A/N: *laughs nervously* Ah...sorry about how long it took to get this chapter out guys. I kind of had to take a break from the story because I lost sight of the end and couldn't figure out where it was going anymore. But I've it all figured it out now, so thank you guys for you patience! Kisses and I hope you enjoy the chapter~

"You're going to have to learn it sometime!" Killua's voice seemed large in such a small room, though he swore he was only raising it a little.

Gon stared back at him stubbornly, chin raised and arms crossed. He'd lost most of the bandages by this point, and the stitches had been removed, but the hole in chest was slow to heal and the doctors seemed loathe to let him leave. With his throat bared, the clean red mark just under his jaw was visible. It sent something uncomfortable rippling through his gut and Killua snarled, stepping back from where he'd moved closer to the bed in his anger.

"It's not an option Gon. What the hell are you going to do in a fight? In any hostile situation?" Hostile situation. The words were Illumi's and sour in his mouth. "You can't just throw paper at them and hope they'll read it!"

At that the Hunter sniffed, tearing out a sheet from his notebook and snapping it in Killua's direction with brutal efficiency. It would have imbedded itself in his skin if the assassin hadn't caught it.

and what if my enemy doesn't know sign language? what then mr. know-it-all? besides why would i want to talk to someone i'm fighting?

Killua snarled again, his upper lip curling to reveal teeth. "That's not that fucking point, Gon. The point is that you're going to need a way to communicate that doesn't depend on having a pen and pencil close at hand!"

In a remarkable show of childishness Gon stuck out his tongue and then promptly kicked the small sign language book Killua had given him off the bed. Oh that was the last straw. Opening his mouth, the assassin was ready to give Gon the verbal lashing of a lifetime, but a quiet cough from behind him made him snap it closed again. Anger still on his face, he whirled to glare at the small, mousy nurse who stood in the doorway. She held a clipboard in both hands like it might shield her from his wrath and the sight made Killua deflate slightly.

"Umm…. Mr. Whales is scheduled for a group therapy session in twenty minutes?"

Mr. Whales? Who the fuck was that? Oh, that must be the name he'd signed Gon in under. How tired had he been, sheesh. Now what was that about a therapy session?

"Therapy?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow at the nurse. She squeaked and hunched her shoulders like he had raised his hand to hit her. "I m-m-mean the d-doctor made a note th-that he should at-t-tend!"

Killua tried to hold down his annoyance (honest to god, he wasn't that frightening was he?) and turned to give Gon the same eyebrow raise he'd given the woman. Gon, his face open and curious, just pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders. A lot of good he was then.

When he turned back to the nurse, she was gnawing on her lower lip worriedly. He considered simply telling her to bug off but then thought better of it. These past few days the Hunter had been…well, energetic to say the least. Hence Killua's irritability. Gon had been practically bouncing off the walls, ignoring various nurses' pleas to 'just sit still will you, you'll open all those wounds, no get down from there, how did you even oh my god just sit down'. They'd eventually all given up, but Killua wasn't so lucky. He was determined to stay by the Hunter's side through his recovery but this was more like pet sitting an excitable pup than anything medical or injury related.

A chance to get Gon out of his room though? Even if it was to some weird feelings jam or whatever? That was a gift he'd do better not to turn down.

Trying to flash a smile and only making the nurse wince, Killua said, "He'd love to go. Where is it?"

The woman watched him suspiciously, as if she doubted his ability to speak for Gon's sake. Considering the incredulous look the Hunter was giving him behind his back (he could see it in the reflection of her glasses), she probably had good reason. "Well," she said after a moment, "t-that's why I'm here. I'll, um, take him to it. I'm afraid you'll h-have to stay here though. P-patients only."

Killua shrugged then turned again to Gon, smirking. "Look, this one actually wants you to get out of bed," he whisper controversially, jabbing a thumb in the nurse's direction.

The Hunter gave him another incredulous look before slipping off the bed, his bare feet making no noise on the tile floors. He was still attached to an IV (amazingly, he'd already ripped out five just on accident alone) but with one glance at his wrist he seemed to deem it unnecessary and pulled the needle from his arm. Tossing it carelessly over his shoulder, he moved to follow the nurse from the room. She looked alarmed and like she wanted to say something but apparently thought better of it as she just turned and clipped off down the hall, Gon on her heels.

Seeing an opportunity, Killua immediately took up residence in the Hunter's bed, crossing his arms behind his head and sighing contentedly. When Gon glanced back at him he smirked and gave him a wink, but in all honesty it was a little difficult to watch him walk away. Even if they were in a hospital, even if it had thus far proven safe, Killua couldn't help the tightening in his belly. After all he'd done for his friend, after the endless hours sitting on that raft and checking and rechecking his wounds, hand feeding him and ensuring he had enough to drink even if Gon wasn't conscious…it was hard to just stop that. Maybe when Gon was in fighting condition again, it would be different. For now though, he closed his eyes and tried to push the worry down.

