Author's Note: So...um, fyi: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! So glad to have this done on this exact day. Kinda creepy, but awesome! You know, I haven't done a disclaimer yet. I'll be sure to do that. But first, a few things. First of all, I am attempting to draw Genesis...it isn't really working out well yet. Maybe I can get one of my friends (with better artistic skills) to do it. I can draw just fine...but only if I have a picture to look at so...yeah. If any of you guys want to...that'd be cool. I could give you a cookie...a virtual cookie...or a virtual piece of birthday cake! Yeah, cake! Or I can find some other way to thank you, I have some little ideas in my idea hat (I actually have an idea hat)

Anyway DISLAIMER! Gon, will you say it for me?~

Gon: Of course! Red-san does not own Hunter X Hunter or any of us! Well . . . she owns Genesis! Which . . . is weird. She created Gen but not me . . . so . . . where did I come from?

Um, Gon, Um . . . let's not get into that right now! And hey, he called me Red-SAN! Well . . . I AM older than him . . .

Like he said, I don't own any of this! I own Gen . . . and certain plot elements that will occur!

Hall of Fame

Part 1: The Hunter Exam

Chapter 4

Lies X Riddles X Decisions

"Gon, I think the captain is off his rocker," Genesis said, pointing to the map. "Zanban City is here . . . and the Cedar tree is . . . there. Completely opposite directions."

The other three leaned forward, observing the map carefully. The captain had told Gon to head in the direction of the Cedar tree, but by the looks of it, that didn't really seem like the right way to go.

"For once, I agree with the brat," Leorio said. "If we go that way, it'll be a complete waste of time. We should just head straight for Zanban City."

Genesis stuck her tongue out at Leorio and crossed her arms. "The tall log and I are on the same page," she muttered. "Scary."

At that moment, Genesis came close to jumping out of her skin because of a sudden voice from behind her. "There's an express but to Zanban City if that's where you're headed."

She turned around with glaring eyes to face the red-headed speaker. "Were we speaking to you?" she asked, already deciding that she didn't like him. "Who the heck are you anyway?"

"I'm Matthew. This is my first year going for the Hunter Exam. Just like you guys," he replied, smiling at them.

Genesis crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think we're beginners?" she asked.

Matthew's face formed into a frown and Leorio put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't mind her, she's a basket full of cranky," Leorio said, earning him an attempted kick from the twelve year old. "I'm Leorio. So, are you gonna be taking that bus to Zanban City?"

"No," Matthew said, "I kind of get sick when I ride the bus."

Genesis snorted. "Bus sickness? Really?" This time it was Gon who got to whack Genesis. The top of his fishing rod came down gently on her head, but it was enough for her to shrink down and pull back. "Gah. Geez, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I know it's silly," Matthew said. "So I'm just going to hike over that mountain. You know, the one with the Cedar on top."

Holding her hands over her head, Genesis muttered, "Dumb minds think alike."

"We're going that way too," Gon replied, swinging his rod around innocently, though Genesis knew he had heard her and was going to try and hit her with it again. Her brother was the farthest thing from a mean person, but when she was unreasonably mean to people, he had his own way of letting her know.

"That's great! How about we go together?" Matthew said enthusiastically.

Gon and Matthew exchanged a few words that Genesis blocked out, not wanting to make another unconscious, cruel comment that would get her hit again. It was times like these that she knew how Gon felt all the time, what with her always smacking him and all. She realized she had zoned out too long when Gon, Matthew, and Kurapika started heading in one direction, leaving her and Leorio just standing there.

"Where are they going?" she asked Leorio, blinking in confusion.

"To the Cedar tree," he replied grumpily.

She stared off towards them with her mouth gaping and her eyes wide. "After we've already discussed about that being the worst possible route to take?!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "No, forget it. I would follow him to the ends of the Earth, but this is just . . . is just . . . NO! I'm not . . . I'm not following him. I'm taking the bus!"

Genesis rubbed her temple at her current predicament. Leorio and her had managed to make it onto the bus before it left, but that left her with two problems. Problem one: she was trapped on a packed bus with no room to breathe. Problem two: she was trapped on a packed bus with no room to breathe with Leorio.

"Move over," she hissed to the suited man.

