"Fight me."

"Onna-"

"No. We will no longer delay this." Onna stood in front of the door, blocking Miu's exit. "I've already found you, and before you go running off to who knows where, I want my rematch."

"But I just got changed!"

"Excuse me?" Onna drawled.

"I just put on my new dress and I wanted to wear it out today!" Miu protested and held up the skirt for emphasis. "Isn't it cute? I found it in a thrift store."

"You're wasting time shopping when you should be training." Onna frowned severely. "I didn't come all this way to see your new clothes."

"Onna, can't we do it later?" Miu whined. "I just got ready to go out; why don't you stay here and relax until I-"

Onna scowled at the pause. "Don't stall."

"Wait, come with me!" Miu said as she pushed past her. "There's a bunch of sales today and I was hoping to find something nice."

Onna frowned; it was more than clear this idea did nothing for her.

"We won't be out all day, just a few hours." Miu said casually. "Come on, I'll treat you to food!"

"Food is not the solution to all life's problems."

"How?"

"Miu, if I go with you, will you give me my rematch later today?"

"Sure, no problem."

They walked together in somewhat tense silence; Onna was staring straight ahead, giving a haughty glare to anyone who dared to look at her for more than a second. This happened far more often than Miu expected; men in particular seemed unable to pass Onna by without a quick glance or outright staring.

"She's giving off such a menacing aura...but then again, someone who wouldn't be able to use nen may not sense it." Miu thought. "Still, if I saw her in the street, I'd be too intimidated to approach her."

Onna possessed a regal beauty that Miu couldn't hope to imitate; straight, fine hair that seemed to sway behind her with each step, strikingly dark eyes, and towering over most people, Onna seemed to bear a likeness to an statuesque work of art.

"If she could stop being so tight assed….how do some girls pull it off, the whole aloof, mystery woman vibe?" Miu wondered as she snuck discreet glances at her companion; where Onna was willowy, Miu was stocky; where her eyes and manner gave aways a cool sense of dignity, Miu found herself an open book, perhaps not so energetic at times, but the emotions were easy enough to gage. Even Onna's manner of speech was so precise and proper, it made Miu want to roll her eyes at times.

"Why is it so important she beats me anyway? Shit, as far as I can see, someone like me who pulled a last minute trick from my sleeve would be beneath her…" Miu thought back to their first normal conversation. "Is it because I didn't ruin her shinai? No, it's gotta be more than that."

On cue, Onna adjusted the strap of her shinai's case; Miu sort of envied her for this too.

"Man, and she's got a cool weapon? I'd probably kill myself by accident if I started waving that thing around…"

"Are you feeling well?" Onna asked suddenly.

"Oh I'm fine. Hey I was wondering?"

"Is your question necessary?"

"Well, not really, but-"

"Then refrain from speaking. I'm trying to go over the best method of fighting you."

"Now?! We're supposed to be shopping." Miu reminded her; she caught sight of a frilly summer dress and held it up to Onna. "Come on, try this shit on!" Miu frowned for a moment. "Ya know, you always wear that same outfit now that I think about it…"

"Fine." Onna ground out and marched into the dressing room.

Miu sat down on the benches outside and waited patiently.

And kept waiting for fifteen minutes.

"Onna?" Miu knocked on the stall door. "You okay in there?"

"Yes."

"You sure? It's kinda been a while…"

"I am fine." came the sharp response.

"Alright, don't be so bitchy about it." Miu heard a few frustrated grunts coming from the other side of the door. "Onna, just come out."

"I've got it!"

The door flew open and Onna stood outside the threshold with a smug smirk.

"Oh wow, that doesn't fit you."

Miu immediately felt guilty as she saw Onna visibly deflate.

"No, that's not what I meant! I just...you'd look better in something more grown up, ya know, sexy!"

Onna nodded slowly. "I suppose this is a bit much." she gave the racks a once over. "Hand me that black top."

"No, not more black." Miu rolled her eyes and searched the hooks; she decided on a blood red shirt with a similar design. "You need some more fucking color."

"Fine then." Onna sighed and shut the door; a second later the dress landed on Miu's head. "You try that then."

"It's too long for me."

"Than find a different size of course."

Miu grumbled but sought out another size and brought it to the dressing room next to Onna's.

"Okay, done!"

They stepped outside at the same time.

"Oh wow, that's perfect!"

Onnq glanced at Miu. "It suits you."

Three hours later they had their purchases and were walking back to Miu's motel.

"See, that was fun, wasn't it?" Miu smiled; Onna had combed out her hair, making her face look softer overall as she smiled grudgingly. "And didn't I say that pattern worked on you?"

