The Tower of the Celestial Tournament
The sounds of their words were lost in the loud roar of the city. Despite the previous night's drama, they socialized just like usual, as if they were still undergoing the Hunter Exam.
"Why are you so stubborn, Gon?!" Killua shouted in Gon's crunched face. "You're a hunter now! You can stay anywhere you want! So why the hell did you use a stupid traveling visa?!"
"I made a decision," Gon aswered firmly. "I'll use it after I've finished what I have to do."
"And what might that be?" Killua raised an eyebrow.
"Well," Gon began his list. "First, to thank the people who helped me. And most importantly to me..." he flashed the ol' 44 number tag. "..to give this back to Hisoka along with my fist in his face!"
"And do you know where Asparagus-nii is?" Stasy asked, slightly hopeful to meet the curious magician.
Gon became stiff.
They all looked at each other in knowing silence.
"I know where he is."
Everyone turned in shock at the calm Kurapica. The blonde began to walk down the road.
"Is that true?" Gon asked, following.
"How do you know?" Leorio interrogated him.
"Because he told me," Kurapica answered simply.
"During your fight?" Stasy asked.
"No, after the information meeting."
"But there is a connection, right?" Leorio tried.
"Yes," Kurapica closed his eyes, reveling in the memory. "'Concerning the spider, I'm gonna teach you some pretty interesting stuff.'"
Stasy stifled a giggle. I think that statement has a double meaning.
"As I didn't remember having mentioned the Ryodan to him," Kurapica continued unawares to Stasy's inner thoughts, "Maybe he heard my conversation with you in the first round or someone told him. Whatever the reason, the spider is the symbol of the Ryodan and only people who are familiar with it call it 'the spider.' It's why information coming from Hisoka knowing this interests me a lot. After the meeting, I asked him to tell me what he knew. He said he's wait for me on the first of september in York Shin city."
Stasy's eyes flickered upwards towards the boys and their conversation. York Shin? Not the same York Shin brother told me about in my dream? Could it have been a premonition?
"September first?" Gon exclaimed. "That's over six months from now!"
"What's going on there?" Killua asked.
"Only the biggest auction in the world," Leorio pointed out.
"Yes," Kurapica began his explanation. "Between the first and tenth of september, the rarest objects, undiscoverable treasures, and desired artifacts from around the world are gathered there. All the money addicted people from all over the world come to satisfy their desires. It's the place where the most important assembling of money on the face of the planet takes place."
"You think they'll be there?" Leorio asked.
"Possibly," Kurapica replied. "Even if they're not numerous, there'll be people there with serious relations to them. Sorry, Gon, that's all I can tell you. He should be there that day. If I find him, I'll call you."
"Thanks," Gon smiled.
The blonde haired boy stopped in front of the station. "Well, I'm going to leave you here."
"Huh?" the others questioned.
"We were able to see Killua again and my break is over," he told them. "I have to save money to join the auction sale. From now on, I'm going to seriously look for work, as a hunter."
"Ok," Stasy smiled, waving. "We'll see you again in York Shin, Kurapica."
"As for me, I'll return home," Leorio smiled casually.
"You too?" Gon asked.
"I haven't become a doctor yet," Leorio reminded him. "If I pass the entrance exam of a private university, I won't have pay to high expenses, thanks to the Hunter's License. I musn't wait to start studying."
"Good luck," Gon wished him.
"Yeah," Killua smirked. "Break a leg."
"Why do I think you mean that literally?" Leorio scrutinized him.
"What about you, Stasy?" Killua turned his attention to the recently quiet girl. "Are you gonna leave to search for your brother."
"Well, I planned on using the Hunter's License to search for him," Stasy began. "But since I neither have that, nor any possible leads, I'll stay with you guys. Besides," she hugged the snowy haired boy. "I could never leave the love of my life!"
"Get off of me or I'll seriously kill you," Killua glared.
"Well, it's goodbye for now," Kurapica looked at them one last time, before he left.
"We'll see each other...in York Shin on September 1st!"
"So, what should we do now?" Gon turned to Killua innocently.
"Are you seriously asking me that?!" Killua shouted at him. "It's obvious."
"What? Are we gonna have fun?"
The boy sighed. "You really think you can manage to hit him even once in the condition you are in now?! Six months or even ten years wouldn't be enough! I'm going to explain this to you simply." He grabbed a stick from the bushes. "This is Hisoka," he drew a little face of the magician in the dirt. "This is Hanzo." He drew the ninja about two inches from the magician and put an arrow between them. "This is the difference in strength between Hisoka and Hanzo. Supposing it's this," he began to drag the stick along the ground for about five meters before he stopped. "You are here, and I'm being generous."
"What about me?" Stasy jumped in between them, all smiles. "How strong am I?"
"You're somewhere over there with Gon," Killua twirled the stick.
"What?!" Stasy growled. "Don't insult me! I'm not that bad! I'm at least a meter from him! And it depends on the personality. Strength is a mental thing too, ya know! Rage is quite strong. I bet if you ticked me off enough, and you're well on you're way, I could defeat you! And if Malevolence came out, well, Hisoka would be a mere pebble in my path!"
