Just in case anybody reading isn't familiar with certain nen techniques or has forgotten, I'll add the ones used in this chapter here. It's not necessary to know all of them but the information is there if you want it.

Zetsu: A technique for shutting off aura flow. This makes it harder for a person to be sensed and allows them to recover quickly from fatigue. Countered by En.

Ren: Drawing out a large amount of aura that boosts all physical capabilities including strength, speed, durability, etc. and can be used for other nen techniques.

Hatsu: This is the personal expression of one's Nen, also referred to as one's "Nen Ability."

Gyo: A technique that involves focusing a larger than normal portion of aura to one area of the body. This is mostly used on the eyes to see hidden aura. Ties directly into Ryu.

Ken: A combination of Ten and Ren that involves maintaining a large aura for defensive purposes, but is very draining.

Ryu: The distribution of aura in the midst of combat. During Ken, Gyo is used to continuously shift where aura is focused, making offensive and defensive adjustments.

Ko: Used to focus all aura into one specific area, leaving the rest of the body with no aura. A Ko attack is many times stronger than a regular one.

Shu: Enshrouding an object with one's aura to enhance it and use it as an extension of themselves.

En: Spreading out one's aura to feel the shape and movement of everything within a certain range. Can be used to sense anyone using Zetsu.

Thank you to everyone who reads and everyone who leaves reviews! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter or Naruto.

Test x and x Test

"DON'T TREAT US LIKE KIDS!"

Kite tried to sweep the incoming boys.

They sidestepped.

Gon came in with a nen-charged fist.

Killua readied a punch from behind.

Kite evaded both.

He backflipped away, saying nothing.

"Damn it," Killua thought. Him and Gon once again went on the offensive.

Gon took the lead with a punch.

Killua tried an overhead kick.

Kite grabbed Killua's leg and swung him into Gon, sending them to the ground.

After a few moments, Kite spoke. "Words are just words." The boys slowly got up, their heads aching from the impact. "If you manage to land a hit, I'll start taking you more seriously. Prove yourselves."

Gon gritted his teeth. This reminded him of his weakness against Genthru. With clenched fists, he steeled himself. "You're on!"

He zoomed forward before darting to the side. He ran circles around Kite, kicking up dust as he went.

Kite didn't bother following him with his eyes, instead using En to keep track of him. "Trying to confuse me? You're a bit too slow for that. Enhancer or not."

He sensed the exact moment Gon switched course and tried to kick him in the back.

He sidestepped, only to be bombarded with strike after strike from Gon.

Gon was relentless, furiously pounding and kicking at Kite's defense to no avail.

Killua, meanwhile, could only watch, waiting for an opening.

Gon slowed down slightly and Kite took the chance to throw out a punch.

Gon jumped away, giving Killua an opportunity. He threw shuriken at Kite and sprinted towards him.

"Ho? You know how to use ninja tools?" Kite asked, unsheathing his katana and deflecting the shuriken.

But Killua was already above him throwing a punch.

Kite sidestepped and Killua smirked. That's what he wanted.

Flicking his wrist, he swung his arm full speed and aimed his yo-yo at the target on Kite's back.

"This'll get him!"

To Killua's shock, Kite caught the yo-yo with ease before grabbing his wrist and swinging him into a tree.

"Using a yo-yo as a weapon? And a weighted one at that... You seem to have an interesting fighting style, Killua," Kite commented. "I'm guessing you have a history of using weapons?"

Killua somehow managed to hear him through his ears ringing. "...I usually fight barehanded but..." he started, slowly getting up, "I learned to use throwing knives and throwing stars as part of my early training... The ones here are a bit heavier but I got used to them after some pointers from a friend." He looked at Kite. "I started using yo-yos back on Greed Island."

Kite hummed. "Interesting. Biscuit-san and I can help you improve with them. If you pass this test, that is."

"Oi! Kite!" Bisky shouted. Kite looked at her questioningly. "I know I shouldn't be interfering, but it would be a mistake to leave Gon alone for too long!"

