"Where the test to become a Hunter takes place changes every year. Those who know this place and guide candidates there are called Navigators. Without them, it is impossible to reach the testing place.
To reduce the number of applicants, traps are lain along the way that leads to the testing site, a path that is difficult to find."
Chapter 2: Almost to the Starting Line...
The moment the boat stopped in the harbor of their destination, the four examinees hurried off and onto sturdy land. Hundreds of people crowded in the port, looking and asking around for their next directions. Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen stood within the mix as the captain held a quiet conversation with Gon.
The girl gazed out, watching in amazement at the mass of people -there was just so many... Compared to the handful of residents back at her home, this was tenfold the amount. It almost made her nervous!
"There's so many people!" Leorio complained as he was bumped to the side by a tall passer-by. "Are they all going to Zaban?"
"Most of the people are here for the same reason we are, so probably..." Kurapika shrugged.
Rayen's eyes brighten up as she saw a crowd of people huddled around a large sign with a town map. "Hey, look! There's a map over there!" she pointed.
The three quickly pushed through the mass of people, trying to get a better look. It didn't take long for them to spot the next town, which was eastbound.
"Wait, guys!" Gon called from the back, suddenly jumping his way to the front of the crowd. "The captain said that we should head towards that mountain with the tree! He said that it was a shortcut!"
Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen looked at each other, then over to said mountain, which was going towards the opposite direction.
"But that's the other way! We should just take the bus!" Leorio said as he shook his head in disagreement. "Maybe he accidentally pointed that way?"
"It doesn't matter, I'm going that way," Gon chirped, running off towards the mountain. "I'm sure there's a good reason for this!"
As the boy started to walk off, Rayen followed after.
"See you! That is, if you don't decide to come along with!" she waved at the other two, then dashed to catch up with Gon.
"...Rayen!? Alright, fine then! We don't need her, right Kurapika...?" Leorio turned to the blonde teen, only to see him walking off ahead as well. "Kurapika!? You too!?"
"I'm going to stick with them!" Kurapika dismissed as he left Leorio, meeting with the others.
It was a good and silent five minutes as Gon, Rayen, and Kurapika strolled the path that led toward the mountain. But before anyone could get too used to the peace, booming footsteps grew in volume behind them. Leorio ran full speed towards the three, flailing his briefcase around with every step.
"Hey! Wait up for meeee! I missed you guys! Feeling's mutual, right? In that case, too bad for the bus, I'll accompany you guys!"
The quartet soon came across what appeared to be an abandoned village. Every house was boarded up with wooden planks, and countless glass bottles littered the main road that went through the area. But despite the appearance, there were actually many people hidden within the shadows.
"I don't like this place... There's nobody out here!" Leorio loudly whispered to the others.
"What do you mean? All the locals are looking at us..." Rayen frowned, hating the feeling of being watched.
"Yeah, there's lots of people here!" Gon agreed.
"Let's keep our guard up for now..." Kurapika murmured, cautiously watching every moment around the group.
"How do you know all these things!?" Leorio practically shouted, darting his eyes around.
"Don't you hear all the breathing? It's coming from everywhere..." Kurapika specified.
"Yeah! And the scraping of cloth, too! They're trying to hide!" Gon added.
Rayen hummed in agreement. "Oh! You can also hear their footsteps, which are pretty loud in my opinion! You can hear that, can't you?"
Leorio gave her an odd stare. He then cupped his hands beside his ears, trying to listen. "...Unfortunately, I'm a normal guy! I can't hear anything–"
"–Shhh!" Kurapika urged. He then pointed to a gathering of people who began to grow closer.
The villagers, which had more of a resemblance to cultists, surrounded the examinees. They wore loose robes, matted wigs that looked more like the end of a mop, and masks. Each individual villager had the same mask, all with an eerily vacant face.
"Very interesting..." an unknown voice crooned. Within the mix of intimidating villagers, an old woman holding a staff stepped out. She pointed out to the group, suddenly yelling out, "THE EXCITED QUIZ OF TWO ANSWERS!" The villagers clapped a short round of applause.
Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen looked at each other, completely puzzled.
"You're heading for the tree on the mountain, aren't you? But first you must succeed in getting out of this town... The other paths that could lead you are similar to labyrinths, in which many bloodthirsty monsters reign!" the elder said, narrowing her eyes. "So with that said, I will now ask you one question. You only have five seconds to consider your answer... If you fail, your mistake will disqualify you from taking this year's exam."
"So another test, then!" Kurapika concluded.
