King of Hearts

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Class didn't go as expected.

When Gon arrived, his shirt was still a mess around the hem and he was of the first to show up. He tried unsuccessfully to tuck it in, but with it tucked in, it caused bunches around his hips where the fabric was too abundant to hide. He pulled half of it out with a sigh as he watched his classmates arrive. He'd just have to come to terms with the fact that he was a walking disaster that day.

That Wednesday had passed so incredibly oddly that it felt as though days rather than hours had gone by since divination class that morning. It was because of this that he didn't expect any comments on the fact that he had spent divination alone.

"Take it you didn't walk your master to class," Shizuku commented as she walked up nearly on the dot to the start of class.

Gon grimaced at the word 'master'. He hadn't heard that one before. "He's not—Whatever," he muttered. He was startled by how sour Shizuku's comment made him. "He's not in classes today."

Why am I making excuses?

"I wonder if something's wrong. Whenever Machi doesn't make it to class, I usually skip to find her. It was like that in high school, too," she said, a finger to her chin.

"How long have most... champions known their partners?" he asked.

"Most headhunting happens in middle school and high school, but we aren't allowed to equip until university."

Gon had, technically, been in high school. He wondered if Killua had seen his Olympic Trial disaster. "Oh," was all he could say, because he couldn't help but feel annoyed that he had been equipped so late in the game. He wished he had time before Yorknew to prepare for the moment when Coach Biscuit asked for two volunteers.

Shizuku put her hand up. She walked forward, glancing over her shoulder at Gon. A challenge, definitely a challenge. Gon followed after her, only to stop when Coach put a hand out to him.

"This is a manifestation demonstration, Freecss," she said, and Gon bristled at the snickers behind him.

"I can do this," he said, stupidly, idiotically, god-fucking-dammit—

Coach Biscuit shrugged and moved ahead to guide Gon and Shizuku to their places. It didn't take long for Gon to recognize the situation as it unfolded between them with Coach Biscuit as their referee.

Gon faced Shizuku across a great expanse of grass as Coach explained what would happen and how he and Shizuku would go about manifesting their weapons. He saw Shizuku's soft, ditzy smile from across the field and felt his hands clench at his sides, gripping at the fabric of his slacks. He thought about everything Ikalgo had told him, and what it meant to be a champion. He'd be fighting other champions just like this, and he couldn't do that without manifesting some kind of weapon worthy of Killua's magic.

Gon stilled the instant Coach shouted the command to begin.

Shizuku snapped her heels together her hands braced at her sides. She shut her eyes and in an instant, the first trickle of magic Gon had ever seen began to radiate from her hands like frost.

She crossed her hands in front of her and dragged her fingertips along the underside of either arm. The frost consolidated, swirling into a long, crystalline icicle. The sunlight refracted off of it in a myriad of colors glittering along in the Atlantic breeze that swirled and caught in her trimmed, black hair. It took Gon's breath with it when she snapped her hands out and cut them down, sending the icicle spinning into the air before she caught it at the whicked end and sliced it to the side. Gon heard the whistle of the ice cutting through the breeze just before a half-hearted applause went around their classmates.