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CHAPTER 35: First Comes Rock
After a full day of nen training, endless abuse, and mouths filled with the taste of dirt, stargazing had become Sakura, Killua, and Gon's favorite reprieve. Allowing them to just bask in their exhaustion and each other's presence, getting in a few verbal jabs at each other. They hardly felt the campfire's warmth from where they lay, staring up at the sky, as if they were intending to count all the stars. Today had been especially brutal; Gon and Killua were barely able to scarf down their dinner that night.
Sakura had turned around and was tugging on Gon's hair, trying to untangle the wiry threads. It was no wonder they stood up spikier than Naruto's.
"I think you're due for a haircut."
Gon mumbled, "Aunt Mito gave me one."
She gave another light tug, pulling out a knot, "That was months ago, Gon. I can do it for you."
"Mmmm," Gon narrowed his eyes, specifically on Sakura's pink locks. It had grown out of Leorio's styling and was just hanging over her neck. "But your hair's so choppy."
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing…"
Killua had thrown his arm over his face, his mood souring. "Gon's hair is fine, stop fussing."
Then he yelped, feeling his roots cry as they were yanked from his scalp. "Your hair is so soft, Killua."
"I'm not a cat!" The ex-assassin hissed, his cheeks puffed.
Gon laughed, his eyes reflecting the flickering of the campfire, his expression peaceful. "The sky kind of reminds me of the night on Whale Island, remember?"
They could hear the eagerness in his tone. It was the kind that always helped soften the tensions with his friends.
Killua, arms folded behind his head, snorted. "Yeah?"
Sakura lightly bumped his shoulder, "You're just embarrassed."
"W-What?" He spluttered. In turn, Sakura playfully poked his cheeks, reminding him that he was pale enough to see his blush, no matter how subtle.
"I used to do this all the time when I was on my own,"
Jumping at the chance to redirect attention, Killua replied to Gon, "What'd you do back there? Count stars until you pass out?"
"Sometimes," Gon admitted with a grin. "I used to think about a lot of things. But I like being here with you guys more."
Once again, Killua turned red and started arguing with Gon about being embarrassed. Sakura listened to their banter, getting lulled by the sounds. Her eyes slowly closed as she felt herself being wrapped in a sense of familiarity. One that she lost a long time ago, and longed for.
With a softly amused expression, Biscuit watched the three, listening to their bickering as she hovered near the campfire.
'Ah, the throes of friendship.'
Killua caught her gazing at them, and still in his flushed state, his mind failed to catch up to his mouth before he opened it to spew words he would come to regret.
What are you even looking at, hag?"
Biscuit felt her vein throb, 'He'd be cute if he kept his mouth shut,'
Throwing herself on her back again, Sakura stretched out her arms. The air was still, so the amount of grains that kicked up was minimal. She didn't know what compelled her to say this next.
"I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with you two. I always have a good time."
Killua raised an eyebrow. "What about the time we got caught by the Phantom Troupe?"
Sakura's grin returned. "Even that was fun."
Biscuit leaned forward, curiosity glinting in her eyes. "How long have you three been friends?"
"About a year," Gon said, counting on his fingers. "We met during the Hunter Exam, and we've been together ever since. Well, aside from the time Killua left."
"That was barely a week!"
"Then we met Wing at Heaven's Arena," Killua added. "He was training another student, Zushi, and taught us about Nen."
Gon's expression darkened slightly at the memory. "Wing got really mad at me when I had to fight that Nen user on stage. The guy had tops enhanced with aura, and I couldn't read his movements, so I used Zetsu-
-and got your ass kicked," Killua finished bluntly.
"Yeah," Gon admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But Sakura healed me!"
Killua poked his forehead hard, as if he was trying to stab him. "That's not the point! You were like a broken china doll at the end of that fight!"
Biscuit studied them quietly, her gaze lingering on Gon. She realized, with a pang of something like concern, that Gon wasn't afraid to put his life on the line to grow stronger. Killua and Sakura might have been more cautious, more aware of where to draw the line, but Gon? Gon would charge headfirst into hell if it meant getting stronger.
And the others would follow.
Because, whether they realized it or not, it was Gon who stood at the front, leading the way.
'This might be a problem in the future.'
..
..
..
"I've got mud where no one should have mud," Sakura grunted, standing next to Gon and Killua, who were in no better shape than herself.
"Where did the mud even come from? It's so dry out here."
"Our sweat," Killua huffed.
Biscuit surveyed the three, hands on her hips as she took them in without a hint of sympathy. No, what they didn't know was that she looked at them like gems being pulled from the earth. A process she expected to be nothing less than messy and painful. Otherwise, it was not done correctly.
"You're not finished yet. Alright," Biscuit said, clapping her hands together. "Show me what you've got."
Gon stepped forward first. He stood in front of a large boulder. Crouching down, his fingers curling into a fist as an aura began to gather around his hand, swirling into a ball of power. The same power he had displayed to Tessgerra to get into the game.
"First comes rock." His fist connected with the stone, and the boulder exploded. The impact showed a similar result to when Sakura would throw her punches. They watched Gon with impressed expressions.
"Nice!" Sakura praised, gripping her forearm. He had used a similar concept to her chakra punches, by gathering nen into his fist, as an enhancer that would increase the strength of the impact. The difference was that he didn't release his energy into the subject of his hit.
"Then comes Paper!" Gon opened his palm, but this time, the aura simply pooled there, dissipating harmlessly into the air. And anyone could tell that wasn't supposed to happen by the way Gon's eyes fell.
He gave a sheepish look in Biscuit's direction, "How do you Emit nen?"
"Practice!"
Killua and Sakura slumped their shoulders at the same time, mirroring each other's faces as the wind blew out the strands of their hair, like it was waiting for this moment. They all had a ways to go with their nen training, while playing this game, they had leveled up, but had only taken on the more advanced nen techniques recently. But they are yet to reach their full potential.
"Rock uses enhanced aura," Biscuit observed, "and Paper uses emitted aura. So Scissors must use transmuted aura."
"Gon, you're going to use three types of nen?" Sakura asked with eyebrows raised. They were already warned about using different types of aura. While in theory they could use all of them, it wouldn't flow with the same pressure and would depend on their initial type.
Gon nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Jan Ken. Scissors slice through stuff like a blade! It takes time to build up enough aura for it, though," he admitted, scratching his head. "It's unavoidable, so I wanted to do something with that time. When you told me about Jan Ken, it hit me. I like the game a lot too!"
Despite the childish simplicity of his reasoning, Biscuit's lips quirked into a smile. "Gut feeling is important. Your signature Nen ability should be something you identify with, something that feels right for you. I'm glad you've squared that away."
Sakura stepped forward, placing a hand on Gon's shoulder. "It's impressive, but I'm concerned about that wind-up time. In a real fight-
"He'll figure it out," Killua interrupted, rolling his shoulders. "My turn."
It might have seemed like over eagerness, but Biscuit could see the slightest furrow and rather sharp slight of noise in the step Killua took to get to the front.
"Go ahead then."
Shifting his gaze to his open palms, Killua's fingers splayed out wide, tiny spars of electricity became visible between the gaps, linking together, with the sound crackling like live wires. He expanded the current by opening out his arms like an embrace.
"This is all I can do for now," he admitted, "but I can generate more after charging up. I just need to find the best way to apply it."
When Killua looked back, he found Gon, eyes glittering and basically shouting That's so cool, Killua! But when he stole a glance at Sakura, he found that she had pulled off into the distance without them realizing. While looking at them, she seemed to have drifted.
It was when the electricity sparks surged, and that flash had covered her eyes with a blindfold, taking her into the darkness of her past. Sakura didn't see Killua standing in front of her anymore, and the sound of the sparks had twisted into the screeching of Sasuke's chidori. The parallels were uncanny enough to make her chest ache.
Biscuit, however, was studying Killua with a different kind of intensity. The same kind of Tessgerra he had when Killua showed him his ability. The only way it was possible for a person to pull that kind of current from their bodies with nen was if they had been exposed to electrical currents for a large portion of their life, and given Killua's age, it hadn't been a long one.
'His childhood must've been tragic. It's amazing he can smile at all.' But he was. Even wider when his friends pressed him on about it.
The demonstration wasn't over, however. Gon and Killua turned to Sakura, now alight with expectation, of the one who was going last but was meant to give the highest performance.
She sighed, feigning exhaustion. "Alright, guess I should show off mine too."
It was a wonder what Sakrua was going to do with her nen, when she already had so much in her arsenal with her ninja training. Killua might have packed a bit with his assassin's background as well. And Gon with his unusual strength. But in the world of hunters, it wasn't enough to be unusual. You had to enter the ranks through Nen. And they were finding out how far they could stand right now with this demonstration.
It felt like stepping up in front of the entire class during her academy days when they had to demonstrate their mastery over a jutsu. All Sakura could remember at the beginning was the sinking pit in her stomach every time she so much as met someone's eyes. However, for this, she could feel a jovial eagerness, like waiting for something to celebrate.
Sakura extended her hand, palm upturned. A shimmering wave of aura unfurled from her arm like liquid, hardening in midair into jagged, geometric shapes that caught the fading sunlight. The translucent structures hovered around her arm, turning into a solid shape.
"This is my ability. I don't have a name for it yet, though."
"Is that it?"
"No," Sakura extended her arm out, the shapes that had taken the full form of her arm bristled like individual hairs on an alert animal and started to extend outward, extending past her fingertips, and began to move mechanically. Beads of sweat began to form on Sakura's face as she attempted to maneuver the concentrated aura without moving her actual limbs. But eventually succumbed to exhaustion.
"Whoa, what is that?" Gon moved up closer to her, the energy of light reflecting onto his face. "It looks like gems!"
