This is a total re-write of my 2011 story "To be a Hunter". At the time of writing the original story, there was a lot going on in my health, and I feel this leaked into the story somewhat. Plus reading over it, it didn't make a lot of sense; at least some parts didn't to me. I have left the original story up for those that want to read and if you are reading the revised version then I welcome you. This story follows closely to the original anime. It will be updated on a "as and when" basis.
"I'm giving you two these cards." The sickly man told the pair, holding out application forms to the siblings. Gingerly, the young girl took one with her brother doing the same but with more confidence. These were a nice couple, they had allowed them to stay with them when they were much younger and now again just as the girl was turning twelve.
The girl knew why though, her brother needed to collect Hunter Applications, but it could only be done if another Hunter recommended you; something this man was.
The young girl smiled widely at the man however, bowing her head lowly to him, keeping the wide smile on her face. Her brother did the same.
"Thank you, Mr Jerome." Her brother said graciously to the man, who snorted at the pair, placing his hands on a shoulder each to make them stand up straight. The siblings looked at him. They knew he was sick, and it made the younger girl feel bad about leaving him behind with just his wife; but she also knew they didn't have much of a choice if they were to avenge their clan.
"Giving a recommendation is not to be taken lightly. You will both promise me one thing, and one thing only. You come back alive; "avenged clan" or not, you come back here alive."
The smell of salt lingered in the air. They had been at sea for a few days now and ended up in a place called Whale Island. The island was, unironically, shaped like a Whale! That excited the young girl, who had just came back to the boat with her older brother after exploring the Island for a little while.
She had grown restless, being stuck in one place with no escape for a few days. Her brother knew this. He watched his younger sister look out at the sea, leaning over the edge of the barristers to see if she could see any fish swim past below. The bag swung onto her back threatened to lean over her shoulder, almost as if taunting to throw all her belongings into the sea; but she either didn't care or didn't notice. Her feet didn't touch the ground as half her body balanced over the barrister. He stood close; just in case, keeping a hand on her back just in case she toppled over. The wide smile on her face showed she didn't care; she was just happy for the exploring.
While he trusted his sister, she was clumsy. Clumsy and incredibly innocent; a full child like innocent that he swore would get her into more trouble than she could handle one day. Despite what had happened to their clan, he did his best to preserve her innocence. She was only eight when it happened and he was away. He regretted it. He was also grateful that she came out alive; he wasn't sure what he would have done if she had also died that day.
If he could, he wouldn't have bought her to this exam; but she was determined to join. He couldn't decide if it was because she wanted to actually be a Hunter, or if she was copying him thinking it was the right thing to do. His sister however was adamant though that she would help avenge their fallen clan. He also didn't have anyone to leave her with while he got his license. The couple they stayed with for that small amount of time was nice, but the Hunter of the family had died. If the Phantom Troupe found out where she was and came after her, there was no way she could protect herself.
The young girl pushed herself off the bannister, her feet touching the ground once more, her arms swinging loosely by her sides before she looked up at her brother. They looked very much alike, outsiders could definitely tell they were related. Not only were they both blonde with grey eyes, the difference being their bang styles were different and the younger girls hair fell to her shoulder blades. Their clothing was similar too. Like her brother, she also wore a white long sleeved top and white trousers underneath her red and blue patterned tunic.
Her brother gave a small smile, dropping a hand on top of her head as he joined her watching the sea. He didn't seem as excited about it as she was. The girl placed her hands onto the railing and leaned her chin onto the bannister. She was very short for a twelve year old, but in a way that gave her an advantage, at least that's what she like to think.
Cheers sounded from the shore, the people of the island was wishing someone good luck and by time they had left the dock and Whale Island had become small, the boy decided to shout back. The girl looked behind her slightly, she couldn't hear what was being said. She watched as a boy who didn't seem any old than her talked to a group of men...or more like they talked to him from what she could tell by the movement of their lips. She knitted her brows together and turned herself around once more looking out to the ocean.
Those group of men gave her and her brother a hard time when they boarded, her brother just ignored them and kept her close to him; but their words struck her hard. This was no playground she knew, but she couldn't help but wonder how well she'd fair if simple words got to her. The younger blonde had always been more sensitive than the older one.
