Razor woke up to the sound of the bedroom door opening, revealing a fully clothed Neferpitou.
"Did I woke you ?" She asked apologetically.
"It's okay, I sleep lightly anyways in case players come. I'm more surprised you're up this early." He answered smiling lazily.
"Gon gets up with the sun and my body doesn't need much sleep nyah." She shrugged.
"Oh, do you need to eat then ?" He asked, standing up to prepare breakfast.
"Not everyday, but Gon doesn't like when I just stare at him while he eats." She replied jokingly.
Razor nodded as Gon emerged from the bedroom.
"Let's go training." Pitou exclaimed cheerfully.
"You better take it easy, if nobody comes by midday, I want the rematch." Razor interrupted with a smirk.
"Sure." Gon matched him with a grin in anticipation.
Noon came by rapidly, and they entered the gymnasium.
"Same rules as last time ?" Gon asked as he took place, facing Razor while Pitou was standing on the side, acting as referee.
"Negative. It's one-on-one so it's gonna be more like catchball than dodgeball. Nen authorized, obviously. The objectif is to catch the ball without tresspassing the limit of your camp or to return it. If you miss the other player by more than... let's say three foot, you lose the point. Each time you fail to catch the ball, your opponent gains a point. When one of us can't play anymore, we count the points and see who wins, sounds good ?"
Gon nodded and grabbed the ball that Razor threw gently at him.
"I give you the first try as the winner of the previous match." He added confidently.
He was right to be in the end. Razor won, but that was to be expected, although he didn't leave unscathed. They were both exhausted and had bruised hand plus some broken bones in Gon's case that Pitou was more than happy to treat with 'Dr. Blythe'. Despite a rather smooth victory, Razor was impressed by Gon's progress. He really was a powerhouse. He had also radically improved his jajanken, so much that he could now gather enough aura in his fist to hurt Razor with the punched ball in a matter of seconds.
"Let's do that again ! I want to have another go." Gon suggested excitedly with determination shining in his eyes. Razor smiled, that was a reaction he was glad to witness.
He didn't say it, even if he knew Pitou had picked up on it, but repeating this game daily would strengthen Gon as an enhancer. Add to that his talent and potential and Razor was certain he wasn't going to keep winning for very long.
His prediction came true four days later. Gon won the two hours long game they had by a small margin. So it was a very happy young lad that slept that night. Razor, for his part, wasn't smiling, despite taking his loss with a proud one, given that he was being operated on by 'Dr. Blythe' for two shattered ribs.
In the middle of the night, the alarm signalling incoming players woke the habitants of the house. Gon decided to go tell them to come back later, as Razor was still bedridden because of him and Pitou was in one of her rare moment of sleep. He made his way to the front doors of the gym but the individual he saw there obviously wasn't here to play the game.
"What are you doing here ?" He asked cautiously, flaring his En in all directions, like Pitou taught him, in case someone was waiting in ambush.
Knowing he was detected, Sylva Zoldyck joined his father at the entrance.
"Good En young man, unusual, but good. Tell us where the chimera ant is." Zeno said calmly.
"What if I don't ?" Gon prompted, his lips twitching at the prospect of fighting the two powerful assassins.
"I would like to avoid trading blows with you if at all possible, you are precious to Killua, and he wouldn't forgive us if we harmed you." Zeno stated reasonably.
Gon couldn't help himself, Pitou had to be rubbing off on him more than he expected, he thought as a mischievous grin stretched accross his face. "Oh, you think you can hurt me ?"
They didn't raise to the taunt, Zeno only sighed heavily. "You're not going to make this easy for us, are you ?" He asked to himself. "Sylva, stay out of it. If you see an opportunity, disable him but do no damage that cannot be healed afterwards." Zeno ordered his son, who nodded.
He flared his aura to begin with 'Dragon Head'. Gon seeing this, immediately opened both of his hands and two Nen orbs appeared in each. He threw the first at Sylva who was walking to the side, causing him to dodge and giving Gon enough time to throw the second in the air before jumping and smashing a jajanken into it. Zeno leaped out of the way but wasn't fast enough and lost his balance for a small moment in middair due to the explosion the orb provoked when it impacted the ground. He regained his footing and Gon was already near him with a jajanken ready, so he pushed him back with an aura blast.
