Early in the morning inside of the home of Son Gohan, Gon is finishing with packing the remainder of his few things into his small backpack.
Already dressed, he headed downstairs to find a plate of delicious breakfast there waiting for him.
"Good morning!" Videl greeted cheerfully, sipping on a cup of water. Her plate was already cleared with only a few crumbs remaining.
"Mornin'!" Gon respondes taking a seat. His hands came together in a small prayer before digging in.
"Thanks for making breakfast. You really didn't have to though..." Gon nodded his head in appreciation. "I could have just hunted for something where me and Killua are staying..."
"It's no biggie." Videl reassures. "I was gonna make breakfast anyway, and I'm more than happy to help you. Plus those two are probably having breakfast where they're at so now you'll be all caught up." She pointed out before she leaned forward slightly, grinning.
"Only one week away... are you nervous?"
"Kind of..." Gon closed his eyes bashfully, letting an excited smile form. "But I also can't wait to fight him again. Especially to try out my new attacks."
"That's the spirit." Videl encouraged. "Did you manage to come up with anything more for it, by the way?"
"No..." He sighed, disappointed. "At least Killua will be there with me. He said he'd help me think of something else to help me improve it."
"That's alright. No shame in a little help every now and then you know..."
Gon nodded, taking another bite of his breakfast. He closed his eyes for a bit, trying to feel Gohan's energy signature only to come up empty. "Gohan already left?"
"Yes." She said, placing her chin on her hand. " He said he needed to make it a bit earlier today."
"Oh. Alright." Gon shrugged. "Did he at least eat something before he left?"
"Unfortunately not." She sighed exasperatedly. "Thankfully, I thought ahead and made him a little something yesterday. He took it with him but he's probably not gonna eat until lunch."
"He's really lucky to have you." Gon said, earnest as ever. Video blushed at the sincerity of his words.
"Aww you…" She mumbled. She scratched her cheek and smiled bashfully.
Just as he was finished, Videl got up from the chair and went up the stairs. "I'll wash the plates! Just leave them on the sink for me, okay?" She cried out.
"Okay!" Gon said, taking the final bite of his food as he emptied his plate.
He did as Videl instructed and left the plates inside of the sink before grabbing his backpack and putting it down on the floor.
He checked meticulously to make sure all of his equipment was there and then proceeded to slip it on his backpack and adjust his boots before heading toward the door.
"Hold on there tiger!" Video cried out, making her way down.
"I wasn't gonna leave without saying bye." Gon laughed as Videl pulled out a present box that she'd been hiding behind her back, holding it out in front of Gon.
"Here. This is for you."
"Whoa, what? Really?" Gon gaped, caught off guard.
He gingerly took the packet, looking to Videl for permission to open it.
She nodded, grinning.
He tore up the paper and opened the box to find Various arm and leg bands. The ones on top of the pile were in the colour green while the other two sets were Grey and Pink.
"Try putting them on." She suggested a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Gon did as she said, grabbing the green ones on top and kneeled down to place them on the floor. As soon as he slipped one of them on his right hand…
"Whoa!" He yelped as his arm fell toward the floor. It took quite a bit of force to keep it from slamming into the ground. "What is this?!"
"Those are special training weights I got from a friend." She explained. "When you put them on, they adjust themselves to whatever weight makes the wearer struggle to move."
"W-wow…" Gon grunted, lifting his arm up a little to feel the effect of it.
It wasn't so bad that he couldn't move but he definitely struggled with it. He slowly took it off and he was filled with relief as the gravity lifted itself from him.
"Is this some kind of magic?" He breathed out, putting them in his pocket.
"Yeah. This friend of mine made them." She said before pointing at the other two colour variants still in the box. "Here's a set for your friends as well. I didn't really know what colour they preferred."
"Thank you so much!" He beamed at her. "Can I repay you somehow?"
"If you really want to, you can come visit me on my birthday." She said, "Happy early birthday by the way. I had a blast having you here kid."
"Oh! It's for my birthday?" Gon's eyes widened in realisation.