"It was fun in it's own way. I was expecting the time to go much more slowly."

Miu looked at Onna questioningly. "Have you ever been out shopping like this?"

"No."

"Oh." Miu said simply. "You know, I don't know much about you."

"You know enough."

They went inside Miu's room and unloaded their bags on the sunken in couch; Miu locked the door behind her and went to make tea in the small kitchen. She didn't want Onna to see my disappointment.

"One step forward, two steps back." Miu sighed and searched for the tea bags she had picked up earlier; Onna was sitting stiffly at the edge of the couch, staring straight ahead. It was like watching a cat stare at nothing. "Maybe she's mad because I pushed her to come with me? Had she just been tolerating it to get the rematch?"

Miu even knew more about Hisoka than she did about Onna; after a second of deliberation, Miu turned off the kettle and sighed. "Okay, let's do this. There's a gym in the lobby, we can fight there."

Onna rose up. "Finally."

Miu took her gloves with her as they walked toward the building; the gym was empty at this time of night and they only had about forty minutes until closing.

"Are you prepared?"

Miu nodded and slipped on the gloves. "All set!"

Onna silently unsheathed her shinai; Miu could already sense Onna using her hatsu, so Miu used gyo on my eyes to see the blade she had conjured from her nen. It wasn't so long ago a technique like that would have put considerably strain on Miu's aura reserves, but this time was different.

This time was a straight up fight; no last minute tricks, no underestimating, and no lucky shots. Only their own skills and strengths would decide the winner.

Onna said nothing as she ran forward to swipe at Miu's side; it turned out to be a feint. The moment Miu sidestepped it, Onna turned on her heel and stabbed her in the back.

"Shit!"

Miu ran forward and attempted to aim a hit for Onna's elbow; she dodged it just so, and leaped back. Miu stood there breathing in and out with a hiss; the tip of the blade had only gone in about an inch, though she could already feel blood trickling down and getting her shirt wet.

"Don't think you can let your guard down." Onna came at Miu once more; her blade was a blur, slashing Miu with shallow strikes, but fortunately not managing to pierce the skin so deeply again. Miu bobbed and weaved, dancing on the tips of her toes to evade Onna, but unable to land a direct hit yet.

"Back at you!" Miu growled and swiped at Onna's leg with her foot, temporarily messing up her stance and causing her to lose her balance.

Miu jabbed at Onna continuously with her right hand; the positions were switched and Onna was attempting to block the punches with the handle of her shinai. As Onna struggled to recover from the rapid punches, Miu bent her knees slightly and sprung up, fist crashing into the bottom of Onna's chin in a powerful uppercut that sent her flying.

"You-!"

Miu jumped into the air and was above her in seconds.

"Got ya."

The series of punches left Onna grappling for a defense; one sharp punch to her elbow shocked her into letting go of the shinai. Miu narrowed her eyes and focused to use ko on her right fist and slammed it into Onna's stomach; she came falling to the ground like a heavy stone. The hard wood floors cracked and caved in where she landed and Miu's eyes widened in fear.

"ONNA!"

As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, Miu sprinted to where Onna was sprawled out. For a moment, Miu assumed Onna was unconscious until she coughed and sputtered back to life.

"My…" Onna couldn't rise up, but her arm shakily reached out; Miu looked around frantically and saw the shinai not too far away in the corner of the gym. Miy retrieved it for her, incredibly relieved to see it was intact.

Miu held it above Onna's line of vision. "I got it, it's fine."

Onna let out a breath and her body fell limp once more. "You really have grown; and here I thought you were slacking off on your training." she gave Miu a sneer, but it was clear she was in pain; her mumbled protests were ignored as Miu yanked Onna to her feet and made her lean on her for balance.

"Sorry, I almost broke this." Miu had the shinai in her other hand. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I wasn't expecting that...Miu, be honest."

Miu let out a sound of confusion as Onna's head hung as she let her support her weight.

"About what?"

"You held back didn't you?"

"What, no-!"

"You're bad at lying."

Miu looked away awkwardly. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. This will just be another incentive to train harder."

Miu sighed as she helped Onna limp back to her room. "I guess I'm gonna have to pay for that damage to the floor...Onna, why do you do it?"

"Hm?"

"All you talk about is strength and training and all that. Isn't there anything else you like to do?"

"Not really. This is my life." Contrary to what Miu would assume, Onna sounded subtly proud. "I told you, my techniques have been passed down, refined, and perfected for generations. My ancestors used to serve shoguns and were civil servants of the highest order; to this day, we uphold that legacy. I myself am the sole member of my generation to be trusted to learn nen and to possess this weapon."

