sᴏ, ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇ sᴋɪᴘ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ʙʏ, sᴏ ᴢᴇᴜs ɪs ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴀ ʏᴇᴀʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ʜᴀʟғ ᴏʟᴅ, ɪ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ.

sᴏ, ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴏᴛᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋs ʟɪᴋᴇ ɴᴏᴡ

ꕥ

ꕥ

For the last three days, the three had made their way up the tower and currently, they were all sitting on a bench.

'So he's not supposed to be using Nen?',Gon asked.

Having walked upon Zushi and his master talking, Killua had come to them and explained what he had heard.

'Until he gets to the top floor, I mean',Gon said,'That's where all of the strongest fighters are, right? At the top?'

Looking lost in thought, Killua stared off as Gon and Valentine looked at him, curiosity painting their faces.

'Gon, Valentine.. we need to change our plan',The snowy haired boy stated,'I say, we shoot for the top floor'

Blinking in confusion, the two friends looked at one another and soon, determination filled their gazes as they nodded at one another.

'Right!',Gon cheered.

ꕥ

It seemed to the three that every fighter in this arena were the same.

They only relied on their physiques and that was their downfall; for the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Their egos were way too big and once they saw that they were fighting children, their egos skyrocketed even more.

As her foot connected to the back of the man's neck, a loud crash echoed through the air once his body hit the ground and Valentine gently landed back on her feet.

'Once again, Valentine has knocked out her opponent with a single kick!'

Suddenly a gasp left the announcers lips and Valentine turned her head, looking towards the arena where Gon was fighting.

'Gon has knocked out his opponent with another push!'

Standing with his hand outstretched, Gon looked towards his friends and saw Killua with a small smile on his lips as he looked at Valentine.

'Each of them have won six consecutive matches over the past three days and they've reached the hundreds without even a scratch to show for it!'

Up on the big screen, it showed pictures of each of them and Valentine had a small smile on her lips.

'Killua's chop, Gon's push and Valentine's kick! How far will they be able to go and who is going to be able to stop them!'

ꕥ

'Yay! Our own room'

Cheering gleefully, Gon rushed forward and leapt onto the bed, a wide grin on his lips.

Lips the color of cherry spread into a gentle, blinding smile and Valentine let out a small giggle, watching as the energetic boy jumped between the two beds.

Wait.

Two beds.

'We're not gonna have to worry about money and lodging anymore!',Gon exclaimed.

Sitting down in the chair, a small sigh left Killua's lips and his eyes that glowed as brightly as sapphires looked towards his two precious and innocent friends as they grinned at him.

'I wouldn't be so sure',Killua stated, a serious look on his face,'Try to remember, drop below the 100th floor and you lose the room. There's a huge difference between getting here and staying here on the 100th floor. It's a real threshold'

Eyes wide with confusion, Gon looked towards Valentine with a expression full of puzzlement and tilted his head, looking for an explanation.

'Threshold?'

Shaking his head with a small huff, Killua spoke up and saved Valentine from having to explain as her mouth gaped open, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

'Beyond the 100th floor, you get special treatment',Killua explained,'And so, naturally, no one wants to lose their standing. There are people here who'll do anything it takes to stay on the 100th floor'

Standing up, Killua shoved his hands into his pockets and looked between his friends.

'You can waste a lot of time on 'em, time we don't have right now',Killua stated and looked out the window,'So, be careful. Both of you'

With determination on their faces, Gon and Valentine nodded, chocolate brown and molten gold shone with valor.

ꕥ

After a couple of months the trio had arrived at the Arena, they had already made it up to the two hundredth floor and that earned them more and more popularity as they went. The trio had won their matches quickly and the tickets for them had sold out rather quickly as everyone was interesting in the three kids that had passed each floor in only a few months.

'What's the 200th floor like?',Gon asked as they all walked out of the elevator.

As the doors opened, Killua shrugged and walked out with the two following after.

'Beats me, I've never been up here before',He replied.

The trio started walking in a random direction while Gon and Valentine were in awe; while Zeus was just staring ahead unbothered by the walls around them.

'Where's the receptionist?',Killua spoke up and started walking in a random direction once more,'Maybe this way?'

'We finally made it!',Gon cheered.

Letting out a beautiful melodic laugh, Valentine lightly nodded her head and hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, we did",Valentine said.

Nodding in agreement, Killua lead them down a hallway and feeling a strange sensation they all stopped, for it felt like someone was directing a ton of malicious intent towards them.

