Well, that ended a lot faster than I thought it would've, Kuriya thought as she made her way toward the center of the room again.
On the other side, facing against her, was Hisoka. She wasn't sure how she could win this one.
"Begin!" the referee called out.
Hisoka and Kuriya simply stood in their spots, neither of them moving to attack.
"I have a question," Kuriya stated, her voice authoritative and frank.
"Mmm?" was all Hisoka said in response.
"How badly do you want a Hunter License?" Kuriya asked, testing the waters. She needed to see if she could possibly bargain.
"It's not the Hunter License I want," Hisoka said, drawing a card seemingly out of thin air.
She knew the words that he chose to omit.
I want you.
Kuriya had hoped it wouldn't be like this, but it seemed she wasn't lucky this time around.
"Unfortunately, you can't kill me," Kuriya said as she drew out her katana from its sheath.
"That is unfortunate."
But that won't stop me.
Kuriya sighed. I suppose I'll have to do this the hard way.
"Let's set a condition," Kuriya spoke up, garnering Hisoka's attention.
"Oh? And what's that?"
"We settle this in one minute. Whoever knocks the other to the ground first wins. However, if one minute passes by, and neither of us have knocked the other to the ground, then I will automatically lose. Also, no weapons."
Hisoka grinned and said, "What an interesting game. Fine, I'll play along."
Kuriya looked at the referee on standby and asked, "Could you signal the start of this?"
The referee looked toward the chairman, who nodded, and then nodded.
Kuriya sheathed her katana and laid her weapon near the sidelines. She watched as Hisoka withdrew his card.
Hopefully that means he won't cheat. I never said you couldn't, Kuriya thought as she went back to where she was at. Here goes nothing.
"Begin!" the referee called.
Kuriya and Hisoka clashed, hands locked and muscles working on overdrive. They were purely wrestling, both trying to push the other down with mere strength alone. It wasn't long before Kuriya realized they were about evenly matched. Hisoka decided to let go and step back a few spaces. Kuriya was falling, but she balanced herself and charged at him.
They traded blows, both ending up roughing the other up. Kuriya swiped her leg at Hisoka's. Hisoka lost his balance but gripped onto Kuriya's arm strongly, nails digging so harshly that they made her arm bleed. Kuriya then elbowed his face, wrenched his hand free from her arm, then threw her body onto him. His back landed on the ground, Kuriya landed on top of him, and they were both out of breath from the whole ordeal.
Realizing their positions, Kuriya quickly got up and stated, "You lose."
Hisoka chuckled. "You're growing exceptionally."
Kuriya only glared back.
Raising his hand up, Hisoka declared, "I give up."
Even so, the fight was thrilling to watch.
XXX
Malli watched with a hint of amusement as Hisoka went back to the sidelines. She saw his eyes slide to her and he stared at her for a second before looking elsewhere. Despite the speed of which he had casted his gaze around the room, Malli got the message: don't go overboard.
"The fifth match is Hanzo versus Pokkle," the referee called out.
Both Hanzo and Pokkle stepped forward.
"Begin!"
She licked her lips in anticipation.
I can't wait 'til I get to go! Then I'll show Killua that I'm super strong and awesome!
Her train of thought caused her to jump a little in excitement, much to Hisoka's amusement.
Much to her disappointment, however, the fight had ended far earlier than she had wanted. Hanzo managed to get Pokkle into the same position that he got Gon in previously: his knee pushing into Pokkle's back. This time around, though, the opponent surrendered right away.
Man! That was hardly fun at all, Malli whined in her head. I hope the next match isn't a disappointment too. Though Kuri and Dad's fight was pretty cool! Kuri is so awesome!
"The sixth match is Hisoka versus Bodoro."
Bodoro?
Malli watched as her dad and an old man stepped forward. Upon seeing the old man, her hope of having another awesome fight was shot.
I bet this is going to be over super quick, Malli thought as she watched the referee glance between the two.
"Begin!" the referee called out.
The match between Hisoka and Bodoro was uneventful. Uneventful in the sense that Hisoka completely destroyed Bodoro. Malli suspected that would've happened.
But I wonder what Dad whispered in the man's ear, Malli thought as she watched Hisoka walk back to the sidelines. She didn't think much about how Bodoro had suspiciously surrendered immediately after Hisoka whispered into his ear.
