A/N: This one's rather long and wordy, but for people who are unfamiliar with Nen, this is an important chapter. And guess who comes back!
The True Nen
The children had just recently cleared the 190th floor and were now trying to find their way around the registration floor to make it to the 200th floor, for thei next battle. Gon and Killua were discussing the 200th floor when Stasy suddenly perked up and looked at their next turn.
"Asparagus-nii?" She muttered before running ahead of them.
"Stasy?" Killua followed the disappearing trace of the girl.
However, just as they turne the corner, they were met with an ominous aura, pushing them down. They found, not Stasy, but one of the women in the Celestial Tower uniforms.
"Gon and Killua, are you not?" the tired looking woman smiled kindly at them. "The reception is on the other side. Please register today for the matches on the 200th floor. You have until midnight tonight. Please respect this timetable or else your registration wil be refused. Actually, 172 candidates are registered on the floor and are waiting. Also, weapons are allowed from this floor up. You may carry some. Another thing: from now on, you won't be given anymore awards. Fights are now on honor and participation gives self-satisfaction."
"Is it her?" Gon whispered to Killua.
"I don't know...look!" He pointed to a figure in the back.
There they saw none other then Hisoka, sitting on the ground, back leaned against a wall, and his arm around the young Stasy's waist, who was standing beside him, looking blankly at the boys gaping at them. Of course, the magician had a new outfit for the new occasion of the tower.
"What are you doing here?!" Gon demanded him.
"Why so surprised?" Hisoka smiled at them. "I love fights and this is the capital of fights. I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I? It's not just a coincidence. I was waiting for you. You obtained your flying tickets thanks to the electronic network, didn't you? With some manipulation, its easy to find where, when, and how someone moves. Next, I used a private plane and arrived before you at the air port, where I followed you. But, as your elder, I'm gonna teach you something. It's still too soon for you to walk on the ground of this floor."
He waved his free hand and the boys were instantly blown back by the very force of his energy.
Stasy snapped out of her trance at the sight of Killua in pain. "Ah, Killua!"
Hisoka glanced at he girl and he only smiled more. "I also came to meet my cute little 'sister' over here. We've just been dying to meet each other since the Exam. She, however, can make the 200th floor, but for you two, it's still too soon. Come back another time."
"Are you kidding?!" Killua shouted angrily at him. "We've made it here and..."
The boys were met with double the energy from last time. "You won't pass. Actually, you can't pass."
"Don't insist," Wing's voice came from behind. "In front of his Nen, you have almost no defense. If you make your body endure anymore than this, you'll surely die."
"You're saying it's some Nen and he only has to think 'You won't pass' for that to happen?!" Killua barked ngrily at the glasses man. "Yeah, right, you big fat liar!"
"Well, I'll admit I lied. I'm going to explain the real Nen to you. But let's start by leaving this place."
Gon looked at the clock hanging on the wall as it just turned 8:20 PM. He turned to the quiet clerk lady and asked, " If today we could not register, what would happen?"
"You, Gon, would have to restart from the 1st floor," she replied lazily. "But Killua has already refused the registration before. To do so again would be considered an opposition of the registration, and registering again would become impossible for him."
"Whatever," Killua turned away, wiping the sweat from his face. "We shouldn't stay here. We will be back by midnight."
"Stasy and I will be playing until then," Hisoka licked his lips and hugged Stasy even tighter to give Killua the wrong impression.
"Hey, Stasy's coming with us!" Killua spat at the magician.
"No, I think we'll play together, and maybe I'll teach her something useful," Hisoka responded with a smile, but a sort of venom, that made Stasy's smile drop.
"Killua, just go," she ordered him sternly. "I want to play with Hisoka, as well. So just go without me. I don't need your supervision where ever I go."
She merely stared at Killua's slightly hurt expression as he left with only a shrug, following Wing and Gon. Hisoka chuckled at the young girls coldness.
"I'd prefer if you had used Melancholy," he mused. "She would've pleaded him to go with tears in her eyes and with a face that would tug at any man's heart. You're so uncute, Apathy."
"I did what I had to do," she replied coldly. "Otherwise, you would've killed him, right? Your aura grew stronger with each word he spoke. And besides, is it true you're going to teach me something useful?"
She couldn't deny that his giggle didn't chill her to the bone. "Something like that."
The two boys gaped at the daisies protruding from the broken vase, which had, until Wing thrown the plants, been in the vase. Water trickled from the cracks as the stems of the flowers softened back to their original state.
"That's the real Nen," he gestured towards his now broken vase. "It's the ability of freely manipulating the vital energy, also called "aura", that comes out of the body. Everyone projects a small part of this vital energy, but in general, it's only a simple, uncontrolled leak. We call the technique that allows us to regulate it is called Ten. Thanks to this, we strengthen our body and protect it considerably from aging. Zetsu is the tehnique which allows you to split from your aura. It's efficent, for example, when you want to erase the traces of your presence or recover from exhaustion. Ren is the technique which allows you to make your aura rise in exceptional occaisons."
They were silent for a short time, before the children went rigid and looked at each other.
