Elisablackcat: hahaha, yeah poor Hayuri xD however, Hayuri will get stronger, so don't worry. (not stronger than Killua tough, lol.)

ALSO, I made a pic of Killua and Hayuri… on deviantart penname kri90.

CHAPTER 10

Killua had been holding back just a little when sparring with Hayuri. Although she was not as strong as he was, she was pretty close and was a pretty good sparring partner. She was smart and always thought of new ways to challenge him. He was never one to hold back against anyone, but in this case he'd done it to keep her in relative good shape. If she got injured, who would he train with? Also, even if he didn't admit it aloud, he wasn't comfortable with hurting her. That's why, when he lost his temper and fought her with all he had, he regretted it afterwards. Even though there was not much difference between their abilities, that gap had been more than enough for her to get a good beating. After that, her performance on their routine had dropped slightly.

Normally, that would've pissed Killua off. But now, for some reason, he didn't really care about his training being slowed down. He found that he actually enjoyed sparring with her and the real reason for his training had almost been forgotten. Killua knew that he was supposed to work hard to finish his mission and not let stuff get in the way of that, but he just didn't have the heart to push her when she wasn't on top condition. Anyways, waiting for a couple of days wouldn't do any harm.

Hayuri, on her hand, wished she hadn't teased Killua while sparring, since he had seriously kicked her ass and she'd been training with a sore body -and ego - for a couple of days already. After that training session, neither had mentioned anything about it, but Killua had slowed down the pace of training - until she was better, she assumed. She was grateful for both things.

Finally, the third day after getting her ass olympically kicked, Hayuri finally woke up to find that she was feeling all right. However, her relief lasted only the first hour in the morning, while she trained her basics by herself. Okume seemed to take notice of this and, during breakfast, he announced that they'd start with the next advanced nen lesson.

"Today we'll be learning ryo." He said while sitting under his usual spot under a cherry tree and lifted two fingers. "You've learned ken, the ability to build a strong defensive shell around your body; you've learned ko, the ability to focus your aura on one part of your bodies for enhancement, which allows to either attack or defend. Ryo is some sort of mixture of both techniques. While fighting, you'll cover your whole body with nen for defense, but it'll be only 5% of what you used with ken. At the same time, you'll focus the rest of your aura on any certain part of your bodies to attack or protect yourselves from specific attacks." Okume-sensei put his hands down. "Now, I'd like you to try to cover yourselves in some aura while focusing the rest on some part of your body."

When both Killua and Hayuri got a hand of it, Okume instructed to start sparring in that manner. At the beginning, it was hard for them to balance both things simultaneously, while also using gyo. They slowly managed to raise their speed and made their activity look more like fighting than some sort of performance.

By the end of the day, both had each received one nen enhanced attack that they didn't properly defend. Hayuri had sustained a kick on the hip and Killua a punch on his mid back. Seeing that they would take long to get home, Okume went on ahead of them. While walking back to their sensei's house, Hayuri was having trouble walking due to her hurting hipbone. Killua noticed and wondered if he should carry her in his back, just like she had done in the exam. After all, they had already walked for 10 minutes and, at this slow pace, they would arrive in an hour.

"Hey, Hayuri." He stopped and pointed to her awkward manner of walking. "Maybe you should let me give you a ride. An injured training partner won't do me any good, you know?"

"No, thanks." Hayuri said, already used to his evasive way of offering help, and pointed at him. "I believe that your back is sore as well. If you carry me, I'll just hurt you more."

"That? It's nothing." He shrugged.

"Anyways, don't worry. I think that a couple blocks away we can take a cab. I brought some cash with me." She pointed to her pouch. Killua simply shrugged and kept on walking.

They kept walking for around 15 more minutes at a very slow pace until they got to a cab. From there it was just a 10 minute ride back to their sensei's house.

After paying, they entered the house and went straight to a spare room that held a first aid kit. They took an icepack each and sat down each on a corner of the single bed. First they each cleaned the small cuts they had attained and then they treated the swelling on their bruises. Hayuri had no trouble holding the icepack to her swollen hip, but Killua seemed to have some trouble, since his bruise was on his middle back and bending his body to reach out hurt his bruise. Hayuri stood up and walked to sit closer to him.

"Here." She said and let go of the icepack on her left hip, since it was on Killua's side. She then used her right hand to hold the pack to her left hip, and her left hand to hold Killua's pack over his bruised back. "I'll hold it for you."

Killua seemed to be grateful for a second, but the frowned and looked at her.

"Why do I always have to accept your help? You seem to reject mine most of the time." He pointed out. "You don't have to prove anything, you know?"

Hayuri's eyes widened. She had always been overly conscious about being a woman in a profession dominated by men. She didn't know Killua could see through her like that. She smiled softly and sighed.

"You're right. I have to rely on you more." She nodded and took a deep breath. "All right. Here, you can hold my icepack, my right arm hurts a bit and it gets worse if I have to cross it over like this."

Killua didn't say anything and simply held the icepack to her hip with his right hand. It was only a couple seconds later that both realized the compromising position they were in. They sat on a bed next to each other, Hayuris hand was on his middle back, and Killua's hand was on her hip. Killua thought that maybe shed get uncomfortable once again, since she had been pretty shaken when she thought he was stalking her. But she didn't, so he decided to say something about it and see if she told him what was wrong.