The young girl looked up at the sea gulls, removing her chin from the bannister. Her brows unknitted themselves as the birds sung their cry. It was almost like they were travelling with them. She heard a crash behind her and someone yelling at a person called "Katsuo." From what she could tell he had dropped a box, a few apples had spilled out and the other crew members were teasing him. She knew better than to go over; plus she wasn't that brave. It was then he was kicked up the backside by the sailor holding a broom. She pressed her lips together tightly, turning her head to her brother who was paying attention to the ocean rather boredly.
With a small sigh through her nose, she went back to her water watching and then the seagulls once more. It always struck her odd how they decided to follow the ship. Didn't they prefer to be away from humans? She knew seagulls had a habit of stealing peoples chips, even going as far as attacking people for them; or at least that's what she heard she never actually witnessed it herself. Not that she wanted to that sounded horrendous.
The gulls crying became more extreme, catching the attention of the child's brother. The child however was more interested in the boy again, who was now standing on the look out hub, shouting down that the storm would be huge; he could "tell by the smell." She wondered how he could tell by such a thing, the child couldn't smell anything different. She looked up to her brother, who turned his attention to her and nodded his head towards the door leading below deck. The blonde girl watched as he began walking towards it, before looking back at the boy again and then following her brother rather quickly and closely.
If it was a huge storm she didn't want to be caught in it.
The storm surely came. People below the deck were thrown left, right and centre. Everyone that hadn't taken the proper precautions anyway. The young girl and her brother had made themselves comfortable in a hammock. He took up most of it, which she expected anyway considering he was much taller than she was. The young girl was happy lying on her back, her arms holding her book above her in the air and knees bent upwards to give her brother as much leg room as possible. He however shifted himself, aiming to give her the same.
She picked up reading from her brother, he was quite the book worm and if she was honest she was never really into it when she was younger but now she couldn't get enough of it. She just didn't read the advanced stuff like he did; no her thing was more fairy tales. Reading did a good job to keep her mind off the storm and the bodies being flung about on the floor. Not to mention the older sibling made a good grounding for her, she knew if she wasn't feeling well she could turn to him for some help.
The girl could hear speaking and movement and turned her head towards the sounds. It was the young boy again who was helping one of the men that got thrown around. She couldn't help but stare, the book in her small hands dropping onto her chest, making a small thud as the pages crunched against her. The blonde could feel her brother looking at her slightly from the top of his book and then heard him hum in his throat as his weight shifted in the hammock. Whoever that young boy was, he was certainly friendly, and didn't seem to mind helping people.
He seemed nice! The girl couldn't help but smile to herself, she liked nice people. Although the chances of them meeting was slim, she was glad to watch someone with such kindness.
The captain had called the four of them into his office. The girl watched as the young boy was one of the first to go followed by a man in a blue suit. She quickly packed her book away into her back pack and slowly climbed out of the hammock after her brother. He had to help her down once the boat hit a rough wave and she lost her balance trying to lower herself down.
Once they were in the office, the young girl stood very closely to her brother. The captains stare was intense, even if he didn't mean it to be. It made her fidget on the spot and grab the back of her brothers tabard, pushing herself behind him slightly as some sort of wall. He didn't mind, he knew that was what she did when she was uncomfortable or frightened; she always did it.
"First, tell me your names." The captain said to them, his eyes looking at the four of them in the room. He spoke with a gruff voice, probably from years of smoking out of the same pipe that was currently sitting in between his lips.
The young boy was the first to speak, and rather happily too as he lifted his arm into the air, a wide smile on his face while the rest of them either looked bored, serious or just plain frightened.
"I'm Gon!" He announced to the captain.
"I'm Kurapika." The girls brother said, prompting for the young girl to speak.
"I'm Mishka." She said very quietly, although loud enough for the captain and the others to hear.
"It's Leorio." The man in the suit said, seemingly bored or fed up with standing in front of the captain already.
The captain, seemingly satisfied with those answers began questioning them some more.
"Why do you want to become Hunters?" He asked the group of four, his beady eyes flickering across the four of them again, making Mishka shrink behind her brother once more. Up on deck it didn't matter that there were lots of people, they were away from her and Kurapika, they were not a bother but now? There was no where to escape too, they were all so close. She just had to remember to keep her emotions in check; something she had difficulty doing most of the time.
