I think I found Riven's theme song - it's as weird as she is, and kind of sounds like how I think she would.

'World's End, Girl's Rondo', by Kanon Wakeshima. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter. That's why Hisoka still has a shirt.

Enjoy!

The prisoner who stepped forward was so massive that Riven wondered how he had been able to hide at all. It wasn't that he was tall, but he was thick with muscles. Unlike Majitani, his eyes lacked a certain gleam of humanity. He was out of the blue man's league.

Almost immediately after the new prisoner's cuffs and shackles crashed to the floor, he was approached by Majitani. Riven couldn't hear what was said, but she did hear a sickening crunch before her brain registered what had happened.

The prisoner had shoved Majitani's head so head against the stone wall that it broke, and Majitani was plastered in a body shaped crater. He wasn't even twitching anymore.

Riven forgot how to breath until a hand was punched into the wall and dragged in a destructive line on the prisoner's side. The other prisoners moved aside warily, one of them dragging a slightly moaning Treno out of the way. He was nearly stepped on, but was ultimately missed. The new prisoner removed his shrouding clothing, revealing scraggly blond hair and poorly trimmed facial hair.

"That guy…" Leorio murmured at Riven's right. There was a tense silence before he continued. "We should take the loss. Don't fight him, Killua!"

"Why not?" the silver haired boy droned on, a tad disinterested.

"That's Johness the Dissector," Leorio explained, nothing but serious. "He's the worst mass murderer in Zaban's history."

Riven gasped a little, but she could not think of what she wanted to say.

"It was a famous case," Leorio touched her on the elbow, taking a step back and taking Riven with him, as if that one step was the difference between life and death. "He chose his victims randomly. One hundred and forty-six people, from every walk of life, were met with brutal deaths by his hand - literally. He murdered all of them with his bare hands; he was known for his iron grip."

"One hundred and forty-six people…" Riven breathed, bowing her head in regret. That was almost as many people as the the orphanage, and it was with his bare hands.

"You don't have to face that psycho, Killua, there's always next year," Leorio insisted. Riven's heart ached; they had come so far, had gotten so close, only to fail here. At the same time, she wanted to hug Killua tight against her chest and protect him from this beast. If asking Kurapika to throw his morals away seemed okay, even if it was only in the moment that she had done it, this was far from it. Killua would die. The prisoner was more animal than Karasu. Even Hisoka had a living gleam, a personality. This Johness was just a machine, dead to emotion.

But Killua stepped forward and walked right to the arena. He ignored all of Leorio's protests and Riven's worried glances.

"Dammit, was he even listening to me!?" Leorio exclaimed, not asking anyone to answer him in particular.

"We should let him go," Kurapika interjected reasonably, "he could have a plan."

Killua and Johness met at the arena, and the pathway retracted again, stranding him. But his demeanor never changed. Hell, he had his hands in his pockets.

"How are we settling this match?" the boy asked, Riven dare-say politely.

"Match?" Johness echoed slowly. "I believe you are mistaken. This will be a one-sided massacre. I'm not interested in the exam, I just want to hear you scream."

Riven was shocked when Killua took his answer in stride.

"Okay, so the one who dies is the loser," he translated.

Even Johness was slightly taken aback by the boy, but he quickly recovered.

"That's right," he grunted. He raised his hand - a hand that had killed so many people - and said, "I'll tear your body apart."

That was when Riven felt the pressure.

It was a feeling she got when she was within vicinity of Hisoka, a feeling of not just blood and death, but of a sense of joy that such things gave. It made death seem like a sport that gave an adrenaline rush, not like what it was. Killua was soaked in this feeling, Riven suddenly realized, and then she wondered how she had not sensed it before, because while is was new, it was entirely Killua. It was pure him. Was this killing intent? Karasu squawked in her ear, a danger warning.

Riven eyes must have been playing tricks on her, what with her concussion and all, because Killua disappeared from the arena. No - there he was, behind Johness. Riven's eyes flicked between the two of them. They finally landed on the red stain on the prisoner's shirt.

'Blood?' Riven wondered dumbly.

Johness immediately turned ashen, his face twisting in pain. He shivered, cold, and turned around.

