Um... so Gon's, like, canonically kinda manipulative. Additional trigger warning for that?

(≧ڡ≦*)

Flashback - 5 Days before the deadline

Peijin was the capital of the Republic of East Gorteau. It was located on the Southeastern end of the country, only a few kilometers away from the central palace where the Supreme Leader stayed.

Kite, Knov, and Morel had been staying at Peijin for the past several days monitoring the situation and covertly eliminating Chimera Ants found in the city.

One of the royal guards, a cat-ant by the name of Neferpitō, used their nen ability to puppeteer soldiers. These puppets were annoyingly difficult to deal with and required careful planning for each assault. Mostly because none of the Hunters wanted the ants to pinpoint their exact location.

Morel used his nen ability, Deep Purple, to create soldiers made of hazy purple smoke to both monitor the ants and systematically attack the puppets when convenient. He used guerilla-like tactics to deal with them.

Morel was the best for dealing with the puppets, with Knov and Kite acting as support.

Knov supported through his teleportation ability called Hide and Seek. By touching a flat surface, like a wall or the ground, and drawing symbols in a circle, Knov could set and open a portal that lead to an artificial Nen dimension—a four-level mansion containing twenty-one rooms of various sizes. Each portal was linked to a specific room, with the maximum number of entrances being dependent on the size of the room. Every room was completely separate from the others. Normally, each entrance could only lead back to the portal Knov created for it; however, Knov could use a master key to connect any room exit to any previously set portal.

Knov provided Morel with easy transportation.

Meanwhile, Kite remained inside the rooms conducting experiments on the corpse of the ants and Neferpitō's puppets to ascertain their progress in evolution and nen. This was vital information for the long term. Humanity had only a few encounters with chimera ants before, and none had evolved to this extent. This was, as far as the Hunters were aware, an exceptional circumstance for any biologist to study.

Kite theorized understanding how the chimera ants evolved in such a short period of time could, potentially, lead to an even greater understanding of evolution in general and how it could be affected by nen.

Therefore, while Kite was not on the front lines of the assault like Morel, his work was considered equally invaluable.

The Hunters knew one way or another they would defeat the ants.

Whether through slaughter or peace, that was undecided.

Kite had odd faith in Miwa's ability to broker peace. Knov and Morel weren't as optimistic.

In Peijin that day it rained heavily. Morel and Knov stood on one of the many rooftops of the city. The large man hoisted his massive smoking pipe over his shoulder as he surveyed the surrounding area, "There's no doubt."

"All the puppets have vanished," agreed Knov, frowning. The man casually adjusted the collar of his suit, then his glasses.

Morel frowned as well. "Have they resumed the selection process?"

The selection process was a way for the ants to hunt down humans with nen to devour and grow stronger. They were using the guise of a national celebration to invite every human in the country to the capital, and Neferpitō's puppets would sneakily hunt down humans while they traveled.

Knov said, "No, I doubt it. We have the capital surrounded. The king's safety is their top priority. They wouldn't leave him."

"Then what's going on?"

"My assumption would be that some threat greater than us has befallen the royal guard, or upon the king himself."

"That little girl?"

"Maybe," said Knov.

Morel grinned. "So this is it? Our golden opportunity?"

"Yes. Our chance to infiltrate the palace."

"However, it may be a trap."

"No. They wouldn't use any tactic that might endanger the king."

"They would if the king ordered it," Morel pointed out.

Knov clicked his tongue. "I suppose. Regardless, they've retracted their long-range radar. We should use this chance to get as close as possible. I must create a portal near the palace, or our plan will fail. This dangerous job had to be done eventually."

Knov opened a portal beneath him.

"Try not to die," teased Morel.

"Same to you," retorted Knov, hopping down.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa

After Miwa had cleaned off the blood from Komugi, Neferpitō entered the room. The cat-ant paled upon seeing the king's severed arm, immediately canceling their en and summoning their second nen ability, Doctor Blythe.

Doctor Blythe was an ability Neferpitō created specifically to heal any toys they had broken.

Like Miwa.

Miwa thought it was a cute gesture, but the actual puppet was pretty ugly.

Not that she told Neferpitō that, of course!

Miwa hovered between Shaiapouf and Neferpitō, amazed to find that the king and Komugi casually started to play gungi. As soon as the game started, Komugi regained her composure. Meanwhile, the king acted nonplussed about the entire situation, despite literally having his arm ripped off and now being stitched back on by a nen puppet.

'Yanderes are amazing,' Miwa thought.

Feh.

"How long will the operation take?" asked Shaiapouf, his pale brown eyes narrowing as he stared at Miwa.

Neferpitō let out a thoughtful hmm. "I'd say two or three hours until complete recovery."

"And during that time, you cannot use either your puppets or en, correct?"

Neferpitō frowned. "This ability requires a lot of nen."

