Thank you for reading this far! Special thanks to those who supported me by sending their thoughts and allowing me to feel their presences! Really, you are mostly the reason (considering Togashi's… transgressions lol) I still update. HUGS
Disclaimer: I wish I own Hunter x Hunter.
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Chapter 23: Dawns x Decisions x Delay
TWEBINNEN MOUNTAIN
Deceased licensed hunters, or rather their closest companions, were always given a choice to use the burial grounds the Hunter Association owned, if they so wished. Kurapika, Leorio, and Neon opted for the other option: to bury her themselves.
They chose a spot on an adjacent cliff, where Senritsu always loved to play her flute, and built her a mausoleum of her own—containing all of her accomplishments as a music hunter, placed around her concrete casket. And inside the walls, in what could only be the wind or something a little more supernatural, one could almost hear music—her music—and one can dwell within the calm sounds associated with Senritsu and her kind heart.
It was not a surprise, then, that in the few days since her burial, it had already become a small pilgrimage site for friends and Hunters alike—most of which had lives that Senritsu, in one way or another, touched.
Kurapika stood by the tree, inconspicuous to the eyes of her visitors. He watched them all come and go with what was a small, similarly inconspicuous smile.
Kurapika was glad. Because now he knew full well that Senritsu would never be forgotten.
…
YORK SHIN GENERAL
Several days later
It had been over a week since Killua himself was admitted to the hospital, Leorio mused as he nipped back to the hospital room after collecting more reports on his friend's condition. It was some time before dawn, and he was wearing a Doctor's coat (which made him look very cool, as Gon graciously pointed out). He was assigned to be the head doctor then, despite not even being a resident. The Hunter's card could do many manythings.
He gingerly opened the door, knowing they were probably still asleep as most of them had been sparring to pass the time, all the way past midnight. Leorio was glad he had an excuse to abstain. He'd rather not be humiliated.
In any case, he was right about them being dead tired. Gon was sleeping on her arms as they rested on Killua's bed, Kurapika slumbered as he sat at the bench not too far away, Bisuke (who arrived to ignite the spar against the fighters in the first place) slept seiza on the corner bisected by Gon's chair and Killua's bed, and Kess (at least one of Tzesguerra's men stayed at a time) was lying shamelessly on the floor. Alluka was lounging on the remaining space of the couch while Basho went back to work the day before to check on Light.
The older Nostrade had begun to respond to the point of actually working, not that they allowed him to do much. A number of the main servants (including recently-recovered Eliza, now going steady with Basho) were doing most of the work, and were instructed to appear merely as guides. Leorio wasn't quite certain what made him return with such progress …, but he had a hunch it had something to do with seeing Neon cry after years of being a self-possessed mafia lord.
Speaking of usually-infuriating pink-headed woman, he instinctively found himself surveying the room for Neon. At first he thought she was merely out-of-sight, but he realized she was not in the room. He almost went out to look for her, but decided on doing his job first.
Killua's condition had been stable for a while now, although he had yet to regain consciousness. Leafing through his records again, it amazed him that Killua even lasted for hours to be operated on. It had been a grim thought, but it was the truth. Killua had punctured lungs and main arteries, with many of the bones doing much damage to the organs.
And then after hours of operation, as he read the dozenth time, a girl performed some sort of ritual which she explained to be controlling Life Force. Leorio was impressed but he still puzzled. Even when he saw Kurapika heal his own minor wounds countless times—just how much could Nen help with such a case? Not much, he thought.
Unless Gon's reinforcement abilities somehow evolved.
In any case, he just took off his coat and placed it on the room's hanger (the room being his office now too) and left the documents on the side table before deciding to meander around the hospital, internally hoping he'd bump into his missing friend.
And after a few hours of perambulation, well after dawn, he did find her. She was in the gardens, staring at a few disabled people in wheel chairs, socializing, and laughing around.
"Zenny for your thoughts?" He asked from behind her. He saw her flinch in surprise but otherwise she just raised her palm, actually asking for her zenny. He scoffed, sat next to her, and handed the coin over anyway.
