Discaimer: As you all already know, I just own my OC, Hitomi. Hunter X Hunter, on the other hand, belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi.
Chapter 22: The Plan x Saying Goodbye x The Red Eyes
"Sorry I'm late, guys," Hitomi excused herself, as she arrived at the place where Killua and Gon were.
She sat in the floor next to her friends and grabbed an apple from her pocket. As soon as she took a bite and another two after that, she raised an eyebrow at the boys. They were staring at her.
"What?" Hitomi asked, a little annoyed. "I'm hungry."
"I can see that. You're eating like a gorilla," Killua teased, making a vein pop up in her head. "I bet you didn't eat anything since last night."
She flinched.
"It was because I had to take care of Kurapika," she blushed, while taking another bite. "I'm his sister after all."
"You sure worry a lot about him, don't you?" Gon smiled.
"I don't!" Hitomi yelled, in embarrassment..
Killua sighed, giving her a long look. Before that, he turned at the computer once again to search for something about Greed Island.
"How is Kurapika's fever?" the boy asked after a while.
"It hasn't gone down at all," she replied, glancing in curiosity at the same ring as Gon. "It's been more than a day now."
"I hope his fever doesn't go down at all..." Gon commented.
Hitomi raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, me too..." Killua then realized what Gon had said. "Hey! You just said something really crazy there, didn't you?"
"You see, if the auction ends while he's still sick, then he might not have to go and fight the Ryodan anymore."
"Makes sense," Hitomi gazed at her feet.
She could see his point. She, too, didn't want him to fight anymore. In fact, she had never wanted to in first place, but the circumstances made her yield a bit.
And it all ended like that.
"I guess that if it was really revenge he was after, he should have just killed off the boss instead of rescuing us," Killua said.
"Kurapika wouldn't do something like that," Gon commented. "It's not exactly that but when I learned about Kurapika's ability, I felt he wouldn't do that."
"The Judgement Chain," Hitomi remembered. "But if he was really just trying to get revenge, shouldn't he had chosen a different skill? If he wanted to kill them, why did he go in all that trouble?"
"That's if he was facing a single enemy," Killua said, leaning his back on the floor. "Kurapika faced more than one. Even if he caught one, he wouldn't be able to kill him right away."
No one talked for a while, before the white-headed decided to broke the silence.
"But one thing is certain, we don't want him moving around for now," he said. "If their boss doesn't return, they'll probably intensify their hunt for Kurapika."
"And for us..." Hitomi trailed off.
An idea crossed Killua, who shot to the computer. He looked for something on it and blinked, crossing his arms.
"Nothing," he said. "I thought they'd put a bounty on Kurapika and us for sure."
"I'm not sure if this is good or bad," Hitomi frowned.
"Huh?" Gon asked. "Why?"
"Maybe they are going to look for us themselves," she looked to him, "And we would then have a not-so-pleasant meeting with them."
Gon flinched at the thought. After another long while, Killua looked at the boy.
"Anyway, what do you plan to do about Greed Island?" he asked. "You are going to the auction, right?"
"But how?" the girl asked. "We barely have enough money to reach the minimum bid."
"Gon said he had a plan," Killua told her, before looking at the other kid. "It had better work."
"It will work, it really will!" he said in conviction. "It's a fifty-fifty chance."
"Earlier, you said that it was a 70% sure shot..." his face fell.
"Now, I'm having a bad feeling about this," Hitomi facepalmed.
Killua and Hitomi then sat in front of Gon, waiting for him to talk.
"So, the four of us will go: me, you two and Zepile-san, okay?" he said.
"Yeah, Leorio can keep an eye on Kurapika," Killua replied.
"Maybe we should take a taxi to the auction house," Hitomi added. "We can't freely show our faces around the city."
"And so, coming back to the topic, what's your plan?"
Gon just stared blankly at his friends.
"It's about time to spill the beans," Killua said, Gon didn't say anything.
"Come on, tell us," Hitomi's eyebrow twitched. "We are waiting. Time is gold."
