The next on the ship was rather dull and boring, there was no wind and no waves; everything was completely calm; eerily so to Leilani and Natsuki. Despite this Natsuki took a light afternoon nap using Leilani's lap as a pillow after said girl put sunscreen on her and Gon. Said boy was sitting on the railing at the back of the ship waiting patiently to catch a fish. Leilani was drawing on her sketch pad while leaning against the railing near where Leorio was lying on his side dosing. Not too far away was the blonde Kurta boy resting against the mast and seemingly asleep, but the girls could tell that he was observing them and Gon every now and then.
The other passengers were doing random things to occupy themselves, though a few were trying, and failing, to catch Leilani's attention. One passenger was playing his knife and threw it in the air, stabbing a seagull in the heart and the bird fell dead near Leorio, who just yawned and rolled over. Leilani stopped drawing and focused attention towards the doorway near the front of the ship. This caught Leorio and the Kurta boy's attention as the looked in the same direction.
Soon after the captain walked out with a few members of his crew as an escort. This caught everyone else's attention, as they momentarily paused their actions. However one unlucky passenger chose this time to rush over to the railing on the opposite side and began spewing his guts. Leilani felt a hint of sympathy for the guy but knew it couldn't be helped, some people were bound to feel seasickness at some point. The captain and his escort stopped just behind the puking passenger and one of them spoke up, "Hey, he's feeling seasick in calm water? That's gotta be pretty embarrassing." spoke a sailor in a red bandana. "Happens every trip. He'll keep puking his guts out and by the time we get to Dole Island he'll be nothing but skin and bones!" informed the captain before continuing on his way with the sailors laughing at his comment.
"I wonder how many'll make it this time," muttered the captain as he observed some of the passengers. Leilani, having heard the question due to her inhuman hearing, grew suspicious that the captain wasn't just a captain. One sailor, the same one who commented on the seasick passenger spoke allowed for others to hear, "Look around there's only one guy hear with even half a chance". The passenger who threw the knife at the seagull decided to target the captain's group and threw his knife, only to have the red bandana wearing one catch the knife as he ran to the opposite side the ship and jump onto the rigging.
As he showed the knife and taunted the guy, Leilani shook Natsuki awake so she could watch the show. The four watched as the passenger chased the sailor around the ship for a bit, though said sailor was at least two steps ahead. The chase stopped with the sailor and the passenger having a mini fist fight, then the sailor teased the guy by throwing his knife back and forth in his hands, trying to see if the guy could grab it. He got frustrated and tried to tackled the guy shouting, "Damn you!" only to get his own knife pointed just underneath his jaw. That ended the show.
"Ooh, that's pretty good," commented Leorio, who was lying on his stomach. "Meh, would've been better if the guy in girly pink vest actually had some skill," spoke Natsuki while yawning a bit. "Agreed. That match was definitely one-sided," said Leilani. After the three spoke their minds the captain ordered the sailor, Katso, to back off and had the passenger thrown off the ship, as the threw a life preserve after him Natsuki spoke up again, "And that, boys, is what happens when you're both stupid and weak. The exam's hardly started and they're already weeding out the weaklings." "Humph. The kids right. Listen up everyone, what I say goes anyone with a problem with that gets thrown overboard. Is that clear?" announced the captain. "Humph, he did pay to be here ya know," muttered Leorio from where he was lying down.
"Hey I got one!" shouted Gon from the end of the ship as he leapt to his feet. Natsuki was wide awake as she ran to where Gon was, with Leilani walking calmly behind her. "Nice Gon, is it a big one?" asked Natsuki "Dunno Natsu, I almost got it," replied Gon struggling a bit with the fish he caught. When he finally got on board, Natsuki was happy with the size, since that meant she could have plenty of Leilani's seared fish with a homemade secret sauce. "Well look at that you caught yourself a big one, and it's a Flying Benima, too. Those are every rare and not easy to catch," commented the captain, who was impressed. "Yeah I almost never see them on Whale Island," replied Gon while he was still holding his catch.
