Disclaimer: I don't own HunterXHunter. I am not making profit off of this story.
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
XXX
"Finally," Leorio grumbled, previous embarrassment forgotten.
Kurapica ignored him. "It's too quiet," he said instead. "Are we the only applicants here?"
"Well, these navigators can't possibly take everyone to the exam center," I reasoned judiciously. "I'm sure there are other navigators. Some people might not even need navigators to make it to the exam center. Besides, there are people inside. Three, I think."
Walking up the steps, Leorio rapped smartly on the door.
There was an ominous silence.
"…You're sure there are people inside?" Kurapica asked, and I nodded, frowning. I could clearly feel the three presences inside. All were stationary, making no move to open the door. Were they sleeping?
"Eh, whatever," Leorio said, shrugging. He turned the knob, ignoring Kurapica's scandalized expression. "Coming in!" he announced, pushing the door open.
The four of us gasped at what we found inside.
A beast was holding a woman captive, as a bleeding man attempted to drag himself forward.
"A demon beast!" we cried. Before any of us could counterattack, however, the monster sprinted out of the house with the woman still in its grasp. I abandoned my bike, immediately snapping my fingers.
Although the nen wall appeared instantaneously, the beast promptly twisted out of the way and sped off. How—! I thought, alarmed beyond belief. How did it see my nen? Does the creature know how to use nen…or was it instinctive?
Still, I pressed these thoughts aside and tailed Gon and Kurapica out of the house as they began to pursue the creature.
"My wife…," the injured man moaned. "Save her…!"
"Leorio, look after the injured man!" Kurapica shouted.
"Leave it to me!" Leorio replied.
"It escaped into the woods," I said worriedly, scanning the trees with my nen. "I can't see it."
"That way!" Gon shouted, and I followed him on reflex, startled he had found the beast before me.
"Careful!" I shouted. "It might have friends!"
Not heeding my warning at all, Gon barreled towards the creature, shouting angrily. "Let her go!" he yelled.
The creature sneered. "Take her back if you can!" It sped up, attempting to lose us in the darkness.
"Wow! It can talk!" Gon exclaimed, looking supremely surprised.
"That's the definition of a demon beast!" Kurapica yelled back. "They're beasts capable of human speech. This one is a transforming demon beast called kiriko. It can take the form of a human so stay alert!"
Wow, Kurapica's pretty knowledgeable, I thought to myself, concentrating my nen once more. Snapping my fingers, I constructed walls in place around the kiriko. Cackling, the beast dodged, hopping in a zigzag motion. I growled, almost missing the sharp glance Kurapica sent my way.
"Hey you!" Gon shouted, distracting all of us. "Stupid Kirikoooo!"
The beast glanced back, irritated, and I took the opportunity to place a wall right behind it. I snapped my fingers, and this time I saw for sure Kurapica's pointed stare. The beast collided with the air, right as Gon smashed his fishing rod into its head. Disconcerted, the kiriko dropped the woman.
"Kurapica!" I shouted, but he was already in motion, swiftly looping one arm around the waist of the woman, the other gripping the branch of a tree.
The kiriko glared, holding one hand to its head, the other to its back. "You brats," he hissed then sped off into the forest. "I won't forget this!" it called over its shoulder.
"Wait!" Gon shouted, and darted after the beast.
I rolled my eyes. Though we had already retrieved the woman, Gon insisted on chasing the animal. "Should I go after him?" I asked Kurapica.
"He'll be fine," Kurapica said dismissively, so I shrugged, plopping down beside him.
"Are you injured?" I asked the woman gently.
She shook her head slowly. "I'm…okay. What about my husband? What happened to him?"
"He's being taken care of by my friend, so don't worry," Kurapica assured her.
The lady didn't seem convinced. "Please…take me…to where my husband is."
I frowned. It didn't seem she'd hit her head anywhere, so why on Earth was she speaking so slowly? It was almost as though she were trying to waste time. Something didn't settle right in my stomach. I was snapped out of my worrying by someone entering the field of my nen.
Kurapica was glancing at the woman's arm. "This tattoo—"
"We've got company," I warned, right as the bushes beside us quivered. Leaves shook to the floor as someone moved towards us while making a great deal of sound.
"Kurapica, are you alright?" Leorio's voice emerged from the forest, as he snapped twigs and crunched leaves underfoot.
Kurapica and I exchanged a quick glance. "Yeah, Gon went after the demon beast," he replied.
"How's the man doing?" I asked pointedly.
"There's nothing to worry about," Leorio said happily. "His injuries weren't as bad as they looked. He took some painkillers and is sleeping now."
Something about Leorio's expression didn't suit with me. "Leorio," I started, and he turned towards me. "What's my name?" I asked sharply.
"What's this all of a sudden?" Leorio asked, annoyed. "Quit fooling around. We have more important things to be worrying about."
"Is that so?" Kurapica asked, and slammed his weapon into the fake's face.
The impact sent 'Leorio' careening backwards, and the kiriko immediately began to shift back into its beastly form. "…How did you know I was a fake?" it asked.
"You'd have to ask Arella, because I didn't particularly think you were a fake," Kurapica, emphasizing my name, as it was clear the kiriko hadn't known the answer to my question. "I'd asked Leorio to 'look after the injured,' to which he'd replied 'leave it to me.' But he left the injured and came here, so I struck him. It's as simple as that."