"Everyone had gone through so much, but they could still smile so brightly." She said, and he knew she was referring not only to those people she was staring at. She was probably remembering those long months of denial when she finally realized things weren't going to get any better.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," was all he said for a while. "People had different ways to deal with problems. Yours just happened to be throwing things to walls and people."
Neon sent him a glare, but he grinned in response.
"You still get miserable that way?"
"No." She said quickly.
"That's what matters, right?" Leorio said with a reassuring smile. "Who you are now, and who you are trying to be."
Neon only nodded, and they ended up entering a companionable silence, before Leorio broke it several moments afterwards. "Why the sudden act of introspection, Neon?"
"I was just thinking dad and I have reacted poorly with the circumstances."
"He's fine now, though."
"Yes," she said and Leorio realized that was the answer to his question. Neon didn't say anything for a moment, until she adopted a curious expression: a mix of sadness, nervousness, and warmth. "What are you two planning on doing now?"
"Well, I'll make sure you're father is stable, or the progress to it will be. And Kurapika will try if you could stand on your own."
"What's your assessment?"
"You'll both pass, at least soon enough." Leorio shrugged. "Especially you. I think you may just pass the Hunter's exam actually."
"Well…, you passed it."
Leorio did not take offense. "My point exactly."
Still, the silence that followed was a bit tenser. "So…" Leorio asked, scratching his cheek, before sending her his teasing grin. "You're going to miss us?" He didn't mention Kurapika's or his name specifically, but he thought she knew what he was talking about.
"Probably." She said, looking at him from her peripheral view. "You know you can take your time, right?" She asked, face slowly turning more towards him.
"Hmn."
"Where are you going to go after anyway?"
"Where we're needed." He said fully fixing his head to face her. Their bodies still faced forward, but their heads were getting closer.
She knew well now, after losing so much, what the difference between need and want was. But in her case, at that moment, they were definitely the same thing. "The Nostrade Mansion is your home now." She said, stating it as if it was a law. "Come back home any time you wish."
His eyes widened slightly as his head turned to face her, but he stayed in place, and he froze when she fully turned her head to him. They both flushed when their eyes met at such proximity and turned away as quickly as they could.
Then they heard the distant sound of sirens and Leorio stood up, clearing his throat. "I… better check that out."
"And I better see the others."
And they hurriedly went off different ways.
…
It was not often Leorio heard a yawp and a yowl from a single second in no more than three seconds. He was currently in the hospital's emergency ward and the place was busy with the new arrivals. Two men, both in suits.
"Please hurry!" One cried. "I can't be late for my wedding." Leorio was impressed and terrified. The man's leg was halfway from mutilation and he thought about his wedding?
"What's going on?" Gon asked from behind him. "Accident," Leorio said, arms nonchalantly crossed, and did not bother to face her. "A groom and his driver, I assume."
"I see…" Gon mumbled and his eyes turned slightly to look at her. "Can you… help me be alone with him? I want to try something." Leorio's eyebrow rose, and Gon pleaded with her eyes and this meant that he didn't really have much choice. "Please?"
Leorio sighed and agreed without retort, primarily because he wanted to see what she'd do. In all of his white coat glory, he daubed the curtain to the side and he walked imposingly to the side of the man's bed. A nurse was there, with his notes at hand (he was obviously writing notes when he arrived), and raised his head to look at him. "I'll take a look at him, close the curtains." He said. "And please go outside."
"What? Who are you?" He must be new, Leorio thought smugly. Or maybe he didn't take shifts these past few days. Probably the latter because he totally looked like a prominent—emphasis on prominent—doctor in that coat.
"I'm Leorio. Doctor. Professional Hunter. A member of the Zodiac Twelve." He said, flashing his card in the process. The nurse flinched a bit. "Any more questions?"
"A-Ah—No, sir!" The nurse said and, for some reason, saluted before scurrying off. Leorio and Gon exchanged amused glances before closing the curtains again.
The man/patient/groom was too busy groaning in pain to realize there were two new people beside him. "D-Doctor…" He called out but it was Gon who stepped closer. She touched his bloodied ankle and closed her focused eyes. A moment later he shivered, the sort when strong nen was being summoned.
