[A/n]: Thanks to Tory476, Sho12, Crystal-fairy-hime, and LlamaChickenPie for favouriting/following!
Reviews!
Isella of the wolf tribe: Yeah, let's just say Kurapika wasn't exactly impressed with Raze that night.
[Kurapika]: I was not impressed. If Basil were there, she wouldn't have created so many ridiculous names.
[Raze]: You're so mean! Who do you like better, Basil or me?!
[Kurapika]: Basil.
[Raze]: T-T
[A]: Wow, ruthless 0-0 You just started a bloodbath, bro. Anyway, thank you for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Five,
Rivals X For X Survival - Part two!
XXX
Creak…
"Dear, don't you think it's time to forgive her?" A middle-aged man in a clean, pristine suit stood behind a rose-haired woman sitting in a rocking chair. She didn't look up to the man, only calmly turning the page of her large leather book.
"Forgive whom?" The blond-haired man let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. His wife always became so stubborn when it came to her children. "I don't know what you're talking about, Aoi." Aoi scowled.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Satchiko," He said, his frown creasing his face, making the wrinkles on his weathered face more prominent. "It's been almost five years since you've last seen her over a stupid, petty argument. I still can't believe it escalated to the point where that friend of her insisted that she move to his village." Satchiko snapped her book shut sharply.
"Ah, that child," She hummed as if it had only occurred to her after his explanation. "Forgive her, and then have her trash our way of life again? Our values? Do you expect me to give up all of this—" The woman gestured to the luxurious and overly expensive furniture around them. "Just so that it would improve her opinion on me? Should I bow to her too?" She said, shaking her head. "Aoi, you're just blinded by a parental love." Aoi grit his teeth in frustration.
He loved his wife very much, but sometimes he just wanted to smack some sense into her. Arguing with your youngest child about someone who was now dead was ridiculous, no matter how much they all loved him. It had been five and a half years since their youngest son died, and four and a half since Satchiko and his daughter had last seen each other. Both had left with battered bodies, feelings, and shredded clothes.
However, he did know that she missed their daughter. Satchiko still had the pictures of her hanging in the house, along with her siblings. Aoi would often catch her staring at one and tearing up, then trying to hide it behind a wall of ice when someone came near.
"Satchiko—"
"Enough. I'm not going to discuss this any further."
XXX
Hiroshi stood silently as he watched Raze chat with Kurapika, then walk away into the group of dangerous applicants. He was a little worried about her going on her own but he doubted that she would cause a ruckus in such a large room.
She's getting rather attached to them, isn't she? He mused, recalling how she smiled at the group. The purple haired boy found it odd how quickly she'd warmed up to them in only a few days. He could only hope that she'd stay wary and not let her guard down around them. If she did, they might be caught, and if they were caught— well, Hiroshi didn't want to think about it.
Gon wasn't going to be a problem even if she did slip up, Hiroshi doubted that the innocent and naive boy would know them, let alone report them.
The doctor wasn't going to be a problem either. His intelligence, from what he could tell, was fairly low and if he found out, the shark-toothed boy was certain he could… Silence… Him and cover it up.
He glanced over to his right to the blond Kurta, who was chatting with the little pup, Gon. That was the one he would have to keep an eye on. He had extensive knowledge and was fairly intelligent. One slip up and he would figure it out, but it seemed like he had a soft spot for Raze, so he might not report her if worst came to worst.
"Excuse me," A voice jolted Hiroshi out of his thoughts and he looked over at the source of the sound. "Please take a number." A little green bean-like thing held out a pin that had the numbers "407" on it. I guess Raze already grabbed hers. "Be sure to wear it on your chest at all times, please be careful not to lose it."
XXX
I made my way through the grouchy crowd, putting the tag I was given inside of my bag. They really needed to lighten up, it was like a funeral in there.
I scanned the room, looking for potential allies and enemies. It was always better to make more allies than enemies, in my opinion. Especially if I could use them.
Well, looks like I could take on the majority of them, but I should be careful with a few of them, like that giant guy munching on chicken wings or the old guy over there, I noted, looking around. They'd kick my butt into next week even if I would love to fight them.
The problem with being focused mainly on agility and speed was that it typically made you weaker in terms of defence and strength. Then again, I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I loved the thrill of fighting someone much stronger than me. Unluckily for me, that type of thinking gave me quite a few broken bones and bruises from Hiroshi and many of the other villagers. No pain, no gain, I guess. Well, actually it was partially because I was such a little shit when I was little — scratch that, I still am, I just hide it better.
