Chapter Seven: Eccedentesiast

Emi blinked, wide-eyed. "Already?"

Applicants around her clamoured excitedly, giving each other high-fives, fist bumps, and in some cases, even hugs.

Menchi turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Was that not enough? You want more?"

Raising her hands in a 'no, thank you' gesture, Emi shook her head.

Menchi cracked a smile. Behind her, the old man—chairman—spoke up, gesturing away from the cliffside. "Now, those of you who have passed—let's board the blimp, shall we?"

The ones who failed were led to an Association-owned car to be driven to the closest town.

Afterwards, he turned around and made his way up the retractable ramp. Buhara and Satotz followed, prompting the applicants to move.

Menchi sidled up to Emi. "Yo."

"Hello…" Emi squeezed the straps of her rucksack, stepping forward and onto the ramp. "Was there something I could do for you?"

"I guess you could say that." The older girl—woman?—looked at her quizzically, then laughed. "You don't have to look so scared." She raised her hands behind her head. "I don't bite, unless you're food."

Emi quashed a giggle of disbelief, but couldn't stop an eyebrow from lifting. Upon noticing, Menchi laughed again.

Taking a deep breath, Menchi followed Emi into the blimp. In a strange way, the airship was almost cute with the painted-on triangles made to look like cartoonish teeth and blockish 'eyes'.

The pink-haired woman spoke up, "I actually wanted to ask about your sushi. I saw how intently you were working on it—weird smell and all—but I never got to try it."

"Oh." Heart pounding, Emi paused mid-step and turned to face the pink-haired woman. "You still wanted to, even though that test is over?"

"Yes! As a Gourmet Hunter, I want to try as many different foods as possible, in as many different ways as possible. Do you still have it?"

Pressing a finger against her chin, Emi hummed. "That makes sense." She paused. "I do still have it, but it probably won't be as good as it was before… if it was any good to begin with." Emi chuckled nervously.

Menchi waved her off. "I still want to try it."

Shrugging, Emi smiled weakly.

The brunette anxiously clenched and unclenched her fists around the rucksack's straps. Maybe it was worth a try.

Up ahead, the chairman, Buhara, and Satotz stopped in front of a large window, the applicants forming a semicircular-esque blob.

"Emi! Over here!" Leorio waved her over.

Emi glanced back at Menchi who nodded. Giving the Phase Two examiner a small smile, Emi made her way over to Leorio.

In front of the group, Menchi stepped forward. "We're due to arrive at the next destination at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Off to the side, the chairman spoke with a short bald man who looked to be an assistant or a secretary in hushed tones.

Visibly getting frustrated, Menchi raised her voice. "It's free time until the next meeting. Dismissed!"

Immediately, the group began dispersing, and Gon standing in front of Emi immediately turned to Killua. "We have free time!"

Emi stifled a chuckle as she followed the boys down a hallway into a room.

Inside, a few other applicants were setting up places to rest along the perimeter, the middle of the room relatively bare.

Their little group made their way to an unoccupied spot directly across from the doorway, setting their bags down. Kurapika sank to the floor letting out an exhausted exhale. Leorio quickly followed suit.

"Kurapika," Gon said. "You're coming with us to explore the airship, aren't you?"

"I'll pass," he forced out.

"I see…" Gon turned to Leorio, quickly glancing up at Emi. "How about you two, Leorio? Emi?"

"I'll pass, too." Leorio drawled out, words slurring ever-so-slightly. "I don't have any energy left for that. You two just go ahead."

Giving a small smile, Emi shrugged. "I would, but I don't know if I can keep up. There's also something I have to take care of first. If I see you later, I might join."

"Okay." Gon nodded enthusiastically. "We're off!" He said, jumping up and running out.

Emi smiled. "They really are energetic, aren't they?"

Leorio groaned in agreement. "The only thing I want to do now is sleep…"

"Same here… It was really a long day…" Kurapika hummed. "It'd be good to rest while we can."

Even the thick carpet couldn't muffle Tonpa's heavy footfalls. "You ought to be careful." He stopped in front of the trio, looking down at the sitting boys. "You never know, this could be the test site for Phase Three.

"They may not necessarily call us at eight o'clock in the morning. You could wake up to find that the Exam was conducted while you slept. If you want to pass the next test, you'd better not let your guard down."

