Chapter Thirty Nine
"Well, shall we call it a day?" Bisky asked, making them pause. "It's a little early, but how about a party?"
"A party?" Ayami asked, shoving Killua off of her and releasing Gon from where she had him pinned.
"What do you guys do back at home to celebrate?"
"Celebrate what?" Killua asked.
"In the real world, it's almost New Years. Time flows at the same speed inside the game as outside."
"Oh no! The deadline to apply for the Hunters Exam is coming up!"
"And training was just starting to get fun." Killua groaned, rubbing his hair.
"We have to apply before the end of the year." Ayami remembered.
"We need to hurry!" Gon said urgently.
"Is there a way to leave the game temporarily?" Ayami asked.
"If there is, it's probably a spell card." Killua mused.
"In that case, let's head to Masadora." Bisky grinned. They took off again towards Masadora. "Let's find a place to have some tea!" Bisky cheered.
"We can't, theres no time." Gon shot her down and Bisky made a face at him.
"We can ask around the stores." Killua suggested.
"How to leave the game? That'll be three thousand Jenny." The cashier at a card store demanded. Ayami sighed irritably but gave him the didn't like paying for things. She was good at stealing, and not paying for things was a point of pride for her and the Troupe. "If you go about 50 kilometers west you'll reach the island's only port. You must defeat or bribe the harbormaster to receive a ticket that'll take you outside."
"How much of a bribe are we talking about?" Gon asked.
"Depends on how he's feeling."
"I see." Killua sighed.
"Your other option is to use a Leave spell card, but they're pretty rare."
"What should we do?" Gon asked.
"Let's try the port, since we have no idea where to find a leave card." Ayami suggested.
"Agreed." Killua nodded. They made it to the port and Ayami and Killua both beat the portmaster and got their tickets out.
"Voila." Killua ginned, showing off his card. "We'll go ace the exam and come right back."
"Magical beasts called the Kiriko live at the lone cedar tree near Dolle Harbor. Tell them you're my friends, and they'll take you to the exam site."
"Will do." Ayami beamed.
"See ya!" Kllua called as they got on the boat. They sailed away and one by one, the people on the boat with them started disappearing in a flash of light. Ayami blinked, and suddenly she was in a bright white room, similar to the one she'd started the game in.
"Welcome." The white haired NPC greeted her. "Leaving the game? Please specify your destination."
"Dolle Harbor."
"Understood. When you leave the island, the cards in your free slots will be deleted. Is that alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
"We'll be waiting for your return." Ayami was surrounded by a white light and suddenly appeared in Dolle Harbor.
"Took you long enough." Ayami turned and found Killua leaning against a sign, waiting for her. "Ready?"
"Ready. Let's go grab our applications."
"Sounds good. We'll head to the cedar tree after."
"Actually, I'm kinda hungry. Food first?"
"What kind?"
"Pizza."
"You're obsessed."
"I'm not as bad as you and your Choco Robots."
"I wonder if they have any here."
"Ayami?"
"Hey Dad! Whatcha doing?"
"I'm on my way to Kukuroo Mountain."
"That's where Killua's family lives!"
"It is. I'll need to talk to Illumi."
"I still hate him."
"So I've heard. How's the game? My calls haven't been able to get through to you."
"It's great! We met this Pro Hunter, Biscuit Krueger, she's been training Gon, Killua and I!"
"Biscuit Krueger? I've heard alot about her. What has she taught you?"
"We learned how to fight with Ryu, and now Bisky's having us train in each of the Nen categories."
"Sounds like you're advancing quickly. Are you having fun?"
"I am! Killua and I are just here to get our Hunters license, then we're going back. I think you'd like it here too, maybe when you get your Nen back we can play together."
"I'd like that very much, Aya."
"Have you found an exorcist yet?"
"Not yet."
"Oh, okay." Ayami chirped, trying to hide her disappointment.
"Don't worry Ayami, we'll see eachother again soon. I promise."
"Okay. I love you, Dad."
"I love you more, Ayami. We'll talk soon." Ayami hung up and joined Killua inside the pizzeria, where he'd already eaten two whole pizzas.
"Save some for me!" She sat across from him, swiping a slice.
"How's your Dad?"
"He's okay, no luck yet."
"Sorry Aya."
"It's okay, if anyone can figure this out, it's him."
