As per Violet's established pre-fight ritual, she stopped by one of the cafés within Heaven's Arena's most visited amenity floor. The prices might have been high, but the coffee house drew her in with a distinct brew and a range of sweet drinks. Strolling through the local park with her desired liquid always helped calm her pre-fight jitters.

Violet stood by the milk and sugar bar, adding excessive cream to her coffee. Although she loved a sweet strawberry smoothie, particularly with extra whipped cream, she opted for coffee instead. Her bout was later that evening, and she hoped the warm brew would aid more than boundless levels of sugar.

In the process of re-attaching the lid to the disposable mug, Violet turned and collided hard with someone moving in the opposite direction. The impact sent the unlucky soul flying backwards and forced Violet to step in the opposite direction to stay upright. Brown, steaming liquid flew into the air as she clamped down, nearly breaking the paper cup and denting it. The coffee landed across the front of her shirt, and heat sizzled along her skin that couldn't escape the drenching of her clothing. 

A sharp gasp escaped her mouth as she bent forward and pulled the cotton fabric outwards, away from her skin, lessening heat damage. She remained motionless with her mouth agape and eyes widened. 

"Oww..." Violet slowly cringed before looking around to see who had hit her. When she spotted a young boy with black spikey hair sitting on the floor, she immediately asked, "Are you alright?"

The coffee began a steady dripping stream off her shirt onto the tile floor when the boy's brown eyes took in the scene. He inhaled sharply in shock. His innocent and apologetic face was straightforward and honest. He wore a striking green jacket that matched his green shorts. He paired his outfit with green, sturdy hiking boots and a backpack, which carried a fishing pole. The outfit left her with little doubt about his favourite colour. 

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?! I'm sorry about your coffee! Oh! Your clothes! Are you burnt?" he exclaimed. The continued fretting and questioning from the unknown child with an energy level far beyond what Violet was prepared to handle.

"Whoa, whoa! Settle down! It's fine. It's just a spilt drink."

Violet offered him a small, soft smile and disposed of her cup before picking up napkins to clean herself. After wiping the fabric several times, she deemed it a lost cause and then knelt to clear what she could off the floor. Noticing her actions, the black-haired youth joined the effort. Her skin was already cooled where the liquid hit her, leaving no permanent effects.

"You're such an airhead, Gon!" a voice chastised. A white-haired boy approached them and leaned over with his hands in his purple jean's pockets. His long-sleeved cotton black shirt fabric scrunched at the wrists where the hands disappeared into the pockets.  "You have to be more aware of your surroundings!"

Violet smirked. "It's fine. The same lesson could be said of myself. I was mentally preparing for my next fight and not paying close enough attention. You're sure none got on you, Gon?" she asked and turned to him to be sure.

Gon smiled sweetly. "Yes. I'm fine. How did you know my name?"

"Oh. Well." Violet pointed at the white-haired boy. "He just said it, but I'm a fighter here, too, and I've seen how well you two have done since arriving."

After watching their ascent, Violet was glad she was ahead of Gon and Killua, so she didn't have to fight them. They seemed nice enough but also strong. Beating on a child wasn't her idea of a good fight, but it would be inevitable if they were matched later on. Watching them both, it was clear they didn't have Nen by the way aura escaped their bodies, as it did everyone who lacked the training to control it. However, their strength indicated they would be within the ten percent of the population that could easily learn to utilise the skill, in her opinion.

The blue-eyed Killua gave her a suspicious look and asked, "Are you stalking us, lady? Real classy."

Violet couldn't help but laugh at the cruel statement. It didn't match his cute features; maybe it would be more effective when he was older. "No, not at all. Only certain individuals have enough time to devote to stalking. I am not one of them, I assure you."

The three moved over as a staff member came over to help clean the remainder of the spilt drink. She gave a small nod of thanks since Violet and Gon had dealt with the worst of the mess. They walked up to the ordering counter to enter the queue.

"What floor is your fight on now?" Gon asked with genuine interest.

"I'm on the one hundred and fiftieth tonight. It starts in two hours. Mine aren't usually very exciting," Violet stated and continued, "Yours tend to draw a far bigger crowd due to your age and clear strength. I'm just here to get a bit of money to hire a professional hunter for some intel searching."

"We only just started a few weeks ago, but it's been a breeze," Killua stated with bored confidence.