Having made his point, the middle-aged man walked off.

Emi scoffed, drawing the boys' attention as they exchanged glances.

"What's the matter, Emi?" Leorio looked up at her.

"Menchi never said anything about Phase Three happening now—in fact, none of the people from the Association did. I don't think they'd lie to us at this point—they might not necessarily tell the whole truth either—" The captain's and bus driver's face flashed through her mind. "—But they wouldn't lie." Emi turned to face the boys who seemed a little more awake. "Besides, even if the free time was just 'for now'—" she made air quotes* using her fingers "—I'm sure they'd tell us if something changed or was going to happen. Their goal is to test us, not have us fail. The chairman proved that when he showed up after that mess of a Phase Two."

"And," she shot a glare at Tonpa's retreating back as she rubbed the back of her head. "It's not like he's against using underhanded tricks to get rookies to fail."

Leorio ruffled his hair on the back of his head. "I guess you have a point."

Emi heaved a sigh. "If you're still worried about it, we can sleep in shifts."

"There's no need." Kurapika shook his head. "Emi's right, Leorio. If something else was going to happen, the Hunter Association would have as much, or at the very least, given a hint of some sort."

Leorio huffed. "I guess…" He turned to Emi. "So, mind sharing what's so important that you can't go exploring with Gon and that white-haired kid?"

Emi's lips twitched up into a half-smile. "I couldn't go with Gon and Killua because I want to take a shower and stretch first."

Kurapika wrinkled his nose. "That's a good point. We're covered in dust and dirt from running in the tunnels and swamp, not to mention the cliff that we had to climb to get those Spider-Eagle eggs…"

Emi nodded. "Exactly. A warm bath and a bit of light exercise should help alleviate some of the soreness so we can do well on the rest of the Exam."

"You're right." Leorio nodded, then paused. "That being said, I really don't want to move!..."

"You want some cheese with that whine?" Emi teased. "C'mon, the longer you wait, the worse it'll be." She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. "We can also eat afterwards."

As she spoke, Leorio's stomach gurgled.

Straighten up, Emi chuckled. "See?"

Embarrassed, Leorio rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine, fine. Let's go?"

Emi held out a hand to each of the boys to help them up.

Leorio eagerly accepted the help while Kurapika was more hesitant.

As they brushed themselves off, Emi readjusted her rucksack. "So, did either of you happen to see where we could find a bathroom?"

Still warm from the bath, Emi let out a sigh of relief.

All that was left was to stretch, and she'd be as good as new.

Outside the women's bathroom, Leorio and Kurapika stood, quietly conversing.

"I'm sorry," Emi called. "Have you been waiting long?"

Kurapika shook his head. "We just got here."

Leorio reached up, putting his hands behind his head. "So, what miracle stretches did you have in mind?"

"I thought you said this was supposed to help!" Leorio grunted. "Not injure us!"

Emi put more pressure on his shoulders, forcing his chest down towards his legs in a pike. "It will help, after we finish." Emi huffed. "Besides, I was always told that if you're doing a stretch correctly and it doesn't hurt, it won't help you."

"What part of this is 'a little'?" Leorio yelped, wincing.

From the side, Kurapika's voice was faint. "I think I'll be fine stretching alone…"

Not easing up on Leorio, Emi glanced over at Kurapika, who seemed unusually pale. "Okay."

Kurapika visibly relaxed, some of the colour returning to his cheeks as Leorio tensed up.

"Don't stiffen your muscles." Emi refocused on the older boy. "It'll hurt more and be less effective."

As he exhaled heavily, Emi gave one last soft push to his shoulders then let go, patting him on the back. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Leorio flopped over onto his back and covered his face with an arm, groaning in response.

Emi giggled. "That's fair, I suppose."

Taking a few steps to the side, Emi went into a deep lunge, then slid into a split, switching sides every half-a-minute. Leorio sat up, observing curiously.

"Were you a gymnast, or something?" He finally asked.

"Hm?" Emi looked over. "No, but Leone—my older sister—thought that it would help."

Leorio nodded in understanding.

Emi reached up, stretching the muscles in her shoulders, changing her tone to a much more cheerful one. "Anyway, let's go get something to eat?" She walked over to Leorio, helping him up, then glanced back at Kurapika. "We've gotta keep ourselves in tip-top shape!"

