A Story to Tell Chapter 8, a hunter x hunter fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own hunterxhunter. Just my oc's and some of the plot here and there.

Chap 8 :

In the Blimp

A bell chimed in the early morning rays, accompanying the singing of the birds on a tree standing tall in front of a simple, small house. The door opened fully to reveal an old man in an all white outfit. He grinned at the sight that greeted him: a little boy with messy black and golden locks and sleepy blue eyes. The little one yawned, walking away instantly after seeing his face.

"Nothing important…" he drawled.

The old man slumped in sadness, immediately slouching at the comment. He stood frozen where he was, not moving an inch until a feminine snicker reached his ears. He perked up and straightened abruptly. The little boy from earlier was being carried by a woman and was snoring lightly with his eyes closed and mouth in a smile. The woman snickered again.

"Come on in, Netero-san. The girls are up and about racking the kitchen. You would want to see your 'grandchildren-but-not-grandchildren' now, don't you? It has been a year, after all."

He nodded. "Yup. How are they all doing? And where is your husband?"

She smirked. "Laundry duty. I tricked him into it again."

Netero laughed. "I knew it! Oh!"

"MAMA!" a childish voice whined loudly, but it did nothing to the sleeping boy in the woman's arms. She chuckled at the still-snoring boy before looking down to see a girl with bluish black hair like hers and another with pale golden locks like their father's running to her. The later outran the former and clutched at her leg with an 'omph', her face smeared with chocolate sauce. The former glared at her.

"Miru! Dirtying mother's pants! Off!" she scolded.

Netero chuckled. "Truly prodigies. To speak fluently at such age."

Miru, who was sticking her tongue out at her sister Mirai, blinked to stare at him. Mirai followed, raising her eyebrows. The woman chuckled.

"Truly your children, Reon-chan," he said.

"We're father's children too…" Mirai stated flatly.

Netero burst into laughter while their mother smirked.

"You heard him, Netero-san."

"Yes, yes, I did. Reon-chan and Haydn-kun's children…"

*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*

"Yo!" a cheerful old man greeted in genuine enthusiasm.

"Hey! Old one!" and a boy with two-tone hair replied with a plastered grin.

It is soon proceeded with an uppercut from the boy to the old man. The elder has a stupid, goofy smile on his face as he flies to the corner of the room in the blimp they are in. The boy smiles with his fist still raised in front of him and eyes slightly darken in sadistic joy. He is ultimately feeling better despite the obvious fact that no injuries are present on his victim after the strong punch. The old man gets up with a sniff; two streams of tears are flowing out of his eyes.

"Kou-chan…" he mocked in a whinny voice. "That was mean… I truly missed you guys~"

As the elder winks and makes kissy faces at him then at his forgotten siblings who are sitting in a seiza in quiet confusion and wonderment, Kouta feels his lips twitched in disgust. He walks quietly to where the old man is now sitting with one of his leg propped up. The boy's hand curls into a fist, bunching the fabric of Netero's shirt. He growls, putting on his best predatory look. Netero smirks, partly to further provoke his favorite participant.

"Get on with business, old one. What do you want from us now?" he snarled.

Netero grinned. "I just wanted to see you three! It has been a long time, no?"

Miru gasped; an image of a familiar old man smiling at them flashes through her mind and she points a finger at him. "Ah! You are that grandpa who visited us every month, aren't you?"

The old man's grin widens and he gives the blond girl a thumb-up. Miru claps her hands in excitement at seeing someone from her past, positively brimming with happiness. On the other hand, without her sister's notice, Mirai is frowning in annoyance; her hands are carefully placed in her lap with the fingers all stiff and straightened. She gulps down the instinct to sharpen her nails as taught by her guardians in the Zoldyck household.

'What are we doing here?' she bites her tongue to prevent the bitter question from escaping and instead, directs her attention to her older sibling. Kouta takes notice of the icy expression worn by his sister Mirai and narrows his eyes, tilting his head down ever so slightly to tell her to calm herself. She nods, discretely taking a breath. Kouta lets go of the old man with the glare for him still on his face.