"I see." She smiled at them. "Well, it might be quite easy, but good luck on your upcoming fights all the same."

Gon turned to Violet and asked, "What was your drink? I'll replace it...?"

She blinked a few times at the pause in his speech. "Oh, I'm Violet. Nice to meet you both, officially. You don't have to replace it. I just had a dark roast coffee. It's no trouble".

"Ah, let him. He's the clutz that spilt it. It's the least the idiot can do. I'm Killua, but I guess a stalker, like you, already knew that," he answered for Gon. Violet grinned at the snarky attitude while Gon gave him an embarrassed glare with rosy cheeks.

They walked into the lobby once she received her new drink and added the necessary, outrageous amount of cream.

"Well, I'm going to walk through the park, but I'll need to change my shirt first. It was nice meeting you both." A kind smile graced her lips as she departed.

"Violet! Good luck with your fight! We'll be watching and cheering you on," called Gon. 

Both Gon and Killua were smiling and nodding. She gave them a thankful nod before taking her leave. 

---

Black leggings hugged her skin with comfortable tautness, matching the slight shine of her bouncing leather, shin-high boots. The zippers on the side of the boots jumped in time with her bouncing leg movements where she sat in the locker room waiting to be called. Twenty minutes remained until the fight started. Hisoka's gifted tunic shirt embraced her form from just below the hips to the shoulders. The only article left to her after the unfortunate coffee accident a few hours ago, but she remained focused on the looming bout as every match from that evening forward promised far greater a challenge.

Once the time came, Violet rose to step along the short hallway for fighters to appear in the square tiled ring. While entering the arena, she took clear note of the vast increase in showmanship. Many screaming fans surrounded only one fighting platform.

The seats weren't full, but that was typical for Violet's fights. Keeping a low profile, she fought without abilities to quietly earn money and stalk her way into the higher-earning floors. Occasionally, she utilised flow visualisation to see the energy dots indicating a fighter's hits ahead of their movements, allowing her to avoid the strikes. However, the goal had been building her physical body and stamina. She hoped that avoiding power crutches, like Nen, would aid that purpose. A strong foundation would be key if she ever opted to develop her other skills more.

Violet preferred the lack of attention. It kept her off others' radar while achieving her goals, which would be necessary for her quest to find a way home. Hiding would prove impossible moving forward. All fighters from floor one hundred and fifty up received marketing from Heaven's Arena, and fights were often televised.

High in the tempered glass room, the announcer, a peppy red-haired woman named Kokko, screamed into her microphone to pump up the audience. Violet faced the opponent and referee as introductions were bellowed through the air. She kept her standard cold, calculating expression, signalling readiness to begin and win.

"You may not have spent time watching much of this amazing lady's battle to the top! Let me introduce Violet James. She's made quite a blast through Heaven's Arena in her slow ascent to the top," called Kokko. "But, don't let the speed fool you! She hasn't lost a single match. How will she do tonight?!"

The opponent facing Violet was a muscular, tall man standing half a head shorter than Hisoka. His long black hair was bound tight into a short ponytail, contrasting the high, loose bun enclosed in a wrapped braid of Violet's unruly hair. She tensed her muscles and furrowed her brows, taking in the latest victim. His square jaw matched the rest of his muscular build, but coldness overpowered the warm chestnut brown of his eyes. It wasn't the fact he towered over her but his aura and expression that put her on edge. Something deep within screamed for extreme caution. Violet's skin prickled in warning.  

"And she has her work cut out for her as she goes up against the well-established Toyama Kundo! Toyama has been to Heaven's Arena before! As a youth, he conquered all but the one hundred and ninetieth floor. The last one before reaching floor two hundred!" Kokko screamed with far more exhileration at Toyama's introduction. It wasn't necessarily that she disliked Violet, but she seemed to hold a sweet spot for a returning fighter. "And Toyama has never lost a fight here, even in his youth! He bowed out to help run the family Dojo. But he returned only three weeks ago and is taking the fighting floors by storm!"

Darkness saturated Toyama's features, from his twitching biceps to the long scar running along his forehead to the angle of his jaw on the right side of his face. Violet had no issue placing the expression, being no stranger to disrespect from male colleagues at this stage in her life. It was a normal uphill battle while working as a demon huntress. However, there was a genuine hatred and something else rippling off this man. 