"Haven't seen you guys around before," A loud chubby man made his way over in the direction of my friends, making me curious. He was wearing a blue over-shirt and his number was 16. Mine was 406. Eh, he looks boring.
I turned and walked around some more, looking for someone I wanted to talk to. Most of them would just glare at me and turn away when I got near them which was no fun.
While I was looking the other way, I tripped and hit someone on the side.
"I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, being polite out of habit. Hiroshi's dad had beaten it into me when I was younger because I was such a brat. It didn't seem to have sank into Hiroshi, though.
"It's quite alright, dearie," A fiery, red-haired man knelt down to my level, being much taller than I was. He was probably around six feet tall. "What's your name?"
"I'm Raze," I answered cheerfully. He was pretty cool looking. "Is your hair natural?" I asked curiously, surprised that someone could have hair that bright. "It looks like a sunset - are your eyes natural too?" He blinked, probably not expecting that response, then chuckled.
"Why yes, they are," He hummed interestedly as he took in my appearance. "And what's a little kit like you doing at the Hunter Exam?"
"Do you see him?"
"Yeah, that kid's crazy to be talking to him!"
"You seem to be well known," I said, hearing the whispers around us. Interesting… Perhaps I could use his help. "What's your name?" He smiled at me, almost warmly.
"My name is Hisoka, little one~" He said smoothly. "But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here, and what are you hiding under that hood of yours~?" I frowned at him.
"That was more than one question," I protested, earning another chuckle from the golden-eyed man.
"You may ask me another question if you answer mine," Hisoka said with a smirk, placing a hand on his waist. Damn, he was smokin' hot. I mean, uh, I should make friends with him because he looked strong. Yep. Definitely not just talking to him because he was amazingly good looking.
"I need to become stronger to protect the people I care about," I said to him, carefully choosing my wording. "And I don't like the attention, so I wear my hood up. Where do you get your face paint? It looks awesome."
"Doesn't he know who that guy is?"
"He must be a rookie."
"Oh well, one less competitor for us, he's gonna get crushed."
"I see, I see, you're a funny girl," Hisoka laughed, patting me on the head. "I didn't expect to see one of the Kikuchi Concern here, let alone the disowned princess," He said, lowering his voice so that nobody else caught it. I felt the colour drain out of my face as I jerked backward, eyeing him warily. "Oh, don't try to hide it, Raspberry-chan~! I won't tell anyone, but in exchange," Hisoka leaned forwards, licking his lips. "You owe me a favour that I can ask for at any time." A favour? I let my facade drop, the smile instantly changing into a wary scowl.
"What kind of favour?" I asked, wanting to know more about what I was getting into before I agreed. There wasn't much he could ask for since I didn't have full access to my family's power but it was still dangerous.
"Oh, it could be anything," Hisoka waved his hand flippantly, not really concerned. "I won't ask for you to fail or hurt any of your… Buddies, if that's what you're asking." I mulled it over for a moment. It probably wouldn't hurt me to do it, and gaining an ally would be nice.
"Okay," I said. "But in addition to that, how about we help each other through the exam?" He raised his eyebrows, his smirk widening.
"Hoh?"
"That way, we'll be mutually beneficial," I told him. "I'm not all that strong, but I can go places you can't, you attract too much attention. By the way, I think your eyebrows are trying to escape off your face."
"He's freaking insane!"
"Is he trying to make a deal with Hisoka?!"
"Seriously, what did you do to make all these people either hate or be absolutely terrified of you?" I might not be all that inconspicuous after this, though.
"Saa, who knows?" He said, not sparing a glance at the eavesdroppers. "I think I'll take your deal, Raspberry-chan." Hisoka giggled, making me shiver— and not in a good way. Why do I feel like I just made a deal with the devil? "Well, I must be on my way, Jaa-ne, my little fruit~!"
"…I get the feeling that I am so going to regret this."
XXX
"-Well, there are many more, but they have taken the test the most times," Tompa said, pointing out a few of the older hunter candidates. I could see Hiroshi making a mental note of a few of them as I drew closer, putting his hand on his katana out of habit.
Hiroshi tended to do that a lot. Putting his hand on his weapon, I mean. I guess it makes him feel safer, I mused.
I bounced over to the group again, moving so that I was behind Leorio. I tiptoed over quietly so that he wouldn't hear me, but Kurapika noticed me and raised a questioning eyebrow. I placed a finger to my lips and made an almost silent "shh"ing sound. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards into an entertained smile and he nodded discreetly. Gon seemed to notice me too but he just giggled.