The boy stayed in silence, pissing his friends off. Killua started to strangle him while Hitomi pulled his cheeks painfully.
"I'll tell you, guys!" Gon shouted as well as he could. "I'll tell!"
After that, they sat on the floor again and gave him a stern look. Gon sighed, still hurt by them but recovered little after.
"It's kind of over-dependant on others, so I didn't want you two to be shocked or anything," he said.
"I don't care, get me shocked then," Hitomi said, feeling impatient, "Get to the point already."
It sure shocked her, and it made her blink at him in surprise. The plan was that simple that Gon's mind would be the most complex thing in the whole world...
That was way too much.
"I see," Killua blinked as well, "It sounds fun, or should I say there's no other choice. Realistic and real."
"How come we didn't think about that before?" Hitomi sighed. "Forget the 50%, that is an 80% chance of success."
"Really?" Gon exclaimed, excited.
"We can do this!" the other boy exclaimed. "We've got a chance!"
Hitomi entered to the room where her sick brother was, along Senritsu and Leorio. She raised an eyebrow, seeing that he was sitting down against a wall, and covered with sheets.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Leorio and Senritsu looked at her, with a serious expression.
"I'm not sure, but he seems to be more comfortable this way," the woman replied. "His heartbeat is steady now, and his fever seems to be breaking."
The girl looked at him, just to jump in her spot when he opened his dull blue eyes. However she frowned when she realized that he wasn't even looking at them.
"He has been doing that for a while now," Leorio explained. "He looks like he's completely ignoring us and fighting something on his own."
"On his own... again," Hitomi murmured, as she looked at her brother's eyes closing.
Hitomi leaned her back against the wall and stared at his painful expression. She even swore that, one time when his eyes opened, a small scarlet glint shone in them. She was worried, not only because of his high fever, but what caused his fever instead.
She had a hunch that it had something to do with Nen.
"Hey, Leorio, call me if something happens," Hitomi said, in a serious expression. "If his fever doesn't go down by the time that Gon and Killua depart to Greed Island, I'm staying here."
Hitomi turned around to walk away, but Leorio stopped her.
"Wait, are you sure about this?" he asked. "Kurapika wouldn't be happy if you do that for him. Think about him a little."
"Tell me, Leorio," she turned around, before smiling sadly. "Did he think about me once this whole week?"
The man didn't find words to reply. She sighed, before going back to her room. Right there, she took out her cell phone and dialed a number.
Just him could know about it.
"Hitomi-chan, how have you been doing?" Wing's voice rang through the line.
"Fine... kind off," she murmured.
"Why did you call me this time?" he didn't feel her voice like always. "Is it about Nen?"
"Well, since it was predictable, let's make this quick. I have to go in a while," Hitomi replied. "It's possible to have a fever because of Nen?"
Wing didn't say anything for a while, making her nervousness increase.
"Why do you want to know?" he asked, carefully.
And now it was time for Hitomi to remain quiet. Wing sighed in surrender.
"Fine then. It only works on dead people. Death can make Nen stronger," he told her, making her shift uncomfortably. "So, if the person dies with a huge grudge in another, their malice becomes powerful, and the Nen can even affect the object of that hatred. A high fever is one of its ways."
Hitomi frowned slightly. She knew it.
"I see..." she murmured. "Thank you."
"Wait up, Hitomi-chan," Wing said, before she could even hung up.
She stayed in silence, hearing her teacher's sigh.
"I have no idea what are you going through, but you don't have to worry much about it," he smiled at the other side of the phone, "The Nen is malicious, that's true, but not mortal. If the victim stays strong, they will eventually overcome it."
"I understand," she smiled as well, "Take care."
"Can someone tell me..." Hitomi said under her breath, "Why the hell do I have to wear this?!"
Gon and Killua turned around to see the girl. She was wearing a pale pink dress, with a rose in her chest, and white heels. Her hair was prettily pulled back, letting her ruby earing visible.
"It suits you!" Gon said happily, before turning around to see Killua, who was staring at her as well. "Doesn't it, Killua?"
Killua flinched for a little, before hiding his soft blush with a smirk.
