Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot.

A/N: I wish to inform everyone that this chapter will be the last chapter for the month, as I won't have any time this month to post a new chapter. I also wish to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this to their favourites and follows.


They had entered the island in the order of which they had finished the challenge of the Trick Tower. So once her number had been called, Naru had concentrated her chakra to her feet and quickly run to the forest. She needed to blend in with the scenery and find the tallest tree for her to observe the island.

She ignored the scent of plants and the animals, knowing that she had no tine to admire or observe their behaviors, and made her way to the tallest tree that she could find. She quickly climbed the tree, jumping and hoping to the top of the tree. She threw her jacket to the side and squinted her eyes at the scenery in front of her, trying to figure out the best sources of water and food would be.

There was a river near the boat but she couldn't take water from that boat, seeing as it would be easy for her to be ambush. Some of the participants might decide that the best way to get their target was to attack them when they were near the finishing line. So the water near the boat, was definitely out. There was a small lake on her right and it doesn't seem to be too obvious, so she could drink water from there and hunt her lunch and dinner there as well as breakfast.

She watched as her potential target loitered around the area. He was most likely waiting for his brothers to come and find him before heading off to find their own targets. It had to be the most stupid thing to do when it comes an exam like this! Waiting for his brothers will make him an easy prey and she didn't like that. She wants a challenge and this guy wasn't giving it to her. Should she even bother taking his target? Maybe she could just take three more people's target since they might be more of a challenge for her.

Then again, she wanted to pass this phrase so she should consider herself lucky for getting such an easy target. Naru slouched against the tree and closed her eyes before taking in a deep breath. There was no metallic scent of a weapon nor the sound of a human being, so the person targeting her hasn't found her just yet. She grimaced and started to form the hand-signs needed for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. There was no way, she will allow the person to catch her or find her so easily.

"What do you want me to do, boss?" Her clones said in unison.

"You're going to scatter around the whole island while I wait for the perfect time to target my own target." She said, flickering her eyes towards her opponent, who was chatting with his two brothers. "Attack anyone that tries to attack you and take their card. I want you to give me their card before heading off to the other parts of the island."

"Anything else?" One of her clones asked.

Naru rubbed her chin and stared at her clones thoughtfully, trying to think if there were any more orders that she wished to give them. She wanted to make them watch over Gon, knowing that the boy could be very reckless at times but decided against it. This was his battle, not hers and he would be cross if he sees that she was helping him with his own target. With that thought, she shook her head and watched as the clones went off in different directions.

She turned her body around, mentally groaning when she saw that her target was talking with his brothers about something. She squinted her eyes at the man and gathered chakra to her ears, intending to eavesdrop in their conversation. Her hands clutched the branch on top of her as she listened anxiously to hear what their plans were.

"Do you think it would be a good idea if we split up?" One of the brothers asked, flickering his eyes around the forest with unease. "It wouldn't be smart if we stick together, people might suspect we're sticking together."

"No! We stay together!" The two other brothers said in unison. "It's common sense for us to work together! Besides, no one can match against us when we work together!"

The blonde bit her lips at this comment and run her hand through her hair. Those three boys were confident with their teamwork and had total faith in it, something she envied them for because her teamwork with Sasuke and Sakura was horrible and none of them had faith in it. These boys were the complete opposite but that would be their downfall.

She doubts that they will be as strong as they are, without their teamwork. If they rely on only their teamwork to defeat an opponent then they aren't strong. Even through her village took pride on teamwork; they knew that a team is as strong as its weakest link and so, if the weakest link is a wimp then the same can be said for their teamwork. It would be cautious and careful, predictable and thus making it easy for her to steal her target.

"So, who should we go after first?"

"N-Ninety-nine." One of the brothers answered timidly.

"The silver-haired boy right?" The bulky brother asked, frowning at him. "He doesn't look like it but he's strong. You can't come this far in the exams without being strong but I don't think you should worry. He's just a kid."

Naru held back a snort at that comment. These guys were a bunch of idiots to believe in appearances; just because Killua was a kid, they think he's weak. Honestly, these people are fools to think like this. Haven't they heard appearances were deceiving? They shouldn't look down on Killua, her or Gon because they were kids. All of them had come this far without the use of luck…well maybe; they had a little luck on their sides.