Killua had a strange sack of flesh in his grip. It was stretchy and brown, with red accumulating in a puddle at the bottom. With a slightly unnerving calmness, Riven realized it was a heart. It locked just like a deer heart, maybe even smaller. It seemed harmless, like a sack of meat, but then is moved and she saw that it was still beating. Riven swallowed back bile, still in a daze.

Johness took a lumbering step towards Killua, his arm outstretched.

"That's…mine," he managed. "G-give it back!" The man took several more steps before his legs gave out and he collapsed on the arena's floor, his hand still out in front of him.

He was dead.

Riven didn't know if it was to do him a favor or to make a joke, but Killua placed the meaty heart in Johness' hand.

The final score was four to two.

"We pass, right?" Killua looked to the prisoners. The bald one, who had 'defeated' Tonpa, gave a shaky nod. Riven never thought she would see such an uneasy face on a man like him.

"By the way," Killua didn't stop there, and Riven felt the pressure leak from the boy again, "I bet you're itching fight, since you didn't get to do anything. Want to play with me?"

'Killua, what kind of child are you,' Riven thought, her eyes wide. The prisoner refused the offer, and Killua made his way back to his own group.

"Who is he?" Leorio tensed.

"That's right, you guys don't know," Gon suddenly spoke, "but Killua comes from an elite family of assassins."

If Riven thought she was shocked before, she was doubly so now. An entire family? She looked at the lanky little boy strolling towards him with his hands in his pockets. She couldn't sense even a thread of the pressure from before.

'Doesn't that prove it, then?' A trained assassin would have no trouble hiding their presence and intent.

Riven didn't know how she felt. She had known Killua wasn't the average kid before, but now that she saw him kill someone…

Riven kicked herself, because she had asked someone, just that day, to do the same thing. Killua appeared nonchalant, but Riven could sense a trickle of jaded acceptance. She realized he thought they would be scared of him, and treat him differently. Riven steeled herself, deciding on how she would handle it right then and there, even if she was scared of him.

Only Leorio appeared scared when Killua returned. He jumped when the boy got too close.

"What?" Killua asked him.

Leorio chuckled nervously, "N-nothing, good work!"

Riven sighed. Leorio would be a different case.

A familiar mechanical whir alerted her attention to her left. Another pathway opened up and a room emerged from the wall. She shivered, glad she hadn't let Karasu fly loose earlier.

"I assume that's where they want us to wait," Riven speculated, already stepping towards the arena.

The intercom buzzed on. "That's correct. Across that bridge, you will find a small room that you must spend the fifty hours you gambled away in," Lippo the examiner instructed.

The group made their way to the arena, about to turn down the other path.

"Wait," someone called. It was the bald prisoner. She paused as asked, and the others did as well. But he was looking right at Riven. "Treno wants to talk to you, girl," he motioned inside their walls. Treno lifted his hand as if to confirm his words. He was trembling and faint.

Warily, Riven changed directions and stepped towards him.

"Alright -," she started, only to be cut off.

"No way," Leorio protested, addressing the bald prisoner. "She's not talking to anyone."

Riven shot him a confused - and slightly irritated - glance, which he didn't seem to notice.

"Don't shoot the messenger," the prisoner rolled his eyes, stepping back into the shadows and leaning against the wall.

"C'mon, Riv," Leorio gently took her wrist and guided her back towards their group.

"Why can't I talk with him," she asked, dumbstruck.

"Because," Leorio gritted his teeth, "he's the one who injured you. He probably just wants revenge." He picked up his pace, but Riven dug her foot into the floor and freed her wrist.

"I owe him at least this. My injuries are nothing compared to his," she insisted, turning back towards the prisoners.

She heard Leorio growl in frustration.

"Don't be stupid!"

"I am not," Riven stated firmly, leveling her gaze at him. He was becoming something akin to a pest, and she really didn't want to be mad at him. She felt like she had invested too much of her energy defending his actions in her head (like when he wasted ten hours on…unspeakable things), and finally admitting anger was such a waste.

"You're glaring doesn't help your case with bandages right above your eyes," Leorio pointed out suddenly. Riven deflated, sighing in exasperation. She turned back towards the prisoners once more.

"Riv!" Leorio yelped.

"What's so wrong with a talk," Killua interjected nonchalantly.

Leorio glared at him, answering, "That Treno guy was obviously psychopathic."