Said man sent a glare down to her through his glasses. "I'm against the wall, I can't move over. And if you get any closer, you'll be in my lap!"

That thought alone was disturbing enough for Genesis to move over an inch to the left, making her bump into some round bellied guy. She wasn't sure which was worse, being pressed up against a sweaty, fat man, or sitting in Leorio's lap.

"Leorio," she said after shuddering, "I want off this bus."

"What do you expect me to do about it?" he asked, a bewildered look on his face.

"I don't know, I'm just really uncomfortable!" she shouted, standing up and scooting over so she was in front of Leorio.

"Woah kid, too close for comfort," Leorio said, leaning back a little. "What's your problem today anyway?"

Genesis furrowed her brow and pulled back her pouting lip. "What are you talking about?"

"You're grumpier and whinier than usual," Leorio replied, "Why?"

She sighed and let her shoulders slump, turning and sitting down on Leorio's left leg. "I don't know," she said, "I've had a bad feeling about today ever since we walked off the boat."

She looked up to Leorio only to see that he wasn't even looking at her. Reaching up, she pulled on his ear, making him yelp in pain and look down at her.

"What was that for?!" he asked, rubbing his ear.

"What's your problem, Mister? I was answering your question and you completely ignored me!"

"I wasn't ignoring you! I heard you!"

"Then what were you-" Genesis stopped and closed her mouth, pointing down with her index finger to where she was sitting. "You have a problem with . . ." Her face exploded into a huge grin and she cracked up with laughter. "Oh my gosh, Leorio! I'm a twelve year old girl; I'm not going to do anything to you!"

Leorio's face was completely red as he covered it up with his hand. "Shut up!" he said, and then peered at her through his fingers. "And why would that even cross your mind?! Aren't you too young to know about these kinds of things?"

Genesis nearly coughed on her own laughter. "Too young, really? I'm not Gon, Leorio," she said. "Aunt Mito gave me 'the talk' when I was ten. It's much easier for a girl to tell a girl. Plus . . ." she trailed off. " . . . Gon wouldn't understand even if we tried explaining it to him now. He doesn't even have an interest in girls yet."

Leorio looked as if he would rebut her statement, but his face turned to understanding, and he gave her a nod of agreement.

We're on the same page again . . . creepy!

"Hey . . . Leorio?" Genesis said, tugging on his arm. She had dozed off for a few minutes, but she was already beginning to notice something alarming upon looking out the window. "Haven't we already passed by that building?"

Leorio moved slightly to look out at the same spot she was looking at and grumbled, "You're right. . . We're going in circles!"

That had gotten the entire bus worked up. People were shouting and shoving and trying their best to get off the bus. In all the commotion, Genesis had fallen from her position on Leorio's knee and landed on the ground, knocking her head against the back of the driver's seat. She tried to get up, but her arms kept giving out and forcing her back to the ground. Calling for Leorio wasn't helping either. Even being so close, the roar of the other passengers covered her voice. He probably wasn't even able to see her by this point because of all of the people that had pushed their way between them.

Genesis felt a headache forming on the left side of her head, so she tried rubbing her temples, but that only made it worse. When she pulled her hand back, she saw a dot of blood on her fingers. She must have banged her head on the metal portion of the seat. The thought worsened her headache and even began to make her nauseous. Before she could vomit, she closed her eyes and passed out.

The light flooding into Genesis' eyes was a very unwelcome way of her awakening. She covered her eyes with one hand and wiped the crust out of them with the other, squinting once she was finished as she reached to pull her hat down. That was when she came to a realization: she wasn't wearing her hat.

She bolted up frantically and, ignoring her surroundings, began searching for her hat. It was to no avail, because she quickly realized it hadn't just fallen off. Her hat was actually gone.

"I see you're finally awake," came an old tired voice.

Genesis spun towards the voice and tensed. By the looks of it, the voice belonged to an old woman, gray hair, wrinkled skin and all. Behind her stood people, or Genesis hoped they were people, in big white masks, funky colored hair, and what looked to be long white sheets draped around them.

"Who are you?" Genesis asked, holding her hand against her head to steady herself. Her dizziness hadn't faded away yet.

"I am the examiner that will determine whether you pass on to the next test or not."

