The group meets Knov's personal nightmare creature.

The group walked through town, planning their next move. So, they only know that there are two assassins, one for Gon and the other, for Killua.

Raphael wondered why he wasn't a factor…

Maybe they just planned for a five-man team.

"Oh…" Killua tossed the chips up, catching it repeatedly with the same hand he threw it, "Oh, by the way." The boy cast a glance in Raphael's direction, "Netero brought up he knows your dad, Raphael."

"Wait, you met the chairman? In person?"

"Yeah, and not our first time. He challenged us to catch a ball from him. He'd have made us Hunters straight away, if he had lost…"

"Yeah, it was super fun. Although, Killua hurt his leg when he kicked him in the shin."

"This was before we knew about Nen, so of course it wasn't going to hurt him. That was irritating."

"Well, you gave up-"

"I didn't give up, I just saw beating him wasn't a realistic goal."

"Well, I got him to use his other hand and foot, so I count that as a win."

"Of course you would…" Killua smiled. He did like achieving those little wins along the way, "Anyway, he mentioned your dad was strong and pretty good with a sword."

"He is…"

"Also, he was Netero's student at one time. Although, when I asked why he wasn't involved, he complained about paperwork."

"Weird complaint to have, when we have a human-devouring species on the horizon…"

"Yeah, I agree. I guess there's nothing we can do about it. When we deal with the assassins, we'll get a second chance at fighting those beasts."

Gon eyed the tokens Killua was tossing out of curiosity, "And how are they going to help us find them?"

"They work like proof of documentation, so it's just a matter of finding the assassins and taking them out."

The trio returned to the train station, finding the message had already been erased.

Raphael frowned, "Weird. The least they could do was write a location or time…"

"We'd have assumed it was a trap…" Killua rubbed the residue chalk away, "So it'd be pointless. They probably expect us to find them."

"R-Right…"

"You must be Killua, Gon and Raphael."

The trio felt a shiver run up their spine, the three turning around to face their would be-assassin.

"Nice to meet you…"

The assassin was dressed in a pink dress, a dark purple aura oozing doom and gloom. She fit the bill of a stereotypical assassin.

Frizzy hair reached all the way to her ankles, covering her back and most of her face. She had bandages that covered her arms, constantly playing with her dress.

She was scrunching up the fabric, pulling it high enough to show off her frail legs.

She looked more like a ghost than an assassin.

"My name is Palm. It's a pleasure."

"Are you the one…" Raphael gestured to the board, "That left the message for us? Are you one of the assassins?"

"No!" She oozes rage and anger, "I'm not one of those ruffians." As quickly as her anger came, it dispersed, "Oh, sorry… I didn't mean to lash out." She returned to playing with her dress, acting shy.

Neither of the boys could read her. All they could tell was that she was strong on her own, probably powerful enough to take them out without a fuss.

But since she hadn't done so, she most likely wasn't their assassin.

"So, you know who the assassins are, what they look like and what not?"

"I thought so…" The lady paused, "The chairman mustn't have provided many details, just the task at hand. Follow me, and I'll explain the rest over some tea and coffee."

The trio looked at each other, unsure if they should be following the crazy looking lady. But considering she's the only one willing to provide them information…

They had no choice.

With a shrug, Killua was the first to follow her, the others joining a second later.

"~"

Palm had led them to a small, quaint shop, a large array of different coffees lingering in the air.

A few people were already seated, mild conversations going on in the background. Palm had ordered a large pot of black coffee for herself, gesturing to the boys to get something for themselves.

Neither of them were prepared to order, considering they didn't trust her yet.

When the waitress was gone, Palm offered a weak smile. Clearly, she was a lot shyer than she looks. Although, walking around like she was cosplaying The Grudge, didn't help her situation since it was drawing attention…

Then again, a lot of people looked like they were too scared to approach her, "As you probably figured out, I am a student of Knov-sensei."

