"I don't want you to fight that sadistic psychopath again! The last time you two fought, he left you broken and injured, and now I know full well he wasn't even going serious in that fight!"
"Even though you've grown much stronger than you were back then and are confident that you can kill him, I've seen in his fights how cunning and deadly Hisoka can be with his powers, and I know that if you fight again, he won't let you live like last time!"
Ponzu then grabs my arm as she continues speaking with a shaky voice and tears forming in his eyes. "Please, forget about the fight and the title of Floor Master. Let's go with Nicholas away from Hisoka with your powers, and continue our life as Hunters together without seeing him again. You know I'll make you very happy, so I beg you, don't fight Hisoka. I don't want to lose you. I love you."
As Ponzu buries her tearful face into my side, I watch her silently pondering her actions. 'Ponzu is being very brave. She knows perfectly well that I won't run away from my battle against Hisoka, not only because of my pride and convictions, but also because of the reputation I've built for myself.'
'I've put a lot of time and effort into building my image in Heavens Arena as a powerful and resourceful fighter who always overcomes any challenge that comes his way, earning the admiration of the public and the interest of important contractors like Battera.'
'If I run away now in the face of a challenger, all of that will crumbleg down. I'll lose my privileges in the tower, I'll lose the respect and admiration of the public and potential future clients, and I could even lose my contract with Battera to participate in Greed Island.'
'And despite knowing all of that, she's decided to pluck up the courage and expose her feelings to me just because I told her she could count on me. Well, I can't back down and be less than I should, so I'm going to give her my best answer.' I think putting my left hand on her cheek and lifting her face to look directly into her eyes.
"Did you fall in love with a man who runs away from danger?" My question makes Ponzu's eyes widen.
"Running away from this fight wouldn't do anyone any good. Even if I didn't fight Hisoka on July 13th, he wouldn't just let it go. He's a resourceful Hunter, and I know he has very dangerous associates on his side. If I flee, he'd relentlessly track me down until he found me, threatening or even killing those close to me just to motivate me to confront him."
"I'm not going to let that bastard endanger anyone important to me ever again. That was made very clear to me when he threatened your life on Zevil Island. That's why my only option now is to fight and win."
"I know. I know you won't escape this fight. And I know my request is something selfish and fearful. But, I'm scared. I'm scared of losing you." Ponzu says still trembling.
"Ponzu, do you trust me?" I ask her, receiving confirmation with a nod. "So take my word for it: I will defeat Hisoka no matter what he pulls out of his sleeve, I will cut his fucking head off to make sure he can't come back, and once the guys have congratulated me, no matter how damaged or bandaged up I may be, I will celebrate my victory by making love to you all night long." I state, making Ponzu blush like a tomato by my bold statement.
"Do you promise me?" She asks staring at me still fidgety but for different reasons than before.
"Yes, I promise you. And you know I always keep my promises." I respond.
At my answer, Ponzu remains silent for a few seconds before looking at me and responding. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. Defeat that bastard and come back to me afterward. You better not end up disappointing me, or you'll regret it."
I nod at her words,, and we both stare into each other's eyes for a while before bringing our faces closer and joining our lips in a tender and romantic kiss that lasts for about half a minute before we break away to catch our breath and stay snuggled up against the tree just enjoying the moment.
The two of us stayed like that for about 40 minutes until it was time for lunch, with me taking Ponzu to one of those places where they serve food on terraces, chatting while we ate at a table with an umbrella and with Ponzu trying that famous cliché of offering food while asking me to say Aaahhh.
'I'm so happy!' I think as I happily eat the food she offers me on a fork.
After finishing our meal, we're ready to head back to Gelsea, having wrapped up all my unfinished business in this city. Or so it seems, but there's still something we need to take care of: the men who've been sneaking up on us since we sat down to eat.
So, getting up from the table, we start walking for about 15 minutes until we reach a secluded, uncrowded area, where a group of 20 people with the looks of small-time thugs come out of their hiding places to surround us.
"Wow, wow. Look who we have here. You really have a lot of nerve coming back to this city after what you did." One of the thugs (probably the leader) says.
"Sorry, but I don't recognize your face. Have we met before or something?" I ask feigning ignorance.
"Don't play dumb, asshole! We're the Grasjor gang! Or what's left of it after you arrested our boss and his officers!" Other thug says.
"Because of you, our money laundering operation was dismantled, and our leaders are now rotting in jail!" Other adds.
