Leorio's question turned out to be quite accurate. Luna was a dog on a bone when it came to getting them up to standard. And like she threatened, she didn't hesitate to call Illumi and ask for his advice.
When he found out what she was doing, she heard a hint of amusement in his voice. Because of that, he told her exactly what she needed to know.
The result? Training from hell.
Finally, Killua had enough of trying to find Tsezguerra so he came up with another solution.
Ask Illumi.
Luna dialed him up with amusement. Killua grabbed the phone from the air and talked to his older brother. They could only hear one half of the conversation, but what they did spoke of how irritated Killua was.
In exchange for finding the location of the Selection Exam, Killua swore to come up with an appropriate Nen ability before the week was out. Otherwise he would go home and get more training from Master Zeno.
Illumi could agree to that, so he went looking for them. Even if it meant Alluka and Luna would be free from observation for a little bit, they would be too busy training the others.
Only Kurapika was exempt from this training, since he had already created an ability.
Killua was frustrated. He was an emission type while Gon was a reinforcement type. Imagination wasn't one of his strong points. So, in a fit of annoyance, Luna threw some manga at them that she stole from Milluki. Silva had chuckled when he heard his son scream in anger when he found out.
It was in one called 'Naruto' that he got an idea. He found a trick he liked a lot called the 'Chidori'. Since he could naturally handle a 1,000,000 volts thanks to his family, there was no reason he couldn't recreate it. Gon was a little trickier.
So Luna had him describe all the animals he had seen and came up with a suggestion. Since she rarely used reinforcement, she recommended trying to copy the strength of animals in the wild. Gon was a natural animal lover, and able to emphasize with them easily. (Well, except for Mike, but he was a rare case.)
Since he tended to make friends even with the more anti social beasts, Luna suggested making his occupation Beast Hunter, those who protect animals from poachers and the like and insure the balance was kept. Being able to match strength with a wild animal without hurting it would be of great help in that occupation.
Gon liked the idea so much that he started to work towards that goal.
Killua looked at Luna with amusement.
"If Gon's a Beast Hunter, and Kurapika's a Black List, what are you?"
"Well, after giving it some thought, I've decided on one of three kinds. Beast, Gourmet and Black List. There's no rule that says you have to specialize in one type. So far I've made progress as a Black List with Miss Kikyou's targets. I'm a natural Gourmet hunter and I've been taking many classes to improve my skills. And I get along better with animals than I do people most days."
"Man...this Hunter thing is harder than I expected," whined Killua.
"So, think you're ready to try again?" asked Luna.
"So why isn't Alluka joining us?" asked Gon.
"Because her nen ability awoke too early for her to handle the power. Killua can attest to that. In her case it's not ability that's the problem, but control and restraint. That's why I developed my Scarlet Resonance to help her out. As long as my eyes are active, I can keep that power from hurting those around her."
"I wonder how that ability would work?" asked Killua.
"Hmm...perhaps a demonstration is in order. Kurapika, would you mind helping me with this? Alluka's ability is too dangerous for a simple demonstration," said Luna.
"Sure. I'm actually kind of curious about it as well."
"Alright then. I'll tell you when to use your chains," said Luna.
She closed her eyes, focused her rage towards Albus Dumbledore for leaving her with those people, and activated her eyes.
"Scarlet Resonance," she whispered.
Kurapika flinched. He felt the connection immediately. For a moment he actually blacked out.
Inside his head, he could see a younger Luna and a girl who looked like the darker side of little Alluka.
"Hi! Are you here to play?" asked little Luna.
"Where am I?"
"I see she's starting to use that trick of hers. This place, as you could consider it, is where Luna put her innocence in order to keep it from being tainted. Rather ingenious really. By activating the Scarlet Resonance as she calls it, she's giving her younger self new people to interact with. In return she is given absolute control of the ability and the power output."
"What exactly does it do?"
"Young Luna is basically a shield. By placing the mind of her target in here to 'play' with her younger self, she essentially blinds the other party to the fact she is controlling their power."
Nanika chuckled, as she said something that had Kurapika blink.
"It's amusing really. Her name is actually quite appropriate considering the ability she came up with. If her younger self is the sun, then her older self is the moon. The strength of the reflection is entirely controlled by her innocent side."
