Rafie: Damn. Now I want some gelato. Sorry for the late update, folks.

Valenia: Same here...


The time was 1 am. I was up checking the computer while the others were asleep. Fortunately, the boys were in the other room so they wouldn't hear me tapping the keyboard. I hacked into the Altarian database and checked on my name. Most of the hitmen were already in Padokea. Twenty or so were in Yorknew already. I haven't seen any hitmen throughout my time here. I was probably just imagining the one from yesterday... Who am I kidding? I'm only being selfish. I don't want to leave Gon. I don't want to leave Killua. And I don't want to leave Leorio.

Sooner or later, I'll have to leave. It's for the other's safety. When that time comes, I'm not sure of what will come next.

I spent the rest of the morning studying a map of Yorknew City. "There's this barren wasteland here... and an abandoned amusement park over here. I can probably hide there..." I muttered to myself.

"Morning, Val."

I jumped and saw Killua standing behind me. "Hi," I greeted him.

"What are you doing this early in the morning?" he asked me, yawning.

I folded the map four times. "I'm memorizing the map of this place. Because, honestly, Leorio's hopeless with direction."

"I heard that!" a voice screamed from the other room.

"Don't deny it!" I retorted.


"8 billion jenny," Leorio said, holding up a wad of cash. "That's how much we have, minus Valenia's money."

"Why'd you leave out my money?"

"Because that's what we use for food and for our hotel room." he replied, "Anyway, we still need 1 billion bucks if we want to get that Greed Island Game you want."

"How else do we get that much money? I doubt anyone would be willing to try to arm wrestle tomorrow since most of them have already seen what Gon can do."

"Just trust me."


We were back at our old spot. Gon was seated behind a small table, his arm held out, waiting for his next challenger. And I was, yet again, told to wear something cute and eye-catching. It was that orange sari. Leorio seemed to have taken a liking to it. Duh.

"You look nice in that." he said, grinning.

I grunted, my cheeks turning red. "Shut up..."

Killua squeezed in between us, holding the diamond behind his back. "I've been meaning to ask," he turned to Leorio. "Have you reached a homerun yet?"

"Yep." he said, giving Killua a thumbs-up.

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" I blurted out.

"Oho! So it's true!" Killua said bursting into laughter soon after the words left his mouth.

"Kill me now..." I whispered.

"Oh, so she isn't available." said a man from the crowd that was forming around us. "Too bad, I would've paid a million jenny to have her for a night." The people began laughing mockingly.

I gritted my teeth and began to say something spiteful, but Leorio covered my mouth and said, "Sorry, buddy. This girl, here, is priceless. On top of that, she's my girl."

My cheeks turned red and I struggled to keep my balance. I leaned on Leorio to support my weight. "Whoa, you okay?" he asked, catching me before I completely lost it.

I looked up at him, blushing. "You mean that?"

He smiled. "Of course!"

"So, are you two gonna kiss or are we gonna start this thing?" Killua asked from behind us.

I stood up straight and took a deep breath. Leorio laughed quietly and took his place in front of the table. "Step right up! Win this diamond that's worth three million!.." As I recited the rules, I could hear people talking about Gon.

"He beat hundreds of people yesterday..."

"No one can beat that kid..."

"I hear he broke the arms of twenty opponents..."

When I finished my little speech, two men in suits pushed through the mass of people. "Come to challenge the boy?" Leorio asked.

"No." replied the smaller man, "I'm well aware that my man stands no chance against your boy. I've come to discuss a little offer with you."

"And that is?"

"I know a place where you can rake in the big bucks. Compared to what you can win there, this is just pocket money. What do you say?"
Leorio grinned.

I smiled and held my hand out at Gon. He took it and slipped out from behind the small table. "Time to go, boys."


The two men led us to a square-shaped building. Inside was a bunch of tough guys - real tough guys - arm wrestling like their life depended on it. I mean, you could see their veins marking on the skin on their face.

As the small man and Leorio were negotiating the distribution of money, the lights went out. The people in the room gasped in surprise. When the lights turned back on, a man wearing way too revealing clothes with piercings all over his face was on the small ring, microphone in hand.

"The arm wrestling matches are cancelled." he declared, "Instead, we'll be playing hide and seek."

"What the hell?" I muttered. A girl gave me a paper. On it were the faces of some random people.

"These people are to be killed. The reward for each kill is 2 billion jenny. All of you here are welcome to sign up." The man said.
"We're definitely signing up." Leorio took my hand and pulled me toward the nearest sign-up sheet. After writing our names, we left the building along with a few others. I looked at the paper again. One of the people in the picture was that girl who Gon went up against during yesterday's arm wrestling session.

"Apparently, these people are after the merchandise that's to be sold during the big auction." Killua told us, "If what I heard is true."

"Who'd be crazy enough to rob the biggest auction in the world?"

Silence...

We all exchanged worried looks. "Spiders," we said in unison.

"Kurapika's probably tracking them. I wonder how he's doing..."

"I'm pretty sure he's fine. He can take care of himself." I said, shrugging.

Gon took out his phone and dialled Kurapika's number. "But we might as well check on him."

We waited for a few seconds. "No answer, huh?" I asked. Gon shook his head. "Well, like I said, he's probably okay. Now, where do we start looking for these people?" I raised the flyer-slash-wanted poster.

Gon's stomach grumbled. I sighed. "Well, you guys go on back to the hotel, for now. I'll buy us some gelato."

"Biscotini," Killua said.

"Hazelnut," Leorio said after.

"How about you, Gon?"

"Triple chocolate," he answered.

"No problem." I walked toward the store, watching the other three disappear into the crowd.

"Biscotini, hazelnut, triple choco, and strawberry please," I said to the cashier. I paid him and took the gelato.

As I was on my way back to the hotel, two strong arms grabbed me from behind. I was pulled toward a dark alley and a gun was pointed at my neck. "That prize money is mine." he said.

I dropped the cups of ice cream. As he was about to pull the trigger, I stepped on his foot, hard. The man squeaked. Yes, squeaked. I slipped out of his grasp and kicked him. The man staggered backwards and raised the pistol again, preparing to shoot. A loud 'bang' filled the air and the bullet was speeding towards me. After a second, the projectile seemed to ricochet off the air and hit the wall beside me. I smiled at the man, who was now trembling in fear. "Nen," I said, shrugging.

I grabbed his arm, careful not to leave any prints on the gun, and made him point the gun at himself. I pulled his finger, causing him to pull the trigger and another loud 'bang' was made. The man fell down and landed on the floor with a thud. "I paid good money for those ice creams."
I stared at the empty vessel that stood before me, thinking hard. A glint of silver caught my eye. I bent down to examine it. It was a small trinket. On it was the insignia of Altaria. My anger turned into fear. I dropped the silver trinket. "...hitman."


Rafie: Don't forget to review!