'What is this?',Gon asked.

Looking towards the two, Killua watched as Zeus flew from Valentine's shoulder with a panicked screech and just hovered there in the air.

With a frown on his lips, the snowy haired boy shook his head and turned around, continuing forward.

'Let's go, we can do this!'

It was as if a wave of death had swarmed through their bodies and the grim reaper himself was warning them to stay away.

Feeling as if millions of knives were stabbing in their bodies.

Like a knife in her gut was slowly being twisted.

Suddenly, the aura extended towards them causing Valentine to jump and reach forward, grabbing Killua's hand in her's.

Jumping in shock, electric blue eyes snapped in her direction and looked down, seeing her hands gently grasping his hand.

Going to pull his hand away, the snowy haired boy stopped when he saw the terrified expression on her face and her stone stiff body; her body shook, her shoulders rising and falling as fearful pants left her lips.

Feeling as his hand gently tightened around her's, Valentine's eyes shot up filled with shock and saw that he was looking away from her, staring forward with a hard expression on his face.

If she looked closely enough, she could see the blush that coated his cheeks as blood hurriedly rushed through his body and his heart pounded within his chest.

'Do you guys feel that bloodlust?',Gon questioned,'It's directed right at us'

After taking a few steps forward, they couldn't continue any further as the bloodlust intensified and a hand wrapped around Valentine's wrist, while another fell onto her shoulder.

Whoever had been touching her shoulder pushed her towards Killua, while the hand around her wrist pulled her towards him and placed the small blonde girl behind her white-haired friend.

Deep chocolate brown and cold, icy eyes stared forward with such intensity that it had almost caused shivers to run down Valentine's spine and they all watched as a receptionist stepped around the corner, staring at all of them with a small smile.

It had caught all of them off guard.

'You three must be Killua, Gon and Valentine. The reception desk is this way, so please register for a 200th match today',The woman stated, her voice seeming quite dazed,'Please be advised that your eligibility for this floor expires at exactly midnight, so please register before then'

Staring at the woman in front of them, Gon and Valentine began to wonder the same thing.

Was she the source of that strong bloodlust?

'Was she the source of that aura?',Gon questioned.

Turning their gazes towards the girl behind Killua, the two watched as she slowly shook her head and spoke up.

"No.",Valentine stated breathlessly, intensely staring at the woman,"Nothing in her expression or voice gives away that she's malicious"

'By the way, on the 200th floor, there are currently 173 contestants and from this floor up, all weapons are allowed in all matches. So please, feel free to use whatever you have and also, as of the 200th floor, you will no longer receive prize money. Now, you will only be fighting for honor. So, please keep that in mind if you participate'

As she was talk however, a card came into view and landed right in front of the three and suddenly, the three children paled as they began to realize who it was.

Turning around, the woman was startled by the clown and instantly ran off.

Sweating further, Gon and Killua stood closer together as the green-haired boy pushed his blonde friend further behind their snowy haired friend; so she was hidden completely, as they all gulped.

Slowly, he turned around and sent the children a bone-chilling smirk, making the three very uncomfortable.

'H-Hisoka',Killua croaked out, sweat forming on his skin,'But, what are you doing here?'

'It isn't that strange, is it? I love to fight and this is a temple devoted to the craft. The real question is, why are the three of you here?',Hisoka asked, his golden eyes staring them down and he relished in the fear that was coating their faces, licking his lips as he studied them,'Just kidding. This meeting is no mere coincidence, I've been waiting for you. Remember how you ordered your tickets for the airship over the internet? With only a little effort on my part, I was able to find out exactly when you would arrive'

Tightening her grip on Killua's hand, Valentine hid herself further behind her friend and felt as his hand squeezed her's, his teeth clenched together as he stared at the pedophilic clown in front of them.

'Well, in any case, I knew you would come here eventually and so, as your senior I have a little bit of a warning for the three of you. You're still not ready to set foot on this floor.. not by a long shot',Hisoka stated and rose his arm up towards them, causing the three to flinch back in shock as a strong gust of wind was sent their way,'When you will be depends on your efforts. For now, leave this floor. It's far too early'

Walking towards the wall, the jester took a seat and watched them with such an intense focus that it made them shiver.

'Wait what?! That's stupid, we just got up here!',Killua shouted, but was immediately pulled back by the grip Valentine had on his hand once Hisoka rose up his hand and an ominous aura filled the air,'I won't let you pass, but it's not like you could anyway'

A strong gust of intense aura was pushed their way and it felt as if a large blizzarding wind was eating away at their skin, pins prickling at their bodies.

