Before Gon could continue any further on his story, he shut his mouth when he sensed Killua's aura seeping out of his body. He also felt Killua's fingers rubbing the side of his temple, and then his other hand slowly finding its way to the side of his right upper arm. Killua felt the rough patches of skin, and when Killua analyzed the outline of Gon's scar, Killua couldn't help but pull Gon in a tight embrace.

Giggling softly against Killua's ear, Gon whispered, "Killua, it's fine. This all happened in the past—"

"Show me everything," Killua interrupted rather discernibly. Gon closed his mouth and stared into his lover's mournful eyes. Gon leaned in and captured the sliver-haired Hunter's lips.

In between their kisses, Killua murmured almost pleadingly, "Please… " Killua gently nipped on Gon's bottom lip. "Don't leave out a single detail." Gon reluctantly pulled back from their kiss to stare into Killua's shimmering purple orbs.

"Okay." Gon said. Gon slowly lifted up his cotton sweatshirt to show Killua the sides of his lower torso. Gon bit his lip when he heard Killua hissing harshly under his breath. Though Gon typically disregards his wounds, he had to admit that the nasty carve he received months ago was something he wanted to erase. His stitches was not clean first off, and the cut was both deep and infected when he received it. Not only that, Gon would find out later that the weapon used was poisonous. His skin and blood badly reacted to it, so now, his right side looked hideous making even Gon himself flinch.

"Fuck…" Killua's voice was low. Gon shivered at the uncontrollable aura his lover was emitting. Gon quickly pulled his shirt down and gave Killua a small smile.
"You'll soon get to hear how I got this ugly scar," Gon chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Killua's eyes were still dark. Killua didn't know how to react; he wanted to continue hugging Gon, wanted to kiss him everywhere, and then maybe march back to his mansion to show his family a piece of his mind.

But by judging Gon's nervous eyes, Killua knew that now was not the time. Finding his voice, Killua softly said, "Okay. Please continue. But let's take a break once you get to the part w-where you get those scars."

Gon nodded, "That's a good idea. I feel like you're not going like what I'm about to tell you next."

Gon didn't know how, but even though Gon escaped from Kikyo's radar, Kikyo's flying knives managed to find him in the depths of the Zoldyck forest. Gon jumped from his hiding spot underneath a large shrub, barely dodging the large dagger. The manipulated knife wedged itself from the ground and chased after the fleeting raven-haired man. Gon swore under his breath when he glanced behind his shoulder to check if the knife was following him. Sure enough, the flying knife was only few feet on his trail. The knife is like a missile, Gon thought. Kikyo must have commanded her throwing knives to follow Gon everywhere until he gets stabbed. Gon quickly released his en, which stretched as far as 40 meters, to make sure that Kikyo was truly out of his vicinity. Confirming that Kikyo was not anywhere nearby, Gon quickly charged up his fist while continually running from the missile-like knife.

"Paper!" Gon shouted, shooting a projectile at the knife behind him. His emission successfully decimated the knife. Gon quickly sprung onto a large branch of a random tree to catch his breath. He was panting hard with beads of sweat dripping down his neck and forehead. He had been running for the past several hours, and the sun had finally set. He managed to lose track of Kikyo only an hour ago due to his incredible speed. But he knew that Kikyo won't rest until she could slice his head off. He heard a rustle nearby, causing him to bolt up from his resting position. His eyes scanned around his surroundings while clouding himself into Zetsu. The rustling increased in volume from the bushes next to the tree he was occupying. Gon held his breath as he could sense someone coming closer and closer. His mind was running wild, contemplating whether to run or fight.

All of the tension in his body released when he heard a familiar voice, "Gon-sama?" Canary's head popped out of the bush, and her gold scepter gleamed through the darkness. Gon sighed in relief, releasing his zetsu and then hopping down from his hiding spot. Canary flinched in surprise, but then her eyes grew concerned when she noticed Gon's untended wounds.

"You need to get treated," Canary harshly whispered. Gon nodded sheepishly.

"I didn't have time to treat them, and in all honesty, I can't even feel them anymore."

Canary frowned, "That's not a good sign." Gon could only nod again, before dropping his backpack from his back. He bent down and opened his bag to fish out his first aid kit. Canary also leaned down next to him, grabbing the alcohol and white cloth from his hands.

"Let me help you, " she urged. Gon smiled as the cocoa-skinned woman gently poured the alcohol on the cotton. "This is going to sting," Canary warned.

"That's okay, I'm used to it," Gon reassured her. Canary then proceeded in dabbing softly on Gon's wound in his temple. Gon bit his lip from the burning pain he felt in the side of his face. Judging but the amount of pain he is feeling, this cut is definitely going to linger for a while. As Canary finished disinfecting his wound, she placed a bandage over it. Then, grabbing another white cotton and coating it with alcohol, Canary slowly worked on his upper arm. This time, Gon bit the insides of his cheek from yelping out loud. That really did sting. Canary then wrapped around the bandage on his arm before helping him pack up his bag.

"Thank you, Canary!" Gon warmly said, his bright eyes gleaming into hers. Canary gave him a small smile.

"Of course, Gon-sama," Canary whispered back. Her eyes followed Gon's as his attention shifted to the cobblestone path behind him. She softly asked, "What is your next move, if you don't mind me asking."

Gon hummed in deep thought. "I'm still deciding whether I want to run away the whole time, fight back, or maybe negotiate. Do you think there is a chance that Killua's mother might listen to me for just a minute?"

Canary paused for a minute. But because of her somewhat serious nature, Canary shook her head, "I don't think my mistress want anything else but to get rid of you. To her, you're the biggest obstacle that is preventing Master Killua from coming back home."

Gon laughed at Canary's brutal honesty. "I already knew, but I still wanted to ask. Oh well." Gon stretched his arms, carefully moving his injured shoulder. His voice suddenly softens, "I don't want to hurt Killua's mother, though. So even though she might stab me on the spot, I'm still going to try and talk with her." Canary sighed, knowing that there was no way of talking it out to the raven.

