Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the delay in posting this chapter; holidays with my family are a hectic time. In addition, I was working on a small Christmas side-fic for Cerridwen and Kite, titled The Family Business: Snowflake and Mistletoe. It's posted and finished by now; if you like cheesy holiday fluff, please check it out!
Now, back to the story.
As a lusty orange dawn broke outside, Cerridwen awoke to find herself still in the room atop the airship, nestled in Hisoka's arms. They were resting on the floor, their backs leaned against one of the many sturdy glass walls. Hisoka jumped slightly in surprise as he felt Cerridwen stir, stretching before relaxing back into her previous position.
"Good morning, Little Monster," he crooned, reaching over and tucking her bangs behind her ear.
Cerridwen glared at him.
"Well you can't expect me to completely abandon that pet name," he reasoned with a smirk. "Not when it suits you so well."
"Good morning, Bobo," she groaned, playfully shoving his face to the side.
Hisoka gave a dark chuckle, wrapping his arms tighter around Cerridwen. "What do you say we just stay up here for a while longer and...entertain ourselves?"
Cerridwen broke free of his arms and moved so she was straddling his lap, reaching out and grabbing hold of his chin. Hisoka slid his hands up her thighs to rest on her hips, his golden eyes locked with hers.
"It's tempting," Cerridwen muttered, biting her lip pensively; this was probably the only alone time they would get until the end of the Exam, and despite what she had said the night before about waiting until it was over...
Suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She flashed her green eyes up to look at it, and her heart palpitated at the sight she beheld.
Outside the window, drawing closer on the horizon, was an immensely tall stone structure. It had a smooth, cylindrical shape, with a flat top, and no visible entrances. Cerridwen had heard of this place before from other Hunters; in fact, Ging used to tell her and Kite tales of it...and the monstrous people contained within.
"Belladonna?" Hisoka inquired, arching an eyebrow. "You look alarmed."
"Trick Tower," Cerridwen whispered, her gaze not straying from the monolith for an instant.
"Hmmm?" Hisoka probed in a lilting tone.
"Trick Tower," she repeated, rising to her feet and stepping over to the window. Confused, Hisoka stood as well and pivoted to see what she was talking about.
"Doesn't ring a bell," he commented, draping his arm across her shoulders.
Cerridwen scoffed, crossing her arms. "Really? That's a shocker. I would've thought some of your new arachnid friends would've mentioned it to you...not that any of them would ever get caught and end up there, but I don't doubt they know people doing time inside."
"So it's a prison, then?"
Cerridwen nodded gravely. "Essentially, it's the prison. The world's most dangerous criminals get locked up inside, and the warden can manipulate the layout of the rooms at will. They can play mind games on you, subject you to monumental obstacle courses, whatever their twisted heart desires." She shuddered, moving her hands up to her shoulders and cringing. "It's not a place I'd ever be eager to find myself, neither as an inmate nor an Exam applicant."
"You have nothing to be nervous about, Belladonna," Hisoka said in an oddly comforting tone, squeezing her shoulder. "Together we're unstoppable; we can fight off whatever the warden can throw at us."
Cerridwen turned to him pleadingly. "But what if we get separated, Hisoka?" she began, her voice frantic. "I don't know any offensive Nen abilities, only defensive. What if they have Nen users locked up in there? What do I do?"
Hisoka tilted his head, furrowing his brow. "You mean your mentor never bothered to teach you that?"
"No," she responded, trying hard to keep her nerves under control. "Ging only taught me the basics, and only because Kite and I wouldn't leave him alone until he did. Kite helped me develop my Song Shield behind Ging's back, but we never could manage to get an actual attack to work for me."
Hisoka looked away, trying to think of a constructive response.
"Ging told me once," she continued, looking back out the window, "that he felt there was someone else who would help me develop my Nen to its full potential, which is why he refused to teach me more than the basics. I...thought that person was Kite, but... evidently I was wrong."
Hisoka inhaled pensively. He was a Transmuter, and he was just now realizing he had no idea what type of aura Cerridwen had. He supposed her Song Shield could have been a Transmuter ability, since she changed the quality of her aura to effect the atmosphere around her, but he wasn't certain.
"Darling," he began, moving his hand to the small of her back, "exactly what type of Nen user are you?"
"Alright!" Ging declared, raising an extended index finger triumphantly in the air. "Kite! Cerridwen! You both have a firm grasp of the basics of controlling your aura. Now it's time to expand on that, as well as to start developing your Nen abilities. But first, in order to do that, we need to know what kind of aura you have!"
