Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You’re all probably wondering where Killua ran off to, well so did Gon. But he was too busy dealing with pain himself. Retz knelt beside him, trying to help him, but she couldn’t do anything. She didn’t know how. While Retz was trying to figure out what to do, Gon was suffering from the intense pain. She tried to help him relax, by comforting him, but Gon kept screaming and shivering. It was understandable since he just lost his eyesight.
Desperately Retz looked around in hopes of figuring out where Killua ran off to. She began to panic, not knowing what to do or what to say. She started blaming Illumi, the puppeteer, the world, but somehow, she couldn’t find any reason to put a blame on them. Eventually she found someone to blame. It was Killua. An unreasonable rage started filling Retz and all the panic and stress she had started overflowing.
Then everything burst and she shouted these words trying to make herself feel better: “Killua, your best friend is dying over here, and you just run away?! Come back, you coward! Do you want to betray him?!”
Unfortunately, the escaping Killua heard everything which only fueled the guilt he was currently feeling but he still didn’t look back and continued running. He started hating himself for leaving Gon behind, he always blamed himself but no one else.
If only he never existed in the first place…
He could still hear Retz shouting, cursing him, but Killua wasn’t angry at her. He actually agreed with her. He kept running. He was a piece of shit, who didn’t deserve to have a friend like Gon. He kept running. His brother Illumi was right. Killua was never meant to have friends and if he had one, then he would end up betraying them. He kept running. Killua could imagine Gon screaming in pain behind him. He kept running. So, in the end he killed his so called “best friend”. He kept running. He was always a killing machine, with no feelings, no friends just like his brother described. He kept running. A monster like him didn’t deserve to live. He came to a stop, right over train tracks.
It started to rain. Killua realized he still had Gon’s hunter license with him.
Suddenly he remembered all the time he spent with Gon, the memory of how he first met him, the Hunter Exams, the race to see who would arrive first at the finish line. They were opposites with different personalities and interests yet still they’ve managed to become best friends. Memories started overflowing his head. He could clearly see everything they went through together, all the stages of the Hunter Exam, where they were walking in the swamp and cooking a Great Stamp. Killua smiled a bit, when he thought about their fight with the chairman Netero. He also remembered the last two stages, when they had to reach the bottom of the tower and when Illumi made him kill someone.
After that Killua was forced to go home, but Gon, Kurapika and Leorio came to get him out. They trained hard to pass the testing gate and did all that work, just to save him. Again, Killua thought he didn’t deserve such friends. Why would they want to save rubbish like him?
But his heart broke more, when memories of the Heavens Arena and Phantom Troupe came. He and Gon had so much fun in the Arena, training and fighting together. There they also met Zushi and Wing, who taught them a strong power called Nen. With that Gon and Killua were able to fight against stronger opponents and Gon could even fight against Hisoka!
With that power, they also tried to help Kurapika with fighting the Phantom Troupe, which was more or less a success. But for that Killua and Gon got captured by them several times. However, they still had fun. Lots of fun.
Killua didn’t want to remember those memories, after all, someone like him doesn’t deserve to remember them, a monster like him doesn’t even deserve to be his friend.
Killua just stared at Gons hunter license. What else was he supposed to do? He just betrayed the person whose most dear to him and left him to deal with the pain on his own. After all he’s always been just a piece of shit born into a piece of shit family.
Killua could hear the train coming from a distance, but he made no effort to move. He finally got the chance to stop being a burden to his loved ones, so of course he will use the opportunity. The train came closer and closer, but he still hadn’t moved. The world will probably be better off without him, right?
“I hate myself.”, Killua said with tears before the train came crashing into him.
He immediately felt the pain. Good, he probably deserved it anyway, someone who let their best friend suffer deserves to die he thought. He saw the blood pouring out of him. This is how it will end, he will finally stop hurting Gon. After a few minutes Killua died due to the lack of blood.
He’s finally free…

Chapter Text

Soon after Killua had passed, Gon had arrived at the scene. Somehow, he had managed to deal with the pain and with Retz’s help, he had covered his eyes with a piece of cloth. After that Gon immediately ran to find Killua, leaving Retz behind. He had no idea where she was now, but his best friend was his top priority.
“Killua?”, he called at his fourteenth stop, just like at the other ones. No answer. Gon sniffed the air and almost fell over from shock. “Ew, what is that horrible smell?”, he asked really disgusted. But he could detect Killuas scent hidden among that strange smell. And the smell of blood.
He still couldn’t see so Gon started crawling and tried looking for Killua by feeling the ground. He sniffed the ground and even though it was raining heavily and there was that terrible smell, Gon knew that Killuas scent was the strongest where he was. Suddenly Gon felt a skin. A very cold skin. He moved his hand along it and felt fingers.
“Killua! You’re here!”, he shouted relieved, “I was really worried, because you got badly injured in the fight and I could smell blood. But now everything is fine!” No answer.
It was so quiet that you could hear the cicadas chirping. Gon squeezed Killuas hand a little bit.
“Killua?”, he asked hesitantly. No answer.
A long silence followed. Then Gon began to laugh. At first it was quiet, hesitant and hopeful, then it became louder and more confident. Gon couldn’t stop laughing. He laughed so hard, that his tummy started to hurt.
After he had calmed himself down, he said: “I’m sorry Killua. I just didn’t expect you to fall asleep in the rain. That is so not you.” No answer.
He took Killuas hand again. It was very cold.
“Yes… you fell asleep, that is probably it. No, that is the only possible answer. And your hand… your hand is cold, because you fell asleep outside in the cold, in the rain. Silly you. Well, it is understandable that you are tired after that fight. Let’s go and find shelter, before you catch a cold”, Gon said calmly.
Gon continued talking to Killua as if he were still alive not knowing he was long gone.