"What are we here for, Netero-sama?" he asked monotonously.

Kouta walks back a few steps and sits down unceremoniously while Netero does so gracefully. He strokes his – according to Kouta : weird and fancy and something he will never even dreams to have – beard. Netero laughs in his 'ho-ho-ho' way and lightly hits his palms on his tights. He gives them a sincere grin that freezes the boy and his sisters. Kouta raises an eyebrow suspiciously, suddenly feeling uncomfortable beyond his imagination.

"I just want to see how my favorite 'grandchildren-but-not-grandchildren' doing. There is no rule that states I can't, yes?" he chuckles amiably.

Kouta and Mirai's postures turn rigid. Vivid memories are playing in the boy's head while the other is having blurry flashbacks. The two siblings glare at him, au contraire to Miru's closed eyed beaming grin. Netero sighs, recognizing the coldness from the boy and one of the girls. Miru blinks and turns to look at her sister when she feels shiver crawling up her spine.

"Mirai?" she called uncertainly.

Instantly, the look disappears. She questions no further.

"No. There is no such rule. But there is no need too. We are doing fine."

Netero glances at Kouta, shrugs at his reply and sighs. "I'm getting old quickly with you guys growing up this fast."

Kouta scoffs. "Drop dead, then."

Like how he always responds to the boy's cold comments, Netero deflates faster than a blink of the eyes, shoulders slumps down and a gloomy atmosphere overtakes the room. The older brother scoffs again before he stands up, having lightened the mood and concluding the conversation has ended, Mirai follows right after while Miru hesitates first. Netero looks up with puppy eyes at the lad.

"If there is no more business here, excuse us, Netero-sama."

The children walk out of the room in a tense silent that Miru cannot comprehend at all. She opens her mouth to speak but closes it almost immediately. The youngest of the siblings looks up at them and falters. Kouta glances at his baby sisters from the corner of his eyes. Mirai is sporting a blank, composed face; Miru is fidgeting nervously. He sighs.

"Mirai, Miru," started the boy. "I'm going to find a place to sleep. You should find Leorio and the rest of them."

The older twin nods. "Ok. Later, Kou. Let's go, Miru."

"Y-yes."

Once the two of them have walked further from the room Netero was in, Miru musters up her courage to speak. She tugs at her sister's shirt sleeve and hesitatingly looks at her in the eyes. Mirai stares back steadily, tilting her head slightly to encourage her to speak. Miru gulps once, and then twice before she starts speaking.

"What happened just now?"

Mirai looks away and ahead, mind contemplating.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" she asked.

Miru shakes her head. "I remember very little, sis…"

She sighs. "It's normal, I guess. You were the youngest, and we spoiled you much. Miru," she paused, "we kept many things from you. But if Kouta is not going to start giving any explanation regarding our past, I had decided I would be the one to talk."

'But,' she stopped herself from voicing it, 'with his concession…'

Internally, she snorts. 'It feels like doing a business or something…'

"Yes?" Miru urged when she pauses longer than before. Mirai glances over at her sister before shrugging, allowing a small smile on her face to ease the tension enveloping the younger blond twin.

"When you find something not to your…liking, however, don't start blaming our big brother. As it is… he is the one carrying the most burdens and forced to grow up fast so-"

"You don't have to worry," the blonde cut her off, her voice confident and light . "I won't blame any of you ever, or mother and father for that matter."

Mirai observes her sister for a minute before smiling wider. "That's good. Thank you, little sister."

And they walk away, find their friends, and Miru realizes she has received no answer regarding her first question to her sister. She frowns. Did her big sister forget?

'It's alright. Miru doesn't know anything for now. But she will ask again later. Before that, I have to talk to big brother. Kou can't rely on my opinion alone. No matter than he is a big brother and has more authority than us. He can't just shove everything to me.'

The older twin walks over to a silver-haired lad, shoving the twinge of guilt for another time to work with. Right now is simply not the time.