Gon landed a dozen meters away, bounced over the kick Sylva aimed at his legs then countered with a punch of his own that the man blocked with his forearm. The older man struck Gon in the stomach with a kick before he had time to touch the ground. It didn't do any damage as he had seen the movement and had used Ko accordingly to protect himself.
That being said he was too focused on Sylva and didn't see or sense the 'Dragon Lance' coming at him from behind. It encircled him in its maw and pressed him on the gym's wall.
"Are you going to be as stubborn as Killua says you are or are you going to tell us where the chimera ant is ?" Zeno asked again.
"No way !" Gon replied fiercely. "Are you going to kill me now ?" He shot back.
"No. You are not the target. We were simply hired to kill the Chimera ant Neferpitou." Sylva stated.
Pitou, observing from nearby, was ready to jump out of her hiding place to confront them, but she paused when she heard Gon giggle.
"You shouldn't have said that." Gon announced.
His Nen suddenly spiked and destroyed the wall behind him, giving him the chance to extract himself from the dragon's maw. All three observers looked on, taken aback, as his aura continued to flare wildly while, all over his body, his muscles bulged and grew with his frame. When it settled, the boy looked like he had aged five years and Pitou realized with a startle that he was now almost on equal footing with her in terms of raw power.
"When you will have to report and explain why you failed your mission to your employers," Gon began with a deeper voice, slightly menacing. "Tell them, tell everyone who asks that Gon Freecs is protecting her, and the next assassins they send after her won't come back." He finished with a growl.
At the end of his speech, he conjured two new orbs that he punched with one jajanken each. The two Zoldyck were prepared for the resulting explosions this time, but not for their magnitude. Gon rushed at Silva with unexpected speed and threw a punch while his other hand was punching another orb in Zeno's direction. Killua's father winced when he felt Gon's fist impact his guard and break both his arms.
Zeno was about to attack with his 'Dragon Head' when he was brutally thrown into the wall of the gymnasium by Gon's jajanken. He hadn't even sensed the teenager appear behind him. The wise grandfather quickly realized that the price they were payed wasn't enough for him to tolerate taking a beating by this raging young man. Therefore, he ordered Silva to retreat. They both used a card to leave the location and silence fell as Gon was left standing alone, gazing at the destruction he caused. Pitou chose this moment to step out and flew directly into Gon's arms.
"Why did you do that ?! That's the vow and restriction, I know it, don't you dare lie to me ! What's gonna happen to you ?" She ranted, shaking him frantically.
Gon, not knowing how to stop her gently, did the first thing he could think of that would shut her up and covered her mouse with his own. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates for a moment. Then, they closed and she kissed him back. Gon absently noted that it was way better than what he had imagined. They parted for some much needed air and he took his chance.
"I'll be fine, don't worry." He attempted to reassure her.
Despite feeling dizzy, she was skeptical and voiced it. "How are you gonna be fine ? Explain now."
He sighed. "I couldn't completely suppress the vow and restriction I made to fight you, it was too powerful. So I altered it. Now I can force my body to grow stronger if it is to protect you from a death threat. I'm going to be extremely sore and won't be able to use Nen for a few days, that's all. There's nothing to worry about." He explained with a smile.
She was left speechless for a good half-minute and she just stared in his eyes. When she regained her wits, she kissed him fiercely.
"Thank you." She said shyly while they were returning to the house.
"Don't thank me yet, we're going to have to leave now that we've been found, and you'll have to carry me again." Gon said grinning playfully.
She didn't respond and just giggled evilly to herself, worrying him a little.
"So, who was it and what have you destroyed ?" Razor asked with a relaxed attitude when they entered the house.
Gon scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Killua's father and grandfather. I probably wouldn't have won if they hadn't underestimated and tried not to kill me. For the damage-" He didn't get to finish as his Nen cut off and he blacked out.