A few minutes later Leorio and Kurapika walked towards them. When Leorio saw Gon, he had a big smile on his face.
“Heeeeeeey, Gon! Long time no-“, he stopped so abruptly that Kurapika almost fell.
Gon wasn’t alone. Next to him on the ground lied Killua. But he didn’t look like he always did. Blood was pouring out of his head and back and his right arm was twisted in multiple directions. Several of his fingers were bending in a direction, which Leorio was sure, that they shouldn’t. Even his legs had a horrible kink. Killua was pale and his body was filled with open wounds and bruises. Leorio briefly had hope that he could still save Killua, but then he saw his eyes. They were empty, just staring at the sky. They had no soul, no life. Leorio saw Gon talking to an already dead Killua.
He somehow had to inform Kurapika what was happening, since he also lost his eyes, even though he didn’t really know how to describe what he saw. Leorio had the urge to just run away, because he couldn’t bear it any longer. But he knew that his friend needed him, so he gathered all his willpower and stayed.
“Kurapika! And Leorio! You’re finally here! Thank God, someone needs to carry Killua to a shelter or else he might catch a cold”, Gon called, after he had noticed Leorio’s and Kurapika’s scent.
Leorio now had to figure out how to tell Gon and Kurapika that Killua is no longer with them, but how? Who would want to figure out they’ve been talking to their dead best friend for the past 5 minutes?
After thinking for a while Leorio decided he will keep Killuas death a secret. For now at least. “Yeah Gon, he will probably catch a cold if we let him stay here any longer.”
Leorio tried his best to act normal so they wouldn’t notice how disturbed he was at the moment and how badly he wanted to run away and cry.
After all he also took part in bringing Killua back from his family. He also had lots of memories including him and Killua. Of course, he wasn’t as close with him as Gon was but still, having to see one of your closest friends dead on the ground isn’t a pleasant experience.
Leorio tried to force himself to approach Killua and carry him to shelter, all that while trying not to throw up. He tried to act casually while approaching Killua’s body. He finally stood in front of Killua and he looked worse than from afar. Leorio hesitated a lot which made Kurapika suspicious.
„Leorio, is everything alright? You’ve started acting weird the moment we got here.”
After hearing Kurapika’s voice Leorio started to panic, he tried to calm himself down, but it didn’t really help that much.
“Of course, Kurapika, I’m completely fine, just surprised that Killua, of all people is here sleeping on the ground.”
Kurapika was still slightly suspicious but brushed it off, Leorio was his friend, he wouldn’t lie to him, right?
After that Leorio managed to force himself to pick up Killua. Killua’s body felt cold and numb. Leorio despised it, having to carry the dead body of one of his dearest friends and not being able to tell Gon and Kurapika was killing him, but he forced himself to stay calm for the sake of his friends.
Gon felt that someone had taken Killua, so he also got on his feet.
“Leorio, where are we going now?”, he asked.
Leorio took a second too long to answer but still managed to get out some words: “We’re going to my hotel room. It won’t take too long so hopefully Killua won’t catch a cold by then”
Again, Kurapika got suspicious.
“Didn’t we want to defeat the puppeteer? Why change plans so suddenly?”, he asked.
Leorio began to sweat. He breathed heavily, trying to figure out what he should say.
“Well, you see… uhm I-I… uh… you know Killua-“
“Killua and I had a serious fight, and he got badly injured. I also lost my eyes. So, we should take some rest. That is your intention, right Leorio?”, Gon had interrupted Leorio without knowing that he just saved him.
He breathed out in relief and nodded shortly. Then he realized that Gon couldn’t see him nodding, so he added a quiet and fast “Mhm” afterwards.
After that Leorio led them to the hotel he was staying.

Chapter Text

Currently at the Zoldyck Family Mansion Illumi was sitting in his room. Like always Illumi was checking on his needle men, what they were doing or if some got missing.
Suddenly he noticed something was wrong. He couldn’t sense the needle he placed into Killua. He was sure Killua couldn’t have removed it so early considering the fact that he still hadn’t learned enough Nen to have such skill, so there had to be more to it. Of course, Illumi had to inform his father, Silva Zoldyck, about this. But first, he had to make sure Killua didn’t somehow find a way to remove the needle. Because of that, Illumi had to go to the location where he last sensed the needle. He was pretty sure the needle was last located somewhere in Doli City. Illumi knew that Hisoka was also in Doli City due to the Omokage incident. With that information Illumi could ask Hisoka if he knew if anything had happened to Killua, if not he had to do his own research. After a few minutes of thinking he had decided to inform Hisoka to meet up with him in Doli City. He cares for the future family heir. Even if his love comes out in a twisted way, he would do anything to keep Killua under his control and protection.

After a couple of hours in a private jet, piloted by one of his needle men Illumi had arrived in Doli City where he would meet up with Hisoka so he can tell him everything he knows about what possibly could have happened to Killua. A few minutes after Illumi’s arrival Hisoka also showed up.
“So Illumi, what do you want to know about our dear Killua?”, Hisoka asked in his usual seductive tone which Illumi was already used to.
“I want you to tell me where Killua went, why he went and with who he went.” Illumi demanded to know, he was worried his plan for the future family heir would be destroyed.
“Patience Illumi. And as for your question all I know is that your precious brother went with his best friend Gon to return his friend Kurapika’s eyes as they were stolen by Omokage”
“And where did they go?” Illumi asked and shortly after, Hisoka told him the location to where Gon and Killua were headed.
After their short conversation Illumi had left for the location Hisoka had described. It only took Illumi half an hour to arrive at the location and began looking around the area trying to find any clues to Killua’s condition. All he could see was an old house with a broken window and blood in front of it.
“Maybe he was fighting in the house and fell from the window”, Illumi thought out loud.
He went inside to find more clues. When he stepped inside the dark mansion, he immediately saw a collection of puppets which he was sure belonged to Omokage. He also saw lots of broken glass which Illumi suspects are from a previous fight. When he went to the second floor, he entered a room where he saw some blood, the window at the end of the room behind a big chair was completely shattered but he also saw one of his needles piercing a piece of cloth. He had never been to this place before so what was one of his needles doing there? The only logical answer Illumi could think of was that Omokage made a puppet of him to mess with Killua, he knew because Hisoka told him a lot about Omokage. That means that Killua was also here.
He went to the piece of cloth to take a closer look. It was green with red stripes. It was ripped off, so Illumi concluded that someone was trapped by a needle and had to rip his sleeve to escape. That also meant that this person couldn’t help Killua. It couldn’t be Killua who was trapped, because he never wore green.
However, something was bothering him. He knew he had seen such cloth. Illumi tried to remember every person he had met, that he didn’t kill. There weren’t many. He knew that it couldn’t be a Zoldyck, because on that day every one of them was in the mansion. He thought about the Hunter Exam, since he didn’t kill anyone there. Green clothes… He thought about who Killua was hanging out the whole time. There was this one tall guy with glasses, a long blonde and… Illumi sighed. Why didn’t he think about him sooner? Of course, it was that green-haired guy Gon, Killua’s ‘best friend’. So, like Hisoka said, Killua went together with Gon and they went to this mansion. He looked outside the broken window. From there he could see the blood stains clearly. He hoped that it was Gon’s blood and that he died.
After his little investigation he decided to look around in the area near the old mansion. After 15 minutes Illumi came across the train tracks where Killua had died, and he also smelled a disgusting smell. Illumi followed the scent since it was impossible to ignore, and he came across a blood puddle. It was so much blood that he was sure any human being who suffered through this much blood loss would die with no exceptions. But whose blood could that possibly be? It could be anyone’s blood, but Illumi had a very bad feeling, so he took a sample of it to later check the DNA.

