Quino looked at her competition, feeling a bit scared. The crowd was restless as they waited for Chairman Netero and the rest of the examiners to appear. And the restlessness had her on edge.

I never thought about the other people around us much, except Hisoka. All of them didn't bother me during the entire Hunter Exam, so I guess I kind of forgot they were there. And with Primna, Kurapika, Gon, Killua, Leorio, Malli, and Kuriya around, I never felt in danger.

She glanced at Primna, who was tapping her foot on the tiled floor, and saw that she didn't seem too concerned about the rest of the crowd in the room.

Or was she masking something? Putting on a facade to show everyone she wasn't concerned or affected?

Quino shook her head at the thought. She should know better than to assume Primna was affected the same way as she herself was.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," a voice called out.

Chairman Netero approached the crowd with the examiners, a few men in black that looked like bodyguards flanking all of them.

Quino wondered if there was any need for those men. She was certain that the chairman and the examiners were capable of defending themselves from anybody here. At least she'd hope.

"Did you get plenty of rest?" the chairman asked as he surveyed the crowd. Without even bothering to wait for a response, though Quino was certain no one would respond, he continued on. "This hotel is owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee. The place is all yours until the battle have concluded."

As if on queue, one of the men in black carted in a mysterious item covered in cloth, though the shape looked exactly like a display board.

"For the Final Phase, we will be holding a one-on-one tournament," Chairman Netero stated as he grabbed the cloth covering the mysterious item and pulled it off. The cloth revealed a basic, blank chart.

A tournament? Doesn't that mean only one person becomes a Hunter?

"One win is all you need to pass," the chairman said.

"One win?" Gon and Quino asked simultaneously.

"The winners are removed from competition, while the losers continue up the bracket," the chairman explained in further detail. "In other words, the person who finishes at the top will not pass. Does everyone understand now?"

So it's like an inverse tournament. One person will fail, while the rest pass and become Hunters.

"...the bracket."

Quino looked where the chairman had pointed to, noticing that there was a bracket now.

Where did that come from? Quino thought. But she shook her head soon after. No, I need to pay attention.

There were two branches leading to the top. On the very bottom left was #405, Gon, and #294, Hanzo, the ninja. Whoever lost that match would then fight #406, Quino. Then whoever lost that match would have to fight #53, Pokkle. After that whoever lost would have to go against #261 Malli. Then after that match the loser would have to fight #99, Killua. And after that, whoever lost would be pitted against #301, Gittarackur.

On the other side of the bracket, the very bottom right was #158, Kuriya, and #404, Kurapika. Whoever lost that match would then fight #44, Hisoka. Then the loser of that match would fight against #191, Bodoro, the martial artist. After that match the loser would be pitted against #403, Leorio. Then it will be #200, Primna, who will fight against the loser of the previous match.

Then, finally, it will be the loser of the left branch against the loser of the right branch.

Quino couldn't help but think the bracket was a bit imbalanced. She wasn't the only one thinking that, right?

"All it takes is one win, then you pass," Chairman Netero reiterated. "The battle rules are quite simple. Weapons are allowed. No cheating. If your opponent admits defeat, you win. However! If you kill your opponent, you will be immediately disqualified. All remaining applicants will pass, and the exam will end. Are we clear?"

Without waiting for a response, the group was led to a room, the place where the tournaments will be held.

Quino felt very uncertain about all this. She knew she was going to have a hard time no matter who she was going to face off against. Gon or Hanzo were both strong and determined, at least that's what Quino surmised. But Hanzo would be tough because he would undoubtedly be more experienced and better at fighting than her, while Gon was her friend and facing off against her friend didn't sit right with her.

"The first match is Gon versus Hanzo. Please step forward," the designated referee called.

Hanzo and Gon did as they were told.

Quino was already feeling sick. She just had a really bad feeling about this match.

"I will serve as the referee. My name is Masta. Best of luck."

"Hey, good to see you again," Hanzo said, bringing the referee's attention to him, "You were tailing me during the Fourth Phase."

"You noticed?" the referee asked.

So it's true? Did everyone have someone tailing them?

