My exams start tomorrow, yet since it's Gon's birthday I think I'll write a little.

Special thanks to kyouno-aru, Nispedana, Phoenix-Thunder and Latias876 who reviewed last time. Also, thanks to everyone who's been sticking with this story, reading, faving, following, C2ing, etc.

At least someone won't be left hanging for 6 months…

Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro. School AU concept belongs to me.

Standard warning on grammatical errors and typos applies.

V

A Not So Ordinary Companion

"Killua!"

The said silverhead stopped on his track when he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw a familiar boy with spiky black hair, a familiar androgynous goldilocks, a familiar old-looking man with tea shade glasses, and… an unfamiliar boy with ultra thick brows. He shoved his hands into his pants and waited for the others to approach him.

"Where have you been?" Gon asked while he ran toward the same-age friend.

"Just taking a stroll," Killua answered. He thought for a while before adding, "And a nap."

"Geez, Killua. You shouldn't skip the class." Gon huffed.

"Yeah, yeah…" Killua rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He asked back.

"The class was dismissed earlier so we decided to take a tour around the school." Kurapika informed.

"Hm…" Killua hummed. That was why everyone was outside the class. He then looked at the group and his gaze stopped at the unfamiliar brunette. "And this?"

"Oh, this is Zushi! He's a senior! And he's showing us around!" Gon said cheerily. He then turned to the younger boy. "Zushi, this is Killua I'm talking about."

"I'm Zushi-su! Nice to meet you-su!" Zushi bowed in a strange manner. First he putted his hands across his chest the spread them wide to the side.

Killua coolly nodded at the boy. "Hi."

"I hope we all can get along well since we're classmates." Gon smiled widely.

Killua tilted his head. "Classmates? I thought you said he's a senior." It took him several seconds until it clicked in his mind. "Oh! You mean he is…" He looked at Zushi, whose face slightly reddened.

"Yeah, I'm repeating a year…" Zushi admitted sheepishly.

"I see. I didn't know that there was repeat system in this school." Killua said.

"That's why, Killua, you shouldn't skip class to often!" Gon reminded his friend.

"Yeah, yeah…" Killua replied half-heartedly.

"Um, well… You know, actually it doesn't really anything to do with absence. It depends more on… er, each of the student's ability-su." Zushi said. His words made the other four stared at him in puzzle. "You see, it's related to the Nen subject. I can't explain the detail but… Let's just say if one can't pass the final exam on that subject at the end of the school year they'll have to repeat a year-su."

"You mean, as long as someone doesn't pass the Nen exam they'll have to repeat a year, even if they pass the other subjects?" Kurapika asked while the others were still trying to proceed the piece of information they had just had.

Zushi nodded. "That's right-su. And the rate of a freshman to advance to the second grade is only 50%-su."

"WHAT? 50%?" Gon and Leorio gasped in unison.

"It means there're around 25 students who repeat the class every year." Kurapika calmly deduced as she tapped her chin. It seemed she was the only one who didn't get scared by the low percentage.

"W- Well then, I guess repeating a year isn't something to be shame about, Zushi." Gon said, trying to cheer this new friend of him.

"Yeah, but I still feel embarrassed. Not to mention that I still failed even thought Wing-sensei had helped me a lot-su." Zushi scratched his head.

"Speaking of Wing-sensei, you seem to be really close to him. What kind of person is he?" Gon asked excitedly.

"Wing-sensei is a very nice person-su. He's very patient with the students," Zushi said. From his expression, Gon and the others could tell that he really respected the teacher. "But sometimes he could be really careless… And somehow his shirt always stuck out-su."

Gon laughed hearing the description about his new homeroom teacher. "Is that so? I guess he and I are a little alike then. My aunt also often scolded me because I always got my shirt dirty."

"Anyway, he's still an amazing teacher," Zushi continued. "That's why I decided to stay in his class and help him out rather than moved to 1-C. Oh, 1-C is a special class for those who repeat a year like me-su."

