Thank you for choosing Win His Heart. Quick note that this book is rated mature due to swearing, gore, and other dark topics. If you are not comfortable with those themes, click off this book. Also, I will add music to most chapters so you can listen to music that compliments the vibe of the chapter. Thank you and please enjoy.

~

     The smell of fresh pine fills the room and the ceiling fan gives out a soothing hum. The evening sun peeks in through the window just right and the birds sing beautifully from the tree branches. A soft breeze comes in through the open window and lifts the white curtain like a strip of silk. Today, the stack of papers in front of me was lower than usual. The ink pen in my hands was brand new, so no more struggling to finish a line without the ink fading out.

     Everything was peaceful and perfect. Today was one of those days where everything was going just as planned. Waking up early and refreshed with a fresh plate of breakfast ready for me. After eating, I immediately got started on today's task, but I went to work to find only a small stack of papers ready for my signatures and review. They were written in beautiful cursive instead of that bad doctor's note handwriting. After reviewing and signing the papers, I concluded that our project was going smoothly. My job for the morning was done quickly, taking less than an hour to complete. So I spent the rest of my time in my study doing whatever I felt like doing.

     While listening to the rustling leaves and chirping birds, I brought out a blank sheet of paper and sketched with a black pen that I used to sign the documents with just earlier. Soon, I became blank minded. Zoned out. I had a habit of doing this a lot and it was kind of out of my control. It just... happened.

     I stayed that way until I heard a quiet knock at my door. Snapping out of my zoned out state, I blinked and realized that the black pen was still in my hands. Was I still drawing? I looked up towards the source of the noise that distracted me from my focus. I was greeted by a tall man wearing a white lab coat on and a silver stethoscope hanging around his neck. He had short, black, spiky hair and a pair of round spectacles rested on his nose. "Oh, Leorio," I addressed him. Leorio Paladiknight, a medical hunter who works as a doctor here in this small town, was my boss. I was a nurse here, but technically an assistant. Even though this wasn't the field of work I'd expected to find myself in, I loved my job. Even if I had no pay.

     The doctor in the doorway of my study gave me a quick smile before he opened his mouth to speak. "You seem to be having a good day. What's got you so energetic?" Leorio questioned as he stepped closer towards the dark wooden desk. I hesitated before answering. I grabbed the piece of paper that was in front of me and put it to the side along with the other papers, not breaking eye contact with my boss. Energetic? I didn't realize that I appeared to be that way. I tried to quickly imagine myself in Leorio's point of view. Was I smiling like an idiot? Did I give off that overconfident look while I was sketching? More and more questions popped into my head, but I left them unanswered. I directed my attention back to my boss and shrugged.

     "Today's been good to me. I wouldn't frown on a day like this, if that's what you were expecting," I teased him. Leorio's smile faded away when hearing my answer. His face twisted into a disapproving expression when he realized that he couldn't argue with my statement. Before my straight face was broken by laughter, Leorio finally sighed out and dismissed the subject. "Yeah. Well, seeing as to how you're done with the papers, I'll take them off your hands now," Leorio muttered, grabbing the full stack of papers from in front of me. Including my sketch that laid on top.

     Leorio, who hurriedly grabbed the papers, didn't realize it until after it was already done. Just as he advanced towards the door to exit the room, he took a quick glance at the paper that rested on top. Noticing that something wasn't right, he stopped dead in his tracks. He realized that the top paper was not what he needed. I knew that he had taken my sketch, but it didn't really matter to me. I was just drawing whatever was on my mind. He could throw it away for all I care. I was zoned out while doing it, so who knows? It could be just some random swirls and lines for all I know.

     I watched as Leorio slowly turned my way once more. Seeing the concerned expression on Leorio's face made me question for a second what was wrong. What did I sketch...? I questioned myself just before Leorio handed the paper back to me. "I don't think I have any use of this, Nikita..." Leorio muttered, not looking at me straight in the eye. Curiously, I looked down at the sketch and realized that it wasn't just some swirls and lines. In fact, it wasn't a sketch at all. I felt my heart drop when the paper I drew on was returned to my hands.

     I drew him...?

     I felt the blood in my veins immediately warm up, especially in my cheeks. My heart in my chest shrieked, and the rest of my body expressed it's embarrassment as well. As my body threatened to shut down and die right there, I stuffed the drawing into my desk and tried to cover up its existence. For a moment, there was silence between Leorio and I. Leorio finally decided to awkwardly escape the room with the simple words, "I'm going to start making lunch." Even if he was long gone from the room, I still held my hands over the paper, not ready to bring it back into existence. After a little while, I let a sigh escape from me. I felt a great deal of tension being exhaled from my chest. Dammit, Nikita... Slowly, I revealed the drawing to myself once more.

