"You what?!"

It was rare that Miu heard Wing raise his voice, let alone use such a sharp tone.

At the least she hadn't expect it, let alone the way he was glaring down at her. Zushi didn't seem much better off, but instead of looking incredulously angry, his mouth gaped open slightly and his hands trembled.

"So what? You already knew I was planning to fight Hisoka at some point." Miu said with an uneasy shrug.

Wing made an impatient huff. "You just learned the basics of nen and you go and challenge him of all people? Are you insane?"

"You said yourself I was making a lot of progress."

"Yes, but not that you were ready to fight above your class. I bet you forgot about Onna-bugeisha." Wing had started pacing where he stood.

Miu opened her mouth to retort but realized she was momentarily trying to remember the name, if that was even a name.

"Hold on…"

"She's your next match. You fight the day after tomorrow!" Wing stopped his pacing and took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "How could you be so careless?"

Miu was starting to feel pretty stupid at this point. "So what? I can handle it. And the matches are still a week apart, I'll have plenty of time-"

"Time? You could spend years studying boxing and nen and you'd still never get to Hisoka's level if you don't take this seriously!"

Zushi looked back and forth between them and Miu felt even more guilty. She knew how uncomfortable it could feel for two adults a kid felt loyalty to to argue right in front of them. Even so, Miu couldn't let the matter drop; what little pride she had was stinging.

"I already scheduled it." Miu said firmly. "This is my business; I made it here by myself, with my own skill."

"No, 'you got this far' because I taught you nen. You got this far because Zushi helped you train. You got this far because you weren't originally strong enough, and you still aren't, not for him." Wing spoke calmly now. "You're delusional if you think you stand a chance."

Miu set her mouth into a thin line as she glared at the ground; even so, she could feel Wing's eyes boring into her and his own aura was spiked from the visible frustration.

"The match is set and I can't back out of it now."

Miu ignored Zushi's attempt to make her stay as she left the house, speed walking back to Heaven's Arena and trying to hold in tears.

"If that's what he thinks fine. Everything is just fine. I'll show him."

"Master Wing," Zushi looked at his teacher searchingly. "I...I know you have a good point, but did you have to be so harsh?"

"Miu isn't taking this seriously enough." Wing sat down on the couch and clasped his hands together, looking down with a frustrated scowl. "She needs to focus and stop acting like this is some game."

"But she's not. I thought so at first, but it's not true." Zushi said. "Didn't you think so when you decided to help her?"

"I don't know what's worse." Wing sighed. "Teaching those two boys or this one woman."

"It's not like Gon and Killua used nen for anything shifty though; and Miu doesn't even like fighting like they do."

Wing sat in silence for some time; Zushi decided it was best to begin his training and to not disturb him. He knew when his teacher was in deep thought there wasn't much anyone could do to get him out of it. At the moment Wing had quite a few things on his mind.

It was already risky enough training someone who wasn't a Hunter; Netero wasn't exactly pleased when he found out what Wing was doing, but he understood the circumstances; besides, it all sounded pretty interesting. Still, nen wasn't something that could be taught to just anyone and while Wing didn't doubt Miu's motives, he still doubted her sense.

"She's going to get herself killed if she's not more careful."

Wing opened his eyes; Zushi sensed his aggravated aura recede and turned to face him, not yet speaking up.

"I'm going out for a bit Zushi. Please maintain your focus until I return."

Wing stood only twenty minutes later in front of Miu's room; he sighed and knocked lightly, still not exactly sure how to handle this situation. A teacher he was, but his relationship with Miu was blurring the lines between that and something closer.

"Hello?" Miu called through the other side; her voice sounded thick. Wing frowned to himself and almost pressed his ear into the door to hear better.

"It's me. May I come in?"

"...ok."

Miu opened her door slowly; she wore an apron which she was wiping her hands on hurriedly as tears streamed down her face. Wing's vision zoomed in on her splotchy cheeks and red rimmed eyes as he felt a pit drop in his gut.

"Miu?" Wing was at a loss for words; he hadn't really encountered many crying women in his life.

"Oh, sorry." Miu took a corner of the apron and began wiping her face. "Um, I-"

Miu was interrupted as Wing pulled her toward him, one hand resting lightly on top of her head, her body halfway out the door. The position was somewhat awkward; it was an odd sort of half hug, but they stayed like that for a minute regardless.

"I apologize." Wing let Miu go. "I never thought you were weak. I just don't think it's wise to bite off more than you can chew; Hisoka is dangerous. The outcome of your match with him may very well result in your death. That's not something I want, but it was never my intention to upset you."

"I was cutting onions..."

Wing's arms dropped to his sides limply. "Excuse me?"

"I was just making dinner; I felt like eating in tonight so…" Miu smiled apologetically. "Onions make my eyes sting like a bitch...Wing?"

At first Miu thought Wing was coughing, but the noise got a bit louder and sounded soft at first, slowly getting louder as he doubled over slightly.