"Since you got the kid, you'll trail him while me and Umori go get our targets." The brother said, crossing his arms at his brother. "You need to take the boy's target at all cost! So don't act like a coward and get the damn target! Failing this phrase will just be a mockery to us!"

The brother gulped at his brother's words and nodded his head. "H-Hai! I'll do it without any trouble!" he laughed nervously. "H-How hard can it be?"

Naru nearly slammed her head at the man's comment but withheld the urge, remembering that she was trailing after them. She sighed and quietly made two shadow clone, ordering said clones to observe the other two brothers until they find out what numbers that the other two have.

"If they got the number that you need, what do you want us to do?" The clones whispered, glancing at the arguing brothers.

"If they have the card I want, then take it by any means possible." She paused. "However if they don't have the card I need, then you may wander around the island."

The clones grinned wildly at her words before staring at the targets that she assigned them. Her shadow clones quickly followed the other two brothers, as soon as they started moving. This left her to follow the wimpiest brother, who was going to search for Killua and by the looks of things, this guy was just so scared of Killua so, it will be a while before he would confront the silver-haired boy.

It doesn't matter because; she was going to take his target as soon as she had the opportunity.


It was official she was following a coward, who doesn't know what he's doing.

It took the bastard only three hours just to find Killua, which isn't something hard to do. Her friend had silver hair for god sakes! How can it be so hard to locate someone with silver hair! Not only that, his clothes aren't suitable for hiding in the forest! It should be easy for the bastard to spot him but then again, Killua might not be really trying to stay hidden. Knowing her friend, this was the most likely case. He was, after all, an assassin and usually assassins were good in hiding.

Ok maybe, she shouldn't be that harsh on the guy.

Naru flickered her eyes at Killua and then to her nervous opponent, before frowning. The relax posture, easy smile and the loose grip of his skateboard made it seem that he's unaware he is being followed but the glint of curiosity and boredom told her, everything. He was very much aware that he was being followed by someone, and looked curious to know who would follow him so obviously as well as to why he wasn't attacking him yet.

She sighed as she jumped to the next branch while keeping her eyes fixed on the man, in front of her. It was completely obvious to her that he was nervous to get the badge off Killua. He always flickered his eyes to the trees behind him as if debating on whether to go back or not before continuing nervously on the path. He would clench his hands, looking ready to confront her friend before, shaking his head and continue to follow her friend.

If this continues then she will have no choice but to knock the guy out to take the card from him, and that wasn't fun or challenging. How was she going to test her abilities if this guy didn't attack Killua! At this rate, there wasn't any point for her to be sneaky to steal his badge! She should just attack him straight on and be done with it. At least, then she just needs to worry about being confronted by someone else.

With that thought, Naru jumped to the ground, catching the attention of her target. The man nervously turned around, gulping when he saw that she was standing right behind him. She grinned when she heard the sound of his breathing getting quicker and how pale his face was.

"I-I k-knew y-you w-were following m-me from the v-very beginning." The man stuttered, flickering his eyes towards the trees. "Y-You w-were very obvious."

Naru smiled at this comment. The man was bluffing because she knows damn well; only a select few can actually spot her or know where she was. Iruka and the ANBU are prime example of this because; both of them had either develop techniques to catch her or had been trained to catch her. Other than that, it is very difficult to spot her and that's because she trained herself to blend in with the crowd. She hadn't worn orange in the first few years in the Academy for nothing! All of the bright colour clothes were used for her stealth training and if she could blend in bright colors, then she could blend in anything.

This guy, on the other hand, was definitely not in ANBU level and was way weaker than Iruka and some of the genins in her village. If he was pitted against Sakura, then he wouldn't last a minute with her and that was saying something. She wasn't going to lie but her pink-haired teammate wasn't all that good in physical activities. Great in memorizing, knowing what to do and had high intelligence but when it comes to just a physical fight, her friend would loose.

"I-I w-won't ever h-hand my b-badge to you!" The man stuttered, drawing her attention back to him.

