Seeing him look so relaxed, you can't help but let your guard down slightly.

"Hey, are you sure you'll be fine with an unstable Ten like that? You could get seriously hurt, you know," Ryu points out, noticing your weak Ten.

Your eyes widened as you quickly stabilized your Nen. "Yeah, sorry about that!" You laugh it off, silently reminding yourself to keep alert, just like how you were trained. 'I can't underestimate him just because he's chill,' you convinced yourself.

Meanwhile, Killua observed you from the side. With crossed arms, he wore that same calculating look whenever he would analyze something.

"Ryu! Try to hold back a little, okay?!" Senka called from the sides, waving an arm to get his attention.

Ryu raised a brow. "Why would I do that? If we're gonna be working together, she should know what I can do," he replied, speaking loud enough for Senka to hear, but still maintaining that same relaxed tone.

"Oi, if (Y/N) gets hurt, who knows what Ki–"

"Okay, we're starting, (Y/N)." Ryu turns to you, effectively cutting Senka off, much to her annoyance.

You nod. 'It's been a while since I've fought anyone. The last time was in Heavens Arena with Sanguis...' you thought. Vivid memories of that battle floated to your mind as you focused on your Nen.

With that, Ryu started to concentrate all his aura on his fist. His Nen slowly flowed onto his hand, reminding you of his relaxed demeanor.

Once again, you were unsure about Ryu's power, since you didn't feel any sense of urgency or hostility from his Nen at all. Unlike your previous matches in the Arena, his aura was calm, harboring no ill intentions whatsoever.

Despite that, Killua watched Ryu gently gather his Nen to his fist. The more he observed, the more his deep blue orbs widened in shock. 'This guy has complete control over his Nen output. You can't even sense his intentions from it.' He furrowed his brows, putting a finger to his chin. 'Not a lot of Nen users can pull that off... even Senka. Just how much Nen training did he go through??' He wonders to himself, then gazes at you. '(Y/N), you better keep your Ten solid. Don't you dare be fooled by his Nen.'

You furrowed your brows, not feeling the rush of battle you were used to. Unknowingly, your aura began to wobble, slowly growing unstable.

Shortly after that happened, Ryu's aura suddenly began to spike as all of it concentrated on his fist. Turning a deep blue, his Nen formed into a complete and powerful Ko. If just a short while ago, his Nen showed no willingness for battle, you could clearly feel its urgency right now.

Suddenly, Ryu dashed forward, aiming his Ko-infused fist right at you.

"(Y/N)! Your Nen!!" Killua yells from the side. Faint surges of electricity emanated from his body, almost as if he was ready to step in with Godspeed in case you couldn't defend yourself in time.

Even Alluka, who was resting by a tree, suddenly tensed up, fearing that you might take too much damage.

Thanks to Killua's call, though. You were able to recover from the shock and quickly reinforce your Nen. You put your arms in front of you just in time, preventing his Ko from hitting any of your vital parts.

However, the sheer power of Ryu's Ko still caused a huge blast on impact, making you stagger backward. You took a sharp inhale, enduring the stabbing pain you felt on your forearms from blocking his attack. 'This is definitely gonna leave some nasty bruises,' You grimaced, letting your arms slump to your sides.

Killua let out a deep sigh of relief as he leaned on a tree trunk. 'Good thing she blocked that right on time,' he thought, before furrowing his brows, putting a hand to his chin. 'But seriously, that's some crazy powerful Nen ability. Then again, he is an Enhancer, so of course, flashy Hatsu like this is his specialty.' He gazed at Ryu, who seemed unfazed by the amount of Nen he just expended.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ryu asked, seeing you slumped forward.

"You should have held back more, you idiot!" Senka yelled in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ryu didn't bother replying to her. Instead, he walked towards you, mumbling loud enough for you to hear. "Ugh, maybe she's right. (Y/N), we can–"

"No, it's fine," you put a hand in front of you as you regained composure.

Ryu frowned, noticing your swollen forearms. "You could've broken your arms if you didn't stabilize your Nen on time, you know?"

You chuckled, standing up straight as you smiled at him. "I was able to, though," you say. "I'll be fine. Let's continue," you say with conviction.

Seeing a fire light up in your eyes, along with the smile you gave despite being knocked back, Ryu couldn't help but sigh. "Fine," he says.

Your smile grew wider in gratitude, as you prepare yourself for battle once again.

As Killua watched, a worried frown etched onto his features. It was the same look he had whenever you would fight strong opponents in Heavens Arena.

It was also that same look that you never seemed to notice.

_ _ _

"Okay! That's enough, Ryu and (Y/N)!" Senka stepped in, stopping you in the middle of your Nen attack, which caught you off-guard.

"Huh?" Your eyes widened as your Nen attack grew unstable, before disappearing. "Wait, what do you mean?" You asked her, clearly upset that the battle ended.

She cleared her throat, giving Killua a subtle glance. "Well, for starters, some people are gonna go crazy if you keep going," she pauses, raising a finger. "Second, Killua still needs to have his turn." She raises another finger, forming a peace sign.

You sigh, collapsing to the ground in extreme exhaustion, feeling dull aches and pains all around your body. "After all this time, I still couldn't land a hit on you," you mumble, sitting up to gaze at Ryu's unscathed form. 'And that was just a plain Ko attack, too! Who knows what else he can do with his Nen?'

Ryu glanced at you, sighing and giving you a hand. "Here. Get up," he merely said.

You blinked at him a few times, surprised at his sudden act of kindness, before grabbing his hand and standing up again. "Thanks," you say, trying to hide how upset you were at your utter defeat.

Ryu couldn't help but chuckle, as he gave you a pat on the head. "Don't worry, it's just training," he merely said.

Slowly, your eyes widened at his oddly familiar touch. "Y-Yeah."

"Oh!" Senka stepped in once more with a huge grin on her face. "Ryu is finally warming up! This is a good sign!" She exclaims, punching the air in triumph.

Ryu raises a brow, before turning and walking away. "You're so weird, Senka."

"Oh come on!" She huffs, before waving over to Killua, who was walking towards you. "Hey! It's your turn now!"

Killua walks past her without so much as a glance, as he went straight towards you.

"What? Why is everyone ignoring me now?!" Senka sighs in exasperation.

Even though you kept telling him you were fine, Killua kept checking on you. He noticed your swollen forearms, which he was sure would leave some bruises.

He sighs. "God, why are you always like this?" He grabs your hand, dragging you out of the clearing. "At least try to not get hurt, (Y/N). Geez..." He scratches the side of his head in irritation.

You laughed nervously. "Sorry!" You gave him a bright smile as you scratched the back of your head sheepishly.

Killua spares you another worried gaze. Suddenly, he steps closer, reaching an arm out to you without thinking.

Your eyes widened in slight surprise just as his hand held the back of your head. "K-Killua?" you call out to him, unexpected heat rushing to your cheeks.

As he heard your voice, Killua tensed up, realizing what he was doing. Slowly, his eyes started widening. "No, you're hurt. You need to rest." He shakes his head, letting go of you and stepping back.

"Huh, wait..." you trail off, feeling his warmth move farther from you. Instinctively, you reach out to him. "I'm fine, reall–"

"No. You're obviously not," he cuts you off, letting you rest by a tree. "I'll finish my training as soon as possible. After that, we can treat your bruises. Got it?"

Seeing those deep blue eyes piercing straight through you, you could only nod at him. "Okay."

___________