Kurapika, Leorio and I reached to the starting point where everyone else was. I noticed that it was only a few people there. I see Hisoka, his strange friend with the pins all over his face, Hanzo, Killua, some old man who looks like a martial artist and that kid who was with me when Hisoka first attacked the exam candidates.

"Hey! Killua!" I smiled and waved at him

"Hello Miss Aoi" He smiled back

Every time he calls me 'miss', I always think about the past.

"Y-You don't have to call me 'Miss'..." I whispered

"Did you see Gon yet Killua?" Kurapika asked

"No. I thought he was with you guys" Killua said

"What? He's not back here yet?" Leorio asked

"Nope! Here I am!" Gon said

He was right behind Leorio when he spoke which startled him. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Jeez Gon! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Leorio screamed

"Haha! Sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Gon said laughing

"Did you manage to take care of your business Gon?" I asked

"Yup. All taken care of" Gon said with a smile.

I turned around and looked at Hisoka. He was grinning towards me with his creepy smile and I shuddered. He then pointed at his wrist. Probably indicating that I'm running out of time in terms of deciding to go back with him or not.

I still haven't fully made a decision. I seriously don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to my old ways. I want to stay with my new friends. I want to be with Kurapika.

But what if my friends has plans after the Hunter's exam? What if they want to go separate ways? What then? Hisoka is definitely going to do something. How can I prevent that?

"Helloooooo, my sweet Aoi!"

My thoughts were immediately interrupted with Hanzo popping out in front of me.

"H-Hey Hanzo." I said, startled at his presence.

"I'm so glad you made it!" He said while holding my hands. "I was so sad to not be able to see you this entire week!"

"Oh..haha...I see..." I said with a nervous laugh

"If I did see you during the week, I would've accompanied you the entire time! I would never leave your side!" Hanzo said as he started to hug me.

I didn't know what to do. I just stood there and let him. Until Kurapika came.

"Okay Hanzo. That's enough. I think you're crushing Aoi" Kurapika said as he put his hand on Hanzo's shoulder

Hanzo looked at Kurapika and gave him a look.

"You're lucky I didn't see you throughout this week. I would've fought you. Even if you weren't my target" Hanzo said as he let go of me.

"Likewise" Kurapika said with a smirk.

They were both glaring at each other. I was confused. What is going on? Why do they have a strong dislike towards each other?

"Aoi is with me. So back off" Kurapika said

My face got a bit red from Kurapika saying that. Is Kurapika saying this just to tell Hanzo to leave me alone? I actually don't mind Hanzo. Despite that I know he likes me.

"You can't tell me to back off. Aoi has a choice. Right Aoi?" Hanzo said

Both eyes were looking at me. I looked at them nervously.

"Uh...K-Kurapika, I don't mind speaking to Hanzo. There's nothing wrong with that." I said quietly

"Oh Aoi! You're so sweet!" Hanzo said as he grabbed my hands and stared into my eyes.

"But Hanzo, I want us to be friends okay?" I told Hanzo

He looked heartbroken. It was like the hearts in his eyes just shattered

"Oh! I knew it! I guess we're not meant to be. But I do love talking to you" Hanzo said

"Uh..same here" I said with a smile.

"Okay Aoi, time to get on the airship, they're going to take off without us" Kurapika said as he took my hand and pulled me away.

"You too lover boy" Leorio said as he bonked Hanzo's head to snap him out of his trance.

I was blushing at the fact that Kurapika is holding my hand. Was he jealous before? Or was he just being kind to me? I don't know. But it was nice of Kurapika to act protective around me.

We reached to a room inside the airship where all the exam Proctors were. Even President Netero was there.

"Good job to the ten of you that made it this far. Zevil Island was probably a tough one for most of you. Before we start our final part of the exam, I would like to speak to each of you individually in my office. I will you one by one when its you're turn. Understood?"

We all nodded our heads as Netero and the other proctors left the room. The rest of us stayed in this room.

"Now what?" Leorio asked

"I guess we just wait." Kurapika said

"This is going to be boring. I just want to go to the final part of the exam already" Killua said

"Hey, weren't the three of you from that time Hisoka attacked us?"

The kid who I was with from the earlier part of the exam approached us. He had that bow and arrow with him.

"Oh? Yeah. It's you. What's your name again?" Leorio asked

"My names Pokkle" He said

We all introduced ourselves to Pokkle and we had a chat about our reasons for being here. Pretty soon, we were joined by that older man, Bodoro.

I looked around the room and noticed that Hisoka and his friend disappeared. I shouldn't be worried about them. I highly doubt they'll do anything here.

Just then, our names were called one by one from the speakers. Everyone had their chance until I was the last one. I walked towards Netero's office and knocked on his door.

"Come in!" said a voice behind the door.

I entered the room and Netero was sitting on his chair.

"Hello Aoi. Number 406" Netero said with a smile.

"Hello sir" I said as I sat on a chair across from him.

"Don't be nervous. This interview is just for me to gather information for the final part of the exam"

"Oh...I see"

"Here are some pictures of our exam candidates. I will only ask you two questions and you point at the picture that fits the answer" Netero said

"Okay"

"First question. Who are you most interested in?" He asked

"As in to fight or in general?" I asked

"General" He answered

"Then I choose these three" I pointed at Gon, Hisoka and Kurapika's picture.

"I see. And who do you not want to fight against?"

I looked at him, eyes blinking fast. Is that a serious question?

"Uh...I'd say these four" I pointed at Gon, Killua, Leorio and Kurapika's picture. "I think I'd rather forfeit than fight them."

"Is that true?" Netero asked

"It's the truth." I said, nodding my head

"Can I ask you one more question?"

