ꕥ

Reaching a normal looking cabin, everyone was crowded around and looked around the structure.

'This is the servants quarters',Zebro said and opened the door,'It's getting pretty late, you all should spend the night here'

Opening the door, it loudly creaked as it dragged along the floor and Valentine smiled in gratitude towards the older man, heading into the residence.

'Hey, I'm back!',Zebro shouted.

Hearing footsteps, the group turned around and watched as a man walked down the stairs.

'You rarely bring guests'

Tilting her head, Valentine observed the individual and noticed he had a cigarette placed in between his lips.

'This is Seaquant, he works with me here',Zebro said, introducing the man.

Waving her hand, Valentine lightly smiled at the man and Gon perked up, waving as well.

'Good evening',Gon greeted kindly, a bright smile on his face.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Seaquant observed the people in front of him.

'If you've managed to win over Zebro, you must be special',Walking away from the group, the man waved a hand behind him,'Well, make yourselves at home. Though it won't be easy here'

Tilting her head, Valentine looked towards Seaquant's retreating figure in puzzlement.

A cup of tea was placed in front of the blonde and she glanced down towards it.

'You want to see young master Killua?',Seaquant asked,'That's a riot!'

Leaning against the wall, the man threw his head back and laughter slipped passed his lips.

'Sorry, but we're dead serious',Leorio stated.

'Then let me give you a warning, give up and go home'

Turning towards the man, Leorio angrily frowned.

'What was that?',Leorio questioned, feeling quite vexed.

'Zebro told you about the testing gate, right?',Seaquant asked,'That should give you an idea of what this place is like'

'We understand what it's like, but Valentine and I aren't leaving!',Gon spoke up, causing the blonde to nod with a serious expression on her adorable face; to be honest it made Seaquant want to chuckle, if anything the girl was more adorable than intimidating,'Not until we see Killua!'

Smiling slightly, Zebro looked towards the young boy.

'Not to mention, one of the four had managed to actually pet Mike'

'What?'

Blinking in shock, Seaquant glanced towards the group and watched as they all turned towards the younger blonde, watching as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in, looking up at them.

Seeing everyone staring in her direction, Valentine lightly blinked and a confused expression crossed her face, a small drop of sweat falling down her forehead as her eyes glanced at everyone.

"What?"

Smiling sheepishly, Valentine lightly itched the back of her head and looked towards Seaquant, a determined look making it's way onto her face, before his eyes noticed the small bandage of her cheek.

Zebro said that she had that before she even entered the estate.

"We're here for Killua and we aren't leaving without him",Valentine stated,"I couldn't stop him when he left, so I'm going to make up for it. He's important to me, so I'm going to help him no matter what"

From beside her, Gon nodded and had a determined look in his eyes, agreeing with the girl.

'We understand',Zebro stated,'Then, why don't you do some training?'

Tilting her head, Valentine's innocent eyes gazed at the man in curiosity.

"Train?",Valentine questioned.

'Oi, Zebro',Seaquant warned the man.

But he had ignored him.

'Listen to me, Gon, Valentine. You four are able to work together to work together to open the gates',Zebro explained,'With a little training, it should be possible. How's that?'

'I don't like the idea of being tested',Gon said.

'But if there's no other way',Kurapika continued.

"Then I guess.."

'We'll just have to do it!'

ꕥ

A young boy was chained to the wall,  shirtless, and his body was covered in markings from the repeated whip lashes that his skin had been forced to endure.

Hours had passed but the torture never stopped nor slowed down and instead, each hit became much rougher than the previous strike.

However, the boy's body could withstand pain after intense training with his older brother and father to perfect his skills.

The boy's eyes were dead and drained of life and emotion.

When attending the Hunter Exam, Killua had never intended to make any friends and, hell, he didn't even think it were possible for someone like him.

At each hit, Killua thought back to the last phase of the Exam.

The blood that coated her soft fingers as she gently held her hand to the injury on her cheek, the one he had caused.

The tears that filled her eyes as he started to turn away from her and the sobs that left her lips when he walked away.

He believed that he deserved every hit that came his way, trying to feel the pain that he had caused her by his harsh words and actions.

'Apologize'

'Sorry...',Killua apologized, glancing down at the floor below him to create an apologetic atmosphere that would deceive his brother into thinking that he shown an ounce of remorse.