"Oh, I had no…" Miu trailed off quietly glancing at the shinai held in her gloved hand. "That's pretty impressive."

"Since I've mastered the art, I've been undefeated." Onna huffed. "Well, I was."

"Sorry."

"Don't." Onna told Miu sharply despite her weakened state. "It was bad enough for you to hold back, but I won't accept pity for losing. I assure you, my pride is still intact."

"So, this is sort of like a tradition?"

"Yes."

"Do your parents know you lost before?"

"My whole family knows. It was them who have helped me improve after all. They pushed me to exceed my limits again and again; they all have high standards for me." Onna smiled softly. "I'd hate to let them down, not when I've been entrusted with something so precious."

"The shinai?"

"Their respect. Their customs and expectations; they depend on me to be the one to teach my younger siblings and cousins, and to chose the next heir to wield this shinai someday."

"Does that mean all the people who have before were conjurers?"

"No; it is still possible to use other nen techniques to create an effect similar to the invisible blade, but this way is the most successful for defeating opponents." Onna cast Miu a curious look. "I see you've become more adept at using your aura capacity to your advantage; you hardly seem winded."

"I do feel kind of tired, but it's not nearly as bad as before." Miu adjusted her glasses. "You know, gyo would be useless if I didn't have these on though. Wouldn't be able to see squat."

They made it back to the room and Miu laid Onna down on the couch.

"You still want tea?"

"If you don't mind."

"Sure thing." Miu busied herself in the kitchen, taking her time to heat up the water and find cups; Onna would most likely want to leave as soon as she felt up to it.

"Are you not concerned about your wound?"

"My...oh yeah!" Miu chuckled and popped back into the living room to show Onna the healed cut under the stained shirt "Wing taught me how to use my nen to speed up the process, but I can really only do it this fast on smaller stuff."

Onna looked up at the ceiling in silence.

"...so, what's your family like?" Miu tried to lighten the mood. "It sounds like they think a lot of you."

"They do...unfortunately, I haven't been able to meet their standards just yet."

"Is it a lot of pressure?" Miu inwardly cringed; was that too personal a question? But Onna seemed unphased.

"I suppose, but it's a good feeling too you might say." Onna replied. "My family counts on me; we support each other, despite our unorthodox traditions. Though I'm sure your family has much less extreme expectations of you."

"Yeah." Miu nodded. "So, how do you like your tea?"

"Milk, no sugar." Onna sat up slowly on the couch.

"Is your family big?" Miu felt curious in spite of her apprehension of the subject. "Do you guys have family reunions and get together for holidays and stuff?"

"When we can; I live with my immediate family, but we all live in compounds connected to our relatives. Holiday gatherings aren't a hassle, seeing as how we all live in such close vicinity."

"Wow, you guys sound pretty close. Are they worried about you living outside of that?"

"Not at all; even the youngest of us has some fighting ability." Onna looked mildly amused. "What about your family? Surely they feel a bit uneasy knowing someone just finding her footing is traveling from place to place?"

Miu focused on making our tea. "They're fine with it."

"Come to think of it," Onna began nonchalantly. "You seem quite partial to holidays; I'm surprised you haven't spent them at home for the past few years."

Miu took a sip from her cup. "Onna, what's your favorite holiday?"

Onna set down her own cup with a frown. "Why are you evading my questions?"

"What? I just asked you what your favorite holiday was." Miu smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm curious; no offense, but you don't seem like one for sentimental stuff."

"In fact, I'm nearly certain you've never mentioned a thing at all about your family." Onna pressed unflinchingly. "It seems quite odd, at least for someone as sentimental as you are."

"I'm not that sentimental." Miu said wryly. "They're just fun. I like decorating and cooking and stuff. Who wouldn't like holidays?"

"You just did it again."

"I'm not doing anything!" Miu retorted. "I was just trying to make small talk."

"The why don't we talk about your family?"

"There's not much to talk about; why do you want to talk about it so badly?"

"Why are you so adamant about not talking about it? You were fine when I was answering your questions, but you're so tight lipped suddenly."

"I don't know that much about you. Sorry for trying to be polite."

"Now you're trying to make me feel guilty so you can avoid the subject."

"Onna, will you stop it already?!"

"I can see it all over your face. You're a bad liar."

"Fine." Miu slammed her cup down and Onna flinched. "What do you want to know? How my dad made me and my mom's life hell for years? How he smacked us around, stole our money, and blew it all on drugs? Oh, I know, how about how she couldn't take it anymore and left me? You want to hear about how I stayed outside for hours in the cold just to avoid him? You wanna hear about how he left when there was no money? I don't fucking know where they are, we don't spend fucking holidays together, and they don't expect shit from me because they're GONE!"