Naru pouted and snapped her fingers. "Really? I thought that you would be so scared that you will give me your tag!" she smiled maliciously. "Guess this means, I have to do it the hard and vicious way!"

The man gulped and hesitantly asked. "W-What do you mean?"

"Well, first I'll torture you until you start begging for mercy, which I won't give seeing as I feel a little bit sadistic today." She tapped her chin thoughtfully at him. "Then I'll make you relive your worst memory until you say you had enough and just when, you say that then I'll beat you up until you are unconscious or dead…depending on my mood. Seeing as I'm in a bad mood, you're most likely going to die today!"

The man turned pale at her words, making the blonde smile even wider. She stalked closer to the man, who flickered his eyes towards his surroundings. The bastard must be thinking of ways to escape from her but she wasn't going to let that happen. He was her fastest way back to her stupid home so; any chance of him escaping from her was zero. She will hunt him down until the exams were over. Beat him up until he's unconscious but, not necessary dead. Even, she wasn't that cruel to do it to him.

They were only a foot away and the man was now starting to sweat but he hadn't moved an inch. Maybe, he had figured out she was just toying with him or perhaps, he was really that much of an idiot and was trying to appear brave to her. What a fool he was. She knows from his scent that he's scared as hell and by his body language that he was ready to run away from her. However, she has no idea why he was standing still.

Oh who cares! She was going to take his badge either way.

She mentally shook her head at her thoughts and smashed her fist against the man's face, watching in satisfaction as he fell down to the ground. She glanced at her hand, grimacing when she saw that some of his blood had come to her fist. Great! She was going to have to wash the blood off her face. Sighing, she kneeled down to the unconscious man's body and began to search for his badge.

It didn't really take long for her to find his badge. The timid man had put his badge in his pockets, a stupid move to make seeing as it was the most obvious place to search for. Honestly, what kind of stupid person would put it in the most obvious place to look? Then again, it was thanks his stupidity that she was able to find his badge.

She glanced down at the badge that she took, grinning when she saw the bold number of 198 gleaming right at her. She twirled it around her two fingers and hummed a happy tune, before making the necessary hand-seals to get rid of her clones. She rubbed her forehead as the memories of her clones rushed through her mind. Memories of stalking the other contestants rushed through her mind, making her groan in pain.

When the pain start to fade away, Naru started to curse herself for being forgetful. Didn't the fight with Zabuza teach her that too many clones would cause her a headache! That fight with him had taught her, the advantages of the shadow clone as well as the disadvantage of it. As soon as the clone was gone, she gained its memories however if she makes too many clones then she will get a raging headache.

She put her hands into her pocket and quietly made her way towards Killua, who seemed to be frowning for some strange reason. She stopped walking when Killua stopped to look around the forest. Her lips quirked into a small smile as she thought about frightening her friend but decided against it. It would really be childish of her to do something like that, although it would be funny if she scared him.

"I know that you're out there!" Killua called out as his eyes flickered around the forest. "Let's have a bit of fun!"

"But what if I don't want to have that kind of fun?" She stepped out of the forest, smiling at the sight of his shocked face. "What? Why do you look so shock? You know that someone has been following you!"

"Yeah, well last time I checked the person who was following me was a guy!" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You aren't a guy, are you?"

The blonde arched her eyebrows at his question, tapping her fingers against her chin as she scowled at him. "Do I look like a guy to you?" she gestured to her long hair and to her chest to emphasis this, chuckling when the boy flushed deep red at this. "Didn't think so! But to tell you the truth, the original person who was following you, was a guy."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I beat him up." She took out his badge to emphasis this before continuing. "He was taking so long to attack you, so I decided that the best course of action for me was to beat him up and take his badge."

"It's only the first day, of course he won't attack me on the first day." She shrugged her shoulders at him. "You really need to work on your patience, Naru."

"I was more concern of getting the badge and then putting a couple of traps for the person, targeting me. That was more important than waiting for him to attack you and by the looks of things, it would be a while before he attacks you." She scratched her head. "Then again I could have been wrong and he might have attack you, leaving me the best opportunity to get the badge from him."

"And what if he injured you while in the process of attacking me."

