Bisky has, unfortunately, more training for Raphael.


Fingers digging into the worm sludge once more, Raphael led the group through a series of caves. He held the fluid in his palm, moving it towards every cave they passed. Ideally, he should've navigated the wastelands using the outskirts. But given how exhausted they were from fighting for hours; he would take the more direct approach.

He wasn't about to force them to run across slopes and slides, winding around the rocky staircases leading out of the area.

Which meant they were going to take the more scenic approach to Masadora.

The worms wouldn't be a problem if they ran into them anyway.

Popping through one last cave they entered a lush green forest, Raphael looking around to find a landmark of sorts. He moved towards a tree, motioning to the others to follow. He explained a few of the markings before pointing at a castle, telling them that's where they were headed.

They were mostly markings left behind by bandits in the area, warnings, or hints of good spots to loot. Seeing as Bisky was more interested in the main Greed Island hub, he avoided the loot for the moment.

They moved through multiple landmarks, ancient lost towns, camps, caves, and mini-dungeons. Eventually, they moved along a massive lake filling the island, the last landmark before town.

Raphael pointed towards the town, a smile gracing his face "Welcome to Masadora, the city of Magic."

"A little later than I expected…" Bisky looked towards the sky, "That took about thirty minutes longer than I wanted."

"We did take the scenic route." Raphael held out his finger "I owe you a card." Calling his book, he made a copy, handing it off to Bisky before they continued.

"~"

"So, the Magic shop is-"

"Where's the department store?" Bisky was quick to interject. They had no time to waste, not even to prepare to play the game.

Raphael's expression fell. She wasn't going to give them a moment of reprieve… was she? Lifting his finger, he motioned towards the area "Go left, right, straight down and it'll be along the left route at the end. We're-"

Bisky snatched the boy's arm, dragging him along "Nope, you're not doing anything. You're going to help me find a couple of items."

With a reluctant sigh, he followed Bisky, hoping that they'd at least get to rent out a room to shower. He smells foul.

"~"

Killua and Gon were left to their own devices, fingers scanning the endless walls of cards. Gon tapped one of the many items, frowning at the presentation "They're only selling cards…"

"Considering the map was a card, it's safe to assume the whole island sells only cards."

Killua traced a finger across an item, "That makes transportation easy at least."

"Sorry…"

The boys turned to face Raphael; the teen offered a weak apologetic smile "Bisky is making us go back… back to where we started."

"Seriously…"

"It sucks 'cause there's an amazing onsen here, perfect to relax and wash up. But the she-devil is making us go back." He gestured to the boys, "And the banshee isn't waiting so let's go…"

Slouching, Killua and Gon sighed once more. They were forced to head back for more training, unfortunately.

"~"

The three groaned, Bisky holding up her cards with a smile. A wheelbarrow, two shovels and two flashlights dropped to the floor with a thud.

"There's three of us… but only two torches. Wait, why torches?! I told you to get the headlamps."

"Because life isn't fair…" Bisky gestured back towards Masadora, "And we're going back to Masadora."

"SERIOUSLY?!"

"But in a straight line… so start digging."

"So, I guess I'm the wheelbarrow dude."

"Nope!" She patted one of the many rocks, "You have nothing to learn from this."

Killua fumed from the news, roughly picking up one of the shovels on the floor. He let out a huff of annoyance, gesturing to his friend to follow him "Let's get started Gon."

"Right…"

Bisky watched the two boys start digging into the wall, humming cheerily as they trudged along.

"So, I'm doing… what?"

"We're going to be talking."

"About, what exactly?" What was she hoping to pry from him? Considering Gon and Killua will be training the whole time, it'll probably be about his training experience… most likely.

"What else do you know?"

Straight to the point, I guess "About the game? I know a lot about that."

"No, about advanced Nen techniques."

"Well, I just learned En. Besides the basics, I know of Zetsu, but I cannot perform Zetsu to an adequate level. Other than that, I know Gyo, Shu, and Ko… but am no expert at Ko. I also know Ken and Ryu."

"I assume no In as well?"

"I do… it's just something I don't find useful at the moment."

Bisky hummed at the idea. Surely there was a little more to this situation than him finding no use for Zetsu or In. Given the ability he has created, it would been better to have an implementation of In to some degree. The ability to hit someone with a blinding force, without them having time to see it coming would be far too beneficial to not consider the possibility, "That's a shame… it could've complimented Blash Bang."