"You may think you're all that big for catching our leaders off guard, but now the tables have turned and you and your little whore are completely surrounded!" The third one states.
This is one of the mistakes I made during my little excursion as a Blacklist Hunter: I focused primarily on taking out the organization's leaders to shut down their illegal operation, neglecting to focus on the cannon fodder and letting most of them scatter in all directions like cockroaches. This is a good opportunity to fix that.
"Although, looking at her closely, the girl has a rather pretty face. It would be a waste to finish her off here or leave her all bruised and ugly with a beating!" One of the guys claims approaching Ponzu with a lustful smile.
"What do you say, pretty? Why don't you ditch this arrogant bastard and come with us? I promise we'll give you a great time."
Enraged by his disgusting offer to Ponzu, I clench my fist tightly, ready to smash his head into a pool of blood and flesh with one blow. However, Ponzu beats me to it, grabbing the guy by the hair and shoving him down before delivering a powerful knee to his jaw, knocking out nearly all of his teeth and leaving him unconscious and bleeding from the mouth, to the panic of the rest of the human dregs.
"Could you let me some of these guys? I'm eager to put everything you've taught me into practice in a real-life situation like this." Ponzu says with an expectant smile.
"Okay. You take care of the ones on the right, and I'll take care of the ones on the left. Go!" With this signal from me, we both rush to confront our attackers.
As expected, the battle was completely one-sided on our side. Despite being outnumbered, our physical abilities allowed us to incapacitate them quickly and accurately. Even though some of them use pistols, their shots are unable to penetrate our diligently trained Ten. Before a full minute has passed, all of them are defeated, either unconscious or too badly injured to continue.
"What do we do now? Do we kill them?" Ponzu asks, slightly surprising me with the bold question.
"That's what I'd do if I were on official duty. But since they've gone to the trouble of coming all the way here, we could profit from it by taking them to the nearest police station. Maybe someone has a reward we can claim." I respond, making Ponzu smile.
The two of us then hand these men over to the authorities as remnants of the Grasjor gang, and as I expected, some of them have bounties on their heads, netting Ponzu and me a total of 400.000 jennies each one. After collecting our money and moving to a secluded alley, I use my Wormhole Orb to return us to Heavens Arena and proceed with the afternoon's Nen training.
To my surprise, Killua and Zushi also decide to join us for our training, so after confirming it with Wing over the phone, I invite them and the others to my new private penthouse. Upon arriving on the 230th floor for the first time, Ponzu and Zushi are amazed by the level of luxury and comfort, wandering around the place to check out its over-the-top facilities.
Killua and Nicholas, on the other hand, coming from rich and prestigious families, are not so excited to see my new accommodation (although the lack of interest in Killua is more noticeable than in Nicholas, given the difference in level between both families).
After a while of fooling around, I bring them back to Earth and begin giving the instructions for the training: we start with Zushi sparring with Ponzu, and Killua with me. Preferring he goes with something gentle due to his injuries, I instruct Nicholas to train his aura flow control and continue practicing to improve his Hatsu "Ultimate Programming." They all agree, and the training begins.
Nicholas dedicates his efforts to Manipulation, Conjuration, Emission and flow of the aura in the body (Enhancement) training, hoping to find more ways to improve his Nen ability and combat power. For our part, Ponzu and Zushi show a more or less similar level in martial arts (even though Ponzu is wearing super-heavy equipment), while I completely dominate Killua during our practice, although I recognize that he has grown a lot since the last time we fought.
After about three hours, we stop training to rest and enjoy the luxuries this floor affords, and after about 20 minutes of recovering strength, I instruct Ponzu, Killua and Zushi to try to maintain their Ren for 30 minutes while I help Nicholas decide the conditions and steps of his Specialist Nen ability. Although somewhat reluctant and complaining about getting something like that, the three of them begin to do as I tell them while I go with Nicholas to help him create his Nen ability.
"So July 12th, huh? I was hoping you'd have more time to rest and recover." I say to Nicholas as I hear him say when his twelfth battle on the 200th floor is confirmed.
"I think it's better this way. After all, it wouldn't excite the audience as much if I had my penultimate fight in the tower right after yours against Hisoka." Nicholas replies with a smile.
"Either way, don't overexert yourself like Gon did. No matter what you say, you still have to fully recover from your injuries, so if you find yourself in a dire situation you can't handle, don't risk your safety to achieve victory and meet that deadline. Even if I leave Heavens Arena, you're not obligated to leave at the exact same time as me." I warn him, visibly worried and serious.
