To be a Hunter - 2011 (being revised)

by Relentless-virus

There was one more survivor of the Kuruta clan. Her name was Mishka, the younger sister of Kurapika. Join her on her adventures with Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio as she learns who she is as a person as well as becoming less dependant on her brother. This is the 2011 version! Being re-written and revised.

20. Arrival x At The x Arena

A big thank you to Anime lover, Just A Cadbury, Rina Dragonfly, SpadePirate4Eva and all silent readers!
Anime love – The term "guys" is a general term used here, almost everybody uses it when referring back to anyone. It was in no way meant to be used to define one's sex.
Just A Cadbury – Haha I do try. There will not be a Chapter though on the 20th. This is because it's my birthday so I'll probably be doing something else (Protip: All I'm going to be doing is watching Benefits Street and eating Lasagne, so yeah, there probably will be a chapter actually xD)
SpadePirate4Eva – I had to content fits of giggling whilst reading back to myself.

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Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.

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We had taken an airship to this Heaven's arena that Killua was talking about. The airship was green and had a large happy face on it. Killua had paid for the three of our fares. I offered to put my three hundred jenny towards it but Killua said it was better to keep a hold of it, that way drinks were on me. I couldn't decide if I was glad about that or not.
"What a happy airship." I said quietly to myself before we boarded it. Gon has decided to take off all the plasters on his face. He looked at me with an evil looking smile as we sat down. I looked at him questionably.
"What?" I asked him. He quickly launched his hand forward and grabbed a corner of the plaster above my eyebrow, then ripped it off quickly. I felt a shiver run up my spin as I slammed my hand over my eyebrow and glared at him.
"What did you do that for?!" I said to him, removing my hand from above my eyebrow.
"Aunt Mito said it's better to let air get to cuts instead of keeping them closed over." He said to me as I kept my glare at him and turned my head away glaring to the wall far away from us.
"I could have done it myself." I muttered to myself, hearing Gon laugh slightly at my muttering. Killua dropped down next to me and quickly did the same to me as Gon did, making a shiver up my spin and immediately place a hand over my cheek. I held out my hand for the two to give me back the plasters so I could throw them away.
"I can do the last one." I said to them and used my free hand to grab the edge of the plaster that was on the corner of my eye. I took a deep breath and carefully pulled it off, feeling another shiver run up my spin and rubbed it with the back of my hand. I quickly stood up and walked over to the bin to throw away the plasters couldn't be helped now; but I wish Gon warned me before he pulled it off.

I sat next to Killua as Gon sat on the opposite side of us. The three of us was looking out of the window. Gon sat with his hand on the window whilst Killua sat with his arms crossed. I sat with my hands on either side of my legs and leaned forward to look out of the window probably.
"Whoa. Look, it's huge." Gon said. Outside was a huge white tower, it looked jagged around the edges, as if the builder got bored half way through building that floor and just thought "This will now be a ceiling".
"That's Heavens arena. Two hundred, fifty-one stories. Nine hundred, ninety-one meters tall. The world's fourth tallest building." Killua explained to us as I frowned at the building.
"Why so tall? And why does it have to be all odd numbers." I asked pulling a face. I wouldn't want to fall from there, which would kill you. It bothered me though as to why the builders had decided to make it all odd numbers that really, really bothered me.
"So this is where we'll be training…" Gon said with a wide smile on his face.

The airship landed, we had to wait until the people outside got it tied to the ground. Once everybody started moving to get off the three of us stood up and began putting our bags back on. I dropped my bag over my shoulders as Killua began speaking.
"I used all my money on the trip fare. We'll have to make more here. After we disembark, we'll start from zero." Killua said smiling at the both of us. Gon nodded his head with a wide smile himself as he finished putting his back pack back on.
"Okay, got it." He said as I nodded my head as well, and placed a hand on top of my bag.
"Sounds sensible." I said to him with a wide smile as well. At least my face didn't feel sore anymore, but my nose still killed every time I touched it, or felt a sneeze coming on.
"Good…let's go." Killua said as he turned around to walk off the airship with me and Gon following him closely behind. He quickly ran towards the exit as me and Gon ran behind him, following him to this Heavens arena.

We stood outside the arena waiting in queue with a bunch of other people. I looked up at it; the bottom looked grey; but top looked white on the airship. I assumed it was because the bottom was a lot closer to the ground then the top. Me and Gon stared up at it; Gon looked a little spaced out while I was just amazed. It was so tall that it looked like if it swayed in the wind.
"Gon, Mishka." Killua said making Gon snap his head over to Killua and walk forward. I continued to stare up at it until I felt myself being tugged away. I looked at who was tugging me as saw Gon had grabbed a hold of my training shirt. The man behind me walked forward after I did. I smiled apologetically at Gon and the man. The man looked grumpy; I guess it would be better to pay attention to what was happening in the front.
"There's a really long line." Gon said as I nodded my head.
"Are they all broke?" I asked, poking my head from the line to look up it. So many people.
"Everyone's going to Heavens Arena?" Gon asked. I wondered how people made money by fighting here, did they place bets or did they just give it to you to fight? So many questions about this place whirled through my mind.
"There aren't any conditions here, like there were for the Hunter Exam. You just have to defeat your opponent." Killua said, turning around to face the both of us. Just beat the opponent? And it was anything goes… I felt a chill run up my spin and pulled a face.
"That means people can use weapons too…" I said trailing off as I furrowed my brows. Well, that was going to be fun; if someone used a weapon against me, I guess I would need to use a weapon against them. It seemed like a good idea to at least get a holster for my Sai's, that way I wouldn't have to dig through my bag every time I needed them.
"Oh…" Gon said as Killua turned back around. The three of us looked up the building once more, me and Gon with wide eyes whilst Killua just smiled.
"The higher you go, the more prize money you earn. This is as good as it gets for those looking to make a living with their fists." Killua said as I nodded my head. So that's how the payment worked, it was prize money.