"He's weak so there isn't much to fear!" she grinned. "The only people I have to worry about hurting me are Hisoka and 301, other than that I'm in no trouble!"

"You got injured by the prisoner in Trick Tower so I think that you're in more trouble than before." Killua said, frowning at her.

"I didn't use too much chakra against him that's why I didn't do as well as I should." She sighed. "I really shouldn't hold back too much against guys like that! If I hadn't hold back then maybe we would have gotten to the center of the tower faster than the other two."

"Ten hours is still pretty good for us!"

"I guess so." Naru scratched her cheek. "But I do realize if I had used chakra and hadn't hold back my strength then we would have gotten to the center faster."

"That's true but, you also have to consider the fact that we were also arguing over which route we should have taken."

Naru frowned before nodding her head in agreement. She stared at the badge in her hand and put it in her kunai pocket, but not before making the badge look like another kunai. She raised her eyebrows at Killua and her frown deepened when the boy just shrugged his shoulders at her. He turned around and started to walk away from her.

She sighed and quickly started to walk with him. Killua raised his eyebrows, looking at her in curiosity and amusement. "Are you scared, Naru?" he smirked. "I guess you're since you decided to follow me."

Naru scowled at the boy. "Of course not! Why the hell would I be scared? And if I was, why the hell would I follow you!" she crossed her arms. "I'm only following you because I'm bored and you're the only person that I know besides Gon and the others, who won't attack me for my badges."

Killua stopped walking and sharply asked. "And what makes you presume that? For all you know I might decide to steal your badge while you're sleeping."

"Because you wouldn't have questioned me if you truly did have a plan of taking my badges." She yawned. "Besides, I doubt you would steal from your friends."

Killua blinked and shook his head, laughing as he did so. Annoyed, she crossed her arms and glared at her friend, who simply laughed even harder as he did so. What she just said wasn't funny but she couldn't stop smiling at him and it wasn't long before she found herself laughing with him. His laughter was infectious, just like Gon's smile but maybe his laughter was even more infectious than Gon's own smile.

He finally stopped laughing and says. "You're weird, you know that."

The blonde stopped laughing and nodded her head. "You always remind me that I'm weird but, what makes you say that this time?"

"Because you just presume things that might not be true," he looks straight ahead at the trees as they walked, "I'm not like that Naru. One day, I might do the one thing that you never thought that I would do and all because you presume that you know everything about me."

"Then tell me about yourself." He raised his eyebrows at her and shook his head. She pouted at her friend. "Come on! You basically said that I couldn't presume things unless I know everything about you."

"Well, you won't tell me or Gon everything about yourself so, why should I tell you everything about myself." She sighed. "You can't expect me to tell you everything if you don't do the same thing."

Absently rubbing her hands up and down her stomach, she stared at Killua's blue eyes. "I can't tell you or Gon everything but I can tell you guys about Sasuke and my life in my village," she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "In exchange, you tell me about your life."

"You know I won't tell you everything about my life."

"Doesn't matter," she hopped over the tree trunk and turned around to face him. "You deserve to keep some things to yourself, and the same goes for me. Besides, I'll be surprise if you tell me everything about yourself."

"The same goes for you, too, huh?" He muttered. "I doubt that you would tell anyone, everything about you."

Inhaling the sweet scented air, Naru closed her eyes and began to walk hurriedly, not bothering to see if her friend was following her. Someone was trailing after them, and judging by the scents, it was more than one person. Was it the three brothers? Not likely, the timid brother won't attack them unless he has his brothers by his sides. Besides, this scent had a more murderous feel and seemed similar to Killua's scent.

The only way that was possible was if Killua had a relative in the exam.

The question now is does he?

No, Killua would have spent some time with his relative so maybe, she was wrong. Maybe, she had bee spending too much time with him that she was starting to think that there might be someone watching them. Especially if it was some relative of his, besides wouldn't Killua call out that person if he thought it was a relative.

"So tell me about Sasuke." Killua's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "The two of you seemed close."

"We were once close but, now I doubt that is the case." Naru grimaced. "I mean after what he did, I can't consider him my friend but just a boy that I used to know."

"What did he do to make you say that? You don't seem to be someone who would lightly drop their friends!"