A few hours had passed and Illumi finally arrived back at the Zoldyck Family mansion. Illumi immediately went to the lab of the Zoldyck Family to check whose blood it was. Thankfully Illumi had some knowledge about experiments and knew how to check whose DNA this is since all children of the Zoldyck were trained to learn how work with these types of situations. After some experimenting Illumi was finally done and now had to wait for some results which could take a couple of days.

A few days had passed and he finally got the DNA results. The answer shocked him so hard he dropped the results…
The DNA belonged to Killua…
No. There had to be some kind of mistake. Killua can’t be dead, he’s the future heir of the Zoldyck Family, the one with the most potential. There’s no way he’s dead. Even if how will they control Alluka’s power without him? What if she somehow finds out he’s dead? What will happen if she finds out? Will she go on a rampage? How the hell will Illumi explain to the rest of the Zoldycks that Killua isn’t alive anymore? All he knows is that he had to keep it a secret from Alluka.
“I knew those friends of Killua were not good for him.” Illumi thought.
But for now, he somehow had to inform his father about Killua…
Illumi now was moving toward Silva’s room. He then knocked on his door. He could hear the guard dogs from inside.
“Come in.” Silva answered from inside of the room.
Illumi then opened the door and was immediately greeted by the guard dogs inside Silva’s room. “Father, there are terrible news about Killua.”
“If it’s about his friends I won’t hear it. I have better to do than hear how he won’t understand that assassins don’t need friends.”
“No father, it isn’t about his friends, it is worse than what I expected.”
“What happened to Killua?” Silva asked.
“Killua is no longer alive.”
Illumi answered as shortly as possible not knowing how to say it in a better way. Immediately after Illumi finished speaking Silva burst out.
“What do you mean Killua is no longer alive?! How did that happen?! He’s supposed to be the next family heir! Don’t you know how terrible that is for the Zoldyck Family’s future?!” Silva yelled, this is the first time Illumi saw his father genuinely frustrated.
Usually, Silva is calm and doesn’t get angry easily except for now.
“Yes, I’m well aware of how bad the situation is for our family but there isn’t anything we can do about it.”
Illumi then explains how he figured out about Killua’s death. Silva sighed in frustration. What the hell will he do now that Killua is dead? It won’t be easy to find a new heir for the Zoldyck Family who has the same potential as Killua but that had to wait, he first had to inform the rest of the Zoldycks about Killua’s death. Silva called everyone in the Zoldyck Family to meet up in the Meeting Room so he can tell them about the news.

After a couple of hours everyone returned from their missions and arrived in the Meeting Room except for Killua and Alluka for obvious reasons. Everyone was sitting in their assigned seats waiting for whatever their father had to tell them but also curious about why they had to abandon their missions. Everyone except Illumi expects that they’re getting a new big mission where they assassinate an important person or something similar, completely oblivious to the reason they’re actually here.
“So why did you gather us here, father?” Milluki asks slightly excited.
“Patience Milluki, I’m sure Silva will tell us soon.” Zeno replied even though he’s also slightly curious.
Silva wasn’t sure how he should begin. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, wondering if those were the right words. Eventually Silva found a decent start and said shortly, “You’re all probably wondering why Killua hasn’t showed up yet.”
“Kil is probably having fun with his ‘friends’” Milluki says with obvious disgust.
“I wish that was the real reason but no, Killua is not with his friends or anything.”
Milluki was genuinely surprised. “Wait, he isn’t? Where is he then?”
Silva took a deep breath. “Killua is no longer alive. Illumi found his blood a few days ago and there was too much, so there was no way he survived that much blood loss.”
Everyone immediately stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Illumi and Silva in shock. Their mother, Kikyo, immediately burst into tears.
Kalluto began screaming, which was rare since he’s usually so calm. “What do you mean big brother is dead?! He’s a literal prodigy there’s no way he’d die!!”
Soon after, Milluki also started yelling. “How did Kil even die?! Who was able to kill him and how didn’t we notice?!”
Everyone was arguing with each other, and no one knew how Killua actually died. After 5 minutes of their arguing Silva finally decided to calm them down. He raised his hand, and everyone was immediately silent.
“I know you are all shocked and I know that it is hard to believe. Even I had to take my time to process that information. But arguing won’t take us any further. We need to plan what we should do next.” Silva tried to stay calm, but even he was trembling a bit.
Zeno who had noticed that, began to speak, “We aren’t one hundred percent sure, are we? Why don’t we investigate this case more? Illumi you were the one who found his blood, right?”
Illumi who stayed quiet the whole meeting, looked to his grandfather and nodded. “Yes, I am also very sure that it is his blood. I took a DNA test. When you want, I could show it to you or make another one”
“No, no, that is not necessary. I trust you. I just have a question”, Zeno said calmly, “Was his body there?”
Illumi froze for a second. Why didn’t he think about that? He was probably too shocked about the fact that Killua might had died, that he didn’t think it through. He was ashamed of himself.
„As I thought “, Zeno mumbled and nodded in Silvas direction.
Silva immediately understood what his father wanted to say and stood up.
“Everyone! Your new mission will be to find Killua’s body and bring him to the mansion. Kill anyone who gets in your way! Leave the mansion to the butlers. Meeting dismissed!”, he commanded.
“Understood!”, The Zoldycks replied simultaneously before disappearing in a flash.

