Assassins and Thieves
Chapter 08
Like said before, today was going to be a long day. Tanuku did say that they will be walking for ten hours to get to the testing site. The group of three started their journey at 8 in the morning. Luckily Tanuku didn't get them lost. It was a ten straight hours of walking. Sure, the adult continuously asked if the children needed a break ever so often, but they declined all of those offers. Killua and Chrome both stated that this is no more than a long walk, and they've walked longer before. Stamina isn't an issue for them. Their large amount of stamina got the navigator even more curious, so a large portion of the walk was questions about them. Chrome just shrugged at the question and simply replied something about Papa and Killua replied the same. Both children were heavily influenced by their father figure.
It wasn't until early evening; the three had reached to their destination. Standing in front of a small building in disguised as a ramen shop, Chrome realized they were in Zaban City. Not completely too familiar with the city, Chrome had her eyes wander around, looking at every tiny detail of the city. What kind of streets did it have? What kind of people live or visit here? What are some of the stands in the market sells? All those things Chrome was curious about. She even trailed away from the group to get a closer look, and Killua had to pull her away from all the window shopping she does. The girl did visit this city once with Papa for about a month or two, but other than that they never came back. Papa did tell her that this city doesn't have a good reputation, especially in the market. There were a lot of stands who tries to con their customers and ripe them off with fake product for expensive prices. However the hustle and bustle of the city is what kept the tourists in. The building is located not too far from the market, but far enough for vastly lower amount of people. With shopping bag in their arms, they wouldn't have time to look at the tiny ramen shop.
"So here we are!" Tanuku smiled at the children beside him, and walked into the tiny shop. It was indeed a tiny ramen shop. Since it was roughly at 6 in the evening, there are barely any people inside. A young waitress greeted them at the door. "Is the back room open?" Tanuku asked the chef behind the counter who's looking at him with a sharp eye.
"What would you like to order?" The chef asked, trying to be casual about it. However his eyes made him look a bit more suspicious.
"Steak Combo that opens your eye to the light." That's quite a strange password. Chrome looked around the restaurant. The waitress shrugged off the fact that she was ignored and is now cleaning a table with a wet rag. "For three people."
"How would you like your steak?"
"Grilled over a low flame, until cooked."
"You could enter the back room." The chef said, taking another sip of his beverage while motioning his head to the left where the backroom should be. Tanuku thanked the chef and guided the two children deeper into the restaurant.
The navigator opened the back door and entered. Chrome and Killua followed in. The room had Chinese interior designs with only one circular table and three chairs. There's no wonder why Tanuku said it's for three people. If it's any other amount, then it would have been a different room. This place certainly doesn't hold over a hundred of examinees. Maybe someone will pick them up and guide them to the correct holding area. "This is where I will be leaving you two. It's been interesting having you." Tanuku shook the two children's hand. "You can always come to me if you need to retake the exam."
"Yes," Chrome smiled at him. "Thank you for everything you've done for us."
Killua sat down on one of the three seats. "Yeah, see you around."
"Good luck to the both of you, and please be careful." The navigator left the room with one final warning.
Chrome sighed in relief and sat next to Killua, but the room started to elevate down as soon she sat down. Wobbly, Chrome nearly fell over her seat, but manage to maintain her balance using the table as if the table was drilled onto the tiled floor. "Oh it's an elevator." She mumbled, "Of course, it'll be an elevator."
Leaning back onto the chair, Chrome closed her eyes, taking a short rest. "You're tired?" Killua asked, watching Chrome's every move. The girl peek an eye open to look at him.
"I'm just relaxed a bit." Chrome replied. "We should be on our top shape when the Hunter Exam starts. It could start any minute now, or in a few days."
"What do you think it'll be like?" Killua asked, leaning forward. Is he starting a small talk? It's quite strange for him to do that. He doesn't seem to be the type to engage in meaningless talks really, but Chrome is obligated to answer him. "You know, when we reach to the bottom floor."
The girl closed her eyes for a moment to picture the upcoming scenario. "Since we are going underground, it'll be like a damp large room waiting to be filled. Loads of men and maybe a few women just stared at us as we exit the elevator and snicker at us for being kids. But, soon after, the room will be very quiet and tense, like someone died in there. I don't know." Chrome shrugged. "No one is smiling. That's for sure."