Instead, Canary said, "Gon-sama. If you ever need assistance, a place to rest, or anything else of the matter, please don't hesitate to ask me. I will do anything for Master Killua's happiness." Gon smiled widely this time. He was grateful that he has someone he can turn to in this household.

"Okay! Could you do one favor for me then?" Gon asked. Canary nodded. Gon then asked, "I don't want to keep running away and waste the three months Silva gave me. I want to face Silva head on instead of just surviving. He probably expects me evading all of the Zoldycks. But I want to do something he won't expect. And what he doesn't expect is me going back to him." Gon could tell that Canary isn't liking what she was hearing from the look on her eyes. But he still continued, "I can't really tell you what I have in mind when I'm going to face Silva, but I don't think I can keep my promise with Alluka. Can you text her for me every week on my phone? Tell her that I'm still alive, and I will make sure her family will forever leave Killua alone to do what he wants."

Canary chewed her bottom lip. All she was hearing is that Gon is indirectly telling her that there is a good chance of him doing something crazy that increases the risks of him dying. He's also hinting that whatever he is doing, he's either going to be fatally injured, out of commission, or worse, dead. She couldn't help but ask, "Gon-sama, why don't you just run away? You have already accomplished your goal in telling them your plan, right? There is no reason for you to even participate this game of theirs. If they successfully capture you, they have a guarantee that Master Killua will return. If they kill you…"

Gon's eyes twinkled almost mischievously, "You're right, I only came here to tell them. But if I run away now, I won't be satisfied, and I would feel like I am still not worthy of being with Killua. This is something I have to do. I want to know how it was like for Killua to grow up here. I want to see more, experience more, and understand more. How can I come back and propose to Killua when I have ran away from his past and family?" Canary couldn't argue with Gon on this one. This man was being the most sincere to her precious master. Who was she to tell him that he was wrong?

So she slightly bowed and begged, "Then, will you please not underestimate my mistress and masters? They are deceptive, cunning, and worst of all, experts at killing. One misstep can lead to death."

Gon nodded, "I know! I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, but here's my phone! If I ever need help. I'll think of you, Canary!" With that said, Gon bounced up to a large tree and disappeared into the shadows. He hopped on tree to tree, moving east of the mansion he had escaped from. His eyes detected a small open area within the Zoldyck forest that was far enough distance from Canary and not too far from the mansion. Gon estimated that the open area he is now heading to is about 7 miles from the mansion and 8 miles from the place he ran into Canary. It took him a good 45 minutes to reach to his destination. He stopped at a sturdy, willow tree standing in the boundary of a large, circular open area in the middle of the forest.

Gon decided to use this area to lure out Kikyo. This may be Gon's simple theory, but he believed that Kikyo mostly had the eyes of the mansion because of her visor. So, he assumes that she knows where is he is at the moment. Gon catches his breath before leaning his back against the tree. He should rest as much as he can, he thought. Who knows when a knife may come flying at him.

As if Kikyo can also read minds, Gon jumped down the tree branch when a hurling knife stabbed itself on the tree trunk Gon was leaning against. Gon quickly scanned his surroundings, not sensing Kikyo anywhere or other flying knives. He then quickly released his en. Kikyo presence was caught at the edge of his en radius, but in a flash, she disappeared from his radar. Before Gon could follow her traces, he quickly dodged the same knife that caught him by surprise earlier. As soon as he jumped out of the way, another knife sailed from behind. Due to his quick reflexes, Gon instantly ducked backgrounds as if he was doing a limbo.

"These knives are fast like bullets!" Gon thought in his head. After a good 10 minutes, Gon was dancing in the middle of the open circle, dodging about 8 flying knives. Kikyo was definitely trying to trap him in this open area. "I wonder if I can take all the knives by blunt force only releasing Ren," Gon thought. His eyes then wandered to his injuries. It's risky since he has a feeling that these were no ordinary knives. If they were regular kitchen knives, Gon could have easily let the knives hit him, expecting them to just break or be deflected. But since they aren't, Gon has no choice but to release an insane amount of nen to stop the knives. He couldn't use paper individually at each of the flying knife. That takes more energy that what he was about to do now.

Gon jumped high in the air, and just as he expected, all 8 knives followed up to his feet. Gon shouted, "Ren!". A giant burst of aura was released from the Hunter's body, which immediately halted the knives movements. He then released his projectile, destroying the knives for good. Gon's sharp eyes then caught a familiar, pink frill. He quickly landed on his feet, then rushed to the tree Kikyo was hiding behind. Kikyo was caught off guard, but only for a second. Unsheathing a long, samurai sword, she sailed her weapon down on the Hunter.

Preparing for an abrupt attack, Gon immediately blocked the attack with Scissors. The clash between Kikyo's sword and Gon's transmutated sword released a shockwave.

"With the strength you have, you should easily overpower me, "Kikyo seethed, trying her hardest to push down her weapon.

Struggling against her sheer efforts, Gon grunted, "I just want to talk! I don't want to kill you."

"There's nothing to talk about. I just want you to be gone!" Kikyo shrieked. Gon quickly pulled down his Scissors, causing Kikyo to yelp in surprise. She first stumbled, then got back to her feet. Without wasting a second, Kikyo screeched again, swinging her weapon wildly at Gon. Gon easily evaded her mindless swingings.

"Why do I have to be gone? Even without me, Killua would still not be an assassin!" Gon try to reason.

Kikyo was not having it. "STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP!" Gon hopped over the upset woman, while Kikyo sailed her weapon down on the soft ground. She pulled back her sword roughly and glared at the Hunter behind her. "Kil still doesn't realize how he has the talent to become the greatest assassin. You're his biggest distraction! And now you are taking away his chances of being the greatest assassin!" Gon then realized that Kikyo's mind was not stable at the moment. The way her body was trembling and the way she can't speak civilly tells Gon that he has to wait until she calms down.