"And he also can't even stand," the boy added. Leorio opened his mouth only to close it again like a fish. Riven shot Killua a grateful smile and went on her way.

"You're all crazy," Leorio stated, not untruthfully. But he didn't try and stop her again, and waited on the arena with the others. Riven wondered why they hadn't gone into the waiting area yet, and was touched to realize they were 'supervising' - except for maybe Tonpa - and were watching in case she needed them. She supposed she should have been touched by Leorio's overprotectiveness, since he had only been worried for her. He was just a better friend than she was.

The other prisoners had vanished, most likely re-shackled and herded through a mechanical door during her 'discussion' with Leorio. Even Majitani was gone - except for the impression of his body in the stone - probably back into his cell with a killer headache. Karasu hopped to her other shoulder, reminding her of his presence. She wasn't sure his being there, around the man he had just crippled, was a great idea. But the Spirit Raven gave her the nerve to speak to him at all, so Treno would have to accept his nearness.

The prisoner was on his back, breathing shallowly. He still had his arm draped over his eyes - er, what was left of them. His sandy brown hair had dried blood in it, making it appear black. Riven stopped at his feet, and although he couldn't see, his ragged smile told her he knew she was there.

Riven wasn't sure what she should say, so she said, "Yes?"

Treno breathed a chuckle, only for his voice to catch in his throat.

"You're...a funny girl…I can't believe...we missed you," he croaked. He flinched when Karasu let out a squawk.

"I don't understand," Riven said.

"That night...five years ago…when they burned...when they came to the orphanage," Treno licked his parched lips. Riven knew he was talking about the Witches in white. "They took me aside, because I...I was older...and I looked like it, too."

He paused, but Riven didn't dare say anything to fill the space. "They asked me...how old I was...I was eleven, and I told them that...and they locked me in the sleeping chambers...I watched them...from the window...herd the kids - and you - like animals... I could see the flames all the way in town."

Riven closed her eyes. Eleven…

Why were the Witches scared of eleven year olds?

And Riven should have noticed someone who had been her age -

Realization slapped her in the face.

Riven had been among the few older children who at least tried to care for the babies, along with a brown haired boy and a red haired girl, but it was to no avail - thirteen babies died within three days.

"I think…" she finally started… "I think I remember you. You…tried to help the infants."

A laugh erupted from his lips, but it was short and tired, and the humor in it was forced.

"Took...you...long enough."

Without warning, Treno's free arm slowly slipped along his neck and down his shirtfront. A few tense moments later, and a "Relax, Bird Girl," he removed a necklace. Riven froze.

The stone on the silver chain was a prussian blue topaz, framed in silver vines snaking across its body.

Riven had seen a copy of it in a jewelry stand before she had arrived at the exam site. And she knew who owned the original.

"Is that the real one?" she asked, swallowing harshly.

"No," Treno admitted, tugging the chain from his neck with a snap. He opened his hand and held it up. "This is a copy...a close copy...more like a sister." His hand shook from the effort of remaining up. "Take it. I want you...to find the others...and you'll need this."

Riven placed her hand over the gem, gasping.

"The others?"

Treno attempted to nod, but stiffened in pain.

"We're…not the only ones who got out in time. I was with them...for a time. That necklace...is something they all have...it will prove...you were there that night."

Riven could hardly breath.

"And the original's owner…?"

Treno managed one of his chilling grins.

"Senette is alive."

Riven dropped to her knees in relief. Her legs were trembling and tears made her eyes burn, but all she could think about were his words. Her little sister was alive.

Was Rene with her? How had she met Treno? What was the mystery behind the necklace?

Riven had so many questions, but one rose to her lips before she could sort through her thoughts.

"Why are you in prison, Treno?" Riven asked warily.

His laugh bubbled to life like he was a fascinated child. "This country doesn't understand justice," was all he said as he broke into full blown laughter.

"Treno…" Riven tried to speak over the cackling, but it drowned her voice out. "What do you mean by justice?"

The laughing increased in volume, and even though he looked to be in pain, Treno couldn't seem to stop.

"Are you saying you got revenge?" Riven murmured, seeing no use in raising her voice.

He finally managed to choke down the laughter to say, "I only got fifteen of them," before his body went slack and his head lolled back. He had passed out from the pain.

Unnerved, and wishing she had gotten more questions, Riven stood. She examined the necklace in her palm, the copy of Senette's necklace, and then she clutched it to her chest.