Kite looked back at Gon, who was standing with his eyes closed, meditating. "Gathering aura, huh?" He appeared in front of Gon and sent him flying. "That's dangerous to try in a fight."

As Gon slowly sat up, he touched a hand to his face in pain and looked over at Bisky in frustration. She just grinned in response and the Hokage was shaking his head in exasperation.

"Still... I get why she did that..." He thought, looking up at Kite. "Kite's taking it easy on us... but in a real fight, nobody's going to let me stand still and gather aura... I have to treat this as a real fight." He clenched his fist and stood up. He saw Killua also back on his feet and beginning to walk toward Kite.

"Come on boys." Kite said as they circled around him, looking for an opening. "The test is just getting started."

Gon and Killua laid on the ground of the training field dripping with sweat. They had only been fighting Kite for about 7 minutes but yet they were already getting tired. Things were looking bad. No matter how many attacks they threw his way, he was untouchable! Too fast, too strong, too skilled!

"They haven't done enough Ren training... so their endurance is extremely low in a battle like this." Bisky thought. "Kite clearly designed this test with that in mind. He says the limit is 4 hours, but the goal of that is to distract them from their growing fatigue. This won't even take an hour at this rate, it'll more than likely be settled in less than 20 minutes." She looked at her sweating students. "Whether they win or lose."

Killua didn't expect the test to be this difficult. They were two kids fighting head-to-head with a fully trained Hunter/Ninja, even if defeating him wasn't exactly the objective. He was sure the genin from the academy wouldn't have a test as hard as this. So why them? Because they were foreigners?

"...since I didn't have chakra, I had to be very impressive to make up for it." That's what Kite had said a few weeks ago, so Killua guessed that they had to show the Hokage that they could still be capable ninja without chakra. Even though Kite and Bisky are capable, that doesn't necessarily mean they are too. In other words, they're being held to a much higher standard than the other genin.

He watched as Gon shakily got to his feet. Reluctantly, Killua got up too. Gon had a frustrated look on his face, and his aura seemed to reflect that frustration.

"What's the matter, boys? What happened to 'not treating you like kids?'" Kite asked, relaxing against a tree. "You're definitely fighting like kids so I can't see why I shouldn't."

Gon growled in response to that.

Killua knew Kite was just trying to rile them up, but he was actually making sense. They were fighting like kids. All they were doing was rushing at him with attacks in an attempt to finally get an opening to destroy a target. They even tried to start throwing rocks at Kite like they did against Binolt, but the man shut down that strategy with a few sword swings, destroying the rocks. It would be an insult to compare Kite to Binolt.

"Kite..." Gon said. "...I wont settle for just two targets. I'll take all of them. Watch me!" He clenched his fists.

Killua sighed. "Here we go."

Kite laughed. "That's the spirit Gon. Seems like you're getting pretty fired up."

Gon narrowed his eyes and got in a ready stance. "Let's go, Killua!" He dashed forward and Killua was caught off guard.

"Damn it, Gon!" Killua thought before racing after him. "This is pointless! We need a plan! Regular attacks won't work!" All they were doing was tiring themselves out.

Gon halted right before he reached Kite and darted around, making afterimages of himself.

"These misdirection tactics again?" Kite thought.

Gon appeared behind Kite and used Ko to punch the ground hard enough to obscure Kite's vision with dust. He immediately masked his presence.

"Hmm... a better strategy." Kite thought. "But still useless against me." As soon as he activated En, he sensed something huge swinging towards him. "Wha-"

Killua came to a halt right outside the dust cloud, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly, a large tree was swung through the dust, blowing it all away.

Kite had jumped into the air to avoid it, but he was quickly faced with another problem.

Gon was waiting above him, Ko punch cocked back.

"Take this, Kite!" Gon yelled, launching his fist towards the target on the man's stomach.

Kite snatched Gon's wrist and harshly flung him to the ground before throwing a smoke bomb down after him.

