Hunter x Hime: Chapter 2
The Exam Site
...
The storm passed, and the ship safely reached land eventually. During the time on the ship, Gon somehow convinced everyone to help the sick men out. No one could refuse when he asked, especially knowing that Gon would still help out alone even if all three of them refused. Surprisingly, Leorio seemed to be quite an expert at it as he knew exactly what to do. While Gon relied more on the knowledge about medical herbs he learnt back on Whale Island, Leorio seemed to know a lot more than just what herbs to use. The last person Kurapika and Himeko expected to take charge was Leorio, but somehow they felt like they knew more about him now than they did when they first met; which was a pretty good sign. Whilst Gon and Leorio were mainly focusing on nursing the sick back to health, Kurapika and Himeko followed Leorio's orders and assisted the two. Although their first impressions of each other weren't that good, a short and sweet introduction was all it took to erase whatever happened earlier on that day. Not only that, working together also helped them get used to each other, and the captain took a note of this. Though Gon seemed perfectly capable of working together with just about anyone, he doubted whether Kurapika, Himeko or Leorio had the necessary team working skills to become successful Hunters. But seeing them now, he wasn't so worried about them after all. Not only that, he was somewhat glad that he changed his mind and let all four of them continue their journey to become Hunters. He somehow felt like they could actually pass despite being newcomers.
Once the ship reached the harbour, the quartet decided to continue their journey to the examination site now that they were a little closer to it. Gon wanted to have a last word with the captain before leaving, so he told the others to go ahead without him. Whilst waiting for Gon, Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio found a giant map of the town and started discussing possible routes they could take while looking out for any other applicants that may have a clue on where they have to head towards. As per usual, Kurapika and Leorio quickly found themselves arguing over which route to take while Himeko just quietly stared at the map, not knowing how to read one.
When Gon and the captain started their conversation, he felt like he had come across Gon before. It was a sense of deja vu, but he knew it wasn't possible since Gon was still very young. If it wasn't Gon he knew, he figured that he must have known someone related to Gon, and when Gon introduced himself, he found that he was right. The captain told Gon about meeting his father, Ging, on one of his adventures out on the sea and couldn't help but point out how similar they were. What stood out the most was how sharp both their instincts were. Although that was all the captain knew about Ging, Gon was more than happy with that amount of information. Hearing how much of a great man Ging really was, Gon was motivated to find his father even more now. He continued to listen to one or two stories about his father, and just that was enough to make Gon feel like he knew Ging a little better. The Captain sent him off by wishing him good luck for the exam, and also good luck on his quest to find Ging. Before Gon left, he also gave him a little hint to help him out and his friends out.
"I'm back!" Gon ran towards the trio after finishing his conversation with the captain, "The captain said we have to head to the lone Cedar tree. We'll find our guides there."
Kurapika and Leorio momentarily stopped arguing after hearing the information from Gon before staring back at the large map to locate the large tree. Kurapika pointed up at the left hand side corner at the illustration of a large, isolated tree. "There it is!"
"Wait a second," Leorio interrupted, "I received information that we have to catch the bus over there to get to the exam site," he informed them, pointing in the opposite direction. "The last bus is about to head out!"
Their differences in opinion got them thinking for a while. They all wanted to come to a mutual agreement, but Gon seemed to be stubborn about his decision while Leorio too trusted his own sources.
"I'm trusting the captain," Gon announced, before he started heading towards the tree, "I guess I'll see you all later then." He briefly said his goodbyes to everyone and headed down the path that was supposed to lead him to their destination according to the captain. The remaining three watched him leave without a word and wondered which way they should be heading. Himeko just smiled watching Gon walk off by himself. Gon's instincts were right last time, so she decided to stick with him for the time being. Besides, Gon spoke about wanting to pass the exam together with her and somehow she managed to trust his words. She still didn't know what it was about Gon, but he was just so easy to trust, and she felt like going with him was the right choice. Instead of thinking about it for too long, she just decided to go with her gut instincts.
"I'll trust Gon on this one. See ya around!" Himeko informed the two boys before she ran behind Gon until she caught up to him. It didn't take much to convince Kurapika either. He followed the two children without another word. He knew something was different about Gon, and he liked that about him. Just like Himeko, he easily managed to trust Gon despite having met him a few hours ago. In the end Leorio remained behind, watching the other three leave without him. He decided to head in the opposite direction towards the bus stop, trusting the information he got instead the information Gon received. He mumbled a couple of words, complaining about the three who distrusted him and walked off in the opposite direction before starting to snicker at the thought of them ending up in the middle of no where.
