I follow Killua, holding onto my journal while I note down any items that Gon or Killua checks out, as well as their location. Killua begins to notice that there is another bidder, one that has the same ideas as us.

As Gon calls him, Killua responds "I found a couple of items, but both bids already placed by Zephile..."

I nod at Killua, speaking loud enough for Gon to also hear me through the phone "While running around I noticed his name trying to outbid us."

Killua nods at me "After I entered a bid 2.5 times higher, he multiplied that by 4."

Gon responds to Killua, although it's barely auditable.

Killua replies to Gon "No... Keep placing bids until the deadline. There are three of us so we should be able to win some."

I nod at Killua "On it!"

Time Skip

We managed to win some of the bids.

Killua exclaims "So ultimately, we won three and lost one." Gon nods "Zephile managed to win the weird pot."

I nod "At least we got some good items."

Killua smiles, making my skin tingle for some reason "Well, that wasn't too bad. Let's take these to the auction house now."

Damn... Killua has been getting on my nerves for some reason. And not in a bad way either...

I've been wanting him more than ever, lately...

Has Killua been touching my hair... And my aura wants me to embrace Killua... Hold him tight and to never let him go... It's as if it warning me to not let go of him.

Time Skip

The man shakes his head "Sorry but the auction house cannot accept any additional items, once the catalogue has been published."

Killua sighs "Isn't there any way? We really want to auction these."

The guy thinks for a moment "Hmm, I suggest that you give the trade market a try."

I look confused as Killua and Gon exclaim together "The trade market?"

The man nods as he hands us a map, pointing out the location.

We nod, picking up our items, heading over to the trade market.

Gon gets giddy "The trade market... Professionals will be here, so if one of these is genuine, we should get a great price."

I smile "If not I'm sure I can rip them off... somehow... with great difficulty."

Killua sighs "But I wanted to sell these at the auction, though."

Gon smiles at Killua "How much you think we'll get?"

Killua smiles back "Let's find out."

We head over to a pawn shop, placing down the items on the desk. Killua takes over "We manage to find these in the cellar."

The man exclaims "Oh, you found these in your cellar?"

Killua smiles cutely as I turn around, thinking Killua is so CUTE!

Killua keeps the conversation going "Yep, Dad said to sell them if the price was right."

The man nods "These are wonderful pieces, Only fifty copies were printed, and yours has a single-digit serial number and to top it off an authentic autograph."

Killua continues to smile as I turn around, looking at the man.

The man thinks "I'd guess it's worth at least 150,000." Killua and Gon smile as the man picks up the doll next "This antique doll is also excellent... it's in great shape, and pristine condition of both box and doll raises the value. I'm estimating 300,000."

Killua winks at us and the man stops, looking over at the last item "However, this one isn't worth much, unfortunately. The box and statue are from different periods. The box was made recently... the statue is rough and doesn't adhere to any theme. I'd say it's only worth 1,500 Jenny."

I sift my eyes over to the man, thinking Let's work my magic...

I retort out loud "Hey, old man I recon your jibbing us!"

The man nods "However, that would be its appraisal as an artwork. The wood itself is quite valuable. So I'll make you an offer. If you sell me the painting and doll for 420,000, I'll buy the wood for 80,000."

Killua exclaims "A total of 500,000? What do you think?"

Before Gon can answer, I interject "How about 750,000!"

Killua retorts "EH!"

The man shakes his hand in front of us "I doubt anyone will quote you a better price than what I have to offer. In the mean time, let me check this wood's age out."

A man calls out behind us, stopping the shop keeper from moving "Wait! Put down that statue."

I true around, looking at the man. The shop keeper is caught off guard, making me question the man's true motives "Wh-Who are you?"

I lift up my hand "I presume your Zephile...!"

The man(Zephile) doesn't answer me, only pointing to us "Don't let him scam you, kid. He's offering a fair price for the painting and doll, but his lying about the statue!"

I turn to the shopkeeper "I knew there was something shifty about you."

The shopkeeper stutters again "I-I never lied!"

The man(Zephile) objects "Really? No collector would pay 80,000 for that wood. You're interested in the contents of that statue!"

I turn, looking confused at the statue.

The man(Zephile) walks up to us, explaining what it is "It's a wooden trove."

We retort together, more confused than before "A wooden trove?"

The man(Zephile) nods "Three hundred years ago, these were a popular way for the wealthy to hide their money."

I respond by lifting an eyebrow "In a wooden statue...?"

The man(Zephile) nods "If it's real, there should be valuables inside. You planned to steal the contents, while pretending to check it's age!"

The shop keeper starts give away his motives, through his voice "I-I would never do that..."

Before I can say anything, a tall man enters from the back "Can you prove that this is a genuine wooden trove?"

The man(Zephile) retorts "What?"

The tall shop keeper exclaims "The wood is certainly over three hundred years old. But that only tells us the material's age. The statue itself could be modern. This technique is known as hoodwinking, boys."