Killua, now surrounded by smoke, knew he had to get to Gon. "He's trying to separate us... we're both masking our presence but the moment we reveal ourselves he'll come to us... damn!"

At that moment, he sensed slight killing intent right behind him.

"Jump forward."

Killua lunged out of the way of a katana blade and turned around in fear.

"Oh... nice reflexes," Kite commented, sheathing his sword. "I knew you would sense my killing intent and dodge. You're a Zoldyck, after all..."

Killua bowed his head. "No..." He thought. "All I did was follow Illumi's orders again." He gritted his teeth.

Kite started walking towards him and Killua tensed, flaring his aura so Gon would show up. He stood no chance alone, especially not with his brother talking in his head.

"If success isn't assured, run."

"Shut up!"

"Oh I wouldn't try to signal Gon if I were you..." Kite said. "He took a particularly hard hit just now. He'll be down for about a minute or two. And, as you probably know, a lot can happen in a minute." Killua's eyes narrowed before he started walking slowly to the left, Rhythm Echo afterimages moving in tune with him. "Ho... an assassination technique I presume."

Now behind Kite, with a direct view of both targets on Kite's back and leg, Killua reached a hand into his weapons holster and pulled out two kunai. With precision perfected by years of training, Killua threw the knives at both targets.

Of course, it didn't work. Kite dodged. Luckily, Killua had expected that. He was already waiting in the direction Kite was dodging, claws at the ready to take out a target. He thrusted his hand forward only for Kite to dodge, grab his arm, and flip him on his back, holding him in a submissive position.

"You're skilled, no doubt about it. I'm impressed," Kite praised. "But unfortunately, your Zetsu is ineffective because when you move in to attack, you let a tiny bit of bloodlust leak out. Even if your intent wasn't to kill me, it seems hard for you to suppress. I'd work on that, or else you won't be able to use stealth tactics on anyone with worth while senses."

Killua gritted his teeth. Damn it. Even with how far he'd come, Illumi's teachings were still affecting him in a negative way. He didn't want to reveal his Hatsu early and end up wasting it, but he had no choice now.

Suddenly, an aura-enhanced rock flew at Kite from the left and Gon came in with a kick from the right. Kite dodged both by jumping off Killua, who instantly took a stance next to Gon.

"Took you long enough, idiot!"

"Sorry Killua. Kite hits hard."

Kite hummed. "I'm impressed by your recovery speed Gon. That was only about thirty seconds, I expected you to be down for at least a minute." Gon took a stance and got ready to fight. "You kids should keep me entertained for a while."

"Gon," Killua whispered to him. "Let's retreat for a bit. This is going nowhere and we're wasting energy. I have a plan." He was using a hand to cover his lips so Kite couldn't read them. "Get behind me and when I say go, use Zetsu and we'll run into the forest." Gon nodded.

Kite just stared at them. "Planning something? Smart." He started walking towards them. "But is it really smart to talk so nonchalantly with your enemy right in front of you?" Kite flared his aura and both Killua and Gon were taken aback. He was oozing killing intent that made them take a step back, even if they logically knew he wouldn't kill them. Gon, who had felt the full brunt of Hisoka's aura on many occasions, wasn't that afraid. But Killua was dripping with sweat, being reminded of Illumi again.

"If the enemy has intentions to kill you and you know you can't win, run."

And for once, Killua was on completely the same page as Illumi.

"Go!" Killua yelled before throwing a smoke bomb. Him and Gon instantly activated Zetsu before running into the forest behind them and looking for a place to get brief safety from the man. They ran full speed, knowing that if Kite used En they would be found instantly. They had to get out of his range.

Kite coughed a bit and instantly used En to locate them. He sensed them running in the forest before they finally got out of his sensory range. He smirked. He could just use En and walk in that direction until he found them, but he decided against it. Just to be more fair, he would let them have this opportunity to regroup. Kite especially wanted to give Killua a break because the boy had somehow managed to steal smoke bombs from his holster while he had him pinned.

