Chapter 9: The Battle Begins

When Killua heard the obvious slight at his strength, he was prepared to attack Soren just to prove him wrong, but he knew that he was here to complete a task, not kill someone who was overconfident in his opinion, so instead of a physical fight, Killua resulted to a verbal one.

"Who do you think you are!?... I've been training since I was 3 years old and you're just a gate guard who could only open the first gate!": killua

When Soren heard Killua respond to him with verbal insults he began to chuckle, as Killua was still ignorant towards real power, so he decided to calm the situation before making an offer.

"Alright, alright… Let's calm down and have a bet": soren

"A bet?... What kind of bet would this be?": killua

"Hehe, nothing where any of us lose anything, but whether you win or lose this bet you will gain something quite important": soren

"Oh yeah?... And what would that be?": killua

"Knowledge": soren

Soren spoke with a big grin on his face, while Killua thought that nothing bad could happen as they were in a public area and Heaven's Arena would definitely never let something bad happen on their property.

"Alright, I'll agree to this bet… What are we betting on?": killua

"Great!... The bet is simple, all you need to do is stand before me for a total of 10 seconds": soren

Upon hearing the conditions of the bet, Killua felt he was being played for an idiot, but nonetheless had already agreed to play along, so he got in position and waited for the countdown to begin.

"Ready?... Great!... Aaannd, start!!!": soren

Just as Killua began counting in his head, Soren's smile disappeared as he noticed Killua not looking towards his direction where he release his aura to take shape of a 9-Tailed fox, so with a simple release of his murderous intent, Killua's attention was quickly drawn towards Soren as his eyes seemed to show a bit of worry and fear, but once he saw Soren, his body began to move backwards as he began to make a retreat, but Soren didn't allow this as he held him in place using his aura to manipulate the ground to swallow Killua's feet.

"I-I can't!... I can't escape!... I need to leave!": killua

As Killua was trying to escape, Soren got a bit closer as the 9-Tailed fox that he made with his aura had also gotten closer as it looked down over Killua with its terrifying presence.

'Run… Hurry… Run away… Run': ???

As Killua faced the creature that stood behind Soren, he began hearing the distorted voice of his elder brother, Illumi, and although he wanted to listen to this voice and leave, he couldn't move his feet.

'Run… Run… RUN!': illumi

"I can't… I can't run!": killua

As Killua continued to try and break free while grabbing at his head, Soren came face to face with Killua and began reaching for his forehead, and with extreme precision, Soren gouged the tip of his fingernails into Killua's forehead as he yanked out a Nen needle using his own Nen to coat the needle in Shu to negate any damage that removing the needle might cause. Once the needle was removed, the voice in Killua's head disappeared as the overwhelming fear that told him to run began disappearing, but he still felt fear looking at the 9-Tailed fox that now began to become more docile in appearance before it dispersed as the surroundings that once became dark due to the fox's presence regained their colors as the light returned.

"Congratulations!... You beat me, Killua… Anyway, like I promised, I would give you knowledge… Do you feel more knowledgeable now?": soren

Upon seeing the bright smile that Soren carried on his face, it made Killua feel like stabbing him, but during that bet, he realized that Soren was much stronger than he was, and he thought that the feeling Soren gives off might even surpass the feeling he gets when he's around Illumi.

"Yeah, whatever… I'll be going now": killua

Killua didn't want to admit that Soren almost won the bet, and if it weren't for something keeping his feet in place, he would have run from Heaven's Arena and only return when Soren was gone, but that feeling was now gone, and Killua could only hope he doesn't meet Soren on the stage.

"Oh, Killua!... Please keep what happened here between you and I… A secret between friends as some may call it": soren

When he heard Soren speak about friendship, Killua flinched, but it was noticeable to those around him, as all he did in response to Soren's words was give a nod in approval.

"Soren, will he really keep his word?... Also, what did you do to him? All I could notice was a beast similar to Mike but with 9 tails… And what did you do to his forehead? He even began bleeding from it": machi

"Hehe… You did hear me say a secret between friends, right?": soren

"I guess, but I don't understand why you can't tell me; your girlfriend": machi

Soren could only sigh as he avoided this entire back and forth conversation as they left to the waiting room, but as they made their way to the rooms, Soren began looking at the small and thin needle in his hand that was currently surrounded in his Nen, as as he looked at the red aura, he could see a deep purple Nen aura trying to fight off his own Nen aura, and upon taking a closer look, he noticed that his own Nen aura was corroding and absorbing the purple Nen aura before all of the purple Nen was destroyed, and upon removing his own Nen, the small needle became a regular needle.

'Seeing as this is Nen that has been separated from its owner, it won't grow stronger than when it was placed, meaning I am stronger than the Illumi who placed this Nen, but I don't know when he placed it': soren

After entering an empty waiting room, both Machi and Soren began waiting for their numbers to be called and after 5 minutes, Machi's number was called once again.

"Looks like I'll be waiting for you once again, honey… Hehe": machi

Machi gave Soren a kiss before she left the room, while Soren was left to think about her words as the words 'waiting for you once again' made him reminisce back to the day they officially got together.

