Killua X VS X Kaya

The restaurant aboard the airship was pretty nice. At night, it turned into something like a bar serving drinks.

The bartender, however, refused to sell alcohol to the two little brats.

"Why did you insist on stopping me from killing those two? Having two fewer opponents would've been nice."

Killua sat on a tall stool, swinging his dangling feet. He took a sip of milk from his glass, sounding a little disgruntled.

"Didn't you say you were tired of killing?" Kaya said as though it were obvious.

That answer made Killua pause, then smile as his frustration instantly melted away.

"Besides, how could anyone you can kill possibly be a match for you?"

Kaya leaned against the counter, propping his cheek on one hand as he looked lazily at Killua.

He didn't care whether those two applicants lived or died. He cared about Killua's feelings.

"Fair enough, but I really want to blow off some steam."

Killua suddenly leaned closer to Kaya, his eyes gleaming with a thirst for blood.

Kaya shoved him away in disgust. "You want it that badly?"

"That badly!"

"All right, then."

Kaya stood, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and headed for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Killua hurriedly stood up.

Kaya turned to look at him. "Don't you want to blow off some steam? Come with me."

Killua glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn't too late yet.

He also wanted to see what Kaya was up to, so he set down his glass and hurried after him.

With Kaya leading the way, they moved swiftly through the gondola.

They pushed open a door at the rear of the airship's gondola, revealing an enormous open-air platform.

The gas envelope overhead stretched like a vast canopy, blocking out the stars. Propellers spun rapidly around them with a constant whir.

"What did you bring me here for?"

The rushing air and machinery nearly drowned out Killua's voice.

"Don't you want to blow off some steam?" Kaya leaned close to Killua's ear. "Then let's have a little fun here!"

"When you say 'have a little fun,' do you mean that literally, or is there some special meaning?" Killua asked, pursing his lips.

"Obviously, I'm going to beat you up so you'll stop being so cocky."

Killua was practically overjoyed to hear that!

He'd always wanted to spar with Kaya, but he'd felt too awkward to bring it up directly.

Now that the opportunity had fallen into his lap, how could he refuse?

"You can use your weapon, Kaya."

Killua had seen his weapon: a long whip that could extend and retract at will.

Kaya slipped off his backpack. "I won't use it, and you can't use your hand blades either."

Killua smiled confidently at that. "Then you might not be able to beat me."

"Quit talking crap! Huh? A flying saucer."

Killua wasn't about to fall for that. Instead, he attacked first, his fist whistling toward Kaya in an instant.

Kaya's clever trick backfired. With both his reaction and his movements half a beat too slow, he could only hastily raise his arms and try to block Killua's punch head-on.

Then he lifted a foot to counterattack.

In a flash, Killua's knee intercepted Kaya's raised right foot.

Thump!

The fist struck an instant later, slamming hard into Kaya's guard.

Kaya barely managed to block the punch, and its tremendous force drove him back several steps.

Without giving him a moment to breathe, Killua accelerated and charged at Kaya again.

He knew he had to turn his advantage into victory quickly.

If he let Kaya catch his breath, this would become a prolonged fight.

Facing Killua's fierce assault, Kaya kept his upper body still, pushed off the floor, and retreated rapidly.

He tried to wait for his opponent to slow down before finding an opening to counterattack.

But Killua didn't slow down. Maintaining his strength and speed, he drove Kaya straight toward the railing at the platform's edge.

With nowhere left to dodge, Kaya stepped onto the railing and leaped high into the air, sailing over Killua.

Killua quickly turned and jumped after him.

If Kaya couldn't dodge, he might as well stop trying!

He turned in midair and traded punches with Killua.

In the dozen or so seconds before they landed, the two exchanged more than a hundred punches without pause.

Killua clearly had the upper hand, forcing Kaya back again and again and leaving him rather battered.

"I'm done. You're hitting way too hard." After landing, Kaya jumped back several meters, dusted off his hands, and made as if to leave.

"Tch! Someone's running away because he can't win."

Killua whistled, trying to goad him.

"Don't give me that! I'll keep playing, but only if you use that move you used against Netero."

Kaya grinned, finally revealing his true aim.

The Rhythm Echo Killua had used earlier had stunned Kaya. He could barely tell where Killua was or where he would strike from next, so he was eager to experience it for himself.