Behind her, the two boys exchanged glances.

"Haaa…!" Emi left out a sigh of contentment. "That was really good…"

Leorio, face down on the table mumbled something.

"Hm?"

He turned his head to the side. "I said, 'I agree'."

Giggling, Emi glanced around. Applicants sat at different tables throughout the room, separated by hedge-like bushes, giving some semblance of privacy to the visitors.

A few tables down, Gon and Killua were approached by a young woman. Her black hair was tied up in twintails and what looked to be an earring dangled from her left ear, glinting silvery-blue under the lamps' lights.

Emi nudged Kurapika and Leorio. "Should we head over?"

Raising his head, Leorio seemed to notice the young woman and immediately straightened up, smoothing out his shirt's collar and fixing his hair.

Amused, Emi glanced over at Kurapika who seemed mildly confused by Leorio's sudden burst of energy. Shrugging at him, Emi stood up and made her way over to the two younger boys.

"… I want revenge."

The hairs on the back of Emi's neck bristled.

The woman continued. "I want to avenge my father who was murdered… My father was a trader who managed a spice mine. He organized a fleet and exported spice rocks from the mine to the world.

"At the best of times, he made a profit big enough to buy a small country."

"Wow! That's amazing…" Gon interjected.

Nodding briefly, the woman resumed her story. "However, there was someone who envied his success, and the rival trader hired an assassin."

She glared at Killua. "I didn't even have to investigate. The name of the assassin was from the Zoaldyeck* family—the notorious family of assassins."

"Family of assassins…?" Gon trailed off, slowly turning to look at Killua.

Was that what Killua's background was? It certainly explained a lot…

"I see, I see!" Leorio cut in, startling everyone. "How difficult and sad it must be!" Placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, he leaned forward, very nearly talking into her ear.

Emi winced. What a terrible way to start flirting with someone…

"I understand your feelings!" Leorio either didn't notice or didn't care, because he continued talking into her ear. "Let's become Hunters together and make your dream come true."

Raising his other hand in a vaguely 'thumbs up'-esque fashion, he said, "by the way, I'm Leorio. What's your name?"

Emi nearly groaned. That decided it; he was oblivious… Killua was probably in 'trouble'—not that he couldn't handle himself—but here Leorio was, flirting with the person who was very obviously making the younger boy uncomfortable.

"Her name's Ms. Anita!" Gon piped up.

Lifting a hand, Emi rubbed her forehead. It seemed like they were both oblivious…

"Anita… what a nice name. How about it?" Leorio continued in his poor attempts at flirting. "Instead of talking to these kids, why don't we move over there, so that we grown-ups can talk about our dreams?"

Tilting her head in Leorio's direction, Emi shot Kurapika a pleading look. He shook his head.

Emi pursed her lips together, tilting her head again. He shook his head again.

"We can't do that right now!" Anita's emotional—angry?—voice drew Emi's attention. "Leave me alone!"

"I can't." Kurapika cut in. "My name is Kurapika and I'm also trying to become a Blacklist Hunter, so I can relate to your situation—"

"I wouldn't get too involved, if I were you." Killua interrupted. "She has some business with me."

Visibly angry, Anita swatted Leorio's hand off her shoulder, standing up as she did.

"I'd heard a rumour that one of the members of the Zoaldyeck family would be taking the Hunter Exam this year."

"Bingo. No doubt about it, I'm a member of the Zoaldyeck family." Killua looked up, seemingly bored.

Anita gritted her teeth, reaching for something—probably a knife—at her thigh. Wary, Emi stepped closer to Killua.

"So you applied for the Hunter Exam for the opportunity to get revenge?" Leorio said.

"Exactly." Anita kept glaring.

"You'd do well to remember that if a person had an assassin sent after them, they were really hated by others." Killua glanced over at the dark-haired young woman boredly.

"That's unforgivable!" Pulling out her dagger, Anita shoved at the table, sending it crashing to the floor.

Deftly leaping out of his seat, Killua avoided the blade.

Anita swung again.

A thumb and two fingers on either side of the blade stopped its advance.

Emi looked up.

The chairman of the Association held the blade carefully but didn't budge. "That's enough!"

"Don't stop her, meddling old man," Killua said.

"Killua!" Emi whispered chidingly.

