Chapter Text

The Beginning

It's today. The concert.

Gon Freecss wakes up, stretching out his tanned arms and yawning. His eyes groggy, Gon rubs them to wake himself up slightly. He loudly yawns as he turns his head to look at the silver clock that sits on the bedside table beside him. The time reads 8:46am in neon green as his amber eyes widen. The green-haired boy realizes the day.

'It's the concert today!' Gon thinks happily to himself, jumping up out of his bed. He pulls open his bedroom door and dashes downstairs to Aunt Mito. His loud footsteps trace the staircase as he passes their living room and runs into the kitchen, shouting.

"Mito! Mito! Today's the concert, right? September 18th?" Gon says quickly, smiling from ear to ear. His foot taps eagerly on the floor he waits for her response.

Mito turns around, grinning. "Slow down, Gon! And... yep!" She squeals, almost like a kid. Mito was extremely excited for him to finally get to start to live out his dreams, and properly this time. He's always had musical talent ever since he was young. He's sung for people, done events and this or that. But now, he's going to perform at a a proper concert. With a crowd. His talent was definitely thanks to Ging, since he's one of the top musicians, going under the name 'G1NG' . She hums to herself before speaking to Gon again.

"Gon, the toast will be a while. How about you go get yourself ready for the afternoon?" She abruptly mentions all of a sudden, looking him up and down. "You look a mess!"

"Oh-! Sorry, I completely forgot." He laughs, rubbing the back of his sun-kissed neck. "I'm just so excited, you know! I bet you there will be so many cool people, Mito!"

She smiles at his excitable tone. He's just like a 12-year-old, even though he's 15. "Of course there will be! Now, come talk to me when your breath doesn't stink!"

Gon stops and covers his mouth. "Sorry!" The golden-eyed boy exclaims cheerly. He gets up and retreats up the wooden stairs to fix himself up ready for the day ahead.

When he is upstairs, he opens his closet and begins to pick an outfit that'll represent what kind of person he is, but also look nice. Gon's always not been the best with fashion, but he tries. He grabs a warm emerald-green jacket which includes stripes of orange in the middle and on the sides. It was one of his signature ones. For some strange reason, he's always loved these different shades of greens but the bright ones stuck out to him most.

He turns his head to the other side of the closet and swipes out a white shirt. It's just a simple loose button-up, nothing too special. Good enough to match, but plain enough to not have too much attention. He decides to pick that as his jacket will be done up most of the time anyway.

Gon then looks down for some pants. "Jeans will be too tight..." he mutters as he pushes aside the various jeans he has stored. He skips past the various colours of sweatpants and decides upon black cargo pants. It'll look good, he thinks, so he takes it out of the draw and puts it on his bed.

After getting dressed, Gon's footsteps are lighter with even more excitement then before. His hair isn't done, it's a green mess of where his hair gel was present the previous day. Although, he normally does his hair after breakfast anyway. Mito looks at him smiling, almost sadly.

"Heh, look at you Gon. You're so grown up now..."

He smiles. "Yep! Don't get too sappy though!"

"I'll try not to." She laughs, setting down the plate of toast before him. She grabs her own plate and joins him at the table. "So, what time are you leaving?"

"Abwout won-" He begins, his mouth full of food. Mito glares daggers at him before he stops, and continues. "About one!"

"You've still got a while then, that's good. Where abouts is the concert, again?"

"I've told you hundreds of times!" He whines, taking another bite of his toast.

"Well, tell me again incase something goes wrong!" Mito complains, resting her hands onto her chin.

"Yorknew, remember?" Gon points out brushing his hair, which was still in it's morning mop of green, out of his face.

"Gon, I'm just worried. I don't want you to act stupidly, okay?" She asserts, her tone now serious. "If you get hurt, I probably wouldn't trust you to go out for a while. You know what kind of industry you are getting into, right?" Mito's face is full of concern as she talks to him.

"Yeah... I know." Gon replies, nodding. "I'll be nice to my fans but not let them get to interactive." He claims, lifting his head up. Trying to reassure his aunt, he gives her a excited ear-to-ear grin before picking up his glass and taking a drink of his apple juice.

"Hah, maybe you'll have no fans!" She jokingly remarks, smirking.

"Mitooo!" Gon moans, play-punching her. "Okay, fine, maybe I won't! But I'll have all my friends that I'll make there."

She sighs. "Just don't let them use you for your voice like... he did."

His mind flicks back to middle school. When Gon first started to get attention on the island for his amazing voice and off-the-charts guitar skills, a boy named Dasuke became friends with him. They were only 11 but Dasuke quickly became friends with him. The two were inseperable for a while, and then the shit hit the fan.

In the end, Dasuke used Gon to get popular with all the foreign islanders who visited, saying he could get them an exclusive performance with his so called 'bestfriend'. When Gon found out, he was heartbroken. For days, he refused to talk to anyone and was sat curled up in his room. When he finally got over it, he didn't trust anybody for quite a while after that.

"...I won't. I'm not 11 anymore." He finally responds, eating the last bit of his toast. He pushes the plate into the middle and adds,

"Anyway, I'm gonna go do my hair!" Gon waves, and now begins to head back upto his room.

"Alright!"

Gon bounces back upstairs, grabbing his bottle of hair gel from the bathroom and begins to style it into his signature spiky style. He takes a deep breath before running his hand through his hair after he's styled it. It's today, huh? The day that he's been counting down to for months. September 18th.

He wonders what'll happen if it goes wrong. If he's not good enough, and he's a utter disappointment to the music industry. Gon blinks before letting out a shaky breath. Where's all this anxiety coming from? He's just nervous. Yeah. He decides on that and walks over to the mirror. He's got a good build, he knows that. Gon is basically one of the islands go-to for strong jobs so he's built up a quite bit of muscle. This included him working out from time to time, since Mito said he'd never be able to move around the world without some strength.

His golden eyes twinkle in excitement while his mind is running on pure adrelaine. Gon's green hair points upwards, staring up at the sun shining down on him. Yeah. He's happy.

