So, here comes chapter eight. Please enjoy!

CHAPTER 4

Killua didn't know why his resolve to stay away from Hayuri had disappeared so easily. When he got to the warehouse, he saw that she was tailing the man next to his target. Before he could make a decision, she launched an attack and engaged in combat right afterwards. He watched them fight from close up, planning on staying hidden until she finished her business and left with her target. When he saw the man take hold of her ankle, he immediately knew she'd be forced to use her injured hand to block it. Before he had the chance to even consider his choice, his body moved on his own and he knocked the man down.

He had been wondering about his actions while they silently walked back to the airship. He honestly had no idea. He refused to accept that it was because he somewhat cared about her. After a while, he concluded that maybe it was his instincts, which warned him about losing an ally that may have been useful later on. Killua always trusted his instincts and, therefore, decided to stay on her good side for now.

After delivering both their targets to the committee, they went to have a late lunch. He dropped his body on a chair in the dining room, expecting to have a peaceful dinner and not have to wonder about his actions anymore. Well, he hoped wrong.

"So, Killua." Hayuri began after a while, when both had already ordered dinner. "What was that all about?"

"Ahhh.." Killua inwardly cursed and thought hard for an excuse. "I was in a bad mood."

"That's all?" Hayuri stared in disbelief. "You're the cranky type, aren't you?"

"Well, I didn't sleep well last night and woke up listening to somebodies whining. I ended up almost getting into a fight. When I decided to leave and get some peace, you came along." He swiftly lied. "I may have over reacted. Sorry."

"Well, try to keep your mood in check next time around, ok?" She sighed and leaned back into her seat. "I'm not angry now, but I felt pretty bad when you reacted like that. Honestly."

The waiter came back with their food, serving Killua a plate of lasagna and Hayuri a steak with rice and tomato salad.

"What happened to not eating meat for a week?"

"Ah, well, seems like I'm done with that. I absolutely felt like having a juicy steak for lunch today, so I just did." She shrugged

When she finished talking, the door opened and a chill went down their spines. Hisoka entered the room and stopped a couple steps away from them. He watched Hayuri take a bite of her food and he groaned in pleasure, to which she instantly stopped chewing.

"Ahh~~~ Hayuri-chan. Why not entertain me?" He said and stretched his neck sideways. "There are only a few things more exciting than watching strong women eat meat. Also, Killua... your presence delights me as well; the aura you radiate makes me shiver... Please enjoy your meal."

He walked away to find an empty table leaving a crept out Killua and Hayuri behind.

"Damn, that creeper is back." Hayuri spoke lowly and put her fork on the table. "He ruined my mood; I don't feel like eating anymore. It's a shame, since this steak tasted particularly delicious. It's juicy, skillfully cooked, and the seasoning was perfect. On second thought, I'll take the previous statement back." She picked the fork up again and cut herself another bite.

Killua rolled his eyes at her antics and watched Hisoka discretely. "I think he has some kind of weird obsession with power; he always seems to get excited by it. And apparently we second him in power in this exam."

"That psycho."

When they finished their lunch everybody was trying to guess what the next phase would be about. Everybody agreed that it would probably be the last phase, since there were only 15 examinees left. Also, most of them guessed that the last exam involve fighting, since it was the most prominent ability of all hunters. Other participants thought that it would involve something different, since the first and third phases had already mostly been about fighting. After discussing about it for over an hour and not reaching an agreement, many candidates, including Killua and Hayuri, decided to leave.

"So, it's only 5,30 pm, and we have to kill time until nighttime. Want to go sit in the deck for a while?"

"Whatever, I don't have anything to do." Killua shrugged and followed her outside. The wind was strong, since the blimp was now on the move. The sky was clear and the sun was shining, but the heat was not uncomfortable at all.

"Hey, Hayuri, I know the perfect spot." He said and led her to the place he had been sitting at the day before. "I found this place yesterday."