"He's impressive... I should stay on my toes for whatever this plan of their's is..." Kite thought. He wanted them to pass, but he also knew he couldn't go easy on them. The Hokage was watching, and Kite wanted to make sure the boys displayed all their strength and potential.

"I'm bored."

"Me too..."

"...I'm really bored."

"...Me too."

"No, like, I'm really, really bored Sakura-chan! When is this guy going to show up?"

Sakura sighed. Naruto was restless, but she couldn't blame him. They had been waiting for Kakashi to show up for the past two hours, but he still wasn't there. Her and Naruto had even came in extra early that morning so they could set up some of the traps they had been planning for the test, which Sakura was pretty sure was going to involve the 3 of them competing against Kakashi to accomplish a certain objective. It was in line with what he said and implied. She just hoped she was right so she didn't waste any materials.

Ever since they finished preparing, all they had done was lay on the grass waiting while Sasuke sat against a tree a few feet away from them.

"I know, Naruto. But there isn't really much we can do right now," Sakura reasoned. "It's not like we can just go off to find him! We just have to wait." Training wouldn't really be a good idea either, lest they tire themselves out before the test even began.

Naruto sighed and sat up. "Hey... what if this is part of the test?"

Sakura had to think about that for a moment. That would've been a good point, if it wasn't for one detail. "I doubt it. He was late like this yesterday too, remember? I feel like this is just more of a bad habit of his."

"Or the bastard's purposely trying to piss us off..."

For once, Sakura agreed with her Inner self.

...She still pushed her to the back of her mind though.

Naruto groaned. "But he was like ten hours late yesterday!" Three hours, Sakura corrected mentally. "I can't wait that long! I'm itching to go right now!"

Sakura hummed before looking uncertainly at Sasuke and back to Naruto. "Well... maybe we can use this time to include Sasuke in our plans?"

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and scoffed. "Yeah right!" He said, a little too loudly for Sakura's liking. "Like hell that asshole will listen to reason..."

"Watch your mouth loser." Oh boy. Here we go, another argument.

"Say that again duckhair! I dare you!"

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. She knew she should be worried about her own test, but she couldn't help but wonder how Gon and Killua were holding up with their's. She hoped they were having better luck than she was.

It had been ten minutes and the boys still had not revealed themselves. Kite didn't bother looking for them, instead just sat in the middle of the clearing and waited.

Hiruzen, who had been very quiet throughout the whole exchange, finally turned to Bisky. "Do you have any idea what those two are planning? They've been hiding for a while."

Biscuit nodded. "Well, for one thing, they're trying to regain as much aura as they can," She explained. "Right now, they're using Zetsu, a technique for shutting off aura to conceal your presence. But it also lets you recover from fatigue and gain back lost aura much more quickly. Hence why Kite isn't looking for them. He's giving them a break."

Hiruzen hummed. "Much needed for them. But don't you think they have anything else planned?"

She smirked. "Of course they do," she said. "I have a few guesses. But the question is, do you want me to ruin the surprise?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "No, I suppose not. I'll wait to see what they have in store."

As if on cue... Gon walked out.

Alone.

"Oh? No Killua?" Kite asked, standing up from his sitting position. "Suspicious."

Gon said nothing. Instead, he activated his Ren and raced at Kite, aura gathering in his fist.

"His aura control is quite sloppy... especially when he's tired.." Kite thought, dodging punch after kick with ease. "It makes him easy to read. We'll have to work on that."

Gon and Kite exchanged a flurry of attacks, Gon getting hit multiple times but not giving up.

"Killua is interesting because of his assassin training and fighting style... but Gon is a quick learner and has an extremely fast recovery speed." Slowly but surely, Gon was starting to react faster to Kite's attacks and defend appropriately. His Ken was quite strong, and he was using Ryu to adjust his aura defense according to Kite's attacks. Even though Kite was holding back, it was impressive.