Genesis groaned at her reply. Another test? How many tests were they going to have to go through?

"Where's Leorio? And how did I get here?" she asked.

"You're friends have already passed this test. They were shown the way. But now you must take it to join them."

"What do I have to do?" she asked cautiously yet defiantly.

"You must answer my riddle. You will have five seconds," the old lady said, putting pressure on her cain.

Genesis didn't like this one bit. Not only was she separated from her brother, but she might not be able to meet up with him again. Just like the other test, if she failed this one, then she wouldn't be able to get to the site of the Hunter Exam, and she wouldn't be able to be with Gon.

That thought made her mad.

"Give me the question," she said through clenched teeth with her fingernails cutting into her palms.

"You'll have five seconds after I ask you the question," the lady said, and Genesis just motioned with her hands for her to get a move on. "Your brother and your father are on a plane with you that is crashing to the ground. Aside from your own, there is only one parachute. Who do you give it it?"

The answer was on the tip of Genesis' tongue, and her mouth opened to blurt it out . . . but something stopped her. Something drifted across her ears, floating inside of her head. Words. But she couldn't make them out. Sounds. But they were all jumbled together and she couldn't tell one from the other.

Three seconds. Three seconds she stood there paralyzed by the words. By the whispers.

She was itching to shout the answer, because it was an obvious answer. And obvious answer to her. Between her father and her brother? Of course she would choose her brother. Her father had left her. Had left them. Had left Gon. She would save Gon first and foremost. Protecting him was her top priority.

But this question couldn't have been customized. This lady knew nothing about her. Nothing at all. Which meant that the right answer had already been decided. Which meant that her opinion didn't matter. There was no way to tell.

And then she thought about it. There was no way for a right answer to even be decided. The question itself is a personal question. The answer would change from person to person. Which meant that the lady was actually looking for a different answer. An answer that Genesis didn't have.

"So you figured it out?" the old lady asked, causing Genesis to look up at her.

The young girl shook her head from side to side. "No ma'am. I don't know what answer you're looking for," she said solemnly. "It has to be a trick question because . . . there is no right answer. If you were ever faced with that scenario, the outcome would be different depending on the person. And no matter which option you choose, neither is right and neither is wrong. But I assume that's the point. But . . . then I don't know what you want me to say. I don't have an answer for this. I guess I fail."

Her face fell, and she pulled back on the tears in her eyes. Gon had passed this test. He had figured it out. Heck, Leorio had figured it out. And she couldn't. Not in five seconds. Maybe she wasn't fit to take the exam. Maybe she wasn't even fit enough to protect Gon.

"Well done, young lady."

Genesis shot her head up, a look of pure confusion on her face.

"The true answer to the question was silence, which you gave me after five seconds. The answer you provided after the test was over was also correct," the old lady said. "You were looking for a hidden gem inside of a hidden tunnel. The riddles weren't made to be that confusing, darling."

It was safe to say Genesis was genuinely confused. 'So . . . you're saying that the fact that there is no answer . . . is the answer?"

The old lady nodded, and Genesis pulled at her hair. "What kind of riddle is that?" she asked. "Getting me all stressed out about a trick!"

"Listen here, missy. The riddle may have no answer, but you may have to answer a question like this in real life. And when that time comes, you won't have the option of silence."

If she ever came face to face with that scenario, then she knew what she would choose.

Gon comes first. He always comes first.

The masked people-creatures- then began pulling back a pair of black doors, revealing a blackened tunnel.

"This is the path that will take you on to the next test. It's a straight, two hour path to the next destination. You're friends started on it . . . oh maybe forty-five minutes ago," the old lady told her, pointing her cane towards the path.

"Wait . . . I have to catch up to them?" Genesis asked, pointing to herself. "Really?!"

After thirty minutes of walking along the tunnel, Genesis began to become annoyed. Her hat was still missing, and her feet were beginning to hurt. Uphill inclines weren't her forte, and her feet began to feel like putty in her orange boots.

"Go-o-on," she whined, slumping her shoulders as she walked.

"Yeah, Gen?" Genesis jumped back in shock, looking over to see Gon, illuminated only slightly by the upcoming light, standing beside her.

"When did you . . .?" She shook her head.