"He left the village because he didn't believe that he would get the power that he needed to defeat the person, who wronged him." She said bitterly. "Of course, we were ordered to bring him back, one thing led to another and it wasn't long before I found myself facing against Sasuke. Till then, we were always fighting and arguing about the silliest things but I never thought that I would truly had to fight him."

"But you did."

"Yeah I did, I fought him as hard as I could but it wasn't enough! My strength paled against his own and for that I bear a painful reminder that the world isn't as nice as I thought it was." She felt the throbbing pain of her chest and winced. "I knew the world was horrible but, when my best-friend use an assassination jutsu against me, that's when I realize just how horrible the world is."

"He tried to kill you, didn't he?"

"Didn't you hear the assassination jutsu part? Yeah, he tried to kill me and if I hadn't moved just by an inch then he would have succeeded!" Naru bit her lips till blood came out. "He wanted to kill me! It was like he forgot that I have always been there for him! He forgot that when his brother murdered his clan that it was me, who hadn't treated him like he was some kind of glass! I was the one that made sure that he knew how to take care of himself! I didn't have to do it but I knew damn well how hard it is to take care of yourself."

"Naru, you don't have to continue if you don't want to…"

"I was the one, who tried to make him smile and always tried to know who he really is while other people wanted to know him because he was the Uchiha heir." Tears leaked out of her eyes but she doesn't care anymore about showing her tears to him. Hell she could be babbling and she wouldn't care. And babble she did. "I knew him better than anyone else. He wasn't a genius like everyone said he was. He's smart yes, but not a genius! Definitely not a genius! He's the way he is because of hard work and maybe a little bit of talent! He knew that he wasn't a genius, knew that he was nothing like Itachi! Yet he's following the path that his brother set up for him! Maybe if I hadn't been an idiot then maybe I could have convinced him not to follow the path that his brother set for him! That he could have his revenge another way!"

She didn't even stop crying when she felt Killua pulled her in for an awkward hug. Naru sniffed and looked up to see a blushing Killua, who was staring awkwardly at her. He rubbed her back and quietly said. "It wasn't your fault that he did what he did, he's an idiot for hurting you like that! And he's an ungrateful brat because you didn't have to do all the things that you did for him. And you're a good friend for doing what you did for him!"

"Killua, I don't know what to say." She said softly, rubbing her eyes to stop the incoming tears. Killua sighed at her words and gently pushed her away from him before handing her the handkerchief that she had given days before hand. Her eyes widen and she tilted her head at him but he simply smirked at her before saying:

"Well stop crying, it makes your face look even uglier." She glared at him but it didn't faze him. He just simply stared at her before continuing to walk at the other direction. "Now come on, you're going to help me figure out which of the other brothers is my target!"

Naru crossed her arms at him and exhaled.

She was glad that he changed the subject because she was afraid that if she had went any longer then she would have spilled her whole life story to him. It was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want so many people knowing about her life and the secrets she has.

She didn't want her friends to look at her any differently then they do now.


Killua stared at Naru, who was drinking water from the river and sighed. He took a seat on the dirty ground, and stared at the night sky, musing over what he had just learnt from Naru about her past. His friend had been through so much, from loosing a best friend to coming to a place so far away from her home and, all he can think is just how painful it must be for her.

No wonder, she was so sad. He would be as sad as she was if his best friend had nearly killed him because he stood against his path for revenge. He gritted his teeth. But why would a friend do something as horrible as this? Didn't he think of how he was hurting his friend's feelings? Didn't he think how it would ruin their friendship?

If Naru was his best friend then he wouldn't have treated her, the way her best friend had treated her. He wouldn't have tried to kill her. He wouldn't hurt her feelings! He wouldn't make her suffer! His friend had done so many things for the guy and he just threw it away! He clenched his hands into a small fist. If he had been in the guy's shoes then he would have been grateful for Naru but he wasn't.

He would never understand what it must be like for either of them.

All he knows is that he will make the guy pay for what he did to his friend.

"Well, last time I checked the other two brothers were travelling together." Naru said, drawing his attention back to her. Smiling, she rubbed her hands together. "From what I can guess, the pair of them are a hell of stronger than the guy I fought and seemed to be closer to each other than the timid brother."

