"First things first, you must understand what your Awakening has done to your body," Wing said as he paced the living room in front of Gon and Killua. Zushi was sitting in a chair off to the side, ever watching. Killua thought it was super tacky that they were learning Sorcerery in this dude's messy living room, but whatever. This was what they had, so they had to roll with it.

"Think of it this way," the man said with a finger in the air. "Your body has been transformed into a Magic factory. Using your life force, the power in your blood, and your aura, your body is constantly accumulating Magical power. Close your eyes, and focus on how that feels."

Killua obeyed, shutting his eyes and honing in on this strange tingling sensation all over his body. He focused on the way his nerves now extended into his aura glands, and he focused on the signals they sent to his body. He could feel it. He could feel the chemical reaction - or whatever the fuck this was - happening.

He felt his life force being slowly sucked into his aura glands, and he felt the power that created being pushed out of his body in the form of the liquid shit covering him. If he really focused, he could even feel the power in his blood. It was like he was experiencing his own aura, which was strange, but also not like that.

It was like… when he'd look at a pool or vial of blood, and immediately be able to assess its power. Only he could do this for himself. For some reason his aura glands felt pleased with the power in his blood, as if his own body had been testing another part of his body, trying to see if it was up to its expectations.

Weird assed shit.

"It feels like my aura glands are staring at my blood," Gon said, sounding confused but also deep in thought. "It's like… my aura glands are the bouncer at a club and have decided that my blood is okay to come in."

Killua and Wing burst out laughing, breaking everyone's focus. Zushi buried his face in his hands, sighing.

"A bouncer at a club? Really?" Killua giggled, glancing over at Gon who was ever by his side. The hybrid gazed back at him, smiling but also looking confused.

"Is that a bad comparison? I thought it was the best way to explain it!"

"Your comparison was fine, just random," Killua responded, unable to suppress the urge to ruffle Gon's hair. His heart was buzzing with affection. Dammit… Gon was so funny. It was adorable. Even in the midst of all this madness he still managed to make Killua laugh.

I love that about him.

I just want to squeeze him to death.

"Yes, that was a fine comparison," Wing said, having regained his composure. "A strange one but an accurate one. That strange feeling of your aura glands assessing your blood is a special ability that comes with Blood Magic. It was implanted within you during the Awakening ritual. All humans have a sense for the power held in blood, but now that sense has been heightened, tweaked. Now you can sense how much Magical power can be derived from blood, not just how much hierarchy power it has. If your aura glands have accepted your own blood without any complaints, that means that your blood is powerful enough to fuel all of your capabilities. If you use a lesser blood, which I am certain will be an exercise your second stage Master puts you through, then you will find that your aura glands detect and alert you to a boundary the blood you are using cannot cross."

"That… sounds really complicated," Gon complained.

"It's not, really," Wing reassured. "This is already something your body can do. It is alright if you cannot entirely understand what is happening in words, but your brain will still process all of this information automatically."

"We really are machines now, huh?" Killua mused.

"That is a popular analogy," Wing said cheerily.

"Stupid weird assed Demon Magic shit," the Valkyrie muttered under his breath, earning a chuckle from Wing.

"Moving on," Wing said, continuing his pacing. "Now that you feel the Magic being created, and you feel it immediately being excreted in the form of Ren, I need you to keep it from exiting your body. For that, is what Ten truly is: keeping your Blood Magic contained and storing it up. Constantly releasing Ren is dangerous, and Ten is necessary to prevent extreme exhaustion. Letting this process go unattended is incredibly dangerous because your life force is a key ingredient, and unrestrained Ten and Ren will drain all of that life force and kill you. Without hesitation. So focus on holding that power in. Stop the Magic from seeping out of your body, and draw that liquid substance back inside your body where it belongs."

"Where do I put it?" Gon asked the second Wing stopped talking.

