༺♥༻

Sitting in a large room filled with hundreds of people, Valentine sat in between Killua and Gon, while Zeus was perched on her shoulder, and Mr. Zepile was next to the green-haired boy.

'Our next bid is the fabled game, known as Greed Island!'

Eyes of thunder snapped towards the front and stared at the console on the stage, biting her lip she wondered if her father would let her spend as much as she wanted in order to get the game.

'And, it has a mysterious power',The woman exclaimed and a large, mysterious man stomped towards the console.

He was holding a humongous hammer and before the blonde knew it, he rose it over his head, swinging it down onto the machine.

A loud snap echoed through the air as the table broke and once the dust had cleared it was seen that despite the destruction, the console was completely fine.

'As you can see, there is a mysterious power that protects the console from any damage',The woman stated,'Well, as long as someone is playing inside the game that is'

As the woman snapped her fingers, the large screen behind her suddenly lit up and a man with a beard appeared on the screen.

'This man is Jeitsari. He's a player who's inside the game at this moment',The woman pointed to the screen,' In fact, he's the one who signed a contract allowing us to auction it off. Jeitsari left behind the following agreement: if we cannot clear this game before the date specified in the contract, seven players, including myself, will present seven copies of the game and consoles to the Southernpiece Auction, so talented young Hunters can clear the game and fulfill our dream. Unfortunately, when we received these copies, the game had ended for two players. Losing the game results in actual death for a player. This dangerous game requires that you risk your own life! Only bid if you're prepared for the consequences'

Staring forward with hard gazes, the three would not back down and stayed where they were.

'Let's start the bidding at 900 million Jenny!'

Almost immediately everyone began to talk over one another and bid for millions; even billions just to get this game, but spotting familiar faces, Valentine's eyes widened and she lifted her hand, gently hitting Killua's arm to grab his attention.

Once he had looked towards her; his eyes full of confusion, Valentine gestures towards where the two were and as he turned his gaze towards where she was looking, Killua immediately froze at the sight of them.

Crap! My big brother! And is that.. Akari!

Slowly, Valentine began to slide down the seat and just about avoided her sister's gaze as Akari turned around, causing a small drop of sweat to fall down the side of the young blonde's face.

'So, you use your hand to tell her how much you want to bid?',Gon questioned.

Looking down at the young boy, Zepile nodded and began to explain to Gon how it worked.

'Yeah, the auctioneer looks at the crowds hand signals to be able to discern the highest bid instantly'

Still confused, Gon rose his thumb and asked what that meant, causing Valentine's eyes to widen as she was about to tell him to put his thumb down but it was too late.

'201 doubles it again, to 24 billion!'

With their eyes widening in shock, Zepile and Gon went pale for a moment, before the man turned towards the boy.

'You idiot!'

'Number 16 bids 25 billion!'

Sighing in relief that their bid wasn't the final one, Gon and Zepile's shoulders relaxed as they let out signs of relief.

'71 bids 25.5 billion!'

Eyes widening in shock, Killua wondered just how much he had and while he was having this crisis, Valentine stared down at her older sister, humming in confusion.

So that meant she must not have found the game and that Jaxon had told her the reason she had called.

But the question that was in Valentine's head was; just how much was Akari allowed to bid and could she do the same or would her grandparents be upset with her.

'Number 16 raises to 30.5 billion!'

༺♥༻

Walking into the room that contained the man who won Greed Island, Valentine kept glancing over her shoulder with a worried look and seeing this, Killua frowned slightly.

Was it because of Akari?

Placing his hand on her shoulder, the silverette watched as her eyes quickly snapped up and looking into her eyes, he could clearly see the fear that resided in them.

Pursing her lips, Valentine's shoulders slumped as she sighed slightly and with a small smile, she nodded in reassurance.

'Excuse us, but the three of us are Hunters'

'We're willing to offer our help in clearing Greed Island'

Watching as men walked up to them, Valentine's eyes widened and she stepped back for a moment, before her eyes narrowed, darkening slightly.

'Don't joke around, go home'

'I'm not joking, I really am a professional Hunter!'

'Sure you are'

The older man who had bought the game, stood up and walked towards the three, his gaze looking amongst them.

'Do you have a Hunters License?'

'Yes!'

'It's at the pawn shop, remember?'

Watching as Gon's posture immediately deflated, Valentine reached into the pocket of her dress; which she was thankful was there, and held up her Hunter's License, a beaming smile on her face.