The three of us finally managed to get inside the building. We walked in front of the window. I stood between Gon and Killua, more because the men behind me were huge and looked quite threatening. A lady stood behind it wearing a blue and pink uniform with a fist in the middle. She had short brown hair and wore a pink hat. She handed us three application papers.
"Welcome To Heavens Arena. Please fill out this form." She said to us. All three of us grabbed a pen and began writing our names onto the forms she handed us. We handed the forms back to her. She started typing something into the computer and then turned back to face us.
"Killua Zoldyck, you are number two thousand and fifty four. Gon Freecss, you are number two thousand and fifty five. Mishka, you are number two thousand and fifty six. They'll call your number on the first floor of the arena, so make sure you remember it." The lady said to us, the smile on her face never leaving as she looked between the three of us. She turned her head slightly towards the hall way.
"Then please go ahead." She said, continuing to smile as she spoke.

The three of us turned around and began walking through the hallway. There was a bright light as we walked; it made the hall way seem darker than it really was. I could hear cheering from the crowd as we exited the hall way. Down below was a massive arena with smaller arenas inside it. The stands were full of people and the ground was scattered with people waiting their turn to fight. I stood with my mouth slightly open and wide eyed, Killua had his hands in his pockets and Gon looked just as amazed as I did.
"Go!"
"Take him out!" Various people yelled from the stands. The three of us walked down the stairs to find empty seats. Once we found some we sat down, waiting to hear out number to be called out.
"It's been a while, but the place hasn't changed." Killua said as I sat down with Gon closely behind. I looked at him questionably with an eyebrow raised.
"Huh? You've been here before?" Gon asked him. Killua slightly turned his head to face us.
"Yeah, when I was six. My dad left me here without a penny. He said I should reach the two hundredth floor before coming home. It took two years." Killua said as he looked back down to the arena. I looked at him shocked. When I was six I was playing with my brother and Pairo; and when I was eight I was being taught how to fight and how to swim by my brother. Killua had a whole two years of practice on me, plus he's an assassin…I could understand why he had rated himself so high on the strength line. Killua turned his head to face the both of us again; when he spoke he made me jump slightly. If I was honest I hadn't been expecting it.
"If you want to fight people of Hisoka's level, you'll need to go higher." He said looking more at Gon as he spoke. He then looked at me.
"If you want to fight people of Kai's level, you'll need to go higher too." He said making me nod my head slightly. So I had to go higher to fight people as strong as Kai. If I got higher, did that mean I was as strong as Kai, or stronger, or maybe that little bit weaker? I didn't know; but if I wanted to help my brother on September the 1st I had to become that strong.
"Let's hurry." Killua said to me and Gon, making us both nod our heads.

"Number one thousand nine hundred and seventy three. Number two thousand and fifty five. Please enter ring E." A voice over the microphone said, calling out Gon's number and someone else's.
"Number two thousand and fifty five! That's me!" Gon said shocked as he stood up.
"You better hurry otherwise they might think you're not fighting anymore." I said to him smiling widely. Gon began taking off his backpack, pulling a worried expression onto his face.
"I'm getting nervous now." He said as he placed his backpack and fishing rod onto the floor, me and Killua just watching him. I gave him an encouraging smile as Killua just smiled at him normally.
"Gon, you got through the Testing Gate, right? In that case all you have to do is push hard." Killua said to Gon, making him nod.
"Good luck, Gon!" I said to him smiling widely. Gon quickly went down to the arena. I watched, holding onto my dress tabard tightly as I watched him with wide eyes. By the looks of things, his opponent was a huge guy.
"Look at that! It's a little boy!"
"Hey, kid! This is your last chance to run!"
"This isn't a game! One punch and he'll fly you out of the ring!" The man next to us yelled down. I looked at him slightly and glared at him before turning my attention back to the ring to watch Gon's fight. The announcer lifted up his arm. The huge man threw a punch at Gon's face, but Gon dodged easily. I watched with wide eyes. Gon threw his arm forward and pushed the man straight out of the arena. He landed into the wall, slamming it hard.
"Wow that was so cool!" I said clapping my hands with a wide smile for Gon's victory. Just pushing, that's all he had to do and he won!
"No way!" The man next to us said, not believing what had happened. Killua gave Gon a thumb up at his victory.
"Yes!" Killua said, happy that Gon had won.
"That kid's incredible!"
"He's got some crazy power!"

Gon had come back up to us. I smiled widely at him as he took a seat next to me.
"I got to floor fifty!" Gon said showing us the ticket. I looked at it wide eyed as I held onto the hem of my dress tabard tightly.
"Wow…that quick. That's amazing!" I said to him smiling widely. Gon nodded his head smiling widely himself. Next it was Killua's turn. Killua took off his backpack and left it with me and Gon. He began walking down towards the arena.
"Good luck Killua!" I shouted down. Killua turned his head and nodded slightly before making his way fully to the arena. He was against a guy with a pony tail and no shirt. To say that guy never stood a chance was an understatement. All I saw Killua do was quickly vanish and appear behind him, just like at the Hunter Exam and then throw the side of his hand into the back of his neck.
"Hey, here's another kid that's a beast!" A man shouted as me and Gon clapped for Killua's victory, smiling widely down to him.
"Yet another strong kid there!" Someone shouted making me look over to one of the Arena's. It was a really small kid with brown hair wearing a gi.

