen, either!"
"We're not stupid—definitely not like our predecessors. We've taken note of your abilities, or at least what we could gather." He told them without changing expressions. "Our chances are simply much better without Nen."
Knowing that a classical hand-to-hand combat was inevitable, Gon surveyed the surroundings further. The nen circle extended as far as the clearing could get. There were no trees in the area, either, only flowers and peanut grass that could do nothing but soften whatever their feet landed on.
The cool breeze passed by them as they stood a stand-still, everyone slowly adopting aggressive stances. Gon raised her hand to get into the inside pocket of her jacket, revealing a small stick and, pressing its hilt, it extended to a staff. It was no longer as strong, transformed into a normal staff, in contrast to Nanou's creation. "So that's your staff." Killua said calmly, because even if he was a bit intimidated by their situation (and the inclusion of his engagement), he had always been up for a challenge. "You keep it with you all along?"
"Yep. It's stronger with Nen though," she told him as her eyes stayed on her weapon. "Now I have to be careful not to get it destroyed."
Without warning, she instantaneously put weight on one of her feet and—like a spring—she ran to where the mole was before he went underground, avoiding the snake's poison dart and the dragon's throwing scales along the way. She swung her staff to catch one of the poison darts that came her way, before the momentum made it spin and she used the force to pierce through the soil.
She expected the light from the nen circle to dim, at least, but it didn't. As her peripheral vision caught Killua fighting the Bloodsworth, she pulled her stick back up just in time to deflect an oncoming knife. She stepped back to safety and rechecked the staff's edge. There was no blood.
"Nice try." The snake said with a smirk. "You do realize goold ol' Le-om's a mole. Moles can move underground! Sss"
Without missing another beat, the two injus attacked her simultaneously. Killua couldn't help but see it all. "GON!" he yelled but he was too busy with Aaron. "I'll be fine, Killua!" She yelled back, dodging every attack that she could and somehow maintaining her center of balance—targeting her head, or her feet, or both—despite every effort to distort her. "Focus on your own fight!"
"I'd have to agree with your girlfriend over there, you lowlife." Aaron said, holding his sharp steel knuckles. He sharpened it by clicking on something with his palm. "Or else I'd get the chance to distract her, by telling her every detail of what you did with my sister. Maybe I'd even exaggerate a bit."
He frowned and his glare sharpened, bloodlust intensified. For a moment Aaron was intimidated, but he was quick to compose himself. Unfortunately, it was not the same for Killua.
"Eek!" They both turned to see Gon finally lying on the ground. Killua unthinkingly gestured to run to her when Aaron took the chance. He spun his upper body to maximize the forge his sharp knuckles would meet Killua's face.
Killua sensed this and stepped back, getting the knuckles to hit his ribs instead. If he was a normal man, Killua would have screamed from the top of his lungs at the pain. Instead, his hand held on to the damaged skin and looked at Aaron smirk at his clean hit. He didn't wait for another second to send another one though, but this time Killua managed to avoid it. Aaron hit the wound with his feet making Killua gasp, and—once more—gesturing for another hit. This time, it wasn't going to miss that face his sister so loved.
And he hoped so badly that it would end this bastard for good.
But apparently, this particular bastard had luck on his side still.
"Killua!"
"GON!" Killua yelled and Aaron's eyes widened as he saw his knuckles bury on her left shoulder.
Killua didn't even realize the injus were already sprinting towards them, nor were they about to throw them their respective sharp edges. He only saw the blood gushing on her shoulders. But her stern voice quickly brought him back. "Killua!" She yelled. "Focus. Distract them for me please."
Killua blinked, but he forced himself to push the panic and refocus the adrenaline to something productive. They managed to avoid the injus' throws, barely, and after hitting Aaron to whatever body part was nearest, they both ran to keep their distance.
They were both injured now. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." Gon said without looking at him. Her eyes were focused somewhere on the ground. "It's moving."
"What?"
"The circle is moving along with the mole-man." She told him with her eyes wide in excitement, like her arm wasn't bleeding. She didn't wait for his response and held on to her staff tighter, and he knew he'd still be needed for distraction. Easily ignoring the sharp pain on his ribs, he angrily sprinted to Aaron—something that caught the Bloodsworth off-guard—and after forcing his own fist onto his own stomach, threw him to the nearest inju, subsequently distracting the other as well.
