Chapter Text
Illumi had always said that friends were a waste of time: that they would either betray Killua, or that Killua would, in turn, betray them. But that didn't make watching twin dunces and an arachnophobe any less interesting.
Killua sucked on the lollipop in his mouth as Gon laughed from a dim, filthy corner. If the boy's aunt were here, she would most certainly yell at him. However, no such event occurred, and Gon stood and turned around. It gave Killua a clear view of the naive boy's face—and more importantly, the spider that scuttled around tickling his friend's flesh. This had potential.
Killua sat back to watch the free comedy show before him. Leorio sat on the couch in the dim lighting, with Kurapika just entering the room.
"Hey, Kurapika!" Gon shouted, "I made a friend outside!"
"That's great, Gon," Kurapika smiled.
"I named him Kun!" Gon shared, a light shining in his soulful brown eyes.
"Gon, that is the most simple-minded name-" Kurapika stopped his sentence, instead electing to gulp as his eyes shifted to the crimson color that had led to the massacre of the blond's clan. "Gon, I need you to hold perfectly still."
"Why?" Gon asked, bouncing on his toes. Kurapika's already-pale face had lost several shades as the blond shifted into a battle stance.
From the corner, Killua bit back a chuckle. Oh, this is going to be so good.
"Just hold still for me," Kurapika insisted. Within seconds, a resounding SMACK echoed throughout the room. Gon's body went flying into the drywall, and Gon slumped on impact.
Gotta admit, I didn't expect this. He just used his strongest Nen punch to kill a spider on Gon's face. I'm not sure if that's impressive or comical. I should make sure the idiot didn't get himself killed.
"Whoa," Leorio whispered in awe as he dropped his book and stood. Killua, for his part, hurried to check on Gon. That punch might even have injured Father.
This is the good stuff, Leorio. If you interrupt it, I have twenty ways to kill you and make it look like an accident.
Kurapika's eyes faded back to their normal grey-green color, and Killua noticed the tremors that wracked the blond's body, along with a few beads of sweat dripping down his face.
"What's wrong?" Leorio asked, cautiously stepping towards Kurapika. Gon opened his eyes with a soft groan.
Kurapika let out a shaky exhale as his eyes rolled back in his head and gravity began doing its job.
Killua noticed Leorio biting down on his tongue to keep from screaming as Kurapika crumpled. Instead of being completely useless like normal, Leorio did manage to get his arms under Kurapika's armpits and prevent the blond from hitting his head on the hard floor.
Leorio, however, staggered from the sudden, dead weight of Kurapika's unconscious body, and they both tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Killua smirked at his new fuel as he realized Gon would be fine and back to his energetic, golden retriever-like self within a few seconds. There was no sign of a concussion (of course there wasn't, Gon's head was as dense as a rock—in both ways), and the young boy's pulse was steady.
"Good grief, old man," Killua grumbled as he stood from checking on Gon, "Even my grandpa is more graceful and elegant than that, and he's all ancient and wrinkly."
Gon blinked his eyes, clearly dazed but already recovering as Leorio turned a vibrant scarlet.
"I'm not ancient! Or wrinkly! You brat!" Leorio yelled, before reaching for Kurapika's foot. The spectacled man closed his hands around the blond's ankle. "Oh, no! I can't find his pulse!"
Gon shot upright at this statement. "I killed him?" the young boy asked, his eyes wide and full of terror. Gon scampered over to Kurapika, whom Leorio was holding against his chest with the utmost care. Gon lifted Kurapika's limp left hand into both of his own smaller ones. "Please, Kurapika, you can't be dead! I can't be the one to have killed you, either!"
Idiots. He's clearly breathing. Are we sure Leorio is cut out to be a doctor?
"Gon, help me turn him over so I can start rescue breaths. Killua, get a shovel in case we need to bury Leorio!"
Killua leaned against the wall and pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. "Bury Leorio? Do you even hear yourself? Maybe we need to get you tested for Dementia, old man."
Leorio's froze as he realized what he'd said. "For the last time, Killua, I am not an old man!"
"I hear him breathing," Gon shared, his voice soft yet overflowing with joy.
Leorio whooped loudly as Gon continued, "I think he's just hurt."
"Well, that's no surprise!" Leorio exclaimed.
