บท 10: Chapter 10: Fighting Wing

After realizing that Soren would be a true opponent, Wing began using his Nen to enhance his body's physical aspect after seeing Soren come in close for a physical confrontation.

"You better go all out, or you will be crushed with this attack": soren

Soren was using his base power to fight with what he thought to be Wing's full power as their attacks clashed with each other, as both of them used Ryu to alter between offense and defense. Due to Soren not having a master to properly teach him Nen, his Ryu was much more lacking than Wing's, but this was the whole purpose of coming to Heaven's Arena, it was to gain experience and refine his combat capabilities.

The second both of their attacks landed, both Soren and Wing were sent to the edge of the stage with no sign of physical damage, and seeing the scene up close, the stage referee didn't know how to call it, and in the end let it be a draw as no points were awarded to either side.

"That was quite the attack… Are you an Enhancer as well?": wing

"Yes and no… I think it's better if you figure it out yourself": soren

Soren charged forward as he focused 80% of his Nen into his fist using Ko while the other 20% was distributed throughout the body as a form of defense, and upon seeing how reckless Soren was being, Wing decided to make a small sacrifice as he focused on countering Soren's attack leaving him with 40% defense in his arms while 60% was directed towards his left leg, and when Soren's attack landed on Wing's arms, half of Soren's power was defused, but the other half had gone through as Wing was hit, but not before sending his left leg into Soren's side, as a similar amount of damage was dealt to Soren's ribs.

"*cough*... Haha! Not bad… You sacrificed defense to get a good hit in… You're smart for an Enhancer… I have a friend who's an Enhancer, but he thinks about nothing but fighting": soren

Soren was made to cough up a bit of blood as Wing's arms appeared a little bruised and possibly broken. Upon seeing the exchange, the referee made a call.

"Critical hit!... 2 points to contestant 2406… Clean hit!... 1 point to contestant 3263… Fight continues!": ref

Soren heard the call as he didn't show any dissatisfaction due to focusing on such a great opportunity before him.

"Seems I'm in the lead… All I have to do is continue making small sacrifices and I will win by default": wing

Hearing this, Soren was surprised to see that Wing was more focused on winning rather than getting stronger during a good fight.

"Oh?... And why are you so focused on winning this fight rather than the fight itself?": soren

Soren began trying to start a conversation, and he did so for a few reasons, but he made it seem casual in front of Wing.

"I don't mind telling you… I plan to make it to the top of the tower and finally become a martial master… Then I can open my own school, and with the reputation from the Heaven's Arena, I can get students and teach them Nen": wing

"Oh?... That sounds pretty ambitious… But is it wise to teach Nen to just anyone?... What happens if they become criminals? They will look for the teacher, won't they?": soren

When Wing heard this, his face turned sour as these words were very similar to the words he had heard from his master after he spoke about his goal before leaving.

"I have complete confidence that my future students will be responsible… I have a method that will prove that fact… But for me to take the next step, I will need to beat you here today": wing

When Soren heard the proclamation made by Wing, he began to smile, and when Wing noticed the smile, he quickly used Gyo to look around for any form of attack made by Soren, but he didn't see anything.

"What are you smiling about?": wing

"I'm smiling because you won't be able to beat me today… Haven't you noticed?": soren

"I-Impossible!.. I used Gyo and didn't see anything… What are you talking about?": wing

Soren then pointed out towards Wing's Ten cloak as a small bit of Soren's Nen seemed to be bubbling as it ate away at Wing's Ten.

"But when!?": wing

"When I came over there and let you kick me": soren

Soren spoke about the prior exchange when Soren was kicked in his side and left a bit of his Nen on Wing as it began to corrode Wing's Ten.

"You!... That was quite smart, and you even stalled for time to let your attack sink in and integrate with my Nen, but I just need to focus on purging this attack and then be wary of future attacks": wing

"If only it was that simple… Who said I would let you do that?": soren

Just as Soren spoke, he moved at a speed faster than before as he released countless attacks towards Wing who focused on defending while trying to split his attention to remove Soren's Nen from his own. Seeing Wing try and split his attention, Soren took the chance to backhand Wing with 100% of his Nen focused on Ko, and expecting Wing to be swatted away, he was surprised to see Wing use Ken to fortify his face as he was hit.

"You're full of surprises… I really want to use this opportunity to the best of my ability": soren

Soren then backed away as he left Wing to remove the corroding aura, and seeing that Soren wasn't going to attack, Wing released a sigh as he focused on removing the Nen.

"What the hell!... Why'd you guys stop fighting!?... Boo! I want my money back!": audience member

Soon, more and more of the audience members began to get loud as the referee noticed that neither Soren or Wing were going to fight, and after getting a message from another staff member, the referee walked back to the center of the stage as he spoke.

"There are no time limits to these matches, so both participants can take as long as they want to fight… Please be patient and wait for the fight to be resumed": ref

After giving the audience the bad news that they would be required to wait, the referee gave a pleading look to both Soren and Wing hoping they could continue fighting soon, and almost as if his prayers were answered, Wing opened his eyes as the red corroding glow that was Soren's Nen had disappeared as it was fully purged.