"Well, well, there's just no getting through to you. Be careful, then!"

Unable to dissuade Kaya, Killua spread his small hands.

"It's fine if you can't react in time. I'll go easy on you."

He started moving, slowly circling Kaya. Within seconds, countless afterimages appeared.

This environment put Kaya at a severe disadvantage. The noisy propellers kept roaring in his ears, preventing him from hearing Killua's footsteps clearly, much less pinpointing his location.

The howling wind perfectly concealed the sounds of Killua's movements, making it impossible to distinguish the direction of an attack from the air currents.

Killua understood that too, which made him very confident.

He hid in the shadows, eager to see how Kaya would respond.

Several lunging attacks caught Kaya before he could dodge, landing a number of punches.

His repeated successes left Killua feeling very accomplished. "Hehe, looks like I'm the best of the three of us!"

All children were competitive, and Killua had been raised from childhood to become stronger.

After taking those hits, Kaya instead grew calmer and quietly considered a countermeasure.

Although he'd been struck several times, he seemed to be gradually sensing differences in the air currents and the presence around him.

Kaya simply closed his eyes, using every inch of his body to feel the surrounding noise and wind speed.

Gradually, the colorful world behind his closed eyes gave way to the most primal darkness.

His mind settled into stillness as well.

Kaya slowly began to grow accustomed to the noisy surroundings.

Tap, tap, tap. Like a pin dropping in a silent room, Killua's footsteps finally reached Kaya's senses.

Suddenly, a faint disturbance unlike the surrounding currents came at him from above and behind. The force was hidden in the wind, almost impossible to detect.

It was already too late to turn around. Kaya shifted backward, finally evading Killua's pounce this time.

His timing was incredibly precise. Even a difference of 0.01 seconds would have ruined it.

Immediately afterward, Kaya raised his leg and kicked at Killua's stomach.

Normally, Killua could have dodged an attack of this level, but his repeated successes had made him drop his guard.

He'd never expected Kaya to become fully attuned to his surroundings in mere dozens of seconds, judging direction through bodily sensation.

The price of celebrating too soon was taking that heavy kick.

"Seriously? You could sense me even like that?"

Killua finally understood how frightening Kaya was. His ability to adapt was incredible.

"You're just too noisy! Your footsteps were so loud even a deaf person could hear them."

Kaya's motto was to rub it in whenever he came out ahead.

Especially with Killua and Gon. If he gained even the slightest advantage, he had to taunt them!

"Bullshit. You're just a freak."

Although Killua was highly competitive, he never held back his praise for his friends.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, as long as you admit I'm strong."

Seeing Kaya smugly bobbing his head, Killua snorted.

While Kaya wasn't paying attention, Killua rushed up to him at tremendous speed.

Using his sixteen tons of arm strength, he slammed Kaya onto the floor and pinned his chest with a knee.

"So what if I can't beat you in an argument? I can still beat you up."

Killua panted, looking down at Kaya's face, flushed red from straining.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!"

The more Kaya struggled, the more excited Killua became, and the harder he pressed down.

With both hands restrained, Kaya could only rely on his flexibility, locking his legs around Killua's neck in a deadly scissor hold.

"Let go of me."

"You let go first, and I will."

"No."

"Then neither will I."

Neither of the stubborn boys would yield, so they remained locked together.

After getting plenty of sleep, Kurapika and Leorio had wanted to come out for some fresh air. The moment they opened the door, they saw the two rolling around on the floor in that strange position.

"Are they really fighting, or just messing around?" Leorio adjusted his glasses and glanced sideways at them.

Kurapika stared at the scene, dumbfounded. "Hurry up and pull them apart!"

"Why bother? Let them go wild for a bit."

Leorio folded his arms across his chest, looking perfectly happy to watch the chaos unfold.

At those words, Killua and Kaya instantly released each other, stood up, and turned toward Leorio.

"Leorio?" Kaya said casually.

"You want to laugh at us?" Killua's rising tone made it clear this wasn't going to end there.

"What are you two planning?" Leorio hugged himself protectively and took a wary step back.

"Hehehehe~"

Killua and Kaya rubbed their hands together, exchanged a glance, then charged at Leorio with wicked grins.

"Don't! Don't come any closer! I'll call the police if you do! Kurapika, save me! Aah!!!!!"

The scene was too bloody. Kurapika simply couldn't bear to watch.