     I had to give myself props. For someone who wasn't paying attention, I did surprisingly good. Wait, I remember this drawing. My eyes squinted as I studied the paper until I finally remembered. This was the drawing I made last week. I suppose I pulled this off from pure muscle memory. As I realized this, my praise to myself meant little as dirt.

     I studied the details I drew on there once more. It was a drawing of a childhood friend of mine. There actually wasn't a lot to offer on the paper, but I could see the colored, life-sized image in my memory. He had pale skin like a vampire. Despite all the attempts I've made to get him some tone, it never worked. I remember joking to him that he was immune to the sun. All he would do is shrug. He wasn't a fan of the sun. I let my fingers brush over the markings of his hair. Snow white hair that was incredibly soft. I missed running my fingers through his hair. Those were the times when everything was magical. We both lost track of time, and it was as if the world was frozen. It was only me and him, with my fingers stroking his hair.

     By this point, I no longer even needed the drawing to remind myself of the details. His abs and biceps. Enough for a grown man to grow green with envy. He was a year older than me. I met him when I was eleven years old, he was twelve at the time. I was treated like a baby sometimes, and that used to annoy the hell out of me. He was always a tough nut to crack, so I was sure to admire all the times he would laugh or smile. Just remembering it warms my heart.

     Unconsciously, I began straightening out the creases I made on the thin paper from stuffing it in my desk that aggressively. I stared down at his slightly shaded eyes. My favorite feature of him was his fearless, blue eyes. They were sharp and focused, kind of like a hawk. They always seemed to give me the courage I needed to get by even on my toughest days. I remember the feeling I would get when we made eye contact. It was quite easy to get lost in them like you were at sea in absolute peace.

     I sighed in satisfaction as I fixed the paper from its wrinkles. I wanted to reserve this one, even though I already have one or two that was just like it. This one brought back some good memories, so it was worthy of keeping. I began to hum a tune as I opened my desk drawer. Just as I was about to place the slightly wrinkled paper in my junk drawer, I was alarmed to see that there were other papers there. Other drawings...

     Of him...

     My happy hum faded away into silence. Even Mother Nature was shocked by my hoard of drawings of a single person. The birds were silent and the air was finally still. Slowly, I stuffed the wrinkly paper in the unorganized compartment and closed it. A tip of the paper was hanging outside of its containment, but I didn't care enough to open it back up and put it in correctly. Still, I tried to push in the paper, but it was lodged in there, so I wasn't going to find much progress. Just as I was about to give up, I heard Leorio call me from the other room. Lunch.

     I lifted myself up from my comfortable chair and stretched my arms above my head. After feeling my tired bones pop awake, I dropped my arms and opened the door to the hallway. Almost immediately, I was overwhelmed by the familiar smell coming from the kitchen. At this current moment in time, I couldn't figure out exactly what it was, or what it even reminded me of. I just knew that somewhere in my childhood, this smell was special.

     Once I made it into the kitchen, I took a seat in one of the brown chairs around the small dining table. It was only Leorio and me living here, so it was natural for the other two chairs to be empty. Standing at the stove, Leorio noticed me as he was pouring two bowls of our lunch. "Thanks for getting those papers done," Leorio said as he fixed up the final touches. I nodded, but then questioned myself why I nodded if he was in the other room. "Yeah." Once he was finished, he lifted both the plates and carried them towards the table.

     Suddenly, I knew why that smell was so familiar. A bowl of tomato soup that sat in the middle of a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich cut into triangles on one side and a pile of crackers on the other was placed in front of me. I felt my chest tighten as memories were returned to me. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were one of my favorite meals my grandma made for me. My grandmother was an amazing chef who was well known by locals in the area who enjoyed her food.

     Leorio noticed my silence and I could feel his questioning eyes scan me over. Quickly, I looked back at him with a smile. "Thank you. It looks great," I complimented him and went back to my food to begin eating. Leorio hesitated before he went to his seat to dig into his own plate. As I ate my grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup, I thought about my grandmother. Grandma Denise. It was one of those complicated emotions where I was both happy and upset. That weird emotion when you're feeling two things at once to the point where they both just cancel out. Nothing. Numbness. Leorio was still studying me, trying to pick up on any hint that something was wrong. I ate in silence, ignoring his eyes. Despite my attempt to ignore him, Leorio then started to spark up a conversation.