Chapter Text

How long?
Leorio was sitting on the corner of the hotel bed, staring out of the window. Outside it was dark, but warm and a fresh breeze blew into the room. He could hear children talking and laughing and stars sparkling in the night sky. It was the perfect day to go outside. But Leorio couldn’t care less. The clock was ticking softly, yet every tick echoed in his head.
How long will it take until Gon and Kurapika find out the truth?
Two weeks had passed since the incident, but for Leorio it felt like two years. He had thick, dark circles under his eyes, because he had countless nights without rest. Every day, every night he feared that Gon and Kurapika would get their eyes back and see Killua. He feared that they would touch his corpse, even though he told them they shouldn’t, because he said Killua’s disease could spread. He feared that Gon’s cunning sense of smell or Kurapika’s exceptional intelligence would figure it out. He feared that someone would come to the hotel room and tell them.
But Leorio also feared that one day he himself couldn’t take it anymore. Every day he woke up, just to see the corpse of his friend lying on a bed. Everyday Killua’s body got worse. His pale skin started turning purple and he was so skinny that you could even see his bones. There were also death stains on his skin. His fingers were still bent in multiple directions. Leorio often wished he also had lost his vision.
However, not only was his vision bothering him. He also wished he couldn’t hear. He always had to listen to Gon’s monologues to a dead body, thinking Killua might hear him. Or Kurapika asking him every time when Killua will get well. To every question Leorio just replied a short, “Soon”, knowing that there is no “soon”. There isn’t even a “still long”. He will never come back, no matter how long they wait.
How long will it take until Leorio can’t carry the burden and trauma anymore? How long will it take until Leorio just bursts? He wasn’t sure when, but he already took the first step. He just couldn’t look at Killua, but also Gon and Kurapika anymore without bursting into tears. From that day on, he just stayed inside his room, staring out of the window, doing nothing. He just got out to go to the restroom or take a slice of bread, before he went back to his room to think the same question over and over again. How long will this last? How long until someone notices-
BAM! A loud crash interrupted his thoughts. Leorio flinched. What was that? Could it be that someone broke into the hotel room? Did someone find out about Killua’s death? Leorio began to turn around. His heart was pounding so loud that it was the only thing he could hear. How could someone possibly know about it? He was breathing heavily, when his body slowly tilted to the left. His legs were trembling and sweat was pouring down his head. Did he accidentally tell someone? Already halfway through. His hands were so wet that he almost slipped. It can’t be, right? Leorio forgot how to blink and breathe. His eyes slowly moved with his body in the direction of the door. Who was there? It felt like an eternity, when Leorio finally faced the door. He took a deep breath. Then he breathed out again in relief. It was only Kurapika. He was standing there confused. Next to him lied a long lamp on the floor.
“I’m so sorry, I guess I knocked something over”, Kurapika said.
When Leorio saw him, he remembered that he didn’t know about Killua’s death, which made him want to cry. But somehow, he managed to hold back his tears.
“No, it’s my fault for not cleaning up. So, what do you want?”, Leorio asked with a cracking voice.
“I want you to tell me what’s wrong! You’ve been acting weird the moment we found Killlua, we’re also not allowed to touch him. What kind of disease can you get from being in the rain so long that no one can touch you?!” Kurapika yelled.
He noticed something was off ever since they had returned to the hotel. He’s been trying to figure out what was wrong the whole time and he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Kurapika, please calm down. Nothing is wrong, I swear.” Leorio said, trying to calm down Kurapika but he couldn’t keep his voice from cracking since he was trying not to cry. Kurapika immediately noticed that Leorio was having trouble holding back tears.
“I know you’re lying to me! I know you’re about to cry so tell me the truth! Did something happen to Killua?”
After hearing that Leorio instantly burst into tears. He was crying so badly he was unable to speak. Kurapika heard him break down. Slowly he tried to go to Leorio without falling. It was a bit tricky, since Leorio hadn’t cleaned his room for two weeks, but somehow, he managed to find his way. He sat next to Leorio and tried to comfort him.
“Hey, you can tell me if something’s wrong. I’m here to help, not to break you down.”
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes till Leorio calmed down.
“Kurapika… can you promise me whatever I’m about to tell you not to tell Gon?”
“I promise.” Kurapika replied shortly, he knew it was important if he wasn’t allowed to tell Gon.
Leorio let out a long sigh before he started speaking. “Do you remember when we found Killua in the rain two weeks ago and you all thought he was unconscious?”
After hearing those words Kurapika immediately had a bad feeling.
“Yeah… I remember.”
Leorio was again on the verge of tears but held it together. “Killua wasn’t actually unconscious… he had bled out there… he died in the most gruesome way possible.”
After saying those words Leorio burst into tears again but not as bad as last time. Kurapika was frozen trying to process what Leorio had said. Kurapika got flashbacks of Pairo and the Kurta Clan, of how he couldn’t protect his friends… and now it’s happening all over again. Kurapika tried to hold it together, but it was hard considering how Killua was there for him in Yorknew City, how he helped him fight against the Spiders. He thought about the Hunter Exam, when they first met. They understood each other quite well at the start and had lots of fun. Killua looked so happy. He was the last person who Kurapika expected to die.
“That… that isn’t possible… you’re lying right? Tell me this is a joke”, Kurapika mumbled with a pale voice, no emotions, no life, “Killua is dead… No. That’s impossible, he can’t just die like that. He was still so young…”
Leorio couldn’t look at him. He didn’t want to know how his face looked like now. It was dead silent. Kurapika still tried to process the information, but it was just too hard to believe. Killua and dead? Those were two words he never expected to come together.
After what felt like an eternity, Kurapika finally said something. “Leorio, I’m sorry that I yelled at you before. I’m sorry that I was angry, because you didn’t tell the truth. It is already hard for me to handle the truth… you were right, I wish I never knew about this, I wish I would still live in ignorance. But I can’t imagine how you feel, seeing his corpse with your own eyes and carrying all this burden all this time…”, he shook his head, “I’m sorry for everything. I agree with you that we shouldn’t, no matter the circumstances, tell Gon about it, at least for now. I can’t believe how he would- “
Suddenly the lights flickered. The sound interrupted Kurapika. A few seconds later the flickering stopped. Then it was pitch black.
“What is happening?”, Leorio asked, then he realized that Kurapika couldn’t see, so he added, “The lights suddenly went out”
Before Kurapika could say anything a high-pitched sound came out of the speaker. It was so loud that the two of them thought their ears would burst. Finally, the sound stopped.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Killua’s friend”, a sassy voice came out of the speaker.
Kurapika and Leorio really didn’t have the strength to do something, since they were already emotionally unstable because of Killua’s death.
“Who’re you?”, Leorio muttered.
“Hah, I’m- Wait a second. You don’t know who I am…? Are you stupid?! Everyone knows who I am! After all I’m the one and only Milluki Zoldyck!” The voice yelled through the speakers.
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of him.” Kurapika mumbled.
“Who even is that guy?” Leorio asked.
“Hah, I know you just want to make me angry, but that won’t work. I am a very calm person. I know that you have heard of the Zoldycks. Yes, you heard it right. The Zoldycks!”
Milluki waited until they screamed in fear or something similar. Instead Leorio scratched his head.
“Wait why does Zoldyck sound so familiar? “, he asked completely confused.
If Kurapika had eyes, he would have rolled them. “That is Killua’s last name. Sometimes I really question your intelligence.”
“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that. But what is Killua’s brother doing here?”
Even though Milluki said he was calm, his veins popped out. “WHY DO YOU SOUND LIKE YOU DON’T CARE AT ALL?! A LITERAL ZOLDYCK IS TALKING TO YOU, YOU KNOW?”, he yelled through the speaker, “And don’t address me with ‘Killua’s brother’, I’m way better than Kil!”
“I mean you also addressed us with ‘Killua’s friends’- “
“SHUT UP!”, Milluki shouted so loud, that Leorio and Kurapika needed to cover their ears.
Kurapika was getting a bit annoyed. He just found out that one of his friends was dead and now this?
“Geez, quiet down a little bit. Didn’t you say you are very calm?”, he said, still covering his ears.
Milluki wanted to shout at them and insult them, but he needed to stay calm, or they might disrespect him. Or even the Zoldycks. These people didn’t seem to care about the Zoldyck at all, they seemed like they find him… annoying. Another vein popped out.
“Calm down, Milluki, calm down”, Milluki thought to himself.
He took a deep breath, before continuing talking, now in a quieter and calmer voice: “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. You’re all going to die soon. Unless you hand Kil over.”
Suddenly Leorio and Kurapika heard that the window next to them shattered. Shards started flying across the room, scratching them all over their body. When it stopped, Leorio looked in the direction of the window. It was still very dark, but he could recognize a faint silhouette. No… there wasn’t just one. There were at least three standing in front of them, and some were still climbing to the window. He couldn’t see much, but although they had an outline similar to that of a human, he realized that they weren’t humans. Their arms were thin and long and at the end of it they had tongs. There, where the head was supposed to be, lay a square and something long was sticking out of it. Instead of two legs these creatures had only one leg, and instead of feet they had something round coming out of it.
“Well? What do you think about my robots?”, Milluki’s voice came out of the speaker again, “If you don’t give me Kil, then they will kill you. I’ll give you ten seconds!”
This was the moment, when Leorio and Kurapika realized that they were in trouble…
How was Kurapika supposed to fight while being blind? And Leorio isn’t even a fighter, he’s a doctor…