It's happening, he mused, and he unconsciously leaned down as he watched as closely as he could. These were the moments he'd come to appreciate the sensitivity his eyes developed for the most miniscule movements of the body, particularly the muscles. Gon was becoming stiff. And pale. Gon was sweating cold sweat, and she was biting her lower lip.
It was as if she was in pain.
His attentions shifted so much to Gon, and the anxiety that accompanied it, that he winced and accidentally took a step back when the man exclaimed—unaware of what just happened to the man. "O-Oh my goodness! What did you do?!" he yelled, but it was far from accusatory. It was filled with disbelief and as the groom assessed his wounds, Leorio did too, and Leorio could swear his eyes were bulging out.
All that was left were pink marks; it was almost like he was just sitting at an oddly weird position for a while, at most. "….amazing." He whispered to himself and looked at Gon with a proud beam that disappeared soon after he realized how much paler she got. He opened his mouth to ask how she was feeling when color came back to her and she checked up on the man soon after as if nothing major happened. It was like his worries were unfounded. But unfortunately for Gon, he knew her better than she thought.
It was around this time when new frantic voices appeared around them. It was the groom's family, and they were very rowdy. "I-I-I don't know what happened but it's a miracle!" the man yelled and looked at Gon, who gave a mild smile in response. Every member of the family thanked Gon, told her their deity would bless her, and another set of endless thanks. Gon was not fond of the attention, and Leorio knew fatigue was having its way with her, and so Leorio changed the topic by asking what was going to happen in the wedding.
It was delayed by an hour, they told him, but they decided to push through. After all…, The wedding must go on!
And just like that, the very enthusiastic family disappeared from the hospital's premises…, and straight to the church.
"Hey Gon." Leorio whispered as soon as they were standing alone by the corridors, with no one daring to call on to them. She sat there and heaved a sigh, tired. Leorio pushed his glasses up awkwardly, before collecting his words. "What's the condition for your healing ability?"
She lifted her head to look at him, and he let the silence pass. "I simply feel the pain they feel." She said and his eyebrows rose in worry. "The exact pain?" he blurted out. She shook her head in response.
"At least thrice," Gon told him. She was almost shrugging. "It can go up the ten folds, depending on how deeply the person wants to get healed."
Leorio took a moment to absorb that, and his gut felt heavy at the conclusion. To sum: the more they desire to heal, the faster it could happen, and the more painful it would be for her.
He didn't say anything for a while, imagining quite a bit of scenarios in his head. Finally, he turned to face her again. "Have you tried this on Killua?"
She nodded. "But when the patient cannot feel pain, in Killua's case because he's unconscious, or can't desire to be healed, I can do nothing." "I should've thought about it deeper when I was making it, but I couldn't think of vows strong enough to heal Killua." "It backfired."
Leorio's eyes softened as she sighed in defeat. He couldn't help but pat her head. "Sa… no need to worry. He should gain consciousness in a few days. And he'll be running around in a few months." "You'll see him soon, and you'll impress him with your ability.
"I suggest using euphemisms for the condition though." He said with a rueful smile. "We all know how much of an easily-stressed worrywart he could be."
…
Meanwhile…, on another part of the world, Milluki and Nerys met by coincidence during their respective missions.
It was an extremely unfortunate coincidence, really. Her bank account was almost empty because the rest of the injuus demanded their pay (and added cost of looking for the four's replacements) so she was forced to take more jobs than usual. And her father, now that her engagement was cancelled, decided to be a little stricter with her.
Apparently Atom called him out: Less doting, more parenting.
Damn them all.
"I see my brother's humiliated ex-fiance."
Damn you too, Milluki.
"I see my ex-fiance's still-annoying brother."
Milluki did not bother with the retort and just continued eating his chocolate. How he was suddenly maintaining his weight, despite the fact he ate even more now, she didn't know. In any case, they walked past each other in the lively sidewalk of the city. But before she even got a few steps, she heard Milluki say: "You know Killua's basically in a coma, right?" Then casually added an afterthought. "Dying, really."