"Hey! If you're not an examiner, you can't boss us around!" Leorio accusingly said, pointing his finger at the captain. Mishka watched from the safety of her brothers arm, the hold on his tabard getting a little bit tighter as the man seemed a bit more angry at the captains questions.
"Just answer the question!" The captain ordered, his voice getting rougher and him getting more annoyed at Leorio. Mishka looked towards the deck hand called Katsuo. He was looking over a board, she couldn't tell if he was taking notes or not.
"My dad is a Hunter. I left Whale Island because I want to know why my dad desired so much to be a Hunter." Gon said proudly, without a care for if this captain was an examiner or not. Mishka stared at him in awe. He was very honest as well as kind. It didn't seem like he had a bad bone in his body. She couldn't help but admire that. The blonde looked up to her brother, wondering if her was going to tell the captain why they were here; but she couldn't tell anything from his facial expressions. It made Mishka sigh through her nose, her brother could be very hard to read sometimes.
The captain watched Gon closely. He seemed to be mauling over something. Mishka turned her attention away from Gon and towards Leorio, who simply said "Hey, kid!" gaining both their attentions. Leorio turned his head towards her and saying "Not you the other one!" It made Mishka nod her head and creep behind her brother a little more, she was only stopped when she felt his hand against her back.
"You're not supposed to answer his question!" He scolded Gon, bending his knees slightly to seem like he was shorter than he actually was. Gon turned his body towards Leorio, he seemed surprised and shocked as to why he shouldn't.
"Why can't I tell him why I'm here?" Gon question innocently. Mishka couldn't help but wonder the same. She looked up at Kurapika for answers, he however quickly looked at her and shook his head, showing that there was no need to say why they were there.
"Not a team player, huh? I don't wish to reveal why I'm here." Leorio said to Gon, pushing his forehead back with his finger. He certainly seemed like a very grumpy man.
Mishka knitted her brows together once more, her lips forming a thin line. He didn't seem pleasant one bit! She'd had to make sure to avoid him in the future if possible.
"I agree with Leorio." Kurapika said, gaining his sisters attention as well as Leorio's. The taller man did the same again, and pointed his finger at the older blonde who was simply not paying any attention to him what so ever.
"Hey! Aren't you younger than I am? Show some respect!" He questioned Kurapika, who continued to ignore his outburst. Mishka knew that her brother didn't give respect to people instantly, it had to be earned with him, it was just how he was; how he always was.
"It's quite simple to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie." Kurapika continued, only making Leorio more angry. Mishka tugged at his tabard slightly trying to gain her brothers attention. She wanted to get him to notice Leorio; even just glare at him if he would just so Leorio didn't feel ignored.
"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Leorio shouted once more, before turning his attention to the younger blonde making her jump slightly on the spot, and move once more out of his view the best she could.
"However, it is quite shameful to rely upon deceit. That said, if we were to tell you the truth, we would be exposing our deepest secrets." Kurapika explained, placing his hand that was on his sister's back to his heart.
He did that regularly, spoke for the two of them. He knew Mishka lacked the confidence to do so herself; another reason why he didn't want to bring her along. To be a Hunter, you needed confidence. He could only hope that the exam would give her some, even if it was just enough to make her speak out more.
"That is why we cannot provide an answer." He finished off. The captain looked at Mishka, receiving only a nod from the young girl indicating that what her brother said was correct and that too would be her answer to him.
"Hey you...Don't ignore me!" Leorio continued, this time waving his arm about in a vain attempt to gain Kurapika's attention. Likely, the older blonde was used to people throwing a temper tantrum and simply ignored him; Mishka would be the first to admit, she threw a fair few a good few years ago when things first happened. It was because she was confused, upset; she didn't understand why it had happened.
"In other words, you refuse to answer my question. Hey, Katsuo." The captain said, gaining Katsuo's attention. "Tell the examination board that we have three more dropouts." The captain said rather coldly as he began removing the pipe from between his lips. Mishka could see now that he was missing bottom teeth, she wondered if that was because of his smoking habit.