"Have you heard?" He heard a voice from an alleyway he walked past, where two men were talking to each other, "The bus was a decoy to trick first timers."
As if that wasn't enough, they were starting to mock the naive candidates who actually believed the information and got onto the previous buses that took them no where near the exam site. "Yeah, as if life is so easy that a bus will drive you everywhere!"
Hearing that the bus was just a cheap trick to fool first time applicants, it didn't take long for Leorio to change his mind and take a sharp U-turn. He looked into the distance until he finally spotted Gon, Himeko and Kurapika before running after them. "Wait up!" He shouted, hoping they would hear him and wait for him to catch up, "I'm coming with you."
Gon was the first person out of the three to look back after hearing Leorio's voice. He immediately stopped walking, seeing the out of breath Leorio sprinting towards them. Noticing that Gon had stopped, the other two stopped too and turned around. Seeing Leorio desperately run towards them caused a smirk to form on both of their faces. It was the 'I told you so' face, trying to rub in that they were both right for choosing to follow Gon while Leorio was wrong for trusting information he heard from a local.
"So you changed your mind?" Kurapika asked mockingly as Leorio finally caught up, panting heavily. "Did you forget to tell us something?"
"I thought you were going to take the bus!" Himeko joined in and started to tease him too, "Were all the seats taken or something?
Leorio continued to catch his breath, before he looked up at them. He saw their mocking gazes and occasional chuckles. "Does this seem funny to you two?"
"A little," Kurapika bluntly commented, making Gon and Himeko laugh in the process.
Leorio clenched his fist. "Wait until I catch you two!" He declared, getting ready to catch the three with his own hands.
"He is coming for us," Himeko laughed, before she slowly started to run down the path, followed by Gon and Kurapika. "Run!"
"Come back!" Leorio demanded as he chased after them.
"Catch us if you can," Kurapika playfully challenged him.
"Ooh, scary!" Himeko jokingly added, seeing how determined Leorio was to catch them. Kurapika and Gon continued to giggle at their silly jabs and eventually Leorio joined in, continuing to chase after them at the same time. It didn't take long for them to cover a large distance, time seemed to pass faster with everyone just laughing and having fun along their journey. Although the way to the cedar tree was quite far, it didn't feel far to them at all. Before they knew it, they reached a deserted village and started to slow down their pace. Not knowing whether anyone was hidden around the area, the quartet was quietly walking through the empty streets, hoping to find a clue on where they were and which way they should be heading.
Leorio stared hard at his surrounding, walking right at the back behind everyone else. Looking around, it didn't take long for him to start suspecting the two people that were guiding them. "Are you sure this is the right way? It might be a trap set up." The other three remained quiet to his question.
"We aren't alone here," Kurapika pointed out, taking a quick glance at one of the close-by alleyways. Leorio looked a little confused. The village was obviously deserted, there was no soul to be seen around. Suddenly, the four were greeted with loud music and small mass of villagers. Amongst them was a small, old lady who seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Are you kids ready for the quiz?" She asked. As soon as she finished her question, the parade behind her started hitting the drums and playing their trumpets, making loud music to announce and celebrate their arrival.
"Quiz?" The four travellers tilted their heads in-sync. They were stunned by the sudden appearance of this many villagers in this village that appeared to be abandoned. Not only that, the last thing they expected to do was take part in a quiz when they were obviously trying to find the guides living near the cedar tree to take them to the exam site.
"Let's start the Mind-Boggling-Two-choice-Quiz!" She announced loudly, and the parade behind her played loud music once again. The quartet stood still trying to process what was happening before their eyes. They hoped that eventually they would leave them alone and go bother someone else, but the villagers wouldn't budge, and neither would anyone try and explain what was going on. Hoping that someone might have a clue on what this quiz was all about, they looked at each other, wanting some answers to the questions clouding their minds.
"You know, I'm not the right person to say this, but I think we should have taken that right turn back there!" Himeko whispered, only loud enough for the other three to hear.
"Don't blame me, I wasn't the one leading us here," Leorio whispered back, hoping that either Gon or Kurapika who claimed they knew where they were going would start taking the blame for getting them lost.
