Disclaimer: I do not own hunterxhunter. All characters and plot of the said manga/anime is under the intellectual property of Yoshihiro Togashi. This is a work of pure fiction whereas names, OC's, places, or events are products of the author's imagination. If there is any resemblance to actual/real persons, places, or events, then it is pure coincidence. Furthermore, I do not own the cover image and give full credit to whoever owns it.
Case File #2
1.07.2008
Dr. Navi Riche
The Khamat University of International Relations has been successfully infiltrated by 0023, 0012, and 0011, under the initiative of 0007. The former mentioned have assumed their covert roles and respective false identities for the espionage. There were no errors with the procedure as the operation was discreet and resulted with no casualties. As of now, 0007 has not shown any signs of deficiencies with the skillset needed from a Sparrow. Further and careful observation will be done.
Mission Status: Ongoing
Volume 1: Chapter 2
The Test
"Could you have misheard what the captain said?" Kurapika asked Gon, not trying to sound offensive because of his doubt.
"No, he told me to go to the tall cedar tree by the hill," he replied with full conviction.
"That's odd," Leorio held up a piece of paper and looked intently at it, trying to scrutinize if he read anything wrong, "According to this notice I received, the exam is supposed to be held somewhere in Zaban City," he then proceeded to point at the large map displayed in front of them, "That cedar tree you're talking about is at the opposite direction of Zaban City."
"I also find it odd that you easily trust a questionable source of information when you were so adamant in being suspicious of the captain back then," Erin said while facing Leorio with her signature smile.
"Don't get all sharp-tongued with me, you little brat!"
"She does have a point," Kurapika looked at Leorio, "Our task is to find the site using only limited information, this is a test to determine if we're worthy of the exam."
"I already knew that! So just give it a rest alright!" Leorio grunted in frustration and scratched the back of his head, "Why the hell am I surrounded with smartasses like you guys?!" he gestured to the blonde and the redhead.
"Why do you sound so frustrated?" Erin asked, "That's actually better than being surrounded by idiots."
"I am frustra –" Leorio paused then growled at the girl, "Are you implying something?!"
"Gon, what's your call?" Erin faced the boy, ignoring Leorio once again as he continued to rant at the unaffected girl.
"I think I'll check it out myself and find out what the captain's talking about," he replied and started to walk towards the direction of the cedar tree.
Without any hesitation, Erin followed the boy and fell into step beside him.
"Oi, oi! Are guys serious?" Leorio called out, "The bus to Zaban is going to leave any second now!" Gon only replied with a wave without looking back at the man, "Jeez, those kids are too trusting!"
A few seconds later, Kurapika also began to walk towards the direction Gon and Erin was going to, earning another yell from Leorio, "Oi! What are you doing Kurapika? Come back!"
"I am intrigued by what the captain said, but I'm more curious about Gon's behavior," the Kurta replied.
"Whatever! Wasn't long but it was nice knowing ya!" Leorio let out an irritated huff, picked up his suitcase, and walked towards the bus.
Kurapika continued to walk towards the two kids in front of him who looked like they were in the middle of a conversation. When he was already within earshot, Erin's giggles and Gon's laughs could be heard. He wondered how unassuming the two were because currently, they just looked like innocent kids taking a peaceful stroll instead of taking the Hunter exam, and by far, they had more guts than most of the men he has encountered.
Kurapika was about to call out when he noticed Erin glance back and her eyes were intent on him, it almost looked like she narrowed them, but the Kurta immediately brushed off the thought when she smiled and waved at him. Gon noticed this and looked back, ending up smiling widely at the blonde.
"Hi Kurapika!" Gon greeted him enthusiastically.
Erin was still smiling as she asked politely, "I assume you're coming with us?"
"Yes. This is the better option," he replied bluntly.
"Good thing Leorio isn't here to listen to what you just said," she replied, "Or else you'd have to deal with his tiresome yapping."
The Kurta chuckled at her comment, "Can't argue with that."
All of a sudden, a familiar voice blared out behind the trio from the distance. It started to grow louder and louder.
"Well, speak of the devil," Kurapika said.
The same irritating voice of Leorio filled the trio's ears when he arrived, breaking the calm and peaceful atmosphere that they had.
"Hey wait up!" Leorio exclaimed while panting, "I decided to come with you guys!" he then tried to justify his actions by continuing to bombard the trio with excuses such as, "I thought you guys were going to miss me," or, "It's lonely to travel alone."
Gon, Kurapika, and Erin just ignored the man as he continued to go on and on with his futile attempts to cover up his bruised pride, laughing it all off and trying to make light of his mistake.