"It might be time for the rest of 42 contestants to know of me," Netero started, standing in front of participants in the blimp with his secretary, Bean, at his side. "My name is Netero, responsible for the hunter exam and a member of the hunter organization."

He strokes his beard, watching each of them with a lopsided grin. "Well, I came earlier than expected. It should have been the final phase where I show myself to you. But what's done is done. I will be accompanying you all until the next phase."

He laughs his infamous laugh and Bean takes over the short speech.

"We will arrive tomorrow around 8 o'clock at the next site. Until then, feel free to do whatever you want."

A cheer immediately erupts from amongst the participants. Mirai shakes her head fondly while her younger twin giggles. Gon and Killua hi-fives each other as soon as they have cheered. Leorio and Kurapika stare at them disbelievingly. The two slouch in tiredness and wave at Gon when he asks them to join in a tour.

"No. It's been a long day," Kurapika grumbled.

"Yes. And we are going to rest. No such energy left," followed by a grumpy and tired Leorio.

"Sorry," Mirai spoke up, startling her friends. She smiles at Killua, touching his left arm slightly. He blinks quizzically at the contact. "I'm going with them. I am tired. And I'm not good with closed-space transportation. I'm already feeling dizzy now."

Killua's eyes widen in remembrance. He grabs her arm firmly, but not enough to hurt her. She chuckles, waving her hand dismissingly.

"I'll be alright after a rest, Killua. So don't worry. Go on with your plan," she told him reassuringly.

"Oh… Alright. Rest well," he mumbled guiltily.

"Uh… Then, come on. Let's go and rest, Mirai," Leorio started awkwardly, not used to seeing Killua in such state of negativity. Kurapika nods in agreement, a small smile on his face. Mirai nods back, glimpsing at the down face that is Killua's in concern. Shrugging, the blond Kuruta pulls himself and Leorio away from the conversation, a small understanding smile on his face. Mirai smiles gratefully. Taking the chance when Gon and Miru are chatting animatedly, Mirai brings her hand to his messy silver hair, ruffling in affectionately.

Killua blinks, looking at her softened expression. She chuckles softly, and does what she used to do when they were younger. She nuzzles his cheek like a cat.

"Go on. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine before one hour is up, then I'll come find you, Killua. If I must, I will hunt the vessel until I see a hide or hair of you, ok?"

He chuckles, playfulness and all the energy back in the short moment. "Ok. Sleep tight."

"Mm-hmm. Any tighter and I'll suffocate."

His laughter rings in her ears nicely. She grins and waves at him, then at Gon and Miru who look at them with a wide grin. Another glance at her younger twin and she is off.

"Kouta."

The flat voice somehow managed to sound accusing in his ears. The boy sighs, getting up begrudgingly to narrow his eyes at a girl with wavy bluish black hair. He groans upon recognizing his little sister, his hands messing with his already tangled hair. Rubbing at the temple, Kouta sits up lazily. Mirai glares at him in displeasure.

"Where are Kurapika? And Leorio? And others?" he asked with a huge yawn.

She sighs, sitting down across him. "You're not fully awake. Should I give you a minute?"

He shakes his head. "No. How is Miru?"

"… She asked me about what had happened. I was able to avoid it for awhile."

"…"

"… Say, brother," she resumed.

A hum gives her the permission to continue. Mirai does not fidget like her twin; there is not a shred of hesitance in neither her posture nor her eyes. As she faces her brother in the eyes, a flash of memory painted in scarlet crosses her mind. Kouta looks away at the confidence radiating from her, sighing.

"What happened that day? My memory is there, but it is fuzzy. I remember screaming, blaming the old man, and protecting Miru. I remember seeing a woman lying on the floor in her own blood…and Hisoka."

"Ah… You see…" he hesitated.

"… It is something I'd rather not talk about though…" murmured the boy. Mirai is having none of it by ignoring his murmuring. She glares at him impatiently, her eyes demanding and for once, the 'I-don't-care-much' look completely disappears from them.