It was then that it sunk into her mind. Three more drop outs...that meant...no he couldn't be an examiner...could he? He didn't look like one not that Mishka would know what an examiner would look like she honestly had no clue but she just couldn't believe that this man was one of them. Leorio and Kurapika seemed equally as confused as her, as Leorio had also questioned what the man meant.
"You still haven't figured it out? The Hunter Examination has already begun." The captain revealed, making both her brother and the older man gape at him. Even Mishka couldn't help but make a small sound in her throat.
Another wave hit the boat, rocking it violently as it continued to sail in the storm. Mishka knitted her brows together; if they already failed they'd have to wait another year before they could retake it. She knew there was no way her brother could do that he had waited long enough.
"There are as many Hunter wannabes as there are stars in the sky. The examiners don't have the time or resources to review them all. So they hire people like us, to trim the fat." The captain explained to the group. The girl just stared at him, her brows continuing to be pulled together. It sounded like he wasn't an examiner but kind of was...at least to her. It was all getting very confusing for her.
"I've already notified the board that everyone else on this ship had to withdraw. If they couldn't handle a little storm, they'd stand no chance in the Hunter Examination's later stages." The captain continued to explain to the group. It only made things grimmer in the child's mind. If this was only the beginning, she dreaded to wonder what the other stages would be like. Then again she didn't know what to expect either. The captain went on to say that they would only go to the main exam, if he passed them. That made Mishka tighten her grip on her brother's tabard more. He was the judge and jury.
The room fell silent, comments being made about him saying so and that they should have been told sooner. Mishka looked up at her brother, she watched him as he concentrated; trying to decide what to do. He seemed annoyed by it all more than anything, this was an inconvenience to him.
"We are the last survivor's of the Kurta Clan." Kurapika said, finally deciding on what it was he was actually going to do. Mishka remained quiet, instead turning her attention back to the captain. She kept the grip on her brothers tabard, not daring to let go at any point.
"Speak for yourself, let her speak when you're finished." The captain said, briefly interrupting the older siblings tale. "You step away from him if you want to pass." The captain continued, flicking his gaze to the younger sibling. Mishka pressed her lips tightly together, gingerly letting go of her brothers tabard and standing a few feet away from him, her hands dangling by her sides and back straight. She had to do this, if she wanted to pass she had to show she could do this. Kurapika gritted his teeth but nodded his head agreeing. If this is what it took to pass the Hunter Exam than he would need to obey. Mishka hummed slightly in her throat, she had to prepare herself to speak confidently.
"Four years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals. I wish to become a Hunter and hunt down that band, the Phantom Troupe." Her brother continued, once regaining his original composure from being told what to do. Mishka took note how he looked serious about what he planned to do; of course this was her plan as well.
"So you want to become a bounty hunter?" The captain questioned the male, seemingly taken back by what he had heard. "The Phantom Troupe is a Class-A bounty. Not even the most grizzled Hunters can touch them. You'd be throwing your life away." The captain continued explaining, his gaze becoming serious as he went back to watching the older sibling. His words didn't phase Kurapika however, who simply said he didn't fear death.
That was what struck Mishka hard. She knew her brother was brave but like a typical older sibling he didn't always say what he was thinking; and not fearing death was one of them. The younger one could understand why however, she would have only worried and begged him not to go through with the hunter exams if she knew earlier. Now that they were here, she couldn't do that. She'd not only look very foolish but also very childish; that was what she wanted to avoid right now.
The captain looked at Mishka next, staring at her until she caught on. When she did it made her jump slightly on the spot. She fidgeted with her tunic hem, shuffling her weight on her feet as she turned her attention to the floor. She had to speak up but it was proving to be harder than she thought.
"I...I also want to take down the people that killed everyone!" Mishka exclaimed to him as loudly as her naturally small voice would allow, finally finding her voice. She looked up at the captain, giving her best stern look although this seemed more like a half hearted frown at best. The captain continued to watch her, as if urging her to say more. Mishka swallowed the lump in her throat, blinking hard a couple of times.
"I...don't want to see others die...so if I help bring them down, no one else will die." Mishka said to him, keeping her gaze at the captain.
The older man remained silent, watching the two siblings. It seemed like he was making a mental note to himself as he took a deep inhale from his pipe. Slowly, he exhaled the smoke through his mouth, most of the grey smoke coming out through the gap where his bottom teeth should have been.
