Hello, HunterxHunter lovers! So, this is my story. I have the urge to write a story whenever I think that a character in the anime/cartoon is interesting. I mean, who doesn't love Killua? Right? I love his eyes! A LOT!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it! Please, leave a review. :)

Flame me if you want...I can handle them now...hehe.

CHP 1: Meeting an Assassin

She ran and ran and ran up the windy road in the mountains as if the Grim Reaper was chasing her. Her long scarlet hair flew in the wind. She soon stopped in front of a giant gate. She turned around and saw that no one followed her. She suddenly heard a sound in the guard house near an ordinary sized door.

"W-Who's there?" she stammered, getting ready to strike as if she could.

"My, my...what is a little girl like you doing in the mountains?" a middle-aged man said.

She backed away, trembling in fear and confusion. His face didn't look welcoming at all. Her tears welled up and she started to cry in an instant. The man panicked and tried to calm her down. She soon stopped crying and looked up at the man.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"M-Mommy killed by bad men...bad men follow me...tried to kill me..." she replied, looking down.

"Oh my! Your father?" the man asked.

"He...died...a long time ago...by same bad men..." she said in an uncertain tone.

"Hmm... What's your name? How old are you?" the man asked, observing the girl.

"Mana...5 years old..." the girl replied, holding out her right hand and showing her five fingers.

"Well, I will take care of your now. You can call me 'Grandpa' if you want," the man said, smiling broadly.

Mana looked up at the smiling man. Her eyes welled up again. She threw herself into his arms and cried. The man rubbed her head and sighed.

"Grandpa, is Mike doing well? Why can't I see him?" Mana asked when Zebro came out of the door beside the guard house.

She threw herself into his embrace, hugging him lovingly. Zebro sighed as he patted her head.

"He's doing fine, Mana. Now, now, of course, you can't...he might eat you..." he replied.

"Aww...he must be really cute. Whenever I go in and out, he won't come out," Mana said in a disappointed tone.

"That's because we enter through the gate..." Zebro explained to his grandchild.

She dragged herself back into the guard house. Zebro sighed and followed her into the house. Mana sat at her spot that Zebro made just for her and only she can sit there.

"You're all grown up now. 11 years old is quite an age. You should be a little mature," the man said to her.

"I know..." Mana replied, hugging her teddy bear.

"My, my, you sure are spoilt," the man shook his head.

Mana rested herself on her chair. Then, they suddenly heard a sound coming from the front gate. Mana got up and rushed outside to see who was there. She was surprised to see a silver-haired boy, a little older than her. He shot a glare at her. She blinked. He was holding a skateboard.

"Oh, my! Killua-sama! What are you doing outside? I didn't hear any news about a new mission..." Zebro said, panicking a bit.

"He's an assassin?" Mana asked, observing the boy and getting a nod from her Grandpa.

"I have my reason," Killua replied in a low growl.

Mana went closer to him. He ignored her and kept on looking at Zebro. She poked his right cheek, earning a scowl from him. Mana turned to Zebro. He was sweat dropping.

"He seems harmless," she stated.

"Ah, well..." Zebro didn't know what to say.

Killua held the hand that was still poking his cheek. Mana looked at him. He raised his left eyebrow and she replied with another blink. He was still holding her hand as he turned to Zebro.

"Who's she? I never heard you had a daughter before..." he asked.

"She got lost here and so I took her in. She's actually considered as my granddaughter," the old man explained.

Killua looked at her again. Mana blinked again and then, she smiled. The boy let her hand go and looked away immediately. Mana circled him, observing him from head to toe. Killua shut his eyes and acted slumber, ignoring her presence.

"Can I go with him, Grandpa?" Mana asked her Grandpa.

"Uh...if he says you can..." Zebro replied, uncertain of Killua's answer.

"Can I?" Mana asked Killua.

"If you can take care of yourself, then I'll let you come..." he replied, sighing.

Mana jumped on him and hugged him. She smiled happily and rubbed her face against his. His skateboard fell onto the ground and Killua scowled again.

"Thanks! It's been awhile since I went out of this part of the mountain!" Mana said, still rubbing herself to Killua.

He pushed her away and fixed his clothes. He bent down to grab his skateboard. Mana happily stood beside him. Zebro sighed at Mana's behaviour.

"Don't you worry, Killua-sama. She came from a ninja family actually. She has been practising over the years she lives with me," he explained to Killua.

"Hmm? A spoilt brat like her?" Killua was in doubt.

"Hey! I can open the gate you just opened!" Mana stated angrily, pointing at the gate.

"That is something..." Killua said, looking at her, "Then, you can come with me…but don't burden me!"

Mana backed away when he said that. She looked at Zebro and the man nodded. She nodded back. Killua started to walk forward and so, she followed him from behind. He turned to his back and sighed when he noticed that she was really following him.

Mana hopped to Killua's side and observed his face. The boy was looking around. It looked like he was actually looking for something. They were already in the basement of the Hunter Exam. There were many participants and none was like them. A fat man came up to them. Mana hid behind Killua as she sensed something from the man.

"Nice to meet you. The name is Tonpa. I tried and failed for 35 times here. So, you can call me an expert when it comes to knowing the opponents," the man explained.

"Can we really trust him?" Mana asked Killua in a whisper.

"Who knows…" Killua shrugged.

He showed and told them about most of the participants. Mana listened in interest while Killua yawned most of the time. Tonpa then took out two cans of drinks.

"Here, why don't you drink this to feel a little calmer? I'm sure you're both nervous," he said, handing the two the one can each.

Killua happily took it and gulped it down in an instant. Mana looked at him and then, at the drink. She knew that Tonpa had put something in it.

"Hey, are you drinking that?" the boy beside her asked.

"You can have it!" Mana replied, shoving it into his hand.

Tonpa observed her. She felt that she was being stared at and so she hid behind Killua again. The boy looked at her. He could feel her trembling with fear as she looked at Tonpa's perverted face. Killua turned to Tonpa with a glare and the man stopped staring.

"He looked confused…" Mana whispered.

"Yeah. Maybe the effect of his drink didn't kick in yet…or maybe never kick in…" Killua replied in a whisper too.

He took her to sit at the side of the basement beside a boy who was eyeing his laptop. He looked at them and then, back to the screen of his laptop. Killua wanted to look around.

"If anyone bothers you, just kick their butts off. You're a servant of my family after all…" he told her.

"F-Fine…I don't really like hurting people…" Mana replied, looking down.

Killua then went to look around. Mana watched his figure disappeared out of her sight. She sighed when she felt some people staring at her.