The men all stared at her with wide eyes and couldn't believe that a little girl was a professional Hunter.

'Just because she can prove that she's a Hunter, doesn't mean that you two are as well'

Feeling her eye twitch in annoyance, Valentine breathed out and felt as if smoke was coming out of her ears as her patience was wearing thin; every instinct within her body was telling her to throw her daggers at this man.

'The fact that you're here at all shows me that your not just any kids',The older man stated,'However, I can't take your work at face value. I am looking to hire professional hunters in order to clear this game, that much is true, but I'm afraid I cannot hire you two at this time. Because there's a limit to the number of players, you see'

Knowing that he was thinking of only hiring Valentine out of the three of them, caused a small drop of sweat to glisten on Killua's face and he took a step closer to the girl.

Even if he had only wanted to hire Valentine, the two boys knew that she wouldn't agree to it if they weren't together and that much was clear as her eyes shone furiously.

And Gon had surprised the man when he had shown that he had a memory card and ring for the game.

A younger man, who clearly wasn't a bodyguard, walked up to the three and stared down at them.

'I assume that you can use Nen',He stated,'Let's have a demonstration of your Ren'

The young girl felt as her aura slowly surrounded her body like a wave, before it spiked and shone around her body.

Turning towards the man, the older man questioned the younger one what he had thought and the man closed his eyes, thinking it over for just a moment.

'Hopeless, I'm afraid. Hiring them would be a complete waste; they would simply run around in circles until they died'

Feeling anger welling up within her, Valentine was about to reach down for one of her daggers, when a hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist and stopped her from doing so, causing a deadpanned expression to fall upon her face.

'How do you know if we haven't even tried!',Gon exclaimed as their Ren vanished.

'It'll be too late by then. Unless you die off immediately, we don't need people who'll drag out the inevitable',The young man explained,'As long as a player is alive inside the game, you can't rest or remove the memory card. In other words, it's impossible to send in new players'

'I've hired around one hundred professional and amateur Hunters to play this game, and just over half of them have given up'

Confused by this, Gon had asked the man what he meant by they had given up and he explained that they have chosen to live inside of the game.

That was why he had to be careful with choosing players.

'We need people who are strong enough to obtain items and then, return them safely to the real world. So of course, we have to be much more selective'

Frowning at the thought, Valentine was confused as to why someone would give up and just live inside of the game rather than returning to the real world.

Was the game really that interesting?

'Are you trying to imply that we're not strong enough!?'

'Yeah! Why does that guy think we can't do it!'

'Because he's a pro Hunter and one who has played Greed Island before'

Looking towards the man in shock, their eyes were wide and small gasps of surprise left their lips as they stared at the man.

'Speaking from my own experience, the items returning to the real world are easy to obtain. But with your Nen, it's hopeless. As a matter of fact, it'd be game over for you in no time'

With an angered grunt leaving his lips, an irk mark formed on Gon's face and a frown pulled at his lips as he stared up at the man.

'Once the screening is complete, I'm returning to the game'

'Wait, you're going to be screening players while you're here?',Killua questioned.

Leaning forward slightly, the man nodded his head and smiled down at the three.

'That's right. The screening will be on the final day of the auction',He explained and leaned back up again,'So if you're interested in participating, I would recommend putting some additional work into your Nen'

'We we're going to do that anyway!',Gon exclaimed,'Let's go Killua, Valentine!'

As the boy stalked off, Killua and Valentine glanced towards one another and then, followed after the seething boy.

'Before you leave, how did you come to have a memory card?'

Stopping, Gon turned back towards the man and frowned at the question.

'I'm not telling!',Gon told the man and he chuckled slightly.

Following the two out of the room, Valentine kept quiet as the two boys in front of her seethed in anger and she glanced towards Zeus, seeing that he was angry as well.

Was she really the only one who was calm right now?

'Damnit! Those jerks'

'We've definitely got to pass the screening now',Gon stated, just as frustrated as the silverette.

Just feeling the anger radiating off of the two caused a drop of sweat to roll down the side of Valentine's face and she looked between them, her eyes wide.

༺♥༻

Having gone back to the old building they were staying in for the moment, Gon was currently seething with anger and his aura spiked furiously around him.

'I'm so pissed! I can't believe he treated us like we're just dirt!'

