"You touch him again and I'll kill you"

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To say that causing a commotion amongst the people of the NGL was difficult would be the biggest understatement Valentine would ever think of.

'Diego has fallen into enemy hands! If you stay in your homes, you'll be killed!',Killua yelled as the two ran throughout the town.

Various objects were thrown from homes and smashed beside the two, causing Valentine to jump slightly as her eyes widened for a moment.

'Liar!'

'Rebel scum!'

Multiple curses and offensive words left the residents lips and seeing wine bottle heading straight for Killua's leg, lifted her foot and kicked it away, causing it to smash against the side of one of the buildings.

With clenched teeth, Valentine looked towards the window where the bottle was thrown from and before she could shout out anything, Killua gently placed his hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that it was alright.

After all, Diego was just shown alive and well, so the odds of helping any other villages; then the ones they've already helped, were very slim.

Heading towards the city, the two planned to take out as many puppets and soldiers as they could.

Heading deep into a forest, Valentine and Killua came to a stop to catch their breath as the silverette took out his phone.

'Well.. should we try heading North?'

Humming slightly, Valentine leaned closer and looked down at the map on his phone, small drops of sweat falling down the side of her face.

"I just feel that.. even if we do take out the puppets, the residents still won't listen to us.."

Slowly nodding his head, Killua gently took her hand in his own and they started running once more; after they had both caught their second wind.

It would've been easier to just have Valentine teleport them to wherever they need to go, but he wanted her to be at full strength just in case anything went wrong.

But what neither of them noticed was that a Chimera Ant was watching them from above.

The dirt crunched underfoot and a sharp wave of shivers washed over Valentine's, causing a gasp to leave her lips as her running faltered slightly, causing Killua to catch her before she could fall to the ground.

Helping straighten herself up as they continued running, a worried look formed on the silverette's face and he looked her over for any signs that she was injured.

'What's wrong? Are you alright?'

Breathing out slowly as her eyes glowed, Valentine looked towards Killua and furrowed her eyebrows, feeling that same sensation wash over her like a wave once more.

"I think.. we're being followed"

Furrowing his eyebrows, the silverette subtly looked around and his eyes were narrowed, trying to find the source of her feeling.

Noticing the ant hovering high up in the air behind them, Valentine sighed in aggravation and rolled her eyes.

These Chimera Ants were starting to be a real bother lately.

Neither of them could attack him because he was out of range for either of their attacks to actually land a hit.

Running towards the edge of a cliff, the two jumped off and wind rushed across their faces, locks of hair brushing across their cheeks as they noticed a jungle in front of them.

With the wind whipping across their faces, Valentine noticed that they were falling too quickly and swiftly cut her hand with a sharpened nail, small drops of blood flying past her.

With the wound on her hand scabbing over, the drops of blood that had flown passed her immediately came flying back as Valentine waved her hand downwards; almost in a striking motion, causing the drops to multiply and form multiple, slightly, hardened platforms for them to land on.

Stumbling for a moment once they landed on the last platform, the two began to run once more and their figures were hidden amongst the leaves above, the trees blurring past them the quicker they ran.

'That was impressive!',Killua complimented and glanced towards her out of the corner of his eye, watching as she glanced towards him with a small smile,'You've gotten a lot better at that'

He wasn't wrong.

Whenever she had the time, Valentine was constantly using her ability and finding different ways to use it, as well as strengthening it.

And she had also finally found a name for her ability.

"Thank you! I've tried finding different ways to use it in defensive situations"

With a small smile, Killua glanced back towards the ant and narrowed his eyes, his smile falling.

'We have to find a way to draw him close enough that I can hit him with my yo-yo'

With a look of thoughtfulness on her face, Valentine slowly looked around and took in their surroundings, before her eyes brightened, her head snapping back in Killua's direction as a smile spread across her lips.

"I have an idea."

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Hiding underneath a tree root, pants left Killua's lips and his narrowed eyes looked through the trees.

The ant wasn't following them in.

Even if they had lost him, any moment know he would come looking and would fall right in their trap.

The ground shook as an Ant running atop of a large circular mound of dirt came barreling into the tree Killua was hiding under.

Landing on the side of the tree, the silverette could barely react as another attack was sent his way and sliced it in half.

Seeming to appear out of nowhere, a shadow washed over the ant's body and he didn't have time to react as his head was detached from his body, golden eyes gleaming in rage as her left leg was outstretched slightly; letting the ant on the ground know that the young girl had kicked his companions head right off.

A harsh ringing filled the air and the ant looked up, his eyes widening once he saw the silver-haired boy and the blonde girl working together to take out his five teammates, chunks of blue blood and flesh splattering to the ground.

