"You coming?"

——————

I was uncomfortable around Killua for several reasons.

He looked to be somewhat stronger than I am, but I am convinced that if the time comes for him to defend me, he will do so efficiently. I knew he had mentally accepted my challenge to fight over Gon, no matter how childish that may seem. What I didn't understand was whether he liked him more than a friend in the first place.

We decided to walk down the highway to the closest forest from the amusement park, which was only a short distance away. Not long after

we arrived, silently walking behind Killua and fiddling with my hands, and enter with caution. As a result, I decided to ask the harmless question.

"Killua, do you have a thing for Gon?"

He slowed down and adjusted his stance to face me. He looked relatively calm, which both soothed me and tense up at the same time.

"I don't know, why don't you date him and find out?" He replied, then proceeded to walk through the woods. Was this his way of inviting me to date his friend?

After he said that, I felt so much better about it. "Oh, you're serious? At first, I thought you were angry with me! Kudos for the permission, I'll pop the question later tonight." I ramble, easily catching up to him.

Nothing apart from our footsteps could be heard in the silence that followed after. "Shit, this is pissing me off," Killua spoke to himself in a low tone.

We came to a halt beside a foul-smelling bog, watching as the limps torn from creatures' bodies floated around at the top, making me want to hurl.

"This is awful! Let's get going. Why did we walk so far for firewood?-" Everything that happened next was in Slow motion. Nobody had cut me off, and I hadn't just stopped speaking in the middle of my sentence. I had good reason to stop speaking, because believe it or not, I had just fallen into the swamp full of live or dead creatures.

Retz had tripped and landed in the muck.

I was shocked and frozen, all I wanted to do was speak to her in the first place. I didn't consider it would have resulted in death.

"Retz," I whispered as she struggled to swim and was dragged into the water by a few walkers. All I did was watch as she yelped out a strained 'help' before going under. She wasn't a particularly nice person, but it was another death that I could have prevented.

That happened in a heartbeat. I grabbed a few sticks and headed back, this time on my own.

'How am I going to tell the others about this? Why the hell was she wearing heels in a forest?' after reaching the gate and locking it behind me, I dashed over to the others, who were curious as to why I was the only one there.

"So we were out looking for wood and stumbled across a swamp, so she got near to see what was going on and likely tripped on her heel and fell in, and then was dragged beneath the water by a couple walkers and drowned-"

"Okay, Killua, we get it. There's nothing we can do about that. I didn't really care for her in the first place." Leorio confessed, all snuggled up beside Kurapika who had fallen asleep on his shoulder a while ago. Gon nodded his head and added, "Yes, it's all fine. We're not upset, and we've never had the opportunity to build good connections with her. It's going to happen and we should learn to get over it, despite the fact she was her own person and had feelings. The question is, how will we tell Kurapika when he wakes up?"

We laughed at this and agreed that he would probably care less either way.

"We can finally be the gay squad once again!" Leorio hyped, trying to raise the mood.

'They didn't care about her? Am I the only one bothered?'

I emerged from a sleep I don't recall having and instantaneously felt the sting in my back. Maybe it was because I was once again sleeping on the rough ground. With that in mind, it reminded me of the nights I spent sleeping on the ground at Gon's old place. It's crazy how quickly things can disappear from beneath you.

With a faint sigh, I stood up and stretched my muscles, scanning the space for the others, only to find them all staring at me eagerly. "AGH- What on earth is going on here? Why are you glaring at me?" I howl, flinching backward.

"Kurapika asked the question, and we decided it would be best if you explained what happened just like you did last night." Gon explains, staring me down and forcing me to look in any direction but his. Kurapika looked exhausted and confused, his eyes half-lidded and his head bobbing from time to time.

I gained confidence as Kurapika looked to me for answers, and I discussed the matter in depth. And, just as we suspected, he didn't seem to give a damn. "It's hardly shocking she was with Killua when she died; after all, did she not have a thing for Gon?" Kurapika remarked tiredly.

"Did she really? I honestly had no idea. But what does that have to do with Killua being there when she passed?" Gon remarked, his tone tinged with eagerness. "Oh, they were undoubtedly glaring daggers at each other at one point or another. Perhaps Retz was aware of Killua's feelings as well. It won't shock you once you realize that-"

I wrapped my arm around Gon's shoulders and covered his ears with the palm of my hands. "We'll talk about this later." I shot towards Kurapika. I guess he tends to spill when he's weary.

"Anddddd with that, we will get going now! Goodbye Kurapika. Leorio, make sure Kurapika gets a bit more rest. Don't want him ruining our relationships! likely be back later tonight."