     "Hey, Nikita?"

     I didn't answer him. I knew he would speak anyways, so I didn't take the time to swallow my bite and say something. As predicted, he continued. "I was meaning to talk to you about... Uh, your future," Leorio muttered, holding his gaze. Finally, I looked up at him and made eye contact. I never really thought much of the subject, and I wasn't expecting to talk about it now over a bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

     "What about it?" I asked him, trying to keep my tone low to avoid sounding rude. Leorio fixed his glasses and shifted in his chair. "Here's the thing. I know that there are better things you could be doing right now instead of working here in the office..." Then I realized.

     "If you're firing me, then just get it over with instead of beating around the bush," I said bluntly. I was half expecting to be fired, especially since I've developed a terrible habit of doodling you-know-who on my work papers. Sometimes in pen. Ok, most times in pen. "No, no, no! Not at all. Nikita, just hear me out," Leorio corrected me, waving his hands to fan away that thought.

     With a sigh, Leorio continued. "What I mean is... You made a promise to your grandmother about you being a gourmet hunter, right?" Leorio asked me, his tone softer than before and his facial expression sincere. The topic of my grandmother made me tenser than before. It's not like I didn't like talking about her, but it was some kind of unsaid rule to not speak her up. I slowly nodded, not finding the words in my mouth to agree. "So... Why are you here? You could meet up with Kurapika or find the boys to help you. I don't want you to be stuck here if you can go out and accomplish your original goal," Leorio explained with a small smile.

     I couldn't help but smile as well. Leorio was well aware of my personal goals all along. I couldn't deny that that was my original goal from the beginning, why I attended the Hunter Exam. However, there were a few things that were holding me back right now. "Leorio, I'm fine working with you until I'm ready to tackle that goal. I'm still just fifteen years old," I reminded him with a kind smile. Leorio gave a small shrug. "True enough. That's why maybe the boys could help you. They are sixteen now, I believe," Leorio thought out loud. I nodded. "They are. But I don't even know where they are right now, so it doesn't matter. I'm happy here working for you," I finished and finally took a bite of my grilled cheese sandwich.

     For a full, silent minute, we ate. Our bowls were getting more and more empty to the point where our spoons were scraping the bottom. When we were almost done, Leorio spoke up to add one last thought.

     "But seriously, stop drawing all over your papers, Nikita."

     When lunch was done, I returned to my study and organized my junk drawer of drawings because it looked like it was about to burst. I pulled out a whole notebook worth of paper from that drawer and I knew it was time to do some Spring cleaning... In the Fall. Well, the thermostat read sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit out there, so the weather hasn't gotten the full memo yet. So let's just pretend it is the Spring.

     I was scanning over the papers, wondering which one I should trash. It was a lot harder than I first anticipated. That one is just a sketch, but I like it more than the colored one... But the coloring took so much time! I slumped back into my chair and whimpered as I was fighting against a mental break down. It didn't take long before I started scolding myself for acting like such a child. Sitting up and fixing up my crybaby attitude, I released my hair from stress by taking down the tight ponytail. Almost as soon as I felt my hair touch my neck, I immediately had second thoughts and put it back up.

     Even if he liked my hair down, I don't like the feeling of it... I leaned back in my chair and chewed on my pencil as I thought about him. The feeling of him stroking my hair. Slowly, I felt myself drift off in a trance as a distant memory played in my head.

     "Oi, Nikita," A familiar voice called out to me. At the sound of his voice, I already knew who it was. I was usually happy to hear his voice, but right now, it was the last thing I wanted to hear. I slowly turned my head around and saw him gesturing me over to him. To add on to it, that was the last thing I wanted to see. I groaned in my head as I turned my fire on low and made my way towards his station. I thought about the endless things he could have wanted, and even though it was highly unlikely, I was hoping he didn't call me over to scold me for what happened earlier.

     We were currently in the second phase of the hunter exam; The cooking phase. Earlier, we had to hunt down pigs. Doesn't sound too bad, right? That's what I thought when I went out to find them. I've never killed livestock before myself, but if I wanted to be a gourmet hunter, I had to start somewhere. When the group and I found the pigs, we all had the same thoughts and our happy vibes soon turned into regret. The pigs were carnivores. Just like Leorio, I'm not skilled in combat, so the odds weren't in my favor. I nearly died in a stampede of carnivorous pigs, but thanks to Killua, my fate didn't end that way.

