Wild Afflictions

Chapter 7

 The next morning, both Gon and Mito woke up quietly, both enjoying a normal breakfast within their kitchen, almost as if they hadn't had a crazy evening with a child nearly dying in their bath. It was nice and calm, both trying to just get a handle on the morning.

But that was quickly destroyed when they heard a crash in the living room and the sound of a spooked shout. Without wasting a second, both of them raced into the living room to find the boy sitting straight up, eyes racing around the room, completely tensed up in his position.

The boy's eyes finally laid themselves onto the two Freecs, who watched him quietly, and he began to freak out more, in an instant he was trying to stand up. Gon took a step forward, which sent the boy into more of a frenzy, looking like he was close to jumping out of a window. Right then, Mito put a hand in front of Gon, signaling for him to stay put for now then stepped forward quickening to get a hold of the boy, holding onto him in force him to sit down, whispering softly to him.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Just lie down, we're not going to hurt you, okay? Shhh." She started to rub her hand against his back, and Gon watched as the boy slowly relaxed, curling up into Mito and holding onto her so tightly that the fabric of her shirt looked like it was going to rip. "Shh, sweetie. Just relax. You're okay here. Just relax so you don't get hurt more," she continued, before directing her sight toward his leg, which was still tightly wrapped in bandages, which calmed some of her worries.

What was more concerning at the moment was how tightly this young boy was holding onto her and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get him to let go.

She slowly started to pull away, only to hear the boy mewl into her shoulder, grip tightening on her shirt, and suddenly all her motherly sense started to kick in and she just felt the need to protect this boy.

"It's okay sweetheart, I'm not going to go anywhere. I just wanna look at your leg,"

His grip slowly started to loosen up, just enough for her to move to check his leg, but he still held onto her sleeve, like a child holding onto their mother in a large shopping market. It hurt her heart a bit.

She checked his leg, happy to see that it was still holding up, all the good signs of healing there, and then she looked over at Gon, who was still in a bit of shock.

"Come here sweet boy," she said to Gon while patting the futon beside her, making sure that she was in between the two boys because something about Gon kept setting this boy off and she wasn't about to have another freakout.

The boy shied off beside her, scooting away from both her and Gon as he sat beside her, so Mito took it upon herself to hold out her hand to the boy. "It's okay, he's with me. This is Gon... do you remember him?"

The boy stared at them both with wide blue eyes before giving a short nod, taking Mito's hand after a quick beat.

"He brought you here, your house," she gestured around, and the boy just watched her as she talked. "And my name is Mito. I fixed your leg. We're both going to help you get better... okay?"

At the mention of getting better, the boy looked down at his leg and reached to touch it, only to flinch at the pressure being applied and the pain following it. Inspecting the bandages for a little bit longer he then stopped and returned his gaze back up to the other two before nodding, but then looking at Gon suspiciously.

Mito noted this, realizing that gaining the boy's trust, especially for Gon, may be harder, but she was happy that he at least wasn't freaking out anymore. She was also happy that at least he was able to understand her and Gon, which made dealing with everything so much easier.

"Are you able to speak sweetheart? Do you have a name?" She finally asked.

The boy nodded and opened his mouth as if to speak, only for a squeak to escape and the boy to erupt into a coughing fit.

"Water," Mito ordered, but Gon was ahead of her and already grabbed the glass of water from the table beside them, handing it to her, who handed it to the boy. The boy drank it quickly, the glass of water gone in a few seconds, before putting it down on the futon.

He paused for a second, clearing his throat and opening his mouth again, a soft sound coming out, sounding like he was testing out his voice.

A childish frown took over his face at the volume of his voice, but he seemed to accept it before pointing towards himself. And, in what Gon could only describe being in the tiniest voice possible, he said,

"Killua."