The old man was so badly wounded that he couldn't even move out of the way. He was dragged to the sidelines, and the tournament resumed much to Malli's excitement.
"The seventh match is Malli versus Pokkle."
Malli hadn't even realized that she was next until the referee had announced it.
"Yes!" Malli exclaimed as she rushed out of the sidelines.
However, her excitement soon turned into irritation when she realized that she was facing off against probably the weakest person out of the applicants. To say she felt cheated would be an understatement.
"Aw, man! I wanted to have a fight, not a massacre!"
Pokkle frowned, not liking that he was being underestimated by a little girl.
"Begin!" the referee called out.
Pokkle readied his bow and arrows while Malli simply just stood there.
She wasn't feeling it. Malli wasn't feeling excited at all. Even as the arrow fired and sped toward her, Malli simply stepped to the side and the arrow simply passed by her.
"Hmm, I don't feel like fighting him. I'll just fight the next person," Malli said as she walked back to the sidelines, making Pokkle win by default.
"The eighth match is Bodoro versus Leorio," the referee announced.
"Um, I think Bodoro needs to recover some more. Can we do our match later?" Leorio asked, catching the referee's attention.
The referee looked at the chairman, who nodded. "Very well. The eighth match is Malli versus Killua."
Malli's yellow eyes widened. Her heart stopped, and she felt a cold sweat rushing through her body.
I have to fight Killua?
She was frozen in place, her face betraying just how much she didn't like this match.
"Malli, you're next," Kuriya said from right beside her.
"But, Kuri–"
"Go, Malli," Kuriya firmly said to the girl.
With a shaky sigh, Malli walked toward the center and out of the sidelines.
She looked straight at Killua, who looked nonchalant.
"Begin!" the referee called out.
"Um, so–"
Killua charged at her, nails sharp and ready to slice into her.
Malli gasped, dodging Killua's relentless attacks.
I don't want to fight him. But it would make me look weak if I didn't fight him, right?
A full 30 seconds of Killua on the offensive and Malli on the defensive passed by, and Malli had finally had it.
"I-I give up!"
Killua stopped mid-launch, his eyes glaring icily at her.
"I'm sorry. I just don't have it in me to hurt you," Malli said quiet enough for only Killua's ears.
Killua simply shrugged and walked back to the sidelines.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Malli went back to the sidelines as well.
The entire fight lasted about 40 seconds.
"Could we wait for one more fight?" Leorio asked.
The referee looked to Chairman Netero, who shrugged his shoulders. The referee nodded in agreement.
"The ninth match is Malli versus Gittarackur."
Malli walked out of the sidelines again. Though instead of disinterest or dread, she felt excited as she looked at her opponent.
In fact, the amount of excitement she was feeling alarmed her. Who she was about to face was dangerous, so dangerous that she wasn't even sure if she'd make this out in one piece.
But that would disqualify this guy, Malli thought.
Her usual exuberance was replaced by a serious expression, which surprised nearly everyone.
"Begin!" the referee called out.
All Malli knew, was that this fight might not end prettily.
XXX
Malli's suspicion was, unfortunately, spot on.
She was dangling from Gittarackur's, or rather Illumi's, hand as he choked her. Try as she might, she couldn't claw his hand off of her throat. And the icing on the cake was Illumi's constant threats about killing Gon and her right in front of his eyes.
Though why he would lump me in with Gon makes no sense, Malli thought as she glared at Illumi despite the lack of oxygen going into her lungs. Killua doesn't care about me nearly as much as Gon.
She wasn't paying attention to what Illumi was saying, what threats he was brainwashing Killua with, but she knew by the way Killua looked at the scene that he was undergoing trauma.
Malli really wanted to use Nen. She wanted to blast Illumi straight in the face with her Bubble Gum Gun. But she couldn't, because there are non-Nen user witnesses, Killua being one of those.
So, here she was, dangling in the enemy's hand and unable to fix anything. And as much as she wanted Killua to rescue her, she realized that she really didn't like being a damsel in distress.
Just as she was about to faint from the lack of oxygen, she felt herself collide with the floor below her. She coughed, breathing in air greedily. Malli felt beaten, worn, and excited, but she hardly cared about any of that when her eyes landed on Killua's form.