"Is that what you want to do, or what your brother wants you to do?" The captain questioned her, his gaze hardening. Mishka visibly flinched at the question as her brother glared at the captain. He was far from the truth of that being what he wanted her to do. Mishka shook her head quickly, knitting her brows together as if she had done something wrong.
"No! It's what I want to! I don't want anyone else to die by them!" She quickly spilled out to the captain who looked anything but convinced. Mishka gripped the hems of her tunic tighter, she was sure this was what she wanted to do! She knew she wanted to help her big brother and if that meant becoming a bounty hunter then so be it; that's what she would do to help him.
"So, in other words, you two want revenge. Does that require you two to become Hunters?" Leorio spoke up, seemingly taking the whole thing as a joke. Mishka turned her attention to him, her brows still knitted together. She could feel Gon watching them both, he didn't seem phased by the small outburst from the young girl, or her brothers hostile like attitude towards the captains remark.
"That may be the stupidest question I've ever heard, Leorio." Kurapika sighed, keeping the serious look on his face. Mishka turned her attention back to her brother, falling once again silent as she kept her hands gripping the tunic tightly. It was almost like a comfort thing for her.
Leorio on the other hand didn't seem to like her brother's tone, and told him that it was "Mr Leorio" to him, before turning his attention to the younger sibling and telling her that it was the same for her too. Mishka couldn't help but shrink slightly and nodded her head in agreement. She didn't want to see an even worse side of him.
"Places accessible only to Hunters... Information otherwise unobtainable... Actions otherwise impossible... There are more reasons than your brain could possible handle." Kurapika continued, degrading the older man. Mishka watched between the two, Leorio was getting more and more frustrated with every reason the older sibling was giving.
It was Gon who stepped in, holding his hand up to Leorio's face and gaining his attention. Mishka turned her attention to Kurapika fully as Gon talked to Leorio, seemingly pacifying the older male.
"I don't think Mr Leorio liked that much..." Mishka muttered to her older brother. He opened his eyes slightly, peaking down at her before sighing through his nose and closing his eyes fully again. Kurapika seemed just as annoyed as Leorio was.
"He'll get over it." Kurapika simply said to his younger sister, earning a small hum from her. Mishka, as much as she loved her older brother and if anything couldn't fault him, absolutely hated the side of him when he was short tempered and moody.
Instead of continuing more, she turned her attention to Gon and Leorio watching them two briefly. It seemed like he was going on about nice things and from what she could pick up when she was talking to her brother it had something to do with money. By time she tuned in he was talking about liquor. Her thoughts were only confirmed by the talks of money when her brother said he couldn't buy class with the stuff.
This pushed Leorio over the edge.
"That's three times now. Step outside. I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline, here and now." He said darkly to the blonde male.
"You take that back Leorio!" Kurapika demanded, glaring at the older male who did nothing but look over his shoulder at him. He briefly looked between the two siblings, keeping his dark ton of voice as he reminded Kurapika what to call him. Mishka let out a small worried noise as well as one of disbelief thrown into the mix as she watched her brother and Leorio begin to walk outside. She began to follow her older brother only to be stopped by him putting a hand onto her shoulder and giving her a look telling her to wait, making her wait beside Gon. Her brother was mad...beyond man. She let out a small worried noise again through closed lips as the two disappeared from site. Her gaze averted to the floor, their blood line wasn't filthy...was it?
The captain called after the pair telling them he wasn't done. Gon however said to let the pair go. Mishka turned her attention to him, remaining quiet as the boy also stared at where they had left. He seemed so unaffected by this all, it amazed Mishka to know end.
"Auntie Mito once told me, if you want to get to know someone, you need to make an effort to learn why they're angry. It's important for them to understand why they're mad." Gon explained to the captain, a smile appearing on his face.
Mishka watched Gon a little before turning her gaze to the floor again. She pressed her lips together tightly as she fidgeted on the spot; her brother took a while to get himself calm again and the weather was very bad, she wasn't sure if he'd be okay. Not to mention Leorio had insulted their entire blood line.
"I don't think Leorio meant what he said." Gon said, taking notice of Mishka's uncomfortable fidgeting. She bought her head up to meet his gaze, making a small humming sound in her throat as she scratched her lower arm and turned her head towards the door where they left.
