Chapter 8: Stubbornness

The next few days were some of the best that Aliara had experienced in a while.

She and Killua trained and enjoyed themselves during the next few days. Training, playing, enjoying the joys of being an energetic child. They did all of that. Aliara continued to fine tune her shoes, but her supplies were becoming more and more limited. She felt happy, excited, playful, and free. Stress free! They had run into another contestant at one point, but they both evaded him with almost no difficulty. He ended up being after Aliara's tag, but somebody else killed him before she had to. Eventually, the last day rolled around, and both Aliara and Killua agreed to head back to the starting point.

As quiet as mice, they approached. Nobody was gathered yet, so they remained hidden in the bushes. Is Gon alright? Aliara couldn't help but wonder.

Then, a loud voice beckoned all the participants to the front, claiming that stage 4 was over. Smirking, Aliara hopped out of the bushes after Killua, trotting to the front. Gon emerged as well, holding up both his tags. "Gon!" Aliara called. "You're okay!"

"You got Hisoka's tag?" Killua asked, impressed. "Nice one."

Gon flashed a large thumbs up and grinned widely, much resembling a happy puppy. "You guys both got your tags, right?"

Killua held up his tags and Aliara did the same. The three shared a high five before the blimp came down to pick them all up. One more stage left. Just one more. I can do this.

Aliara found an empty room and huffed, sliding back against the wall. "Final stage, here we go."

"You nervous?" Killua taunted, sliding down against the wall next to her.

"You wish, ghost boy," Aliara said, sticking her tongue out at Killua.

Killua glared at her. "Don't call me that, girly."

She was about to object when a loud voice rang over the speaker system. "In a while, the president will receive you for a conversation," said someone loudly. Killua and Aliara both stopped to listen. "When you're called, please come to the reception room of the first floor. Candidate number forty-four. We ask that you please come to the reception room." Aliara groaned.

"People skills," she huffed, "is something I don't have."

Killua smirked at her. "Considering you try to punch anyone who says something you don't like, I agree."

"Can it, ghost boy."

"See what I mean?"

The two bickered for another minute, which eventually ended with the two laughing, when the speaker buzzed again. "Number fifty-three, please come to the reception room on the first floor."

Aliara's eyes lit up as she thought of an idea. "Say, after whatever this is, can you keep teaching me rhythm echo?"

Killua shrugged. "I don't know, you're an annoying student." She punched him in the shoulder. "That, and you've almost got it. I'm not that good a teacher, anyways."

"You're better than the ones who trained me," she countered. "You don't-"

"Candidate number ninety-nine, please report to the reception room."

Killua sighed, standing up. "Alright, I'm up."

"I'll be right after you, so I'll go too," Aliara said, hopping to her feet and grabbing her backpack.

Killua's face blanked. "How do you know that?"

"I'm number 101. They're going in number order."

"...I knew that."

"You so did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"I've got to go," Killua interjected, dashing out of the room. Aliara frowned and chased after him, trying to hold down her smirk. Killua ducked into the reception room before she could tell him anything, ready for his conversation with the chairman. Rolling her eyes, Aliara plunked herself down on a bench across from the door to the room. He shouldn't be more than a few minutes, based on the speed of the calls.

She wasn't wrong. Killua emerged a minute later, skateboard gripped under his arm. "You're up."

Aliara rolled her eyes and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. The chairman was sitting behind a low table near the back of the room, watching her intently. "Please, have a seat," he instructed, gesturing to the spot in front of him. In one hand, he clutched a clip board. His other hand stroked his beard thoughtfully. Aliara sat.

"Three questions for you," he began.

"Hold it," Aliara interjected. "Is this the last stage? Or related to it?"

"Related to it, yes," he responded, watching her carefully, the ghost of a smile playing on his face.

"I'm not good with people," she explained uneasily, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

The president chuckled. "No worries. Just answer the three questions I have for you to the best of your knowledge, okay?" Aliara nodded. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

Aliara shrugged casually. Lying's not going to help me here. "Well, primarily, I want to avoid my family at all costs, and it's much easier to do with a hunter's license. There's a lot of benefits."