Kouta sighs, slouching in fatigue that is all but faked. He glances at his sister from under his eyelashes, frowns, and then looks away. He has a contemplating expression before his eyes go back to her only to see those dark eyes remaining the same,not faltering. Kouta groans, mustering all he has to recount the story in one go.

" It was all a coincidence kind of thing…" Kouta props his leg up for a more comfortable position.

"Hisoka was in the area back then, and was going insane like another everyday thing for him. It just turned out that he went mad near the forest where we lived, and you twins were sick with fever and mother was taking care of you while father and I went out to do errands. Since our parents and the clown were 'unappreciated acquaintances', Hisoka had so 'enthusiastically' gone to attack mother. She was strong of course, but since her focus was more about worrying for her children's going delirious from fever, she let her guard down. Netero-sama was supposed to visit that day, but he canceled it. Mother had a few injuries, but the clown had it worse."

"…"

"… That's all."

Mirai blinks. "What? That's all?"

It may seem blunt and uncaring, especially hearing that their mother got hurt from the altercation, but Mirai is more focused on the fact that they…or her…

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the continuation something like… And since we were furious with mother being hurt, or I was furious, I then went around blaming the president for this?"

Kouta's eyes look away from her, his mouth laughing a flat, hollow chuckle. Mirai stares at him in disbelief. She always takes pride in herself for being rational, composed, and especially mature. But listening to a story in which she vented her anger and frustration by blaming an innocent… She feels lost, utterly confused, and at lost for words, and… She blinks again.

"You said you'd rather not talk about it…" started the girl.

Kouta looks sheepish in his own way. "We were children. I was too, so what can I say? I didn't know better and started blaming the old man Netero. Before I knew it, you were following me blaming him too. We lost our composure at seeing mother in the hospital, though Hisoka was there longer. But anyway, it's normal for a child. So, what?"

"…Though, I would prefer Miru not knowing. She was unconscious for a week after the traumatic incident after all, personal reason aside," he continued in a grumble.

"Huh… I guess we were children once…" Mirai stated dazedly.

Her brother merely nods.

"Yeah."

"…"

"That's really childish, brother. And now, I really do not want Miru to know because of a whole different reason."

"Ha…ha…" he laughed flatly. "See? That's why I didn't want to be in the room longer. The president was in depression after that case, you know. Since we blamed him and refused to let him see mother in the hospital and…well… it was childish. We threw a tantrum every time he was around, not wanting to talk to him and being brats."

"So you feel guilty for sending him to depression?"

"Ah… Well. Yea, I guess. By the way, what's next?"

Mirai and Kouta stare at each other. "Let's just say it's a misunderstanding when Miru asks again. I don't want to recount the part where we were so immature… except for the Hisoka part."

Kouta snorts. "Deal."

"By the way," the girl narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "We have to apologize."

'I hate apologizing, but since I'm at fault… Sigh… No other choice, is there?'

Kouta grunts. "Yes. Later. Perhaps after the exam ends…"

'This is a stain in our life…' the two-tone haired older brother thought with a sigh. After lecturing about Kurapika like a wizened old man, he was reminded of his own idiotic action as a younger boy. He grumbles internally. If his best friend ever finds out about this, he pauses in his thought. 'Oh my God… Kurapika may only chuckle in amusement but still understanding. But if it is Leorio. Oh my… That is pure shit. He is going to be rolling on the floor laughing his ass off…'

The sister speaks up, as if reading his mind. "We're never letting Leorio finds out about this."

"Ah… Shit. That's what I was thinking too."

Tension in a certain room is thick, and just…tense. A girl with green hair is snoring away; her red cape with thick golden collar which is usually around her waist is thrown to the floor close to her haphazardly. Right next to her, a man with yellow eyes is building his play cards into a pyramid. With his eyes narrowed in concentration and his bloodlust struggled to be curdled, Hisoka allows a creepy smile on his face. He glances at the girl, rather woman, who again lets out another soft snore amidst the seemingly tangible tension. His attention returns to the cards again, now having reaches the top of the pyramid.

