"Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold."
–Zelda Fitzgerald
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Getting dry swallowed by a giant frog definitely wasn't on your summer bucket list, but y=mx+b you guess.
It happened like this.
Right after Satotz warned everybody about the tricks of swindlers' swamp, a man-faced ape showed up, claiming to be the real examiner. The creepy clown- who you now know as Hisoka- ends up killing the imposter. Then you three proceeded to run for an hour in mud, through the fog, and ended up getting separated from the main group.
And so here you were, buried somewhere inside the frog's stomach lumped with Killua and Gon.
Fun right?
Just as you tensed up, getting ready to rip through the frogs guts, it suddenly heaved and barfed you out. And then it hopped away casually like nothing happened.
You three fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, all reeking of vomit.
"Argh, it smells like crap!" You hissed, flicking the puke off your hands while still on top of them.
"You smell like crap," Killua muttered with disgust, though the twinge of pink on his cheeks said otherwise, "and get off me already."
You rolled off him and stood up to avoid sitting in the puddle.
Gon stuck out his tongue, "I guess it didn't like the taste of us..."
Killua then held up a can of Tonpa's soda, "It was because of this, though I could've easily escaped without it."
"Wow! You're amazing, Killua!" Gon said with his signature smile.
"As much as I hate to ruin your bromance moment, we're lost so we should hurry back to the main group." You prompted urgently, unwilling to fail the exam because of something as insignificant as this.
"Yeah..." Gon says, suddenly frowning, "I'm just still worried about Leorio and Kurapika."
The boy had expressed his worries earlier when his friends got left behind in the mist, even though they had shouted to him that they would be fine.
Killua narrows his eyes, "Gon, don't space out. Worry about yourself first." He stands and dusts off his pants, "If you don't hear them screaming, figure that they're alive."
You nodded in agreement. There was no need to worry about them. As of now, the most important thing was finding everybody else.
Besides, if they can't even handle this much then they would just end up being nuisances anyway.
The spiky haired boy said nothing as he stood and the albino gestured for them to follow.
"[Name], Gon, let's go."
..𖤓..
It wasn't long before you caught up with the main group. The number of applicants had already dwindled down to one third of the original size and despite still being in phase one. The misty veil of the swamp made it hard to see much further than 5 feet in front of you.
Gon still hasn't said much since their trip through frog guts, a worried expression etched onto his face. He'd slowed down so that he was just a bit behind the both of you.
The silence caused you to space out, which then caused you not to notice Gon disappearing behind you, running into the fog.
Killua, who was running ahead, looked back to check up on you two, only to realize that Gon was gone.
"Eh? [Name], where'd Gon go?" He questioned, coming to run beside you.
Only then did you snap out of your daze, turning your head to look for the green clad boy, "But he's right her-" Oh, he really was gone. "..Ah, he probably went to find Leorio and Kurapika."
The white haired boy shrugged nonchalantly, "He'll be alright, Gon's strong enough to handle his own."
Falling into a stuffy silence, you both continued the trek through the wetlands. You started feeling a deep, foreboding feeling at the pit of your stomach and the longer you walked the more you let your thoughts run wild.
It was weird to feel so strangely worried about your missing accomplice. You knew he would be fine, and Killua had assured you as well. Yet there was still something in the back of your mind, nagging you, telling you that something dangerous was going down. And that 'something' has never proven to be unreliable before.
...But, why did you even care? You had made it clear to yourself when you first met Gon and Killua that you were only using them for your own benefit. You told yourself that once the exam was over that would be it. You weren't friends. So why did it bother you that Gon could be in trouble? You didn't understand, and not understanding things annoyed you.
"Hey, Killua?"
"Hmm?"
"What's your family like?" You asked, deciding that it was best to just avoid the issue altogether.
Killua stared ahead, expressionless.
You mentally hit yourself for asking. What if he felt uncomfortable sharing this information? You of all people should've known that.
But he just thought for another second before replying, "I'm from a family of assassins. So they aren't the most pleasant bunch."
He then paused, turning to examine your face, as if trying to gauge your thoughts.
Under the pressure of his stare, you blurted out, "Oh! That's pretty cool, I wasn't expecting that."
You wanted to smack yourself again.
What kind of idiot says that? Honestly, you had no clue what to say after hearing that (maybe you felt a little awkward talking to him, and maybe you felt that it had been kind of hard to meet his gaze, though you didn't know why either.)
You really didn't know.
Were you supposed to say, 'I'm sorry?' Or even, 'my condolences?'
Ugh, I should've just kept my mouth shut...
Luckily, Killua only blinked at you in surprise, and then barked out a laugh.
"Hah! That's the first thing you say? You're a riot!"
You raised an eyebrow at him, unsure whether you were supposed to feel offended by that or not.
He looked back to the muddy path, lips still raised in a small smile, "My family has always had high expectations for me. But who wants to live a life already planned out for them? So I decided to run away."
"Your family didn't try to get you to come back?"
"[Name], what do you think? 'Course they did! So that's why I stabbed my mother in the face, and my brother in the side." Killua scoffs, resting his arms behind his head.
"My mother had tears streaming down her face as she told me I had the potential to become a top assassin." He then spread his arms with a dreamy look upon his face, "The first thing I'll do once I become a hunter is to catch my whole family, I'm sure they're worth some hefty bounties."
"I think I get what you're saying," You said heavily, "My family is kind of like that too, about planning out your whole life, I mean."
Killua glanced at you through the corner of his eye, waiting for you to elaborate; but you didn't, instead opting to ask another question in order to switch the conversation topic again. Thankfully, he didn't press you, stuffing his hands into his pockets and responding to your questions as you two ran.
The once quiet, tense atmosphere between you two faded, turning teasing and warm.
"Killua...could I call you 'Fluffy' as a nickname? 'Cause y'know how your hair is super white and fluffy?" You giggled, only offering to poke fun at him, not really expecting him to accept.
His bluebell eyes widened before he turned away, white hair making you unable to see his face.
Stopping in your tracks, you pulled at your shirt nervously, not wanting to ruin the good atmosphere you both had earlier, "Killua?"
Out of nowhere, he sprinted forward, leaving you in the dust.
What just happened? You thought sweatdropping in surprise.
You then ran toward him to match his pace effortlessly, looking confused.
"...Idiot." Killua muttered, ears bright red, "What kind of stupid question is that?"
Oh, so it was because he was embarrassed, You smirked inwardly, unknowingly misunderstanding his actions. You just thought that he had to maintain his 'cool' front.
"Fine, fine, fine, I won't call you fluffy. Happy?" You pouted while comically wiping away invisible tears.
"Wai- Idiot, I didn't mean- Argh, never mind!" He ruffled his hair, pink spreading rapidly across his face.
"Hehe, you don't hafta be so embarrassed, I was only joking."
"Shut up! I'm not embarrassed, [Name]!"
.
And it wasn't until years later that he would tell you how much he actually wanted you to call him by that stupid nickname.
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Killua: Women have cooties and are weird.
You: Hiii, can I call you fluffy?
Killua: I guess you're okay.