ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏ ᴏғ ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴢᴇᴜs ʙʏ NatalenaHess

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As it turns out, the prisoner was a pretty, young woman with curly pink hair tied back into pigtails and glowing amethyst eyes.

Practically seeing the hearts in Leorio's eyes, a confused frown pulled at Valentine's lips and she had a feeling that from then on, his hormones would take control of his mind and decisions, tilting her head at the strange sight.

In other words, a perverted and dazed look covered Leorio's face and it was possible that he was having certain thoughts about the prisoner.

An expression of disgust coated Killua's face and he unintentionally pulled at Valentine's arm, placing her behind him; his friend's smaller frame being perfectly hidden from view so she didn't have to witness the disturbing occurrence.

'I bet that old man's dancing on the inside',Killua bluntly commented.

Face paling at the thought, Kurapika momentarily glanced at the innocent golden-eyed girl being hidden by the snowy-haired boy's taller frame and he silently sighed in relief, knowing that she would most certainly be very offended by the act Leorio was displaying; if she knew what was happening.

'I have a bad feeling about this'

'Now, let's bet to see if I'm a man or a woman',She stated, taking the man aback,'To prove if you're right or wrong, you get to examine every inch of my body until you are satisfied'

Eye twitching in annoyance, Killua took a deep breath to contain his anger and rolled his eyes at the man's stupidity.

'Leorio's going to bet that she's a man',Kurapika deadpanned, earning a nod from Killua.

Looking at each other in confusion, Gon and Valentine frowned, shrugging their shoulders.

'What?',Gon innocently inquired,'Why?'

No one answered him.

Feeling a gentle tug on the sleeve of his shirt, Killua looked down as his eyes of ice connected with that of the finest gold.

Slowly peeking around the snowy-haired boy's frame, the scene that played before her eyes confused the blonde and she frowned deeply. Looking up at the boy in front of her, Valentine moved back and the scene was blocked from her view once more as she reached forward, gently tugging at the sleeve of the icy-eyed boy's shirt.

The color of ice connected with eyes of molten gold and a confused frown was pulling at Valentine's lips, causing Killua's heart to slowly stutter at the sight; her large eyes looked up at him ever-so-innocently and her head was slightly tilted to the side as a mask of confusion coated her face.

"Killua, what's going on?",Valentine questioned, trying to look over his shoulder as she jumped and sadly, she was too short.

Staring into her eyes, the white-haired boy could practically feel the essence of innocence seeping out of her and it coated him in warmth, feeling like fire itself was coating his entire body, causing a wave of serenity to wash over his body.

Thinking of what to say, Killua opened his mouth and before he could answer her, Leorio spoke up and cut off his reply, causing the icy-eyed boy to sigh in relief.

'Well, then.. I bet ten hours that you're a male!',Leorio declared, flagrantly.

A look of shock coated Gon's face and he looked towards Valentine.

'I knew it',The blonde Kurta sighed and shook his head in disappointment.

'Dirty old man',Killua cursed under his breath.

Gon was the only one that was drowning in confusion of the situation.

'But why?',Gon questioned.

Thinking to himself, Gon could clearly see that she was a woman and he was confused as to why Leorio had guessed differently.

'He'd think that it's a win-win situation, because even if he's wrong, he gets to..',Killua explained and his eyes narrowed in disgust,'...'feel up' her body'

'Oh.. I get it now'

When it was revealed that she was a woman, Leorio was able to do as he pleased to check whether he was right or not and unable to watch any longer, Valentine hid back behind Killua's towering form and looked down at the ground, playing with her fingers.

There was no hope left for him, for it was clear that he knew nothing of gambling; unlike his skillful opponent. She was sent to prison partly because of illegal gambling after all.

The last bet involved rock-paper-scissors, to which Leorio lost instantly because the prisoner had managed to beat him using mental strategy.

'Are you satisfied now?',Killua questioned plainly,'You're quite pathetic sometimes, you know that?'

'What was that?!',The man seethed, plumes of smoke billowing out of his nose due to his anger and even though he was provoked by the boy's words, he simply let it go by heaving out a sigh of irritation,'Never mind, I deserve it..'

'It's a two-on-two score now',Kurapika stated and glanced down at his watch,'And including the time Leorio took away from us, we have less than ten hours to finish the Third Phase'

'That means Killua will have to win for us',Gon stated, having lots of faith in his friend and faces him, beaming; his smile as radiant as ever,'You can do it, Killua!'