Shaiapouf pulled out one of his handkerchiefs and started to wipe at Miwa's face. The jinchūriki hadn't realized that some of the king's blood had splattered upon her cheek. He coolly remarked, "A great deal of energy is needed to recreate flesh. While you treat His Majesty I shall watch the surroundings. Though my en is nowhere near as effective as yours."

Miwa brightly suggested, "I can—"

"Absolutely not," Shaiapouf sharply rebuked. "This is an important task I cannot trust to anyone else."

"I'm probably a better sensor than you," Miwa pointed out.

"You are not one of us," Shaiapouf said coldly. "I will not trust you with this."

Miwa stuck her tongue out. "Stinker. Fine. I'm gonna go take a bath then, since I reek of ant blood."

Neferpitō made a pouting noise. "But I'll be bored if you leave."

"Aww, okay I'll stay for a bit longer—"

Shaiapouf sighed while Neferpitō patted Miwa's head.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Knov

As Knov moved closer and closer to the palace, he felt a sense of trepidation.

'As expected,' thought Knov. 'I cannot sense any en use. The rain helps to lower visibility. Soon, the sun will set. Once it is night, I can hide in the darkness, and picking out enemy aura will be easier. Be patient. The closer the portal is to the palace, the better. But if I'm spotted, it will all be useless. While I can enter and exit freely, Shoot and the rest can only use the portal to leave once they enter. If the enemy prepares an ambush by the exit, it will mean serious trouble.'

Knov leaped down one of the hills, plucking branches and leaves from the many scattered bushes on his way down. He easily started to form a makeshift cover to further conceal himself.

'I must prepare three exits in the area around the palace, one near, one far, and one somewhere in between, then place entrances even further away. I'll set up the entrances in groups of three in locations where the palace is within sight. When the mission starts, we can enter by the most convenient location. Once it's time to act, the situation will determine whether we approach by the near exit, the far exit, or the one in between. Once that has been determined, we act.'

He moved quickly across the plains, moving from cover to cover, and when no cover was available he relied on his makeshift one.

'From the enemy's perspective, we will be appearing from nowhere. We must use that opening to separate the king and the guards. That is when our battles will begin! It doesn't matter if we finish with a 1-3 record, so long as the king is their one loss.'

He was barely half a kilometer away from the palace by that point.

'I would already be within range of Neferpitō's en. This is quite tense. However, I am still far away. The farthest exit must be on the palace grounds, or it won't be any use to us. Advance carefully, but swiftly!'

Knov started to army crawl across the ground.

'Should I wait for the sun to set? But, will this scenario hold out until then? I have no choice. Should Neferpitō's en return, approaching the palace will be impossible. If I fail, we still have other options. Maybe Kite is right and that girl really will find a peaceful solution.'

'But... I cannot discount the possibility this will end in violence. I must be prepared for any situation. We must be prepared.'

'I have nothing to fear.'

'Advance... I will advance.'

In the palace, there were four humans not intended as food. The first was unknown to the Hunters, but was a Gungi player the king used as entertainment. The second was the previous Supreme Leader. The third was the eccentric Hunter attempting diplomacy between the ants and humans. The fourth was Secretary Bizef. Behind the scenes, he was the country's true ruler. All dealings with foreign parties and domestic organizations went through him as an intermediary. Since he could not be replaced, he was allowed to live in the palace.

No human guards were posted near the palace because ordinary soldiers would be powerless against nen users. The guards had determined the presence of ordinary soldiers would, correctly, increase the risk of infiltration.

They even only allowed a certain amount of ants because they doubted their loyalty to the king.

As Knov finally entered the palace, he was met with a perturbing sight. There were odd trees in the courtyard, but instead of leaves, they had large white sacks.

Knov was out of breath. He was more tired than he normally would have been because of how stressed he was.

'Still more than one hundred meters to the central stairway,' Knov thought, struggling to regain his breath. He took the opportunity to look closer to the odd trees. 'About five hundred sacks per tree. Ten trees. Five thousand in total. Five hundred thousand people are said to go through the selection process each day with a one-percent survival rate. Thanks to Killua's and Gon's distractions that schedule has only been fulfilled on one day. So these numbers add up. These cocoons must be the surviving humans, then...'

Knov created an exit under one of the trees.

'I must get closer now. The palace entrance looks oddly dark. So far so good...'

He set another exit at the front door. 'Middle exit good.'

Entering the palace, Knov was pleasantly surprised he hadn't run into any ants.

'I can go further. I can do this.'

He dashed forward, daring to move further and further inside the dark palace.

As he entered further in he ran into one lone ant soldier, and he had to quickly and silently kill it. He caught the body before it hit the ground, then slowly lowered the corpse into his special dimension for Kite to study.

He waited with bated breath to see if any more ants would come, but to his relief none did.

Turning the corner he finally saw the staircase that would lead to the throne room. He moved towards it, but as soon as he stepped close enough he—

Felt—

It.

It.

It.

It.

It.

This... this is it?