Killua blinked in disbelief. The man was impeccably dressed, whereas she looked like she just got done crawling out of hell, "You don't say…"

When the waiter brought the pot of coffee, Palm thanked the man as he poured her a cup. As soon as he placed down the pot, he left quite quickly, feeling sorry for the poor kids.

"He said I would only get in his way…" Palm took the lid off the sugar pot, grabbing a hefty amount of sugar to pour it into her coffee, "But I insisted on accompanying him." She poured a second spoon.

Thinking she was done, she grabbed a third spoon, lifting above her cup to pour it in.

"Who's that?" Gon asked Killua since he was the only one to talk to any of them.

"She's talking about one of the guys with Chairman Netero, the one I believe was in a suit, glasses, narrow eyes."

"Yes, he's an incredible person."

Judgemental too… Killua mused to himself, just in case Palm was a crazy person. Then his eyes flicked back to Palm, eyes drawn to the large mound of sugar heaped on top of the coffee, the woman now reaching for another spoonful of sugar.

After the fifth spoon, Raphael couldn't help himself. He was watching her hands with morbid curiosity, Palm was constantly dumping sugar into her coffee, spoonful after spoonful.

"He's cool, intelligent, composed-ah, I guess composed and cool mean the same thing! Oh, dear… Oh, but I only respect him, that's all. It's not like I have romantic feelings, or anything of that sort for him."

Now the trio were just plain mortified of the woman's actions. She hadn't stopped. Was she even counting how many spoons she had heaped into her… was it even coffee at this point?

How was she even alive if that's a normal ratio of coffee to sugar for her.

"At least, I may wish that were the case. After all, when it comes to falling in love, respect is a major factor…"

"Yeah, no, totally…" Raphael held up his hand to stop the woman, "I think you should've dumped the pot of sugar into the coffee, at this point."

"No, there will be too much." The woman was peeved at the boy for suggesting such a thing. It'll ruin the ratio of her drink. Grabbing another spoon, she continued, "Oh, but please don't tell him I said any of that. My teacher knows nothing about this. I haven't said a word to him, and I don't intend to."

Adding one last spoon, she stirred the sugar, Raphael noting that the cup was just dark brown, wet sugar coffee.

She pours the drink down her throat, the trio looking on in disgust. Seeing her guzzle down that cupful of sugar with a dash of coffee like it was a normal thing for her.

"Maybe, next time, order a cup of sugar, with a side of coffee instead…"

"They won't get the sugar to coffee ratio right either." Palm slammed the cup onto the table, rather annoyed at Killua for even suggesting that.

Even though the patrons and servers reacted, nobody made a move to approach the woman.

"If you say so…"

She starts to pour herself a second cup of coffee, "No one can say what will happen… After all, love is a spontaneous thing, don't you agree?"

Killua dismissed the entire conversation. She had been droning on and on about Knov, she hadn't said a single thing about what they came here to talk about, "Sure, sure. Now can I bring you back to the main topic at hand… the assassins."

"Oh, dear… Yes, I sincerely apologise. So, the chairman and my teacher said I couldn't accompany them any farther, until I helped you." She looked up from her cup, now glaring at the boys, "Imagine spending a lifetime trying to convince them of my determination, only for them to relent with that one condition…"

"Uh, if I may-"

Killua was interrupted by Palm once more, "My teacher may appear to be a cold person, but he's actually quite gentle. But you have to spend a lot of time with him to realise that. Ah, by spending time with him, I don't mean-"

"Yes, yes." Raphael tries to stop her before she goes off the rails, not that she hasn't done so already, "We understand you appreciate Knov on a deeper level. Now about those assassins."

Palm stared deep into the boys' eye, sending a dark and cold shiver up their spine, "You must defeat Knuckle and Shoot." She gripped her cup tightly, fist trembling. But she wasn't scared…

She was absolutely livid at the suggestion, aura now pooling around her cup of coffee, "To think those vulgar… barbaric, unmannered brats will be allowed inside NGL before me…"

The liquid rose to the top of the cup, now pouring over the sides into the plate.

