(Before edits) Reviews:
SupremeGeneralJoker: Thanks, I try :D To answer your question, she's not exactly "hiding" her gender, but she is trying to hide her identity (It was mentioned briefly in the first chapter, and it was pretty vague, so I get why you didn't catch that). Why is she trying to hide her identity, you ask? Well, that's a story for another time ;)
[Raze]: Yeah, it'll be awesome to see their faces when they find out!
[Gon]: Who's faces?
[Raze]: *Whistles innocently* Nobody~
[A/n]: There is one person who knows who Raze is and whatnot, since he was her best friend beforehand… Isn't it odd that he's playing along? *Cackles evilly*
(After Edits)
Isella of the wolf tribe: Lol, Raze has this weird habit of giving people nicknames when she considers their names too long - AKA, four syllables.
[Raze]: That sounds like a Pokemon… Honestly, I think Kurapika's just a Pikachu in disguise.
[A]: Tell us your secrets, Kurapika! Haha, thanks for the review and these ones should be starting to get out a lot faster - although I have to go back up to my cottage soon, which means almost no internet T-T
Thanks to Ayame Himura-chan, Ally1012, Uzumaki Maelstrom and YourFriendBob for F/F!
Chapter Four,
Rivals X For X Survival
XXX
We spent all night on the Kirikos, stopping once or twice for -surprise, surprise- Leorio, who needed to have a pee/snack break. It was nice to have the breaks in between so that I could get up and stretch. As much as I loved being in the air and chatting with the daughter - her name was Jiilya, apparently-, staying in the same position for hours on end was difficult for me. I liked to move, so as soon as we dropped down I would jump off and jog around the area.
"Raze, what are you doing?" Gon tilted his head cutely as he asked his question. In fairness, it was a valid question, considering that I liked to practice throwing my daggers while I ran.
"I'm practicing," I answered, half paying attention as I threw a dagger at the centre of the tree. "I need to keep my skills up, otherwise I'll be less accurate." Damn. I was a centimeter or two off where I wanted to hit. I frowned and threw the rest in a consistent pattern, then strode over to the tree to collect them after.
"Raze, why were you hiding your face with your hood?" Gon queried again, making me twitch. "You said that you would put it up again when we got to town, but why?" I ran my hands over the bark of the tree and the indents I had just made.
"It's like I said before, Gon," I gave him a tired smile. "People 'round this continent don't like demi-humans. There's a lot of rumours, myths, and prejudice against us."
"What's prejudice?"
"Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that's not based on opinion or actual experience," Kurapika answered, standing a little to my left with his nose in a book. "For example, some superstitious people believe that people like Raze are monsters, bring disaster, insentient, bad luck, only good as slaves, vicious, etc. It's because demi-humans don't typically leave their villages on this continent that only the bad rumours get out about them."
"Why would they think Raze is a monster?"
"…I don't know, Gon. I don't know." I let out a sigh at Kurapika's answer as I continued to beat up the poor tree in front of me.
"Well, luckily for me, I wouldn't be considered a "prize" to catch. I wouldn't be much use for body parts, so if they did manage to catch me, I would most likely be sold into slavery as a bodyguard or a general slave."
"Why wouldn't you be considered a catch?" I turned and faced Gon with a chuckle. So many questions in this little kit.
"Mammalian demi-humans are very common and not very high on the price list for poachers. Besides, I'm not very animalistic looking right now, am I? That alone would be a deterrent. I can't be used as a poison tester, I don't have super strength, and since I have problems sleeping because of my hearing, I wouldn't really be of much use. If anything, they'd cut off my ears, tail, claws, and gouge out my eyes to be sold for medicine or something. They'd more likely go after Hiroshi since he's a rarer kind than I am."
"That's horrible!" Gon's voice quavered. Sweet kid. I felt kind of bad for dumping such a large dose of reality on him. Well, at least I wasn't a Mzera. Their kind had many more problems than I did. "How could anyone do something like that?" I gave him a sad smile.
"Because there are people in this world who will do anything to get what they want," I replied quietly. "That's why most of our villages are so isolated all the time." I held up a hand, seeing the next question in Gon's eyes. "To continue my explanation, there are Aquatic, Mammalian, Reptilian, Herbal, and Elemental demi-humans. Hiroshi would be Aquatic — they don't typically leave the water for the most part, so they're hard to find. My village is a mixture of all kinds but mainly mammalian, aquatic, and elemental demi-humans. We have a few regular humans too."