I respond confused "Hoodwinking?"

The man helping us(Zephile) responds "He's referring to a counterfeiter trying to trick a professional appraiser. But that isn't what I'm doing. Here's a seam that an amateur would never recognize. The seam contains an adhesive used back in that period."

The tall shopkeeper grins "You're insisting this is a real wooden trove? BUT, it is possible that this was opened once to swap out its contents, and the statue was reassembled. We'd call that a dud. It's called double-dipping, placing new adhesive on top of the old to create a dud. But only an amateur would try that. A professional would melt the adhesive with a flame, before resealing it. That way, it would appear as though the statue had never been opened. That's know as welding."

Gon is impressed as I'm not the slight bit amused.

The other guy(Zephile) retorts "It hasn't been welded. If fire was used, the wood would be scarred or the adhesive would have discoloured." The tall shopkeeper retorts back "Even pros have a hard time weighing those details. I can't trust you."

The man(Zephile) exclaims "I'm a pro appraiser! I swear by my eyes... This is a real wooden trove! It's never been opened, and the treasure inside hasn't been swapped out!"

The tall shopkeeper responds calmly "Okay, let's assume that this is a genuine wooden trove. If the contents have been swapped out, what would you do?"

The man(Zephile) exclaims after a short stare down "I'll be your slave for the rest of my life." The man smiles, slapping his partner on the shoulder "Give up!" The guy hands him a chisel as the guy(Zephile) cracks it open, revealing treasures hidden in the wooden statue.

Killua and Gon are amazed "Wow! Awesome!"

I grin at the man(Zephile) "I think we found someone who puts Leorio and myself to shame..." The man(Zephile) leads us out as Killua exclaims while we follow him "Oh, so your Zephile."

Zephile nods as Gon exclaims "Thanks, Zephile-san."

Zephile responds "You don't need to thank me. Consider it give and take. twenty percent sounds fair. My cut when you sell the treasure." Killua exclaims slightly pissed "You're going to rob us?"

I respond "Killua, It's only fair. He didn't have to help us and we could have gotten scammed in the process..."

Zephile nods "It's my fee for providing advice."

I look at Killua "Scratch that, he is robbing us!"

Zephile retorts "That's uncalled for!"

Gon just turns to us "I don't see a problem, after all he did help us back there." Killua responds to Gon "Now, look here... we need to collect as much Jenny as we possibly can. I might be willing to buy him lunch."

I frown at Killua as he continues "Not in that way Daniel!"

I smile Zephile responds "Really? Then I'll settle for that."

As we look confused at Zephile, I speak up, questioning Zephiles motives "His easily persuaded..."

Time Skip

Killua and I start to eat as Gon speaks up "So, Zephile-san..."

Zephile looks up "Hmm?"

Gon continues "I feel so bad, so we'll pay you a fee."

Killua retorts "There you go again!"

I interject "Damn it..."

Zephile responds "Nah, it's really okay. In return, just tell me something. What was tipping you off to bid on these items?" We look at each other as Gon responds "Is it okay to tell him the truth?"

I interject "Not the complete truth remember what Wing-san said..."

Killua nods "Still, it beats paying him."

Gon goes onto explain why we bided on the items as we finish eating our meal.

Zephile responds "I see, Nen aura..." I yell at Gon "I told you to tell part truth not the whole truth!"

Zephile smiles "If you're telling the truth, that explains why you brought the statue, not realizing something was hidden inside. So, why you need money so badly?"

Killua responds "We can answer that question but not for free. Afterwards, you have to answer our question."

Zephile nods "Sure, that's fine."

I nod, continuing off Killua's last response "We looking to bid on an auction item that's really expensive... that's why we need to raise money."

Zephile gets intrigued "Oh, which item are you interested in?"

I look at Killua as he responds "It's our turn now. You estimated that this treasure was worth 300 million, right? Could we receive that much at the trade market?" Zephile responds slightly confused "At the trade market? They mainly deal in hard cash... If you show up abruptly you won't get a fair price."

Gon exclaims "What?"

Killua looks down at his drink slightly sad "Seriously?"

I turn to Zephile "Choose your words wisely... You hurt Killua, I'll leave you traumatised for life!"

Zephile grins "So you two are together... I'll repeat my question from earlier. Which item do you want?"

I answer him with a stern look "Greed Island."

Zephile responds "Oh, that ridiculously expensive game?"

Killua interjects "How much is that weird pot that you brought worth?"

Zephile responds as he looks at it "Huh? This? It's garbage absolutely nothing at all."

This peaks my interest "Gon you need to work on your Gyo if that's the case..."

Gon pouts as Zephile interjects "Why do you want that expensive game? I believe it costs 6 Billion?" Killua responds "The asking price is 8.9 billion. We're looking for his dad. That game has a clue inside."

Zephile responds "Oh..."