Gon was…well confused. These past few days had been unbearably slow, sat watching tv and trying to stretch his muscles without giving anyone a heart attack. Honestly the only one who didn't treat him like shattered glass was Killua! And even he would eventually huff and tell him to give it a rest. Not to mention that whole sign language mess….

It wasn't really that the Hunter didn't want to learn or anything, it just seemed pointless to him. I mean, it was a whole new language! One that hardly anybody spoke! (er…signed) Anyways, he wasn't the studying type. Killua may be able to sit down and read that entire book in one go, but Gon got lost after the first few pages. And he wasn't dumb, the material just required a lot of memorization. He may have time on his hands but he certainly didn't want to spend it trying to learn exactly how to bend his fingers.

But back to what he was saying, oh yes, confusion. Here he was, following a nurse through unfamiliar, sterile hallways on his way to a therapy session. Therapy! Why did he need therapy, the thought just seemed absurd. Still, he had pen and pad in one hand so that he could participate or what have you. As they moved though, he couldn't help but to look around the hospital, observing.

A ledge here, to jump from, a clear space there to land and turn, there a good place to pause, regroup, a doorway there he could use to his advantage, and a table against the wall he could throw if nothing else worked…not enough space really to jump about as he normally did, but if he timed it right he could use the ceiling too, and the walls would be easy to punch through…

Oh lord, he really was getting stir crazy wasn't he? Couldn't even focus his own thoughts.

The nurse glanced back over her shoulder, smiling, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Just through here," she told him, and at least she'd stopped stuttering. Must have been Killua.

She gestured through a doorway but didn't move to go in herself so Gon had to step past her. It wasn't a patient room, from the looks of it, and he was a bit grateful for that. There were large windows on the far wall that looked out on a city but the ocean was absent, and the floor had odd multicolored carpet that scratched against his feet. A circle of chairs took up the majority of the space, all but one empty, and their occupants didn't bother turning to see him, attention fixed on the man speaking. Gon assumed he was a doctor of some sort judging by the white coat he wore, but more interestingly, as he spoke he moved his hands in the obvious form of sign language.

Killua had looked surprised when the nurse had called on Gon, so this couldn't be his doing. The Hunter frowned as he took the empty seat anyways. Hopefully they didn't expect him to speak like that as well, he could barely say (…sign?) his ABC's.

"...to help you adjust to your new disabilities," the man was saying. "and come to terms with the way you're going to be living from now on."

Did everyone else here lose their voice too? Gon did a cursory glance across the room; five people in total, not including himself. Three boys, two girls, and none of them bore a scar along their necks like he did. Maybe they'd lost it some other way.

"To start, we're going to go around the room, introduce ourselves, and let everyone know why we're here," the doctor continued. He did not have Leorio's charm, nor his ease with people but his smile was genuine. "I'll go first. My name is Dr. Smith, but you guys can call me Rillik. I've wanted to help people ever since I broke my arm when I was eight and I've been a doctor now for ten years." The movement of his hands was smooth and practiced but virtually meaningless to Gon.

The girl to Rilik's left spoke next, in quiet hushed tones. Though she said she'd been in an accident her voice was fine and it was only after a moment of staring that the Hunter realized she was blind, her eyes pale and motionless. Beside her, the doctor was silent but his fingers kept their perpetual rhythm, pausing where she paused and following the pace of her words.

The next three people did not speak at all except for the slow movements of their hands, clumsy where the doctor was graceful, and Rilik translated out loud. None of them were mute like Gon, though. Mika was blind; Riche, Yuno, and Isli were deaf; the final boy, more of a man really, said absolutely nothing until Rilik passed over him.

Gon wrote his introduction down before passing it over to the doctor. Rilik didn't seem pleased, frowning slightly, but he read and signed it to the group at large.

Unlike what Gon would have believed considering over half the room couldn't speak out loud, the session was smooth and easy (and even a bit interesting too). The Hunter didn't really get to speak (…write) much though, because it was only when a question was aimed directly at him that he had the time to write a response.

It was a bit frustrating, actually and for the first time Gon felt the loss of his voice. He'd always been loud, (attention demanding, someone had once said) and the difference was stark now that he wasn't. It was something he'd been prepared to deal with but now that he had an idea of how hard it was going to be to communicate the loss stung sharply like a fresh wound.

Side note, I have actually changed my username! It used to be Xenra, but now it's SageMasterofSass. That's also my tumblr and my ao3 account names in case you want to look me up there. ;)

Be sure to review!

-Xen (I might start signing this Sage. Nobody ever calls me Xen anyways)