Gon's about to take the boat away to Yorknew. He and Mito walk over to the boat dock before she hugs him tightly and whispers in his ear. "You'll be careful, alright?" He nods at Mito, hugging her back. They both smile as the ship begins to lower the entrance ramp. Gon pulls way from the hug before grinning at her.

"Make sure to check the news for me!" He sticks out his tongue before dashing onto the ship, waving at her. She waves back, and a few tears roll down her cheek. Gon looks so happy. He smiles, watching the ocean waves collapse and the birds fly past. Mito waves one final time right before the boat departs.

"Bye, Gon! Have fun!" She yells, smiling to herself.

"I will!" He shouts back, holding up a peace sign. The boat falls out of Mito's sight as Gon takes in the salty sea air. It's always been a familiar scent for him, living on an island, but nothing can beat calmly listening to the crashing sea of blue around him dodge the boat. The seagulls land on the boats, scavenging for whatever they can find. The laughter of the other departing citizens fill his ears before he sits down on the boat edge. It glides away from Whale Island, slowly but surely.

Every so often, Gon will spot a fish that'll look totally unique. He's seen all of them - blue, pink, orange, yellow. From living on the island for years, he's become quite experienced with identifiying different kinds of herbs and oceanic creatures. Occasionally, it's a dolphin that joins him. He finds it fascinating to watch them swim along next to the boat as he begins to sing quietly to himself.

"I came to dance-dance-dance-dance" He hums, his voice naturally deep. It sounded like heaven, the harmonizing he did. "I hit the floor 'cause that's my plans-plans-plans-plans."

"I'm wearing all my favorite brands-brands-brands-brands!" Gon's hair swishes in the wind as he twirls around, "Give me some space for both my hands-hands-hands-hands"

He jumps up before whistling. "Cause it goes on and on and on...."

"And it goes on and on and on... yeahhh!"

He goes for it. It's his life, why not? Gon takes a breath and...
"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes! Saying ayyeoohhh! Gotta let go~" He sings, grabbing a stick and pretending its a microphone.

"I wanna celebrate and live my life, saying ayeeohh, baby, lets goo!" He smiles to himself, the bubbly words leaving his mouth.

"Cause we gon' rock this club, we gon' go all night, we gon' light it up."

"Like it's dynamitee~" He harmonizes, singing the words as he skips around the wooden pole near him. "Cause I told you once... Now I told you twice!"

"We gon' like it up, like it's dynamite!" People had began to investigate the unique, deep voice that kept coming from the upper ship.

"I came to move-move-move-move, get out of the way of me and my crew-crew-crew-crew!" Gon sings, climbing higher on the ship and spinning around like nobody could see him. It was just him, in his own little world. Who cares what they thought?

"I'm in the club so I'm gonna do-do-do-do, just what the fuck? Came here to do-do-do-do..." He took a breath before continuing.

"'Cause it goes on and on and on... and it goes on and on and on.. yeah!" At this point, the crowd's beginning to recognize the song and begins to sing along.

"I THROW MY HANDS UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES! SAYING AYEOHHH, GOTTA LET GOO!" Gon shouts, his amber eyes gleaming in the sunlight, his tanned skin highlighted. "I wanna celebrate and live my life! Saying ayeoohhh, baby let's go!"

The crowd sing. So does Gon.

"We gon' rock this club, we gon' go all night, we gon' light it up, like it's dynamite!" He's happy right now, singing around the ocean. It's all he needs in life. "Cause I told you once, now I told you twice!"

"We gon' light it up, like it's dynamite!"

Gon finishes the song, doing a pretend bow above the crowd. They all clap for him and he smiles, jumping off of the ledge and back onto the boat. A blonde boy, he looks about 5'7, approaches him as the crowd begins to leave.

"Hey, that just now. That was really, really good. Do you do music professionally?" He asks calmly, his face mostly blank although Gon can sense that he's impressed. The boy is wearing one single ruby-coloured earring and a mixture of blue and yellow on his outfit. His hair is near shoulder-length and he looks quite smart.

"Nope, but I plan to! I'm Gon, Gon Freecss! You?" Gon sticks out his hand to greet the interested boy.

"Kurapika. Kurapika Kurta." He returns the handshake. His eyes flicker for a moment.

"I'm heading to a concert right now. It's going to be my first one!" Gon begins to explain to him, his head catching the wind.

"Sound's fun. I've just been visiting Whale Island to grab some special herbs. I'm actually going to a musical school. It's called The Hunter's Musical Grounds. You heard of it?" Kurapika states, looking out at the blue background before him.

"Nope! I'm heading over to Yorknew city, so I don't really know where that is." Gon hums in response, following the blonde boy's gaze.

Kurapika lets out a laugh. "It's in Yorknew, actually!"

Gon's eyes widen enthusistically. "Really? Woah! Maybe I could apply?"

"Think about it, it's pretty tough there. This is my second year there." He huffs, running his hand through his hair.

"I will, thank you, Kurapika!" Gon exclaims, jumping up and down.

"So, Gon, what instrument do you play?" Kurapika questions, leaning against the edge of the ship.

"I play guitar! I have it with me right now." He points to the big music case on his back. "I've been playing for about... 10 years?" Gon lightly comments, playing with his fingers.

"Huh, you'd better be good then. There's a ton of talented guitarists from electric to bass." Kurapika exclaims, pointing at him.

"Actually, I think I'm pretty good, thank you very much!"

"If you are so good then you'll ace the audition, right?"

"Hopefully. How many people are auditioning, by the way? Oh, and what day?"

"Theres about 60 people this year, I think. It's on..." Kurapika pulls out his phone and opens the calender app. "October 1st."

"Hmm, I think I'll be able to make it!" Gon responds, opening his own phone and adding it to his upcoming important events. "What do you play, Kurapika?"

"Me? I can play violin, although it's not very advanced. I mainly focus on singing." He tips his head back, his golden hair descending.

"Oh, that's really cool!" Gon nods in reply.

"Yeah..." They both gaze upon the ocean, watching another school of fish pass by. In the distance, theres a dolphin, jumping up magestically from the waters. Silence fills the air as Gon clears his throat.