     Since that event, my self-esteem wasn't at it's highest.

     I folded my arms once I made it over to the boy, putting on a tough face so he couldn't catch on to my depression. The boy greeted me with a grin and turned his body towards me. His snow-white hair, his royal blue eyes, slightly taller than me, I was standing right in front of Killua Zoldyck. He had a slim and lean body type and very pale skin. I had just met him and another boy named Gon, but we were already really close friends. At least, I think so...

     I glanced over at Killua's pig and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. It was unevenly cooked, and it was very obvious. The bottom half of it was basically charred, meanwhile, the top half was still raw. I wanted to tell him to turn his pig, but I didn't want to be rude and interrupt him while he was talking. "You've been moping over there the whole time, what's up?" Killua asked me, tilting his head as he studied me. He even started to lean on the counter. Clearly, I was the only one who smelled a burning pig. For a moment, even I was distracted from the smell. I was staring back into his eyes, slowly getting lost in them. Damn, those eyes are staring right into me... It felt that if I lied, he would be able to tell in a heartbeat. So, I dropped my head down and chose to stay silent.

     I heard a quiet sigh come out of Killua. He knows me too well to know what I'm doing. "Come on, just tell me," Killua urged me. I continued to stare down at my feet, unable to look at him in the face. If I told him... he would probably laugh at me, or scold me. So I stayed silent. Maybe I should just hurry back to my station. Before I made my escape, I blinked and saw a pair of purple sneakers approach my own feet. Then I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me closer to him. Now, my left cheek was resting against Killua's chest. I was confused why Killua was hugging me, but I didn't fight against it either. The kitchen was already hot from the hundreds of fires raging and fresh, hot pig being cooked, but his warmth was inviting and surprisingly, it soothed me. "Well, I can't force it out of you, Niki. Just promise you'll tell me if something is wrong, alright?" he whispered softly. I could feel him rubbing my back. I don't know what it was, but I felt... better.

     Deep down, the negative feelings still stirred inside me. I felt in debt to Killua because he helped me throughout the whole exam so far. He let me use his skateboard through the first phase to keep up with everyone else, he guided me through the swamp, and he saved me from a pig stampede. I just feel weak, like I wouldn't be able to do this exam in a million years without Killua's help. I just wish it were him who needed to depend on me...

     Slowly, I nodded anyway. I could feel Killua's little grin shine down on me, meaning it worked somehow. "Good. Now to get down to business, I may need your help with something..." Killua murmured as he turned around towards his pig. I think the smell finally made him come to his senses that he was a terrible cook. He didn't even have to explain what he needed. I stepped up beside him and examined the pig until I knew what to do. "Cut off the part of the pig you burnt and put the uncooked part over the fire. Thankfully, we aren't using the whole pig," I instructed as I grabbed a fork off the counter and used it to point at the black portion of the pig. Killua nodded and grabbed a knife to do his job.

     I watched as Killua skillfully chopped away at the pig. Clean cuts and he seemed to be aware of what he was doing. Not to mention he was pretty good with a knife. "You could be a good cook one day, Killua~" I teased and nudged him playfully. Not too hard so he wouldn't cut himself or anything, of course. He reverted his attention from the pig to me and he had a teasing smirk on his face. "I'll pass," he said and nudged me back. We both laughed and continued to nudge each other until someone cleared their throat behind us. When we looked back at whoever dared interrupt us, we saw Kurapika with his arms folded. "You better hurry with your dishes, you two. The phase ends when they get full," Kurapika warns and Killua immediately groans at this. "Yeah, yeah," Killua mutters then rolled his eyes as he turned back around to continue cutting his pig. Kurapika nodded and simply left after seeing this. He didn't say anything to me, I wonder why...

     I watched Kurapika walk off with his head low. I could've swore I heard him mutter "No better than #403..." What's that all about? I tilted my head to the side in curiosity until I felt my hair being tugged. It shocked me at first, but when I turned around to see Killua's surprised expression as if he had just got caught doing something. "The hell was that for?" I growled, attempting to get the stray strands back in place. I didn't have much luck so I just left it. Killua glanced away for a second and cleared his throat. "Nikita, why don't you ever wear your hair down?" He asked instead. It didn't take a genius to tell he was avoiding the topic, but his expression then twisted into a serious one. He was serious about the question at the same time. I thought about it for a while. Why would I? You get hot easily and it always falls into your face. It was annoying. "You're not supposed to cook with your hair down," I muttered. Well, I didn't lie. That was one of the many reasons, after all.

