Not Strong Enough

Chapter 11

This was it. The final phase of the Hunter exam. The roster was the same for the most part, yet only a small, yet large to her, difference took place. She basically took Pokkle's place. This meant she had to forfeit because there was no way she'd allow Hanzo to torture her. But then there was the case of Killua. The wildcard. If he agreed to fight her, she'd have to win. But she knew full well that wouldn't happen. He had to reject her, her license depended on it. And everything should play out from there.

Hisoka and Kurapika were still up first. It was interesting to say the least to see Hisoka get "agitated" which past the censors was a synonym for horny. If Aleta wasn't mistaken he might have seen drool forming on the side of his mouth. His eyes ere a sight as well. The normally narrowed slits were wide open and she could see just how perfectly white his teeth were as he panted. Erotic, but creepy. Just what was Togashi thinking when creating him?

Kurapika's eyes were a sight themselves. They were beautiful as they glimmered in the light. Yet his expression was scary. People fear that which they cannot understand, so it was no wonder people of the outside world did not know how to deal with the Kurta clan. Yet Aleta was more intrigued than anything.

After their surprisingly quick match ended, there had been a thirty minute break. Some of the remaining applicants went to use the bathroom while others remained and milled about. Not wanting to get lost, Aleta just paced to keep her legs from going numb and occasionally snuck glances at Hisoka or Illumi. Both were calm as usual. Seeing that one martial artist out of the corner of her eye made her a bit sad. He was going to die.

Aleta then pondered if she should do something about it. Though it wasn't much for her to do. She wouldn't stand a chance against Killua in a blood rage. Maybe she could warn him? But no, then Killua would resist killing the man and then the others would still have to fight leaving Leorio with a disadvantage. She could give up and let Killua win the match, but then Illumi might kill her. Groaning, Aleta sulked to a random spot on the floor and sat.

A feeling as though someone dumped a cold bucket of water on her head hit when she saw a certain spec of red hair out the corner of her eye and realized she was sitting less than a yard away from Hisoka. He gave one of his friendly, read terrifying, smiles and Aleta blanched. Before she could move, Beans announced that the next round was about to begin. Everyone gathered back, and Gon and Hanzo walked to the center of the large room.

She silently agreed to watch merely the beginning for the sake of seeing just how fast they moved without an animated motion blur. But before she could do that, she scampered away from the still grinning clown and moved to where Leorio stood, much to the teens confusion.

The match began.

Either Aleta was faster than she thought or they were just moving slower. She could see them, clear as day. Gon ran and leapt like a frog on steroids, but Hanzo was faster.

After the first strike was dealt, she knew it was all over at that point. Sitting a little ways behind Leorio, she allowed the man's long legs shield her from the curb stomp battle before her.

The anime really did make things seem like child's play. The hours dragged on, Gon's cries, Hanzo's strikes, and the sounds of crunching were the only soundtrack over this scene.

Every now and then, Aleta opened her eyes to observe those around her. Nearly everyone aside from Netero and Illumi gave an expression of pity or worry. Hisoka looked peeved. She knew that if this had continued a minute more originally, he would have failed again for tearing the man to shreds.

Aleta wasn't angry. She was plain heartbroken. She longed to leap out and scoop the child into her arms, but she knew she couldn't. To distract herself, she looked out the high windows and to the afternoon sky. It would be awhile until Hanzo gave up.

By the time he did, Aleta's face was hot, and she felt as though she was on the verge of tears..

Once Gon had been moved, the blonde girl stepped forward. Sniffing and taking a deep breath. Apparently Hanzo didn't want another break and Netero agreed to let him move forward.

"You know, crying won't do you any good." Hanzo stated plainly.

Aleta scoffed. "Yeah, whatever."

"Begin!" the referee shouted.

Immediately, Hanzo seemed to disappear and Aleta let her instincts take over by rolling forward. Missing what was meant to be a grapple from behind. As fast as she could, she darted forward and used zetsu after leaping over the man's bald head. A kick to the back of his head missed as he too moved forward, most likely out of instinct since she should have been harder to detect.

Their hands where a blur as they traded punches. Blocking or dodging. Without losing her balance, Aleta aimed a lick down to the man's knee, meaning to shatter it. He retaliated by kicking at her face.