"Yeah, I think," he teased. "At least for a tomboy like you."
Hitomi just growled.
"It's formality, Hitomi," Zepile said, while walking towards them. "Don't bother about it too much, it's just for today."
"Man!" she complained, placing her hands behind her head. "I wish I was born a boy!"
"You are a boy already," Killua mocked.
Hitomi glared at him.
SMACK!
After that, they took a taxi, arrived at the Auction House, and entered using Gon's pass. Once inside, Zepile stayed behind watching some kind of vases while the kids entered to the place where the game was going to be auctioned.
However, they had to stop in their tracks when they spotted two familiar faces.
"Hey," Phinks said, while stopping as well along Feitan.
Less than a second after that, they started to run away from them until they had to stop, because the Spiders had stepped in their way.
"How rude," Phinks smirked. "You didn't have to run away like that."
The three of them frowned since they didn't have where to run.
"Why are these guys here?" Gon asked softly.
"How should I know?" Killua replied, feeling nervous.
"You again..." she murmured, a little angry. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Don't worry, Red-Eyes," Feitan said, as she realized that her sight was already scarlet. "We have no intention on harming you."
She took a step back, growling softly.
"Neither the Chain-user," Phinks added.
"Huh?" Gon said, surprised.
"Because of Nen," Hitomi realized, causing both boys look at her. "Since it makes stronger after death and affect the most hated object, your boss will end up being the victim."
"And since he doesn't have Nen, he will have to take it directly," Killua realized the thought. "And he might die."
The two Spiders just stared at them for a little.
"So, for that reason, we will no longer bother you," Phinks told them. "We just came to enjoy the auction."
Hitomi wanted to believe their words, she really wanted to. But she just wasn't able to do it. She had the feeling that it was going to end that easily.
"Um..." Gon asked all of sudden. "What about Pakunoda-san?"
"She's dead."
At that statement, Gon lowered his head. His friends just looked at him, a little sad as well.
"Paku wanted to thank you, guys."
After that, they walked away. The three kids sighed in relief, seeing that they were alive after encountering the Spiders again.
However, Hitomi was still a little worried.
"That's bad," she murmured. "If she's dead, that means she told them my brother's secrets."
"That's true," Killua nodded. "Also, if they knpw that their boss has Kurapika's chain in him, how could they still be so composed?"
Hitomi nodded, still thinking on silence. First, she had thought that the Nen affecting Kurapika was only from Uvogin, and now it looked like it was Pakunoda's as well, so her brother would be in a great disadvantage. Second, as Killua said, they were so calm. It was like they knew something they didn't... Like the Judgment Chain wasn't a problem anymore... or...
"Or like they found a way to make the Nen useless..." her eyes widened. "That's bad. Really bad."
A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked at her right side, just to see Killua and Gon smiling slightly at her.
"Don't worry about it," Killua said. "Kurapika is strong, you know."
"That's right!" Gon grinned.
She nodded, smiling slightly as her eyes became purple again. After that, they walked to the place of the audition and sat down next to Zepile.
After a bit, the time of Greed Island auction came. Hitomi sighed, staring at the number of the bid in the monitor increasing quickly.
"Number 201 doubles it to 24 billion!" the woman exclaimed.
Wait... wasn't 201...?
Hitomi turned around to see Gon, who had risen his thumb. The other three looked at him, on surprise, and panicked.
"I was wondering what this meant," he told them.
"And that was a good excuse to do it?!" Hitomi scolded. "That's the signal to double the previous bid! Once it's called, you can't go and say that it was a mistake!"
The woman asked for another bidder, but no one said anything.
"If she closes it now, we can't pay for it!" Killua yelled at him.
"Worst-case scenario, we could end up in jail!" Zepile panicked.
"Gon could end up in jail," Hitomi glared at the boy. "I refuse to go there for his stupidity!"
Before someone could reply, a man raised his hand.
"Number 16 raised it to 25 billion."
The other four released the breath they were holding all this time.
"We're saved..." Hitomi murmured.