Grinning at his brother's response, Milluki had thought that he had achieved the unthinkable; having the Killua apologize, it was unheard of and perhaps, the endless amount of hits had finally worked a wonder into shaping the disrespecting child into someone respectful.

'Was that so hard, little brother?'

A smirk slowly spread across the snowy-haired boy's lips and the words that left him, only caused his brother's rage to grow.

'...that I didn't stab you hard enough'

With those words, the older brother continued his assault on his younger brother, using his bullwhip as a mean to bring hopelessness to his younger brother.

More bruises painted his body and blood began to seep through the cuts. Yet, the snowy-haired boy refused to back down.

He had endured a lot of pain in his life and this, was like a grain of sand compared to it.

'Put some muscle into it. I'm starting to fall asleep here'

'Shut up'

'Right, the only thing you ever really lifted was a slice of cake',The boy said, sarcasm clear within his tone.

'Apologize! Now!'

'Well, which is it? You want me to apologize or do you want me to shut up, make up your mind'

Smack.

Growling in anger, Milluki was about to hit Killua again, but his ringtone interrupted him and he turned around, holding his phone up to his ear.

'Oh, mama. Uh-huh',Milluki said and then his eyes widened,'Yup, I understand'

Turning towards his brother, a smirk formed on Milluki's lips.

'Kil, your so-called friends are near the butlers office',Milluki said, his smirk widening,'How about it, Kil? If I asked mama, those four can become..'

Being interrupted, Milluki watched as Killua pulled on one of the chains and easily broke it as if it were nothing.

'Milluki',The white haired assassin started, a murderous aura was admitting from his body as he eerily stared at his brother,'If you so much as touch them, I'll kill you'

ꕥ

The four were standing right outside of the Testing Gate, the cool breeze tousling Valentine's blonde golden locks and with a whole night of trudging around with weighted household objects, so they had all decided to take another shot at the testing gate.

After all, Zebro had made their group try washing the dishes and that had definitely not been fun, especially with the threat of what would happen if one of the porcelain bowls had been broken.

Looking towards Gon, Valentine's golden gaze softened in worry as she looked at his broken arm.

"I think you should sit this one out, Gon",Valentine expressed her worry causing Gon to look towards her with wide eyes,"You only have one good arm and I don't want you to hurt your broken one any more than it already is. It needs to heal"

Nodding in agreement, Kurapika looked towards Gon and Leorio grinned.

'As long as Kurapika, Valentine and I can open it, it doesn't matter. Let us handle this!'

And soon, many days passed as the three began to train.

ꕥ

Passing through the gate, the group made their way towards the mountain.

There was a small iron gate that obstructed the path and dark purple veins wrapped around; overgrowing it.

A young girl wearing a suit stood directly in front of them, her hands by her side and Valentine came to a stop.

She was wearing a a blue butlers suit, shoes with heels and a blue pendent where the tie should be.

Her eyes were a light grey and she was holding a staff. Her hair was a dark purple pulled into twists and tied at the end.

'Please leave now, you're trespassing on private property',She said, her tone was robotic and fairly high-pitched, but it suited her,'I can't allow you to pass without permission'

'But we called ahead',Gon told her,'And we came in through the Testing Gate'

'The butlers quarters did not give you permission to enter',She continued, a stoic look on her face.

A frown appeared on Valentine's face and this time she spoke up, causing Canary's grey eyes to lock onto a radiant golden gaze.

"Why do we need their permission?",Valentine questioned,"We tried asking for Killua, but they wouldn't let us talk to him"

Studying the blonde in front of her, Canary could almost feel the radiance that admitted from her body.

'I wouldn't know, no one has ever received their permission to enter'

A tick mark of anger appeared on Gon's head and Valentine could almost see smoke coming from his nose.

'Then, I guess we have to trespass!'

Eyes widening at Gon's statement, Valentine gently place a hand on his arm, causing him to look down at her and she slowly shook her head, before looking towards the girl once more.

"Wait.. aren't you a butler though?",Valentine asked and this caused the girl to nod, her eyes looking towards her again,"So then, can't we just ask you for permission?"

Slowly shaking her head, Canary glanced at the young girl.

'I'm afraid I cannot do so'

Letting out a small huff of sadness, Valentine slowly nodded in understanding and let her hand fall from Gon's arm.

'In any case, this is where I draw the line',The girl stated and drew a line before her feet with the staff she had in her possession,'If you go beyond this line, I will have to remove you by force'

Ignoring the girl's threat, Gon stepped forward and made his way closer.

