Chapter Text
Alluka was prone to worrying about her older brother. He never seemed to care for his own health and wasn’t one to seek help when he needed it. On their travels they had seen so many things, and met an array of characters (ones that Killua knew and didn’t) but it wasn’t until Bisky, one of Killua’s old mentors, asked Alluka to keep an eye on Killua’s health that she realized that he wasn’t eating (at least not like he used to).
“Onii-chan aren’t you going to order something for yourself?”
“I already ate Alluka.”
“But I was with you all day and you didn’t!”
“I ate when you were in that clothing store for a good couple hours.”
Alluka hummed as a waiter placed a large plate of spaghetti in front of her. She was in there for a while (they had some cute flower printed dresses) but she distinctly remembered seeing her brother’s white tuft of hair as he sat on a bench outside the store since he had mentioned being too tired to try clothes with her (which was very rare). Even now as she looked across the table to him, she could see his face was paler than usual.
For some reason Killua couldn’t sleep. He could tell he was tired, but his mind just wouldn’t shut down. He could feel a migraine pounding in his head and his stomach hurt like hell. If anyone saw Killua they wouldn’t know the difference since it was easy for him to ignore his own pain and put on a straight face. Well, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of it anyway without enough morphine to take down a horse (after all that poison training even useful drugs were rendered useless unless they were in high enough doses).
Tossing and turning, he finally decided to get up and see what was in the hotel mini-fridge. An array of bottled drinks lined the two small shelves and after surveying the choices he chose a sugary soda. He looked over to Alluka’s bed seeing her sleeping form breathing at a slow pace. Walking over the bathroom, grabbing his phone on the way, he closed the door, and sat in the dark.
Killua unlocked his phone and looked at his recent e-mails (he hadn’t checked them recently since he was busy with Alluka visiting places). There was a few messages but he only opened Gon’s since he hadn’t heard from his best friend in at least 2 months. Seems like he was having a hard time studying and staying indoors but he was almost done catching up to the other kids. Killua chuckled quietly while reading the messily written e-mail, Gon’s grammar was horrible.
Killua opened his soda and took a sip. His stomach grumbled. When was the last time he had eaten? He couldn’t remember. All he knew is that even though he has an appetite, every time he put something in his mouth he didn’t want to swallow. He didn’t want to feel hungry but he also didn’t want to eat. Killua chalked it up to stress, he had been having a hard time sleeping lately so it seemed like he was also tired all the time. He convinced himself that it would pass before it got worse.
Killua sipped on a bit more of the soda but didn’t swallow. He felt his tummy do a flip. He quickly placed the soda down and shuffled to the toilet and spit out the liquid. Soon he was gagging on his own spit as he dry heaved. Killua kept an ear on the inside of the hotel room as he did his best to muffle the sounds he couldn’t control. It was difficult, he really didn’t want to wake Alluka (he would be fine). As he kneeled spitting the saliva that was pooling in his mouth he realized he was tired.
So tired.
Killua flushed down whatever small bit of liquid he vomited and rinsed his mouth. He’d bounce back. He’ll be sure to eat tomorrow.
Alluka woke up first. It was a rare occurrence so she relished being able to shower first without her brother rushing her. As she took her time in the bathroom she thought about Killua. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw him eat a full meal even though he was constantly ragging on her eating habits and buying her large dinners. He even seemed more tired than before, he used to have nightmares often but now it seemed like he slept longer but never seemed to gain any more strength.
Alluka was worried but she was excited for today in particular. She had told Gon where they were since he was taking a quick break from his studies in order to train and have some fresh air. Killua didn’t know, but it was good timing for Gon to come, Alluka and Nanika had hoped he would raise Killua’s spirits. They both had discussed before-hand about inviting Gon as a birthday present for Killua but decided to make him come early since right now they weren’t too far from Whale Island.
Killua woke up. He felt no better than yesterday, probably worse. When he sat up he felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. He sighed and placed his hands on his head. He felt so cold. So fucking cold, the heating in the hotel must be set low. He bundled himself in covers, he would sleep a little longer. He didn’t feel like getting up at all. He didn’t feel like doing anything.
“Ugh, I want to fall asleep and never wake up again.” He muttered under his breath. Soon enough his eyes shut and he fell asleep.