Gon had spent his day stalking the Skinwalker. Luckily, he hadn't made a move yet. He had been slowly and methodically walking towards the far side of town, and Gon had been counting on him walking out into the forest to plot his series of moves. He had come up with a plan to corner him in the tall trees and take him out before the creature could start his killing spree.
However, all these plans flew out the window when the Skinwalker entered the worst possible place: the Clawthorne Inn and Tavern.
…
Killua was on cleaning duty today. He had been a waiter every day since the time he had eaten the elf's liver. An annoying punishment for stepping out of line. But now he was back in his old swing. Killua was currently wiping off tables, making quick work of it so that more guests could be seated.
A chill ran down his spine, one that he had gotten used to by now.
"Gon?"
"Killua!" the spiky haired boy said frantically, suddenly appearing by the Valkyrie's side.
"What's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost."
"That's not entirely inaccurate-"
Both of them froze as they detected a potent bloodlust. The guests didn't notice, luckily. A panic would have ensued. Killua felt his face fall into a mask of violence. Battle Readiness slipped into his bloodstream, he sensed a similar transformation in Gon.
The battle trained Valkyrie continued wiping the table to keep himself from looking suspicious, and watched through his peripheral vision as a blonde, male figure with dead looking skin entered the tavern.
It's a-
"-Skinwalker," Gon completed his thought as if he had read Killua's mind.
Killua looked at his green haired companion, he had a certain light in his amber eyes, and a strange expression on his face.
"Are you scared or excited right now?" Killua asked.
"Both. I'm scared of that thing, because I know he's stronger than me, and the last time I faced one I almost died. But I'm also excited because I've never actually faced one in an official battle before."
Killua furrowed his brow.
Gon's personality worried him. He was one to rush into dangerous situations without properly thinking things through first.
He got here before the Skinwalker to warn me. I suspect that Gon has been tracking him, and was planning to take him out before things got out of hand, but his plans were interrupted when the creature decided to come in here. Clearly he's in here to make his first official kill. Considering the fact that he's making his first move in the middle of a crowded tavern, this guy is particularly strong. I'm glad Gon didn't get a chance to attack. It would have been a disaster. What would have happened… if I weren't here?
"Gon, listen. I'm gonna kill that guy. You back me up and keep the guests out of harm's way."
"But-"
"No buts. I know you wanna fight him, but you know he's stronger than you."
Killua met the tan boy's stubborn gaze with his own. Icey blue met fiery orange.
"I can take him."
Please, please let him listen to me.
…
Gon stared deeply into Killua's sapphire eyes.
If he had been a few years younger, he would never have accepted these terms. He would have argued and refused to budge until Killua agreed to swap their places in the plan. But he was older now. And knew how to pick his battles (to an extent, at least).
Gon also knew that the real mature decision would be to get Knov, Morel, and Palm. Knov could use his sorcery to evacuate the guests, while Morel and Palm fought the Skinwalker. Gon and Killua would have helped Knov in that plan, being the youngest, and the ones who should be least involved in the danger.
However, the plan they had was for Killua to immediately attack the Skinwalker, and for Gon to protect and move the guests as the battle ensued. This removed the delay that would arise if they were to get the adults instead, a delay in which the Skinwalker might make his first move.
Also.
Gon could see it in Killua's eyes that he believed that he could take the Skinwalker faster and safer than Palm and Morel could.
Gon had absolutely no rational reason to trust Killua and put the lives of all these people in his hands. However, Gon had a hunch. And his hunches were never wrong. That hunch was that he could trust Killua, that he could trust him a lot more than he could Morel, Palm, or even Knov.
Gon nodded, "Okay."
…
Killua exhaled a breath he hadn't noticed he had been holding.
Good.
"Alright, you ready?" he asked Gon.
"Always," the other boy responded with a fire in his eyes.
"Let's do this then."
Killua and Gon then walked after the Skinwalker. Gon took off his cropped jacket on the way and dropped it onto the floor. Killua tightened his tail around his waist, pushed up his sleeves, and pulled self-consciously at his turtleneck.
Once the Skinwalker entered their vision once again, Killua flicked his ear in Gon's direction, the boy took the signal and peeled off.
Been a while since I flipped my switch on…
Killua released the dam concealing his Valkyrie bloodlust, and released all of the dampers he kept on his strength. He felt a tingling sensation cross his entire body as he readied his full strength.
The Dragonite mercenary leapt in front of the Skinwalker, he might as well have teleported, for it looked as if he suddenly appeared before him in a flash of black cloth and white hair.
Killua felt the crowd in the tavern stiffen, his bloodlust now undamped and seeping into the room. He had done this on purpose, to let them know that they were in danger and to be alert. He had also done so as an intimidation tactic for the skinwalker.
I haven't faced an actual opponent in all my months here. All of them have been easy targets. This guy, however. He's different. This will be an actual fight. Not one that I will have to try particularly hard to win, but an actual fight nonetheless.
"Well then," a raspy voice said, projected so the entire tavern could hear. "Aren't you an interesting little creature?"
Killua lowered his stance, he could feel Palm's questioning eyes on his back. He knew she'd be surprised at the display he was about to start. She didn't know about his true origins, Knov was the only one. But now he was seeping potent bloodlust. He knew Morel had his suspicions, but this would be the first time Palm saw him for who he really was. He felt a similar reaction from the waitresses and the regulars.