Her feet stopped moving, and her head whipped to face him. "What?"
"Well, it's not your doing." Milluki shrugged, and she just knew he was telling him because he was bored (sadistic pig). "Ironically, it was an accident." And then he looked straight into her eyes, as if doing it to her wasn't torturous enough. "Trying to save Gon's life. No surprise there."
"You're telling me this why?" She asked, despite having an idea, simply because she couldn't think of anything decent to say. She needed this conversation to go on. Otherwise she'd beg for him to tell her where Killua was.
"I enjoy seeing people cry."
The sad part was she totally lost this argument.
…
Later that night, Mito and Illumi arrived just before Bisuke was about to leave. "I need to go check the boys back in the game," she told them with a shrug, albeit a bit regretfully as she hugged Mito farewell again. "I just hope Pariston hadn't killed him."
Mito flinched almost imperceptibly at the mention of Pariston, which Illumi noticed anyway and he frowned (wishing an unfortunate fate to inflict the blonde in the process). In any case, Mito and Bisuke vowed to meet soon over wonderful dragonleaf tea. Illumi did not say anything to anyone, and his eyes never left Killua's form after that.
Both Kurapika and Alluka were wary, the former standing between Killua and them. Kurapika unconsciously looked around. It was only the two of them other than Killua and the newcomers. Neon and Leorio had just gone back to check on her father, as Kurapika suggested, much to the two's displeasure. Kess was called in by Tzesguerra for a mission and for the first time in weeks, there was no T-man in the room (they did, however, promise to send cake).
However, Mito smiled and told him it was alright. Gon already told her everything. And Gon, as if on cue, entered the room less than a minute later… blinking at the sight of the newcomers, and ran to embrace Mito, subconsciously placing herself between Mito and Illumi, before generally ignoring the latter. But, of course, Kurapika noted in surprise (despite Mito's words) that Gon didn't show any sort of hostility at all.
Kurapika, who developed a habit of memorizing every inch of Gon he could see, noticed that a small pouch was dangling on her leather belt. "What's in the pouch?" Gon blinked and looked down and patted the pouch by reflex. "Oh this?" she uttered out. "They're just Momo's crackers."
Momo was her large messenger bird. Kurapika hadn't seen in in a while, but certainly not long ago as it felt. A lot had happened since then. "What was Momo here for?"
"Well, you said it'll take another few weeks for Killua to recover, right?" she faced Kurapika. "I promised I'd take him to the continent with me."
"…I see." Kurapika said, nodding. He watched as she then tilted her head up to look at Mito. "I sent a letter to Ging," she told her aunt. "I told him not to wait for me."
"What?"
She smiled and gratefully looked at Alluka. "Hopefully we'll find a way to get to him eventually." Even Alluka got the implication and, as worried as she was about Nanika not coming out lately, she beamed that she could possibly be of help again. Gon and Alluka grinned at each other before the former went to face her aunt (or her stomach, rather) excitedly again.
"Besides, I also want to see your child." Gon chuckled. "It'll technically be like a sibling!" she yelled, since she had always seen Mito as her mother. Mito laughed with her.
"You're technically an aunt," she corrected, before her smile softened to one with a hint of anxiety. "Are you sure though?"
Gon nodded without hesitation, gingerly turning her head to Killua. She only stared at him for a moment, before speaking. "I have no doubts," she told them, or herself, and her eyes never left him. "He will wake soon."
Mito patted her head, yet Gon did not take away her eyes off Killua. "I think that's overtly optimistic, Gon—even for you."
Gon did not answer. How could she not be optimistic? The darkest hour of the night is the hour before the dawn, Mito herself once told her. She trusted that dawn would come soon.
And just like that, several hours later, she would fall asleep holding his hand—only to be woken by an unexpected twitch on her hand. Her eyes opened but, still half-asleep, she didn't move until another stronger twitch caught her attention. Slowly she turned her head to look at her fingers, the ones connected to Killua's.
She stared and the ray of light that was beginning to enter the room. It was the first ray of sunlight greeted her awakening. And Killua's.