"Wow, the two of you are getting ahead of me," Wing said with an awkward chuckle. "I did not expect you to get the hang of keeping it inside so quickly. In your mind, picture the Magical energy accumulating, not exiting your body. Picture a vast, dark expanse, and the liquid slowly filling it up."

Killua pictured this in his mind, and sighed in relief when his life force stopped draining and the liquid retracted beneath his skin. He envisioned a small puddle of Magical energy, with a steady drip filling it up ever so slowly. It was a relaxing image, and the feeling of this accumulation made Killua's aura glands squirm with pleasure.

"My aura glands like the Magic pond," Gon commented.

"You have a Blood Energy pocket already?!" Zushi exclaimed. "It's been like two seconds!"

"Blood Energy pocket? Is that what it's called?" Gon thought out loud. "It's a better name than Magic pond!"

"Hey, Gon, how big is your pocket?" Killua asked, wanting to compete.

The hybrid hummed. "I dunno, the size of a small pond I guess?"

"Dammit! We're the same again," the Valkyrie complained. "That's no fun! I wonder if I can make mine fuller than yours…" Killua focused on making the dripping of Magic faster, and ground his teeth as he forced it to be a stream of water instead of drops. His body started pumping a new feeling aura. It was his aura, it just felt different (not to mention Killua himself could feel it). The aura felt like a side effect of making more Magical power, almost like radiation from a dangerous chemical explosion.

Killua gave a playful snarl when he felt a similar aura coming from Gon.

"Ha! You're on, jackass!" he shot over at his friend. The hybrid giggled through gritted teeth.

"Huh?! What?!" Zushi yelled, disrupting Gon and Killua's focus and making them pause their filling race. Killua made sure to keep a leash on his Ten, and made it return to dripping slowly into that pond like his aura glands liked to do. Gon lost his grip a little, and the liquid encased him again for a moment, but he quickly sucked it back in.

"What are you yelling for?" Gon asked once he had control over his Ten once more.

At least Killua had him beat in that department!

Wing was staring at Killua and Gon with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "You– the two of you figured out Ten all on your own! You created your Blood Energy pockets instantly, and then instinctively figured out how to increase the amount of Energy created! That is– you taught yourselves Ten!"

Gon and Killua blinked, then looked at each other, then looked back to Wing and Zushi.

"That was Ten?" Killua asked, confused.

"That was so easy!" Gon added.

Zushi slammed his face into the couch cushions and screamed.

Wing ogled at them. "Yes… you picked that up so fast. Never in my many years of Sorcery have I trained or even heard of anyone mastering Ten this quickly. Not to mention you were Awakened only an hour ago! Truly remarkable. I'd go so far as to say that the two of you are prodigies. Your natural ability is 1 in 100 million."

"I'm just 1 in 100 thousand," Zushi whined.

"Woah, that's really good, Zushi!" Gon chirped.

"Not as good as you guys, though," the Cryptid mumbled.

Wing patted the dog-boy's head. "Not to worry, Zushi. You are still a remarkable Sorcerer in training. These two talents are unnatural, so do not be discouraged by them. They are born with higher blood and therefore power. We can cheat the system all we want, but there is no escaping our biological inadequacies. Never fear, though. You will catch up with them yet."

"In like a million years," Zushi grumbled, sounding sad.

"Since we've already learned Ten," Killua spoke up, dragging another whine from Zushi, "What do we do now?"

"Now, I want the two of you to sit and meditate over the feeling of your Ten. As Gon just experienced, it is easy to slip up and lose your grip. The two of you need to be able to hold your Ten in check at all times, even as you sleep. Sit and memorize the way your aura glands send the power directly into your Blood Energy pockets. You must train yourselves to do this on autopilot. This must become something your brains learn to do subconsciously, just like breathing."

"Okay!" Gon and Killua said at the same time, sitting down criss cross on the floor. They closed their eyes and did as Wing told them to, keeping their breathing even and natural. Killua found it easier to match his breathing and heartbeat with the dripping of the Magic.