Of course, Kurapika was once again getting more irritated by the second, but he controlled himself and decided to just try and get used to the way Leorio was. He might have been unbearable but even the Kurta could tell that the boisterous man was not a bad person. Then unconsciously, Kurapika glanced at Erin. Based on his instincts, he felt a pair of eyes watching him from her direction and indeed she was. There was a moment of troubling eeriness, as he pondered if Erin was trying to convey something, but it was too short for the Kurta to make anything of it. His cloudy suspicion immediately disappeared when she darted her eyes from Leorio then to him, rolling her eyes afterwards with a small smirk, showing that she was referring to the blabbering man behind them.
Kurapika subtly smiled as he tried to hold in a chuckle, clearly amused of the redhead's gestures. The Kurta was starting to take a liking to this girl, just like how he took a liking to Gon. He might have felt something troubling about her for a few moments because of his observant nature, but it wasn't that alarming to worry about, it was probably just her nature. Regardless, his positive views of her outweighed his doubts since he felt at ease in the company of someone with wit like him, someone who is probably more sarcastic than him – which he also found amusing as long as her target was someone like Leorio.
The group continued to walk while the two kids fell into a steady rhythm of pleasantly conversing back and forth, mostly about Gon's background and his small adventures back home since Erin initiated most of the questions – something that did not fall unnoticed by Kurapika. Throughout the two kids' conversation, Erin managed to subtly avoid all questions or topics that involved herself or her past. Still, the blonde did not find it suspicious whatsoever, after all, she wasn't entitled to reveal anything about herself to them, and he himself knew that prying on a stranger's past would be offensive.
Eventually, they came across a village that looked abandoned and kept following the main path they have been walking on – passing through the heart of the village, seeing nothing but dilapidated buildings and hearing nothing but the sound of silence.
"This place is giving me the creeps," Leorio muttered, "There isn't a single person anywhere."
"No. There's a bunch of people here," Gon pointed out.
Leorio was taken aback by his comment, "W-what?"
Suddenly a set of doors from one of the buildings opened up causing all of them to immediately stand guard. From the wide open doors then came a group of people wearing white robes and peculiar masks while dragging some sort of wooden platform that resembled a small stage with a long wooden table in front. Some of them carried different instruments, one carried a crow, another carried a horn, and the rest had other random things. The people in robes all stood while an old woman wearing a purple robe sat behind the table.
"What's up with these guys?" Leorio muttered while Gon and the others just stood cautiously as they waited in silence, wondering what kind of situation they were about to be thrown in to.
"Exciting…" the old woman spoke up.
"Exciting?" Leorio repeated, nervously anticipating what it was all about.
"The exciting two-choice quiz!" the old woman exclaimed and was followed by the sound of celebratory music being played by the people behind her.
Leorio, Kurapika, and even Gon were left dumbfounded with how something so suspenseful just led to a simple quiz. Erin on the other hand, ended up chuckling at the turn of events.
"Let me guess," the old woman started, "You four are headed to that cedar tree on the hill aren't you? Well, there's only one way to get there but you'll have to pass through this town first and to do that, you must pass a quiz that's comprised of a single question."
"Wait! What's going on?!" Leorio shouted. Unlike the other three who were composed, he was the only one who looked left behind in figuring out the situation they were in.
"It's quite obvious," Erin muttered under her breath, but made sure it was audible enough for Leorio.
"I heard that!"
The old lady continued her instructions despite of all the racket Leorio was causing, "You'll have five seconds to answer. If you're correct then you can move on but if not, then you're disqualified from this year's hunter exam. Your answer must be either choice number one or two, any other answer will be considered as incorrect."
"Wait a minute!" Leorio exclaimed, "All of us get to share the same question right?" he then turned to the blonde, "So if Kurapika here gets the wrong answer then I'd be disqualified too?!"
"It's more likely for the opposite to happen, Leorio," Kurapika pointed out while calmly folding his arms.
"What was that?!"
"Don't worry Leorio," Erin patted his back in a gentle, kind, and reassuring way, "If you're worried about failing then you can rely on the smartasses surrounding you. We'll help you get through this test," she then smiled with the most angelic look.
"You… brat!" Leorio shouted at her in comical anger, "Another word from that sarcastic little mouth of yours and I'll – "
"Erin's right!" Gon cut the impatient man off and said, "This way, we only need one of us to get the answer. If that happens, then we get to pass this test! After all," he placed a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment, "I'm not good at quizzes to begin with."
Thankful for Gon's positive reinforcement, Erin spoke up, "Don't sweat it Gon, I'd be more than willing to help someone as honest and humble as you."
"Excuse me?!" Leorio shouted, clearly taking offense with what the redhead said.
She turned to the man and replied, "Why are you so angry again Leorio?" Erin placed a hand on her chin and tilted her head innocently, "I already reassured you that you'd be receiving help from us."
"I know sarcasm when I hear it you little brat!"
