Daniel works on his weapon ideas, writing down the necessary, requirements as he searches through the book of materials given to him.

A\N: This is the first chapter I've being waiting to post for a while. The idea hit me as I writing the chapter.

The sound of a page-turning and a pencil scratching at the paper were the only noises that could be heard coming from the boy. He quietly observed the materials, writing a name only when he saw a potential possibility towards its use.

There were a lot of strange names in this journal, crazy combinations that could work for him. He just needed to make sure he could convince Mikkel, that it was the right choice for him.

At least, when it came to viable options. But he had another list, one with names he wanted calcifications for. Things like Auzinite…

Auzinite. A type of crystal metal. Known for its reflective glass-like properties, it's a great metal that can heal cracks within its design.

Could it be mixed with other raw materials, making them self-repairing too?

It was a question that needed to be asked.

There were even things like Bastionrite.

Bastionrite. A soft metal that gives off a faint glow when touched. It's good for showing off hidden features, as well as confusing thieves into believing they stumbled across a passageway into a hidden room, instead of a trap that will lead to their demise.

Could he melt it then use it to draw symbols that glow to the touch? Would it even be useful to do so?

Flipping a page, he stopped drawing for a second. He took a second glance. His eyes couldn't have been deceiving him, he swore he had just skimmed over a metal that benefitted his partner. He found himself pulling the journal closer, re-reading the metal description again.

Elengate. A metal that conducts electricity, while it's considered a soft metal, it can withstand being struck with electricity. Hitting an object with the charged metal causes it to disperse the charge into the object.

When being tempered, it can be known to shock the person from time to time. Handle with rubber gloves.

"You got to be kidding me…"

"What…?" Killua hummed quietly in the background, his eyes shifting to look at his partner's back, "What did you find?"

"Elengate…"

"Which is…"

"A metal that absorbs and expels electricity."

Killua sat upright, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Come here…"

Killua plucked the book from his partner's hand, "Hitting an object with the charged metal causes it to disperse the charge…" The boy got a wicked grin, "Looks like I might be making a request too. Can I have a look for myself?"

"Sure, just let me know if you find something that's strong and considered lightweight, or that could be combined to give such an effect."

"Got it…" Killua grabbed one of the blue gridline papers of the shelf, redrawing his yo-yo design. It was basic for the moment; he'll give it stylish touches once it's been crafted. He roughly knows Mikkel's limitations, but if Rosalia could do it… set a rule on when it disperses the electricity, it could be a benefit that works in his favour.

As soon as he finishing the blueprint for his soon to be new yo-yos, he read through the book while Daniel continued to draw and alter certain spots on his design.

Killua spoke up, "This sounds useful to me, at least… Deep Ocean Glass."

Deep Ocean Glass. A type of gemstone when crushed and mixed with metals, gives it a shimmering blue coating.

"Oh, sounds like a gemstone. Is it useful?"

"It is. Unfortunately, it isn't that useful… it can be crushed, then using that powder with metals can make it turn shimmering blue, like the deep ocean. With something like that, even if I released my ability into my yo-yos, the shimmering blue could hide the fact they're charged. It could also be used as a bait, make it seem like they're charged when they're not."

"Sounds like a cool solution. You just need to think of what you're going to use as a string."

"I was thinking of the same thing as my last yo-yo, show him the weapon, see if he could figure out what it's made from."

The boy gave a nod, eyes otherwise focused on the paper before him.

Killua continued to read through, eyes glancing between every raw material. He stopped at one material, "How about this… Raswium, for you?"

Raswium. Lightweight metal, that fractures under heavy pressure.

"What does it do…?"

"It's lightweight, but… ah… no good. Fractures under pressure. Rekril…"

Rekril. Four times the weight of steel, can absorb heavy impacts. Great for shields, terrible for weapons.

"it's what you'd want, but it's considered dense. Like, four times the weight of Steel. The cool thing about this, it has a high impact strength. I think with Shu, it could put you on par with an Enhancer. You could use it to double one of your weapons as a shield."