Tilting her head, Valentine was confused by the boy's actions and once she realized it, it was too late.

A loud whack echoed through the air and Valentine flinched at the noise.

"Gon!"

The two teens by Valentine's side tensed up as they witnessed the boy being knocked back by the butlers staff and brought out their weapons, ready to engage.

Running to his side, Valentine crouched down and gently helped Gon stand up.

"Are you okay?",Valentine questioned, worry clear within her tone.

Wincing slightly, Gon nodded nonetheless.

'I'm okay',Gon stated, before looking towards the two teens,'Leorio, Kurapika! Don't interfere, let me handle this. Ow!'

Gently flicking the boy on the head, Valentine shook her's and gently wiped away the blood under his nose, before the two gazed at the butler.

'We don't intend to fight you',Gon said.

"We just want to see Killua",The blonde haired girl finished, her determined gaze turning towards the butler.

'It doesn't matter what your motives are',The young woman bowed her head slightly, before gazing back up at the duo,'I'm simply following my order's'

The staff in the girl's hand twirled, before she prepared to engage.

Handing Valentine his backpack, Gon gave a bright smile to the girl and she only looked at him confused.

'I'll do this one on my own, okay? If you get hurt, Killua will kill me',Gon nervously laughed, before his eyes widened,'I mean—! Just stay here, okay?'

With wide eyes, Valentine slowly nodded and hugged the backpack tightly to her chest, watching the scene in front of her.

The green haired boy wouldn't let up and stubbornly refused to back down, once again getting knocked away, causing Zeus to let out panicked shrieks every time he watched the staff make contact with Gon's skin.

Handing Zeus and Gon's backpack to Kurapika, Valentine turned back towards the scene and frowned, a determined gleam shining within her eyes.

'Stop it.. stay away!'

Just as the staff was about to strike down on Gon once more, a tight grip suddenly ceased it's movement and the other pushed Gon back.

Landing on the ground, a low groan left Gon's lips and he slowly looked up, his eyes widening as he blinked, his whole body frozen in shock.

Gripping the staff tightly, Valentine and the girl stared one another down as the former leaned closer; their eyes interlocking.

Watching as one eye glowed a brighter gold than the other, the butlers eyes widened slightly and she held her breath, her stoic look wavering.

'Y-Your eye... that means you're..',The butler stammered out in befuddlement, her eyes wide in shock before they narrowed.

Feeling the staff being pulled from her grip, a small noise left Valentine's lips as a strike bashed against the side of her head and she slid across the floor, her feet planted onto the ground.

'Valentine!'

The three boys shouted out in concern for the girl and their eyes widened at the outcome of the blow.

The force of the strike had caused blood to drip down the side of her head, coating her temple and the side of her face in a coat of crimson.

Glancing towards her friends, they all gasped at the strong look of determination on her face and even with the blood coating her soft skin, she still had the same innocent smile on her face but the shining in her eyes only proved one thing.

She was just fine, but she wasn't going to give up.

'Don't you realize how futile this is! Why aren't you stopping them? You're their friends, aren't you?'

A silence filled the air as the young woman witnessed the look of determination in the eyes of those before her, before her eyes softened at the realization and her true feelings unraveled themselves.

'What's the problem? I'm here to see my friend, we're here to see Killua!',Gon yelled, before smashing his fist into the wall beside the butler and caught her off guard.

There was a pause in the air.

Walking forward, Valentine stood beside Gon and they both looked down, realizing that they were over the line.

"Hm?",Valentine hummed, her innocent eyes locking onto the girl and watched as her softened eyes wavered with emotion,"We crossed the line, you know"

Looking up at the girl, Gon tilted his head.

'Aren't you supposed to hit us?',Gon questioned.

Beginning to tremble, the butler was at a loss for words and Valentine looked at the girl tenderly, gently smiling at her eyes brightened.

"I couldn't help but notice that whenever we spoke about Killua, your eyes had softened and it's clear to see, that you have a kind heart",Valentine spoke and this caused the girl to gaze at the blonde, feeling the warmth the girl was admitting.

Canary could clearly see why Killua was friends with them.

The boy, Gon, he was determined and whatever he had his mind set on, he wouldn't give up until he had succeeded.

And the girl.

This girl, she has such a bright and kind soul.

It was clear to the butler that this girl, Valentine, cared greatly for young master Killua and she showed this within her actions. This girl was like her family in many ways.