"I see. I see." Gon nodded. Now he had a better understanding on what kind of school Hunter Institute was. It was an amazing school, with amazing teachers, amazing subjects, and amazing exams. Well, the last one scared him a bit but he believed he could do it as long as he studied hard. Besides, he had friends who were on the same boat with him.

Gon looked at Kurapika. That girl looked quite confident. Well, Kurapika was a bright person after all so she wouldn't find too much difficulty. Maybe he should ask her to teach him some subjects he was bad at later. He shifted his point of view and saw Killua. Killua looked like he was thinking about something else, but Gon couldn't guess what it was. Anyway, he should keep an eye at this silverhead so that he didn't skip class again. Gon looked up and now was looking at the much taller Leorio. Leorio's face was slightly paler than it usually was.

"Hey, Leorio, are you okay?" Gon asked in worry.

"Eh? Oh," Leorio was slightly taken aback when the boy suddenly talked to him. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about the exams. You know I'm not really good at studying." He smiled groggily while scratching his cheek.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm not good at studying either." Gon grinned. "Let's have a group study later. Mito-san once said that studying with friends would have been 100 times better than studying alone."

"Sounds fun. I'll help you out as much as I can." Kurapika said. She then side glanced at the older guy and added in sarcasm. "That's it… if you study seriously."

"O- Of course I will! I'm serious about my dream of becoming a doctor!" Leorio said as he straightened the collar of his dark colored gakuran. "If only there're cute girls with us. I'm sure I'll be much more serious." He added in very low voice, but Kurapika didn't fail to hear it.

"Leorio!" The blonde Kuruta glared at him then exhaled sharply. Maybe helping out this guy was a bad decision. This guy could only think about useless things like cheating and girls after all.

Speaking of girls…

"KURAPIKAAAAA!" Suddenly a girly female voice was heard from afar, followed by bouncy footsteps. Several seconds later the blonde found herself being tackled by a girl with pink hair.

"You're so crueeeeel! Why did you leave me behind?" The newcomer said while clinging to Kurapika's arm, much to the latter's annoyance. This girl was shorter than Kurapika. Her pink hair was tied up in a bun with yellow ribbon. She also wore some hairclips and hair ornaments that matched her big blue eyes. She was really girly and feminine, very different from the blonde who stood beside her (and whom she was still clinging to). Anyone who saw the together might have been mistaken them for a couple instead of two girls who shared the same room. "Didn't I tell you I'm not used to be alone? I got lost several time because you were not with me! If it wasn't for this veeery nice teacher I met, I wouldn't have made it to the entrance ceremony!" The pinkhead whined right on Kurapika's ear.

"Whoa! Who's this cutie?" Leorio asked. His pale face suddenly returned to its normal color. A little pinkish, if Kurapika might add. This man was extremely excited with the new girl's appearance and Kurapika couldn't resist an urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm Neon Nostrade, Kurapika's roommate." The pinkhead answered cheerily. She seemed really pleased by the attention Leorio showered her.

"Such a cute name for a cute girl!" Leorio chirped.

"Aww, thank you." Neon giggled. "Say, are you Kurapika's friend? May I ask who your name is?"

"I'm Leorio Paladinight, and yes, I'm Kurapika's friend. We're like… best buddies forever! Right, Kurapika?"

'Whatever.' Kurapika thought as she massaged the bridge of her nose. She started getting a headache because of these noisy people. Thanked God a teacher happened to passed by and saw the commotion.

"Nostrade-san!" A baritone voice called out. It made the said girl instantly froze on her spot. The group immediately turned their heads to where the voice had come from. There they saw a relatively young teacher. He had black hair and black eyes. The bandage that covered his forehead and a pair of blue piercing made him look slightly off as a teacher, but overall he looked much neater that Wing with a black unbuttoned suit over his white shirt. "Don't run in the corridor and don't talk too loudly. Your voice disturbs the other." He said to Neon and then turned to Leorio. "You too, Paladinight-san."

"Yes, sir!" Neon answered.

The teacher nodded then walked away. For some unknown reasons, Neon released Kurapika from her grip and followed the teacher like a puppy.

