Darkness. Pain. Suffering. A twisted Pierrot smile. Crimson eyes. Blood. Spiders dancing on silken webs, taunting. Jokers and thieves in the night. Blood. Death. Agony. Hate. Shattered dreams and broken hearts. Screams of torment in the dark. Blood. Blood. Blood.
Kitana let out a shaky breath as the boat heaved and swayed on the violent sea. Thunder boomed in the sky, shaking the wood as men groaned in agony, their faces green with nausea. A young boy raced about, tending to them with water and comforting words. A kindness she had never known and didn't understand.
A man in a suit rested casually in the corner, chewing on an apple and watching over the rim of his circular glasses, completely unaware of the unhinged, hooded being sitting on the floor, her back against the wall of the room. Until a moment ago she had been resting. And then the nightmare had set in - a memory from long ago.
A blonde her age reclined in a hammock reading - a one time friend from her past who, like the others, paid her no mind. She preferred it that way and hoped that she would remain anonymous until the ship reached it's anchorage. It would be a painful memory for both if her identity was revealed now.
"Are you okay?" the young boy asked as he squatted before her, "Do you need water or anything."
She shook her head and opted for silence, like the other three, this storm unfazed her. The men it affected were weak and deluded. If they couldn't survive a storm like this, they were unfit to take the Hunter Exam.
"You three." the captain's voice reached her ears, "Wait, you four. Come with me." The boy, the man in the corner and the blonde reading all followed the captain out, Kitana echoed their steps quietly several paces behind out of habit. She stood beside the blonde from long ago and listened patiently as the captain questioned their reasons for wanting to take the Hunter Exam.
Gon - the twelve year old boy wanted to find his father, a hunter who had abandoned him to the care of another.
Leorio - the one in the suit wanted money, however Kitana could tell there was something more than that behind his eyes.
She already knew why Kurapika was there - revenge for the slaughter of his clan. But when the captain turned his gaze to her, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep her identity secret, not if she wanted to continue on.
She felt their gazes as she lifted her hood and let her short, choppy, dark purple hair loose.
Beside her, Kurapika gasped quietly, "Mai..." she heard him whisper, calling the name she'd abandoned over a decade ago.
"My name is Kitana," she began, "And up until recently I was working as an assassin."
"Why do you want to take the Hunter Exam?" the captain asked her curiously.
"I'm tired of killing." was all she said. The captain nodded in understanding but Leorio was the one who spoke,
"You say you're tired of killing but you do know hunters kill too, right?" he asked her.
"Do you really think you should be one to question others motives, Leorio?" Kurapika replied before Kitana had a chance to.
"That's Leorio-san!" he growled again in annoyance, "At least my reason is realistic!"
"Money can't buy class, Leorio." Kurapika replied completely ignoring Leorio's first comment. Kitana could feel the suited man's anger from where she stood so what he said next didn't surprise her.
"That's it." he said in a low, dangerous voice, "Outside, now. I'll end the pathetic Kurta line right now."
Kurapika's anger flared, "Take that back right now, Leorio!" he hissed. Though she was calm on the outside, Kitana felt a flicker of hate burn inside her at Leorio's remark. She hadn't been associated with the Kurta clan for years, however despite leaving them of her own free will, she still felt loyal to them for all they had done for her when she was on the verge of dying. Hearing someone speak ill of them pissed her off.
"Leorio-san." was all the older man said before he disappeared out onto the deck of the ship. Kurapika followed him instantly leaving Kitana, Gon, the captain and the deck hand who seemed like the only other person able to sustain against the ship's heaving.
"We should stop them, right?" the deck hand asked the captain but it was Gon who spoke.
"Let them fight." he said surprising everyone, "Mito-san says that to resolve a fight, you have to understand why the other person is mad. Let them understand why they're angry."
Kitana sighed and headed for the door, "I'll make sure they don't kill each other." she told them. She understood and she was sure Gon and the captain did too - but it was obvious Leorio had been speaking out of frustration for not being given the respect he was owed and whether Kurapika was oblivious to that, or knew and just didn't care was his own problem. She wouldn't interfere in their fight so long as neither one was going to kill the other - or rather so long as Leorio didn't try to kill Kurapika.
The rain was cold and stung as it hit her face. The wind whipped her hair to and fro, tugging harshly like a child who didn't know his own strength. She folded her arms and watched as the two men faced off, unconcerned of the weather or the waves washing over the deck of the ship. The hatred between them created thick tension strong enough to make any normal person back away, but Kitana stood firm and watched. Before the fight could even begin though, rogue wind rocked the ship and shook loose several of the sailors tending to the mast, one of which was the skinny deck hand from before. Unable to stand against the powerful gust, it sent him flying over the edge. Leorio and Kurapika instantly forgot their fight and moved to save him. They ran to the rail and jumped, clinging to the side so they too didn't end up in the water but they were too slow. Without thinking, Kitana loosed the wire she was known for killing people with and aimed it at both Kurapika and Leorio's waists so neither would fall. She was about to help the deck hand too when a green flash zoomed past her face and dove in after them.