The old woman nodded. "You will answer with either one or two! Any other answer will deemed as invalid!"
Leorio suddenly blanched. "W-Wait a second! You mean there's only one question for three people!?" He looked at Kurapika and grimaced. "What if he answers wrong and I get eliminated?"
Kurapika rolled his eyes. "That's not very likely. The idea of you getting the question wrong is more realistic," he retorted.
Rayen snorted at the blonde teen's response. "Sorry, Leorio, but Kurapika's right!" she laughed.
"Nobody asked for your opinion, old lady!" Leorio growled.
"EH!? FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT OLD, YOU IDIOT!" Rayen huffed, her face growing almost as red as her hair.
Contrariwise, all the color from Leorio's face drained in an instant the moment he caught Rayen's gaze.
"Hmm... Guys! If one of us guesses the right answer, then the rest will benefit as well!" Gon brought to attention. The other three paused, then nodded in agreement.
"Come on! Hurry up!" called a snide voice from behind. They then swiveled around to see different examinee, which was young man with an oddly shaped nose and a mocking smile.
"Well then! I guess I'll just go before you!" he shrugged, confidentially striding past the group. The man passed Gon, stopping for a moment, "Thanks for the advice, kid! I heard you back at the port!"
From beside her, Rayen could hear Leorio muttering insults under his breath. She couldn't blame him for getting overworked this time; what kind of low scum goes around eavesdropping on kids anyway?
But, letting that man go first could them a hint on what type of questions the elder might ask! Rayen exchanged glances between the three others, each of them appearing to have been thinking the same thing.
As the old woman inquired the examinees about who would go first, Gon and his group nodded as a approving gesture to let the other answer. With that now in mind, the elder turned to the young man.
"...Here is your question: Your mother and your girlfriend are being held captive by a demon," the old woman held up her index finger, "You can only save one! Choice one is your mother, and choice two is your girlfriend!"
Rayen pursed her lips together, unsure of either of the choices. Was there even an answer? Honestly, if it was up to her, she would make an attempt to save both... But that wasn't an option for this situation. What if they tried guessing what the old woman would want to hear?
In the corner of her eye, she watched as Kurapika was also in a deep thought, calculating every possibility.
At first the young man appeared to need some time to think, but a split second later, he answered without hesitation.
"I choose number one."
"Care to explain why?" the elderly woman asked, lifting an eyebrow with interest.
"A mother is unique, unlike a girlfriend!" he nonchalantly responded.
The elder did an about-face, looking towards the townsfolk. Whispers were exchanged back and forth, until the woman faced the examinees again.
"...Pass this way," she gestured to her side as the villagers parted to reveal a path.
As the man followed the path, he turned to give the other four examinees a triumphant sneer.
Leorio practically flew over to the old woman, yelling at the top of his lungs, "ARE YOU MOCKING US!? WHAT'S WITH THAT WEIRD QUIZ!?" he spat, flailing his arms in the air like a madman. "This game is messed up! Who's to say what's the right or wrong answer with that question!? I'm leaving – I'll just find a different route!"
He then turned, stomping off the other way.
"It's too late. If you leave now, you will be disqualified!" the old woman warned. "You must not have the soul of a Hunter..."
Kurapika suddenly grabbed the tall man by the arm before he could run off, his intelligent grey eyes glinting.
"Kurapika! Don't tell me that you're going to accept this quiz!"
"Wait, Leorio–" Kurapika tried to explain, but was immediately cut off by a screech from the elder.
"–I don't want to hear anything else! From now on, any useless words will now be punishable by disqualification. Now answer this: choice one to take the quiz, or choice two to refuse it!"
The blonde didn't waste any time as he answered for the first choice, earning a glare from Leorio.
"Then here's your question... Your son and daughter have been kidnapped, and you can only save one. Which do you choose: choice one is your daughter, and choice two is your son!"
Kurapika took a quick glimpse at the other two; Gon had his arms crossed, apparently having a difficult time in choosing. Rayen, however, was staring back at him. It was obvious that she had something important to say, but couldn't.
In the redhead's mind, she was still unsure about her decision. Rayen was only going on whim, which was probably the worst thing to do in situation like this, and decided to keep her mouth shut. Maybe that was the correct response since there couldn't be an actual answer! Boy, did she hope the others could figure something out...
She suddenly caught a faint whiff of copper. A strangled cry came from the path the other man took, putting her in high alert. Wasn't that supposed to have been the winning path? So then that would mean one thing...!
