𝗦𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝘁.

𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄.

𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆!

ఌ

ꕥ

'Let me go over the rules',Netero announced.

They were in a secured room with a clock hanging on one of the walls and the old man was simply dressed in a black tank top and a pair of trousers as he stood on one barefoot, holding a ball in his hand.

'If you can take this ball from me before the airship reaches it's destination, you win',Netero explained,'You're given nine hours. You're free to attack me however you'd like, I won't touch you'

'Eh?! But that's so easy!',Gon exclaimed,'You can't call that a game'

'Why don't you give it a try first?'

Taking a seat on the wooden floor, Valentine studied the man warily for she had sensed that his aura wasn't as powerful as before, but she had a feeling that it would spike up at any time.

Killua had volunteered to go first and from there, it was as if his ego had spiked immensely.

Resting her chin in the palm of her hand, deep pools of a vibrant sea of swirling gold watched as Killua slowly paced around the room in a circular motion; as he did so, multiple echos of himself spread through the room, appearing holographic with a twinge of cheekiness crashing through the air like waves crashing against a cliff side in the ocean.

Eyes widening slightly at the sight, Valentine was encapsulated by the unusual duplexity that floated with alluring tints of violets and cobalt. An awed murmur left her lips like the swift caress of a gentle breeze, similar to him; she knew a few tricks of her own that her parents had taught her.

Her confusion doubled as she watched Killua multiply even more, surrounding Netero to render him helpless but it only caused the man's eyes to widen in surprise and awe.

After that, Killua launched himself at the older man and attacked him; almost mercilessly. Despite his performance of good offensive moves, Netero was still able to dodge them with ease.

Of course, he had that amusing tug pulling up his lips.

A low whistle of amusement left Valentine's lips and she tilted her head at the scene; of course he had been able to dodge it.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, the older man was definitely fast and she tried to think of what she could do when she was up, for she had to do something where he wouldn't be able to read her moves.

But what would work?

'What? That's it?',Netero taunted the boy, playing with the ball singlehandedly. From where she was, the blonde could see the way Killua's electric-blue eyes burned with enraged blue flames threatening to ignite.

Without a second thought, Killua charged at the older man and attacked his right leg with all his might.

'Gah!'

Releasing a cry of pain, the snowy-haired boy hopped around on one leg and clenched his injured foot, causing the blonde to wince; a hiss leaving her lips as she imagined the pain he was feeling.

'Killua, tag me! My turn!',Gon chanted with a hyper tone as he raised his hand and Killua stumbled over to him, the two boy's sharing a high-five, allowing the cerulean eyed boy to rest against the wall.

Glancing at her blue-eyed companion with worry, Valentine momentarily studied him and slowly turned her head away after making sure that he was alright, before looking back towards Gon's match.

Knowing that she was up next sent anxiety flooding through her system like a wildfire.

With an immense speed, Gon attacked Netero head on at first, however, he had unexpectedly jumped incredibly high and was about to attack him from above; catching the older man off guard, if it weren't for him bumping his head on the ceiling.

'Idiot! We know how high you can jump, control your strength next time!',Killua reprimanded the dark-green haired boy and his pupils were comedically rendered white with frustration,'You actually caught the old man off guard!'

Netero sweat-dropped.

'No kidding'.

More than two hours later passed by since Killua and Gon had begun to attack the older male in turns, non-stop. Both of the two equally refused to back down, leaving Valentine to think over her strategy clearly; which she was thankful for, and both barely seemed close to succeeding.

It was clear that Netero was getting bored.

Turning towards the blonde haired girl, a glint of interest filled his eyes and a small smile quirked at his lips, before his face iced over; the aura that had yet to be unlocked was quite strong in the girl's small body.

Interesting.

'Aren't you going to participate?'

At the older man's voice, both boy's turned towards the girl resting in the corner and since their minds were filled with a competitive edge, they had momentarily forgotten about their friend.

Netero was intrigued by this young girl. There was something different about her that was screaming at him, much different than the boy's in front of him, than anyone else aboard this blimp at the very moment. He had his suspicions of her very strength that she kept hidden and locked away underneath her innocent aura, but even though the aura that radiated off of the girl was calm and innocent; there was something strong and devious about her.

Slowly looking up, small, rose pink lips quirked up slightly and Valentine slowly rose to her feet, walking towards the middle as the boy's went to sit down; pants of exhaustion leaving their lips as their eyes watched her, brimming with curiosity.

As she came to a stop, the young girl tilted her head and the atmosphere of the room changed as her golden eyes narrowed in calculation.

A light, high-pitched ringing began to fill the air, causing the two boy's to watch in confusion and curiosity as she began to largely circle the man; keeping a wide distance between herself and the chairman.

Slowly, they began to see doubles of the girl but it wasn't quite like what Killua had done; instead a fuzzy blue edged at their vision as their surroundings multiplied, copies of Valentine, that were almost transparent, traveled around the room; the ringing in their ears almost doubling each time they thought that they could begin to see her clearly, only for the once clear image to blur once more.

