The first thing Nautica and Athena do on the blimp is find each other. As soon as they do, they embrace each other with a tight hug, both happy to see their sister.
"I knew you'd pass with no problem." Athena says into her shoulder.
"I wouldn't say no problem, but I managed." Nautica breaks their hug and examines her. "You don't look hurt, that's a first." she says and laughs.
Athena pushes her thick, curly hair behind her back, revealing the handprint of burned flesh on her shoulder. Nautica's eyebrow twitches, knowing she did it to herself.
"Why'd you need to do that?" she asks.
"Take a wild guess."
"Hisoka." They both say simultaneously.
There's a silence as Nautica ponders what scenario between them led her to burn herself. Athena interrupts her thoughts by asking if she wants to eat. Nautica agrees, they're both starved.
There're only a few applicants in the cafeteria. They sit as far away from the others as they can.
"I think the fourth phase was very fun." Athena says, and she means it—a lot.
"It was less fun for me, but seeing Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio was nice." She says before putting a pile of rice into her mouth.
"I saw Leorio and Gon, but not Kurapika. I'm kind of bummed I couldn't find him. I kind of gave up half way through, though, if I'm being honest."
"Maybe it was for the best." Nautica says quietly. After a moment, she says, "I think we should tell them about us." She looks at Athena's face, gauging for her reaction.
"If that's what you want." She says with a smile. The desperation felt in Nautica's aura was entirely obvious, so she won't say no. Plus, she simply didn't find their friends to be untrustworthy. It probably isn't the smartest move, but Athena feels neither of their friends are the type to misuse their secret.
"I have an announcement for all remaining applicants. The chairman wishes to interview the remaining candidates. When your number is called, please come to the first reception room on the second floor. Then we will start with 44, Hisoka-sama."
About one or two minutes later, Nautica stops eating to look up at her sister. She's just remembered something important.
"Athena, did you and Hisoka have sex?" She asks, taking a bite of her carne asada.
Athena chokes, mid-sip of her water. "Yes."
"And Leorio?"
She's momentarily stunned that Nautica knows this information. "Yes." She says, keeping her voice monotone.
Nautica's eyes widen slightly as she cocks her head to the side.
"Your aura changed when I mentioned Leorio. Athena, is there—" she begins before the intercom interrupts her.
"We will now see 5, Nautica-sama."
As they continue to stare at each other, Athena tries hard to keep her face stoic. Nautica stares coldly, unmoving for a moment. She contemplates finishing her question but decides to go where she's been called.
Athena sighs, relieved.
"Why do you want to become a Hunter?" the chairman asks.
"We'd be granted access to information and areas that are restricted for unlicensed people." Nautica replies.
"We?" He doesn't look up from his paper.
"My sister, applicant 6 and I."
"Which of the other applicants are you keeping an eye on?" He asks, changing the subject.
She thinks only for a second. "Applicants 44, 404, and 405."
"My last question is: which of the other applicants would you least want to fight?"
"6." she says immediately.
Terrance makes them spar all the time at home, but she doesn't want to compete against her for a license.
He writes this down and looks up at her. "You're done here."
Nautica furrows her eyebrows, surprised at how fast the interview was. Looking to the clock, she notices barely two minutes has passed.
As she stands to leave, the intercom calls for Pokkle. On her way back to the cafeteria, she sees him walking toward the room she just left. She stares at him, remembering what happened between them on the island.
He stops walking and looks at her with a kind smile. "No hard feelings, right?"
Her hard expression drops, and she's taken aback. His kindness is unexpected, considering they almost killed each other. The positive attitude reminds her of Gon, causing her to smile.
"No hard feelings." She sighs, feeling oddly good about it. "I'm sorry." She says and continues walking.
Reaching the cafeteria, she sits in front of Athena, placing her head in her hands when she sits.
"What did he want?" She asks her.
Nautica sighs, "Practically nothing."
She moves her hands away from her face and the next several minutes her mind is blank as she continues to eat. Athena gazes at her, still wondering why she wants to reveal the truth about who they are—what they are—to their friends.
The intercom continues to call for applicant after applicant. Two minutes after Hanzo's name is called, Athena is called. When she stands, Nautica grabs her hand lightly.
"If you see them, will you tell them to meet us here?" she asks, referring to their friends.
"Of course."