"Do you feel it?" Wing asked them.
"Yeah, but it's not a bad feeling," Gon commented.
"Yeah, there's only a small pressure," Killua added.
"Because I don't want to injure you," Wing answered their curiosity, then continued with the explanaition. "The aura is the energy that comes out of the human body. That's why we can make use of other human beings to give it optimal utilisation. In the good, as well as the bad meaning of the term. If a bad spirit attacks a man without defense, he can kill him with only his aura. There's only one way to protect his body form the users of Nen:using Nen ourself, and protect ourself with Ten. We repel the opposite aura with our own aura. Otherwise..."
He held his hand up to a wall, to demonstrate his meaning. Within seconds, a huge crater full of cracks formed on the stone surface. The boys stepped back in horror. "...The body is split into shreds."
"To awaken a force that sleeps, there are two ways," Wing held up two fingers to physically show the conversation. "By taking our time, or by provoking it. With Zushi, we're taking our time. He learns fast, and puts a lot of effort into it. That's why he quickly mastered Ten. It took him about six months."
"No, that won't work!" Killua argued. "We only have until midnight, and I want to destroy the wall of Nen put up by Hisoka!"
"Then we'll have to provoke it."
"How long will that take?"
"Depends on you. Will you be able to master the technique that keeps your aura in your body? Because it's only this." He held up his palm to face the children. "Now, I'm going to send you my aura. It's called Hatsu, it looks like what I already showed you."
Killua and Gon took a step back, looking at the massive crater behind their teacher.
"Of course, you don't have to worry; I don't have the intention of destroying your bodies. It's a rough technique, but it's goal is to surprise and provoke the awakening. I'm going to send waves into your lethargic bodies and make the Ten more accessible. The lethargy means the Shouko, or "openings" in your body, are closed. Consequently, the aura can't develop well. Thanks to the aura that I'm going to send into your bodies in one shot, we'll force the opening of Shouko. Normally, we learn to feel our own aura with prayers and meditation, after having realized that the aura envelops the whole body, we can let it open bit by bit. That'swhy it takes a long time. Even Zushi, who's gifted, took three months to succeed. But you, you would only need a wekk, even less. That's all we can regret. With your situation, we have to be content with that unsatisfying way."
"I don't understand," Killua interrupted Wing's speech. "It seems better to me to wake up quickly."
"It's a secret technique called Gehou," Wing explained. "It doesn't respect the legal order. If a person who isn't mature enough, or has bad intentions were to practice this technique, he would die."
"But Wing, you are mature enough and don't have bad intentions," Gon suggested.
"I've got something to ask," Killua stepped in. "Why did you decide to teach us the true technique?"
"Arriving at the 200th floor without knowing anything, you could have problems," Wing smiled. "The members of the group on the 200th floor are all using Nen. And when new participants who don't know anything arrive, they 'baptise' them. They attack with their Nen much more violently than what I'm going to do to you. The one's who survive can stay. But the price is expensive. You'll understand what I mean when you fight them, but I want you to discover that beforehand. Put yourself in a T-shirt and show me your back."
The boys stripped of their jackets to reveal loose, sleeveless clothing. They were already sweating and Wing hadn't even touched them yet. The sat nervously, awaiting their new teacher to begin the process.
"I'm going."
In an instant, the boys bodies flew upward, their mouths and eyes open in shock, as if they had just been electricuted. A bright life began to engulf them, and they looked at themselves in awe.
"You can see it, can't you?" Wing didn't need an answer. "That's because the Shouko of your eyes are open."
"It's water vapor! Yes! Like water vapor!" Gon gaped at his glowing hands. "It's exactly like water vapor escaping from a kettle!"
"It's suddenly all over my body!" Killua hopped around, feeling strange with the new light engulfing him. "It's sprouting from everywhere!! Is this normal?"
"It's vital energy," Wing reminded them. "So if you cotinue to let it escape, you'll feel tired. In the end, you won't be able to stand upright."
"So it sucks?!" Killua jumped.
"Are you ready?" Wing shouted at them. "You're going to use the thought, Nen, to try to contain your aura. Close your eyes, whatever position that you can visualize it easily. Next, think your aura is a liquid that scours all over your body. Eyes closed, from the top of the skull, passing by the right shoulder, hand leg, then the left side...then the flux stops progressively. A picture of a halo that surrounds you and undulates your mind."
The spazing aura about them begn to calm down to a dim light. Wing couldn't help but praise them. 'They're unbelievable. They understood without me telling them that the nature of their bodies is suitable for Ten. Only one piece of advice was necessary for them to master it. It's amazing, but worrying...'
"Open your eyes slowly," Wing ordered them. "How do you feel?"
"I feel like I'm inside liquid," Gon answered.
"Yeah," Killua agreead. "Like I'm wearing light clothes."Try to picture this in your mind everyday. When you get used to it, you'll even be able to use it in your sleep." Suddenly, Wing's aura flared up. "Now I'm going to project some Nen and channel some hostility to you. If you can avoid it, you'll be able to destroy his wall." He raised a hand lazily. "Let's go."