"They've already gotten the hang of Ten breathing," Wing muttered under his breath.

"By the look of things they even set their heart rates already," Zushi sighed. "You're not daunted at all by having to create an automatic function inside your brain?" the Cryptid asked the hybrid and the Valkyrie.

"Nope!" Gon chirped.

"Everything's been easy so far, so this shouldn't be an issue," Killua yawned.

Zushi leaned back into the couch cushions, utterly defeated.

"I will monitor your auras and let you know when you've gotten the hang of things," Wing said. Himself and Zushi then left the room, leaving Gon and Killua to their meditations.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Focusing on the progression of his Ten was so incredibly relaxing. Killua found himself in a trance. He could do this for months on end and never get restless. The Valkyrie had made this dripping of his Ten into an automatic brain function hours ago, but he wasn't complaining. He half hoped Wing wouldn't step in and stop them.

"There are 8 hours left, it's about time we learned Ren," Wing said, his voice sounding like it was coming from underwater.

Killua reluctantly drew himself out of his trance, raising his consciousness back to the surface and out of the dark and relaxing cavern that was his Blood Energy pocket. He blinked himself awake, feeling like he had just slept for days on end.

"I've never felt so well rested in my life!" Gon exclaimed all of a sudden, leaping to his feet to stretch. Killua nodded as he stood up as well, raising his arms high above his head. He groaned as his back popped several times, and stretched his tail out as far as it could go. The meditation had even alleviated the pain from his tattoos and their fight with his wings!

"Ten meditation will do that for you," Wing said with a smile. "And now that you are well rested and have a stable mastery of Ten, I can teach you how to safely execute Ren. You already know how it feels to use raw Ren, when your body becomes encased in the Blood Magic energy. However, using Ren in that way is dangerous and will drain your life force. Rather than allowing the Ren to leak out of you like that, you need to learn ways to control it. There are hundreds of different applications of Ren, and today I will be teaching you one of them.

"Now that you are Awakened and have your Ten safely under control, you will be able to see Hisoka's Ren. However, you must learn to properly defend yourselves from it. Hisoka's Ren injured you, as Zushi told me, and touching another's hostile Ren will always result in excruciating pain. Enough exposure will always kill you. You can prevent this by using your own Ren to combat the hostile Magic.

"You are going to learn the most basic form of Ren defense, in which you will coat your body in a shield of your Blood Magic. It comes from your aura, so you will be able to control it as if it were your aura. Remember how it felt to have your body encased in your Magic, and let it flow back out."

Killua closed his eyes and did this, imagining his Blood Energy leaving its pocket and seeping out and across his skin. He heard Gon sigh as he did the same. The Magic slid across Killua's body, and his aura glands began to prickle as his life force began draining once again.

"You will notice a substantial drainage in your life force," Wing continued. "Our goal is to maximize the amount of defense while minimizing the amount of life force lost. As it stands, you are throwing far too much energy into materializing your Magic. Rather than focusing on merely letting your Magic encase you, control it. Do not let it move along your skin with a mind of its own, imagine it embracing you and evenly covering your body. Do not let it dissolve into the air once it exits, envision your Magic holding its power and staying in place. Hone your Magic, and build up its power just as you did while using Ten, but this time through Ren."

Killua followed Wing's instructions, focusing on powering up his Magic on the outside instead of the inside, all the while keeping it still against his skin. The power wanted to leave his body and enter the air, changing back into regular aura and wasting his life force. However, Killua was forcing it to stop doing that, and remain at his side like the tool that it was.

He gasped when the Magic changed suddenly. It rippled, and smoothened out, gaining heat and excreting a Magical aura instead of Killua's normal aura. Gon stumbled backwards at his side, having shoved a bunch of power into the Ren instead of adding power slowly like Killua had done.