It almost seemed as if the room started to swirl and sway, the vision in their eyes almost rocking as if they were on a boat trying to sail over large and monstrous waves, nausea tugging at their stomachs with a persistent sensation.

Abruptly, it all came to a stop causing their bodies to feel as if they were falling and they briefly caught a glimpse of Valentine as she rushed forward, her foot pushing off of the ground as she propelled herself forward.

Just as the chairman was going to brace himself as she blindly rushed towards him, she had disappeared and he could no longer sense her, so he relied on his defense; his muscles tightening harder than before.

A moment of silence passed; nothing except the faint echoing ring could be heard, before she appeared beside him, her foot heading towards his jaw. Despite his hardened muscles, as the blow landed, the force of the kick caused his body to barely move backwards but he was barely able to register the next blow and a force roughly hit the back of his neck, causing his posture to slightly dwindle.

Appearing back in her original spot, small pants left the girl's lips and her eyes widened at the fact that the chairman had been able to withstand the blow; for if this were any normal person, he'd be on the floor knocked out cold.

Tilting his head to the side, Netero cracked his neck and grinned in amusement.

'Oh, was that all? I was expecting a bit more than that'

Jaw tightening as she clenched her teeth, Valentine sped towards him once more, staying in his line of vision before she suddenly appeared behind him and wrapped her legs around his neck; surprising him. Using as much force as she could muster, the blonde leaned forward and flipped the older man over, his body crashing to the ground.

Before Netero could react, a high ring filled the air once more as Valentine vanished before appearing in the air and she reached for the ball, the material soft between her fingers as her hands clutched the item tightly.

Her shoes hit the ground with a slight echo as she landed crouched down on her knees and she slowly stood to her feet, a grin painted Valentine's lips as she held up the ball; a triumphant look on her face.

Chest heaving up and down in exhaustion, sweat built at the corner of her temple as her eyes brightened in victory, a small giggle leaving her lips as Gon's energetic cheers filled the room.

Looking towards her friends, a bright smile was glued onto her lips as she saw the ecstatic expression on Gon's face and looking towards Killua, her heart momentarily stopped, before pounding quickly at the barely registrable look of surprise and astonishment.

"I did it!",Valentine cheered, throwing her hands up into the air and a big grin of excitement breached her lips, small giggles of victory leaving her mouth.

Unfortunately as she did so, the ball lost balance and fell to the ground and this caused her to stop, looking down at the fallen object as a red blush of embarrassment coated her pale cheeks; a small and nervous chuckle left her lips as she scratched the back of her head with a look of awkwardness filling her eyes.

"Oops",Valentine chuckled lightly and swiftly grabbed the ball once more.

Watching as Gon's eyes lit up, Valentine's eyes widened at the sudden burst of energy that filled the boy's body and she lightly blinked, momentarily frozen.

'Amazing!',Gon exclaimed,'You and Netero-San are so cool, Valentine! Now you get to become a Hunter because you caught the ball'

A bead of sweat rolled down her temple and her face dropped as realization filled her body, before she quickly shook her head; rejecting the statement.

Much to Netero's relief.

"I didn't play the game to immediately pass and become a Hunter that quick, it was just for fun",Valentine stated, a gentle smile beaming on her lips,"Besides, I hardly won in the first place. The old man over there barely even used his left leg and right arm"

Surprise washed over Gon's features and he looked towards the Chairman.

'Eh, really!?'

A hum of thought left Netero's lips and looked at her with a look with she couldn't understand.

'I'm surprised you noticed. Did I not hide it well?'

A low and dark chuckle escaped the white haired Zoldyck's lips and Valentine looked towards him, watching as a vein popped out of his skin in irritation.

'You really know how to piss me off, old man',Killua stated, before calling out to his two friends,'Let's go Val, Gon'

Looking towards Killua, Gon perked up and lightly shook his head.

'Oh, I'm gonna play a little longer',Gon bluntly responded and a hum left Valentine's lips as she titled her head, staring at the boy.

A one-sided bickering argument brewed between Killua and Gon as Valentine's eyes flickered towards Netero, who was studying the girl with a devious look in his eyes; as if knowing what the girl was thinking. He didn't seem like a bad person, but at the same time she disliked the conniving aura that steeped out of his body.

Walking towards the door, Killua slammed it shut and the sound echoed throughout the room, breaking Valentine from her thoughts as he left the three there.

"Killua!",Valentine called out, but had gotten no reply.

A sigh left her lips and she looked towards Gon, a tired smile on her lips as she gestured towards the door.

"I'm going to go see if he's okay",Valentine admitted as she gently smiled towards her friend and shook her head as she spoke with a tone full of concern and care,"Get some rest when your done here, Gon, okay? Don't overwork yourself"

Seeing and hearing the concern that he might get carried away, Gon brightly smiled at his friend and held up his hand, giving the blonde a thumbs up, his smile brimming with reassurance.

Casting one last glance towards Netero, Valentine walked out of the room and tried to figure out which way Killua had gone.