Videl chuckled. "Yeah. I didn't want to interrupt your training though, so I decided to just give 'em to you now. Do you like it?"
"It's so awesome!" He said excitedly. "This will really come in handy during our training. You rock Videl!" He said, wrapping her in a bear hug, making her lose her breath.
"Oh!" Gon said, backing off and shaking his head. "Umm… Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. Glad to see you so happy!" She barked out a laugh. She tightened her hug around him for just a moment longer. "Seriously though, it was fun having you here. Take care kiddo. Don't forget to visit."
"Same! I promise I will" Gon said, pulling away from her and nodding confidently. He held out his pinky finger, making Videl giggle at the cute gesture before intertwining hers with Gon's
After the chant, Gon put the other two colour variants in his backpack along with his own, and then the two waved to each other while he ran off several metres. He turned his head skyward and blasted off into the distance, Videl watching him.
"Well I guess I better get ready for work." She said to herself, heading back into the house.
With Killua and Alluka...
"Slow down. You're gonna choke." Killua reprimanded exasperatedly.
Alluka turned to him, her mouth full of food giving him a fierce (adorable) glare. She swallowed, pointing an accusing finger. "You're one to talk! You and Gon eat like this whenever you guys are really hungry!"
"I've been getting better. You know that." Killua retorted, smug. "Besides, I keep trying to remind Gon to eat slower too. We aren't in a rush."
"Uhhh, except we are!" Alluka. "Today is the day we finally meet up with each other to train!"
She crossed her arms in a mocking fashion and smirked. "And since Gon and I eat this fast that means we're right and you're just slow."
From the side, Goten, who was eating at a slightly slower pace than Alluka, along with Chi-Chi watched in amusement as the two siblings bantered.
"That just means you're BOTH wrong." Killua huffed.
"No. You just feel left out." Alluka teased.
"Children please." Chi-Chi laughed.
The four merrily continued with their meal, Goten suddenly looking Alluka in the eye with a competitive grin.
"Bet I can finish a rice bowl before you." He challenged.
Alluka met his eyes unflinchingly. "You're on!" She then turned to Killua. "Tell us when to start, big bro!"
"Dude." Killua looked at Goten with exasperation. "Don't encourage her."
"I dunno what you mean!" Goten acted innocent. "Eating fast is good for you!"
"Yeah! EVERYONE does it!" Alluka backed up, earning an amused look from Chi-Chi.
"Ugh fine." Killua rolled his eyes before raising his hand.
"Ready?"
The two held up their spoons, looking as fierce as two adorable children could look considering the circumstances.
"Go." He said, voice completely monotone.
The two immediately began digging in, their hands moving rapidly in order to fit as much as they could into their mouths.
Not even 30 seconds in, Alluka suddenly held her hand to her mouth, beating on her chest as Killua quickly handed her a glass of water.
With those few seconds, Goten managed to finish the challenge. "Woo! Oh yeah!"
He jumped from his set, sending a fist into the air.
"Sorry Alluka. It'll be a while before you can challenge me!" He bragged, playfully pointing a finger at himself.
"Ugh… no fair." She frowned.
"Told you so." Killua said, condescendingly, as a good big brother should.
"Shut up! That was just a fluke." Alluka huffed.
Killua scoffed, ruffling her hair. "Whatever…"
"Chi-Chi! Make him stop!" Alluka cried out, pretending to be angry. The older woman simply shook her head in amusement at their antics.
Eventually, breakfast came to an end, and the two stood by the entrance, saying their goodbyes.
"I'll miss you Chi-Chi!" Alluka said, wrapping the older woman in a tight hug. Chi-Chi knelt down and reciprocated the hug.
"I'll miss you too honey. I'm sure we'll see each other soon." She winked.
"Thanks for training my sis. Both of you." Killua thanked them, ruffling Goten's hair while the young boy bashfully scratched his cheek.
"It was a lot of fun." Goten said, turning to Alluka. "You guys are gonna come back and visit, right?"