He turned his head to steal a glance of Gon just in time to see her firmly pierce a portion of the ground, shortly followed by the flashing disappearance of the binding light seemingly imprinted on the grass. Half-mindedly avoiding the attacks directed to him by the injus, with Aaron still trying to stand up, he watched as she breathed heavily with both her hands on the staff… realizing a second later that she was using it to support herself, and watched her fall to the ground as her hands lost all energy to hold on.
There was a ringing in his ears. He didn't know if it was the nen force overflowing his veins again as much as the fury he was feeling. "Godspeed" he whispered, and it was too late for the two injus to realize what happened until they felt their heads slowly sliding from their necks.
And just as quickly he went to the injured Gon. "Gon…" But then he felt her hand slide to touch her arm, and then her cheek. "It's just a scratch Killua." He let out a weak laugh before burying his whole face on her neck. "Oh my goodness—I thought I was going to lose you again."
"Oh, Killua…" She sat up and ripped the ruined long sleeve of her jacket off to make her point. If there wasn't blood involved, he would've blushed.
The moment was halted by the sound of digging some meters behind them, it was slow, but Le-om was definitely alive and trying to escape. He'd let him. However, he mused as he turned to look at his opponent. 'I cannot say the same thing about him.'
"I'll be right back."
"Killua?"
The Zoldyck towered over Aaron, who stood up appearing almost like he wasn't in pain—as sternly and as proudly as he could be. Killua's eyes never left the other boy's and—much like lighting—Killua's hand slashed through Aaron body and felt nothing but the ringing in his ears. Killua did not rip off his heart. He didn't need to. He watched as Aaron flopped to the grass and left him there to bleed out.
"Let's go."
As Killua carried her, Gon couldn't help but turn to look at the barely-breathing Bloodsworth. She knew immediately there was nothing she could do. "Ah."
…
Nerys' felt her blood run cold as she jumped her blimp. Why would Aaron do this? Why would he tap her phone and find out her plans, and then join the group she asked to assassinate people who might as well be twice as strong as him. She ran as quickly as she could, ignoring the gust of cold wind that met her every step and she stopped at a clearing. A clearing beautiful even with the stench of blood.
"Aaron?" She yelled. It was stupid, she knew, for what if the enemies were still there? But she could feel his presence fading and all logic went out the cliff.
"N…Nerys."
"Aaron!" She yelled, running to him, not even registering the two other bodies so near him. "Oh, gods." "Why?"
"I was too weak."
"I'm not asking about that! No—don't answer that." She told him. But against her wishes—like he always did lately—he did speak. "I just wanted you to smile innocently like you used to, you know." He said even when it came out a whisper. She could see her sights blurring with tears.
Aaron...
She only felt this sort of pain once—Killua,a voice whispered—and it seemed like he did it to her again.
...
They entered the house through the balcony, directly to where Leorio would usually treat the injured: His office. They found that Kurapika was covered with blood but none of it was his, but Basho (the one who fought before Kura arrived) was in need of some attention. "Former injus were monsters and they hired ones that were much stronger?" He said. He was no match for him, even with Leorio's help. Kurapika made him experience pain he never felt before when he arrived though, but somehow Basho was still ashamed.
"They were weaker than the members Spiders were five years ago, but they weren't that much weaker." Kurapika told them as if it would make him feel better. "You've held on well. No one died because of you."
Basho scoffed at that, before letting out a weak laugh—but one that was distinctly his. Everyone smiled. And that signalled the end of a tense atmosphere—and the beginning of a happy victorious one. Killua and Kurapika watched as Gon was stitched by Leorio (she insisted Killua got taken care of first), and their eyes met and they gave each other acknowledging nods. Kurapika motioned for the balcony, and Killua followed.
"I apologize again for what I said earlier," he told Killua as soon as he was outside. "It's weird, I thought I was going to let her go—to you—but it seems I still carry resentment."