"N- Neon-chan?" Leorio gaped in confusion when the girl suddenly left. She didn't even bid him a good bye. "What was that?" He grumbled.

"Oh, it's Kuroro-sensei. He teaches an intermediate-advance Nen class in second grade-su." Zushi butted in with his explanation. "He is really popular among the female students for his good looking and gentleman attitude. Rumor says he is a genius with IQ score above 180. He even remembers the name of all of the students here-su."

"Hmpf, memorizing the girls' name like that. I believe he's just a womanizer who's looking for a chance on his students." Leorio scowled. It was clearly seen that he was not amused to hear such a perfect man existed in the world and that Neon preferred that man to him.

"FYI, that so-called womanizer teacher also remembered your name. Don't you think he's at least better than a certain guy who doesn't even have a confidence in memorizing the teachers' name?" Kurapika said in intended sarcasm.

A vein popped in Leorio's head. He opened his mouth and was about to reply (or shout) to Kurapika when Kuroro cut in. He was several meters away from them when he stopped and turned back to see the only girl left in the group.

"Oh, right. Kuruta-san, please wear your uniform properly."

That line made Leorio's day.

Well, it wasn't like Kurapika was wearing her uniform untidily or something. Mind you, she was a very neat person who would never let anything sustain her clean clothes. The problem was, the uniform she was wearing wasn't the orange-green seifuku like Neon and the other girls did. She didn't like mini skirt. As the name implied, they were too short… and always made her legs cold. The boys' uniform was way more comfortable and warm. Besides, she could move freely in it.

And then this man, who was completely a stranger, used the authority as a teacher to tell her to wear that freaking skirt.

Last time she checked there wasn't any rule that prohibit a girl to wear the boys' uniform.

(Uh, Kurapika, it was actually a common sense for a girl to wear girls' uniform.)

"I hate him." She declared as she smacked Leorio, who was laughing his heart out, on the head.

Gon could only laugh dryly as he watched everything from the sideline.

"This is just ridiculous. I'm heading back to dormitory." Killua said as he walked away on his own.

"Killua, wait for me!" Gon called out as he ran after his friend, who was happened to be his roommate as well.

"That's just ridiculous." Killua muttered.

"But it was fun," said Gon, who had successfully caught up with the silverhead. "Besides, isn't it great that we can know our friends better?"

" Friends?" Killua slightly widened his eyes. Wait, had his ears just deceived him? Had Gon just said our friends?

"Yes, friends. You, me, Kurapika, Leorio… and Zushi! Oh, and Neon-san as well, thought we haven't introduced ourselves." Gon made a big smile. "She and Kurapika look really close. I hope we'll get a chance to talk with her again."

Close? That woman and Kurapika? Killua sneered. From what he had seen Kurapika looked extremely annoyed with that woman's presence. "I don't think they're close, Gon."

Gon blinked. "Huh? But Mito-san said people will only make skin contact when they were close to each other. Oh, by close I mean in relationship terms, not physically."

'Again with that Mito person.' Killua mentally noted. Slightly annoyed, he decided to ask. "Who is that Mito-san?"

"Oh, she's my aunt. Well, she's my father's cousin actually. But she's like my mother because she was the one who raised me." Gon explained.

"Huh? What about your real mother?" Killua asked again. The silverhead wasn't aware that he was had become slightly interested in this friend of him.

"My real mother…" Suddenly Gon's cheery smiled changed. He looked rather sad now. "I've never meet her, nor I know how she looks like."

Killua stared at the other boy. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Sorry about that."

"Nn, it's okay," Gon shook his head. "Like what I've said before, Mito-san is my mother."

"…I see." Killua replied awkwardly. He never meant to meddle with someone else's family business, but it seemed like the boy who walked beside him didn't mind to tell him the entire story of his life.

"You see, Mito-san has been raising me ever since my father left me in her care. Oh, right. I haven't told you yet that I attended this school in order to find my father." Gon grinned at Killua.

