"Killua… Don't you think that you went a little overboard?" Leorio asked, dabbing an alcohol soaked cotton ball on the younger teen's cheek where a wooden sword had nearly taken out his eye. The blond had pulled them out of nowhere, forcing Killua to exert himself more than he had wanted. It pissed him off that he actually had to use most of his skill to fend the other off, even more so that the blond actually landed some blows.

Killua didn't wince at the stinging sensation, but his eyes narrowed marginally at the question. Kicking out a leg and ignoring the ache from his bruised muscles, he replied indifferently, "Not at all, old man."

The doctor-in-training bristled. "I told you not to call me that, you brat." He pressed the cotton ball harder to no response, which made him angrier. Standing up, he gathered his medical supplies. "Feh, whatever. Serves you right, going all out like that in a sparring match."

Gon, who had been nursing an equally wounded Kurapika on the opposite side of the room, frowned in their direction, having overheard the conversation. She had to take the blond aside to treat him, to separate him from both Killua and Leorio, both of whom had some sort of dislike for him. He seemed polite and kind from her interactions, so she didn't understand why the other boys couldn't get along with him.

"You did really well against Killua," Gon observed, looking over the scratches on his arm. "You both had to work hard to keep up with each other."

"I was trying to avoid escalading the situation, but I was not going to back down from a challenge." Kurapika responded calmly, sitting sedately as she worked her way up his arm with disinfectant and bandages. He had taken the brunt of Killua's clawed attacks with his swords, but the boy was faster than he had expected and his injured arms proved it. Any slower and he would have had his heart skewered.

"I'm jealous, I wish I could have a fight with you like that, even though it ended in a tie," Gon said, sighing as she rolled down his sleeve. She patted his arm carefully. "There, all done."

"Thank you." Kurapika smiled, lifting an eyebrow. "Surely you wouldn't want to fight to that extent?"

"Of course! You both did your best," Gon chirped, hopping to her feet.

"We were trying to kill each other." He intoned dryly, standing up slowly so his wounds didn't reopen.

"Well, I didn't say it was a perfect match," she laughed, folding her hands behind her back. They walked to the front of the room, where Killua and Leorio stood arguing. "Ah, are you two still going at it?"

"No," they replied in unison, and then scowled in disgust at each other.

Gon giggled and Kurapika rolled his eyes, saying, "Really, you both are more alike than you think."

They both looked incredibly offended. "Oh, yeah, and just how well do you know me, blondie?" Leorio sniffed, shouldering his briefcase. "You couldn't even beat some snotty little brat like him, so I wouldn't act so high and mighty."

"Watch it, gramps," Killua intoned, shooting him a glare before returning his attention to the true object of his ire. "I want a rematch."

Kurapika seemed to have expected this, because he replied straightforwardly, "No."

Gon hummed and nodded as if she knew what his reply was going to be. Killua blinked in astonishment, taking a second to collect himself before responding, "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I meant no. It would be pointless to have a rematch now at our current skill level. I'll fight you when both of us have grown stronger, strong enough that one of us will win without uncertainty." Kurapika explained, gesturing to the equal amount of wounds they had sustained. It had been a close match, if Hisoka hadn't stepped in to stop them, they would undoubtedly be still fighting. "As exciting as this is, I did not tell you to fight to the death. I want both of you in one piece at the end of the semester," Hisoka had drawled, appearing abruptly in the middle of their battle. "Besides, the only one who get's to kill in my classroom is me."

Back in the present, the small group stood in tense silence, waiting for his response.

"Che, fine. Whatever." Killua turned and walked away, glancing briefly over at Gon. She bobbed her head in goodbye to the other two boys. "It was nice meeting you both. I hope we can spar again sometime, Leorio! And I'd like a match against you too, Kurapika."

They smiled wryly at her as she hurried after her friend. Kurapika chuckled. "What a strange girl."

"Yeah, how can she be friends with a guy like him?" Leorio asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Kurapika didn't answer, recalling the match silently. The boy with white hair had a cruel temper, but he didn't lose his head in battle. In fact, it made him deadlier. Raising a hand to his chest, he ran a finger over the rip in his tunic. He had tried to tear his heart out with his bare hands, what kind of person would do such a thing over a simple match? Not a normal person, that was for certain. Just who was this friend of Gon's?

Outside, Gon exhaled softly as she kept pace with an irritated Killua. She wasn't sure where they were going but she wisely stayed silent until he spoke, "I don't like that guy. He's too perceptive."

"I thought that was a good thing?" She queried, taking out her schedule to look over her classes.

"Not if you're his opponent." He replied grimly. It pained him to admit it but the fight had been closer than he had liked. His own confidence in his abilities had nearly been his downfall; the other boy had no problem using his full strength even as Killua tried to hold back out of pride. Kurapika had seen that and struck relentlessly until he was forced to take the fight seriously. In his annoyance, Killua had revealed a technique that he hadn't planned to bring out until much later, as it was so recognizable. As clever as he was, it was only a matter of time until the blond figured out his identity and Killua did not need that kind of attention while trying to play the respectable student.

"You nearly killed him," Gon noted, running her hand through her hair as she puzzled over class times in her head. They were right by their next lesson, so he had thought ahead.

"Yeah," Killua sighed, finally stopping at a fountain. "I guess I got a little carried away."

Gon smirked. "Really, Killua, I thought I was the one who made rash decisions in this relationship."

The boy sputtered in embarrassment, turning sharply away from her to hide his blush. "Shut up! I said I got carried away!"

She laughed again, nudging him gently with her shoulder. "You know, if you want to separate yourself from the Mafia, you have to make better choices."

Her words struck a chord within him and he stared thoughtfully back at her. "What kind of choices do you mean?"

Gon paused, plopping herself down on the fountains wide rim. She tapped her fingers against the teal ceramic tiles, mimicking the water's steady murmur. She slowly gathered her words, saying, "I guess I meant you shouldn't react with just your training. You attack to kill, but you don't have to anymore, right? You can fight or surrender or walk away, no one should be controlling your actions. You want to be your own person, so make the decisions that you want to make." She shrugged with smile. "I suppose that's what I meant."

Killua sat next to her, stretching out his sore legs. "I… think I understand. You're right. I'm acting the way my brother taught me to and he's not my boss anymore, so why should I listen to him? I'm done with him and everything he tried to force on me."

Peace fell over them as they delved into their own thoughts, the only sounds being the wind against the stone buildings and the fountain behind them.

Killua grinned, glancing coyly over at Gon. "Heh, when did you get so smart?"

Textbook response, as expected.

"I've always been smart, Killua!" She yelled.


Guest: Thank you so much! Sorry for the delay, but I finally updated.

boketto-muffin: School Au's are one of my favorite things, to be honest. And Fem!Gon is the light of my life. Sorry about skipping the fight, but I'm not sure I could have done it justice as of yet. There will be more fights down the road, so I'll try my hand at those. And yeah, Kurapika and Killua are gonna argue, a lot. Thank you for your support!

laxusdrayer2324: Yeah, they wanted to fight each other pretty badly, but life (and Hisoka) is cruel. Killua is far too tsun-tsun to acknowledge Gon! For now. Hisoka is going to be like that all semester so I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for waiting!