Kurapika sighed in annoyance and mumbled, "Is 'brat' the only insult in your arsenal that you have for her?" the Kurta was trying to stay quiet and leave the heated man alone but he was starting to get on his nerves again, and Kurapika couldn't fight the urge to act curt with him.
"Great! Now another smartass joins the party!" Leorio stomped his foot then leaned over the so-called 'smartass' duo, "And before you say anything else, then yes! 'smartass' is the only insult I have for you because that's exactly what you are!" he furiously pointed at the Kurta.
"Why don't we just take the quiz!" Gon said with every bit of positivity he had, "Let's not fight and be glad that we get to help each other out."
"Of course Gon, let's just leave the argument at that," Kurapika smiled at the boy for his effort to break the tension.
"You're right Gon, it's good we get to team up," Erin added, "Three heads are better than one."
"Precisely." Kurapika agreed.
Leorio was about to shut up but suddenly realized the meaning behind Erin's words then whipped his head towards her, "The hell?! There are four of us here!"
"When are you guys going to stop bickering?" The group immediately looked behind them to see the source of the unfamiliar voice that just spoke. It was a man with an ominous look in his eyes, obviously someone who was carrying malicious intent, "If you're not going to take the quiz yet then I'd gladly go first."
"Now, who the heck are you?" Leorio asked smugly while folding his arms.
"He's been following us ever since we left the port," Gon answered for him.
"What?! R-really?" Leorio now carried a look of surprise.
"Sorry," the man said, "Didn't mean to eavesdrop, just couldn't help but overhear what you guys were talking about."
"So, what do you four choose to do?" the old lady asked the gang.
"Eh, he seems pretty eager to me," Leorio stated, "Should we let him go first and see how the questions would go?"
"No objections here." The blonde said.
"Me too!" Gon said while Erin just smiled and nodded in agreement then stepped back along with the boys to give way to the suspicious man. He stepped up to the podium with a red button on top of it, eager to clear the quiz.
"Here is your question," the old lady said accompanied with the sound of a honk and a crow, "a group of evil villains have kidnapped your mother and your true love, you can only save one of them. Choose 1 for your mother, or 2 for your lover. Which do you save and which one of them dies?"
The suspicious man remained unfazed by the question along Erin who merely raised both eyebrows, whereas the three boys were clearly taken aback by it, Leorio being the most obvious of all. "Hey! What kind of quiz is this?!" he exclaimed.
The man mischievously grinned as he pressed the button on the podium producing a dinging sound, "The answer is number one!" he said with full confidence.
"Hm? What's your reason?" the old lady asked without breaking her fixed expression.
"I only have one mother, so I can't replace her, but I could always just find another lover." He replied without any hint of guilt or remorse for whoever he would choose to sacrifice.
The old lady paused for a moment then pointed behind her, "You may pass."
"Seriously?!" Leorio shouted.
The man turned around to look at the gang, "You only have to tell what the old lady wants to hear, that's all." He said without wiping off the smug look on his face.
"You've gotta be kidding me! What kind of quiz is this?!" Leorio continued to complain, "So are we just supposed to tell her anything she wants to hear?!"
Everyone remained quiet despite of his demands for an answer. "Say something!" Leorio waved his arms angrily gesturing at the old lady. Still, no one spoke a word. "Fine! I'll go find another way!" he turned around and before he started to walk away the old lady spoke.
"It's too late," she said, "if you refuse to take the quiz then you'll be disqualified."
Leorio snarled, "Don't give me that crap! Of course different people will have different answers to that question. There's just no right answer for that question!"
With what he just said, Kurapika and Erin immediately lift their heads.
"There's no right answer…" the Kurta murmured, "I see…"
Erin glanced at Kurapika which was not left unnoticed by the blonde boy. Immediately, he knew that Erin realized the same thing he was thinking and so he quickly turned around to inform their friend who was getting more impatient by the second.
"Leorio!" he shouted and was about to say more but was cut off by the old lady.
"Wait!" she shouted with an outstretched hand. The cat-eyed boy has figured it out, she thought. "You're not allowed to say anything else but your answer. If you do, then you'll be disqualified."
Kurapika was getting more worried each second that passed by, only being able to see Leorio grunting and not showing any signs of figuring out the answer. Wake up Leorio, it's just a simple trick!
He glanced at Gon who seemed too deep in thought to notice anything that just happened which just added to his worry. He then looked at Erin who noticed his gesture and subtly nodded, assuring him that she figured it out, and he thought that at least she already got it right which somehow lessened his worry even just a little bit. The main problem though was Leorio, and Kurapika knew that both he and Erin could do nothing about it but hope that he would stay quiet.
"Here's the question," the old lady said, "Both your son and your daughter have been kidnapped, and you can only save one of them. Choose 1 for your son and 2 for your daughter. Which will you save?"
The moment the old lady started to count down from five, Leorio also started to walk towards the side of a building, picking up a wooden stick and swinging down aggressively again and again.