"Sure…" He thinks he can see what she's hinting at. A hidden ability with a blinding aspect would be most beneficial to him. But there's one major problem he's reluctant to talk about. It involves an aspect of his life he doesn't want to talk about… history he rather remain hidden. "In fairness, I simply suck at Zetsu. It's not my forte, that's all…"

"I see…" Bisky hummed along, legs dangling over the rock. There's more to this story he's not letting on. Although she doubts without a fair bit of prying she'd be able to pull that information out of him "Well, I could help you once I know what's wrong."

There was a hum of agreement, the two falling into mutual silence. He wasn't going to say anymore. Maybe a change of topics would help ease him into the conversation "I do have some hints and tips I want to talk to you about though. It's about your En."

"Lay it on me…"

"First up, your aura management skills." Bisky gestured to the boy's flowing aura "You tend to steal from your En field when you're using Gyo or Ryu. I suggest you stick to setting aside aura for each category. So, expand your aura, then use what you have remaining to defend yourself. That means your current Ryu skills are lacking."

"Uh, huh…" The teen watched as Gon carried the wheelbarrow out, dumping the dirt before heading back into the tunnel the boys had created. Raphael offered a smile to the older woman, "I'm guessing this training is supposed to help them discover an advanced technique."

"They will… eventually."

"Sandstone…" The teen uttered under his breath, "You're expecting them to run into rocks, the kind they can't dig through."

"Precisely. But you can't tell them that. I don't want them cheating… It's something they must learn themselves."

"Understood…"

Raphael felt at unease, the silence that followed lulling him into a sense of reluctance. She was expecting him to talk about his mistake. To be the first to break…

But he didn't want to…

He couldn't…

Unconsciously, he rubbed at the old wound, feeling the marred skinned. It has long since healed. But his mistake left behind a warning, to tell him to never make the same mistake… to be weak. Sure, he had felt weak while fighting Gon and Killua because he had become too complacent with his strength. But even then, with a bit of pushing and prodding he has come out of his shell. He has gotten stronger with his friends' help, not weaker…

All he needed was a push…

Bisky helped with that…

Maybe she could help with his problem with Zetsu as well. He opened his mouth, almost about to talk about his issue. But he finds himself falling short. He wasn't ready to talk about something so confidential about his past.

Bisky held out her hand, "Show me."

"Show you what, exactly?"

"Your hand, obviously. You were rubbing it…"

The teen held it out. Bisky took the hand gently, worried that at any second it'd be ripped from her grip. If he's this hesitant to talk about it must be something too deep for him to confront out in the open. She eyed the old wound under a scrutinising gaze. "That's a deep cut… or it happened a long time ago."

Raphael pulled the hand away from her grip "It is… it was."

She humphed at the teen's words. The wound was really old, yet he was still hesitant to talk about it. Either it still hurts to even talk about it, or his mistake has left such a lasting impact, it threatens the possibility of him reverting back to that time of weakness.

He has improved so much in such little time…

A mistake that landed him that wound should become a thing of his past, not a painful reminder of what could happen again. "It doesn't seem to infringe on your ability to use your hand so I'm guessing it acts as a painful reminder of a mistake you made."

"Drop it!" Raphael warned her, his gaze turning deadly, "I do not want to talk about it. Let's leave it at that…"

"Alright." Bisky fanned out her dress, "But you should know your mistakes shouldn't define you. Everyone makes one at some point or another. It shouldn't infringe on your life…" The older woman found herself glaring at the teen, "Or you risk making a mistake that could get you… or your friends killed."

The teen shot back a glare, "Stop!"

"At least you know the consequences." Pulling back, the woman's expression softens, "I've seen you improve so much in such a short time frame. I don't want that wound to hold you back from improving any further. It can still be a mistake, but it shouldn't be the thing that holds you back from attempting to learn Zetsu or even In, again."

Raphael snorts at the possibility "That's easier said than done. I'm sure you made a dumb mistake you hold close to your heart."

"Dumb…? Many. But not those that stop me from trying again. I'm not telling you to pretend it never happened. Look forward because you have improved so much since that time. I want to help you not just because I see you as this glittering gem I want to polish to perfection."