"...Five," the old woman abruptly announced, gripping tightly to her staff. The countdown had started, fueling Leorio's anger even more.
"Four..."
Leorio had suddenly plucked a wooden stick from a pile of rubble in the street. He swung the stick around, testing how it would make do as a weapon.
"Three... Two... One!" the old lady clapped once, "That's it! It is over..."
The moment those words escaped from her mouth, Leorio lunged headfirst towards the woman, swinging the stick in his hands at full force. Kurapika jumped into the way to block the attack, using the blades he carried on his back to deflect the hit. Rayen quickly grabbed Leorio, holding back his arms before he could get another chance to swing his weapon.
"W-Why the hell are you guys trying to stop me!?" Leorio blared, struggling to get away from the redhead's grip of steel.
"Stop! Leorio! We won, and now you want to mess everything up!?" Kurapika growled.
"...Wait, what?" Leorio paused, all of his rage dissolving within seconds.
"We gave the right answer, which was silence! This quiz has no right answer, only to choose from either one or two. So... We don't answer! Silence is the correct solution."
Rayen let out a long sigh of relief. "Phew... I'm glad I went with my intuition on that, but... I should work more on having confidence in myself..." she admitted with a frown.
"...That's nice and all, Rayen, but could you let me go now!?" Leorio leaned his head back, yelling in the Rayen's ear. She sheepishly chuckled, dropping her grip on Leorio. "Ow, oww... Do you lift weights or something?" he muttered. "Alright, so why did the other guy go...?"
Kurapika shook his head. "He was told to go, but nobody said that he answered correctly. I heard him shouting a while ago... Unfortunately, I'm pretty confident that he was devoured by monsters. In fact, this road isn't a good one..."
"Exactly!" the old woman affirmed. She clapped her leathery hands twice, and two villagers wordlessly stepped up. They turned to a building just to the right of the crowd, sliding open a wooden screen door to reveal a new path. "This is the correct, and only path! After a two hour hike, you should reach the top."
On spur of moment, Rayen lightly elbowed Leorio in the ribs to get his attention. The moment he saw her gestured to the old woman, he nodded, taking the hint.
He gave an awkward cough. "Erm, sorry about all that granny..."
"Why?" the frail elder sincerely asked. "It's guys like you that made me want to take this job. Hang on and you'll become a good Hunter, yes!"
After what seemed like an eon of silence, Gon finally spoke, "Mm-nope! I really don't understand!"
Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen deadpanned.
"Oh, you can stop wondering now! The quiz is over!" Leorio said with a lighthearted snicker.
"I know... But..." the expression on Gon's face hardened, "If someday, really, I could only save one person out of those who are close to me... What would I do?" The three exchanged disconcerting glances between each other.
"I don't say this to have an answer to the question, but a day might come where I might have to make a choice..."
For some reason, the morbid observation left Rayen worried. Something about it just made her feel really irked.
"...Ah, don't think too much about it, Gon. Besides, I'll always have your back, as well as Leorio and Kurapika's! If anything happens, I'll come and help you!" Rayen piped up, trying to brighten the mood, "...Now, come on. Let's get going! We should race to the top of the mountain!" she grinned.
"Your challenge has definitely been accepted, Rayen!" Kurapika played along as faint smirk surfaced across his face.
"Oi, wait a minute! Who's doing what now–ACK!" Leorio was immediately cut off by Gon when the boy shot off, leaving behind a cloud of dirt in the other's faces.
"See you!" Gon announced as he left the others, determined to win.
Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen followed behind, hot on the boy's trail. The girl paced herself to match Gon's speed, neither too fast or too slow, blissfully enjoying the moment.
Honestly, Rayen didn't want to ever face the day where she would have to choose between those she cared about. She refused to believe something like that would ever happen, childish and selfish as she was.
》》》
Before Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen had exited the abandoned looking town, the elder had told them of a couple who lived at the end of the true path. The couple were also Navigators, so they would decide whether or not the examinees were eligible to continue forth.
After running an hour and thirty minutes and listening to Leorio complain about his feet hurting, the four reached their destination quicker than expected.
An ordinary house waited in their path, devoid of any other examinees. Had they been the only ones to get this far?
The moment they entered the house, chaos suddenly ensued. A large fox creature with a rat shaped face stood in the center of the house, holding an unconscious woman within its claws. Behind the odd creature was a man who had broken planks from the house weighing him down. He also appeared to be injured, with his clothing covered in blood.
"A monster!" Leorio gasped, alerting the other three beside him.