To her relief, the chairman didn't ask her any more about that topic. "Out of all the remaining contestants, who retains the most of your attention?"

"99 and 405," she replied without missing a beat. "They're both interesting people with interesting abilities, and I probably wouldn't be enjoying myself as much as I am now without the two of them."

"Interesting," he hummed. "And who do you want to fight the least?"

That question required a bit more thought. "Probably the same people," Aliara admitted, lacing her fingers. "I just made some friends and I'd hate to fight them seriously." Her throat dried up.

"That's everything," the chairman said cheerily.

Aliara blinked. "Really? It is?"

"Yup! You're free to go."

The raven-haired girl grinned and eagerly made her way for the door. Closing it behind her, she heard the call for the next contestant over the speaker system. To her delight, Killua had waited for her. "Ready to practice?"

"Yep!" Without any mentions of the conversations with the chairman, the two took off back to the empty room that they had started in.


Three days passed of flying in the large blimp. During that time, Killua, Gon, and Aliara had explored almost every inch of the ship. They had trained, too. But in the middle of a training session with Killua, the blimp landed and they were called down. Frustrated with herself for making almost no progress, Aliara ground her teeth together and made her way to a large room, where the chairman stood in front of a covered board. The rest of the contestants were already gathered. Aliara frowned at nobody in particular.

"Here's the deal," the president said. "If you win, you become a Hunter."

There was a pause, then he continued. "The last trial will be in forms of 1 on 1 duels. The groups are as follows." He pulled off the sheet covering the board.

Aliara's eyes widened.

She had to fight number 405- Leorio.

Her blood boiled. I mean... He hasn't exactly been overly kind to me, but I still don't want to fight him! She sighed in relief- Killua and Gon were on the second half of the board. At least she didn't have to fight them. But... Leorio is good friends with Gon, and Killua from the looks of it. Even Kurapika. I don't want to fight any of them. They're my first friends, and... I don't want to ruin that.

"One victory," the chairman declared, holding one old finger up in the air, "and you pass the exam."

Silence, as everyone absorbed this information.

"In other words, winners quit the game one by one. The point of the pyramid is the designate the loser, not the winner. Do you understand?"

"So only one person will be eliminated?" asked the bald man in the black ninja suit. How he could have made it this far, Aliara had no clue.

The chairman nodded. "Exactly. Every person has at least two chances to win. Any questions?"

Aliara had millions. But before she could summon the courage to speak in front of a dozen tough people, the martial artist spoke up. "Why isn't the pyramid evenly balanced?"

"Logical question," the chairman agreed. "The groups were chosen based on your results from previous rounds. Basically, the ones who got good marks up until now have a better chance of passing."

Aliara frowned, and started counting. She and Leorio both had three chances. So did Killua. Gon had... Gon had five?! She huffed. No fair. "I don't like it," Killua called from her left. She rolled her eyes. "Explain to us how you counted the points."

The raven-haired girl sighed. It wasn't like it would make a difference, because there was no way the president would change it now. Instead, she started looking at her opponents. After Leorio, she would face either Hisoka, Kurapika, or the martial artist. She frowned- she didn't like either of the three. And there was no way Leorio could last against any of them either.

Wait, what?! I can beat Leorio!

But it's not a matter of if I can, she thought with a sigh. Just a matter of the fact that I... I don't want to. Because his chances will decrease after that. Dammit! Do I actually care what happens to the Suit Bastard?

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around. It was Gon. "You okay, Ali?" he asked quietly.

"What? Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine."

Normally, people like Killua wouldn't have believed her for a second. But this was Gon. He beamed. "Okay! As long as you're ready!"

His friendly attitude made Aliara smile. She hoped Gon become a hunter, above anything. He waved at her and walked to the center of the room. Why- oh, he was about to fight. Hanzo? The ninja man? She wasn't sure how well he'd do.

Aliara chose to stand over next to Killua, who was evidently frustrated about his placing. "Lighten up," she said, poking his shoulder. "We both have three chances."

"Yeah... But..."