He suddenly side-stepped from her attack, and before she knew it, Gon was behind her. Pulling back his strength a tiny bit, Gon slammed his elbow at the edge of her lean neck. He could the air knocked out of her lungs. Kikyo quietly drops to the floor with her hand still clutched onto the sword. Gon sighed in relief, flopping himself down on the ground.

Suddenly, Gon heard chilling laughter coming from Kikyo's body. Gon immediately jumped back to his feet and distanced himself from the cackling lady. Slowly, the lady assassin twitched violently, and Gon suddenly felt a spike of aura coming from the woman. It's as she received some weird power boost.

"We assassins are from a different world from the likes of you," Kikyo whispered in an eerie voice. Gon knew this feeling. He had felt it several times from Killua long ago. The aura of an assassin. Whenever Killua switches on to his assassin mode, everything around him appears dark and almost creepy. And if Gon remembered quickly, Killua becomes insanely faster as if he isn't thinking at all.

Just as he said, Gon barely dodged Kikyo's sudden claw attack. Gon stumbled backgrounds, but Kikyo grabbed her umbrella from the insides of her large skirt, and tried to aim at Gon's head. Knowing that something shoots out of her umbrella, Gon scrambled up to his feet before he felt an explosion near his feet. Gon made a final decision.
"I need to run away right now, and then I can try confronting her again when she's out of her assassin mode."

….

Has it been a week? 10 days? Even 2 weeks? No, that can't be true. Gon's record of staying up without sleep is only a week. Panting heavily, Gon slid down on his bottom against a log. He was dirty, sleep-deprived, and exhausted. At this point, Gon lost track of time. He knew that it had more than several days. This was the 8th or 9th time the sun had finally set. Or so he remembered. He barely managed to drag his feet to stand up when he sensed Kikyo's distinct scent.

A low chuckle echoed through the forest he had been traveling around. "I am quite impressed at your endurance. Even Kil would have a hard time staying awake," Kikyo said with a devilish smile.

Having dark, black bags under his eyes, Gon barely muttered, "So am I experiencing the same torture or practice Killua faced in order to stay awake this long?" That's all he cared about the moment. His tiredness and headache was temporarily gone. He had accomplished one goal; Kikyo had finally started talking accommodatingly.
"Not quite. But this would be a good preparation," Kikyo answered. Gon could tell that she was exhausted as well, judging by the slow speed she was walking. But unlike his looming figure, Kikyo showed no sign of exhaustion through her appearance and expression.

"What makes Killua the perfect potential to be the greatest assassin?" Gon groggily asked.

Kikyo laughed cold-heartedly, "Be enlightened, intruder. Ever since Kil was young, he was exceptional in all the torture training, assassin training, and combat we ever imposed on him. I never felt so much joy in seeing my Kil easily taking in poison as a 1 year old! Mastering assassin techniques takes years, but for our Kil, it took less than a year. No one in our family had accomplished that. But even though he is able to do all that…" Kikyo glared at the tired man.

Gon quickly grabbed a fallen tree bark near him to block another knife. Kikyo clicked her tongue in annoyance. In all honesty, both knew that they had barely enough energy to unleash their hatsu. It was now up to their endurance, conviction, and pure strength. Gon knew that he is miles above her in strength, but he had a feeling that their endurance might be on the same length. As for their sheer determination…

"Have you ever considered what Killua wants? You're his mother. You should know that he isn't cut out to be an assassin. Killua has one of the kindest souls I ever seen," Gon huffs.

Kikyo bit her lip. "Shut your mouth!" more knives popped out from her sleeves. She threw them across like darts. Gon used every ounce of his willpower to jump out of the way. But because of his sleep-deprivation, his vision failed him. He ran into a tree, causing him to have a more severe headache. Gon groaned, but Kikyo was in no better shape. She fell to her knees, sweat dropping from her pale face.

Gon took this chance. Rubbing his head, Gon limped to the fallen Kikyo. Kikyo tossed more throwing knives at the Hunter, but her movements were sluggish for Gon to easily swerve left and right to dodge them. Finally standing only a few feet from the woman assassin, Gon crouched down to his knees. Gon's honey-brown eye bore into gleaming red light. He said in a low voice, "I don't want to kill you. But I will say this. I—." Gon didn't flinch when Kikyo suddenly plunged her pocket knife through what she wanted to target: his heart. But because of Gon's fast reaction, he held to his palm to block it. His left eye only blinked as the knife stabbed through his hand. But his eyes never left hers. She gasped in shock. The blood on Gon's hand kept pouring, yet Gon continued where he left off. "I am going to take Killua away, and I will marry him. Because I love him." Kikyo couldn't help but gaze into those deep, amber orbs that sucked her in. She didn't even glance at the blood that was now seeping through her own hand and sleeves. Then, Gon drew back his hand, and roughly pulled Kiko's grip from the pocket knife. She was frozen still, still gawking at the Hunter as he bravely yanked out the knife that wedged through his hand. Kikyo's breath hitched when the spiky-haired man pointed the knife at her neck.

Almost smiling playfully, Gon said, "I'm going to be your selfish son-in-law. Don't hope that I will be this nice in the future." With that said, Gon's sudden surge of energy gave Kikyo a jolt. Those eyes… that fearlessness… and his insane nen output. Kikyo fell into unconscious from shock. Her body dropped onto the Hunter's weak body, but he was still strong enough to hold the thin woman. He gently lifted the woman over his shoulder and placed her down next to a tree.

He then distanced himself from the woman, allowing the bystander nearby to reveal themselves. Gon didn't recognize the butler at all, but the butler wasn't too strong or weak. He was good enough to conceal his presence, but not enough for Gon not to notice. The butler made sure to hold eye contact as he walked towards his mistress. Bending down to gently pick her up, the butler only gave Gon an acknowledged nod.

"You have survived Mistress Kikyo's assassination attempt. As a reward, I have a message from Master Zeno." Gon tiredly stared at the butler, indicating him to continue talking. Without any change in his facial expression, the butler continued, "He expects you to see you in the Zoldyck garden by dawn. That is all."