"Soren!... I want to go home, I hate this kind of training!": machi

"Calm down, you do know that you don't have to keep up with me, and you can just train your Nen using the weights you are currently wearing… I also strictly remember telling you before you decided to train like this that it will be taxing to the body": soren

"Yeah, I know that, but I can't let you continue to leave me behind as you get stronger, so I want to follow in your steps": machi

When Soren heard this, he realized just how distant he had been ever since both he and Machi had left Meteor City, and while he continued to progress, Machi was being left in the dust because she doesn't have the same bottomless talent and potential as he did, meaning she was forcing her body to adapt to the next level when he would progress to the next level.

'I'm such an idiot!... I completely forgot about the difference between our potentials that I disregarded how she would keep up with my insane progression rate': soren

Soren then stopped his training and walked over to Machi as she lay on the ground trying to recuperate her energy before she tried to get herself back to the guard house, and upon seeing how exhausted her appearance was, he released a helpless sigh as he began helping Machi remove the weighted vest before picking her up in a princess carry and brought her back to the guard house.

"Welcome back, Soren… Wait, what happened to Machi?": zebro

"Well, she was pushing her body to adapt at a faster speed than she could handle just to keep up with me… I hope you will lessen the weight for her vest and only have her progress when her body is ready": soren

"Hais… I knew she was trying to progress too fast, but she begged me to continue increasing her weight so she could match yours… I'll make sure she's progressing at a proper rate": zebro

"Thank you, Zebro-san… Anyway, I'll be helping her take a bath before getting her ready for bed": soren

When Zebro heard this, he was surprised to hear that they had already progressed to that level of relationship at such a young age, but didn't say anything, while Soren had grown up with her in Meteor City since they were around 10 years old, so it was practically like siblings bathing together for him. After saying good night to Zebro, Soren brought Machi to the bath as he began filling the tub with hot water before he began stripping Machi down, only to feel worse seeing all the black bruises on her body.

"Why didn't you tell me": soren

Although Soren didn't expect a response, he got one as Machi began to stir awake due to the feeling of being stripped down.

"Because I just want to stand by your side… Soren… I… I love you": machi

"I know… I overheard you crying yourself to sleep the first night we got to the Republic of Padokea": soren

Upon hearing this, Machi felt a bit embarrassed, but the question that popped into her head was why didn't he say anything, so she spoke.

"Why?... Why didn't you say anything?... Do you not like me?": machi

"It's not like that… I like you, and I would love to start a relationship with you, but…": soren

When Machi heard this, she felt happy, but hearing his hesitation, she wanted to know what was stopping him.

"But what?... Why don't you want to be in a relationship with me?": machi

"But I don't want to break your heart… Ever since I could remember, I wanted to have a big family, a family I could spend the rest of my life with, and that's also one of the reasons I joined the Troupe, but I want more… I know I sound selfish, but I wish to have multiple wives, and I didn't know how you would feel about this, so I didn't want to get into a relationship only to break your heart later down the road when more women come into my life": soren

After finishing his reason, silence filled the bathroom as Machi seemed to be in thought about something, and after a minute of silence, a resounding slap was heard as Soren was slapped across his cheek, but he stayed silent as blood ran down his nose.

"I knew that was coming": soren

After preparing himself to leave Machi alone, he could see her eyes tearing up before she looked at him and lunged up from the bath and into his arms as she kissed him on his lips.

"You idiot, I waited for you for a few years now!... I understand what you mean, as I wanted to be part of a big family as well, and that's why I stayed with the Troupe… Yeah, I feel a bit upset that I can't have you all to myself, but I would be happy to be the first woman who you have made your wife… So stay… Stay with me, here": machi

"You mean… In the bathroom?": soren

When Machi heard Soren's words it clicked in her head just exactly where they were currently, and looking down as her wet tits pressed against Soren's white shirt her face became beet red as she quickly pushed him out of the bathroom while shouting.

"Get the hell out!": machi

Soren walked out with a soaked shirt that held the imprint of Machi's wet tits, and when Zebro saw Soren leave the bathroom with blood dripping from his nose, his idea about their relationship had changed once again.

'So they aren't in a relationship… He also seems to be a pervert… Hehe, he reminds me of my younger days': zebro

Zebro sipped on his coffee as he turned around and went back to his room to sleep, while Soren waited patiently for the bathroom to be vacant before he would clean himself, and that night was the night Machi pushed their beds next to each other and they began sleeping in the same bed together.

'Hehe… She's definitely a handful, but she's my handful': soren

{Contestant number 3263, please report to stage number 7}

'Looks like I'll be going to the next floor now': soren

Soren made his way to stage 7 as he noticed that his opponent was a teenager around the same age as him, if not a few years older, he wore a pair of glasses and a white gi set, and shoulder length black hair.

'Wait… Isn't this Wing? Does that mean him and his master are here?... Or is he no longer a disciple of Biscuit Krueger?': soren

"And begin!": ref

After the fight had begun, Wing waited for Soren to make his move, and he didn't need to wait long, as Soren began to casually walk forward as he spoke.

"Don't underestimate me… I'm quite strong, and I know that you are as well because you're an Enhancer": soren

Upon hearing Soren expose his Nen type, Wing got serious as he surrounded himself with Ten, while Soren did the same as a red Ten cloak enveloped his entire body, as the real fight was just about to begin.

"Then come!": wing