"I-"

"I don't have a family. Is that what you wanted to hear so bad...?"

Onna was just studying at Miu without a trace of emotion; Miu could see herself reflected in her black eyes and she saw how truly pathetic she must have looked to her.

How she must have looked to everyone.

Miu curled her fists and fought to keep her voice from shaking. "Dammit, why did you want to hear this? So you could see how much of a loser I always was compared to you?"

"No. I thought perhaps you'd want to talk about it."

"I don't! I would never..." Miu bent her head, unable to look Onna in the eye.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

Not their day out or the match, not Miu's shallow victory, not her disappointment over how long she had wasted away in that neighborhood, and not her attempts to forget a man who could give about as much of a shit as her supposes family; the pain was coming back in droves as fresh as the morning Miu woke up and called out for her mom, but heard no answer.

Miu was left to pick up the pieces of her sorry life and try to find something else all over again. Anything, to use as an excuse to keep going.

"Do you miss them?"

"What's the point..." Miu said tonelessly. "It's over. Why the hell would you think I'd even want to talk about it?"

"I...I'm sorry."

Miu looked up at her; Onna's eyes were swimming in emotion, but even so, her gaze never broke away.

"I was attempting to understand you better; you must think I-"

"You didn't know." Miu said softly. "I'm sorry. I was being a hypocrite. I felt like I barely knew you, but it went both ways. I didn't mean to do that."

Onna chuckled hollowly. "I wasn't expecting that from you. You always seem so at ease; I figured they were like you."

"Like me?"

"Earnest, kind…a bit uncouth."

Miu sighed. "Like I said, there's no point in me feeling bad; they're not feeling bad about it. If they did, they would've contacted me in the last eight years. Why should I feel sad?"

"Liar." Onna smiled knowingly.

"Well, sometimes."

"May I tell you something?"

Miu nodded.

"My grandmother passed away when I was young. It was she who gave me this." Onna held her shinai with gentle hands and an even more tender smile. "I miss her, even now. I've come so far, but she wasn't able to see it."

Miu blinked away her own tears. "I'm sorry. I've never known someone I loved who died."

"It puts things into perspective."

"Huh?"

"I lost someone who loved me; she didn't want to leave me, but she had to. You lost someone you loved as well."

"I guess...I mean, that's not really the same though." Miu said. "They aren't dead, at least as far as I know."

"You didn't lose them by circumstance. They chose to leave you. I had my family to fix the pain I felt from my grandmother's death. You were left with nothing; I would have never thought someone like that, could be like you."

Miu felt my cheeks grow warm under Onna's intense stare; it was almost like she admired her.

"I want to defeat you, someone who's found strength in both body and mind. In short, I consider you a comrade; I will cut you down someday."

Miu stared at her friend uncertainly. "Oh, that's...nice. Thanks?"

"You're welcome." Onna smirked slightly; it faded as Miu looked down at her hands. "You should talk about it more."

Miu didn't say anything.

"You're already pretty open. Why are you avoiding talking about this?" Onna asked slowly. "It's not good to keep negative emotions bottled up."

Miu frowned. "You're the most stoic person I know."

"I don't pretend hide my feelings though, not like you do. You can't do that to the people who care about you...you don't have to pretend everything is fine when it's not. How will you be able to cope when it becomes too much?"

"Onna, I don't...I don't like feeling this way. I want to forget. I want to feel okay for once."

"You're only human, despite your animal like appetite." Onna tried to joke, but Miu couldn't find it in herself to smile. "It's not so easy; no matter what, you will feel emotions you'd rather avoid. To just always feel okay with yourself and your life? Do you really expect something like that to happen?"

"No." Miu shook her head. "I just want it to."

"Focus on now. And don't forget the people who do want you in their life." Onna picked up her tea. "My grandmother was a philosopher; she would always say, 'all we can do is follow the straightest path; when you reach the end, feel unburdened despite what you had to carry to get there'."

Miu scratched her head. "I don't follow."

"Confront your real feelings and embrace them, or you'll never stop chasing happiness." Onna explained. "Basically, whatever your feelings are and wherever they take you, go with them."

"That sounds kinda irresponsible."

"It's your life, isn't it? Tell me, if you were to die tomorrow, would you have any regrets?"

"...you got me there." Miu smiled faintly.

"Everyone has something they regret...all we can do is move forward and try not to make the same mistakes." Onna told her; she looked away with a faint flush high on her defined cheeks. "I would have regretted it if we hadn't spent the day together."

Miu smiled; it felt like the wall they had accidentally put up was crumbling. At least Miu would have one less thing to regret.

"That shirt does look great on you."

"I know, right?"