A Heart Frozen Over (MHA X HxH)

15

Echo and Silva barely noticed his change at all, and it was only because Dawn said something about his regression. Time passed, Gon tried to keep his mind off it. It was much easier to ignore than his old trauma to be honest, either that or he got used to it. Around a year passed, the entrance exams were drawing nearer. "Ah! What do I do? I'm not ready! Oh my god it's so soon-" Echo fretted, running around the hideout. Silva scoffed, "it's 6 months away. Listen, you have time" Echo groaned. "Not to get buff as hell" Gon laughed, "I managed to go from a normal 12 year old's strength to being able to push 2 tons in a month" Echo gasped, clasping his hands with shimmering eyes. "Teach me your ways" She pleaded with puppy dog eyes. He sighed. "Well, I had to wear a 50 KG vest constantly throughout the entire month. I spent it in a group of 4 rooms, almost all the items were at least 20 KGs" Echo groaned, "I don't have thattt" He shrugged. "So? You can just carry this around all the time for a while until you can barely feel it" Gon said, slipping out his 20 KG knife and handing it to her.

Echo gasped, "You own a knife?" Oh right, Gon never used it anymore. He shrugged, "it's 20 KGs, I always carry it. I used to use it for carving and self defense but I don't anymore, here" He handed it to her by the hilt, she went to grab it and dropped it with a yelp. "Woah!" Gon lifted it off the floor and tossed it, then caught it with ease in his opposite hand. "Damn" Silva muttered, sitting back down on her computer and clicking away. Gon slid the knife back into his pocket sheath, "working out is the key, go to the gym. Every day, at least 30 minutes." Echo sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Even if I try, I literally will start putting it off the moment I get sore" She grumbled. Gon smiled, "I'll go with you and make sure you're going it!" She blinked, then glanced up at him. "You'll...do that?" He nodded, genuinely wanting to help her. "Sure! Once school starts I'd get super lonely without a friend in my class" Dawn meowed, and Echo's eyes gleamed. "Really?" Gon shifted her slightly. "What'd she say?" Echo beamed. "Dawn said she thinks I can do it!"

One other thing, Dawn started liking Echo. He was pretty sure it was mainly because she kept being pushy about befriending her, to the point where Dawn just stopped resisting. Gon grinned, then put a hand on the door. "half a year away, ready to start 6 months of hell?" Echo sweatdropped, Silva snorted from her place over at the computer. "O-On second thought, maybe I'll just-" Gon grabbed Echo's arm and started dragging her out as she tried to run, she protested weakly but was pretty much defenseless against his superior strength. "Wait I'm not sure about this anymore!" She yelped.

They arrived at the gym, and saw only one other person there. It was a kid around their age and he was punching a punching bag with two small weights attached to his arms, both Gon and Echo paused for a moment as they watched him. "Hah, 97, hah, 98, hah, 99, hah, 100, hah!" He put his hands on his knees, breathing hard. Gon couldn't help but notice how his hair kind of looked like his, just red. He grabbed Echo's hand and dragged her, causing her to protest some more. Dawn was still comfortably in one arm, the red haired teen glanced over at them in slight surprise. "Wait! I'm not ready for hell!" Echo whined, struggling. Gon laughed, "You asked for it, now go and lift some weights!" He said brightly, shoving her towards the smaller section. She glanced over her shoulder at him and gulped. "U-Uhh... how much longer again?" Gon huffed. "the 30 minute timer starts when you pick up the weight" Echo sulked, then the red haired guy came up beside her. "hey guys! Need some help finding weights? I come here pretty often so I know a lot about this kind of thing-"

"Ah!" Echo jumped, then turned with an awkward laugh and a slight blush. "Aha...ahaha...aha...hah...don't scare me like that" She muttered. Gon sighed. "Echo's gonna need one of the small ones, can't even hold 20 KGs for a solid second" She shot him a dirty look. "Hey! I've never even been in a gym before!" Gon blinked. "The first time I was in a gym I was 12. c'mon, you wanna get in right?" The red haired teen grinned, then held a hand out. "Anyways! The name's Kirishima." Echo took the hand and shook it. "A- Echo! Last name! damn, even after 2 years sometimes I forget the Japanese customs" She grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. Gon smiled sweetly, waving. "Freeces" he'd taken to introducing himself with his last name as well, then he stroked Dawn. "And this is Dawn. Don't pet her" Gon added the last part as he reached out a hand, which made Kirishima pause. "She doesn't like most people, sorry."

Kirishima shrugged, then gestured over to the 5 KG section. "Those are a good starting point. I suggest on Wednesdays to go double your normal weight, so you don't overwork yourself too bad" Echo groaned, then went over and grabbed one. She lifted it up, then held it for about 5 solid seconds before having to set it down. "This is gonna be torture" Gon laughed softly and walked over to the 50 KG section, then grabbed one and walked over to where Echo was. Kirishima's jaw dropped at how easily he carried it, in one hand. "here, c'mon. we'll do it at the same time ok? But you use two hands" She nodded with a huff, then put her hands on the bars. "ok lift, 1, 2, 3, drop" He said. Echo copied the same motions he did, then dropped it on the ground. Gon sighed, "No I mean like this-" He set Dawn down, then settled the bars over his shoulders. Echo groaned, then lifted up the weight again and set it down in the same position. "Wow...you really seem to know what you're doing" Kirishima remarked curiously. Gon smiled a little. "I do"

Kirishima copied them, lifting a 15 KG weight with them. "So, you said the first time you were in a gym was 12. Was this before or after that intense training?" Echo grumbled. He blinked, "Oh, after. I-" He cut off as he got a memory. "Ne Killua, you ever been on a date before?" Gon asked, Killua blinked. "No, have you?", "S-" Dawn rubbed between his legs, meowing. Gon realized that both Kirishima and Echo were looking at him with worry. "You ok man?" Kirishima said in concern. He blinked, then glanced over at them. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be?" He frowned slightly. "You just cut off, then zoned out. You stopped talking in the middle of a sentence" He sighed, then lifted the weight again. "just got lost in thought. Ok lift, 1, 2, 3, drop"

The 30 minutes passed, as soon as Gon mentioned this Echo dropped the weight and bolted out the door. Kirishima laughed, then held out a hand to Gon as he dropped his own. "hey man, you seem cool. Wanna be friends?" An image of Shim flashed through his mind, Dawn jumped at him and he caught her in his arms. "No thank you" He said politely. Kirishima blinked, then looked utterly confused. It wasn't a rude refusal, his smile was apparently genuine, he seemed like an overall nice person. Kirishima rubbed the back of his head. "Oh...ok?" Gon dipped his head, smiling softly. "I'm sure you're a great guy, you can work out with us and stuff if you want. I just...I'll stick with two" Then he turned and left, leaving a confused and slightly sad Kirishima to look after him. I don't want a repeat of last time.

1360 words

To be continued...