I made my way directly behind Leorio, preparing myself. With a massive leap, I landed on his back and whispered directly in his ear.
"My precioussssssss." I hissed, making him flip out. Leorio flailed his limbs wildly, almost smacking Gon in the process as I fell off his back.
"What the hell?!" Leorio screeched, spinning around to see what happened. "You!" He accused, pointing his famous finger at me in frustration. "What what that for?!" I shrugged.
"I wanted to see what you would do," I said as I grinned. "Now I know that if we get ambushed, you'll be the last to notice." I laughed at the irritation written all over his face and moved over to the only blond in our group, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Even Pika noticed before you did!" Leorio whipped around to glare at Kurapika, who still had the amused smile on his lips.
"Why you little-"
Whatever terrifying threat he was going to make, Leorio was cut off by a horrible blood curdling scream from the other side of the room. I jumped and unconsciously grabbed at Kurapika's sleeve as the scent of blood wafted over to us. Oh, I don't like this, I don't like this at all.
There was a fizzing noise and when I fixed my gaze over where the sound had come from, I saw little red flower petals taking the place of the arms of a wailing man. He stared at his arms in shock as they changed into the little petals and flew across the room. The other examines crowded around the man, but left him enough space to breathe.
"Ara, how peculiar," A shiver ran down my spine again, letting me know instantly who's voice it was. "His arms seem to have become flower petals." The redhead unfolded his arms and gestured to the entire crowd. "No smoke and mirrors here,~"
"Hisoka…" I breathed, leaning forwards, trying to get a better look at the smirking man with a star on his right cheek and a teardrop on his left. I felt my heart start pumping faster, although whether from exhilaration or fear I couldn't tell. Damn, I allowed myself an excited, yet shaky grin, hearing Gon suck in a shocked gasp. I really did make a deal with the devil.
"Do take care," I could swear that he looked over at me when he said this, "When you bump into someone, you really should apologize." I felt my heart skip a beat and made a mental note to thank Hiroshi's dad for beating my manners into me.
"That psychopath is back again," The man in the blue shirt from before said shakily, looking terrified of my new… Friend? Yep. The crazy sexy psychopath was now my friend. Way to go, me.
"Again?" Gon asked, glancing up at him. Kurapika and Leorio turned to him, and I realized I was still holding onto the Kurta's shirt. I muttered an embarrassed "sorry" and let go, not catching the curious look he sent me for knowing Hisoka's name. He would probably interrogate me later.
"Does that mean he took last year's exam too?" Kurapika asked, taking an interest in fuzzy eyebrows.
"Number 44. Hisoka, the magician," Tompa said, scowling over at the redhead. The magician? He looks more like a jester to me. "Last year, he was a virtual lock to pass the exam until he all but killed an examiner he didn't like."
"A-And they're still letting him retake the exam this year?!" Leorio looked like he was angry, but he sounded scared instead.
"Why not?" Hiroshi said from the sidelines. I think he has a bad habit of being forgotten because he's so quiet all the time. "The examiners and the content change every year, so it wouldn't make sense to hold him back because of a grudge." The bushy eyebrow guy nodded in agreement.
"And the examiners are the ones who choose the new content. The devil himself could pass if that were the examiners' determination. That's just how the Hunter Exam works." He turned away from Hisoka who was walking towards a wall, most likely to sit and rest. "Anyway, nobody likes him. You should stay away from him too." Ahahahaha… Hiroshi sent me a look, probably guessing that I already met him or he might've heard the commotion from before. Whoops, I thought sheepishly and gave him a charming grin. Hiroshi groaned almost inaudibly, knowing that I'd definitely managed to get tangled up with the most disliked and dangerous person here.
"He looks dangerous, that much is for sure," Leorio said, watching him. Hiroshi shifted so he was in between Leorio and I.
"Considering he just turned a man's arms into flower petals, I'd say yeah, he's just a little dangerous,"
"Oh, right," Bushy eyebrows faced me as I was partially hidden behind Kurapika. "Who's this?"
"This is Raze," Gon said, a large grin on his face. I couldn't help but notice how much nicer his eyes were compared to… Well, never mind. "S… He's our friend too!" Oh? Is Gon going to pretend that I'm a guy? Interesting. I knew that Gon was actually much more intelligent than he liked to act and —did he just smirk?