He froze. A doe caught in headlights, a rabbit who heard the rustling of feathers, a prey who smelled their predator upwind. His body instinctively stiffened for a heartbeat and then he leapt back, scrambling to hide in the shadows. His heart thumped, jumped, and pounded in his chest as if someone took a sledgehammer to it. Each beat was felt in the very edge of his fingertips.

All the heat drained away from him, cruelly replaced by chilling terror that made him uncontrollably shiver.

What he felt—what he felt—felt—felt—

'I can't move beyond this point. I can't. I can't. I can't.'

That presence, that aura, that—that thing—

He couldn't stop shaking.

'If I do, I'll be killed. What is that aura? It appears to be full of all kinds of evil. At this point, I don't fear death. What I fear is that, before killing me, the monsters up there will squeeze every drop of information from me that I have on the king.'

His strength left him. He fell to his knees, trembling violently in terror.

'Using any brutal means necessary.'

Delightfully malicious. Senselessly cruel. Horrifically violent.

The presence he felt promised all that and more.

'If I'm caught, I won't be able to resist. The aura's strength just confirms it.'

Predators.

'This is as far as I go.'

And he was their prey.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa

Miwa's ears perked at the odd sounds.

'There's a human in the palace.'

Smells like they tracked in mud.

The palace didn't have many distinct smells in the first place, so Miwa was able to spot when a new one arrived. She knew the palace had deliveries, but they always arrived in one area and it smelled—and sounded—like a human had entered the palace.

Miwa looked over at Shaiapouf.

"What?" Shaiapouf asked with a narrowed gaze.

"You are not one of us," Shaiapouf said coldly. "I will not trust you with this."

Miwa stuck her nose up. "Hmph!"

Shaiapouf gave her a dry look. "Didn't you say you were going to leave?"

"I am! Dummy."

"What? At least I understand the basics of—"

Miwa stuck her tongue out at him and promptly ran away.

'Don't want my help, huh? Fine!'

(≧ڡ≦*)

Knov

Night had fallen. Knov did not stop running until he was safe from Neferpitō's normal en. He finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted beyond measures.

Once he was safe, he finally allowed his guard to drop.

Cold, shivering, undiluted terror made him violently tremble as he hugged himself tightly.

'That aura...'

'That aura...'

'One look... was all it took... to break my will.'

Knov clutched at his face, tears streaming from his eyes. 'Those children... they must have seen that aura and yet...?'

'How...?'

'How are you able to return to them—?'

'How are you prepared to fight them?'

'How are you prepared to try for peace?'

'Those things are vile. They're monsters of monsters that should not be allowed to exist.'

'Yet...'

Knov wept, his resolve broken.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Killua

Killua stared at Gon.

"So," said Gon slowly, "you got beat up?"

"Yes," Killua grudgingly admitted with a mutter.

"Had Miwa rescue you?"

"Yes."

"Did some cuddle time?"

Killua gave Gon a dry look.

"And you still—still—didn't complete your end of the bargain?" Gon raised both of his eyebrows in mocking surprise.

"Wha—I was unconscious most of the time!"

"Not unconscious enough to remember cuddle time!"

"That was—she—I—!"

"I'm not mad," Gon soothed. "Only disappointed."

"Gargh!"

"You could have said it when she teleported you to me," Gon pointed out.

"I was a little preoccupied trying to convince her to do that much," Killua argued.

"Miwa's not hard to convince. Just ask nicely," Gon dismissed. "Or call her cute, then she'll go along with whatever."

"What?" Killua stared at Gon, disbelieving his friend actually said that out loud.

"What? I'm not wrong." Gon tilted his head in confusion. Then he smiled brightly. "Oh, hi Kite!"

"Hello you two. Glad to see you're doing well," Kite greeted, entering the white room in the special place created by Knov. Kite worked mostly separate from the rest because his work was unpleasant to be around and required heavy concentration. "Are you ready to go over the plans?"

"The palace attack, right?" Gon asked. "Sure, but I don't think we'll really need to do anything other than show up. Miwa will make nice with them."

"They're human eating ants," Killua dryly reminded Gon. "We can't expect—"

Gon pointedly looked at the octopus-ant named Ikalgo that Killua literally befriended that very week.

Killua coughed and looked away, flushing.

"How could anyone expect peace from those things?" quietly murmured a voice.

Killua and Gon gave Knov subtle glances.

Ever since his encounter with one of the ant's nen days prior, he had drastically deteriorated. His once ebony black hair had been drained of color and was falling out from stress. He constantly shivered in fear, had heavy bags under his eyes, and when he wasn't speaking he was curled up in a ball in the corner.

Killua couldn't entirely blame him. He remembered the brief seconds he had encountered Neferpitō's nen and it still chilled him. His family was filled with cold assassins, but their presence leaned closer to apathy.

That ant... it was cruel. Vindictive. Malicious.

Powerful.

