In which Killua makes his second assassination attempt.

Duel Time

Returning to class the others were still milling outside the classroom – break still hadn't ended and Korosensei had not come back. Killua went inside and sat down on his desk at the back of the class. He spent the rest of his spare time staring at the blackboard.

Next lesson was P.E. It seemed interesting, far more so than the last lesson and Killua watched carefully. In pairs, members of the class took turns to run at Karasuma, rubber knife in hand. The aim was one hit and even though Karasuma was the Head of Defence with a depth of strength that not even Killua could gauge, he was still struggling to avoid every single hit (although, of course Karasuma wasn't using nen).

They had potential. Some of the more able members of the class weren't bad at all (still pitiful compared to Killua's standards), displaying the agility of a gymnast, the strategic thinking of a fox and the sort of determination that would have perked Hisoka's interest (although the latter was under no circumstance something to aim for). Who cared whether Gon way back in the hunter exam could have beaten them? This was assassination, not a battle, and in this playing field even the weakest could get lucky.

So many mysteries. On one side Class E was a normal classroom; on the other, these were kids training to kill.

"Killua-kun."

Killua felt the teacher's presence an instant after the voice sounded. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck were tingling with nervous energy. A stray crackle of electricity made its way down his fingers.

"What do you want?" Killua asked. He hated it when people snuck up to him like that. Especially the octopus. There was something Killua couldn't put his finger, a screaming voice at the back of his mind that told him to not lower his guard around this creature, and it wasn't just because he was threatening to destroy the Earth – here that could almost be forgotten.

What was it? Familiarity?

("He's the same as me. I can smell it.")

"Just enjoying the view," Korosensei said with a light chuckle.

In front of them, a girl with long hair tied in a ponytail thrust out her knife, using her long reach to aim for Karasuma's face. He dodged it effortlessly.

"Have you talked to any of your classmates?" Korosensei asked. The sudden personal nature of the question struck Killua oddly and he turned abruptly, staring at the fixed wide grin.

"Why do you care?" he said casually. Korosensei's yellow face changed hue ever so slightly, getting lighter and brighter. What did that mean?

"Because I want you to be part of Class E, of course!" Korosensei said cheerfully. "I consider every student put under my care to be priority." Killua froze for an instant, taken aback by Korosensei's remark. A frown adorned his face. This was the monster that was threatening to kill them all in a year? And his students were priority? Killua almost laughed at the irony.

"I'm a professional," Killua stated simply. Korosensei paused before continuing.

"But you are a student, Killua-kun, not a teacher," Korosensei said holding up one yellow tentacle as though the statement had made sense. The language of Class E – teachers taught the students, however mature they seemed to be.

A boy this time aimed a stab at Karasuma's chest area, just where his tie was. If he were human, his heart would be there. With a swipe, the teacher deflected the blade, although Killua noticed the slight change in his expression – he hadn't been expecting that, apparently.

"Prove it, then," Korosensei spoke up suddenly. "If you say you are professional, prove it." Green and yellow stripes banded the large head. Killua studied Korosensei. His hand twitched but Korosensei's beady eyes were on it in an instant.

Killua sighed. Stupid octopus.

At the end of the day the members of Class E gathered (other than Killua who had disappeared).

"Let's go," Megu said grimly. The rest of Class nodded in assent. The air was grim.

Takebayashi had left. Not just left, he had dishonoured them, shamed them, turned his back on them in front of the entire school. Here, in Class E, when comradeship meant everything to those constantly pushed down by the rest of the school, such an act was… unimaginable.

At break they had agreed to talk to Takebayashi at the end of school. Now the time had come.

Nagisa looked around for his pencil case. Although the rest of his bag was packed, it was missing, even though he was sure it had been on his desk a moment before. He couldn't find it anywhere…

"Go ahead," he told Sugino, who was one of the only students left in the classroom.

"Are you sure?" Sugino asked and Nagisa nodded. With his bag over his shoulder, he bustled out of the classroom.

"What are you looking for?" Korosensei said, coming up behind Nagisa. His looming presence was hugely powerful but at the same time comforting.

