Kurapika and Killua had made their way into the waiting room they had been assigned. By a stroke of luck they had been assigned to the same room, so Killua didn't have to be all on his own. It was funny to him how before he had made all these friends he had been completely fine all on his own, had liked it even. But now, he would rather be in the presence of another.
I sure have changed, since I left home.
Alluka… it's just like you said..
"How are you planning on fighting?" Kurapika asked, pulling the runaway prince from his thoughts. "I have to say that I've never seen a Dragonite Valkyrie - or any Valkyrie for that matter - in action. What fighting style will you use?"
Killua looked up at the Elf from where he had been stretching his legs on the floor. "I'll see if I can win using my aura alone. That'll be particularly intimidating. Not enough to win on the higher levels, but it'll give me a good rep. However, if my opponent is strong enough to fight through my aura then I'll use some fancy moves to take them out. The easier it appears the better. If I seem to be way out of everyone's league, then they'll place me higher up right?"
Kurapika smiled, "Yes, precisely. I aim for the same effect."
The two of them continued waiting, and every few minutes another pair of applicants would be called to the arena. There were several television screens displayed around the waiting room so that the waiting fighter could watch their would-have-been opponents duke it out. None of the fights had caught Killua's attention so far, but he would watch Kurapika's if the Elf was called in first.
He was excited to assess the blonde's fighting ability.
"Kurapika and Majitani. Report to the arena," an authoritative voice commanded over the intercom system. The inhabitants of the waiting room mumbled amongst themselves, and the din of shuffling fabric and feet rose in the air like a crescendo. Kurapika straightened his shoulders, gave Killua an encouraging smile, and exited the room. The Valkyrie hadn't seen anyone else leave the room, so this Majitani dude must have been in one of the other waiting rooms.
Good luck, Kurapika.
Killua moved from his place in the corner to the middle of the room. He weaved in between his possible opponents until he made it to the largest television screen in the room. It was suspended from the ceiling, and was all picture with no sound. The screen showed an enormous arena with stadium seating rising up around it like some sort of colosseum. There were blood stains scattered across the arena floor, the previous fights must have gotten particularly brutal.
Shots of the audience cheering were shown, the announcer must have been announcing the next pair of fighters. Sure enough, Kurapika walked out onto the arena floor. His blonde hair swished against his shoulders and reflected the spotlights. His twin wooden swords were perfectly concealed, Killua wouldn't have been able to notice them had he not already known they were there.
The Elf's opponent strutted into the arena from the other direction. He was a monstrously large alien humanoid with blue skin and a skull looking face. His lips were pulled back in a grin only a mother could love, revealing uneven and blocky teeth. More shots of cheering audience members were shown, and the cameras cut back to Kurapika and Majitani. The two of them fell into battle positions, and Kurapika pulled out his swords.
"Slick bastard," commented a man next to Killua. He was a Werewolf, and towered a whopping seven feet tall. The Valkyrie peaked up at him from the corner of his eye to find an appreciative smirk on his canine face. "I wouldn't have guessed he had weapons on him."
"Me either, but then again here we are," responded a shorter woman with a particularly squeaky voice and honey gold hair. She was some sort of hybrid, and Killua detected Chimera blood in her. "Those wooden toys won't make any difference though," she asserted with a finger tapping against her chin. "Majitani is huge! That Elf doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell."
"I dunno," the Werewolf drawled. "I get the feeling that this Kurapika guy is a lot stronger than he's letting on."
"There you go again, Welfin, always overanalyzing and getting in your head," the woman said with a sigh.
Killua blocked the rest of their conversion out and focused on Kurapika. He wished that the volume was on, Majitani was yelling something and all Killua could gather was that it was overly dramatic. He prodded his finger in Kurapika's direction, clearly trying to intimidate him. The audience was eating it up, but from a professional mercenary's perspective, this douche was a lightweight.
Kurapika had made the same assumption, and darted forward with that grace and speed his species was famous for. Majitani's face contorted to one of shock and half-bridled fear as he blocked the swords' onslaught with his beefy forearms.
The blonde darted around him, striking from all angles with an impressive force. His skill was commendable, and he was in incredible physical shape. Killua was trained to identify skill level in his enemies, and Kurapika was a master swordsman. There was only so much brute force could do to combat that, as Majitani was quickly learning.
The blue alien went in for a swing, which Kurpika dodged with ease. The battle was a back and forth of swords and meaty fists, and the Kurta was clearly the more skilled of the two. With an intricate flip, Kurapika swiped at Majitani from above, and he was unable to block. The left sword cut a gash open in his forehead, and the man's mouth blew wide in a scream of pain and rage. Whistles of approval and various comments on Kurapika's skill were exchanged among the viewers in the waiting room, and Killua smirked to himself. His friend was a badass!