Chapter Text

Five minutes before the attack Gon was sitting next to Killua’s bed. He was getting worried, because Killua still hadn’t woken up for two weeks. What kind of sickness could he have to be in a coma for so long? However, Gon never really questioned it that much. Firstly, he knew that he didn’t have any knowledge about pharmacy and stuff like that. Secondly, he trusted Leorio. When Leorio said not to touch Killua, he didn’t ask and did as he was told. He said that he shouldn’t do it, so the virus won’t spread. Gon believed him without thinking twice. Leorio wouldn’t lie to him, right?
Nevertheless Gon always talked to Killua. He believed that his soul was still in his body, listening to what he said. Some of his words had to reach Killua, even if not all the words. Maybe he will even wake up.
So, he always sat on a small chair next to Killua and began talking, just like that day. He never had a specific topic; he just said random stuff he found interesting at that moment.
“Hey Killua, how are you doing?”, Gon said calmly, “It has been two weeks, hasn’t it? Nothing really happened here. Well, Leorio hasn’t talked for so long, he is always in his room. Probably studying.”
No answer.
It was silent for a few seconds. Gon tried to smile a bit.
“Just get well soon, okay? I’m getting bored without you.”
No answer.
Again it was silent. Gon then realized something. It was the first day when he didn’t know what to say. Normally it was easy for him to find something interesting. But on that day, he felt like his mind was empty, he had used up all his ideas over the past two weeks.
“Um… Killua… I- “, he just stuttered, “Well… oh god what should I say? I- “
Exactly at that time he heard the lights flicker. The sound interrupted him. Just as suddenly the flickering began, it also suddenly stopped. A few seconds after the flickering had stopped, an arrogant voice spoke out of the speakers. It was so loud and sudden, that Gon had to cover his ears for a second.
The voice seemed to be talking to Leorio and Kurapika since he referred to the people he was talking to as ‘Killua’s friends’… The voice also introduced itself as ‘Milluki Zoldyck. The moment Gon heard the word ‘Zoldyck’ he instantly knew it was one of Killua’s brothers. But what was his brother doing here? Could he be looking for Killua? If so, why would he want to look for him? Killua is in a ‘coma’ so what use could he be to his brother?
“Well, he is talking to Kurapika and Leorio anyway”, Gon thought to himself and stopped listening.
However, after three minutes Gon suddenly flinched. He just heard Milluki’s last sentence.
“…. Unless you hand Kil over.”
Gon panicked slightly. How would he and the others protect Killua? How would they carry him without getting infected by his ‘sickness’? What is happening to Leorio and Kurapika? Should he go and help them or stay with Killua?
After a few seconds of panicking Gon heard a window shattering in Leorio’s room. After hearing the loud crash in the other room Gon started running to the others. He was worried they were injured while he was sitting there with Killua doing absolutely nothing. When he almost left the room he stopped, should he really leave Killua alone in there when his brother is looking for him? He ran back to Killua. He was about to carry him to the others, but then he stopped. He remembered that Leorio told him not to touch Killua. Should he hold him or not? The clock was ticking. Gon needed to decide fast. If he just runs to Kurapika and Leorio, Milluki might take Killua. When he touches Killua something bad will happen, like Leorio said. The clock was ticking and Gon was still unable to decide what to do. He could hear the screams of his friends in the other room. Gon continued to panic. What should he do? Should he just carry Killua? He began to sweat. How long can Kurapika and Leorio handle it? Slowly Gon moved his hands towards Killua. His heart started beating faster. He remembers that he promised Leorio not to do it. Gon wasn’t the kind of person to break promises. Is this a good reason to break it? A loud crash interrupted his thoughts. He instantly knew that it was from Kurapika and Leorio’s direction.
Screw it, he thought. He then grabbed Killua’s arm to put it around his shoulder. The moment he felt his skin it felt cold and numb, as if there was no life in it. It doesn’t matter since Killua isn’t even dead, he just got a very bad sickness, right? When he adjusted Killua’s body, so he could carry him, Gon’s hand accidentally touched one of Killua’s fingers. It was bending in a horrible direction. Even though Gon couldn’t see he knew that that wasn’t normal…
Gon tried to ignore the condition of Killua’s body even though it hurt knowing his best friend was in such pain. Gon ignored his discomfort since his friends needed him and he couldn’t afford to waste any time. Gon carried his corpse and ran towards Leorio’s room using his sense of smell for direction.
After 30 seconds Gon arrived, the only thing he could hear was metal clanking and shouting. It took him some seconds to realize that it wasn’t Kurapika or Leorio who were yelling. It came from the speaker. After every metallic clang he heard Milluki’s voice yelling.
„My robots! HOW DARE YOU DESTROY THEM!”
Gon could hear Kurapika’s wooden bokken swords and furniture flying around. Every time there was the sound of metal scratching or objects falling, Milluki began to yell like a five-year-old, whose favorite toy got taken away by its parents. He had no clue what was going on, but judging by the sounds, it looked like his friends were winning, right? However, something was bothering Gon...
“Leorio! Kurapika!”, Gon shouted as loud as he could.
Kurapika was the first one to react. He quickly dodged an attack and then moved towards Gon’s voice.
“Gon! Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. What exactly is happening?”