"Well that does sound about right." Killua nodded at her answer.
"What are you going to do after you get your license?" Chrome asked. The silver haired boy shrugged again. "You're not going back home, right?"
"Of course not!" Killua folded his arms cross his chest. "There's no way I'm going back there!"
"I'm just curious, but why not?" Chrome tilted her head. "Is it your family? It can't be that you're just bored of the house. A fight with one of your brothers, maybe? Your mother told you to take out the garbage so you decided to run away?"
"It's nothing like that," Killua mumbled, "you wouldn't understand."
"Well of course I won't understand if you don't tell me."
"You know what?" The boy's voice changed into something mixed with seriousness and anger. "I don't need to tell you. Why I left my house is none of your concern."
Taken back by his change of tone, Chrome decided to back down, and for the rest of the way it was just silence in the elevator. Killua turned away from the girl and stared only at the elevator door, hoping it will open soon. Once the elevator reached to Basement Floor 100, there was a loud ding to declare that they have reached to their destination, 100 floors underground. Killua stood up first and exited with Chrome following.
The two children found themselves inside a large dimed room with large pipes decorating the room. Chrome was correct. Everyone who was standing in this room stared at them with a nasty smirk on their face trying to hide a small chuckle, but that didn't last too long. There weren't as many people in the room as Chrome had thought, but she's not counting everyone just to see how many participants there are in this year's Hunter Exam. Chrome and Killua stepped further in and was greeted by a tiny man with a green jelly bean for a head.
His appearance was questionable, but Chrome and Killua didn't question him. Instead, they just listened to the instructions the jelly bean had given. "Please take a card number and attach it to your clothes. Do not lose it." He said, as handing two circular pin buttons to the two children. Chrome had received the number 100 since the instructor gave Killua the button first. As soon as she received it, Chrome pinned the card onto her white tank top. Killua followed the same example.
"Number 100," Chrome mumbled to herself with a smile at the solid number she'd obtained. "So there are a total of hundred people in this very room right now. And Killua is number 99."
"Yeah," he replied casually as he went deeper in the room with Chrome following his tail.
The room was silenced with a large amount of tension in the air. There were shifty eyes everywhere, trying to observe every applicants. A few amounts of small talks were sounded in the room as if it was used to calm the nerves of weaker minded people.
Chrome scanned the room in search for a certain man. The man who boarded the same ship she travelled in. The same man who left her in the middle of a dock. And the same man who she became a little more than just an acquaintance with. There were only a hundred people, and he should be sticking out like a sour thumb. Chrome found him easily, leaning against on a large dirty pipe, shuffling a deck of cards in boredom. There he is, Hisoka! Chrome smiled as she tried to approach him, but was blocked by a short chubby man.
"Oh, there're some new faces I see." The chubby man greeted the two children. "I'm Tonpa, number 16. Nice to meet you."
Chrome frowned at him for blocking her meeting with a certain man, but there should be more than enough time to get through the introductions with this stranger before greeting Hisoka. She glanced at Killua to see if he has enough patience for this man, and then looked back to the man named Tonpa.
"I'm Killua, and this is Chrome," the silver haired boy introduced themselves with a careless smile. On the other hand, Chrome didn't really want to bother with this. It was clear for other people to see. Her eyes wandered around the whole room, not paying attention to the slightly taller man.
"—is my 39th time taking the Hunter Exam. I know"—Chrome heard bit and pieces of the conversation at a time. "—know about everyone taking the exam. If there's anything you want to know, you can ask me!"
"What do you know about Hisoka?" Chrome asked. Finally interested in a small piece of information she could get, she turned back to Tonpa.
"Hisoka?" Tonpa turned around to see who Chrome was pointing to. "Oh, Hisoka, number 44! You know him?"
"He's a friend of mine, I guess," the girl shrugged. "Do you know much about him?" It was clear to her that he is very strong and very mysterious. Chrome wanted to know more about him. More information the better and that boat ride didn't allow her to get to know the jester-like man that much.
"Hmm, Hisoka," Tonpa placed his hand on his mouth, thinking about her question. "He's a dangerous one. Got disqualified last year's Hunter Exam for killing an examiner. I suggest you avoid him as much as possible, really!"
"That's it?" Chrome pouted, placing her hand on her hips. "I already knew that."
"O-oh, really?" The adult forced a laugh. "Last year was his first year, so I don't really know too much about him."