She sighed again as Leorio and Kurapika grabbed hold of Gon's legs and pulled him and the deck hand back onto the boat. She retracted her wire and slowly wandered over to where the four of them sat on the deck catching their breath.
"Are you crazy?!" Kurapika chastised, "You could have died!"
"He's right!" Leorio agreed, "What would you have done if we didn't catch you?"
Gon just smiled brightly up at them, "But you did catch me so there's no problem."
Kitana chuckled quietly to herself; This little boy was certainly interesting.
"Thank you for saving me." the deck hand puffed to the boy.
"I couldn't have done it without these guys." Gon said and looked to Kurapika, Leorio and Kitana.
"Thank you." the deck hand said as he stood. Kitana resumed her usual countenance and walked past him.
"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything." she said and headed back inside. She'd had enough happy feelings for the night. Of course she was glad that everyone was okay, but she would never accept praise when it wasn't required. Seeing Kurapika again had also stirred some unhappy memories and she wanted to get away from him as soon as she could. It irked her that he was going to be taking the Exam, but it was to be expected. If he wanted to find the Phantom Troupe, becoming a hunter would make it all the more easier than aimlessly searching for them. Of course that didn't necessarily mean he would pass the Exam. He almost didn't even qualify because of his pride.
She sat down and leaned her head against the wall trying to calm her thoughts. A voice she knew well laughed in her mind; What's this? Running away again, are you? That's just like you. You run from everything, never staying one place too long, never getting close to people. You even though becoming a killer would solve your problems but you're running from that too. Now you want to be a hunter? Pathetic. You know you'll only end up running away again. Maybe not at first, but give it a few years and you'll be in this position again.
"Stop it." Kitana whispered to herself but the voice only laughed again; Admit it, you were shocked to see him here. Thought you'd cut your ties, didn't you? Thought that if you saw him again, he'd hate you. Or maybe you just hoped he wouldn't remember you. But you knew he would, that's why you hid your face, isn't it? So he wouldn't see you and call you that name...Mai.
"Stop it!" she slammed her fist into the wall and the laughter faded.
"Mai?" She looked up, ready to stab the apparition of her demons but the person in front of her was no ghost. Kurapika sat down in front of her, "Why'd you do that?"
"Do what?" she asked hoping he hadn't seen her display.
"Why did you say you didn't help us?" he clarified, his blue eyes searching hers.
"Because I didn't." He gave her a look,
"I know you used your wire to hold Leorio and I out of the water." he said, "I felt it." Kitana averted her gaze, she really didn't want to have to explain herself, least of all to him.
"What do you want?" she asked, allowing her voice to become cold but Kurapika didn't buy it. Instead he smiled warmly at her, "I want to talk. I haven't seen you in a long time, Mai."
She gritted her teeth, "That name is dead, Kura." The girl named Mai had died a long time ago, Kitana had made sure of that.
"Not to me, it's not." Kurapika said grabbing her hands gently, "I was so happy when I saw you. For the first time, I felt like I wasn't alone anymore."
She pulled her hands free quickly and stood, "The girl you knew is gone. Mai is dead." she told him with a cold stare, "We're not friends, Kurapika. You don't know me."
"What happened to you?" he asked as she walked away from him again.
"Things you'd be better off not knowing." she replied softly. It had hurt to say those things to him, but it had hurt less than she expected. Kurapika was the one person she could never get close to. Perhaps Mai could have, but not Kitana. Not anymore. She was a killer, a cold, empty tool with no soul. She had no business trying to make friends, not with him, or Gon, Leorio or anyone else. Kitana could not and would not have weaknesses.
See, running again. That's what you do. Run away when things get too complicated and hard for you and push away those who care about you. Your family, your friends, that boy - they're all the same. Don't you get it yet?
"Get out of my head." she said softly and dug her nails into her palm, hoping the pain would drown out the voice.
It's my head too, Kitana.
"Hey, hey, Kitana." Gon's cheery voice reached her ears and she looked down from the hammock she was lying in, "You're going to come with us, right?"
"Where?" she asked dully.
"To the Exam place." Gon replied, "You're still taking it right?"
"I guess." she replied and rolled out, landing lightly on her feet. The ship had docked several minutes ago and Kitana was still trying to decide her next move; stay in Dolle Harbor or continue on to Zaban City. She probably would have just stayed if Gon hadn't come ask her. She followed the young boy off the boat and waited for him as he spoke with the captain. She figured Leorio and Kurapika would stay with him too for the time being, and so would she though she would probably end up ditching them during the Exam. It was nothing personal against them, she just didn't want anymore liabilities in her life.
