Foreign Lands (BC X HxH)

32 The queen

Killua, Gon, Asta, and Vanessa were just hanging out near her drinking couch. He and Vanessa were on the couch itself sipping wine while Asta and Gon were chatting nearby. He had zoned out again, and suddenly he was slapped. Killua came back to reality and blinked a few times. "Huh?" Gon gave him a worried look. "Your acting weird Killua" He tensed slightly, but leaned back with a shrug. "Just lost in thought" Gon grabbed his wrist and he frowned slightly at him. "I know you Killua, you don't just get 'lost in thought'. Something's bothering you and I want to know what it is!" Asta and Vanessa watched in silence, he chuckled. "I'm fine Gon" He tensed slightly as he grabbed Killua's wrist and dragged him outside. The other two followed curiously, but he kept on a slightly confused expression. On the inside however, he was panicking. FUCK, SHIT DAMN IT. HE KNOWS ME TOO FUCKING WELL WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?

Gon let go once they got outside and crossed his arms. "Tell me what's up with you" Killua gave him a slightly strained smile. "I'm fine Gon" he lied. Gon stiffened. "Killua I know what it looks like when you force a smile" He tensed slightly. "I'm telling you, I-I'm fine" Gon's eyes narrowed, the other two started to look worried. "You only stutter when your nervous or flustered, and you sure as hell aren't blushing" He gritted his teeth and took a step back. "I said fuck off" he snapped. Gon growled, then grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. "Let me help you!" You can't. He turned his head away, refusing to speak. "Why do you refuse help! Whatever's wrong won't get better unless-" He shoved Gon off him with a glare. "BECAUSE YOU CAN'T!" he yelled. Gon grabbed his wrists again, restraining them in front of him with a cornered and determined expression. "Something is wrong, you literally just admitted it!" Damn it this is spiraling out of control fast- "Hold on a minute is that..."

He glanced up just as Gon started to touch his face. Killua blushed a little. "W-What the fuck are you-" Gon's body went rigid, and he held his hand up. Fuck. "Killua, is this concealer?" He struggled a little but his body was weakened from the lack of sleep. Gon started rubbing at his face with his sleeve and Killua growled. "Alright fine! Just let me go!" Gon removed his hands and he turned his back, then gritted his teeth. He knows something's up. I can't sugarcoat it, I can't hide it, I can't lie, I have to...tell him the truth. "Killua you'd better be removing that concealer or I'll do it myself" Gon said firmly. He felt a tear roll down his cheek. Damn it, he's gonna...oh god how's he gonna react? He took a breath, then started removing it.

He breathed for a few seconds after, clenching his fists. "Well? You done yet?" Killua gritted his teeth and turned, all three expressions turned to shock, then alarm. "W-What the hell happened to your face man?" Asta stammered. "Those are some serious eyebags kiddo" Vanessa added worriedly. Gon froze. "Killua...when was the last time you slept?" He looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Monday" he mumbled. "That's a lie, you wouldn't be this tired from one d-" He looked down. "Last...Monday" He mumbled. "THAT WAS A WEEK AGO!" Gon yelled, grabbing his shoulder. "W-Why the hell haven't you slept? Oh god, that's why you've been acting so weird! I knew that it was your blood but I let you get away with it because I thought it was your pride, but you lost focus in the middle of the mission didn't you!" He shoved Gon off him and turned away again. "Why haven't you been sleeping? Sleep is important!" Asta said loudly. He gritted his teeth. "I-I can't..." Gon fell silent for a moment. "Then why don't I help you?" He gasped. "Wai-"

Gon brought his hand down on Killua's pressure point, then looked down at him worriedly in his arms. Why hasn't he been able to sleep? He only said he could go 3 days without sleep, not an entire week. Oh god, his face- "I-I couldn't even tell..." Asta stammered. "His acting is so flawless" Gon shook his head. "To you. Hell, he even fools me sometimes" Gon bit his lip. "But...Killua never loses focus. Even if he gets lost in thought he can still sense what's going on around him, I've seen it in action. He can keep track of 5 unpredictable moving targets at once with little to no issue" The other two followed him back to their little setup, he placed Killua on the hammock and settled down on a branch nearby. "Should we... tell Captain Yami?" Asta asked. Gon shook his head. "No. at least, not until I get a full explanation from him."