Holding down the last ant, Valentine's dark eyes glared down at him and the ant stared up at her in horror, watching as she raised a clawed hand, preparing to take his life.

But before her hit could land, something rammed into the tree; knocking it over, causing her to fall with a surprised yell leaving her lips as her eyes widened slightly in shock.

An arm was placed under her legs and behind her back before she could fall any further, causing the girl to look up at Killua with wide eyes.

Gently placing her on top of a branch, the silverette made sure she wouldn't fall and held up the metal rod he had broken off from one of the ant's weapons, reeling his arms back to swing it as he jumped towards the ant; holding it like you would hold a bat.

As the silverette got close, the Chimera Ant shot a blast; kind of like a fart, and an explosion went off, sending Killua back a bit.

With an irritated look on his face, the silverette had his arms covering his face and smoke rose from his body as small burns covered his arms, the fire that had set in his hair went out as the boy looked up, seething with rage.

"Killua!"

A blur of blonde landed in front of him and before he could process it was Valentine, her hands were gently holding his face as she examined him, a scowl on her lips.

"That stupid ant, how dare he!? I'm going to kill that piece of—"

Breaking out into a run with Killua by her side, eyes of gold burned with anger as her eyes scanned for the ant and it's large ball of dirt.

But before either of them could react, something struck the side of Killua's face and he stumbled slightly, coming to a stop which caused Valentine to slide, stopping herself from going any further as she looked towards him with worry.

Noticing the blood slowly sliding down the side of his face, the blonde's entire body tensed up and her eyes shook as the red liquid dripped to the grassy floor, her hands shaking as she clenched her fists together.

"...Killua.."

No.

She couldn't let this happen, not right now.

She had to protect him with everything she's got.

As she was distracted, another two bullets struck the boy in his neck, leg and arm, blood continuously falling from the wounds.

Sliding in front of her boyfriend, Valentine closed her eyes and slowly breathed in, her En covering her body, spreading out around them in a dome; trying to figure out exactly where these bullets were coming from.

And then, she'd kill the person responsible and would gladly relish it, causing the Ant so much pain they'd wish she'd end them quicker.

Her En seemed to vibrate as the bullet entered her range and she lifted her hand, covering her face as it lodged itself into her temple, her head snapping in the direction it came from.

Taking the flea-like bullet out of her skin, Killua's body shook with anger at the sight of blood falling down the side of her face and his dark eyes slowly turned towards the direction it had come from.

With anger coursing through her veins, the girl's vision seemed to go red as she rushed forward and the Ant watching from above had his eyes wide following them as he quickly warned his fellow Ant that the young girl was approaching and fast; noticing that the silver haired boy was following quickly behind her.

'The bleeding where the fleas only grazed me stopped completely'

Glancing towards Killua, Valentine looked at the way the blood continued to fall from his wounds and a frown fell upon her lips.

"Once we deal with this Ant, I'll use my ability to stop the bleeding and get more blood in your system by multiplying it, that way you won't feel dizzy or nauseous from blood loss"

'Good plan'

Nodding his head, Killua watched as his girlfriend nodded back and they looked forward once more, their eyes hardening as they noticed a man staring at them.

That had to be the Ant that shot at them.

With clenched teeth, Valentine stopped for a moment and pushed off of her left foot, speeding forward with such speed that it caught the ant; as well as Killua, by surprise once she had appeared inches from where he was with her fist raised.

With a chuckle, the ant leaned back and began to fall into the hole, causing darkened eyes of rust to follow his movements.

'It's a trap~ Come on in, if you wanna!'

As the Ant jumped down, he wasn't expecting for two hands to grab his face and a soft face to be gently pressed against his as an insane sounding giggle echoed through his ear.

"In order to succeed in killing you, I'd follow you to the depths of hell~"

Sharp nails pierced through his back, causing the ant's eyes to roll back as tentacles sprouted and wrapped around her body, her eyes widening slightly as a small gasp left her lips, before the sound of a metal string stretching out as it flung through the air filled her ears.

A splash echoed through the small cave and the ants in the water hurried to eat the bleeding flesh, their mouths watering.

However, horror rushed through their bodies once realizing it was their squadron leaders host and no matter how much they tried, they couldn't stop eating.

The cold metal of a yo-yo touching her hand caused a shiver to run up Valentine's spine and the strong string was wrapped around her wrist, her body dangling a few feet above the water.

Beginning to pull her up, the silverette was holding onto the severed octopus arm and once she was close enough, Killua wrapped his arm around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck and he buried his face in her shoulder; sighing in relief as he held her close.