"It's getting stronger! It's getting harder to hold in place!" Gon exclaimed, sounding overwhelmed. Killua was having similar issues, but was too busy trying to hold the growing presence encasing his body under control to speak.

"Wonderful job, boys," Wing said, speaking quickly. "You accomplished this shockingly fast, as usual. Now comes the hard part. The two of you are natural masters at powering up your Magic, but now you must keep it at a certain power level. Your shields are gaining strength, and as I'm sure you've noticed have gotten harder to control. Do you feel the pond of energy within you draining as you push that energy outwards into Ren?"

"Yes," the two boys said in unison through gritted teeth.

"Well, there is no reason to keep converting that energy to Ren. Stop feeding the shield. This will be harder to get the hang of than you are used to. As high ranking humanoids, you are used to pushing your aura out and not worrying about anything but increasing the potentness of that aura. However, now your aura has a different application. And with this new extension of your aura abilities, it is not so simple as just forcing energy out. Remember how you first focused on holding the energy in place? Well you are still doing that. You are not allowing your Magic to dissipate, so if your Magic is staying around there is no reason to continue adding more."

Killua gasped as he shut off the flow of Ren and was left solely with the pulsating shield around him. "Oh," he said.

Gon laughed, "That's so simple!"

"Yeah," Killua added grumpily. "Why the hell didn't we think of that?"

Wing chuckled. "It's perfectly alright. Your entire lives you have used your aura glands to consistently push energy out. That was all you had to do for Ten as well, but now that there is only a certain amount of it you can control using Ren, it is strange to continue using your glands while not excreting energy as you go. It is not shutting off the flow of Magical energy that is hard, but breaking the habit of always pushing power out through your aura glands."

"I never realized how ingrained the use of our aura glands are," Gon commented.

"Seriously," Killua agreed. "It's always just been 'aura' or 'hide your aura.' But now I have to consciously do that, and just following my natural instincts doesn't work."

Wing nodded. "True. Just know that you are still getting the hang of this at a frighteningly fast pace. For the remainder of our time before the deadline, I want you to practice the use of this Ren shield. If need be, release some of the energy you are holding in control. It is alright if you cannot control this amount as you are now, it will take practice."

"Oh, that's good!" Gon gasped, voice wavering. He was clearly struggling with the foot thick shield surrounding him. He furrowed his brow as he released his hold on the Magic. "Oh, dammit!" he cursed when he let all of it go instead of a little bit at a time.

Killua laughed at him, earning a shove.

"Woah!" they both yelled when Gon pushed the shield instead of Killua's arm.

"That's crazy!" Gon exclaimed, abandoning his training for a moment to gawk over Killua's Magic shield. He poked at it, and Killua watched in awe as the surface of the whitish liquid stuff rippled, but didn't let Gon in.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Wing asked with a smile, before turning on a Ren shield of his own. "Now you see what it is we're trying to do here." He held a knife in one hand, and extended his shielded palm with another. In a quick motion, the Vampire-hybrid slit the knife across his palm. But the blade did not touch his skin, it only slid harmlessly across the surface of the Magic shield.

"Woah!" Gon and Killua exclaimed once more.

"Gimme that knife, I wanna see my shield do that!" Killua said, reaching out for the blade.

Wing held the knife out of the Valkyrie's reach. "I would advise against that. You only just turned on your shield moments ago, and no matter how much raw talent you have, you will not be able to shield from strong physical objects. Other Ren is one thing, your Ren always repeals another's Magic. But physical objects are a different story. My demonstration shows the potential you are working towards."

"No fun," Killua complained, stepping back in line next to Gon. The hybrid hummed, eyeing Killua's shield.

"You mind if I test your shield, Killua?" he asked.