"Thank you," Gon whispered. The butler nodded and then vanished into thin air. Gon stood still for a good minute, making sure the butler had completely left. Too tired to care about potential sneak attack, Gon let himself fall to the ground, back first. He grunted as he roughly landed, but fatigue overpowered the slight pain. He couldn't believe that he had been running for more than week straight, escaping from Kikyo's clutches. And now, Killua's grandpa wants to see him at dawn? Gon glanced at the sky, noting that the sun was half set. He didn't have a phone or watch, but being used to nature, he guessed that the time is currently 6 or 7 ish. How much time does he get before dawn? His vision started to falter.

"No," Gon whispered to himself. He couldn't risk sleeping through dawn. But his body wouldn't listen. Gon's arms twitched, trying to force himself to move. His final attempt to get up was releasing the little aura he had left. But that brought him more pain and fatigue. Gon started to grab the grass, failingly pulling himself. He was moving at a snail pace, but Gon's goal was to reach the log a few feet ahead of him to use as leverage. As he kept pulling across the ground, Gon felt a shadow blocking him from the sunlight. He stopped his futile efforts, and then tiredly craned his neck to see who was above him. His eyes widened at a familiar face.

"S-sequant-san?"

The older man snorted, "Looks like you were having fun."

"Yeah… I didn't realize that I'm this far away from the mansion."

Sequant snorted again, "What can you do when some crazy assassin lady starts chasing you around with knives?"

Gon slightly chucked, "So you saw."

Seaquant shrugged, "You kinda ran everywhere, including our front lawn. It gave my rookies a scare."

"Haha."

Seaquant sighed, dropping down to his knees to pick up the exhausted young man to his shoulders. Seaquant knew that if the man had energy, he would have protested and struggle against Seaquant's help. But at this current state, Gon had no motivations to decline the older man's support. "You gotta ask for help, sometimes. You need to drop at least an ounce of your stubbornness, " Seaquant grumbled.

"T-then…. can you please wake me up before dawn?" Gon asked.

Seaquant chuckled, "Sure can, brat. You did give me a sight I thought I would have never seen."

"What… sight…" before Gon knew it, he had lost consciousness.

Gon suddenly stopped his storytelling and eyed at his somewhat sulking looking lover. Killua glanced at Gon confusedly. Crossing his arms, Gon pouted, "This is where you compliment me on how I managed to stay awake for a week, Killua!"

Killua rolled his eyes. "Really Gon?" Gon childishly furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

"That was the number one thing I wanted you to get out of in this part of my story!"

"The thing I got out of from this is how much of a bitch my mother is!"

"Killuaa, she lost to me! She failed to kill me—," Gon tried to soothe, but was cut off by Killua's lips. Gon instantly closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of his lover's desperate kisses. Drawing back from their kiss, Killua grabbed his boyfriend's hand and inspected it. Gon was silent as he watched Killua's eyes darken at seeing the scar he received from his mother.

"Just the thought of my mother making an assassination attempt on you make my blood boil, "Killua said in a harsh voice. Gon shuddered at the change Killua's tone. Killua closed his eyes, leaned in, and gently planted a kiss right at the center of Gon's palm. Gon let out a soft gasp, a bit surprised from Killua's sudden action. Killua continued kissing softly at his lover's scar, but this time, he opened his eyes to stare into the blushing Hunter's eyes. Gon's lips quivered at the feeling of Killua's lips kissing his palm. It sort of tickled.

"Where else did my mother hurt you?" Killua whispered. Gon was now leaning backwards, his back barely above the ground. Killua was slowly climbing on top of him, waiting for the raven-haired Hunter to answer.

"My s-shoulders," Gon said. Gon bit his bottom lip when his lover slowly pull down his shirt to find his other scar. This scar was a clean line running through his shoulder blade. And much like his scar on his hand, it was rough and badly patched. Killua scowled before his eyes turned soft. He leaned down to gently brush his lips on Gon's shoulder blade. Gon squeezed his eyes shut, feeling incredibly warm, nervous, and most of all, loved. Killua slowly trailed his lips on the patched line through Gon's shoulder blade. Gon could feel Killua's hot breath tickling on his sensitive skin. Coating his scar with his kisses, Killua then gave Gon's shoulder a teasing lick. This time, Gon yelped, "K-killua!" He could feel Killua's lips forming a smile through his shoulders. Both of their hearts were hammering, but Killua wasn't finished.

"Where else?" Killua whispered through Gon's ear. Gon breath grew more rhythmic. He wanted Killua to stop before things started to become too serious. But at the same time, Gon was loving every second of attention he had been receiving from his lover.

"D-during the week where I was just running away from her… She managed to graze the side of my neck. It wasn't too bad to leave a scar thought" Gon whispered back. Killua was now right on top of Gon; Gon's head was between Killua's arms.

"Show me where," Killua said in a low voice. Still flustered, Gon leaned a bit sideways, and placed his two fingers at the right side of his neck. Killua bent down and asked, "What happened to this one exactly?"

"It was the second or third night after she switched to her assassin mode. I was too busy trying to escape from her manipulated knives to feed myself. So I decided to risk keeping myself vulnerable to scavenge for food. And then, she was able to graze me with her throwing knife and— ah, Killua!" Killua gently removed Gon's fingers from the cut and swooped in to place a wet kiss. Gon bit his tongue to prevent a moan escaping from his mouth. Gon was sensitive with neck kisses, and he really didn't want to get too excited when he was still not done with his story-telling. Killua kept kissing on the same spot, then teased Gon with a small click of his tongue. Gon gasped out loud, before Killua removed himself from Gon's neck. There was light in Killua's eyes now, but his face still appeared strained.

Stroking Gon's scar on his left temple, Killua asked, "So my mother wasn't the one who gave you the s-scar on your… s-side?"

Gon nodded slowly, "W-we'll get to that part later." Killua frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned down and started to peck tiny kisses on the side of Gon's face. Gon giggled, wrapping his arms around the albino's neck.