The old man glanced at her reassuringly, then refocused on the white-haired boy. "It's true that disputes between candidates are not a matter of concern for proctors, however, applicant 111 failed the test that was readministered in Phase Two." He turned to Anita. "As of right now, you don't have a chance at winning against one who has qualified."

Dagger clattering to the floor, the chairman led her away.

"She should've known that she'd be caught immediately even if she snuck in." Leorio crossed his arms.

"To be fair," Emi interjected. "I'm almost certain that all of us would have done the same if we'd failed."

Kurapika nodded. "Something like this isn't based in logic."

"Not logic, huh…" Leorio trailed off.

Turning her gaze away from Anita's retreating back, Emi refocused on her friends.

Visibly upset, Killua stalked away, closely followed by Gon.

"Should we follow them?" Leorio said quietly.

"I don't think so." Emi turned to face him and Kurapika, quickly scanning both for injuries. "Killua wouldn't want us to crowd him, and Gon's the closest to him right now. I think it'll be okay if we leave it to him."

Kurapika hummed quietly in agreement.

Satisfied that neither of the boys seemed injured, Emi turned away. "Well, that's far too much excitement for one day, so I think I'll go for a walk to clear my head and then go sleep. I'll see you both in the morning." Waving a hand, she walked away.

Leaning against the railing in one of the many corridors, Emi looked out the window at the night. Below, city lights twinkled in a grid-like pattern, clearly showing all the streets.

A wistful sigh escaped as a cloud floated by, covering up the view.

Did Leone see a similar view when she took the Exam? What about Asena? Could she see this from wherever it was that souls went after death?

Emi exhaled heavily again.

Taking out Asena's diary, Emi flicked through the pages. At the end of the diary, on the back inside cover, was a pocket. A loose paper stuck out of it.

Curious, Emi took it out. It looked like a list of some sort, with bullet points and dates. Based on the deep-set wrinkles and creases, it was old and well-used.

Emi unfolded it.

'Things to do:' was scrawled at the very top in a child's handwriting. As the list progressed, the writing progressively became more and more recognizable as Asena's. Several of the items in the list were crossed out, probably because Asena had either done it, or no longer wanted to do it. Others were circled—for emphasis.

There were five that were circled.

. . .

- become a Hunter (April 13th, 1990)

- help Emi find Leone (September 17th, 1995)

- protect Emi's happiness (September 17th, 1995)

- leave (November 26th, 1996)

- be happy (July 10th, 1998)

. . .

Emi refolded the paper, fighting the urge to crumple it.

Deep breaths… In… and out…

"In… and out…" Inhaling and exhaling in time with her counting, Emi rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Another breath later, she carefully replaced the list in the diary's back pocket.

Just a little bit longer and the first item on that list would be done. Only a few more Phases to go. Slapping herself on the cheeks, Emi huffed. She could do this. If not now, then in three years, but she would do it.

She had to.

A series of loud thuds down the hallway startled her, making her nearly drop the leather-bound book. The floor, already vibrating from the propellers and engine's humming, shook more intensely as something thundered in Emi's direction.

Leorio and Kurapika's terrified faces appeared, closely followed by an enraged, towel-clad Menchi.

"Emi!" Leorio ran past, hiding behind her. "Save us!"

Eyes wide, Emi waved her hands. "What's going on? What did you do?"

"They!" Menchi seethed. "Peeping toms, both of them! They tried to make a pass at a proctor in the middle of the night!"

Wide-eyed, Kurapika shook his head.

Turning back to Menchi, Emi handed her a jacket to cover up. "I… understand how you feel, but maybe this is a misunderstanding?"

Menchi shrugged the soft cloth on, covering herself up a little.

"What misunderstanding could there have been?" She scoffed. "I was minding my own business in my room when these two—" she pointed at the two boys using the knife in her hand. "Barged in!"

Emi looked over her shoulder at Leorio, raising an eyebrow disappointedly.

"We only wanted to express our concerns about Anita!" Leorio floundered, waving his hands around. "The stowaway? We knocked, but we didn't hear a response, so we decided to look in case something was wrong…!"

Menchi slowly lowered her knife, crossing her arms defensively. "Even if that's the case, you should have waited for a response, or tried again later!"

"You're right, Ms. Proctor." Emi stepped forward. "They'll be more careful in the future so that this won't happen again, so could you please let them off with just a warning this time?"

