sᴏᴍᴇ ᴀᴅᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ ᴀʀᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴏғ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʙʏ WolfLover5200

ꕥ

ꕥ

After passing the previous obstacles, which was surprisingly the opposite of an difficult journey, the group of friends; alongside Tonpa, found themselves in a small room again. There was one final group decision they had to go through in order to finish the Third Phase.

'This will be the last decision made by majority rule',Killua read the words out loud,'Are you ready? Choose O or X'

Everyone clicked on O.

Suddenly, a beep was heard and a voice recording followed soon after, coming from the statue above them.

"Please choose a path. There are two choices. One path allows six to pass, but is long and difficult. The other path allows only four, but is short and easy. Furthermore, the long path requires a minimum of forty-five hours. The short and easy path leads to the goal in around three minutes. Press O for the long path, X for the short path. If X is selected, two people must be secured to the wall with handcuffs, before two minutes. The chained members will be unable to move until the time is expired"

Lifting her head, Valentine's golden eyes took a long look around the room and she took notice of the many weapons hung upon the wall, each one a different type.

Catching her gaze, a low sigh left Kurapika's lips.

'Four out of six... must we fight for our spot?'

'Just to make it clear, I'm going to press X',Leorio spoke up, his tone serious,'But I plan on being one of those who make it through'

Looking towards Leorio, Tonpa decided to chime in.

'You're one to talk. We could've taken the long path if you hadn't wasted 50 hours. Why don't you do the right thing and make up for it by staying behind?'

Anger filled Leorio's voice and veins popped through his skin as he turned towards Tonpa.

'What was that?!',Leorio shouted.

'I'm sure we all agree, what about it, guys?',Tonpa asked,'Did I lie?'

Staying silent, Valentine watched everything play out from the sidelines and anxiously bit her bottom lip, golden eyes switching between the two.

She tried to think of a solution that wouldn't involve tearing each other to shreds.

'Hold on a second! I'm going to press O',Gon reasoned,'It's just.. we all made it this far by working together, so we should finish together!'

'Gon..',Kurapika trailed off, looking over at the young boy.

'It's a big risk, I know that!',Gon exclaimed,'But still, we've got to try!'

Silence enveloped the room.

'It's not a question of it being a risk. There's only one way to pass and it's obvious, so now we have to pick which four advance',Killua explained,'If it were up to me, you, Valentine and I would be three of the four to take the easy path'

Eyes widening at the statement, Valentine turned to look towards Killua and her lips parted in surprise.

He would pick her?

She thought that he hated her.

Watching as an axe moved towards her, golden eyes narrowed in on the weapon as her eyes widened and time seemed to slow down once more as she moved to the side, a hand falling upon her arm as she was pulled away from her impending doom; the weapon now heading towards Leorio, but it missed.

Stumbling slightly, golden eyes snapped up and saw two figures standing in front of her; one blonde and the other having snow white hair.

Kurapika and Killua.

Feeling a strong and angry aura being directed towards the stubby nosed man, Valentine's eyes widened slightly as she looked between the two.

Who was that coming from?

'That was a cheap shot!',Leorio shouted at Tonpa, since he had obviously thrown it.

'In a fight, there's no such thing as cheap shots!',Tonpa retorted.

Immediately tensing her muscles, Valentine watched as a fight broke out and she slowly reached up, reassuring the bird on her shoulder as she gently rubbed his head.

Since she couldn't see Zeus, she didn't see the glare the young bird had on his face and he stared at Tonpa, his small feathers rustling in anger.

'Bastard!',Leorio shouted, charging towards the man.

A sharp dagger flew past the two, small ringlets of blood fell from the tips of their noses and shivers ran down their spines as they slowly turned towards the source.

Seeing the harsh and cold stare directed at them, sweat slowly fell down the base of their temples and they both gulped, freezing under the harsh stare.

Turning in surprise, Killua and Kurapika turned towards the blonde and watched as she tightly held another dagger within her grasp, a small drop of sweat falling down their temples.

Since when had she had those.

Turning their gazes towards her open backpack, they soon realized that she had brought them along with her.

"There's no use in fighting amongst each other before we come up with something!",Valentine shouted, her once kind and bright eyes were darkened over with anger,"So, would the two of you calm down"

Turning towards the blonde, Tonpa only gave her a glance, before turning towards Leorio once more and glared at the older man.

'We wouldn't be fighting if he hadn't of wasted all of our time!',Tonpa once again grabbed the axe and attacked Leorio.

A sigh escaped Valentine's lips and a look of irritation filled her eyes as she crossed her arms, looking between Killua and Kurapika as they continued to stand in front of her.

They did realize that she could protect herself, right?

'Stop it!',Kurapika shouted, trying to calm them down.