"Naturally… I'm assuming that each applicant was assigned an examiner for the Fourth Phase. Well, I'm sure everyone noticed."

I had no idea… Wait! The men in black are examiners, too?

"You have my thanks. My rank was higher because your reports on me were accurate. Though the outcome was never in doubt!"

"Y-yeah," was all the referee said.

"Moving on, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"We only win if our opponent surrenders, correct? It doesn't count if we knock them unconscious. No TKOs allowed, either." Hanzo asked.

Quino felt a shiver go down her spine. Why would he want to know that? No, why would he need to know that?

"Yes, that is correct," the referee replied.

Hanzo looked intensely into Gon's eyes and Gon reciprocated that intensity.

They both looked so determined, Quino couldn't help notice. They both strive to become a Hunter, and I doubt neither of them will back down easily. Unlike me, who doesn't even really care about becoming a Hunter.

"Begin!" the referee called, signaling the start of the fight.

Quino watched as Gon leaped with tremendous speed past Hanzo. But… Hanzo quickly caught up with Gon.

"You must be confident in your legs. You have my respect," Hanzo said before he delivered a gruesome blow to the back of Gon's neck.

Quino gasped, knowing that probably would've knocked her out. No, never mind that. The amount of pain Gon would have to be in now...

"You did well for a kid. Well, this would already be over if it were a normal fight…"

Quino gritted her teeth as she felt tears pooling in her eyes. At that moment, Quino hated Hanzo. She hated him and his arrogant attitude.

"Here, wake up," Hanzo said, pushing Gon's back against his knee. Gon grunted, and Quino hated the fact that she couldn't do anything to help him.

Unless I disqualify myself. I don't really care if I become a Hunter. I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. All I had to do was withdraw, but I decided against it. But would Gon be in this predicament even if I weren't here? Would my disqualification then matter?

Quino was too upset and panicked to think straight.

"You must feel terrible. I hit you hard enough to make your brain bounce around. Do you understand? You have no chance against me. Might as well give up now…" Hanzo said as he looked down on Gon's prone form.

Quino had to look away.

I can't watch this. There's no way I can watch this fight. This is cruel, horrible, I hate this.

She, upon habit, coped in the only way she knew how: run to to safety.

Quino ran over to Primna, the force almost knocking Primna herself down, and dug into her hip. Right at that moment, she didn't care how pathetic or silly she looked. All that mattered was blocking the violence out.

XXX

Primna tensed, a look of pure surprise on her face. She looked down and spotted white hair. For a second, she thought it was Killua, and she was thinking of bashing in his head because he really had no place being there, but then she realized that it wasn't him. Killua didn't have dark skin or curly hair.

Quino.

A sigh escaped Primna's lips as she placed a hand on Quino's quivering form, her hand rubbing the child's back in an attempt to ease her. Primna understood how Quino felt. She wanted to go and handle that arrogant ninja herself, but that would get her disqualified. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't afford to be disqualified.

"...surrender now, you'll still be in decent shape for your next fight."

She felt anger boil inside of her, and the temptation of that cold but sweet exhilaration that coaxed her to do what felt natural to her sprung to life. It whispered to kill him. But she'd restrain herself. She has to.

"There's no reason to be stubborn," Hanzo admonished.

Primna curled the hand that wasn't on Quino into a fist, digging her fingers into her hands.

"Never gonna happen!" Gon shouted out.

I don't know whether to praise his perseverance or call him an idiot, Primna thought as she glanced between Gon and Hanzo.

"Surrender!"

She watched as Gon tried to pick himself up from the ground. He managed to get up, only for Hanzo to knock him back down with an uppercut to his stomach.

"Gon! Don't be silly! You'll still have another chance! You should…" Leorio called out, but was interrupted by Kurapika.

"Leorio! If you were in Gon's position, would you surrender?" Kurapika asked, trying to reason with Leorio.

"Hell, no!"

Primna couldn't help the little light-hearted chuckle that escaped her chest. She was struggling to control herself, and it looked like she wasn't the only one.

"That guy thinks he's hot stuff…" Leorio muttered through gritted teeth.

"Gon feels the same way!" Kurapika scolded.

"I know! I know that…"

Primna could feel her bloodlust clawing its way from deep within her. She couldn't let it take over.