"Sure," the Valkyrie said offhandedly, watching Wing as he effortlessly retracted his shield beneath his skin. He didn't even have to think about it. I'll have to make sure I practice enough to be able to just whip this shield out no problem. And mine is only a couple centimeters while the old man's is several inches. I have a lot of work to do–

"Hey!" Killua exclaimed when Gon pushed roughly against the shield. The sensation had been strange. It was like a loud alarm had been going off in Killua's head, telling him that his shield was being breached. The Magic's surface hadn't broken, but it had bent under Gon's forceful shove.

"What?" the hybrid asked. "You said I could test it!"

Killua shook himself out of his fighting stance. "Oh, sorry. I kinda freaked out there… do it again, I wanna see why my brain went all haywire."

Gon nodded, and shoved roughly against the shield again. At first he had just bumped playfully into Killua. Now, however, he was shoving with a lot of force behind it.

Killua gasped when Gon bent the shield again, and his mind violently recoiled.

"The hell?" the Valkyrie muttered, an uncomfortable shiver running up his spine when Gon relaxed his push and gently rubbed his palm up and down the shield.

"Using this Ren shield heightens your sense of touch. It is like you have a stronger but more sensitive layer of skin around you. Your aura glands already sense spikes in other's aura, but now can sense pressure against your Magic. You will have to slowly work yourself into the mental alarms that go off with this shield. Your minds are not used to such a sensation."

"Huh," the boys said, before looking at each other again.

"Punch my arm, I wanna see what happens when the shield breaks," Killua ordered.

"Sure thing!" Gon chirped.

The hybrid cranked his arm back, and slammed his fist into Killua's upper arm. The Valkyrie gasped when the shield completely shattered and he lost it. He barely managed to keep his Ren from staying on automatically, and stumbled backwards at the force of his shield breaking.

Killua had yelled when Gon hit him, and the hybrid had a look of horror in his eyes. He looked at his fist and then back at Killua, who was straightening out of his instinctual fighting stance.

"Killua!" Gon squeaked, darting up to his side. "Are you okay?! I didn't think I hit you that hard!" The hybrid gently took Killua's arm into his hands and inspected it. He was being so gentle and caring, Killua couldn't help but swoon a little. He ordered his cheeks to stop being red, and forced himself out of his gay stupor.

"Uh, yeah, I'm alright. You didn't hit me that hard, it was just the shield breaking that made me yell like that."

"You sure?" Gon asked, looking up at him through those dark lashes. Those stupid amber eyes were so round and caring and–

"It was nothing, you turn your shield on and I'll punch you. Then you can see what I mean," he said, averting his gaze and hiding as much of his blush as he could with his bangs.

Gon slowly dropped his arm, trailing his fingers all the way down to Killua's palm as he did so. The sensation sent a shiver down his spine and directly to his pants.

What the hell was that–

"Okay then!" Gon chirped, turning to walk a couple feet away. He closed his eyes and slowly reactivated his shield, brow furrowed as he focused.

Killua blinked after him, frozen in place.

He had walked away as if it was nothing… so it must have been nothing.

The Valkyrie shook his head, and got ready to punch Gon. The feeling when the shield broke had been so incredibly uncomfortable. It hadn't hurt, per say, but it had been so unwelcomed that it might as well have been pain. Killua didn't really want to force Gon to feel that awful feeling… but it was too late, because he'd used that as an excuse to keep Gon from seeing his blushing face, and now he had to pay the price.

"Alright, I'm ready!" Gon said, bracing himself for Killua's blow. His shield was just as thick as Killua's had been, no more than a couple of centimeters. It was whitish and translucent, wrapped around Gon like a flawless second skin.

So this is Magic.

It'll never stop amazing me.

Knov's portal Magic looked nothing like this. Though I suppose a visible Hatsu ability would be a lot different than generic Ren. I wonder what me and Gon's personal Hatsu spells will look like?

Killua approached Gon, then cranked his arm back. The other boy didn't even flinch, just grinned welcomingly at the Valkyrie. He had just seen Killua's reaction, and yet here he was. Smiling like he was about to receive a birthday gift. He trusted Killua so much that it made his heart flutter.