Gon could hear Killua whispering, "I'm going to cover up all your marks with mine." His face turned beet red from Killua's declaration and tried to control the excitement he was feeling. But that was a time for later. Using every inch of his self-control, Gon tried to get up from his lying position.

"Hold on, I'm not finished, "Killua murmured, lips brushing at the side of his temple.

"B-but Killua! I really want to continue my story," Gon whined.

"Wait. I have to do this, or else I won't be satisfied," Killua muttered. Gon sighed, but smiled warmly. Honestly, Killua can be so strange sometimes. But that was why he was utterly in love with him.

Giving Gon his final kiss on his scar, Killua pulled back from Gon. "Okay, you can continue now."

Sensing that Killua had somewhat calmed down after listening to the events of his mother trying to kill him, Gon took a deep breath before resuming his oration

Gon groaned at the sound of an urgent voice interrupting his dreams.

"Gon-kun, wake up. It's almost dawn."

"Come on, let me have a good punch at him. Or else he won't wake up."

"No! He is still recovering from mistress's attacks."

Gon's eyes fluttered open, and he sighed out loud when a bright light hovering above him burned his vision. The two voices, belonging to Zebro and Seaquant, hushed.
"Oh, look who's awake," Seaquant chuckled. It took Gon a few more seconds to suddenly bounce up from his lying position. Zebro flinched at the Hunter's jolt, while Seaquant rolled his eyes.

"How long was I out? What time is it? Where am I?" Gon sputtered. Gon then groaned. He suddenly felt pain at the back of his head.

Zebro rubbed the raven's shoulders before answering, "Do not worry, Gon-kun. You've bene out only for 8 hours. It's 3:30 am right now. You are in our lodge."

Before Gon could react, Seaquant interrupted, "And you should stay down a bit longer. You are going to have a massive headache after staying awake for 10 days."

"So it has been 10 days?" Gon asked, eyes brightening. Despite the pain he was feeling, Gon was feeling accomplished for passing his previous record.

Seaquant snorted, " You're just as abnormal as those Zoldyck monsters."

Gon laughed, "Maybe. You said it's 3:30, right?"

"Yes. Dawn should come in about 30 minutes or so. Since we are high up in the mountains, dawn comes earlier than usual." Zebro explained.

Ignoring Seaquant's advice, Gon swung his legs over the single bed he was sleeping on. Both groundskeepers sighed as they watched the raven-haired Hunter stretching his limbs and slapping his cheeks. "Alright! It's time to see Zeno-san!" Gon declared.

"M-master Zeno? They are sure merciless," Seaquant muttered. Zebro scratched the side of his head in silent agreement.

As Gon was doing some squats, he hummed, "Hmm, I don't think Zeno-san will do anything to me. At least, that's what is what my gut is telling me."

"If your gut is wrong, I would be on my knees right and praying to God," mumbled Seaquant. Gon giggled while doing small bounces on each of his feet. He then observed himself and his unpleasant appearance.

Gon smiled sheepishly, "Do you guys happen to have spare clothes? I don't want to present myself like this to Zeno-san."

Zebro smiled, "Of course." He then exited the small room, leaving Seaquant and Gon alone.

Seaquant shook his head in disbelief, "You're one insane dude. I would have pissed myself if I had a psycho assassin lady chasing me around with those floating knives."
Gon chuckled, "It was pretty terrifying. Especially since she couldn't comprehend any of my words."

Seaquant then smirked, "You actually made my rookies piss themselves when you suddenly landed in front of our front porch. You appeared and then vanished in a flash. And right behind your heels was this incarnate that scared the living daylights of my rookies. Mistress Kikyo's visor was blinking like crazy, and her aura seriously emitted black shadows." The two shared a light-hearted laugh at image of a raging Kikyo scaring the groundkeeper's apprentices.

Just then, Zebro returned with a folded clothes on his hands. Gon gladly received them and noted how these clothes once again matched his style. He tore off his ragged olive-green shirt and slipped onto a forest green sweatshirt and a black baggy shorts that fell above his knees. He easily opened the bathroom door to wash his face. He remembered the last time he was here, it was almost impossible for him to swing open the bathroom like the way he just did. Splashing the water on his face, Gon stared at himself at the stainless mirror in front of him. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes stared at his reflection, particular at the clean cut he received from Kikyo. His bandage ripped off during his clash with Kikyo. And the cut still looked as fresh as before. Which means…

"Darn it, it's going to stay for a while, "Gon whined to himself. Hopefully Killua doesn't find it funny. Scratching his scar, Gon grabbed a fluffy towel next to the soap, and dried his face. The cold water managed to fully wake him up. The back of his head stung a bit, but he knew that he has to see Zeno soon. He didn't want to think of the consequences of bailing Killua's grandfather.

Before he snuck out the door, Gon stopped by to see Zebro and Seaquant. With a wide smile, Gon told them, "Thank you so much for taking care of me and waking me up!"

Zebro smiled sweetly while Seaquant huffed, "Cheeky, aren't we? Anyway, remember what we said."

"Uh yeah! Don't get my head chopped off!"

Gon was already at the door before Zebro called. "Not just that! Please take care of your body, or else we can't face Master Killua!"

Gon dashed through tree by tree, following a particular aura a few miles ahead. "He's already there," Gon thought in his head. Gon increased his pace. If any normal human were to witness Gon's hurried run, it would just be a blur. The abrupt wind from Gon's speed broke a few twigs from trees. It only took Gon a few more minutes before he was just in front of a hedge that separated the forest he was in and the marvelous Zoldyck garden. Cloaking himself in Zetsu the entire time, Gon spared a few seconds to catch his breath and stared in awe at the scenery in front of him. The garden was truly breathtaking. There was a miniature bridge that led to the circular area full of flowers, bushes, and plants. The river that surrounding this circular shaped garden was thin and smooth. Gon sometimes wondered if Killua's family was from a fairy tale.