"Sing for me, Kurapika!" He announces, smirking. Kurapika looks slightly startled at his sudden outbreak and then sighs.

"Sure. I'm not gonna run around the whole ship like you did though." He grins. "Do you know Japanese?"

"Yeah!" Gon blurts out, smiling like a toddler.

Kurapika takes a deep breath and soon his angelic voice quietly fills the air. "Hokori takaki kanashimi, wakare to deai no saki. Tada toki wa sugiyukedo nao kurikaesareru ayamachi..." Kurapika begins, the soft hum filling the air.

"Shizuka ni katarikakerusenjin tachi no sakebi, Oto mo naku kodamasuru iki hisome." He sings before taking a breath. The oceanic waves crash against the ship, as if to listen to.

"Toki wo matsu hana no you ni, ishi wo tsugu mono ni takusareta" Kurapika starts to drum his fingers to the beat that the song was. Gon watches in awe as he continues.

"Rekishi no hikari to yami, manazashi no uragawa ni himeta negai" He clears his throat quickly before getting louder.

"Akaku akaku akaku moesakaru~" Kurapika's notes gets higher as his smoky voice rises in pitch.

"Akashi kesshite kesshite tayasanu you ni." The sound of his hands hitting the boat edge to and drum along fill Gon's ears aswell as the unreal voice before him.

"Kono ikari yadoshita~" The blonde-haired boys eyes flicker a shade of red for a moment, although Gon misses it.

"Hi no hitomi ni... chikaouuu~" Kurapika finishes, breathing for air. He looks Gon in the eye and smiles. He then bows at Gon, who claps wildly.

"Woah, that was amazing Kurapika, holy shit! I-" Gon seemed stunned and at a loss for words before he gave him a thumbs up. "I approve!"

"Thanks!" He looks much happier then before after singing. "What's the time-" Kurapika begins, looking worried.

"10:38. Why?" Gon shows him his watch and Kurapika's eyes widen.

"Shit, I'm late! I was supposed to call one of my friends- Sorry Gon, I gotta go. See you later!" He yells before running back into the deck, phone in hand.

"See you!" Gon shouts back before looking upto the sky. If everyone at the audition was as good as Kurapika, he'd have to sing like his life depended on it.

It's been about an hour in total since the ship departed from Whale Island and Gon is bored. Like, really bored. He tries to think back to when he began music so he can compare it to when he's finished his first concert.

When he was 3, Gon loved to watch the music channels on TV. He was fascinated by the programs and beats they produced. He was always seen bopping his head along to the beats. Mito knew it then, he's a diamond in the rough.

Over the years, he started to practice on the guitar. He had always had a fantastic voice which was ideal for singing, so it was no suprise when Gon admitted to Mito that he'd like to be a singer when he grows up. She tried to help him as much as she could - buying guitar picks for him, and trying to soundproof his walls so he could practice while Mito would be in peace.

He started to perform in public when he was 10. He sat in the middle of the village and played his guitar, and his island friends watched him. Gon was extremely happy after doing his island debut, persay.

As time went on, it continued. His love for music grew stronger, and so did his voice. When he was 14, his voice went from a high-pitched singsong to a husky, deep voice. Whale Island became absorbed in his appealing voice and supported him all the way.

At school, he'd always have a solo in the choir which could make people jealous, but they all knew that he was incredible. He quit the choir about 3 months later to give the others a chance since people despised him out of envy.

Many people incouraged him to persue a career in music, and he agreed with them that he'd love to sing for people. Gon always had the idea that music could solve anything - stress, complaints, boost your mood, motivate you. He's always loved making people happy, why not continue?

He whistles to himself before sitting down on the wooden planked floor and leaning against the mast stand. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and begins to play Among Us for hours. (Gon wears lime with the Landing Headset hat!)

Eventually, Gon finally sees land. His eyes widen as he focuses on the island that the boat is approaching - Yorknew! He grins, jumping up from his spot on the floor and watches as the city gets closer. The big buildings reach up to the sky, windows outlining them. He can begin to hear the sound of people, walking around the fish market on the outskirts of the city.

The other people on the ship come and watch as the buildings gradually get bigger and the noise level rises. Gon can see the boat stop now - there's quite a few boats and ships, some larger then others. The wooden decks stand next to them. The Whale Island ship approaches the deck and halts.

Gon dashes right over to be the first one off, and he smiles to Kurapika, who is also coming to exit.

"You better be at the HMG!" The blonde boy yells.

HMG....? Gon tries to think before realizing. Hunter's Music Grounds! Right.

"You bet! Have fun!" Gon replies, going the opposite direction then Kurapika. He passes various stalls - a red and white fish stall, a man in a blue sweatshirt selling fresh fruit , a woman wearing yellow overalls approaching strangers and offering them flowers. People happily chatted to eachother and bought anything and everything. He looks at the old bookstore on the side of the path before looking on the opposite side to the bakery. He hasn't had anything to eat, so he heads into the bakery.

The bakery was named 'Bubblegum Mochi'. Gon thought to himself, 'Doesn't really sound like a bakery name'. He shrugged it off and walked into the store, overwhelmed by the pink. The girl behind the counter who was selling donuts, she had bright pink hair in a ponytail. The cyan scrunchie went around it and she looked pretty bored. Some random pop song was playing, and Gon decided that it was an Ariana Grande song by her high notes.

He hums the tune while going up to order a croissant. He hadn't had a pastry in a while so he figured, why not? Mito had given him 13,000 yen which she had saved up for. He payed the girl and went to sit down at a white table in the corner. The smell of fresh bread fills his nose as he inhales it, before walking back over to his table.

Gon takes a seat on the pastel pink seats, taking a bite. All that sea air had made him hungry!

'This is really good!' the green-haired boy thinks, looking at the flowers infront of him. It was mostly bright red roses, but a few pink tulips and snow-white delphiniums stood silently in the, again, pink vase. The vase had a swirly white pattern on it, spinning all the way around. Gon finishes his croissant and leaves the bakery.

Checking his phone, it's 11:43am. The concert hall was only about 10 minutes away, so he calls for a taxi. That way, he can have time to prepare himself and his voice for the audience. He didn't do any vocal warm ups this morning since he wanted to leave as soon as he could, but he can do them when he gets there.

