ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ- ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [OLD]

18- 𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘹 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺

This was probably a really stupid deal. The hunter exam is supposed to be incredibly difficult, so taking down Netero should be just as hard. "Really? I'll play!" Gon said excitedly.

"Yeah me too!" Quinn cheered. I glanced at Killua, my eyebrows furrowed. He tried to turn away before, but he stayed. Killua turned to look at the old man who was in front of us, his angry expression never leaving his face. 

"What do you say?" Netero asked.

"Killua, whatever you answer I'm gonna go with, so be careful." I sighed. Killua nodded.

"Fine." Killua scoffed. I felt a bit disappointed, but I was fine. I could've gone to bed a long time ago if I was actually tired. We were led to a small gymnasium-like room. Netero threw a ball up and down, making sure it landed on the tip of his finger.

"Now, let's go over the rules of the game. All you have to do is simply take this ball away from me." Great. Physical activity. "If you can do that before the airship arrives, you win!" Netero seemed to smile the entire time. Gon and Killua looked at the clock. I didn't bother. I can't tell the time on those types of clocks. "So let's see. We're scheduled for an 8:00 am arrival, yes?" He began to spin the ball on his finger.

"Well, that's not too bad. You still have 9 hours left. Feel free to use any tactics you want. I will only defend. I promise." I glanced at Quinn, who tried to suppress how excited they were.

"That's too easy!" Gon exclaimed, quite innocently. "It's...barley a game!"

"Then why not give it a try and see if you're right!"

"All we have to do is take the ball?" Killua restated. 

"Yes." Netero reaffirmed.

"Then I'll give it a shot," Killua said, determination being evident in his voice.

"Then go right ahead." Netero closed his eyes, still holding the ball on his finger.

"Killua, wait." I touched his shoulder. "Netero's the chairman for a reason, so it's only natural that he's got a few tricks up his sleeves. What if he finds a loophole or something of the sort? I'm just saying, you're kind of underestimating him right now." Killua's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, I know. But I got this. Thanks for the concern though." He teased. I just folded my arms and rolled my eyes. Killua began to slowly walk around in a circle, which was kind of strange. His eyes seemed to be filled with frustration. After about a minute of walking, Killua began to multiply. Following behind him, there were several look-alikes surrounded by transparent purple smoke. It was mesmerizing. I let out a small gasp, and I felt my eyes widen a little bit.

"I see a bunch of Killuas!" Gon said, also in awe.

"How is he doing that?" Quinn asked. I didn't say anything. I knew what this was, boredom makes you study up on things you can't do. It was the rhythm echo. The technique was mainly used for assassination, but some people used it for plenty of other things. I had attempted it once but failed miserably. The result was that I needed a band-aid and that several bowls were broken.

Now the Killuas were moving in hypnotic motions that almost made me feel nauseous. My eyes were still glued to him though. It was incredible how he was able to learn this stupidly difficult technique within only 12 years of life. I was jealous but amazed. After doing this for a while, Killua charged at Netero while reaching for the ball. Unfortunately, Killua wasn't fast enough. Netero led the ball just out of Killua's reach. However, it didn't stop there. Killua pushed himself with the foot that landed on the ground and continued to repeatedly lunge towards Netero in an attempt to touch the ball.

Killua was jumping and doing flips practically mid-air, while I just stood there, being useless. I had absolutely no experience whatsoever, so what purpose did I serve? Killua's an ex-assassin, Gon's incredibly kind and is trying to find his father, Quinn's making their father proud and working hard to be a bodyguard. So what was I doing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. How pitiful.

Gon and Quinn let out gasps of amazement, and I just kept my eyes on the incredibly quick-paced fight. I watched Killua's figure (which was much smaller in contrast to Netero's) fly across the room. It looked as though they were dancing, just more aggressively. 

Killua finally landed on the ground, his back turned towards everyone. His knees were bent and all that frustration from before seemed to have intensified. Killua glanced back at the old man, who was still holding the ball.

"Is that all? How disappointing." Netero said, his arm outstretched to his side. He began balancing the ball on his nose like a seal. Killua gritted his teeth and appeared to get tenser. He pushed himself against the ground towards Netero, probably in an attempt to kick him. Killua's leg began to move and he made the kick. The cocky smile that was once plastered on Killua's face disappeared almost immediately. Killua lept back and held onto his leg and let out a loud yelp of pain. He began to hop around on one leg, his eyes clenched shut.

"Killua, are you okay?" I stepped forward a little bit, my hand extending slightly. Quinn pulled me back a bit closer to them. I looked back at them and their eyes were filled with tension. I didn't pay this any mind and looked back at Killua, who had stopped screaming and was now kneeling on the ground.

"Killua! Tag me! Tag me! C'mon it's my turn!" Gon shouted. Killua walked over and gave Gon a high five. Gon rushed in to go have a little brawl with Netero. I stood with Killua on my right and Quinn on my left. Quinn pulled me a bit closer to them, glaring at Killua the entire time. I just ignored it, but I wondered why they did this. It was time for Gon to steal the ball.