"Could we come visit sometime?" That one took me off guard. I opened my mouth in surprise, then snapped it shut.
"I… I suppose you guys could, as long as you were with me," I mused. "I don't know how you'd find it otherwise." Gon gave me a face-splitting grin, making me half-wonder how he could even smile that wide. My answer caught Kurapika's attention.
"Where is it?" I frowned in thought.
"Uh, you know the Republic of Padokea?" I tried, attempting to remember the general location without a map. I wasn't very good at the whole address thing yet. "It's around there," Kurapika smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I do," Gon waved his hand again.
"What's the bracelet thing around your ankle?"
"It isn't a bracelet, exactly…" I trailed off, not knowing how to explain it without telling him my life story. "It's more like… A barrier, of sorts."
"A barrier?" I smiled warmly at him and ruffled his hair as I started to jog around again and throw knives.
"Yeah, a barrier." I didn't have to to say any more on the subject because just then Leorio walked out of the bushes - right next to the tree I was aiming at. He came out as I threw a knife at the tree, making him yelp.
"Oi, watch it!"
"I was," I retorted. "If I wasn't, you'd be a skewered shish-kabob!" Leorio huffed and made his way back over to the rest of us while I collected my knives.
XXX
It was a beautiful day when we reached Zaban city - it was a pity that I had to wear that stuffy hoodie. Right before we entered, the Kiriko family left, with the exception on the son so that he could lead us to the exam site.
Inside the city, I gaped at everything and joined Gon to run around and look at all the stalls, our guide saying something along the lines of how it was hard to get this far without a navigator. At the moment, I honestly didn't care.
"Ne, ne, Kurapika!" I tugged on his clothes excitedly, pointing over at different things. "What's that?"
"That's a video game,"
"What's a video game?"
"A game created by electronically manipulating images by a computer program on a television or other screened device." I sucked in an excited gasp.
"What's that?"
"Those are pompoms," He answered calmly, not at all fazed by the bright colours and loud noises surrounding us. It was almost overwhelming for me. I'd never been in a city that large before. "Small balls made out of varying types of material that are waved around and used to cheer people on."
"Ohhhh," I pointed to another stall. "What's that?" This continued on for several minutes before I decided to join Gon again and get a better look.
There were so many stalls! Gon pulled me over to one when a man called out to the crowd.
"It's Zaban's well known Panda Frog on a Stick! A true delicacy!" He promoted, holding it up and showing it off. I chuckled when Gon tried to lift himself up higher to get a good look and took pity on him. I grabbed him around the waist, getting an "eh?!" and placed him on my shoulders to give him a better view.
"Thanks, Raze!" He held onto the top of my hood, leaning closer to the items. There was jewelry, food, and almost anything else you could think of! There was even a physic in one of the stalls! Woah, they even have game areas!
"You know, this is quite the shady place…" Leorio said, looking around and seeing a couple hooligans talking to a cute girl and her brother.
"Profitable cities usually attract all kinds of nasty people," Kurapika agreed, looking around also. I spotted some beef jerky and turned to Hiroshi pleadingly. He opened his mouth to say no, but froze when I used my puppy dog eyes.
"Pleeeeease?" I begged, coming closer. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?" He looked conflicted, but gave in after a moment, sighing as he handed over the money so that I could buy some. I let out a squeal of delight and gave him a quick hug before dashing over to the stall. The shop keeper was a sweet looking, plump old lady with a variety of foods all over her table.
"What cute boys," She smiled kindly at me and Gon, who had tagged along. "I'll give you an extra package for free." My eyes lit up and I thanked her delightedly. She just laughed and waved me off.
I was in a good mood after that and caught Hiroshi snickering at me a couple times as we walked to the site. I got a few odd glances from the others, most likely because I was purring - a natural reflex for me when I was happy. According to Hiroshi I would do it when I was upset or injured too, but wasn't really worried about that when I was, so I didn't really remember.
"What's that?" Gon asked innocently, ever curious.
"Only one of the most amazing things ever created," I declared, much to Hiroshi's amusement. "Beef Jerky!" Kurapika looked at me inquisitively.
"Beef Jerky?" He glanced at the package in my hand. "I've heard of it, but I've never had it." I gaped at him in absolute horror.
"What've you been doing all your life?" I demanded, earning a raised eyebrow. I handed him a small piece and watched him expectantly. Kurapika looked at it skeptically, probably wondering how something that looked like that would taste good, but he ate it anyway. His eyes widened.