Leorio yawned from he was leaning against the railing and said, "There's no wind out here, not even a slight breeze. Can someone tell me when we're getting to Dole Island?". Leilani, Natsuki, and Gon snapped their attention to the seagulls almost simultaneously, listening the squawks as the birds flew away. "I was wondering when it'd catch up to us," spoke Leilani with a sigh and Natsuki nodded in agreement. Before anyone could ask Gon spoke up, "There's a storm coming and its heading our way."
"Very funny, the oceans totally calm." retorted Leorio.
"Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'the calm before the storm'? The ocean been still for hours and that's enough to give anyone chills; 'cause that ain't natural," replied Natsu. "It's getting humid, and you can taste salt in the air, and the sea cranes are calling out warnings," added Gon.
"Sea cranes? *chuckles* So you're saying you can actually understand all that squawkin'?" asked Leorio.
"We all can Leorio; Natsu and I taught Gon years ago. What concerns me is the feeling of electricity raising the hair on the back of my neck. Electrical storms at sea are as deadly as they are fierce," commented Leilani as she narrowed her lavender orbs at the horizon. The captain looked the three in surprise and that surprise grew as he recognized something very familiar about Gon. "Hey son, you came on board with us at Whale Island, right?" asked the captain; to which Gon nodded and the girls wondered where he was going with this. "Tell me: What's your dad's trade?" "He's a hunter! I've only ever seen a picture of him, but still… I heard he's the best," replied Gon as he turned to face the horizon. "I see so your dad is a hunter too," spoke the captain slowly as he realized why Gon felt familiar. "Hey kids, when do ya think that storm'll hit?" asked the captain. The three friends looked at each other and nodded, before facing the captain and said together, "About two hours." "Humph, I've been sailing these seas for a long time now and three are the 2nd-4th people I've met who could do that," spoke the captain. "Huh? Who's the first?" asked Gon, but was ignored as the captain began barking orders at the crew, "Listen all hands! Bring those sails down!"
As the crew got to work, Leorio watched them slightly amazed as the wind began to pick up, and dark clouds began to travel across the sky. While walking a bucket flew threw the air and hit the bespectacled man in the face, it broke apart and the wooden projectiles flew towards the Kurta boy, only for him to dodge them with his eyes closed. "Hey watch it!" called out an angry Leorio with the metal rim of the bucket around his neck. A sailor replied with a "sorry" only for Leorio to spout, "Yeah right. If you think you can test me with something like this, you got another thing commin'!" while removing the rim and twirling it around his pointer finger. Unknown to them the captain was watching and thought that there might be a few decent applicants this year after all.
About to hours later, the was darkened by storm clouds and lightning flashed, before everyone saw the main mast illuminated a bright sparkling purple color. "I'll bet that's St. Almo's Fire," commented the captain. "What's St. Almo's Fire?" asked both Gon and Natsuki. "It's a phenomena in which tall objects, like that mast, are illuminated by a gathering of static electricity. There must a thunderhead or electrical clouds situated right above us," answered the Kurta boy. "So, you can talk after all. Well thanks a lot for the encyclopedic explanation," came Leorio's sarcastic reply. "There's an old legend: No sailor whose ever seen St. Almo's Fire has ever made it back to port alive," informed the captain, much to the horror of the other passengers. "Guess it's a good thing I'm not a sailor." retorted Leorio. "Storm's commin' and its gonna be bad." said the captain, ignoring Leorio's comment.
"I told you that electric storms were as deadly as they are fierce," said Leilani who appeared in between Gon and Natsuki, much to the shock of the sailors who hadn't noticed her. "Gah! Where did you come from!?" shouted Leorio while clutching his heart. "Captain, I'd beware of waterspouts, from what I've seen there's often a high chance of them appearing in storms like this," informed Leilani while ignoring Leorio. "Oh? You must've been in some fierce weather to speak lightly of something like that," "I've been in a few brutal storms while traveling," answered Leilani, while Natsuki snorted, "a few brutal storms" was putting it lightly, but the girl didn't say anything on the matter.
