ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ- ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [OLD]

03- 𝘛𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘹 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘬

We spent the rest of the day talking and laughing with each other in an attempt to try and cheer everyone up. Thankfully, it worked and we ended up falling asleep midday. Aunt Mito's house always felt so cheerful and calm that it was hard not to nap. Killua and I slept on the couch together, while Gon finally got his bed back.

When Killua and I woke up the next morning (with severe back pain, might I add), and heard Gon scrambling up the stairs and banging the door open.

"I got a box!" He shouted, holding up a small, metal container.

"Sir-" Killua rubbed his eyes, his hair disheveled.

"Gon, we're tired," I whined.

"But Aunt Mito gave me this box and said it had something to do with Ging!" He replied.

"Ging?" I repeated.

"My dad!" He giggled. "Killua, can you help me open it?"

"Yeah, I will." Killua walked over to him and picked up the box, glancing at it. "Hm. Okay. So...this...is the box, huh? Hmm...Let's see. Uh, how do you open this thing?"

"I tried a whole buncha things, but it wouldn't budge." Gon shrugged.

"Mind if I use a bit of force?" Killua put both of his hands on the sides of the box and smirked.

"Go ahead." Gon nodded.

"All right..." Killua put on a determined expression and tried to twist the box open, letting out a few grunts as he used more strength. I suspected it was incredibly difficult as he tried even harder. His grip had failed and he let go, panting because of the stress of his muscles. "No use." He sighed. "This thing's not normal! I could twist open a regular steel box, no problem."

"Well, of course it isn't." I chuckled, sitting down next to the two. "It's Ging, and while I haven't heard a whole awful lot about him, he seems like a secretive guy. It probably has some ability or curse on it or something so it's harder to open."

"Yeah, that'd make sense." Killua smiled. "But since we've got no idea what's inside, we can't exactly smash it, can we?" He shook the box a bit. "It doesn't even make a sound."

"Hmm..." Gon shut his eyes to think.

"Your dad only told Aunt Mito that she was only supposed to give you this after you became a hunter, right?" Killua asked.

"Yeah, that's what I heard." Gon replied.

"Not 'till you had become a hunter...huh..." Killua tossed the box in the air, before catching it again. "Woah." He gasped the second time the box fell down. He caught the box and wore a devilish smile on his face, an idea most likely popping into his head. "Wait a second. I got it! Gon, There's still one thing we haven't tried yet."

"Hm? What is it?" I leaned forward. 

"What's something you have now that you didn't have before you were a hunter?" Killua grinned.

"A hunter's license!" Gon and I stood up at the same time.

"Except...there's no opening for the card." Gon furrowed his brows.

"Maybe put it in the top part? Like at one of the lines." I pointed at the top and Gon tried, but it didn't get in.

"No, not that." Killua sighed, dipping his head down. "I meant Nen."

"Oh, right!" I chuckled. Gon activated some of his Aura and the metal that was surrounding the object had fallen apart, destroying the box with a blinding blue light. The metal plates landed on the ground with a loud clatter, and a smaller box had appeared.

"That's what's inside?" Gon asked. "Another box?" 

Killua just nodded. He picked up one of the plates after gently poking it, as though if he were to go straight into examining it he'd break it. "Regular steel plates." He turned the plate over. "No trace of adhesives."

"What is it?" Gon glanced at the object before Killua threw it at him.

"That design," Killua replied. "Look familiar?"

"Hey, that's the pattern that Gon needed to wear on his rope thingy! Y'know, that Wing made 'im wear." I looked over Gon's shoulder. Gon just nodded.

"The promise thread was designed to snap if Nen was ever used, wasn't it?" Killua pondered. "I'll bet you this pattern holds a power similar to Nen."

"And it looks like...Maybe the card goes in here?"Gon picked up the box (Y'know, the one inside the box?) and held up his license. He inserted it in the slot and it reacted with another glow. The box opened and Gon just smiled. "Hey, it worked!"

"Bingo!" Killua grinned. We opened the box all the way to find a cassette tape, a ring, and what looked like the SD card for a video game. Killua picked up the ring and just glanced at it, looking very confused. "Look. That pattern's on the back of the ring, too. You should be real careful before putting it on."

"'Kay." Gon shrugged. "You think Ging would...try to do something to me?"

"Well, he abandoned you when you were like, 2, so maybe, but I kinda doubt it," I replied. "You can never be too careful."

"They're right." Killua nodded. "Better safe than sorry."

"Well...we can start by listening to the cassette tape." Gon walked over to his closet.

"Guess so." Killua continued looking at the tiles. "Oh, can you copy it first?" He suggested.

"Yeah, sure. But why?" Gon turned around.

"Better safe than sorry," Killua said, yet again, this time with a smile on his face.

"Is that your phrase of the day today?" I joked.

"Nah, my phrase of the day is this." He grinned, before leaning closer to me. "I love you." He whispered.

"You're cute." I kissed the tip of his nose.

"Yeah, I know." He pulled me in for a kiss and smiled once we let go. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Better than how you look." I teased.

"Shush." He laughed.

"Hey, the tape's all ready! Or do you guys want more time?" Gon giggled.

"No, we're ready too. Let's play that tape!" I grinned.

"Okay!" Gon set down the cassette player and put the tape inside. It was silent for a little before static began to crackle.

"Hey...Gon." A man's voice spoke. "So, you became a hunter too, huh?"