An amusing thought passes his mind and he nudges the tower, letting the cards topple down from their form. A snort, and then he is laughing like a mad. Other participants look away in fear; most of them have their skin painted a new shade of white due to the horror scene that is bloodless. They hear a hard thump and thud not a minute later. Curious, the participants turn around slowly to the scene of Hisoka and a fearless green head girl.

Only to see the horror jester on the floor, still maintaining his cross-legged position of sitting with one side of head on the tiles. A book is lying innocently on the tiles as well, and not too far from him. The fearless green head is still snoring away though, but with the cape now blanketing her form. The contestants sweatdrop and all decide to flee at once when the creepy smile on Hisoka's face is suddenly directed at them with the occasional chuckle.

-Earlier—

Gon and Killua along with a jumpy Miru were staring out the window, watching the scenery of the city down there.

"It looks like diamond!" Gon exclaimed.

Miru was suddenly silent. Rather than diamond, the scenery reminded her more of a constellation. She frowned. Where did she learn that word? Constellation?

'I remember demanding someone to show me stars once… Maybe from there?'

"Killua?" Gon called, snapping the blonde out of her thought. Killua hummed in acknowledgement, eyes still staring at the city lights and hands plastered to the window.

"Do you have parents?" continued the spiky haired boy.

Without missing a beat, the former assassin answered, "Yes, of course."

"Huh… What do they do?"

"Assassins."

Gon looked at him. "Both of them?"

Silence…

And Killua burst into laughter."You're something else, Gon! Other people won't listen to me so seriously and then ask that question!"

"Ne…" Miru started. "Does Mirai know?"

Killua leaned back to nod at the blonde. "She knows. Mirai had lived with me for quite a long time before I brought her along in my escape."

And the two voiced in unison. "Escape?"

Killua nodded. "Yeah. At my place, the main activity is assassination. And I'm not telling you how much pressure my parents had put on me. And although Mirai is not part of the family, she is still trained in several or most fields. " He snickered. "When I told them I wanted to decide my own future myself, they got mad. My mother started crying, telling me I had the talent for this while one of my brothers shouted for Mirai to be the one out instead. To make long story short, I beat up my mom and dad and ran away, and like my brother said, brought along Mirai with me! He's probably getting scolded for his joke now! Mirai was in my place as a job from a client. I was told we had to protect her as entailed in the job description, and now she's gone! Milluki must be getting whipped right now!"

After his ramble, he laughed again. "If they come, I'll be in a lot of trouble, but I'll arrest them first once I am a hunter. I'm definitely going to get a good reward!"

His friends sweatdrop at the casual way he talked. Though before they could say anything else, killing intent had flooded the place and was directed at them. Miru flinched, hands clenched for a fight, while Gon and Killua were eyeing the direction where it was coming from. From the opposite site, came Netero, strolling like he was in a park, and greeting the children happily. Miru frowned, certain his smell shifted too quickly.

"What's the matter?"

The president and the children had a conversation, but Miru was transfixed on where the killing intent had come from, she glanced at the direction, eyes narrowed. Gulping, she made a move to check the leftover scent from the place, but she was pulled by Gon before she could do it. She tilted her head in question while Gon grinned.

"Come on! We'll be playing a game!"

-Present- -

'Where is he?' Mirai grumbled internally, sulking inside as she looks around for a certain silver head.

The vessel is vast, with empty rooms here and there, a cafeteria, a control panel, and others she has not passed through or peeked into. Mirai bites her lip in annoyance. She is bad, read : blind, when it comes to direction. And she can never make a mental map that contains more than three to five landmarks. She curses her flaw, eyes glancing around when she smells metal. She sniffs the air, and gulps.

'Blood. Killua? Or Hisoka?'

Taking a turn, she bumps into a surprising person. Her eyes widen in disbelief before they return to their normal size. With her mouth parted a little, the girl observes the grumpy figure. Her lips form a thin line and she tilts her head. The person clicks his tongue in annoyance, hair a mess and shirt untidy. Mirai allows a look of mirth on her face.

"Kouta?"

'Why aren't you sleeping?' she bites her lip again to prevent the sarcastic remark from being voiced.