"What, you think you should be better than me and Gon? Don't worry about it. Your skill is definitely going to make you a hunter."

The white-haired boy grumbled and jammed his hands in his pockets. Aliara tossed her backpack off her shoulders and threw it to the wall, relieving herself of the extra weight. She watched and cringed as Gon was stopped by Hanzo with a lightning fast chop to the back of the neck. She glanced at Killua, whose gaze was darkening. She could tell what he was thinking.

"Idiot." Aliara whacked him on the head.

He frowned at her. "What was that for?"

"I know what you're thinking," she snapped back. "Stop thinking about what you could've done, and cheer for Gon, okay? I'm sure he'd appreciate that more."

Killua's eyes widened. For someone who's not good with people, she's certainly got an idea about what friendships should look like.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Hey! Don't hit me!"

The brutal, one-sided match went on for three hours. Gon was enduring endless pain from Hanzo, who obviously outmatched him in skill and strength. Wincing, Aliara wanted to look away. Imagine how I would feel if I was losing and my only friends had looked away. No way, I'm going to keep watching.

"To acquire the special art of the Shinobi, I've received special training since the day I was born," Hanzo was saying, doing a hand stand on his fingers. "During eight years, I've built up strong muscularity and I improved my techniques. By your age, I'd already killed."

"Nothing to be proud of," Killua and Aliara grumbled in unison, before staring at each other and making silly grins.

"In this fight," the ninja continued, balancing on one finger, "you can't win against me. I don't say this to make you mad. Say only that you lose."

In a surprising twist, Gon stood up and kicked Hanzo. Aliara smiled, almost cheering out for her friend. He still had so much fight left in him. "I let you kick me," Hanzo grumbled, blood sliding down from his nose.

Aliara wanted to scream at him, but Leorio beat her. "LIAR!" How the heck am I supposed to fight him?

When Hanzo pulled out a blade and threatened to cut off one of Gon's legs, Aliara clenched her fists repeatedly. Gon's way too stubborn to give up. He's going to die- of stubbornness and blood loss.

"That's not good," Gon mumbled. "I don't want to lose, but I don't want you to cut off my leg. Let's fight a different way."

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION?!" Hanzo roared, steam pouring from his ears. The other participants started chuckling, and Aliara couldn't help but smile. This naive kid still brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Aliara tried to control her thoughts. I want to be a hunter. But I don't want to fight Leorio. He counts as a friend, I guess, which is more than most other people. If I give up, I've got two more chances. But I don't like the odds of who I'll go up against. If there were wires in her brain, they probably would've snapped. What the hell do I do?!

"I've lost."

What the hell did I miss?!

Hanzo withdrew his blade. "I can't kill him or find a way to make him admit defeat. I've lost."

Aliara was about to cheer for Gon (silently, of course) when the stubborn black-haired boy yelled out, "No, that's not possible! Let's find a way to continue this fight!"

The black-haired inventor smacked herself on the forehead. Her new friend could be such an idiot sometimes. But Hanzo knocked him out, and Gon was declared the winner. He was a hunter. Killua and I will be next, she thought in determination. Just you wait. As Gon was carried off to the infirmary, Aliara tensed. Hisoka and Kurapika were next. But the battle went nowhere near as long as Gon's and Hanzo's. The fight went with no serious injuries until Hisoka leaned in and whispered something into Kurapika's ear. The blond boy froze, and Hisoka walked off, announcing that he quit. Kurapika was a hunter. Hisoka or Bodoro. Hisoka or Bodoro. If I lose, I face Hisoka or Bodoro.

"Leorio and Aliara," announced the referee.

Killua didn't offer any words of encouragement. Aliara didn't blame him. She made her way to the center of the room and faced the tall, black-haired nuisance. Leorio pulled out a small knife.

"I can't say I'm thrilled to fight you," Leorio admitted. "Beating up a little girl isn't really my thing."

Aliara's temper bloomed. Killua smirked, waiting for her to lunge at Leorio. Aliara was going to be a hunter, and win this match, he was sure.

He reminds me so much of my god damned brother.

"I lose."

...

"HUH?!"


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