Chapter 39: Palm × Water Divination × Emission
In a nicely decorated café, the four of them sat on opposite sides of a table.
Killua and Gon sat together, pushing Joey straight into the seat beside Palm.
Joey gave Palm a polite smile, then turned to the server. "A cup of black tea, please."
"The same," Palm said quietly.
"One more cup, with extra sugar, please," Joey added for Palm before the server could speak.
"Two juices," Killua ordered.
"Thank you," Palm thanked Joey softly, though she seemed too shy to look at him.
Joey shook his head. "Let's get down to business first. I came out of NGL too, so I have some idea of why Gon and Killua are in such a hurry."
"First, let me introduce myself. I'm Master Knov's student. He said I'd just get in the way, but I insisted on coming along." Palm grew serious.
"Knov? Who's that?" Gon looked at Killua in confusion.
"Probably one of the people with Chairman Netero," Killua answered, though his expression made it clear he was only guessing.
"That's right. He's the one in the black suit." A wistful look appeared on Palm's face. "Master Knov is a very refined man. Intelligent, calm... Of course, I only respect him. I don't mean anything else.
"No, I can't say there's no affection involved. Heeheehee, because being able to respect your partner is very important in a romantic relationship, too.
"Ah! Of course, he doesn't know about this... I haven't told him, and I probably never will..."
Joey took the tea and juice from the server and passed the drinks to the other three.
Judging by Killua's and Gon's blank, bewildered faces, this woman's sudden display of lovesickness had clearly stunned them.
Only when Palm accepted her tea did she suddenly realize she had probably said too much. Blushing, she lowered her head, reached for the sugar bowl on the table, and slowly spooned sugar into her tea.
"Can I ask a question?" Killua watched the spoon in Palm's hand and immediately seized the opening. "Are we supposed to fight you?"
"Huh?" Palm visibly froze for a moment. "Oh, right. Sorry. The chairman told my teacher he couldn't bring anyone along, but I insisted on coming. I showed them a lifetime's worth of passion and sincerity, and in the end, they agreed on one condition."
As she spoke, Palm extended her pale, long, bony fingers.
Just as the others expected her to explain the condition, she abruptly spread her hand and raised her head, her face lighting up. "My teacher may seem cold, but..."
"Could you add some sugar to mine, too?" Joey interrupted before Palm could finish, reaching toward the sugar bowl beside her.
For an instant, Joey distinctly felt Palm's body stiffen as he drew closer.
"Oh, oh, oh, of course." She nervously pushed the sugar bowl toward Joey, then realized she was still holding the spoon and handed it over sheepishly.
Joey accepted it with a smile and a word of thanks, then asked as casually as he could, "So what was their condition?"
Interrupting someone was a little rude, but Joey really wasn't interested in how much Palm liked Knov.
Palm's expression slowly grew serious. "We have to defeat Knuckle and Shoot."
As she spoke, Nen unwittingly rose from the hand gripping her cup. It enveloped the cup in an instant, and the black tea inside rapidly increased in volume and spilled over the rim.
Gon's face tightened in dismay. "Miss Palm, stop releasing your aura! Stop!"
But Palm had already launched into a muttered tirade. She spoke very quickly, but Joey, sitting beside her, could still hear her bad-mouthing Knuckle and Shoot, calling them tasteless, rude, barbaric, and so on.
Joey's attention, however, wasn't on those words. It was on the black tea spilling out of her cup.
That should be a sign of enhancement, right? I wonder which category I belong to.
With that thought in mind, and seeing no sign that Palm intended to stop anytime soon, Joey turned to Killua. "Killua, is there any way to test which Nen category I belong to?"
"There is. Water Divination."
Killua called the server over and asked for a glass of plain water. Then he plucked a leaf from the plant on the table and placed it on the water's surface.
"Just channel your Nen into the glass. The changes in the water and the leaf will tell us which category you belong to."
Joey nodded, placed his hands against the glass, and activated his Nen.
"Enhancement increases the amount of water in the glass, like Miss Palm did. Emission changes its color. Transmutation changes its taste. Conjuration makes things like crystals appear in the water, and manipulation makes the leaf move. As for specialization, the result varies from person to person, but anything that doesn't fall into those five categories counts as specialization."
As Killua explained, the water in the glass enveloped by Joey's Nen gradually changed from clear to sky blue.
"Obviously, you're an emitter." Killua spread his hands as he delivered his verdict.
"Emission, huh? No wonder you and Kite always seemed a little at odds!" Gon suddenly snickered beside him. "And Kite spotted so many holes in your story so easily. Killua and I suspected you might be an emitter back then. Looks like we guessed right! Haha."
"What do you mean?" Joey looked at Gon in confusion.
"Someone came up with a way to determine a person's Nen category based on their personality and the impression they give off. It's not a hundred percent accurate, but it has some merit," Killua explained.
"According to him, emitters tend to be careless, impatient, and hotheaded. The people they get along with least are conjurers, who tend to be high-strung and always pick up on little details."
"I'm not careless. I only gave myself away because I had too little information and didn't understand Nen.
"You two traveled with me, and you didn't notice anything along the way either, did you? It's all because Kite is such a freak!"
Joey couldn't help arguing. "And I'm not impatient at all, okay? Besides, Kite and I became teacher and student after knowing each other for just one day. How is that being at odds? We had quite a connection!
"And he had me completely under his thumb the whole time!" Joey muttered that last complaint under his breath.
"Haha, that's true. Still, apparently emitters and enhancers are a good match."
Killua meant that Joey and Gon should get along well, but Palm's breathing noticeably grew a little heavier beside them.
"I think enhancers are pretty nice, too. Much friendlier than you transmuters." The corner of Joey's mouth lifted.
Despite what he said, he was thinking, Hey, hey, Miss Palm, remember your Master Knov!
"But I think the two of us actually get along pretty well. Haha." Killua didn't mind Joey's comment at all and even teased him back.
"Back to the point. Are Killua and Gon supposed to defeat Knuckle and Shoot?" Joey changed the subject, but he didn't put the glass away. There was something else he wanted to test.
It was something he had been thinking about ever since he lost his hand.
If things really worked the way he suspected, perhaps he could heal his severed hand sooner.
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