"We were being followed," Kurapika informed the rest, interrupting Leorio's and Himeko's conversation. Hearing this, the other three looked back to see an unfamiliar man appear out of the dark alleyway he was hidden in.
"Well, I've been discovered," he casually shrugged while walking towards them, "if you don't mind, I'd like to take this quiz first!" He walked past them and asked the elder to give him the quiz, so she proceeded as requested.
"Your mother and your lover were held hostage, but you could only save one of them. Who would you save?" The elder's tone was very serious now compared to earlier. It dropped the mood around them. "Pick one if you would save your mother, pick two if you would save your lover." The cruel nature of her question put Gon, Kurapika, Leorio and Himeko off. She gave the man two option, and he could only choose between one of his significant people. The time limit he was given wasn't fair either, he only had a couple of seconds to choose his answer. The quartet's minds were going blank as they were trying to find a possible solution to this problem. However, they couldn't deny the fact that their significant other would be just as important as their mother. Being shocked by the kind of question he was asked, they were somewhat relieved that the stranger asked to go ahead of them so now they were prepared for just about anything. But they knew that they could've been asked the same question, and not knowing the answer to it, they would've also failed and had to surrender their chance to enter the exam this year.
"That's easy. I'll save my mother," the man answered with no second thoughts. Gon, Himeko and Kurapika just remained quiet, while Leorio clenched his teeth to hold back his anger.
The elder looked up at him. "Very well, you may proceed!" she announced, before letting him pass.
"How could that be the right answer?" Leorio began to shout. "How could you only save one of them?"
The man stopped walking and briefly turned back to look at Leorio who was throwing the tantrum. "Calm down, you just have to tell the old lady what she wants to hear." He shrugged, smirking as if his answer meant nothing to him. He didn't care about what the question actually meant, neither did he bother to even properly think about his answer. Yet, the elder still let him proceed without stopping him. His statement didn't help Leorio's anger any further. In fact, it made him even more furious. Both a mother and a lover were irreplaceable, you couldn't choose between any of them. It wasn't right to choose between two loved ones. He started shouting at the elder who, in turn, told him to keep quiet before she proceeded to give them a different question of the same cruel nature.
"If your son and your daughter were held hostage, and you can only save one of them, who would you choose?" A parent would rather die than abandon either of their children. It didn't matter whether it looked like one was favoured more than another, or tend to spoil their youngest child compared to the others, if it came down to life or death, a parent couldn't just choose to leave one child to die. Gon, Himeko and Kurapika started thinking hard about it while Leorio continued his angry rant at the back.
"Like hell I'd abandon any of them. I'd rather die than abandon them!" He continued to shout. "There is no need for me to answer you!"
That was when Himeko finally realised the answer. There was no real answer to the question, neither did the elder specify that they had to choose an answer. The time limit was added to put pressure on them, and even if there was a real time limit, the elder did not constantly ask them to give her answer. The question was meant to be answered with silence and there was no reason for them to choose an option out of the two.
She looked over at Kurapika and Gon. Both of them looked relatively calm; at least a lot calmer than Leorio. Out of the two, Kurapika looked like he had something figured out already. It didn't surprise her too much, if she managed to solve the question then Kurapika would have come up with an answer long before she did. Gon on the other hand looked like he was still giving it some deep thoughts. He was quietly thinking about it, so even if he didn't manage to think of the answer it would be fine as long as he doesn't answer before the time was up. She just worried about Leorio, but she couldn't exactly blame him for feeling so frustrated either.
"I don't care that you are an elder, if I can't pass without answering the question I will force my way through!" Leorio declared as he took out his small pocket knife.
"Crap, he's going to get us all disqualified!"
However, before Himeko or Kurapika could utter a word, the elder silenced them. "If you know the answer, keep it to yourself. You are not to help each other!"
Himeko defeatedly looked at Kurapika, hoping that he could think of a way to stop Leorio from doing something reckless. The fact that Leorio was this short tempered wasn't much of a help either. It clouded his ability to think straight in such a situation.
"Come on Leorio, think!" Kurapika could only hope for the best. But when he saw Leorio trying to force his way through, he couldn't stand still anymore. Seeing that Himeko already knew the answer, and that Gon was still quietly pondering about it, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He stepped forth, blocking Leorio's path.
"Move out of the way Kurapika, I want to teach this old hag some manners!"
Kurapika didn't move though, he just had to buy some time. He took out his own weapons in case Leorio were to attack. Suddenly, a loud gong echoed through the streets, and announced the end of the quiz. Kurapika and Himeko who were holding their breath all this time, worrying whether Leorio would accidentally say something that they would all regret, finally felt like they could breathe again.
"There is no need, we passed the quiz!" Himeko made an announcement, before falling to the ground. Her knees were starting to feel weak after all the commotion, and for a moment she started to believe that she came all this way for nothing and had to return without a license this year. "I seriously thought he was going to blow it for everyone!"
Leorio seemed a little confused by those relieved looks on Himeko and Kurapika's faces; they haven't given their answers either. Kurapika tried to calm him down and give him a brief explanation of what was going on. "She's right, we weren't supposed to answer. We were supposed to answer with silence."
"That's right, you all passed the quiz," The elder announced before the parade behind her started playing again to congratulate them.
"If those idiots play those annoying instruments once again, I seriously don't think I can hold myself back anymore!" Himeko thought, annoyed at the parade's bad playing. The elder stood up and opened a door of one of the run down buildings they were standing next to. It was a door leading to a pitch black tunnel, and there was no light to be seen, suggesting that the tunnel was fairly long.
But one thing was still lingering on Leorio's mind. "So what about the man who you let pass?"
"He's probably dead. The path ahead was a trap," Kurapika deduced, remembering how he managed to hear a faint scream while everyone else was still busy thinking about the question. He put two and two together and concluded that the scream must have belonged to the man who went ahead after giving the elder his answer. But they still looked at the elder, hoping to confirm Kurapika's theory.
"You're right. There was no path ahead. This tunnel is the path that leads you to the navigators house," she explained, confirming Kurapika's deduction. "As you four passed, you may proceed."
When Kurapika, Himeko and Leorio got ready to go ahead, they noticed someone was missing from the group. They looked back to see Gon still in thoughts and wondered whether he actually realised that the quiz was long over. He dropped down on the floor out of frustration, scratching his head. "Ahh, I can't seem to figure it out!"
Himeko rushed to him, helping him back on his feet. "Gon, the quiz is over," she informed him, "we all passed!"
"I know. But if I ever get into a situation like that, I wouldn't know what to do!"
Gon had a good point, and it made the others think too. If they had a choice between abandoning their son or their daughter, or any two of their loved ones, would they be able to choose between one of them, would they choose not to save either of them, or would they decide to go down with the two of them? Although the quiz was over, the nature of the question still made their hearts sink. At this point, they had no choice but to proceed. They travelled this far to participate in the Hunter exam, and they couldn't afford to get side tracked. After thanking the elder one last time, the quartet departed and left to head through the long tunnel and whatever challenges were waiting for them at the end of it. The elder watched the four leave with a small smile on her face, recalling how upset and angry they got when asked the question. Leorio's reaction especially made her glad to have met these four, and she sincerely hoped for them to pass the exam.
The tunnel was longer than they expected. For a couple of hours it seemed like they were getting no where, but they eventually managed to see some light in the distance. With the unexpected storm on the sea, and the strange quiz back in the abandoned village, all four of them have somewhat concluded that anything could happen on their way through the tunnel. Although they kept their guards up throughout the way, nothing happened in the tunnel. The journey through the tunnel ended with a few short talks here and there, and a couple encouraging speeches to keep everyone, especially Leorio going. At the end of the day, they all tried to convince each other that they'll make it out of the tunnel sooner or later.
The last time everyone checked, it was only noon when they first entered the tunnel but now that they arrived at the exit they were greeted by the moonlight. It surprised them a little to think how much they must have walked all this time, but nonetheless everyone was trying to find their way to the old, cedar tree where they would be meeting their guides. The first obstacle for now was to try and find a way to cross the large lake in front of them. Though Gon tried to suggest that swimming over was still an option, Leorio was the first one to reject his idea by pointing out how big the lake really was. This was one of the first times Kurapika found himself agreeing with Leorio as he explained how dangerous swimming across an unknown lake at night was. Himeko decided to add the cherry on top by informing the boys that she didn't know how to swim and would most probably drown in the first few seconds of being in the water.