ꕥ

'You bastard!'

Raising her head at the sound of a yell, Valentine bit her bottom lip and her eyes widened at the anger within their tone.

"..That didn't sound too good",Valentine pestered with worry, swiftly walking to where she had heard the voices come from.

As she arrived, Valentine was greeted with the sight of two fresh corpses laying on the ground; a large pool of blood coating the tiles of the floor surrounding their bodies and there Killua stood, his back turned towards her. His nails elongated, seeming sharper than usual and blood dripped from his fingers.

He didn't have to turn around to know who had followed him, for he could tell by the gentleness of their footsteps. He was in a bad mood right now, all thanks to Netero and he didn't want to take it out on the one other person who he had slowly; quite slowly, begun to see as a friend.

'Go away, Valentine'

Flinching at the cold tone within his voice, her footsteps were soft as she slowly walked towards him and stepped over the corpses.

"I'm not going anywhere..",Valentine gently spoke, watching as his tense muscles tensed up even more,"You know, just because you killed someone doesn't mean that you should expect me to just run away"

'Well, you should',He muttered lowly and turned around to face her,'Anyone else would'

Once bright blue eyes were dark, empty and cold; his face contorted into one of satisfaction at the mutilated corpses that lay behind her.

Bright, golden eyes studied dark and cold icy blue ones as she tried to think of a way to help in this situation, her brain wracking through multiple outcomes of what could happen with each action she could possibly take.

Slowly walking forward, Valentine came to a stop in front of him; standing so close that their arms just barely brushed up against one another.

Lightly tilting her head to the side, golden eyes shined with determination as she gently grabbed his hand and slowly rose it up; uncaring of the warm blood coating his hands that slowly began to stain her skin, sharp nails just about skimming the soft skin of her cheek, so she only smiled brightly at the boy as she placed the palm of his hand on her cheek.

The warm heat of the blood coating his hands transferred over to her cheek as she stared up into his eyes and the unwavering expression of courage that was within her gaze caused the boy to pause for a moment.

How could someone so innocent and kind not be scared of someone killing another right in front of them?

Calmly flowing gold intensely stared into a raging storm of dark cerulean, watching as it slowly became a calm shade of icy blue with regret pooling in the depths, then he saw what was happening before slowly and carefully pulling his hand back.

'You're...',Killua stuttered, a sigh breaking through his lips and his nails returned back to normal, but his foul mood hadn't changed much,'You're too kind, Val.. that's going to get you killed some day'

A gentle smile tugged at her lips and stepped forward, before she gently nudged her hip against his causing a smile to twitch at his lips, but he quickly hid it as she backed away.

'Any longer and I would have killed that old geezer to get the stupid ball',Killua growled and this caused Valentine to take a step closer once more.

"I know, I could tell by your eyes",Valentine said gently.

Looking deeply into her eyes, Killua couldn't pick out a single emotion of hatred or anger within her and he couldn't understand it.

'How come your not running away screaming at the top of your lungs? I just killed somebody in front of you',Killua stated,'Shouldn't you be telling me to get away from you or something? Telling me that you never want to see me again?'

Tilting her head, her bright eyes only shone even brighter as she smiled gently at him.

"Why should I?",Valentine questioned and her thunder-like eyes blinked slowly as a confused look formed on her face,"It's not like you'd kill me. You only killed someone else because they were bothering you, right?"

Taking a small step back, Killua disarranged his hair in frustration and breathed out heavily.

'Gods.. you're so-',He stuttered, a heavy breath of frustration and indecisiveness escaping his parted lips as a sigh of frustration,'You're so weird! Any normal person would've done the exact opposite of what you're doing!'

The young girl was confused by his words and she didn't entirely know what to say to him at the very moment.

She couldn't just say some happy-go-lucky thing and expect him to feel better just like that.

It wasn't like she could just explain everything about her and her past to him, which would help much better than now.

But, she couldn't and so, he'd have to wonder why for just a bit longer.

ꕥ

After an easy night of well deserved rest, Kurapika and Leorio woke up, getting used to the bright morning light.

"Good morning, sleepy heads",Valentine asked in a low whisper,"How'd you sleep?"

Turning his head towards the voice, Kurapika saw the blonde girl sitting with her back leaning against the wall and a glint of surprise sparked in his eyes as he caught sight of Killua leaning against her side, his head leaned against her shoulder and his arms were placed in his lap; as if he were too scared to touch her.

'We slept well, but you on the other hand, look like you haven't slept at all',Kurapika said.

A yawn of agreement left Leorio's lips and he stretched, before looking towards the two children.

'You two kids are too young for that, you know?'

A look of confusion filled Valentine's innocent face and she tilted her head, blinking slowly; missing the dark glare that Killua sent towards the older male as he opened his eyes; having clearly heard what he had said in his sleep, causing a drop of sweat to trail down Leorio's temple.

He had only rested his head on her shoulder.

Was that a bad thing?

A low chuckle left Kurapika's lips and he spoke up, breaking the tension; pulling Killua away from his murderous thoughts.