"That aura of yours is quite nasty if left unchecked… I do hope you don't use it on me again": wing

"Hehe… No promises… So, will we continue now?": soren

"Let's continue!": wing

After Wing finished these words, he actively charged towards Soren while using his Nen to fluctuate between the different concentrations as the both of them fought without using their Hatsu's.

The fight had been in progress for almost an hour, while Machi was waiting on the 60th floor for Soren's appearance. She didn't want to turn in her slip as that would make her eligible for another match, and she wanted to hold onto it until Soren had arrived, but even after an hour, he had yet to appear.

"Where the hell is he!?": machi

"Oh?... Hello, pink lady": ???

Upon hearing a familiar voice behind her, Machi turned around to see Killua standing behind her.

"Oi!... Who do you think you're calling 'pink lady'... My name's Machi! Ma-Chi!": machi

"Sorry?... Anyway, what are you doing here? Won't they call your number soon?": killua

"No… I haven't turned in my slip yet… I'm waiting for my boyfriend": machi

Upon hearing that Soren was in a relationship with Machi, he was surprised as he spoke in a teasing tone.

"Woah, I didn't think that gate guard-san was so unlucky… I feel bad now": killua

"Oi, what does that mean!?... And he's got a name! His name is Soren, so remember it!": machi

"Whatever… I'm going on ahead": killua

Killua began walking ahead with his hands behind his head as he smiled and thought to himself.

'That girl is too easy to get information from… So his name's Soren… I'll remember it for sure': killua

(A/N: Machi is by no means easy to get info from, as she's a member of the Troupe, so she would have to be able to be tight lipped, but in this situation she's already flustered and is worrying about Soren, so information of little importance is easy to get from her)

Back on stage 7, the battle between Soren and Wing was coming to a close, as Soren's talent and potential began to shine as he had improved by leaps and bounds in his application of Nen uses, and seeing as both of them had quite the damage done to each other, Soren decided it was time to end the battle.

"Thank you for your tutelage, I will remember this": soren

After saying his thanks, Soren opened a single limiter as a red fox tail made of Nen appeared behind him, increasing his prowess by 2 times, and when Wing saw his opponents Nen increase using the surrounding Nen, he felt a bit of fear, but before he could react and use his own Hatsu, Soren disappeared and reappeared behind Wing and used Ko to focus 80% of his power to his hand as the aura surrounding his body thinned down while the thick fox tail thinned into a more cat-like tail.

"I hope to meet you in the future": soren

After saying his goodbye, Soren's hand chopped the back of Wing's neck, as Wing only had enough time to focus all of his Nen to protect the back of his neck, but it was futile as the attack sent Wing flying out of the stage unconscious.

"Knock out!... Contestant 3263 wins and will continue to the next floor!": ref

Soren received his ticket that would send him to the 60th floor and took the elevator up, and after getting out of the elevator, Soren was greeted with a pacing Machi, and upon seeing his bruised and battered appearance, Machi asked.

"What the hell happened to you!?... I've been waiting for you for almost 3 hours": machi

Soren's match took over 2 hours to finish, so he was quite surprised to find out that Machi had waited for him for so long, but hearing her inquire about his state of appearance, he felt warm inside.

"I met a strong Nen user… An Enhancer, so he was tough physically, and I'm not going to lie when I say I wanted to strengthen the basics and refine them to be stronger": soren

"I see… I hope I can find a strong opponent too": machi

Soren gave Machi a chuckle before they walked over to the receptionist and turned in their tickets and each received an envelope with 50 thousand jenny inside.

"Alright!... I can smell the fortune we will make here!": machi

Soren and Machi were then informed that they no longer had any matches for the rest of the day, and upon leaving the tower, they went and rented a room they could stay in for the night. The next morning, both Soren and Machi re-entered the Heaven's Arena as they took the elevator up to the 60th floor, and after stopping at the receptionist booth to register their appearance for the day, the two of them had gone to the waiting room and waited to be called for a match.

{Contestant 3263, please come to stage 3}

Soren got up after being called for a match and quickly made his way to the stage he was requested at, and upon entering the stage, it was already decided who would win, as the second the match started, Soren defeated his opponent before taking the elevator to the 70th floor, and after 15 minutes, Machi had joined him as they talked with the receptionist to turn in their slips. Soren and Machi then spent the next week fighting in the Heaven's Arena, as they had at least 1 battle a day, and by the end of the week, both Soren and Machi had reached the 180th floor, and their money had reached an astonishing 600 million, as Machi and Soren would make bets on each others matches, and eventually were asked by the staff not to place any bets on any of the matches.

"Soren… I love you": machi

"I know… You tell me this every day": soren

"Do you love me too?": machi

"You already know this answer, so why ask?... Of course I love you": soren

"Then I want to have sex with you… Right now": machi

Upon hearing Machi talk about sex, Soren became flustered, as he didn't know how to respond to her request, but seeing as her figure became more and more lustful, Soren couldn't answer before Machi forced her way a top him as she pinned him onto the large bed in one of the many luxury room's assigned to participants of Heaven's Arena who pass the 100th floor.