"duh! Of course we will." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She pulled away from Chi-Chi and pulled Goten into a bear hug, which the boy gladly accepted.
"Train hard and have fun." Chi-Chi reminded them, patting Killua on the back.
"Same to you guys." He nodded.
Killua and Alluka, who was clinging on to the older boy's back, flew off into the distance waving goodbye to the two members of the Son family down below.
Killlua then turned around and propelled forward into the distance, sending his younger sibling into a fit exhilarated screaming.
Killua landed softly on the grassy floor, allowing Alluka to climb down and take in their surroundings.
They were in a small plain of grass close to a forest to the right which, according to Gon, had a small abandoned burrow that would provide shelter in case there was any bad weather overnight. To the left there was a river that flowed toward a massive lake a few miles down from what Killua had seen while in the sky.
Now all that was left was for him to get here…
"Do you think he'll take long?" Alluka asked, looking toward the sky.
"Nah. I can sense him. He's not that far off." He reassured as he ascended and began scouting.
Not too long after, he saw a small speck in the distance, making him smile.
"There you are." He whispered to himself.
"Hey guys!" Gon said, rapidly approaching them. He was waving his arms like a crazy person greeting them.
"Yo." Killua smirked, his friend coming to an abrupt stop. The wind from the momentum flew past him , making both of their hair be blown back.
Both of them descended, Alluka hugging Gon as soon as they reached ground level.
"I have something for both of you!" He said, as soon as the hug ended. "I think it'll really help us make some progress."
Both siblings peered down curiously as Gon took out the gifts given to him.
"Try this on." Gon said, grinning at Killua. His friend took the weight and equipped it to his left arm.
His reaction to having his arm sink was, in Gon's opinion, priceless.
"What the hell?!" Killua growled, lifting his back up with strenuous force. Alluka's eye brows furrowed worriedly.
"Big brother are you alright?"
"Y-yeah. It doesn't hurt." Killua said, turning back to Gon, who was grinning smugly. "What is this?!"
"A birthday present from Videl." He explained, taking out the rest of them. "She was nice enough to get them for all of us. So remember to say thank her when you see her next time!"
"It didn't weigh anything before I strapped it on." Killua noted.
"What?!" Alluka gasped. "How?"
"Videl said that a magician she knew gave them to her." Gon said, shrugging.
Killua unwrapped the band from around his hand and allowed it to harmlessly fall to the floor. He rubbed his wrist softly as he looked back at Gon.
"So it only activates when someone puts it on, huh?" Killua stated in wonder. "You think it might be something similar to a Nen spell?"
"Who knows…" Gon shook his head. "After this, I'd really like to find out! Maybe I can have her introduce her friend to us."
"I wanna see the magic too!" Alluka perked up. "Can we be, big brother?" She begged.
"Don't see why not." Killua smiled, ruffling her hair, "As soon as our fight with Goku finishes up, we'll go pay this person a visit."
"Yay!" They both exclaimed, Gon pumping his fair into the air.
Killua smiled at the two in amusement, coming behind Alluka and placing a hand on her softly. "Now that we're all here, are you ready to begin your nen training?"
"Oh YEAH!" Alluka cheered even more, before looking down at the bands. Looking began to sweat profusely. "Umm… I'm not gonna have to wear that, am I?"
Killua chuckled. "Only when we spar. You won't have to wear it while you meditate though."
Alluka sighed in relief. At least she wouldn't have to wear it ALL the time…
"You and I on the other hand…" he gestured toward Gon. "Should probably wear this all the time, even when we sleep." He raised a finger. "The faster we get used to these bands, the better. Especially since Goku's gonna take our fight with him more seriously."
Gon nodded, before turning to Alluka. "Speaking of which, are you excited about your solo fight with Goku?"
"Yeah. But I'm also kinda nervous…" Alluka said, fiddling with her thumbs.
"Don't be." Killua reassured her. "He's just gonna see how far along you've gotten with your training. Nothing too serious."
"Just be sure to give it everything you've got!" Gon said, giving her an encouraging grin.