A panicked shriek left Zeus's lips and he hovered in the air, wanting to fly closer but stayed where he was when he felt the aura that Hisoka was admitting.

Pushing themselves forward, the three strained their bodies and groans of pain left their mouths, but a shout caused them to stop in their tracks.

'Don't be reckless! Once your friend's bird had flown off, you should've known right away that something was off!'

With his aura coming to a stop, everyone curiously looked behind them and watched as Mr. Wing came around the corner.

'Mr. Wing!',Gon exclaimed in shock

The man's face was stern and serious as he stared at the three children, before looking at the hawk as he landed on his shoulder.

'What he's saying is true',Wing stated, looking back at the children and figured that the girl's bird didn't want to go anywhere near the clown or the malicious nen for it could tear his body in two,'You have no defense against his nen'

With a shocked look, Gon's mouth dropped and he stared at the man.

'Nen?'

'As it stands, you're all naked in a blizzard',Wing stated,'All of you wondering why it's so cold. If you continue to strain your bodies, you may die. Even her hawk knew better than to continue forward'

With an aggravated look on his face, Killua pointed towards Hisoka.

'So this is Nen? He can stop us from moving forward through willpower?',Killua questioned,'You liar!'

With a small sigh, Wing closed his eyes and a gentle smile pulled at his lips as he reached up, stroking the hawks feathers as he let out a low chirp, his black eyes narrowing at Hisoka.

'Yes, I was lying'

Flinching back at his confession, the three hadn't expected for him to admit it right away and low gasps left their lips.

'Though some of what I said was technically true. I will teach you the truth about Nen. So, for the time being, I suggest we withdraw'

Holding up his hand, Wing allowed the hawk to step onto his fingers and he held his hand out, watching as the majestic bird flew towards the blonde girl, gently perching on her shoulder and rubbed his beak against her cheek.

ꕥ

Having made it Wing's house, the three; alongside Zeus, were facing the bespectacled man and if they didn't learn Nen by tonight, Gon and Valentine would have to start all over again and Killua would be banned from participating.

They had until midnight to learn Nen.

'Simply put, this is Nen. Nen refers to the ability to control your aura, which as you may know, is also known as life energy. Everyone in the world has a small amount of life energy, but in most cases, it simply leaks away. The ability to build up and contain this life energy is known as Ten',Wing explained, the four; as well as Zeus, watched intently,'Using Ten you can make your body tougher and considerably slow the effects of aging. Then comes Zetsu, which shuts off the flow of aura. It is quite effective for concealing your presence of others and recovering from fatigue, which brings us to Ren. It enables you to produce more aura'

A sudden feeling of pressure was released off of the man's body and the four flinched back in surprise.

'Can you feel that?',Wing asked, a small smile on his face.

'Yeah.. it's like pressure',Killua answered.

Looking towards his friends, a confused look was on Gon's face.

'But, it doesn't feel weird or creepy',Gon stated.

As the three looked at one another, Wing stared at them impressed at the fact that they could all sense Nen.

Perhaps it was based on the environment they were raised in.

'That's because I have absolutely no malice. Aura is an energy dwelling within all humans',Wing explained,'Which makes it very effective against other humans, for better or for worse. If you attack a helpless person with malice, you can kill using aura alone'

Watching as he walked towards the wall behind him, they all blinked in confusion and wondered what he was doing.

'Only one thing can protect you from a user of Nen, you must learn to use it yourself and use Ten for defense. Block the other person's aura with your own. Otherwise...'

Raising his hand, Wing placed his palm against the wall and took a deep breath, but within seconds, the wall crumbled under the pressure of his aura.

With their mouths agape, the three stared on in shock and Zeus let out a small chirp, leaning back in surprise.

'Your body will be shattered beyond all recognition',Wing stated, turning around to face them once more.

ꕥ

ʜᴇʏ ɢᴜʏs, ɪᴛ's ᴍᴇ! ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ǫᴜᴇsᴛɪᴏɴ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴜʏs. sᴏ, sɪɴᴄᴇ ᴢᴇᴜs ɪs ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴍᴏsᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴀsᴋ ᴡɪɴɢ ɪғ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ɴᴇɴ ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ?

ᴀɴᴅ ɪғ sᴏ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏғ ɴᴇɴ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴏᴜʀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʜᴀᴡᴋ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

ʟᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ!