Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Out of all the members from the Phantom Troupe, Naruto would admit she enjoyed Shalnark the most. He was carefree, friendly and the one that does not make it a game to look out for her. He did not play the role of the overprotective brother whenever she talked to another boy, only amused whenever she flirted with one of them. There was no game of tempting her to kill someone, he respected her boundaries enough to know not to push her to her limit.

Even now as she dropped her stuff into the scroll, Shalnark did not insist to come along with her like the others. Or rather he was not behaving like Nobunaga, who had not been pleased with her desire to do the Hunter Exams. No, he thought there was no point for her to do it when there were members of the Phantom troupe, who had done the exam. That it would be better for him and Uvogin to keep an eye on her because of her past.

"I heard you're planning to do the Hunter Exams," Shalnark clasped his hands behind his head as the scroll gobbled her shirt. His tone lacked judgment but she heard the curiosity in his voice. Could feel it pulsating in his tone. She remained silent, unwilling to answer the unspoken question. The older male sighed. "It's a curiosity since you never seem to show any care for it, even when I pointed out the advantages of having the Hunter License."

She shrugged and stared out at the window. "Yeah, well at 12, I was just content with being by the Troupe side and learning from you guys on how to survive in this part of the cruel world." Shalnark didn't smile nor laugh at her words and so Naruto looked down at her scrolls. "Now I'm ready to build a life outside of you guys, after all I'm not really apart of the Troupe. I'm just someone that Chrollo took in on a whim."

He smiled. A faintly amused smile. "With how much you distrust people and mumbled about how easy it is for people to discard you, why wouldn't he take you in?" She uttered no words at the reminder and the older male inspected her for a moment. "It isn't everyday we find someone who went through the same shit…even if you'll never tell us about your origins."

What was there for her to talk about? She left the village after she killed Mizuki, after he threatened to kill her. After he revealed the fact she was the Kyuubi, though she had doubts about being the Kyuubi. Her dreams and memories did not reveal the faces of all the men, who had died. Her nose did not remember the phantom smell of blood like she recalled the rustic scent of Mizuki. Her brain still played the memories at time. Self-defence if you asked her. But the fact he wanted to kill her made her wonder if there would have been more plots to frame or kill her.

"I'm surprised you still haven't found a hint about my past with how much digging you do in the Hunter site or any other websites," her tone was soft as her ears listened to the sweet whimsical whisper of the winds. "Then again, I told you…didn't I? You can't find anything about me, just like how no one can find any records about the people of your city." He didn't smile at her words, only sighing at the reminder.

"That's what makes you interesting." He inspected her for another moment before letting out another exaggerated sigh. "Besides the fact you're strong for someone who doesn't use Nen, I don't know how you plan to pass the other exam if you can't use Nen." She remained silent while the older boy inspected her for a moment. "You've another ability that allows you to pass the Hunter Exam, don't you? That's why you weren't bothered when Nobunaga tried to teach you how to do it and you keep failing to do it."

She just smiled. "Where's the fun of me telling you? I think it's more fun for you and the troupe to figure out how I'm able to do everything you guys can do without the use of Nen." Shalnark laughed and plucked his phone for a moment, playing with the buttons. He hovered around the button, almost as if to remind her of his other abilities. "Well except what you can do, I can't control people like you do…and I definitely don't want that ability."

He closed the phone. "It might be useful for you, especially if you run into people as deranged as Hisoka."

"No one can be as crazy as that clown," she rubbed her arms as the cold wind brushed against her, a soft reminder of what was to come. "And even if I do meet someone as strong as that crazy clown, I can still take care of myself." Her eyes focused on the large scroll sitting on the other side of the room. The scroll, she had stolen. The one thing that reminded her of home. She eyed the smiling man. "So you don't need to worry about me and you can tell Nobunaga and Uvogin that I don't need them hovering over me while I do those exams."

"Uvogin isn't going to hover over you if you do the Hunter Exams," Shalnark reminded her. "Nobunga might try to talk you out of it, the fact you can't use Nen and how you haven't been alone up till now…well he might think you aren't ready to spread your wings just yet." She grimaced at the reminder while her fellow blond took a seat beside her. "So I probably won't tell him that you ended up leaving me behind to do the exams, it's time you show your stuff and prove that the boss was right about your potential."

The owl hooted and Naruto just stared at the scroll. "You know even when I passed the Hunter Exam, I still won't be apart of the troupe." Her eyes darted to his ankle, where his spider tattoo was hidden. The troupe members, all of them, had tattoos of spiders on their body. Had numbers on them but she didn't understand why. Naruto closed her eyes. "I don't mind being associated with you, there are perks after all but…I want to build a life outside of the troupe."

He didn't smile at her words, instead he stood up and inspected her for a moment. "If the hunters know you're an associate—"

"—I've no plans of making it known to everyone," her eyes focused on the moon staring down at them. "You and the others have committed enough crimes to make enemies and I don't want to be the reason that you guys get killed." Shalnark laughed but Naruto only thinned her lips at him. "It isn't funny, one of these days…you'll meet someone, who is capable of killing you because you guys don't give a fuck about who gets hurt."

Shalnark chuckled. "Maybe we'll meet a person who can actually kill us," he clasped his hands behind his head. "But until that day comes, I think we'll just keep doing what we're good at. Besides, if someone does manage to kill me then I better respect their strength and their brains, don't I?" He laughed but Naruto didn't smile one bit. The male nudged her. "For someone who closes herself off from others, you really give a shit about other people."

She remained silent for a moment.

"If I cared about people, it won't be easy for me to say goodbye to them."

A/N: So I would like to state that Killua and Gon are aged up in this fic, putting them around 15 alongside Naruto. Their dynamics as well as Naruto's dynamic with the troupe will be explored in the upcoming chapters.