"You should be more careful!" Killua scolded, right before grinning. "Although I was about to do it too..."
"Wait," she blinked, before an eyebrow started to twitch. "You were?!"
After a couple of bids, the game ended up being sold at 30.5 billions to Battera, who had been buying all the copies until now... and the one who was looking for Hunters to play the game.
That was the reason of the three kids walked to him when the auction was over. Hitomi stared at his assistant for a long time.
"Why are his ears that pointy?" she raised an eyebrow. "Strange."
But she just shook her head and did her best to remain quiet.
"Excuse me, Battera-san," Gon called. "We are Hunters and we would like to help you clear Greed Island."
They both stayed silent for a while, before starting laughing. A vein popped up in Hitomi's head as she swore she was going to kill that old man soon.
"Sorry for laughing at you," he said when he stopped his laugh.
"Even if you don't believe us, we are Pro Hunters," the girl told him, proudly.
"Really?" he looked surprised. "Do you have a license?"
"Yes," Gon and Hitomi said on the same time.
"Yours it's still at the pawn shop," Killua whispered to Gon.
His face fell at the memory. Battera on the other hand didn't either listen to them or care about the fact.
"It's true that I hire Hunters who are currently striving to clear the game," he said. "But the number that can play is limited. Even if you guys really are Pro Hunters, I can't simply let you play based on just that."
"But the catalog said that the number of players is unlimited," Gon said.
"If you are just going to 'play' everyone can," he replied. "However you'd need a memory card to save the data. One card per person and with the way the PlayStation is set up, the maximum number of people who can play is eight."
Killua clenched his teeth. "Don't try to buy the game by overdoing it, but rather, try to get hired by the person that buys it," he remembered Gon's plan. "I thought it might work too, but then again, I guess our plan failed."
"Oh yeah," Gon said to his friends. "All thirty blocks of the memory card will be filled by Greed Island's data, won't they?"
Battera looked at them in surprise, along the Hunter, before standing up from his seat.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"We have a save data for Greed island," Gon replied.
"Have you guys played it before?"
"No," he shook his head. "We just have the data."
Hitomi gave the man a long look.
"First he looks bored at our presence here and now looks interested..." she thought. "What's him up to?"
"During the game, it is guarded by Nen, so you can't remove the card," he told them. Hitomi's eyes then widened.
"So to pull the card out of the system, you need another item," she looked at her friends with a knowing look. "And that is..."
"That ring!" Killua realized.
"That's right!" Gon got it as well.
Battera gave them a long look, amazed at the fact that they knew even that. He then, turned around to see the Hunter in the eye.
"It seems they have the right to be examined, Tsezugera."
Tsezugera just nodded, before taking a couple of steps closer to them.
"You can use Nen, right?" he asked. "Why don't you show us your Ren?"
They did as they were told and showed him their Ren. Tsezugera used Gyo and stared at them for a long time.
"They are no good," he said, shocking them. "These three will just die if they play."
"How can you tell without trying?!" Gon asked, angrily.
"It'll too late after you try, kid," he replied.
Battera, on the other hand, sat down once again.
"The thirty-two sets of Greed Island that I have contain about one hundred Hunters that I have hired to play," he explained. "But more than half of them have given up on clearing the game or even getting back to the real world. As long as a player is alive in the game, you can't remove the memory card so no one can replace them. That's why I limit the players. They have to at least be strong enough to get back to the real world."
"But how do you know we wouldn't be able to do that?!" Gon yelled.
"And how can this guy tell anyway?" Killua asked.
"Because he is a Pro Hunter who has personally experienced Greed Island," Battera replied calmly.
Tsezugera raised his finger, showing them the ring on it. It was identical to Gon's one.
"You guys know about this ring, right? I have been back and forth in the game five times in the past six months," he smirked. "From that experience, the difficulty of getting an item that can bring you back is four of ten. But with Nen like yours, it'll be game over before you can even get there."
"But you haven't cleared it yet, have you, Elf-guy?" she smirked.
Tsezugera's eyebrow twitched at her comment. Killua just glared at the girl, raising his eyebrow at her because of the nickname.