"Your father?"

"Yup. He's a graduate from this school." Gon nodded. "I thought he might be here so I went to this school… Turned out that he wasn't here…"

"…"

"Well, I know you must think that I'm stupid because I went here without even checking whether he was here or not." Gon laughed.

"No. It's not like that. Actually I…" Killua suddenly stopped in hesitation.

'I'm also the same.' That was what he wanted to say, however… should he told Gon the truth or should he not?

"Hn?" Gon looked at Killua in curiosity. Their eyes met, and suddenly Killua remembered his conversation with Netero...

One hour ago at the Cherry Blossom Garden…

"Let's get to the point then. Is that person here?"

Netero didn't answer immediately. He took his time looking at the cocky boy as if he was trying to figure out what was this boy talking about. But of course, he knew what Killua meant. He was, out of all people, the wise and almightily Isaac Netero. "Well, if you're thinking about the same person as I am thinking, then the answer is yes."

"Really?" Killua's cat eyes widened. Netero could see joy and relief reflected on those sapphire orbs. "Let me meet her then. Please!" The boy half-ordered half-pleaded.

Netero stroke his white beard and shook his head. "Forgive me, I'm afraid I can't."

"W- What? Why?"

"You don't have what it takes to meet her." The old man replied. He still kept his calm attitude even thought the boy in front of him suddenly emitted a dark aura. He could see this young boy in front of him was desperate. "Now, now, don't be so worked up," Netero said calmly. "You'll get to meet her eventually, but not now. Not yet."

"What do you mean?" Killua demanded.

"There are several things you need to learn before you can meet her. They'll help you understand her real situation."

"Can't you just tell me about them now? Here?"

"Well, of course I can't. You see, you'll at least need to finish your first year here and advanced to the next grade to learn about those things." Netero said.

"WHAT? You mean I have to wait a whole year?" Killua exclaimed. Was this old man serious?

Netero chuckled seeing Killua's reaction. Such an inpatient boy.

"Don't laugh at me, Gramps!" Killua threw a deadly glare, which would make a normal person froze on their feet. Then again, Netero wasn't anything near normal…

"My bad, my bad. But it's the truth." Netero shrugged.

Killua sighed. He was screwed. Totally screwed. One year was too long.

"I can help you with that though," Netero said. "It'll still take some time, but won't as long as a whole school year."

"Really?" Killua looked up.

"But first… you'll need some companions."

"What's wrong, Killua?"

Gon's question brought the said boy back to present time. Killua quickly turned his face to Gon. Now the blackhaired boy looked slightly worried.

"Ah, no, it's just… Actually…" Killua clenched his fists. "Actually, I'm just the same as you."

"Eh?" Gon blinked.

"I'm here to look for a family member… my little sister." Killua finally confessed.

"Eh? Eh? Really?" Gon asked. "Is she also a student here?"

"Um, I'm not really sure. But apparently she's here. Netero said so." Killua said hesitantly. He was slightly taken aback by Gon's reaction.

"That's great. Hope you can meet her soon, Killua! I want to meet her too. Can I? I wonder what kind of person she is. Oh, I know. Since she's your sister she must be…"

Killua's lips curved upwards and formed a thin smile as he watched Gon talking and laughing. Netero said he would need some companions… Companions as in friends.

Somehow… somehow he didn't mind to have Gon as his friend. To be frank, he was actually looking forward to it. The other boy was the complete opposite of him and it made Gon even more interesting in his eyes.

Killua wouldn't admit it out loud though… because it was just so damn embarrassing!

(He would also consider making friend with Leorio and Kurapika. They had been together since the entrance exam after all... And perhaps with Zushi too. That boy looked like a good kid. He wasn't sure about the pinkhead though. Err, what was her name again?)

Well, that's a little insight about Killua and how he started befriending Gon. Also, the group meeting with Kuroro and Neon…

Next time we'll cover about their classes. Meeting some teachers (maybe) and Bisuke!

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please spend a minute or two to leave a review and wish me luck for my exams!

Until then n_n