"Haaa." Hayuri nodded. It was a wooden surface 1,5 meter above the ground that had half of its perimeter guarded by the walls of the interior deck. It opened up to the back of the airship, which allowed a good view but was protected from the strongest winds. They climbed and laid there for around half an hour.

"Hey, Killua." Hayuri said making him turn his head her way. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

"Well, I guess it's the same reason as everybody else." He said after looking back up to the clouds. "It's a fun job, it pays well and gives you many privileges." He finished and sat up stretching his arms above his head. "What about you?"

"Ah, it's part of my job." She said. Killua widened his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been working for contract hunters for the past 10 years. It's tradition that every member that has already reached the majority of age must have a hunter's license. If they don't pass the exam, they are not allowed back until they do." She explained. "So, in a way, this is a test to measure your abilities and to force you to become stronger. Practically everyone fails their first attempt and many people come back only after three or four attempts."

"Well, I don't see you having any trouble passing." He pointed out.

"That because I've been working with them for 10 years now, so I've had plenty of training already. You don't see many eight year olds working with hunters." she chuckled.

"That makes sense. So your parents are hunters as well?"

"Not really." She said and turned her face away from him just a bit. "My parents died when I was 6 years of age. I learned to live on the street and developed some stealth abilities so I could steal food. I was found by one of these hunters and she said that I had potential, so they took me in and trained me. I think they actually felt pity and decided to lend me a hand. They're my family now and, also, I owe them for saving my life. I want to help them out in any way I can, I don't really care about the pay."

Killua nodded. He thought he could imagine what she meant, even though he had never really felt that way about family. He was trying to live up to his father's expectations, but not because he felt that he wanted to help him, but because he felt it was his duty as the heir. It was his destiny and the only motivation in his life.

The sky slowly shifted towards an orange shade as they laid silently, each focused on their own thoughts.

The next day everybody was on edge throughout the morning and breakfast. The blimp arrived to a fancy looking hotel and they were told to meet the chairman in the main room. Everybody stood there waiting, the air feeling tenser than ever before. Everybody anticipated that the last exam would have them fighting against each other. Suddenly the double wooden door opened loudly and the chairman walked in followed by an assistant with a metal cart, which was covered by a red fabric. They walked until they stood in the center of the room and they were immediately neared by the remaining participants.

"I love the tension in the air!" He grinned and placed both hands on his hips. "As you have probably already figured out, this will be the last phase of this year's hunter exam. It will be a one on one tournament. Every candidate will fight 3 times and must earn 2 victories to pass. The rules are simple; you cannot kill your opponent, and you'll win if he accepts defeat or if you knock him out. There's not a time limit for the encounters. Are there any questions?"

"Are we allowed to use weapons?" A candidate in the back raised his hand.

"Ah, weapons. Yes, you are, as long as they are not fire power." The chairman said and pointed to another man that had raised his hand.

"How will you choose everybody's opponents?"

"Lots will be drawn to decide that." He said and the assistant removed the red cloth revealing a whiteboard and a golden container. "Now, if there are no more questions, each of you will have to take a number from the lot. The results will be written down on this board."

Everybody did as they were told and the numbers were written on the board looking away from them, so that no one could see the results. Once everyone had drawn lots and the assistant had written everything down, the board was turned around and everyone looked around to check who they would fight.

Killua had to fight three random opponents that he hadn't noticed before. He quickly assessed them and found they were not strong. He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He had expected to have a little of a challenge in at least one of his fights.

Hayuri stood next to Killua and saw that her first and third fights would be easy, but in her second fight she was against Hisoka.

"Damn!" she hissed and face palmed.

"Tough luck." Killua pointed out.

"I know. Well, I'll just surrender as soon as the fight against him starts. I'll win my first and third fight and pass anyways."

