(A/N: Here's chapter eight! Sorry it took me a bit longer than expected. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! It's about to get angsty up in here! If you couldn't tell by the picture above... But eyyy let's get to da stuffs! Hobey-ho, let's go!)

~~THE NEXT MORNING~~

Killua lay in bed after a pretty terrible night's sleep. Every time he would actually drift off, Y/N was the last thought before sleep would take him, and the first thought after reawakening for the umpteenth time. He lost track of how long the sun had been up now, and abandoned any tries to rest any longer. He just felt so much guilt and so much determination to set things right. He figured the others might be up by now, but he made no attempt to join them downstairs. He decided to use these hours alone to try to think of a way to make it up to Y/N, and secretly, he didn't think he was ready to face her just yet. The sun was then fully illuminating the outdoor sky as well as the space within his room while an idea had presented itself to Killua.

'I could try to bake her her favorite cake, f/c (favorite cake) usually cheers her up...' he thought but quickly dismissed it as a stupid idea.

'Then what? Write in icing, "sorry for almost raping you! Kisses!"?' he audibly groaned in frustration following the thought and also figured he'd probably just ruin the baking of cake as well.

He really didn't want to mess things up further. He groggily lifted himself out of bed, giving up on trying to think up any more idiotic ideas, settling on just trying an old fashioned apology. He gathered some clothes to change into before he cautiously creaked his door open to make his way toward the bathroom. The first thing he noticed was that Gon's guest room door was wide open. He froze before daring to take a peek in, to see if Gon and Y/N were still asleep inside. The sight that greeted him was a neatly made bed, with no one occupying it or the room itself. He continued on, and felt his heart race while coming closer to Y/N's room. Though he was pretty sure she wouldn't be in there, just the thought of facing her after last night had him terribly nervous.

Noticing her door, too, was ajar, he straightened his pose and hazarded a quick look into the room. His assumption was confirmed, there was no one inside. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He resumed his short journey to the bathroom.

'I have to talk to her. As worried as I am about her reaction, I need to at least try to get her to hear me out.' he thought before turning the knob for the shower.

After finishing his morning routine, Killua made his way down the stairs. Upon entering the living room, his eyes darted around in search of Y/N, but she was the only one not in the room. An aroma of bacon soon hit him, and gave him a sense of relief, knowing that Y/N was just busy preparing breakfast, and most likely not avoiding him on purpose. He took a seat alone on the two-seater couch, while Kurapika eyed him from his spot on the three-seater with Gon. Killua didn't notice the blond boy staring, as his own eyes were occupied by the floor in front of him, while his mind filled with various scenarios of how his apology would go over.

Kurapika noticed the solemn and far away expression on Killua's face, making him again curious of what might've occurred the previous night. He was certain whatever happened had something to do with Killua's reserved attitude that morning. While Killua was trying to form coherent words in his mind together to assemble a decent apology, Y/N entered the room to announce that breakfast was ready. Just as soon as she was there, she was gone again, leaving the room quickly after her eyes settled on Killua. Her sudden appearance left Killua a bit flustered, but he found the will to leave his seat and drag himself to the dining room to eat with the others.

Kurapika noticed a sad awkwardness at the table. Even Gon did. The cheerful boy wondered what the cause of the change was. Just last night, Y/N and Killua were being super affectionate and seemed happy. He didn't question Y/N when she asked him if she could stay in his room, he hadn't really given it any thought. But now he was worried that whatever made her want to stay in his room instead of her own room with Killua was what disrupted the couple's usual demeanor. Gon frowned at the eggs on the plate, dismayed that two of his friends might be upset at each other.

There wasn't much conversation at the table at all, with Y/N and Killua not saying anything, and occupying themselves with consuming what was on the plates in front of them. Gon noticed their behavior and was feeling sad about it, Kurapika just observing with worry, and Leorio just enjoyed the meal, not really bothered by the lack of interacting. Y/N gathered the plates to wash as usual, and Killua was counting on that. Knowing that might be the only chance to talk with her alone, he reluctantly followed her from the dining room to the kitchen sink.

Y/N felt a presence following her and assumed it would be Killua, so she tried to busy herself by repeatedly adjusting the temperature for the water that was filling the sink. She really wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him at that moment, and hoped he would remove himself on his own, giving her time to perfect her response.
He stood there a good few moments without a word, causing an uncomfortable tension to build around her with each passing moment.

