Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. I just own my OC, Hitomi.

Chapter 2: Doki Doki x Lie and Truth x Kiriko!

"But it's strange..." Leorio said, looking at the map.

"If you mean why the Hunter Association is taking hundreds of contestants in a bus... you are right." Hitomi said.

"It's not that!" he said, annoyed. "Zaban City, the site of the Exam, is located in the opposite direction from the mountain were the lone cedar is."

"That's true," Kurapika admitted.

"We could end up going there in vain," he said.

"Or we could just go by bus, get hit by a train and die." Hitomi said, with a flat voice.

"Can you be a little bit more optimistic here?" he said, irritated again. "You are too pessimistic."

"I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic," she replied.

"I can ensure that the bus is really heading for Zaban," a voice behind them. "The bus stop is right over there."

They turned around to see a man. He had orange hair and black eyes.

"I'm Matthew," he said. "I'm a rookie applicant, just like you. Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand to Gon.

"I'm Gon," he said, shaking it. "It's my pleasure."

He did the same to Kurapika, who just looked at him expressionless. He smiled nervously, before directing to the little girl. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's not my pleasure." she said, deadpan.

He looked at her, speechless.

"Don't mind about them both. They are a bit strange," Leorio said, in a friendly manner. "I'm Leorio," he put a hand on his shoulder. "Say, Matthew-san, are you going to take the bus too?"

"Unfortunately, I get sick riding on a bus," he said. "Besides, I've already decided to head for the mountain with the lone cedar."

"Then we're going the same way, aren't we?" Gon said.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" he exclaimed. "I was looking for a companion too. Let's go together, Gon."

"That was far too obvious..." Hitomi thought. "It's too cliché."

"Yeah!" the boy nodded, happily.

"That was obvious too... in a way." she sweatdropped. "He's too simple-minded."

With that, they both started to walk away.

"You'd better learn to doubt people!" Leorio shouted.

"The same I think, Leorio," Hitomi sighed. "You trust way too much in that bus..."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded, starting to walk towards Gon and Matthew.

"So long!" he said, turning around.

"Try to not fall in a trap!" Hitomi said, waving her hand briefly.

"Does your leg still hurt, Matthew-san?" Gon asked Matthew, as he carried him in his back.

"Yeah, it seems like I sprained my ankle walking on an unfamiliar mountain path," he said. "I'm sorry, Gon."

Hitomi sighed. "Your ankle will be what hurt you less once I hit you, liar bastard..." she murmured.

"Calm down, Hitomi," Kurapika said.

"I'm doing a huge effort for not hitting him, trust me."

"Then, try harder."

Suddenly, Gon stopped.

"That's right!" he exclaimed, before putting Matthew on the floor. "Wait here a minute, Matthew-san."

"What's the matter, Gon?" he asked.

"There could be medicinal herbs in the mountain!" he said, eagerly. "I'll look for some!"

"Wait!"

With that, he started running.

"We can't waste time doing that..." he murmured.

"If you are in a hurry, why don't you go ahead by yourself?" Kurapika made him a fake smile.

"Huh?"

"See you later," Hitomi smiled at him, in the same way.

They walked away, leaving a confused Matthew all alone.

After a while, the girl spoke.

"Do you think that Gon will be okay?" Hitomi asked. "I don't trust that man a bit."

"I think he will just do it fine," he said. "But... Gon is a little too gullible, isn't he?"

"Man, that Matthew is really annoying!" she shouted, punching hard at a tree.

You could say that her luck was just terrible. The tree shook violently, making an apple fall from it. It, however, hit something.

A sleeping rhino.

It wake up and stood up, looking at them.

"You had to hit that tree, hadn't you?!" Kurapika shouted, annoyed.

"It's not my fault!"

They jumped, on time to avoid the furious animal. It ran and found something else, a man shouting. They got there, just to see it was Matthew.

"Isn't that great?" she smirked. "It will kill him and he'll be gone!"

"Shut up."

Matthew took a pair of wooden swords, putting a fight. Kurapika took his pair of katanas and stepped closer. Hitomi browsed two silver daggers as well.

"Put that thing away!" Kurapika said. Matthew turned around and noticed both of them.

"You can't even use it properly, can you?" Hitomi added.

Then, Gon stepped of the bushes and walked towards the wild animal.

"Gon!" Kurapika yelled. "It's too agitated. We have no other choice."

"It just became nervous because we entered its territory," he said.