"Don't worry, boss. You've trained me thoroughly, so I'll be able to handle myself in the match. Besides, if I can create my Specialist ability, victory is practically guaranteed." Nicholas states pretty confident.
"Assuming you create it. Specialists are very rare, so I don't know if it will take more or less time to develop your ability. Besides, even if you get it between now and tomorrow, there would still be the question of the trigger. It's not something one's willing to do so easily." I state.
"Boss, I'm the one with confidence issues. It's true that I was a bit shocked when I read your idea in the list of possible Specialization abilities, but I thought about it a lot and have made my decision as a professional Hunter. I'll do my best not to back out when the time comes. I promise it." Nicholas states with a surprising firmness.
"In any case, don't get too confident. Whether you manage to develop and use that power or not, I don't want you to take unnecessary risks in the fight. Is that clear?" I ask, making my position clear.
"Yes, okay, boss. I'll be careful and don't overdo it." Nicholas answers with some defeatism.
With this conversation clarified, we continue practicing and detailing the steps he needs to take to properly create and utilize his Specialist ability, going through trial and error to know how to set it up.
Meanwhile, the trio practicing Ren collapses exhausted and sweaty after completing the task, and while they're almost unconscious on the floor from the sheer effort they have endured, I begin massaging them to relieve their sore muscles and encourage proper muscle and aura development.
While nowhere near as efficient or convenient as Biscuit's Nen ability, I did receive practice giving massages as a method of improving the body's growt and performance on my home island, and through my numerous fights and heightened perception, I have developed the ability to sense the physical state of another person's body at a glance, as well as skillfully stimulate it to achieve the desired results.
'It's no exaggeration to say that I could easily get a professional license and work as a chiropractor if the situation called for it.' I think smugly as I stretch and massage Killua's arm, prompting him to sigh in relief and pleasure.
Having eased the discomfort of having to exert their aura to their limits, I quickly wake them up to begin giving them a more detailed tutoring on Nen conditionality and its all-encompassing nature for an hour until dinnertime, and after filling our starving stomachs with a meal made to order by the personal chefs on the 230th floor, I finally say goodbye to the group, agreeing to meet again tomorrow to continue training and watch Nicholas match.
'In the end, we weren't able to fully secure it before his match. We'll see if he can do it tomorrow or if we'll have to wait a little longer before he can use it.' I think as I step into the bathroom and start getting ready to shower before going to sleep.
Date: July 12th, 2011
As promised, the group meet early in the morning to continue training in Nen, with Wing also assisting in our practice sessions, Gon still recovering in his room, and Nicholas continuing to practice his Specialist ability. We continue this dynamic for several hours until lunchtime, and after replenishing our strength with takeout, we head to the 219th floor stadium of Heavens Arena, wishing Nicholas good luck for his twelfth match.
Twelfth Fight: Muchikida
Nicholas's twelfth fight was against a Conjurer named Michikida. His Nen ability consisted of summoning a 3-meter-tall toad that could carry its master on its back to leap and crush its enemy with his weight, deliver powerful blows with a tongue that extended up to 5 meters, and whose drool was so acidic it melted the ring's flagstones.
It was a tough fight, as the toad's tongue covered in drool served both as an attack and defense, and Nicholas was not fully recovered yet, being forced to invoke a double of Nen to divide the enemy's attention so that the entire weight of the battle would not fall only on him.
Despite these disadvantages, Nicholas remembered the strategy Gon used in his last fight, making use of the enormous physical strength he had developed in his training under me to throw one of the ring's flagstones at Muchikida and his toad, and taking advantage of the cover of dust and debris to try to attack Muchikida from a blind spot.
Of course, Muchikida had been one of the many who had witnessed that fight, discerning Nicholas's intentions and ordering his toad to lash out with its tongue at the spot where he noticed him hiding, landing a precise and lethal blow against him. However, the Nicholas he attacked was Nen's double, who had sacrificed himself to distract him and allow Nicholas to approach from the unexpected front and hit him with a high-voltage electric gun he had taken from his Subspace.
A powerful electric shock engulfed the body of a screaming and convulsing Muchikida and his toad, and as soon as the shock ended and he fell charred and semi-conscious on the floor, the referee announced his defeat and Nicholas victory, thus granting him the right to finally challenge a Floor Master to the exaltation of the public.
It seemed that Nicholas hadn't needed a Specialist ability to reach the final challenge in the end, and now that he had achieved it, it was my turn to show off in my battle against Hisoka.