Kurapika was headed down the hall to the office to pick out a new book when he overheard something he hadn't meant to from the kitchen. He froze by the wall connected to the doorway of the kitchen after hearing Y/N's voice interrupt whatever Killua had wanted to say...

Killua was still trying to think of the right words, but his hesitating put Y/N on edge. When he finally decided to start to speak, he could barely get a few words out before Y/N cut him off. She wanted the suffocating tension to come to an end so she quickly decided to be honest about how she felt at the moment.

"I just..." she started, interrupting Killua mid-sentence and causing him a reaction of worry and surprise, but he remained silent as he waited for her to continue.

"I just don't feel... Safe... Around you." she concluded.

She finally turned around to face him. Inside, Killua felt like his world had crumbled, realizing he had lost Y/N's trust. She couldn't stand to see the sad look on him, but also didn't want to take back what she said because even if it was only for that particular moment, she had meant it. She quickly decided she'd leave the dishes for later, and quickly made her leave past Killua and out of the kitchen.

Kurapika quickly ducked into the darkness of the downstairs bathroom just as Y/N hurried by. After watching her make her ascent up the stairs, he stood back into the hall and carefully peeked into the kitchen. Before him was a sight he'd never seen before. Standing alone in the middle of the kitchen was Killua, two distinct rivers of tears endlessly flooding his cheeks before falling to the ground. Killua numbly stared at the space in the room Y/N occupied while she uttered that Earth-shattering sentence.

'She doesn't feel safe with me anymore...' Killua replayed that thought in his mind again and again, during his chosen solitude in the kitchen.

Kurapika went on to leave Killua to his thoughts, continuing on to the office, but abandoning his original quest of acquiring a new book. After securely shutting the office door behind him, Kurapika was plagued with one thought:
'What on Earth happened last night??'

~~UPSTAIRS~~

Kurapika was on his way to Y/N's room, concerned about both of his friends being upset. He was sure Killua wouldn't want anyone to see him in that state, so Kurapika decided to check on Y/N. Hearing her suddenly admit that she didn't feel safe around her boyfriend had Kurapika assuming that she must be just as hurt as Killua. However, he still had no idea why.

Kurapika walked up to the slightly cracked open door at the end of the hall and gave it a light knock. Y/N had been crying tears of her own but didn't allow anyone to see. She did a rush job of wiping them away, hoping that it wasn't Killua on the other side of the door. She beckoned for the visitor to enter and visibly relaxed upon seeing that it was Kurapika. Though she tried to get rid of the evidence, she couldn't wipe away the tinted-red whites of her eyes and slightly puffed eyelids, and it didn't go unnoticed by Kurapika.

"Hey Kurapika, what's up?" she asked, trying to put some strength behind her tone to hide the sadness.

It was a failed attempt, Kurapika could hear the pain and just wanted her to feel better.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurapika asked, openly revealing that he could tell she was upset about something.

Y/N opened her mouth to say, but then decided against it, and simply shook her head and looked down. She didn't even notice when Kurapika rushed over the her bed where she was sitting, lost in her thoughts and emotions while staring at the blankets beneath her. She only noticed him there after he quickly and suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. She didn't try to hold back anymore and began to weep into his tabard while Kurapika held the embrace, allowing her to let her emotions out.

Killua was on his way to barricade himself in his room for the rest of the day, not feeling like facing anyone. But he still cared about Y/N a lot and wanted to peek in on her just to ensure she was okay, since she hurried off away from him. Part of him wanted her to be okay, but part of him didn't, he didn't want her to ever be upset, but it would break his heart further if she was just fine after that. It would kind of confirm that she no longer cared about him. He proceeded down the hall, as stealthy as assassins are known to be, careful for her not to see him, in case that would upset her further. He wasn't prepared for what he saw when he peered in.

Standing there was Kurapika with his back to him, with Y/N wrapped tightly in his arms, and her arms holding him back just as intensely. Killua couldn't feel any more defeated, there wasn't any more fight left within him. He stared for a couple more seconds before turning away but remaining in the hall.

'Alright, Kurapika. Just treat her better than I did.' he thought before making his way to his own guest room.

