ꕥ

As the white-haired boy led them towards the registration table, eyes as mystical as the sun; that when the light catches them perfectly, they reflect a perfect shade of yellow, and eyes that were as deep as ocean, as dreamy as a starry night, as beautiful and as serene as a morning dew, connected as Killua turned towards his friends and he slowly felt his face begin to burn before he ripped his gaze from her own.

The snowy-haired boy had succinctly explained what the Heavens Arena was and it seemed that everyone wasn't as strong as they looked. But to the three friends, it was clear who they would and wouldn't be able to beat.

'Most of the people here are just fighting for the money, they aren't that strong',Killua explained, gesturing towards the men that sat on the benches and were waiting for their numbers to be called.

The three of them made it up to the counter and they filled out forms that needed to be filled out, writing down information about herself that needed to be written.

Her full name, birthday and some more information about herself.

After a few minutes, the three finally filled out their application forms and gave them to the receptionist.

Killua was number 2054, Gon was number 2055 and Valentine was number 2056.

Heading the direction the lady had directed them towards, they finally arrived at the arena floor and the stands were crowded with a sea of people.

Most bunched together and others sitting alone.

Sitting up near the top, the three friends sat away from everyone else and observed the fights; everyone was cheering quite loudly.

'This place hasn't changed one bit',Killua stated, sitting down.

Sitting down beside him, Valentine looked up at Gon as he sat beside her and thus, she was in the middle of the two.

And of course, they were a few inches taller than her and it made the girl inwardly pout.

'You've been here before?',Gon questioned, leaning forward to look at Killua.

Turning towards his friends, Killua looked between them as Valentine turned towards him and tilted her head in curiosity.

'When I was around six years old, my dad left me here with no money and told me to make it to the 200th floor',Killua explained, his icy eyes looking between the two,'Took me two whole years'

Looking towards one another, Gon and Valentine looked at each other with amazement in their eyes and turned back towards Killua; their eyes sparkling.

They were both amazed that at only six years old, Killua had made it that high in the tower.

'Entry #2055, please make your way to the stadium!'

Jumping up, Gon took off his backpack and handed it to Valentine, an anxious expression on his face.

'I'm getting nervous now!'

'Gon, you made it through the Testing Gate, right?',Killua stated,'So relax. Go out there and push hard'

ꕥ

Once Valentine's number was called, she anxiously stood up and handed Zeus to Killua, watching as the snowy-haired boy gently held the bird in the palms of his cupped hands.

Icy eyes gently fluttered down towards anxious hands as they shook with nerves and Valentine's body shuddered gently, her eyes anxiously glancing towards the ground.

'Hey, Val',Killua called out, his tone was gentle and soft.

Slowly looking up, eyes that were not quite yellow, but as gold as a ring on someone's finger locked onto his and teeth as sparkly as freshly fallen snow harshly bit into lips that were full and pillowy. Eyes of ice stared at them and his mind made his fingers twitch, wanting to trace his thumb along the sweet outline where the skin met her mouth.

'You were the one that Mike let pet him, right?',Killua asked.

Slowly nodding, Valentine noticed the smile that was on his lips and she felt her lips momentarily twitch up.

'Then relax, Val. He definitely saw something in you, so you've got this',Killua strongly stated,'I know you'll win'

Holding her breath at the strong look within his eyes, Valentine's lips slowly parted and she felt her own eyes widen.

Within his eyes weren't an ounce of fear or worry, instead they were full of reassurance and guarantee.

A light laugh slipped past her cherry red lips and Valentine slowly shook her head, her pearl white teeth glistening as she smiled.

"Thanks, Killua",Valentine said, her voice soft and her expression light as her eyes sparkled.

As he nodded his head, Valentine turned around and slowly walked down the stairs towards the arena, her heart slamming against the cage of ribs.

'What's a child doing here?'

'It's just a little girl!'

'Look at how small she is! She won't even last a second'

Gently gulping down the nervous spit that was filling her mouth, Valentine stepped onto the platform and her golden eyes were met with a large man.

And by large, she meant incredibly tall.

She'd have to jump a bit higher than usual in order to kick him.

'I don't really want to hit a little girl',He stated, staring down at Valentine's shorter frame.