Killua's eyebrows shot up. "Where'd you come up with that?"
"My defense has always been pretty weak," Sakura stared at her arm while she explained, watching her aura shift and harden. Sakura flexed. "So I thought about using transmutation to make some armor for myself,"
"Seems kinda boring," Killua threw his hands behind his head.
"I thought so too," Sakura admitted. Since the beginning, even as a shinobi, Sakura had been limited in comparison to her classmates and friends. All those who had been able to develop their own techniques and bloodlines, while she was confined to a corner of average ability. While she did her best to stack up against everyone else, there was a limit. It was only after she sought out Tsunade's tutorlage that she managed to turn that was able to graze the same level as her friends. Even then everything was second hand.
So when she had the chance to come up with her own technique, to create something that would belong solely to her, Sakura had been a bit disappointed that she had a limit of a few days to come up with something to show off for Tessgerra's judgement. Even so, she wasn't dissatisfied.
"This is more than just armor; it's made of hundreds of plates that are firm and flexible. It's also a conductor."
"For what?"
For her chakra. It might not have seemed like much right now, but she could channel her chakra through the armor the same way she did her own flesh. "There's a lot I still want to do with this, but I haven't really practiced. I want to learn to control its shape completely."
"That's going to take some time, manipulating nen to that degree you're thinking." Biscuit said.
She gestured at the shifting structures in her hands, trying to extend from her fingers and bonding together into single structure. "Tried wrapping aura around objects first, but...No luck yet."
"That looked like a tentacle made of crystal!" Gon exclaimed.
"Yeah, I wanted to focus it on another part of my body and get it to react," Though she was still a ways from that.
Biscuit smiled, folding her arms, impressed. "You've thought far ahead, haven't you?"
Killua's lip jutted out, and his eyes squinted, "Did you get this idea from Hisoka's ability?"
With a visible shiver of disgust, she confessed, "Yeah. I thought about his aura's properties and realized it had a lot of uses."
Gon visibly bristled, "Really?"
"I'm not exactly proud of it, alright? Besides, Kurapika can do something similar with his chains!"
For a moment, Biscuit studied the three again. She once regarded them as ill-fitted. Had actually shown to be the perfect trio.
Even so, she wondered how tangled their lives would become when adolescence sharpened their edges and blurred their boundaries. When the boys' camaraderie inevitably tipped into something more complicated.
"Shall we call it a day?" she announced abruptly. "A bit early, but... how about a party?"
Three blank stares met her.
"How do you celebrate New Year's in your countries?"
"What?" Killua blinked.
Biscuit rolled her eyes. "Honestly. You're all so caught up in training, it's December 29th in the real world. The game syncs with real time."
Gon gasped loud enough to startle birds from the trees if there were any in the area. "THE HUNTER EXAM!"
Killua sucked in his breath, "Oh, right, it's soon."
"You'd have to apply within two days," Biscuit confirmed.
Killua's fingers twitched. "Training was just getting fun too..."
"Wait, how do we leave?" Gon spun in a circle as if an exit might materialize.
"Alliance members mentioned a spell card. Or there's that transport task near Masadora..."
Sakura was already moving. "Then let's go."
..
..
The streets of Masadora blurred past them as the trio sprinted through the city, their urgency cutting through the usual bustle of players and NPCs. Time was slipping through their finger, December 29th meant the Hunter Exam applications would close soon.
They skidded to a halt in front of a dimly lit shop, its windows cluttered with odd trinkets and faded maps. A grizzled old man peered at them from behind the counter, his eyes sharp beneath bushy eyebrows.
"How do we get off the island?" Gon demanded, panting.
The man chuckled, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. "30,000 Jenny, and I'll tell you."
Killua slapped the money on the counter.
"50 kilometers west," the man said, pocketing the cash. "You'll find the only port in the country. But fair warning, the harbormaster's a real piece of work. Makes unreasonable demands of travelers. Only lets you through if you bribe him."
Sakura's fingers curled into fists. "What if we just threaten him?" The words came out sharper than she intended, but she was tired of being swindled.
The shopkeeper shrugged. "There's a spell card that can warp you out. 'Leave.' Rare, though. Good luck finding one."
The trio exchanged glances.
"Port it is," Killua decided.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone. Next chapter will be coming soon, but if you'd like to read a little more then keep scrolling.
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (99, 100, 101, 102)
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (44, 45, 46,)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter (36, 37, 38, 39)
-Through the Looking Glass chapter (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
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Chapter 36 Sneak Peek:
...Sakura examined the man checking for signs of weapons or shift in his stance for attack but there were none. What stood out to her, and where she sensed Nen was coming from a device strapped to his shoulder, it's screen displaying a countdown.
Biscuit was quick to sense something off, putting on her innocent child facade effortlessly, she looked at the man. "What's that on your shoulder? Did something happen?"
The man's gaze flickered to Gon and Sakura before returning to her. "The Bomber got us. Will you hear my story?"
The countdown on his shoulder beeped once like a warning.