"It's good," He admitted slowly. I smiled triumphantly, putting the rest into my bag.
"I told you so!" Hiroshi shook his head at us but didn't comment and neither did Leorio who rolled his eyes.
XXX
We walked for a little longer until our navigator pointed at a group of buildings, one being incredibly tall and more important looking that the others.
"I believe… This… Is the building," He stated, not looking up from his small map that he had in his hands. I let out an impressed whistle.
"Ah, it's really tall!" Gon exclaimed, taking in the sheer size of it. "They have a really nice building!"
"So this is the exam site," Leorio added in almost a whisper. I noticed the Kiriko had started moving over to the small, rundown restaurant beside it. Hiroshi grabbed my hand and dragged me over as well, probably assuming that it was the actual building.
I watched them stand there for a couple minutes, making comments about how amazing it was, while I tried to see if I could smell anything. There were so many people in the city which made it hard to discern any scents from the other. I wrinkled my nose, smelling something like gasoline. Gross.
"Hey, you guys," Our navigator called from the door, speaking over a particularly loud group of teenagers. "It's over here." He pointed at the rundown place as I chuckled. Of course. It makes sense, when you think about it. "Here."
"Wait, this isn't funny," Leorio protested, coming over regardless. "Isn't that an ordinary restaurant? You can't possibly think that applicants from across the globe are meant to assemble here?" He growled. He really had to get that fixed, directing his anger at someone else wasn't nice… Maybe I'd get a spray bottle.
"I do."
"Eh?"
"No one would expect the Hunter exam, with its millions of applicants to be located here, right?"
"That's true," Leorio admitted grudgingly.
XXX
Inside the restaurant was an old fashioned setup, a small table with two chairs beside it or possibly four if it was a larger table. The bar was a clean and warm crimson colour, the customers sitting along the side of it. The patrons glanced up at us for a moment before returning to their conversations, deeming us uninteresting.
"Is the back room open?" Our navigator called from the door, not moving from where we entered. The chef looked us over carefully, lifting his eyes from the chicken that was being fried.
"What will you have?"
"The steak combo that opens your eyes to the light," Our navigator answered confidently. "For five."
"For five…" The chef repeated slowly to himself, nodding. "How would you like them?" Our guide smirked, holding a single finger up.
"Grilled over a low flame, until cooked." The chef nodded again, going back to cooking the meal for his customer.
"Got it. Let yourself into the back room." The Kiriko started walking, prompting the rest of us to follow, Gon and I looking around at our surroundings in interest.
"That was probably the password, huh," I hummed to myself as we entered a smaller red room that had a round table in the centre. It smelled like a lot of things but it looked like it had been neglected for a long time. "That's sad, the food here smells really good."
"Probably," Hiroshi agreed, going over and touching it. "Unless he really wanted steak." I swatted him as I moved to sit down at the table, noting that it moved when I bumped into it. Cool! I started to move it around, making Hiroshi stumble. I stuck my tongue out at him when he sighed.
Oh, wait. We just missed a chunk of conversation. Oh well.
"You've done extremely well for first timers," The red-eyed Kiriko praised us, not that I knew why this'd come up. He gave us all a grin, moving to go out the door. "Well, good luck." Gon raised his hand to the older male, smiling happily at him.
"Thanks!" He chirped, and the navigator looked dumbstruck for some reason. Maybe he'd never been thanked before, since the others just considered him a tool? He smiled warmly back at Gon and took his hand.
"I would be happy to serve as your Navigator next year as well," He said gently, having obviously grown fond of Gon.
"We won't need one next year," I butted in, grinning at him. "We're all going to pass!" He chuckled and walked out, waving goodbye to us quickly as he left. Just as soon as he was gone, the room shook and something mechanical started up, making me jump.
"It appears this room is an elevator," Kurapika deduced, scanning the corners of the room and looking at the display above the doors.
"Well, yeah," I plopped myself down in one of the seats around the table as Hiroshi spoke. It feels weeeeird. I've never been in an elevator before! "Even Leorio would be able to tell that." Leorio twitched, but didn't acknowledge Hiroshi's comment as he sat down.
"Bastard," He grumbled, crossing his arms. It was unclear if he was referring to the Kiriko or Hiroshi. "That meant that he expects us to fail this year."
"Once every three years," Kurapika interjected coolly.
"Huh?"
