30 Days

Day 1: Cake

Killua and Mito are having a hard time trying to get Gon to eat his first Pharadoxia pill. They coax, beg, bribe and threaten (only in Killua's case), but Gon refuses to comply.

The boy purses his lips and shakes his head stubbornly. "No, I don't need medicine, I'm fine, you don't understand," he protests again and again. "I don't want it!"

"Come on, Gon! Please!" Killua argues. "You'll feel much better!"

"It doesn't taste bad, Gon. Just eat the pill, please," Mito agrees. "It won't do you any harm!"

After much of this, Gon finally sighs in defeat and plucks the little circular pill from Mito's outstretched hand. He rolls it between his fingers, observing it with suspicion.

"Why's it pink?" Gon asks.

"Just eat it!" Killua exclaims, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's not gonna kill you or anything!"

Gon shrugs and does so. He chews slowly as Killua and Mito watch impatiently from the side.

"It's sweet," he comments, swallowing loudly. "Kind of like strawberries. Hm... speaking of strawberries, there's a strawberry bush in the forest somewhere... and I really wanna go pick some because I remember them being really really tasty... Can you come with me, Killua?"

Killua and Mito glance at each other, both wearing relieved smiles. As surprised as they are about how quickly the pills had taken effect, it hardly matters to them; they both are beyond glad that they had worked at all.

Thank god, Killua thinks. I don't know what Gon would do—or what I would do—if  the pills hadn't worked.

"It seems the pills did their job," Mito says pleasantly. Killua nods in agreement.

"Huh?" Gon asks. He tilts his head in confusion.

"Never you mind," Killua says, brushing Gon's bewilderment aside. "Let's go."

"Okay!"

As they make their way to the door, Mito calls to them.

"Take these with you," she says, reaching into a cabinet and handing them a pair of woven baskets.

"Thanks, Aunt Mito!" Gon replies.

With that, the duo runs outside and into the forest.

They weave their way through the tree-shrouded area, baskets in tow. Birds and other creatures chitter as Gon and Killua, who are laughing and discussing various childish things, pass by. Gon, at times, swings his arms too vigorously and accidentally flings his basket into various shrubs, trees and patches of flowers. He just giggles and picks it back up, carrying on toward the aforementioned strawberry bush.

"Look, Killua! There it is!" Gon yells as he leaps up and down with excitement.

Killua glances at the bush at which Gon is wiggling his fingers happily at. It is fairly large, and it is speckled with ripe, ruby-red strawberries.

Killua notices that Gon is already eagerly kneeling by the bush, plucking strawberries off the plant and tossing them into his basket.

"Come on, Killua!" Gon exclaims.

Killua grins and joins him.

As he slowly fills his basket, he is suddenly hit in the head with a strawberry. He glares at Gon, who is snickering gleefully.

"Oh no you didn't!" Killua yells, grabbing a strawberry and chucking it at his spiky-haired friend.

Gon ducks. The strawberry flies over his head, barely skimming his hair. "Haha! You missed!"