Daniel tapped the table, thinking about the pros and cons of the material. In the end, he decided to write down the name, just in case, it's his only choice on the matter. Also, he wanted to ask clarifying questions about it, "I'll put it in the maybe pile."

"Here's one for me… Wurthial." Killua pointed out.

Wurthial. A type of soft, lightweight metal. Perfect for wiring two objects together for a specific type of connection.

"It's soft… lightweight and, what I could use it for… great for threading metal. I could use it as string, provided, I could use it as a conductor to get my aura from the string point A to point B, the yo-yo. Otherwise, I'd probably have to use something else."

When Killua flipped the page, he sat up straight, "This is strange…"

"What? You found an interesting metal?"

"No… the minerals are now listed out of order."

Daniel looked over his partner's shoulder, "They might be new…" Then the boy looked at the pages left to go, "That's a lot of new minerals."

Killua shook his head at the idea, "Don't think so…" He then pointed at the writing style, how it had changed. The penmanship had gotten delicate, more pronounced, "he said your father trained him, so maybe the ones in order were ones he was first introduced to. These now, are ones he has experimented with."

"It's possible…" Daniel ran his finger across the lines, stopping at a random one, "Tessdagate, alienlike in nature, it has a soft blue hue… it reacts poorly to Nen. It needs to be tempered with great care…" The boy's expression stilled.

Tessdagate. It has a soft blue hue, that reacts poorly to Nen. It needs to be tempered with great care.

One of the rare few materials I've ever worked with, that's impossible to use my ability on. It almost gave me third degree burns when I tried to temper it.

Although, seeing this kind of reaction lead me to believe that under the right circumstances, this could lead to the perfect reflective Nen shield. But at the same time, it could also be deadly for the user… they need to be in a perfect state of Zetsu while holding or tempering it. Proceed with caution.

"I think it's good we're learning about this now, rather than later. Given its Nen reflective properties." Killua pointed out, his fingers tracing the words once more, "But if this is to be believed, it's as much of a danger to the attacker, as it is to the defender."

The boy shifted his gaze to his partner, "You think that's what happened to his hand?"

"It's possible…" Killua brought his finger lower, "But his style has changed. He's more descriptive here. Maybe he has personally changed, that he's gotten more serious with his job. That… that might be why his harsh on choices, because choosing the right materials matters to him. That being said… he's left out some key information for a reason. If word got out, people could try to use this as handcuffs for Nen users. Then again, he never stated how strong the material is, meaning… if you're naturally, physically strong… you could rip them off like it was made from tissues."

"But he did state: under the right circumstances, this could lead to the perfect reflective Nen shield. It might be able to be combined with something far stronger… you think if we made a coffin from this plus something far stronger… we could bury Victor alive?"

"Maybe… it's better to ask Mikkel, seeing as he's had first-hand experience."

Daniel pulled his hand away, "You're right… but seeing this, if I make a mistake… he may not even correct me on my choices. He'll want me to see what happens afterwards."

"No, he stated that he wants you to argue why that mineral would work best. He wouldn't let you argue, then say you made a good choice when you haven't made a good choice… He wouldn't do that, knowing how fragile you are…"

"You told him what happened with Vastorie, didn't you?"

"Yes, because I wanted you to have the chance to craft a weapon of your design. I never… I never wanted you to think you have worthless ideas that should never be explored." Stopping at a random mineral, the boy turned to his partner, "You deserve this chance to improve."

Daniel clenched a fist, "I know…" Shifting his gaze, he spoke calmly, "But I can't… I still feel like I'm making a mistake, sometimes."

"That's something you feel right now… you won't always feel that way." Turning back to the book, the boy smiled, "I felt like that too… like I was making a mistake while travelling with you and Gon. I made some huge mistakes along the way… but look where we are now. Besides, you know… getting fucked over by Vastorie. Alluka is safe from our family, for the moment while the fat piggy works through the encryption key."

"Your dad is probably drilling him…"

"My mum is probably hysterical right now. I feel like she'll be whipping him, wailing like a banshee until her voice goes raw."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she sent butlers to find you."

"Ugh, don't jinx this… the last thing I need is butlers showing up, asking for Master Killua."

"Can I call you Master Killua?"

"Kinky, but no. No, Master Killua… Master Kil… or anything cheesy like honey or babe."

Daniel clicked his finger, pouting as though his night was ruined, "No babe or honey… My day has been ruined."

The boy playfully shoved his partner in response, "You've never once called me babe. So why start now?"

"Why would you suggest it then?"

"Covering all corners. Speaking of which… this is what we need." The boy pointed at one of the minerals.

Daniel's eyes scanned the mineral.

Nesceathuim. One of the strangest metals I've worked with. It's rich with potential, the possibilities this could provide. It's light and strong, able to take heavy and hard hits to the metal. It can withstand heat and cold with ease. The only problem is it's extremely rare to come by. But the great thing about this metal is, I've found it works well when combining with other metals, even going as far as to maintain its weight. The problem is all metals being combined with this need to have a similar melting temperature, or else it'll shatter apart.

"So, if something like Rekril was combined with this, you could make an extremely tough shield." The boy immediately snapped his fingers, a new idea hitting him, "No… Auzinite. Self-healing metal, that can absorb hard impacts could be extremely useful."

"Which weapon would you use a combination like that on, considering it'll be hard to come by…"

"The spear, mainly the shaft. I know it's not a shield, but shields can also be used to deflect an incoming attack, something I know how to do with a long shaft."

"I certainly wouldn't mind having you deflect this conversation with your long shaft…"

Daniel looked at his partner confused, "Wait, what?"

Killua looked up at his partner, his brain trying to process what his last unconscious thought was. Oh my god… I can't believe I said that "Horny thoughts… let's move right past that. So, Nesceathuim do you think it's something you could use in your favour, right?"

The boy's eyes flickered over his partner, assessing him. He does guess it has been a while, but given the state of their location, it wasn't possible without Alluka or Mikkel hearing them. It might not even be possible for a while "I'm sorry about that… it has been a while, hasn't it."

"Yup, and we're getting off this conversation."

"Right. So, you'd be correct… about the Nesceathuim. Also, guess what… you know how you mentioned Elengate? Well, I think I could also use that to my advantage. If I can get the whip to restrict around enemies, you shooting off a bolt of electricity at the chain whip could give them a bad time. I just need… to make the handle from something else, so that I don't get electrocuted as well."

Within the moment, Killua found himself being proud of his partner. He found a way to utilise both of their strengths within a single method. He'll need to double his efforts, to help his partner find a way to maximise the possibility, "I like that idea. It's actually… a unique, may I even dare say, a good way to bounce of each other's skills… You finish off your drawing ideas, while I'll see if we can find something to stop it from feeding back to you."

"~"

The two kept to themselves, each dealing with their tasks and ideas. Killua always made sure to check in on his partner, making sure the boy was sleeping or not working too late into the night.

Sometimes he found himself awakening in the middle of the night, alone in the bed, Daniel still up, cross-referencing his ideas with facts he read from a different material. During those times, much to his partner's dismay, Killua dragged the boy's ass to bed, forcing him into an unbreakable hold, where sleep would eventually overtake him.

After about a week, Daniel had finally finished his designs, beaming with a smile.

Unlike Killua's design, where he left the stylish choices out, Daniel kept his in. But there was something else within those lines, shaded marking. He had kept drawing upon his old designs until he found something he liked.

Each weapon drew upon a different culture.

With the War Axe, he used Viking, specifically Norse designs. The axe blade extended longer than what was considered normal in that era, but there was a specific section on the blueprint designated to showing how the blade folded backwards to re-clip to the shaft.

Unlike his original request, it looked like Daniel had pre-set the spike to be at the top of the axe blade, so when it folds back, there was a small spike present on the back, designed to puncture or stab the victim from that side.

There was also a separate area that shows the hole, where the connection was needed. The handle itself was abnormal. It looked like something you'd find more so on a sword, but it was clearly, modelled that way, with the intent to make the base thick enough to hide the feature.

There was also a twist mechanism that allows for the connection to be ejected, just above the handle. He had thought everything through. He made sure the weapon was as deceitful, as it was well designed.

Next came the spear, which had some designs that drew from Spartan heritage. While the shaft was basic, there were two clear specific spots he put effort into. The base was designed to look like a furry tail, while the opening, where the spear spike extended from, was constructed to look like a wolf head biting down on the blade, or… the tip of the spear was the wolf sticking its tongue out. The drawing was set so it looked like the wolf was snarling when looking from the tip.

The blade itself was more of a flat-isosceles triangle design, not rounded, like a cylinder designed spike.

Then came the Chain Whip, while the weapon itself came from a separate culture, this one drew upon Egyptian ancestry. The handle was designed like a snake tail curling around it, acting as the handguard, the chain itself was designed to move like a snake's body. Right at the tip, where there was a similar spike head as the spear, like the spear an animal was devouring the bottom of the spearhead, a cobra which melded with the rest of the designs.

There was a reason he chose these designs, these looks…

There was no way Mikkel will do all the work, his boyfriend will need to reshape, make the cuts and slices to mimic these looks.

"You do realise you made these… designs extremely elaborate."

"I know…" Daniel looked over the blueprint, fixing up any lines he missed.

"Why these looks?"

Daniel turned, offering his partner a smile, "It felt right…" He shifted his gaze back to the blueprints, "A snake whip, like the creature with constricting around the enemy. The wolf devouring the spearhead, because, I wanted it to look like it's biting on the handle when joined… same for the cobra. But the reason for the axe not having any animal appearances or designs is because I wanted it to look like it came from a Viking era."

Killua's eyes widened, "Wait… Wolf, Snake… Vikings. Are you serious?" When his partner's smile grew, so did Killua, "Fenrir and Jörmungandr, like Loki, your weapons are tricksters… deceitful…" Killua's features grew at the thought, at the prospect of his sudden revelation "You're playing into your Manipulator category. You even used other cultural designs to hide the fact they interlock with one another…"

His partner gave a nod, "Yeah… I put a lot of effort into these designs, making sure to hide the fact they shared a link."

Killua burst into laughter, surprised at his partner for thinking that far ahead. Daniel kept his features still. Whether the boy realised he wasn't laughing at his idea, or that he realised why he was laughing at the prospect, he failed to show it.

However, the reason the boy was laughing, was because he was proud of the fact that the designs hadn't given him that initial impression. He eventually calmed himself, the laughter shifting into tiny giggles before he was able to stop.

While the designs looked to be complete, that hadn't meant everything was done. Had his boyfriend figured out the third combination, as well as the minerals needed to craft these weapons?

"What about the third combination?"

Daniel's gaze shifted, "I… I figured it out. I wanted to go with either a lance or quarterstaff. But, when you pointed out the metal that gets charged with electricity, it got me thinking… Why not wrap the chains around the spear? Twist the spear into a quarterstaff, that acts as a stun baton. I can connect the handle to the weapon, then link the chains across the quarterstaff, the top and bottom mainly, hence why I designed the whip to look like a coiling snake."

Killua was legitimately proud of his partner, "They won't be able to grab the weapon, neither will they be able to remove your weapon while it's in use… not just because of the handguard, but because of the grip also. I'm… I'm proud of you." He stated with flushed cheeks, eyes being diverted.

Daniel smiled, reaching out to touch his partner's cheek.

However, before the boy could do so, Killua had rebounded from his embarrassment "A- Anyways, what about the-" When he turned to look at his partner, the boy was smiling at him, his eyes soft and full of love.

He hid his face one more, feeling shy from the bright expression, how much his partner was in love with him now. He coughed, hoping to get his boyfriend to focus, "I know you're happy…" He drew his eyes back to his partner, "That this is the happiest you've been in a while… but what about the materials? Do you have an idea of what you plan to use?"

Daniel gave a nod, "I do… most of them. I just have a few questions to ask Mikkel, mainly clarification questions. But for the whip, Elengate for the chains, Auzinite as well if I can, to stop the chains from breaking down. For the base, the handle will be made with Rekril, the tip I was thinking of will be made from Dagonite Gastric, since you know… snakes are poisonous. But I instead scrapped the idea and choose Rekril for it, since it'll be blunt. Plus, I don't think that material will be good for a blunt head. He mentioned he used it in a sword, which means it'll need to transfer via slices or stabs…"

The boy paused for a moment, "Unless it can be used with blunt weapons."

"You could always ask, Mikkel… you know. He has stated he has used it in coatings as well."

Daniel shook his head "Either way, seeing as how I'll be using it, it'll kinda be pointless to have when it's connected."

"Alright, well it's up to you in this case. Continue."

"Rekril should add a bit of heft to the strike. Causing poisonous damage is one thing, but hitting them with a heavy, blunt object, could knock them… making it easier to wrap them up."

"You also have the possibility of me hitting them with my technique as well. So, if the head doesn't knock them out… I will."

Daniel gave a nod. He shifted his attention, this time pulling out the War Axe blueprint, "So, for this one, it was a little tricky. Like I said… most of it needs to be strong and lightweight. So, I thought of mixing Nesceathuim, with another metal, to make it lighter… Something like Maglulium or Xagraetium…"

Maglulium. A metal known for its toughness, but it lacks the proper strength needed to remain sharp, unless, it's a thick weapon like a two-handed sword. It needs multiple layers to hold the strength.

Xagraetium. A type of metal that can withstand huge impacts, but dints easily.

"I eventually found something in the newer section. Celium."

Celium. It's taken me a while to figure out how hot the metal needed to be melted, while keeping its well-defined strength. Too cold and its brittle, too hot and it'll melt away. But consistent temperatures make this best for thin-bladed weapons, such as Katanas, short swords or even axes. What sets this apart from other metals, is its high strength. It can cut through most metals; I've damaged a few anvils while working on a weapon made from this.

"Ah…" Killua hummed with a smile, "I remembered that one. Mikkel scratched his anvil because of it."

"Yup, but that's not all… I won't need Nesceathuim, the metal meets my requirements. For the shaft, I used Rekril. For the knick-knacks, I chose a mix of Ashuim and I was thinking of Bastionrite, to make it seem like runes were glowing on the shaft, but the idea sounded stupid. So, I chose Thainor instead. It's a type of softer metal, but it has a good perk, it's the one Mikkel mentioned. It magnetises to metal when imbued with Nen. But, with Rosalia's help, it can be magnetised to specific metals. It'll act like the twisting mechanism, needed to trigger the disconnection."

Thainor. A soft metal that when imbued with Nen, can bind to other metals like a magnet. Perfect for smooth perfect connections, an issue when not properly set with said Nen connections. Let's just say, I've had to get a Nen exorcist to remove it from my anvil once.

"So, it'll cause reverse magnetism when twisted. Mikkel might like that idea, provided he hadn't thought of something else."

"Now, for the spear… The shaft I thought of making it also from Rekril, but since it's going to be a long shaft, I thought it'll be too much weight overall. Which is where my questions would come in. If I could combine Nesceathuim with Auzinite. If I can, that'll make up the shaft… if not, Rekril will be my next choice. However, if I can combine all three, that'll be even better. For the tail, I was thinking just Rekril though, considering I could technically use it as a shield. For the spear tip, Celium. If I was adding a splash of stylish colours, I was thinking of using Deep Ocean Glass to touch up the eyes of the snake and wolf. But if it can't be turned into a type of paste for paint, then I'll ask Rosalia if she can help me touch up the weapons with some paint or something…"

"Also," Daniel added one last point, "if need be, I was thinking of adding a coat of Ashuim along any of the key areas that would require Inscription."

Killua gave a nod as he crossed his arms, "You thought about everything… impressive. But are you ready to bring the ideas to Mikkel?"

"Yes, I'm ready to prove not only did I do the research, but I thought about everything. But if he has advice, I'm going to listen… without feeling like I messed up."