"Number two thousand and fifty six. Number one hundred and sixty six. Please enter ring B." The voice said making me look up and then stand up just as Killua was coming back. I quickly took off my bag from over my shoulders and placed it by Gon's feet for him to look after.
"I'm really nervous; I think your nervousness just made me more nervous." I said to Gon smiling widely with my brows furrowed. Gon smiled widely as Killua slipped past.
"If pushing worked for me then it should work for you too." Gon said smiling widely at me as I nodded my head.
"I guess that makes sense. Okay, I'll try that." I said to him smiling widely and began making my way down to arena B.
"Good luck Mishka!" I heard Gon yell and turned around smiling widely at him, nodding my head. I got to arena B and stared up at a guy. He was quite tall and very skinny, but also muscly.
"What's with all the kids?!"
"Little girl go home! Little boys are bad enough!"
"On the first floor, we appraise each participant's level. You are allowed three minutes to demonstrate your prowess." The referee said. He was wearing the same uniform as the girl who handed us the forms, a blue and pink shirt with pink hat.
"Then… Begin!" He shouted rising he's hand into the air.
"Geez, I'll make this quick this is just depressing." The man in front of me said as he ran at me with his hand drawn back. I moved my feet away from each other and bent my legs slightly and got my hands in front of me. He stopped quickly and instead threw his leg round. I gasped slightly at the sudden change of tactic and ducked down, putting my hands on my head. I quickly took the chance as he looked down at me shocked and crawled underneath him. I stood up and quickly pushed his back, doing the same as Gon and sent him out of the ring. He landed into the wall, making a large dent in it.
"Why are there so many strong kids around?!"
"Where are they all coming from?!"
I dropped my hands to my side as I looked at the man with wide eyes. I jumped slightly and placed my hands on either side of my mouth.
"I'm really sorry; I didn't think I pushed you that hard!" I yelled over to him. The referee typed something on the device he had in his hand and handed me a piece of paper.
"You may advance to the fiftieth floor." He said as I took the paper from his hand and smiled widely at him.
"Thank you." I said to him and quickly left arena B.

I quickly went back up to the stands and held my ticket out in front of me with a wide smile on my face.
"Hey, you got to the fiftieth floor too!" Gon said smiling widely as I nodded my head quickly.
"You got a lot higher than I thought you would have done." Killua said as I quickly bent down to pick up my shoulder bag. I dropped it other my shoulders and look at him with a determined look.
"I pushed open the Testing Gate too you know." I said to him as he shrugged his shoulders slightly before giving a smile himself.
"Yeah I guess. We better hurry to the fiftieth floor." Killua said as me and Gon nodded our heads. We quickly walked up the stairs and back through the hallway. We managed to find an elevator pretty quickly. I stood in between Gon and Killua as we waited for the elevator to come down from the seventieth floor. A comfortable silence fell between us. Soon the kid with short brown hair and a gi stood behind us. The elevator soon came as well and opened up. Inside was a woman in the same pink and blue uniform with pink hat. We all entered the elevators, with me in between Gon and Killua and the kid standing behind us. Taking a quick look behind me I jumped slightly and turned back around, pulling a face.
"What's wrong?" Gon asked me as I kept staring at the elevator doors. There was silence between us before I had decided to speak.
"I'm only a little bit taller than him…" I said trailing off. Gon laughed slightly at my sentence as I dropped my head. This kid came up to the bottom of my eyes! If I didn't feel short before when standing next to Gon and Killua, I certainly did now. I was so short for being twelve.

"The first two hundred floors of Heavens Arena are divided into classes, each comprised of ten floors. So after someone defeats an opponent in the fifty's, they advance to the sixty's. If they lose, then they'd drop back down to the forty's." The woman explained as we went up the floors, all the way to the fiftieth.
"Oh, so that's how it works." Gon said as I thought about it.
"That's a really big plenty for losing a match." I said to them as Gon nodded his head and Killua shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Plus…" Killua began saying until he was cut off.
"I've heard that after you pass the one hundredth floor, you get your own room!" The kid behind us said. We all turned our heads slightly over our shoulders so we could look at him. He had big pushy brown eyebrows on his face and slightly tanned skin.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Osu! My name is Zushi! What about you guys?" The kid, who said he was Zushi said to us then asked us. I raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Osu?" I muttered to myself, wondering what that could mean. We turned around fully to face the boy.
"I'm Killua." Killua introduced himself with a small smile.
"I'm Mishka." I said to him, a wide smile of my own.
"I'm Gon. Nice to meet you." Gon said with a wide smile as well.
"We've arrived at the fiftieth floor." The lady said to us.

The elevator doors opened us allowing us to walk out. Zushi followed on from behind us.
"I saw your fight earlier. That was really amazing, yo!" Zushi said as he walked faster to walk next to Killua. Killua looked down to him slightly.
"What are you talking about? You made it up here with one match, too." Killua said to Zushi, a slight annoyance in his tone of voice.
"That's right." Gon said agreeing with Killua as I nodded my head.
"No… I still have a long way to go." Zushi said holding his hand up slightly. He dropped it back to his side once more.
"By the way, which martial arts discipline do you practice? I study the Shingen-ryu fighting technique." Zushi asked us.
"School? We don't have one do we…" Killua asked looking back at Gon who shook his head.
"No…Mishka you said you learnt martial arts from Kurapika, so does that mean you have a school?" Gon asked as Killua looked at me as well. I thought about it from a second and shrugged my shoulders slightly.
"I don't know. I only learnt martial arts, I didn't learn the name." I said to them both, looking between them with an apologetic smile.
"What?" Zushi said as he stopped and looked at us shocked. The three of us stopped and looked behind us slightly.
"You're that strong with no training? And you don't even know the name? I'm kind of shocked…" Zushi said, dropping his head and shoulders. He soon perked up though with a determined look on his face.
"I still have so far to go!" He said as the three of us looked at each confused by Zushi's actions and words. I didn't think there was anything strange or shocking about it.