"I will." Alluka smiled, looking a little more relaxed. "Do you guys think I'll be able to unlock my nen in time for the fight?"
"I'm not sure." Gon said, pondering a little. He turned to Killua with a curious glance. "Hey Killua, how long do Wing say it would take for people to unlock their aura through meditation? I forgot."
"It depends on the individual. Both that person's dedication to meditating, as well as their talent with nen." Killua explained. "Wing once said that the longest it had ever taken anyone to unlock it that way, at least from what he knew, was about a month."
"A month?!" Alluka worriedly said, her eyes wide as saucers.
"Relax." Killua said, waving his arm nonchalantly. "That was an irregular amount of time to get it. Wing himself said he was shocked."
"Oh." Alluka Sighed, her body sagging in relief. "Well what was the average time?"
"About a week or two." Killua nodded to himself. "With your talent, you should be able to unlock it just before the fight with Goku."
"You think so?!" She asked, a massive grin on her face.
"Only if you work hard." He said seriously.
"I will! I'll work super hard!"
"Well then." He crossed his arms. "Let's get started."
Killua grabbed her hands and guided her into sitting down with him, Gon following suit,sitting next to Killua, both of them facing the young girl.
"The key to activating your aura, would be to manually open all of your nodes." Killua began, both he and Gon having been taught this by Wing.
He had mentored them in this method for the day that they would take on an apprentice. Saying that in order to rise through the ranks of the Hunter association, at some point, they would have to mentor someone.
Killua wondered if this counted, or if the person in question had to be a hunter.
"It's incredibly efficient to start with the nodes on or near your head." He said, poking her forehead.
"How does meditating help activate your aura nodes though…" Alluka frowned in confusion. "Can't you just activate my aura the same way your teacher did for you?"
"Absolutely not." Killua answered immediately.
"Why not?" Alluka puffed her cheeks.
"We're not nearly qualified enough to do that." Killua said, bluntly. "Fact is, we got lucky when we found Wing. He's a professional who knew exactly what he was doing."
"Even when he did it, it was still pretty dangerous." Gon interrupted gently. "Alluka, when you have your nodes opened like that, you need to learn immediately how to go into ten. If you don't, your aura will just keep flowing out of you until you fall to exhaustion. In some cases, it even caused death."
"And that's just assuming we do it right." Killua added on. "If we make even the smallest mistake, you could end up crippled for life! We fought people like that, you know." He said darkly. "Some of the poor schmucks we went up against at Heavens arena? Two of them were crippled. They couldn't walk."
Alluka's eyes widened in fear, her body quivering slightly. "It was that bad?!" She gasped.
Both of them nodded, before continuing. "Besides, this method is more effective anyway." Killua noted. "It gives you a much better understanding on how to activate your nen and it'll help you learn Ten and Zetsu faster."
Alluka looked slightly downcasted, but reluctantly nodded her head in understanding. She supposed that they did know better after all…
"Okay… How do we get started then?"
"Start by getting comfortable." Killua said. "You don't have to strain your body in any way. Just let your body relax and act naturally."
Alluka did as she was instructed, sitting cross legged, letting her arms loosen up and relaxing her shoulders.
"Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and try to clear your mind." Gon input. "Try to focus on your other senses. The sound of the wind and water nearby, feel the grass you sit on, try to smell whatever comes to your nose."
'Focus on my senses… Okay.' Alluka thought to herself, paying closer attention to her surroundings.
She felt the wind against her skin, felt its pleasantly chill presence. It tickled her ears and made itself be heard through the soft whistle that emanated through the open air.
The grass underneath her felt sharp, but not all too unpleasant. Some of it parted neatly to make space for her bottom, while some of them lightly pricked her. It felt slightly similar to when she was close to Gon and Killua whenever their aura spiked up.
"Deep breaths, Alluka." Killua reminded. "Really try to feel the air going in and out."
In…
She felt it travel loosely to her lungs, pumping them up with oxygen until it felt like she physically couldn't take anymore in.
