Trying x To x Understand

Chapter One

Author's note: Very first fanfiction I'm actually aiming to publish! I've been longing to write the main four interacting, ever since I finished the 2011 anime... this morning. I just can't wait for the manga update! So, in the meantime, this takes place after episode 148. Have a pleasant time with my writing!

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As Leorio continued to sit on the leather seat for the third hour of the flight, he couldn't help but look down at his phone. He knew it was stupid, but he hoped he would get a text or a call from literally anyone right now, despite the fact that the only people he actually wanted to talk to were going to see him in half an hour.

Half an hour... it still seemed unreal. He hadn't seen Gon, Killua, or Kurapika in months, and now they were just going to casually meet up on Whale Island? He knew he should be happy, and he absolutely was, but he couldn't help being confused about the Kurta as well.

Why hadn't he contacted Leorio if he had the time to do so with Gon, when scheduling their reuniting? He didn't remember anything bad happening between them since they had last talked, but Leorio knew well that people change. Hopefully, this wasn't a negative instance of that.

Maybe he was worrying for nothing. Maybe there was something that could totally explain why his friend hadn't called back, and Leorio was too dense to notice. That was probably the case-- it wouldn't be the first time that happened. But then, why did it feel so... off?

Leorio had tried to distract himself from the lingering dread for the past week. He stressed over flight times and costs (though he didn't really need to: he was good with these things), wondered what Gon's home was like, and even read his textbooks, for crying out loud-- but nothing shook off the idea of Kurapika being an entirely different person to Leorio. A bad kind of different.

The kind of different where Kurapika was unhealthy. The kind of different where Kurapika was sad. The kind of different where Kurapika didn't care about living.

The kind of different where Kurapika wasn't his friend.

He knew it was weird, but Leorio missed the days of the Hunter Exam: the days where Leorio was being stupid, Killua made a witty remark towards him, and Kurapika cracked a smile; where Kurapika laughed at his expense; where Kurapika watched Gon, Killua, and Leorio converse, eyes shining with happiness, even if subtle. God, just the days where Kurapika was smiling, laughing, or looking happy.

The doctor didn't even know if he even did those things anymore, and that was what worried him most. Leorio just wanted to see Kurapika being the observant, cautious, and quietly witty person he actually was, and not the angered, reckless, and sad person he became when those eyes glowed scarlet.

By this time, he was just looking outside the window, probably with a sad expression on his face. He snapped to, and turned away from the window to look at his magazine. But... he just couldn't read it. No, he didn't want to. That was... weird. He usually loved to read his magazines.

Maybe Kurapika's got me too baffled to think, he thought. Damn Kurta.

He missed him.

And Gon.

And Killua.

Fuck, maybe he even missed Killua's little sister-- though probably just for healing Gon.

He just wanted to see his buddies again.

And to get off this uncomfortable-ass seat!

He put his head back, closed his eyes, and groaned. Hadn't it been three hours yet? How long did it take to get to that island, anyway? He should file a complaint.

Just when he was about to groan even louder, a lady's voice came over the loudspeakers on the plane. "Greetings again, passengers! The plane willbe landing on Whale Island in fifteen minutes."

Wait, what?! Fifteen minutes?! He wasn't ready!! What was he going to do? For all the thinking he did, he would have thought he would have thought about what to actually do when he reunited with his friends.

As the lady repeated the same shit he already knew about not walking around and gathering your things, Leorio internally panicked while doing the latter. As he grabbed a textbook and put it in his carry-on, he realized something.

Why do I need to worry about how to act around my friends? They're my friends.

He sighed and finished putting his things messily into his bag. Why was he worried in the first place? He was going to get to see them again, and that was all that really mattered.

Leorio couldn't wait to hear Gon laugh. He couldn't wait to see Killua's eyes shine like they always did when he was around Gon. Leorio couldn't wait to just see Kurapika.

Fuck if he was sad, mad, or reckless. He was Leorio's friend. A best friend. So he would accept however Kurapika was at the moment. And if he couldn't, he would try to help the Kurta change back into the intelligent, watchful, and inconspicuously humorous person he actually was.

"Attention, passengers! We have reached your destination, Whale Island. We hope you enjoyed your flight! Please exit the airship in a calm and orderly fashion."

As the fellow passengers began to rise and exit, Leorio grinned and entered the now growing line to leave. No matter who Kurapika, or any of them, were, Leorio would still hug them and be their best friend. They had gone through too much to not stick together.

Leorio, now stepping out of the airship, looked down at his phone. He wouldn't really need it, now: his friends were going to see him in a matter of minutes.

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Welp. First chapter! Hope you liked it! I don't know how long this is going to be, and I don't plan to end it soon. I'll try to update it as much as possible, but I'm a rather busy child. Even so, please leave comments and votes! I'd love your support in this!