Bushy eyebrows sized me up, still smiling. I nodded in acknowledgment. "Raze, this is Tompa-san!"
"I see!" Tompa rummaged through his bags and pulled out cans of what looked like orange juice. "A little something to mark our acquaintance," He offered me one, but I shook my head after Hiroshi gripped my arm tightly. He must've seen something if he didn't want me to take one. "How about it?"
"Oh, appreciated!" Leorio took it trustingly, not assuming there might be any other intentions behind it. "As it happened, I was thirsty!" Tompa handed one to Kurapika and Gon, and offered one to Hiroshi.
"No thanks," He declined politely. "I don't take food or drink from those I don't trust."
"O-Oh, that's alright," Tompa laughed nervously, making my suspicions grow.
"There he goes." I heard an applicant say from behind us. What? I perked up my ears discreetly.
"He always plays the nice guy, despite being nastier than anyone else here." My eyes widened.
"Tompa, the rookie crusher."
"Kurapika, let me see your can," I said, snatching it from him with only a weak protest in return. I looked it over, seeing no odd holes or covering, and it didn't smell weird from the outside. I shook it and put it against my ear, hearing fizzing, what you would normally hear from a carbonated drink. Kurapika gently took it out of my grasp, shooting me a curious look and I scowled.
"Best of luck to all of us!" Tompa said, smirking after they toasted. Hiroshi came over and pulled me away from them, standing off to the side with me.
"If he really did put something in the drink-"
"You heard them too, Hiro!"
"Yes, but-"
"You know something is in there."
"Yes, I know, Raze," He sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "But without any evidence, I doubt they would stop. It would only make your… Friends… unhappy."
"…"
"Besides, worst case scenario, we go on without them. We can't afford to fail this Exam." He squeezed my arm. "I don't want to lose you again." I pressed my lips together.
"…If we end up getting separated, I want you to go with Leorio and Kurapika."
"What?"
"Leorio is weak," I said bluntly. "It'll be a miracle if he even passes the exam. He's a regular civilian but if you stay with him, you can help him. Kurapika will probably stay with Leorio if we get separated because you guys don't have the speed to catch up to Gon." I said to Hiroshi, looking him in his amber, almost yellow eyes. "I'm the only one who would be able to keep up with Gon and keep him safe. I may not be the strongest here, but I can still protect him."
"Raze, that's too dangerous! What if something happens?" Hiroshi argued, his pupils dilating in agitation, nostrils flaring. If I could drop this docile facade, I would probably be able to win this argument.
"Hiroshi… Do I need to use an owed favour?"
"No…" He growled. "Fine. But if anything happens, you're my first priority over the others." I smiled at my best friend.
"Thank you." I poked his cheek and grinned at him, enjoying teasing him. He sent me an annoyed glare and huffed but I could see a small smile hidden on his face.
XXX
Raze and Hiroshi gave each other warm smiles and goofed around with each other, not aware of the suspicions that they had kindled in Kurapika.
He'd noticed their weird behaviour around Tompa when he arrived. Raze was unusually quiet and wary of the man along with rejecting his drink while Hiroshi had been silent the entire time and rejected the drink as well.
Along with that, Raze stole my drink and scrutinized it as if there was something inside it she didn't like. Kurapika glanced over at the man who was laughing. Then there must be something in this drink, He rationalized, pausing to look at the juice. I suppose if there was anything in it, Gon would be the first to know. He switched his silver-eyed gaze to the sweet boy who was drinking it.
There was a long beat as he watched the doe-eyed boy.
"Bleauhhhhghhhhh!" Gon spat out the juice and let it pour from his mouth into the floor like a waterfall. Tompa looked surprised and taken aback but Kurapika supposed that anyone would be a little startled from that. "Tompa-san, this juice must've expired," Gon looked up at the older male with an apologetic smile. "It tastes funny." With that, Leorio shot out the juice in his mouth like a power spray, making Raze giggle with delight on the side. How much juice can he hold in his mouth?
On a side note, Kurapika was pretty much certain that there was no way Raze was going to be able to pass as male, judging by her face shape and stature. If Raze was a little younger, maybe Gon's age, she could pass off the slightly higher voice for not hitting puberty but at fifteen, it was a little odd. It was a pretty low voice for a female, though, so he suspected that she lowered it to sound more masculine. Then again, He sighed inwardly, I'm not exactly incredibly masculine myself.
"Seriously?" Leorio wiped his mouth with his sleeve to get rid of any traces of it on his lips. "That was close!"
