Beyond the Grave [ILLUMI X CHROLLO]

[5] Lying To Pookie-Bear😔

Gon caught up with Killua outside of the club, Kurapika close on his heels. The two of them startled at the scene that met them—staff helping a bloody bouncer off the ground and Killua, frozen off to the side and looking paler than pale.

"Killua!" Gon cried, skirting around the mess to meet him.

Killua flinched, shoulders relaxing the moment he met Gon's eyes. "I think I blacked out, but I don't feel drunk anymore," he confessed, hand to his head.

He doesn't remember? Gon realized, dread seeping in. A part of him had hoped Killua would know that Gon had lied to him all those months ago so he wouldn't have to keep up the rouse. As far as Killua and Alluka were aware, Illumi's soul was with Chrollo and certainly not residing with Chrollo's enemy.

Who he's apparently engaged to?!

Gon shook the thought from his head. "Yeah, weird," Gon said with a nervous laugh.

Killua squinted at him.

Gon cleared his throat. "You said you were feeling claustrophobic in the mosh pit."

"Yeah, and you were also saying some insane stuff about being on drugs," Kurapika said, and then gasped, hand cupped to his lips. "Maybe someone spiked your drink."

Killua stared at Kurapika in horror all while Gon breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily for him, Illumi was a sore subject. They couldn't talk about Killua's crazed ramblings about being Illumi if the very mention of his brother made Killua ricochet between outrage and grief.

"Alright, that's it, I'm done for tonight," Killua said, a hand to his head. "Gon, I need to talk to you."

"I'm gonna head back in and find Leorio," Kurapika said.

"Good luck jumping the VIP gate," Gon said, waving as Kurapika returned to the door, flashing a peace sign.

The moment he was gone, Killua had Gon by the arms. "I think Pride was here," Killua said.

"No kidding," Gon laughed miserably.

Killua shook him. "I'm not shitting you! He was here—He—How did I recognize him? I've never seen him before. Maybe that's why I blacked out?"

"Did he say anything?"

Killua's hands dropped with a roll of his eyes. "Told me to shut up. Is that what it's like for Meruem in public? That was insane. How did he get through college?"

Gon had no real baseline for Sins in public because Killua's experience had altered Pride's own perception. To Gon, the world continued as normal. To Killua, the world stopped in a Prince's wake. And to Pride, Princes were ignored in Illumi's presence.

Gon had seen Pride treated just like any other human, and he'd assumed Killua saw the same. They were at odds and neither of them realized it.

"Maybe he wasn't here for you?" Gon suggested.

"Who else would he—" Killua blinked, startled, and met Gon's eyes again. "Was he here for you?"

Gon shrugged. "I don't know. I could ask Pakunoda later."

"Yeah," he said, at first shaky, and then with a confident nod. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Can we go?"

Gon broke into a smile. "Yeah, let's go."

They walked hand-in-hand to the nearest subway stop. The muggy summer air followed them underground where, in the quiet of a mostly-empty platform, Killua turned to Gon. The fluorescent lights turned Killua's bleached hair a stark white.