WHAT'S THIS!? ANOTHER CHAPTER!!

I had actually finished writing it faster than I thought I would've, so I decided, "hey, why not publish it?".

Right?

Anyway.

Drawing of Val's new clothes were drawn by my little sister NatalenaHess / Nena.

She doesn't really use Wattpad anymore, but I thought I'd tag her anyway.

I hope you're all prepared for this chapter and if not, you'd better get prepared 😏

Try not to scream too loud 😉

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The sun began to slowly rise into the sky as they traveled from the Mitene Union to the NGL Automous Region.

Rocks and sand crunched underneath the wheels of a truck as a stranger drove them towards their destination.

'You're heading to the NGL, huh?',The man spoke up,'You know, they believe that the best way to live is as naturally as possible. They're pretty weird for living out there, but you folks are even weirder for wanting to visit them'

Rolling her eyes at the man's words, Valentine turned her attention away from him and looked at Zeus; who was perched on Killua's shoulder, before she lifted her hand and gently scratched the hawk under his beak.

Low chirp-like purrs left the hawk and Zeus closed his obsidian black eyes, leaning closer to her touch.

'I don't have a clue what's going on there, but I've already driven in about ten big groups just like you guys today alone'

Hearing that they weren't the only one's, Valentine's eyes widened slightly at the number and glanced towards the man out of the corner of her eye.

'Did you say ten!?',Gon exclaimed in surprise.

'That's right'

Staring at the man for a moment, Kite seemed to be in deep thought and then, he turned his gaze; looking out the window.

'So if most of the other groups are already arriving, then we're among the last',The man observed and watched as the scenery passed by.

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The soft crunch of dirt underneath her feet echoed throughout Valentine's ears and she looked up, looking at the large tree they were approaching, seeing step carved into the wood; an entrance revealing itself from behind the thick exterior.

'Prepare yourselves everyone',Kite spoke up and caught everyone's attention,'The Ants are a concern, but the NGL isn't the eco friendly group it claims to be'

'Got it'

Nodding to herself, Valentine looked up the stairs as they slowly began to ascend up them, seeing two men waiting for them at the entrance.

'May I ask what brings you here?'

'We're on a hunt',Kite spoke up,'A biohazard-class insect might have infiltrated your country'

The two stared at each and every member of the group, before the man; who seemed to be in charge, sent them a small smile.

'Well, if you're professional Hunters, I'm certain you're aware that we cannot deny you entry into our land'

'Right this way'

Following close behind the man, the group walked up the stairs and into a large room.

All along the wall, people were typing away on computers and the screens brightly lit up the dark room.

'Wait, you're using computers and machines here?',Killua questioned, confused.

Furrowing her eyebrows together, Valentine was also quite confused by the fact that they were using electronic and why they hadn't been executed.

'We are not technically within the bounds of the NGL proper yet',The man explained,'This area is used for diplomacy and trading information'

Looking towards the man, a look of understanding formed in Kite's eyes and he slowly nodded.

'I see, are there similar facilities within?'

'No sir, not a single one. No machines of any kind are allowed inside the borders of the NGL'

Humming slightly, eyes of thunder slowly looked around the room and Valentine nodded in understanding.

So where they were must've been the entrance where everything electronic was left.

'Of course, visitors aren't allowed to bring technology in with them either',The man explained,'We're very strict about that kind of thing, which means you must remove metals, petroleum derived materials, and the like, anything of that nature on your person before you can enter'

Hearing that she'd have to leave behind her daggers, caused a small frown to pull at Valentine's lips.

Putting his fingers on his glasses, Lin stuttered out his question and looked between the men.

'D-Do you mean, like, my glasses?'

'That's right. If your clothes, belts, shoes, even your underwear contain any plastic, chemicals, or metal, you must remove them',The man explained.

A loud pop echoed throughout the air as Spin's bubble popped and she lightly pulled the gum back into her mouth with her tongue, before her eyes snapped open.