Menchi tapped her foot against the ground, thinking. "Fine, but on the condition that I finally get to try your sushi."

Emi tilted her head to the side. "Right now?"

"You want to wait until it's completely stale?" Menchi countered.

Raising her hands, Emi conceded. Reaching into her rucksack, she took out the containers with the sushi and pickled ginger, handing them over. "I do hope you like it, but perhaps you can enjoy them in the privacy of your room so no one can actually be a peeping tom." She gestured at Menchi's state of dress—or rather lack of it.

"Good point." Nodding, Menchi accepted the containers and made her way back down the hallway.

Shaking with nerves, Emi sank to the floor, exhaling heavily. She looked up at Kurapika and Leorio,who were looking concernedly at her. "You four really have some bad habits of attracting trouble…"

Outside the airship on the flatter surface, Gon swung his fishing rod at the chairman, who held a ball and was running away.

Emi sighed heavily, gesturing in the younger boy's direction. "Case in point. Let's go keep an eye on him."

Concern replacing mirth, the trio made their way over to the windows closest to Gon. In the middle of the wall, there was a door leading outside. Emi hurried over, unlocking it. Leorio grabbed onto her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "What are you doing? We have to stop him before either of them get hurt or fall off the ship!"

The older youth shook his head. "If we interfere, we might make it worse."

Pursing her lips, Emi clenched her fists. "I won't interfere, but can we at least go outside? Just in case?"

Leorio hesitated, then nodded. Right as they opened the door, Gon lunged for the chairman, who jumped out of the way. Gon sailed through the air, over the railing, and off the side of the airship.

"GON!" Emi ran after him.

Wound on the railing, Gon's rod's silver hook and wire glinted in the night's darkness. Down below, Gon held onto his rod, swinging himself up.

Seeing that he was alright, Emi stopped in her tracks.

As Gon got back up to the airship, he hit the chairman, who was standing too close to the edge, in the chin. Stunned from the hit, the chairman dropped the white-and-red ball.

Gon ran to take it but was pushed out of the way as the chairman recovered and snatched it out of the air.

Standing up, Gon smiled widely. "Just now, you used your right hand and your left leg, didn't you?"

Lightheaded, Emi dropped to the floor. They were playing a game? Were they serious?

Shouting excitedly, Gon raised his arms, then fell backwards. As Killua approached, Gon repeated, "I made Mr. Netero use both his hands and legs!" Almost immediately after, he fell asleep, exhausted.

Behind her, Leorio shuffled around. "I wonder what he was doing…"

"I don't know," Kurapika responded. "But there's one thing I know for sure: Gon's satisfied.

"That's true." Leorio agreed.

Forcing herself up, Emi tiredly looked back at the older boys. "Let's all go inside. We should rest before Phase Three tomorrow."

Leorio nodded, picking up Gon and walking inside.

The forest was foggy, not a living soul to be seen. Corpses lay strewn about on the muddy ground and screams rang through the air.

Up ahead, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika called for her, pleading for help. Their cries cut off abruptly, an ace of spades flying at Emi. She stepped back to avoid it, and—

She was falling.

She'd missed the Spider-Eagles' webs, and she was falling into the river far below. She spun in the air, hoping to break the surface of the water with her feet instead of her head, but the river was gone, as were the cliffs. In their place, old waterlogged wood stood, swaying in the wind, the sunset magnificently vibrant—smears of orange, red, and purple bleeding into the sky.

She hit the ocean's water, passing through it.

In the dark murkiness of the water, Asena's outline was visible. She turned around, the tears on her cheeks somehow blinding. "I just wanted to be happy…"

With a gasp, Emi sat up abruptly.

Shaky hands clammy with sweat reached up to wipe away tears that ran down her cheeks.

Trying to even out her breathing, Emi stepped over her friends' sleeping bodies and quietly walked out of the room.

Outside, she leaned against the wall, its coolness chilling through her sweat-soaked shirt.

She shuddered, straightening up and taking deep breaths.

She couldn't afford to show weakness right now.

… Why did she think that she would be okay without Asena?

Something… flickered… on the far side of the corridor. Immediately alert, Emi snapped to attention.

"Oh?" Hisoka's voice echoed through the hallway, very nearly a purr. "It seems that I was right."