I need to ignore what's happening around me. Just for a little bit. I just need to pretend it doesn't exist. Hide. I need to hide.

She clutched Quino closer to her side as Primna allowed herself to zone out.

Though, after an indeterminate amount if time, something brought Primna back to reality. As strange as it sounded, it was the silence that had alarmed her. Complete and utter silence, as if the room was waiting in bated breath. She looked upon Hanzo and Gon's fight, seeing what was happening.

"I don't want my legs cut off, but I don't want to surrender. So let's find a different way to fight!"

That alone made Primna give out a devilish grin. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she had noticed the atmosphere was a bit lighter than earlier. Primna rubbed Quino's head and looked down at her, noticing that Quino was watching the whole spectacle with astonishment.

"Hey… Do you understand your own situation?!" Hanzo yelled, his eyes expressing how ridoculous he thought of the situation.

"Heh, kid's got guts," Primna said. She looked at Leorio and Kurapika and saw that they were also just as astonished.

That's when the entirety of their audience tried to suppress their laughs.

"You don't get to make demands! Are you trying to insult me?! I'm seriously gonna cut off your legs!" said a very angry Hanzo.

"But I still will not surrender. Besides, if you do that, I'll bleed to death. He'll be disqualified if that happens, right?"

"Oh, yes," the referee said, having been distracted by Gon's ridiculous demands.

"Hah, this kid is amazing," Primna said to Kurapika and Leorio.

"See? Neither of us wants that to happen. So let's think of a better way."

Primna could tell Hanzo was pissed.

"I think he's okay now. Gon's taken control," Kurapika said.

"He's so self-centered…" Leorio muttered, still quite astonished.

"Self-centered? Nah, he's a riot!" Primna said, a snicker rolling out of her lips.

"But he's succeeded in convincing Hanzo and the rest of us. Honestly…" Kurapika said, breathing out the last bit.

That's when Primna witnessed Hanzo stop his sword at Gon's head, a little blood trickling down Gon's forehead. The scene had instantly destroyed the unexpected light atmosphere.

"You really don't get it… If you die, you'll never get another chance. If I kill you here, I need only try again next year. We are not on equal footing!"

Even so, Gon stared right into Hanzo's eyes. Only sheer stubbornness shone in his eyes.

Primna noticed Hanzo was losing his cool. "Why won't you concede? It's easy to do. You can try again next year. You value your pride more than your own life?! You're really willing to die for you pride?!"

After a few seconds passed, Gon decide to respond. "I'm going to find my dad."

"Your dad?"

"My dad is a Hunter. So I'm going to become a Hunter and find him! I believe that I'll find him one day… But I have a feeling that if I give up now, I'll never find him! So I won't surrender."

Primna felt the small smile on her face, the warmth that blossomed in her chest.

I really do have a soft spot for children, Primna thought.

"If you don't yield, you'll die…"

A minute passed, and Hanzo withdrew his weapon from Gon's forehead. "I give up. You win."

Primna looked on with wide eyes.

"I can't kill you. But I can't think of a way to make you surrender. I'll take this loss and take my chances in the next battle!"

Primna felt Quino quiver. She felt Quino's hands dig into her hip like a terrified child would.

"I can't accept that. That's not fair!"

What? Primna thought with incredulity.

"We both have to think of a way to settle this fight!" Gon said, causing everyone in the room to feel exasperated.

"Heh, I knew you would say that," Hanzo said coolly, then his face changed to one of incredulity, "You fool! There's no point, because you'll never surrender!"

"But I don't want to win like this!"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"We can work together to figure it out!"

Primna shook her head. She would feel like scolding Gon, but right now she worried over Quino. For some reason, Quino had yet to stop shaking.

Is she truly that horrified?

"...Let's move onto the next match."

"Understood," the referee said, replying to Hanzo's command.

"But I want to tell the executive committee something first. When he wakes up, he'll probably refuse his passing judgment. Because he's a stubborn boy as we've seen. Only one person will fail this round, right? If Gon fails, wouldn't that make the rest of our fights meaningless?"

Primna watched as a few men in black checked on the now unconscious Gon and carried him away to a room.

