Last Exam: Part 1
The Last Round had finally come, but Stasy still hadn't apologized to Killua for her absurd behavior the other day. He appeared to be avoiding her, and stealing Gon from her as well. Everytime they encountered each other, Killua would nonchalantly guide Gon somewhere else. It left Mel in a terrible mood for the opening of the first round. They were led to a large ballroom with slick tile floors. All the examiners were there including a few extra tough looking men in black suits and dark sunglasses.
"I hope everyone has rested well," the chairman spoke to the group. "We are here in a hotel managed by the committee. Until the end of the final round, this place will be yours. The last trial will be in the form of duels of one versus one. The groups are the following." He pulled a blanket off of a board with tournament line ups with everyone's number on there. "And now the rules on this last round. It's very simple. One victory and you pass the exam! In other words, in this tournament, winners quit the game one by one. The principle to this tournament is to designate the loser, not the winner. Do you understand?"
"So there will be only one elimenated?" Hanzo asked.
"Exactly!" the old man exclaimed. "Consequently, each person has two opportunities to win. The rules to the fight are simple. Weapons are allowed, and pushing your opponent to quit gives you victory. However, if you kill your adversary, you'll be disqualified. So if that happens, the only disqualified candidate will be designated and the exam will end."
"On that note, let's begin the first match," one of the men in black announced as he stepped forward. "Hanzo versus Gon! I'll be the referee of the match. Good luck."
The little boy walked towards the tall bald ninja. Gon looked so helplessly tiny compared to the expert killer. However, his face was still full of confidence. "Go Gon!" Stasy cheered enigmatically. "You show him who's boss!"
"Stasy, you're awfully loud," Kurapica whispered to her.
"Well, I've got to cheer on my cute little brother!" she replied with a smile and continued to cheer.
The two opponents looked at each other. "BEGIN!" Gon immeadiatly dashed to the left, however, Hanzo followed him up in a milisecond.
"I see that you're pretty confident in your speed," Hanzo muttered just before he karate chopped the small boy in the back of the neck. Stasy stopped cheering. "For a kid, you're doing pretty well."
Gon lay paralyzed on the floor, gasping in pain. Hanzo looked down condescendingly at the boy. "In a classic match, with this, I would've already won. Hey! Wake up!" He pulled Gon up into a sitting position. "You're not in the best shape, huh? That's normal. I hit you so you can't react correctly. It's only my experience that makes the difference, so why dont you quit now?"
"No way!" Gon stuck his tongue out at the ninja despite his pain.
Hanzo smacked Gon upside the head, and because of that previous hit, it caused a hurricane inside his tiny brain. "Just think about it. You stop now and you won't have any trouble recovering for your next match. Being stubborn won't help you right now. Just say it!"
"Who do you think I am?!" Gon retaliated which won him a good, hard smack across the head again.
"Gon! Don't be so persistant!" Leorio shouted to his little friend lying on the floor. "There are other matches!"
"Leorio..." Kurapica sighed. "If you were Gon, would you say you'd lost?"
"I'd rather die!" Leorio shouted to him. "But do you think I can tell him this? Talking to him is the only thing I can do!"
"That's contradictory," Kurapica sighed again, "but I understand how you feel."
Three hours in, and Gon was still being ruthlessly beaten by Hanzo. He stopped coughing up blood, but there was plenty on the floor for everyone. Gon barely had the ability to stand up anymore.
"You're gonna stop this now!" Leorio cracked. "I'll kill you if you continue! Come here and fight me!"
"If it's too hard for you to watch, then get out of here," Hanzo told the angry man. "The worst is yet to come."
Leorio was about to charge the ninja, but two of the men in black blocked his path. "No exterior interventions. It's a one-on-one match. Despite that, supposing you intervene, it is Gon who will be disqualified."
"I'm fine, Leorio," Gon small voice echoed through the large room as he wobbled on his knees, barely managing to stand up. "Everything is ok. I can bear some more."
"Leorio, back down," the brown-haired girl told the tall man. "Respect Gon's wishes."
"But don't you-" Leorio was about to protest as he swung his head around and stopped his sentence at the fierce site of Rage. A monsterous purple aura was eminating from her and it even whipped her long hair a bit.
"After this Exam is over," she growled. "I swear I'll kill him. Until then, I'll stand back, for Gon's sake."
The ninja smacked him back down to the floor. He grabbed Gon's left arm and folded it behind his back. "I'm gonna break your arm," he warned him. "I'm serious, so just say it!"
"NO!" Gon remained stubborn.
A loud crack resonated through the room and Gon's cry soon came afterwards. Rage was having a difficult time containing herself. She was shaking uncontrolably and everyone in the room glanced warily at her.
'Sorry, Gon, but I can't hold it anymore,' Rage thought within as she ran out of the room. A loud crash was soon followed afterwards. However, the tension did not die down.
"Kurapica," Leorio was trembling just as much as Rage was. "Don't try to stop me. If that guy goes any farther, I'm sorry Gon, but I swear I'll kick his butt!"
"Stop you? Me?" Kurapica's eyes were glowing a fierce red. "Dount count on it. There is no chance of that happening."
