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The air was tense and heavy as the four stared at Knuckle, still in shock from the man telling them that Gon's technique was flawed.

'So, Gon. That technique you're using, what is it you call it?'

Freezing up, the green-haired boy realized that he hadn't thought of what to call his ability and his eyes widened as he rapidly began to think of something.

Realizing that she didn't have a name for her ability either, Valentine looked at the ground with furrowed eyebrows and placed her hand under her chin, trying to think of a name.

'It's Ja... Janken',Gon stuttered out and a drop of sweat fell down his forehead.

'Wow.. Zero effort'

Muffling her chuckle behind her hand, Valentine's shoulders shook slightly and a small snort left her lips, causing Killua to look down at her with a small smile, placing his hands on his hips.

'Jajanken, huh?',Knuckle said in understanding and put his hand under his chin,'Okay, I see. So it's just like rock, paper, scissors,  but the "ja-jan" adds a little oomph, like a "ta-da"!'

Staring at Knuckle with a wide-eyed expression, Gon's lips parted and he slowly blinked, a small drop of sweat falling down his face as he tensed up slightly.

'Well, not really',Gon said lowly.

It was clear that the first "ja" in the name was actually a stutter but if Knuckle liked the name, then so be it.

'That's a clever name you've got there, kid!',Knuckle exclaimed and held up two fingers,'Well, Gon, your Jajanken has two giant weaknesses. First off, the windup is too long. Those few precious seconds you're taking before the move is like an eternity in actual combat, so you ain't gonna get many chances to use it, will you?'

'Yeah, I know that'

'And second, it's too risky. See, the more aura you focus into your fist, the less you have at your disposal and that's less that you'll have to protect your body. If someone attacks when you're vulnerable, you're dead!'

Gritting his teeth together in anger, Gon's eyes narrowed the longer he stared at Knuckle and his Ren harshly flared up.

'I know what the risks are. That's why I spent the last month training, to make up for them!'

The aura around his body strengthened significantly and glowed brighter than it ever had before, causing Valentine's eyes to widen in awe, her lips parting slightly.

The two ran towards one another with bursts of speed and landed strike after strike at each other, the older man landing a hit which caused Gon to go flying back.

Eyes widening, a small gasp left Valentine's lips and she stepped forward slightly.

"Gon!"

Flipping himself upright, the green-haired boy landed on the ground and immediately sped towards Knuckle, a yell leaving his lips.

Another hit striked Gon and he was sent flying back once again, causing the boy to clench his teeth in annoyance, watching as Knuckle slowly walked towards him.

Running to the side, it was clear that Gon figured if he had a running start, then he'd at least have a chance and that didn't seem to be the case as Knuckle quickly caught up to the teenager, striking him once more after he had dodged one of his attacks.

Watching as Gon was sent flying back, a small wince formed on Valentine's face and no matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn't.

Speeding towards the man once more, Gon dodged a few attack, but wasn't quick enough and a harsh kick slammed into his side, before hit after hit landed on his skin.

Sliding back, dust kicked up from the ground and Gon panted harshly, holding his side as bruises and dirt covered his body.

'Damn it',Killua stated.

It was clear that Knuckle was able to read the flow of Gon's aura like the page of a book.

'Okay.. now, I think it's time to throw a real punch',Knuckle stated and his aura changed completely,'Don't blame me if you die, alright?'

Winding up his arm, it seemed as if the man's eyes were glowing the longer he stared at Gon and the young blonde tightly clenched her fists, her nails harshly digging into her flesh.

Raising his fist, Gon got into the usual stance of his Nen ability and Valentine held her breath, her body tensing up.

Knuckle had warned him that if he tried to use Jajaken, he'd be able to stop it.

'Okay, now show me rock'

The aura around Gon's hands glowed as bright as a winters flame and it almost felt like heat had washed over their bodies the longer they stared.

Rushing forward, Knuckle kicked Gon and sent the boy flying, a small cry leaving his lips when he hit the ground.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as soon as the droplets of blood that Gon had coughed up hit the ground and the young blonde's body immediately froze as her muscles tensed, her eyes seeming to shake as she stared at the red droplets that stained the once bright green blades of grass.