Nodding in agreement, Valentine looked towards Killua and smiled just as brightly as Gon.

"Yeah!",Valentine agreed and clasped her hands together behind her back, a gentle smile on her lips,"Unless it's a math competition, then we may as well take the loss"

A low chuckle left Killua's lips and even though he agreed with her statement, he didn't show it too much.

'Right'

'Awe, damnit!',Leorio cursed under his breath and held his head in his hands,'I shouldn't have lost my round then'

'What?! You don't have any faith in me?',Killua yelled, growing irked and was about to attack the man if it weren't for Valentine wrapping her arms around his waist and Gon stepping between them,'Hey, this old man's getting on my nerves!'

Gon let out a weak chuckle while Kurapika sighed at their antics and Valentine grew worried, knowing that if Killua snapped, he might kill their friend.

KLANK!

The sound of bricks smashing and falling to their deaths ripped through the deadened silence and a new tension pervaded through the air, causing the examinees to stiffen. The quintet turned their focus ahead of them and saw the final prisoner stepping out, the hairs on the back of their necks straightened and shivers spread down their spines.

Leorio's face darkened and grew serious, an expression that didn't quite suit him.

'Killua, take the loss'

'Huh? You know that guy?'

''That's Johness the dissector, he's the worst known murderer in Zaban city. He chose his victims randomly. It was a famous case.. 146 people, young and old, men and women, met with brutal deaths by his very bare hands. He was known for having an iron grip, the power in between his fingers'

'It's been awhile since I've touched human flesh..',The man spoke monotonously, crushing a brick into nothing but ashes and his steely grey eyes reflected nothing but endless dark holes; cold and ruthless.

Intrigued by his opponent, Killua shoved his hands into his pockets and began to make his way to the arena. He ignored the way Leorio called out to him with concern, calmly walking away on the extended platform.

"I know that Killua can beat him",Valentine spoke up, her tone soft and sun colored eyes sparkled with curiosity at the outcome and interest.

However, her words caused Leorio and Kurapika to look towards her in slight surprise.

"He can do it",Valentine stated calmly.

A fight between a large, muscular man and a kid with fluffy, snow white hair, no one would expect for the kid to win.

'So, how do you want to do this?'

The man's hands began to twitch and shake, eager to feel the boy's flesh.

'Do this? You have the wrong idea. See, you're about to be on the wrong side of a one-sided massacre. I don't care about the exam or reducing my prison sentence. All I want is to hear you scream'

Blinking slowly, Killua didn't have much of a reaction; or any, to Johness's words and only gazed up at the larger man.

'Really?',The snowy-haired boy asked, his face blank of any emotion,'That's fine, we'll just keep fighting until one of us drops dead then'

Killua had stated those words as if they meant absolutely nothing and they most likely did, at least to Killua.

Johness's mouth parted slightly to the boy's unaffected state, but shortly got back into character.

'That's right, a battle to the death. Soon.. I'll tear your body apart'

Although the death was rather swift and gruesome.

It had all happened so quick.

Time seemed to slow down.

Kneeling down slightly, Killua's eyes went a hazy electric blue and he charged towards the prisoner with a lightning quick speed. With awe shinning in her molten gaze, Valentine hadn't seen anyone kill someone.

Slowly reaching up, Valentine used her finger to cover Zeus's eyes and the small, blue bird chirped with confusion as his vision was swamped with darkness.

With his arm outstretched; frozen, Johness had no time to react at all and slowly looked down at his chest, struggling to breath.

'What happened?'

The place where the man's heart should've been was now a hole with blood staining the edges.

Turning around, the man had his hand clenching his chest and at the same time, Killua turned around, holding the man's still beating heart wrapped in a piece of the prisoner's shirt.

A sinister expression was on the snowy haired boy's face and his dimmed eyes were much darker than before.

'That's mine..',Johness grunted, weakly moving forward and reached his hand out,'Give it back. Give it back to me'

Weakly gasping, his heavy body crashed to the ground and when he was no longer moving, Killua slowly walked forward and crouched down, placing the heart into the deceased body's outstretched hand.

Turning towards the prisoners, Killua's once darkened gaze was lighter than before and he blinked innocently as if nothing had happened.