"Aw, how disappointing."
"W-well, let's celebrate our new friendship! What do you say?" Tonpa said loudly as he scoured through his messenger bag. "I've got orange soda for all of us."
Friendship? Is he kidding? They've only talked for three minutes, not even! There's definitely something fishy going on with this man. Chrome looked around the room, and noticed people snickering as they looked at Killua and Chrome. Toma—or whatever his name is is quite the bad news. She should definitely decline that orange soda he has. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept your drink." She waved her hand to decline the beverage as the adult attempted to hand them their cans. "You see, I really don't like sugary drinks." Chrome's eyebrows furrowed into a worried look, hoping that he won't question her.
"Oh, are you sure?" Tonpa asked, while handing Killua the drink.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I've got water in my bag anyways," she lied as she looked over to Killua who is opening his can with that nice refreshing sound. "Are you sure you're going to drink that, Killua? If we run, you'll get cramps, or something."
The boy looked right into her eyes and smirked at her, drinking the beverage as if he's taunting her. With a long pause, Chrome just stared at the boy taking multiple gulps. Once he finished, he let out a loud breath of relief. "Man, that felt good!" But, he looked at Chrome and said, "But yeah, this drink is too sugary for you." As a warning for her to not drink the beverage.
The girl looked back at Tonpa who's smirking at Killua with a smug grin on his face. "Thank you for the offer though."
"Uh? Ah," Tonpa turned back to the girl, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "yeah, it's fine."
"Hey Toma, can I have her drink?" Killua asked, still thirsty after finishing his own can. "The walk here was really long, and there were no breaks at all. I don't know how you do it, Chrome."
"It's Tonpa," the adult corrected the silver haired boy as he gave him another can of orange soda. However, it doesn't seem like Killua was listening, or didn't really care what his name was. "You must be really thirsty. If you want more, you could ask me. Well, I'll see you later."
The chubby man exited quicker than he appeared in front of the two children. Chrome and Killua looked at each other and simultaneously shrugged at Tonpa's interaction with them. Chrome looked at Killua's hand for the opened can of drink, and placed her hands on her hips. "Why did you drink it? It could be poisoned or something." She frowned slightly, and her eyebrows furrowed a bit worriedly.
"It doesn't matter to me," Killua grinned smugly again, and took another sip at the potentially poisoned drink. "I'm immune to poison." He looked over at her as if to see a reaction of some sort, but Chrome didn't give him that satisfaction.
"Really? So is it poisoned?"
Killua shrugged, "I don't know."
"Oh," Chrome pouted a bit. She does what to drink it, but it's still not safe for her to. "A bit useless for me," she breathed out silently. He only knows that he could drink it, nothing much more on that detail.
"Oh you want some?" Killua teased as he offered the opened can to her. Chrome sighed with a smile as she attempted to push him lightly with a single hand. Unfortunately, the boy didn't budge an inch. Instead the force pushed her back a bit.
"I hope you get a stomachache!" Chrome stuck her tongue at him and smiled.
"Ha, as if!" Killua continued to drink the orange can.
Instead of waiting for Killua to finish her drink, she thought it would be a good time to meet with Hisoka. "I'm going to see Hisoka for a bit. Don't worry. I'll be back for you." Chrome smiled at the pale boy. He just looked over and simply nodded.
With that Chrome had left Killua's side and attempt to search for her acquaintance. It wasn't too hard since the man was still at the same location since the last time she saw him, leaning against the possibly dirty pipes decorative. The man noticed the girl walking towards him, but decided not to create any attention. However slight smile curved upwards as she approached him.
"Good job on making it here, Chrome." Hisoka greeted once the girl was in close enough distance. Chrome leaned against the pipe next to him to follow his suit. "I see you made a friend."
"Yeah, I guess you could call him a friend." Chrome nodded to herself as she looked at Killua who is roaming around the room. She called Hisoka her friend when talking to Tonpa and Killua. Then Killua should be a friend, too. She knows more about him than Hisoka, and she enjoys Killua's company more. So he should be categorized as a friend. "How did you get here so fast?"
Hisoka smiled at the girl and answered vaguely, "I've walked, of course."