A few minutes later, the storm hit with all its fury. The applicants were tossed about everywhere, despite their best efforts to keep hold of something; a few were even crying out for their moms. There were a few who weren't losing their calm though. Gon was walking on a barrel back and forth across the floor as the ship rocked with Natsuki joining him as it looked like fun. Leorio was sitting on the floor eating an apple while leaning the opposite to the ships rocking so he stayed in the same place. The Kurta boy was sleeping in the only hammock undisturbed by the commotion. Leilani was sitting on a chair sideways in the corner with her feet propped up on the wall so she was stable as she continued sketching.
When there was a lull in the storm the captain took this opportunity to check on the passengers. When he opened the door all he saw at first were men lying on various objects moaning in pain or sickness from their experience. "How pathetic. These are the guys who think they're up for the challenge of the Hunter Exam? What a joke," he commented in disappointment, when his attention was caught by Gon. Said boy was giving one of the sick looking passengers some water and herbs to make him feel better. Looking around he then spotted Leorio fixing his tie while looking at his reflection in a mirror he found, then the Kurta boy who was still sleeping in the hammock a few feet away. He looked again to see if he could spot the girls and spotted the two in the corner looking over what the elder had drawn so far in her sketching book. "Hmm, some iron in those five it seems," thought the captain, mildly pleased that there were a few people who might actually survive the exam.
"You want me to tell you what my name is?!" cried out Leorio unnecessarily loud. "Yeah, I do," was the blunt reply of the captain. "My name's Gon," said the boy looking over his shoulder. The Kurta boy woke from his nap and sat up saying, "I'm Kurapika." Leorio sighed dramatically before introducing himself, while the girls walked over to the captain to introduce themselves.
"Name's Natsuki."
"And I'm Leilani."
"So, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Natsuki, and Leilani. I want each one of you to tell me why you want to become a hunter," ordered the captain and Leilani realized her suspicions were right. This man was more than just a captain of a ship; he was an examiner of sorts for the Hunter Exam. Sharing a look with Natsuki, she saw that her "sister" figured it out too. "Why don't you just mind your own business? You're just here to steer the ship!" spat Leorio. "Just answer the question." "What if I don't?!" cried Leorio as he got in the captain face. "You don't get it, do you Leorio?" spoke Leilani before anything else could be said.
All three boys looked at Leilani confused. "Get what?" asked Gon. "The captain isn't just here to "steer the ship", Gon. He's here for another reason," answered Natsuki with a smirk, the little girl's amber eyes glinted mischievously. "Our captain is also an examiner for the Hunter Association. I've been informed that because the number of applicants are so numerous, the Association asks for volunteers to screen the applicants as well as assist them to the examination site. And, as you can see, the other applicants have already failed, if they can't handle a little storm, then they definitely won't be able to survive the Hunter Exam. Even if the do make it to the site they'll be turned away, and if you don't wish to join them, Leorio, I suggest you answer the question." explained Leilani as the other boys looked at the captain, surprised.
"Your both sharp and well informed for first year applicants," commented the captain as he showed them his Examiner card.
"He's right, how did you two know?" asked Gon.
"Our "family" is mostly made up of Hunters, Gon. You know that," huffed Natsuki.
"In any case, why don't you answer the captain's question first Gon?" suggested Leilani. "Okay. The reason why I want to become a Hunter is because my dad was one, and I wanna see what it's like."
Before Leorio could tell the captain his reason, Kurapika cut him off, "I'm the only survivor of the Kurta clan," he began. And Leilani's eyes widened in surprise. Survivor? Did that mean the other clansmen, her biological family, were dead? When did that happen? Natsuki snuck a glance at her sister and saw her surprise; she didn't know.