"I can't find my pencil case," Nagisa explained to his teacher. Korosensei turned into a blur before coming back in front of Nagisa, apparently unchanged other than the pencil case sitting on a tentacle.

"Thank you!" Nagisa said brightly.

As he exited the classroom, the first thing he saw was Karma leaning on the wall.

"Hi," Nagisa said. Karma gave a small grin in reply.

They walked down the small path together.

"So, what do you think?" Karma asked. Nagisa looked up to this friend, studying his face carefully. There was little indicating his mood, but Nagisa could tell he was genuinely curious. Nagisa could always tell, somehow.

"About what?" Nagisa asked. He knew what this was about, but he asked just to be sure.

"The new assassin, obviously," Karma replied. Looking down, Nagisa looked for the right answer. He was around their age but other than that they had little information. He had only attempted one assassination attempt and it hadn't been overly impressive, although Nagisa could tell he wasn't going all out then.

To be honest, the boy, Killua, terrified Nagisa. None of the class seemed to have noticed the silent deadliness around him, the inky shadow that had passed through his face when he had swiped the knife at Korosensei. Deadly, silent.

"He's professional, I think," Nagisa said. Karma looked at him surprised. It was not like the dark aura that some assassins used to scare people. It was the contrast that scared Nagisa. When Nagisa had first seen Killua, he had been sarcastic and arrogant but normal nonetheless, and yet at that moment – like a switch had been flicked – suddenly he was very much a killer.

"Seriously?" Karma asked. "Even you can think more imaginatively than hiding a knife." So he hadn't noticed either. Sometimes, Nagisa thought he must have been dreaming. Nagisa shrugged. He looked forward. Suddenly a prick down his neck caused Nagisa to look up. The canopy of leaves above them seemed empty…

Looking back down, Nagisa continued to talk. Was it nothing? Before entering Class E, he would have ignored anything as little as a feeling. But then again, Lovro had told him to trust his instincts. Making a decision, Nagisa pretended to walk normally for another hundred metres or so. However, once they had passed a curve in the path, he grabbed Karma's arm.

"What is it?" Karma asked, a sudden look of worry on his face.

"Shh," Nagisa said and leading Karma by the arm, dived into the trees. They travelled upwards through the thick undergrowth to the place where Nagisa had first felt the presence. As the path came back into view, Nagisa gasped.

"Hey? Isn't that Killua?" Karma asked. And sure enough, there was Killua, charging at Korosensei, knife clutched in his hand.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Slowly, Killua opened his eyes, piercing blue eyes studying the area. His zetsu was perfect, his senses sharpened to maximum. Like this he could hear the softest rustle of leaves underlying the other sounds, even the quiet footfalls of animals.

Two boys – Nagisa and Karma – passed underneath him. Suddenly, Nagisa looked up and Killua froze for an instance, but the boy quickly looked away and continued talking. Killua shook his head. He couldn't have been spotted; Killua would almost certainly have noticed if he had.

Perching on the top of a tree, Killua was looking down at the path to Class E. From listening to the talk of the class, he knew Korosensei would come down this path any moment now. He had been waiting patiently for his target since they had been dismissed for the end of the day. To be honest, Killua wanted to go back down the mountain to pick up Alluka, but decided to stay put.

If he could kill this monster now, then there would be no need to go to school tomorrow and keep Alluka waiting.

Suddenly, Killua felt a presence. With a glance in that direction, he confirmed his suspicions. A few hundred metres away, Korosensei was moving steadily towards him, only a slither of his yellow skin visible through the thick leaves.

Killua resisted the urge to tense.

("Don't leak bloodlust right until the moment you strike.")

Soon, Korosensei was passing underneath Killua's branch. Killua's breathing sped up ever so slightly, but he wrestled it back down. If he let Korosensei feel his presence now, all would be lost.

Jumping down from his branch he hid behind a dark cluster of trees, staring at the path through the thick leaves. The yellow form of the Class E teacher came into view. Waving his tentacles with a worried smile on his face, he was muttering softly to himself. Killua tensed his muscles.