Chrome nearly pouted at his answer. "That's not what I meant," she mumbled underneath her breath. "Did you have to go through the trails, too? Or did you have some secret method of getting here?" She always thought that Hisoka has a vastly large network of information. Large amount of information to get him anywhere he wants. Not only that he has the network, Hisoka is crazy strong. Chrome knows strong when she see it. To be honest, the man's power frightened her a bit, but that's more than enough reasons to try to get to know him, just to get familiar with him.
"Hmm," Hisoka placed a finger on his lips as if he was trying to remember, "I did talk to a few people actually, but I rather not have you know." Chrome sighed at his answer. There's no use on pestering him for a needless answer. She wasn't even sure if Hisoka was joking around or not. "I think your friend is getting bored. I suggest you go accompany him." Hisoka smiled at the girl, hinting her to go away as he pointed at Killua.
"Okay, okay" Chrome smiled at him as she straightened her heavy book bag that feels like nothing to her now. "Have fun with the Hunter Exam."
After leaving Hisoka, Killua is still roaming around the room, but he doesn't seem to be conversing with any examinees. He just looked extremely bored with his skateboard in his hand. Did he not bring anything to entertain himself? Killua did say he came to the Hunter Exam because he's bored, but it doesn't seem to be doing him any good right now. Instead of approaching Killua right now, Chrome thought to observe him. Just watch him to see what he does when he's bored. However, just standing in the room and staring at him would be very suspicious. It'll look quite strange if Killua saw her standing alone staring at him.
Chrome decided to walk around the room and pretending to be looking around the room, but really peering at Killua once in a while. For a few minutes, Killua didn't do anything interesting, just walked around with his skateboard. He didn't even look at the other contestants. Chrome believed he tried to look for someone, perhaps her. Though, Chrome scoffed at that thought. It didn't seem likely that he'll be looking for her, but it does make sense. He doesn't know anyone in the room beside her…and Tonpa.
"Spying on your little friend?" a voice called behind her.
Chrome nearly jumped in shock, but turned around to see Tonpa. She sighed in relief, thanking that it's no one important. The con man approached the girl. "I rather you not say anything about that." Chrome insisted with a frown. "What is it that you want?"
"Ahh, don't be so mean," Tonpa scratched the back of his head. "I'm here to offer you the drink again. I know you were suspicious of me and that can of soda." He admitted, nodding his head. "But you saw Killua drink it. He's perfectly fine, so I grantee you that the drink is perfectly fine, too."
Chrome's patience is running thin for this man. Not only once he tried to trick her, but twice. "I'm sorry, Tonpa. I wasn't lying when I said I don't like sugary drinks. So if you'll excuse me." Chrome didn't give a chance for him to respond. As she turned around, Tonpa placed a hand on her shoulder as an attempt to stop her. Chrome's black eyes narrowed, and her tongue clicked in annoyance as she turned around to face the persistent man.
"I'm sorry. I-I think we got off the wrong foot." Tonpa tried to apologize.
"Chrome! Tonpa! There you are!" Killua's voice could be heard to Chrome's right. Turning to face the approaching boy, Chrome smiled. Thank goodness, she doesn't want to deal with Tonpa any longer. Any moment longer, she swore she'll have his neck snapped. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Killua stood next to Chrome, of course, with a smile on his face. "Tonpa, do you have another can? I'm feeling really thirsty!" He looked at Chrome with a smirk.
"Uh, yes I do." Tonpa nodded his head as he reached inside his bag for another can. How many does he have, pulling them out one after another? After Tonpa handed over the can, he seemed to be in a hurry. "Ah, I'll see you around." The con man rubbed the back of his head and bowed slightly. "Good luck with the exam." With that, Tonpa left the two children alone.
However, Killua left him with one last note, "Don't. Ever. Bother. Her. Again." His words sent shivers down Tonpa's spine, but the man left without a word.
Chrome looked at Killua curiously, "What was that about?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Author's Note: Ahh, I know you all are tired of me saying sorry over and over again. But, I'm sorry I left you all for two months without updating. Thank you to those who have reviewed saying that they love the story and wishes that I update more often. I haven't forgotten about this story! I will keep writing it. I have so many ideas that I don't want to stop writing. I'm assuming you don't want me to keep saying sorry and thank you over and over again, and want me to start working on the next chapter! I will and I am. Hopefully, next chapter won't take so long. Thank you for reading Chapter 08 of Assassins and Thieves, and always please review.