They climbed up there with him. "I have a bad feeling" Vanessa murmured. Asta gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, he's sleeping. Although he might not wake up for a few hours. Are you sure you want to wait that long?" He nodded. "I'm going to be here until he wakes up" Then he gritted his teeth. Something tells me that's not it. That's not the full issue. "Killua...only ever hides things from me when he knows I would worry. When he knows I won't be able to help" He fidgeted a little. "If it was that simple...wouldn't he have just told me?" They all looked down at Killua's sleeping form. "Well, we'll find out before today's over" Vanessa said softly. They talked for a while, they had been just chatting idly for about 30 minutes when suddenly they heard a gasp. Their eyes snapped over to Killua, who was sitting up and very much awake. Gon's eyes widened. W-What the hell?

Killua gritted his teeth, then slapped himself to clear his head. It's not real! It was a fucking dream. But why was he asleep? Had he passed out? Then he remembered. Gon, damn it Gon! "Killua why the hell are you awake? It's only been thirty minutes!" He suddenly sensed three presences. It was Gon, Vanessa, and Asta. He laughed bitterly. "I told you, I can't sleep. I can't figure out what the hell's wrong with me!" He put his head in his hands, tears started to roll down his cheeks. "A-At first I thought it was just my separation anxiety acting up, but then it wouldn't stop. It's the same thing, every night, it repeats over and over" His voice broke a little, and Gon put a hand on his back. "Killua, what do you see?" His breath hitched slightly, and his hands started to tremble as the images flashed through his mind "P-Pitou...and...and then the hospital. a-and then...and..." More tears rolled down his cheeks.

Gon turned him and he shoved his face into his chest, gripping at his back tightly. Gon hugged him back. "And then what?" He murmured softly. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the image out of his head. "A-And then I see...I-I see..." He couldn't bring himself to describe the scene, so he simplified it. "M-My worst...fear." He managed to say between his tears. Gon's arms tightened around him. "I-I can't. I can't watch that a-again." he stammered, gripping the back of Gon's jacket desperately. "I d-don't want to sleep anymore. n-not if that's all I s-see" Gon ran his fingers through Killua's hair, trying to calm him down. "Hey, shh." He murmured softly to Killua for a few more moments, when Asta spoke up. "How do you keep smiling, keep acting like yourself even when your breaking on the inside?" Killua let out humorless laugh. "Like I said, acting's my strong suit" Gon chuckled. "He's an undercover genius" He removed his face and frowned slightly. "Huh?"

Gon giggled. "You can sew like a pro, do makeup flawlessly, act out any role, not to mention your beautiful face-" he flushed, then scrambled back a little. "W-What the fuck! Stop it with your weird ass compliments!" Gon's eyes gleamed. "I'm not complimenting you, I'm stating facts. Those beautiful sapphires of yours are dazzling-" He blushed even harder and scowled. "S-Stop it! Your embarrassing me!" Gon grinned and reached out an arm. "Hey! I'm not done with the hugs!" Killua yelped and leapt backwards, hissing. He pouted. "About 5 seconds ago you were clinging onto me for dear life" He flushed. "It's called having mental issues!" Gon paused. "No, that's called having trauma" he specified. Killua snorted. "Mental issues are usually the result of trauma" Gon grinned. "So I'm right" He snorted. "No your wrong"

Then Gon turned serious. "When was the first time you saw it Killua?" he bit his lip and looked away. "I-It was...after. It was the night after the mission" He mumbled. Asta suddenly gasped. "Wait. The spikes, the spikes were cursed, what if it's part of the curse?" Killua looked up with wide eyes. H-He's right. Why didn't I think of that? Vanessa nodded with an alarmed expression. "It sounds like he's reliving in his worst memories, then his worst nightmare. That sounds like pretty decent curse magic" Killua gritted his teeth, breath going uneven. "H-How am I supposed to fix it? I can't stay awake forever" Tears stung the corners of his eyes and Gon leapt down beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "I-I don't want to see it again. I c-can't spend the rest of my life w-with that image in my head"

Asta dropped down with a hopeful expression. "I know someone who can fix it! One time I got my own arms cursed and she healed it in an instant!" he looked up, wiping his eyes. "Really?" Gon asked hopefully. "Yes" Vanessa responded, sliding down next to them. "The Queen Of Witches"

1650 words

To be continued...