Gon shook his head from his daze and concentrated on the elderly man standing on the center of the small, arched bridge. He was staring at something, probably one of the flower bushels. His back was turned, and he had his Ren on. Perhaps this was Zeno signaling Gon his location? Gon took Zeno's Ren as a friendly invitation. But he still wanted to sneak up to the elder. Familiar with the nature of grasses, Gon tiptoed past the hedge. His steps were noiseless, and since it was still pre-dawn, the moon barely shone light to capture his shadow.

Gon inched closer and closer to the older man, and when Gon was only a few meters away from Zeno, Zeno spoke, "You will need 10 more years to surprise attack me."

Gon silently cursed, but released his Zetsu. He scratched the back of his head and stuck his tongue out.

"I wanted to see how far I can go before you caught me."

Zeno turned his body around to face the taller, younger man. Because Gon had exceptional vision, he could catch the elderly man's eyes twinkle. "You weren't bad for a youngster as yourself. You're probably as good as my grandson. Maybe even better."

Gon didn't even need to ask which grandson he was talking about. His smile grew wider, proud that his Zetsu was as good as or even better than Killua's. His boyfriend needs to stop slacking. "Wow, I guess training Zetsu for 6 months straight did paid off!"

Zeno raised an eyebrow. "Did you train solely on Zetsu for 6 straight months?"

Gon nodded enthusiastically, "Mhm! Ging told me that Zetsu is one of the most important abilities that I must master. If I wanted to work on Ren or Hatsu, I had to completely master Zetsu first. He even said sometimes I should value Zetsu more than anything else."

Zeno chuckled, "Ah, what a wise man. I can agree with that." Gon and Zeno stood in comfortable silence as the watched the sky sparkled from the tip of the sun's entrance. Gon loved this time of the day when the sun slowly climbs itself up to the sky. He especially liked seeing how his surrounding would shroud itself in basks of bright colors, making flowers and the water shine in radiance.

Gon estimated that a good 10 minutes passed until Zeno spoke again, "Let's talk over there." He gestured towards the two small benches next to the rows of iris and violets. With his hands behind his back, Zeno casually approached to the bench and sat down. Gon followed closely behind then stood behind the elder man, unsure whether to sit down next to him or stand behind him. Without looking up, Zeno merely said, "Sit." Gon sat down beside his boyfriend's grandpa, and the two once again entered another period of silence. This time, Gon observed how the violets and irises gleamed beautifully by the rising dawn. Their color reminded him of a certain person's eyes.

"This was one of his favorite places. This was also one of his favorite flowers," Zeno stated, interrupting his thoughts. Gon eyes lit up at the new information he obtained about his lover. Irises and violets? He knows what he's going to order next time to surprise his silver-haired Hunter.

Gon grinned, "So he used to really like blue flowers? That sounds like him."

Zeno raised an eyebrow, "Used to?"

Gon hummed in response, "To celebrate our anniversary, I wanted to get him flowers. I asked him what was his favorite, and he told me he liked daffodils."

"Did he? Well, he isn't the same boy anymore, so that is to be expected." Zeno then seemed to hesitate before saying, "I reckon that the change in his interests is mostly due to your influence."

Gon blinked. "Huh?"

Zeno lightly chuckled, "Just by learning his new favorite flower, he has obviously changed. Tell me, have you ever given this flower before to that boy?"

Gon thought long and hard and saw a quick flashback. "I remember! I did. When I first introduced him to Whale Island, I showed him those flowers in the forest I always played at when I was young. Then I plucked one and gave it to him, saying that it's one of my favorite flowers and I thought that it would fit perfectly in his white hair." Gon swore that the quiet grunt coming from the elder was a snort.

"I never knew my grandson can be so simple." Gon seemed confused at the old man's words, so the man explained, "It seems as if my simple grandson found a new love for daffodils because you gave it to him that day. Those flowers do awfully resemble you, young man."

Gon suddenly blushed and bashfully smiled. Of course, why didn't he realize that from the start? Oh Killua. Gon then giggled when another memory popped in mind. "I remember he tried to give me flowers as a gift. It was before we started dating, and now that I remember, he gave me daffodils. But I don't know why, he was so embarrassed even though he was only giving it to me for my birthday. He basically shoved the bouquet flowers on my face, yelling at me that he is happy that I was born. You should have seen him, he was so red!

Zeno sighed, "Instead of teaching my grandson assassin techniques I should have taught him how to flirt." This time, Gon bursted out laughing. He could hear Zeno quietly joining along. His conversation with Zeno was miles different than his failed attempt in talking with Kikyo. Both parties have respect each other, and, much to Gon's excitement, both love the silver-haired ex-assassin. Gon peered sideways and smiled at the old man.

"You really love Killua, don't you?"

Zeno only gazed upwards. "I can't deny that he is my favorite grandchild." Gon's curiosity got the better of him.

"Then were you sad that Killua left the assassin business?" There was silence, but there wasn't any tension or awkwardness. At least, Gon didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable asking Zeno these personal questions.

Zeno finally whispered," I expected it much when I first heard that he ran away, stabbing my daughter-in-law and his older brother. But I can't help but feel happy as a grandfather to see your grandchild doing what he loves, even if it's not my treasured business."

Gon's curious eyes never left the old man's face. "I always wondered, but how did the Zoldycks start their assassin history? Did they suddenly feel like assassination could be open for business back then?" Zeno closed his eyes briefly before a small smile formed on his lips.

Instead of answering the raven's question, Zeno muttered, "No wonder that old man took a liking towards you." Seeing that the raven didn't understand who he was referring to, Zeno clarified, "Netero. Netero told me a few stories about you and Kil when you two took the Hunter Exam together."

"Oh, Netero-san!" Gon then smiled sadly, remembering how valiant he was during the Chimer Ant catastrophe.

Returning a somewhat sad smile, Zeno continued, "That old fool wouldn't stop gushing how you reminded of himself and how different you were with my grandson. Then he would go on rambling how you might grow up to be the greatest Hunter, maybe even surpassing your dad."

Gon's eyes lit up excitedly. "Really?!'