The concert itself begins at 1pm so he guesses that he'll be early, but knowing these singers, they'll want all the time to go into the private booths and sing their heart out to preform. Gon taps his foot while he jumps and sits on the stone wall, gazing down at the various array of plants below him.

Soon after, the taxi arrives. Gon looks at his phone notification which read 'Your taxi has arrived!'. He walks over to it and climbs in. He makes idle chat with the driver while they drive over to the venue.

"I'd like to go to Cross Venue, please?" He requests, buckling his seat belt and laying his music case on the back seat.

"Sure, kid. You watching the concert tonight?" The driver replies, looking straight ahead at the road.

"Well, I'm actually performing." Gon admits, cracking his knuckles. "I'm super psyched, it's gonna be amazing."

The driver chuckles. "Sounds pretty cool. I'll make sure to listen to you when it's on the radio, alright..."

"Gon! Gon Freecss!" He beams, looking at the car decorations.

"Alright, Gon, I'll listen to you. You better be good!" The driver replies, looking at him giving him a thumbs up.

"Hah, bet!" The two laughed before the classical background music began to play, a mixture of violins and flutes.

Minutes later, the taxi pulls upto the venue. It's a massive cluster of three different high tech buildings. They possessed smoked glass and steel, each one joined to the next by a covered walkway. The garden outside had a variety of different colours ranging from a deep maroon to a beautiful, lilac that sparkled in the sun's rays. People crowded around it already, in a designated area that read 'Waiting Area'. The buildings stretch upto the sky as the front balcony welcomes him. Gon's eyes widen in surpise as he stares out of the window as the taxi drives into the designated parking spot for visitors. The car park is pretty packed already, but that's no shock, considering the singer who will be performing.

"Watashi wa jissai ni koko ni imasu..." Gon mutters to himself, in utter amazement at the venue before him. "Holy shit. Kore wa watashi ga omotte ita ijōdesu, sore wa shinji rarenai hododesu-!" It seemed that Gon couldn't express his love for it in English so he goes with his native language, Japanese.

Gon has to stop himself from screaming out in joy. His mind is a mixture of emotions - happiness and nervousness. Instead of screaming, the butterflies in his stomach slowly take over. Gon needs to calm down. He takes a deep breath and grins. Thanking the driver for his services, Gon climbs out of the taxi and hands the driver the yen needed for the ride and he smiles, driving off.

He swings his music case carrying his guitar over his broad shoulder and gazes upto the concert hall before him. He's finally here. Cross Venue.

Chapter Text

Cross Venue. Gon takes a deep breath to prepare himself. His boots walk over the smooth, gray concrete path leading upto the hall. Plenty of different plants are on the side of the walkway - ferns, grass and a wide variety of flowers. The different greens complement the various other shades of yellow, orange and purple blossoms that sit on the garden. It all looks very well-kept and watered. Gon decides that they've taken care of them well, him being such a expert at nature and continues on.

His eyes layed upon the doors standing infront of him. They were made of glass with a silver metal outline coating them. Gon pushes them open. His eyes slowly adjust to the bright light inside as they gawk at the lobby in front of him.

A crowd of people filled the area, and Gon could make out the tables behind them. Multiple tables sat across the room. They are all circular with a simple white tablecloth laying on top of them. The purple stripes run across each cloth and the dusty-grey chairs surround it. The floor that his boots rested on seemed to be in a snowy marble pattern across the main hall with carpet leading to various different doors. Massive pillars stood in each corner of the room - with the emerald green vines spiraling up them. Those same vines held a few different flowers - mostly purple roses, Gon decided.

The lights above him illuminated the room as his eyes focused on two different groups of people. He recognized three people from seeing them online - Neon Nostrade, famous for her angelic voice and the iconic duo, Podzel. It was made up of Pokkle and Ponzu, they mostly did rock music.

Gon didn't know too much about them since Podzel was a fairly small duo and he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Neon's style of singing. He shrugs and continues walking around, eyeing the bar. He approaches it and stares at the menu above it. It's got similar vines that the pillars possessed, however they seemed thinner and finer. Gon could make out the drinks storage behind the wooden counter and the bartender. He appears to be a short, fat man with tan skin, slicked back brown hair, a large nose, and thick eyebrows. The bartender wears a sky-blue shirt, with a gray undershirt and a simple pair of bleached jeans. He looks casual for the event, but he was only a bartender.

Gon approaches him and begins to talk.

"Hey, may I get a lemonade and a small portion of fries?" He requests, leaning his elbows on the counter.

"Sure, kid." The bartender replies. He wears a small white badge reading 'Tonpa'. "You here to watch the show?"

"Nope, I'm here to perform actually!" Gon declared, raising his hands to itch his head.

"Sounds good." Tonpa brings out his lemonade and pushes the fizzy drink towards him.

Gon puts his mouth to the straw and takes a sip. "Thank you! Do you know anyone else who will be performing here?"

"Anyone else...?" Tonpa ponders, looking up slightly. His mind thinks back to the family who came in earlier. "Ah, the Zoldyck's are performing."

"...Zoldyck?" Gon tries to think of who they are but alas, no result. He shakes his head. "I don't think I've heard of them before.. heh." He laughs, knowing they're probably very famous.

Tonpa's eyes widen in surprise. "You- you haven't heard of them?"

"Nope!" Gon chirps. Tonpa brings his fries over to him aswell as the salt and mayonnaise.

"Well, they're extremely good. All of their family sing. Some of the best singers in the world, hm." The bartender replies, taking a seat behind the counter.

"What do they look like?" Gon requests, reaching over to the bowl of fries infront of him. He grabs the salt and pours it over them, and then grabbing one.

"Hmm... Some of them have white hair, some have black hair. It's the genes from their mother and father. They also-" Tonpa begins before being cut off by an announcement.

"It is now 12pm. The concert begins in 1 hour. All singers, please report to the concert hall and come backstage. Thank you!" The announcement asserted, before shutting off.