"Or because an apple hit its head on its sleep, more likely..." Hitomi sweatdropped.

His hand got closer, in order to calm the rhino. But, before Gon could even touch it, a suitcase hit its head.

Neither of them could say anything.

"Good timing, Leorio," Hitomi said, with a monotone voice.

The rhino got angrier than before and started to chase Leorio.

"Being hit on its head two times in a whole minute... poor creature."

"Don't tell me? There was a trap in the bus?" Hitomi teased, looking at Leorio, who was standing on the highest branch of a tree. "I could have never tell."

"Shut up! It's not that!" he shouted. "I thought you might be missing me. You know the saying, 'when you travel, take a friend'," Leorio started to laugh. "So please, Gon, send that rhino away!"

Minutes later, Gon was waving at the rhino and Leorio had gotten off the tree.

"How long are we going to waste time here?" Matthew said. "Someone may have gone ahead and beat us to it by now. If we didn't dally here like I warned you, we could have avoided this danger."

"But it turned out to be nice," Gon said. "We were able to meet-up Leorio."

"Also, you leg seem to be much better," Hitomi added.

Matthew flinched.

"I'm glad for you, Matthew-san." Kurapika fake-smiled him again.

The five of them stood in a desolate city, with no signs of someone living there.

"What an eerie place!" Leorio noted. "There's no one around here."

"But there are many people, right?" Gon said.

"Why?" he said, surprised. "How can you notice?"

"How can you not notice?" Hitomi said, jokingly, "It's pretty obvious, don't you think?"

"Can't you hear breathing sounds all around us?" Kurapika asked him.

"Yup, and the rustling of clothes..." Gon added.

Leorio kept quiet for a while, trying to hear something. However, he gave up quickly.

"Unfortunately, I am an ordinary man," he said.

Suddenly, Gon smiled. He started to run and stopped in front of an alley.

"I found you, Grandma!" he said.

They got closer, just to see an old lady with a cane on her hand.

"H-Hey," Matthew called them.

They turned around, just to see a lot of cloaked people. They had masks that hid their faces and repeated 'doki, doki' again and again.

"'Doki, doki, doki, doki'?! Who the hell are they?!" Leorio said. A vein popped up in his forehead in annoyment. "Hey, Matthew. Are you sure we're on the right path?"

"Yeah, I'm positive," he replied. "But if you want to take a different route, I won't stop you."

"Fine, I'll do that," Leorio said, turning around. "I'm fed up with these stupid tramps! That bus was bad enough!"

"Hold on, Leorio," Kurapika said. "Just like Matthew says, this is the right path."

"That's true," Hitomi said. "The other paths were full of signs that warn about beast and magical monsters."

"In order to avoid that, we headed for that lone cedar and it led us to this town," Gon concluded.

"Then who the hell are they?!" Leorio shouted.

Hitomi just looked at the lady. She took a step closer to them.

"Listen. You're heading for the lone cedar, aren't you?" she said. "You can never get there unless you go through this town. Other paths are like a maze. Moreover, there are violent beast and monsters lying in wait."

Gon gasped, before pointing at a logo in her cane.

"It's the same mark the captain had!" Gon exclaimed.

"So this is also part of it," Kurapika said. "We have to go through to take the Hunter Exam."

Then, all the people in white started to murmur again that 'doki' thing. The four of them looked at the lady, cluelessly.

"And now, here's a heart stopping quiz!" the woman shouted, all of sudden.

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched.

"Creepy lady, indeed..." she thought.

"I will give you one question." she explained. "You are allowed five seconds to answer. If you give a wrong answer, you will be disqualified. You must answer by choosing either 1 or 2. All other answers will be incorrect."

"Hey, wait a minute," Leorio said. "You're giving us one question for all five of us?"

"That will be quicker, won't it?" she said.

"But if they give a wrong answer, I'll fail too!" he complained, pointing at the other four.

"That's impossible," Kurapika raised an eyebrow. "I'd say the possibility of the opposite is extremely high. It makes me sick."

"The thought of it almost brings me to tears," Hitomi sighed, in annoyment.

"But it means if one of us knows the answer, we're all safe!" Gon said, happily. "Besides, I'm not good at quizzes."

However, Matthew took a step forward.

"No thanks for me." he said. "Let me try first."

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Far too obvious..."

"Oh, I suppose you are quite confident," the old lady said. "I guess you can try."