Looking up at him, the blonde merely blinked and her eyes shone with an innocence that made the man want to Aww at the sight.

This girl was absolutely adorable.

What was she doing in a place like this?

Rolling up his sleeves, the man rolled his shoulders and cracked his stiff fingers, his moss green eyes staring at the young girl.

'I'll make sure to make it as painless as I can',The man reassured her,'But, I don't plan on losing'

Lightly tilting her head to the side, Valentine's left eye glowed a brighter gold than the other and a gentle smile formed on her face, an innocent giggle slipping past her cherry red lips.

"Neither do I",Valentine stated, her beetle-legged eyelashes softy framing her eyes as she blinked,"But, I can't promise that it'll be painless for you"

Once the shrill whistle echoed through the air, the man charged forward and with his fist heading straight towards the girl's face.

A sharp ringing filled the man's ears as the young girl disappeared in front of his eyes, causing him to stop short and look around in confusion, not seeing the blonde anywhere.

'What's this? Am I seeing things or did Valentine just disappear! Where did she go?'

Still hearing the ringing in his ears, the man turned around and didn't realize as Valentine appeared behind him from a blurred apparition, before it was too late.

Swinging her leg forward, the blonde landed a small kick to the back of the man's neck and a burst of wind flew from where her foot had connected to the back of his neck in the burst of a wave. His body flew through the air and he crashed into the wall on the further side of the arena.

Landing back on her feet, Valentine blinked in shock and the crowd loudly cheered, Killua and Gon staring at the girl with wide smiles on their lips.

Walking towards the girl, the referee gave her a ticket.

'Proceed directly to floor 50'

With a heart stopping smile, Valentine gently grabbed the ticket and bowed her head.

"Thank you!"

The room started filling with roaring hollers and praises.

'She's incredible!'

'Did you see that? Just one simple kick and he was sent flying!'

'That little girl is crazy powerful'

Heading back towards the boys, Valentine gave her two friends high-fives as they held up their hands and a beautiful laugh left her lips as Gon tightly wrapped the girl in a hug, her feet just about lifting off of the ground.

'That was amazing, Valentine! You barely touched him and you sent him flying'

Once the girl's golden eyes looked towards the white-haired boy behind Gon, she watched as Killua shook his head and let out a gentle laugh, before giving her a light smile as her eyes locked with his.

'Numbers 1973 and 2055 to ring E'

'2055? Oh! That's me!'

Head raising in surprise, Gon let go of Valentine and took off his backpack, gently handing it to the blonde.

'Oh man, I'm getting pretty nervous right about now',Gon rambled.

'Hey Gon, you've got this',Killua reassured his friend, a smirk on his lips.

With a gentle nod, Valentine held up her hand and gently placed her hand on his arm.

"Just go out there and push hard, Gon!"

With a small nod, Gon shakily inhaled and ran down the stairs, heading towards the platform.

"He's got this",Valentine strongly spoke, her eyes glimmering with intensity.

'He does',Killua agreed, before turning his head towards the blonde,'But, you both underestimate yourselves when you shouldn't'

Blinking in shock, Valentine stared at Killua for a while and her lips parted, her golden eyes wide as she was momentarily rendered speechless.

"What?",She stammered.

Chuckling at her flustered state, Killua looked into her golden gaze and slightly leaned forward, flicking her forehead.

A low yelp left her lips and Valentine reached up, gently rubbing her forehead as she pouted.

'On Zevil Island when we were working together to get our badges from those brothers, you knew exactly where he was hiding behind the trees',Killua explained,'You threw a dagger at Imori after he had kicked me and you also flipped Umori over your shoulder. He was a lot taller than you were too. But, you were the reason why we even got their badges'

Lips parting, Valentine stared at the snowy-haired boy with the beautiful ice blue eyes and felt as her heart hammered against her chest, feeling as warm blood hurriedly rushed towards her cheeks.

"I mean, I think you handled it just fine",Valentine stated, anxiously itching her arm,"But if I hadn't had my daggers with me, I know that you would've been able to get them to hand over their badges without me"

As a strange look filled Killua's eyes and formed on his face, Valentine tilted her head as a confused hum left her lips.

It was clear that he was thinking about something as his eyes glistened and it seemed as if he half zoned out, half stared at her as he thought about whatever was on his mind.