Killua could not imagine anyone being comfortable with it. It boggled his mind that Miwa was so unbothered by it.

'What kind of life did she live before to be so unaffected by that level of evil?'

Was it because she had a kind of demon sealed within her? Could a demon be comparable to those ants? Or did Miwa grow up on a battlefield drenched in murder and malevolence?

It wasn't like Killua or Gon could ask Miwa about that. She claimed amnesia, with only flashes of memories.

Sometimes those memories made her smile. Sometimes they made her cry.

Killua and Gon silently looked at one another.

They'd see their friend soon enough.

Tonight was the night.

At midnight... they'd invade the palace.

Whether it ended in a spectacular battle between human and ants, or odd peace, it would be up to their adorable friend.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Neferpitō

Neferpitō was the first one to notice.

They had been on near constant watch for any signs of trouble since coming into the world. The cat-ant developed a powerful instinct for when it came to trouble and had refined their en ability to be able to tell when even a butterfly entered it.

Neferpitō was seated on the roof, relaxing as they absently kept watch with their en. They could feel the other residents in the palace move about. Miwa was napping in their shared room. When Neferpitō cocked their ears just right, they could hear her breathing.

The only reason Neferpitō decided to look up at the sky that night was on a hunch that they ought to.

A scarce few seconds later that hunch turned to certainty.

'Something is coming.'

Neferpitō stood up, tensing.

They could feel... something. It was out of their en range, but still, the cat-ant knew something was coming. Something high above them. Too high for even their exceptional senses to ascertain.

Neferpitō channeled their en upwards into the cloudy sky to try and sense what was coming.

Within the next second they saw a golden dragon roaring between the clouds, descending upon them. They spotted two figures riding the dragon down, and deep inside Neferpitō knew a fight was coming.

They ceased their use of en in preparation for the battle to come.

However, as soon as they did the dragon erupted and hundreds of thousands golden arrows of nen fell upon the palace.

Neferpitō's decision to stop using en in preparation for the battle had backfired as they had lost sight of the enemy as soon as the dragon erupted.

'Where—'

But suddenly Miwa was beside Neferpitō, her hands clapping together.

"Fūin: Kasa!" As soon as Miwa's hands clapped together, a burst of energy erupted from the whiskered girl and shot up into the air. The energy expanded outward, catching most of the golden arrows. Miwa had not been able to stop the entire assault, but she had stopped most of it.

Without the golden arrows, Neferpitō could clearly see the humans. The cat-ant launched themselves at the first human, but that proved to be a mistake.

With the wave of one hand, faster than anything Neferpiout had ever seen before, he slapped Neferpitō away. It was not meant to damage the cat-ant, but the force was enough that it would send Neferpitō far away unless they did something to stop their momentum.

Or—

Miwa teleported beside Neferpitō, reaching out a hand to the cat-ant.

Neferpitō grabbed onto Miwa, embracing the girl as she teleported them back to the palace. They tumbled—the force from the human's attack was too great—sommersaulting and rolling onto the palace grounds before they could come to a complete stop.

Neferpitō did not have time to thank Miwa—although they were definitely grateful—because clearly the king was in danger.

"Where—?" Neferpitō's head whipped around, they strained their senses to try and find.

"Who?" Miwa asked.

Right! She can teleport.

"We need to get to the king right away," said Neferpitō quickly, anxious and unsettled by the attack.

"Okay," said Miwa. "It's going to be okay, Pitō."

Neferpitō's tail lashed. Miwa teleported both of them, appearing in Komugi's room.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa

'I kind of thought they'd send me a message and try to meet with the ants first before going all out and attacking.'

I like this better.

'I'm sure you do.'

Miwa teleported to Komugi's room with Neferpitō. She had a strong feeling the king would want to make sure his companion was safe, especially since Miwa had not been able to stop the entire barrage of nen arrows.

When they arrived at Komugi's room they were greeted by a sight.

The king, leaking an aura of fury and pain, was tenderly holding Komugi who was bleeding profusely from her abdomen. His expression was unreadable, a perfect poker face, in spite of how monstrously enraged he clearly was.

Miwa could not help but be reminded of how she felt when she found Killua and her heart ached for the nameless king.

Behind the king was Killua's grandfather, Zeno, and the Hunter Chairman, Netero. Both had arrived in the room, but upon seeing the king carefully hold Komugi in his arms, they froze.

The king noticed Neferpitō. "Pitō."

"Yes, sir," said Neferpitō, moving to kneel before him.

"Heal Komugi," he ordered. "I'm counting on you."

"Yes," they whispered.

The king stood up slowly, his aura repressed and hidden once again. But Miwa could still feel it, that echo of rage hidden inside. He addressed the older men. "Let's fight elsewhere."

"Stop!" Miwa exclaimed, holding out her arms.

The king slowly turned to look at Miwa, his expression unreadable. Neferpitō did not pause in their treatment of Komugi, though, instinctively understanding that Miwa was not addressing them.