"Oh, shut up. I know that look. I'm not sleeping. So what? I'm just looking for coffee in the cafeteria. Fell asleep and... What are you –"

The more he talks, the more aware he becomes, and he frowns when a scent hits his nose. He sniffs; a look of disgust on his face.

"Blood."

Mirai nods. "I'm looking for Killua."

He eyes her, scrutinizing the slight raise of eyebrow and the swollen lip. "You're worried it might be him who caused the blood."

She nods. "Killua, despite his kindness, is still trained to kill once."

"I got it." And believing she won't be in shock and the likes, he tells her. "Hisoka is in a room, resting, but not sleeping."

"I see."

'Then, it's probably Killua.'

"Let's find him, Mirai."

"Yes."

Kouta is the first to see the mangled corpses, Mirai next. The boy feels his instinct as an older brother takes over and covers his sister's eyes, pulling her back with him. Right at the moment she is about to take another step, Mirai is pulled back and her eyesight hindered completely.

"Corpses…" he whispered.

She nods. "I know. I lived with the Zoldycks, brother. They're assassins, remember?"

He stiffens. Assassins. Mirai lived with them. And a groan escapes his lips. Reluctantly, he pulls his hand away. Mirai stares at the dead bodies almost coolly. If not for her twitching lips that are forced to be in a straight line to stop any vomiting or choking, everyone would believe she is cool with the scene, gory as it is. She breaths in normally, but at the smell that enters her nostrils, she decides to hold her breath instead. Kouta's voice brings her back to planet earth.

"I forgot about that. Sorry."

He won't deny the relief he has felt upon noticing the twitch of her lips that indicates she is not as used as he thought she was to murder. He is extremely glad that she has not changed so much. His little sisters, in his mind, has always been the kindest like their mother, more so the oldest of the twins. He had fought tooth and nail the moment their mother had stated that the girl would be sent to the Zoldyck's lair. However, with everything the way it was back then, there was not enough time to search for other family and Mirai was sent to that household.

Kouta's sigh attracts her attention and the girl's eyes shift over to her elder brother. The boy stares at her from the corner of his eyes, one eyebrow raised in question. She gives a small smile, nodding in thanks and leaps pass the bloody corpses, jogging away. Shrugging to himself, Kouta crouches down. His eyes are looking at the dead blankly.

"It would be better if our twin cousins are here to talk to their spirits or offer them salvation or whatever…" he grumbled to himself.

"Well, since neither of them is here, you'll have to make do with me, former participants…"

And with that, he starts cleaning up the mess, all the while being silent in a show of respect.

Mirai halts her step the moment she sees that familiar tufts of silver white hair. The owner has his head hung down, but eyes sharp and glaring at the wall ahead. In a not so rare moment of lost, she furrows her eyebrows, not so sure what expression she should be wearing to greet him. Nevertheless, she paces to the floor he is sitting on, absently noting that the hall is empty. Killua looks up at the silent steps, his eyes dark and wary. He looks away upon meeting onyx eyes that stares back unflinchingly at him.

"Found you at last…" she started, deciding she hated the silence. As she slowly gathers herself, the girl sits down beside him, not too close or too far, but enough to allow him some space while reminding him she is there to talk to him should he wants it. Killua doesn't reply, keeping his posture in which one of his legs is stretched out while the other is bent to his chest with a hand resting on the knee.

Mirai's eyes roll over to his hands, the nails are stained with crimson shade – blood that has slowly begins to dry, and some of it is splattered on his left palm. Softly, she calls out his name while maintaining their distance. Killua doesn't respond until the third call, his head hesitantly turning to her direction. A crooked smile and a quirked eyebrow tell him of her amusement but her eyes speak of partial relief and sorrow.

"Can I wash your hands?" she asked, gingerly holding out her hands for him.

He glances down to said-hands, noticing the blood clinging to his skin and nods his head once. At his reply, she crawls closer to his side and takes his left palm in hers, humming a random tune that is familiar to his ears. One of her hands let go, index finger out to point lazily at nothing and moving gently in circular motions. Three seconds later, not too far from her finger, a blob of water appears, encased in a sea blue. Like all the time she has done it, she smiles widely at the proud feeling that bubbles in her whenever he watches the clear water in amazement.