"What do you want." Emi said flatly.

"Oh, there's no need to be so hostile, 'Emi', was it?" Hisoka slunk out of the shadows.

Emi didn't respond.

Hisoka chuckled. "There's no need to be so tense; I won't do anything… for now."

He stepped past her, stopping just in front of the door to the room with the sleeping applicants.

"Ah, yes. Before I forget—" He turned to face her, his face half-lit by the early dawn's light. "—you and I aren't the only ones who can… 'feel things'. Why don't you be a good girl and hurry and get stronger?"

Hisoka reeked of blood, the air around him unbearably heavy.

"I think you'd make a lovely little plaything, but you haven't quite ripened yet… If you take too long, I might just move on to a tastier morsel." He licked his lips as they twitched up into a smirk. "Gon, I think, would do quite well, don't you agree?"

She'd had enough.

The sun's rays broke through, lighting up the corridor, making Hisoka's eyes shine like gold. The air vibrated with a strange intensity making the hairs on the back of Emi's neck stand on end.

Hisoka's predatory smirk never left, only widening. "See?" He purred, leaning in towards her. "You can do it if you try."

"I wonder just what you'll be capable of when you learn how to see…" He whispered in her ear, his breath smelling faintly of bubblegum.

Emi glared at the tall man but said nothing. 'Get away from me' went unspoken, but Hisoka heard it regardless.

He leaned back, waving daintily at her. "Ta-ta, little plaything." Turning around, he entered the room.

Not trusting her legs to keep her standing, Emi leaned back against the wall. She let out a shaky breath. Yet another source of nightmares…

"How much of that did you hear, Kurapika?' Emi whispered to the eyes reflected in the airship's windows.

He stepped out of the shadows, unsurprised at having been caught. "Just about all of it. I woke up when you left."

Emi nodded. "I see."

She turned to face the blond. "Don't tell Gon."

He blinked back at her. "What?"

"Gon. Don't tell him. He's reckless, and there's no telling what he might do. I don't want him to needlessly charge into danger." She looked up at Kurapika, meeting his eyes. "I'll buy him some time, so for now, don't say anything. Please. Even if—especially—if you're worried."

"I—" Kurapika exhaled heavily, looking away. "I won't."

For a moment, they stood in silence.

Kurapika shifted, drawing her attention.

"Is everything alright?"

He pursed his lips, finally making eye contact. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Emi inhaled sharply. "Is it because of what happened in the tunnel?"

Kurapika nodded once, shortly. "You… You're Kurtan, aren't you?"

Emi looked away, frowning. "I'll answer all of your questions, but not here. You never know who's listening…"

Agreeing, Kurapika led the way to the cafeteria.

"To answer your question, yes and no." Emi broke the silence, grasping at the hem of her shirt."I'm half-Kurtan by blood, but I wasn't really raised as such."

"What do you mean?" Kurapika looked over at her.

"Well, both Leone and I partially inherited the scarlet eyes from our father. Like you, our eyes turn scarlet, but only half-way. We weren't exactly isolated, but we didn't really go out of our way to talk to people because of it. Other than that, we weren't taught much else about the Kurtan way of life."

Kurapika hummed, then paused.

"Emi." His voice was low. "Why… why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Looking closer, his shoulders shook and his fists were clenched.

Stomach knotting unpleasantly from guilt, Emi reached out to put a hand on his back. Feeling her fingers brush against the fabric of his tabard, Kurapika turned around, grasping her arm firmly.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" He repeated, his irises beginning to bleed scarlet.

"I…"

"Why?!" His question echoed in the hallway.

"I didn't know how you'd react. I didn't know what to say! Hell, I didn't know you!" Emi gasped as Kurapika's grip on her arm tightened. "Was I supposed to walk up to you and say 'hi, I'm Emi and half-Kurtan'? Up until you saw my eyes in the cave, you'd have thought I was insane, or worse, trying to insult you and your people!"

The grip on her arm slackened, but Kurapika didn't let go. "… You're right. I'm sorry."

"I should have said something, too, but you happened to find out that way, in the cave. I'm sorry." Emi looked up at Kurapika, the red in his eyes slowly fading away.

Slowly, haltingly, Emi raised her arms, half-embracing the older boy. He tensed up, but didn't push her away, gradually relaxing.