The first fight was between Hayuri against a lean man. He didn't seem strong, but she needed to keep her injured hand in check. They stood in front of each other and he seemed to feel lucky that he was against a girl. She smirked at that and, as soon as the referee started the fight, he sprinted towards her to punch her in the jaw, but she dodged and chopped the back of his head. He limply fell to the ground. She was announced as the winner of the fight and walked to the side with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

The next fights lasted longer, but not too long either. After an hour it was Killua's turn to fight a tall man that held two knives in each hand. When the fight started, before his opponent could even move, Killua kicked him so hard in the gut that he was thrown a good 6 meters back. He fell to the ground and laid there with ragged breathing. The poor guy was approached by the referee who announced that he gave up and needed medical attention, since he had a couple broken ribs.

"Oops." Killua scratched his nape and walked back to the side.

Another hour later, and after another handful of fights, it was Hayuri's turn to fight Hisoka. She stood in front of the wicked jester and, when the referee started the fight, she opened her mouth to surrender.

"Don't." Hisoka interrupted her holding his open palm next to his face. "I want to fight you. If you fight me now, I'll let you live. If you don't, I'll find you and kill you later."

Hayuri looked at the chairman with a raised eyebrow and expecting some kind of interference.

"Killing is not allowed during the exam, but what happens afterwards is not our business." He answered the silent question.

Hayuri cursed. If she was too injured, she wouldn't be able to win her next fight. But she couldn't win against Hisoka. She would have to try and attain as little damage as possible. She silently nodded at her opponent.

"Ahh ~~ I've been waiting for this. Too bad I didn't get to fight Killua, he's strong too." He said with a sickly sweet tone. "How's your arm? Not so good, right?"

"Terrible. It can break anytime now." She said truthfully knowing he'd already noticed her condition.

"Let me tell you what. If you fight with all that you have, I promise not to hurt it any further. I will benefit both of us; I'll have an opponent in better condition and you'll get out of this one with your arm intact."

Hayuri cursed and looked down at her arm. It was not as swollen as before, but she couldn't use it. She had no option but to oblige to his request. She would give her all in this fight, and maybe she'd be able to win her next one as well.

"All right." She said and raised her guard with her good arm.

Hisoka smirked and threw 10 cards her way, which she dodged while jumping towards him. While in the air, she opened her pouch and threw 6 daggers at him. He deflected them with his cards and immediately dodged her roundhouse kick at his side. Hisoka tried to elbow her in the ribcage, but she managed to move out of the way and jump back a few meters.

Hayuri didn't get to catch her breath. As soon as she looked up, he was in front of her and did a low roundhouse kick swiping her off her feet. She supported her weight with her good hand and attempted to do a back flip, but Hisoka grabbed her ankle and slammed her on the floor. Hayuri shifted her body just in time to avoid being injured against the floor and cushioned the impact with her upper back. She pulled her feet back with again and managed to free her ankle, and rolled a few times to gain distance. She stood up and saw that Hisoka was standing a couple meters away from her with his arms crossed.

She decided to take out a long blade that she kept inside her left combat boot and swirled it around in her hand. She jumped at him and attempted to kick his left thigh while trying to stab him on the right shoulder. He blocked her good hand and moved back, but didn't completely avoid her kick and she managed to push him back a little. Immediately after regaining her ground, she aimed an upward vertical kick to his chin, but he moved back and avoided it. While her leg still in the air, she lightly jumped forward and brought her leg down with full force, forcing him to protect his head with his right forearm. She hit his arm hard and attempted to stab him once again, but her arm was caught. She was pulled down and felt a strong kick connect to her upper back. She felt the air leave her lungs and her mind her hazy for a second, but immediately recovered and jumped away from Hisoka.

"Ahh.. you are strong. You've done decently enough considering that you haven't used one arm. I even feel like using my own weapon, I hope it's not too much for you." He said and Hayuri waited for a couple seconds, but he didn't seem to do anything.

Suddenly, and before she could process what was going on, her body was jolted forward head first by an invisible force towards Hisoka. She raised her good arm to guard her head, but widened her eyes in realization when he didn't punch her head, but her middle back. She gasped and moved her good arm to prevent crashing against the floor too hard. She breathed in sharply and moved her body to stand up.