It was a crisp spring morning, and the trio was gathered in the woods, near the secluded cottage that Ging had used as their housing since he began training Kite and Cerridwen. Mourning doves and robins chirped in the trees as fourteen-year-old Cerridwen and eighteen-year-old Kite found themselves kneeling in the dew-covered grass, on either side of an archaic tree stump, facing each other. Resting atop the stump were two clear glasses of water, each with a tiny leaf floating on the water's surface, one before either of them.
"Kite!" Ging continued, causing both of the teenagers to jump in surprise. "Since you've done this test once already, why don't you go first to demonstrate to Cerridwen how it's done?"
Cerridwen directed her attention to Kite, smiling nervously. Ging had whisked Kite away into the woods just before the break of dawn a few weeks prior in order to perform this test without Cerridwen's knowledge; naturally, Kite told her about it the moment they were out of Ging's earshot. She could only assume that Ging was trying to keep it secret from her because he had no intention of teaching her how to put her specific type of Nen to use. She could also only assume that the only reason they were there in the woods at that moment was because Ging had a pang of conscience after hearing her and Kite talking in Gon's nursery the previous week.
"You...don't seem surprised to hear that Kite's done this before," Ging observed, sighing. Putting his hands on his hips, he turned to Kite and groaned, "Seriously, do you two have to tell each other everything?"
Cerridwen muffled a giggle.
"Frankly, yes," Kite replied plainly. "We've never kept anything from each other; after all these years, if we can't trust each other, who can we trust?"
Cerridwen gave a firm nod, turning back to Ging who simply huffed in aggravation, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I wish the two of you had just a touch more aptitude," he murmured, closing his eyes, "so that I could send you off to take the Exam and get you out of my hair sooner."
Kite and Cerridwen exchanged amused glances, choking back laughter. Seeing Ging's intense brown eyes flash at them in annoyance, they regained composure and turned their attention back to Kite's glass.
"Now, let me tell you what's about to happen," Ging explained, looking at Cerridwen. "Kite is going to place his hands on either side of the glass and, using his Ren, his aura will affect the water in some manner. Depending on the effect his aura has on the water, we can determine what type of Nen user Kite is. Simple, right?"
"Yeah," Cerridwen responded with a nod, placing her hands palms-down on the stump and leaning forward slightly, her gaze focused on Kite.
Kite tried not to smile as he glanced up at Cerridwen's eager expression, her bright eyes locked diligently upon him. Inhaling deeply, he straightened his back and placed his hands on either side of the glass, palms facing each other; exhaling, he focused his stare on the glass, activating his Ren and letting his aura engulf the glass of water. Cerridwen watched in complete fascination as a small, solid speck began to materialize within the clear liquid, spinning over itself and growing to roughly the size of a nickel. A few seconds after the object formed, Kite moved his hands away from the glass and relaxed his posture, returning to his previous position.
"That's amazing, Kite," Cerridwen whispered, eyes wide.
Kite felt his ears threaten to turn pink.
"Doubtless you see the object that formed inside Kite's water," Ging said, addressing Cerridwen once more. "As I'm sure Kite already told you, that means he has a Conjurer aura, meaning he can use his Nen to form objects at will."
"Holy shit," she whispered, still transfixed on the glass.
Ging chuckled. "Yeah, well, don't you want to know what kind of aura you have?"
Cerridwen snapped back to alertness, her frame suddenly going rigid and a cold sweat breaking out on her torso, even colder than the morning air. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly incredibly nervous.
"Y-yes, of course I do," she answered shakily, trying to relax as she turned her hands into the proper position alongside her glass of water.
"Breathe, Carrie," Kite said gently. "You'll do fine."
"Begin whenever you're ready," Ging added, smiling.
Cerridwen smirked apprehensively, before forcing herself to take a deep breath and focus her energy on the glass of water before her. Activating her Ren, she let her aura surround the glass and watched the water and leaf expectantly, eagerly awaiting any change.
But nothing happened.
"Cerridwen, stop," Ging instructed, placing a hand on her shoulder. Disheartened, she complied. Directing his gaze toward Kite, he added, "Kite, taste Cerridwen's water."
Confusion evident on his face, Kite reached across the stump to retrieve the glass and brought it to his lips. Cerridwen watched with baited breath, daring to hope that somehow the taste of the water would determine her result. Kite took a sip of the water, paused, then set it back in front of Cerridwen.
"It just tastes like regular water," he said quietly. Looking up at Ging, he theorized, "Maybe she needed to do it longer?"
"That should have been long enough," Ging debated, removing his hand from Cerridwen's shoulder. "If it tasted different, it would have meant she was a Transmuter...I don't understand what went wrong. Perhaps you're just not ready yet, Cerridwen."
Cerridwen sighed, her heart sinking. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand rest on top of one of hers, squeezing it tightly. Slowly, she looked up to see Kite's hazel eyes locked with hers, shimmering with encouragement.