"Hey. I would've thought you'd be creeped out by this, just like when you thought I was some psycho." He said with a nonchalant face and not looking at her.

"Ahhh... no, now I'm not. That was different." She said looking at a shelf in front of her, which suddenly seemed very interesting to her.

"How was it different?"

"Well.. it was more about being followed or watched, specifically" she stopped for a while and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "It's a sensitive subject... you really want to know?" Hayuri asked a little unsure about it, since they had never spoken about their past to that extent before.

"Only if you want to tell me."

"Well..." Hayuri took a deep breath and sighed "Remember how I told you that my last month on the streets was hell? Something happened during that time."

Killua's eyes widened in shock and he sharply turned his head to look at her. Shed had a traumatic experience with some stalker while living on the streets? She didn't mean that...? She wouldn't have possibly been...?

"It's not what you think." Hayuri interrupted his thoughts while shaking her head and Killua released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well, more accurately, it was not me. When I lived on the streets, all us children stuck together for support. There were 3 girls in our group, and we really looked after each other. I don't know when it started, but suddenly I was aware that someone had been watching us for a couple days at the very least. Some time later I pinpointed the person that observed us; it was a grown up man with red eyes and black hair. I should've told them about it, but I didn't out of fear of being laughed at. One day, one of us girls didn't come back to the alley were we lived. We had always made sure to meet at the same time, so it was really strange. I also had a bad feeling, so I suggested we split up to find her. I was the one who found her." Hayuri stopped for a second before continuing. "She had been brutally raped and murdered. Her body was almost on shreds on a river bank... I could barely recognize her. Even though she was just 9, she was really pretty and that's probably why she was the one targeted. At first, I was so scared that I ran away and hid on a different place in the city, so that the man wouldn't find me. A couple days passed, and guilt was making me mad. I thought how I should've told them my suspicions. I thought that I was supposed to go out and find my other friend, tell her about it. Who the man was, how he looked like. But I didn't. I was too afraid for my own life. I kept hidden for almost two weeks, and when I finally built up the courage to go out and look for her, I didn't find her. For a whole month I tried to, but couldn't. I never knew if she left as well, or if she was caught too. That was when the contract hunters met me and offered to train me, to which of course I agreed... I was still afraid and was all alone then. I got stronger, but the guilt never really disappeared. Their dead faces still hunt me sometimes in my sleep."

"I'm sorry." Killua's eyes had softened beautifully as Hayuri told her story. She didn't remember ever seeing that kind of expression on him before.

"Yeah." She sadly smiled.

"That must've changed you greatly." Killua said. "I read somewhere that 'it's our scars that built our character' and I believe it to be true."

"Yeah. It definitely did." Hayuri nodded. "In fact, the purpose I have in life I greatly influenced by that event."

"What is it? Your purpose, you never told me what it was."

"After living through something like that, I promised that I would get strong and protect my friends. I would never abandon anybody dear to me ever again, no matter how afraid I was, not matter if I risked my life. If I loved that person enough, I wouldn't think twice about throwing my life away for their sake." Hayuri said with deep determination and some kind of strong fragility in her eyes. "I don't want to become the kind of person that leaves her loved ones behind to die."

"Remember how you said that you were proud of me the other day?" Killua looked in front of him, avoiding Hayuri's gaze. Slowly, a blush appeared on his cheeks as he spoke. "I think that you're the amazing one and the one to be proud of."

"You do?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah. You may not be as quick in learning as I am, or as instructed as me. But you have a strong will and a mental clarity I don't possess. I am physically strong, but I have no idea what to do with my life and just do as I'm told."

"You will someday, I know it." Hayuri smiled and felt her eyes tear up a bit. She dropped the icepack on his shoulder and put both arms around Killua's neck to bring him closer in a hug. Killua tensed at the sudden action; he didn't remember ever being embraced before. After a couple seconds of inner struggle and awkwardness, he decided he couldn't push her away and, so, he simply hugged her back. Unexpectedly, after a couple seconds, he managed to let go of his stiffness and he actually kind of enjoyed the gesture.

Killua wondered... did he even have anyone he'd be willing to die for? He could think of anyone. Did he deeply care about anyone? Was there anyone meaningful in his life? A round face with big eyes and long black hair came to his mind. Alluka. Yeah, he sister did. She meant so much to him... but he hadn't seen her for so long...

"Agh..." Killua grunted and flinched back while holding his head in pain. Somehow, every time he started thinking about his little sister, he would be stopped by a sharp headache.

"Are you alright?" Hayuri said, making Killua open his eyes and look at her face.

"Y-yeah. My head just suddenly hurt, but I'm fine now."

"That's weird.." Hayuri frowned but seemed to dismiss her worries a second later "come on, Okume-sensei is waiting for dinner."

Hayuri said and left the room, being closely followed by Killua, who seemed troubled. The worried expression on his face didn't disappear until they got to the dining room and sat down to eat.