'So, that's 3 wins for us',Killua called out,'We move on right?'

Snapping out of his gaze, Bendot nervously looked at the boy and slowly nodded.

'That's right. Yeah, you guys win',Bendot, the ex-gladiator, curtly nodded and he attempted to hide his fear of the young boy in the arena.

The boy with striking electric eyes and this boy, he had a soul trained to kill.

'You know, I'm still feeling the adrenaline',Killua spoke up and maliciously smiled at the bald man, sending shivers down his spine as sweat profusely streamed down his forehead,'How about it, wanna take me on?'

'No thanks',He nervously stuttered out.

'Oh, well, your loss',Killua sighed and shrugged.

The blonde and her green haired companion seemed to be the only ones unfazed by the gruesome situation, whereas Kurapika and Leorio grimaced at the sight.

The black haired man was shaking in his boots and his eyes were wide with terror. It wasn't a normal sight to see a thirteen-year-old boy rip someone's heart out so swiftly and as easily as that.

Noticing how frightened his friend was, Gon turned to face him.

'Oh yeah, you guys don't know, right?',Gon questioned.

'Know what..?',Leorio hesitantly inquired.

'Killua's family is of high elite assassins'

Eyes widening in terror, drops of sweat fell down Leorio's temple and he held his breath, his hands shaking with nerves.

'I'm back',Killua announced, coming back right after the spiky green-haired boy's words.

Glancing towards Leorio, a look of confusion coated Killua's face as the older man looked at him with fear in his eyes.

'Are you okay?',Killua questioned.

'Y-Yeah! I just wanted to say good job!',Leorio smiled at the younger boy, reassuringly.

Shaking her head at his behavior, Valentine sighed at the fact that he was judging Killua based on who his family was.

Assassins.

It was normal to feel scared seeing an actual human heart being ripped from someone's chest.

Nevertheless, Valentine brightly beamed at Killua and he could see that she wasn't revolted by his action.

"What you did was pretty cool, Killua",Valentine stated, gold hues mashing with oceanic blue and held out her fist with a beaming smile.

Eyeing her fist that hung in the air, a small smile adorned the boy's lips and he pounded it.

Briefly glancing at the blonde with a sense of relief and joy filling his eyes, subconsciously Killua let them soften; without the blonde acknowledging his gaze on her.

"She isn't scared of me, even after I had nearly killed her that day when she saw me kill those guys on the airship and even after I performed this murder, I guess that she's not. Weirdo",He indicated to himself and even though a frown adorned his lips, his curious gaze lingered on her frame with a wearisome look on his face,"Unless... she is scared and she's just not showing it"

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All things considered, things could've gone better for the group but it hadn't. Of course, not when someone in his late teenage years decides to 'feel up' a woman's body and a prisoner, no less.

Now, the group were forced to pay the price as a team and spend the next fifty hours in an isolated room. It was quite a small space. There was a television up ahead, a few couches on the sides, bookcases and a small, round table in the middle.

They had to spend their time in there for a little bit over two days.

Everyone was minding their own business and currently, the three children were occupying one of the corners of the room.

Currently, Killua was demonstrating the trick he had done when the trio first met. He kicked his skateboard into the air before landing perfectly on the ground and successfully caught his transportation.

'Don't hesitate on the first step or you're going to hurt yourself',Killua advised, teaching his friends who currently had their jaws dropped and their eyes shinning in amazement.

With her eyes shining, Valentine eagerly perked up and looked towards Gon, who nodded for her to go first.

"Okay!",Valentine exclaimed, her eyes glistening as if diamonds themselves were trapped within them,"I'll go"

Noticing her approaching him, Killua took a step sideways and Gon stepped back as well compensating for the lack of space.

Eventually, Valentine lifted one foot onto the skateboard and then the other, before gently kicking it off the ground.

As she had known that she was not able to balance atop of things very well; specifically anything that moves, her back foot tumbled off causing her to lose her balance, falling back and the board flung forward, heading towards the wall with a thump.

Falling into someone, arms wrapped around her and steadied her falling form, stumbling in the process.

'Idiot! You're supposed to balance your weight on each foot!',Killua reprimanded, helping her to her feet as he puffed out his cheeks and placed his hands on his hips.

Irk marks appeared on his forehead and his eyes looked as if they had turned white, looking like an angry cartoon character.

Sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, Valentine nervously giggled and a small bead of sweat fell from her forehead.

"Sorry",She stuttered.

'My turn! My turn!',Gon yelled excitedly, sounding like an adorably small child.

Putting one foot on the skateboard, Gon moved it back and forth, before accidentally striking it with a bit of force.

It launched forward and whizzed past Tonpa's head, causing the man's face to pale; as if his very life had flashed before his eyes, and slowly turned his head towards the three children.

'Hey!',Leorio barked out and looked towards the three,'What are you doing?'

Rubbing the back of his head, Gon rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed, while small giggles left Valentine's lips.

'Oops, sorry',Gon apologized.

If only the skateboard had hit the older man in the head.

'This room isn't big enough for skateboarding, so knock it off',Leorio scolded.

'Awe, okay..',Gon reluctantly agreed, looking solemn.

Being enveloped in boredom once more, eyes made of the purest gold wondered towards the blonde boy and slowly, she began to walk over.

He was casually seated in the corner whilst reading a book and thoughts of how quickly Kurapika could read filled Valentine's head as she caught sight of the pile of books leaning beside him.

Sitting down besides the teen, Valentine curiously gazed at the book in his hands and innocently looked up at him, her eyes shining with wonder.

"Hey Kurapika, what are you reading?",She innocently questioned, tilting her head as she crossed her legs and curiously gazed at the book within his hands, feeling as her bird companion wandered off of Kurapika's shoulder, back onto her own.

'Just some novel',He trailed off, glancing at the cover of the book. "Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell"

Eyes shining with curiosity, Valentine sat closer to the blonde and her shoulder just about brushed against his, causing him to glance down at the younger girl.

"Is it interesting?",Valentine questioned, her eyes taking in the words inked on the page.

A low hum of agreement filled her ears and she looked up, watching her friend's grey eyes glanced at her and he struggled, thinking of something.

Finally, a low sigh left his lips and Kurapika looked down at the young girl, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.

'Would you like to read it with me?',The blonde boy questioned, an eyebrow raising in question.

Face lighting up in glee, a bright smile fell onto her lips and Valentine eagerly nodded, resting her head against the teen's shoulder, reading the words from the page.

Muscles tensing, Kurapika blinked slowly and looked down at the golden-eyed child leaning against his shoulder, a small and barely noticeable smile twitched at his lips. Clearing his throat, the teen averted his eyes towards the page and continued from where he had left off.

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That night, Killua hadn't bothered to sleep. As a trained assassin, he could go two to three days without sleep and be completely fine. He wouldn't be exhausted nor tired. He learned how to bare the guilt of killing someone and didn't receive nightmares, or any dreams for that matter.

So to kill time, he merely looked up at the empty ceiling whilst resting his hands behind his head.

Feeling something moving along his chest, he lifted his hand to flick it away and instead, felt a harsh pinch. Blinking in surprise, Killua looked down and his eyes locked onto large, beady black eyes that stared at him within the darkness.

'What are you doing, you little creep?',Killua whispered, scowling at the small bird.

Watching the boy, Zeus merely blinked and ruffled his feathers, slowly sitting down whilst his eyes continued to stare down the snowy-haired boy.

Sighing through his nose, Killua rolled his eyes and looked towards Valentine; who's eyes were hidden by her eyelashes, her hand on the pillow beside her head and her lips were parted as small breaths escaped them.

Slowly sitting up, he grabbed a pillow and tossed it at Valentine, causing the small bird on his shoulder to nip at his cheek.

Unexpectedly, she caught it flawlessly. Killua blinked in surprise at her quick reflexes, large sapphire blue eyes twinkled with such pure fascination in the darkness. After that, she tossed the pillow back at the snowy-haired boy.

Soon after, the two began a pillow fight with Gon sleeping soundly behind them. That night, was filled with giggles and lighthearted laughter between the two.

A pillow soared passed Valentine's head and smashed into the side of Gon's face, causing the two to hold their breath, freezing in place.

Eyes wide, the two slowly turned to one another and blinked slowly, before turning back to face Gon.

As she went to turn towards Killua, a pillow soared through the air and smacked Valentine in the side of the face.

A burst of laughter broke through Killua's lips and Gon tensed, innocently blinking as he, too, tried to hold in his laughter.