"You can do this, Carrie," he said tenderly, smiling sweetly. "I believe in you. Try again."
Filled with sheer determination at Kite's unwavering faith in her, Cerridwen placed her hands on either side of the glass and activated her Ren once more. She concentrated on the water and the leaf, desperately willing something to happen to them.
Something began to appear in the water.
Cerridwen arched an eyebrow, but refused to break her concentration. Could she have been a Conjurer too?
"What is that?" Kite queried, eyeing the glass curiously. "Is that a bubble?"
Ging crouched down alongside the stump, leaning his face close to the glass.
"Don't stop, Cerridwen," he ordered, staring at the water as if it held all the world's secrets. "Keep going."
Cerridwen complied with Ging's request, watching as small bubbles began to appear in the bottom of the glass. Wispy streams of vapor began to rise from the surface of the water.
"...steam?" Kite observed, moving from a kneeling position to a crouch.
The bubbles grew in size and speed, beginning to break the water's surface."
"Extraordinary," Ging breathed, utterly transfixed by the sight. "Cerridwen, your water, it's - "
" - boiling!" Cerridwen and Kite exclaimed in unison, broad grins on their faces. In her excitement, Cerridwen stopped using her Ren, and the water slowly returned to its previous temperature...leaving a wilted leaf floating limply on its surface. After a moment, Kite and Cerridwen both shot to their feet, and she launched herself into his arms.
"You did it!" Kite congratulated, laughing, spinning her in a circle. Coming to a halt and setting her down, he asked Ging, "So what does boiling water mean?"
"Yeah," Cerridwen agreed as she and Kite let go of each other, instead taking hold of his hand. "What's my Nen category, Ging?"
Ging remained silent, intentionally building anticipation for his reply. Grinning proudly, he finally responded, "You, my dear, are a Specialist."
Cerridwen gasped, and Kite squeezed her hand.
"That's incredible, Carrie!" Kite almost shouted with delight, lifting her hand and tenderly kissing the top of it.
Cerridwen blushed slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear, before asking, "So what does that mean?"
"That means," Ging said, picking up the still-warm glass and holding it in front of his face, "that you have a very unique aura with its own unique properties. You have the potential to learn abilities from all the Nen categories; however, Conjurer and Manipulator abilities would probably be the easiest, followed by Transmuter and Emitter. Enhancer abilities would likely be most difficult. You could also, in theory, develop abilities that combine the qualities of different Nen types, but that would require an incredible amount of training and practice."
Cerridwen nodded in comprehension. "I'll definitely have to wait a while before trying to learn any abilities, then," she commented with a smile, "but that's fine! I can start thinking of ideas to try out when the time comes!"
"That's the spirit!" Ging exclaimed, retrieving Kite's glass from the stump as well. "I'm going to head back to the cottage; I trust I can leave the two of you here to do your daily training exercises a while?"
"Of course," Kite responded with a reverent nod.
"Get to it, then," Ging demanded, turning and walking away.
Once Ging had vanished into the distance of the woods, Kite turned to Cerridwen and inquired, "So...do you want to start trying to learn some abilities, Miss Specialist?"
Cerridwen laughed and felt her heart start to dance with joy. "You mean...you'll teach me?"
He shrugged. "Well, if Ging thinks he's not the one to do it, who could it be if not me?"
She beamed, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Kissing his cheek lightly, she said, "Oh, thank you Kite! You're the best friend I could have ever asked for, you know that?"
Kite grinned, burying his face in Cerridwen's violet hair. "You're welcome, Carrie. It's the least I could do for a friend like you." After a moment, they broke apart. Inhaling the cool air deeply, Kite added, "So...shall we begin?"
"That explains quite a bit," Hisoka commented, placing a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "So, you're a Specialist...no wonder I can't seem to figure out what type of Nen your Song Shield applies."
Cerridwen smirked, looking back out the window at Trick Tower, feeling a lump rise in her throat.
"Kite managed to help me develop that ability, at least," she recalled distantly, "but we could never seem to get an offensive ability to work right for me. We tried a Conjurer technique for me to summon flame, but the most I ever managed was a small ball of fire in my hand, barely the size of a marble."
"Hmmm," Hisoka mumbled, deep in thought. "Well, we don't have long before we arrive at the next Phase, but...perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
Cerridwen chuckled. "That's sweet, Hisoka, but I'm not exactly eager to undertake another mentorship right now."
"Now now, I wouldn't be mentoring you," he debated, moving his hand from the small of her back to wrap around her waist. "I would merely be offering you some pointers."
Cerridwen directed her gaze to him; he arched an eyebrow.
"Interested?"
Giving a melancholy smile, she replied, "Okay, sure. What harm could it do?"