"But none of that's ever going to happen, now is it?" Killua prodded her nose with the stick.
"If I didn't love you, I'd hit you right now," she growled.
"What about you, Killua?" Gon pointed at him.
"Me?" he rubbed his chin in thought and then marked a spot about a half meter away from Hanzo. "About here." 'I'm so modest.'
"Haha! Hanzo's stronger than you!" Gon laughed. "But you really are strong! Me, I can't precisely measure the difference between me and my opponent."
"Idiot!" Kilua yelled at him again. "I can't either! It's only an estimation! You'll understand more with experience."
"But ones that can hide their strength are more experienced," Stasy pointed out. "So don't totally rely on your judgement."
"Whatever, Hisoka is really strong," Killua continued. "It's not really surprising if you can't give him his hit back in six months."
"Don't worry, little bro!," Stasy clapped him on the back. "I'll hit Asparagus-nii for you!"
"As if!" both Gon and Killua snorted.
"Ow, you guys are so mean," Stasy recoiled in tears.
"Hey, Gon," Killua ignored the silly girl. "Do you have any money?"
"Not that much, in fact," Gon admitted.
"Neither do I," Killua said. "I know a place where we can fight and win money. The tower of the Celestial Tournament! At 251 floors and 991 meters tall, it's the fourth highest building in the world, so we'll need to board an airship to get there. We'll have to use all of our savings to get there."
"After," Gon said. "We won't have much choice but to earn some money."
"Let's go!" Killua exclaimed and then began to run to the air station.
"Yeah!" Gon smiled and followed him.
"Umm...guys," Stasy called out to there retreating figures. "I have some money. Guys?"
Stasy hopped boredly on her toes and glared at the immense line they were stuck in.
"Wow, what a queue!" Gon exclaimed searching for the beginning of the line, but failing.
"They're all participants," Killua explained. "Contrary to the Hunter Exam, there's no special required condition. You knock out your opponents and that's ok. The higher you go, the better the fighting skills become. It's the paradise for barbarians."
"Just the place for Gon, then," Stasy derided him as she rested her chin on his shoulder.
After filling out a registration form, they entered into the bottom floor of the tower. The room resembeled a large auditorium with bleachers circling 16 small arenas on the floor. Mindless violence was every where.
Killua sighed happily. "It's been a while since I've been here. Nothing's changed."
"You've been here already?" Gon questioned him.
"Yes, when I was six," Killua relayed to him. "My father abruptly sent me here without asking me. He told me 'You go to the 200th floor and you come back!' At the time, it took me two years. On this floor, they judge what floor you start with, dpending on your performance. If we have to fight somone like Hisoka, we'll never reach the higher floors."
"Numbers 1973 and 2055 to Ring E please!" a voice from the ceiling announced.
"Ah! That's me!" Gon stood up. "I'm nervous!"
"Hey, you passed the test of the door, right?" Killua asked him.
"Yeah."
"In that case, all you have to do..." he lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Hey, I want to know too!" Stasy yelled.
Gon ran down the flight of steps to his specified ring where he met with his opponent. The man was massive, either from fat or muscle, he'd be difficult to push around.
"Hey, look, a kid," Stasy heard the gossip of a few men to her left. "Key kid! If you want to leave, now's the time! This ain't a game!"
"He's immense! He's so lucky!"
"Go on! Throw him out of the ring in one shot!"
Stasy only smiled confidently. Just wait and see, boys.
The referee stepped up and began the explanation. "We're on the first floor. We evaluate the level of the candidates depending on their performance here. There's a time limit! You have three minutes to show us what you're capable of doing. Ready?"
"If you die, don't complain," the giant snorted.
"BEGIN!!"
The man charged at the small boy. Gon simply lifted his hand and pushed the gargantuan, who was sent flying into the complete opposite side of the arena. Gon was awestruck at his own strength.
Stasy was simply giddy at his previous critics astonishment. "That's my boy! Nice job, Gon!"
"Number 2055," the referee addressed Gon. "You go to the 50th floor."
"Number 2056 and 1342 in Ring B!" the announcer called just after declaring. "Number 2054 and 2039 in Ring A!"
"Let's see who can get the higher floor," Stasy smirked.
"Heh, I'll win," Killua snickered as they parted to their rings.
"So whatcha ya get?" Killua asked Stasy after their matches were over.
"I got the 170th floor," Stasy smirked with her nose raised high. "But I asked him to lower it to 50 so I could stay with you guys."
"Only that?"
"What do you mean 'only that'?!" Stasy shouted angrily at him. "Do you see that hole in the wall? I made that with my opponent's body! They probably lowered it a little because of the damage I caused."
"They probably raised it because of the damage you caused."
"Well, what was your floor mister fancy pants?"
"180, but I was being modest."
"Hey guys!" Gon came running up to them. "What floor did you two get?"
"Oh, fifty!" the both turned and smiled together.
"Really, what a coincidence!" the boy innocently smiled. "Me too! We can go together now!"
"It must be fate!" Stasy smiled and patted his head.