Gon sat alone, legs dangling off the edge of a branch. It's...all gone. A tear rolled down his cheek, yet his face didn't show a single emotion. Everything he had ever known, had been ripped out from under him. Gon had shattered, and he was still trying to regather all the pieces. But they were scattered, and he couldn't find them all. Those were lost, and he'd never get them back again. Isn't it lovely, all alone. Heart made of glass a mind of stone. He didn't remember where he'd heard those words before, but they felt true. His mind was numb. His heart was shattered and pieced back together as best as he could but it was hollow, empty. What do I do now? He didn't know, his mind couldn't supply an answer. So he lay down on a comfortable tangle of branches, and closed his eyes. Hoping that just maybe, it was all a horrible, horrible, dream.

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"Hey Aunt Mito! I'm back!" Gon said cheerily, opening the door. He had decided to come back home to whale island a few days after he and Killua separated, he'd just come home from selling some fish some weeks later. "Gon!" Aunt mito said from the kitchen, waving with a smile. "Hey aunt mito-" Then she gave him a stern look. "You better not have wandered off somewhere, where have you been for the last hour?" Ah. He'd been selling fish every day for the past two weeks, it usually took about 2 hours but today it was 3. Aunt mito had also started to get more protective over him when it came to stuff like that, the danger of the last year and a half really got to her. "It just went really long, there weren't as many people at the market today"

She smiled again. "Alright, did you get some spices for me?" Gon nodded, then went over and set the 5 bottles he'd bought down on the counter. Aunt Mito wrapped him in a hug and he hugged her back. "I'm just worried about you" He smiled back a little. "I'm 13 and a half now Aunt Mito, plus I passed the hunter's exam." She nodded, and then paused. Gon blinked, then Aunt Mito coughed a few times. He frowned slightly. "You alright?" She nodded and ruffled his hair a little. "I'm fine dear, go get grandma Abe for lunch" He nodded and released her from his hug, then bounced up the stairs to her room. "Grandma Abe!" He said cheerily. No answer. Gon blinked, then opened her bedroom door. She's...sleeping? But it's noon. Gon went over to her bed quietly, then gently shook her awake. "Grandma Abe?" She stirred a little, then opened her eyes. "Hmm? Gon?" Gon smiled. "Aunt Mito says it's time for lunch, why were you sleeping?" She sighed and sat up, smiling. "Just tired dear, a-" She cut off with a cough, which made Gon's eyes narrow a little. Aunt Mito had a cough too. He'd bring it up with her after lunch. Gon beamed and ran down the hallway, Grandma Abe following more slowly behind him.

"Hey Aunt Mito?" She looked up from the dishes that she was currently cleaning, lunch was over and he decided to mention it. "Yes Gon?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Do you feel...tired?" Aunt Mito blinked, then glanced over her shoulder at him. "A little, why?" He glanced to the stairs. "Grandma Abe had a cough too, when I went to get her for lunch she was sleeping. Maybe you guys have a cold or something?" Aunt Mito thought for a moment. "Perhaps" Gon came up beside her. You need rest if you're sick. "I can finish doing the dishes, you should rest. So you can get better!" He said, smiling bright. Aunt Mito sighed, smiling back. "That's very sweet of you but-" Gon gave her his best stern look, "I'll do it" She chuckled, then dried her hands and shut the sink off. "If you insist" yes! Aunt Mito went up the stairs to her own room and Gon turned the sink on, then washed what was left. It took about 20 minutes, when he was done he brought two glasses of water upstairs for Aunt Mito and grandma Abe.

The next morning, Gon went out to fish again. He spent about an hour fishing and gathered 5 trout, 3 Salmon, 4 Bass, and 2 Carp. With a total of 14 fish in his basket he went back to his house to check on Aunt Mito and grandma Abe. When he opened Grandma Abe's door, she was sleeping again. Gon decided not to wake her up, instead making his way to Aunt Mito's room. "Aunt Mito?" He opened her door slowly, then his eyes widened slightly when he saw her having a bad coughing fit. "Aunt Mito!" he was about to go over when she held up a hand. "G-Gon honey, you shouldn't come closer. I don't want you to get sick too." He bit his lip. "But-" She gave him a smile. "It'll be worse if all three of us get sick, go sell your fish alright?" He nodded, before closing the door again and walking back down the stairs. Usually he'd be bouncing a little but he was kind of worried. I hope Aunt Mito and grandma Abe get better soon.

Gon put on a smile as he left, pushing down his worry. It's just a cold. He reminded himself. They'll be better in a day or two. He hummed as he went down the street to the market, then realized something. There's...less scents out today. Usually he could smell the scent of about 20 people, but he only caught 8 scents. Maybe this cold is going around? Yeah, that made sense. Gon kept going, eventually arriving at the market. He paused. There's... He only saw three people out and about. Gon didn't recognize any of them, so he kept walking. Then he froze, eyes falling on a limp form on the ground. Gon quickly dropped to his knees, feeling for a pulse. It's...cold. This man was dead. He stood back up, then went and buried him. Gon knew this man, he lived alone a few houses away from his own. He decided to bury him because nobody else probably would. That's so sad. But he had seen dead bodies before. People died, it was the way the world worked. Plus the man had been pretty old, in his 80s. "Rest in peace Mr."