I heard clapping coming from somewhere. The three of us continued to look at each other confused.
"Zushi. You did well." Someone said coming up from behind us. All four of us turned around to face the person who came up. He wore a pink long sleeved shirt and black trousers. He had black hair and wore glasses.
"Master!" Zushi said looking up to the man.
"You adhered to my teachings." He said to him, keeping his eyes closed as he smiled at him.
"Osu! I am honoured! Master, your shirt is un-tucked again." Zushi said to him. The man quickly looked to his side and began tucking in his shirt…was it that strange?
"Oh, sorry about that… Who are they?" The man asked Zushi, never taking his eyes off the boy. Zushi turned his head to face us as he introduced us.
"Oh, these are Killua, Gon and Mishka." Zushi said to him as we turned around fully to face him. The man opened his eyes and nodded his head at us slightly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Wing." The man who called himself Wing said to us. The three of us crossed our arms slightly in front of us and then brought them back down in front of us with serious looks on our face, our fists clenched tightly.
"Yo!" We said at the same time, never taking our eyes off him.
"I didn't expect to meet other children. Why are you here?" Wing said as we stood up straight again and dropped our arms back to our side. Guess he wasn't impressed by our greeting, but Zushi did it…maybe it was okay for some people to greet him like that and not others.
"Uh…Well, we want to become stronger. But we're also broke, so we're making money simultaneously." Killua said, pointing his thumb to himself as me and Gon watched him through the corner of our eyes. Gon turned to face Wing with a small smile on his face.
"Killua's a veteran here." Gon said to him as I turned to face him with a small smile on my face and my brows furrowed.
"Me and Gon are just rookies." I said to him, laughing slightly at the end of my sentence.
"Oh? If you're up here, you must be fairly skilled, but you should pay strict attention to your opponent's body as well as your own." He said to us holding up a finger near his face. The serious look returned to our faces as threw our arms towards the ground with our fists clenched and bent down slightly.
"Osu." We said to him and stood back up straight once more with a small smile on our face.

The four of us began walking towards one of the counters. We got there fairly quickly and stood in front of it. Me and Zushi stood in the middle with Zushi standing next to Killua and me standing next to Gon. A woman in the same pink and blue uniform with little pink hat sat at the booth in the chair as she looked up to us.
"Killua, Gon, Mishka and Zushi? Please hand me your tickets." She said to us. The four of us placed our tickets into the counter. She gathered them up in both her hands and began typing something into the computer. She then handed us four brown envelopes.
"Here is your prize money." The three of us took the envelopes and opened them up. I held the envelope over my hand. One hundred, fifty-two jenny…" Gon said rather shocked and disappointed.
"Now I have four hundred, fifty-two jenny…" I said trailing off with my brows furrowed. Well…I guess it was better than nothing, but if I was honest I was hoping a little more was given. Oh well, we still had a lot of floors to go up on.

Killua walked over to one of the vending machines and gave it his money. He bent down and stood out a blue can of drink.
"On the 1st floor, win or lose, your rewards covers a canned drink. But beyond that, a loss gets you nothing." Killua said as he opened up the canned drink. The three of us looked at him in shock, so that's all a win got you here on the first floor. Well, like I said it was better than nothing.
"A win over an opponent in the fifty's nets you fifty thousand." Killua said, making us perk up slightly.
"Fifty thousand…" Gon said trailing off.
"That's a lot." Zushi said as I nodded my head. Killua took a long sip of his drink and then brought the can back down from his face.
"In the hundreds, I think wins are worth a million." Killua said simply as if it was nothing. The three of us looked at each other and gasped.
"H-handed over just like that for winning." I said in disbelief.
"Once you past the one hundred and fiftieth floor, you get ten million a pop." Killua said as if that wasn't a lot either. We looked at him with wide eyes in total disbelief.
"Ten million? Didn't you make it to floor two hundred when you were here before?" Gon asked him as he dropped his head slightly. I continued to stare at him with wide eyes. Zushi looked up to Gon with wide eyes and total disbelief before looking back to Killua once more.
"Th-the two hundredth floor?" Zushi asked Killua as he went back to finishing his drink.
"How much do you get for winning on the two hundredth floor?" Gon asked him as we continued to stare at him wide eyed.

Killua brought his drink back down once more as he looked at us straight faced.
"Well…I don't really know, because I quit once I reached two hundred. But when I was winning in the one hundred and ninety's, I had around two hundred million, total." Killua said to us simply as he looked up to the ceiling to think to himself about how much he had. Two hundred million total? TOTAL? What does a kid even spend that much on? Apart from a load of sweets. The three of us looked at him in total shock as we stood up straight with our teeth clenched at the sheer amount he had.
"Tw-two hundred million…" Zushi said in disbelief.
"Where's that money now?" Gon asked him, wondering the same thing I was. If he won that much surely he wasn't broke like he said.
"That was four years ago. Of course it's gone now. Spent it all on snacks!" Killua said as the three of us turned our heads towards each other.
"Two hundred million on snacks, in four years?" Gon asked not believing what he was hearing.
"What kind of snacks are these?" Zushi asked us in disbelief himself.
"I rather not find out." I said in disbelief and shock as well. I was right, but why so much money on snacks?! If that was the case shouldn't Killua be huge?! That's a lot of snacks for one person. Killua threw the empty can away and turned to face us once more with a small smile on his face.
"Hey, let's head to the waiting room. We didn't take any damage in the last fight, so they'll probably assign us another match today." Killua said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking away.

The three of us followed him silently to the waiting room. Killua opened the door once we reached it. Inside it was full of tough looking guys. They looked down at us, mostly because we were very short compared to them but also because we were kids. We followed him into the waiting room and over to one of the benches.
"Well, these opponents should be a cinch. Just take it easy." Killua said as we sat onto the bench. I had to lift myself up slightly with my hands as it was difficult to get up onto. I sat next to Gon and Zushi. I kept my hands in my lap as the three of us looked at Killua, who crossed his legs. Gon sat with hand hands between his legs and held onto the seat on the bench whilst Zushi sat with his hands on his knees. I swung my legs slightly backwards and forwards from the bench.
"Really?" Gon asked him.
"Killua…You're too loud…" Zushi said as the man beside him grunted and looked down at him.
"Number two thousand and fifty four, Killua." A voice over the microphone said. Me and Gon looked over to where the voice was coming from.
"I'm already up." Killua said.
"And number one thousand and sixty three, Zushi." The voice said making Zushi jump.
"What?" Zushi said as I turned my head to voice him with a wide smile on my face. Gon turned his head and looked at him slightly surprised by his reaction.
"Please head to arena A, on the fifty seventh floor." The voice said making me, Gon and Zushi all look at Killua. Killua looked back down to Zushi.
"Oh." Killua said simply. Zushi got off the chair and bowed slightly as he threw his arms towards the ground.
"Osu! I shall give it my best." Zushi said as Killua raised his hand up slightly to him.
"Sure. Well, you can't win them all." Killua said rather cockily to Zushi with a small smile on his face. Killua stood up himself and shoved his hands onto his pockets.
"Better luck next time. I'll head out." Killua said to him as me and Gon watched the two of them. He began walking away looking at me and Gon as he did and waved slightly.
"Yeah. Good luck, guys." Gon said to him as we watched them walk away, a smile on his face.
"Try not to hurt each other too much." I said to the both of them with a small smile on my face.
"I'll wait for you two above." Killua said as he stopped quickly to face us then began walking out again. Me and Gon nodded our heads. Zushi stopped himself and pulled a face before following Killua out of the waiting room. Gon hunched his shoulders slightly as he furrowed his brows with a small smile on his face.
"He really didn't have to be so blunt…" Gon said as I nodded my head with my own brows furrowed and a small smile on my face.
"I guess that's just how Killua is. Still, hopefully he won't hurt Zushi that badly." I said to him as Gon nodded his head.