Abruptly, Gon kicked off of Kite's arm and gained some distance before settling in a crouched stance.

"First comes ROCK..."

Kite, Bisky and Hiruzen all felt Gon's aura spike at the same time as an orange mass of Nen formed around his fist. He had a determined look on his face, staring intensely at Kite.

"I can tell that he's been doing more than just studying these past few weeks... he's keeping the nen a bit more compact..." Bisky thought, smiling. "A minor, but noticeable improvement to his nen control."

Hiruzen, on the other hand, was in shock. "Preposterous! That's a LOT of power to be wielded by a 12 year old boy! The energy radiating from his fist feels more intense than a rasengan!"

"...Is he serious?" Kite thought. As he felt Gon's Nen continue to intensify, he knew that attack would be impossible to defend against without taking at least some damage. Kite was a conjurer after all. He wasn't fit to be taking attacks from an Enhancer head on, even if he did have more aura output than Gon.

Unfortunately for Gon though, he wouldn't need to defend against it.

"Jan... ken..." Kite appeared in front of the boy and kicked him across the face. The aura dispersed and Gon was sent flying.

"Didn't learn your lesson earlier, Gon?" Kite asked. "You don't have time in a real fight to spend charging up aura at your leisure. You'll be defeated instantly. No mercy." He watched as Gon pushed himself to his feet. "But I suppose the charge time, lack of aura defense and the chant all serve as conditions to generate more Nen and strengthen the attack... what is that hatsu called?"

Gon's eyes widened in surprise. "Oops! I think I forgot to name my attack!" He rushed to answer. "Ja... janken!"

"Jajanken?" Kite asked. "I see... You combined 'Jajan' for 'Ta-dah' and 'Janken' for Rock-Paper-Scissors..." He hummed in approval. "While normally I'm not too big on attack names, I can appreciate the thought put into that."

"Uh..." Gon said. "The first 'Ja' was a stutter..."

"But regardless of the nice name..." Kite started, strolling towards Gon. "In a one on one fight, you shouldn't try that technique. Hatsu or not. You're charging at a slow rate, leaving your body with no aura defense. Basically defenseless." He stopped right in front on Gon. "We can work on it in the future to improve how you use it, but for now, I wouldn't try that again."

Gon narrowed his eyes. "I know that," he said. "I've already been working on ways to improve it..." He activated Ren. "...and I'll pass this test using it!" He looked at Kite with fire in his eyes. "If you're so worried, how about you try and stop me!"

Kite was taken aback by Gon's eyes. They were just so much like Ging's, yet so much more. Ging's eyes had a certain self-assuredness in them. But Gon... his eyes had more of a relentlessness, the determination to never give up. He was so entranced that he almost didn't notice Gon charging up another Jajanken.

"Jan...ken..."

Kite swung out a punch to stop him, but Gon disappeared. "Wha-"

He sensed the boy behind him.

Kite swung a kick back at Gon, who ducked and did a low kick.

Stunned by the kick, Kite wasn't able to react fast enough to the fist aimed at his face.

BOW! Kite stumbled back from the force of the punch.

"Jan... ken..."

Not wasting any time, Kite used his full speed and kicked Gon out of his stance.

Watching Gon slowly get up from the ground, Kite rubbed at his cheek. "...So you learned how to use your technique to fake people out... smart." He vaguely heard Biscuit on the sidelines bragging to the Hokage and sighed. "That's still wasting a lot of aura, though."

Gon panted and wiped blood from his lip. "Yeah but... I'm satisfied now..."

"For what? Landing a hit on my face?" Kite laughed. "You hit me in the face instead of going for the target on my stomach. Did you forget about the test?"

Gon shook his head. "No, I just wanted to land a good hit on you at least once. Now, back to the test."

"That whole exchange... was just so he could land a hit?" Kite had been thinking that Killua didn't come out because the boy was waiting for an opening, but now he wasn't so sure that was the reason. They could also be taking turns fighting him, giving the other one a chance to recover aura. "And did he reveal his hatsu to begin with... with the intention of leading me into stopping it so he could fake me out?"