'You idiot.. why would you jump down after him knowing it was a trap?'

Opening her mouth, Valentine was about to answer before a loud voice spoke up and interrupted what she was going to say, causing the two to look beside them.

There in front of them, was an octopus-like chimera ant and one of his tentacles seemed to be fused with the gun.

'You.. you little bastard! How dare you chop off the great Ikalgo's precious arms!'

Blinking slowly, a shadow seemed to be casted over Killua's eyes as he pulled Valentine closer to him and the blonde looked down at the water for a moment, before glancing up at Ikalgo.

'Sorry, but I couldn't exactly let you drag my girl into the water. Wait.. "Ika" means squid, and you're an octopus, aren't you?'

'Don't call me an octopus!'

With an angered look on his face, Ikalgo raised his gun and the two teenagers tensed up, preparing for him to fire.

Instead of actually shooting them, the Chimera Ant used the air from the gun to propel himself away from the two; however, Ikalgo wasn't expecting a loud ringing noise to fill the air as the two suddenly appeared beside him, causing the Ant to let out a scream of shock.

Grabbing onto the gun, Valentine kept a tight grip and Killua's arm around her waist kept her from falling into the water below as he used the suction cup on the octopus's severed leg, not letting him go anywhere.

Grinning slightly, Valentine lifted her fingers and waved them slightly, watching as the Ant looked between them with a small drop of sweat falling down the side of his face.

'Hey. So we meet again'

A nervous laugh left the ant's lips and he lifted one of his tentacles, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

'I guess we have..',Ikalgo stuttered and it was clear that he didn't know what to say,'Long time, no see, huh?'

After all, he wasn't expecting the blonde girl to suddenly appear out of thin air, with the silver-haired boy, right next to him.

With a soft chuckle leaving her lips, Valentine looked the Chimera Ant over and thought he was quite adorable.

Although he had shot Killua many times and she was trying to decide if she should kill him now or later.

'I have a question'

Waving one of his tentacles, the ant nodded and pursed his lips.

'Sure, go ahead. Fire away'

'I don't get why you didn't just dive underwater to escape'

Eyes widening slightly, Ikalgo froze up and stammers left his lips as sweat slowly fell down his head, trying to think of an excuse.

'You would have had an advantage in the water, right? Unless... don't tell me you can't swim'

Watching the blue colored blood that slowly dripped into the water, Valentine noticed the way the beings in the water seemed to be in a frenzy, frantically trying to get to the bleeding prey.

Eyes brightening in realization, the blonde looked up at the ant and slowly tilted her head.

"It's because you're bleeding, am I right?"

Watching as the ant looked towards her with a scared look, the blonde knew she hit the mark and she slowly nodded with a hum of understanding.

'Whenever they smell blood, your buddies in the water go completely berserk and start attacking anything down there that's injured, don't they?',Killua figured out,'If you went in there with those wounds, they'd tear you to shreds in no time at all. Am I wrong?'

'Umm.. well, I don't think I would have put it that way exactly, but I suppose, uh—'

Suddenly the ant stopped talking and his eyes widened slightly, before talking to someone.

'Not quite yet. We're still fighting'

"Are we really though?"

'Wait.. who're you talking too?',Killua questioned,'Oh, that's right. You guys can communicate telepathically. Your boss, he's the guy who was flying over us, wasn't he?'

Tilting her head to the side, a small frown formed on Valentine's face and her eyes blinked innocently.

"And don't try lying because no offense Ikalgo, you're pretty bad at it"

As the ant tried to stutter out an excuse, Valentine bit her lip to try and hide a smile, but failed miserably as a gentle laugh left her lips.

'Okay, so let's make a deal',Killua spoke up and this caused the ant to stop talking for a moment,'If you just tell me about his ability, I swear I'll spare your life. I'll give you ten seconds'

"Isn't ten seconds a little merciful?",Valentine muttered under her breath,"I'd give him six seconds, max"

One of the tentacles around Killua's neck fell into the water with a loud splash and a group of Chimera Ants swarmed at the opportunity of eating fresh meat.

'Eight seconds left'

Small whimpers left Ikalgo's lips and the thought of dying caused sweat to build, falling down his face in waves.

'Six seconds'

Noticing the tears brimming the bottom of the Ant's eyes, Valentine glanced up at Killua with a sad look in her eyes; feeling bad for him, causing the silverette to glance towards her for a moment, before returning his stare to Ikalgo.

More whimpers left the Ant's lips and Valentine could almost feel her heart clench at the fear and sadness in the being's eyes, watching as the tears began to fall with a frown tugging at her lips.