"I don't blame you." "And don't pressure yourself. What you felt for Gon wasn't some shallow affection. It's a part of us now." And then to Kurapika's surprise, Killua chuckled as he turned to look him in the eye. "Take that from the guy who believed his girlfriend was dead for 5 years."
Kurapika smirked and they entered a companionable silence for a long time until Killua's phone rang. This time, he didn't mind the interruption. "What is it?" And then the feminine voice on other line, in a hyperactive tone, said something to Killua that brightened his face. Kurapika didn't get to ask because Killua already ran inside. "Zushi's awake!"
"EH?!" Gon yelled while the others expressed cheer in their own way. "That's great. When'll we leave?"
"I'll teleport us, then." They turned to look at Alluka, who was newly awake, but the recognition of the injury around her was visible.
Gon looked at her softly. "I'm sure Zushi can wait two days." But Alluka stubbornly shook her head in response.
"I can do it." She said firmly, looking at the bloodied people around the room. She must feel guilty for sleeping through the whole thing. Killua and Gon looked at each other worriedly, but with understanding. Alluka was Killua's baby sister after all. That stubbornness was practically invincible.
She walked to Gon and held her hand, dragging her to where Killua stood and held his hand with her other. The two looked at each other and sweat-dropped, knowing full well they had little choice now. So they gave the rest a nod.
"Well then," they told them. "See you soon."
…
The three of them stepped into the hospital room a few minutes later. Alluka was already looking extremely drowsy and the other two felt guilty for asking so much of the younger teen. Killua didn't wait for her to completely lose consciousness to carry her to Zushi's room. She fell asleep the moment he held her.
After placing Alluka on the couch, Gon and Killua stood by the bed and stared at Zushi hopefully. The nurses—sensing the unusually tangible soft atmosphere—excused themselves, volunteering on getting Alluka some more blankets. Zushi's eyes were hazy at first, staring only at the white surface above him, and it seemed it had been that way since the nurses messaged them.
And then, holding each other's hands, they called his name.
Slowly, but surely, Zushi's pupils began moving around, his head lethargically following. His eyes lacked the luster it once had, almost as if he was blind, but at the moment they were just relieved he was moving. Eventually, his eyes met Gon's… and then Killua's, and they widened slight but big enough for the two to see.
Tears flowed.
Hands approach Gon, who was standing closer to him. They let their guards down that moment, and never had an idea that they'd be regretting it. As if on cue, a sudden burst of sharp aura came from Zushi's hand. Killua didn't need to think, but unfortunately was only fast enough to push her out of the way.
It didn't even hurt—which alarmed him more. His body and mind was that shocked. Still, his eyes hurriedly wondered to the girl on the floor not too far from him, shock written all over her face. She even ran to him, her mouth shouting words that only sounded like ringing in his ears. But otherwise she was alright—the only blood on her were his.
So he smiled, just before his sights went black.
.
.
END OF CHAPTER 21
Coming Soon:
CHAPTER 22: Broken x Glass x Mending
As they say, the sun is always behind those dark dreary clouds of doom.
REPLIES TO ANGELS
Guest [Dec 22 2014] aka Ringo – Well then, I'm happy you're back and glad I helped nice-fy your return~ xD And abt fighting scnes, a lot will be in here. I hope they're decent! Lol. And of course, thank you for reviewing! And thx for the typo point out~
Dolce-tasie - Yay! I'm relieved you liked the pacing and that the stories touched you and that it didn't disappoint. *hearts* Glad you told me and Thank you for reviewng~!
LittleChomper - *bear hugs to you too* ~! xD I'm glad the effort is paying off (hopefully the next updates will come just as quickly) and super glad you liked the YY and Rhythm pair moments! Thx for the review~
Digilover23 – Thank you for reviewing~! I'm here to say I'm suuppperr happy that it touched your heart. May the story continue doing so! :D
Jonica77 – Thanks for commenting~! I'm glad you liked the chapter and if it makes you feel better, they won't do anything more than make out before they get married. ;D
Sweet Love081 – I know I know, don't kill me! xD I didn't plan it initially, but then I realized if I didn't then Alluka would be way too powerful. xD Glad you loved the chappy tho! Hueheue and thanks for reviewing~
Yuki Candy Heart – haha. Aww don't kill me~! Anyways, Senritsu shall not be forgotten! xDD And thank you for commenting. :D
Sierra. Steinbrecher – Well, Gon will be healed and the needle will be taken out. Next chapter. Probably. Huehue. Hope that's ok, and thank you for reviewing~!