"H-Huh?" Tompa said, looking a little fearful. "That's strange." He laughed -very fakely, to Kurapika's eyes- and rubbed his neck "sheepishly". He's a rather bad actor, Kurapika thought to himself as he tipped the juice out of his can and onto the floor. It's lucky we have Gon, who has naturally attuned himself to nature, increasing his senses. The little boy was staring into the juice can with one eye as if looking for something in there.
"Gon, what on earth are you looking for?" Raze asked, having wandered back to the group with Hiroshi, and wrapped her arms around the boy she'd grown attached to. "There's nothing in there besides some medicine." She smirked over in Tompa's direction, having guessed what was in there. He could have used a poison, but that wouldn't be as fun for a rookie crusher, as the rumours in the room said.
"Medicine?" Gon repeated, looking puzzled. Tompa threw a glare over at her, cursing her in his mind. Raze must've been right, Kurapika deduced, watching the interaction.
"I'm so very sorry!" Tompa apologized, bending down low to bow. "I didn't realize the juice had gone bad," He lied.
"It's okay, you don't have to apologize," Gon forgave him very easily, not even thinking for a moment that it wasn't the truth. "Is your stomach okay?"
"Y-Yes… I'm fine." Sweet kid, Kurapika smiled at him, having grown fond of him. Worried about others even if they're not actually his allies. I can only hope that this world doesn't corrupt him like it did to me… His expression darkened a little, frightening the overweight male.
"I've sampled all kinds of mountain grasses and plants," Gon said to Tompa, grinning proudly. "So I can usually tell when something's bad." Impressive.
"R-Really? That's amazing." Tompa's smile turned into a scary scowl for a split second before it changed back. "Sorry about that again, I'll see you around."
"Seeya, bushy eyebrows," Raze said loudly, making the man growl.
"Raze, that wasn't nice!"
"It's true."
"Talkative old man…" Leorio said, hunched over again.
"Like you're one to talk," Hiroshi quipped, still less than pleased about whatever he and Raze had chatted about.
Hiroshi… That guy was still a mystery to Kurapika. He would be friendly and polite(ish) around Raze, occasionally joining to tag-team Leorio, but otherwise, he was quiet and didn't speak much. From what Kurapika could tell, he was very protective of Raze and he was strong, judging by his well-toned muscles that were underneath his shirt. His sword seemed to be his only weapon other than his above average sense of smell.
The three things the blond found odd was that he'd never heard of this "Nakamura" clan before. He'd heard tales of demi-humans and villages, but he'd never heard of a clan in the Republic of Padokea. Demi-humans were found all over the continents, so they weren't all that rare, but the majority of all the demi-humans and whatnot were over in the Azain continent or South Western Padokea.
Secondly, why were they hiding so many things? They hid where they came from, their last names, Raze's race, and they were definitely doing the Hunter exam for more than just leaving home and getting away with certain crimes. Going by what he knew of races, they appeared to be from Jappon or the southwestern Yorbian continent from their appearances and clothing.
Finally, what was that anklet? Raze always got jittery and nervous whenever they brought it up.
"It isn't a bracelet, exactly…" Raze trailed off, looking a little at a loss how to explain it. "It's more like… A barrier, I suppose."
A barrier? What did she mean by that? Was Raze an incredibly dangerous super being?
Kurapika glanced over to his right, where Raze was mimicking Leorio mockingly who was lecturing Gon about who knows what. Seeing Kurapika, Raze winked at him with an impish grin and proceeded to fall on her face. He bit back a laugh at her immediately sticking her hand up in the air and shouting,
"I'm okay!" She brushed the dust off of the front of her black hoodie but missed the back entirely.
"Ano, Raze, your back is all covered in dirt," Gon pointed out.
"Ehh? Really?"
Nope, there's no way Raze is an incredibly overpowered super being. He concluded, watching her attempts to get it off. It must just be a coincidence that she happened to meet Hiso- Kurapika paused, realizing he forgot about something.
"Raze, may I ask you a question?"
XXX
[A/n]: You know, according to the hunter wiki, Tompa first took the exam at ten years old and his age is 46 in the first episode we see him. Kinda sad, when you think about it. Why did he want to take the Hunter exam in the first place and what was he like before he took it? Damn it, Togashi, I want answers!
Also, I feel like the characters were kind of OOC in this one, so sorry if they were!
[Kurapika]: Thanks to all readers, lurkers, reviews, and others for reading!
[Gon]: Please F/F if you liked it, and drop in a review!