He looked broken, lost, and vacant. Malli wanted to scream and kill Illumi. The fight between Malli and Illumi had ended, with Illumi surrendering. Illumi walked back to the sidelines and Malli rushed over to Killua's side as soon as she could.
XXX
Leorio didn't want to leave Killua's side, but he knew his match was up next.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's okay," Malli said as she grabbed Killua's hand. It felt too cold for her liking, and it wasn't just the temperature of his hand she was talking about either.
"Go on, Leorio," Kurapika insisted.
"The tenth match is Bodoro versus Leorio," the referee announced.
Malli was so consumed with making Killua respond to her that she didn't notice the fight had already begun.
"Killua?" she asked as he stood up from his sitting position on the floor. His eyes were still dark though, and it felt eerie to her. She noticed his fingernails on his left hand were sharp and ready to attack. Feeling panic overtake her, she grabbed Killua's right hand. "Killua, where are you going?"
His eyes momentarily lightened, but only for half a second. He flicked her hand off of him and raced toward the fight.
Malli opened her mouth to stop him, to tell him to come back, but she had been too late.
Killua had swiftly gotten to Bodoro and slashed him in the chest, killing the old man in the process.
She was shocked, not knowing what to do in that moment.
"Killua," she called, running after him.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes, getting away from the wall he was leaning on to rush over to Malli.
But Killua looked back and simply said, "Don't follow me." Then he left.
Malli entered a catatonic state.
The committee disqualified him soon after.
XXX
Quino was looking down at her desk when the doors to the hallway slammed open. She looked up to find Gon standing there. Quino felt a little better knowing that Gon felt well enough to be up and about.
But why does he look so angry?
He walked down the steps, passing everyone by. Then he stopped at Killua's brother, Illumi.
"Apologize to Killua!" Gon said with such a heated voice that Quino was glad it wasn't directed at her.
Illumi turned his head to look at Gon. "Apologize? For what?"
"You don't know what you did wrong?" Gon asked.
"Nope."
"You don't have the right to be his brother."
Illumi turned his head away from Gon. "Must I earn the right to be his brother?"
Gon shot out his arm and grabbed Illumi's wrist, hulling him above him. Illumi dropped back down.
"He doesn't need to earn the right to be my friend!" Gon clenched Illumi's wrist painfully. "Don't bother apologizing. Just take me to see Killua."
"What will you do then?"
"That should be obvious… I'm gonna rescue Killua!" Gon said.
"You make it sound as though I kidnapped him… He walked away on his own," Illumi said.
"But it wasn't by choice. He was being manipulated by you. It's the same thing as kidnapping him!"
That's when Chairman Netero decided to intervene. "We happened to be discussing this very subject, Gon. Kurapika and Leorio have both lodged complaints. The committee has been discussing the fairness of Killua's disqualification."
Kurapika stood up from his seat. "Killua had been behaving in a strange manner during and since Malli's battle with the man who called himself Gittarackur! I believe that he was hypnotized into committing murder. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to use hypnosis to induce a person to kill. However, as Killua was raised in a family of assassins, murder was a part of his daily life, so it's natural that he would lack the ethical restraint of most!"
"I want to mention that the attack happened during the match between Bodoro and me. It's possible that he was trying to help me. Given that, the one who should be disqualified is me," Leorio said.
"In any case, Killua was not in control of his own actions. Thus, he should not have been disqualified!"
"That is mere speculation," Chairman Netero said.
"Speculation," Malli mimicked softly, her words only heard by Kuriya. Kuriya rubbed Malli's arm, acknowledging that she heard her.
"There is no proof," Netero continued, "There were no clear signs of manipulation. In fact, I would question the claim that he was hypnotized. I agree that the incident occurred after the battle between Leorio and Bodoro had begun. At that point, both fighters were evenly matched. Bodoro had more experience. But in terms of raw combat ability, Leorio was the stronger. There was no need for Killua to interfere."
"There was some other funny business happening," Pokkle mentioned. "Like when you fought Kuriya. Back then, what did she say to you? Neither of you seemed hurt enough to be unable to continue. But Kuriya whispered something in your ear, right before conceding. That's pretty strange. I'd understand surrendering after your opponent whispers something to you, as happened with Hanzo and me, or Bodoro and Hisoka. Because we were under considerable pressure. But in your case, the exact opposite happened. I have to wonder if you struck some sort of bargain. If you're going to question anything that seems odd, your own victory was quite odd, indeed. If you have nothing to hide, you should tell us what he said. Right now."