A moment later, he stepped back. "I apologize for my outburst."

Emi nudged him gently with her shoulder. "It's okay. It's completely understandable. Besides, friends help each other out, don't they?" She offered him a weak smile.

He returned it. "I suppose you're right. Thank you, Emi."

A pause. "Emi?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

She looked up at him. "Why do you ask?"

"You were shaking in your sleep." He glanced down at her. "That, and I imagine your confrontation was none too pleasant."

Emi shuddered. "You're right; I hated every second Hisoka spoke to me, but as long as I'm careful, it'll probably be alright. I hope."

Kurapika pursed his lips, but nodded. "What about when you were asleep? Nightmare?"

Emi nodded, looking down.

Kurapika exhaled heavily. "I won't ask right now, but you're welcome to talk to me about it any time you'd like."

He reached out, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly. Before he had a chance to let go, Emi squeezed back softly and gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

She let go, turning to head back to the others. "We should probably get back to get ready, and before the others notice that we're not there."

Nodding, Kurapika followed her back.

This was the testing site for Phase Three?

Emi looked around skeptically.

From a distance, the massive cylindrical tower seemed to have been built out of metal, but maybe it was just stone?

She shook her head. It didn't matter.

The blimp landed and the other applicants disembarked. Netero asked Gon to stay behind for a minute. Curious, and somewhat concerned, Emi stayed close.

"Chairman Netero said he wouldn't press charges against me," said Anita. "Thank you. It's all because of you."

"Not at all," said Gon bashfully.

"That's good to hear." Leorio smiled at Gon.

Killua stepped forward, holding out an earring to Anita. "You dropped it…"

Glaring, she snatched it out of his hand. "It was a gift from my father!"

"That's a spice rock crystal, isn't it." Killua stared at the earring, stating rather than asking.

"Spice rock?" Gon asked, looking over at Killua.

"The refined spice rock can be addictive," the white-haired boy explained, still staring at Anita.

"It's basically a drug." Emi looked up at Anita. "If you're not addicted, you can stop, but this one in particular is really addictive, and once you've had some, you want more and more, until you have nothing left to give for it anymore."

Leorio closed his eyes in a slow blink, nodding once. "I heard that many people lost everything in order to buy the spice."

"That—that can't be! You're lying!" Anita frowned, stepping forward, visibly upset.

"It's true," Netero turned to her.

"You didn't know?" Killua asked without malice.

"My father was very kind…" Anita teared up. "There were always smiling faces around him…" She clenched the earring in her fist.

"Your happiness was built on the misfortune of others." Turning around, Killua walked away.

Emi looked down.

Anita wasn't really to blame for those people's suffering, but… if she'd known, could she have done something? If she could, would she?

Emi shook her head. What-ifs weren't going to help anyone now. She stepped away to give Anita some privacy to grieve.

A couple dozen meters away, the short bald man from earlier—likely Netero's assistant—cleared his throat. "This Trick Tower is going to be the test site for Phase Three." He lifted a finger. "The task in this test is very simple: reach the bottom of this tower alive. The time limit is seventy-two hours!"

Eccedentesiast:

someone who only pretends to smile;

someone who hides pain behind a smile

(5450 words — excluding A/N)

*quotes—in the 1969 Webster Universal Dictionary, quotes is used exclusively as a verb (e.g. "I quote"), whereas quotation is a noun i.e. something that is quoted (e.g. "My favorite quotation is 'in three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on.'")

*Zoaldyeck—some translations of HXH use this spelling of Killua's last name in Zoldyck; they're just about interchangeable.

This chapter was not inspired by any pieces.

Ohhhh! This chapter was such a mess; I absolutely hate it. I'll definitely rewrite and reupload it as soon as I'm able to. That being said, it is the eighth, and I did promise to upload one chapter every month on the eighth (so here we are, with this hot mess).

Sorry about that.

Rant aside, I'm really happy that you, dear readers, are continuing to give my story a chance. It means a lot to me. Speaking of, I was not expecting to have so many new favourites and follows! It was a very pleasant surprise; thank you!

And… we have another review!

Dear Anon, when I saw your sweet message, it made my week. I was ecstatic to read that you were so eager to read the new chapter. Your excitement and enthusiasm really helped to motivate me to continue writing; your support is very much appreciated! Thank you so much!