By the time Kurapika woke up, he wasn't aware that he had been out cold for five minutes.
"What happened?"
"Huh... I didn't expect that to happen. Then again, that was the first time I've actually used it on purpose. You were out for five minutes."
"And the water on me?" he asked.
She hooked a thumb at Leorio. It had been his idea. Kurapika, in a fit of annoyance, threw a pillow at him.
"So what happened?"
"From what that other girl said, the reflection of the sun was too powerful for the moon to use."
"Huh?" was the general reply.
"Let me explain as best I can. The other girl there, the one who looked like a dark Alluka, she commented on how your younger self was like the sun to your moon. That the strength of the 'reflection' was entirely up to your younger, more innocent self. In a way, I'm kind of glad she's there."
"Why's that?" asked Killua.
"Because it means that there's still a chance for you to be a normal person. You haven't lost all faith in humanity just yet. Certain people, yes, but not humanity as a whole."
"Well it also brings up the issue of multiple personality disorder," said Luna amused.
"Not really. It seems to me your younger self prefers to play with people you make contact with through your ability."
"So what does her ability do exactly?" asked Killua.
"Her ability, Scarlet Resonance, is to create connections with people who use nen. Specifically it's to give her younger, more innocent self, an opening. She draws their attention to her, and the contact is reflected back to her older self. The stronger the connection, the more powerful the reflection is. In simple terms, a weak connection is like a new moon. The sun is reflecting light, but it's being blocked by the Earth so you can't see it very well. A strong connection is like the full moon, when the refraction is at it's strongest. You understand?"
"How weird," said Leorio.
Gon, however, actually understood what Kurapika was getting at. The Luna they saw wasn't the one controlling the power at all. Her younger self which she had hidden inside her was.
"There's one other thing you should know. Ever since I first made direct contact with Nanika, she has been unable to leave. I think the connection is permanent."
"That's alright with me. If anything, it means that no one will be able to hide you from me again," said Kurapika.
She beamed at him...right before an owl came in from out of nowhere and dropped a letter on her head. Since she felt something very off about the innocuous seeming paper she threw it away from her.
"Luna?" asked Killua questioningly.
Luna picked up a pair of tongs, then carefully opened it. She dropped them scant seconds before she felt the pull of magic, and they vanished.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Killua.
"Port key. Someone just tried to kidnap me," spat Luna.
Kurapika's eyes flashed scarlet the second she said port key. He had a good idea who it was.
"I think we could all use a break. Killua, why don't you and Luna go enjoy a movie while I take Gon and Leorio book shopping for ideas?" said Kurapika deviously.
He was conspiring with the Zoldyck clan to give his sister some measure of happiness. The fact that they could tolerate each other's company for longer than an hour was more than enough incentive for him to help the Zoldyck clan continue with the arranged marriage.
Well that and it was an unofficial older brother's job to mess with their younger sibling.
Luna and Killua were on a date, completely aware that Kurapika, Gon, Leorio and Illumi were watching the entire thing, from two separate tables.
Since Killua had never come across the goblins yet and set up his account, Luna decided to make this day somewhat constructive and take him to the goblin bank to deal with the greedy bastards, even if the rest of the day was a waste of time.
Their first stop was at a bookstore that sold manga. Killua had a love for the more violent ones like 'Ranma' and 'Kenichi'. Luna picked up a few magical girl ones, mostly because her younger self loved them and she got interesting ideas on outfits.
Next was a bit of wandering around the auction sites, finding odds and ends that amused them. Once they got hungry, they found an open cafe that had the biggest sundae you had ever seen with fruits, candies, and cookies inside it. It was guaranteed to give you a diabetic coma.
Killua had to fight over his date for most of the chocolate ice cream. Luna had to admit, she enjoyed the mock battle for the icy treat. Their spoons kept making the clashing sounds of metal on metal, to the amusement of the other patrons.
Kurapika was too busy trying not to laugh at the sight to keep Gon from taking pictures at Leorio's suggestion.
It was when they went to eat Italian that they found a problem.
Luna was enjoying her meatball and spaghetti when she heard a whiny voice that sent shivers of horror down her spine. She had hoped that she had left that voice and it's owner in Surrey.