"So if I threaten to kill one of the other brothers if they don't give me the badge that I need then, they will hand it over to me."

"No, from what I remember, they seem to believe that you're weak." He scowled at her words. "However, that can be worked to our advantage."

Killua raised his eyebrows at his blond-haired friend, who smiled even wider at him. He listened intensively as she explained to him why it was a good thing but, as she explained, all he could think was just how her emotions changed so quickly. Just half an hour ago, she told him the reason why she was just so sad and now, she acted like nothing happen. Like nothing could bring her down.

How can someone do that?

"The only problem is that you need someone to act as bait for you!" Naru said grimily. "If I hadn't knock out their brother then you would have the advantage but…"

"Yeah if only we had someone that can pretend to be their brother than my trouble be over and done with." Killua shrugged his shoulders. "But what to do. I'll just find the brothers and confront them."

"Confronting them will just be plain idiotic!" She snapped, glaring at him. "You need to be a little bit cautious in this exam, don't forget that the other brother is being hunted as well!"

"So?"

"Well, if their hunter sees that their prey has been taken then they will attack you to get the target!" Naru crossed her arms. "And there's a chance that the hunter is stronger than you! What then! What do you plan to do then huh!"

"Well you'll know when that happens, Naru." She raised her eyebrows and he simply sighed, shaking his head at her. "You have nothing to fear! I'm not some mindless idiot, who doesn't think far ahead if situations like those appear."

She bit her lips and nodded her head but he could see the worry in her eyes. She doesn't seem to believe him. It was either that or she really worries too much about her friend's safety. He frowned at his thoughts and mentally shook his head. He shouldn't presume things about them. For all he knows, she doesn't think that their friends but just mere acquaintances.

After all, she will leave them as soon as she gets her hunter license. Leave them for the village that she had grew up in before, searching for the boy that hurt her. He winced when he felt his heart grew heavy at this thought. For some strange reason, he didn't like the idea of her doing this. He just didn't like the idea of her throwing her life away for some guy that was willing to kill her.

The question is why?

Why did he care about something as measly as this?

It wasn't any of his business.

"…I just hope that you know what you're doing by confronting them!" He blinked his eyes at her, and she sighed in frustration. "Honestly, it's like you don't pay attention to me! What do I have to do to get people to pay attention to me! Wear the stupid colour orange again!"

"Wait a second, you wore orange clothes!" Killua asked, trying to picture the blonde in orange clothing but couldn't find the image of her wearing such bright colours.

"Yes I did! Might I say that was the worse decision in my life!" She scowled. "But that isn't the point, were you paying attention to me?"

"Would you believe me if I say yes."

"No."

"Then, there's your answer."

Sighing in frustration, the blonde started to explain to him what she knows about the brothers. He couldn't help but notice how the blue-eyed girl had bags under her eyes and he wonders how long it had been since his friend had a good night sleep. It must be a long time, considering how dark the bags under her eyes were.

"I'll be at the lake until the exams are over so if you wish to find me when the exams are over, then there's where I'll be! Just make sure to give me a whistle or some kind of signal to inform me that you're here!"

"Why?"

The blonde slammed her head against the tree trunk and groaned. "Isn't it obvious? I could be taking a bath and you'll walk on me! And that's the last thing I want! I don't want you to see my chest or to have even a peak of it! That's where I draw the line for privacy! I don't want to have anyone staring at my chest again!"

The silver-haired boy flushed deep red at her words, before looking down at his feet. How can Naru be so calm about this? Even through he was an assassin, his grandfather had taught him that you must never look at a woman's private part except if a mission requires it. And even then, he feels extremely embarrass to watch him.

This was a girl and she doesn't seem one bit faze about it! It was like nothing seemed to bother her! What type of girl does that? He run his hand through his hair and shook his head at his thoughts. Naru wasn't any type of girl! She was weird one! She accepted him even through he's an assassin! She treated him like he was an ordinary person and doesn't seem scared of him, despite knowing that he could kill her!

Naru was just plain weird but…

"She's one of a kind." He said out loud, watching as his blond-haired friend walked towards the lake.

