Itami || Killua Z.

4.3

"But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me."
- 'The Promise,' by When In Rome

"We should split up, y'know, divide and conquer," you suggested, thinking about how huge the marketplace was. "We could get to more things that way."

"Yeah, you have a point," Killua agreed. "You and I can go that way," he pointed East, where there was less people, "and Gon, you can go that way," he pointed West, which was at a downward slope. 

The market was on a slight angle, enough that if you placed an apple down, it'd go rolling away. 

"I can go off by myself," you placed your hands on your hips, exhaling through your nose. "We can regroup back here in two hours and have more things to boot." Both Gon and Killua exchanged looks, one of them concerned and the other grimacing. "What? You think I can't protect myself?" You frowned, almost hurt if that's what they thought.

"No!" Gon quickly denied. "You're super strong [y/n], don't you know how much of a presence your Nen makes?" He asked, gesturing to all of you. "Killua and I noticed it that day when we rejoined, but we didn't recognize it as yours, which is kinda the reason for our lame greetings."

"It's just that the Phantom Troupe are here," Killua explained the reason for not wanting you to go off alone. "We heard from Kurapika, and he told us to stay clear of them. Gon has the best instincts and reaction time out of all of us, so I think he'll be alright if he goes off by himself." 

"Well, ouch, but I get what you're trying to say," you sighed, cursing your own mind for jumping to conclusions. "The Phantom Troupe though, are you sure? Is Kurapika sure? With all that talk about avenging his clan, his judgment might be a little clouded."

"We aren't sure, but better safe then sorry," Gon stuck his tongue out and laughed, beginning to walk away. "We'll meet back up here at five, 'kay?"

"Sounds good, be safe!"

"See ya Gon!"

Gon walked down the stalls, soon disappearing from your sight. You turned to Killua, who had shoved his hands in his pockets. "Guess we better get started, right?"

"Yeah, suppose so," the both of you walked off, checking out items that had any Nen attached to it and placing down prices. This whole thing was so that you could get items to sell to the auction, hopefully. 

After writing down prices for a few things, you and Killua were starting to turn up empty handed. Someone was adding onto your own prices, which made you add on, and so on and so forth. There had been some talk between you two, mostly about Nen, but other then that it was pretty silent. You didn't like that. The silence felt like it was tearing at you, you had to say something, so you did, "So, uh, I kinda got something important to tell you."

"What is it?" He asked, without missing a beat. His hands were folded behind his neck, which looked uncomfortable, but he seemed to like it.

You could feel your heart palpitations banging against your chest, would you have to see a doctor for that? You could just ask Leorio about it earlier. "Tyrone's Face Full of Food is having a ten for 150 Jenny deal," you quickly lied, trying not to breathe too hard.

Killua raised an eyebrow and looked at you, "Why're you lying?"

"Oh, haha, you're right. It's actually that," you drew out the last word, trying to come up with a plausible lie. "Tomatoes are marketed as a vegetables because vegetables cost more than fruit." Technically true, but not what you wanted to say.

"[y/n], just say what you mean to say," you noticed that he was starting to get irritated, so you thought it through. His hand dropped from his neck and hung around his sides.

"Yeah, those were pretty bad lies. Hey, uh, what did the conman say to the police officer?" You asked, hoping to change the subject. You were embarrassed that you even brought it up.

"[y/n] just tell me what you were going to say," Killua stopped walking and looked at you. People were walking past you, some were bumping your shoulders while others were maneuvering around you two, "And stop trying to beat around the bush!"

"Alright, alright, fine," you let your voice dropped down, hoping that he wouldn't hear you. "I kinda think I might like you," you mumbled out, rubbing your arm. You looked up at his face, thinking that his face might look irritated or confused, but he looked more surprised. 

Killua's face twisted and scrunched while he looked at you, "Is this another one of your jokes?" His voice was clear and sharp, but it sounded like he tried to make it more light.

This could be your way out of this mess. All you had to do was say yes, then this whole thing could be forgotten by both of you. But you didn't want to do that, you kinda wanted Killua to know how you felt. Maybe he would think you were a creep?  He didn't have any reason to. Besides, keeping this secret made you feel sick, like you killed a man and you were the only one who knew. So, what came out of your mouth instead was, "N-No. I was a bit confused when I first found out, and it involved my friend telling me, and it wouldn't have been fair to you if I told you while I was still pondering them. So, yeah, I like you and it isn't a joke."

Killua was silent for a while, before a smile made it's way to his face, "You're such a weirdo. C'mon, I see more items we can buy."

"That's all you have to say?" You sighed loudly, glad that it was over. "I just poured my heart out and you decided it wasn't your taste? That makes me feel great," in truth it made you feel queasy.

"That's not-" he cut himself off, his face a blaring red. "I think I like you, I'm not exactly sure what it's like to like someone," he held his face high, his mouth a muddled mess.

"Well, that's alright," you shrugged, looking at the floor. "Emotions are weird sometimes and they're a mess to figure out, but they can be such a joy sometimes, y'know. Never thought liking someone would make me so happy, anyway," you mumbled out, grabbing his hand. Locking fingers, you held it up for him to see, "But I think this is a good place to start. Is it alright if I hold your hand?"

He covered his face with his other hand, a small smile peeked through his fingers. "Yeah, that's fine," he nodded, running his hand through his hair. "We should probably continue, there was a painting over there with some Nen on it," the blush on his face had dispersed, leaving him ghostly white. 

"Alright," you happily nodded, hoping that your hand wasn't sweating too hard. You thought it was, since you felt the sweat itself, but Killua didn't mind so you didn't either. His hand was rough and dry, a stark contrast against his soft hair and face. He pulled you toward some items, prices already on them. Writing down your own price, you walked to the next ones.

By the time the auction ended, you made off with most of the wares. Some guy had also bet on them, and he won one, but most of them went to you three. You went to talk to the auction director, hoping that you could enter in your items. "Jeez, why do people have such dark hallways?" You asked, walking down the hallway. You were meeting up with the auction director, the items in one of your hands.

"Suspense," Killua said, looking around at the hallway. "The more suspense people feel, the more likely they'll cede to your demands." He also had items in one of his hands, the boxes held up with a cloth bag.

"Why would they need suspense? We're the ones asking them for something," Gon adjusted both of his hands, making a more comfortable grip on the items he was carrying. 

"It's a mafia Gon, most of the time they're the ones making choices," Killua stated simply, almost as if it was obvious. 

"Wouldn't guns do the trick?" You shrugged your shoulders, looking to where light was pouring into the hallway, "The hallway didn't do much. At least, I think so."

You grip slightly tightened on Killua's hand. If the mafia ran the auction, then who exactly would you be meeting? Turns out, it was a man in a suit, who seemed more nervous than all of you combined.

***
i opened up this chapter to see what i had planned and oh boy