Chapter 12

Decided Future Events

"Hisoka wins again in one shot!"

Lying flat on her bed, Nozomi stared at the snow-white ceiling above her as she listened to spectating of each battle on the TV. Meanwhile, Killua and Gon were at Wing's apartment to learn about Nen. The girl was offered to join the two boys, but she declined since she already learnt about the four basic principles of nen. She would have even offered the boys to teach them about nen herself but unfortunately she was not good at teaching.

Slowly, the girl turned her head towards the television to see the red hair magician walking towards the exit with a ticket to the 200th floor in his hand.

"He's already at 200 huh..." She whispered to herself then her eyes drifted off to see her phone lying on the floor beside her bag. "Avoiding September first is inevitable... Damn it! I want to stay with Killua and Gon..."

Suddenly, she could had sworn that her heart stopped when she heard her phone ring. She hesitantly picked up the device from the floor and checked the caller id.

She could have sworn that she felt her heart skip a beat to the sight of the name. Automatically, her hand flew up to her chest and clenched her jacket.

What on Earth? Is that normal or am I getting sick?

Not wanting to keep the caller waiting any longer, she answered, "Hey Killua. How was the lesson?"

"Wing lied, but we are going to hurry up and go to the 200th floor either way."

"Oh... Alright." She answered, remembering Hisoka.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, sensing the difference of tone in the girl's voice.

Nozomi shook her head and threw her bag over her her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, do you want to meet up at the arena?"

"Sure... We'll see you there." With that, Killua hung up his phone but continued to stare at the device.

Gon noticed and tilted his head, "What did Nozomi say?"

Killua looked back at his curious green clad friend and flashed him a fake smile, simply answering that they were going to meet up with the girl at the arena.

Killua, Gon, and Nozomi stood in the elevator, going up to the 200th floor. Gon asked Killua about how the 200th floor was like but he answered that he has never been there before. As the two boys were talking, Nozomi stared down at the bracelet dangling around her wrist, deciding whether she should hide the accessory or not. She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a hand grab onto hers. To her surprise, she looked up and saw Killua. He looked like he wanted to ask something but he kept quiet and dragged her out.

Once leaving the elevator, Killua quickly released the girl's hand before the other boy could see.

What was that about? Nozomi thought then gaze down at her hand, still feeling the boy's warmth lingering in her palm. That was kinda nice...

Shaking away the thought, the twelve year old ran up to the others to see them standing in the middle of the hallway. Their bodies were trembling and sweat ran down their faces.

"Oh no! Killua! Gon!" She shouted as she joined the two boys, automatically pulling out her daggers from their sheaths.

"Nozomi... Stay back." Killua ordered, pulling the girl to go behind him, "Hey! Who's there? Show yourself!"

Unexpectedly, a woman wearing the heavens arena uniform appeared at the other end of the hall. The woman explained that the three of them needed to register before midnight or else their registration would be refused and that they were allowed to use weapons on this floor. She then walked off to the side as another figure came to view.

"HISOKA?!" Gon exclaimed "What are you doing here?"

"Why so surprised? I love to fight and this place is the capital of fights. I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I?" The magician replied. "But, it's not a coincidence that I met you here, I was waiting."

Hisoka's eyes drifted towards the black clad girl hidden behind the silver hair boy. The girl furrowed her brows and slowly inched back to her original position beside Killua, while Hisoka explained that the two boys were not ready to pass.

"Go back to the bottom." Hisoka ended and waved his hand towards the three, sending the two boys flying back slightly and Nozomi moving forward to stand protectively in front of her friends.

"Come back another time. Right now it's too soon you." He stated as he sat down.

"Are you kidding?! We've made it here-" Killua was cut off by Hisoka raising his hand.

"You won't bypass. Actually, you can't pass. However..." Hisoka unexpectedly threw a card at Nozomi. Knowing she would not have enough time to dodge the attack, she caught it with her fingers instead. "Nozomi can and she will wait with me."

Wait with him? What does... Hold on... Before the girl could examine the card, she felt her body being pulled over to the magician at a rapid speed. When she stopped, she was caught in the magician's grasp but was forced to take a seat beside the man.

"Nozomi!" The two boys shouted and tried to force their way through the invisible wall that kept them apart.

Luckily, before the boys could injure themselves Wing appeared behind them and told them to stop as well as agreeing to really teach them nen. Killua and Gon glanced back at the girl.

"We'll be back by midnight." Gon assured while Killua glared at Hisoka.

Nozomi nodded in response and waved them off, not wanting them to waste anymore valuable time. After about an hour of silence, Nozomi sighed.

"So... What's with this card?" She asked, lifting up the card between her fingers. One side showed a joker but on other side was blank and a date was scribbled on it. "Are you going to have a match on this date?"

The magician chuckled, "You're sharp. Another reason why you are one of my toys."

I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not... The girl thought

"It is a date for a match... But it is not confirmed yet." Hisoka then turned to look at the curious girl, "It's the future match of me verses... You."

"W-What?"

Their conversation came to a halt when the two felt the immense power of nen approaching. Slowly, the two boys got closer and closer until they went through the invisible wall with ease. Nozomi and Hisoka got up to their feet. The child stared at the card in her hand while Hisoka told Gon that when the boy won one battle on the 200th floor then he would fight him.

"And Nozomi... We will continue our conversation later."

The girl nodded, "Understood."

The magician smirked then walked off. Meanwhile, Killua and Gon looked back and forth between the retreating man and their young friend, wondering what the two were discussing about. However, before anyone could ask, the girl grabbed their hands and dragged them to the receptionist.

A scream tore its way through Nozomi's throat and snapped up into a sitting position. Her eyes were wide, body trembling, and hyperventilating. As her breathing slowed down, she turned her phone on, creating a small light for her to scan the dark room.

"No one..." She switched her attention to her hands. She could have sworn that they were painted red, but to her relief it was normal. "It was just a dream... Thank goodness."

Despite the fact that it was only two A.M., Nozomi decided it was time for her to wake up. Especially since she did not want to resume her nightmare.

Might as well resume me nen training... The girl thought as she pulled out a white tank top and black shorts from her bag.

Just as she was about to change, her door was slammed to the ground and two familiar figures appeared on the other side of the exit.

"Nozomi! Are you alright?!" Gon and Killua asked in panic.

The three fell silent as they stared at each other. Nozomi's hands froze, not noticing that she was still holding her baggy pajama shirt up to reveal her stomach, while the boys just stared at her position as their faces turned red.

"Sorry!" Gon apologized and quickly placed the door back in its original position, separating the two boys from the girl.

Nozomi quickly changed her clothes and went out to greet the red faced boys.

"So... What's up?" She asked, curious to why the two were up so early.

"We heard you scream..." Killua stated and he was finally able to look at the girl's eyes again.

"Are you okay?" Gon asked again.

The twelve year old girl looked at her two friends with surprise, but her expression softened and she engulfed the two boys into a hug.

How can I not be okay if I know that you two are alive to prove my dream wrong, but... Nozomi recalled the image of Killua, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and her master lying on the ground, lifeless. While she stood before them with her blood-coated hands. If I stay with them any longer, my dream will come true.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review. :)