"Fantastic… Now I'm a glittering gem. Sparkle, sparkle here I come."

Bisky laughed at the absurd idea, the light-hearted joke he was using to escape the main topic "I see the humour. But my point still stands."

"Oh, you're going to shave me down and wipe out all my issues until I shine like a reflective disco ball."

"I'm going to do more than that. Like a lump of coal, I'm going to crush you until you become a sparkling diamond."

Raphael found himself smiling at the idea, "Thanks…"

"Surely you've played hide and seek?" Bisky changed the conversation. There's no way he went his whole life without playing that game at one point.

"With who? Me, myself, and I…?" Raphael scoffed at the idea, "I didn't exactly have friends in my life, until now."

Bisky quirked an eyebrow. Was the teen being serious? He went his whole life without making friends until now. The teen couldn't honestly be telling the truth "Surely you hid from your parents…"

"Father, and no."

"I'm…" Bisky bit her tongue. He must have had a very lonely life… not that she wasn't about to push on that idea. The teen talked so highly about his father so it wasn't completely lonely. He respects his father not just as a fellow hunter, but a figure in his life that helped push him forward in life.

She wasn't going to take that much away from him "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I never got to know my mother…" Raphael offered a sincere smile. He doesn't feel like he lost anything given that he never truly got to know her. How does one even admit they don't feel any attachment to losing a mother they never truly got to meet, without coming off as uncaring to others? "I never truly felt the loss of losing her. She died when I was too young to remember any details…"

He offered the older woman a weak smile, "I know what she looks like but she's just a figment of my past. A picture I can look at, yet feel nothing… I'm sorry I'm coming off as jaded in this respect, but that's all there is to it. There's nothing more I can really say about her…"

Bisky looked at the teen sympathetically. It seems like it's a touchy subject. He doesn't feel sad… more unsure about what he should be expressing.

It gave the older woman some insight into the teen's emotions. He finds it difficult to express himself, at least emotionally.

He gets angry, sure…

He can get frustrated, certainly…

But, when it comes to knowing how he should act around his new friends, he seems to be going with the flow.

He's going by how Gon and Killua treat each other, and using that information to fit in. Bisky let those thoughts settle for the moment. Unless how he acted towards the boys was problematic, it wasn't an issue she should concern herself with "So you never hid from your dad? Or parents if he remarried or a partner at some point."

"Just my dad and I, like all single-parent children… who happened to lose their mother."

"Just covering all grounds. You could've had two fathers or a stepmother."

"I know… I haven't been living under a rock. I know that people who aren't heterosexual exist. But I'm pretty sure my father isn't Bi. It's been just me and my dad since… well, since forever."

"That makes things a little easier to gauge. So, Killua and Gon really are your first friends?"

Raphael kept silent for a moment. They were his first friends. After what happened when he was younger it wasn't that his father kept him on a tight leash, nor did he develop trust issues. He had a sheltered life where he felt loved, but lonely in a sense "Yes…"

"Not to push you to talk about the traumatic event you're hiding…" She paused, barely glancing over at the boy "I just want some simple facts. Do you feel like the reason you're terrible at Zetsu is why a part of you feels like you could fail again to learn those techniques?"

The teen let out a deep sigh, now rubbing at the scar once more as he hid his expression. She had hit the nail right on the head. He was abducted and held hostage. After that traumatic event, he didn't have any desire to escape his sheltered life. So, his father was the only person he held a conversation with.

It took a few years of coaxing to feel any need to escape his world of isolation…

The need to make friends or go on an adventure. Getting his Hunter License was the catalyst that brought about that change.

And now here he was having the time of his life, but Bisky's unfortunate questions and statements had pried deep enough to threaten a piece of his past from spilling forth. He couldn't have that "I do…"

"Good!" Bisky chimed with a smile, widened eyes of confusion meeting hers. She had taken him by surprise "I don't mean that as a bad thing. It means we're getting somewhere. You are improving… never take that for granted."

Bisky had as much information as she was going to gather right now. She'd need time and a well-thought-out plan if she was going to help the teen get over his hurdle of failure "Well, since Zetsu and In are off the table for the moment. That leaves Ryu, Gyo and En to work on. Ignoring Gyo and Ryu, considering I already have plans for those, that leaves En…"

Bisky mulled over a few ideas before settling on one, "Okay, I have a plan. En up, eyes closed."

Raphael did as he asked.

He waited… nothing happened. Hearing nothing, he attempted to peek, to see what exactly she was planning on doing or what she was doing in silence.

Bisky's voice warned the boy "I didn't say you could peek."

"But you didn't say or do anything."

"Does a predator tell their prey what they intend to do?"

"No…"

"Then close your eyes."

The teen did as he asked, waiting for Bisky's next move.

"~"

Bisky flicked a rock at the snoring boy, the impact making the kid yelp in surprise.

Rubbing at the small bruise, the teen complained "What did you do that for?"

"I didn't say you could sleep. Again."

Pouting, the teen did what he asked. He shut his eyes, figure relaxing as his aura expanded. A deep breath was all Bisky needed to look over.

Aura shifted calmly, like waves extending into the open sea. All she wanted was to see the anxiety, the expectation of being hit to settle. When it was gone, she could test his reaction time and how it wavers when picking up on something within touching distance.

The boy was unable to pick up on all the boys' attacks so she's wondering if it's due to the teen's focus, or because of his technique.

Rather than flicking a rock, she stuck a finger into the expansive aura.

The teen's eyes flicked open, glaring at the older woman. She chuckled in response, "Good. Again."

She tried a few various actions, each one getting various results. He reacts to her aura, even if she attempts to use Zetsu. The problem is it's not impenetrable.

There were spots she could exploit, weakness within his guard. Either the boys were able to pick up on that, or it was through mere dumb luck they just managed to time their attacks right.

Bisky kept going, wondering if it was something he needed to fix through more training, or if it was something problematic.

She'll need more results than information from a simple poking test.

"~"

The night sky eased through the clouds, welcoming the creatures of darkness to activate while those who moved about the day got ready to despawn. Unlike most games where enemies got tougher during the night, what happened instead was elites started to spawn during the night.

They were certainly dangerous to deal with for noobies, certainly. But unless you knew what you were looking for, the chances of running into them were very unlikely.

Some only even spawned during questlines.

Like the Silverback Werewolf, a creature of the night that spawned on full moons only. It was quicker, tanker and had a problematic howl that summons allies that the player must constantly deal with.

But if you beat it, it's not only worth a pretty Jenny, the mobs it summons are worth a decent amount, if you can loot their cards before they can despawn.

It was the perfect example of an infinite Jenny exploit considering the howl was consistent and endless. The major problem was they weren't considered resummons, so if a player failed to kill the summons, the number of monsters you could be dealing with could end up in the hundreds.

If you run far enough, while they despawn, the Silverback Werewolf will recover from all inflicted wounds.

Thankfully, you don't need any special equipment to kill the werewolves. He supposes that it would be difficult to program. What if a random player brings in a weapon that has similar properties to their weaknesses? Or a Nen ability that can conjure something that replicates their weaknesses?

Actually, that last thought wouldn't make sense. The Zoltan reacted to his Nen ability. It wouldn't be that farfetched for them to react to a Nen ability. No, the main reason the game masters wouldn't give the werewolves a single weakness, is because it would make it impossible to obtain.

Not including time-restricted events, all cards have multiple methods for obtaining them. The beast may be activated only through a specific questline, but it wouldn't be immune to everything but a select few materials.

After his training with Gon, Killua and Bisky, he wouldn't mind trying to solo that beast again. The last time he tried it, he failed to beat it/ But he does know a decent number of their mechanics, so it should be doable now.

Shifting his eyes, he noticed cracks forming along the mountain. Bisky stood after the first crack, now moving closer to the wall. Rubble fell after the rocks gave way and a new tunnel formed out of the makeshift underground passageway the boys had dug out.

It kicked up some dirt from the wasteland and rubble, clouding the older woman with a wall of dust and flecks of dirt. Bisky dusted off the mess from her clothing barely sparing a glance at the two that crawled from the makeshift tunnel.

Killua and Gon crawled over the rubble, falling flat on their back as they panted heavily. They hadn't bothered clearing the mess, instead opting to continue lying on the ground.

Raphael followed the older woman, standing alongside her. As she towered over them, she thought about how the two boys were taking far too long to understand what she expected from them. They were supposed to learn Shu. Had she miscalculated the route?

No, she couldn't have.