The Nitsune's.

She had heard about them only once and that was from her master himself.

Master Silva.

The butler lowered her staff and sniffled as tears fell from her eyes.

'Please, help him. Help master—'

Crash!

Reflexes kicking in, it felt as if time slowed down as Valentine raced forward and caught the falling girl's body before she hit the ground.

Crouching down, the blonde supported the upper body of the butler and her head whipped towards where the sudden attack had come from as everyone gasped, barely able to register the sudden situation.

'What was that servant babbling about? She made it sound like we're being mean to Killua!'

A tall woman in a violet dress, covered in bandages and an electric visor covering her eyes stood there. Standing beside the woman was a smaller child dressed in a dark colored kimono.

Leorio and Kurapika rushed towards the butler to help her and Valentine gently placed the girl on the floor, before standing and turning towards the new appearances.

A small and barely audible gasp left the woman's lips as she studied the blonde and realized that one of her eyes, was brighter than the other.

So, this was her.

The one who Mike had let pet him.

'Hm.. you must be Valentine'

The blonde hesitantly nodded at the woman observing her and then, her red gaze turned towards the boy beside her.

'And you must be Gon, I heard about you both from Illumi. Killua knows you're here'

Perking up at the mention of the young Zoldyck, Valentine's eyes brightened with emotion and the woman noticed.

'I have a message for you both from Kil. 'Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it, but I can't see you right now. Sorry'.'

Furrowing her eyebrows, Valentine frowned and glanced at Gon.

That didn't sound like Killua at all.

The blonde decided to ignore the woman for now and turned back to her friends, looking towards the unconscious girl.

"Is she going to be alright?"

Leorio nodded swiftly.

'Yeah, it's nothing serious. She's just unconscious'

Letting out a breath of relief, Valentine and her friends turned back towards the new figures.

'Forgive me for not introducing myself, I am Killua's mother',The woman said, before gesturing towards the inexpressive child standing beside her,'And this is Kalluto'

Glancing towards the child by her side, realization dawned on Valentine's face and she realized that this was one of Killua's younger siblings.

'Why can't Killua come to see us?',Gon questioned seriously.

'He's in solitary confinement',The woman said.

Valentine frowned at the woman's words, while the teens questioned her and what she had meant.

'Before he ran away from home, Killua stabbed his brother and me'

'Yeah, that's what he told us',Kurapika stated.

Valentine didn't remember Kurapika being there when Killua had told them and she figured that Gon must've mentioned it to him and Leorio.

'And because he had regretted what he had done, our Killua returned to us and entered solitary confinement willingly',The woman stated,'So, we do not know when he will leave'

The visor on the woman's head began to blink rapidly and her eye shrunk, becoming narrow.

'What?!',She suddenly shouted, causing Valentine to jump slightly,'What is happening? What are you doing, father!'

She seemed to be talking to herself or she was talking to someone with her strange headset.

While she was yelling to someone, Valentine reached up and wiped at the blood that was dripping down her temple, wiping it off of her cheek.

'Goodness, why must Father be this way..',The woman slightly picked up the bottom of her dress, before turning away,'Something has come up, so I bid you farewell'

Tilting her head, a puzzled smile formed on Valentine's lips.

'Please wait!',Gon called out, causing the woman to stop and glance over at him,'We'll be staying in town for a while, please let Killua know'

After telling the boy that she would, Killua's mother raced off and the boy named Kalluto, however, stayed behind a moment.

Observing the group, his eyes locked with Valentine's and she tilted her head, before giving the boy a gentle smile.

Taking aback by her actions, he blinked before questioning the blonde.

'Who are you?'

Grinning, Valentine's eyes brightened and Kalluto was taken aback once more by her behavior.

This girl had been beaten down by Canary, with blood running down the side of her face and yet, here she was smiling as brightly as the sun.

And it confused him.

So, this was the girl his brother had befriended.

"We're Killua's friends!",Valentine grinned.

The boy squinted his eyes and tilted his head, observing the bright natured girl in front of him.

'You're his friends..',The boy muttered to himself.

'Kalluto, what are you doing?! Come here this instant!'

Jumping slightly, Valentine's eyes widened at the shrill voice of the woman as it boomed through the trees.

'Coming mother!'

Glancing towards the girl once more, pink and gold connected; curiosity and kindness clashing, before the boy disappeared from view completely.