'That isn't funny!',Spin exclaimed,'You want us to strip naked?'

'That's not necessary',The man spoke up before Spin got too angry,'All-natural clothing is available for purchase just upstairs'

'And if there are any implants inside your body, dental implants for example, made of gold, silver, or even silicone prosthetics that cannot be removed',One of the men listed,'I'm sorry to say, but you won't be allowed to enter. You understand?'

Heading into the shop, eyes of thunder looked around and Valentine walked around each of the clothing racks, looking for what would probably best suit her.

It was between only a few other clothes; while some were either too big on her or too small, and so, she decided to choose the only one that she saw fit.

Walking towards the women's changing area, Valentine closed the curtain and looked down at the clothing in her hands.

Taking her backpack off of her shoulders, she stuffed her old clothes inside after she had changed into the new one's and sat down, lifting each of her feet to slide on the socks they had provided her, before sliding on some boots.

They almost looked like combat boots, but were a bit softer and weren't made of leather.

Once she was finished, Valentine looked at herself in the mirror and her eyes trailed over the outfit.

Grape and indigo colored baggy pants hung around her waist and a charcoal colored crop top adorned her body, two thick strands of her hair were made into a short braid that ran down the middle of her hair, softly crowning the side of her head.

Placing her backpack around her shoulders, the young blonde walked out of the changing room and went to meet with the others at the bottom of the stairs.

Seeing that it was only her and Killua that had finished changing, Valentine blinked in confusion, before feeling as talons gently clasped on her shoulder, the soft fluttering of wings filling her ears.

Smiling at Zeus for a moment, the golden eyed beauty walked down the stairs towards the silverette and having clearly heard her coming, Killua turned her way, smiling slightly as soon as he had seen her.

"So, we're the first one's done, huh?",Valentine asked.

Seeing that he was looking at her choice of outfit, the young blonde glanced down at herself for a moment and felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

It must've been odd to see her in such a short shirt since she always wore a sweatshirt or longer clothing.

"I.. look strange, don't I?",She asked and a small frown of regret formed on her face.

She knew that she looked a bit odd when she looked at herself in the mirror.

Eyes widening slightly, the silverette immediately began to disagree and a look of panic formed on his face.

'Not at all! I.. I think you look nice, Val',Killua admitted and a shade of pink began to form on his cheeks as his heart began to pound within his chest.

Freezing up in shock, eyes of thunder widened in awe and lips the shade of strawberries parted in disbelief as a small gasp left her lips.

A nervous smile formed on the young girl's lips and her eyes glistened slightly, her heart hammering against her chest.

"Thank you, Killua",Valentine spoke up and looked over his outfit as well,"You do too"

Color coating the silverette's cheeks and his eyes widened slightly, before a small smile twitched at his lips.

After a moment, a silence filled the air and it wasn't comfortable nor discomfortable, but the two couldn't help but feel a little bit tense.

It wasn't that they felt uncomfortable around each other, it was just that ever since Valentine had confessed her feelings, the two had rarely been alone together.

Although now, they had been left alone together and so, neither of them really knew what to say, even though they both knew that they would have to talk about it sooner or later.

Especially since Killua hadn't said anything back about the matter of her feelings being returned or not.

But alas, that silence is always broken by one of them finally speaking up.

And it wasn't Valentine.

'Hey Val.. I actually wanted to talk to you about something',Killua spoke up and cleared his throat, slowly looking up at the girl,'It's about what you told me during Razor's game'

Breath hitching anxiously, Valentine's thunder eyes widened in horror and she quickly looked away from his mesmerizing eyes of ice, looking down at the ground as she softly bit at her nails.

Another one of her nervous habits.

'Listen, I know that I'm not good at this kind of thing. I've never dealt with feelings like this and I don't really know how to handle them'

Squeezing her eyes shut, Valentine furrowed her eyebrows together and held her breath, waiting for him to reject her feelings.

He hadn't really been able to say anything about this the whole time; with them being busy with Kite and now that they were waiting for their friends, they had the time to talk about it.