"Twank you fwor the food!" Gon utters, shoving his remaining fries into his mouth. He leaves the yen on the table and runs off towards the door with golden hinges on it with a massive sign that reads 'Concert Hall'.

Tonpa shouts after him. "Good luck, kid!"

30 minutes earlier

Snow, white hair covers a boy crouched over on a brown, oak bench. His face is emotionless - his blue eyes were bare and his pale skin lifeless. He wears a white blazer with a blue v-neck underneath. His pants are just plain white and his gray boots clasp his legs. A lighting-shaped necklace hangs around his neck with various shades of blue to accompany it.

Another man is in the room next to him. He's much taller then him, with long silky black hair. This time, this man wears a black blazer with white stripes across the pockets and rim. His shirt is a beautiful lilac color, with jet-black pants to accompany the blazer. He pushes one strand of his hair behind his ear before he stares down at the blue-eyed boy.

"C'mon, Killu. Stop sulking. It's just a concert." Black hair swishes slightly as his eyes narrow.

"I don't want to." The boy named 'Killu' grunts. "Illumi, just leave me be."

'IIumi' peers down at him. "Seriously, now?" He huffs, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Killua, we don't have time for your silly antics. It's not even a huge concert. To you, it should just be another boring one, right?" His voice wavers to a louder level before he composes himself.

Killua looks up at Illumi in disgust. "I-... fine. I'll do your stupid concert, just get the fuc-" He takes a deep breath. "Just... let me stay here for a few minutes, alright?" He runs his pale hands through his white hair, stress filling his eyes.

Illumi sighs. "Alright. Bye." He mumbles abruptly as he turns around, his hair twirling and following him out of the small storage room. Killua watches as his shadow fades from views and he gets up, punching his fists randomly in the air.

"F-fuck this." He mutters, his eyes screwing up. His anxiety levels are sky-rocketing like always, he forgot to take his medication. Illumi wasn't helping him with all the pressure he puts on him - he knows that he'll perform perfectly, why does Illumi always have to make things more difficult?

Killua reaches into his pocket and grabs a red lollipop. The plastic wrapping read
'✩ Cherry Pop ✩' in a bubblegum pink color. He unwraps it and sticks it in his mouth in a grump. He spews a various array of curses before calming himself and trying to think of his anti-stressers. Cats. Chocolate. Videogames. He tries to imagine a cat running around his leg, its fluffy fur leaving plenty of hair on his pants. A small smile appears on his lips as he stretches his hands behind his neck and walks out - looking completely composed and not like he was about to have a mild mental breakdown right before his concert!

Gon bursts into the Concert Hall, his eyes wide in awe at the spacious stage. His amber orbs land on the first thing he spots - the seats for the crowd. The space for them to sit was pretty big - all of them in a beautiful blood red color. Past the gray carpet, the stage sits. The stage itself had maroon curtains to hide the singers with a gold rim along the sides of it. It was all very pretty, Gon decided. He looks around the venue to try and recognize some of the singers who'd be performing tonight however he fails at identifying the rest of the people apart from Neon and Podzel. They were lined up near the corner of the room.

He spots a sign above their heads that reads 'Backstage. Performer access only.' in swirly gold letters. Gon reaches into his pocket and fumbles around for his identification that he recieved when he signed up for the concert two weeks ago. He pulls out the ID. It has two black X's with red in the middle. At the bottom, the sky blue card shines onto his skin which reads his name in the bigger bar and in the main area, his age, date of birth and instrument that he plays - guitar. The back has a single black stripe on the right side and twelve boxes on the lower left; five in the first line, three in the second and four in the third row.

Gon bites his lip as he approaches the door to go backstage. He steps onto the white carpet that winds upto the entrance, humming quietly to himself. He makes a quick note to himself to find out who the Zoldycks are when they perform and continues.

He looks up at the door and swings it open - the door leaving a small 'swoosh' as he did. The clock on the wall ticks slowly as Gon reads the time: 12:03pm. Not bad. He sits down on one of the couches to wait for the announcement.

Eventually, all of the artists are here. They have music cases either next to them, resting on the floor or in their hands. Some of them have no instruments, so Gon guesses that they're just purely singers or are in some kind of band. He eyes a white-haired boy who looks to be around his age with a red lollipop in his mouth. Next to him is a man with black hair and it's extremely long. Gon wonders how you take care of all of that hair and still have it looking flawless. He spots Neon's blue hair typed up into a high ponytail on the opposite side of the room. He wonders if he should've done more with his own hair but he ignores his thoughts and listens as the host comes in.

"Hello everyone. My name is Netero." The old man, Netero, gives a smile as he strokes his hand through his beard. He has white hair and a pretty long beard. The man wears a simple red blazer and white pants, nothing too fancy.

Everybody nods and he continues. "Alright, so we all know the main thing- you are here to make people happy at this multi-artist concert. I will be reading the order and you will line up as I say."

Another nod from the crowd and he begins. "The opening act will be performed by Illumi Zoldyck. The man with black hair nods with no shine in his eyes as he takes the first spot.

"Neon Nostrade." Her blue hair tied up in a ponytail swishes as she takes her spot as second.

"RR - Rai and Roku." They both have long hair - one has puprple locks and the other has blue. They're in matching winter outfits. They look like twins.

"Leva Naion." It's a slightly older man with short black hair and dark blue attire. Under his arm is a keyboard.

"Sayaka Akemi." Another blue-haired girl. She has a massive pink bow on her front.

"Arata Yukii." A guy with pink hair. He carries a pair of drum sticks. Unique.

"Killua Zoldyck." The white-haired boy Gon spotted earlier makes his way behind Arata. He looks extremely bored and mutters something inaudible, only to earn a glare by his brother. Gon reverts his attention back to the names.

"Gon Freecss." Gon's ears perk up as he hears his name. He grins and walks behind the blue-eyed boy.

"Podzol - Pokkle and Ponzu." Green hair and faded orange hair approach the line in a pair.

"Mio Matsuda." She has shoulder-length hair and holds a bass guitar.

"Yuriko Tadame." Also girl with long, black hair and bangs in a red outfit. She's probably singing.