"Ah…"

The liquid continued to rise, bubbling like an endless fountain of coffee, "I cannot allow that."

"Ah, please stop…" Gon quickly grabbed a couple of serviettes, quickly wiping away the mess. But unless she stopped, coffee would continue to pour over the table, "Your Hatsu. Your Hatsu!"

Eventually she was able to calm down, poor Gon left to wipe up the remainder of the mess.

At this point they were going to be here forever the way the woman was going. They know a hell of a lot more about her affection for Knov, her teacher, than what they needed to actually know.

Killua waved for a waiter, ordering a hot chocolate, orange juice and ice tea.

With their orders before them and the table clean, Killua levied a rather annoyed expression at the woman. Maybe now they might learn something other than the assassins' name, her affection for her teacher Knov, and the fact she was an Enhancer.

"Alright, so can we please get back on schedule here. We know you think of them as ruffians, but what can you tell us about Knuckle and Shoot? Also, why assist us? Why aren't you allowed to take them out on your own? From a glance, you clearly have skills…"

Palm let out a long, tired sigh, "Because I'm not the one that's supposed to beat them. You are…" She gestured to the boys with open hands, "Knuckle and Shoot are Morel-san's students."

Killua grits his teeth, remember how the man insulted him by saying, you were less than a loser, you were a failure. Sure, that's how he felt at the time. He won't deny that. But now that he had regained hope after Gon's enthusiasm about Kite still being alive, he refused to give up like his best friend.

"They too, received a condition. Unfortunately, I don't know what was placed upon them…" Palm's mood further soured, the aura pooling around her seeming to make other patrons feel uneasy "Whether it's us or them, only one group will be allowed into NGL. Your deadline-"

"Is one month…" Killua answered her. Netero already said so, and her nodding was all the confirmation they needed.

"Please tell us you know of a way to find them…"

"Certainly…"

"~"

Raphael watched from above, a man adorned with flags, wearing a white jacket and loose pants. The man was practically screaming at the top of his lungs for not just anyone, everyone to listen to him "My name is Knuckle Bine! I am a Beast Hunter! I challenge the two punitive force candidates to a duel! Come tonight at midnight sharp, and face me! I won't run or hide! I won't bring any weapons or allies. It'll just be me, and me alone. So come and fight me!"

Raphael watched as the man continued to berate them, never once did he give them an exact location… only daring them to come to a location he failed to disclose.

The teen watched as Killua walked past him, glancing once at the flag before turning away.

The man never noticed one of the so-called men he was looking for, was right there, right beside him for just a few seconds. Either he has zero spatial awareness, or Killua was way above Knuckle's skill level.

He continued to listen, hoping the man would give a clue. But he just went back into the same spiel, regurgitating everything he said for scratch. Frowning, Raphael disappeared off the side of the building down into the alley. He'll rejoin the others since it was pointless to continue listening any longer.

Walking past Knuckle to get him to admit a location may be a terrible idea.

Him leaving out the location could be a ploy to draw out his enemies. And he's not about to test the man to see if he's plain old oblivious, stupid or secretly thousands of steps ahead of them.

"~"

"He's just a decoy…" Killua groaned with a heavy sigh. There was nothing fundamentally useful about his presence that gave away any information.

For all they knew, Knuckle was a brute powerhouse and Shoot was the one in the background who'd knock them down, or trip them up for an easy take out.

"Decoy aside, he gave us nothing to work with. Besides the fact he wants to fight all of us, at the same time."

"That could be a ruse, considering his partner could've been hiding somewhere, watching. They're watching to see if anyone reacts suspiciously."

"Hmm, I suppose you're correct. That's why you walked past Knuckle? To test if someone attacked you, or stuck out like a sore thumb?"

"Well, yes, but also to test him. He should've realised someone with Zetsu walked straight past him. To be honest, I wasn't even trying that hard to hide myself… he didn't even react."

"To be honest, your steps are so silent, he probably didn't even hear you."

Killua offered a shrug, "Not my problem. That means he would've been assassinated way too easily. That being said. According to Palm, they don't even know our names, nor our looks after that test."

Gon took a long sip during his friends' discussion, only stopping to respond when Killua made a point about their targets "Agreed."

"So, if they don't know who we are, their goal must be trying to smoke us out. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to do that all for real."

Raphael decided to add his own points, "Or he's smarter than he looks. Ignoring the fact you both passed each other; he could be yelling for us to come out for another reason…"

Killua crossed his arms, now leaning back, "For what possible reason?"

"Assuming he, like Palm, wants to assist his teacher. What if he wants to end this fight as quickly as possible so he can join Morel and the others?"

"It's possible…"

"Then it's likely, his condition isn't to smoke us out, right?"

Killua thought about it. That would make the man even more of an idiot because their goal is to beat them. So, it's supposed to be a game of hide and seek, where their enemy's condition was to hold onto their tag, and theirs was to find them…

"Then that would make them even more of an idiot. This is basically hide and seek, not scream and tell."

Gon could only listen to his friends argue about the situation. However, both of them were leaving out one key point.

It doesn't matter if the conditions being placed on them were being broken. He wanted to know something else, "Was he strong?"

There was a pause, Killua slowly cracking a smile "Yes. I tested his presence, and he was indeed strong."

"So, how much would it take to defeat him?"

"It depends on…" Killua rolled his eyes. It's not as easy as arguing a couple of direct hits would knock him down. Morel made a point, that abilities factor into a fight of Nen "Like one of the Hunters with Netero said, the outcome will always be in constant fluctuation. So, according to Morel, it was wrong for me to judge if a fight can be won from aura pressure alone."

Raphael raised an eyebrow, "Even I could've told you that…"

"Says the guy who was taken out by the cat in one hit."

"Insult aside, if I had Kite's strengths and skills, my ability would've worked way better. I'd have blinded the ant temporarily before the first attack. Whether they landed in my vicinity or not, I would've been way more prepared for the fight. Then it's just a matter of killing that ant."

"Right…" Killua oozed sarcasm. Part of him didn't believe a blind Chimera ant would've made a difference, considering it reacted right after being hit with his ability.

Or maybe he just means his ability would've been more effective right at the start had he been able to sense the cat before it attacked. Then he's probably correct if he had moved and dodged the lunge in time after they were blinded.

"The rules apply to you too, Killua. Electricity means you could've hit it like an electric fence before it had time to harm you."

"Sure, and next you'd be saying for Gon, Rock meets face."

"Or Scissors. Scissors would've shredded the ant in half as it lands. Rock would've been more like playing tennis with the Chimera Ant nest."

Killua cackled at the joke. Yeah, that probably sounds about right. Imagine being treated like a ball, being ricocheting off your base of operations. Okay, he could now see the point, "Yeah, I can see that. But seeing our situation, I disagree with both you and Morel. Aura does make a difference for us. If we're going to beat Knuckle, Shoot and our chances of finding Kite, we must increase our odds of survival and victory."

Killua made a show of stabbing the pasta in front of him, twirling a huge ball. He held the three-inch ball of pasta before his lips, "Gauging the strength differential between you and an opponent is crucial."

Shoving the food in his mouth, he chewed for a couple of seconds, about to say more on the matter.

Raphael raised his hand, "Finish chewing before you launch particles of food into our face.

Killua stopped chewing to pout. He returned to chewing before swallowing his food, "As I was about to say before you rudely interrupted me. If we go up against someone, we can only beat a fraction of a hundred fights, it's kind of pointless. Especially considering their goal was only to hide for the month. You need at least a fifty-percent chance before we even attempt to take him out."

Killua pointed the fork right between Raphael and Gon, "Although ideally, you'd want greater than a seventy percent chance. That's more preferable."

Killua stabbed his pasta, shovelling another spoonful into his mouth. He swallowed promptly, "Speaking of which, we're going to need to do two things first. Work on our fundamentals, while also trying to learn more about our opponents' abilities."