But it was no use.

Looking towards her dagger that was stuck in the ground, Valentine frowned as she stared at it before watching as the bird on her shoulder, jumped off and steadily glided towards her weapon.

"Eh.. Zeus!",Valentine called out, worry clear in her tone.

Blinking in confusion, ice blue eyes looked towards the small bundle of feathers, watching as he slowly waddled forward and Killua tried to see what he was trying to do.

'What is that little bird doing?'

Grabbing the weapon between his beak, Zeus slowly dragged the dagger towards the small and huddled group, trying to bring it back to Valentine.

Slowly bending down, Valentine picked up her small companion and gave him a bright smile, gently taking her weapon from his beak, placing it in her bag as she affectionately rubbed the top of his head.

"Thank you, Zeus",Valentine thanked, giving her companion a bright smile.

A small chirp left the bird's beak and it seemed as if he smiled, before he climbed up her arm, settling on her shoulder.

'Come on, let's all do this together!',Gon pleaded.

Standing on the tip of her toes, Valentine lightly grabbed onto Killua's shoulder so she could stand higher and look over his shoulder, watching the fight.

Feeling a light grip on his shoulder, Killua hummed in confusion and turned his head, his eyes widening as a small blush covered his cheeks as his nose almost brushed against her own.

'Eh?!',Killua exclaimed, blinking in confusion as a bashful anger filled his veins,'What are you doing, idiot!'

Unfazed by the nickname, Valentine glanced towards Killua out of the corner of her eye and bashfully rubbed the back of her head, a small and nervous giggle leaving her lips.

"Trying to see what's going on",Valentine admitted,"You and Kurapika are taller than me, so I figured that I couldn't easily look over your shoulder"

As he went to speak up, the axe being caught in the wall caught their attention and they turned towards the fight once more, watching as Tonpa ripped it from the wall, gaining Gon and Valentine's attention.

'Looks like fighting is our only option',Killua spoke up.

Looking towards one another, Valentine and Gon lightly nodded, before they disappeared as a cloud of dust was all that remained, causing Kurapika and Killua to look back in surprise.

"Stop it!"

The movement in the room froze for a moment, looking towards the girl that held back Leorio while Gon held back Tonpa, keeping them away from one another.

Peering over her shoulder, Valentine looked at Gon; who nodded and she dropped her arms, stepping back as she ripped the weapon from Leorio's hands, throwing it to the side.

"We have an idea"

ꕥ

The door slid open, revealing three dirt-covered examinees; Killua, Gon and Valentine.

'Killua, number 99, is the twentieth to pass. Gon, number 405, is the twenty-first to pass. Valentine, number 399, is the twenty-second to pass. Time elapsed 71 hours and 59 minutes'

Smiling brightly, Valentine turned towards the two and threw her arms around them, feeling as Zeus shook the dust from his feathers, an adorable sneeze leaving the small bird.

"We did it!"

Smiling, Gon gladly accepted the hug and tightly wrapped his arms around the girl, while Killua only tried to struggle away from her grasp.

'Hey! Let me go, moron!'

With a pout on her lips, Valentine took her arm off of Killua and wrapped it around Gon; who gladly returned her tight hug, giggles escaping the friend's lips as icy eyes watched the interaction, something sparking in the iris.

'After all of that complaining, we finally got through',Killua spoke up, causing Valentine to playfully stick her tongue out.

Letting out a huff, Killua rolled his eyes and looked away from the blonde.

'My ass hurts!'

Letting out a small giggle, Valentine turned towards the door and watched as a certain blonde and dark haired man walked through the door.

'Kurapika, number 404, is the twenty-third to pass'

'I certainly wasn't expecting the short and easy path to be a slide',Kurapika stated.

The four began to chat until two certain individuals came up from behind them through the door, arguing and shoving each other to try and pass through the doorway.

'Leorio, number 403, the twenty-fourth to pass. Tonpa, number 16, is the twenty-fifth to pass'

The four standing before the door stared at the two and watched as they shoved each other, causing Valentine to let out a small sigh.

'I'm happy we all get to move on!',Gon exclaimed, a bright smile on his lips as he looked between his friends.

Looking down at his hands, Leorio studied how they were all dirty and cut up.

'My hands are wrecked! But same here, I'm glad that we all got to move on. And it's all thanks to you, Gon!',Leorio shoved his hand atop of the boy's head and ruffled his hair, causing Gon to smile brightly.

The door slowly opened, revealing the outside and the sun brightly beamed down on the examinees causing Valentine's skin and eyes to glow brightly.

Breathing in the fresh air, a gentle hum left Valentine's pink lips and felt as a small breeze pushed back a few locks of her blonde locks.

Now the Fourth Phase begins.