~Time skip: 2 weeks~

Makoto felt Haru and Chrollo staring at him with angry eyes. He couldn't even eat in peace without one of them trying to make him feel small. No matter what they tried telling him, he wasn't going to see Hisoka anymore. Just the sheer thought of him made him want to... Want to what? Hurt him? Belittle him? Make him feel like nothing? Completely worthless? The thoughts never really crossed his mind unless he was seriously thinking about it.

"Get together with Hisoka." Chrollo said.

"No." Makoto replied.

"Get together with Hisoka." Haru parroted.

"No." Makoto replied again.

"Then tell us why you hate him so much. What did he do at such a young age that you feel such intense hatred at the mere inkling of his presence?" Chrollo asked, getting tired of their stubbornness.

"You of all people should know, Chrollo. You've seen and remember the things he's done to me!" Makoto said in an annoyed tone.

"But I'm sure you instigated it." said Chrollo with a serious look. Makoto looked to Haru who looked serious as well. Were they ganging up on him? "We had a chat with Mr. Tsubasu. Seems like you two started having problems two months after Hisoka arrived."

"How does that make you so sure I instigated anything? Hisoka was a spoiled brat and was a menace to all of us. I just made sure he stayed in place." Makoto said with a disinterested shrug.

"Clearly you both know more than you let on, otherwise you wouldn't hate each other so much. I've kept quiet about it for this long, but I clearly remember you and a few others messing with Hisoka when he did nothing wrong." said Chrollo with determination.

He was going to drag the truth out no matter what. How deep their sins were, he himself didn't know, but for them to forever stay in the dark would only give birth to unnecessary violence in the future. He couldn't let that fester.

"I thought we came here to eat, not for an interrogation." said Makoto as he took cash out of his wallet then placed it on the table. "Don't ask or talk about him around me anymore. Or else I'll use violent means."

Haru looked at Chrollo who watched Makoto leave. He had grown better at hiding his feelings and playing dumb. It worried him.

"Now what do we do?" Haru asked as he finished off the rest of Makoto's food.

"Threats. If those don't work, then we'll try any means necessary." Chrollo said as his mind thought out plans.

"Does that include violence...?" asked Haru full of concern.

Chrollo kept silent as he had come up with an optimal plan. Haru quietly sighed then updated Shalnark about the situation. He wasn't having much luck on his side either. Their determination to stay away from the other was admirable.

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Hisoka yawned then checked the time. It was about time for them to head home. His coworkers were happy to see that his skills had gotten back on track, but it was obvious something was still bothering him underneath. They watched Hisoka leave then quickly collected his things so he couldn't leave.

"Should we really be doing this?" a coworker asked worriedly.

"His roommate will be taking the heat so it's fine." another said then heard the door open. "There he is."

Shalnark waved then sat in one of the seats. He conversed with his colleagues to get an understanding of how he was at work. For the most part, he understood Hisoka's work had been suffering but was steadily getting better. Makoto was obviously the reason.

"And he'd throw out random pieces of clothing without a reason! Do you know how many times we've had to fish out clothes?" one said with a shake of his head. "We don't know what's going on with him, but we want our old buddy back. We're willing to help in any way we can."

"Well, I know the root of the problem. It's more of getting them to open up and come to terms with things." said Shalnark with a shake of his head.

Hisoka entered the room and was surprised to see him there. His coworkers hid behind him as if he'd protect from whatever ill fate awaited them.

"Where's my stuff?" Hisoka asked in confusion.

"Hisoka, you have more important things to worry about. Like making up with Makoto." Shalnark said then ducked when a flat iron was thrown towards him. "You know you want to talk to him again."

"You do you want to die, Shalnark?" Hisoka asked with a murderous look.

"If it means getting you two to converse and straighten things out, yes. Yes I do." Shalnark said as he poked his chest. "Don't you want to know why he bullied you?"

That sentence had caught Hisoka off guard. Would he finally learn the reason why the spoiled brat Makoto had picked on him when he didn't do a single thing to anyone? No, it didn't matter why. No reason in the world could justify what Makoto did to him.

"It doesn't matter. No reason in this entire world could justify what that asshole did. I nearly died because of him!" Hisoka said in a raised voice. "Put yourself in my shoes for once and see that it's not as black and white as you fucking dumbass busybodies think!"

They all flinched at the slamming of the door. His colleagues looked at Shalnark who ruffled his hair as he used his phone.

"Do you guys mind handing over his things? I'm also sorry that you had to witness that. Hopefully it'll give you a bit of an understanding of what's going on with him." said Shalnark before hurrying after Hisoka.

Shalnark quietly followed behind him as they walked towards the train station. Should he continue to press or wait until they got home? Knowing Hisoka, he was probably still upset.

Hisoka stopped by the curb then pulled Shalnark back as he almost walked out and got hit. Shalnark looked at him then hid his phone.

"Who are you texting that you couldn't see that the light was green? Your girlfriend?" Hisoka asked, concerned.

"Yep. Forgive me, she's such a demanding woman. She's great in bed though." lied Shalnark as he told them Hisoka's attention was on him.

"Really? How come I've never heard of her until now? Tell me everything." Hisoka said with a smile.

Shalnark knew that smile anywhere. It was his knowing smile. He knew he was lying. He just wanted to see how much he could keep up with the lie. He sighed heavily then shrugged as they crossed the street.

"You got me. I was texting my dad. He wanted to see when I could come home for a family dinner." lied Shalnark, hoping Hisoka would buy it.

"Hm, well, let me know when you decide to leave." Hisoka said and ceased asking questions.

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Makoto peeked outside his door and wondered where his best friends ran off to. He had tried calling, but neither were answering. As much as he didn't want to, asking Hisoka was his only option. He'd know where Chrollo was. It was a matter of whether he'd tell him or not.

"Don't call me again. I should've blocked your fucking number." Hisoka spat as he played solitaire.

"Look, I didn't want to call, but I was worried about Chrollo since he wasn't answering my texts or calls. You care about him just as much as I do, so I figured you'd might have a lead." Makoto said as he looked at the star, tear drop and eyes he sketched long ago.

"Funny of you to believe I'd tell you. But I don't know either. My roommate disappeared as well after we got home." said Hisoka before hanging up.

Haru was missing as well. Were they secretly meeting up? But why secretly? He shook his head then sighed. He was letting himself overthink. They had no reason to really meet other than to just hang out. He felt hurt.

"They're hanging out without me... Why..." Makoto muttered as he stopped writing. "Why not invite me...?"

It had been weeks since before they hung out earlier in the afternoon. Both were apparently "too busy" but could make time to see Shalnark. He shook his head again. Who was to say they were meeting Shalnark? Even then the wound was still there. His two best friends were leaving him out. Was this their plan? Continuously leave him out and ostracize him?

He wasn't going to fall for it. He wasn't that weak willed. What he did need to do as of then was keep Hisoka silent about the call he made to him. He certainly wouldn't hear the end of it if any caught wind of it. He was hesitant to call him so he opted for a text that was left on delivered. He expected that much.