He felt a twinge in his chest. He felt so self-conscious, so out there. He knew that his Valkyrie features were concealed, that all they would end up assuming was that he was a more powerful hybrid than they had assumed, but even so. A voice deep within him screamed to hide.
But Killua shoved all those thoughts deep, deep down.
He had a job to do.
If his childhood were to be beneficial to him in any way, it would be now.
"Never have I seen such power from a bloody halfbreed," the Skinwalker rasped, and then spit on the floor. This was how most humanoids reacted to hybrids. This Skinwalker was clearly a full-blooded bastard of a dude. Killua revealed in the irony, though it left a bitter aftertaste; little did the Skinwalker know, but Killua was the most dignified, highest of caliber fullblood that he would ever encounter.
From across the little bubble of fighting space Killua had selected, he felt Gon tense as the Skinwalker insulted him. A half breed himself, it couldn't have been easy to sit back and hear that. Killua put up with the discrimination, but it wasn't the same because he knew that in actuality he was above all of his harassers. Gon didn't have such privileges.
Killua felt a simmering rage rise to a boil deep in his gut. All of a sudden he wanted to kill this Skinwalker all the more.
"I see you intend to stop me, little runt," the creature rasped, then snickered. He slipped into a fighting stance, clearly not one for pre-fight threats and small talk.
Killua flexed his fingers and extended his claws, veins popped in his hands as they hardened to a degree tougher than steel. He released a threatening snarl, a behavior belonging to Valkyries before a fight. Killua flicked his ear at Gon once again, signaling that the fight would begin in the next split second. The other boy braced himself to jump in and move people out of the way.
The Skinwalker rushed forward without warning, slashing his nails at Killua's head. The assassin easily dodged, and took this chance to land a swift and strong chop to the back of his opponent's neck.
The Skinwalker released a choking noise, not enjoying the pain of the blow, however did not fall unconscious as the blow was meant to do.
Test one, complete. His body is a corpse, normal means of defeating him won't work. I'll have to either decapitate him or kill his real form, wherever it might be hiding in that puppet.
The Skinwalker glared at Killua with a burning hatred, then darted in for another blow.
He grunted in effort as he swung a hard punch aimed for Killua's head, the white haired boy dodged once again, and took this chance to sweep the creature's leg and elbow him in the nose, hard.
Several bystanders winced at the sound of the creature's nose breaking, but due to the fact that he was a corpse no blood flowed. The thing made a choked sound, the only indication that the blow had landed any real harm.
Skinwalkers may not be taking damage to their actual bodies while fighting, but in exchange for using another's body they in turn feel that body's pain as if it were their own.
The battle continued at lighting speed, the creature swinging and kicking at Killua as Killua dodged and countered. He had yet to take a hit, and Gon had yet to fail in moving the guests out of harm's way. By now the tables, chairs, and humanoids had all been relocated so that a large fighting ring had taken form in the middle of the tavern. Knov, Morel, and Palm had all come to stand and observe from outside the ring.
The Skinwalker was clearly in pain, the Valkyrie did not pull his punches.
However, he was a skilled fighter even in being far outmatched.
He took the pain like a champ, even as Killua slashed his claws down his back, flinging strips of flesh in every which way.
That blow seemed to be a snapping point for the Skinwalker, and he suddenly rushed at Killua in a mad dash. His fighting style completely changed, no intellectual thought process stood to back up his actions. He was fast, and Killua had not been expecting such a sudden dash.
He leapt back, and Gon darted in to move the next section of tables, chairs, and bystanders out of the way. However, the Skinwalker's nails caught the fabric of Killua's mask. Ripping it open and leaving Killua's face unprotected, out for all to see.
He felt the surprise coming from the regulars, as well as Morel and Palm who had never seen his face. Half the waitresses were surprised at the sudden reveal of his familiar face, while half were surprised in the same manner of the others.
Several species were known for possessing an ethereal beauty, Valkyries were among them. Only thing was, that beauty often stayed in fullbloods and did not pass on to hybrids. That was why Killua wore the mask. Now the others had the thought in their heads that his probability of being a full blood went up. They were a step closer to discovering that he was a Valkyrie.
Killua stopped and froze. His eyes covered by his hair, he felt a new darkness leak out of him. His bloodlust jumped in potency, and he released a dark and violent aura. The Skinwalker stumbled to a halt, stopping his advance.
Killua looked up at him, a dangerous and murderous look in his eyes.
"That. Was a mistake."
He darted up to the creature, seeming to have teleported just like he had before. He plunged his claws into the center of the creature's chest, feeling them breach a new texture of flesh.
Found you.
He ripped his hand out, a splattering of blood raining through the air.
A look of horror and surprise crossed the Skinwalker's face. He had been beaten.
The last thing he saw before dying was Killua licking a drop of his blood from his thumb, then spitting it out. "Disgusting," the boy, no. The Valkyrie said. The Skinwalker was the only one to identify Killua's species. He had fought Valkyries before, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that this boy was one as well. He had concealed his features seamlessly, but nothing could conceal the identifiable behavior of a Valkyrie as it tasted it's opponents blood.
He went to whisper "Valkyrie," however, he died before he could send the signal to his body.