Needing an outlet for these fluffy feelings, Killua punched Gon hard in the arm. Not too hard, but hard enough to shatter the shield and send him tumbling back. Gon cried out, and Killua winced at the noise. He hated to hear that painful yell from Gon… even though he knew full well it wasn't actual pain.

Killua shook his hand as he walked up to Gon. The shield had been thin and weak, but it had felt like punching a brick wall.

"Have fun?" Killua taunted. He wished he could walk over and be all wishy washy like Gon had done… but he was too scared that if he did that his feelings would show in his eyes. He'd just have to conceal his affections with aggression.

"That felt super weird!" Gon exclaimed, meeting Killua in the middle with wide and excited eyes. "It didn't hurt, but I didn't like it either!"

"Yes, that is your body's alarm system for when your Ren shield is broken through. This is the most basic form of Ren defense. I will teach you offense as well, and when I do expect a similar feeling when a Ren attack of yours brushes up against either a Ren shield or counterattack," Wing explained. "Now that you know how it feels to touch a solid object with your Ren, turn both your shields on and press your hands together."

Gon and Killua complied, activating their shields. It was much easier for them both this time, they were starting to get the hang of this whole turn your aura glands on and then back off again thing.

The two boys stood face to face, and laughed when they met each other's eyes. Gon held up his hand, a curious grin on his face. Killua shyly held his up as well, lining it up with Gon's.

It looked like they were about to hold hands… and Killua's chest was feeling all tingly and warm.

Gon and Killua pressed their palms forward, like they were measuring the size of their hands. The shields pressed flush together, and their eyes widened as they felt each other's Magic with their own.

Gon's Blood Magic felt… warm and soft. But also strong and threatening. It felt like… Gon, but a physical object. Killua stared into those amber eyes, utterly drawn back. It was incredible. It was like he was touching Gon's soul, and it was brushing right up against his.

Gon looked just as shocked as Killua did, and they just stood staring into each other's eyes for a moment. It always felt like they were on the same wavelength, but now it felt like they were on the same wave. They subconsciously synched their breathing, and Killua could tell that their hearts were beating at the exact same time as well.

Killua looked at their palms pressed flat together, and his stomach gave a flip. He felt closer to Gon than he'd ever been in his life, and those amber eyes were on him like he was the only thing in existence.

"Killua," the hybrid murmured. "I can feel your soul."

The Valkyrie startled, snapping his eyes back up to Gon's. Those eyes were wide and wondering, glowing with a soft and growing light. Those golden colors swirled about, and Gon's face was slack in some open and bared emotion. Killua was trapped in those eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to lace their fingers together.

It was like–

It was like Killua had thought that thought into both of their minds, because all of a sudden Gon moved his fingers, and they started slipping against each other. They were about to slide together, like two perfect puzzle pieces–

"Now push your hands together, and notice how it feels," Wing instructed, completely shattering the moment. Killua and Gon both shook themselves out of whatever that trance had just been. Usually Killua only shook his own mind out of a stupor, but now Gon was coming back awake with him, and he felt so incredibly laid bare.

This was what he dealt with on a daily basis.

How would Gon react when he been forced to experience it too?

Had that been Killua's mind seeping through whatever had been synching them up just now? Had Killua influenced Gon's thoughts and made him match Killua's actions? What would he think, what was he feeling right now?

Gon laughed, it sounded light but also a little strained.

Or was that in Killua's imagination?

"I completely forgot you were there, Mr. Wing!" he commented, lining their hands up the way they had originally been… before they had almost interlaced their fingers.

Killua's cheeks flushed, but he had nowhere to hide.

He forgot where we were too?

"Interesting," Wing observed. "Some Sorcerers are able to sync their Magic to perform dual spells. It seems that the two of you are a match."

"A match?" Killua said, almost stumbling over his words.