"It's horrible, huh?" Hanzo ignored all the hostility towards him. "I know this isn't really a good moment, but listen to what I have to say." He kneeled next to Gon who was crying reluctantly. "I come from a clan of shinobi. To acquire the special art of shinobi, I've trained since I was born. During 8 years, I built up a strong muscularity and refined my techniques. At your age, I'd already killed." Hanzo flipped up and did a hand stand single handedly. He slowly reduced the number of fingers until he was only on one. "Anyways, in this fight, you can't win against me. I don't say that to make you mad. Say only that you lose."
He was answered with a swift kick in the face from Gon. He was still trembling, but held his ground now. "I don't believe it," Gon snorted through gritted teeth. "The pain and your speech woke me up."
"YEAH, LET'S GO, GON!!!" Leorio shouted in fury. "KILL HIM!!!"
"Leorio, if he does that he'll lose," Kurapica sighed, calmed down now.
"18 years old," Gon mused. "There's only 6 years between us. And in this match, we don't need to show our strength, but to know who will abandon first."
Hanzo stood back up. "I let you kick me, but-" "LIAR!!" "I don't think you really understand. That wasn't a question, but an order. That was hard to understand? In that case, I'll be clearer." He pulled a long thin blade from his arm band. "I'll get rid of one of your legs. You won't ever be able to use it again. When you see a fatal injury, you'll understand, right? But I repeat once more, say 'I lose.'"
"That's not good," Gon replied to the threat, unaghast. "I don't want you to cut my leg, but I don't want to lose! Let's fight in another way..."
"No but?!" Hanzo shouted. "Don't you understand the situation?!"
"Heheheh..." A series of chuckles ran through the crowd. The tense atmosphere that was there before had been lifted by Gon's straight-forwardness.
"You don't understand huh?!" Hanzo shouted. "I'll cut your leg! I'm serious!"
"That doesn't mean that I'll say that I lose," Gon replied defiantly. "If you do that I'll bleed to death." He turned to the referee. "In that case, he would lose, huh?" The referee nodded. "And you see, that wouldn't be nice. Think about it."
Hanzo was at a loss for words.
"That looks good," Kurapica sighed relief. "Gon has changed the situation and Hanzo too."
Hanzo was enraged. This kid was making a fool of him. Was he so stupid he didn't know who was in charge here? He swung his blade forth, to show the kid who's boss. However, the little boy with onyx hair didn't move an inch. The point of his blade rested on the steadfast forehead of Gon. A bead of blood trickled down his forehead.
"You don't understand," Hanzo growled. "If you die, you won't be able to continue! Nothing will be in your way to come back next year! The other way, if I kill you here...We are not equal!! You understand?!"
Gon didn't answer, but he didn't move either.
"Why?" Hanzo questioned the little boy. "It's only two words, after all...You know that you'll be able to come back next year, right? This is really more important than your life?!"
"I want to meet my father," Gon said calmly. "He's a hunter. Actually, he is far from here. I really think that one day I'll meet him, but if I lose here, I think that I won't ever be able to meet him. This is the reason why I don't go back on my decision."
"But if you stay here, you'll die," Hanzo repeated.
They stared at each other for a couple of minutes before Hanzo removed his blade and put it back in his armband. "I've lost. I admit I've lost. I can't kill him and I can't make him say he's lost. I've lost. I will wait until the next match."
Gon frowned. "No, that's not possible, let's find a way to continue this fight!"
"ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT?!" Hanzo shouted at the little boy. "WHATEVER THE MANNER OF FIGHTING, I WON'T GET YOU TO SAY THAT YOU'VE LOST!!"
"Maybe this way isn't good enough!" Gon shouted back.
"HOW DO YOU WANT IT?!"
"Let's find a way together!!"
"Let me see if I understand," Hanzo said more quietly. "I resigned myself to lose, but you say to me that you intend to beat me seriously once more. You want us to find a way for you to win in a fight. Is that it?!"
"Yeah!" Gon smiled.
"IDIOT!!" Hanzo shouted once more, uppercutting Gon, sending him flying. More quietly he said, "Hey, jurors! I lost. I'll fight again in the second matching. I think the committee must know that that kind of stuff won't remain this way. When he comes to, you can be sure he'll refuse the title. Have you seen his stubborness? Each time he decides something, he does all he can to make it happen. It's agreed? There'll only be one loser in this tournament? If it's Gon, all the fights from now on will be meaningless, won't they?"
At that moment the door flung open and Stasy waltzed through the door. "Sorry committee guys, I kinda dest-GON!!!" She shouted when she saw her beloved little boy lying unconcious on the ground. She rushed over to him, propping his back with her arm. "Oh, Gon! My sweet little brother!! Has that bastard killed you?"
"Stasy, calm down," Kurapica ordered her, tapping her shoulder. "Gon's okay. He was just knocked out. (And I can't say he didn't deserve it.) He won the match."
"My sweet little brother won the match?" Stasy repeated, her mouth agape.
"Yes, and he's broken his arm and needs medical attention, so if you'll let-"
"Gon won his match!" Stasy leapt into the air with glee. "Take that, baldy!!!" She shouted at Hanzo.
The ninja man turned around slowly. "Shut up, girly, or I'll cut you up!"
"Anyway, time for the next match!" the jurors interrupted them.