Kurapika thought for a second what to answer. “I’ll explain everything later. First, we need to somehow get out of here. No matter how many times we kill the robots, they just come back to life.”
“Robots?”
Before Kurapika could answer he felt something cold hitting his cheek.
“Shit”, he thought.
A second later Kurapika flew across the room and slammed his back on the wall. A sharp pain immediately seared through his body. He coughed blood out.
“Kurapika!”, Gon shouted.
Kurapika fell to the ground. He was grunting in pain, his cheek was stinging badly, and he felt slightly dizzy from the impact. Kurapika tried to ignore his pain and focus on the situation. It took him a lot of time and strength just to raise his head.
“I-I am fine, Gon. Take Killua and get out- “, he interrupted himself, “no, let Leorio carry Killua. Go with him. I will take care of the robots.”
He didn’t fully understand Kurapika, but that wasn’t his biggest concern at that moment. The sound of the collision and Kurapika’s cracking voice was really worrying him. He wanted to go and help him, but what will he do with Killua? He was about to put him down, when he suddenly realized something.
After a long time without a word, Milluki’s voice came out of the speaker again, “Wait, Kil is here? Hand him over right now!”
Even though his whole body was hurting, Kurapika still managed to smirk a bit.
“You said we had ten seconds to hand him over. The ten seconds are over, so the answer is no”
“SHUT UP! First you destroyed my camera in your room and now you dare to talk back?! I will kill you and that tall four eyes, you- “
“Wait”, Gon interrupted Milluki, “where is Leorio?”
“I’m here!” Leorio yelled from the other side of the room, he seemed to be stuck under something big and heavy…
“Uh- Leorio, are you ok...?”
In results Leorio snaps. “Does it look like I’m ok?! Help me get out!”
Kurapika let out a sigh. “How are we supposed to help you if we don’t even know where you are- “, he coughed out blood, “Did you forget that we lost our vision? There are times I really wonder how you even made it as a hunter.”
That seemed to piss off Leorio even more. “What do you mean ‘you wonder how I made it as a hunter’?! I also passed the hunter exam, you know?! Now help me get out!!”
“For the second time, how should we even help you get out if we don’t even know where you are?!”
Kurapika shouted a bit too loud, so that his throat began to hurt. He also seemed to get pissed at Leorio’s stupidity… Gon who seemed to sense the tension tried to calm everyone down.
“It’s ok Kurapika, I can find him!”
He breathed in and out, trying to concentrate. Gon couldn’t see, so he had to rely on his other senses and his En to find Leorio and dodge the attacks from the robots. He could still hear Leorio screaming and something wooden hitting metall. So Kurapika could still fight? Or was he just trying to defend himself?
“Focus!”, Gon thought to himself.
After a few seconds his En started to spread across the room. He could sense everything in the room, every bot, every small insect, every single speck of dust. And most importantly: he knew where Leorio was. Slowly Gon walked towards him. It wasn’t easy to avoid all the furniture on the ground and trying not to trip over it. Especially when he had to carry Killua. Suddenly he felt something falling from above. In the last second he managed to dodge to his right, before the robot crashed into the floor.
“That was close”, Gon thought out loud.
However he couldn’t relax yet. He still wasn’t even halfway through and that wasn’t the only enemy. Kurapika also mentioned that they couldn’t die. He knew that fighting wasn’t an option, so he had to avoid them, or it meant death.
After some time Gon got used to it. He could easily sense his surroundings and evaded all the attacks, while he was walking. Meanwhile Kurapika was barely standing, trying to defend himself. He also realized that a fight won’t do anything, so his main goal was surviving. Although Kurapika was in agony he still managed to swing his arms to block the various strikes from the robots with his swords. Gon wanted to help him, but he had to find Leorio first. Leorio was still in the same spot, unable to move. He couldn’t even lift his head. Gon sighed. Well, he wasn’t that far away anymore, so he just had to wait for a little bit.
When Leorio saw Gon’s shoes, he breathed out in relief. Over time the lights had somehow gone on, so Leorio could see everything clearly. Finally, someone came to save him. He had quickly lost track of time, and his back hurt a lot. It was already very uncomfortable for him and not being able to move was frustrating but knowing that his friends were in trouble and he couldn’t help them was killing Leorio inside. He was worried about Kurapika even when he annoyed him earlier. But now everything is fine, right? He is free at last.
“Gon!”, Leorio cried out happily.
Gon smiled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. First, I need to put Killua down…”
Leorio froze. Killua? Wasn’t he supposed to be in his room? Leorio was sweating when he slowly realized the situation. Gon carried Killua here… and he touched him. Touched a twisted body of a corpse. Did he know…?
His thoughts were interrupted when Gon carefully laid Killua on the floor. But what Gon didn’t know was that Killua’s face hung to the side. In Leorio’s direction. Leorio became pale and he could barely breathe. Only a few centimeters away was Killua’s face, staring at him with those empty eyes. He looked worse than a few days ago. He was just small chunks of skin and flesh on bones. Leorio hardly recognized him. His face was so purple like a plum and most of his hair had fallen out.
But there he was, just right before Leorio’s face. He couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. His body didn’t want to move. He could only look in Killua’s eyes, reminding him that his friend couldn’t look back.
“Killua?”, Leorio managed to whisper.