Once the idea of swimming over was scrapped completely, the four split up to find maybe a small boat or even a path leading around the lake. After twenty minutes of searching around, Kurapika managed to find a boat that was still somewhat in tact and safe to use. Whilst Himeko wasn't so fond of the idea of crossing the lake with a boat they found lying around in the middle of no where, she was convinced that it would be much faster rowing across the lake than walking all the way around it. Gon was the first one to get in and helped Himeko enter the shaking boat. Kurapika followed and Leorio pushed the boat off the shore before joining everyone.
Using four paddles they found in the boat, they all started to row at a slow and steady pace. Once they were about half way across the lake, Leorio gave in and decided to take a rest after complaining how long it was taking to get across.
"Man, this is going to take us forever!" He ranted, seeing how Gon and Kurapika who were sat across him were still rowing without breaking a sweat. He turned to see that Himeko, who was sitting next to him was still going too. "How do they do this?" He thought to himself, impressed by their stamina. "If everyone at the Hunter exam is this skilled, then I must step up my game! I can't fall behind!"
Leorio's thoughts were shortly interrupted as the boat came to a sudden halt. He looked up to see that Gon and Kurapika have stopped rowing and were staring up at something with wide eyes, leaving Himeko as the only one to still row. Eventually she too noticed that everyone but her has stopped rowing and looked up at the two boys sitting opposite her to see what was wrong. Gon and Kurapika were speechlessly looking up at something behind her, and she turned to look at Leorio to see whether he had an idea of what was going on. Leorio was as clueless as her, so the two simultaneously turned back to check what was going on. Their mouths opened wide as they saw a giant sea snake that appeared behind them.
"Everyone, hold still!" Leorio whispered over to the others, hoping that if they didn't produce a sound then the sea snake would just leave. Gon, Kurapika and Himeko followed his instructions, not actually knowing whether that would work. Although it was a ridiculous idea, the sea snake was still standing still, staring back at them and not attacking. Staring at such an intimidating creature though made it seem like a big lump was stuck in Himeko's throat. She tried to discreetly swallow her own saliva to make the lump move down, but ended up choking. Her sudden coughing fit caused the beast's attention turn towards her, leaving the other three mentally face-palming. "Goddamnit Kou!" Leorio cursed, before snatching her paddle and started rowing for his life, leaving the sea creature in his dust.
Thanks to Leorio's efforts alone, the quartet managed to safely reach the shore before Himeko even finished her coughing fit. While Leorio literally jumped out of the boat onto the sand, swearing that he'll never get on another boat again, Gon sat beside Himeko patting her back to try and stop her from coughing any further. While everyone was preoccupied with something, Kurapika was left trying to figure out the way to the cedar tree.
It didn't take him too long to spot a lone tree sticking out in the distance. He pointed at a path that lead them through a forest, "there it is, we have to head that way." With him leading the way into the woods, he was followed by Gon, Himeko and last but not least, Leorio right at the back. What they didn't notice on their way in though was a wooden sign lying in one of the bushes. 'Warning - Magical Creatures,' it read.
The path they ended up taking was shorter than they expected, and they managed to arrive by the cedar tree with no complications. Just as the captain and elder told them, there was a little, wooden hut situated underneath the large tree where the couple was said to be living. There were no other houses in the area, so they assumed that this must have been the correct location. Kurapika noticed that the front door was already open, so he slowly opened it, "Excuse me, we are coming in."
As he opened the door though, the quartet were stunned to see the sudden turn of events. In front of them was a injured man lying on the ground, along with a young woman who was held captive by a large golden-yellow beast.; a Kiriko to be precise.
"Please, save my wife," the man managed to utter before he collapsed on the floor. The Kiriko wasted no time to smash the nearby window and make an escape through it along with the young woman, and seeing this, Gon, Kurapika and Himeko prepared to chase after it. Leorio however knelt down beside the injured man and opened up the black suitcase he had been carrying along all this time.
"I'll take care of his wounds, you three chase after the beast!" Leorio ordered, taking out a couple of bottles and bandages to start aiding the man's injuries. Knowing that he was in safe hands with him, the remaining three followed the beast out of the window and followed it into the forest where it was heading with the woman. Gon was significantly faster than the other two and decided to run ahead, while Himeko and Kurapika followed not too far behind him. As the Kiriko climbed a tree and started to make it's escape deeper into the woods, jumping from tree to tree, Gon was close on its case and followed. It didn't take Gon too long to catch up with the beast, and he used the opportunity to give it a good beating on the head with the fishing rod he was carrying around, causing it to drop the woman and continue running. Gon ran after it, knowing that either Kurapika or Himeko could catch the woman and take care of her. Luckily, she was caught by Kurapika and set to the ground. She looked a little pale, but Kurapika concluded that it was nothing serious which set Himeko's mind at peace.