The rhythmic sound of her heartbeat echoed throughout her ears and the blood that pumped through her veins seemed to blare through her brain as her breathing slowly became choppy, the once beautifully bright golden hue of her eyes began to dark significantly into a deep rusty hue, the veins along her lower jaw began to darken into a deep midnight black as harsh breaths escaped her clenched teeth.

Having no idea of the chaos he had caused in the young blonde's mind, Knuckle walked towards Gon with clenched teeth and his veins seemed to pop out of his skin as he glared down at the boy.

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'Didn't I tell you I wouldn't let you do that?',Knuckle yelled and anger seemed to course through his veins,'Are you messing with me?'

Blood dripped down the side of Gon's mouth and he slowly stood to his feet, before he stumbled slightly, his knees touching the ground as his whole body shook with exhaustion.

The scent of blood hit Jaxon's nose as a slight ring filled the air and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked beside him, before his eyes widened greatly as his head snapped back towards the battle, noticing the blood that stained the grass.

'Oh shit...!',Jaxon exclaimed and stepped forward, quickly looking around with worried eyes.

Furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion, Killua looked over at the Nitsune and tilted his head slightly, a curious look on his face.

'What's wrong?'

Quickly looking back towards Killua, Jaxon's wide eyes stared into azure blue eyes that were filled with confusion and the stench of blood continued to remind the blonde boy exactly why he was so panicked.

'The blood! Gon's blood!'

With a weirded out look on his face, Killua leaned back slightly and slowly shook his head, not understanding what the boy was trying to say.

A groan of annoyance and worry left Jaxon's lips as he hurriedly pointed towards the empty spot behind Killua and his wide eyes remained.

'Whenever someone she cares about is hurt, a protective blackout takes over Valentine's mind! It's like another person, a much darker version of her, is controlling her body and she'll do anything to destroy what had caused the injury! As soon as Gon's blood hit that grass, Valentine's split consciousness immediately took over!'

Finally understanding what his crushes brother was trying to tell him; much like what she had told him herself, Killua immediately looked beside him and noticing that Valentine was gone, his head snapped towards the battlefield where a blurred apparition had appeared over Gon; seeming to almost jump across him.

Eyes widening in panic, Killua stepped forward and his breathing began to quicken slightly, hoping that his voice would pull her out of that darkness quick enough.

'Valentine, no!'

Humming in confusion, Knuckle turned his head to the side and before he could even process that the young blonde was missing, a harsh force slammed into his chest, causing blood to fly from his lips as he was sent flying back, harshly hitting the ground as a trail of dust was kicked up into the air.

Looking up at the girl with wide eyes, Gon wiped at the blood from his mouth and his muscles seemed to shake, watching as her hair whipped back from the force of her strike.

'Valentine.. what're you doing? You know you can't-...'

But she seemed to ignore him as her fists tightened greatly, her veins popping out of her skin as she breathed heavily and if she were a creature of the night, the sounds that were leaving her lips would be similar to their growls of fury.

Slowly sitting up from the ground, a groan of pain left Knuckle's lips and he raised his hand, holding it to his sore chest.

'Hey kid, what the hell was tha—'

But Knuckles words immediately died in his throat once he had caught sight of the angered blonde that protectively stood in front of Gon; who was still on the ground, staring up at her with shock and worry, and his eyes widened slightly.

Every vein in her body was almost bulging out of her skin and was tinted a midnight black, pairing with the strange marks that were covering the top and underneath of her eyes; speaking of her eyes, only one seemed to glow bright while the other seemed to almost be pitch black.

But the one that glowed brightly had something strange within it; small lines were engraved in her iris, making the shape of a symbol.

The aura that washed over Knuckle was one of intense malice and rage, causing the man to shiver the longer he stared into her dark eyes and he began to wonder what had switched within the normally bright girl.

'Kid.. what the hell is going on here?',Knuckle spoke up and his voice began to shake,'You're not supposed to be getting involved!'

But his words had fallen upon deaf ears and Valentine leaned down slightly, her foot sliding back and the sound of the dirt moving caught Gon's attention.

Having an idea of what was about to happen, the green haired boy reached out for his friend and tried to calm her down.

'Valentine wait, I'm fine! You don't have to—'

But he was too late.

Bursting forward with an insane amount of speed, Valentine raised her leg and didn't give Knuckle enough time to prepare himself as she brought her foot forward, connecting with the bottom of the man's jaw.