'I'll find you,' she promised to herself. She slipped the chain around her own neck and fashioned the clasp, unused to the heavy feeling. She turned around, sure that someone would carry Treno away to his cell, or maybe a hospital.

What luck; she hadn't even passed the exam yet, and she was already taking giant leaps closer to finding her sisters.

She was met with a few curious gazes, but no one asked her what the talk had been about, or why her eyes were probably red from tears.

X

That 'small' room was bigger and nicer than Riven's home. She gasped in delight. There were couches, chairs, a coffee table, a timer on the wall, a fridge, and even a bookshelf. Even more exciting, there was a bathroom.

"We have to spend fifty hours in here?" Leorio groaned. Riven tried to hide her blush.

"Killua," Kurapika finally spoke, "can you tell me how to use that technique?"

Riven glanced at the blond, feeling a minute sense of worry. He had been awfully quiet before, and now he was asking about killing methods. If that was a sign of something, it wasn't a good one.

"Technique?" Killua reiterated.

"The one you used to instantly remove his heart."

"Oh, that wasn't even a technique," Killua answered. "I just ripped it out."

"Ripped it out?" Kurapika exclaimed softly.

The boy nodded. "Well, to make it easier, I manipulated my body a bit."

Killua held up his right hand, and it suddenly morphed into a hardened point of nails and claws. Riven stared in wonder. "Amazing," she murmured.

"Mass murderers are still only amateurs," Killua explained, his pride leaking out a bit. His hand was reverted to its original state. "I used to be a professional. But my old man would have done better. When he removes a heart, you won't see even a drop of blood."

"How reassuring," Leorio grumbled sarcastically.

"Anyway," Killua changed the subject, turning towards the digital clock on the wall. It read forty-nine hours and fifty minutes, which meant that the time had been running since Killua first defeated Johness. "We have more than two whole days," Killua stated.

"What should we do, Killua?" Gon looked to his friend.

"First, we should search the room," he suggested, "for any kind of entertainment!"

Gon cheered, following his friend for said entertainment.

Riven almost laughed, because Killua was still just twelve, and he could still just act like it. Leorio took a spot on the couch, and Riven perched on the seat beside him. It was nice how the little argument had been swept under the rug without any lingering feelings - she hoped - of annoyance. Kurapika settled across from them, and Tonpa secluded himself in a chair - not that he was welcome.

For the first time, Riven noticed a monitor in the corner. Was that a TV? How nice was this room going to get? She'd seen TVs before, not in the Dark Place, but around. They were still pretty mind-blowing, and made her dizzy. She wondered how dizzy they would make her now that she had a concussion.

Leorio told Killua and Gon not to use the TV for a while. "It won't be good for Riv," he added.

"Oh," Riven said, surprised, "Don't worry about that, I can just look away."

Killua glance down at the movie in his hand, shrugging his shoulders.

"There's nothing good here, anyway," he said, returning the disc back to where he'd found it. "Gon, can I see your fishing pole now?"

"Only if I get to try your skateboard," Gon countered, grinning. Riven let out a small giggle.

X

She would have gone to the bathroom right away, as soon as she gathered the courage to stand up with her pounding head and aching body, but Tonpa went first, so Riven just decided to wait. She was exhausted, so she didn't mind too much.

"Don't fall asleep for a while yet, Riv," Leorio reminded, tapping her on the shoulder. She shot him a thankful and sheepish smile, because she was just about to do that. She tried to rest with her eyes open, which was difficult, but she managed. Karasu hopped around at her feet - still a tad bloody - and squawked at her whenever she shut her eyes longer than a blink. He was such a smart bird.

Some twenty minutes later, Tonpa emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his shoulders and damp hair.

"Thank God there's a shower," he grinned.

Riven looked between Leorio and Kurapika, trying to be polite.

"May I go next?" She didn't have to worry about asking Gon or Killua, because they were busy with each other.

"Go ahead," Kurapika nodded. He looked tired. Riven rose to her feet, clicking her tongue at Karasu to follow.

He really needed a bath.

And so did she.

Hey guys! Thanks for reading again! There might have been some confusing content in this chapter, so if you have any questions, just ask! I was aiming for a big 'reveal' without spelling anything straight out.

~Mao