"Congratulations, Gon," Kite praised. "You hit me... But you see, I told you that if one of you managed to hit me, I would start treating this more seriously." He started walking forward, aura intensifying. "The condition has been met."

"Ok... it's all or nothing!" Gon stomped his boot on the ground and got into his Jajanken stance. "Get ready! First comes ROCK!" Aura sparked to life around his fist.

Kite was careful this time. "He looks like he's up to something... is their plan for me to go in to attack Gon and for Killua to attack once I leave an opening?" He studied Gon, trying to figure out how to proceed. "He shouldn't be fast enough to react if I attack now... but this boy has surprised me before... and Killua is an unknown factor as well..."

"Jan... ken..."

Kite pulled out at kunai and flung it at Gon.

"PAPER!"

Gon launched a blast of aura at Kite, knocking away the kunai.

"Emission attack?" Kite thought. "Enhancement is surely his primary category... and the nen is weakening the further it goes..." He unsheathed his katana, using Shu to enhance it. "His emission skills are weak."

As soon as the emission blast came within range, Kite sliced it in half. But instead of just dispersing the aura, he was suddenly surrounded by smoke.

Kite was coughing, trying to figure out what Gon did. "What?" He mentally replayed everything that happened and something clicked. "Wait... He launched a smoke bomb in the emitted aura!"

Before he had time to figure out more, he felt Killua's presence behind him.

"Lightning Palm!"

Kite felt the stun of electricity before he could even react.

"Electric transmutation?! At such a young age?!"

"Gon! I got him!" Killua said. He knew the attack wasn't even close to enough to knock Kite out, but it could halt his movements for a bit.

He took the target on Kite's leg and reached for the one on his back.

Kite swung a kick back, forcing Killua to jump away.

"What?!" Killua thought. Kite was still being shocked, but seemed barely stunned by it. "Damn! He's resistant to electricity!"

"It'll take more than this to stop me, Killua. Your transmuted electricity is much weaker than the real thing." Kite said. "I won't even get any electric burns from this." He flared his aura, but he didn't move otherwise.

"Wait..." Killua thought. He dashed forward and zapped Kite with another lightning palm.

Kite grunted in pain and swung his arm out but the boy jumped back. Kite didn't pursue.

Killua narrowed his eyes. "I knew it..." He started charging up more electricity. "He's bluffing... all he can do is talk, move minimally and control his aura. Which means..."

Killua leaped high above the smoke cloud, focusing all his electric nen to his finger tip.

"THUNDERBOLT!"

He launched the electric nen down towards the stunned Kite. It hit the man right in the target on his shoulder, destroying it.

"Gon! Now!"

The smoke started shifting, spinning around to reveal Gon slowly walking forward with a charged up Jajanken.

"Jan... ken..."

"I'll have to block with Ko!" Kite thought, fighting to think rationally through the electric shock. "He's definitely going to attack where the front target is!" He focused all his aura over his stomach. "It won't cancel out all that power but, I can at least limit most of the damage to the target!"

He felt a sudden impact in his back. Managing to turn his head, Kite saw three kunai embedded in the target on his back with wire attached.

The wires retracted and the target was pulled off Kite's back into the hands of a smirking Killua.

"ROCK!"

Gon swung his fist full force into the target on the stunned Kite's stomach, instantly shattering it. Kite was sent flying across the clearing before he collided with a tree. Ears ringing, he vaguely heard footsteps run towards him and voices ask if he was okay. He nodded slowly. Thankfully, he had managed to take a step back before Gon's attack connected and used Ko on his stomach to limit damage. But the power still knocked him away.

After a few moments, the electric stun effects finally wore off. When he opened his eyes, he saw a smirking Killua holding up two targets. "Guess we pass."