"What?" she shrugged, looking at Killua. "Have you seen his ears?"
He just shook his head.
"I'm about eighty percent right now, more than you could ever manage to get," he replied, still annoyed at the girl. "That's only because I'm playing inefficiently... But that doesn't concern you guys."
They frowned.
"Once the exam is over, I'll return to the game," he smirked. "The next time I return, I'll probably clear it."
"Exam?" Killua asked.
"I will win the auctions for all seven Greed Island games here," Battera said. "In addition, I will advertise widely to search for capable players. Many Hunters will come forth and respond, and will probably end up in a high level competition."
"I will be the one examining and selecting the players," the Hunter added.
"And here I thought that Menchi was some troublesome examiner..." Hitomi rolled her eyes.
"The exam date is September 10th, here in Southern Peace," the old man told them.
"That's irritating!" Gon exclaimed angrily as they arrived at his room. "I'll definitely pass!"
Hitomi sighed, leaning herself against a wall. She had to admit it though, she was as annoyed as her friend was.
"But what that guy said is true..." she mumbled, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
"What do you mean?!" he snapped.
"Hey, don't snap at me," she raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like Tsezugera for you? Because I'm glad to tell you I'm not."
Killua then looked at Hitomi for a few seconds and his eyes widened slightly, before smirking a little.
"What?" she said, a little annoyed.
"I think I got your little secret," he said. "You technique."
She smirked as well and sat down in Gon's bed, remaining quiet.
"We've just been doing Ten and Ren everyday, right?" Killua told Gon. "I was thinking that it's about time we move to the next level."
"Next level?" Gon was confused.
"Learn Ten, know Zetsu and through Ren attain Hatsu," the boy reminded him.
The other's boy eyes opened slightly in surprise.
"It took you a long time, you slowpokes," her smirk widened. "The answer always was Hatsu, the Ultimate Technique."
"Ah!" Gon exclaimed, surprised.
On the other hand, Killua walked towards the window and looked through it for a little.
"Not only Hitomi, when Kurapika learned Nen he was about the same level as we were too. But the reason he was able to fight the same level as the Ryodan was his Ultimate Technique," he looked at him, "Of course, he's taken some life threatening risk because of that. But it shouldn't be like that for us. It was never like that for Hitomi."
"But the more risk the technique have, the powerful it becomes.." Hitomi thought out loud.
"Kurapika took on a heavy oath to gain an almost invincible power against the Ryodan," Gon commented.
Hitomi nodded, narrowing her eyes in deep thought.
"He could get awesome powers just by keeping his eyes red..." she thought. "Wait, he learned to control them with the same level of Nen I have now. That means...!"
At the idea she was getting, she abruptly stood up. The two boys blinked at her, staring in wonder, making the girl give them a nervous smile.
"Whatever, I think you should start with your Hatsu training right away," she told them, walking towards the door. "My technique is nowhere close to complete, so I have to improve it before you guys catch me up."
"Wait a second," Killua stopped her. "What type of idea do you have?"
"Who knows?" she sheepishly smiled at him, pissing him off a little. "You are not going to tell me after all."
And after that, she left to her room. It was time to start.
She looked at her figure in the mirror and activated her Ren for a long time. She then furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes flashed a red-like color, before returning into their original violet one.
Hitomi then fell into her knees and stayed like that for a while, gasping a little for air.
"Wow, my dear brother," she mumbled to herself. "You make it look easier than it is."
Once again, she stood up and looked at her reflection.
"I can't lose to Blondie either."
"But are you okay for real?" Hitomi asked in worry.
"Yes, Hitomi, for the eleventh time, I'm fine now," Kurapika smiled a bit, as they made their way to the airport. "I'm sorry I worried you that much."
"I wasn't... that worried," she looked away.
Leorio and Senritsu just chuckled at the scene. Not long after that, they all stopped in their tracks.
"I think we'll be going now," Kurapika said.
"Yeah," Leorio replied.
Hitomi released a long sigh, before poking him in his chest in a scolding way.
"Promise you won't do anything stupid again, Blondie," she said.