The girl dodged by kneeling, yet an unexpected kick from his other foot met her chin and she went sailing. Another kick to her stomach forced her to the ground. Oh well, she was clearly outmatched, but it was nice putting on a little show.

As soon as she hit the ground she felt his body on top of hers, holding her down in a position similar to how he held down Gon. His intent was clear.

"You're pretty good. Though I'm going to have to ask you to yield. You're aware of what I did to Gon, and I will do the same to you." He said coldly.

Well this wasn't exactly the fantasy she had. Though he was on top of her, it felt absolutely threatening. His body was warm, but it was like having a bear ready to paw your face off.

He applied pressure to her arm as a warning.

"Yield." He commanded.

"I-I surrender! You win."

The pressure lifted and Aleta stood. Her arm ached a little, but she ignored it. After all, Killua was up next.

"I forfeit this one. I thought she'd be a bit more fun, but I was wrong. I don't want to fight a cry baby." Killua said as soon as he made his way forward.

Heat flared to her face as the adorable but rude kid turned away from her with his hands in his pockets. Eyes flashing, Aleta clenched her fists at her sides and sent a good amount of venomous hatsu his way. It wasn't as proficient as Wing or Illumi's but it did the job as he flinched and turned towards her warily.

"Brat." She grumbled while stomping away.

Due to the odd change of events, Pokkle was next. Before the archer could even flex a finger, Killua forfeit again.

"Chairman Netero! Is this even allowed. That brat's gonna let everyone get a free pass!" Menchi exclaimed.

"Hmm, this is allowed." The older man responded passively, causing Menchi to fume.

Slightly over the burn from earlier, Aleta made sure to move where she could get a good view of Illumi's face when he revealed it. Menchi would see, that there was one opponent who would be worth it.

However, how Hisoka always found Illumi's transformation interesting was anyone's guess. Aleta cringed and held her own face until it was complete. And she thought Hanzo was handsome. His cat like eyes were scaled down, though where still pretty open. Though as a whole…

Something warm dribbled from Aleta's nose and she tapped in confusion.

Great, a nosebleed. Hastily, she went into her bag and pulled out a tissue until it stopped. There was no way she was going to ruin her clothes with red again. If she could read better, she would have gotten the name of the soap powder she used at the laundry. Still, the man slowly approaching the younger boy was halfway worth it. And she even knew how to get to his house without getting eaten by their psycho dog.

Though pushing something weighing over a ton was going to take a few more years.

Tissue to the face, Aleta watched on. Hopefully when they launched that formal complaint, nobody would ask her anything of it. He was merely using hatsu. Netero and the other nen users probably saw this, but to keep the secret pro Hunter exam, they played dumb.

Still in his stupor, Killua surrendered.

Aleta made sure that she was safely away from the boy and only moving to blow her nose to rid the remaining clogs of blood. Hopefully that wouldn't attract him further.

It didn't, and Killua still slaughtered the poor old man. She avoided looking at him completely as he departed for the Zolkyk estate.

The rest of the fights went as planned, and the orientation was set to begin tomorrow morning. They were allowed their own rooms. Though not exactly grand, it was still better than most hotel rooms. Dinner had been left in front of her door on a trolley, a luxury she had never really experienced before. It was a mix of things, suitable for anyone's diet. A hot soup, bread, and salad was all she needed, though one never knew when they'd go hungry. Fortunate to have another set of plastic bags, she took pieces of the meats and other things, wrapped them in thick blankets of napkins, and placed them in the plastic bags. The one reserved for her dirty clothes was duly avoided.

Aleta decided to finally undo the dirtied braid she wore and washed her hair with the generously given toiletries. There was no point in bothering with it further so she let it hang. Full, calmed, and not wanting to bother with the hassle of clothing, Aleta slept peacefully that night.


Dawn greeted her that morning and Aleta rose, yawning and shuddering from the chill of her arms hitting the cooler than under her sheets air.

Though still clean from last night, she took a morning shower to wake herself up.

This time, she chose to wear a sports bra and a loose fitting shirt over it that hung on her shoulders and above her stomach with shorts, all white of course.

Opening her door revealed a trolley for breakfast. Though not exactly hungry, it would have been a waste to let such delicious looking pancakes go.