Kite sat up and looked at the targets. The one on his shoulder had been burned and the one on his stomach had shattered to pieces, the remains scattered on the ground many feet away. The other two in Killua's hands were relatively intact aside from the holes from where the knives had hit one of them. "Yes... you did." He looked at them thoughtfully. "And not only that... but they managed to get all 4 instead of just the required 2..."

He looked over at Gon, who was crouched on the ground a few feet away with his head bowed and panting. "Looks like you got the complete victory you wanted, Gon."

Gon slowly looked up at him with a tired expression before giving a sideways smile. "...Well, I couldn't have done it without Killua." Gon glanced at his friend. "Just like on Greed Island, you came up with another great plan."

Killua looked away in embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah. It wasn't all me. You were the one who fought Kite and set the whole thing up."

"I'm still not exactly sure how much of that was and wasn't your plan. Care to explain?" Kite said. He had an idea, but was still curious.

"Yes, I believe that would be in order," Hiruzen said, him and Bisky having walked over. "Well done boys. You sure know how to put on a show for an old man like me. I'm impressed."

Bisky winked at them and gave them a thumbs up.

Gon smiled and Killua began explaining. "Well... basically..."

"There's no way we can beat Kite in a straight up fight. 0% chance."

"I know."

"But Gon, I need you to fight Kite."

"...Huh? But you said..."

"I know. But it's gonna be like how you fought Genthru. Fighting him with the intention of luring him into a trap."

Gon narrowed his eyes slightly and looked away for a few moments before looking back. "But we don't have a trap set up for this... do we?"

"No, Gon... just listen." Killua sighed. "I'm sure you want to try and at least land a hit on him anyway, right?"

Gon nodded sheepishly. "Kinda..."

"Well this is your chance..." Killua took a deep breath. "Go out there and fight. You don't even have to think about a way to get the targets, just try your best to keep up with Kite. Try to keep his attention solely on you."

"Can I even do that?" Gon asked. "This test isn't just for me... it's for you too. The moment I go to fight alone it'll seem suspicious. He'll be waiting for you to show yourself."

"I know," Killua said. "But I have a feeling there's a way to get him to drop his guard slightly, especially when he's clearly not taking us that seriously... Remember that idea you told me about a few days ago?"

"Cancelling the charge for my hatsu?"

"Yeah... I want you to go out there and try to mix him up with that..."

"But I've never even tried it in battle before... it was just an idea..."

"Yeah, but if it works, it'll get Kite playing mind games and could throw him off. I need him to focus more on you so I can have an opening to stun him with electricity."

Gon's eyes lit up in understanding. "And then, after you stun him, we can easily steal the targets!"

"Well yes and no," Killua said. At Gon's confused look, he continued. "I can steal the targets, but you can't. You're not immune to electricity, stupid. If you touch Kite while he's being electrocuted, you'll be hurt too." He took a deep breath. "I'm most likely going to attack from behind, so I can take the target on his back and leg. Shoulder too if he's still stunned. By that time you should be able to at least destroy the one on his stomach with a Nen punch. I don't know how long and to what extent electricity will keep him stunned, so I don't think I'll be able to steal all four. And if electricity doesn't affect him at all, we're toast. The goal is at least two targets."

Gon looked like he wanted to argue that they would go for four, but then just nodded and smiled slightly. "I'm counting on you Killua."

Killua nodded. "One more thing." He reached into his pocket and gave Gon a smoke bomb. "Take this. I stole two from Kite when he had me on the ground. I used one already, so this is the last one." He placed it in Gon's hand. "It's going to be difficult to get close to Kite, even with you as a distraction. I need a moment where his senses will be thrown off, even if just for a moment. That's when I move." He looked Gon in the eye. "I'll let you decide how to use it. You do your best work alone after all."

Gon nodded but got a faraway look on his face. He said nothing for a few seconds, just staring.

"Gon? You okay?"

Gon snapped back to reality. "Yeah, sorry, I was just planning what I was going to do."

Killua wasn't convinced, but he knew now wasn't the time. "Okay. Got anything?"