Nautica releases her hand and Athena bends to kiss her on the top of her head.
"You've been real tense since the last phase, have a drink." Athena suggests.
Nautica raises a brow, thinking the suggestion is an excellent one.
Athena jogs up the stairs to the second floor. She quickly finds the room and knocks twice.
"Enter."
She walks in, sitting on the pillow placed across from him and crosses her legs. "Good morning, Sir." She says.
"Good morning. Why do you want to become a Hunter?" Netero asks, straight to business.
"Well, my family and I are hunting someone. Although my dad's a Hunter himself, he's leaving it up to my sister and I to pursue them. A license is convenient." She answers, picking at her cuticles.
"Ohh, who's your father?"
"Terrance Marz." She looks up and replies happily.
"Ah, Terrance, he's a remarkable man with a strong heart. Please, send my regards." He smiles and looks down to his notepad. "Moving on, which of the other applicants are you keeping an eye on?"
She laughs, "In which way?"
He looks up and raises his eyebrows. Athena mentally punishes herself.
"44, 99, and 403," she says, "but not all for the same reasons." The corners of her mouth go up at the thought of Leorio.
"Which of the other applicants would you least want to fight?" The tone in his voice reveals the finality of the question.
She takes a deep breath and sighs her answer, "5. I'll fight anyone else."
"You're excused." He says.
Kurapika is called on the intercom as she exits the room, so she waits by the door to deliver Nautica's message.
A minute later, he arrives. His mouth forms into a frown when their eyes meet, disgusted by the memory of the man's scream. It's all he can think of when he sees her now. Athena notices it but doesn't ask him about it.
"Kurapika, can you tell the others to meet me and Nautica in the cafeteria when you're all done being interviewed?"
"Ok." He says, voice small.
Without another word, he enters the room and Athena walks off, returning to the cafeteria.
She sits beside Nautica, and notices two glasses of wine. One is to Nautica's lips, and the other is in front of her. Nautica slides the glass to Athena, as she happily accepts it.
"Why is Kurapika acting strange towards me?"
Nautica puts her glass down and hesitates to answer. "He probably thinks you're a monster, or something equivalent."
"Why would he think that?"
"We saw you and Hisoka chase after an applicant, we heard him scream, and I accidentally told them we were part Sirens." She picks up her wine glass and finishes it.
"Fuck, Nautica. Gon didn't see, did he?"
"He did." She says simply.
Leorio's name is called last to be interviewed by the chairman. A little over five minutes later, Kurapika, Gon, Leorio, and Killua enter the cafeteria. Everyone is tired. They all take a seat at the rounded table.
"You wanted to talk to us?" Kurapika asks Nautica.
"There's some things we need to get off our chest." She says. "But first, do you all agree to being one hundred-percent honest?"
"Yeah." They say all together.
"Can I see your hand, Killua?" Nautica asks.
"Uh, okay?" He says, dangling his hand in the air in front of her. She grabs it for a quick moment and retracts her hand, only needing one quick touch to leave her own aura. She's already gotten it on the everyone else at the table.
"Let's begin." Nautica says, activating her ability. Suddenly, everyone feels more truthful and open, no one has any urge to lie.
"Athena?" Nautica looks to her, expecting her to talk first.
"What I'm going to say shouldn't be repeated anywhere else, since it might put us in danger." When they nod, she continues, "Nautica and I are Sirens." She looks to Gon and Killua. "We're technically more human, but our Siren blood is very strong."
"Are Sirens like mermaids? Mito-san told me about stories like that all the time." Gon asks.
"Sure, but Nautica and I don't have tails. And Sirens are—" she pauses— "seductive, luring, murderous. They prey on human."
Nautica's Hatsu doesn't let her sugar coat it. Gon's eyes widen, but he's not afraid.
"Sirens eat humans. Do you two eat people?" Kurapika speaks up, surprised at his own question.
"No." they answer in unison.
"Ever thought about it?" Killua asks, unwrapping a lollipop and sticking it in his mouth.
Athena presses her lips together, but she can't avoid the truth. "I do, sometimes."
She closes her eyes, regretting telling them.
"Maybe once or twice, just as a passing thought." Nautica answers. There's a silence, it's not every day they must hear that someone has thoughts on eating other people.
