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(≧ڡ≦*)

Illumi continued to watch his brother act so strangely, confused and suspicious. Killua paid him no mind as he returned beside Miwa with an abashed smile. Miwa reached forward and affectionately poked his cheek.

"Thanks," he muttered shyly, scratching the back of his head.

"What are friends for?" Miwa returned. "Just make sure you win your next match."

He did.

The final match was between Leorio and the oldest contestant.

And to be frank, the oldest contestant was definitely going to kick Leorio's ass. Leorio was lanky, uncoordinated, and only had stubbornness on his side. Whereas the older opponent had experience, skill, and actual combat talent.

Miwa wasn't as fond of Leorio and Kurapika as she was Gon and Killua, but she did recognize that Leorio was Gon's friend and seeing the teenager get beaten around wasn't fun.

So Kurama, ever the helpful friend, suggested: Just cheat.

'Cheat?'

You are a kunoichi and a fox demon's vessel. Cheating is in your blood.

'Cheat how?'

You could try using a suggestive genjutsu on the older contestant to make him think like he needs to forfeit.

'And why do this now and not for Gon?!'

I know I'm amazing, but you can't expect me to have an answer for everything that makes you uncomfortable right away.

'I suppose expecting perfection from you is a bit much.'

I am perfect. I'm just not perfect at keeping humans alive and not beaten.

Miwa resisted the urge to point out the contradictory of that statement, biting the inside of her cheeks instead.

She supposed it would be a good way to test how sensitive non-chakra users were to her genjutsu. She knew it worked on them since it successfully deterred them on the island, but would it be noticeable by some of the stronger nen-users like Netero?

Only one way to find out.

Miwa tucked her hands behind her back and formed the seal's for tengoku no kenkai, or heaven's viewing.

The older contestant stumbled in his punch toward Leorio and then shook his head. Miwa reapplied the genjutsu again, adding a touch more chakra behind it, and then the older contestant fell back onto his bum.

This caused some surprise from Leorio.

Even more surprising was when the old man uttered, "I forfeit."

"Huh?" came Leorio.

"Huh?" came several other contestants.

Miwa released her genjutsu, and brushed her pigtails back over her shoulder.

"And that," Netero cheerfully said, his gaze lingering on Miwa, "is the conclusion of the Hunter Exam. Congratulations to all who won."

(≧ڡ≦*)

The actual licenses would be handed out in a few hours. Everyone had to get their photo taken, and there was some paperwork involved.

When Miwa saw the paperwork handed to her she audibly gulped. Killua, with a roll of his eyes, grabbed the stack of paperwork for Miwa and said, "I'll fill out out for you."

She sighed with great relief. "Thanks."

"How did you even enter?" he asked.

"I didn't have to read anything," she explained. "I just listened, talked, and someone handed me a button when I went into one of the rooms."

"Eh," he said after a moment, "I guess I owe you enough to show you the basics."

Miwa blinked at being owed, and she corrected him, "You don't owe me anything. Friends help friends. As your friend, I'll do what I can to help you."

That sounded odd to Killua, who frowned briefly at the foreign word. A thoughtful expression flickered over his face, and he looked down at the paperwork provided. He said, softly, "Thanks."

(≧ڡ≦*)

Once the paperwork was filled out and submitted, Killua went to go check in on Gon while Miwa relaxed in the main lobby. Killua was only gone for a handful of minutes before Miwa was approached by Netero.

"An interesting contest," he casually remarked, taking a seat beside Miwa. "That last round was especially enlightening."

That's about as subtle as a train on fire, Kurama snarked. I can't believe you got caught. Disgraceful.

'What would you have done differently?' Miwa retorted.

Not get caught.

"Well," Miwa said slowly, tilting her head as she eyed Netero. "You didn't say we couldn't help other contestants."

"Implied through one on one," Netero rebutted.

"Then why didn't you stop me?" she asked him, brushing back one of her pigtails.

Netero then smiled a smile that was not kind, nor malicious. What he said next gave Miwa and Kurama a better glimpse at who exactly this man was. He said, "More fun this way, don't you think?"

Miwa beamed in return as Kurama cackled in her head. "Mn! I agree."

"Where will you be heading off to now?" Netero inquired.

"I dunno. Adventuring with my friends is about the furthest I have planned."

"Hmm. Do enjoy yourself, then. If you're able to, you should visit my dojo. You should be able to enjoy yourself there," Netero advised.

"Thanks!"

(≧ڡ≦*)

(A few hours later...)

The licenses were handed out without much affair. Miwa's Hunter license was about the size of her palm, laminated and written in the language she could only kinda-sorta read. Killua had taught her how to write her name, so she was able to read that much-

'Although it looks like he wrote down a last name for me but I can't read it,' she thought, peering at the odd jumble of words. 'I hope he didn't give me something stupid like Cutiepatootie.'

Pffffft.

"Miwa," Killua said, tilting his head back and motioning for her to come to him. Miwa got up from her seat and walked over to her friend. He offered her a cheeky grin. "Or do I call you honeypie or something now?"

The sheer absurdity of Killua calling her that made her snort and giggle, which caused him to snicker. In the short time they had known each other the two could say for certain that cute nicknames were never going to happen.

"Nope. I want darling dearest," she said with a teasing grin. "How about you, sugarpie?"

Killua had to cover his mouth to try and repress his laughter at that. He coughed to try and get it back under control, and Miwa patiently waited—while still giggling herself—for him to calm down.

"I'll pass on that.. D-d-darling de-dear—pfft. I-I can't," Killua laughed, wiping at his eyes.

Miwa smiled sweetly at her friend. "Okay... I guess just Miwa is fine."

"Thanks... Miwa, I'm going to head home for a bit."

Miwa tilted her head at that, blinking in surprise. "Huh? How come?"

Killua shoved his hands in his pockets as he explained, "I left without talking to my father. I want to travel with you and Gon and... and you know. But to do that I need to make sure my father understands."

"How come?" Miwa asked, confused. "Would he hunt you down otherwise? Don't worry, I can protect you."

"No, no—I mean, well, yeah he'd probably come get me, but," Killua shook his head, "he's my father. I respect him. I want him to understand."

"Want me to come with?"

"No thanks," Killua said with a shake of his head. "Stay with Gon, okay?"

Miwa frowned, a little unhappy that he was leaving. "Hmm... then when Gon wakes up we'll come get you, okay?"

"You don't—"

"We'll come get you," she repeated back sternly, pulling out one of her hiraishin daggers and shoving it in his hands. "Here. Take this. If you need me at all, tear off this tag at the end and I'll immediately come to you."

Killua closed his fingers around the dagger, accepting it. "Okay. I'll talk to you later, then?"

Miwa reached forward, wrapping her arms around Killua's neck and pulling him into a tight hug. "You definitely will."

Again, Killua hesitated for a split second before he returned her hug, squeezing her tightly. Almost too soft for Miwa to hear he said, "Thank you."

"Always and always," the words slipped out in return.

(≧ڡ≦*)

*whistles innocently*

And so concludes the first arc! Next up: Zoldyck Family. Which is a really, really weird family and I had an absolute delight writing Miwa's introduction to them.

But! I did decide that after finishing every arc I will give myself a week break before I update again so I have time to work on further arcs. I really want to keep this story's updating schedule consistent during arcs, and I need more time to work on the Heaven's Arena / Phantom Troupe arc before we get to them. Next update will be on 01-27-2020.

Official cover art done by Cantrona. :)

Answer: Roses. The blooms can be sensitive, but the plant itself is hardy and tenacious. Thorns are self explanatory.

Question: Who from HxH would make your ideal friend?

Reviews are love!