"I'll take care of her," Kurapika told her, "go ahead and help Gon."
"Okay. I'll be back," she nodded, before she ran after Gon. She was able to picked up her pace now that she was by herself, heading where Gon was headed. He was jumping from tree to tree while chasing the beast, so it was hard to follow them from the ground, "Where is he?" She wondered, looking around the darkness. She was quite impressed by the fact that Gon was able to chase the Kiriko at this time of day. Not only was it pitch black, they were also in a forest, the Kiriko's natural habitat.
Thud.
Himeko slowed down when she heard something fall from above and instinctively took a few of steps back to dodge whatever it was. It was the beast that Gon was chasing all this time, but Gon was no where to be seen. She was pretty sure that he was right behind the beast, so where was he? He managed to keep up with it all this time, so she found it hard to believe that Gon would have just lost his way through the forest. She stared hard at the Kiriko, noting its every move, but then she finally noticed it.
"You're not the beast Gon was chasing," she said, making the beast look at her in surprise. She knew that these magical beasts were smart, and earlier on she even heard it talking to Gon. The beast was capable of speaking, but chose not to deny her accusations. She took the beast's silence as a sign that she was correct. "So, I am right after all!" The beast looked a little dumbfounded by her comment, so she continued explain her deduction. "Well, Gon hit the beast he was chasing with his fishing rod but you don't have that bruise on your head."
"That's all?" The Kiriko asked, knowing that there was a whole lot more to her deduction than just the bruise.
"This is a test too, isn't it?" She questioned it. It all made sense when she thought of it that way. The ship was a screening, the elder's quiz back at the village was also a test, so all this time it felt like the exam has began for them before they've even reached the site. Their journey to the exam site felt like a selection process, and only a handful of aspiring hunters would have what it needed to become an official candidate. Thinking about it that way, there was a great chance for this to be a test too. "A young couple was living alone near a forest with magical beasts, and for all these years they were completely fine. No beast, no kidnapping, no nothing, but the very day us four decided to come by they were attacked. Why not us who were wandering through the forest for an hour? We were an easier target, why go through the trouble of kidnapping the young woman if you knew that there were visitors and risk being caught? I'm sure you are able to sense the smell of humans from far away so you were probably able to sense us coming. I don't believe it's all just a coincidence, you definitely planned this stunt!"
The Kiriko remained quiet, listening to Himeko's reasoning and finally smiled at her once she was done. "That deduction was quite impressive, you are right us Kirikos were able to smell you once you came out of that tunnel. While you four were busy finding your way through the forest, we were able to prepare our plan. Why don't we head back? I'm sure your friends are back at the hut too by now."
Himeko gave the Kiriko a firm nod, and followed it from a safe distance just in case. She believed that in the kind of world they were living in, she could never be too careful around people; especially strangers. The Kiriko told her that they would be heading down a shortcut instead of taking a long route. While walking though, she remained quiet not wanting to spark a conversation with a complete stranger. The Kiriko respected her privacy, but there was something on its mind the whole time.
"You smell a little different compared to the other three," the Kiriko pointed out. "When you all first arrived here, I could only smell three humans, while the fourth one smelled odd."
"Okay, I'll admit it. I haven't showered since I left for the Hunter exam two days ago, but there is no need for you to over-exaggerate!"
"It's not that, you smell like a human but at the same time there is another faint smell lingering around you," it started to think very hard about what the scent was, "I can't seem to think of what it is though."
"Can we please stop talking about body odour? It's making me a little uncomfortable."
The Kiriko politely agreed and continued leading the way towards the hut. Once the two arrived, they saw that the three boys were already there, along with the woman who was safe and sound, the man who was bandaged and another Kiriko. "Very well. Now that we are all here, we shall proceed," the other Kiriko announced, at their arrival.
"You're all family, aren't you?" Gon asked before the Kiriko could begin speaking. Leorio, Himeko and Kurapika seemed surprised, wondering how Gon managed to jump to that conclusion so fast.