"One last thing," Athena says as she reopens her eyes, "The reason we're here is because many generations ago, a curse was placed on our bloodline. I—" she struggles to stop herself from talking but fails— "crave intimacy. We're becoming Hunters to reverse this curse."
She realizes this isn't something she should be admitting to a couple of twelve-year old kids, but she literally cannot help it.
"You too?" Kurapika asks Nautica.
"I'm unaffected. I really don't feel those types of emotions at all." She says.
"Isn't that asexual?" Leorio asks.
"I've considered that possibility, but its more than romantic or sexual emotions. I don't feel a lot of emotions normal people do." Nautica answers, crossing her arms.
"How does this make you guys feel?" Athena asks.
"It's kinda interesting." Killua says.
"I have more questions!" Gon says enthusiastically.
She looks to Leorio, who looks uneasy.
"I don't—it's hard to process, but I don't see you two much differently." He says. Athena smiles.
"Nautica, I feel as if you're one of us. You're a good friend, and I feel better when you're near. However, I do not find you trustworthy, Athena." Kurapika suddenly says.
"Why?" She asks out of curiosity rather than anger.
"One, you are well aquatinted with Hisoka, whom you resemble a lot. Two, you used Leorio for sex. Three, you kill with no regard for human life! Four, I just simply do not trust you. You feel dangerous." He says, brutally honest.
Her face doesn't change expression. "Is that all?"
"More or less." He huffs.
"I'm not going to justify or apologize for any of those accusations and assumptions." She spits.
Infuriated, Kurapika stands suddenly, causing the chair to screech behind him.
"At this point I can only stand to be near you because you're Nautica's sister, so give me one good reason why I should not hate you!" He slams his hand on the table.
Kurapika's eyes are no longer a cool grey but instead are a blazing, beautiful scarlet. Athena looks up to him and her eyes widen in awe. The only other who is surprised is Nautica, who hasn't seen his eyes change previously.
Nautica's aura wreaks of desperation again, and it clicks in Athena's head: Nautica cares about them—more than she can imagine. Nautica's never felt so strongly toward other people, so Athena decides they must be important.
And they are important to Nautica, so this makes them important to Athena.
She looks back to Kurapika. "Despite the fact that you hate me, I would protect you, Leorio, Gon, and Killua with my life. In fact, you could all hate me, and this wouldn't change."
And that was it. It wasn't deep, it wasn't poetic, it was the truth. It was impossible to lie under her sister's will.
"My loyalty for her is deeper than anything. That includes people she cares about." She finishes.
Kurapika freezes momentarily and closes his eyes, panting slightly. He sits down, eyes still closed. When his eyes reopen, they're grey again.
"I don't hate you, Athena." Gon says, breaking the silence.
She looks to him and smiles. "Are there any more questions regarding us? I want the slate to be clean."
Leorio clears his throat. Everyone looks to him, waiting. "Did you really only use me for... that?" He asks. He'd rather ask this privately, but Nautica's Hatsu begs them to speak their minds.
Immediately, Nautica releases Athena from her ability. She fears she already knows the answer.
"Yes, I did." Athena lies.
She doesn't make eye contact with him. Instead, she stands. "I'm very tired, feel free to ask me any other questions later."
She returns to the room and takes an ice-cold shower. When she's done, she examines herself in the full-body mirror. Her face is expressionless.
Her gaze glides from her dark hair to her face, stopping at her ocean blue eyes. After a moment, her eyes continue to wander down her perky nose to her full lips.
She continues scanning her features. Smooth skin, plump breasts, muscular stomach, and wide hips. She almost looks photoshopped.
When she stares at the two scars on her stomach and her shoulder where her burned skin is, she feels a bit of happiness. For some reason, it's refreshing to see her own imperfections.
They won't last long, though. As a Siren, her injuries regenerate fairly quickly. She'll always be at her peak in physical health. She hates it.
A memory of a conversation she had with her father when she was ten plays in her head.
"Dad, why do I look so weird?" she asked.
He let out a hearty laugh and picked her up to sit her on his lap. "Oh, my darling. You're special. Your mother was special too. You have her traits. My traits can only alter your appearance so much. See, look. We have the same gorgeous smile. Maybe that's why you always get what you want."
They both laughed about it. She observed his smile, and then turned her head to the mirror and compared it with her own. He was right, they did, but as she continued to look in the mirror, she couldn't help but wish she didn't look so—strange.