Angel-Rei-chan1 – First of all thank you for reviewing! And lol. I'm relieved you're joking, then. And haha! Let's hope for their sakes that Alluka will buy their slip ups til the end of time. *cackles* And future son? Cool. In my headcanon they had 4 sons and 1 daughter lol. Which one? XD And get ready for the apocalypse damnit! APOCALYYPSSEE
Pri-Chan 1410 – I know I know. Would it help if I told you they were originally and endgame pair? But I didn't want Alluka to be so powerful so… *sobs* Anyway, thank you for commenting! :D Glad you liked it~
Slytherin Studios – Nerys is her name. You're almost there! xD And me too! Not quite happening just yet tho. /shot. And Thx for the comment! :D
V – Thanks for commenting! Here's the next chap! Hope you like itttt~! :DD
Itachi'smybae – oh me? Not update? Not when you people are being so supportive! Hahah. I'm glad you're liking the story so far and I'm super glad I get to hear from you now. I hope I still do in the future! Thank you for reviewing.
xXxRizaHawkeyexXx – IKR. I shipped those two HARD. But then I realized that would've made Alluka way too powerful so I made the legend. xD Thanks for reviewing btw and glad you liked it!
Grapes – Aww thank you for reviewing! I'm very happy I managed to create a feels rollercoaster for you! And that you found it beautifuuul! xDD
AlishaKay – I'm happy that everyon's happy! Awww thank you for the best wishes, and happy holidays (and best wishes) to you too! :DD
Darlingfedz – Awww I feel you bro. *brohugs* I had to do it to limit Alluka's powers further. Huhu. But super duper glad you found the chapter great regardless and thank you for reviewing~! :DD Hope this one's less angsty. no its not but oh well. xD
CursedXQueenXDoll – lololol. I agree! Alluka's friggin' cute. Hope you like that I'll be using her til' the end~ xD And glad you liked the chap! Thank you for reviewing! :D
Chosanbhir – First off thank you for reviewing! I couldn't have updated so quickly if it wasn't for you folks! More YY pair stuff here! And happy holidays to you as well! :D
FattyKitty – Oh it's definitely Senritsu! xD I shipped them! Sadly I couldn't have Alluka being that powerful. Anyway, I'll give him a sort of happy ending, but that's a while from now. Hope that's fine~ And thx for reviewing!
Chani – Thank you for reviewing! Glad to hear from you again and yinyang pair moments here it comes! xDD Sort of. More on the next chap, I swear! hahah
Birningice – haha Glad you liked it! I enjoyed writing that scene very much. xDAnyway, hope you like the moments this chap as well and thx for reviewing!
Pitou77 – Happy Holidays to you too and a happy new year! xDD Thank you for reviewing and so glad you enjoyed those scenes. Huehue. More on the next one!
Larrylyn27 – Aww I hope I can make up for the heartbreak with the Yinyang pair moments! Haha. Thank you for reviewing and happy New year!
Phoenix-Thunder - *enters the feels train* Well, it's going to slow down, but it won't stop until this chap ends. *warning* lol. I don't think they're cry-worthy tho. Haha. Anyway, super glad you liked the chapter! And thank you for reviewing~
TECKK – Yeah… I felt I had to do it. I was so sad too! Maybe I'll put them together on some other story. xD Anyway, thank you for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chap! ;D
Guest [Dec 30 2014] – Aww bless you too! xDD thank you for reviewing and hope you enjoy this chapter! xD
Animelover822 –Here it is! I hope it was worth the wait, and thank you for commenting! :DD
DrawingRAMPAGE - I uploaded the story precisely the moment you reviewed. Seeing as you're in chapter 12 (I smiling as I read) I'll post the reply to them in the next chap which I swear will come in less than a week. ;) I hope
…
THANKS FOR READING!
Happy new year, and
do remember that I'd love to know your thoughts! :D