"We don't have to fight," said Miwa, glancing between the Zeno, Netero, and the king.

"Don't we?" the king coldly asked.

"As long as you continue down this path, humanity will try to stop you," she said. "You and your precious people will never truly be safe. As you see here—it doesn't matter how strong you are, if you're not strong enough."

She took a deep breath, turning to face the king.

"Tell me, nameless king, what do you want?" she pressed. "To rule? Or... something more?"

The king's hands curled into fists.

"I have a place," she said. "For people like you. You can join me... and take the time to figure out who you are... what you want in life. You don't need to be defined by your birth. You don't need to be a nameless king."

She smiled warmly at him.

"You can just be you."

The king closed his eyes. "Just... me?"

"Even so," said Netero, "if the king were to seek asylum in Soleil, the other countries would still demand the Hunter Association to capture, or kill him."

"Then I will defend," said Miwa evenly.

"It will only end in more bloodshed," the elder countered. "You need to prove not only are you strong enough to stop him—but strong enough to protect him."

Miwa squared back her shoulders. "You have a proposal?"

He gestured to himself. "If you are strong enough to defeat me, they will refrain. If you cannot even defeat me—"

"I understand."

"Wait," said the king. "You do not need to fight this on my behalf. I—"

"Oh stop it," said Miwa, smacking the king's arm. He looked at her incredulously. "Stay here with your precious person." She grinned. "After all—you're one of mine now!"

His tail flicked behind him as he frowned, unable to say anything else.

It was then that Kite, Killua, and Gon arrived. An explosion could be heard in the palace.

"If we are doing this," said Miwa, "then maybe everyone should stop attacking each other?"

"Doing what?" asked Gon.

"Did you really make nice with the ants?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"Well done," warmly praised Kite as Miwa sent out clones to tell Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupī about the situation. She'd hate for her friends to needlessly get hurt.

"There's a nice empty field not far from here," said Netero.

"Mn, I know what you're talking about," said Miwa. "I can teleport us there after everyone stops fighting."

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa sent out her clones, then offered her hand to Netero. The chairman accepted her hand without hesitation, which made Miwa smile. Miwa and Netero had chosen to fight a fair distance from the palace. The palace was still in sight, but it was far enough away that Miwa felt she probably wouldn't accidentally destroy it.

She left behind a clone that would work on setting up a fūinjutsu barrier.

After all, she planned to Kurama's chakra.

"You can give up any point," said Miwa. "I'll try to only maim you."

Netero laughed. "Good luck with that! I may be old, but I'm not weak."

Miwa had used Kurama's chakra only briefly in front of her friends. Each use, Kurama's chakra had been heavily mixed into her own, or even into nature's chakra to hide its aura. She had never used it undiluted, nor without hiding its unique malice.

She remembered that those with weak chakra networks were heavily influenced by Kurama's mere presence. Civilians could even die just from the pressure of his animosity alone. He was a construct of volatile chakra, seeped heavily in hostility, bloodlust, and malevolence.

The humans of this world lacked chakra networks. Their nen cores came close, but it would not be enough in the presence of Kurama's rancor.

Chimera Ants were close, but only in the sense they were in the same game.

In terms of intensity, Kurama was in a league of his own.

Miwa knew that and had done her best to hide his nature. She did not want to harm her friends.

It was the biggest reason why she insisted on their battle being so far away. Close enough that she could still keep track of them—in case someone attacked them, or the ant king turned hostile she wanted to sense their presence—but far away enough they would not be overwhelmed by Kurama's chakra.

After all, Netero was a man that Miwa did not think she could fight without Kurama's help.

He was powerful. Every instinct in her told her that much. Even if his core was not as large as Miwa's, his experience and skill exceeded her's.

He was strong.

Stronger than Miwa.

But not stronger than Kurama and Miwa combined.

Miwa tilted her head. "Please don't misunderstand. It's not that I think you're weak—"

A blood-red aura flared around her as her eyes shone scarlet.

"—but I am that strong."

(≧ڡ≦*)

Interlude

The worst aura those humans had encountered had been Neferpitō's En. That level of evil and enmity had left a deep, mental scar, on even the most veteran of Hunters.

It was enough to leave a lasting impression upon the trained assassin, and completely destroy the mental strength of the skilled hunter, Knov.

The ants had never encountered an aura stronger than their own.

For humans, the ants were the worst things to have faced.

For the ants, the king was the strongest thing to exist.

No one had considered either were incorrect.

No one had considered... how momentously wrong they were.

How could they?

What they were about to feel that night was something that could not naturally exist in their world.

Something that should not exist in their world.

Crimson red; that scarlet aura flared to life in the distance like a portal opening up to reveal the bowels of hell.

It pressed upon them, scorching their throats as the air seeped with malice unlike any before. It weighed them down, a pressure so intense none of them had the mental fortitude to shrug it off. Pitō's hands trembled; Pouf and many of the other humans in that room fell to their knees; Zeno had to brace himself on a nearby wall; Gon couldn't even breathe from that choking aura.