Being sent flying back, Knuckle's body couldn't even hit the ground before the young girl had appeared beside him once more and the bottom of her foot slammed into the side of his ribs.

The breath within his body was taken away as Knuckle was sent flying in the other direction and his back roughly hit the ground, dust flying up in it's wake.

Slowly sitting up with a groan, the man peeled his eyes open and watched as the girl sped forward from where she once was, suddenly appearing in front on him.

Using her foot to launch him into the air slightly, Valentine's fist hit the man repeatedly and blood flew from Knuckle's lip, before she kicked him forward.

Jumping up, the girl raised her leg and slammed her heel into his chest, his back harshly hitting the ground.

If Knuckle hadn't used his Ren to constantly protect himself from these hits, he would've been killed instantly upon contact.

As specks of dirt and smashed up rock flew by the girl, her hair gracefully flowed behind her as a giggle left her lips.

But it wasn't one her beautiful, angelic laughs that made Killua's heart flutter.

Instead, it was a laugh that was full of a sadistic and insane melody; one that was enjoying every brutal hit she brought upon him.

Knuckle knew that something changed inside the girl and whether it was one she chose or one her body had forced upon her, he didn't know and it slightly terrified him.

All he knew is that his Ren would be able to protect him from a lot of the force of her brutal attacks, but he would surely have many bruises after this encounter.

If it ever ended.

Now he understood. He understood why the Chairman was so fascinated in this girl and her strength.

Whenever someone she cared about was injured, she wouldn't care about anything but protecting them and would put all of her strength into her fight.

It was a good thing to have against the Chimera Ants, but right now, he had to find a way to calm the girl down before she actually killed him the second his aura gave out.

Jumping towards Knuckle with sharpened nails, Valentine swung her arm forward and was fully prepared to take the man's life.

But something stopped her.

The wind harshly blew against burning skin as three paired of arms were wrapped around the girl, stopping her from attacking and she growled out in rage.

Two pairs of hands held back each of her arms and a pair of arms were tightly wrapped around her waist, effectively stopping her as they slightly lifted her feet off of the ground.

'Valentine, stop, you can beat this! Fight against it and take back control of your body!'

'Val please, you have to calm down! Listen to my voice and come back to me— come back to us!'

Struggling within their holds, Valentine's eyes were almost completely black and her muscles tensed as she pulled her left arm forward, an angered grunt leaving her lips.

Her canines were as sharp as blades, fury filling her body and she struggled more, trying to get free of the restraints that held her back.

Throwing her head back, the harsh force slammed into Jaxon's nose and his hold on her weakened as blood ran down his face, a grunt of pain leaving his lips as the red liquid slowly fell down his face, holding his hands to his nose as he winced.

Reaching her; now freed, right arm forward, her sharpened nails harshly scratched at Killua's skin and he winced, blood slowly running down his arm but he didn't care about that.

He only cared about the girl he loved.

And so, he reached his uninjured arm forward and his hand held her freed wrist, helping to hold her back.

The arms around her waist tightened once noticing that she was beginning to drag them forward, their feet sliding against the ground and tears began to stain her shirt as Gon hugged her tightly, his eyes watering at the state his weakness had put her in.

'Valentine, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry that my weakness had put you in the state that you hate, I promise I'll do better in the future!',Gon yelled out as his hold tightened,'But please, I need you to calm down! I need my sister back!'

Hearing these words caused Valentine's eyes to slowly open and she looked around, seeing the darkness that surrounded her.

She was locked within her own mind.

"Where am I..?"

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As Valentine was pulled into her mind, Killua used all of his strength and noticing that she was falling, Gon immediately let go, watching with teary, wide eyes as the silverette held her wrists down on the ground, hovering over her as she leaned up, her sharpened teeth trying to bite at him.

The way she looked at him with so much rage and hate caused Killua's eyes to water as he stared down at her.

He knew she hated herself whenever she was this way, he knew how much she didn't want to hurt them and here this part of her was, struggling to try and tear at his skin.

'Val!'

Hearing Killua's voice echoing throughout the dark space, Valentine turned around and furrowed her eyebrows together.

But what she saw caused her to immediately jump back and a small screech of shock left her lips.

Standing in front of her, was a girl that look exactly like her, but Valentine immediately noticed the differences between them and slowly tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Who are you? What am I doing here!?"

A small smirk slowly spread across the beings face and a dark chuckle echoed throughout the dark space.