"Good, it's decided," he said, before glancing at the others. "I'm sorry, but I can't risk failing by taking the quiz with you guys.

"Matthew-san?" Gon asked, surprised by his actions.

"Sorry, but I never had any interest in becoming your pals," he said. "I just needed you to reach this town safely. I have no business with you anymore. I'm quite good at using my brain."

"What did you-?!" Leorio shouted.

"Wait, Leorio," Hitomi said, smirking. "I think we have to see how great is the intelligence he is babbling about."

"Also, hearing the question in advance will give us a hint too," Kurapika said.

Matthew grinned. "Let's do it quickly, Granny!" he said.

"Here's the question," she said. "Both your mother and your girlfriend are captured by bad guys. You can only save one person. 1: Your mother, 2: Your girlfriend. Which will you save?"

Even Matthew looked shocked. The question was beyond of normal.

Hitomi furrowed her eyebrows. "What the...?" she murmured.

"Is she serious?" Kurapika thought. "There's no legitimate answer to such a question."

"1!" Matthew answered after a couple of seconds.

"What made you think that?" the lady said.

"You know, you only have one mother in the world," he said. "But you can always find a girlfriend."

"Well, no with that face of yours," Hitomi commented, in a monotone voice. He glared at her, and she stuck her tongue at him.

The old lady and all the masked people started whispering, discussing his answer with each other. After a while, she turned around and all the people moved out the way.

"You can go."

With that, the man started to run smirking.

"Don't kid with us!" Leorio shouted. "This quiz is outrageous! Even if he saved his girlfriend, can you be absolutely sure that he made a mistake, huh, Granny?! There can't be a correct answer to such a stupid question! Or are you saying we have to pick an answer to please you?!" he turned around. "I'm going back and taking another route!"

"It's too late. If you do not take this quiz, you'll be disqualified immediately," she said.

Then, something rang through the little girl's ears. She looked around, just to notice that she wasn't the only one. Kurapika and Gon had heard that too.

"Wait, Leorio!" she shouted.

"This quiz is..." Kurapika was going to say.

"Hold it!" the woman interrupted him. "I won't allow you to talk anymore."

They both clenched their teeth.

"Seems like that cat-eyed boy and the cute girl realized it..." the lady thought.

Hitomi sighed, before looking at Gon. She hoped that he, at least, had realized how that game worked too.

"Now, answer it," the woman said. "1: You take the quiz. 2: You don't take the quiz."

"1!" Kurapika answered quickly.

Hitomi glance at Leorio, who looked really pissed off.

"Come on!" he thought. "It's a simple trick, realize it!"

"Here's the question," she said. "Your son and your daughter are abducted. You can only take one back. 1: Daughter. 2: Son. Which do you choose?"

The three of them stayed in silence. Leorio, however, took a wooden lath. He was about to hit the old woman.

"You have got to be ready for this!" he shouted.

"Is that your answer?" she asked, smiling evilly.

"Damn you! Amusing yourself with such an outrageous quiz!" he said, "Who are you to say we can't be a Hunter if we can't answer the question? I've had enough!"

"Cold down your head a little, you moron," the girl said.

"Shut up, brat!" he shouted, trembling in anger. "I'm going to drag this hag as my gift and charge into the Exam Hall! And I'll bash all those patronizing proctors and teach them a lesson!"

"Are you going to ruin our right of passage?" Kurapika asked.

The trembling stopped.

"Huh?" his surprise seemed to calm him down a little.

"We've already passed the test," he said. "Silence was the right answer. Just like you said, there's no right answer."

"The rule is that we can only answer the question by saying either 1 or 2," Hitomi said, as a matter of fact. "So, we don't answer by staying silent."

"But Matthew went-!" Leorio was about to say.

"-into the wrong path," she completed, smirking.

"She didn't say 'correct'. She only said 'you can go'," Kurapika explained. "A minute ago, I heard his scream. Probably he was attacked by a beast or a magical animal."

Leorio looked confused. A pair of masked people opened a hidden door.

"That's correct. The right path is this one," the lady stated "It's a straight road. It takes about two hours to reach the top."

He was confused, but Leorio dropped the lath.

"Ma'am... I'm sorry," he said.

"You don't need to apologize to me, I'm doing this in order to meet someone like you," she smiled, "Work hard and be a good Hunter."

They faced the dark tunnel and started walking.