"How can you tell, Gon?" Kurapika asked curiously.
"They all have a similar smell."
"Smell? Gon is weird indeed," They all thought dumbfounded by his unexpected response. Gon was able to distinguish the differences between the beasts with ease. He noticed the difference between the voices of the Kiriko that took off with the woman and the Kiriko that he chased out. To him, one of their voices sounded a bit more high pitched than the other, while everyone else didn't seem to notice a difference. They both looked and sounded the same. The Kirikos laughed in amusement and praised him for being observant, and pointed out that no one has ever been able to distinguish between them. Although the other three tried their hardest to hear a difference between their voices, they just couldn't.
Kurapika was praised for his vast knowledge. He was able to identify strange tattoos on the woman's hands and face, and recalled them being part of a tribe's culture. As she decided to get the tattoos, she also swore to remain unmarried for the rest of her life. Seeing this, Kurapika managed to conclude that the couple had been lying, and that they weren't a couple at all. Instead, the were actually siblings, and the children of the two Kirikos.
Although Leorio wasn't able to immediately figure out what was going on, he was still praised for his kindness and remaining behind to treat the wounds of the injured. He also remained behind in the hut with him until everyone else returned just in case there were more magical beasts lurking around.
In the end it turned out that all four Kiriko's were actually the guides, and after passing their test, they agreed to finally take them over to their destination. The Kiriko's each took one of the four and flew across the night sky. It was a long night for all of them, and as the night passed, they arrived. Three of them flew back while the son, who took the form of a human once again guided them to the building where the Hunter exam was meant to be happening.
"It was nice meeting you. Take care and good luck!" He said and after they thanked him, he left the room. While Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio went in first, Gon told them to go ahead while he followed the Kiriko and personally thanked him for leading them to the exam site. Although he was just doing his job, Gon's words somehow managed to make him happy. Once Gon returned, the four decided to take a seat and wait patiently. While the elevator was going down, Leorio and Kurapika couldn't help but start bickering as per usual. While Kurapika argued that pride was more important for a Hunter, Leorio opposed him and went for money. Gon and Himeko were watching quietly, hoping not to get involved in the heated argument.
"Gon, Kou, what is more important?" Leorio ended up dragging the kids in it, "It's money, right?"
"It's honour, don't you two agree?" Kurapika asked, hoping that the two wouldn't be as greedy as Leorio.
Gon helplessly looked at Himeko for help, not wanting to choose between two of his friends.
Himeko just sighed irritatedly, "If you don't want a piece of my mind, which you don't, you would sit back down right now and keep quiet until this elevator reaches the bottom floor."
Seeing that the young girl was very close to snapping at them and their pointless argument, Kurapika managed to calm himself down before taking his seat. He still didn't agree with Leorio, but that didn't matter right now. Now that the argument was over, Leorio sat down quietly too still sticking to his own opinion like Kurapika. Gon looked at Himeko who seemed exhausted after that long day of travelling. Her eyes were shut, and she used the opportunity to try and rest for as long as she could until the elevator stopped.
"You could have said that a bit nicely," Gon pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck while sheepishly flashing a nervous smile in the hopes that she doesn't snap at him too.
Himeko opened her eyes and looked at Gon who was sitting opposite her. "What are you talking about? That was me being nice," she bluntly admitted, making the trio of boys just stare at her dumfounded. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Nothing…" they uttered quietly and looked away, not wanting to hear a 'piece of her mind'. Although she wasn't the most social person when they first met, they got the impression that she could speak her mind if she wanted to.
The elevator eventually reached the bottom floor, and after a loud chime, the double door opened. The quartet stepped out one by one into a underground waiting area, and it seemed like they weren't the only ones there. In fact, they seemed to be some of the last ones to arrive at the place. There was a big crowd of candidates already, and most of them didn't seem welcoming at all. They were all glaring daggers at the four newcomers, before continuing with whatever they were doing. There was a competitive vibe in the air, and no one seemed like they wanted to get along. After all, not everyone of them could pass the exam. Gon, Kurapika, Himeko and Leorio proceeded to enter and received their badges. They then carefully attached the badges to their clothes, waiting to receive their next instructions.
Leorio - #403
Kurapika - #404
Gon - #405
Himeko - #406