"Usagi Rini." She's extremely colorful with red and yellow strands in her black hair and an electric guitar on her back.

"Yukine Shin." The final one has orange hair. He's got a red electric guitar.

Gon is very excited - it's going to begin soon. He calms his explosive feelings and lets Netero continue.

"You will perform in this order. When the lights fade out, there is a two minute interval where you will change places and lay down your instrument." He explains, quickly sneaking a look over at the stage which lays near. "If you have requested it," The old man continues, "there will be a back-track if you sing."

The people who are singing: Illumi, Gon, Killua, Usagi, Mio and Leva stare at the man with a nod. It seems that Yuriko doesn't want a backtrack as she ignored the statement and was playing with her hair. Gon glances towards the clock - 12:26pm.

"You can go practice now." Netero pointed out after a moments silence. The crowd broke up and went into the different sound-proof rooms. He catches eye of Killua being dragged away by Illumi into the furthest booth possible. His eyebrows furrow - his face confused. Gon felt bad for him but he didn't really know their situation so he ignores it and steps into his own room.

He lays his lime music case down and brings out the wooden guitar. He then reaches into a far pocket and pulls out a orange guitar pick. He takes a deep breath and begins to practice his song for half an hour.

"Illumi, we have our own songs. Why are you practicing with me?" Killua scowls, staring with eyes of burning hatred at his brother.

Illumi doesn't respond immediately. He clicks his tongue before replying to the white-haired boy. "You need to be perfect."

Killua rolls his eyes. "You say this every time! Be perfect this, be perfect that! It's just a-" He gets cut off.

"Small concert?" Illumi interrupts, finishing the end of his sentence. "Killua, as a Zoldyck you must always perform flawlessly, no matter if you're performing for three people on the street or if you're doing the biggest concert in the world with millions of people listening. Mother would be disappointed that you do not care about this."

Killua goes to say something before he shuts his mouth. It'd be better not to get in a fight with Illumi now. Even if he did, Illumi and his dumb ass would go and snitch on him to Mother and Father. If he did try to talk back to Illumi, he would probably get lucky if he could manage to avoid Milluki.

"Alright, alright." He finally scoffed, crossing his arms. The light is dim in the room and his pale skin doesn't look any brighter then it normally does.

"Good. You need to get over this rebellious phase..." Illumi mutters quietly, but Killua's ears were trained to pick up small noises in songs. His family would make him listen to very quiet music until he could describe dynamics, tone and all the instruments used in immense detail.

"I heard that." He argued, "I just don't like doing this very much. Didn't you hate the torture that Mother and Father gave you? Come on, look at Milluki! He's a complete disappointment apart from the fact that he's good with music programs!" Killua is almost close to screaming but he keeps his composure.

Illumi is silent for a while, slightly stunned but not enough to show it. "Yes, I didn't like it at first, but it's made me a fantastic artist. Milluki is a whole different topic, Killu." He snaps in response, raising his eyebrows.

Killua glares at him. "So you feel me, huh? You didn't wanna sing, right? But you were forced to!"

"Not at first, no." His older brother responds, twirling a strand of his silky hair.

"Well then, listen to me! You've had more training then me! You literally were trained to be perfect, for fucks sake! I've had like, what, ten years less training then you?" Killua spat out, ignoring his feelings to just shut his mouth and do what he says. He spins around and puts his hand to the mic.

"Forget it, Illumi. I'll sing..." He mutters, his face going back to bored.

"Good." And with that, Killua begins to practice his piece, shortly followed by Illumi rehearsing his opening act.

The clocks strike 12:55pm. All of the performers were required to leave the soundproof rooms and line in in their order as said by the announcement. Gon watches everybody slowly leave their own rehearsal booths. He watches Killua stand beind Arata and walks behind him.

"Psst, white-hair!" Gon whispers.

"Hm?" Killua turns around to look at the spiky haired teen.

"What do you play?" He asks, his voice low.

"Generally? Or just for the concert?" Killua responds, leaning against the wall.

"Like, in general." Gon questions, clicking his tongue.

"I can sing and play keyboard, piano, violin, guitar and the drums." Killua runs his hand through his hair and stands up straight as he notices Illumi watching him
.
"But for the concert, I'm singing and playing drums." He pulls the drum sticks out of his pocket and twirls them around in a circular motion.

"Woah- that's so cool!" Gon squeals, maybe slightly louder then he should of. He earns a questionable look from Pokkle behind him. Ponzu just tugs on Pokkle's sleave and continues talking to him.

"Shh! Thanks I guess...." Killua whisper-shouts, glancing over in Netero's general direction.

"Oohh...." Gon looks slightly embarassed and rubs the back of neck. He tends to do that when he is flustered. "I'm Gon."

"I'm Killua." Killua snickers at his name. "Like, poof! You're gone!" He laughs slightly.

Gon bursts out laughing and most people glance at them. His eyes avert their looks and tries to muffle his laughter. "No... no... like G-O-N."

"Heh." Killua grins. Suddenly, Gon's mind wonders back to what Tonpa said earlier.

"Well, they're extremely good. All of their family sing. Some of the best singers in the world, hm."

He decides not to mention it. From what he saw, Killua looked like that he hated his brother and that his great singing was most likely a result of hard training for years on end. He decides that he was probably good company and talks to him some more.

"Well, I'm singing and playing guitar." Gon points to the music case on his back and taps it lightly.

"Huh. I'll listen to yo-" Killua begins before a loud, booming voice fills the area behind the stage. He huffs and turns towards the voice.

"Ahem." Netero clears his voice, looking at the performers. "The concert begins in one minute. I'd like silence while Illumi performs the opening act." Illumi nods in acknowledgement at the front of the line.

Gon looks at Killua, watching as he bites his lip. He's muttering something but Gon can't make out what he's mumbling about. He sets his posture straight and looks in the mirror next to him. He ajusts his blazer and makes his hair look perfect.

The lights go out on the stage and Illumi steps onto the stage. Instead of pure white, cyan lights replace them as the music starts. An upbeat tune starts playing. His face doesn't look emotionless anymore - it looks happy, but a fake happy. He's obviously got to put on a good act for the audience. To a normal person he'd probably look like he's enjoying himself but to Killua, he knows that it's all an act. Killua cringes at his brothers actions and turns away, having heard the same song hundreds of times.