"The captain said that there's a short cut to the Exam site if we go to the big cedar tree." Gon said as the four of them stared at the map.
"The note I got said the Exam would take place in Zaban City." Kurapika said.
"Zaban City is in the other direction, how would that be a short cut?" Leorio asked shaking his head.
"Still, I don't think the captain would give that information without a reason." Kurapika said tapping his chin. Leorio groaned and picked up his suitcase,
"Well I'm getting on the bus." he said, "You guys coming?"
"I'm going to go to the cedar tree." Gon said and without another word began walking away. Kurapika sighed and followed him aswell leaving Leorio and Kitana.
"You're getting on the bus, right?" he asked her. Kitana shrugged and followed Gon and Kurapika; the hunter exam wouldn't be so easy just to take a bus to the location. And Kurapika was right - the captain wouldn't give them information without a reason.
The four of them walked for an hour before coming to a seemingly empty back street far removed from the bussling, packs of people roaming around. Kitana had been following at a short distance behind Gon, Kurapika and Leorio, a habit she'd picked up during her training to tail a target, when suddenly the three of them stopped.
"I don't get it." Leorio said, "Where is everyone?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Gon, "There's plenty of people here." Just as he finished talking, a door opened and a group of masked people hauled out a booth with a little old lady sitting in it. Kitana's shoulders dropped - another test it would seem.
"Exciting mind-boggling two choice quiz!" the old lady announced earning a sigh from Kitana. Was it really this important to weed out applicants? Surely the exam itself would do that three times over?
"I will ask you a question and you must answer 1 or 2. Say anything else and you will fail." she explained just as Kitana felt the presence following them since the ship creep closer.
"Sounds easy enough." Leorio said confidently.
"It does, but it also depends on what she'll ask." Kurapika replied.
"Let me go first then." a new voice suggested. Kitana watched out of the corner of her eye as the man walked past her and shoved Kurapika and Gon out of the way, "What do you have to lose?"
Leorio looked as though he wanted to protest, so Kitana spoke before he could, "Nothing. Do as you like."
"Hey, hey, hey." Leorio said quietly to her, "What are you doing?"
"He's been following us since we left the ship, letting him take the quiz first will benefit us." she explained.
"How?" Gon asked curiously. This time Kurapika answered, "For one it'll give us an idea of what to expect. If he wins, so be it. But if he loses, he won't be able to get to the location and we won't have to worry about him anymore."
"He's right." Kitana added, "Just let him go."
"Men have taken your mother and true love hostage. Who do you save? 1 for your mother, 2 for your love." the old woman asks him. The man thought for a moment before answering; "1. "
"Why?"
"Because you only have one mother. You can find love again." the man responded earning a cry of disagreement from Leorio.
"What kind of question is that?! You can't answer something like that." he yelled in frustration. Kitana glanced at Kurapika who shared her look - that was exactly how the questions were designed. There was no answer.
"You may pass." the old woman said and allowed the man to continue down the road.
"This is ridiculous!" Leorio exclaimed.
"You just have to tell the old woman what she wants to hear." the man said with a wink, "It's that easy."
"Tell her what she wants to hear. Is he for real?" Leorio muttered once the man had gone on ahead.
"Are you ready for the question?" the old lady asked with a sly smile.
"Be quiet." Kurapika told Leorio, "We're ready." Kitana was sure that Gon had also figured the quiz out but it was Leorio she was worried about. If he answered, they would all fail.
"Your children have been kidnapped and you can only save one. 1 for your daughter, 2 for your son. Who do you save?" the old lady asked. Kitana kept her mouth shut as did Kurapika and Gon. Leorio on the other hand wandered over to a pile of broken beams and picked one up, swung it a few times to test it's weight, but otherwise remained quiet.
"5, 4, 3..." the old lady began to countdown their remaining time, "2, 1! Time's up!"
Leorio cried out and charged at the woman, holding the beam high above his head, ready to strike her down. A move that surprised Kitana - she never would have picked him to beat up an elderly lady. Fortunately, Kurapika moved to intercept, shattering the beam with his linked bokken swords.
"Stop!" he yelled, "We gave the right answer!" Leorio stepped back, "What?"
"Silence. You said so yourself, you can't answer a question like that because silence is the answer." Kurapika explained, "Do you get it now?"
"Silence...?" Leorio said quietly and then bowed to the old woman, "I'm really sorry about my outburst."
She just laughed, "It's fine, I took this job for that reason."
Suddenly Gon sighed, "It's no use, I can't think of an answer." Kitana blinked at the boy, she was sure he had figured it out.