Out…
Seconds later, The air in her chest left through her nose, a satisfying feeling in her chest as it dispelled the small, brief tightening that came with having so much in her lungs.
She repeated the process, periodically breathing in, and out. Again and again as the seconds passed, turning to a minute. Then two. Just as she began to feel a bit bored, Killua lightly shook her from her trance.
"Alright. You've probably noticed how you can basically feel your whole body right now, right?"
Alluka looked at him questioningly, before looking down thoughtfully. She felt her bottom and her feet as they sat on the ground, The wind hitting just about every part of her body, her nose and lungs as she filled them with air…
She looked up and nodded. "Yeah… Now that I think about it, I do." She acknowledged, before frowning. "It's so boring though…"
"It can be." Gon nodded. "But once you get used to it, I promise it's not that bad."
"Next step," Killua interrupted, "I need you to focus as much as you can on your other senses. You should start to feel your mind straining."
"That's good right?" Alluka said, her eyes furrowing.
"Of course." Killua nodded. "It can hurt a bit, but try to make your mind strain a little more. If you feel your body begin to tingle a bit, don't worry. It just means it's in the process of activating your nodes."
Alluka nodded in affirmation. "Ok… it seems a bit hard but I think I can do it…"
"Don't be afraid to call us if you need help ok? We'll be right over there." Killua pointed to her right.
"Got it." Alluka said, smiling. "Good luck you guys."
"Give it your best, I'll come check on you in a while." Killua smiled back, before turning to Gon. "Let's go."
"Right!" Gon ruffled Alluka's hair as he stood up. "Give it your best Alluka!"
"You too Gon!"
The two boys walked away as Alluka sat there and closed her eyes once more.
Little did they know, opening up her aura nodes wouldn't be the only thing Alluka would try to focus on.
'Nanika… please say something. I'm sorry.'
The two boys stood a small distance away from the meditating Alluka, Gon explaining to Killua what he had come up with for his Ja-Janken technique.
"So you want to… 'trap', opponents?" Killua gave Gon a questioning look.
"Yeah! I was thinking maybe the energy I fire out can be like…" Gon grabbed his wrist as an example. "You know, sort of wrap around them and keep them from moving!"
"That's… pretty creative actually." Killua sighed, knowing the next part would be a tad bit more difficult. "I'm guessing you don't know what conditions to set, right?"
Gon bashfully scratched his head, while smiling nervously. Killua sweat dropped.
"Right." He looked down and sighed in exasperation before looking back up at him. "To start, it's a relatively simple idea for a technique, so coming up with a condition shouldn't be too hard."
"Ok!" Gon said, a relieved grin on his face. "Any ideas?"
"Well not right NOW." Killua said flatly. "Give me a few hours for Pete's sake. I just started, you know." He reprimanded, poking his friend's forehead hard.
"Ah! Sorry!" Gon whimpered, rubbing at where he had been poked. "I'll…umm…I'll go train while you think!"
"You do that."
Gon bent down and reached for his backpack, pulling out the weights. "I'll be over there. Call me when you're done!" He said, waving at him as he ran off to train.
"Yeah." Killua cried back nonchalantly.
Gon, upon separating himself from the other two into his own isolated area, strapped on the four bands into each of his limbs,
And immediately collapsed with his hands glued to the ground along with his knees.
"Ngh… Man, We're gonna be sore after this." He groaned.
He groggily planted his foot on the ground and slowly stood up, a vein appearing on his head from the effort.
'Okay. Let's start with some stretching…' He thought to himself.
Gon started with arm stretches, having to make sure his arms didn't plop to the ground from the weight of his new bands. After finishing his arm stretches, as well as hearing a few bones pop, He began doing his leg stretches, sitting on the ground and reaching his toes with both of his hands, taking turns with each one.
After finishing that, he forced himself to his feet, taking a deep breath and grinning. "Next up, sparring!"
As soon as Gon's aura went into ren, he immediately noticed the difference in effort he was putting out with the weights strapped on him.
The bands, while by no means light, we're definitely easier to carry than before, causing Gon to exhale.