"Right."

Raphael didn't like the plan one bit. They got extremely lucky back on Greed Island with Genthru. But in the real world, especially now knowing the Chimera ants could use Nen, that idea wasn't feasible.

In what world, would they be able to learn all the Chimera Ants' abilities without any sacrifices?

As much as he wanted to say this to his face, he decided to keep quiet. Maybe Killua has already thought about it, and he's just stuck trying to make sure they don't suffer a mega loss like that again.

"If we know our opponents' abilities, it'll be easier to plan ahead. Like we did with Genthru."

Raphael frowned. Killua was really thinking of beating them like they did with Genthru. He quietly ate his sandwiches, opting to not join in the conversation.

Now it was just Gon and Killua conversing, the other listening.

"I agree, but I'm also opposed to the idea."

Killua quirked an eyebrow. Was this going to another of his friend's reckless ideas? There are no redos, no Breath of the Archangel here to save them, "What are you on about?"

"I think we should work on our fundamentals, but I don't think we need to know their abilities."

"HUH?" Killua was flabbergasted by the proposal. That would be an incredibly stupid idea to go up against them with zero idea of what their abilities were, "Why the hell not? That's just a recipe for disaster, a risk of being humiliated again."

"But…" Gon paused for a moment, searching his friend's eyes. His friend couldn't be forgetting about one crucial detail, "Isn't that what we'll be facing in NGL? It's to become strong enough to return to NGL, and to save Kite."

Killua got caught like a fish out of water.

This only made Raphael raise an eyebrow, "Wait, please tell me that was, at least, on the back of your mind."

The teen flashed an unreadable expression. It hadn't…

"You thought about it too?"

"What happened with Genthru was mere dumb luck. Had no one survived his explosion, we wouldn't have known. We'd all have to prepare for the possibility of one of them being able to create explosions…"

"Oh…"

Raphael's gaze met Killua's, "Assume you're going in blind. This is probably the real test, to not just find out what their abilities are, but how to counter or neutralise it."

Killua grit his teeth. He should have thought about that possibility too. Then their conditions for winning need to change too. It isn't a matter of becoming stronger, and to find the most important piece of information…

It's to live long enough to neutralise it…

Shoving a spoonful into his mouth. He ate with a pouty, sour expression, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the others.

"~"

Killua's hands were shoved into his pockets, pretending like he wasn't outsmarted by Gon, of all people…

Although the fact Raphael knew and didn't say anything was highly infuriating.

"Alright, let's say you're correct." Killua's steps were silent, only the clacking of Gon and Raphael's being heard, "Let's say this controlled battlefield means we have to be strong enough to defeat our enemies with zero prior information. The question is how?"

The boy remarked with a teasing lint, "We clearly can take him out in a silent manner, since he's so oblivious to what we look like."

"That's if he was actually not paying attention to you. He might've noticed the most subtle hint of aura, then the fight is on."

"I suppose you're correct. Knuckle might also be standing out in the open, so trying to act subtle might not be an option with him." Killua tapped his chin as he walked through a door, "Still we have two enemies. And we only have a month, so it's safe to assume if we fail to beat them, then they win by default."

Killua stopped at the door, his hand reaching for the door handle.

"That's too long!"

"Huh?" Killua slightly opened the door ajar, "What on earth are you on about?"

"One week. We'll beat them in exactly one week, and then we're going straight back to NGL!"

Killua scoffed at the idea, "You are one incredibly, stup-" Swinging the door wide open, he had no time to finish his insult, a fist swinging right past his face.

Killua's arms shot back in surprise, prepared to avoid the attack. But the fist wasn't aiming for him. It was directed at Gon.

There was a loud crash, the boy being knocked into the wall behind him.

"Are you insane?!"

Everyone froze, the voice of someone so familiar haunting their ears. They slowly turned from Gon, to the owner of the voice, screaming the name in unison, "BISKY?!"

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