Killua asks another question "Why did you choose that pot? If you knew the wooden trove was real, shouldn't you have bid on the more valuable item? But instead you went for that pot, why?"

Zephile sighs "You see... I made this pot."

I grin widely as Killua and Gon exclaim "Huh?"

Zephile lifts up his arms "But it wasn't an original creation. It was a replica. In other words, a counterfeit. When I was a destitute, this was how I made Jenny. Once I became an appraiser and began earning money, I quit doing that. When I saw how poorly these are made, I felt mortified! So I browse the markets and buy them back."

I respond "You must have felt real~ guilty..."

Killua interjects "How much would a real one cost?"

Zephile interrupts Killua, seeing Killua make a cute face "It's my turn! Gon, what does your dad do?"

Gon smiles "He's a Pro Hunter."

Killua yells at Zephile "HOW MUCH WOULD A REAL ONE COST?"

Zephile answers quickly "Forty to fifty thousand."

Killua sits there pissed as Zephile continues "Is that so? A pro Hunter, huh? There are a few in the antiques world, and not one of them is ordinary. Wouldn't it be impossible for you to find him alone?"

Gon exclaims "It'll be fine. I'm a Pro Hunter, too."

Zephile responds curious "Huh? Seriously?" I retort "His not lying I'm one too!"

I hold out my card as Zephile looks utterly confused between us.

Gon smiles "Okay, your turn to ask a question."

Zephile thinks for a moment "Okay, this is my final question. Can I help you with anything?"

We look between each other confused from his request "Huh?"

Zephile continues "If you want to make money at an auction, you'll need an appraiser. You could even say that with an appraiser, you can always turn a profit. You can set the price you want to pay me. How's that?"

I respond smugly "If I was was to set the price, I would make it so you do it for free. So instead, ask Gon or Killua..."

Gon and Killua peer over to me before looking back at Zephile "Then you have to answer our last question. Why do you want to help us?"

Zephile is taken back a bit by Gon. He stares between the three of us, smiling "Because it made me happy... it made me happy that this piece of junk actually caught your eye."

Gon slams the table "It's not a piece of junk!"

As Zephile looks mortified at Gon, Gon continues to speak "It definitely holds your Nen. Everyone has some aura... but it's incredibly difficult to harness! You must concentrate and train for a very long time. I can tell how much effort you put into making that pot! You have a lot of talent! HOWEVER..."

Gon sits down smiling "I still think it's a weird pot, though."

Zephile sips his coffee "My eyes didn't deceive me. When you appraise objects long enough, you also become a good judge of character. I look at the sellers and the buyers too, not just the merchandise. It's a lot harder to appraise humans, than it is to appraise antiques. When I saw you, I knew right away... That I wanted to work with you. That's my answer. What's yours?"

Killua and Gon nod together as Gon smiles "Looking forward to it."

Killua nods "We'll decide your fee after we see how you do."

Zephile grins "Okay! With that settled..."

Gon interrupts Zephile "Teach me those techniques you talked about earlier!"

Zephile looks confused at Gon, taken back by his sudden out burst "You're interested?"

Gon nods "Yep! Hoodwinking, double-dipping, welding... What else is there?"

Killua and I have a stare down with Gon "Seriously... that isn't important at all!"

Gon pouts "But they sound fun! Like magic tricks!" I retort "I'll show you a magic trick it's called flying, because that's what you're about to be doing out of here!"

Killua exclaims "We are not here to have fun!"

Zephile stops us from arguing. As he gets up, we pay for the meal.

We pick up out items, leaving the restaurant.

Zephile grabs one of those toys in a egg from the machine outside "Welding is the hardest technique to see through. But recently, a new technique has surfaced. It's know as exposing. basically you plainly reveal the opened statue along with a fake treasure because people assume that you wouldn't open the statue if the treasure were fake, you can fool them. But now this technique is getting old. When people started to get suspicious, a new technique is emerged. Can you guess what it's called?"

Gon exclaims "I know! The treasure inside is also fake!"

I laugh at Gon as Zephile exclaims "Wrong!"

Killua goes next "Remove the treasure from a different place!"

Zephile smiles "Bingo! You can receive a new opening and remove the treasure, then insert the fake treasure and seal the hole. This is known as side-stepping."

Gon responds confused "Side-stepping...?"

Zephile nod, continuing on "Many veteran appraisers have been fooled. They assume the statue is real if the adhesive hasn't changed colour from the application of fire. That's how they fool the pros."

Gon smiles "You live in an incredible world."

I interject "Shifty... and yet somehow incredible!"

Gon phone rings as he answers it "Hello? What? A spider?... Got it. Let's go, Killua and Daniel." Killua and I get up "Yeah."

Zephile yells at us "What about the auction?"

Gon turns around "We'll let you handle it!"

Killua nods "Try to get us a good price!"

Zephile sighs "Huh?"

Gon smiles as we run off, leaving behind Zephile to get the job done "Okay! I've got it covered!"