Killua can hear the lyrics even though he's not listening.

"You better lose yourself! In the music... moment.... never let it... one shot... blow... lifeti..." The words fade out of Gon's head as he stares at Killua. The white-haired boy doesn't seem to notice that the person behind him was staring at him. His eyes watch as Killua just stares down at the floor - his face painted bored.

"Hey, Killua." He doesn't respond.

"Killua." Gon asks again.

"Killuaa." He whines, slightly louder this time. He pokes him lightly. Killua snaps out of it and looks up.

"Hm?"

"You looked like you were daydreaming... sorry." Gon apologizes, adjusting his shirt collar.

"Oh, was I?" Killua didn't seem to realize that he had zoned out. He nods. "Nah, I'm sorry. I should be paying attention." He mutters, the beat of Illumi's song in the background.

"Well.. uhm.. what song are you going to do?" Gon whispers, noticing Illumi coming off stage after he bowed. The lights fade out. A few seconds after, they turn an electric blue and Neon appears.

"Why should I tell you?" Killua questions, putting his hands behind his head.

"I don't know, I just want to know..."

"I mean..." Killua considers it, trailing off. "Centuries. Fall Out Boy."

Gon thinks of the song and the tune comes into his head quickly. "Like, you will remember me, for centuriesss! That song?"

"Yup, that's the one." Killua grins. "You?"

"Wy should I tell you?" Gon imitates Killua, also putting his hands behind his green hair.

Killua smirks. "So you want to be me now, huh?"

"Maybe!" He sticks out his tongue.

"Trust me, you don't want to." Killua says, bringing down his hands.

"Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco. It's one of my all-time favorite songs and I figured I should sing it for my 'debut', I guess." Gon hums, answering his question. The conversation was pretty slow - they both just wanted to sing. For Gon, he wanted to please the audience but for Killua he just wished that this would be over.

"Oooh, I like that song." He swiftly replies as Neon walks off and the twin duo walks onto the stage - the lights red.

"Hey, I don't know if I'll see you after this. You're pretty fun to talk to, Killua. What's your number?" Gon asks innocently.

Killua coughs out of shock. "G-Gon, you don't just ask people for their number after you've literally just met them!" He looks embarrassed and tries to hide his face by looking down.

"Well, I just wanted to know so I can chat to you again! C'monn, pleaseee!" He starts doing puppy-dog eyes and Killua quietly laughs.

"Fine." He grabs the pen out of his pocket. "You got any paper?"

"Uhhh.. hold on." Gon puts down his music case and opens it. He snatches a notebook and flicks over to a blank page, holding it infront of him.

"Here you go, write it here." He says as Killua writes a number down. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the spotlight going out again and two shadowy figures walking offstage. The lights are coming back up as purple. It's Leva's turn, he guesses.

Killua passes the notebook back to Gon and he stares at it. He muffles a laugh at the smily face that Killua drew. He looks up to him and smiles and he smiles back.

"Got it. I'll message you after this." Gon assured him softly, putting it back in the small zip-up pocket that he got it out of.

"Just saying.. please don't spam me." Killua hints, crossing his arms.

"Awwhhh... okay." Gon does a fake gasp at the very idea of not spamming people but in the end he leans against the wall. Levi's performance was short and Sayaka comes onto the stage.

Killua and Gon are silent for a while as Sayaka finishes. The lights turn pink as Arata walks on. The pair move forward in the line.

"It's your turn next." Gon mutters even though it's obvious.

"Yeah. I'll make sure to listen to you, though. I'll ignore Illumi..." He trails off, swinging up and down on his toes. He takes a deep breath.

"Hey, you'll do really good, I'm sure." Gon assures him. "I know I've just met you but you seem like a fun person, so do your best."

Killua hadn't ever really got a proper, sincere motivational speech. His eyes are slightly wider. "Heh, thanks." His cheeks are slightly pink at Gon's comment. The lights go out and Killua takes one last breath.

"Bye, Gon." He quickly says before he ends up looking at the stage.

"Good luck, Killua!" Gon tries to shout but it ends in a small whisper. Killua does a thumbs up behind his back as he walks onto the stage with confidence. Electric-blue lights come on and the spotlight circles to highlight Killua's flawless features come into play. The music starts as he sits down on the chair by the drums - a mic over his head.

Killua begins to sing. and the crowd clap quickly before it dies down.

"Some legends are told..." His voice is appealing and husky. It rings through Gon's ears and he feels like he's in heaven and Killua has only sung the first line.

"Some turn to dust or to gold..." He sings, "But you will remember me! Remember me, for centuries!" The start of the song is slow as he bops his head along to the beat, the crowd and Gon doing the same.

"Just one mistake, is all it will take." His eyes are slightly more lit-up when he's singing, Gon notices.

"We'll go down in historyyy~" Killua chants before the back-track music stops for a moment. "Remember me for centuries!" The loud bang of his drums echos through the venue as the music has a much more rock beat to it now. The music continues for a while before he continues.

"Mama, fight my teenage dreams. No, it's nothing wrong with me!" Killua's head rise, his hair shining in the sunlight. Gon didn't know that his already white hair could stand out more then it already did.

"The kids are all wrong, the story's aloof!" Killua hums, "Heavy metal, rock my... heart!" He pauses briefly before singing the word heart.

"Come on, come on and let me in!" He shout-sings. Killua is actually kind of enjoying this since Gon brightened up his mood and it's a song he actually likes. It's on his playlist.

"I'm cruising on your thighs, leave my fingerprints and this is for tonight!" Gon stares at the stage and Killua's side-profile. He wishes he was in the front row seats, witnessing him firsthand.

"I never meant for you to fix yourself! And I can't stop till the whole world knows my name, cause I was only born inside my dreams." Killua sings before singing all of the next lyrics at once.

"Until you die for me, as long as there is a light, my shadow is over you 'cause I am the opposite of amnesia..." He breathes quickly.