"I want to become a Blacklist Hunter, to catch criminals with bounties on their heads and bring them to justice," continued Kurapika, not noticing the girls' expressions. "And why is that?" asked the captain. "Four years ago, my brethren were brutally massacred by a group of thieves, the Phantom Troupe, and I am determined to get my revenge," explained Kurapika in an even tone.
The girls narrowed their eyes and shared another look, they knew of this group fairly well. Leilani's adoptive father, Youko Kurama, had meetings with the leaders of every powerful thief clan every three months to gain allies, assess their progress and potential, as well as receive Intel. Leilani herself had even come across a couple of Phantom Troupe members while on a heist a few years ago.
"And that's why you must receive a Hunter's license," stated the captain, to which Kurapika nodded. "The Phantom Troupe have a Class A bounty on them, even the most experienced Hunters balk at the thought of going after them. It could cost you, your life," informed the captain, to which Kurapika replied, "I do not fear death, but I do fear most is that my rage will one day fade away." There was a tense silence for a few seconds before Leorio opened his mouth, "Heh, get over yourself already. You can get your revenge without going through all the trouble of becoming a Hunter." "Don't be as stupid as you look. Everyone knows that with a Hunter's license you have permission to do what few others can. You have access to places and information no one else does. You can take almost any action, Relorio," retorted Kurapika and Natsuki snickered at what Kurapika called Leorio. "For the last time: IT'S LEORIO!" shouted said man with a vain pulsing on his temple.
"Well then, lets hear your reason, Leorio," spoke the captain as tension between the two started becoming thick. "My reason? Well I'm not going to try to guess what you want me to say, so I'll get straight to it… Money!" was Leorio's reply, and as he went off with the rest of his answer Leilani just held out her hand to Natsuki had said, "Pay up Natsu. I told you his answer would be money." "Damn it! I thought for sure he'd be a big enough pervert to say it was because he wanted impress women and have them hanging off his arms!" whined Natsuki as she grudgingly handed over the zenni owed. This caught Gon's attention, "You made a bet on Leorio's reason to become a Hunter?" "Yep, with his personality it could've only been for two reasons. So, out of sheer boredom earlier, we made a bet. Just my luck he had to be more greedy, than perverted," answered Natsuki with her arms crossed over her chest and pouting.
The three friends turned their attention to the other two participants as Kurapika asked, "I wonder if you can buy yourself some class, Relorio". "Yeah, Relorio. Can you buy yourself skill and talent while your at it? I hear those things are needed to be a Hunter," Natsuki cheekily added in with a smirk. "Hmm, some maturity and intelligence wouldn't hurt either, but I don't suppose you'll be able to handle having them," came Leilani's taunt with a disappointed sigh and a sly smirk of her own. Leorio gaped at the girl's remarks, before growling angrily and saying he'd deal with them later as he faced Kurapika and commented, "That's the third strike. Let's take it outside, you Kurta tribesmen are nothing but dirty half-pints with no manners." Leilani's eyes flashed red-pink, before returning to their normal lavender color without anyone noticing, at Leorio's remark.
"You take that back right now, Relorio," snapped Kurapika. "I've had enough of you," remarked Leorio and it was quiet for a few tense seconds before Leorio continued, "Let's go." "Sure. Anytime." And the two walked past the protesting captain who was stopped by Gon, "Let them go. If you really want to know someone you should try to understand what it is that makes them feel angry. That was one of the thing's that Aunt Mito taught me, and I believe it's true." The two girls agreed with their friend and Natsuki added in her two scents, "Besides you shouldn't worry so much about boys. From what I've seen, after a few punches, they'll make up and act the best of friends. Not sure why some boys act like that though. There are way easier ways to be friends." Leilani chuckled at Natsuki's comments and agreed with her, she didn't really understand either.
