Don't say, "I love you" | ✔️

XXIV

Gon didn't feel like he deserved to have trouble happen to him, when he simply made one mistake. Which was why telling the truth mattered so much, that would set him free.

HIM.

A singular term...

He glanced out the car window as he hunched over in the front passenger seat. There was still nothing but trees for miles and miles. His eyesight was acting funny, it would get blurry then the world would distort sometimes. It happened randomly, his vision would fade to black for a minute before properly restoring the world to its normal form. His skin was still highly radioactive active, which made him wonder if Killua had really went back home or if he was still stalking him.

"Gon, what does the phone say?" His aunt mumbled shakily, her eyes shifting to check for other signs of life along the road.

The black haired boy blinked his eyes, rapidly trying to will his vision back. He reached his fingers out, fumbling as he tapped the code on the screen. Soon as his vision came back he read aloud, "It says 3 hours till you reach your destination." He said it dully.

His eyes drifting to the scribble written in Ging's log books. There was a bunch of other addresses scribbled out, ones that they visited but upon arrival the hunters flipped out. It appeared no Hunter wanted to try their hand at whatever condition Gon had. Nobody really wanted to be around him either...each time they stopped at a rest area people would try to avoid the glowing radiant sight of him or people would pity him with sad eyes. When they looked at him sadly, Gon would fake a thankful smile.

Gon wondered if he could ever smile for real again.

"Damn! Why is this place so far?" Mito cursed under her breath. It was rare that the woman ever cussed but over the past 24 hours it was like she became a different person.

Gon flipped through the wrinkled pages of the notebook, "I think...there might be one closer." His vision faded in and out again. Light succumbing to darkness only to struggle and remain dominant once more. "Dr. Paladiknight. A doctor in training."

"He is a Hunter!? Who is also a doctor?"

"I think so. Ging always wrote in ugly chicken scratch. How can I read-?"

"Don't disrespect your dead father!"

"Sorry."

"Where is he located?"

"I'm not sure if the police busted in on our house and took the bo-"

"I MEAN THE DOCTOR!"

"Oh! Actually...it says off this road there!"

The car drastically began to slow down, as the turning signal went on. Headlights flashed on an old sign barely hanging from it's post as the car turned down the gravel road.

Mito mumbled, "I just got these tires fixed... it feels like we're gonna get a flat again." Her eyes darted around, "In the damn middle of fucking nowhere!"

Gon looked at his phone about to put the new address in, only to discover the bars on the side had been replaced with: no service.

'Fuck!' He thought. He wasn't quite ready to get bold and curse in front of his aunt. Despite her newly acquired mood, Mito wouldn't hesitate to clean his mouth out with soap.

They rode down the dirt and gravel road for about 5 more minutes before coming to a house. The house was bright and happy in comparison to the gloomy forest of darkness surrounding it.

Mito parked the car. She pulled out her keys, "You ready, Gon?" There was this relentless desperate hope in her eyes. A hope that wouldn't fade away no matter how much rejection they faced.