All of a sudden, the Ant's face went blank and he looked down for a moment, his eyes glistening.

'I wanted to be reborn as a squid, and my favorite was the breathtaking whiplash squid. If you think octopi and squid are similar, you're quite mistaken. Octopi are ugly.. squid are cool. The squid's form is simply flawless'

A longing sigh left Ikalgo's lips as he imagined the beauty of the magnificent creature that was the squid.

'Two seconds left'

'I can't sell out one of my own'

Lifting up one of his tentacles, Ikalgo broke off the barrel of his gun and a peaceful look fell on his face as he began to fall to his death, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

A small gasp left Valentine's lips and her golden eyes widened as they followed the ant's falling figure, before her teeth clenched together tightly.

'I only hope that in my next life, I will be reborn as a squid'

Quickly making up her mind, Valentine took her arms off of Killua's neck and made him let go of her as she began to fall quickly towards the ant.

Wrapping her hand around one of his tentacles, the young blonde felt as the string of Killua's yo-yo tightly wrapped around her ankle and they came to a quick stop, causing their bodies to swing for a moment.

Opening his eyes with a gasp, Ikalgo looked up at the blonde's beautiful and innocent eyes as she smiled down at him, softly holding his hand in a tight grip to make sure he wouldn't fall.

This girl.. she-

'You.. saved me',Ikalgo said slowly and stared at the teenager in shock,'But why? I'm your enemy'

With a gentle smile on her face, a soft chuckle left Valentine's lips as she gave the Ant a closed-eyed smile and Ikalgo's eyes widened in awe as a small gasp left his lips.

This girl would give her life just to save someone like him, but why?

But, why would she do this even if she knows it could lead to her death.

"I guess you could say I'm starting to like you"

'Maybe in a different world, the three of us could've been really good friends'

Glancing towards Killua, the girl watched as he sent her a soft smile and she gently smiled back, her eyes softening.

Gasping slightly, Ikalgo's eyes softened as he stared at the two and didn't realize that the young girl had snapped her head to look down at the water, a small gasp leaving her as her eyes widened significantly.

Thinking quick, Killua flung the two towards land and Valentine wrapped her arms around the ants body, her nails sharpening as she dug them into one of the stalactites, bringing them to a stop.

Watching as a large, purple shark jumped out of the water and dug his teeth into the rock, Valentine's eyes widened as her breath hitched.

'I'll crush you and the rock behind you'

"Killua!"

The Chimera Ant's eyes widened at the scene and he gasped slightly, worried for the silverette.

As the shark taunted the silver-haired boy, Ikalgo watched as the blonde beside him suddenly disappeared in a blurred apparition and he gasped in shock, looking around with comedically wide eyes.

Appearing beside the shark's head, Valentine brought her foot forward and kicked the ant as hard as she could, just as Killua sliced the being's mouth, blood falling into the water.

Catching the girl around her waist, the silverette stared at her for a moment as she stared at him and neither of them realized that a small lizard-like creature had attached a pin to the back of Killua's shirt.

With his arm tightening around her waist, the silverette brought the two of them to shore and gently placed her on the ground, before reaching up to wipe away the blood dripping down the side of his face.

'Damn.. the bleeding won't stop'

"Here, let me help"

Coming to a stop, a small hum left Killua's lips and a gasp left him as Valentine gently placed her hands on his cheeks, softly pulling his face down so that it was level with her own.

Small breaths left the teen's lips as he watched her aura slowly form around her body and one of the wounds on the side of his forehead began to close up, the blood beginning to sizzle, evaporating into thin air.

But before she could continue, a strange melody played within Killua's head and he tensed up, causing Valentine to look at him with a confused look, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tilted her head.

Out of nowhere, a needlefish stabbed into his leg and Valentine's eyes widened as she immediately removed it, watching as the fish evaporated.

Nen.

Clenching her teeth together, the blonde looked around with sharp eyes and was trying to determine where the attacks were coming from.

Another fish appeared out of nowhere and stabbed the teenager in the stomach, causing Valentine to quickly look at him, hurriedly holding up her hands, her Nen covering her body as she focused on the open wounds.

Looking down at himself, Killua's eyes widened and he immediately rushed over to the water, causing Valentine to let out a noise of worry.

She had to close the wounds and fast.

The fish evaporated and blood began to pour from the wounds, causing Valentine's eyes to widen as she rushed towards her boyfriend, trying her hardest to keep up.

Dart after dart appeared, stabbing Killua in multiple places and Valentine screamed out in frustration, her teeth clenched as she continued to pull out the fish, trying to close the wounds.