"Can't you tell? I'm you, obviously"

Furrowing her eyebrows together, Valentine immediately took a step back and quickly shook her head.

"You're not me! There's no way you could be!"

Watching as the strange being stepped closer to her, the young blonde immediately stepped back and it didn't seem to matter as this person only came closer.

"Well.. I guess you could say, I'm the better version of you",The other Valentine stated and a wicked grin spread across her face, showing off her sharp teeth.

Gulping down her spit, Valentine's breathing sped up slightly and she looked around, trying to find a way out.

"What am I doing here! Why are you here?",Valentine questioned and her eyes widened once she realized what was happening, snapping her head towards her other self,"You're that part of me. Wait, but that means... my friends! What are you doing to them!?"

A wicked giggle left the other Valentine's lips and that insane grin on her face only seemed to widen.

"Doing what you couldn't. I'm protecting us!"

An angered look formed on Valentine's face and she stepped forward, a frown tugging at her lips.

"You're not protecting me! Protecting me wouldn't mean hurting my friends"

With a small tsk leaving her lips, the other Valentine rolled her eyes and let out a fake laugh.

"You know better than I do, that we'll only end up killing them"

Breathing out in anger, Valentine turned away and perked up slightly at the sight of a glass wall in front of her.

Perfect.

Lifting up her hands, the young blonde placed them against the glass and began to push harshly, her muscles flexing as a groan of effort left her lips.

A panicked look filled the other Valentine's face and she stepped forward, trying to stop the girl.

"Wait, you can't! My fun hasn't even started yet!"

Pushing with every bit of strength she could muster, a yell of determination left Valentine's lips as the glass began to crack and her muscles tensed, before suddenly, the glass shattered.

Eyes of rust slowly began to lighten back to their beautiful color of gold and her breathing began to slow down as her struggles came to an immediate stop, her eyes slowly looking around.

Looking up at the boy above her, Valentine's eyes began to fill to the brim with water and her body returned to it's natural state.

"..Killua.."

Noticing that his girl was back, the silverette immediately pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry!",The young girl sobbed out and tears began to trail down her face as small cries left her lips,"I'm.. I'm so sorry!"

Slowly pulling away, Killua lifted his hand and gently ran it through her soft hair, his eyes staring into her teary, but beautiful, golden ones.

'It's okay, Val. The only thing that matters is that you're back'

Small sniffles left her and her eyes slowly trailed away from his own, locking onto the large scratch on his arm, watching as crimson blood fell from the wound.

A sob left Valentine's lips as she slowly reached her hand towards him, but realizing that she was the one who had injured him, she pulled her hand back and held it to her chest, her bottom lip quivering as tears ran down her cheeks.

As Killua went to reach out for her, she flinched away and was about to run from them, her legs lifting from the ground but the silverette had immediately noticed what she was about to do.

Reaching forward, Killua placed his hand behind her head and pulled her forehead to his chest, his arm wrapping around her to lock her in place.

As she tried to push and pull away from him, his hold only tightened to keep her where she was and he pressed his lips to the top of her head, kissing her skin softly.

'I'm not letting go of you',He whispered and noticing that her struggles were gradually coming to a stop, he slowly rubbed his hand up and down her arm,'I'll never let you go, okay? I'm sorry to say but you're stuck with me, Valentine. No matter what, alright. Just breath, calm down.. I'm here'

Soft cries left her body and Killua only held her closer, slowly looking up at the three staring down at them with relief.

Noticing the expression on Knuckle's face, the silverette turned his eyes towards the man and watched as he nodded at the teenager in thanks.

Nodding back, Killua turned his gaze back to the girl in his arms and slowly ran his hand through her hair once more.

No matter what, she would always have him beside her and even in her darkest moments, he'd be there to be her light to guide her through it.

Just like she was his when he needed her the most.

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Oh my god, this chapter was so stressful! You guys have no idea how many times I deleted paragraphs because I didn't like the way I wrote out some moments 😭

Anyway, what did you guys think of the chapter? Did you like it? Hate it?

Also, what did you guys think of finally meeting this other half of Valentine?!

Was she weird?

Cool?

Let me know!

I'm sorry that much didn't happen between Valentine and Killua this chapter but I promise you that later on, they will be going on a date.

Just not right now, obviously.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one!

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