Both Kurapica and the kiriko turned to me for my explanation. "I felt you coming towards us," I explained, shrugging, "at a very fast speed. Then, you abruptly slowed down and started making a lot of noise. I was only a little suspicious at first, but the fact that you didn't know my name solidified my doubts."
I cursed in surprise as the beast sneered and vanished. "Damn, it's probably going after Gon! I'm following! Take care of the lady!" I swept after the beast.
"Hahaha, my wife's probably already taken care of the brat!" the kuriko cackled, dodging all my attempts at capturing it with nen.
Infuriated, I snarled, swiping at the beast with another snap of my fingers. "No way Gon would lose to some dumb animal!" I almost fell out of the tree I was in when the beast suddenly turn and lunged at me. I snapped my fingers to throw up a shield—and the kiriko ran right past me. I spun and dove after it, irritated at being tricked.
"Oh, your friend's in trouble now!" it shouted gleefully, pointing to a clearing that we were nearing.
Clearly, I saw Gon standing motionlessly as a different kiriko shot its claws forward.
I opened my mouth to scream a warning. "G—"
A furred hand clamped over my mouth, and I shuddered at the touch, struggling. I positioned my fingers to snap.
"Cut it out," the kiriko holding me threatened, pressing its claws against my throat. I paid no heed to its warning until the claws slightly pierced my skin, creating a thin line of blood.
I froze, though my eyes were still on Gon. Thankfully, it seemed that his life wasn't in any immediate danger, especially as the kiriko with him had halted its attack midway and now seemed to be conversing with him.
In fact…the kiriko seemed to be laughing. "Honey, come out!" it called loudly. "We've got an interesting one here!"
The beast holding me backed off immediately, and my fingers flew to my neck instinctively. Warily, I followed the kiriko to the clearing, confused at the sudden lack of hostility. Actually, now that I truly thought about it, neither of the two beasts had really made a direct attempt at an attack until the very end, almost as though they were simply gauging our skills.
I stood by Gon protectively as the two beasts murmured. Soon, Kurapica and the woman appeared, followed by the injured man (who seemed quite healthy actually) and Leorio. Suddenly, the pieces clicked together.
"Hmm," one of the kirikos hummed. "How many years has it been since we've met a human who could tell us apart?"
"Yes, this is exciting," the other agreed.
I exchanged a glance with Kurapica and Leorio, both who seemed to be as lost as I was. "Can either of you tell them apart?" Leorio whispered, and both Kurapica and I shook our heads.
"Not at all," Kurapica whispered back.
"The one that Kurapica and I hit is the husband," Gon unhelpfully said, leaving us as confused as we always had been.
"Well…I'm sure you guys know by now," the 'husband' said.
"But we're the navigators," the 'wife' finished.
"We're the kids," the two apparently-human man and woman added.
The lady pointed towards her arm tattoos. "This tattoo belongs to the women of the ancient Sumi Tribe. It symbolizes the oath to remain celibate for the rest of my life as the wife of God. Only one with extensive knowledge of ancient history would have recognized it. Using his impressive knowledge to catch even the subtlest hint, Kurapica managed to determine we were not actually married."
I nodded. Yes, that sounded like Kurapica alright.
The man went next. "Leorio could not figure out my identity to the end."
I nodded again. Yes, that also sounded like Leorio alright.
"However, the first-aid he administered was faster and more accurate than even a doctor," the man continued, and I blinked, impressed. "And beyond everything else, he continued to console me and encourage me when I was worrying about the safety of my 'wife.'"
Leorio scratched his chin, looking embarrassed at the praise.
"Gon possessed superhuman athleticism and observational skills," the female kiriko added.
Gon grinned sheepishly, remembering that he had hit her husband with his full strength.
"Arella," the male kiriko began, "possessed prominent intuition and was able to quickly determine when I was impersonating Leorio. Also, she made full use of that special technique of hers to effectively track me down and wear me out."
At this, Kurapica started, as though he had just remembered, though Gon and Leorio seemed clueless. He opened his mouth to ask, but shut it without saying anything, as though realizing that now was not the time for an interrogation.
"She possessed great dexterity and flexibility," the humanoid beast praised, and I blushed, clearly remembering calling his wife a dumb animal not five minutes earlier.
"Sorry for calling you names. And hitting you," I said sheepishly.
"I apologize as well for drawing blood," he said solemnly, and immediately the three boys snapped their heads in my direction.
"Ah! You're really bleeding!" Gon exclaimed, looking horrified that he hadn't noticed earlier. "Mr. Kiriko, why did you do that?"
I raised a brow, waving a hand. "No, no—it was only a light scratch. Barely a paper cut. It shouldn't even be bleeding."
"Hm, that's what I'd believed when I inflicted the damage," the male kiriko admitted, frowning, "but you really are bleeding quite a bit."
I slapped a hand to my neck, and my eyes widened when it came away slicked in blood.
"Are you a bleeder?" Leorio asked incredulously, moving towards me with an outstretched hand.
I stared, fascinated at the amount of blood on my fingers. When was the last time I had gotten injured? A hazy childhood recollection swam before my vision. "Well, now that you mention it…" Frowning, I trailed off and promptly blacked out.