You did well, Gon, Primna thought with a proud smile. A smile similar to that of a proud parent.

XXX

The fight was over, and even though Killua was questioning Hanzo on why he gave up his fight with Gon, Kuriya could care less. After all, it was her turn now. She wasn't too thrilled about the match up.

It's partially my fault, Kuriya thought as she stepped forward toward the middle of the room. At the time, I hadn't thought of the possibility of the chairman making me fight Kurapika. But now...

Her eyes gazed into Kurapika's, his facial features betraying none of his thoughts.

Perhaps he wasn't even bothered, Kuriya thought.

"Begin!" the referee called, signaling that the fight has started.

"Well, this is a predicament," Kuriya remarked, making Kurapika frown.

"Stop with the mind games," Kurapika simply stated, though it sounded much like a demand.

It probably was, Kuriya thought as she smirked.

"Mind games? I wouldn't dream it. I just couldn't help but notice that this fight might turn deadly."

Kurapika didn't reply. All he did was stare.

"So what will it be? Weapons? No weapons? Whatever suits your fancy," Kuriya retorted with a small smile.

Kurapika said nothing, but he did take out his bokken.

"Weapons it is," Kuriya said tiredly as she grabbed her katana and unsheathed her blade. She looked into his eyes one more time before saying, "I will give you this opportunity to surrender now before things get dangerous. Because unlike this time, we'll have to fight until one of us gives up. And then whoever loses will have to fight Hisoka, of all people."

He said nothing in return.

She gave out a sigh upon hearing no answer. "Fine. I guess we'll start now. Ladies first, Kurapika." With that she charged, her katana ready to do as she wills it.

Kurapika blocked her katana with his bokken, but did nothing else. Then she took a step back and analyzed the situation.

She knew this was supposed to be a fight. She also knew that one of them was supposed to give up eventually. But Kuriya had a plan.

Kuriya closed the distance between them, almost managing to elbow Kurapika's shoulder. But Kuriya gracefully recovered by switching her stance and swinging her katana at Kurapika all in one motion. Surprisingly, the katana's blade barely nicked him. Then she put space between them.

"Hmm, you're faster than I had predicted," Kuriya commented as Kurapika breathed heavily.

She smirked, knowing that her plan would be a success. Kuriya just didn't want to hurt Kurapika too much.

XXX

Primna watched as Kuriya charged at Kurapika, who still looked a little out of breath. She feinted a punch to his chest, which Kurapika fell for, and soon Kurapika was on the floor due to his feet being swept from under him. Then Kuriya backed away.

She's playing with him, Primna thought as she watched Kuriya charge at Kurapika again once he had gotten back onto his feet.

Primna couldn't understand what her motive was.

Was she trying to anger him? Make him go ballistic?

She watched as Kuriya had hit him in the rib with the blunt edge of her katana, making Kurapika stagger.

All of her moves are slower than they usually are. What is she doing?

XXX

A few more minutes of Kuriya playing with Kurapika resulted in a very angry and tired Kurta.

"Stop playing with me!" Kurapika yelled. He charged at Kuriya as she backed away from him. However, Kuriya wasn't surprised at all. In fact, she looked like she had anticipated it.

In the blink of an eye, she parried Kurapika's weapons, punched him in the gut and kneed him in the stomach. Then she kicked him away from her, allowing him to crumble to the ground from the sudden onslaught.

She approached him, then whispered, "If you can't keep up with me, then you won't be able to even survive against the Troupe. Train, get stronger. The Spiders will gather in Yorknew City on August 31st. Don't get yourself killed."

Kuriya straightened up and sheathed her katana. "I surrender."

XXX

Primna gasped, wondering what was going through Kuriya's head.

Leorio, Killua, Kurapika, Malli, and Quino were just as surprised.

"Why?" Kurapika asked, glaring at Kuriya. Though he couldn't have been too angry since his Scarlet Eyes weren't active.

"You'll see," was all Kuriya said as she went back to the sidelines.

While incredibly tired and limbs protesting, Kurapika managed to get to the sidelines before collapsing onto the ground next to Leorio. He was amazed on how exhausted he was. All the while, he noticed Kuriya hadn't even broken a sweat.