"We heard you coming, so I ran back," he replied.

Genesis glared and looked ahead, watching as the forms of Leorio and Kurapika came into view. Her face lit up and she ran over to them.

"Hey, you big log," she said poking Leorio. "You've got some explaining to do."

"About what?" he asked, slinging his briefcase over his shoulder.

"Oh, I dunno," Genesis said, "Maybe about how I woke up surrounded by rainbow trolls?"

"You passed out on the bus, that's all," Leorio replied. "I was going to continue carrying you through the tunnel, but the old hag insisted that you had to take the test on your own."

"I passed out?" she asked and then groaned. "Oh yeah, one of those idiots knocked me onto the floor. You really should have thought before you starting shouting about the bus being a fake."

"Wait! How is this my fault?" Leorio shouted but was silenced by a look from Kurapika. "Anyway, I ran into Gon, Kurapika, and Matthew on our way to the test."

"Matthew?" Genesis asked. "Right. The red-head. Where'd he go anyway?"

"He got attacked by something," Gon said, still smiling. "He answered the question wrong."

"He was also just using us to get to the test safely," Kurapika said calmly.

Genesis smacked her palm to her forehead, giving an exasperated sigh. "I knew that asshole was no good!"

Whack!

Gon's fishing rod came down on her head again, making her duck down towards the ground. "Sorry!" she shouted. "Gotcha. Cursing isn't allowed."

Gon nodded and crouched down to get on eye level with his sister. "What made you pass out anyway?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. I must have hit my head."

"That's an understatement!" Leorio said. "You had blood all over your hand when I found you."

Immediately, Genesis' hand flew to her head, suddenly remembering checking the exact spot before she passed out. Pulling her hand away, she saw no blood, which means that she must have only scratched it a little. But it had been enough at the time to smear blood onto her hands.

"So that's why," Gon said, his grin coming back to his face as he straightened himself. "Genesis doesn't handle blood well."

Following after her brother, Genesis stood up as well, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. "Gon Freecss, that is not true!" she shouted.

"It is so. You always faint when you see blood," he said, laughing. "Or you throw up."

Genesis groaned and reached to pull her hat down, but then remembered that she still didn't have her hat. In a panic, she looked up and ran towards Leorio, pulling on his sleeve.

"Please, please tell me that you have my hat," Genesis pleaded, biting down on the insides of her cheeks.

Leorio pulled his briefcase forward and pushed the younger girl away. He leaned down and set his briefcase on the ground, opening it (but still keeping it out of the other's line of sight) and pulled something out before closing it once again and standing with it slung over his shoulder. With a quick toss of his hand, Genesis' hat landed squarely in her hands, leading to a loud squeal from the child.

"Thank you so much, Mister!" she shouted, giving him a quick hug before pulling back and putting the hat back on her head, neglecting folding up her ponytail.

It took a moment for her to realize that she was getting odd looks from the other three. She pulled her hat down as her face reddened, and she pushed her way between Leorio and Kurapika to continue walking. She knew why they were all looking at her that way. Because she had hugged Leorio. It wasn't that big of a deal. She was happy. She didn't care if it was a murderer handing her the hat. She still would have hugged them. It had nothing to do with the person. It had to do with the act.

So when the others started following, and Leorio asked why she hugged him, she blew up.

"Because you might not really be that bad!" she shouted, throwing her hands up.

After a couple more hours of walking (which Leorio made very clear was more than the two hours the old woman had promised) the group finally made it to the end of the tunnel. Gon and Leorio were cheering and talking throughout most of the next portion of their walk. They had made it out of the tunnel, but they also had to row a boat across a pool of water. That didn't end any better than the bus ride because they were attacked by some kind of magical beast.

The walk to the cabin where Genesis had been informed the 'guides' were supposed to be wasn't any more fun. She still had a headache from being knocked on the head, and she still had that feeling in the pit of her stomach that something just wasn't right. This was confirmed when they opened the cabin door to find a giant, bunny-like creature on two legs choking a woman.

Leorio and Kurapika both took immediate action to attack it, but it attacked at them first. It burst through the entire front side of the house, throwing all four of them around the yard. The landing didn't help Genesis' headache one bit, and she even became dizzy as she tried sitting up to look around.

