Third chapter, in which Killua is interviewed by Karasuma.

Interview Time

The examination should have started by now.

He had agreed to meet with the man on the other end of the phone – Tadaomi Karasuma, Head of Defence. Alluka was at school, as safe as any other student, but Killua still felt a little trepidation when he thought about the long distance between him and the school.

(She'll be fine.)

What had urged Killua into agreeing to this – assassination, of all things – was beyond him; it could only be explained as an instantaneous decision. Maybe it was boredom. It could be. Looking after Alluka didn't involve much, now that she was in school for the majority of the day, and Killua had always been used to a life on the edge. Whatever the motive that had driven him, Killua couldn't turn back now without looking as though he was running away.

Gon.

Killua's mind often wondered to him these days, especially since his contract with the Ministry of Defence. What would he think of his new assignment? After all the promises Killua had made to stop killing.

(Not that he had cared when Killua killed Chimera Ants.)

If the rest of the world was on the line, then Killua was sure he could make an exception; if the monster had destroyed seventy percent of the moon, that probably meant he counted as dangerous…

What was Gon doing now? Something exciting, knowing him. Killua smiled. A little pang pulsed in Killua's chest. It was called nostalgia, he had learnt; memories of things long gone.

"Hello."

The sound jolted Killua out of his musings, but he kept in his surprise and looked up from where he was sitting (on a couch in the rather minimalist interview room). Standing there was a man who looked to be in his late forties, wearing an immaculate suit which suited with his serious frown – he could easily have been a strict school teacher. Killua laughed internally at the subtle irony.

"Are you Mr Karasuma?" he asked. No, the voice is different, he thought as soon as the words exited his mouth but made no effort to show his realisation.

"Oh, no. I'm just an… acquaintance," the man stated, his expression blank. "Lovro. A hitman dealer." There was a soft accent in his voice.

"Hmm." Killua said, staring at the wall in front of him, the mask of indifference plastered on to his face. A hitman dealer… interesting. He supposed in a peaceful country like this they needed a connection to the shady world of assassins.

"And your name?"

"Killua," he replied blankly.

"Killua Zoldyck, am I correct?" Lovro said. Although Killua said nothing, he couldn't stop the feeling of surprise enter his brain. He hadn't even told the man on the phone his second name, the question never having come up.

"How did you know?" he asked with a hint of curiosity, looking at the man this time. The man chuckled, bringing up one gloved fist to his chin and looking down at Killua with amusement burning in his eyes.

"The Zoldyck family are quite notorious – to someone who deals with assassins daily, their names are well known. If you wanted to hide your identity then I suggest you change your name."

"I don't want to hide my identity," Killua commented. As Lovro did not reply he turned his attention back on to the featureless wall in front of him, hoping that the man would just leave the room; he was unnerving. The way he moved was deeply unsettling, hiding a wealth of hidden strength that Killua could not help but notice, yet his aura remained completely natural. The contrast resonated unsettlingly. There was no doubt that Lovro had at one point been a professional assassin.

"An assassin at such a young age. Such potential."

Killua spun round, glaring at him, teeth gritted.

"I'm not an assassin,I'm a Hunter," Killua corrected. His voice was deadly quiet, not quite hiding the underlying malice. The almost fourteen year old ex-assassin wasn't even sure what made him so angry, blood burning and rising to his head, but with struggle he kept himself rational. There was no point in losing it here. Lovro only chuckled again, annoyingly calm.

"A Hunter, I see," he said. "It must be hard, an ex-assassin turning away from blood, even if it to a life as adventurous as a Hunter. Tell me, do you have nightmares?" Lovro asked. There was no amusement in his eyes this time, only interest.

"Since when was it your business?" Killua asked monotonously. He turned back to the wall, intent on ignoring the other man completely.

"Have I hit a nerve?" Killua blanked his voice out, being careful not to let his expression change. The silence persisted for a while longer, each second Killua conscious of the stare drumming into his back. What did this man want? When was Karasuma going to come? If he didn't come soon, Killua thought he would end up killing the man…

(Not literally, Killua corrected himself.)

Click. Footsteps. More than one. The regular noises stopped just outside the door and, going by the soft swoosh that followed, they had entered the room. Killua was forced to look up, curious at the new arrival but purposely kept his gaze as far away from Lovro, who was still standing in the corner, as possible. As he had thought, there were two people standing in the doorway – a man in a suit and a woman holding a clipboard.

The man looked at Lovro.

"Lovro," he acknowledged.