"It means that your aura's produce a Magic that is incredibly similar in chemical makeup. You will be able to blend spells with ease, and if you use each other's blood in spells it will be as smooth as if you are using your own blood. Some Sorcerers seem to be made to work in pairs, it seems that the two of you are a part of that phenomenon."

"Woah!" Gon said, grinning wider. "I guess it was fate that we met, Killua!"

Killua choked back a gasp, cheeks hot. "Idiot! Quit saying sappy shit like that out loud! It's embarrassing!"

Gon cracked a laugh, and Killua pressed against his hand in retaliation. The two of them regained their focus on the task at hand, though, because the sensation of Killua's now violent intent sent alarms blaring in both of their minds.

"Do you see how aggression changes the feel of another's Magic?" Wing prompted.

Gon and Killua looked at their hands and then at each other. They then grinned and shoved their hands together as hard as they could. Killua's shield strained against Gon's, and the hybrid's Magic felt different than it had before. He could sense his violent (though it was more playful than violent) intent, it was almost like he was sensing the other boy's aura without his immunity there to dull its effects.

"My brain is feeling all funny again, like it did when the shield broke!" Gon said through teeth clenched in a grin. "Only this time, instead of telling me that my defenses are down and that's bad, it's telling me how strong Killua's Magic is! And it's telling me how much more power I need to add to break his shield!"

Wing blinked in surprise. "Wow, I did not expect that response. It seems your natural ability runs deep even in this. You already have a Sorcerer's battle sense."

"That's what I'm trying to train myself to feel," Zushi spoke up from the couch.

"It seems the two of you do not need any help in the analytical department, only in the control and power upage department," Wing observed. "I'll have to adjust your training regimen… it will take a much shorter amount of time to complete your first stage training than I had first estimated."

"Score!" Gon and Killua cheered in unison.

"I bet I break your shield first!" Killua taunted Gon.

"Yeah right!"

The two of them started competing, as usual. It was a lot easier to focus when Killua was feeling Gon's playful aggression rather than his soft and cuddly soul. The Valkyrie pumped more power into his shield, just to see how much more he could handle.

It wasn't much, because soon he was struggling to control his own shield just as much as he was struggling to break Gon's.

Their shields shattered simultaneously, and the two boys were flung backwards onto the floor with a yell of surprise.

"The feeling of the shield breaking didn't scare me as much that time!" Gon exclaimed victoriously.

"Yeah, same here. If we break the shields a few more times I think it won't shock me at all," Killua added. The two of them got back up, ready to do just that when Wing stepped in and stopped them by placing his hands on their foreheads, pushing them apart.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright?" he said, still clearly overwhelmed with how fast Gon and Killua were progressing. "For now, we need to focus on the strength of your shields instead of getting accustomed to the sensation of them breaking. Our goal is for them not to break while pressing through Hisoka's Ren, not to prepare for them to break."

Gon and Killua looked at each other and snickered, they had been being pretty stupid just now, huh?

"For the rest of our time, I want the two of you to practice holding your shields. See how thick you can manage them, and every once in a while I want you to push against each other's shields to practice pushing against another's Ren. I will tell you when you have practiced enough to confront Hisoka."

Gon and Killua nodded, getting back into position.

"Yes!" Gon and Killua cheered, high fiving and exchanging their intricate handshake. Wing had just cleared them to see Hisoka, and without a minute to spare! There was only an hour and a half left, and it would take an hour to actually get to where Hisoka was!

"Come on, Gon, let's hurry so we can sign up for our next battles!" Killua said with a wild grin.

"Yeah!" the hybrid agreed.