Out on deck the storm was still going and Kurapika and Leorio were getting ready to fight. "Take back what you said right now and I'll forgive you Relorio," demanded Kurapika from his side of the deck. "No way! You first Kurapika! I'll never yield to you!" shouted Leorio while drawing his knife and pointing it at the boy. Kurapika remained silent as he held his weapons in a defensive position. They were still for a moment before Kurapika shouted, "Let's fight," and charged towards Leorio who ran at the boy with a roar. They leapt at each and collided in the middle as lightning flashed and the two growled at each other before landing unharmed on the deck and turned to face off again.
While this was happening the captain, Leilani, Natsuki, and Gon had arrived on deck and three of the four arrival spotted Katso climbing up to the main mast with a wooden plank, a hammer, and some nails. The two girls looked at the mast, saw that it was cracked, and that smaller cracks were forming; it'd only be a few more minutes before the mast snapped. "Katso, be careful up there!" ordered the worried captain, after the sailor got situated to fix the crack. Said sailor waved to show that he heard and went to hammering the plank into place for a quick fix.
As the captain and Natsuki kept watch on Katso, and the boys focused on the fight; Leilani turned her gaze towards the sky. She felt electricity charge up, and heard the wind scream its warning to stay from the mast. Before she could say anything, the sky lit up and everyone saw lightning hit the mast and Katso fall. "Katso!" cried out the captain as the sailor fell, screaming, towards the raging ocean below. Leorio ran towards the side of the ship when he saw that Katso was going to fall over board with Kurapika fallowing close behind.
They tried to grab one of Katso's legs each, but came up short, only for Gon to jump over the railing and catch Katso around the waist. Natsuki seemed to teleport from the captain's side to the railing in the blink of an with the speed she ran and jumped to catch Gon around his ankles. Leilani also seemed to have appeared out of thin air when Kurapika and Leorio saw her flying past them to grab Natsuki's ankles and twist her body around to throw the two kids and sailor back aboard the ship. As Leilani began to fall, Kurapika leapt from where he was and grabbed her legs, with Leorio leaning forward to snatch said boy by his ankles. The two Kurta clansmen swung against the ship's side and hung upside down for a few moments before Leorio managed to haul the two up onto the ship.
Hours later when the sky cleared and the storm passed, the main mast was under construction, and the five participants were sitting against the ship's railing. Leorio sneezed as he sat in his boxers and tie, waiting for his suit to dry. Kurapika was pensive as he sat with his legs crossed and the three friends were huddle together when Leilani bear hugged the kids and wrapped them in her dry, warm cloak.
"Ya know, that was a pretty stupid thing you three did back there," spoke Leorio as he turned to face them. "Yes, very reckless," agreed Kurapika. "If Leilani hadn't grabbed your legs and tossed you back on board, you kids would've drowned out there along with that sailor, and she'd have drowned if we hadn't of caught her!" scolded Leorio, but the three just smiled and Gon said, "But Lani did catch us, and you caught her. So that makes everything okay," from where he was snuggled against said girl's right side, with Natsuki nodding her head in agreement. They older boys looked at the trio surprised by they took the situation so lightly.
"By the way: what happened to your fight?" questioned Leilani, to take their minds off what happened. "Fight? Oh, right. We were fighting, weren't we?" inquired Leorio. "Allow me to apologies for being so rude to you earlier. I'm sorry, Leorio."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I guess I was being a bit to sensitive about it. I'm sorry too. That mean stuff I said about your people? I take it all back." Kurapika and Leilani smiled at that before turning to face the captain who walking towards them and began laughing. "All five of you have passed the test," he announced, causing the rest of the group to face him; surprised. "Seriously?" asked Leorio as he began to stand. "Yep. I'll make sure you all get to Dole Island in one piece." The three friends grinned at each other as Leorio speculated, "That's great. But can you get us there without this old tub sinking?!" The captain just laughed again and told them to have a little faith.