The monster rushed past the four with the woman in hand, booking it into the woods.
"We have to help!" Gon said, pursuing after the creature.
"Leorio and Rayen, take care of the injured!" Kurapika called as he swiftly followed after Gon.
"You can count on us!" Rayen and Leorio both assured, changing their focus onto the injured man.
Rayen then cleared the broken rubble over the man, who now lay half unconscious, allowing Leorio properly observe all injures. He opened the briefcase that he always held in his hand, revealing many types of medical equipment.
"...You're a doctor...?" Rayen quietly asked the other. Leorio looked at her for a moment, then shrugged.
'Kinda' was all Leorio said as he took out a sterilized cloth, starting his procedure of cleaning.
The redhead watched as Leorio had fully focused on his "patient". Occasionally the man would ask for his wife, and Leorio would assure him that she was safe.
Something about this whole situation with the rat-fox creature was puzzling. Weren't the navigators of the Hunter exam supposed to be more vigorous, and not dense enough as to get held hostage by passer-by monster? This creature in particular, the rat-fox, was swift on their feet and also had the ability to shift in the form of a human... Or at least, that's what Rayen could remember from the book she had read a while back.
"Leorio... Is that man, uh, actually hurt?" Rayen suddenly asked. If she wanted to confirm some of her suspicions, then now was the time to act.
Leorio froze in place. "N-No, actually... I haven't actually seen any wounds..." he started to back away.
Rayen held a hand, ordering him to stay put. She leaned over the man, and met with a powerful scent of wet fur and... chicken blood?
"Hey, are you awake yet?" she shook the dormant man hard, watching as his fox like eyes widened in bewilderment.
"Rayen!? What are you doing!?" Leorio demanded, shouting in the redhead's ears.
Rayen only smiled, pointing down to the man. "Don't worry! It's just chicken blood!" she looked back down at the man and pursed her lips together. "Now... Who really are you?"
The man sat up, grinning from ear to ear. "So, you've managed to figure out the truth! Before I explain any more..." he stood up, perfectly fine despite his appearance earlier, and stood by the door, "Follow me outside."
Leorio and Rayen followed after the man until they saw Gon and Kurapika conversing with two of the rat-fox creatures. The woman from earlier also stood within the mix, glancing over at the man.
"It's been a long time since we've met someone who could tell my wife and I apart!" the rat-fox with the lower pitched voice said. "It gives me great pleasure!"
"I don't see a difference... Do you guys?" Leorio whispered to Kurapika and Rayen.
"Not at all..." Kurapika lowly responded, staring at the two creatures.
Rayen cocked her head to the side. "A bit, but it's a tiny detail. The wife's ears are slightly shorter, only about a third of a centimeter..."
Kurapika and Leorio gave Rayen a blank look.
"In fact, you were the one that hit Kurapika, mister!" Gon said to the husband.
"Ha! You are very good to us... Know, then, my wife and I are navigators," the rat-fox said, then gestured to the man and woman, who now revealed their long ears like the creatures. "...This is our son and daughter."
The daughter stepped up and bowed to Kurapika. "The wise Kurapika-san was not fooled and understood that we were not husband and wife!"
Rayen's eyes flashed at she spotted the tattoos over the daughter's arms. She excitedly grabbed the girl's arm, examining the markings. "This...! This is from the ancient Sumi clan! Those who wear it are a witness in a promise of marriage made to a god and no one else..."
The daughter of the rat-fox creatures nodded. Her brother then spoke up, "Rayen-sama, you caught on quickly. Your intuition and detective skills smelled me out, literally!" he said with a light chuckle. "Now, Leorio-san understood nothing until the end..."
Leorio laughed in slight embarrassment, muttering how he "didn't understand anything" under his breath.
"But..." the son of the rat-fox continued, "He knew how to give me first aid, maybe better than a doctor. Above all, when I ask for my 'wife', he stayed confident and spoke reassuringly!"
"As for Gon, he walked straight ahead, showing extraordinary movement and observation!" the male rat-fox applauded. With a stretch of his arms, the creature revealed his wings. "Alright! Let us take you to the testing sight!"
Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, and Rayen gave each other excited looks. The smallest boy then fist-bumped the others, although carefully for Rayen since she was still new to casual customs.
The four were soon gliding through the evening skies, holding onto the family of rat-fox creatures for dear life. Despite all that has happened so far, they were not yet at the starting line.
A/N: ありがとう！ thanks for reading! The next chapter will be more focused on Rayen...