Suddenly, blood rushed through his body and his cheeks were painted red, before Killua quickly tore his eyes away from her's, looking away from her gaze as he looked towards Gon's match.

'I-.. Um, let's just continue to watch the match, Val'

Confused, Valentine went to open her mouth and ask what was wrong but she decided against it, shaking her head as her gaze turned towards the arena.

'Another kid!'

'He must be pretty powerful too!'

'Is he as strong as that girl was?'

'I bet you his match will end way before her's did!'

Perking up, an idea slowly formed in Killua's head and he turned towards the blonde beside him, gently tapping her hand.

Feeling a gentle tap on her hand, Valentine turned her head and her eyes locked onto Killua's.

'Yeah, Val, what do you say? I think his match will end a bit quicker than yours did'

With a small grin on her lips, Valentine slowly shook her head and her eyes gleamed with competition.

"I say his will end a few seconds after mine did"

'Oh, you're on, Valentine'

Leaning forward with a cocky grin, Killua watched as Valentine's eyes momentarily widened and she realized just how close he was as his nose gently brushed against her own, his breath fanning against her lips, causing her cheeks to redden with heat.

Seeing the nervous look in her eyes, perplexity flashed within Killua's gaze and he brought his eyebrows together, furrowing them in confusion.

What was wrong?

Was she okay?

Realizing just how close they were, eyes as blue as the ocean widened and he hurriedly backed away, a burning blush coating his cheeks.

'Begin!'

Turning their gazes towards the match, Killua and Valentine's hearts raced within their chests as they tried to direct their minds towards something else.

Anything else.

Looking at the boy in front of him, Gon's opponent spoke softly and cracked his knuckles as he prepared himself.

Running towards the boy, he immediately threw an attack towards the boy and let out a yell as his body charged forward.

Reacting quickly, Gon easily dodged the man and reached his hand out, causing the man to go flying across the arena.

Six seconds.

The match lasted exactly six seconds.

Valentine's match had lasted about seven seconds.

'Hah! I win!'

With a large and cocky grin on his lips, Killua looked towards Valentine and watched as she pouted, her bottom lip was adorably pushed out in a pout and her eyes glistened.

"I guess.."

A scoff broke past his lips and Killua furrowed his eyebrows, his face scrunching up.

'Tsk, what do you mean, "you guess"?'

With a teasing smile on her lips, Valentine turned towards Gon as he walked towards them.

'Numbers 1769 and 2054 to ring E',The announcer shouted.

Coolly stuffing his hands into his pockets, Killua walked down towards the arena and stood in front of his opponent.

The man he was up against was quite muscular, but he didn't look too tough.

Right as the shrill ringing of the whistle broke through the air, Killua's wrist swung forward and hit the man in the back of the neck; immediately knocking him out cold.

Immediately clapping for their friend, Gon and Valentine brightly smiled, momentarily looking towards one another with large grins, before looking back towards the match that had quickly ended.

Looking up towards his friends, Killua smiled brightly and Valentine felt her heart momentarily stutter, before loudly pounding in her ears.

With his gaze locked onto her's and seeing the bright smile on her face as she clapped, Killua felt his heart beat quickly in his chest, his hands beginning to sweat as confusion filled his veins.

What exactly was this feeling he had whenever she was around, whenever she smiled at him and gently laughed?

As loud cheering filled the air, Killua turned his head away and watched as a kid in a karate uniform had taken down a larger man with a simple punch.

It was clear that the boy was younger than the three and he had brown, spiky hair that was in a flat style on his head and it seemed like his resting face was an angry one.

How strange.

Looking towards the boy curiously, Killua watched as he looked up at the crowd, before his eyes locked onto something; or quite possibly someone.

Following the boy's gaze, Killua saw that his eyes were locked onto his blonde friend sitting beside Gon and the snowy-haired boy felt a strange emotion bubbling within his chest as his eyes heatedly glared into the boy's soul.

The boy had probably felt his gaze for as soon as Killua's burning gaze locked onto him and so, he immediately turned his gaze away from Valentine.

Good.

ꕥ

ʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴄᴜᴛᴇ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏғ ɢᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʙʏ ᴍʏ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ~