Killua is working on his weapon, a knife cutting deep into the metal. His thoughts never leave him.

Killua felt at a loss, eyes glazed over as his knife scratched at a single side. He didn't know how to feel; he knew he was, ultimately, the one who corrupted his little sister's innocence. Yes, she was disgusted… but the information also made her feel relieved.

It was like a single piece of an unwanted jigsaw finally clicked into place.

A burden he failed to pick up on, had been lifted from his sister's shoulders.

He should've known keeping secrets hurt her… Yet, the disgust made him believe that he shouldn't have said anything to her, to begin with.

When his eyes flicked to the piece of Yo-Yo in his hand, the last scratch showed he failed to make a single marking, "Damn it!" He dug the knife deeper, the blade slipping as he tried to mark the Yo-Yo. It cut through his hand, making him wince.

"What the…?" The man slammed his hammer against the anvil, ending his ability before rushing to the boy's side. The first thing he noticed was the cut, blood dripping from the boy's open wound, "I told you to be careful!" He ran to the first aid kit, grabbing the roll of bandages.

Killua watched a single drop fall to the floor, the sound echoing like a drop of water hitting a pond in an empty cave.

Mikkel came back, bandaging the wound, "What going on with you…?"

Killua remained quiet, the knife trembling in his hand. He was unable to focus, his mind refusing to allow him to bury the memories he wanted to forget about. He was reliving them…

Even though his partner told him everything will be okay.

He believed him…

But the thoughts burrowed deeper into his mind.

Mikkel slapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, drawing him out of his thoughts, "What happened kid?"

"I…" He bit a lip in frustration, "I had an unfortunate conversation with my sister."

"You two got into a fight?"

"No… I had to have the awkward conversation with my sister…" he made a jerking motion with his hand, hoping he wouldn't have to say it.

"Oh…" The man pulled back his hand, "Your parents didn't talk to you about that kind of stuff?"

"No…" Killua sighed in defeat. He couldn't say any more on that matter, not without revealing his little sister was locked away, alone, for majority of her life "They're… in every sense of the word, a prude."

"Understood… is this something you wish to talk about, or would you rather talk to Daniel about this?"

"I rather talk to Daniel…"

"Then, for the moment… may I suggest a different way to do your current objective." The man plucked the knife from Killua's grip, "While your mind is elsewhere, unable to focus your undivided attention to the current task… trying to mark Auzinite is difficult. I told you, that due to the healing properties of Auzinite, you had to do deep, slow, methodical cuts… it's going to take a long time to draw anything into it…" Putting the knife on the table, he pulled out a drawer, showing off more unique tools "There may be a better way…"

Mikkel moved tools around before pulling out a different style of knife. It had a pointed tip, one might use for stabbing, with a hollow tube running through the middle, "Now, this won't give you distinct grooves as you'd normally get via cuts, but at least, you'll still be able to make markings on the Yo-Yo with this." Pressing his thumb against the switch, he pointed out what it did "You'd want to flick this…" He clicked the object twice, once then back off "to enable certain features. Turn it to the left to perform the mix feature, then to the right, to use it like a pen, so to speak. The tube can be filled with either; liquid, dust, glitter or paint, for example…"

He next pulled out a small case, showing off the vials inside "You'll also need a component from one of these vials. Just a few drops. Fill the rest with whatever, I'd use paint, given that I have a few colours in the left drawer."

"What exactly does this… pen knife do?"

"Exactly what you think it does. It scratches paint underneath the layer, giving it the illusion of having painted something within it."

"That's ah… rather unique. What is it made from?"

"Celium and Asheim… More of the latter metal. The point is made from Celium… so try not to press too hard. Unless you want to give yourself a tattoo, you'll be unable to remove… without the help of a Nen exorcist."

Killua removed one of the vials from the sleeve, "You seriously, take custom made to a whole new level…"

The man chuckled "I take my job seriously."

"So, what's in the vials?" The boy sniffed, detecting a slight hint of copper.

"Blood…"

Killua gawked at the man, "What?!"

"The synthetic type… Vastorie calls it blood, but it's just a type of liquid obtained from Bloodstones."

"Is that a type of metal, because I didn't read about it in the book…"

The man chuckled, "Sort of… It's a type of rock, that oozes like blood when heated before being crushed. The reason it's needed, is because it has Nen like properties, hence the Ashuim in the pen-knife, as you so aptly called it. Its actual name is an Etching Blade. Several types have been found or used in history… most of the time it's for applying tattoos. This one, however, has been heavily modified. It's designed to ink metals. The Bloodstone acts as a catalyst to bleed ink, or in this case, paint inside the metal."

"And it what… just shows up as a tattoo on metal?"

"Yup… You might want to apply Shu to the tool as you use it. You need to just lightly scratch at the metal like you're drawing on paper. The Ashuim will kick in and heal the wound, as though, it was applying a fresh coat of metal over it."

"Nifty…" Killua added a few drops of the Bloodstone to the tube, before grabbing a tube of paint. Filling the remainder of the tube with paint, he closed the lid before flicking the switch. From the see-through cover, he could see the tube changing colour to a dark red.

"Ahh… the paint changed-"

"Give it a sec…"

Not even a second later, the tone shifted to the original colour he chose… midnight black, "This is… actually, cool." Bringing the pen to the metal, he found himself stopping. What exactly did he want to draw?

He had ideas, to just simply draw bolts of electricity coursing through the casing… but now, that idea didn't settle in his mind. He didn't want to be considered childish…

He racked his mind, trying to draw upon a good idea. He had no good ideas "I'm stuck…"

"Press and draw…"

"No, I mean… the idea. My mind is drawing blanks… I can't think of what I want to draw."

"Wait… what?" He was now worried, given that when he handed Killua the knife originally, the boy looked like he knew what he was doing. Did the conversation he had with his sister disrupted his thoughts, or did that only start to invade his mind in the middle of his task "I can't…" The man sighed, instead, holding out his hand to point at the piece of the Yo-Yo "Why not do a design you like? You can even search on the internet for something you might like to draw…"

"Something I like…" He doesn't have many likes in his repertoire… at least nothing, he would like to draw. But he does have things or people he loves… Daniel and Alluka. Yet, he wasn't about to engrave their faces on the sides of the Yo-Yo he'll later use, to smash into the sides of other people's faces.

What if he went about it, the same way Daniel did? Give the images a hidden meaning…

The boy mulled the idea over in his head, "A hidden meaning…"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing… I was just thinking out loud."

Mikkel pressed his hands into his hips, "Lay it on me."

"Well, the things I like… or love, in this case, is well… my partner and my sister. But I'm not about to draw their face on the sides."

"And the hidden meaning…?"

"Something that's attached to them, an identifier to-" The boy stopped, he had unconsciously given himself a clue.

"An identifier to… what, exactly?"

"Wolves and theatre masks…"

The man was confused by the answer. He couldn't see how those things could be used as a type of identifier.

Killua tapped the bench with a single finger, "Daniel has been known to have this… affinity with wolves. Not just with his weapon, it's the way he grins. As for the theatre masks, Alluka carries these beads in her hair, coins with theatre masks, there are styled faces on them. Even when-" He stopped dead in his tracks.

He was about to reveal Nanika's existence to the man.

"When…?"

"As a kid, she made faces like theatre masks. Big smiles, and frowns…" he made up the answer on the spot. But Nanika's face certainly did, look like theatre masks at times. Big black, hollowed mouth and two eyes.

"Anyways, if I mix the two, a wolf on each side with similar qualities… One happy, one sad, one mischievous and one…" The boy tried to think of a fourth, but his mind couldn't choose one…

Cheeky…

Loving…

Angry…

Confusion…

Shocked…

What exactly?

What did they both embody in terms of expressions? They both had to do it, or it wouldn't work…

There was only one answer he could think of, "Concern… Concern with Sadness, Happy with Mischievousness…" The right mixture needed to fit his final design. Now it was to draw a wolf with those expressions. Maybe he could even split it, draw a theatre mask on one side and the wolf on the other. Or maybe two on each side.

The faces may need to be smaller so that they'd both fit…

But thinking further on it, it wouldn't be right if he had only the wolf design. Then again, alternating the two, it'll be hard to associate only one of them with sadness.

Mikkel remained more confused, considering he couldn't read Killua's perplex expression "A wolf with these expressions?"

Killua looked at the man, "I thought… not just a wolf… a theatre mask as well. I know what to, what to draw and how to do it."

"That's good! I can't wait to see the final product…" He gave the boy a huge smile. Killua looked… almost relieved. The conversation he had with his sister was still there, on his mind. But at least now, he had something else to do… something to focus his attention on.

When he saw Killua raise the pen to the metal, he turned back to the anvil, returning to his prior job.

The boy scratched at the metal, taking note of the line that refused to fade. It was thin, meaning he'll have to keep drawing several lines to give it a sense of boldness that could be seen.

What also needed to do, was to make sure he didn't make any mistakes. Even his first line could be considered a mistake.

Unlike Daniel who had his designs premade and thought out, he was going off a whim. Still… he could see the image clearly in his mind, the toothy grin… the theatre mask… he had those glued in his memory.

It was just a matter of putting it into perspective, to draw it in a way where he could see it working out in his favour. So, when he added the second line, he was well on his way to drawing the first face, the wolf with a mischievous expression.

"~"

Alluka frowned at Daniel's distant expression. She gave the boy a well-deserved smack on his open side. The boy merely gave the girl a slow blink in response, "You hit me… why?"

"Because you're breaking your promise…" The girl pouted, arms being crossed, "In the middle of your discussion."

"I was…" Daniel asked in disbelief, "I guess I was…"

"What's wrong?"

"My Killua is in trouble sense are tingling."

"The last time that happened, he was stuck in the toilet, because the toilet paper ran out. He's not in the toilet right now… He's with Mikkel in the workshop. He would've walked past the room if he went to the toilet."

The boy chuckled at the younger girl's example "I guess you're right… but it could be something else…"

"What happened to you spending time with me?"

Daniel gave a nod, "You're right. If it's something important, he'll bring it up to me later. So where were we?"

"You were talking about stances…"

"Right, so there's different kinds of stances… as many stances as there are ways to punch a fellow. Your stance dictates your style. Killua tends to have two types… the I don't care… which is one hand up, body off to the side and a bored expression that'll drive even the most prideful people insane with rage."

"The other…"

"Catlike… like he's ready to pounce at a moment's notice. You normally see it when you're going for the last slice of chocolate cake. You sometimes can even hear him hiss." When the girl burst into laughter, Daniel continued with a bigger smile, "It's a very loose stance, giving him more agile movements during his attacks."

"What about yours?"

"I don't have a strict stance…"

"Boo…" The girl whined in response, "then why are you talking about stances."

"It's how you project yourself, either to disrupt or prepare during your movements. I typically standstill, one foot forward, my dominate foot, usually. My stance changes depending on my next strike, or the style of fighting I go for. I focus on being loose so I can chain my movements. That being said… it's about figuring out what kind of stance you wish to project, whether you aim to fight, defend, create distance or run. What kind of fighter do you want to be…? And please don't say, strong."

Alluka got a cheeky grin, like she was about to say strong, or add 'for my brother' right after that. She had no idea, considering she didn't know how she wanted to fight, "How about a defensive style… given that I did say to big brother, that I wanted to be able to defend myself."

"The fight or flight kind? You can have an elusive style that allows for more dodging and evading. Or you can have a more fighter kind, that allows for blocks and counters. Well, technically they all could be melded, but normally, it's either evasive or confronting."

"I don't know… this is all new to me."

Daniel gave a nod, "I can teach you blocks and counters… but Killua could definitely, teach you more elusive tactics."

"So… if I say elusive, this discussion is over?"

The boy shook his head, smiling cheekily at the response, "No… you won't get out of training that easy. But we can give you guides or tips, dependant on what you ultimately want to train for."

"What about Nathaniel and Vastorie… what are their stances like?"

"Well, it depends… are they training me, or fighting?"

"Fighting!"

"Nathaniel would be described as a knight. Strong, with limited open areas to attack… but you make a misstep, you're in for a world of pain. He hits hard, and when he counters, unless you're an Enhancer, or skilled at evading close attacks… you'll be walking away with a few broken bones. Now Vastorie… I would describe it as an enigma… he acts like a jester, constantly taunting while evading. He counters when you make a mistake… or when you leave yourself wide open for an attack. For someone like him, I'd even suggest you avoid trying to taunt him back or… leave yourself wide open for a counter-attack. I've seen his movements. He can change tactics mid-movement."

"So, he'll be hard to take down?"

"I'm sure he has his weakness… but I don't know who knows about them. Also, try to remember, you can also ask my father for tips. He'd gladly help you."

"Okay…" Alluka sang in a cheery tune, "So, when will you teach me how to fight?"

Daniel chuckled, his hand reaching out to stroke the top of the girl's hair, "Eager… aren't we. I think we should build up your strength first, then maybe teach you Nen, then… maybe fighting. Again, it's up to your big brother."

"That's not fair… he'll never train me how to fight."

The boy shook his head in response, "I don't believe so… just give him time. He cares about your wellbeing, and that means you… not getting hurt in the process. I'm sure you can understand that…"

"I do… It's just… I feel so weak right now…"

Daniel looked down at the girl, holding her close, "I'll tell you what your brother told me, in fewer words. We all have our own, strengths… trying to be strong at everything, is kinda pointless when you see too many weaknesses in yourself."

"He said that…?"

"Well, not word for word… but yes. In other words, don't focus on what you can't do… find ways you can improve yourself."

"Right!"

"~"

Killua fell on the bed, right beside Daniel who was now doodling in his journal. He gave his partner a side glance, "Did you blow the dust out of that first?"

"Ha… Ha…" Daniel laughed sarcastically at his partner, "I made sure to give it a good blow."

"And you're cheating on me…" Killua faked a gasp, "I thought I was your only one."

Daniel blushed, refusing to say anything on the matter. That was until he saw the bandages on Killua's hand. He put the book down to stead focus on his partner's hand "What happened?"

"I accidentally cut myself… no biggie."

"That…" The boy's hand tightened around his partner's, "I… I should've come. I felt something up earlier and… and-"

"I'm okay…" Killua brought a finger up to Daniel's lips, hushing his partner, "I was a little distracted. I… I wanted to talk to you about it."

The boy gave a nod of understanding, pulling his partner onto his lap.

"Wh- What are you doing?!" Killua blushed when he felt his body being pressed against Daniel's, his partner hugging him tightly against his chest.

"I'm just hugging you…"

"Fine…" The boy looked down at his hand, "I thought about what we talked about with Alluka… is it really okay, telling her these things… these perverted thoughts? How to deal with her… you know?"

"Don't know… but even if it was wrong, you could see a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She felt relieved from your discussion on how to deal with her hormones."

"I know… but I still have this sinking feeling, like I did something wrong."

"You didn't think that way when you buried yourself nine inches deep inside me."

"I… I did no such thing. I'm not even that big."

"It felt big…"

"Doesn't matter… that's different. You're my partner she's, my sister. I love her to bits, but there's a fine line that I nose-dived right over."

Daniel clasped his partner's hand within his own, "Either way, there was a sense of relief when you spoke to her as though she was an adult… not like she was a kid. Let her explore her own body, whether she's disgusted by her equipment or not… we'll be seeing Ashton Nieves, she'll talk to Alluka. She'll help us figure things out… to find out what we should be doing to help your sister out. Provided we support her, no matter her choices… she'll love you. She loves you because you're trying to be there for her… remember that."

"I know…" Killua sighed, "I know… I'll be her supportive older brother for her." Killua quietly played with his partner's hand, fingers interlocking. He felt relief, but he also had other questions "But… I also want to know; how did your talk go with her?"

"She's got spunk… eager to smack down her Ex, if she has any… with the force of thunderstrike."

The boy smiled, "Good… but, it'll be a long time before I feel ready to let her train."

"Which is what I told her…"

"Right… So, what did you teach her then?"

"The basics of basics… I talked about stances, to gauge her on what exactly she was aiming for."

"And…?"

"Defensive, with evasive manoeuvres."

"I can help her with that."

"I also told her that… But I'm also going to help train her to counter. Not to throw a punch back, but to disrupt their movements. Like, break a wrist when they swing at her, for example."

Killua gave a nod at the information, leaning further back into his partner's chest. Before he realised, he had fallen asleep in his partner's arms, his fingers still interlocked with Daniel's.

"I love you…" Daniel pressed a kiss into the side of Killua's head, muttering the words he wished his lover could hear him mutter "sleep well… you earned it." He pressed another kiss into his partner's neck, earning a soft sigh in response.