Chapter Text

Killua… Killua was right in front of him. His corpse… the corpse of his friend. The friend he couldn’t protect… He was right there…
„Leorio! “Gon’s voice made Leorio snap out of his thoughts…
Right... considering the situation he had no time to grieve.
“Y-Yeah…”
His voice was still slightly shaky from seeing Killua’s corpse. Gon noticed something was off but didn’t question it, Leorio is probably feeling crushed under the heavy weight. It took Gon a few seconds to pull him out, but he was still successful. Leorio was still a little disturbed by Killua’s corpse.
“Thanks, Gon...“
“Your welcome! Now let’s get Kurapika! I hope he’s ok…”
Leorio didn’t answer, his voice was too weak to form any words, so he just kept silent. Suddenly Gon collapsed. Leorio still managed to catch him, before he fell to the ground. He wanted to say something, ask him if he was alright, but he couldn’t.
“Oh yeah, can you carry Killua for me? I know you might get infected by his virus, but I’ve used up all my Nen trying to locate you.”, Gon said panting.
Leorio almost let go of him. Does he have to… carry Killua…? He got a few flashbacks of Killua’s face, of his dead gaze, it was clear, in the same colors, as if he was looking at his face right at that moment. He had wished that he would never need to see him again, but deep inside he knew that that was impossible. That he had to start to think realistically. But maybe there was a way to avoid him…? Leorio refused to believe the truth. Maybe he should just tell Gon that his best friend… no, he didn’t know how he would react, he didn’t even want to know. Then he realized something. Why not leave Killua there? He is dead anyway, so why should they bring him?
“Let’s just leave him here, what could happen?”, Leorio mumbled out loud without noticing.
It took him some seconds to realize what he had done. But it was too late. Gon flinched. He managed to stand up on his own, even if he staggered a bit.
“Did you just say you want to leave Killua behind? Do you want to abandon a friend?”
“No I-I didn’t mean it like that, I- “, Leorio tried to explain it, but how should he do that, without telling him about his death?
“Leorio, this isn’t like you. You never let a friend behind”
“Gon, no, you got the wrong idea, it’s not- it’s not like that- “
“If you really don’t want to do it, then I will carry him.”
At first Leorio was relieved. He could just let Gon do it, then he didn’t have to have any contact with his corpse. Is this an opportunity to finally escape from the fact that Killua is dead…?
Leorio raised his arm and slapped himself in the face.
“Stop thinking so selfishly. Pull yourself together!”, he thought to himself.
When Gon would carry Killua, he might notice that he is dead. For some reason Leorio had a feeling that that would cause more casualties than Killua. He might be one of them...
Gon almost reached Killua. It was now or never. Leorio took a deep breath and gathered all his courage. Right before Gon knelt to carry Killua, he ran to him and grabbed his arm. The boy stopped abruptly and moved his head toward Leorio, confused about what his friend was doing.
“Gon, I will do it. Sorry for being so selfish before. I- I should have never thought like that”, Leorio said, now slightly calmer hoping Gon won’t catch onto what he’s doing. Luckily Gon didn’t seem that suspicious and seemed rather relieved, thinking Leorio was just stressed about the whole situation. He moved aside without hesitation so Leorio could pick up Killua.
Now Leorio will have to come face to face with Killua. Again…
There are his lifeless eyes staring at him again. Is he actually able to pull it off? Carrying the corpse of his friend? Doesn’t matter if he can or not, he had no choice either way in this matter.
Slowly Leorio approached Killua trying to keep up his calm act, but his fingers were slightly trembling. Does he have to carry Killua? Should he just tell Gon? No. He can’t know, at least not now.
Leorio reached out his arms to pick him up but the moment he came into contact with him he was reminded of how he wasn’t able to save one of his dearest friends.
“I’m sorry, Killua.”, he thought to himself before gently picking him up.
Leorio immediately felt his cold and numb skin. He remembered the first time he had seen Killua’s corpse. He remembered how horrible it had felt, when he had carried him on his back, physically and mentally. Leorio had hopes that he had got used to it. He didn’t. And it was even worse this time. Killua was light. Too light. Leorio could feel his bones, it was as if he carried a skeleton full of holes. Gently he put the corpse’s arms over his shoulder. They were just hanging there, swinging around due to Leorio’s trembling. Killua’s face was next to his. Leorio didn’t dare to look to the right. He didn’t want to look at those eyes again. But he felt it. He felt and he knew that Killua’s head was lying on his shoulder, so light yet so heavy in Leorio’s mind.
“Look out!”
Gon pushed Leorio to the side, before a robot jumped down right at the spot where he stood. He fell and slid some centimeters across the room. He had been so carried away because of Killua that he had forgotten about the robots. Now he was wide awake. Slowly Leorio stood up, still carrying Killua and looked around. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. The whole room was in ruins; shattered furniture lay everywhere and even blocked the door. The floor and walls were full of cracks and holes, and glass shards filled the entire floor. Robots swarmed the room and Leorio swore that there were fewer before. However, that wasn’t his biggest concern. When he looked at the wall next to him, he gasped for air. Kurapika was defending himself from several enemies, but he was staggering while standing and Leorio knew that he always got weaker. He was barely swinging his arms and always fell. The robots, however, didn’t show any mercy. They just kept coming and attacking, surrounding Kurapika and making it a hopeless fight. His body was full of wounds, and his clothes were soaked in blood. Leorio was about to go and help him, but then he saw Gon. He was kneeling on the floor and pressing his hand on his shoulder. Blood was pouring out of it. Leorio froze. Wait, wasn’t that the spot where he was? Did Gon push him away, but sacrifice himself for Leorio’s safety? The wound was very deep and the boy kept grunting in pain. Some robots were approaching him from all directions.