Deciding that he had put on a show for long enough, Kurapika launched himself into the air once more. Giving Majitani no room to recover and regain his bearings, the elven warrior drove his twins through the meaty part of his shoulders, pinning the large humanoid to the ground. Blood sprayed Kurapika's tabard and splattered the arena floor.
The television lit up with a motion graphic commending and announcing Kurapika's win. The waiting room burst into "I-told-you-so's," grumbling as money was passed from hand to hand, and comments on the impressive moves the Elf had shown off. Majitani had been greatly outclassed, and Kurapika had likely wracked up an impressive number of points.
With a smile tickling at his lips, Killua stuffed his hands in his pockets and returned to his corner of the room to wait. Kurapika never returned to the waiting room, none of the combatants did. The blonde had instructed Killua to meet him in the front lobby once he was done being fully enrolled and processed into the system. But before that the Valkyrie had a fight to win.
Four more battles passed, and finally Killua's name was called.
He was going up against a man named Johness, but that was of little concern to him.
Killua did not waste mental space on the soon to be deceased.
The Valkyrie exited the room with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He followed a dark concrete hallway, the echoing cheers from the stands ricocheted off the walls and surrounded Killua in an embrace of encouragement. So many people were here to watch him. Usually when he fought, the general goal was not to be seen. However, here the goal was to impress as many people as possible. He was glad to be able to show off his skills. The silver haired boy had to admit, he sure did love to be the center of attention.
As he approached the opening to walk out onto the arena, the voice of the announcer cried out: "Our first contestant is… Killua!" The crowd erupted in yells of excitement as the boy in question entered the arena. They were already hyped up from the previous fights, and Killua liked that. They had expectations already set, and he couldn't wait to break them.
With a nonchalant tilt of his lips, Killua walked onto the arena floor with his hands still in his pockets. He swished his tail behind him as he walked, because it was comfortable and also to show it off. He heard the particularly shrill squeals of a group of girls sitting in the front row. They waved at him with fervor, vying for his attention.
Killua glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, and blew his bangs away from his eyes in frustration. More female attention. He had gotten used to not having to deal with fangirls. Unfortunately however, his standoffish attitude only served to heighten their excitement. Killua knew that most males would bend over backwards to get the amount of female attention he did, however he had just never been too interested in having girls all over him.
He didn't know why… he just wasn't that way.
Once Killua was situated on the arena floor, the announcer continued her introductory speeches. "And our silver haired contestant's opponent is…" the woman paused for effect and drew more cheers from the crowd. "Johness!"
A broad shouldered Dragonite Elf strutted into the open. More cheers from the crowd. Killua looked him up and down. He was tall with mussed blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His pointed ears poked out from his mane of hair, and there was a certain lilt to his eyes that Killua didn't like. The red markings on his face and across his eyes showed his Dragonite blood.
There were several sub-species of humanoids that fell under the umbrella of "dragonite." Killua was in the Valkyrie sub-species, and his opponent was in the elven subspecies. They were called Dragonite because of certain dragon-like features. The elf's were in his beady eyes, markings, and his sharp nails. Killua's were in his tail, wing structure (when they were actually out), and fangs.
It's been a while since I've seen another Dragonite. This'll be fun.
The announcer continued her spiel, making sure the crowd was ravenous for a battle before calling the two Dragonite humanoids to start. Killua used this time to assess his enemy's power. He appeared physically strong, and had a certain intensity about him. His eyes bore into Killua's, and he was clearly running through the same checks as he was. From the way he clenched his fists, Killua had the feeling that he possessed some skill in hand to hand.
I'm keeping my hands in my pockets not just as psychological intimidation, but also as a way to try and trick him into thinking that I have weapons on me. I'll make sure to take the first move, based on his build I'll have to-
A particularly enthusiastic audience member drew the Valkyrie's attention.
"KILLUAAA!"
The silver haired boy turned his sapphire eyes in the direction of the voice, and his face split into a grin. There was Gon, waving like a madman. Leorio was at his side doing the same, the two of them getting annoyed looks from the far less hyper audience members around them.
Gon's face lit up when he saw he had caught Killua's attention. He grinned even wider, and held his hand high up above his head. He stuck his middle finger down, and curved the index finger, making the shape of half a heart. His eyes sparkled with mirth. Killua laughed out loud and copied the motion, making the other side of the heart.
It was one of their many inside jokes.
Killua could feel the gazes of the thousands of spectators turning their attention from the announcements to Killua's strange motion. They searched for who he was looking at in the crowd, and he knew that the two boys must have looked like utter fools.
But he didn't care, to Killua it was only him and Gon.
"GOOD LUCK KILLUA!" Gon yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth.
"KICK HIS ASS!" Leorio added.
"YEAH! AND MAKE IT FLASHY!" Gon cried out with a wicked grin.
Killua waved at them, filled with a new fire. He had some serious showing off to do.