"I hope not we're not filthy, just really sad and broken." She said to him, sighing through her nose. That was the only way she could think to describe what they were, now that it was just the two of them against what seemed to be the entire world.
Soon there was commotion in the office. The two children left behind turned and looked out of the window, spotting the huge typhoon spinning up a storm, coming closer to their ship. Mishka fidgeted with her hands, her shoulders rolling slightly with each movement she made with her hands and fingers. It was beginning to get scary.
"If we get caught up by that waterspout, the ship will sink." Katsuo said seeming hopeless about the situation. So it wasn't a typhoon, in a way that was good. In another way, that didn't calm Mishka's nerves one but; especially with her brother up on the deck facing off against a man who was easily provoked.
"Lower the sails now." The captain ordered, never taking his eyes off the waterspout. Katsuo agreed with Gon volunteering to help out. Mishka looked at the two and took a small deep breathe.
"I'll help too!" She said to the two of them. Gon nodded his head at her with Katsuo instructing the two children to go and follow him.
The pair followed the older sail up on deck. Katsuo had placed Gon and Mishka onto a rope together while he went to a different one. They pulled back on it as hard as they could. The blonde haired girl couldn't help but wince at the upcoming rope burns that were appearing on her hands from where the rope had slipped through thanks to the rain. It didn't help that her mind wondered looking for her brother and was only bought back to reality when the rope slipped and made the burn.
The wind picked up, howling through the air. Mishka ducked her head a little, scrunching up her shoulders in order to try and stray off the wind from her face. Gon had the same idea as her and did the same. The pair heard a scream and turned their head in the direction it was coming from. Katsuo went flying through the air and off towards the sea. Mishka gasped as she watched her brother and Leorio quickly throw themselves after him but with little success.
"Stay here okay?" Gon said quickly to her making the girl nod her head as she kept a tight grip on the rope to help the other men pull the sails down.
She watched from the corner of her eyes where Gon was going, before fully turning her attention to him as he launched off the boat himself. She wanted to shout his name, but she couldn't find her voice to do so. It seemed like everything was going in slow motion as he inched closely to Katsuo. The young girl watched with wide eyes as Gon caught Katsuo, and was then caught by Kurapika and Leorio. He had saved the deck hand, risked his own life to do so. Mishka heard the scrambling of feet and quickly let go of the rope herself, rushing towards the small group. The older men shouted to pull them back up as they neared.
Mishka pressed herself against the bannister, leaning over it to grab a hold of Gon's jacket. She could feel herself slipping over due to how slippery the wood was and the rocking of the ship. She could feel her brothers worry and disapproving look boring into the side of her face as her tunic was instantly grabbed by one of the men to stop her falling completely over. Mishka managed to grab a hold of the bottom of Gon's jacket, she held onto it tightly as the group of men began pulling them back up to the safety of the deck. She didn't know why she, but she knew she had to help the boy as well; he was brave, a different kind of brave to what her brother was. If anything, it made Mishka want to try and become brave herself, even if it was just a little bit.
But she was also scared. Very scared. That fear became all so much more clear when she finally took in how close they were to the water, and that she was indeed upside down holding onto the boys jacket in hopes he wouldn't fall in; despite the fact her brother and Leorio were holding his legs. A small, startled gasp left her throat as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She could feel them turning red, she didn't a lot of control over this; unlike her brother who had near enough perfect control over his eyes turning red. She could feel her body tremble as her feet finally began touching the ground.
The storm had settled down, the only things that would indicate a storm had happened would be the dark clouds that still lingered in the sky. Katsuo had gone to get himself checked over from his near death experience. Gon and Mishka on the other hand were made to sit on the floor in front of the two older boys. Gon seemed rather unaffected by it and Mishka kept her gaze down not daring to look up. Her vision was still red, it took a while for this to finally calm down. She fidgeted with her fingers that sat in her lap.
"Idiot! If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd be shark bait now." Leorio scolded the boy
"And you should know better than to throw yourself over the bannister; what came over you?" Kurapika equally scolded Mishka, keeping his arms crossed. Mishka kept quiet as she kept her eyes lowered to the floor. What was she thinking indeed...it seemed clear then but now that she thought it over...it didn't seem as clear, now did it seem to make much sense. She heard her brother sigh, annoyed by the lack of answer.
