"Who is the king?"

"I am the king!" Illuko called out triumphantly, holding up his card. He brought the card close to his face as if he was reading it, a catlike grin creeping onto his face. "You poor peasants, what shall I do with you?" he whispered.

Suddenly, his azure-colored eyes brightened. "I've got it! Numbers 3, 4, and 5 have to each call a random person, say a pickup line, and hang up. Whoever does best is off the hook, but the other two have to play a penalty game!"

Pirro's eyebrows furrowed. "You can't do that!"

"I'm the king, I can do whatever I want."

Pirro's face immediately went into a pout. "Why is it always me stuck in the stupid romantics stuff?" he muttered as he pulled out his phone and dialed in a number (a number that they immediately recognized).

Pirro slowly put the phone up to his ear, all while glaring daggers at Illuko before the dialing ceased. A quiet voice greeted him.

"H-Hey." Pirro whispered shakily.

More whispering from the other end.

"Wh-what? You were sleeping? I'm so sorry, Lily, I didn't realize what time it was!"

It took everything Illuko and Pietro had to keep from cracking up.

"Please excuse me!" Pirro brought the phone away from his ear and put it back down. "That doesn't count."

"It does so."

"Does not!"

"Does- oof!" Illuko said as he was smacked in the face by a pillow. He snatched it off and wielded it over his head to throw it back before a tired and annoyed voice called from downstairs.

"Do you boys have any idea what time it is?"

Panic crossed each boy's face as they all scrambled back into bed, where they stayed the rest of the night.

….

The next morning, a groggy Pirro trudged down the stairs, rubbing one of his eyes. "I'm up."

There was no response. Pirro crept forward and peered through the doorway to the living room. His father was sitting on the couch (as he always was when Pirro woke up), but instead of reading, he was fast asleep. Pirro understood why. Takara, his baby sister, had kept them all up for the past two weeks. Fortunately for Pirro, a good-remainder-of-the-night's sleep was all he needed to get his energy back, but his parents were a different story. Man, now I feel bad for waking Dad up last night…

"Hey, what's up?"

Pirro turned to see Kuondo standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I'm getting the mail for Dad." Pirro whispered, tiptoeing over to the door. Sure enough, there was an envelope lying on the doormat. Pirro picked it up and read the label.

Hunters Association.

Raising an eyebrow, Pirro tore open the envelope and slipped out what looked like an invitation.

On the front in bolded text were just a few words, but they were enough to bring a delighted smile to both boys' faces

Heavens Arena X Hunter Association

Annual Tournament Invitation

Kuondo and Pirro exchanged excited glances before reading on.

Attention Heavens Arena Participant/Licensed Hunter, you have been invited to partake in this year's tournament.

The tournament will be held at Heavens Arena in the Republic of Pakodea. Free admission and room will be given to those who show their Hunter License at registration.

Rules and guidelines of the tournament will be discussed on the opening day, January 1st.

Please fill out the form below and send it to the provided address. All forms due by December 23rd.

Thank you for reading.

Pirro grinned, slipping the paper into the envelope. "So, are you entering?"

"Is Illuko's hair white?" Kuondo replied with the same grin. "And if I have anything to say about it, so are a number of other people…"

….

Kurapika rubbed one eye as he made his way back into his room. I overslept again, he thought, I can't go back to my assignments if I'm like that.

He faced the closet and opened it, only to find himself face-to-face with Pirro. "Hi, Dad!"

Kurapika stumbled back in surprise. "Where did you come from, Pirro? You startled me."

Pirro grinned, pulling out a letter. So that's where the mail went… "Well, I got the mail for you today, and we got an invitation to a tournament!"

"And I'm assuming you want to enter. You know I don't have a problem with that."

"Well, there's that, too," Pirro said thoughtfully before grinning again, "but I was wondering if you would enter, too. It's been so long since I've seen you fight."

Kurapika shook his head. "You know I can't. I was hoping to return to my job again soon."

Pirro pouted a bit. "C'mon, Dad, please?"

"But I have assignments, work with the Zodiacs-"

"Please?"

Kurapika sighed. It was at times like this that he wished that Pirro hadn't inherited his stubbornness. "Alright, you win. I'll think about it."

"Yes!" Pirro hopped out of the closet with excited crimson eyes and giving Kurapika a hug and a quick thank you before rushing out of the room, calling for his friends.

Kurapika suppressed a laugh. He remembered when Gon had that same happy and carefree attitude, which was in turn similar to his own when he was Pirro's age. Guess there's no going back on it now. Once I've gotten his hopes up, it's too late to change my mind. Looks like I'm entering the tournament this year.

(A.N.: It's back, baby! XD I am so excited for this season! This chapter was introductory, so it isn't quite as long as the others will be. So, let's start off with a few quick questions. Firstly, I realized that Kuondo shouldn't be quite so identical to Gon, even though Gon does have mostly dominant traits XD, so how should I make Kuondo at least a bit more similar to Alluka? Should I give him her hair tint, blue eyes, or her paler complexion? Secondly, I wanted to ask, what fights are you interested in seeing during the tournament? And finally, if you have any questions about the story or its characters, please feel free to ask! I hope you enjoy Season 3!)