The next day
As Leorio walks in the room, he speaks to the three of us "Gon, Kurapika has just left to go back to work for his boss."
Gon whines "What? He left?"
Leorio nods "But don't worry, we'll see him again. He said to keep training hard."
Gon frowns "What? He didn't have to worry about that..."
Killua's eyes narrow towards Gon "Weren't you happy that Kurapika was leaving Yorknew City?"
I nod "I specifically remember you saying, you wanted him to be far away from the spiders."
Gon turns around, quickly retorting at us "Sure, but he left without telling us."
I blurt out "Technically, no. He did tell us, one of us to be specific."
Leorio throws something to Gon "Here."
Gon catches it as Leorio smiles "It's from Zephile. He said that you'll see him again."
Gon retorts "Eh?"
I put up two fingers "That makes two of us down for the count."
Gon looks utterly shocked at Leorio "Zephile-san's gone, too?"
Leorio nods "Yeah, and he recovered your hundred million, as promised."
Gon checks the bank book "He really did..."
Leorio smiles, focusing on Gon "Now you can buy back your Hunter License."
Gon nods "Yeah... Zephile-san really is special."
I turn to look at Killua "That means now all we have to do is focus on training."
Gon turns around to nod at us "Yeah!"
3 days later
As we sit in the waiting hall, I turn to Killua "You pumped to knock some people over with our abilities?"
Killua nods "Yeah! Let's all get into this together!"
I smile at Killua, briefly as the attendant speaks up, making us all focus on the attendant "I apologize for keeping everyone waiting. We will now begin selecting the players. As everyone already knows, you must be able to use Nen for this game. The test will proceed as follows. First, we need each applicant to demonstrate their Nen. We will then make our decisions. The judge will be the pro Hunter, Mr. Tsezgerra!"
Tsezgerra from earlier that said we had no chance in this game steps, speaking to all the people "Let us begin the test. One at a time, come up and show me your Ren. A shutter and curtain will block any view of the stage, so other applicants cannot see what's happening. The moment we've chosen thirty-two players, the test will end."
The shutter completely closes as the attendant speaks up "Please step this way to take the test." I turn to Killua "Well that was... explanative."
The attendant, calls each applicant through.
I sit in my seat, not budging a inch as I watch Killua go into deep thought "He must be thinking what's happening and weighing every option and the surroundings of what's going on."
A guy behind us laughs, snapping Killua out of his deep thought "Those guys are hopeless... They don't stand a chance."
We turn around to look at an egg head shaped man in a purple tux, exclaiming together "Huh?" The man speaks up "I'm talking about the ones still in line and those waiting nearby. Especially the ones standing next to the line. They're probably waiting for someone to return, so they can ask what's inside. If you did some research and used your head, you'd see there's no rush."
Killua thinks for a moment "I get it! This time, they aren't choosing thirty-two players!"
The man responds "Exactly. it's been over ten years, and no one's cleared the game. And new players can't begin if old ones are still alive. Meaning that they have to save a few spots in case extraordinary players appear. I'd guess they'll choose around twenty this round... Personally, I'd say those in line or standing nearby have no shot. Anyone worthwhile either got in line at once, or figured out the trick and stayed in their seats to focus, like we did."
The man turns to Gon "Wouldn't you agree, kid?"
I turn to look at Gon. As I'm focusing on what his doing, Killua speaks "You realised what was going on?"
Gon looks up "Well, it was just a hunch. I thought it was only natural that the hosts would want to test everyone here."
The man laughs as Killua turns to me "What about you?"
I respond "I would be lying if I said yes, but as these events typically go you would want to control the flow, siphon out the good from the bad and then from the good knock out the ones that left you the least impressed..."
Killua nods "I see..."
The man stops laughing "That's true. You kids win! Yeah, I'm impressed. Not many people stick to their ideals. The steeper and more dangerous the path, the greater the need for both wit and ignorance to move forward."
The attendant calls out "Next please!"
The man walks to line up, turning around to us "My name is Puhat. Nice to meet you."
Killua points at the man "People who act smart usually fail."
The man frowns, looking down at the floor after being shot down.
Gon retorts "He can hear you."
I look at Killua chuckling "Poor guy, you should have gone easy on him."
Killua thinks for a moment after he jumps down "I'm heading over."
Gon nod "Yep, good luck."
I jump down to join Killua "I'll be joining in line as well."
Gon nods, wishing me good luck as well. Killua goes up first as I wait to be called up next. The man calls me up next as I walk through the door, standing in front of Tsezgerra.
Tsezgerra speaks up "Let me see you Ren."
I grin "How about I show you something else for dissing me and my friends."
Tsezgerra grins "That's fine. You're free to show me anything that demonstrates your power. Prove that the Ren I saw previously didn't represent your true power."
I nod "All right then I hope you don't mind..."
I hold out my hand, pulling a scythe out of the shadows "So you insulted us before... Saying that we would never have a chance..."
Tsezgerra smirks "Just a scythe...? You're going to need to impress me a little better conjurer..."
I grin, wrapping shadows from the wall around my weapon, swinging it at Tsezgerra I stop, almost touching him "I'm not a conjurer... However..."
My grin gets bigger with each passing second "You insulted someone dear to me... You ever insult my boyfriend again... I'll make sure to swing this blade completely through... taking your head off..." I let go of the blade, dispersing the weapon.