Me and Gon sat in silence until Gon's number was called out. I watched as he stood up and smiled widely at me.
"I'll meet you above with Killua okay?" He said to me as I nodded my head with a small smile on my face.
"Good luck, Gon!" I said to him smiling widely. Gon nodded his head and smiled widely back before leaving the waiting room. It was just me left, with all these strangers. I could help but edge myself to the edge of the bench as I waited for my number to be called out. There was no sound in the room apart from the sound of grunting men who sounded like and looked very mad over something. I couldn't help but shut my eyes tightly trying to ignore all the grunts around me. They were actually quite intimidating if I thought about it probably and I didn't want to get on the wrong side of them. I sighed to myself as I swung my legs backwards and forwards from the bench and looked down to the ground, my hands in my lap.
"Number two thousand and fifty six, Mishka, and number seventy six, Mikeel, please come to Arena C." The announcer said making me look up. I took a deep breath and pushed myself off the bench and patted off my bottom. I exited the waiting room and quickly made my way to arena C. Just push him, that's all I had to remember, just push him really hard, and I'll be fine.

I got down to the arena quickly. I had to leave my bag in a waiting bag closet. It was guarded luckily, so I wouldn't have anything stolen. I stood on one side of the arena as my opponent stood on the other. He had short black hair that covered one eye and very bright yellow eyes. His skin was very pale and he wore a hoodie with very baggy trousers. It looked like he wore eye liner and fingerless gloves. I couldn't see his feet under his baggy trousers. Everything he wore was black! That was very dark.
"Okay everyone! The event you've all been waiting for! We have a unique match-up for you! A young girl fighting against a very dark looking boy!" The woman through her microphone as I continued to look at the boy. He looked about my brother's age, so he was probably about sixteen, maybe older. Our pictures showed up on the screen. Mikeel was on the red side with a very serious expression on his face as I was on the blue side with a wide smile on my face.
"We will now replay their matches on the big screen! Mikeel defeated his opponent with a unique way of fighting!" The lady said as the match between Mikeel and his opponent showed on the big screen. Mikeel used a lot of trick moves to fool his opponent into thinking he was doing something and then switched to something else. The camera zoomed close to Mikeel's face.
"Meanwhile, Mishka used a single push to send her opponent flying out of the arena!" The woman shouted as the screen showed my fight and then camera zoomed in onto my face at the end.
"Okay, everyone! Are you ready to press your gamble switches? In that case, switch on!" The woman shouted making me stare at the screen confused. Gamble switches? People were placing bets on who would win the match between me and Mikeel? Did that happen with all matched up here and beyond? The number on Mikeel's side showed two point three one nine. The number on my side showed one point zero nine three.
"All bets are in, and the odds favour Mishka! Perhaps that push is all she needs to push her way to the top?" The woman said over the microphone. So the lower the score the more you were favoured…is that how betting worked? It confused me a lot and only made me stare at the screen confused before looking back down to Mikeel.

We continued to look stare at each other as the referee walked between us.
"The match will consist of three, three-minutes each, decided by the points and knockout systems! Begin!" The referee shouted and raised his arm into the air. So that's how everything was decided here, three matches, all three minutes. You had to get points and knockouts. Mikeel took a step back as I parted my feet and held my fists in front of me, a determined look on my face. Just remember everything my brother taught me and that push and I'll be okay! Mikeel took a run at me, his hands standing in his pockets. He then stopped and swung a kick towards my face. I quickly turned and blocked it, crossing my arms over to stop him hitting my face.
"Now this is a change! Mikeel is fighting cleanly instead of faking!" The announcer shouted as the crowd cheered. I uncrossed my arms and pushed his leg away before running off to the side of him. Quickly, I three my arms out planning to push him in his side. Instead, he grabbed my arms with his hands and swung his leg around again hitting me square in the cheek. My eyes went wide as was throw away from his grip by his kick and landed on the floor away from him on my side.
"Clean hit!" The referee shouted as the crowd cheered for Mikeel.
"Amazing! Mikeel fought clean and knocked his opponent down!" The announcer lady said as Mikeel placed his foot back firmly onto the ground. The referee got to my side as I began pushing myself up. By the looked of things, Mikeel only used his legs, so if I could just dodge them or get behind him I could push him with ease; the question was, how could I do that.
"As you already know, under the points and knockout system, there are clean hits, critical hits and knockdowns. Superb attacks count as "clean hits", worth one point apiece." The woman said as Mikeel began walking back to the spot he stood on originally.
"Unusually superb attacks are classified as "critical hits", worth two points." The announcer said as the big screen showed a picture of me and Mikeel. Mikeel had two points while I had zero.
"Knocking down your opponent earns you one point. After amassing ten points, you are awarded a technical knockout. Of course, if your opponent cannot continue to fight after one hit, you win due to a knockout!" The announcer said as the crowd cheered some more.