Date: July 13th, 2011
Point of View Switch: Reader
Within a gap of just a few days, a challenge for the title of Floor Master is going to take place once again in the 230th-floor of Heavens Arena, and the anticipation is palpable in the air with the announcement of Kai's first fight to defend his title having sent a ripple through Heaven's Arena.
The previous title challenge truly caught everyone's attention in the tower, but this time not only is there not a single person in Heavens Arena who isn't paying attention to this fight, but people from all over the world outside the tower are watching on their computer screens this great collision between the 2 biggest stars of Heavens Arena.
It's no exaggeration to say that there hasn't been this much commotion in Heavens Arena since the last Battle Olympia.
"I'm so nervous. The time for the big battle has finally arrived. My stomach is in knots with tension." Nicholas says accompanied by Ponzu.
"What do you have to feel tension about? You're not the one who's going to fight." Ponzu, who gives the appearance of a cheerleader with a sleeveless shirt and short skirt set along with the pompoms she used in Kai's match against The Elementalist, points out.
"How could I not feel it? After all, Hisoka is an extremely dangerous individual, whom even the boss recognizes as a grave threat. How can you be so calm without it affecting you?" Nicholas asks visiby worried.
"Of course I'm affected. Right now I'm terrified and very worried about what's about to happen." Ponzu clarifies.
"Then, how do you manage to keep your composure?" Nicholas asks once more.
"Because Kai promised me that I would win the fight and survive." Ponzu states looking towards the ring, finally silencing Nicholas as if she had said a magical incantation full of power.
While Cocco rouses the crowd, the two fighters in question are preparing for what they know will be their biggest and toughest fight yet in Heavens Area: Hisoka shuffles in his hands the cards he usually uses as weapons and handles the handkerchiefs he usually uses for tricks, and Kai observes his new unsheathed sword with which he intends to end Hisoka's life.
After getting ready, they both leave their respective waiting rooms and head for the ring.
As the two advance towards the ring, the reactions of the crowd are varied: some cheer for Kai, others cheer for Hisoka, some just criticize without further ado, and Kai's fan club continues to say crazy things and declare their love for him. However...
"Go ahead, Kai! Defeat that bastard and prove who's the best fighter in the tower! Go, go, Kai! Give it your all and more, Kai!" Ponzu screams in a clumsy attempt to play Kai's personal cheerleader.
"She's right, boss Kai! Everyone who knows you knows you're capable of achieving anything you set your mind to, so win and show everyone how awesome you are!" Nicholas accompanies her, apparently invigorated by her encouragement and that of the rest of the stadium attendees.
"You better not lose now after how far you've come! That would reflect poorly on me for losing to you!" Surprisingly, the usually quiet Killua also cheers Kai on from the crowd.
In his private room in the tower, Gon, who has no choice but to watch the fight on his television screen, finds himself trembling with tension and excitement, his gaze fixed on the transmitted images. "Go for it, Kai. You can do it."
Back at the stadium, the two star fighters meet in the middle of the ring, both staring at each other with smiles that represent different emotions but a same ultimate goal.
"Finally, my wish has come true." Hisoka starts saying, his voice dripping with anticipation.
"From the very first moment I saw you, I'd been eagerly waiting for you to become a powerful Nen fighter truly worth devouring when you give it your all against me. And from what I can see, you've prepared yourself thoroughly to do just that." Hisoka says as he points to the new sword at Kai's waist.
In response, Kai draws his sword and takes a fighting stance. "Remember the last time we fought? You used your Shu-enhanced cards to destroy the sword that had carried me through so many events in my life. Now, the time has come for her successor to take her place and finish what she started."
"Are you suggesting that we have a battle to the death?" Hisoka asks quite enthusiastically at the possible proposition.
"That's right. Unlike my previous fights here, I can't accept a battle won by points or knockout against you. I'm going to end your life once and for all, and emerge victorious accompanied by the friends I'm protecting from you. I promise you that." Kai says with the most firm and murderous look and attitude he has ever shown in his entire life in this new world.
"Ju ju ju. Very well, I accept. I've been waiting for this moment, barely holding back the urge to go after you or your friends to motivate you and satisfy this insatiable hunger, so obviously I could only participate in that kind of battle too." Hisoka replies happily to Kai's proposal as he brings one of his cards between his fingers.
With that made out of the way, Kai and Hisoka flare their Ren as the referee takes position between the two.
"Ready... BEGIN!!!" The referee shouts, starting fight.