"Alright! That's much better." He said, rubbing his neck.
'This is probably their intended purpose. Not only are they really heavy, forcing the wearer to use aura in order to function properly with them, but by forcing me to use my ren, I can take the opportunity to train both physically and spiritually!' Gon thought to himself, looking into the distance in admiration. 'Videl really thought this through! I hope I can get her something this useful for her birthday.'
He began running through some techniques Gohan and Piccolo had taught him during their training. Minutes went by as he continued to perform various combinations of kicks and punches, flipping back and forth in the air.
Meanwhile, Killua began thinking of what they could do in order to make Gon's idea a reality.
'With such a simple idea, the possibilities for how to go about it are vast.' Killua grumbled, stroking his chin. 'The condition could be that when the energy blast wraps around the opponent, Gon just wouldn't be able to move around in order to maintain it…' Killua shook his head, quickly dismissing the idea. 'That wouldn't be enough. We have to take into account that if the opponent has a stronger aura, they would probably be able to break it easily.'
He decided to lie down on the ground letting his eyes wander to the clouds as he continued to experiment with ideas.
'What if we made the technique only work on Goku? Then…' he smacked himself on the head, annoyed. 'No. No. We should make this technique versatile against any opponent. If we made it specifically for Goku it would just be worthless afterwards.'
Nodding to himself, he dismissed that idea, continuing to come up with more ideas. While he was, he noticed the ground shaking. Turning to lean on his side, he saw that Gon was training while wearing the bands, using Ren in order to make it easier to lift them.
Killua continued to watch Gon as he formulated more ideas for what they could do for the Ja-Janken.
"Ugh… This is gonna take a while…" He groaned. "Might as well train a bit while I think."
Killua stood back up, going over Gon's backpack, catching his friend's attention.
"Oh hey! Did you come up with something already? That was quick."
"I haven't. It's only been 30 minutes, dude." Killua gave him a deadpan look. "I'm here to get my bands so I can at least train while I think."
"Oh. um yeah…' Gon bashfully looked down, scratching his cheek. "Well good luck!"
"Thanks."
Killua took the bands and went back to his previous spot, making sure to stretch before putting the bands on.
'After training, one of us should go out hunting while the other stays with Alluka.' Killua thought to himself while his bones stretched out and cracked.
'I sense plenty of energy coming from the woods. We definitely won't go hungry.'
After about nine minutes of stretching later, Killua straightened out his back and proceeded to sit himself down in order to properly equip the bands onto his wrists and ankles.
The effect was immediate, as with each one he put on, he could practically feel them pushing him down toward the earth.
After all of them had been put on, Killua activated his ren, causing his body to relax a little more. "That's better…" He breathed out.
He didn't approach Gon for a sparring match. He believed it would be better for both of them to take the day to get used to the weights while also mentoring Alluka.
Speaking of which…
Killua gave a glance toward Alluka, seeing an intense feeling of focus on her face. She probably won't be able to open many nods today, but he could tell that she would make progress.
Her brows furrowed as she let a small sigh escape past her lips, her cute little face plummeting into a small frown.
He shook his head. She was probably just getting impatient. This exercise would serve not just to open her aura nodes, but also to test her tenacity.
Killua opened his palms and let the blood in his body flow through his hands, pumping them into becoming stronger as well as sharpening his nails into kill mode.
He began digging both of his hands into the ground as fast as could, quickly making a small burrow, before climbing back up and started putting all the dirt back in.
This was a regular exercise taught to him by his family in order to strengthen his fingers, having started doing it at the age of two.
He kept digging and then filling in holes while he continued to think.
'We should probably train for at least two more hours before we go hunting. Maybe while me or Gon is out catching an animal or plants to eat, the one staying behind can sneak a little extra training in for Alluka.'
He wiped dirt away from his face before finishing the hole he was digging.
'Ok so Gon not being able to move while the enemy is trapped is a good start for the conditions, if a bit limiting.' He thought to himself, while smoothing out the ground as he put the last of the dirt in. 'But… Wait. Yes, that could work!'