"W-what the he-" before she could even finish her sentence, the same invisible force launched her upwards a good 5 meters. She frowned in confusion and widened her eyes in shock. When she was at the highest point, the same impulse pulled her downward at full speed. She focused her vision ahead and guarded her face while pointing her knife at her opponent. He suddenly smirked and raised a hand to grab her good arm. He destroyed her guard in instantly pulling her arm downwards and increasing her falling speed. His other hand turned into a fist and connected with the side of her head with incredible force. If Hisoka hadn't been holding her arm she would've been pushed back a good couple meters back. He had his arm stretched upwards while holding her good arm and forcing her on a standing position. Honestly, if he hadn't she would be lying on the floor by now.

He lowered his hand until she was sitting on the floor, released her and walked a couple steps back. She tried to stand, but felt dizzy and knew she couldn't continue. Her eyesight grew hazy and the pain in her head didn't allow her to think clearly. She was about to announce that she yielded, but he beat her to it.

"I surrender." He said with a smirk. "I guess it was a little too much for you at this point in your training, Hayuri-chan. I want you to become a hunter a get stronger, we'll fight again another time."

She wanted to say that she wasn't looking forward to it, but her vision went black and she dropped to the ground unconscious.

Hisoka turned his head to look at Killua while staff members held her up by both arms and took her away. He smirked and pointed at him.

"I also want to fight you, Killua-chan. I'll also look forward to it, so get stronger." He said and walked away.

Killua frowned and averted his eyes. He didn't want to associate with this psychopath, not at all, not even to answer to his suggestion. He had to wait at least 30 minutes to his next fight and didn't want to see the jester for now, so he left the main room to walk around for a while. Somehow, his feet took him to the infirmary, so he decided make the trip worthwhile and check on Hayuri. He quietly opened the door and saw a couple participants lying on stretchers, who turned to him with curiosity. Hayuri was also laying on a stretcher the furthest corner, but she was unconscious and the whole left side of her face was swollen. It appeared that it would turn into an ugly bruise. Right behind him entered somebody else, and Killua turned his head to look at him. It was a doctor.

"She probably won't wake up for another 6 hours at the very least." He said walking next to her and taking out the implements necessary to tend to her. "That impact was strong, but fortunately it didn't cause much harm; it'll only bruise and force her to rest for a day or two. You don't need to be worried."

"I'm not. I was just curious." He scoffed and hid his hands in his pockets. The doctor shrugged and Killua walked out of the infirmary. Of course he wasn't worried; why would he? He brushed the thoughts about the subject away and walked back to the main room, where the fights were taking place.

On his second fight, Killua was against a thin man with big brown eyes and red hair. He seemed to be as young as he was, but was nowhere near as strong as he was. As soon as the fight started, the man launched an attack at him and tried to kick him in the gut. Killua dodged and chopped the man in the back of the head, effectively knocking him down. He sighed and walked to the side once again.

Amongst the next couple encounters, it was Hisoka's turn to fight other examinees and he honestly seemed bored at them. They were trembling like rabbits at the sight of him and forfeited as soon as they could. It was a smart decision; they would've probably been badly injured if they'd fought him.

Killua's last fight was against a middle aged man that surrendered before the fight even began. Killua face palmed and mumbled something about the hunter exam being too easy. He walked back to the side and sat down to watch the remaining fights. After another couple hours the hunter exam was officially over, with 12 out of 15 people passing.

AN: I've tried to make Killua act colder than in the show, since he's been an assassin for a longer time. I suppose this means that he has had more time to harden his heart and that he's focused on his goal (and thus not allowing him to take interest in other things, like doing something else or having friends). Even though I want him to be colder, I'm still trying to portrait his general character somehow.

I want to know what you think about Killuas actions and attitude in general. Is he too OOC? Is he alright? Thank you for reading!