He was suddenly filled to the brim with the need to impress Gon.
The Valkyrie turned his attention back to Johness. The man was giving him a judgmental look. "Friends of yours?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Maybe," Killua answered, being coy on purpose to try and piss him off.
"Good to know," Johness said, his eyes flashing with bloodlust. "I'm sure they'll enjoy watching me splatter your guts all over this arena floor."
Killua smiled darkly at him, and felt his eyes getting that murderous glint in them. His switch was begging to be turned on. "Guts sound pretty good to me, been a while since I tasted humanoid flesh," Killua said in a casual tone.
Johness's eyes wavered for a moment. Killua had no doubt of what was going through his mind: "This kid is a carnivorous humanoid. I'd better watch my back. This can get real brutal real fast."
And that was true. Killua had every intention of killing this man. He and Kurapika had been told upon entering the waiting room that anything goes in Heavan's Arena. New rules put in action by the Phantom Troupe. Killing was allowed, encouraged actually. Anything to make the fights as exciting as possible.
I can also tell from his demeanor that this man is a member of the dark underbelly of this world. I've been trained to tell these things by sight. He's definitely either a serial killer or a rapist. Likely both. The world won't miss him.
"Readyyyy," Killua braced himself as the announcer prepared to start the fight. "Begin!"
The second the word left her mouth, Killua flipped his switch on. Johness had been about to leap forward and take the first move, but Killua ripped the upper hand from him in the blink of an eye. His threatening aura poured off of him in waves, telling Johness one thing: "danger."
"Johness made to take the first move, but Killua stopped him with an onslaught of aura!" the announcer called out.
He faltered, gritting his teeth. A bead of sweat ran down his temple. Killua could sense in his aura glands that Johness was blocking the effect of his aura, but not nearly as effectively as Kurapika did.
So he can skirt the hierarchy a little bit. Good for him, but it's not enough.
"What's wrong, old man?" Killua taunted. "You seem to have frozen up."
Johness's face contorted into one of rage, and he spit at the floor in Killua's direction. "Oh shut up, you privileged little jerk off. High ranking aura is wasted on hybrid scum like yourself!" With visible effort, Johness unfroze himself and started circling Killua. The Valkyrie circled him back.
"Wow! Look at that folks! Johness has broken from Killua's aura's hold! Not entirely, though! Killua's aura clearly is still affecting him! He has lost momentum in the battle! Now Killua holds the upper hand! What will our silver haired contestant's move be?"
Color me pissed off. I hate it when full-blooded dick-wads like himself are racist to hybrids. I'm actually a full-blood myself, but still! Knowing that he'd be an asshole to Gon makes my blood boil.
I had already intended to make this flashy, but looks like I'm going all out.
Killua started walking in a set rhythm, creating afterimages of himself. Johness's eyes widened in confusion and rage. His eyes jerked about, trying to figure out which was the real version.
"Incredible! Killua has created doubles of himself! Which one is real?"
Before Johness could even think of making a move, Killua sharpened his hand and darted forward. He ripped his hand through the man's chest, and blood sprayed everywhere. The battle was over in less than two minutes.
The audience fell into a hush, all eyes on Killua: who was clutching Johness's still beating heart in his sharpened grip. The blonde man sputtered, and looked back at Killua. "Wha- what did you- when did you- g-give it-back-" he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood, dead.
I could have ripped it out without shedding any blood at all easy peasy, but for show I decided to turn him into a fleshy firework.
Killua was drenched in splatters of blood, as was the arena floor and Johness himself.
It had been so fast most of the audience probably hadn't even been able to follow how Killua had Johness's heart in his hand and how he was dead. There was still a fraction of a second before the announcer would voice what had just transpired, and Killua decided to make a show for the audience.
With a smirk on his face, he licked a drop of blood from his forearm. He dragged his tongue from his elbow to his wrist, and then looked back at Johness's corpse. "Your blood is sour tasting, how unfortunate. You can have this back now~" With that Killua tossed Johness's heart into his upturned palm.
The crowd erupted, roaring in excitement and glee.
Killua smiled and waved, basking in the attention.
"That was incredible, folks! Killua jumped in straight for the kill and ripped Johness's heart right out of his chest! He never stood a chance! Killua is the winner of this placement battle!"
Killua looked up at Gon and Leorio, the amber eyed boy was cheering like crazy again. He did a wild little dance and punched the air. Leorio was shaking a stranger beside him back and forth as he chattered away. A smile crossed Killua's face.
Those two are so wacky. It's no wonder they get along so well.
With one last wave to his friends, Killua exited the arena. He followed the allotted winners' tunnel that they had all been instructed to exit through if they happened to win. At the end of the tunnel, Killua found an office-like room with a desk occupied by a human woman (wow, humans are pretty rare) with a mass of coiled black hair and chestnut skin. She smiled warmly at him, and motioned him to join her at the desk.