As he stood up and went to the next spot where he would dig another hole, smiling in success of his epiphane.
'If this Ja-Janken hits an opponent with no aura, it'll knock them out after wrapping around them. As a side requirement, the opponent should be physically weaker than Gon if they were to be compared without aura.'
His mind went into overdrive as it naturally began detailing more of the technique.
'Not just that, but their aura capacity should also be weaker than Gon's. That way it'll eliminate enemies that Gon could easily take down in a one on one match. If it hits them while their aura is on, we could have it so that it would trap them AND slowly drain their aura capacity, giving more energy to Gon. If they deactivate their aura with Zetsu, the effects will be dispelled and the opponent will be set free.'
finding himself in yet another hole, he rebuilt it more slowly this time, as he was rapidly expanded on the conditions he had in mind.
'As for the stronger opponents, If they were to be hit with it without Aura then it would just trap them. Not knock them out. They would be able to break out of it by activating their aura. If it trapped them with their aura on, They too would just have to go into Zetsu to break themselves out of it.'
As he continued to dig and following his training of thought, he barely noticed someone approaching him.
"Hey Killua…"
Turning around, he saw that it was Alluka. Pausing momentarily from his digging, he sat down and casually slung his arm over his knee.
"What's up?"
"I was doing the head straining meditation thingy you told me about and…" Alluka scratched her head sheepishly. "I did feel it strain but… could you maybe come to see if I'm doing it right? I just wanna make sure."
"Oh." Killua smiled, getting up. "Yeah, sure. Let's see it."
Eagerly grabbing his hand, she led him away from the hole and to where she was, both of them sitting down. Killua briefly went into ten, relaxing for a moment and letting the weights drag his limbs down.
"Ok. I'm gonna do it now." Alluka said, looking into his eyes.
Killua activated Gyo and nodded. "Alright, Let'er rip."
Alluka closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation she had been engaged in just moments before, Her head straining ever so slightly periodically.
Killua paid close attention to his sister, his eyes glowing with aura as he watched intently to make sure she was doing it correctly.
With his gyo, he was able to see his sister's brain light up slightly, a faint hazy piece of her nen showing itself.
As Alluka continued her meditation, little spurts of energy travelled down thin tubular gateways connecting to her nen nodes.
He saw two little nods of aura light up before vanishing. They turned on and off periodically.
He stood up, activating his ren for the weights to loosen their weight, Alluka opened her eyes and the flow of nen ceased, having lost her concentration.
"So…" she prodded. "What did you think?"
Killua ruffled her hair, causing her to flinch.
"You're doing great! Just keep it up and you'll unlock it in no time."
A massive grin showed itself as she nodded enthusiastically. "Kay!"
As he turned to leave, he felt Allie's tugging at his sleeve. "When are we gonna eat?"
"Not too long from now." He promised. "Just practise for a bit more. Okay?"
"Ok! But soon alright? I'm getting hungry."
"I got it." He sighed.
The three children continued to train rigorously, until eventually, the time came for them to eat.
Both boys slipped their weights off, agreeing that Gon would go and catch some plants, fungi, and animals for dinner, he having a much better grasp on which ones were overall safer to eat.
Killua meanwhile, sat down beside his sister, using his t-shirt to wipe off some of the sweat on his forehead.
"How was your training, bro?" Alluka asked, scooting toward him.
"It was fine." Killua said, rubbing his sore muscles. "How was yours?"
Alluka rubbed at her neck, removing some of her strands and looking disappointed. "I guess it was ok. At least I sorta got the hang of it." She turned back to face him her face slightly desperate, "but is there really no other way to activate them safely?"
"Nope. What you see is what you get. Sorry." Killua turned to her, rubbing her head. "Besides, what are you so worried about? You did great, I can already see that you've almost activated nine of your nods!"
Alluka's eyes widened in excitement. "Wait, really?!" She clasped her hands in excitement. "How many total do I need to activate?!"
"70." Killua responded, a cheerful grin on his face.