Zeno nodded, then said. "And then he once said that one day, Kil would elope with you. I don't know if he was joking or not, but that man always had terrifying foresight."
"H-huh? How could he have predicted that when we were only 12?"

Zeno shrugged, "But it will happen soon, I believe." Gon's whole torso turned towards the elder next to him. The sun was now halfway up, and Gon could see that the Zoldyck elder was staring into the sky almost thoughtfully.

"My daughter will probably never accept you, nor will my son acknowledge you. At least, not in the near future." Zeno stated. Then the older man peered sideways to catch a glimpse of the smiling, raven haired hunter. "But I don't see them successfully killing you. There's something in you that makes me think that you have great amount of potential, just like that geezer said." Zeno stood up suddenly and began to walk away. Gon stood still, knowing that the Zeno still had more to say. Zeno stopped as he was now a good distance away, then turned around.

He gazed into the amber orbs that he knew his grandson adored. "Make my grandson the happiest man he can be, Gon Freecs."
After sharing a long, hour conversation, Gon knew what his words translate to. His face was now shining brightly with a beaming smile. Zeno words equated to, "You have my blessing. Now go and take on my family."

Gon stopped his story when he saw Killua fidgeting slightly. It seemed like his favorite Zoldyck had something to say for a while now. Smiling almost mischievously, Gon asked the ex-assassin with a hint mockery, "Have anything to say, Killua?"

Turning a bit red for holding his breath to prevent himself from bursting out in frustration, Killua nodded furiously, "Yeah, I got a shit ton of things to say. First off, why the hell did you and my grandpa made fun of me so naturally? And second off, I can't believe that old geezer Netero betted our love lives to my grandpa! He's still taunting us from his grave!"

Gon giggled, "Ahaha, you know Killua, I learned a lot of cute things you did when you were little from Zeno-san!" Gon saw the horror forming on Killua's face. With an evil smirk Gon continued to tease, "I asked him to tell me what you were like when you were young. Killua, you never told me how cute and naughty you were!"

Now turning bright red, Killua sputtered, "W-what did he tell you? Y-you don't need to know what I was like when I was young—"

"Like when Alluka first called you onii-chan, Zeno-san told me that for a while, you tried calling Illumi onii-chan! Hahaha!"

"DON'T FUCKING REMIND ME! UGH!"

"And then, he even showed me some pictures! You had long hair back then! Why did you cut it short?"

"HE SHOWED YOU PICTURES? NOW GRAMPS IS IN MY MURDER LIST BESIDES MY MOTHER AND ILLUMI!"

Gon cried, "Noooooo! I like Zeno-san! He showed me a lot of things about you when you were young!" Gon then dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a square shaped photograph. "He gave me this picture! Look, isn't this boy adorable?" Gon revealed the image to his boyfriend. Killua glanced at the photo and immediately blushed. Killua couldn't believe his stupid grandpa handed the love of his life a photo of him of bathing himself in chocolate sauce. His 5-year old self loved chocolates so much that he ordered a chocolate fountain just to jump in and swim in chocolate liquid. In that picture, chocolate was smeared all over his face, clothes, and hair. He was not proud of revealing to Gon that he had been a chocolate addict ever since he was little, and most of all, him looking so messy was NOT cute.

Seeing that Killua was silently fuming, Gon quickly pecked his lips to Killua's and declared, "I love you!".

It was a cheap trick, really. Killua turned his head sideways to avoid the Hunter's bright, adorable eyes. "I love you too," he muttered in defeat.

"Then can I continue my story?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so after Zeno-san and I finished talking about your adorable childhood, he warned me that Illumi would be arriving soon! So he told me to take the time I need to rest since I was still exhausted from your mother's assassination attempt. I took his advice, so I ran straight back to Zebro-san's place. I slept for a whole day, until I felt a scary presence that woke me up!"

Killua raised his eyebrow, feeling more tensed as Gon approached closer to what he predicted to be the climax of his story. He was anxious to know what happened to that horrible scar on his torso. He wasn't sure if he could handle that part.

Unable to withhold his anxiety, Killua blruted, "Who was it?"

"It was Kalluto!"

"Huh? Kalluto?"

Gon blinked rapidly as he stared into those pinkish orbs. Right above of him was none other than Kalluto Zoldyck, the youngest child of the family. And to Gon, he was the most mysterious. Killua hasn't really mentioned about him, nor has Alluka. He had only seen Kalluto once, and that was what, 9 years ago? Then, remembering that the entire Zolydck family are all making an assassination attempt on him, Gon leapt up from his cot and released his aura. This made Kalluto flinch, releasing his own area as well. The two had a stare down for a long minute. It was then Gon noticed that there wasn't any hostile intention coming from the young Zoldyck.

"Uh, hi Kalluto…-kun?" Gon hesitantly greeted. He stopped using Ren and dropped his defensive position. Kalluto's eyes never left Gon. Gon observed the outline of the young Zoldyck's eyes. Much like his lover, Kalluto's eyes resembles of a cat. It was mesmerizing.

"Just call me Kalluto," Kalluto whispered, also lowering his guard.

Gon then smiled at the young teen. "Kalluto it is. So uh… You're not here to kill me?" Gon nervously laughed when Kalluto's face expression did not change. Honestly, how do these people keep their faces so composed?

Unfazed nor amused, the raven-haired Zoldyck replied, "I decided not to anymore."

Gon's ears perked up, "R-Really? That's good to hear!" There was an awkward silence afterwards. Gon shifted his feet uncomfortable before breaking the silence, "Ah, let's go and sit down at the living room? I'm not sure if you want to keep standing here or not." When Kalluto didn't say anything, Gon just took that as a silent agreement and lead the young assassin to the living room. The teen followed, and Gon rubbed his eyes before sitting down comfortably on the couch. The kimono-wearing Zoldyck sat across, still holding the same, neutral expression. Gon was quite curious about Kalluto since his lover never mentioned about this sibling. So he decided to keep the conversation going. "Why did you decide to not kill me? I'm sure you could have good chance when you snuck up on me like that when I was sleeping."

