Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter.
CHAPTER 8
"Are you sure Gon?" Leorio whined, checking the map for the nth time. "Zaban City is in the opposite direction of the tree you're talking about."
"Maybe you misheard him?" Kurapika offered.
The dark-haired boy shook his head stubbornly. "The captain said to head for the lone cedar tree on top of the mountain."
"Yeah, I heard it too. He said that it was a shortcut to the examination site." Renée told them.
"The captain must have had a reason to say that, so I'll follow him. Let's go, Ren."
The two started walking towards the path that would lead them uphill, barely acknowledging the fact that Leorio has decided to take the bus to Zaban. Kurapika followed them wordlessly, his curiosity piqued by the children's somewhat odd behavior.
Not even five minutes have passed when Leorio came sprinting towards them, asking them to wait for him.
"I know for a fact that you'll be lonely without me so, in the goodness of my heart, I decided to be with you!" he reasoned out, laughing nervously.
The others paid him no mind as they continued walking up the hill. 'What an idiot.' Renée thought lazily.
They came across a town that seemed to be deserted. The wind quietly howled, giving them goosebumps across their arms.
"Is this a ghost town? There's no one in sight!" Leorio broke the silence.
"There are actually a lot of people here." Gon said, looking around as if to spot the people hiding from them.
As if on cue, a door to their left opened and men in masks and white robes filed in, dragging with them a sideshow cart with more masked men holding various instruments and at the center was an old lady with a solemn expression.
"Exciting..." the old lady muttered.
The four continued to stare at the elder, hoping that she would say more.
"EXCITING TWO-CHOICE QUIZ!"
The band behind her immediately played their instruments enthusiastically and the group was left with a blank expression.
They had not expected this at all, especially since the old lady said it with such emotion.
"I will ask you one question and you can only answer 1 or 2, depending on the choices. If you supply the correct answer, I will let you pass and you can continue your journey towards the cedar tree." she explained further, her expression returned to being solemn.
"Why do we need to answer your question? We can always find another path!" the oldest of them said, turning around.
"Then you have failed the Exam." The elder warned him.
This stopped him in his tracks and he resigned himself to turning back around to face the woman.
"I see so this is also an assessment." the blonde said.
"That's right. I am to test your quick thinking skills, which is why you need to answer my question in five seconds." the elder repeated.
"Wait, only one question!? Does that mean our group will be only asked once and if one of them gets it wrong then I will also be disqualified?" Leorio asked exasperatedly. Kurapika and Renée glared at him whereas Gon only laughed.
"Don't you think that the opposite of that is most likely to happen?" the red-head said snidely. He just scoffed at her remark and looked away.
"Then that means only one of us has to know the answer right? Honestly, I'm no good at quizzes so I think Ren and Kurapika should handle this." Gon intervened.
"That's true. Hey! What about me Gon!?" Leorio asked, his voice tinged with offense.
"Hey, hurry up over there. I want to pass quickly."
The group turned to look behind them and saw another man, probably an examinee as well.
"He's been following us since we got off the port." Gon said, which surprised Leorio.
The man only smirked at them and they decided to let him answer first so that they can get an idea of what the questions would be.
"Very well. Your mother and your lover were kidnapped. You can only save one, who will you save? 1 for your mother; 2 for your lover. You have five seconds to answer." the old lady deadpanned.
The group were taken aback by the question. 'Who in the world would choose between that!?' Renée thought.
"1!"
They all turned to the man that answered without missing a beat.
"Why?"
"Because you can only have one mother. One can always look for another lover." he replied confidently.
The old lady just stared at him as she muttered the words "You may pass."
The man ran through the pathway the masked men provided when they parted.
"How is he right!? You can't expect us to answer that question! It may differ from person to person so doesn't that mean that there isn't a right answer!?" Leorio fumed.
Kurapika and Renée looked at him, realization dawning on their faces.
"Leorio!"
"Gon!"
"Hold it! That's enough. If you say anything else aside from the answer, I will disqualify you." the elder immediately cut them off. 'Looks like the cat-eyed boy and the red-head figured it out.'
"Here's your question. Your son and your daughter are in grave danger, but you can only save one. Who will you save? 1, your son; 2, your daughter. You have five seconds." She then began counting down.
Thankfully, none of them said a word, even Gon who seems to be thinking deeply.
The blonde and the girl nervously watched Leorio as he stalked off to the side and grabbed a thick piece of wood and gave it a few practice swings..
"Time's up."
Leorio then charged at the old woman, his blunt weapon raised and ready to strike.
Kurapika blocked him with his own weapon and the two argued once more.
"Stand down Kurapika!"
"I will not! You should stop and think for a second!"
"Huh!? This old hag is toying with us! Stand back!"
"Don't waste our correct answer!" the Kurta finally shouted.
The dark-haired man was dumbstruck and finally loosened his grip. "Huh? We were correct?"
"You said it yourself, old man. There is no right answer." Renée explained. "Therefore silence is the only answer that can be a guaranteed pass." Kurapika finished.
"But that guy earlier, they let him pass." he sputtered.
"They only said he can pass. They didn't say he was correct. That was probably a trap and the real path is hidden somewhere else, right?" the blonde turned to the elder that didn't flinch all throughout the commotion.
She only smiled and motioned towards the other men which in turn opened a door leading to a tunnel.
"That is correct. This is the true path. If you walk through here, you will reach the cedar tree within two hours. Underneath the tree is a house that belongs to a couple. They will take you to the examination site." she explained.
Leorio dropped the wood and walked towards the old woman. He bowed lowly and apologized.
She only chuckled and brushed him off, saying that meeting people like them was why she took up the job every year. "Go on and become good Hunters."
The three politely thanked her. Renée noticed that one was missing and turned around as Gon huffed in frustration.
"It's no use! I can't think of an answer." he confessed.
The three laughed at him, Leorio even ruffled his hair.
"The quiz is over Gon." Kurapika smiled.
"I know that, but what if we experience something like that for real? What will we do then?" he asked innocently, thanking the elder and walking through the path.
The others looked at each other grimly before following the boy.
It soon got dark as the group walked on a seemingly endless path. Renée felt how sore her limbs were and she winced slightly as she tried to stretch.
"Tired?" Kurapika asked suddenly.
The girl only nodded, stifling a yawn. "We haven't slept for over a day now. I'm not sure how much more I can take."
The blonde smiled at her sympathetically, but said nothing.
"I thought that lady said it was only a two hour walk? It was already 'two hours' two hours ago!" Leorio complained behind them.
The two only rolled their eyes and Gon warned the man that they would leave him if he didn't hurry.
"I see the house!" Kurapika called out to them.
They all smiled in relief and jogged the rest of the way towards the small cottage.
Leorio knocked on the door. "Excuse me -"
He was cut off when he realized that the door was left ajar and he looked at the others, suddenly nervous.
Slowly, he opened the door and the four peeked inside. The scene they saw made their skins crawl.
A monster narrowed its eyes at them, fangs bared, while holding a struggling woman by the neck. Its claws were bloodied and they assumed it came from the wounded man lying by the monster's feet.
"Help me." the woman choked out and in a blink of an eye, they were gone.
END OF 8.
A/N: Renaglory: Thank you for continuously supporting this story! You have made updating feel so rewarding and exciting. I hope I don't disappoint you as the story unfolds. Please review!