     Killua stared at me with a blank look. He didn't seem very satisfied with my answer, especially after he rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, sure. You should wear your hair down though. It's beautiful," Killua said in a low tone, just barely audible for me to hear. For a second, I had to think about his words, wondering if I heard him right. My hair was beautiful...? That's not a very Killua thing to say...

     Killua then cleared his throat and turned his head back to me with a smile. "Anyways, let's get to work, chef Nikita!" Killua said with two knives in hand. Chef Nikita? "I thought you didn't want to be a cook, Killua~" I teased back in a teasing tone. "But let's get on the seasoning," I continued, gesturing over to all the spices. "Yes, Chef!"

     I blinked out of my zoned out state and kind of jumped. I wasn't leaning back in my chair anymore, I was leaning forward and with the pencil in my hand that desperately needed to be sharpened. However, the worst part of it all was the fact that I was staring right back at a very rough sketch of Killua in an apron, chopping away at the pig. "God-!" I started to curse out, but I stopped myself mid-sentence to avoid Leorio's scolding. I dropped the pencil on the desk and pulled at my hair in frustration as I made inaudible curse words under my loud groans. Truly, this was a very annoying habit to have and there were no signs of me breaking out of it.

     I finished my fit with an obnoxious sigh and I rested my head on my desk, defeated. I turned my head to my side and I was face to face to one of the few pictures on my desk. A portrait photo of me... and Killua. Back then, I was really camera shy, so I was hiding behind Killua as he took the selfie. He had a big and bright smile and I had a small smirk as I held up a little peace sign. We took that selfie just before we parted ways in Yorknew City. A smirk that I didn't know was on my face soon converted into a frown. Parted ways...

     I lifted the picture frame and leaned back in my chair once more with it above my head. Killua Zoldyck. Sixteen years old currently, ex-assassin that is still the heir of the Zoldyck family, but most of all, a caring friend... And God, I loved him. I held the picture frame to my chest with a small blush resting on my cheeks. I realized what my feelings were when I flew back home without Killua by my side. I became depressed about it for a small while, but I snapped out of that quickly. I had faith, I had hope that I would see my beloved Killua again. Even if it was sooner or later. However, I lived with the constant fear that I will die with these strong emotions. Maybe Killua has changed since the last time I saw him. Maybe he doesn't see me that way. Maybe he would laugh at me when I tell him. Even though I knew I should to relieve myself, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I do remember one time when I built up the courage to send him a text. It was a long confession that I poured my heart into. Unfortunately, the only reply I got was "shit fam you got the wrong number."

     I placed the frame back on my desk where it belonged and stared back at the pile of drawings I had to organize and put away. Now there was one extra one I had to decide on. I sighed and got to work on the drawings. I love you, sure, but this is too much... I complained in my head as I grabbed a folder. I took a glance at the papers in front of me before I finally decided to stuff them all in there. I can choose favorites another day. When I put my folder inside my now organized junk drawer, I turned my chair and stared out the window. The singing birds had stopped their choir session to do their own business but promised to be back the following morning. The breeze that hit my face also created small waves that crashed onto the rocks lining the crystal, blue lake just a mile away. Fishermen could be faintly seen, sitting still and waiting for their hook to catch something big, or maybe just a decent fish for dinner.

     A smile crept onto my face when I noticed a boy hold up his fish triumphantly to his mother and father. My eyes soon drifted off into the horizon, looking at nothing in particular. The sun was no where near setting and there was nothing but trees in the distance, but I just stared. Wondering. Wondering about Killua. What was he doing right now? Was he still with Gon? Is he alright out there? I didn't just think about him either. Was Kurapika having any luck in finding the eyes? Was Gon still out there, exploring with a bright smile on his face like always? I tried to imagine how everyone was doing, but it was hard to. It has been a full year since I've heard anything from Gon and Killua. As I stared out into the mountain horizon, a new question popped into my mind. When will I see them again?

~

Thank you for reading Chapter 1 || Leorio's Assistant ||. This is a slightly edited version of the previous rewrite so you may or may not be familiar with this. Again, I would like to apologize for the trouble about restarting this book. However, I am confident that it will turn out better than before. Thank you for reading.