I struggled on my arms and touched my cheek slightly with the back of my hand. It stung a lot, but at least he didn't kick my noise.
"Can you stand up?" The referee asked me as I pushed myself up to my feet and nodded my head, a determined look on my face with a small smile.
"She got up! Mishka will continue!" The announcer said. I walked back to the spot I stood on originally, never taking my eyes off of Mikeel. He continued to stare at me, his eyes almost bored. Then again he seemed bored. The referee raised his hand again and then brought it back down.
"Fight!" He shouted, signalling for the fight to begin once more. This time I decided to make the first move and ran towards Mikeel. Mikeel moved his leg behind him. I kept my determined look on him and watched his leg carefully. He then swung his other leg around. I gasped and quickly ducked down, rolling underneath his leg. I had done it in the first match, but if it worked I shouldn't change it. I quickly leant onto my elbows and back and kicked out behind his knee making him stumble forward. With that I quickly pushed myself up to sit on my knees and pushed him hard in the back sending him flying out of the arena just like I had done to the first guy.
"Mikeel has been pushed out of the ring! If you stand before the referee reaches you, you're opponent isn't awarded the point." The announcer shouted as I stood up and watched Mikeel carefully. The referee walked over to him and turned him over from the wall as he landed into it head first.
"Knocked out!" The referee announced as the crowd cheered once more.
"Unbelievable! Mishka has won! Because Mikeel is knocked out Mishka will advance!" The announcer shouted making the crowd cheered again. I looked at the crowd shocked before looking at the referee who gave me a sheet of paper.
"Oh, thank you." I said to him with a small smile on my face and quickly made my way to leave the arena, I wasn't comfortable with everybody cheering, it kind of made me stood out and I didn't like that; not one bit.

I got my bag back and quickly dropped it over my shoulder and began making my way towards the booth where people could collect their prize money.
"Mishka? Your ticket please." The lady at the booth asked as I handed her my ticket, showing I had won my match. She took it and started tying things into the computer before handing me a brown envelope.
"Here is your prize money." She said smiling widely at me. I thanked her and walked away towards the elevator. Once the elevator arrived I walked inside. The lady inside a button taking me to the floor I needed to be, and also where Gon and Killua were hopefully I opened up the envelope and peeked inside. My eyes went wide at the moment.
"Oh wow, that's so much." I said quietly to myself and sealed it once more then shoved it into my bag. I didn't want to lose that, no way. The elevator stopped on the floor I was meant to be on. Once I got off I saw Gon and Killua sitting on the bench waiting.
"Oh, Mishka!" Gon said cheerfully making me smile widely at him.
"You two beat me up here. At least we all up here now." I said smiling widely at the two stood up and started jogging over to me. Gon held onto his fishing rod tightly as Killua had his hands in his pockets. Gon pulled out a brown envelope from his pocket.
"Look, I got sixty thousand. How about you?" Gon asked me as he placed his envelope away. I thought about it for a second and then dug through my bag slightly, pulling out a brown envelope myself.
"I got sixty thousand too." I said to him smiling widely as Gon nodded his head.
"It took you a while to get here, and your cheek's bruised." Gon said pointing at my cheek. On instinct I touched it again and only flinched before putting my hand down.
"Yeah, the guy I was fighting kicked me hard. He only used his legs. My name was called out a bit after yours as well, so I had to wait longer." I said to him as we began walking towards the booth were the lady gave the money. I stood next to Gon as Killua walked in front of us with his hands in his pockets.
"It took Killua a while to get here too." Gon said as I looked at Killua slightly surprised.
"Zushi must have been really strong then." I said Killua, looking at the back of his head.
"No, not at all. He has potential. One day, he'll be strong. But right now, he's just target practice for me." Killua said making me look at him questionably. It wasn't nice using someone as target practice, but I wasn't about to tell Killua otherwise. Killua was Killua, that's just how he viewed some people.
"His punches were weak… I was completely able to knock him around." Killua said as he stopped walking making me and Gon do the same.
"But I couldn't defeat him." Killua said bitterly as me and Gon looked at each other questionably and then looked back at Killua.
"I received the TKO from points, but I couldn't knock him out. Further… When he changed his stance, his aura reminded me of my brother's." Killua said making me look at him with wide eyes. Did that mean Killua became afraid of him just like he became afraid of Gittarackur when he thought him? It was hard to imagine Killua being afraid of someone like Zushi, but if his aura was like Gittarackur's, then I guess I could understand. Gittarackur was someone to be afraid of.
"I don't know what it was, but if felt dangerous. It must be some kind of technique." Killua said as he turned his head over his shoulder to face me and Gon seriously.
"His master called it "Ren." Killua said to us as we looked at him questionably.

He explained how he was walking through the hallway and overheard a conversation Zushi was having with Wing. We walked over to a bench and sat down. I sat next to Gon as we stared at Killua.
"So he isn't supposed to use Ren until he reached the top floor?" Gon questioned Killua, making sure he indeed heard the story right. Ren…whatever it was, Gittarackur also used it. It sounded scary and for a kid like Zushi to know how to use it, it made my spin tingle in a bad way.
"The strongest fighters are at the top, right?" Gon asked Killua as I remained quiet to make sure I took everything in probably. Killua lifted up his head, looking slightly above him.
"Gon, Mishka, change in plans." Killua said to us.
"How come?" I asked him looking at him questionably. Killua turned his head to look at the both of us, a serious look on his face.
"I'm aiming to reach the top floor!" Killua said as me and Gon smiled widely at him.
"Uh-huh!" Gon said to him.
"Sure!" I said to him smiling widely myself.