"You were still thinking?" Kurapika asked. Gon shook his head, "No, I was just wondering what I would do if that situation ever happened. But I can't think of an answer."
He was right, they were taking the Exam to become hunters and there was a high chance they would one day be in a situation that called for an unfair answer. Kitana had been placed in a situation like that before - being forced to choose between two impossible choices. Who would live, who would die. That was one reason she simply refused to have liabilities like that again.
A vision of a blooded face twisted by horror, pain and accusation flashed in her mind and she shivered. She hadn't forgotten him, she would never forget him. It was a memory burned into her soul - what occurred on that fateful day. The day Mai had died and Kitana had been born.
"Kitana?" Gon's voice reached her ears and she pulled herself out of the darkness, "Are you coming?" She nodded and followed the three down the hidden passage. They continued walking, all the while Leorio dropped further and further behind as he complained. He was starting to get on her last nerve - if he didn't have the stamina to walk for three hours, how the hell was he going to survive the Exam?
She was about to yell that at him when Gon's excited voice stopped her, "There it is!" She had been told that the old woman had said there was a couple who lived beneath the cedar tree and served as guides to Zaban City. If they could impress them, the couple would take them to the location of the Exam. Just as the old lady had said, there was a cabin beneath the tree though it looked empty.
"Hello?" Leorio called curiously but there was no answer. He shoved the door open and called out again only to be met with a scream. The four of them rushed towards the sound - standing there holding a woman was a Kiriko, a magical beast that could change its physical appearance. Behind the Kiriko was a wounded man lying on the ground. The Kiriko laughed and took off into the forest.
"Please," the man said as Leorio turned him over, "Save my wife."
"Leorio, stay with him. Gon, Kitana and I will rescue her." Kurapika said quickly, earning a scowl from Kitana. She specialized in killing people, not saving them and frankly, she didn't really care if the woman lived or died. She could get to Zaban City without a guide. But still she followed Kurapika and Gon out into the darkness after the beast.
Gon's physical prowess allowed him to chase after the Kiriko more efficiently than Kitana or Kurapika and he had soon freed the woman from the monster's grasp. She fell, hurtling towards the ground as Gon chased after the Kiriko. Kurapika caught the woman and Kitana stopped beside him, wondering what she was even needed for.
"Are you okay?" he asked the woman. Kitana frowned, something wasn't right, she could feel the gaze of someone on her back.
"Stay here." she told Kurapika and went to investigate. He should be able to handle looking after her on his own should anything happen. She followed the feeling through the darkness and ended up in a small clearing.
"I know you're there." She said, "Come out." Rustling came from behind her but she kept her back to it and uncoiled her wire.
"It's just me." came Kurapika's voice, "I took the woman back to the cabin. She's fine now."
"You're pretty clever." she said, "You must have been watching for the start to know that I'm closer to Kura than the others. Good choice."
"I don't know what you're talking about. It's me, Kura."
"Tsk." Kitana said and turned to face the imposter with a devilish smile on her face, "You were doing so well too, splitting us up and all but you really should have picked someone else. The disguise you're wearing never refers to himself as Kura - he's too proud for that. How many of you are there anyway?"
The fake Kurapika laughed and morphed into a giant, orange fox-bat creature, "How could you tell?"
Kitana put her wire away and folded her arms, "It was simple, you left certain clues to indicate the truth and you made a few mistakes, on purpose or not, it was obvious. I'm sure by now Kurapika and Gon have worked it out too, Leorio on the other hand may not have."
A loud raspy laughter echoed throughout the forest followed by a voice calling someone to them. The Kiriko in front of Kitana laughed as well, "Seems you're right. Go back to the cabin and everything will be explained there."
Kitana did as she was told and met up with Leorio and Kurapika who had already returned.
"So you worked it out too, huh?" Kurapika asked as she joined them. She nodded, "The Kiriko changed into you but called itself the nickname you hate."
"Wait...you two actually knew each other before the boat?" Leorio asked curiously. Kurapika and Kitana changed looks and nodded, "I guess you could say that."
"I bet that's an interesting story." Leorio said.
"And one you're probably not going to hear." Kitana replied coldly with a warning glare to Kurapika to keep his mouth shut. The less people who knew about her past, the better. At the moment there was only two people in the world who knew - herself and Kurapika. That was how she wanted it to remain.
Gon and the other Kiriko joined them shortly after and gave an explanation to what had happened. They were a family, a mother, father, son and daughter, who served as guides for the hunter exam. They would test the applicants to see if they could figure it out, if they could they passed. Due to Gon's superhuman senses, Kurapika's knowledge, Leorio's kindness and Kitana's instincts, the four of them passed the test and were soon traveling towards the exam location.
Ugh, so rushed. Oh well.