Mirai directs the water to his hand where it is easily enveloped by the sea blue filled with water. It looks as though his hand slips into a bubble, yet it feels like a feather has grazing his skin. Killua smiles nostalgically, still transfixed as his hand is cleaned off the blood, which once taken away into the water, just disappears as if it is not there. The girl does the same thing to the other hand, cleaning his nails off the crusted blood.

"Your mother told me once it's magic," she started with mirth clear in her voice.

He chuckles. "I suppose it is not too far from magic."

"I guess. But magic sounds like what Millu-pig chooses for his hobby, magical girl figurines, magic wands and all. I prefer calling it just ability. Perhaps, even a gift or blessing."

He hums and says nothing more, the heavy burden called guilt at having killed when he has retired from his former occupation, and having done it when his pure, kind friends…are his friends.

"… Take it slowly, Killua," the girl said to him, voice a whisper, but lulling him to comfort.

He almost jumps at the fleeting feeling that grazes his sense. Kouta feels his heart thuds faster as his head practically whips up in realization, eyes moving so fast he thought they were going to fall out. His breathing has hitched and turns irregular at one point, but once he realizes what that feeling was, he calms down.

'For a moment, I thought it was ...'

He shakes his head, straightening his back and moving away from the railing he had been resting on. He hums with his hands behind his head, heart calming down.

'Mirai still remembers magi… no, gift. Ugh… The former sounds cheesy.'

Hisoka's attention snaps when he smells the almost similar, familiar scent, a predatory look settles on his face and his bloodlust grows… before it recedes with a kick to his temple.

"Quit it, Hisoka… I can't sleep with all your energy in this room," Canon mumbled in protest, one leg up to the jester's temple.

Not too far, Gittarackur clacks twice, whether from amusement or agreement, she will never know. Canon does not understand why the man chooses such inconvenient disguise in the first place. Or perhaps, it is convenient for the non-talkative, non-sociable, non-understanding, non-, non-, super non- man. She grunts. If her thoughts are running amok, how the hell is she supposed to sleep?

Growling and muttering into her cape-turned-pillow, she curses the two abnormal men.

But she hangs out with the abnormal, doesn't that make her an abnor-

'Grrr… I want to sleep again…'

A loud bang resounds in the practically empty room, saves for three people. One of them is laying face first on the floor, on his stomach. The other two - an old man and a blond girl - looks at the figure in varying degree of concern; the former wondering if the seemingly unconscious boy is dead while the other questioning his health after the painful hit of his head to the wall. Said-boy easily flips back to sit with his legs tucked, a wide, victorious, and almost stupid grin splits his face in two.

"You used your right hand, didn't you?" he asked, obviously oblivious to the large bruise on his forehead and is that blood she is seeing?

The old man blinks, dazed. He looks down at his hand, stuttering out a 'yes'. The boy cheers, throwing his hands out at the confirmation. The blond girl merely sighs in half relief and exasperation, but a smile crawls up her face nevertheless. On the other hand, the elder in the room can only wonders if the boy is insane by the time he shouts his victory. It doesn't take long before he plops back onto the floor, hitting the sack and snoring.

"Is this kid insane?" he finally asked aloud.

The girl giggles. "Sorry, Netero-san. Gon is just stubborn like that."

He turns to her. "I can see that, Miru-chan~"

She laughs, standing up slowly with her breathing showing signs of tiredness. Slowly, she walks over to where the boy is sleeping on, crouching down once she is by his side. Gently, the blonde pats his hair, dampened by sweat. Netero notices how her eyes are on Gon, but not looking at the boy in particular. He tilts his head, stroking his beard.

"Did he used to be so stubborn?"

She shakes her head. "It used to be less when he was younger. Gon was more…subdued. He was still as cheerful and energetic as he is now. But his stubbornness was easier to be toned down by us. But when he grew older," she paused, unsure how to continue. A frown marred her forehead as she glances up in thought, recalling how the boy before used to be.