The ant king tensed, every inch of his body instinctively prepared to fight for his life. He, like the others, became glued to the red light that shone in the distance.

The malicious aura choked them, strangling their breath from its heat. Primal terror seeped into their minds, freezing their bodies.

It was the presence of a power not known to them before.

It was the presence of a being not encountered before.

It was the presence of an absolute apex predator.

And they were the prey.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa & Netero

Miwa smiled.

"I'm going to walk towards you," she said as Netero grimaced from the pressure of facing three tails worth of Kurama's chakra. "When I reach you, I will break you. Try to stop me, okay?"

Sweat ran down Netero's face.

In his youth, Netero was revered as the world's most powerful Nen user. Although the survival rate of the official expeditions to the Dark Continent was a mere 0.04%, Netero had set foot on it twice and returned alive with no signs of lasting injury both times.

Even in his old age, Netero remained extremely powerful. In part because of his raw power, but also because of his extreme dedication—and skill—in martial arts. What he could no longer supply in strength, he compensated for experience and talent.

He might not have been the strongest Hunter anymore, but he was still above reproach.

He was the Chairman for a reason. One could not hold that title on power alone.

The moment Miwa unleashed that monstrous aura, Netero was reminded of the environment on the Dark Continent.

Although, he had never encountered such an evil aura before. Nothing on the Dark Continent could compare to the intensity of gleeful sadism that oozed from the pig tailed blonde who smiled so sweetly at him.

Netero could not fight back the instinctive shiver down his spine.

Thankfully, because of his time on the Dark Continent, Netero had learned how to use his nen to filter and protect his body from harmful auras like the one the girl exuded.

Given how potent her aura was, however, Netero was doubtful his nen shield would be able to protect him if she got too close.

Truly, what a monster—

No.

What a demon.

Monster felt too light of a word to use in the face of venomous malice that shone before him. Even demon felt lackluster, but Netero could not think of anything else to say.

If he did not immediately go all out against her, he would lose.

And so Netero summoned forth his strongest nen ability: 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Golden nen surged to life around Netero as he summoned a multi-armed construct behind himself. It took the form of a gigantic statue of Guanyin.

To execute an attack, all Netero needed to do was to clasp his hands together in a fluid motion, as if in prayer, after which one of the arms on the statue would strike down upon his target in conjunction with Netero's hand motion. Due to Netero's immense speed, the whole process could be carried out in far less than 0.1 seconds, up to thousands of times per minute.

Powerful and quick, this was Netero's strongest ability.

He normally liked to build up to using such a thing, but that would be an insult to her power.

Such an opponent before him deserved his absolute best.

"Are you prepared now?" Miwa asked, red eyes sparkling as she watched Netero take up a defensive position.

"I am," he said. "Thank you for your patience."

Miwa took one step forward, raising her arms to her side in a gesture similar to a showman.

Her smile was as dazzling as the sun—

"Let's begin."

Hundreds of flaming rocks pierced through the clouds above them, cascading down.

—and equally deadly.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Interlude

"Sorry~" the clone said, and the aura disappeared behind the fūinjutsu barrier she had finished setting up.

There were choked gasps of relief.

"What—the—hell—"

"What was—?"

"Is she some kind of monster?!"

"Hey," Gon protested weakly, his body shaking. "She's not a monster."

"Yeah," agreed Killua, also shaky. "That's my fiancée."

Zeno placed a hand atop Killua's head, and stroked his heard with his other hand. "Not bad, Killua... Not bad."

The clone smiled. "Stay behind this barrier until the fight's over, okay? Bye-bye."

It popped.

"What a fun toy," mused Neferpitō.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on saving the king's woman?" snapped Shaiapouf.

"I want to fight her now," said Menthuthuyoupī.

"You would die," the king remarked, relaxing now that he no longer had to directly feel the intense aura.

"... I want to fight her," Menthuthuyoupī repeated quietly.

"Um," said Kite. "Is it—is it raining meteors?"

The Hunters and ants stared in disbelief as it indeed began to rain flaming rocks upon the battlefield.

"She is so going to teach me that," whispered Gon.

"Not before me," said Killua.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Miwa & Netero

Netero's nen swiped at each rock, shattering it to embers. The barraged continued without relent. Netero was forced to dedicate effort to repelling the flaming storm. With each subsequent hit, he felt something odd stir inside him. It took several seconds before he realized that his nen was being drained.

Bit by bit. With each tap of the rock, a little more of his power was sucked away.

How?

Because accompanying each rock was a tiny, shimmering, butterfly of nen.

Miwa's special ability. Designed to purge nen. It was originally intended to destroy nen curses, but at its principal it devoured nen.

She hid the butterflies upon the rocks. They could not be destroyed. They would stay until they had either devoured a portion of nen, or Miwa was taken out. Such creatures could not be summoned easily—even with Miwa's sheer power—and only existed on the sacrifice of others.

