Chapter Text

The group of four kids, Ben, Grace, Gon, and Killua are on an airship traveling back to their school to the Republic of Pandokea. They’ve just boarded, and none of them are ready to spend the next twelve hours stuck inside this flying vehicle.

“So...this is our room?” Killua sticks the room card into the hole in the doorknob and pushes the door open.

“Ah! It’s a suite!” Ben yells as he sends himself across the room and crashes into the sofa in front of the TV.

“Since there are only two bedrooms...Grace can take one because she’s a girl. You two, Gon and Ben, can share one.” Killua says.

“Then what about you?” Gon asks.

“Don’t worry about me.” Killua smiles weakly. “I’ll sleep on the couch here in the living room.”

“Killua!” Grace shouts. “That’s sooo sweet of you! But I kinda feel bad.”

“Don’t.” Killua mutters. A voice is speaking in his head. “Man! I’d love to sleep in the same room as Grace tonight!”

“You can come to sleep with me if you want.” Grace says quietly, her cheeks bright red.

“What?!” Killua jerks his body and shouts.

“Hehe…” Ben giggles. “And you two… are gonna… you’know…”

“No! No! No! NO!” Suddenly embarrassed, Grace slaps Ben in the face.

“Ow!”

“Oh, look!” Killua says as he walks into one of the bedrooms. “This one has a pullout couch.”

“Then it’s perfect!” Grace exclaims. “Killua and I can share that room. The pullout couch is more comfy than a regular sofa after all.”

“Now that’s all settled, why don’t we go to the cafeteria on the fifth floor and have dinner. It’s getting pretty late.” Killua suggests. “We might even get a good window seat and see the outside as the airship takes off.”

“Sounds good!”

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“Oh man!” Ben gasps. “I’m full!”

“Yeah… Me too.” Gon says as he licks off the last scraps on his plate.

“Grace!” Killua yells. “How are you still eating?”

“What?” She asks. “It’s a buffet, so I can eat as much as I want.”

“Yeah… “ Killua mutters. “But you’re relatively thin compared to how much you eat. And plus...A girl can’t eat that much or you’ll lose your attractiveness, right?”

Gon and Ben burst into laughter, leaving both Grace and Killua embarrassed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“N-nothing.” Killua quietly whispers and goes back to finish his food.

Then, the floor of the airship gives a sudden jolt. Their journey in the air begins.

After dinner, the group heads back to their room. However, as they are traveling in the elevator to get to their room on the eighth floor, they hear an announcement being made through the speakers.

“Emergency announcement! There is a dangerous person on the loose in this aircraft. Please calmly proceed back to your staterooms, lock your doors, and await further instructions.”

“What?!” Grace yells. “What do they mean by ‘dangerous person’?”

“Probably a criminal or someone like that.” Killua mutters. “But we’re heading back to our room anyway. It won’t be a problem for us.”

With a sound of “Ding”, the elevator arrives at the eighth floor.

“Let’s go.”

However, right when the door opens, all four of them gasp.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Ben shouts.

In front of them, stands a tall man. His shirt is dyed red by blood. He clenches a short dagger in his right hand.

“Run!” Killua yells. “Ben and Gon head to the right. Grace and I will go to the left!”

The four of them bolt out of the elevator and down the hallway, following Killua’s orders.

Just as Killua suspected, the murderer also turns left because of Grace.

At first, Killua is able to put some distance between him and the murderer. However, Grace isn’t so lucky. She isn’t able to run as fast because of the shoes she’s wearing.

“Killua!” Grace yells as she struggles to run.”D-don’t...leave me!”

Killua slows down his steps, and witnesses the murderer gradually catch up to the girl, and knocks her onto the ground.

“I can’t go back… If I do, I’ll get myself killed too.”

But, subconsciously, Killua stops running and looks back.

“What am I doing!?” He asks himself. “Turn around and run! I don’t want to get killed just because of my desire to save someone I recently just met a few days ago!”

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“But no… To me, Grace is more than that… She’s more than a mere classmate… How can I describe it...It’s kinda like the same feeling I have when I’m with Gon, but it’s also different at the same time.”