This wasn't working.

The quicker she tried to close the wounds and stop the bleeding, more of these fish appeared out of nowhere and messed up her work, making it seem as if she hadn't done anything at all.

She didn't know what to do.

This time she didn't have any answers and if she didn't think of something soon, then Killua was going to die right in front of her.

"Killua!",Valentine shouted as another fish stabbed into his arm, her eyes watering as she rushed to pull out one of the fish, her hands shaking as blood covered her skin,"I-.. I don't know what to do. If this goes on, I won't be able to close all of the wounds quick enough and you'll..."

Tears fell from her cheeks and hit the ground, her body shaking as her Nen poured out of her body, small cries of frustration leaving her lips as another two fish pierced his hand and upper arm.

Pants of exhaustion left Killua's lips as blood continuously fell from his wounds and slowly, an idea came to mind.

'Val.. I need you to listen to me'

Looking up at the silverette with teary eyes, Valentine watched as the teen's face softened at the sight of her tears and he slowly reached up, placing his hand against her cheek, wincing slightly as he did so.

'I have a plan.. I need you to go and hide somewhere. If this is what I think it is, my head will be the end target and once they think I'm dead, they'll come to try and retrieve my body. Once they do, I need you to strike as soon as you can and then use your Nen to stop the bleeding. Right now is too soon, since the attacks are only going to keep coming. Can you do that?'

Looking in between his eyes, Valentine was hesitant to leave him alone and wanted to stay with him just in case anything went wrong, but he was right.

If the ant's thought he was alone and dead, it would give her an amazing advantage and she could kill them quickly, before coming back to help Killua.

With a small sigh, Valentine leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to her boyfriend's head, hearing as a small noise of shock left him.

Pulling back, she saw the red hue of his cheeks and she sent him a small smile, before disappearing with a harsh ring.

After the final strike had landed, Killua fell to the ground and laid still, the two of them waiting.

The water began to ripple and slowly, two figures emerged and darkened eyes of rust followed them in the darkness, glowing slightly in the shadows.

Noticing that Killua was "dead", the two began to cheer and shout with glee, loud laughs leaving their lips.

But what neither of them noticed was a dark figure that suddenly appeared behind them and dark gold glowed menacingly as the eyes of death stared at the two Chimera Ants.

The green chimera ant's head exploded and blood splattered as his body was sent flying, smacking against one of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, his corpse falling into the water.

Slowly turning her head, the pink Chimera Ant stared at the figure looming over her in horror and could only look at the glowing eyes that stared down at her, her body shaking in fear as the girl's hand descended towards her, before the sound of something bursting filled the air, blood splattering to the ground.

A harsh kick landed on the Ant's stomach, sending the upper and lower half of her body flying in different directions, her head bursting as the girl tightly clenched her fists together, her blood heating up to dangerous temperatures.

Dark eyes stared at the ant's bloodied corpses and she immediately snapped out of her dangerous state, Valentine's wide eyes looked towards Killua as she rushed towards him, sliding to her knees in front of him.

"Killua!"

Warm blood coated her legs and knees, causing the girl's hands to shake as she held them out towards her boyfriend and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Stay.. Stay with.. Stay with me, okay?",Valentine stuttered in panic and glanced towards him for a moment, before looking back towards the blood that continuously poured from his body,"I'm going to fix this, I promise"

Breathing in slowly, Valentine held out her hands and felt as her Nen washed over her body, her left eye beginning to glow brightly.

Just as the wounds were starting to close, Killua suddenly reached up and clasped his hand around her wrist, causing Valentine to look towards him in shock.

'Val.. entine.. stop. If you.. go through.. with this, all of the.. Nen you'd need to.. use to heal.. me.. it-..it could.. kill you'

With tears brimming her eyes, Valentine softly held Killua's face in her hand and smiled gently, her lips trembling.

"But if I don't, you'll bleed out and die, Killua"

As she was beginning to close his wounds once more, a tentacle gently wrapped around her wrist and a soft gasp left her lips as Valentine looked beside her, her eyes softening at the sight of Ikalgo beside her.

With a small sob leaving her lips, Valentine looked towards Killua and then, looked back up at the ant, a pleading look on her face.

"Please..help",Valentine pleaded with a sob leaving her,"Help me save him, please!"

Breathing in, Ikalgo picked the two up; with Killua resting against Valentine, and began to carry them towards the water, a determined look on his face.

Jumping into the rushing current, the octopus rode the waves and began to carry them to an unknown place.

'Don't worry! I promise you, that I won't let him die! Just make sure he won't lose any more blood, young lady!'

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