The fight had lasted ten minutes, though that was only because Kuriya had simply played with the Kurta. Her next fight, however, she would not hold back.

XXX

"The third match is Hanzo versus Quino."

Primna felt her heart skip a beat.

What? Quino? Against Hanzo? No! That–

"Quino. You can just admit defeat. You don't have to fight him," Primna said, casting her gaze to the top of Quino's head.

Quino nodded, then pulled herself away from the comfort of Primna's hip. She walked toward the referee, her eyes cast down to the ground. Hanzo frowned.

"Begin!" the referee called.

Hanzo just stood there, watching Quino.

Quino picked her head up and clenched her hands into fists.

"You should just surrender," Hanzo muttered, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Maybe," Quino said, then walked toward Hanzo.

Hanzo allowed her to get closer. "My mom always said to me to do one thing in situations like this."

Like a predator watching its prey, Hanzo stood still.

Quino took out the small smithing hammer that she kept in her shorts' pocket. "But I'm not sure if this situation qualifies."

Hanzo whipped out the blade that he had held at Gon's forehead. The sight made Quino shiver.

"Just give up. Before you actually get hurt," Hanzo said; he wasn't joking around.

"I'll fight until I can't anymore!" Quino yelled. She hoped that somehow Gon would give her the strength to pass this.

Hanzo sighed, then launched at her. Just as he was about to punch her, she did the one thing that she was talking about earlier: she kicked Hanzo where it hurt.

As if the thought that somebody would ever kick him there never crossed his mind, there was no armor covering the area. He grunted, stiffening up like a board. Quino used this moment to swing her hammer onto Hanzo's left foot, another area that was absent of protection. Everyone heard the crunch from the impact on Hanzo's foot.

Quino took a few steps back, bringing up her smithing hammer with one hand.

"You little…" Hanzo said through gritted teeth.

"Surrender, or you'll get even more hurt!" Quino yelled. She knew it was the fear talking, but she didn't know how to calm herself down. She was running on pure adrenaline at this point.

Hanzo threw shurikens at her, and Quino instinctively ducked just as one whizzed by her head.

"Give up or I'll have to hurt you!" Quino warned.

Hanzo got up, though kept losing his balance because of his horrendously injured left foot. Before Quino knew it, Hanzo had her in a chokehold. Quino struggled against his grip but to no avail. That's when she decided to do something that was probably ridiculous and hopefully wouldn't backfire on her.

Quino, feeling really uncertain about doing this but having the means to do so, pinched Hanzo's thigh hard. With a cry, he let Quino go. Quino got up and kicked him where it hurts again. Then she picked up her hammer that she had dropped and swung at his right arm. He moved just in time to save his arm from being broken, but it hit his hand instead.

After doing all of this, Quino retreated, panting heavily. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she still held fast to her smithing hammer. In fact, she gripped it so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Just give up! You can just win the next fight," Quino yelled, fire in her eyes.

Hanzo got up unsteadily, his left foot and right hand out-of-commission.

"I've made your foot and hand practically useless! Just surrender before I take more from you!" Quino yelled. Her cheeks were puffed out, her head held high in defiance.

Hanzo sighed and assessed the damage to both his foot and hand. Then he raised his hand. "Fine. I surrender."

Quino gaped openly at Hanzo, as if she couldn't believe he surrendered. To Quino, though, she was sure he would keep fighting until he managed to make her surrender. Quino dropped to her butt, not even registering the pain that caused her. All she felt was relief.

Primna rushed over to Quino's side and picked her up. She watched as Quino gave her a small smile before she passed out, her small smithing hammer hitting the floor with a hard and loud thud. Primna noted that the sound it had made when it fell signified that the hammer was deceptively heavier than it looked.

"Miss, if you don't mind we'll carry her over to a waiting room to rest," one of the examiners in black said.

Primna feebly gave Quino's limp body to the man, and he carried her out of the arena. She hoped that Quino and Gon would end up being okay.


Hey everybody!

So, I'm going to crank out some more chapters after this. Um, yeah, that's about all I have to say.

I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

Erm, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Mmm, yep, that's all. Bye bye!