Violet learned long ago that chauvinistic people responded in one of two ways. One, they would not take her seriously, assuming weakness, or two, they would fight harder than ever to cream her into the ground and ensure she knew her place was with the dirt on their boots. It was the latter option that made her take these people very seriously.

In that instant, Violet planned to use her innate skills and not take any risks. Innate skills over Nen was an obvious choice. She had been nothing short of neglectful of her Nen skills and wouldn't rely on them.

"Fight!"

The referee called the start, and, like a crazed hound that had been starved for a month, Toyama was on top of Violet faster than she could react. As he lunged at her like a freight train, her eyes widened with realisation.

He has Nen!

The fury-filled fighter was not pulling his punches and was assuredly out to kill the stain in his wake, Violet. If his expression before hadn't made that apparent, it was crystal clear when he released his Ren.

Violet jumped back, narrowly avoiding his skilled kicks and punches. He stopped his Ren-Bloodlust, which gave Violet a short moment to catch her breath and composure.

He doesn't think I have Nen, and he wants me to come close enough to kill. If he keeps up the bloodlust, I'll keep running. He's not unintelligent, then. He has a strategy.

In Violet's rush to flee and see the oncoming threat, she used Ten and Gyo for a split second. Unable to access her innate skills for a time after using Nen, she cursed under her breath at the mistake. Nen usage or definite death were the only options open to her. And so, she entered her first-ever Nen fight entirely unprepared.

I really regret not being more balanced in my training now. Shit.

They circled each other and considered their next manoeuvre. The soot-haired man created a powerful barrier around his body. Violet recalled Hisoka mentioning there were more powerful techniques than what she used, but she couldn't remember the names. She knew his attacks were no joke. 

"One point to Toyama," screamed the referee. 

Blood dripped down her left cheek from the graze received upon avoiding his Nen-infused punch—a battle wound received without the slightest skin contact. She considered the residual power blast from the Nen that gave her the wound while wiping the blood away with the back of her hand. The crowd cheered, and some of the unkind insults about how Toyama should beat her to the ground and send her back to the kitchen reached her ears. She didn't have time to dwell on people acting like morons under the influence of adrenaline and blocked them out. 

Settle down! Fear will not help you win—it will give him the win. You are not without experience. Focus Violet!

It bothered her that Toyama regarded her as so weak that it slipped his notice she had Nen. He was more than ready to kill an opponent that had no defence against him. However, this was perfect for her stealth style of fighting. If she fought smart, she might best him yet. 

I need to gauge his strength first. Take away some of the unknown.

They charged one another simultaneously. Violet's aggressive movements threw the muscled monster off for a split second, but that was all she needed. As he punched down with his right arm, she out-manoeuvred him. Jumping on top of his right arm, she forced it down further, but he never lost balance. This was as expected, given his skill, and worked with her plan.

Violet lept off his right arm, using it as a launching pad, and landed a mid-air roundhouse kick to the right side of his scarred head. She immediately spun back, using the force to land a second kick to the front of his face. 

"Toyama is having trouble keeping pace with Violet now! Two kicks to the face! She's all over the place. I can hardly keep up! Can he withstand her agility?!?" Kokko screamed. 

Toyama focused too much aura on the wrong places, making other areas easy targets. She landed on top of his left arm without losing a second, throwing it off the attack path. Springing from the forelimb, she landed in front of him, standing between his arms and spun to the left. Toyama started to stumble from the unexpected weight bouncing all over his body in seconds as she used his body as a personal trampoline.

Violet spun around, using her right arm to steady herself against the floor and landed a solid kick to her victim's right arm in just the right, aura-free location. The satisfying snap of broken bone echoed triumphantly through the near-silent air. The crowd was quiet in stunned shock. 

"Did she break his arm!? What a devastating assault!" Coco announced, and it sent a roar of excitement rippling through the on-lookers. 

No matter how strong the opponent, there are always weak points. The more strength people put into specific areas, the more vulnerable the weak points. 

It was normal human anatomy that Violet had well-trained knowledge of, and she took full advantage of it in a fight. Quickly, she sprang back to put a decent distance between herself and the infuriated Toyama. Sweat and gritting teeth were the only indications of pain he would allow to surface. She had yet to use any Nen while taking advantage of his poor control of his own. 

Violet knew Nen would be necessary soon. She was well aware she was very much pushing her luck.