She pouted her lips. "Why can't I be like you?"
It'd be much simpler if she had more commonly plain features like her father, and not the ones that earned the stares that made her uncomfortable whenever she went into the city. She was only ten, but she was already self-conscious about it.
He thought about it for a second. "You were made to be exceptionally beautiful, made to look one specific way, just like your mother, and all her ancestors. Just like Cheetahs all have a beautiful pattern on their fur." He said in his deep voice.
But she still didn't understand.
She's pulled out of the memory when the main door to the room opens. Expecting it to be Nautica, she quickly dresses into her underwear and a sweater. Through the mirror, she can see it's Leorio who's entered. He stands in the doorway to the bathroom.
"Yes?" she says, still not making eye contact.
She turns on her heel and walks past him to the main room and sits on the middle of a bed.
"You're a liar." He says, sitting at the edge of the bed. She finally glances up, meeting his eyes.
"Excuse me?"
"When you said you used me. I could tell you were lying." He smirks.
"Don't get too cocky." She laughs. His face becomes serious. In a harsher tone, she adds, "I wasn't lying."
"Don't tell me you don't feel that thing between us. I get tingly when we're together." He says, blushing a bit.
"That's called being horny, Leorio."
"No! Not like that!" He says defensively. "It's a warm feeling."
She stares at him and tries to hold back the smile that's being forced onto her face.
"Get out, I'm tired." she laughs.
Catching her off guard, he wraps his arms around her and plops onto the bed, dragging her down with him. They lay on their sides, facing each other.
"I am too!" He says.
"What are you doing?"
"Just until you fall asleep! Then I'll leave." Leorio pleas.
She sighs, burying her face his chest. "Fine."
He throws his leg around her, trapping her. Seconds later, his breathing becomes calm and steady as he drifts into sleep.
Athena stares at him, smiling. "So much for leaving when I sleep." She whispers to herself.
She takes his glasses off his face and places them on the bed as far as her arm can reach, so they don't break. Then, she wraps her arms around him as if she was hugging a teddy bear and quickly drifts to sleep, too.
In the cafeteria, Nautica, Gon, Kurapika, and Killua still talk to each other. Since she's revealed more of herself to them, they've been revealing more of themselves to her.
Gon talks about his life on Whale Island, and his search for his father, Ging. Killua talks about being a former assassin, and Kurapika talks about him being the last Kurta of his clan.
"So, that thing with your eyes when you were arguing with Athena, was that a feature of your clan?" Nautica asks.
"Yes, they glow a scarlet color when we're aroused. It's also the reason why my clan was murdered."
"I'm guessing you're becoming a Hunter to find the ones responsible?"
"Exactly."
"I hope you find peace in it." She says, genuinely.
"We should get some rest before the next phase." Kurapika suggests.
"You guys can rest with in my room if you want. All the other nice rooms are taken. It's better than sleeping against a wall."
"Let's go." Killua says.
As they're walking to the room, something begins to bother Nautica.
"Hey, do you still hate Athena?" she asks Kurapika.
He thinks about it for a second and finds his answer. "I can't find it in myself to completely hate someone who's willing to protect me with their life. Since you know her better than anyone, could you tell if she was telling the truth?"
"She was honest, I promise."
Before she opens the door to their room, flashbacks of the moment when she walked in on Athena and Hanzo pop into her head.
She pauses, and knocks on the door, waiting for a response. She knows Leorio is in there with her, and the last thing she wants is for Gon and Killua to have to be scarred by those images.
She knocks again, but no one answers. It's dead silent inside.
She cautiously opens the door and walks in to see Leorio sleeping on one of the two beds. Walking further into the room, she finally notices Athena, who is hidden by Leorio's body. Her bare, long legs are practically the only visible part of her body.
They're comfortable, and completely safe in the other's arms.
"Aw, look!" Gon says, pointing to the two. Killua makes a disgusted face and shoves his hands into his pockets.
"Gon, Killua, you can take the other bed." Nautica says. "Kurapika, you don't mind sharing the couch, right?"
"Not at all."
Nautica grabs blankets and pillows for them and turns the light off.
Growing up, she only had Athena to bond with. So now, it makes her happy for her new friends to know who she is and still see her as an equal.
She could have chosen anyone to be close with, but she's glad she chose them.