Just when Korosensei was passing him he struck.

He sprung, cat like from his hiding place, springing towards Korosensei. It was only when Killua was millimetres away, he let out his bloodlust. It sprang out, eager, black and deadly. Korosensei turned, apparently unperturbed. Killua knew that in any normal circumstance, Korosensei would almost definitely be able to escape now. But this was no ordinary circumstance.

Rhythm Echo.

Killua's form suddenly split into dozens of different illusions, all charging forward. In that instance, Korosensei froze. It was a small lag of reaction time, a hesitation in Korosensei's movements, but it was enough. Jumping forward, Killua slammed a palm against one of Korosensei's tentacles.

Lighting Palm.

There were no students around so Killua decided it was worth the risk. Besides, this particular move could be easily explained by a stun gun.

Electricity cracked along his hand, stark white.

Korosensei was glowing, frozen either by electricity or shock. It was like time had stopped for an instance, but Killua could move and Korosensei was a duck, waiting to be butchered. Killua's other hand shot forward, a knife waiting.

He stabbed Korosensei in the heart.

There was a small amount of resistance before the knife slid forward effortlessly. The lack of opposing force took Killua by surprise and he tipped forward. Something floppy collapsed onto the floor. The satisfaction that settled in his gut was sickening.

"Not bad, Killua-kun." Killua couldn't believe his ears. Looking round, his eyes saw the yellow figure. Korosensei was alive, without a scratch on him, a big orange circle on his glowing face.

"Using your assassination to skills to surprise me and dull my movements was a brilliant move, but you forget about my monthly ability to shed my skin." Korosensei's face turned stripy green and yellow. "You will have to try better next time." Killua sighed.

"I guess you aren't that easy to kill," he said with a small laugh.

"And what do you think, Nagisa-kun, Karma-kun?" Korosensei asked, looking towards the bushes. Killua looked round in surprise to see the two boys appearing from their hiding places. He had been so focused on Korosensei, he hadn't noticed.

(So Nagisa was far more perceptive than first thought.)

"What was that? He can't be fast enough to make duplicates… could he?" Nagisa asked, his eyes wide. Korosensei laughed, shaking his head.

"No. This is an assassination technique that relies on technique rather than speed," Korosensei explained. "It is called 'Rhythm Echo'." Killua looked at Korosensei curiously. How did he know that? Not that is was a particularly secret move, but it was still quite unknown. Karma was looking at him, a vaguely impressed expression on his face.

"What about the electricity? A stun gun?" he asked. Killua remembered what Karasuma had said – they really were oblivious. He nodded. The disguise would do for now.

"And I think, Killua-kun, you have proved yourself to be a competent professional. You still have to work on your teamwork though, if you want to succeed." There was a little smirk on Korosensei's large face.

Killua looked down, refusing to meet his gaze.

He was probably going to have to start thinking more seriously if this mission were to succeed. He would have to stay longer in school, more time away from protecting Alluka and pointless work.

"Hmpf," Killua said quietly under his breath before running down the path. He would be late picking his sister up at this rate. Although Korosensei could easily have followed him, Killua didn't see him.

Once again, thank you for reading. If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Truthfulness, Aaron, Random Fan, Guest: Thank you

Taco: maybe soon?

Guest: Firstly, thank you for your review! Killua is stronger, faster and more experienced that the entire class, and completely out of their league. However, at the same time, they've come closer to killing Korosensei than anyone else. Killua will have to team up with them if he wants to kill Korosensei - AC puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of teamwork and I've tried to incorporate that. I've reread it and taken notes on where Killua jumps and listed them, explaining why he does so in each.

1) When he first meets Korosensei - surprise at the fact he's not human. 2) Second meeting with Korosensei - Korosensei is a lot fast than he thought. 3) meeting with Lovro - Lovro is a professional assassin and knows how to mask his presence 4) Meeting Ritsu - she's a machine, Killua can't feel her presence.

I've edited where it seems appropriate.

Once again, thanks for your review!