Unfortunately for Netero, Miwa had literally hundreds of stored corpses. Ten units of blood (max blood humans have) could create well over a hundred butterflies.

The meteors that Netero did not destroy slammed into the earth, setting fire to the nearby surroundings. Smoke and ash filled the air, and Miwa breathed it in deeply, relishing the taste of it on her tongue.

If Netero directly touched her, he would be burned by Kurama's cloak.

If Netero blocked or destroyed the rainfall of flaming rocks, his nen would be sucked away.

Miwa did not make things easy for him.

When enough of the area had been set ablaze, Miwa's eyes shined with delight. She couldn't fight back her excited giggle.

She promptly created tornadoes. Pillars of powerful fūton wind circled them, sucking up the fire in a vortex of intense heat. The tornadoes slowly closed in on Netero and Miwa while the meteors continued to rain upon them.

Be caught up by the tornado, be crushed by the meteors, be drained by the butterflies, or be burned by Miwa.

She wasn't even winded, three tails of red aura lazily waving behind her.

Netero smiled.

All around him was chaos and death.

'Good,' the old man thought. 'Scarce few would dare to try to attack Soleil after seeing this. There will be no more casualties.'

He had ordered his Hunters to carry discreet body cameras. They would surely be able to record this event.

Record exactly how dangerous she was, and how foolish it would be to attack her.

He slapped another meteor away.

'And I...'

Netero's smile stretched into a grin as he threw back his head and laughed.

He could surrender. He could see that she was not the type of person to continue to assault him after he said the words, "I give up." Not with someone she respected. He could give up at that moment, forfeit the fight, and he would live.

Live for what?

Netero was getting old. He was not immortal—nor would he seek such a thing—and time had drained a lot of his power.

How much longer did he have?

A year?

Less?

He had an option—a choice.

He could die an old man in his sleep.

Or he could die a warrior who did everything in his power to win.

He did not think he would face another opponent like her; someone strong enough he could go all out against and still lose. Someone who could even handle the bomb without dying.

'I could not ask for a better death.'

There wasn't much he could do. The only option left to him would lead to his inevitable death. That was fine. Netero had lived a long, satisfying life. All he had wanted before passing was one final, glorious battle, and that was exactly what he got.

He got to see the next generation truly come to light.

What a brilliant generation it would be.

He wished he could have fought her in his prime.

As it stood, though, there was only one thing left to do.

'You better not follow after me, brat, he thought. Let's meet again in the next life after you've had your own adventure. I pray we'll be born near each other so I might have a proper rival.'

"I better not see you for a long time, brat," he said.

Miwa's red eyes shined. "Any requests before I have you hospitalized for a heck of a long time?"

"Hahahaha!" Netero threw back his head as he laughed. "That rat is your headache now! Let's fight again in our next life."

"Rat—?"

Miwa did not have time to finish her sentence because Netero's aura changed. Suddenly that sickly thing hidden inside him flared to life. Miwa didn't have time to do much else than curl her fox tails in front of her to shield her from the sudden explosion.

Even with her chakra digging into the ground to keep her stable, she could not hold her grip. She was flown far back, flipping in the air several times until she was able to re-orient herself.

She crashed, feet first, into the dense forest behind them. She blew through the trees and land for several seconds.

When she was finally able to come to a stop, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

All of her clones from the sky had been popped. She had prepared many tar-covered rocks and debris inside storage scrolls weeks ago. She launched her clones with the scrolls into the sky, keeping them in the air with a combination of fūton manipulation and throwing themselves off each other. They would toss the rocks and set them afire.

Took some effort, but Miwa thought it looked completely awesome.

'Over too soon!' Miwa complained, sensing Netero's nen had completely vanished.

The fuck was that anyway? Suicide?

'I guess? Ugh, why'd he do that...?'

Who knows? Crazy human.

Miwa sighed. 'I was so excited.'

We're too strong, Miwa. There is not a single human on this planet that could defeat us.

Miwa wished she could deny that fact, but considering she somehow pressured the almighty Hunter Chairman into committing suicide rather than fighting her...

'Lame.'

Miwa teleported back to her friends. At once she felt a wave of nausea and fatigue. It made her stumble forward. She caught herself as it quickly faded away.

THE FUCK?

'Kurama?'

Kurama's chakra flushed throughout her body. She could feel the warm tingly sensation of him trying to repair her.

'Did I get hurt?'

He was silent.

Miwa frowned, wanting to press him for an answer, but Gon was suddenly leaping atop her. Miwa had to catch him in her arms. "Ahahaha! That was so cool."

"How did you do that?" Killua asked her.

"Was that Kurama?" Gon asked.

Miwa beamed at her friends. She felt another surge of nausea that quickly went away.

"That was Kurama, and I'll show you how I did it tomorrow," Miwa said. Her gazed moved to meet with the Hunters. "Um... I'm sorry about Netero. I, um, didn't mean to..."

