𝖍𝖝𝖍 𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘

down comes the night

Leopika👔🌞

Summary: "September 1st, in Yorknew City!"

Leorio Paladiknight finds himself in the bustling metropolis months after promising Gon, Killua, and Kurapika. It's been a while since he's seen or talked to any of them, which would be fine, except for some reason, he's particularly nervous about seeing Kurapika again. But while he finds Gon and Killua, neither of them have heard anything from their friend...

... this is basically just the Yorknew Arc from Leorio's POV

Author: full_ofstarlight (on ao3)

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"September 1st in Yorknew City!"

Leorio keeps the date penciled in on his calendar. He doesn't think much of it, because he keeps a lot of dates penciled in on his calendar. The date to turn in his entrance exam application, the date to pay his first month of rent, the date to take the exam itself. It is just another mark on his calendar, really.

Even if it is one he thinks about constantly, one that hovers in the back of his mind as he goes about his day and pours over his notes.

The studio apartment he rents isn't much. Sure, with a Hunter license now, he can probably afford something better, but this is just a temporary situation. It's cheap and it's quick and honestly, the shittier the place, the more motivated he is to study for this damn medical entrance exam and get his ass into medical school.

It's also a reminder of where he came from. Of where he needs to go.

He managed to stash a desk next to the bed and found a janky old television to haphazardly balance on the dresser. There is a window in here, which seemed like a luxury at the time, but it also means that the sounds of the city keep him awake late into the night. It bugged him at first, but sleepless night after sleepless night, Leorio has realized that maybe he'd rather the honking and the chatter and the rumble of the train keep him company.

It's weird being alone now.

There is something about almost dying together that bonds you with strangers.

It's August 30th and Leorio comes back from the library, kicking off his shoes. The door slams shut behind him, the paint peeling slightly off the walls. He dumps the keys on the counter and reaches into the cabinet above the sink to grab another cup of instant noodles. Setting the kettle on the stove, he reaches into his pocket for his phone, mindlessly scrolling through the message notifications.

There aren't any he wants to read, though he did just get a confirmation for his flight tomorrow.

Leorio knows he shouldn't worry, but he does. No one's actually confirmed that their plans are still happening, but then again, it's not like those crazy kids are ones to think through a schedule. Actually, Leorio doesn't even remember if they have phones or anything. In retrospect, literally all of this was ill-planned — beyond the word of a promise, they hadn't said anything about a meeting place or a specific time or even really exchanged contact information. For all Leorio knew, Gon and Killua could be dead in a ditch somewhere.

Nah — he shouldn't think like that. The kids were fine. Hell, considering they'd saved his ass multiple times during the Hunter Exam, they were probably doing fantastically.

It wasn't them he was worried about, really.

It was stupid. The one number he did have and he couldn't bring himself to text it.

Luckily, he'd at least had the foresight (and the fucking guts) to get it.

—

After parting ways with Killua and Gon, the two of them sat in the airship station, waiting for their respective flights out of the Republic of Padokea.