"You may go now," she said. "A couple living in the house underneath the lone cedar are the navigators. If they find you promising, they will guide you to the Exam Hall."

The door was closed again, leaving them in darkness.

After a few steps, Gon suddenly sighed.

"No! I can't find the answer," he said.

Leorio and Kurapika laughed at it. Hitomi just smirked.

"You are still thinking about it? You don't have to think about it anymore," Leorio said. "The quiz is over."

"I know that..." he said. "But, if we face a real situation in which we can only save on person out of two special people..."

Kurapika's and Leorio's eyes widened in understanding. However, Hitomi narrowed them, still thinking.

"I can think that was the sole purpose of the quiz. The Hunter's world is cruel and merciless, and maybe we could be in that situation in the future," Hitomi said. "Whatever we choose will not be right, but we must make a choice."

They looked at her, still walking. She shuddered.

"Well, we better not think about it anymore. Just, let's go."

"Two hours passed two hours ago!" Leorio complained. "I'm getting hungry. And I want to relieve myself, too."

"Nobody was interested in knowing that, thank you very much," Hitomi said, annoyed. "Do whatever you want but far away from me. We're leaving!"

"Let's take a break!" he said, tired.

"But the exit is right over there!" Gon yelled over his shoulder.

In a matter of seconds, Leorio started to run and passed by them. They all stood there, seeing that they were in a lake, for some reason.

"Do I have to swim?!" Leorio complained, once again.

"If you want to, go ahead," the girl said, climbing in a little boat that had just Gon found. "And let's just hope you drown..."

"Hitomi!" Kurapika scolded her.

"What?" she said. "I can hope."

Leorio just glared at her wanting to say something, but climbed in the boat as well. Gon and Kurapika started rowing, while Hitomi just put her hands behind her head, lazily and Leorio just looked to the water.

"Say, I've been thinking," Gon said after a while. "How do we impress the navigator? I have no idea."

"Well, we can-" Kurapika was about to said.

"I guess it's appearance," Leorio interrupted him. "I'm sorry to say this, Gon, but you have no chance. Kurapika, you're not tall enough! And, as for the brat, you're just a little girl. Taking that into account, I'm the only one among us who can impress the navigator."

The three of them looked at each other.

"It's that right?" Gon asked, innocently.

"Not a chance," Hitomi replied.

"After all, it takes more than just being physically strong," Kurapika said. "Something else like intelligence and shrewdness."

Leorio smirked, in a confident way.

"For me, it's my courage," he said, "I wouldn't get scared, no matter what monsters I encounter."

All of sudden, an enormous snake appeared behind Leorio. Gon, Kurapika and Hitomi looked at it, in surprise.

The girl smirked. "Hey, how about a little test?" she said.

"Huh?"

"Leorio... behind you." Kurapika warned him.

He looked behind himself and paled. He took both rows and rowed in such a high speed that made Hitomi grab herself in the seats.

"Leorio!" Kurapika called him.

They were already in the ground, far away from the monster.

"Yeah, you're really brave," Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Congratulations."

"Beware the Beasts."

"Hey, there's a sign." Leorio said, looking at the reading.

"Yeah, and it says the same as the other twenty we came across today," Hitomi sighed.

"Don't worry," Gon said. "There's no trace of magical animals."

The girl looked at him, but choose to don't say anything.

"Anyway, how can you see so well in this darkness?" Kurapika asked.

"My house was located deep in the mountain on Whale Island," he replied. "So, it was completely dark at night. But the atmosphere of the woods at night is totally different here."

After a while, they saw the cedar. Next to it, they could see a house made of wood. Leorio knocked, but they had no reply.

"It's strange that they are not here," Kurapika commented, "She said there was a couple living here."

"Can't we just break in?" Hitomi suggested.

Kurapika glared at her, she just shrugged.

"For once, she's right." Leorio admitted. "I'm coming in."

Their eyes widened when they saw what was in the house. They could see a tall animal, holding a woman in his arms. There was a man injured in the floor too.

Hitomi bought her daggers and, along the others, run towards it. The animal, a Kiriko, jumped. She was forced to jump as well in order to stay unscratched.

The Kiriko started to run and Gon started to chase it.

"Leorio, take care of the wounded!" Kurapika called. "Hitomi, protect them both!"

"Yeah, leave it to me!" Leorio shouted.

And then, Kurapika run away.

"Why do I have to do the most boring part?" she complained to herself.