"Do you think we'll see anyone we know at the Exam?" Killua asked, changing the subject.
"Probably Tonpa." Ayami grinned excitedly.
"Still mad at him?"
"He tried to poison me!"
"You're immune!"
"He didn't know that!" Killua laughed at her and they finished eating and headed towards the cedar tree. On their way, they met the magical creatures Gon had told them about, who invited them in for dinner and agreed to take them to the Exam site. They stayed with the Kirikos for the next two days, sharing stories of their adventures with Gon, and on the day of the Exam, the Kirikos flew them to the Exam site.
"Mr. Killua, you're number 1219, Miss Ayami, you're number 1220. Please wait inside." Beans said, handing them their tags.
"Thank you!" Ayami grinned, pinning hers to her shirt.
"There's a lot more people this year." Killua commented as they strolled through the crowd.
"I don't see anyone we know."
"Hey!" Three voices greeted in unison, and Killua and Ayami turned to see the Amori brothers standing behind them.
"Last year, you had your way with us."
"This year will be different."
"We put ourselves through some hellish training after what happened."
"Our teamwork is perfect now-" They said together.
"Do you practice that?" Ayami interrupted.
"I- huh?" The small one asked.
"You know, the talking thing. Do you rehearse or write it down or something?"
"We- uh…" He trailed off and Killua rolled his eyes.
"Boring. Ayami, let's go." Killua dragged her away.
"Ayami!" Someone else called.
"Takashi!" Ayami grinned at the tall, green haired man. "You're taking the exam this year too?"
"I am. I have to say, I'm surprised you didn't pass last year."
"I got in trouble for attacking another examinee. It's fine though, this year will be easy." Ayami chirped, making Takashi laugh. A nearby door slammed open and a man in an old school rocker outfit with light green hair burst in.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming! This year, 1,489 applicant's have made it this far, but the examiner for the second phase has asked me to trim that number down to about three hundred. As for the exam… we have two hours before lunch. Knockout five people before then. Grab their tags when you defeat them, and bring them to me when you have all five. I'll wait on the other side of that door. As soon as the door shuts, you can begin." The examiner said, turning to leave.
"Why stop at five." Killua said with a mischievous grin. Ayami beamed.
"You take the ones on the left, I'll get the ones on the right. Whoever gets more wins."
"Deal." The second the door shut, they took off. Ayami paused when she reached Takashi.
"Sorry Takashi, but I gotta beat Killua. I hope you pass next year!" She said before knocking him out. She continued through the crowd until she reached Tonpa.
"Tonpa." She smirked.
"Ayami." Tonpa muttered, stumbling back.
"You gotta admit, you kinda had this coming." Ayami laughed before punching him across the face.
"You win." Killua grumbled. "I had 743, Tonpa was the last one."
"Sweet." Ayami grinned. "Let's start grabbing tags." It took them almost an hour to get all the tags and join the examiner.
"Finally, the first ones. It's been over an hour, what are the others doing?" The green haired man asked.
"They're all sleeping," Killua said, dragging his bag full of tags inside.
"Sorry it took so long, it took a while to get all the tags." Ayami added, dragging her own bag inside. The examiner gaped at them, then shot to his feet to see the room full of unconscious potential Hunters. "Do we still need to do a second phase?" Ayami asked. The examiner excused himself to call the chairman.
"Applicant 1219, Killua."
"Here." Killua raised a hand.
"Applicant 1220, Ayami."
"Present."
"You've passed...the Hunters Exam!" The examiner said, posing.
"Cool. Wanna get some more pizza before we leave?" Ayami asked Killua, who grinned.
A.N. Hello! it's been a minute XD Sorry it's been so long. It's been a pretty crazy year, and I've been focusing on other stories lately.
Ayami was my first OC, and I still love her. I started writing this at the begining of the pandemic when I was laid off, and it honestly helped me stay sane while I was litterally alone for months. I have grown a lot since I started this, and my writing style has changed, but I have ever intention to finish. I've only seen the first four seasons of HxH, and that's all I intend to write for now, though I may make a sequel when I do watch the other seasons and movie.
Like I said at the begining, I love this story. It was my first baby, and I can't wait t see the end. Updates will be sporadic, but they'll come. I do want to write an epiloge for this story when Gon, Killua, and Ayami are older, so please leave a reveiw and tell me what you want to see
-Succulent Killer