I smile innocently at Tsezgerra "Did I pass?"
Tsezgerra blinks, sweating profusely "Y-Yes... just go through that door... You've passed"
I make my way up the steps, waving to Killua "Looks like I passed."
As Killua smiles, I manage to make it half way up the steps before hearing an explosion.
I turn around, thinking out loud "The hell was that...?"
As the door opens, Gon pokes his head through the door.
Killua and I retort together in surprise "Gon?"
Gon runs up the step towards us "Killua! Daniel! Good, you got chosen."
I sit besides Killua as he retorts "Of course. Was that boom your doing?"
Gon nods "Uh-huh."
Killua turns to me "So how did you pass?"
I grin "Oh~, I think it's better if I leave it up to your imagination..."
Killua freaks out as I laugh like a crazy man.
After a short brief crazy laugh, I cough, clearing my throat "Sorry I had a crazy moment just then..."
Killua nods as we wait while other people join us as the room fills up slightly.
But if you really must know~ I threatened Tsezgerra for insulting you earlier... I would dare say... It felt very fulfilling...
Time Skip
Tsezgerra speaks up as he walks in "Well, allow me to congratulate you. The twenty-two people here have earned the right to play Greed Island. Upon clearing the game you will receive 50 billion Jenny. The details are in the contract, so read and sign it before you depart at 5pm."
Killua looks over the contract "Let's take it to Leorio and see what he thinks." I nod at Killua as we pick up the contract, leaving to go see Leorio.
A short while later
We sit at a bar as Leorio cheers us on "You've made it past first stage."
As Gon hands Leorio our contract, he speaks up "Could you look at this for us?"
Leorio puts down his drink, looking at it "What is it...? A contract?"
Leorio reads it over, responding after reading through it "Looks like it can be summarized in three points. First, you can't file any claims if you're injured or die."
How the hell do you file a claim if you're dead?!
"Second, any items that you bring out of the game belong to Mr. Battera. Third, if you clear the game, you will receive a 50-Billion Jenny reward."
Leorio smiles "I don't see any problems."
Gon nods "Yep!"
Leorio speaks up "So once you sign it, you're good to go."
Killua retorts "That second point seems important."
I nod "Yeah! I was actually thinking about that, what if the clue your dad left behind is an item in the game?"
Killua nods "Anything in the game you bring out belongs to Battera. That's why he's paying big bucks."
Leorio responds "Anything? Like what?"
Gon responds firmly "I'm willing to hand it over. I'm not looking for items. I just want to get closer to Ging!"
I nod "Sure, if that's how you feel, whom am I to stop you..."
We sign our contracts, taking our leave.
Leorio waves us off "See ya." Gon nods "Good luck on your exam, Leorio."
I grin "No partying just pile drive into those books."
Leorio nods back "Yeah, you guys be careful."
Gon responds "Next time we see you, you'll be a doctor."
Leorio frowns, looking at Gon "Wouldn't that mean we won't see each other for at least four years?"
Killua grins smugly "We plan to clear the game much more quickly."
Leorio retorts back as he grins "I don't intend to fall back behind."
I retort "Technically, you're already behind in using Nen... compared to us. So you better snap to it... if you're going to catch up to us."
Leorio adjust his glasses "You bet!"
Time Skip
The train trip is relatively quiet. Gon falls asleep as I read.
As Killua lays his head on my shoulder tired, I turn to Killua "You can sleep I don't mind... I'm still a little bit awake."
Killua rubs his eyes at me "I'm fine... besides you seem a tiny bit distant."
I close the book, looking at Killua "How so?"
Killua shrugs his shoulders "Every since you father dropped by and embarrassed the shit out of you... you seem to be in your own little world."
I nod, smiling weakly "I guess I am, after reading the book... he left clues here and there that helped me understand the reason for why I'm here."
Killua retorts sleepily "Because we heading for the Greed Island round up."
I shake my head, chuckling at Killua's tired response "I was supposed to be the crowbar, the thing that unbinds my family."
Killua lays his head back on me "uh-huh..."
I turn to Killua "I'm glad I met you..."
Killua snaps awake, blushing profusely "What?"
I smile, running my hand through his hair "To have you here by my side... not only does it give me a reason to keep fighting, but... having you around makes me smile, even when shit is going wrong around me, for that I thank you."
I lean in, kissing Killua on the lips as he blushes "Oh, but... I haven't done nothing."
I look at Killua "You've given me advice here and there, that has help me. You've given me a shoulder to cry on... no matter how embarrassing it was for me. As well as other things... that I don't want to say out loud."
I wink at Killua as he flares up "Oh... OH!"
Killua lays back on my shoulder "Well don't ah... stay awake for too long..."
I smile at Killua "I won't."
Killua nods as he falls asleep softly snoring.
I place a hand around the back of Killua's head, moving in for another kiss.
Killua moans softly in his sleep as I smile, resting my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. As I stroke my hand through his hair, Killua softly mumbles in his sleep "I love you Daniel..."
I blush, taken back by what Killua had just said in his sleep. I continue to stroke his hair, whispering into his chest "Words cannot describe how much you mean to me Killua Zoldyck..."
I continue to listen to his heart beat, being overcome with sleep.