Naru turned around and looked at him with confusion. "Who're you talking about?"

"No one."

She arched her eyebrows, staring at him deeply in the eyes before shaking her head. She shrugged her shoulders, giving him a smile and turned around to go to the lake. He watched her, noticing how his friend was skipping to the forest and for the first time today, he noticed that the girl had given him a glimpse of her real smile.

All he could say is that she looked so different from the Naru, he knew and that he rather prefers her with that smile.

Now, if only he knew how to get her to show that smile again?


It has been two hours since she left Killua to track down his target and she had finally reached the lake that she had spotted in the beginning of the exams. Kneeling down, she took a sip of the cold lake water before watching the fishes swam around her hands and smiled at the fishes. She took in a deep breath and leaned against the tree trunk, staring up at the blue skies before releasing a yawn. Why was she so tired? True, she hadn't gotten any sleep and that when she did sleep, she had flashes of the battle with Sasuke but it shouldn't affect her. It shouldn't affect her this badly.

You're it, Naru!

She run her hand through her blond hair, clenching her hands at this memory. Why does it still hurt! She thought by telling someone that the pain would just go away! So why wasn't it going away? Why couldn't the pain just fade away! She didn't want to be reminded of what she lost! She wanted to remember the times that she had fun without having the need to cry! Why couldn't she do this? Why was the pain so unbearable?

Why won't it stop?

Talking to Killua about it made her cry and made her showed the side that she didn't want to show. She didn't want her friends to see her weak because she couldn't control her emotions! It still surprised her that Killua didn't make fun of her weakness. Why didn't he? Anyone would have done it but he didn't make fun of her it.

Her face flushed deep red as she remembered how he pulled her in for a hug. Placing her hands on her arms, she groaned. That was just embarrassing! She hadn't even stopped crying when he did that! If anything she cried even harder when he did it. She poured all of her emotions to him, opening a small bit of her heart and soul to him. He had to see her when she really was at her weakest.

He had to see her when she was vulnerable! He might become her enemy during the exams and he could use it against her! He could use her emotions against her! Use the information that she had stupidly gave against her! She slapped her forehead at this. Why was she so stupid to tell him so much about Sasuke? In the end, Killua would use it against her.

It isn't true! Killua is nothing like Sasuke. He wouldn't hurt you like Sasuke did! He won't ever hurt you. A voice in her mind whisper and the memory of Killua warning her that he might hurt her rushed through her head. That time, he looked so guilty and ashamed with himself, like he really believed himself capable of doing something like that.

But for some strange reason, she can't seem to think that he would do something as horrible as that.

She can't picture Killua as someone who would hurt his friends. He just isn't the type of a person, who would hurt their friends unless he has some kind of reason for doing so.

Killua was nothing like Sasuke.

Unlike Sasuke, she knows without even looking at his eyes that he will never think of betraying her or Gon for something as stupid as revenge. She wasn't going to loose him like how she lost her village and friends.


Replies to reviews:

Alice: Thank you for reviewing and I would like to answer more of your review but I sadly don't know how to read French.

Observer01: Naru will refine her new tsunade style move to make it suit her but it won't happen any time soon.

Nara816: I wasn't planning of making that part canon; in fact I have plans for Naru in that arc. I should inform you that, this fic wouldn't exactly follow canon in either verse, as you would notice. With Naru in the fic, some things can change drastically as you will soon come to realize.

ImagineBreaker7: I hope that Killua's reaction satisfied you, in the next chapter you will have the others reaction to what happened with Sasuke.

GreenDrkness: Well, I can tell you that it won't be a variant of the Kyuubi Demon Cloak or the rasengan and it won't have anything to do with elements but, that's it.

Pri-Chan 1410: Out of everyone in the group, Killua spends the most time arguing with Naru and it causes him to notice the same things with Naru and it doesn't help that he's an assassin. And yes, his observation skills fails him like Naru's strength fails her. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.

TsukiRiver: I hoped that you enjoyed reading this chapter and I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter.

Kinuantzs: I'm glad that you found the last chapter nice and yes, Naru imitated Tsunade's Super Strength because she isn't strong enough to punch a wall just yet.


Thank you for reading!

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