"Honesty, how reckless can you two be?" He questioned them, although he wasn't expecting an answer.
"But you did catch me. You both caught me!" Gon announced to them happily, feeling quite pleased with himself and his good deeds. Leorio muttered to himself something Mishka couldn't quiet pick up. It seemed like her was in disbelief over what Gon had said.
Mishka fidgeted with her hands once more in her lap. She pressed her lips tightly together as she swallowed hard the lump in her throat.
"I...wanted to help Gon save Katsuo." She explained to her older brother, looking at him briefly before darting her eyes away from him once he looked back at her. She heard him sigh, a mixture of worry and disbelief in that sigh; she could only guess he spotted her eye colour and it made her look back up at him again. He opened his mouth as if planning to say something but was interrupted by Katsuo shouting for Gon. It made the four of them turn their attention over to the man, who looked like he was never involved in a near death experience at all. In fact, he was quite chirpy for someone who nearly died.
It turned out Katsuo had ran all the way over to them to thank Gon for saving his life. Gon stood up, greeting the man with a smiling face as he explained he couldn't have done it alone. It was what he said afterwards that surprised Mishka the most. Gon didn't take all the credit, and instead said that the three of them also helped to save him. The young blonde couldn't help but be taken back by his words. Katsuo had also thanked the three of them, leaving Mishka to wonder how she contributed after all, in her mind all she did was dive after Gon like a lemming and then trembled terribly once she saw how close they actually were to the water.
Her brother took the gratitude much more nobly, telling Katsuo that he didn't need to thank him. Leorio, bashfully, said he was glad Katsuo was okay. Mishka stared between the two older teens, unaware that Katuso had told them he was going back to their station. For two people that were going to fight, they were taking each others company rather well.
She watched as Kurapika's attitude changed, a small smile creeping onto his face as she spoke to Leorio this time without malice or being rude.
"I apologize for my rude behaviour. Sorry, Mr Leorio." Kurapika apologized to the older male. Mishka couldn't help but feel a smile of her own creeping onto her face. She could see her vision going back to normal, something else she was grateful for but right now that wasn't important. She was just glad to hear her brother apologising.
"Wh-What's with the sudden change? We sound like strangers... Just call me Leorio, Leorio works." Mishka heard Leorio say to him, awkwardly and bashfully as Mishka began standing up, patting down the back of her tunic and then the front of it. It was damp from the rain but that was okay; with any luck the sun would dry it out quickly.
"I'm also sorry. I take back everything I said. I was wrong." Leorio admitted, making Mishka look at him with wide eyes. Her brother said it was okay; but Mishka couldn't help but speak up.
"So you don't think we're dirty?!" She questioned him, gripping her hands tightly in front of her as she leaned forward looking at him. Kurapika watched his sister carefully as Leorio shook his head to her question, deciding to remain silent. The young girl couldn't help but smile widely to herself; she was extremely pleased hearing this news.
A loud cackle of a laugh rang through the ship, gaining the attention of the four wannabe Hunters. They spotted the captain leaning against the door leading to the inside, his pipe in one hand and the other safely tucked away in his pocket.
"I like you guys! Okay! I'll take responsibility for bringing you four to the port closet to the exam site." The captain proclaimed to them, turning himself to walk up the stairs to the top deck in order to get them there safely; and possibly enjoy the sun now that it was out.
"Really? What about your test?" Gon questioned the captain, making him turn his head over his shoulder and stare at the boy hard.
"Like I said... It's my decision to make. And all four of you pass!" The captain announced to them.
The air was silent until Gon and shouted "yay" and jumped up in excitement. Mishka smiled widely to herself, and bounced on the balls of her feet while her brother and Leorio enjoyed the silent celebrations to themselves. Unlike Gon, she couldn't bring herself to openly and as loudly celebrate like he could. It just wasn't in her nature to do so; the younger blonde was very quiet and reserved.
The young girl however was pleased, she had passed this exam and that meant she was now on her way to become a Hunter, one step closer to that dream. One step closer to making sure the Phantom Troupe could not harm anyone else again.
