When Kurapika had asked where Gon Freecss was, all he received in response was several suspicious stares, pinning him down and dissecting him and his motives.
One of the exam proctors gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and Kurapika tensed where the fabric pressed against him. Perhaps sensing his discomfort, the Hunter removed it and stepped back to tell him, "Death is a common occurrence in the Hunter Exam. We ensure that you understand the risks before entering the exam." The other Hunters nodded sagely, almost thankfully, in agreement.
Leorio shot him a confused look; Kurapika nudged his foot and Killua hissed a small warning noise. Don't say anything, he thought. We'll talk about it later. Of course, Kurapika had noticed what was going on; it was obvious enough that even someone like Leorio could spot it. The exam proctor had not answered his question, instead presenting just the right information to lead him to the conclusion that Gon had died just like the other eliminated candidates. Fortunately though, the proctor was nearly as subtle about it as a foxbear in a china shop, so Kurapika understood right away that Gon had not died. Not yet, at least.
"I understand, sir," Kurapika said with a curt bow. "I must prepare for the final phase of the Hunter Exam, if you will excuse me."
The waiting lobby was charged with a nervous energy. The exam participants traded whispers with one another, the less skilled or less observant of them wondering what the fifth phase might be. "I've heard Netero will be announcing it soon," one of them said, and another replied, "I've heard he's supposed to be some sort of sadist," and then they all descended into idle chatter. However, all the strongest candidates were silent, their eyes trained on the proctors and on Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua. This was to be expected, and it only confirmed Kurapika's ugly suspicions. Even a common civilian knew that while death truly was a common occurrence during the exams, people didn't just go missing. Their corpses were always found, in most cases before they even began to rot. But this year, two participants had vanished, and evidently, the most secure organization in the world had no idea where they were.
"Hey, Kurapika," Leorio said far too loudly, "you think that Hunter guy was telling the truth?"
Kurapika sighed. "What reason would the Hunter Association have to lie to us?" he asked equally loudly, earning a few amused smirks from the more cynical examinees. He was feeling particularly vindictive, so if the proctors felt like lying by omission and playing word games, then he would play right back. "Keep your voice down, Leorio," he added, whispering now. "It's a bad idea to attract attention from anyone right now."
Leorio nodded gravely. "Yep, got it. I thought so too. Let's just get through this final phase so we can find out what happened."
"I hope all this extra waiting time has given you the chance to become wonderful friends!" a voice declared. Soon, they saw that it belonged to Netero, who now limped across the room to a whiteboard.
Once he finally made it to the board, he continued, "Since you are all friends now, I'm sure you will all enjoy the final phase of the exam. In order to become a Hunter, you must complete a final task—" Netero's speech was interrupted by his coughing fit, a wet, disgusting sound. Kurapika was certain it was purposeful. "Forgive me, everyone. I am just so old now, so these things happen sometimes. Did you know that before I go to bed, I have to put my—" This time, his speech was interrupted by the screams of the examinees, begging him not to finish his sentence.
"Ah, how I miss youth. Treasure this time; soon enough, you all will lose control of your bowel functions like me, and then you will understand. But enough of that; since you all have been such good little children, I will tell you the final phase as a reward! You all will compete in a one-on-one tournament bracket, in which you win by forcing your opponent to admit defeat," he announced. "However! We at the Hunter Association are firm believers in the power of friendship, and nice new friends don't go killing each other, so no killing please. If you do, you will be disqualified.
"I nearly forgot to mention, but this will not be a typical tournament. In a normal tournament, only the winner advances to the next round, but in this tournament, the loser will advance. If you win a round, you will receive your Hunter License, and the last remaining contestant after all rounds are completed will fail the exam. These are the tournament brackets for the final phase. Please remember your opponents!" Netero pulled down the sheet over the board and threw it aside. The ten faces of the remaining candidates were lined up at the bottom of the board, but the brackets were not even. A few of the candidates, like the self-proclaimed ninja Hanzo—evidently not a good one; what kind of ninja announces he is one?—had as many as five chances to win a Hunter License. Kurapika had four, Killua had three, and Leorio only had two.
Several of the Hunter candidates grumbled to one another, to the effect of, "What's up with that bracket?" and "Where does he get off, making an unfair test like that?" Needless to say, Kurapika was sorely disappointed by his competition.
"I suppose by now, you've noticed the tournament brackets. You are correct: certain candidates will compete in more rounds than others. Do you want me to tell you how we formulated the brackets?" Nearly everyone in the room nodded furiously. Netero only laughed. "Well, I'd much prefer to keep you in suspense! Unfortunately, we can't always get the things we want. So let's get to it then! For our first pairing, we have, let's see… ah yes, Number 53, Pokkle, and Number 191, Bodoro!"
The match began soon enough, but Kurapika only half-watched the proceedings. His own match—with Hanzo the ninja—was of much more immediate concern to him. From what Kurapika could tell, his opponent was essentially Gon post-puberty: bigger and stronger, perhaps, but with the same naïveté and lack of flexibility that held him back from being a true danger. Kurapika could work with that, twist it into his victory.
Kurapika interrupted his thought to check on the status of the match. This had been unnecessary. By now, the fight had played out similarly to how Kurapika had anticipated. Pokkle was well-aware of his disadvantages in close combat, so he had attempted to engage Bodoro in a battle of endurance. Pokkle pounced from one corner to another to the wall and back in a frenzied game of keep-away, sending a barrage of poison-dipped throwing knives whizzing about the arena. Kurapika sighed inwardly; it wouldn't work. Bodoro did not allow a single knife to pierce him, confidently weaving through the hailstorm of knives. The skill gap between them was just too great to be overcome with tactics. Soon enough, after a sloppy throw from Pokkle, Bodoro took the opening and closed the gap between them in an instant. He wrenched the knives from Pokkle's grasp and wrapped him in a chokehold, and Pokkle immediately gasped out a surrender.
"We have our first Hunter, gentlemen and more gentlemen!" Netero declared. "Bodoro will receive his Hunter license, and Pokkle will advance to his next round. Now, let's see, who's our next pairing? Ah yes, please come to the arena: Number 99, Killua, and Number 301, Gittarackur."
"Good luck, Killua," Leorio whispered. Killua only acknowledged this with a nod, and walked into the arena. Both Killua and the needle-faced man wore expressions of utter confidence. Everyone in the room noticed this, and an anticipatory hush fell over the audience, save for the occasional undignified giggle from Netero.
"Please begin!" Netero called.
Killua's expression hardened and his fingers elongated into claws as sharp as scalpels. He stalked toward the imposing man, but Gittarackur only regarded him with a blank smile. And then: "It's been a while, Kil."
Killua froze in shock, but the man only continued. "How would you like for me to surrender?"
A/N: Much shorter chapter this time, and a bit less intriguing overall, but I'm excited to get into all the ripples Gon's absence will create. Thanks for reading, and as always, constructive criticism is welcome!