Kurapika was still asleep in the other room and Valentine had already changed out of the dress, now wearing some blue pants and a white shirt that actually looked quite similar to the dress she had worn, while Zeus was currently perched on her shoulder.

Sitting on the couch, the young blonde was sitting next to Killua and they watched as Gon raged about Greed Island.

'Still, he's right',Killua stated and took the lollipop out of his mouth.

Snapping his head in Killua's direction, Gon furrowed his eyebrows together and gritted his teeth.

'What do you mean?',He asked.

Holding up his hand as he stood up, Killua told the boy to calm down and watched as Zeus flew over to Gon, landing on his shoulder, which caused the boy to get rid of his Nen as he glanced towards the hawk that nuzzled into him.

'See, even Zeus is telling you to chill out a little',Killua stated,'Look, we should start thinking about taking all of this to the next level'

'Next level?'

'Hatsu. I mean, our special abilities',Killua stated and Gon's eyes were wide as he hummed in confusion,'Think about it, Kurapika started learning Nen the same time we did, but because of his special attack, he was able to take on the Phantom Troupe'

Leaning back against the couch, the young blonde jumped in shock feeling something behind her and turning her head, she saw Killua's arm was stretched out over the top, causing her to relax before leaning back; but not enough so that she was leaning against his arm.

'We can't limit ourselves',Killua stated and Gon nodded in agreement,'We need abilities without too much or too little risk, which still fit our specialities. Something practical and effective, that's what we need to come up with'

Placing his hand on his chin, Gon was in thought for a moment before he squatted down and then, steam began to pour out of his ears as he tried to think it over.

'Let's take this one step at a time, what kind of abilities do you want?',Killua asked, crouching down in front of Gon.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Gon knew that it was a good question and as he began to think, more steam began to pour out of his ears causing Valentine's eyes to widen.

'Hey! You must at least have an idea, don't you!?'

'Ughh.. a really strong one!'

'Be more specific man!'

Already knowing what she wanted to have, Valentine wasn't about to say what it was because if she did, Killua most likely would call her an idiot or something along those lines, so she'd keep it to herself for now.

'To start with, think about something within your own category. You're an Enhancer, right? Try to think of a power that enhances something'

'Okay..'

'Then think about what you want to strengthen and exactly how you want to do it?'

Watching as more steam began to flow out of Gon's ears, Valentine's eyes widened and she was about to go over to the boy when Killua hit him over the head.

'Hey, that hurt!',Gon cried out and Valentine nodded in agreement, knowing how he felt,'What abilities do you and Valentine want then?'

Standing to his feet, Killua placed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the boy, shrugging slightly.

'I already know',Killua stated and looked towards the blonde girl beside him,'That's why I'm trying to help you. And as for Val..'

Seeing that he was looking her way, Valentine smiled slightly and slowly rose her finger to her lips, pressing it against them.

"That's a secret"

Chuckling slightly, Killua placed his lollipop back in his mouth and headed towards the door with Valentine close behind him.

'I'm going to start practicing my special attack now, I'm guessing Val is too and you keep thinking about yours',Killua stated and pointed towards the boy,'Okay?'

Walking out of the room, Killua closed the door behind them and they quietly walked alongside one another, passing a few doors as they continued on.

It was silent for a moment, before the silverette turned his head towards the girl and took the lollipop out of his mouth.

'So, what is your special attack going to be?'

With a small smile on her face, Valentine turned her head towards the icy eyed boy and chuckled slightly, slowly shaking her head.

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret"

At her teasing tone, Killua's face deadpanned and he stared at the girl with a blank look, blinking slowly.

Suddenly, the boy had grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her, causing the girl to let out a shout of shock.

'Don't be such a tease and just spit it out, Val!'

"Killua! I'm getting dizzy, stop that!"

༺♥༻

Sitting in a room on her own, Valentine was currently sitting on the floor and had her dagger tightly within her grasp.

She had already known what she had wanted to do and even though it would have consequences, she didn't mind that.

Feeling her aura slowly form around her body, the young girl took a deep breath and slowly lowered the blade to the palm of her hand, her aura spiking slightly.

As blood dropped down from her hand, Valentine closed her eyes and concentrating slightly, her eyebrows furrowed before a bubbling filled her ears.

Slowly opening her eyes, the young girl let out a happy shout as the blood coming from her hand slowly levitated between her hands and as she moved her hand, the liquid followed.

Blood manipulation.