"I'm here to train. The forest helps calm the mind and makes meditation easier, that's what the internet says, anyway. It seems to work, so I don't bother questioning it." I joke with him in an attempt to lower his guard. He probably doesn't see me as a threat anyway, but you can never be too safe.

"Really? I don't think it does anything, It's more of a waste of time than anything else." He doesn't show it, but I think he's judging me silently. He'll think differently once he discovers Nen. Most of its earlier practices are just a variant of meditation. I know that won't be for a while though.

"To each his own, but don't knock it until you try it. It has more benefits than you know." I might be foreshadowing a little too hard with that but he doesn't know that.

"Whatever you say, but I still think you're wasting your time."

"What are you doing here, anyway? This place is somewhat far from the main road, and you don't look older than eleven or twelve." I think his birthday is in July, and since this is one year before the hunter exam, where he was twelve, he should be eleven.

His twelfth birthday shouldn't be for another couple of months since it's May right now... I can't believe that I've spent five months in the system now. I only have another seven or eight months until the Hunter exam. I need to train harder. I don't think I'll be able to open the Testing Gate if I don't try harder. My vest is only seventy kilograms... Wow. I never thought I would say something like that. Only seventy kilograms... that's a lot more than most can wear. It almost doubles my body weight. No, that's beside the point.

The point is, why is Killua here in the forest with me? The plot doesn't start for another eight months, so he hasn't run away yet... Is he on the Job? If so, who is he here to kill?

"I got bored, so I wanted to look for something entertaining. Tell me, are you entertaining?" Entertaining? Not what I was expecting, but ok. I can work with this. This could be my shot at becoming his friend.

"Sure. I can be as entertaining as the next guy. Do you want me to do anything specific? I'm pretty good at rock-paper-scissors. I'm decent at sports, though I doubt there's any kind of court or playing field around here. Say, I think there are some board games at the cabin, do you want to come over there with me?" It's not like I could hurt him even if I wanted to, so I don't think he views me as any kind of threat.

"Sure, it's not like I have anything better to do. Just don't get any ideas. Keep in mind that I could kill you before you could blink. Anyway, my name is Killua Zoldyck. What's your name?" ... ok. I didn't expect the threat but ok. It's not like he's telling me anything new. He's just reinforcing something I already knew.

"My name's Drake Aurum, and I wouldn't dream of it, Killusan, I'm not a creep or something. Let's hurry. The cabin isn't that far from here."

***

We spent about five minutes walking towards the cabin before arriving. After walking into the cabin I looked around to see Zebro sitting in his chair drinking coffee with a newspaper in hand. His s.h.i.+ft is going to start in a few hours, so I suppose the coffee makes sense.

"Zebro-Sensei, I'm back."

"Welcome back Drake, you're finally finished meditating?"

"Yep. I brought someone with me. I hope you don't mind." As I said this, Killua walked past me into the room. I could see the look of shock on Zebro's face. He probably never thought that I would bring someone back to the cabin with me, let alone with someone from the Zoldyck family.

"Hey, Zebro-san. I hope you don't mind me dropping by but I got bored."

"Of course, young master Killua. You can come over whenever you want. Do your parents or Gotoh know you left the mansion?" I honestly forgot about the butlers... I guess I've been too focused on the later parts of the anime.

"No, I just left. You can call them for me later, right? I'll go back before they even notice I'm gone, anyway." In response to this Zebro simply smiled at Killua.

"Of course, young master. I will call them right away. Please excuse me for a moment." After saying this, Zebro turned walked towards me. "Drake-san, a moment, please."

"Sure." I followed him into another room, where the phone was.

"Drake-san, do you know who that is?" Here we go, I'm not really in the mood for a lecture...

"Yes, he's Killua Zoldyck, a member of the Zoldyck family of a.s.sa.s.sins. It's the reason I brought him here instead of leaving him in the forest where he found me. Why do you ask?" He's probably just worried for me, but I know what I'm doing. I'm not just some kid, I'm sixteen. I have a System, it's not like Killua could do any permanent damage that the System can't fix.

"I ask because I care for you, Drake. I don't have any family, you're like the grandson I never had. I don't want you to get hurt, not after me caring after you for all these months. I was already worried about you when we first met, but now I'm even more worried." ... I wish he wasn't so caring... It makes this harder for me. I really do like him, and I feel bad about making him worry. Once I'm done here, I probably won't ever see him again.

That single fact makes me feel even worse. I've spent the past several months with him but I know this won't last.

"Don't worry, he's just here for fun. He won't do anything to me, and I don't plan on doing anything to him. Worst case, he leaves bored and dislikes me. Best case, he leaves satisfied and the two of us become friends."

"If you say so, Drake. Just remember, be careful. Killua isn't in a good place right now. He doesn't have any friends, so this is very important to him." I know how bad it is for him. He's never truly happy until he meets Gon, so I don't expect him to be as comfortable as later in the anime.

"I'm always careful, Zebro-Sensei. Don't worry. The two of us will have a good time, so just call the butlers and tell them that Killua is over here for now."

"Ok, Drake-san. I want you both to be happy. You both mean a lot to me. You both are like family." Killua means a lot to him. I suppose the anime does show how much he cares as well.