Wild Afflictions

Chapter 8

 Needless to say, both Mito and Gon were surprised that Killua was able to speak. Both had no idea where he had come from — except the forest, of course — so they both come up with an idea of what he was like. Gon had about two months to formulate a personality on Killua, which excluded any sort of speaking, and a whole lot of animalistic sounds. Mito had less time, less than 24 hours to create what Killua was, and all she had seen was a scared boy who seemed somewhat feral. In short, the talking was a surprise.

But after Killua had spoken, it opened up many more questions than it answered. Obviously, he wasn't just abandoned as a baby, but he had to have been older since he could speak and understand them... but how? Where did he come from? And how old was he?

It had been a short while after Killua had woken up, only to pass out after a little while; all the excitement and adrenaline had caused him to fall asleep. So, Mito and Gon decided to go about their day until he woke up, which lead to them to sitting at the dining room table, drinking tea, and watching Killua as he slept.

"What do we do now?" Gon asked after a long moment of silence, turned around to watch Killua.

Mito just looked at him for a while before sighing. "Well, he obviously staying now." She stopped for a second before frowning, looking down at her tea. "But I wish you had told me that you were still out there looking around."

"But you told me not to and I didn't want you to get mad at—"

"Gon, I would never get mad at you over something like helping someone out. You know that... right?"

He didn't respond.

"I'm really happy that you helped him. I know it must've been hard to help him from the... hunter trap. I really hate those things. They're so cruel."

He didn't respond.

"Gon?"

"Why was he there?"

She paused at the question. Mainly because it wasn't what she expected him to say, but also because it was a question that she was wondering as well.

"I don't know, but don't go asking him things like that. We have no idea what he's been through and we don't want to scare him... especially with that injury."

He only nodded, before taking one more sip of his tea. Turning back to face Mito, he offered a soft smile before setting the mug down and getting up from his seat.

He started to walk towards the stairs, but stopped in front of the living room, watching as Killua slept. His sleep seemed to be bothered, a constant squirming and small mutterings; it really bothered Gon. But, ignoring it, he continued p the stairs and into his room, starting to pack to get ready for school — which was starting in the next two days.

———————

It was around noon when Gon finally came back downstairs, mainly because he had heard more movement downstairs then normal, which he assumed meant that Killua was up.

And he was right. When he entered the living room, Killua was sitting in the corner of the room, staring at a plate of food in front of him. Mito sat on the floor right in front of him, sitting back and waiting patiently for who knows what. Gon moved closer into the room, only to have Killua redirect his attention to him. He instantly started to shake.

"Hey, Killua, sweetheart," Mito said while quickly snapping her fingers, Killua looking back at her. "Hey, it's okay. Gon's just coming downstairs. He's not going to hurt you."

He nodded.

"Okay." Mito looked over to Gon, then pointed at him. "When you come into the room, say something to announce you're coming in. Okay?"

"Yes, Mito."

Killua and Gon looked at each other, making eye contact for a while before Killua moved his attention back to the food.

"Sweetheart, you need to eat. It's just a sandwich. It has bread, ham, cheese, lettuce, and some mayo. It's all good, and you need to eat or else you won't heal well."

At that, he looked down at his leg, before rubbing his hand lightly over the bandages, then began to pick at it — as if he were a child looking at it, not someone who looked to be Gon's age.

"Killua?"

Grabbing the plate, he pulled it forward and began to poke at the bread, watching as it squished down. Eventually, he worked himself up to pick it up and bring it to his nose. And, after a few good sniffs, the final took a small nibble of the sandwich, then took a larger bite out of it, a skeptic look all over his face.

"There you go, that's better, right? Some food in your stomach." Mito said softly, watching him eat. A rapid head nod was her response.

"Good,"

With that, Mito got up, making her way to the kitchen, leaving Gon and Killua alone in the living room, which was just Killua staring at Gon as he ate.

He took one step forward towards Killua, and Killua completely stopped moving. No chewing, no blinking, he didn't even appear to be breathing.

"Sorry, Killua," Gon said as soon as he realized it and stepped backward. Killua seemed to regain some sort of consciousness, continuing to eat his sandwich.

Needless to say, the house became a bit chaotic after Killua became a part of the family.