"And you're a cherry blossom, you're about to bloom. You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon." For some random reason, Killua thinks of Gon. He's so beautiful with that tanned skin and green hair... but he's probably never going to talk to Killua again apart from a few texts at first. He laughs inside at his stupid gay jokes. He clears his mind and continues.

"He's been here forever, and he's the chosen fruit." Killua sings, the backtrack going along with him in perfect harmony.

"I could scream forever. We all poisoned you." He chants, his white hair flowing slightly and his blue, oceanic orbs of eyes focused on the white and dark blue drums infront of him.

"Some legends are told, some turn to dust or to gold..." His smoky voice fills the room as he repeats the same lyrics as the start of the song.

"But you will remember me, remember me for centuries~" That's true. People will remember the Zoldyck's unique, amazing voices for years.

"Just one mistake, is all it will take. We'll go down in historyyy! Remember me, for centuries!" He finishes, hitting the drums one last time. He raises up from his chair and bows. The crowd goes wild. They do a standing ovation, with different shouts of 'Wooo!' 'Killua, I love you!' over the clapping. Gon screams from the side 'Holy shit, Killua, that was so cool!'

Killua hears Gon's voice from the side and he turns his head towards backstage and grins. Gon gives him a thumbs up and smiles back. Netero glares at him and he quickly apologises for screaming. He sheepishly grins and looks towards Illumi who waits on the other side of the stage for Killua, alone.

He looks impressed, that probably means he wont be mad. Killua leaves in a much better mood and gives Gon one last peace sign before he fades from sight. Gon watches the lights fade out. It's his turn. He walks onto the stage and a assistant brings him a chair to sit on. He takes his seat as the green lights fade up gradually and the smoke enters.

He carefully listens for the backtrack to begin. As soon as it does, he begins to play his guitar in time with the tune. He leans towards the mic, his amber eyes gleaming with excitement. He takes a quick breath.

"Do I look lonelyyy?" Gon begins, his voice deep and husky. His fingers trace the lime guitar in his hand as he plucks the strings. Killua gets away from Illumi's grasp to try and bring him backstage however he refuses and watched Gon, eyes wide. He's impressed and surprisingly, Illumi is too. He gives up and continues watching this mysterious green-haired prodigy.

"I see the shadows on my face..." He sings, the same ray of sunlight shining on him as it did on Killua. "People have told me, I don't look the same."

"Maybe I lost weight..?" He rises from his seat and begins to walk around the stage slowly, footsteps quiet. "I'm playing hooky with the best of the best!"

"Put my heart on my chest so that you can see it, too~" He takes his other hand in the quick break and places it on his heart. He quickly takes it away to continue the song.

"I'm walking the long road, watching the sky fall. The lace in your dress tingles my neck, how do I live?" He stops for a moment before bursting out in song for the chorus.

"The death of a bachelor! Oh oh oh! Letting the water fall~" The crowd looks very impressed. Who was this random person who had amazing natural talent?

"The death of a bachelorrr~, oh oh oh! Seems so fitting for.. happily ever after! How could I ask for more?" He jumps up at the song title, striking his guitar so that it could echo even without the microphone.

"A lifetime of laughter, at the expense of the death of a bachelor!" From the sidelines, even Netero grins. On the other side, Killua stares at him in awe and Illumi gazes over there too.

"I'm cutting my mind off... feels like my heart is going to burst."

"Alone at a table for two, and I just wanna be served~"

"And when you think of me, am I the best you've ever had? Share one more drink with me. Smile even though you're sad." With that, Gon turns his head to where Killua stands and winks at him. The audience tries to look at who or what was behind the curtains but failed. Killua's face lit up with various shades of red pretty fast.

"I'm walking the long road, watching the sky fall. The lace in your dress, it tingles my neck. How do I liveee~!" He sings, the sound of his low voice blasting through the speakers.

He strikes his guitar in the air again as he circles the chair in the middle of the room. "The death of a bachelor! Oh oh oh, letting the water fall!"

The crowd claps in tune with the backtrack. "The death of a bachelor! Seems so fitting for, happily ever after! How could I ask for more?" Gon smiles, taking a quick breath.

"A lifetime of laughter, at the expense of the death of a bachelor." Gon spins the center chair around and stands on it with one foot on the back and the other on the front of the chair. He pushes his front foot and the chair falls forward and he walks off it, as if he's done it hundreds of times before.

"The death of a bachelorrr~, oh oh oh, letting the water fall!" His guitar pick runs against the strings.

"The death of a bachelor! Oh oh oh... seems so fitting for happily ever after!" He points his microphone at the crowd.

"How could I ask for more?" They sing together and Gon walks back and sits on the chair backwards.

"A lifetime of laughter... at the expense, of the death of a bachelor!" He finishes, getting up and standing on the chair. He bows and the crowd roars, rushing to stand up and clap. He hears screams of 'Wooo!', 'Who is this kid?' and 'That was amazing!'. He can hear Killua's voice, just like he did for the other.

Killua shouts from the side. "That was incredible, Gon!" He screams before Illumi clasps his hand around his mouth. Killua scowls and steps back. Gon grins and walks off the stage to where Netero was standing as the lights fade out.

"That was incredible, Gon. Well done." He offers a warm smile and Gon nods, out of breath.

"Thank you, sir." He walks off to where his water and snack bars are. As he begins to go in the direction, he hums to himself. That was really good - better then he'd practiced. Maybe it was because of the speakers, he wonders. He can hear Pokkle and Ponzu briefly from where he is - they're doing some kind of pop duet.He arrives and pulls out his phone and adds Killua's number under 'Killua! :D'

That wa kind of typical of him. He texts him quickly before putting his phone away.

Promise to meet again? -Gon

He gets a response a few minutes later. He bites his lip.

Yep. -Killua

Gon smiles warmly to himself. Gon doesn't bother to listen to the rest of the musicians - it seems pretty rude, but he was tired. Singing was exhausting. But alas, he can't stop smiling. This was the first part of his journey to become a famous three-star musician - a smaller concert. He decides that when he finishes, he will apply to the school Kurapika was talking about - Hunter's Musical Grounds.