"Hey, what's so fuckin' funny?" Miu grumbled dryly "A lot of people cry when they-"

Wing's laughter turned to chuckles as he gathered himself. "Here I was thinking what a jerk I was for making you cry and you're just cutting onions!"

"That sentence alone sounded so weird…" The side of Miu's mouth turned up in a half smile as she shut the door. "I guess since you're here I'll feed you. You get dinner yet?"

"No, thank you. What is that?" Wing sniffed the air. "Fish?"

"Salmon patties and rice. I make 'em okay." Miu started mixing the chopped onions into the other ingredients until the fish, eggs, and breadcrumbs had all mixed together. Nothing that fancy, but good enough; she was used to making her own meals.

"Can I help with anything?"

"Nah, I just got to grill these. You can serve the rice if you want and get the wine from the fridge if you're thirsty."

"Is that all you have to drink?"

"No." Miu gave him a look. "I just think white wine compliments the fish good."

"Sophisticated." Wing quipped as he carefully set out the rice portions.

"Yeah, yeah. There's the corkscrew."

Wing opened the wine and poured himself a glass, watching as Miu flipped over the patties. "You don't seem like the kind of person who can cook."

"Gee thanks." Miu told him as she placed the patties on another plate; after placing it on the table, they both sat down. "Hand me that."

Miu immediately grabbed the bottle of wine from Wing's hand as he reached over the table's surface and was already digging into the food; after a few minutes, Miu looked up curiously and saw Wing wasn't eating, just holding the fork in his hand loosely.

"Is it okay?"

"No, it looks great." Wing gave her a polite smile. "Miu...why did you schedule the fight so soon?"

Miu set down her fork and picked up the full glass. "Hisoka asked me to."

"What?"

"Hisoka asked me to fight him in a couple of weeks; I could've said no. You're right Wing." Miu looked down in shame; out loud it sounded like such a poor excuse. "I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking really. I thought I was getting stronger, but I'm-"

Wing's eyes widened slightly; Miu was crying for real this time.

"I just hate this, feeling so weak. I figured if Hisoka asked me to fight, he must think I'm worth fighting, right? I need to do this. I need to prove to myself I can, 'cause if I do that maybe I-" Miu put down her glass and rubbed her tears away. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit drunk right now."

"You drank before?"

"Yeah, the rest of half a wine bottle. I actually just finished it a bit before you got here." Miu laughed weakly.

Wing just sat there looking at Miu with an unreadable expression; she wished she could be as calm as him. It was just all getting too much.

"Wing, if I was stronger, I could have protected myself." Miu said softly. "Past year I...I was gonna get jumped and Hisoka happened to be around. He ended up killing the guy after I knocked out the other. If I was just a bit faster, if I had the skill to sense him…" Miu put her head in her hands. "Someone died because of me. Hisoka's fucking crazy...but I should've been able to handle it. It's been months since I've slept for longer than a few hours; he didn't deserve to die like that. I don't want to die like that."

"You're too kind. It makes me feel sorry for you to be honest." Wing remarked softly. "It's not your fault."

"Doesn't make me feel any better."

"Then what will?"

Miu paused. "I don't know. I just want to stop feeling this way. Your training has been helping. Being here is helping. I want to try to fight Hisoka; I know I probably can't win, but I can give him a run for his money at the very least."

"Miu, you should get some sleep." Wing stood up and collected the dishes. "Thank you for the food. You look exhausted."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload all that on you." Miu mumbled; her head was feeling heavy and her eyes were rubbed raw. Miu rose up to help him rinse the dishes, but Wing made her sit back down.

"You might drop one in your state." Wing smiled a bit as he returned to the sink to douse the plates with warm water. Once he was done he began looking for a towel to dry off his hands; instead he was met with the sight of Miu nearly falling out of her chair.

"Hey!" Wing rushed over and propped his student back up. "Is this from lack of sleep or drinking?"

Before looking for a bedroom, Wing set Miu down on the couch; he felt a bit off as he half carried, half dragged her to the bed, taking off her glasses before covering her with a blanket.

"Damn. I wish we could postpone the match, but it's too late. Well, she's getting some rest now I suppose…."

Wing shut off the lamp; he sighed and tucked the blanket in. He smiled remembering the few times Zushi had been exhausted from training and he had to manually lift him and take him to his room. Sometimes he forgot how many of his students were still children regardless of their powers. Gon's simple wish to meet his father, Killua's unwavering loyalty to his best friend, Zushi's determination to do better and excel; in some ways, Miu's motives were just as childish and straightforward.

"To want to not feel helpless. To know your worth. It's not impossible at least." Wing looked down at her face; her breathing was getting more even and her body seemed to sink into the mattress to the point he doubted she would wake up if he made any noise. "Try to get some sleep huh?"

Wing blinked and felt everything come back into focus. He looked down to see his hand was outstretched slightly; he drew it back at once and smiled self deprecatingly as he let himself out.