"Congratulations on your placement battle win! The results of your floor placement evaluation will be released tomorrow. The window for you to sign up for your next battle will open once the results are in. Each time you receive your results, you will have 24 hours to sign up for a next battle, or else you will be disqualified and kicked out of the arena. Now then, please fill out this official Heaven's Arena battle royale placement paperwork…"
…
Killua wandered the main lobby of Heavan's Arena, wondering where Kurapika had gotten off to. "Geez," he muttered to himself. "It's like the guy is some sort of ghost."
"I assure you that I am not a ghost."
Killua jumped out of his skin and whipped around, instinctively extending his claws.
"Kurapika! What the actual fuck! Don't sneak up on me like that, I could have killed you!"
The blonde chuckled, "I'm sure you could, if your battle was any indication. I commend you, you are a truly gifted fighter. Your execution of your opponent was a sight to behold."
"Yeah, yeah, butter me up all you want," Killua grumbled, retracting his claws and stuffing his hands back into his pockets
"Come on," the blonde said, "Let's go back to the room. We can order room service, and it will be a much more peaceful setting than eating in one of the restaurants in the building." Kurapika turned in the direction of the elevators, and Killua followed him. The Valkyrie liked the Elf, he had to admit. The Kurta had a calming presence about him, and was nice to be around. Also, it was nice to have a fellow intellectual around.
After months of only Gon's pea-brained presence, having a fellow smart person was a breath of fresh air.
Gon…
There he went again! Always thinking about Gon! What was wrong with him? They were only being separated for a few hours! This was ridiculous. Thank goodness Kurpika was there, or else Killua might have deviated from the plan to go find the cheerful hybrid.
The two of them made it back to the room and sat down at the table with the room service menu before them. Killua perused the plethora of options, trying to decide. There was every kind of meat in existence, even human meat! That was a serious shocker, but then again there were several Chimera Ants around and the Phantom Troupe didn't exactly come across as having morals.
After finally making a selection, Kurapika and Killua placed their orders on one of the tablets provided. All living expenses were courtesy of the Arena, as compensation for the entertainment the contestants provided. Luckily, room service was free as well.
"We're clearly the more economically responsible of the group," Killua declared with a cat-like expression on his face.
"That's true," Kurapika agreed with a smile. "Leorio and Gon are going to find a restaurant rather than eating here for free. They'll be paying for no good reason." The two fell into comfortable conversation. Their meal arrived and they ate in peace, just as Kurapika had said. The meal was delectable, and Killua particularly enjoyed the glass of cryptid blood he'd been able to order. He had had the usual "you're a carnivorous species? What's it like?" conversation with Kurapika, and the blonde had even tried some of the blood… though he hadn't liked it and spit it out immediately afterwards.
"You know," Kurapika said, moving onto another topic of conversation. "I have to admit that it is strange seeing you without Gon glued to your side."
Killua choked on his water. "R-really?" He didn't like that glint in the Elf's eye.
Kurapika was up to something.
The blonde leaned his elbow on the table and placed his chin in his hand. "I know that I've only known the two of you for a matter of days, but even so it's strange seeing one without the other. The two of you are quite close, aren't you?"
"Yeah, we've already established that, haven't we," Killua said around his glass of water… which he was using to hide his flushed cheeks. Kurapika really sees us as a pair? We're that close even to the outside eye? It's strange, and I can't tell why, but hearing that Kurapika thinks we are close makes me happy. Gah, what's with this pain in my head?
"I mean, the two of you are practically conjoined at the hip. You do everything together, even shower and sleep." Kurapika eyed Killua with a suggestive look in those tawny eyes. He was trying to convey something to Killua, but for the love of it he couldn't figure out what that was.
"And?" The mental barrier is sending waves of pain through my skull. Following these thought patterns of my own accord is one thing, but Kurapika initiating them gives me no escape.
"It may just be me…" Kurapika tapped his chin with his finger, the picture of false innocence. "But you do seem particularly fond of Gon."
Killua gripped the glass harder, pushing against the barrier. It was on the tip of his tongue, he was right on top of whatever this feeling was. Kurapika couldn't possibly have known what exactly was going on in Killua's mind, but he was leading him to the answer.
"Killua, do you like Gon? Romantically?"
Do I-
With a spectacular shatter, glistening shards flew everywhere. The mental barrier came crashing down, assaulting Killua with the greatest pain he had ever felt in his life. He squeezed the glass in his hand far too hard, and it shattered in unison with the barrier. His mind was free, but he couldn't think through all this pain-
It all happened in a split second, the barrier came crashing down, Killua was doused in flaming pain, and then he passed out onto the table.
AN: Welfin 3 Chimera Ant Arc had so many feels (that whole "Komugi" being the one word scene? in tears.)