"Sure"

"Out of those four, who is the one person you sincerely do not wish to fight?" Netero asked

I looked at Kurapika's picture. My heart was beating fast just looking at his eyes.

"Him" I said as I pointed at his picture. "I cannot, and will not fight him. I am even willing to forfeit and come back next year if it is to make me avoid fighting him"

"I see. Very interesting. You're dismissed" He said with a smile

"Thank you sir" I got up, bowed and exit the room.

I walked back to the room we were at earlier. Just as I was at the door to the room, I was approached by Hisoka and his friend.

"Yo" Hisoka said with his smile

"What do you want Hisoka?" I said, glaring at him

"That is not a nice tone you're giving me. Especially from a cute face like yours" He said as he grabbed my cheeks and squeezed them.

"Hisoka..." I said as I freed myself from his grasp.

"Time is ticking" He said while pointing at his wrist. "Tick, tock, tick, tock"

"I know. I know. I get it Hisoka." I said

My mind flashed back to that conversation we had during our hotel visit.

"Remember, if you don't answer in time, I'll have to use force" Hisoka said

His eyes were wickedly scary. I didn't show any fear. I don't fear him.

"I...still don't have a decision Hisoka" I said, staring at the ground

"Tsk, tsk. You'll regret taking your time with your answer Aoi" Hisoka said as he started to walk away along with his friend.

"Hisoka wait" I called out

"Hm?" He looked at me

"Who is this? A friend of yours?" I asked, pointing at the man with the pins all over his face

Hisoka looked at his friend and smirked at me. I gave him a confused look.

"Don't worry about him. For now" He said as they walked away.

I shrugged and went inside the room. I was greeted by Kurapika.

"Welcome back Aoi" He said with a smile.

I smiled back at him and noticed Leorio, Hanzo and Pokkle fighting ton top of each other.

"Uh...What's going on" I asked

"Ignore them. They're just fighting over something stupid" Kurapika said as he was shaking his head

"Oh I see" I said while looking at the three guys. Then I looked around more and saw that Gon and Killua were not here

"Hm? Where's the kids?" I aksed

"They're outside. Playing around" Kurapika said

"Oh. Those kids." I said while laughing.

It breaks my heart though. I know time is running out but I still don't know. I can't leave my current friends. I've gotten attached to them. Especially towards Kurapika. I don't to leave his side. I like him too much to leave him. It's also the fact that I DO NOT want him to know the truth. It'll hurt him deeply. It'll hurt me too. I don't know what to pick. I'm torn between the two.

"Aoi?"

"Huh? Yes?" I looked at Kurapika

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"

"You seemed nervous. Is anything wrong?" Kurapika was pointing at my hand. I was playing with my glove.

"It's nothing" I smiled. "Just a habit I do when I'm lost in thought"

"I see. Can I ask what you were thinking about?" He asked

I looked at him hesitantly. What do I say? If I say 'nothing', he'll know it's something.

"I-I was thinking about what you did for me earlier. Back when Hanzo was talking to me." I said nervously.

"Oh" Kurapika said and grew silent. He looked like he was lost at thought too. "Well...I..."

Kurapika looked like he was struggling to say certain words. I just look at him in confusion. What is he trying to say?

"Aoi, sometimes I feel...weird when I see you speak to Hanzo." He said

"Huh?" I was lost. What?

"I mean, whenever Hanzo speaks to you, and when I see him hold your hands, I feel jealous" He said quietly

He get's jealous? Am I hearing that right? Jealous from Hanzo?

"Why do you get jealous?" I asked. Face turning red, heart beating fast. What is he going to say?

"What I want to say..." Kurapika trailed off.

Now it was Kurapika's turn to grab my hands and hold them. His face was a bit closer to mine. He was looking deep into my eyes. I see how scarlet his eyes are. But he wasn't showing angry or sad emotions, he was showing something else. Something I don't know.

I don't know how many more shades of red my face can turn but it's boiling. I can feel my hands feeling cold and sweaty. My heart was pounding like a hammer. What is he going to say?

"Aoi, I don't know how to put this together, but I really like getting to know you. I really like being around you. I just want to tell you that I'm-"

"SORRY to keep you all waiting!"

Menchi spoke loudly as she barged into the room. This interrupted what Kurapika was going to say as he let go of my hands and looked at Menchi.

I looked at him.

If Menchi didn't disrupt this moment, what would he have said? I wondered

"We've reached to our final destination. We'll be located inside an arena when we step off this plane.

"We'll talk later Aoi. The final exam is about to start" Kurapika said with a smile while I nodded.

We all got off the airship and observed the building ahead of us. It was a huge arena dome. We are definitely going to fight each other. It's obvious. I just hope I don't have to fight Kurapika or the others.

Once inside the building, we were once again greeted by President Netero and the other proctors.

"Gentlemen and Lady, welcome to the final part of the Hunter's exam. As you can tell based on my interview questions and the area we're in, this is going to be a one on one tournament style." Netero said with a smile.

"I knew it. It was obvious from the start" Killua said in a cocky tone

"That's it? Just a tournament?" Pokkle asked

"Indeed! That is it! Simple right?" Netero asked

"At least it's no more of that ridiculous stuff we did" Leorio said in relief

"Here are the match lineup. Please take a good look at it" Netero said

Satotsu came out from a door and brought over a whiteboard with a cloth over it. He took off the cloth and revealed to us the match up.

I was shocked to see the matching. The board showed:

Gon vs. Hanzo

Pokkle vs. Killua

Leorio vs. Bodoro

Hisoka vs. Kurapika vs. Aoi

What. On. Earth.

Just my luck. It was fate for me to be stuck with Kurapika once again.

How ironic that I told Netero I didn't want to fight Kurapika. I feel like he purposely did this for a reason.

I honestly don't mind fighting Hisoka...but why Kurapika? Why?