Morel held up a hand. "We saw what happened. Netero activated his rose bomb."

"Rose bomb?" Miwa asked.

"A very powerful bomb," Kite quietly explained. "Are you okay? The radiation from it could not have been easy to face."

Radiation...?

'Kurama?'

Leave me be, I need to concentrate.

Miwa cleared her throat. "I—I'm okay." Miwa's blue eyes moved over to the ants. She smiled. "So?"

"That was... an impressive display of power for a human," the ant king said slowly. "You are adequate to protect us."

She chuckled.

"I've finished healing the most pressing injury for K-Komugi," said Neferpitō, stumbling over using the woman's name. "Although there's still more work to be done."

"We should move to Swardani City," suggested Morel. "That's where the Hunter headquarters are—they'll need to be informed about Netero."

"Swardani isn't too far from Soleil," agreed Miwa with a smile.

"And they have a good hospital. We can have the woman looked there," suggested Kite.

"If we're all in agreement, I'll teleport us there," said Miwa. She placed Gon back down—he puffed out his cheeks in protest—so that way she could take his and Killua's hands.

The ants were reluctant to touch anyone other than Miwa, so they ended up crowding around the jinchūriki. It took a few minutes before everyone was situated and then in a flash of golden light, Miwa had teleported all of them to the marker she placed on the roof of the Hunter HQ.

Miwa's vision doubled, her knees suddenly weak as she nearly threw up from the intense nausea. Her kunoichi reflexes kept her from reacting any further than tightening her grip on Killua and Gon's hands.

Both of her friends immediately looked to her in alarm.

STOP.

Miwa froze.

DO. NOT. USE. CHAKRA.

'What? Kurama, what do you mean?'

"Wow that really is something," laughed Morel.

"It's pretty neat," agreed Gon, smiling even as his eyes shined with concern.

"Ah, Kite, mind showing the ants to the hospital—?"

"Of course. If you would please follow me?" asked Kite.

"Kite's good," Miwa encouraged them as soon as her nausea disappeared. She did not want to worry her friends. "And if he isn't, you know I'll come save you."

"I do not need anyone to rescue me," the king muttered, carrying Komugi gently in his arms as he followed behind Kite. Naturally the other ants followed behind him, but each of them gave Miwa a look before they left—Neferpitō smiled, Menthuthuyoupī grinned at her, and Shaiapouf coolly nodded. Zeno followed behind Morel—either to leave or vouch for Netero's death, it was hard to say—until only three remained on the roof.

Miwa, Gon, and Killua.

Gon and Killua flanked Miwa, the boys obviously happy and excited over what they had seen. There was a whisper of worry in their gazes, but neither of the boys voiced their concern just yet.

Miwa wished to assuage their anxiety.

'Kurama?'

That... radiation. It's unlike what I've ever encountered. I don't know how—I don't know how to treat it, said Kurama softly.

'What do you mean?'

It's destroying your cells. I am regenerating them, but seven out ten times they're mutating so I'm forced to destroy them and try again. Even if you entered sage mode, if we don't know how to stop them from mutating during regrowth it'd be the same issue.

'Ah,' thought Miwa as she put the pieces together. 'How long?'

Kurama told her, and she nodded, accepting the answer.

"Um," she said, drawing their attention to her.

Another surge of nausea made her shudder. Her chest felt tight and filled with up, her next breath was sharp and hard to swallow. Kurama's chakra rapidly moved to envelop her lungs, working as fast as it could to undo the damage.

She coughed, warm, slick, coppery blood filling her mouth and dripping down her lips.

"Miwa?!" demanded Killua, both he and Gon looking at her with widening eyes.

She wiped it away with the back of her sleeves, looking up at her friends with a soft smile. "I'm sorry."

"S-Sorry? For what?" Gon glowered at her, dark eyes narrowed in warning. "You can't be sorry."

"What's going on?" Killua pressed her, and she caught the first whiff of sour fear from her friend. It made her heart ache, especially when he looked at her with those anxious blue eyes.

"I'm—"

"Please," whispered Gon.

"Don't," Killua cut in softly.

"—dying," she murmured.

(≧ڡ≦*)

Ant arc done. Gosh, this was such a long chapter & arc.

Answer: It's been so long since I've read a finished love story. I'm gonna go with my default answer of my favorite husbando/waifu routes in otome games. *Shrugs*

Anyone who wants to read a fluffy / funny webtoon I'd suggest Miss Kitty and her Bodyguards. It's *chefs kiss* ffffffwwwufff. Think Beastars/Zootopia but mafia guards protectin a cute little ragdoll kitten.

Question: You can always choose the world you go to - Would you rather be constantly reborn with all of your memories each cycle (reset after 100 cycles), OR be reborn with none of your past life memories but you get to keep any powers / unique abilities you had from your past lives (rest after 100 cycles)?

Reviews are love!