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Time is up!"
Leorio suddenly leaped towards the old lady with a yell, lifting his arms while holding the wooden stick and preparing to attack her, who, despite of facing a threat, remained calm and unfazed. However, Kurapika was quick to react and immediately blocked Leorio's attack with his own wooden sword.
"Out of the way Kurapika! Let me teach this old hag a lesson!" Leorio shouted in his face.
"Calm down Leorio!"
"How the hell do you expect me to calm down!?"
Leorio suddenly felt something hit the back of his knees causing him to bend down. He whipped back his head to find Erin standing behind him with a smile, realizing that she probably kicked the back of his knees.
"How can he explain it to you if you don't calm down?" Erin said and patted his shoulder, "Are you calm now?" she asked with her usual smile and looked at him at eye-level since he was now kneeling down.
"Don't give me that crap!" Leorio replied while swatting her hand away, "And did you just kick me?!"
The Kurta noticed how Erin subtly pulled Leorio's attention away from the old lady towards herself and was grateful for it.
"Cut it out Leorio!" Kurapika shouted, "or you'll waste our correct answer!"
"Eh?" Leorio turned to him with a dumbfounded expression, "Correct… answer?"
"Silence. That was the correct response and we've already given it. Any other answer would've been incorrect."
"W-what do you mean 'silence'?" he asked while standing up.
"Just that." Kurapika stated, "You said it yourself, remember? 'there's no right answer' but we only had to choose between 1 or 2. Hence, we only had to respond with silence."
"What about the guy that just passed us? Why did he make it through?"
"She never told him she was correct, she only said 'you may pass'," Kurapika then turned towards the old lady, "Which means that the path he went to wasn't the one leading to the hunter exam. Correct?"
The old lady finally cracked a smile and stood up, "Exactly. The real path is right over here." She walked towards the set of doors that she and her company came from. "If you follow this path for two hours then you will reach the cedar tree."
"I… was not expecting this…" Leorio commented.
"There is a couple who lives in a small cabin under that tree and will serve as your navigators to the exam site if you pass their standards." The old lady informed.
The sound of wood dropping on the ground could be heard as Leorio walked up to the old lady and bowed. "I'm sorry ma'am. Please forgive me for being rude."
"Oh don't be," she replied, "meeting people like you is what makes this job fulfilling in the first place. So give it your all and become the best hunter you can be." She smiled softly at Leorio.
"Sure." He replied with a grin and scratched the back of his head.
"Ughhh… I give up!" Everyone's attention went to the boy who just exclaimed. "I can't choose which one!" Gon said in frustration.
Kurapika, Leorio and Erin chuckled at their companion's petty dilemma.
"You've been trying to figure it out this whole time?" Leorio asked while holding in his laughter.
"Gon, the quiz is already over." Kurapika informed him.
"Oh yeah, I know that. But what if… what if that really happens to me some time in the future? What if I had to choose between two people and could only help one of them? Who would I choose?"
No one expected the seemingly naïve boy to ask such a deep question, that's why everyone was left speechless, not knowing how to answer him, except for one.
"You know for scenarios like these, Gon," Erin spoke up causing the gang to look at her, "You'll never know the answer until you're literally in that moment and time."
Kurapika was quite surprised that Erin was able to provide an answer. The words she used might have sounded melancholic if others were to say them, but no matter how much he tried to read her, she left no hint of sadness, hatred, or any negative emotion. She only looked like a girl giving helpful and mature advice to her friend.
Gon nodded at Erin and said, "I just hope that I would know what to do when that time comes."
"Yes," Erin walked towards the boy and offered her hand to help him up, "You can only hope." Gon accepted her offer and stood up.
The four turned to the correct path's entrance after hearing the people wearing robes opening the doors.
The sound of metal doors opening made Erin pause - a memory, which was buried deep down, flashed through her mind. Her three companions were already walking towards the dark tunnel that was only lit by a very small source of light which was probably the exit at the very end.
It's been a while since I've seen something like this, Erin thought and continued to walk into another dark place.
Author's note: I know, I know, it's reaaaally been awhile huhuhu. I'm so sorry for uploading this chapter after a long time. The past month was like the most stressful because of final examinations and all the issues going on in our country. Also sorry for how this chapter was shorter than previous one huhuhu. Anywaaaay, now it's finally my summer break yaaay! So I'll be focusing a lot more on this fanfic (finally, I can relieve some stress through doing something I enjoy T_T) To whoever who has read my fanfic, thank you so much for giving it a chance, and to those who are still willing to follow it, thank you so much for the patience!
To iewz : Thanks! I'm really happy that you like how I've handled Erin as a character. Your review really boosted my confidence ;D
To Guest from chapter 1 : Thank you for motivating me to keep up with this fanfic. Really needed it huhuhu