"Karasuma," the other man replied. So this Karasuma, Killua thought. He was a formidable man; younger than Lovro and lacking in his quiet deadliness but nonetheless strong. Even without gyo Killua could feel the aura around him, cocooning the man in a hard, protective shell. A nen user. A competent one at that. His expression was stern, serious. Turning to Killua, he nodded.

"Are you the new applicant, Killua?" Karasuma said. There was a little surprise in his voice, as though Killua wasn't quite what he expected.

"Yeah. The one and only," Killua said dramatically. He opened his arms wide, a little smirk on his face but his eyes were forward and focused. The trepidation disappeared from Karasuma's face, replaced with stern professionalism. Moving over to the couch opposite Killua, he sat down. The woman with the clipboard stayed by the doorway.

"You are a Hunter?" Karasuma asked. Japan was one of those unique countries where having a Hunter license didn't make you as powerful as it did in other countries; it abided by its own laws, had its own nen users working for the government. It was one of the reasons assassination attempts on Korosensei hadn't turned into a free-for-all – because the Japanese Government had been denying the Hunter site information. It was also one of the reasons Killua had come here; tracking him would be far easier in a country where a Hunter license got you anything. After all, both Hisoka and Illumi were Hunters.

"Yes," Killua answered. Karasuma stared at him for a second, gaze analysing and aura shifting to become somehow more malicious. Killua's aura moved with the attention, encompassing and protecting. His eyes narrowed.

It was a natural habit.

Karasuma nodded, as though satisfied.

"Then show me your Ren," Karasuma said. Hunter language. Killua guessed the head of the Ministry of Defence would know that sort of stuff. He briefly remembered being asked the same thing almost a year and a half ago by Tsezguerra, when Killua had played Greed Island with Gon.

"Here?" he asked quietly.

"Try not to break anything," was Karasuma's reply. Closing his eyes, Killua focused. His fingertips burst to life with tingling electricity, coursing through his nerves; the current travelled upwards, around him. Even behind his closed lids he could see the crackle of brilliant white electricity. Killua's eyes snapped open.

He moved on automatic.

Shock flared on the other's face, as to his eyes Killua disappeared from sight. Karasuma had just about enough time to breathe in before Killua appeared behind him.

"Seen enough?" Killua asked. Karasuma turned round and looked at Killua with a single bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. To Killua's satisfaction, out of the corner of his eye he saw that a similar expression of bemusement was present on Lovro's face.

"Yes," Karasuma said simply. Killua walked back round to his couch and sat down again.

"There are a certain number of conditions that you must agree to before you attempt your assassination," Karasuma continued. Killua nodded.

"Firstly, none of the information I disclose to you may be revealed to any third party without the permission of the Japanese Government."

"OK," Killua said. He wasn't going to anyway.

"Secondly, all assassination attempts that may result in civilian casualties must be reported and judged by myself before being carried out. No pointless killing."

"OK." Another reasonably easy one to follow.

"Thirdly, you will not be allowed to use nen." Killua stared at Karasuma, stunned. To be forbidden to use nen was like tying your hands behind your backs. Killua had seen Korosensei; it would probably be impossible to kill him with full usage of nen, let alone without it.

"Why?" he asked. Karasuma sighed.

"To answer that I must explain the situation. That cannot be done without you agreeing to the conditions. I apologise for the inconvenience, that's the rules for everyone," Karasuma said. His face was as impassive as a sheer rock cliff. It seemed he would not be backing down on this one.

"…OK."

"Can you please sign the form," Karasuma said. The woman with the clipboard came forward and handed Killua a biro and a thin sheet of paper full of rows and rows of neat black letters; there was a dotted line at the bottom. Killua glanced over the words, skim reading for its meaning. Other than the conditions that Karasuma had set him, there seemed to be nothing of importance. Picking up the pen, Killua scribbled down his name.

Karasuma nodded. The woman came forward again and took the document away.

"The culprit of the moon incident calls himself 'Korosensei'. He is a three meter tall yellow octopus." It seemed Karasuma was expecting a reaction, going from the little pause, but Killua gave him none.

"I know," he said. "I ran in to him."

"Then you should know his top speed is Mach Twenty," Karasuma said. Killua's eyebrows lifted.

(Seriously? How superhuman is this thing?)

"He is a genetically engineered lifeform."

"Genetically engineered?" Killua interjected.

"No, he's not an alien." The way Karasuma said it made it sound like a reoccurring joke. One that the older man was tired of.

"He has evaded all attempts so far to eliminate him by military artillery. The closest we have ever got is through assassination so that is the route we have decided is most hopeful. He is currently teaching at Class E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School and has said will stay there for the entirety of the year," Karasuma continued.