"This will do for now," Leorio said, taking the needle off the navigator's arm. "But you need antibiotics for that wound. Isn't there any place where the Midoguda herb grows?"

"Yes, there's but..." he said. "It's kind of far and there might be magical animals around."

"How can I take the Hunter Exam if I'm afraid of magical animals?"

Hitomi, in the corner of the room, chuckled. The memory of Leorio yelling and rowing to escape from the magical animal a while ago prove him really brave.

"But..." the man's eyes were filled with tears. "My wife... my wife is-!"

Leorio's gaze softened.

"Don't worry. Gon and Kurapika went after her. They'll do fine," he said. "They'll return shortly."

Hitomi was surprised at this. She had never thought that Leorio could have a heart. She thought that the only thing he cared was money.

And, for once, he proved her wrong.

"Well, I'm going to get it." Leorio said. "Hey, brat, take care of him."

"You old man!" she said annoyed, glaring at Leorio until he closed the door.

She closed her eyes and sighed, before turning around to talk to the navigator...

But she was alone there. The man wasn't there.

Realization hit her hard.

"Damn it!" she growled. "Leorio!"

She stormed off the house in search for the man. She cursed herself, why did she be that careless? The man was a Kiriko, there wasn't doubt of it.

And Leorio was in trouble.

She then noticed something in the floor. There were bandages, just like the ones which Leorio had used in the man seconds ago.

That meant...

"This way," she murmured to herself.

It didn't take her too much to find the jumping Kiriko.

"What?" Leorio murmured, as he felt the rope in which he was hanging loose its grip.

He looked up to see a monster standing before him, a magical animal. A Kiriko.

It was about to let him fall down, but something grabbed the rope and bought the Kiriko down. Leorio saw the girl holding a dagger close to the beast neck, and quickly climbed.

"You were following me?" the Kiriko said, in surprise.

"What? You didn't notice me?" Hitomi just smirked. "I was a little troubled finding you, though."

He ran towards her, in order to help the girl who was struggling with the beast. His eyes widened when he saw something in his arm.

"So, the wounds were fake?" he said surprised, yet irritated.

"W-What are you talking about?!" it said.

"You're that husband in the house, aren't you?!" he yelled. "The needle mark in your right arm is a solid proof!"

"You can see that?!" Hitomi exclaimed, in surprise.

The Kiriko stopped struggling but started to laugh. He laugh really hard.

"Well now, as you've probably realized, we are the navigators," one of the Kiriko said.

"I'm the daughter," the woman said.

"I'm the son," the man said.

Gon waved his hand, saying 'hi' to them.

"As Kurapika-dono pointed out, this tattoo is a proof that I am sworn to God, his wife. Unless you are versed in ancient history, it's impossible to know this," the daughter showed them her tattoo. "It takes not only broad knowledge but keen eyes to spot it. We are very much impressed by your keen perception, it's worthy of admiration."

He just closed his eyes and keep quiet.

"As for Leorio-dono, although you didn't realize that deceptive wound, you treated the wound very efficiently. And most of all, you encouraged me while I acted as though I was worried about my wife," the son told him. "I am moved by your kind heart. Moreover, your insight in discovering my true identity from a faint needle mark. It is worthy of praise."

Leorio rubbed his neck, unsure of what to say.

"Also, as for Hitomi-dono. Even though you lost me, you managed to find and follow me. I didn't ever realize. Then, you caught me off guard and saved Leorio-dono," the man added. "Your tracking skills are incredible for such a little girl. Congratulations."

Hitomi looked at another way, in embarrassment.

"And Gon-dono, you kind shows up once in a decade, the kind who can distinguish us apart," the navigators said together.

"If I knew it, I would have hit you lighter," Gon said. "I'm sorry."

"All four of you have passed the test," he smiled. "Well, we shall lead you to the Hunter Exam Hall."

Kurapika and Leorio clashed their fists together. In the other hand, Gon just grinned at Hitomi, making her smirk at his action.

The four Kiriko started flying, carrying the other four along with them.

"I hate weights!" Leorio shouted. "Please, don't drop me!"

"Please, drop him," Hitomi said, annoyed, "I beg you."

"Didn't you say you were a man with courage?" Kurapika teased.

I hope you all liked it

Thanks to SlightlyYandereMelissa, Niomi Nicole287 and SoulXHunter for the review they left, it made me really happy! I'll do my best to continue writting even better than now :)

See you next time!