"The frequency with which a rookie passes the exam."
"It's that unusual?" Gon pondered, switching his gaze to Kurapika. I whistled. That's pretty low, I mused. I glanced at Hiroshi, who sat beside Kurapika. He shook his head, probably meaning that he hadn't known either.
"Some cannot endure the exam's physical and mental strain," Kurapika informed us, looking each and every one of us in the eyes. "It's also not unusual for veterans to "break" the rookies, who consequently never retake the test." I frowned. Since we were rookies, and not mention, weak looking ones, so people would probably target us… Kurapika, Gon and I specifically.
Leorio was tough looking enough to get away without people going after him for the most part, and Hiroshi was muscled and had animal parts. I doubted anyone would mess with him without thinking twice.
That left three of us.
Kurapika was more feminine and fragile looking, which would definitely draw attention, assuming that females were fewer in numbers than males. From what I could tell, he would probably be mostly fine on his own thanks to his wits, but if a group attacked him, he would be screwed.
Gon was a little boy who was barely old enough to take the exam, that itself being a spectacle. He, as far as I knew, had super human abilities, but I didn't know how strong he was. Going by age level, he was most likely weaker than most of the people who were in the exam, which worried me.
Finally, myself. I was wearing all black, plus something that hid my face fairly well, along with a backpack. I was also small in stature compared to boys, but my family had trained their children to be self-sufficient. I could probably handle most things on my own, but better safe than sorry.
Knowing Kurapika, he's more inclined to stay on the safe side, which would mean a larger group, while the Gon and Leorio would go off on their own but Leorio wouldn't get very far, I mused, lost in my thoughts. If we got separated, the best plan would be to have Hiroshi stay with Leorio and Kurapika, and Gon stay with me, taking our speed levels into account. I furrowed my eyebrows. There's no way that Hiroshi could keep up with Gon when he was running full speed, and I have crappy defence, so I guess it'll work, but-
My thoughts were cut off by Kurapika moving close to me, sticking his face right in front of mine, making my heart skip a beat. I jumped and jerked away out of surprise.
"Gah, Kurapika," I breathed, placing a hand on my heart, trying to slow it down. "You always scare the crap out of me." He raised an eyebrow.
"I would hope not," Kurapika teased, a glint of amusement in his eyes from my word choice. "That would be a rather unpleasant ordeal." I flushed, feeling my ears and face turn hot.
"Shut up, that's not what I meant!" I groaned, tugging the hood lower, making sure that it covered my face. Kurapika chuckled and faced the group again, Gon opening his mouth to speak.
"So I guess candidates are willing to risk anything to become Hunters," Leorio grinned and stood up as if on cue.
"But of course, my friend!" Leorio slammed his hands down on the table in front of us, leaning forwards with a stupid look on his face. He was probably imagining something weird. "Hunters make the most money in this world!" He giggled creepily.
"No!" Kurapika disagreed fervently, standing up as well. "Hunters are the most noble in this world." He argued, leaning forwards as well.
"Glory hog…" Leorio spat.
"Money grubber!" Kurapika growled, getting much more worked up than I thought he would. Maybe I should just slowly back away before things get nasty… Poor Gon and I were stuck in the middle with Hiroshi- who was slowly scooching backward, the traitor.
"Gon, Raze! Listen!" Leorio demanded, coming right in our personal space and spat in faces. I flinched at the sudden loss of space and the sharp tone. I shot backward, feeling my body tense and my heart rate explode. "Every year, over fifty Hunters make the list of the world's hundred richest people!" Kurapika swiveled the table, pulling Leorio back, much to my relief.
"Hunters are associated with hunting wild game and treasure," Kurapika lectured calmly yet passionately from his side of the table, Gon looking just as happy as I was to get his personal space back. "But they are all second rate." The blonde turned to look each and every one of us in the eye. "True Hunters work to protect people and the natural order!"
"Now look here!" Leorio's voice raised in volume, leaning in very close to us again. Spit was flying from his mouth as he spoke. "Once you're a Hunter, most countries will give you a free pass, and no charge to use public facilities!" Sounds like the poor shopkeepers are being terrorized by Hunters. I have to wonder if they agreed to this or if it was decided without their knowledge. "How are those benefits?!" Leorio stumbled backward once more, making startled noise as be moved back.
"Hunters have many difficult and important responsibilities," Kurapika held a finger up in the air, now completely into the fight. "Such as preserving cultural artifacts and endangered species as well as capturing wanted criminals and unscrupulous Hunters." Wow, big words.