"What?!" Alluka cried out. "That's way too many!"
"Not if you activate 10 a day." He said simply. " You'll get it down in no time! You just need to meditate a bit more and you'll have 10." He encouraged her. "10 a day and you'll have it all activated for when we fight Goku."
"Oh, yeah. Guess that's true…." She murmured, unable to refute anything her brother had said. "Well… Guess I'll see how it goes then. So when we're done eating, should I keep meditating?"
"Definitely." Killua said, his grin turning somewhat malicious. "After that though… What say we try on the weights?"
Alluka's face fell and she huffed.
'Darn it…'
Hours later, deep into the night, the gang had fallen asleep within the small burrow that Gon had found.
While Alluka was deep within her dreams, Gon and Killua were a little more guarded. Not moving or making as many sounds, subconsciously aware of their surroundings should danger come nearby.
In her dream, Alluka once again appeared in the black void of her lucid world, crossing her arms expectantly.
Ever since the day where they had trained with Goten up in the rooftops, Nanika had refused to visit Alluka in her dreams. Rightfully so, Alluka thought.
After all the help they had given her, she had chosen to continuously worry and doubt her best friend, no doubt causing Nanika to lose their patience, as well as having their feelings be hurt by the one they love most.
As much as Alluka deserved it, she selfishly continued to plead for another chance.
"Please come out…" she spoke into the void, hoping it would reach them. "I managed to convince them that the reason I'm sad is because you've been inactive! Not because I hate lying to them. They're not suspicious of me anymore…"
She could feel tears trickling down her face, the sensation enhanced no doubt by her real body excreting them herself.
"Please. PLEASE give me another chance… I won't mess up again. I won't doubt you again. I'll follow your advice to the letter cause your right and I'm wrong and-" she choked.
"I'm- it feels so wrong without you." She whimpered pathetically, down on her knees.
She continued to weep, the empty black void doing nothing to sway the loneliness in your heart.
Minutes passed as nothing happened. Her tears slowly began to dry as she just sat despondent with her head down.
"Do you really mean it this time?"
Looking up rapidly, Alluka's vision blurred. She shook her head rapidly and wiped her eyes, finally seeing Nanika standing over her, their face expressionless.
"YES! Yes…" Alluka said, tightly clinging to them tightly. "Never ever! I'll do anything you tell me and I won't doubt you! Just please don't hate me!"
Nanika continued to stare down at the sobbing young girl, who had buried her face in their torso.
A few seconds later, Nanika separated Alluka from their body, giving them room to kneel down beside her.
"I don't hate you. I'm just disappointed and sad that you don't trust me."
"I do trust you!" Alluka refuted.
"Perhaps. But not enough to not doubt me."
Alluka went silent after that, her complexion turning pale before looking up again frantically. "I- I won't do it again! I promise! This time I'll do my best. Just watch!"
Nanika rubbed at their chin in contemplation, making Alluka watch with bated breath.
"I believe you when you say you don't hate me."
Alluka piped up, a hopeful look in her eye.
"But I still cannot bring myself to trust you fully."
Her face pulled into a desperate frown, once again clinging to Nanika by grabbing onto their shoulders.
"What do I have to do for you to trust me again?! I'll do anything!"
"You already said the solution. Just do as I say and don't question me. If I say it's good for you then it's true. I'm your best friend. I'd never lie to you."
"I won't! I'll never doubt you again! I swear!" Alluka nodded her head fiercely.
Nanika gingerly removed Alluka's hands from their shoulders and stood up, not once breaking eye contact.
"We'll see about that."
Nanika faded and Alluka felt herself once again slipping into unconsciousness, her dream world disappearing as she was pulled into a deep sleep now that their talk was over.
'I won't make you sad again.' Alluka thought vehemently, before her world went completely dark.
Oh yeah! One more chapter and it'll finally be Fighting day!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It wasn't going to be AS long as it turned out here but I just kept adding more and more detail until it came out the way it did.
As always leave your thoughts in the comment section and I will see you in the next chapter of
Dragon Hunter ZX!