He went back on his path, mood kind of somber. It wasn't until 10 minutes later he started to get worried. Why is nobody else out? Sure the island didn't exactly have a whole ton of people on it like in Yorknew, but it was small and there were always plenty of people about. Gon remembered one of his friends, Noko. She was younger than him by a few years, she was 10. But she was the only other kid on the island anywhere near his age. He made his way over to her house, it wasn't very far from here. Gon made himself smile again, he didn't want to worry Noko. "Hello? Anybody home?" He called, knocking three times on the door. When he got no answer he frowned slightly. There's 3 other people living here. Even if Noko isn't here, her parents or uncle should be here. Gon knocked again, this time a more worried note coloring his tone slightly. "Hello?" He heard a noise, but it wasn't footsteps. That sounded like...scratching?

Now he was really worried. "I'm coming in" Gon tried to open the door, but it was locked. He gritted his teeth and banged the door open, then froze. "Noko!" He cried, kneeling down next to the young orange haired girl. She had her hand on the wall, faint nail marks on the wood. There was a splatter of blood near her, but no wounds. Noko's eyes opened slightly, Gon felt along her chest and stomach as he tried to keep the worry out of his tone. "Are you alright? Where's your mom and dad?" She hacked, Gon's breath hitched as blood splattered on the floor again. "U-Up...stairs" She mumbled weakly, He quickly carried her over to the couch and then ran up the stairs. "Hey! Noko's co-" He broke off with a gasp. There were 3 more dead bodies, all in the same room. Noko's mother was lying on the bed, her father had dropped near the window, and her uncle had slumped on a chair. The scent of blood filled his nose. Tears rolled down Gon's cheeks as he bolted back down the stairs, but when he got to Noko her breathing had stopped. W-Wait...

Gon's blood ran cold. She was...coughing. This was from some sort of sickness. Gon reached a hand for his phone, but he gritted his teeth when his fingers brushed empty space. Damn, I left it at home! He started running again, out to the docks. There's one ship, somebody's got to be- Gon's heart sank when he smelled a faint tang of blood coming from the inside. He went in anyways, even though he knew what he would see. Everybody's dead. W-Why...why is everybody dying? He wiped his eyes and dropped his fish basket, running as fast as he could back to his house. Please no, it's just a cold right? Aunt Mito and grandma Able just have a c-cold... He slammed the door open, when he ran up to Aunt Mito's room she was looking at him with a startled expression. "Gon? Back so soon? What's-" She started coughing again, and hard. "Aunt Mito!" He ran over to her, then started to breath hard as she pulled her hand away from her mouth. There was a small dot of blood on her palm. "Gon! You'll get-"

"Everybody's getting sick!" he cried, tears started to roll down his cheeks again and he suddenly remembered grandma Abe. He started running again, Aunt Mito followed him. "When was the last time you saw grandma Abe?" He asked, voice shaking a little. "last night for dinner?" He came upon the room and ran over to grandma Abe, she was in the same position he'd seen her in before he left. Gon's hands shook as he checked her pulse. "S-She's not breathing." He said. Aunt Mito gasped, then ran over and put a hand to her mouth as her eyes watered. "N-No..." Gon grabbed Aunt Mito's sleeve, his eyes wide and terrified. "Nobody was out in the market so got worried and went to Noko's house, she was coughing up blood and then when I ran upstairs everybody else was dead and by the time I got back she was too and the same thing happened with the ship-" The words kept spilling out, along with more tears. Then...Aunt Mito started coughing again. N-No. She sat down heavily on the bed, coughing some more. Gon put a hand to his mouth, he couldn't keep back the tears anymore. "G-Gon honey...don't cry" She said in a slightly raspy voice.

"T-There's got to be something I can do" He said, voice wobbling. "If I can just-" She cut him off with another cough, then grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto the bed with her. "It's too late" She murmured. Gon shook his head, hand trembling slightly as he grabbed her sleeve. "No, y-you can't...You can't d-die. If I-" Aunt Mito had another coughing fit, Gon felt his blood start to go cold again as the color drained from her face a little. "Even if you managed to call someone...they wouldn't get here in time. The nearest dock is days away" Aunt Mito said weakly. But... "Why haven't I gotten sick?" He said aloud. Aunt Mito coughed some more. "It's...It's not fair. Why did everybody else get sick and not me?" He choked a little on his words. Aunt Mito cupped his cheek, a weak smile on her face. "It doesn't matter. Just..." Her hand fell, Gon could see the life starting to drain from her eyes. He gently lay his Aunt Mito down on the bed, holding her hand tightly. "Leave...continue on with your life" She continued, in a soft murmur. "I raised you as best as I could, keep on going" Her eyes started to close. Gon forced himself to stay strong, keeping the tears back. "I love you...Gon" Her hand went limp, and her breathing stopped. He dropped his head, and let the tears fall once more.

2099 Words

To be continued...