"Um..." Gon paused for a few moments before looking at Killua. "...I'll think of something. But just know, when I say 'Get ready', that'll be the signal for you to start moving in."

Killua nodded. Gon was better at improvising than planning after all. "Ok..." He wanted to ask Gon what was really on his mind, but he smiled instead. "Then go out there and put on a show!"

Bisky hummed. "That really suits you, Gon." Gon looked at her in confusion. "Fake outs like that fit really well with your fighting style, even if it's not the typical enhancer thing to do. You already have considerable strength, speed, stamina, durability and decent combat skill, but your hatsu could make you unpredictable and a force to be reckoned with. The mind games aspect to it could help you defeat more powerful and experienced opponents. You'll have to train to further refine it, but shouldn't rely too much on it as of right now."

Gon nodded. "Osu!"

"And Killua." Killua turned to her. "You displayed good judgement, as well as skill, especially with weapons. Your plan and hatsu use was vital to getting the targets, and your timing was impeccable. Well done. I'm proud of you!"

"Osu." Killua felt Gon's eyes on him. "But a lot of the setup for it was all Gon."

"Of course, of course! You boys make such a good team," Bisky praised, pride sparkling in her eyes.

"Indeed. I'm rather excited to see how you both grow, Gon-kun, Killua-kun," Hiruzen said.

Both Gon and Killua nodded, but it was Killua who spoke. "It really wasn't all that amazing. Kite was taking it pretty easy on us, and we kinda took advantage of that."

"Nonsense..." Hiruzen waved a hand. "This was a test to measure your capacity. There was no reason for you to hold back. Kite holding back and getting taken off guard as a result is his fault."

"He's right. You should take pride in this. You even played the key role, Killua," Kite said. "If you hadn't been able to stun me, you two probably wouldn't have been able to take a target. You provided valuable and much needed support for Gon and showed your own individual skill. With that type of teamwork, you two will be able to defeat many foes." Killua blushed, scratching the back of his head at the praise. He wasn't used to it. "Believe it or not, the objective wasn't really for you two to take the targets to become genin. The Hokage already knew you were more than capable of being genin. This battle was to gauge what exact level you were on."

Hiruzen hummed. "Yes. You both have shown power that even many of our chunin can't match. Although you lack the combat skill, battle experience and some other finer details."

Killua's eyes narrowed. "Wait... so it wasn't even really a test? We could've not gotten a single target and still became genin?!" All three adults nodded. "What the hell?!" As Killua began raging on the adults, Gon looked away.

Killua noticed.

"Gon?" When Gon turned to look at him with an unreadable expression, Killua got concerned. "What's wrong?"

Gon regarded him silently for a moment before smiling slightly. "Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about all the different ways I can use my hatsu!" He said, focusing aura in his fist for emphasis. "I'll have to train a lot more to improve it!"

"Now, now Gon. You can focus on training later," Bisky chided. "For now, how about we go celebrate?"

"Yes, that would be appropriate for the occasion," Hiruzen said, turning to Kite. "Kite-kun, bring them to a nice restaurant. BBQs would be the perfect place." He took a quick drag from his pipe before exhaling. "I shall accompany you out of the training grounds, but I will have to make myself scarce once we get back to the main village. My assistant must be going crazy right about now."

Kite nodded. "Of course." He turned back to Gon and Killua. "You two did well today. I challenged the both of you to prove yourselves and that's exactly what you did." His eyes trained specifically on Gon. "You earned this."

After a moment, Gon smiled slightly and nodded. "Thanks, Kite."

The group began leaving the training grounds, with the adults engaging in conversation about what will be happening in the future. Of the five, there were two in the back of the group who were very quiet. The first one was lost in his own head. The second could only watch his friend in sadness.

Chapter 9 End

This is my first time writing a real action/fight scene, so I hope it wasn't too bad. If it was, I hope the next chapter, which will be Team 7's test, is an improvement. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Anyways, thanks for reading!