King of Hearts

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Gon slapped a hand to the wound on his neck and immediately regretted it. He crumpled with a yelp, ducking down. He cursed at the sting that pierced his trapezoid like a goddamn needle through his muscle. Gingerly, he peeled his hand from the sticky, hot skin around the wound. No wonder it felt like he slept odd the night before.

Zushi leant into the dorm room. He glanced back at Canary, who tapped the time on her phone. "You go ahead," Zushi said.

"You sure? Alluka should be here soon—"

"I know, I was just talking with her," he said. Canary nodded, but still hesitated to turn away. They both looked back into Gon's room where Gon was frantically touching the wound and looking at his hand, as if expecting it to be soaked with fresh blood. Zushi crossed the hall to his room with every intent of fetching his first aid kit. By the time he got back, Canary was gone, and Gon had his nose up against the mirror, squinting at the mark.

"Quit touching it—it'll make it worse," Zushi said, swatting Gon's hand away.

"It stings, though—"

"Yeah, because you're touching it," Zushi said.

"What is it? I don't remember having a run-in with Jack the Ripper," Gon said, turning to Zushi. He watched Zushi's brow furrow as he popped open the first aid kit and set it on the edge of Gon's bed. He sprayed disinfectant on the wound, and the instant Gon sighed in relief at the chill that coated his feverish skin, he hissed at the sting of alcohol in the open cut.

"You're more likely to have a run-in with the spiders around here," Zushi said, and when Gon raised an eyebrow, Zushi shrugged. Gon had experienced a few spider bites in his day, and this certainly wasn't the case.

He stuck a squarish bandaid over the freshly cleaned wound. Gon grimaced at the tacky adhesive, but he was eternally grateful for Zushi's quick response. He wasn't sure what he would have done or said to anyone giving the wound weird looks.

"Thanks for waiting for me and stuff," Gon said.

Zushi snapped the first aid kit shut, grabbed Gon's discarded tie, and tossed it to him as he said, "Don't mention it. We've gotta move, though, so hurry up."

"Right, right," Gon said, already looping the tie beneath his collar. He grabbed his backpack, stuffed his water bottle into the side pocket, and raced out of the door after Zushi.

They all but ran down the stairs to the first floor where Gon jumped the last few steps to the bottom. He was the first to skid out into the tunnel where he recalled the route he and Ikalgo took the day before—

"Alluka!" Zushi cried, startled. Gon screeched to a halt, turned, and caught sight of a familiar Zoldyck standing against the tunnel wall, hands clasped in front of her black skirt. Zushi straightened the front of his shirt as Alluka studied them both. Gon tensed as he put a hand to the bandaid, fully aware that Alluka had stared at it for a second too long. "Sorry I'm late—I can walk you to your class now."

"That would be lovely, thank you," she said.

Zushi nodded, clearly out of breath from having run down four flights of stairs in a panic. Gon was no better, but it was purely from the adrenaline suffocating his chest and throbbing in his throat where he could feel the wound pulsating underneath his hand. He watched as Alluka turned towards the courtyard and started off.

Zushi shrugged at Gon. "I'll see you around?" he said.

"Yeah, see you," Gon said.

With that, Zushi turned on his heels and jogged after Alluka. He took her book bag and carried it on his shoulder as they walked calmly across the brick path away from Gon and where Gon was certain he and Zushi had class.