She shivered, attracting the notice of their watchers and her date. Suddenly there was a text on her phone. She took it out of her pocket, getting the attention of the whiny brat three tables over who was eating enough food to feed a third world country for a week.
RedEyes: are those who I think they are?
She wrote a quick text, double checking just to be sure herself.
ScarletMoon: if you think those are the horse, whale and small pig, then you would be correct. I'm going to see if Killua's interested in another restaurant.
Luna had already eaten and Killua was mostly polishing off the breadsticks.
"How does coffee sound?"
"I prefer tea. Is this because of three tables over?" he asked.
She nodded, and they paid the bill before leaving. Unfortunately the small pig had other ideas.
"If it isn't the freak! I thought you died in that stupid exam!" sneered the pig.
Luna winced, and her demeanor switched to Kurt seamlessly. It was only Killua's hand that kept her from vanishing.
"The only freak I see here is the small pig," said Killua snidely.
"I thought that was your brother?" she said quietly. Killua bit back a laugh. Even in the presence of her tormentors, she was still Luna.
Spotting Kurapika nearby, Killua sent a text to the teen with his other hand, hoping he could type without looking.
Kurapika showed up with a black wig that he had been using to hide his presence, and switched places with Killua and Kurt. It didn't take long for the three to be kicked out of the cafe and sent screaming out of the area by a pissed off Kurta. Killua noticed Kurt was pretty shaken confronting her childhood tormentors, so he took her someplace he knew she liked.
Kurt liked flowers and wide open spaces, and there was a park nearby. Once she calmed down enough to revert to Luna, they got some crepes and tried to continue their date.
Illumi had watched the entire thing, and was calling his parents with the news.
"Well Illumi? What is it?" demanded Kikyou.
"You'll be happy to know that the plan to push the two together will be highly successful."
"Go on," said Kikyou, eagerness in her voice.
"Killua and Luna went on a date earlier and were confronted by what I suspect is the girl's so-called 'aunt' and her family. Killua brought in the Kurta boy and took Luna to a nearby park to calm down. Clearly there is some feeling there, even if it's minor. Chances of pairing the two later should work very well if this is any indication."
Illumi wisely held the phone away from his ear as his mother went on a rant about finally having some grandchildren to spoil since it was clear that Luna and Killua would be a perfect match. When the ranting died down, Zeno came on the phone.
"You sent your mother into a tizzy. You do realize she'll be bugging you for months to find a girl," he said dryly.
"Damn it all to hell... What should I do about the people I saw earlier?"
"I get the feeling Killua wouldn't object to a little killing today...and we can't allow our heir to get out of practice..." suggested Zeno slyly.
Illumi blinked. That was actually a brilliant plan. And they could claim that they were hired by the Potter clan since Luna insisted on going by her mother's maiden name after learning about her older brother.
They just needed the girl to sign off on it, so the goblins would back up the claim.
Luna read the text from Master Silva, and decided now was the perfect time to go see the goblins about Killua's account.
"Welcome back Lady Kurta. What may we do for you?" asked the goblin.
"I want to get Killua Zoldyck's account set up and settle a business matter."
"Very well Lady Kurta. Master Zoldyck, follow me for the standard account sign up. Because this is your first time in a goblin bank the fee is pass, but this is the only time. Might I also suggest you look over the interest rates for the accounts?"
"I'll meet you in the lobby in thirty Killua," said Luna.
"Sure thing. Can we bring Gon by or do you think Kurapika will drag him in where with Leorio?"
Luna sent a quick text and got a reply.
"Kurapika will walk Gon and Leorio through this. They haven't set their accounts yet."
Illumi walked into the office and found Luna waiting.
"So what exactly do you need my help with?"
Illumi showed her the rough contract he had written up on the spot, and it included the family discount they gave her since she was Kikyou's apprentice.
"Killua will do the job?" she asked surprised.
"Best to keep him in practice, even if the target is civilian with no known fighting skills."
"Just warn him that the older male has practice in hitting smaller moving objects and that a good hit can break bones," she warned him.
Illumi nodded. He would inform Killua of this new assignment once he had their location.