"This is where it gets… complicated. The main body of individuals carrying out the assassinations are the students." Killua didn't know if he could take much more shock during this conversation.

"Seriously?"

"What you have to consider is that if this monster decides to go into hiding then we have almost no chance of finding him again in time for the deadline. However, as long as the students are alive, we know where he is, we know his habits and we can study his weaknesses. This is an opportunity we must not lose. Information on his whereabouts must not be leaked because if that happens then it will almost be guaranteed that somebody will recklessly bomb the entire town. Not only will this result in huge civilian casualties, the target probably won't even be killed.

"This is also where the limitations with using nen comes in. There is simply no way we can teach a class of thirty students nen. However if they see supernatural occurrences at every assassination attempt then questions will start to be asked. If questions are asked, being the inquisitive teenagers they are, will end up doing something that dangerous. The safety of the students is paramount." Killua nodded. It made sense, somewhat. It seemed the priority of the Ministry of Defense was to keep the octopus grounded, no matter what, and wait for an opening.

"However, if that nen can be passed off as a skill, or you have no intention of showing it to the students, an exception will be made. The students are quite… unknowledgeable… in those fields." Karasuma's face fell briefly – exasperation, fatigue, annoyance. It seemed that he had had plenty of dealings with these students.

"But they have potential. They are powerful allies if the situation is right," he added.

"OK," Killua said unsure; how a bunch of amateurs would help eluded him. "I'll bare it in mind."

"You can either stay in the classroom or attempt one hit. Presently there are two assassins who have permanent positions within the class – one is a teacher, the other is a student," Karasuma said. So there was another assassin who could pass of as a student. Killua wondered who that may be. "If you've met the target, then I suggest you become a student. He's already smelt you so he'll know you're coming a mile off."

"Smell?" Killua asked.

"He's got an exceptionally good nose."

(He's like a superpower exhibition, isn't he?)

"OK," Killua said.

"After all the arrangements have been made, I will assume you will be able to start after the Summer Holiday is over." Karasuma stood up. "And lastly, the location of the school…"

"I know where it is. My sister goes there," Killua interrupted Karasuma's explanation. Karasuma's face did not change.

"Then, that is all," Karasuma concluded smoothly. "I will contact you when everything has been sorted." Killua nodded and stood up, walking towards the door that had been opened for him by the woman. As he passed Lovro (why was he still there?) the man passed him a smirk. He exited the room.

"Bear in mind, Zoldyck, however fast you are, he's faster." Killua looked round quickly, a comment on his lips, but the door was already closing.

With a click, the door shut. For a second nobody talked, each having their own set of thoughts whirling round their head.

"So, Karasuma. What do you think?" Lovro asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Plenty of better assassins have failed," Karasuma said simply.

"Maybe it's just my profession, I can't help but see potential. For someone his age, he's good," Lovro said. "I would love to have him as a student."

"He's a Hunter. You would expect him to be capable," Karasuma said.

"Oh, no, Karasuma. I've seen and fought many Hunter's in my life but the boy is something more," Lovro explained. "Isn't the world full of aspiring young men? This classroom just gets more and more interesting.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review:)

Tacio: Thank you, I will as much as possible.

Guest: I'll try!

Guest: as it's the second time it's been mentioned, I'll copy and paste what I replied last time:

Thank you for your review! Interesting topic actually, I was researching this before I started writing.

Firstly, I've written this story with the assumption that godspeed does not increase Killua's maximum speed. It increases Killua's average speed and reaction time using electricity to send nerve impulses directly to his muscles.

Reaction time can actually take up a huge proportion of the overall time it takes to make a movement. A car driver, for example, has a certain amount of thinking distance added to his stopping distance when braking. Although Killua's reactions are insanely fast anyway, this is limited to almost 0 with his godspeed ability. This is where his speed comes in. The royal guards don't stand a chance because Killua literally moves before they think.

Secondly, his average speed. No one can maintain their maximum speed for any length of time because of tiredness, pain etc. However, by sending messages direct to his brain, Killua can bypass this limit, thus increasing his average speed.

In the election arc, while escaping the butler guards, Killua comments that he can travel 40km in 10 minutes. That's 240km/h which is pretty slow by Korosensei standards. Even with the 240km/h, he did say that he was at using godspeed at his maximum. He's carrying Alluka, so let's times that by 5. 1200km/h. Still slower than Korosensei.

And to be honest, I kind of needed him to be slower than Korosensei for the story to work:P

If you kind find a flaw in my argument, please tell me and I will try to think of something to work it out. Once again, thanks. And sorry it turned into such a lengthily explanation.

eha