Gon cocked his head like a confused puppy who had yet to realize that peeing on the carpet was wrong. "Why?" the young boy asked, folding his hands in his lap.
"Do you not remember what he told us in Trick Tower?" Leorio screeched.
"Something about the Phantom Troupe? I forgot exactly what he said."
"Whenever he sees a spider, even a normal spider, his rage builds up and he looses control!" Leorio answered.
"Oh, yeah, that sounds familiar!" Gon admitted, slamming his fist into his palm.
"That's why he punched you and Kun," Killua added. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me, too. But," Gon hesitated as he wiped what was left of Kun off of his forehead, "I don't think Kun is okay."
"We'll have a funeral for him later," Leorio promised, "Let's be grateful that we don't have to have one for Kurapika, too."
Gon nodded, scooping off the goop that used to be Kun onto the wrapper of Killua's lollipop, abandoned out of the young assassin's laziness.
A gentle groan from Kurapika interrupted the conversation. Leorio brushed the blond bangs out of Kurapika's eyes, allowing Killua to notice that they were beginning to flutter.
"I think he's coming around!" Leorio announced.
Kurapika's eyes slid open and Gon barreled in for a hug. "I'm so sorry!" the green-clad boy exclaimed. "I completely forgot about how regular spiders affect you too."
"Wait a minute," Leorio breathed, "Something's not right. It's usually cause for concern if a syncope patient is out for more than sixty seconds. I didn't pay attention to the time specifically, but that was definitely more than a minute."
"Don't worry about it," Kurapika whispered, "I heard everything starting from, 'I'm not ancient'."
"Then why didn't you give us some sort of sign that you were okay?" Leorio asked.
"Severe muscle weakness," Kurapika answered. "The light also really hurt to look at, so I closed my eyes until I felt a little stronger."
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Gon said, squeezing Kurapika tighter. Killua, too, knelt and wrapped his arms around Kurapika.
"All right," Leorio announced loudly, "Everybody off! I need to get Kurapika to bed so he can rest properly."
"It's barely two in the afternoon," Kurapika argued as Gon and Killua scooted back.
"And that's usually when one's Circadian Rhythm starts making people sleepy," Leorio returned, standing with Kurapika still in his arms.
"I'm perfectly capable of walking," Kurapika added with a scowl.
"Says the guy who fainted over a measly spider,"
"And who let Gon bring it into the house? You or Killua?"
"Oh, shut up!"
Killua snickered at the banter between the two older boys.
"So," Killua started with sideways smirk at Gon, "Think Leorio is going to tuck Kurapika in?"
"No idea," Gon admitted. "But let's find out!"
With that, the two boys hurried after their taller friends.
"Hey, Killua," Leorio began when the younger teens reached him. "I couldn't help but notice you checking on Gon. Do you actually care about us, deep down?"
Of course I do. I'll just die before I admit it.
"You must be going senile, old man. I only did it because you were too worried about Kurapika. I hope your teachers don't find out about me doing your homework."
Kurapika chuckled.
"Oh, I see how it is," Leorio complained, "One minute, you save a guy from hitting his head when he faints over a spider, and the next, he takes the side of the brat who's bullying you."
Gon opened the door to the bedroom where Kurapika had slept the night before and Leorio carried the blond over to the bed. Killua pulled the blankets out of the way.
The doctor-in-training set his "patient" on the bed with care before pulling the blankets over him.
"I'm not helpless, Leorio," Kurapika sighed.
"But it wouldn't hurt for you to let us help you every once in a while," Leorio argued.
"I'm with Leorio on this one," Gon added.
"You're outnumbered," Killua answered casually, reaching for his lollipop before realizing it had been left abandoned on the floor in the other room. "Get that nap before Leorio decides to read his textbook to us and bore you to sleep."
Kurapika chuckled and rolled onto his side, clutching the blankets tightly. Leorio herded Gon and Killua out of the room.
"No more spiders," Leorio deadpanned with a glare at Gon.
"Don't worry, I learned my lesson the hard way,"
"I'm just glad you learned it, baka," Killua smirked with a ruffle of Gon's hair. Gon, in turn, laughed until Leorio instructed them to keep it down for Kurapika's sake. With some difficulty, Gon and Killua did manage to turn the volume down until they were out of range before resuming their playful and less-than-quiet antics.