"I supposed…a boy needs his father. Our aunt is his stern mother. No matter how she tried though, she can't be the father that he longs for. He starts visiting the forest more often after grandma told him that Ging-san loved it there and Gon started doing what he used to do less. There is nothing much we can do to cure that. We simply waited until his excitement turned the visits into a habit and he started asking me or auntie to visit with him. We waited until he…returned to us, albeit into a more energetic and stubborn version."

'Perhaps, during his visit to the forest, Gon settled something with himself. I guess…that we were always there for him made him feel needed.'

Netero chuckles. "That is normal. And Miru-chan~ You talked like an adult! Oh my! I'm really growing old~~ I'm so proud too!"

If she didn't know better, she would think he's proud for growing old.

The girl merely gives the old man a smile.

'I can only understand as much as I can because the family makes me feel as needed.'

"Miru-chan," Netero called with a smile. "Just now, did you feel it?"

At his question, her smile only widens.

"Yes. It feels like mother."

'So gentle and loving, soothing and ceasing any pain and worry.'

'Mother…'

Omake

Kurapika and Leorio are trudging into an empty room which they assumed is usable for the participants to rest. Tiredly, the blonde wonders how many tests are left, and voices it out to his companion. Leorio perks up at the question, looking at the ceiling in wonder.

"That's true, huh? We were not told how many are…"

"It changes from year to year," another voice answered for them.

At this, the two can practically see their energy meter drop beyond zero. They turn around to meet a smiling Tonpa holding up his hand with his palm open and facing them. The two stare blankly at the pudgy contestant while he explains with a hint of smugness. All it spells for them is trouble.

"It depends on the committee, but there are usually five or six."

They take the information in as he continues, "I advise you to stay vigilant. Don't let your guard down. The blimp could be a 'testing ground' for all we know. If you fall asleep when whip out another trial…"

Tonpa trails off, waving them goodbye. Once he turns away, the man smirks, honestly expecting them to be wary and unable to rest. (A.N.: the words honest and Tonpa going in the same sentence. LOL)

Kurapika and Leorio share a look before shrugging.

Only an idiot won't take the opportunity to rest when offered.

With that in mind, they blanket themselves warm and snore away; Leorio doing so extremely loudly. He earns a kick when Mirai comes in to try to sleep and fails.

Meanwhile, Kouta is having the luck to meet Tonpa in the cafeteria. He ignores the man. Tonpa still keeps nagging him. But in the end though…

"Can't sleep?"

"…"

"I know that feeling. We need to stay on guard during a hunter examination."

"…"

'No one asked him that… And I'm sleepy…'

"Oh! You have coffee! Good choice. It keeps you awake. You really need it to stay alive and be ready if the unpredictable happens."

"…"

He inwardly snickers. Two or three cans of coffee, black as the content is, can barely keep him from sleeping. His head will be on the table in the next moment.

'Like now…'

"Quite good stamina for a rookie. I'm sure others are sleeping and oblivious."

"…"

"What do you say about them? I doubt they'll pass this way."

"…"

"Yeah. I'm sure it will be difficult for them. What with being so tired and sleeping like logs. You never know if the blimp will be the next exam site."

"…"

"I guess eating to refill your energy is better than sleeping, don't you think so?"

"…"

"Yeah. I'll go get some food to eat and see what I'll do next. Later, Kouta-kun."

*mumble*

If Tonpa stayed longer, he would be peeved at what he heard next.

*snore*

Later, when Tonpa has finished eating, he sees a snoring two-tone-haired boy and then a blond boy and a scruffy looking teenager with short black hair.

No one listens to him.

*****END*****

(For the omake, not the story~)

Hi there! I'm-sorry-I-haven't-updated-for-so-so-long!

Started the university and studying and assignments and jobs and then the story is out of my mind… Er or more like in the corner of my mind. Since I'm having holidays right now, I decided this one will be really long! I hope you guys like it!