“Killua!” Grace yells. “Stop thinking about me! Just turn around and run! I don’t want you to die too!”

“Oh?” The murderer opens his mouth. “Dying? This is going to be more fun than dying!”

“What are you?!” Shocked, Grace snaps in anger.

“Take off your clothes.” The murderer commands.

“Oh no.” Grace manages to squeeze this out of her throat.

“Or I’ll do it for you.” He shouts.

“Killua! Don’t look!” Grace yells.

“You’re worried about me looking?! Your life's on the line right now!”

Killua reluctantly shuts his eyes as the murderer strips away Grace’s clothes, pieces by pieces. Until the last layer.

“Ah…!” The murder says as he scoops up some of her blue hair. “This smells soo good.”

“That’s it!” Killua yells in rage as he leaps toward him. “You don’t get to do that! You lustful dirty killer!”

“Oh? Then do you get to do it?’ The murderer asks.

“Eh...uh…” Suddenly embarrassed, Killua stutters on his words. But he then is able to focus his thoughts again. “No! I don’t!”

“Lightning palm!”

This ability paralyzes the murderer for a short period of time. Immediately following, Killua kicks him in the stomach and sends him flying backward.

“Eh...It’s super weird to see you like this.” Killua gestures to Grace, who is lying on the ground. “But get back to the room. I’ll handle this on my own.”

“Killua.” She reaches her arm out and clings onto his shoulders.

“Uh...W-what?”

“Don’t push yourself, okay? Take care.” With this last sentence, she turns around and walks off.

“T-thanks…”

Just in the single second Killua relaxes his guard, a knife comes flying his way. At first, he thinks it’s going to miss him, but then he realizes he wasn’t the murderer’s target.   

After realizing that there’s no way to catch the flying weapon, Killua knows what he has to do in order to save Grace.

“Speed of lightning!”

With his insane speed in godspeed form, Killua catches up to the dagger in mid-air, and extends his arm.

No, not to catch it nor to knock it away. Because he knows if he tries to do either of these, there’s a chance that the weapon will deflect off his body and still hit her.

Instead, he blocks the hit for Grace.

“Ah!” Killua groans in agony as the knife pierces into his forearm.

He hesitates no longer. With the knife still sticking out of his arm, he dashes toward the murderer and starts to swing his fist, smashing his face, going completely berserk.

The last thing he remembers before passing out is the him yelling, “You don’t get to tread on Grace’s pride like it’s nothing!”

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Killua feels something softly touches his cheeks. When he blinks his eyes open, he sees the face of a pretty, blue-haired girl.

“Grace?” He whispers lightly.

“Oh...Sorry that I woke you. But  I’m sooo glad you’re alright!”

“Where…? When?” Killua asks.

“Everything’s fine now. We’re in our room. Although it’s already five o’clock in the morning. You were unconscious for the whole night.”

“You stayed with me the whole time? You didn’t fall asleep?”

“Of course not. There no way I could. Not with my hero wounded and unconscious.”

“T-Thank you.” Killua turns to his right and checks his shoulder. Once he sees it’s safe and covered in bandages, he sighs in relief.

“I should be the one thanking you. If It weren’t for you, I would've died.”

“Do you know why I was able to save you back then? To sacrifice myself to save you?” Killua asks kindly.

“Why? Because you’re a nice person?” Grace guesses.

“No, it’s because of you, Grace.” Killua pauses slightly. “I like you.”

Grace gulps, but keeps quiet.

“In the past week,” Killua continues. “I know people have been avoiding me because I’m a Zoldyck. Instead of listening to my heart to try to make friends, I tried to act like I’m the one who doesn’t want friends. I’m sorry that I rejected you many times when you tried to work with me in school. So… for the first time, Grace, I want to be with you today. So stay with me, okay?”

“Yes… I will!” Grace answers without hesitation as she climbs into the bed, lying next to Killua. “Killua, can you hold my hand as we sleep?”

“Sure thing.”

With their hands feeling each other’s warmth. They fall asleep together, with pleasant smiles on both of their faces.