"The fame and money, that's why people wish to become Hunters!" Kurapika scowled, leaning forward as well.
"Profound knowledge, a healthy mind and body, and an unyielding conviction… Those are the qualities on which Hunters pride themselves!" Both of the two boys growled and glared at each other.
"Gon! Raze! What do you think?" I shifted uncomfortably, Gon doing the same. "What kind of Hunter do you hope to become?!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" Hiroshi muttered from behind.
"Can't you do both?" I whimpered, letting out a low whine, not liking the attention. I could feel my throat close up. "Different people have different reasons and different lives so it makes sense that some would do either one of those." I paused, sinking into my chair. "I'm not doing this for either of those reasons." Gon stammered, trying to melt into his chair.
"W-Well, when you put it that way…"
Ding!
Luckily for him, the elevator dinged just as he was about to answer, sparing him from his horrible fate.
"I think we've arrived," Kurapika straightened up, Leorio following suit.
"We'll continue this later," Leorio promised, striding over to the door. Gon breathed a sigh of relief and I laughed, my best friend heading to the door as well.
XXX
Woah, the atmosphere in here is scary, I thought, biting my nails nervously, taking in the almost complete silence of the hundreds of people who were now standing before me. Most of them, as I assumed before, were older men who instantly made a snap judgment on us. I saw their eyes flicker past Leorio and Hiroshi, then lock on Kurapika, Gon, and I. Looks like I was right.
Leorio was the first to walk forward, his briefcase swung over his shoulder. Just off of it, I could make out a slight bulge in the shape of a circle in one of the outer pockets. So he put the whistle in his briefcase, huh? I guess he would be able to get it for the most part. I felt a warm feeling at the thought that he actually kept it and resisted the urge to grin like an idiot.
"Strange atmosphere down here," Leorio scanned the room which was dark and looked almost like an abandoned sewer system. There were also what looked like large pipes lining the sides of the tunnel, leading down the path to a dead end.
"They clearly differ from the Hunter applicants we saw at the port and the city," Kurapika added in a hushed whisper, not wanting to disturb the other applicants. I nodded and tugged on Hiroshi's toga-like clothing. He glanced at me, then nodded, understanding what I wanted. I switched over to the blond teen as well.
"Pika," I poked his shoulder gently, catching his attention. "I'm gonna go look around." He nodded, placing a hand on my shoulder to halt me.
"Be wary, these people are stronger than we've met before." Heh. Kurapika's given up trying to get rid of my nicknames. "Each is a master, in their own right…" I gave him a mock salute and slipped into the crowd, looking around at the different people.
Might as well see who's dangerous, right?
XXX EXTRA XXX
"Piipii?" Raze mused, on the Kiriko, making Kurapika sigh. The brown haired girl had been going on for what felt like at least ten minutes. "No, that doesn't sound right… How about Rap or Kura?" It was starting to get on his nerves and plus she had horrible naming sense.
"For the last time, I don't need a nickname," Kurapika huffed, leaning forwards on the back of the beast. "My name is perfectly fine." Raze shook her head against his back, still holding onto him. He could feel her body vibrating from — was she purring?
"Nope, your name is more than three syllables long, so you need a nickname," She informed him with a childish smile. "Ku-ra-pi-ka. That's four."
"What about Leorio?" Kurapika almost groaned, partially regretting choosing her as his seat partner now. Maybe I should've convinced Hiroshi or Gon to sit with me, they're quieter- or at least wouldn't make up ridiculous names. "He has a name with more than four syllables."
"Ah, but he already has one, remember?" She poked his cheek, which was surprisingly soft. "He's the Oreo."
"What on earth is an Oreo?" Kurapika muttered under his breath, Raze not commenting on it. "And isn't that as long as his name?"
"So?"
"…"
After that, Kurapika stayed silent for the rest of the ride, including when Raze started humming obnoxiously to try to bug him. She had to wonder if he had a little sibling in the past that made him have a ridiculous amount of patience.
XXX
[A/n]: Poor Kurapika, he has to deal with a lot of her crap. Oh well, it's not like this is gonna follow the cannon for too much long *nudge nudge* *wink wink*
[Hiroshi]: Please review or F/F if you liked it.
[A/n]: Come to think of it, you don't really say much, do you Hiroshi? Oh well, you get your time to shine soon enough. THANKS FOR READING!