Kalluto casually answered, "I just wanted observe you."

Gon bit his lip from laughing hysterically at the teen's bluntness. He didn't think that the teen meant anything by his confession, but it was quite hilarious. Already, Gon was intrigued by this Zoldyck. Killua sure has interesting family members. "Was I so interesting that you decided not to kill me?"

Gon noticed that Kalluto shot him a quick glare. Finally a reaction. Kalluto told the Hunter, "You could have killed my mother many times during her assassination attempt. Why didn't you so you could marry my older brother? You could have easily eliminated more obstacles."

Gon hummed in deep thought before answering. Then, Gon said to the teen, "Well, I don't want to kill your mother. I actually wanted to have a peaceful negotiation so we wouldn't have to involve death."

"But why?"

Gon cocked his head sideways, "Because I don't want her to die? Just because she wants to stop me from marrying Killua, doesn't mean she should die."

Kalluto's eyes finally left Gon's amber orbs. His eyes darted downwards before muttering, "Oh." It was then Gon finally realized something.

"Kalluto, do you miss Killua?" It was as if Kalluto had a switch in personality.

Cause right after Gon blurted his question, the reserved teen suddenly blushed and angrily denied, "I-I don't know what you're talking about. It's not like I wanted to see you personally to learn more about older brother." Bingo, Gon thought.

Gon was incredibly amused at this point. He could't help but tease the cute Zoldyck, "I bet you really admire Killua, huh? I can't blame you, I admire him too." Gon could see the teen pucker his lips into a frown and heat spreading across his face.

"No."

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't."

"Come on, it's not that embarrassing."

"But he never acknowledged me."

"Eh?"

Kalluto clamped his mouth shut and stared at the floor a bit angrily. Gon tapped his chin before asking, "Have you ever tried to talk to Killua?"

Kalluto hid his eyes before answering in a low voice, "No."

Gon smiled, "Well that's your first problem! You should talk to Killua if you want him to look at you. I'm certain that he would be happy if you tried to talk to him!"
"But he has Alluka," Kalluto whispered, face slowly leaning towards the floor. Gon felt so much empathy for the teen in front of him. He just wants Killua to love him, Gon thought. How cute.

"He does, but he doesn't have you. I don't think that's fair," Gon said. Kalluto gazed into the bright-eyed man.

"You're a strange man," Kalluto bluntly said.

"You're strange too!" Gon argued. Gon really thought that things were going smoothly. First, he had won over Killua's grandfather with somewhat of an ease. And now, he is getting along with the youngest Zoldyck member. It's been only 2 weeks, and he already knocked down 3 Zoldycks. He was almost feeling confident in getting out of this mountain by the next week or so.

All of those optimistic thoughts vanished when he felt an ever so familiar, sinister aura. Even Kalluto tensed up at Illumi's presence. The Hunter and younger Zodlcyk straightened their backs as Illumi revealed himself from the shadows.

"Hm, look who's here." Illumi soundlessly approached to the couches where the two current occupants were sitting on. His long, black hair effortlessly swished back and forth as he stood besides Gon, who kept his body still.

Gon's eyes continued to look straight at what's in front of him, and only acknowledged the long-haired assassin with a single word. "Illumi."

Illumi cocked his head sightly. Gon didn't need to look at Illumi's direction to know that he tilted his head leftwards in confusion. That's what Illumi always did when he is pleasantly surprised. "I would never expect Kil to let his so called love of his life to walk in here all defenseless and alone." Then Illumi glanced at his younger brother quizzically. "Kalluto, what are you doing here with him? Is he our prisoner?" Kalluto shook his head. This made Illumi sigh in disappointment. "We can't let this chance slip away. Oh well, guess I'll finish the job."

Gon immediately jumped from his sitting position and created enough distance between him and Illumi. His aura spiked high, causing Illumi to release his aura as well. Yellow needles popped miraculously in Illumi's fingers, who was ready to attack at any second. Gon gritted his teeth, prepared to either dash out of this lodge or prepare to face Illumi head on. What the two did not expect was for Kalluto to suddenly stand at the middle to prevent their encounter.

Kalluto stared at his older brother. "Nii-san. You should talk to father first before engaging with Gon Freeccs. We are currently in the middle of Phase 3 of Assassination Trial #8." Phase what and assassination trial what? Gon was lost, and he did not hide any hints of his total confusion.

Contrary to Gon, Illumi's eyes lit up in realization, "Ohh. Okay, I will return back to Father immediately. Does that mean mother failed?"

"Yes."

"How long did it take?"

"About 2 weeks."

"That's unexpected."

The older assassin put away his needles and glared at Gon. "I hope you're prepared, Gon. I'll be your next assassin."

Gon smirked back at his most hated Zoldyck. "I hope killing the assassin isn't part of your rules in this game."

Illumi laughed bitterly, "You? Kill me? I always knew you make the best jokes, little Gon."

Gon released a bit of his malicious aura. Illumi didn't flinch, but Kalluto on the other hand jumped a little. Gon never revealed his blood lust ever since the Chimera Ants reign, but that never meant Gon lost it. There were several reasons why he tried to contain his blood lust all these years. One, he knew Killua was traumatized by that event, and showing even a bit of blood lust can trigger his beloved's unwanted memories. Two, he himself is also scared of being unable to control his own rare bloodlust. He remembered how he couldn't feel anything when he was using all his focus on one target. Third, he wanted to keep his promise to Killua: to change and never let the event with Pitou ever happen again. And finally, while Gon knew that bloodlust is sometimes inevitable, he just couldn't utilize it yet until he has fully forgiven himself.

But right now, he couldn't help but have some of his bloodlust escape from containment when Illumi appeared. This man had hurt Killua and Alluka. And now, he knew that this man would do anything to prevent his plan to marry his one and only love.

Trapping his bloodlust, Gon innocently smiled, "You're right, I wouldn't kill you. But you can't kill me. I won't let you."