After quietly closing the door behind him, he made his decision. Soon, and very soon, he'd be leaving.

He locked the door to ensure no one would disturb him while making up the plans in his mind for a successful escape.

After about an hour, he decided to work on setting his plans in motion. He exited his room and snuck down the stairs without making a single sound, and quietly exited out the front door. He conjured up a map of the town in his mind, of everything he remembered passing. With saddened determination, he began on his long walk to the department store he remembered seeing. They should have what he needed.

Upon arriving, he realized it was a pretty large store, way larger inside than it appeared to be outside of it. He made it appear as if he knew where he was going and what he wanted inside, as he didn't feel like being assisted by any of the workers. After some walking around, he found the men's department and it didn't take him long to find the items he required. He selected a black-as-night beanie hat, large sunglasses, and a bottle of the cheapest brand of cologne they had available. After purchasing his items, he put his shopping bag in his backpack and made his journey back to Leorio's house. During the trip, he decided it'd be tonight. Tonight was the night he'd make his leave from here. From this town. From Y/N.

Upon arriving, he snuck back in with as much ease as his did out, and began packing his belongings when he got back to his guest room. He spent the rest of the day in solitude, and pretended to be asleep when Gon went to retrieve him for dinner.

Y/N hadn't seen Killua the whole rest of the day. She didn't really want to see him, but she really hoped he was okay. With each passing hour of the day with no appearances from him, she felt more and more guilty about her previous words to him. She had sent Gon to get Killua to come down for dinner, and when Gon returned with the news that he was sleeping, she felt a weight remove itself from her shoulders. She tried to push Killua away from her mind, while assessing that he was alright, while there was a lively chat occurring during this meal unlike the last one.

After everyone ate, and later everyone headed to sleep, Y/N passed Killua's room on the way to her own, seeing the door shut, as it had been all day. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry, but figured she'd just continue on to her room. Killua probably wouldn't want to be disturbed.

Meanwhile, Killua was wide awake on the other side of the shut door. He was watching the clock and listening out for the sounds of footsteps indicating everyone retiring to their own rooms to sleep. Around 2 A.M., Killua decided it was time. He grabbed the bag full of his belongings, zipped up a long hoodie with deep pockets, put his sunglasses in one of them, and put on the new beanie hat. He had gotten the beanie to hide his bright white hair, as it was pretty distinguishable and he didn't want to be recognized. Same with the sunglasses, but for during the day, to hide his facial features, though he retired them to his pockets because it was nighttime and wearing sunglasses at night could draw unwanted attention to him. Lastly, he bought the cologne to mask his scent from Gon, remembering how Gon tracked down Leorio just by his aftershave. He would put on the cologne after he was far away from here, for if he put it on now, the scent would be here in the house and Gon would have a scent to track. He really didn't want to be found.

After equipping himself with his backpack and beanie disguise, he decided he would give everyone a silent goodbye.

First, he opened the closest door to his room, and peeked in on Leorio.

'I hate to say it, but I'll kinda miss you, old man.' he thought before closing the door to move on to the next farewell.

He slightly opened Gon's door to see his best friend peacefully sleeping on the bed.

'Hopefully, I'll see you again one day, Gon. Sleep well.' he thought before shutting the door to head to Y/N's room.

His mind drew a blank, he couldn't think of anything at all to send himself away from her with. That motivated him more than ever to hurry up and get out of her hair.

Before heading out, he finally stopped to look in on Kurapika.

He opened the door a crack, and light from the hallway gleamed in and rested on the sleeping blond. Killua let out a sigh.

'You better take care of her and protect her, Kurapika. She deserves that.' he thought before making his way back to his guest room to prepare his departure.

He exited out the window and ran off into the night.

Tiredness began to creep upon him. After feeling far enough away, he took refuge in a small patch of woods way outside the town. He retrieved the bottle of cologne from his bag and doused himself in it before heading to sleep.

(A/N: Aaaand that's the end of the chapter, guys! Sorry it's kinda sad... But maybe it'll get happy again! Who knows? Me... Author-san knows... HeheheheheheMUAHAHA! Anywhoozles, feel free to vote, comment, share, follow, or PM if you want! Enjoy your week! Evil author-san out! - Boazkoolrean1)