Surely there would've been larger chunks of rock littering the mountains… or there were, it's just that there wasn't enough to completely block the boys off. They must have still been able to dig them out and dump them without issue.

Given the layout of the wasteland including the foundation, there would be plenty of Sandstone throughout the area. They might have gotten away because they were digging a large enough tunnel to avoid the problem.

Provided they weren't cheating by digging around the Sandstone so that it still looked like they were moving forward, she wouldn't have a problem with the tunnels they'd dug out so far. She'll just have to double-check and make sure they weren't cheating.

Still… they weren't meeting her expectations. It took almost all night to clear a few tunnels.

Maybe she just needed to make sure they were exhausted enough to reduce the tunnel size so that they would run into the problem sooner rather than later.

Killua could only glare at the older woman standing over them "You better not demand us to keep going."

"I wouldn't dream of working you through the night, but…" She smiled cheekily at the two, "If you're going to rest, may I suggest something else? I need you to sit properly for this."

The two looked at each other both concerned and a little confused. What could she need them to sit for? Shrugging, they sat up. Bisky proceeded to pull a few cards from her binder, showing them off to the boys: large nails and three, five-metre ropes.

"Gain!" If they weren't confused before, they definitely were now.

"You're not planning on tying us up… are you?"

"That would be pointless." Bisky hushed the boy, forcing them up against the wall before ramming two nails into the wall above them. She gestured to Raphael to do the same before setting his pulley system up.

She grabbed three rocks, tying them up so they hung over their heads without threatening to randomly fall onto them. Smiling glee at her handy work she looked over the three "Starting from tonight this is how you're going to be sleeping. If you let go of the rope, the rock will drop on your head and give you a rude awakening. When that happens, I'm going to increase the size of the rock. Also…" She pulled a knife from under her skirt, "There's a chance I'm going to cut your rope too. So, you may want to keep a portion of your brain on high alert."

Killua tested the rope, tugging on it a few times "This will be a piece of cake. My father used to put me through this all the time."

"Is any part of your childhood considered normal?" Raphael asked out of concern. The way he admitted that so casually made him more concerned than impressed. Although, this is still considered a form of torture, since she admitted she might cut their rope at any given time… at least with Ten they wouldn't get hurt. A bruise here and there at worst.

However, Killua was admitting he'd done this when he was most likely younger… before he probably learned Nen. What kind of parents did he have…?

"Nope, good night." With that Killua's head drooped, already out cold.

After that, Raphael was impressed. He could knock out at the drop of a hat. What else could the boy do? He'd kill to have the ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. He knew enough about En to be able to detect any movements Bisky might make to cut his rope… but he didn't know if he could keep it up while out cold.

He guesses there's only one way to tell…

Closing his eyes, he willed himself to sleep. He hopes that he doesn't drop the rock on his head.

The sweet embrace of rest enveloped him, calming his nerves after his deep discussion with Bisky. What she said will cling to the back of his mind, a feeling of uneasiness and weakness.

He is strong enough to overcome his weaknesses. He proved it in his fight with the boys. He doesn't believe there will ever be a time when Zetsu will bring about his friend's demise.

He wouldn't put himself in that position, let alone his newfound friends…

He woke to the sounds of a heavy crash, a scream echoing across the walls. In his drowsy state, he looked around, his tight grip loosening in his delirious state.

He felt something hit his head, the teen yelping in surprise. There was a rock attached to a rope now lying at his side. Oh, that's right… we're training.

His eyes fluttered to the other that screamed, Gon casually nursing the bruise. But that wasn't the only thing he saw.

Killua was still out cold. He must be a heavy sleeper… Turning to face the other who screamed in agony, he approached the boy out of concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Gon continued to nurse the spot, "It hurts."

The teen chuckled in response, "You should keep your Ten up then. That will at least reduce some of the pain."

"Yeah…" Gon offered a weak smile towards the older boy. He was grateful to hear that was a possibility. But doing so while trying to be half asleep would still be a challenge.

"Alright stop giving the boy ideas." Bisky shoved two slightly larger rocks into the boys' faces "Put up your new rocks and get back to sleep."

Groaning out of sheer annoyance the two put up their newest challenge, trying to fall asleep with a heavier rock now threatening their heads.


A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.

I wish everyone a happy holiday and New year.