We began fighting our matches once more. Gon stuck to his pushing strategy, I stuck to my duck, go behind and push strategy whilst Killua stuck to his one hand chop strategy. Don't fix what isn't broken, that's why my brother always said. The three of us had a match at the same time this time.
"Killua defeats another opponent with one chop! A knockout! Oh! In another arena, Gon has knocked out another opponent with a single push!" I heard the announcer shout as I quickly stood up from behind my opponent and pushed him hard in the back, sending him out of the arena as well and onto the floor.
"I don't believe it, in another arena Mishka has also knocked out another opponent with one push!" The announcer said as I dropped my arms to my sides after shouted to my opponent to apologise for pushing him so hard.
"Each of them has won six consecutive matches over the past three days, to reach the hundreds without a scratch!" The announcer shouted as I watched the screen quickly. It showed a picture of Killua in a red background with a hand in his pocket, a picture of Gon looking forward and his body to the side on a blue background and a picture of me looked forward with my body facing forward as well. I squeaked slightly at the picture, feeling embarrassed to see it up on the screen.
"Killua's chop. Gon's push. And Mishka's push. How far will they be able to go? And who is going to be able to stop them?" The announcer said as another picture showed up with how we looked after doing each off our things. It showed Gon with one hand out in front of him, Killua with his hand straight to chop and me with both hands out in front of me. I couldn't help but squeak again at the picture and felt nervous about the cheers. After collecting my ticket I quickly made my get away from the arena, not feeling comfortable about the cheering at all.

Night had come quickly by the time we reached the hundredth floor. The three of us collected out room numbers and quickly followed Gon to his room first. It was surprising, we actually had rooms next to each other, Gon was in the middle of me and Killua. Gon ran first into the room after opening the door. I looked around with wide eyes as I looked around and wondered in with Killua coming in afterwards.
"Yay! A private room!" Gon said throwing himself onto the bed stomach first. He quickly sat up onto the bed and looked over at me and Killua as I continued to look around the room.
"We won't have to worry about money and lodging anymore." Gon said cheerfully as I looked over and nodded my head. I quickly jogged over and sat next to Gon, bouncing onto the bed. Killua walked over and sat on the chair facing me and Gon.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. If you drop below the hundreds, you have to check out of this room. A world of difference separates making it to the hundreds and staying in the hundreds. " Killua said, to us, making the smile disappear from mine and Gon's face. I sighed slightly to myself and dropped backwards with my arms outstretched onto Gon's bed.
"Too good to last." I said closing my eyes and sighing once more.
"The hundredth floor is like a ceiling." Killua said making me sit back up again with my hands in my lap. Gon leaned forward wondering what Killua meant, I did as well.
"A ceiling?" Gon asked him
"Once you pass it, you get special treatment. So everyone focuses on holding their spot. Some people will do anything it takes to stay in the hundreds." Killua said as he stood up from the chair. Killua shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked down at me and Gon.
"You can waste a lot of time on them. Be careful, Gon, Mishka." Killua said as he walked towards the window and looked out of it. I nodded my head at Killua's words. Now that we were here, I didn't really want to drop back down and lose a room. It finally meant I could have a bath.
"Yeah." Gon said nodding his head.

I stood up and stretched my arms above my head and yawned, quickly covering my mouth with my hands.
"I'm going to have a shower and the go to bed. So I'll see you guys in the morning okay?" I said to them as Gon nodded his head.
"Okay. Goodnight Mishka." Gon said as I nodded my head back at him and smiled widely.
"Night night." I said to the two and quickly walked out of Gon's room, closing the door behind me to go to my own. I opened up the door to the room I was staying in and quickly walked in and shut the door behind me. Didn't want any strange people to walk in while I stayed here. I took off my bag and jumped it onto the chair near the bed. I slid off my shoes and quickly began making my way to the shower. Turning off the water I stripped down and waited for ten minutes having learnt my lesson from the airship we were on when taking the Hunter exam. I jumped in once I saw steam starting to rise and began washing myself down. I smiled widely to myself; it was nice having a shower after so long. Not that I was a smelly person but I still needed to be clean. I looked at the shower gel and was about to use it until something caught my eye. I looked at the print.
"Softens skin? I thought shower gel only made you clean…" I said to myself. Opening the top and squirted some into my hand and began washing. After washing my hair I jumped out the shower and dried myself off. I felt my arm before putting on my training shirt and widened my eyes.
"Hey it really did soften my skin." I said to myself and yanked my training shirt over my head and yanked my training shorts on. I quickly exited out of my room again without putting on my shoes or dress tabard and ran up to Gon's room.

I could hear the TV on, so Gon wasn't asleep. I knocked on the door and waited until Gon answered the door. The door opened with a confused Gon standing on the other side. He opened his mouth to say something until I shoved my hands close to his face.
"Feel! They're really soft!" I said to him. Gon looked at me confused put did so anyway. He moved his thumb in a circle in the palm of my hands and moved his fingers in a single on the back of my hand.
"Hey, they really are!" He said smiling widely as I nodded my head quickly.
"I'm going to go show Killua." I said to him as Gon nodded his head and exited his room deciding to come with me. He didn't bother putting on his shoes either. We quickly jogged over to Killua's room and knocked on the door loudly. Killua opened the door with an annoyed look on his face, and then a surprised one when I shoved my hands near his face.
"Feel! They're really soft!" I said to him as he raised an eyebrow slightly.
"No." He said simply. I glared at him slightly and stepped forward putting my hands onto his cheeks and moving them in a circle. Gon stood smiling widely as I pushed Killua's face together. He grabbed my hands and removed them from his face.
"Okay they're soft! You didn't have to do that." He said glaring at me as I smiled widely.
"I thought it was cool!" I said to him proudly as Gon nodded his head. We all said our goodnights once more. Me and Gon went back to our rooms again to get some sleep before our matches tomorrow to try and reach the top.