Patiently, he waited for him to feel the sun's warmth and open his eyes. And he did, making her grin. "Ohayou, Killua."
.
.
END OF CHAPTER 23
Coming Soon:
CHAPTER 24: Walking x Connected x Reunited
Prelude to another adventure
REPLIES TO ANGELS
LittleChomper – lolololol. Pariston rules. That guy needs more screen time lel. And glad Illumi's image is a bit better now haha. And the AntiGing pair, eh? I like writing them, so who knows? Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing btw!
Digilover23 – Here it is! Hope it was even nicer and glad you liked the previous chapter. YinYang pair happens next chapter tho…, and thank you for reviewing~! :DD
Pri-Chan 1410 – Thank you for commenting~! :D Oh and yep! Killua'll wake here… albeit much later. GonKillua moments will happen next chapter. *wink* Hope you enjoy regardless.
Teeteecee – I'm glad you're excited for the new arc! Don't expect too much tho. xD It'll probably be less exciting than the first part of this story. Oh, of course, thx for reviewing! :D
Animerlover822 – The oath eh? Well, it's nothing particularly dramatic but I do hope you like it! hehe. Thx for commenting, btw. :D
Yuna x Haku – Here's the update! Hope it was worth the wait. xD Oh and a flame is like a comment aiming only to insult. Flames are bad, but critiques are good. ;) Thx for the comment btw!
Phoenix-Thunder – N'aw, I was talking generally. xD Anyway, glad you enjoyed the chapter and don't feel bad. Always better late than never! Glad you liked what I decided on Alluka and Illumi and now that you mention it—I am looking forward to write a child-rearing Illumi. LOL. Oh, and Thank you for reviewing!
Pitou77 – Thank you for reviewing! xD Glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope to keep it up. Oh, he'll only wake later in this chap tho. Hope that's ok! ;D
VChan - Here's the update! I'm sorry I'm taking so long lately… but I do hope this is worth the wait. :D thanks for reviewing~
Grapes – yep! It was based on that. I thought I'd be missing something if I didn't do something like that. Hoep it went out nicely! Glad you're enjoying this so far, and thank you for reviewing! ;D
Slytherin Studios – Thank you for reviewing~! Glad you're still liking this so far hehe. Hope you enjoy this chap as well!
Ael fyragh – Critique noted! And thanks for pointing it out. Anyway, glad your liking the story so far and I do hope you continue enjoying it till the end. ;D thx for reviewing~
Darlingfedz – Awww I'm so glad it gave you feels and *cheers* for missing HxH. I wonder when it'll update darnit! Haha. Anyway, don't feel pressured. Read at your own time, and thank you very much for the support~ :D
xXxRizaHawkeyexXx – That's so cool and yep! Seen it (username is Mimi, yes?) and it's fabulous and well-made. What program did you use? :DD Oh, and glad you like the chap. Thx for reviewing! xD
Angel-Rei-chan1 – Yay! Glad you liked how the chapter turned out and yes! Alluka's fuggin adorable and looool OMG that image of Killua drooling lol. Oh yeah.., sadly the funeral got interrupted. I hope the aftermath is decent tho. xD Thx for reviewing btw~
DokiDoki0725 – (ch4) Glad you made it here! I saw you in Two Rivers: Beginnings. Hehe. (ch5) They do, they do! I just hope you reach all the way to this chapter. Hahah. Thanks for the reviews!
Pokefan008 – Here it is! I've planned the story til' the beginning of the Dark Continent arc so don't worry! thx for reviewing btw!
XxFlamerxX - Thank you for reviewing first of all. Next chapter will have more YY pair, this chap doesn't have much. Hope that's fine~! xD
Sweet Love081 – Yes she has! xD I'll deal more on that in the next chap. Hehe. Glda you like it, and thank you for reviewing. ;D
Saria Forest14 – Awww, thank you for reviewing! I am so glad you found the story elements impressive and I'm very happy. More on the KilluaGon interactions next chap tho, but I hope this chap is enjoyable. :D Enjoy! Ahha
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Thank you for reading!
As always, do help me out by letting
feel you're still with me. *hugs*