'I've never felt these kind of feelings for someone before and I didn't know how to handle them, because I've never had someone that could help me figure them out',Killua began,'That is until I met you and Gon, he helped me realize why I felt the way I did around you'

Eyes widening in realization, Valentine felt as if her heart were about to burst out of her chest and her beautiful golden eyes seemed to glisten with gems underneath the natural lighting that filled the room.

Seeing the way she seemed to light up, the anxiety that filled his veins appeared to rush out of his system and his eyes brightened at the thought of her returning these feelings.

'I guess what I'm trying to say is that.. I really like you too, Valentine',Killua admitted to the girl he liked more than words could describe and seeing the way her smile lit up at his confession, only made him fall for her more.

The way that she smiled at him could only be described as Angels graciously shinning down their glorious light upon the beautiful girl and her eyes sparkled as gracefully as the freshest of gems.

If he hadn't been an assassin or been use to her speed by now, he wouldn't have seen her move from her spot and her body collided with his as she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

Arms gently encircled around her waist and hugged her close as Killua leaned his head against her own, tightly hugging her to him; not too tight to harm her, but tight enough to show how much he cared for her.

With her ear pressed to his chest, the young blonde could clearly hear the way his heart beat loudly within his chest and only seemed to heighten in speed the longer he held her.

That comfortable silence once again filled the air and slowly, Valentine began to wonder just what this meant for them.

"..Hey Killua?",She spoke up, her voice low and her face burning with heat.

A low hum echoed throughout her ears and she heard the way it rumbled in his chest, hearing the questioning within his tone.

"What does this mean for us now?"

And this question had many meanings to it and Killua knew that.

She wanted to know that since now they both knew that they liked each other, what would happen to their friendship?

Would they still remain friends?

Would they become something more or would they take this slowly and see where it goes?

'It doesn't have to mean anything at the moment if you don't want it to',Killua muttered and spoke just loud enough for her to hear him,'We can take this as slow as you want and see where it goes from there, okay?'

Knowing that would feel the best for the both of them, Valentine slowly nodded and closed her eyes, relishing in the moment for a bit longer.

The gentle hum of her crush's heartbeat softly filled her ears and all of her anxiety from before slowly began to melt away.

But the beautiful moment between the two lovebirds had been interrupted, causing them to pull apart and looked at the silver-haired man as he walked down the stairs with the rest of the group.

'Only the six of us are left?',Kite questioned and looked over the small group, before heading towards the entrance,'I want you all to stand by in the closest town. We'll return here within two weeks and contact you'

'Roger that!',Spin called back, before the groups headed their separate ways.

The rest of the group were led across to the second tree and were escorted into an inspection area.

'The inspection area is over there. Of course, there's a physical exam, as well as an interview',The woman explained,'There will be a medical exam as well as X-rays, ultrasound and metal scans'

Listening to what was listed, Kite looked around the room and quirked an eyebrow.

'Security's rather tight'

A light switched on and Valentine shook her head, blinking quickly to try and adjust her eyes to the new change in lighting.

'It is',The woman admitted,'Because people have smuggled guns in by hiding the parts inside their bodies. We often find cameras or cell phones in people's rectums. Some have even trained animals to carry laptops across the border once they themselves were inside'

Testing had begun and Valentine's eyes glowed with anxiety as the machine scanned her, making odd noises as it went.

She had never been in a machine like this before and all of the noises emitting from it, unsettled her greatly.

Once she was done, the girl was more than happy to rush away from the machine.

After all of the testing was done, the woman looked down at her tablet and a small smile formed on her lips.

'Well, it looks like all of you are clean'

Finally reaching the exit of the trees, they were greeted by the two men from the beginning and they both smiled at the group.

'Thank you all for your patience. You may enter now and Godspeed'

'Welcome to the NGL'

Entering the natural area of the NGL, a soft wind blew through the area and gently blew back their hair, sand quickly kicking up.

'Alright, now the hunt begins'