The next couple days, Hayuri and Killua trained their ryo until they were able to use all the nen techniques they'd learned in the same fight and with ease. Okume congratulated them for finishing with ryo and announced that they would now learn the last technique that they'd be directly learning from him. He said that after that, he'd guide them a bit in their individual abilities.

So, this next technique was en; the ability to expand their aura and feel everything within its reach. It was a slow process, but Okume said that it was totally worth it. Only few nen users dedicated enough time to en and, if properly learn, it was great advantage. Also, it was a technique to be trained individually, so both Killua and Hayuri had to spend most of the day in their room or out in the garden by themselves.

Hayuri was, on one hand, glad that they'd trained individually, since she could dedicate all the time she wanted to improving her en. On the other hand, she missed training alongside Killua, who she would only see during their meal times and while they did their chores. However when they did meet, they would talk more than usual and get updated on each others improvements. Despite that, it was their small talk and daily jokes that Hayuri missed the most. She never said anything though; she knew Killua was mostly way too shy talking about feelings and she didn't want to push him.

Killua, on his side, had a lot of time to himself, which he was grateful for. He had always enjoyed the peace and quiet of solitude and he had been constantly yearning for it. This time around, surprisingly, it was different. Even though he was still enjoying his alone time, he also sometimes wanted to speak to Hayuri. What about? He had no idea. Sometimes he would find himself thinking what would be a good excuse to just go and talk to her. Simply talking about any unimportant or ridiculous topic sounded good to him, but he had too strong a pride so he didn't go. However, this time by himself made Killua realize something surprising. If he once didn't like being around others, he now seemed to enjoy company. And that realization hit him hard, since it broke a paradigm about himself.

Killua had always been a solitary person; he had despised others and pushed them away. That was part of how he was raised, since it was a basic trait to being a good assassin. Of course, someone who was the opposite of that might have trouble killing for money. This worried him, since he felt like a whole new side of him was emerging; a side that enjoyed being around people, a side that sought to belong with others. He had already forced himself to bury that side of him once, during the hunter exam. He'd known that it was not a desirable trait for an assassin. But now, what worried him the most was that he didn't even feel like suppressing the feeling again. He liked this part of him and how it made him feel. He wanted to explore more about these social impulses that he was just getting to know. He wanted to feel what common people felt, even if it was just for a couple months.

It took them almost two weeks to reach a point in which they had developed their en enough. Killua managed to expand his en 3.6 meters and Hayuri 3.4 meters. Okume said that, that distance was longer than most peoples fighting range, so it could give them a trump card when fighting in the dark or in other blinding conditions. However, he said that they should keep on training until they could use it to find people on a vast amount of area and that he, for example, could cover 50 meters for 8 hours. He recommended that they added en training to their morning routine.

And so, the last part of their training began. Okume-sensei said that he would give them a head start on their Hatsu training.

"We'll now do the aura divination necessary for developing Hatsu. As you know, there are 6 kinds of nen. Enhancer, manipulator, emissor, conjurer, transmuter and specialist. To find out what kind you belong to, I've brought these glasses to do the water divination test." Okume said and pointed at two water filled glasses on the dining table. "I want you to pour your nen into the glass."

"I'll go first." Killua said and walked to a glass. He sat down and concentrated. He waited for almost 10 seconds, but nothing happened. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't. Taste the water." He answered and Killua did as he was told. As soon as he did, his eyes widened in realization. "It's sweeter! The water changed its flavor, didn't it?"

"Yes." Okume nodded. "That means you are a transmuter. Now, Hayuri."

"Haai." She answered and switched places with Killua. She put her hands around the glass and, after a couple seconds of pouring her nen into it, she leave started to slightly move around the surface of the water. She assumed that it was enough, so she pulled her hands back.

"Ahh, so you are a manipulator, Hayuri." Okume nodded. He then turned to look at Killua and pointed at him. "Transmuters have the ability to make their aura acquire the characteristics of other elements. It is usually used to create short to mid-range attack, but it's a pretty flexible type and can be used to create long range attacks as well. You should train your other abilities according to the way you develop your Hatsu." He said and Killua nodded, so Okume turned to look at Hayuri. "On the other hand, manipulation allows you to use your aura to manipulate living or inert things. This means that almost on every case it's used on long range attacks, maybe midrange. I only know a couple manipulators that use their ability for short range battle, so most of them complement hatsu with weapons or other nen type abilities. Also, both of you have to remember that your Hatsu should be a reflection of you innate abilities, experience and personality." Hayuri nodded and looked at the chart on the board.

The types of aura right next to hers were specialization and emission. Emission was also a long range type as well, so it wouldn't complement a manipulation technique. Specialization, on the other hand, had only 1% chance to be learned by materialization or manipulation. So it also seemed futile. She'd either had to find an ability that worked on short range fights or learn to use a compatible weapon. Also, what kind of nen would derive from her personality and experience? She sighed and decided that she'd have to put some more thought into it.

Killua, on the other hand, only a couple minutes later already had his mind working on a couple ideas of what kind of substance his aura could transmute into. He had a couple ideas in mind, but there was one that actually represented a unique ability of his and that also was part of his life experience. He smirked. I think this is the one.