XXX
Kuriya rolled her eyes at the archer.
It's nothing for him to know. I only told him when and where the Phantom Troupe is meeting. A weakling like you doesn't need to get involved in such matters, Kuriya thought as she glanced at Malli. Kuriya needed to keep a close eye on her, lest she becomes consumed with unbridled bloodlust like Primna during the Fourth Phase.
"I have no obligation to tell you," Kurapika replied.
"Maybe not, but I believe you owe it to us," Pokkle urged.
"Not really. If you consider my victory to be odd, a victory by default would be equally odd," Kurapika responded coolly. Kuriya had to fight the snicker that threatened to release.
"What?!"
"None of that matters…" Malli whispered under her breath.
"Come on… I want to get this lecture over with so I can leave," Hanzo said.
"None of that matters!" Gon yelled.
The room fell silent.
"It's pointless to argue over whether someone should have passed," Gon said.
Kuriya saw out of the corner of her eye Primna smiling like a proud parent.
"If you aren't happy about passing, keep working until you're satisfied. If Killua retakes the Hunter Exam, he'll definitely pass! It's unfortunate that he failed this time, but it is what it is. What does matter… If you've been forcing Killua to kill, against his will, all this time, I'll make you pay!"
"Make me pay?" Illumi said. "What, exactly, will you do?"
"I won't do anything," Gon started, "Only, once I rescue Killua, I'll never let you see him again!"
Kuriya noticed how Malli perked up a little at what the boy said.
Chairman Netero 'coughed.' "Is everyone finished? Gon is absolutely correct. You must decide for yourselves if you were worthy of passing. You may complain about the results all you like, but we will not be changing our minds. Killua had been disqualified. And the rest of you have passed the exam."
Mr Beans and Chairman Netero looked at each other and nodded. Then Mr. Beans stepped forward. "Okay, then I shall continue the orientation," Mr. Beans said.
He held up a Hunter's License. "The cards I've passed out are your Hunter Licenses. This card allows you to enter 90% of the countries that limit immigration, as well as 75% of the restricted areas in the world."
Fascinating, Kuriya thought as she eyed her own.
"This card also provides free access to 95% of public facilities, and a line of credit that rivals large corporations," Mr. Beans explained.
Malli looked at the card with a blank look.
Quino was hooked the moment she heard that she had free access to nearly all public facilities and her line of credit rivaled large corporations.
This little thing really gives me that? Quino thought.
"If you sell the cards, you'll have enough money to last seven lifetimes," Mr. Beans continued, "And if you keep it, you'll still be living in comfort. So take extra care that your license isn't lost or stolen. You won't receive a replacement. According to our estimates, one in five Hunters lose their card within a year of receiving it. As a Hunter, your first challenge is to protect your card. The rest is up to you. Rise above challenges, believe in your own strength, and fulfill your dreams."
"We now declare the twelve members here to be new Hunters!"
Hey everybody!
This one is a short one, and also the last chapter. Er, I'm sorry for not realizing that the Hunter Exam Arc actually ends after "rescuing" Killua from the Zoldyck mansion. Heheh, oops. So, um, yeah, sorry about that. Well then, I hope you all have enjoyed this fanfic. And I'm sorry to suddenly feel the need to rewrite this fanfic but I feel like I can do better (doesn't every writer feel that way after they've written their work though..?).
So, here's the plan. I'll post a chapter during the week, then another this coming Sunday. BUT I'll make it a schedule to update every Sunday (unless if I have time during the week, which is most likely not the case but who knows?). And I'll do the rewritten fanfic under a new name (title, whatever you want to call it). Since I like the title quite a bit (because you'd have to look up the word "bound" to really appreciate the ingenuity behind why I picked that specific word), the rewritten fic will probably be "Bound Paths Remastered" or something like that. Doing the rewritten work under a new story seems easier and cleaner than going back and fixing everything.
And just in case you didn't know, I don't own Hunter x Hunter. The beautiful work belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro.
I hope you have enjoyed this fic and I swear that I will make the rework just as great (if not better!). With that said, I'll see you all in the rewritten work! Thank you all who have favorited, followed, and... reviewed (was going to type subscribed...)! Bye bye!