Indeed, they were delicious. Making sure to grab some of the fruits on the trolley as well, Aleta figured she had a nice supply of food. They trolley also came with a note… that she couldn't read. The numbers where clear. "8:00am"

The bed side clock read 7:38. Plenty of time to get lost, but still enough to find someone who knew how to read.

After gathering her things, and grabbing some of the free items from the bathroom to add to her survival collection, she set out.

The halls were empty so she looked out the window, hoping to spot an employee or someone friendly to help her. A few minutes passed before she did find someone. A fellow Hunter as a bonus. Only it was, Aleta sighed, Illumi. The man emerged from his room a few moments before she got within a few feet.

She knew that he was going to the same place as her, but she'd rather not be in his shadow lest he decide to mess with her and run off at the speed of sound.

"U-uh. Excuse me." Aleta called gently.

The brunette turned, staring down impassively.

"Yes?"

"I..I-I-I n-ed. Need! I need your help, with… something. I mean, Uh." Fumbling from fear and embarrassment, trembling hands held the card from the trolley. "I can't, um read. I mean I can, a little, but I can't read this. Can you help me? Please?"

Illumi stared at her for a moment.

"That string on your finger, where did you get it?"

Caught completely off guard by the question, Aleta looked to her pinky which still had the string attached. She hadn't given it any thought since she wore it for so long.

"Oh this? My sensei gave it to me. To keep a promise."

"I see." The card was taken, more like snatched, from the girls hands as Illumi read it aloud. " Congratulations. Please report to the orientation room located in building C on the first floor by 8:00am."

Illumi flicked the card back to her and Aleta caught it.

"Thanks."

The other made no indication he heard her as he kept walking, presumably to the indicated location. Still not having a clue as to what the C building was, or where rather, the blonde chose not to push her luck with the needle wielder. She followed for the time being. From a safe distance, figuratively speaking.

They both arrived as the second and third Hunters respectively. Hisoka was already there, shuffling through his cards.

Thanking whatever deities existed in this world, the girl sat a few rows behind Hisoka. A clear vantage point when Gon came and busted the assassin's arm. It would be nice seeing him alive and with a bit more vigor.

Everyone else began to trickle in along with the examiners, Netero, and Beans.

"Oh! It looks like it's about time to start. Welcome everyone, and congratulations on passing the Hunter exam." Beans said loudly. "To start things off, I will call each of your names. When your name is called, please come to receive your Hunter's license and guidebook. I will be going over its contents afterwards. Now…"

Hanzo was first, then Leorio, and the list continued in an odd manner until Aleta's was called last. After returning to her seat, Kurapika and Leorio spoke up, launching their formal complaint about Killua's behavior. Gon walked in, and magic happened.

It was nothing short of amazing as the boy lifted the grown man, well, flung the grown man from his seat.

Aleta kept her mouth shut throughout the entire thing, watching as though it were the most realistic live action movie ever. What threw her off guard was the fact that Gon placed himself next to her when he took his seat. Even his upset expression was endearing as a barking puppy. Her face was hot again and she bit her thumb's nail to try and focus on something else. The pudgy little man began explaining everything she knew about her license. It was like being in a classroom, knowing a subject all too well, but she had to put up with it anyway. There was no point in her opening the booklet. She couldn't read anyway. No matter how guilty she felt when she was being intentionally watched.

Gon's warmth faded as he stood to leave. Aleta wanted to call out to him, but she knew what he had to do. The plot was set in stone, and she couldn't work up the guts to delay it even by a second. Saddened, Aleta figured she may as well return to Noroco with Wing and Zushi.

Pokkle was doomed to die, and who knows when Hanzo would show up again… however. If Pokkle was warned, both he and Ponzu would live. The Chimera Ants could be squashed before they even started. Kite would live, Gon wouldn't suffer But then… Gon. He would still be even farther from his father. It was like the question that old woman asked back at the beginning of the exam. Or rather, even in class from her home world, students were asked similar questions.

Save a single hostage and kill off many, or save the rest and kill that one. Ging wouldn't die, but many of Gon's adventures would.

There would also be the allies Gon would fail to meet. But, was it worth it? To steal the spotlight, Gon and Killua would continue to be strong, but not strong enough for future challenges. To hang back and wait, Aleta would have to let every horror transpire. Two years she would have to wait as well. Two years of training with Wing and Zushi, if she was allowed to even.

The room was becoming empty, she had to decide soon.