“Gon!”, Leorio shouted and was about to run towards him.
But then he looked back to Kurapika. He was now lying on the ground crawling backwards, facing the robots above him. They slowly approached him, knowing that victory was secured for them. Kurapika could only go backwards, but he would soon hit the wall. Then there would be no more escape. Leorio looked to Gon. He was still helplessly sitting there, unable to move. The robots were also coming towards him. Leorio looked back and forth to Kurapika and Gon. What should he do? Did he have time to save them both? Unlike Kurapika and Gon he couldn’t use Nen, he never had someone to teach him. Despite that he still somehow had to help his friends. But how? Without further thought Leorio ran towards Gon, running purely on adrenaline. When he reached Gon he grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and put him over his shoulder. By the time Gon realized he was on Leorio’s shoulder he was already running towards Kurapika. Kurapika had already reached the end. He pressed himself against the wall, while the bots were moving slowly. A drop of sweat ran down his face, he had already lost his weapons.
“This is the end”, Kurapika mumbled.
The enemies have reached him. They raised their tong-like hands, which immediately transformed to spikes. One of them pointed its hand to Kurapika’s neck, while the other ones prepared for an attack. He was trembling and his clothes were soaked in sweat and stuck to his body. Was he going to… die?
But then he realized something. When he would die… does that mean he could see Killua? Killua was probably all alone there and he would surely be happy about some company. Kurapika relaxed a bit. That eased his mind. He knew that a robot was swinging his hand towards his neck, but he couldn’t care less. He even smiled. Finally, Killua isn’t lonely anymore…
“Outta the way!”
Leorio’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Just when a spike touched Kurapika’s neck, Leorio was only some centimeters away. With Gon on one and Killua on the other shoulder Leorio kicked a robot so hard, that its “head” fell off and rolled to Kurapika’s feet.
“L-Leorio!”, he stuttered surprised.
Now the attention of all the bots were laying on Leorio, also the ones who were trying to kill Gon before. Kurapika took this chance to crawl some meters away.
“Kurapika, can you walk?”, Leorio asked him, without taking his eyes off the bots.
“Yes”
“Good, because I have a plan. You won’t like it, though.”
“Just say it, we don’t have any other option”, Kurapika had to shout a bit, because the robots started to make a weird noise.
Leorio took a deep breath, before continuing. Was it really worth it? He knew that it was a dangerous idea and that they could die in the process…
“Well, since the door is blocked, we are going to run to the window and jump.”
It took some seconds for Kurapika to digest the information. They were on the sixth floor, jumping down from that height would be suicide. There was no way they would survive that. However, was there a way to survive staying in the room? Kurapika and Gon were badly injured and Leorio had no fighting experience and had to carry Killua. The room was swarmed by enemies. No chance of surviving. Kurapika sighed. He couldn’t think of something better.
“Understood”, he replied shortly.
Leorio didn’t know if he should be relieved or frightened. He knew that the plan probably meant certain death. But was there another option?
“On my sign”, Leorio commanded.
He looked around, waiting for the perfect timing. Why weren’t the robots attacking? They were just standing there staring at the three friends. Leorio was sure that they were very aggressive before. But they didn’t move an inch. And that sound they were making… What was that? It sounded like something ticking… like a clock, a timer or…
“A bomb!”, Kurapika shouted, “They have a bomb!”
Wait a bomb? What are they gonna do now? Are they even gonna make it out alive? No. They have to make it out alive, but how? If only that bastard Milluki would have never existed in the first place they wouldn’t have been in this situation…
Leorio looked to Kurapika, then to the window. He wasn’t far away. Again, Leorio took a deep breath.
“Kurapika, now!”, he shouted across the room.
Immediately the two of them ran to the window. The robots still didn’t move; they were probably too busy preparing the bomb. They climbed over furniture, dodged standing bots and jumped over cracks and holes. It wasn’t easy, but determination wouldn’t let them look back or stop. At some point they both arrived at the window. Leorio looked down. The bottom was so far, all the people and cars looked so small. But there was no turning back anymore. He quickly opened it widely and a strong wind blew into the room. At first, they both hesitated. But when they heard the ticking of the robots getting louder, Kurapika climbed to the window… and jumped. Leorio had to follow him, even though he was shivering. While carrying Gon and Killua he did the same as Kurapika and jumped. At that moment the room exploded.