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[flaredo]

"Heeey, you've reached Yang! Well, actually, you didn't reach far enough, 'cause I'm not here right now! But don't yang up! Just leave a message on this baby, and I'll get back to you soon enough, okay?"

[ Please specify VOICEMAIL, TEXT or CALL. ]

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[dielectrics]

I'm fine!

[ He totally is. One hundred percent! Zoldycks don't do things like have sad emotions about their best friends up and disappearing. ]

I'm not the one who's back into pieces or whatever it is.

[ He says, still thrashing. Although maybe, possibly, not quite as hard as he could. ]

[flaredo]

You're not. [ And her eyes narrow, flashing red, even as she agrees. ] So what? Does that make it any easier? A guy who didn't have some kind of issue with his friend just up and vanishing wouldn't call me, would he? So-- if you're going to be a stubborn idiot--

[ A squeeze. ]

Then so will I. I've got all night.

[dielectrics]

[ He struggles for another minute— but he doesn't want to hurt her, and he's pretty sure that's what it would take to get her to let go. With a sullen sort of compliance, he goes still, stiff and very much enduring the hug. ]

I don't get you at all. You're so annoying, all I wanted was to know if that kind of thing happened.

[flaredo]

You're not honest with yourself. So annoying or not, you're stuck with me for awhile.

[ even if hugging him is like hugging a very surly cat. ]

[dielectrics]

Just because I'm not telling you doesn't mean I'm lying to myself!

[ He is the surliest cat. At least he hasn't gotten out his actual claws yet. But after a moment, he wriggles, trying to at least extract his head enough to look up at her. ]

Can we at least go inside before someone sees?

[flaredo]

[ ... Teenage boys. But Yang sighs, freeing up a hand to reach for the door knob. ]

Okay, okay, let's go preserve your dignity.

[dielectrics]

[ He may have to do an awkward shuffle since she's not letting go, but at least eventually, they're inside and away from awful prying eyes. He kicks the door shut behind him. And asks, hopefully: ]

Now will you let me go?

[flaredo]

If you hug me back, sure.

[ see, she's reasonable. ]

[dielectrics]

[ There is absolutely nothing reasonable about that, and Killua bristles all over again at the suggestion. ]

Not a chance.

[ It's one thing to be forced to endure a hug. Giving one is the final level of this social link. ]

[flaredo]

So you're a former assassin and you can't handle hugging a girl.

... Well, I guess we all have weird fears.

[dielectrics]

I'm not afraid of you, I just don't like it.

[ He squirms, but alas, there's still no escape and after a moment, he settles down. ]

...hey, you said you know other people who've disappeared, right?

[ His voice is low and carefully, painfully casual. ]

[flaredo]

Yeah. [ this, she says pretty much immediately, and she'll maneuver them to the ground, so she can press her back against something solid. ] What about it?

[dielectrics]

What do you think happens to them? [ He pauses for a beat. Swallows. ] Do they know they're... [ broken, lost, any number of words. ] gone?

[flaredo]

I can't say for sure, but I doubt it. [ Yang also pauses before she moves a hand to rest it on his head, keeping the other arm around him. ] Maybe it's like how we don't remember anything about our worlds apparently being destroyed. Like you're asleep.

[dielectrics]

That'd be— good.

[ He doesn't relax, not exactly, but he doesn't make any move to shove off her hand, either.

It's better to think that Gon doesn't know what's happened to him. That he's not drifting somewhere in a stream of data, alone and helpless and conscious of it all. ]

Has anyone found something we can do to get them back?

[flaredo]

If they did, trust me, I'd be all over it.

... But I'll see if I can find out anything about your friend. [ might as well start investigating more thoroughly. ]

[dielectrics]

I don't need you to go do all the work for me.

[ There's not nearly as much heat in his voice as there usually would be, but still, the tsun is strong with this one. He can't help but bristle a little. ]

[flaredo]

Then help me. I was going to check into it, anyway.

[dielectrics]

Fine, I guess. I was gonna do it on my own even without your help.

[ Because clearly she's helping him, not the other way around. ]

CERES is the obvious place to start. It shouldn't be too hard to sneak in.

[flaredo]

How are you with computers? With all the glitch and code talk, that's probably where most of the information is.

[dielectrics]

I can use them, but I'm not nearly as good as my brother. Or as gross, though.

[ There's a beat. Then, he asks, probably in vain again. ]

Seriously, though, will you let me go now?

[ He's tolerated the hugging for like five whole minutes, isn't that enough?? ]

[flaredo]

[ "Gross"... huh. Yang allows a dubious noise to escape, but then she shakes her head. ]

In a minute. I'll be here for awhile, anyway.

[dielectrics]

[ Yang is fortunate; she hasn't seen Milluki's collection of moe moe waifu figures. Killua had to live knowing those things were in the same house with him every day. ]

You can stay, just quit it already. I'm not gonna fall apart if you let go. I feel stupid talking about this stuff while we're standing like this.

[flaredo]

That's because you're too easily embarrassed.

[ but she does release him, with one last defiant hair ruffle. ]

[dielectrics]

[ FREEDOM. He immediately retreats to one of the beds and takes a seat on it, putting distance between them. ]

It is not, it's because you're doing stupid things. Anyway, we could definitely use someone who's good with computers. What about someone who's already working for CERES?