𝓲 𝓫𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓽 𝓪 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭

𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝔀𝓸.

Two weeks had passed since Killua met Gon and his life already had turned upside down. And depending on the situation, that may sound like a bad thing, but in Killua's case, he was the happiest he had ever been in his whole life.

From what he could still remember from his early childhood, he never seemed to fit in any of the categories that described a 'normal child's life'. His earliest memory was one of when his wrist got tied to the kitchen ceiling. He wasn't able to recall why or when exactly that took place, but one thing was for sure: he may have not realized it then, but that wasn't what 'loving parents' would do to a toddler.

In the back of his mind, Gon was worried about Killua. He knew there was something Killua wasn't telling him. Yes, he was aware that there was probably a reason for that and he wasn't going to pressure Killua into sharing and opening up this early into their friendship, but he just couldn't shake the feeling. Whenever they talked, the silver-haired boy seemed happy. But Gon had been observing his usual behaviour too.

For example, he never shows any interest in other people, he wouldn't participate in class out of free will and overall always seemed so detached from everything around him. Only when Gon was by his side, he behaved like a normal 17 year old high school senior. But he also noticed that Killua was maybe feeling a little better. His condition improved since last week. Only a little though. So little, Gon barely noticed it.

"Hey Gon, let's hurry a little. Where did you say we were meeting Kurapika and Leorio?" Killua was walking in front, looking at Gon behind him. He was carrying his school bag over his shoulder and wearing a little smile on his face.

Killua usually wasn't particularly easy to read, but Gon could definetly see the excitment in his eyes. Gon was pressing for Killua and his two other best friends to meet since about the moment Killua acknowledged him as a friend. And today they spontaniously decided to do so.

It was Tuesday and about 5 pm in the afternoon. The sun was shining and it was slightly windy. The perfect weather to go on a peaceful walk with friends. That's what the original plan was, at least.

"Kurapika! Leorio! Were here!" Gon ran infront of Killua and waved agressively so his dear friends would notice them.

Kurapika and Leorio were now jogging towards the movie theater they said they would meet infront of. The streets were pretty empty but the boy Killua assumed would be Leorio, based off the brief description Gon gave him, still managed to bump into a middle aged man who was peacefully walking out of a convinience store. Kurapika sighed, swiftly turned around and apologized to him. Leorio didn't really bother to say much more that 'Oh! Sorry.' and keep jogging.

"Gon! 't feels like we haven't seen each other in ages!"

When they arrived to the meeting spot, Leorio gave Gon a tight hug and that's when Killua noticed how much older he looked than Gon. Even Kurapika looked like a child next to him, though they were supposed to be in the same grade. The black haired male was wearing his school uniform, just like Kurapika. A blue jacket and plaid pants, which Killua really like by the way, and a white shirt.

Killuas first impressions were relatively good, they seemed trustworthy and overall like good people. Gon looked really friendly and comfortable around them, like they knew each other for a very long time.

"Kurapika! I tried to call you like 10 times! Why didn't you pick up? We were worried!"

The blonde boy giggled quietly and apologzied. Seeing the three laugh together made Killua smile.

"So that's Killua?" Leorio leaned forward and pointed at his face, keeping one hand in his pocket. Kurapika held his hand up, like he was trying to tell Leorio to stop being so pushy. Which Killua agreed with.

"Ngh- Yeah... My name's Killua Zoldyck. I've heard alot about you two." He took a step back from Leorio to which he also backed off, realizing he made Killua slightly uncomfortable.

In the mean time, Gon was proudly grinning at the fact that the three finally met. He had already planned what they would do, once the day came he would introduce them to each other, a week ago. He decided that taking a walk on the shopping street would probably the most fun for the first time they hung out. So, to be exact, he planned on going somewhere to eat and then taking a walk in the nearest park, to a nice river where they could sit and talk.

And so they did. All of them visited a rather unknown and 'aesthetically pleasing', as Killua called it, coffee place. It was about half a kilometer away from the cinema they met up at. They sat, facing the window, on a wooden bench. Gon had the great idea for all of them to each get different items off the menu and share them all. To be honest, he just really wanted to try the food his friends ordered too, but since everyone agreed on it, he didn't even bother to explain that point.

After about two hours, they finally got kicked out from the café, since the owner, they found out was named Chrollo, declared they were closing for today. When they left, the four of them had to decide what to do next. Gon was still supporting his own idea to take a walk to a river but Kurapika and Leorio would both rather stroll around the shopping area in the city. Killua on the other hand just wanted to enjoy the time with his newly found friends, so he didn't have a preference. Since Gon was outvoted they decided that they would go to the river the next time they hung out.

"Hey, have you heard of this game from the 90's that, supposedly, no one has ever beaten? You get to play it in that newly opened arcade." The four friends were trotting next to each other, Gon and Killua behind Kurapika and Leorio. The sun had started to set and everything was covered in a golden mist. The shadows were heavily tilted down, so it seemed much later than it actually was. When Killua mentioned that game called "Greed Island", they all decided to go to said arcade. Gon seemed especially invested in it.

When they arrived at the place, it was emptier than expected, everything else was most likely styled to look like the arcades in old school movies. After seeing the price of playing a single round of "Greed Island" would cost them at least triple the amount of money they all had combined, they left without another word.

The four friends were now walking back to the cinema they first met at, when Gon noticed something. Killua looked nervous. He had been smiling and laughing the whole evening and now he looked stressed. Like there was something bothering him. Gon started worrying. Maybe he overdid it. Killua had mentioned that he had never really had any friends before and now he met people that would already call themselves "his buddies".

"Kil, what are you doing here?" Killua froze. Gon turned back to see where the voice came from, he noticed Killua's expression. He was suffering. He looked like he was in pain, like he was being tortured. And that only by this man's voice. When he finally turned far enough to catch a glimpse of the man, the first thing he noticed was his hair. It was long and black. He was wearing green plaid pants, black, chunky boots and a cropped black shirt.

"Illu-nii, why are you here?"