As the creature bound off, she was able to make out that Gon had followed it. When she tried to call out to him, her voice retreated, and she fell back onto the grass, the colors starting to fade together.

"Leorio!" she heard Kurapika call. "Stay here with Genesis and see if that man is hurt!"

By that statement, she assumed Kurapika had gone to chase after the creature as well. She tried to push herself up again, but things got more confused in her mind. Colors were still blending and her eyes weren't staying focused.

"Leorio!" she shouted, pushing against her vocal chords with all her might.

She heard footsteps and then was vaguely able to make out the brown of Leorio's shoes. She reached her left hand up, not even entirely sure what she was reaching for. Leorio grabbed a hold of it and pulled her up, trying to guide her to the cabin. Once they made it inside, Genesis collapsed to her knees and put a hand to her forehead.

"Is that girl alright?" the injured man asked and Genesis shook her hand at him.

"I'm fine," she said, but her voice came out strained and broken.

She looked up to see Leorio treating to the guy's wounds. As she tried to crawl closer, she saw a cut on the man's arm that was giving off a lot of blood. Her already dizzy eyesight started wavering even more and she dropped her hands to the floor to support herself. Her head wasn't getting any better so she closed her eyes and let her body fall to the left. The cabin creaked when she fell, but she couldn't tell if anyone had really noticed.

She wasn't going to faint again. She was just going to take a nap . . . before she threw up.

"Gon, can you really see a difference between these two?" Genesis asked, pointing her finger between the two bunny-like magical beasts.

She had been asleep throughout most of the events of the night. But when the injured man Leorio had been treating turned out to be one of the creatures, she'd woken up. It should be noted that she had been woken up by the fact that the creature tried to kidnap her . . . and that didn't go well. Let's just say it involved a lot of chasing and a lot of sling-shotting.

"Well, yeah," Gon replied. "The one that you and Leorio were fighting is the son of the married couple." Genesis decided not to mention that the specific one Gon was pointing out wasn't one of the two in creature form because she understood what he meant.

Genesis balled her fist and shook it at the man who appeared behind one of the creatures. "Well that's just damn great!" she shouted.

When the man had turned into the creature, Leorio had left to find some medicine, so she had to fend the creature off herself. She wasn't happy about being left behind nor about being tricked.

"Your brother is extraordinary," Kurapika said. "Being able to tell them apart."

"I don't see why that's so great," she grumbled. "They're just a bunch of smelly animals."

Despite some snapping from her comment, the two creatures filled the group in on the fact that they were the guides. They all also praised Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon for the things they were able to do during the test. They even offered to show them the way to the exam.

But Genesis wasn't having it.

"I don't understand!" she shouted. "Once again, I haven't done anything that shows I deserve to pass. Don't get me wrong, I want to continue with Gon, but I feel like I'm just being carried along. Like I'm not pulling my own weight here."

"That's not true," said that man who had initially captured her. "After you escaped from me back at the house, you continued to pursue me. And even though it looked like Leorio could have handled me himself, you were very adamant about helping. If I'm not mistaken, you used that same phrase. Something about not wanting to be extra baggage."

Genesis pushed her lips together and pulled her hat down over her eyes, crossing her arms soon after.

"That being said," the creature to the left said, "the four of you have all passed the test, as I'm sure you've already figured out."

At that, each of them grabbed on to one of the creatures (the daughter and son now having turned into the creatures themselves) as they flew to the exam site. Leorio was complaining of heights, ensuing an argument with Kurapika. Gon simple looked on with a determined face as he usually did. Genesis, on the other hand, tried to keep focused throughout the flight. She was still a little woozy, and her eyesight was still fuzzy, but she just blinked it away, finally managing to return to normal after a few minutes.

I better not pass out again. I swear, what does this damn exam have against me?!

Author's Note: Tada! Done! Yay! Yes, I combined episodes 4 and 5. Why? Because it made sense to! (and because episode 5 was giving me writing troubles!) I like it. Personally anyway. What about you guys? Like it? Love it? Don't like it? Hate it? Favorite part? You've reviewed things before! Just give me your honest opinion, and I'll be glad to hear it. No bashing though. That's just mean. Hope you enjoyed. See you soon~