Soon the next morning arrived. I got changed quickly and grabbed my bag. I met up with Gon and Killua outside in the hallway and made my way with them to the waiting hall for to hear out numbers called out once more. It was Gon who was called first and just as predicted he won with a single push. Me and Killua watched one of the screens that was showing Gon's match.
"Gon wins another match with a single push!" The announcer shouted as Killua turned his head away with a small shrug and a wide smile. I couldn't help but clap my hands at Gon's victory even though he couldn't hear me. Soon it was Killua's turn and he won his match to just by chopping his opponent in the back of the neck. This time it was me and Gon watching the match. We both clapped out hands when Killua won.
"Killua wins another match with a single chop!" The announcer shouted through the microphone. Next it was my go and I too won my match with a single push from behind.
"Mishka wins another match with a single push!" The announcer shouted once more through her microphone as cheers filled my ear drums. Our matches kept going like this; we kept winning every single one with just one move. I couldn't tell if it was because I had gotten stronger or if because the guys we were up against were really weak or taking pity on us because we were kids.

We walked up to one of the counters to collect our prize money after winning all our matches. I stood in the middle of Gon and Killua as we listened to the blue and pink uniform lady speak.
"Your prize money has been deposited into the specified account." She said to us as we took out slips and turned to look at each other. I had never seen so much money in one place, let alone actually belong to me. The three of us walked away from the woman behind the counter and down the hall way.
"You were right… I've never seen so many zeros before… And just a week ago, I was totally broke." Gon said as he looked at his slip. I nodded my head agreeing with him.
"There's enough here for someone to live comfortably for a while." I said to him as Gon nodded his head. Killua walked beside Gon, making Gon being in the middle of me and Killua. Killua had his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He turned his head towards us.
"I'm a little annoyed. My first time here, it took me two months to reach floor one hundred and fifty. Meanwhile you two are breezing through." Killua said to us as he turned his head forward once more with his eyes closed. I gave him an apologetic smile and furrowed my brows slightly.
"Sorry, I didn't think pushing would work all the time." I said to him, pocketing the slip of paper into my bag with all the details of the money and what account it was.
"But you were only six back then." Gon said looking at him. Silence fell between the three of us for a little while.
"Well, that's true…" Killua said trailing off as we continued to walk down the hallway.
"Oh, that's right. I saw Zushi on TV earlier." Gon said to us.
"So did I." Killua said as I nodded my head.
"Yeah same here." I said to the two of them.
"He's still in the fifty's." Killua said, his hands never leaving the back of his head. We three of us stopped walking after a while as me and Gon looked at Killua who was staring at the ceiling.
"I wonder what that Ren you sensed could have been." Gon said to him. Killua made a small noise and brought his hands from behind his head. He held one finger up as he looked at me and Gon.
"Maybe if we fight opponents higher up…" Killua began saying until Gon butting in. That was rare for Gon; he wasn't one to interrupted people in the middle of their sentences.
"Or wouldn't it be faster to just ask Zushi?" he asked him holding up a finger himself. Killua looked away slightly, annoyed by the suggestion. He then grabbed Gon's finger and started laughing, embarrassed he didn't think of the answer.

We managed to find Zushi quickly on the floors below. Gon was the one to ask Zushi what Ren was.
"Ren is one of the four major principles." He said making the three of us stare at him with wide eyes and confused looks on our faces. Four major principles? What was he going on about? What were these principles? It confused me a lot.
"The four major principles for disciplining your mind and body. Fundamental to every martial art! You must know "Ten", learn "Zetsu", achieve "Ren" and reach "Hatsu"!" Zushi said to us. Gon looked like he could take in as much information as he could while Killua continued to look at him confused. I stared at him confused myself and kept moving my eyes about to try and recall everything. Was it learn Hatsu to reach Ten and achieve Zetsu and learn Ren? Or was it the other way around? He only just told me and I was having trouble remembering. But Zushi continued to tell us with the same serious look on his face.
"This is all part of "Nen" training! That covers everything." Zushi said closing his eyes with a smirk as he held one hand behind his back and raised one finger to us. What was Nen? I really wanted to ask, but I feared if I did he would explain more things I didn't understand. Killua shoved his face closely to Zushi's face, taking the younger boy back by surprise.
"I've no idea what you just said!" Killua yelled at him angrily, not getting a single word that he said. I had to admit, I had no clue either and feared asking him to explain a little bit more.
"Zushi…" I heard Wing say. Killua snapped his head to look at Wing as I continued to try and recall everything Zushi was saying. Gon also turned his head to look at Wing.
"Are you sufficiently educated that you can teach others?" Wing asked him as he stopped a few meters away from us.

The three of us turned to face Wing and straightened up our backs. He stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed and a large smile on his face. His shirt was once again un-tucked that for some reason really bothered Zushi, although I had no idea why.
"Gon, Killua, Mishka. There's an old saying that if you learn something piecemeal, you'll end up knowing less than when you started." He said to us. Killua shoved his hands in his as he looked at Wing.
"So a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?" Killua said to him as Gon looked at him. I looked up to Wing myself after hearing Killua's words.
"My big brother said that if people thought it'd be dangerous, not the other way round." I said making Killua looked at me questionably as Gon did the same. I looked at the two questionably myself, wondering why they were confused.
"What? It's true." I said to them as we turned our attention back to Wing.
"I want to know right now. Because it's related to the secret behind my brother's power." Killua said looking seriously at Wing as me, Gon and Zushi stared at Wing with wide eyes. Wing looked at Killua seriously, the glare on his glasses disappearing as he brought his head up.
"Then, your brother is able to use Nen?" Wing questioned Killua.
"I need to know what Nen and Ren even mean! I'll agree to the full learning process rather than a quick explanation! And if you're willing to teach me, I won't try to figure it out myself." Killua said making me and Gon look at him in surprise. We looked at each other quickly before looking back at Killua. The silence around us was uncomfortable. Wing dropped his head after Killua's words.
"I understand. Come with me to my residence." Wing said as he turned around to walk back to his home, or so I could only assume. Zushi followed after him as the three of us stayed behind and watched his retreating back. Killua was the first one to follow after Wing with me and Gon closely behind him.

I had to be honest, I was interested in learning what Ren and Nen were myself. If they made people as scary as Gittarackur, then I had to know what they were so I could prepare myself better.

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Authors note: That small realisation of how short I have actually made Mishka. She's an adorable dwarf!