The cake Menchi had given him earlier had only taken the edge off his hunger. By the time he left the lounge, he was even hungrier.
Rubbing the handprint on his cheek, Kaya headed straight for the dining room.
Before he reached it, Kaya felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind.
He turned to find contestant No. 255, Toby.
"Need something?" Kaya lowered his hand and looked him over curiously.
Toby's face flushed red, and he bowed deeply to Kaya.
"Thank you."
From his argument with Menchi, it was clear that Toby was a man with a strong sense of pride.
For him to set that pride aside and bow in thanks to a boy more than ten years his junior must have taken a great deal of resolve.
"Don't thank me! I didn't do anything anyway. If you say too much and end up getting disqualified, that'll be a real problem."
Kaya waved a hand and turned to leave.
Toby knew Kaya was helping him save face, but he still decided to express his gratitude:
"I don't like owing people favors, so I'll definitely repay you."
Kaya stopped and looked back at Toby for a few seconds. "Oh," he said, then turned and left.
The moment he entered the dining room, he saw Pokkle sitting at a corner table with a girl in a yellow hat, chatting animatedly.
Judging by the girl's hearty laughter, the two were getting along wonderfully.
Pokkle spotted Kaya too and waved him over.
Choosing girls over friends! Kaya pretended not to see him and turned away to order food.
He had no interest in being subjected to their lovey-dovey display.
Killua and Gon's adventure had come to a less-than-perfect end after they barged into the airship's control room.
Night had fully fallen. Kaya and Gon knelt side by side on a soft sofa, watching the cities below glitter like stars.
"That's pretty."
"Like gemstones."
Neither of them often saw a nightscape like this, so the view from the night sky felt fresh and fascinating.
"What's so great about it? You two really haven't seen much of the world."
With his chin resting on his hands, Killua gazed lazily out at the night.
"So you ride airships a lot?" Kaya raised a hand and lightly swatted Killua's head.
"Yeah. My family has a private airship. I've seen this kind of night view so much it makes me sick."
Killua sat up straight, his voice tinged with resignation and boredom.
What a humblebrag. Still, I never imagined Killua was a rich kid.
I'll have to get a nice chunk of money out of him, Kaya thought with a wicked little grin.
Gon suddenly turned to him. "Hey, Killua."
"Hmm?" Killua propped his cheeks in his hands, seemingly lost in thought.
"What about your mom and dad?"
"They're probably still alive."
"What do they do?" Gon continued.
"Killing machines." Killua's voice was utterly flat, as though he were discussing something perfectly ordinary.
Gon looked at him earnestly. "Both of them?"
"No wonder you seem to have a bit of skill." Kaya's expression didn't change at all.
Killua froze for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"You two are hilarious. Other people get scared to death when they hear my parents are assassins, but you don't seem surprised at all."
Gon blinked. "Why would we be scared? You're just telling the truth."
Kaya nodded in agreement. "Besides, you don't get to choose what your parents do."
Killua's laughter gradually faded, and his fair face returned to its usual cool expression.
He had openly revealed how dangerous he was because he wanted to test how willing the two were to accept him.
To Killua, friends weren't people who accepted only your strengths. They were people who could tolerate your flaws and accept every part of you.
Unexpectedly, neither Kaya nor Gon showed any prejudice toward him. Instead, they accepted him completely, with an utterly natural and welcoming attitude.
That made Killua even more willing to grow close to them.
"What about you? Are you going to become an assassin?"
Kaya was very curious about the environment Killua had grown up in.
Hearing curiosity rather than prejudice in Kaya's voice, Killua perked up.
"It's not just my parents. Our whole family is an assassination organization. You could call it a family tradition."
"I've followed the family's arrangements since I was little, going through special killing training every day."
Gon asked curiously, "Then have you killed anyone, Killua?"
Killua spread his hands, looking proud. "Of course, dummy. I've taken on some of the family's jobs! And my methods are really discreet. My mom always praises my talent."
Then his expression darkened. "But I slowly started getting sick of that life, so I told them I'd decide how to live my own life."
"My mom was furious. She cried and cried, telling me to do what she said. Who'd listen to that? In the end, I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to run away. My mom and my brother tried to stop me, so I beat them both up and got out."
At that point, Killua's tone lightened again, carrying the innocence of a boy his age.
"After I escaped, I decided to take the Hunter Exam. Once I pass, the first thing I'll do is arrest all of them. Their bounties must be huge, so I'll be rich! Heh heh heh."
Killua's expressions shifted constantly as he spoke, completely absorbed in the world of his own imagination.
He was proud when he talked about his talent;
he grew somber when he talked about not wanting his family to control him;
and when he talked about arresting his entire family, he became thoroughly childish again.
"Well, aren't you a devoted son."
Kaya understood Killua's shifting emotions, but his bizarre train of thought still left him a little speechless.
"Isn't that a good thing? Of course you should decide how to live your own life. I really envy you, Killua."
Gon's words stirred a faint ripple in Killua's heart.
Still, Killua knew better than anyone how powerful his father was. That goal itself, however, was the driving force behind his desire to grow stronger.
The three were absorbed in their conversation when Killua's expression suddenly changed. He sensed an indescribable pressure.
"Someone's nearby," he warned quietly.
Kaya casually pointed behind Killua. "You can just look and see him."
Killua quickly turned to find Netero standing a short distance away, his hands behind his back as he watched the three without expression.
Netero had initially been to the left of the sofa, then instantly darted to the right with movements almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Yet only Killua had picked up on that subtle trace of Nen.
That was thanks to Illumi's long-term use of Nen to pressure Killua, which had given him an unusually keen sensitivity to that oppressive feeling.
Although Kaya and Gon hadn't sensed the Nen, they had caught the sound of air stirred by his movement.
"Ah, you sleep less when you get old. I was just taking a stroll around the airship when I happened upon you."
As Netero slowly approached, the three obediently stood up.
"Kaya, Gon, Killua, why aren't you three getting some proper rest like the other candidates?"
Netero had information on every candidate and knew the three boys' backgrounds very well.
Kaya and the others were a little surprised. After all, he was the chairman of the Hunter Association.
Knowing that the unpleasant pressure had come from Netero, Killua stood to one side with a dark expression and said coldly:
"What do you want? Didn't you say we could do whatever we liked?"
"No need to be nervous. We're just chatting." Netero wore a kindly expression.
Gon, meanwhile, answered honestly. "Killua and I just had a look around the airship."
"How was it?" Netero asked with a smile.
"Pretty boring. There wasn't much to it," Gon said.
Netero turned to Kaya. "And you? Are you bored?"
Kaya scratched his cheek. "It's okay, I guess. Not as fun as I imagined. Why don't you take us somewhere fun?"
After all, as the chairman of the Hunter Association, he could surely go places ordinary people couldn't. Just thinking about it made Kaya feel a little excited.
Netero held up one finger. "In that case, let's play a game to pass the time."
"What game?" the three asked in unison, their curiosity instantly piqued.
Before you continue