"Hold on, now," Wing ordered, voice serious. The two boys turned to face him, fidgety and pressed for time. "Before you run off, I need to discuss something with the two of you. Every single battle from the 300th floor and up will host Blood Magic battles. You will be facing Sorcerers, and there is no way around that. It is customary in Heavan's Arena to kill all fighters naive enough to approach the 300th floor Unawakened, and Hisoka spared you from that fate. You may be Awakened now, but that does not mean that it is safe for you to fight. You have gotten a hold on your Ten and mastered the bare minimum of Ren defense, and that is it. There is absolutely no way you can safely approach your next battles. In order to proceed with your heads firmly on your necks, you must complete your training. Therefore," Wing sighed. "I order you to schedule your next battles for the furthest possible date: three months away."

"What?!" the boys exclaimed.

"The fuck, old man!" Killua yelled. "We're speedrunning the Arena! This will completely fuck our plans up!"

"We can't just wait three months!" Gon exclaimed, not as loud as Killua but still loud. "There's no way I can wait that long!"

"Why the hell should we listen to you, anyways?!" the Valkyrie snapped.

Wing glared at him. "Because I am your Blood Magic Master. And if you hold any respect for this ancient and sacred discipline at all then you will do as I tell you."

Killua backed down, folding his ears back in a symbol of respect and apology. Wing was radiating authoritative energy, and a bit of his Ren had even come out with his words. Killua knew that Wing was someone to be respected… and he had to admit that he was a little guilty for mouthing him off like that.

"Now that we've calmed down?" Wing snapped, displeased with the two of them.

Gon and Killua nodded guiltily, lining back up in front of the Vampire-hybrid.

The dark haired man sighed again. "You need to complete your training, and we need as much time as possible. For the two of you, we only have three months tops to work with. We do not need to sacrifice any precious time. So no fighting until you have completed your training. This is a matter of life and death, and I need the two of you to understand that this is a very slippery slope that you have succumbed yourselves to. Blood Magic must be mastered in the correct way, or the Demonic nature of this power will take you over."

The two boys nodded.

"Alright, we'll wait three months," Killua said. "But I know you know we can handle a Blood Magic fight at the level we're at now. You're just being cautious. I don't blame you for that, but don't deny it."

Wing stiffened, confirming Killua's suspicions.

"Like I said, we'll do as you say. But in return for unnecessarily prolonging our rise in the Arena, you need to do something for us in return."

Wing frowned, raising an eyebrow. Zushi looked concerned. "And what would that be?"

"Train our friends Kurapika and Leorio as well," Killua said. Wing's eyebrows raised, and Gon perked up at Killua's side.

"That's doable. Just understand that you are dragging these Kurapika and Leorio folks down an incredibly dangerous path. I will train them if I have their consent."

Killua nodded, "Deal." The Valkyrie glanced over at Gon. The hybrid nodded and gave him an encouraging grin. Killua's heart squeezed with emotion, and he looked back at Wing.

"We'll return with Leorio and Kurapika," the Valkyrie said. "We'll pass Hisoka without fighting him, and we'll schedule our fights for three months away."

Wing nodded, "I'll see you soon. Good luck with Hisoka, and be sure you tell Kurapika and Leorio exactly what they will be getting involved in. I am putting a lot of trust in the two of you. You are not even aware of the requirements needing to be met before disclosing the truth of Sorcery to the Unawakened. Do not abuse this power. I trust that Kurapika and Leorio are good people."

"They're good people!" Gon exclaimed, standing up for his friends. Passion burning in those amber eyes.

Wing met Gon's fiery gaze, then blinked. The hybrid won the battle of wills.

The Sorcerer would trust them.

Gon and Killua gave Wing and Zushi a grin and a salute, then rushed out the door. They had an hour's trip on foot to take, and a dangerous Sorcerer to confront.

"I wonder why Hisoka helped us out like this," Gon mused as they sprinted down the sidewalk, clearly deep in thought. "He prevented us from being killed in battle. If he hadn't gotten in our way, we surely would have died at the hands of a Blood Magic user in our next battle."

"I've got no clue," Killua responded. "You're the one who knows this guy. All I can guess is that he's probably planning something."

Gon frowned, his aura souring. "I've got this feeling… that you're right."