"I won't," he kindly smiled.
"Don't even think about turning off your phone, answer our calls and call us whatever happens," she gave him a stern glare. "Not like last time..."
"Yes, yes..." he sweatdropped.
"Ah," she looked at Senritsu. "If he dares to do something suicidal-like, please hit him hard in the head."
The woman laughed, nervously.
"Is that brat lecturing his older brother?" Leorio whispered to the woman, in surprise. "She looks like an old hag."
On the other side, Kurapika's smile widened.
"Give Gon and Killua my best regards. Those two are training with every second they have, aren't they?" he said and she nodded. "And I can tell you are too. Are you having any luck in your training to control your Scarlet Eyes?"
"What?" Hitomi was surprised. "How did you know?"
"I'm not your older brother for nothing," he chuckled.
The girl looked away, having her brother's hand ruffling her hair in response, in a playful way.
"I promise this will the last time I say goodbye to you," she told him.
Kurapika raised an eyebrow, looking doubtfully at his little sister, who was smirking because of something he didn't know.
"Because next time we meet I'll already have a pair of Scarlet Eyes," she told him. "Just wait until then."
The boy released a soft chuckle while shaking his head. Hitomi had always been, and would always be, just impossible.
"I'm looking forward it," he gave her a brief hug, before looking at Leorio as well. "Take care, you two."
"See you," Leorio waved his hand.
After that, Kurapika walked away. Senritsu looked at them for a few seconds, smiling kindly.
"You guys have the best heartbeats of all the people I met in this city. Hitomi's is determined and passionate, but it's somehow gentle. Leorio's heartbeat, however, has a calm, room and warm sound," she looked at Leorio. "I think being a doctor or a teacher would suit you. You might make a great teacher, I suggest a change of occupation."
"Well, I'll think about it," he scratched the back of his head.
Before Senritsu could even leave, Hitomi stopped her from doing so.
"About of what I said to you before, I'm serious," she said. "Please, take care of him. He seems calm, but the is reckless. And he's smart, but does things without thinking."
"It's on the blood, isn't it?" Leorio teased, making the girl glare at him. "Either way, I think the same as her. It seems that he opens up to you. So please, put on the brakes for him."
"Okay," Senritsu smiled.
Despite not being as sure as the last time they said goodbye to each other about when they would meet again, Hitomi wasn't worried nor sad at all.
Siblings' bond was strong, so she had nothing to worry about. They were going to meet someday, sometime. She was sure that, whenever she expected it the least, Kurapika and her were going to meet up once again.
Today was the day of the exam, for which the three had been training for. There were a lot of people but only thirty-two would pass it.
Killua frowned at the sight of the people walking inside the curtain, to not come back again.
"About ten people have entered already but not a single one of them has come back out," he thought. "Does that meant that they all passed?"
Hitomi saw his worried expression and sighed.
"Don't worry, I doubt that the people who are lined up right now pass, and let alone the fools who are waiting for the others to get back to heard about the test," she told him. "There won't be thirty-two qualified people to begin with."
Behind them, they hear a laugh. They turned around, just to see a man.
"You are good at thinking, girl. In fact, I was thinking the same thing. There will probably be about twenty people that will be picked from this selection. The ones that may pass are the ones that stood right away after it started and us, the ones that figured out the trick and stayed behind to concentrate," he looked at Gon. "Right, kid?"
"I wasn't thinking that far ahead. I think that the exam will be hard so thirty-two people won't be selected," he admitted "But Battera-san is saying first come first serve, but I think that since he has gathered so many people so that he can test all their strengths."
"You are absolutely right too, boy," he laughed, before standing up. "Either way, my name is Puhat, nice to meet you."
After that, Puhat disappeared behind the curtains. A couple of minutes after that, Killua stood up as well.
"I'll go ahead, guys," he said.
"Killua!" Gon, cheerful as always, stood up. "Do your best!"
"Yeah!" Hitomi said from her seat. "Don't lose."
Killua waved his hand, before walking away. A couple of minutes later, Hitomi lazily stood up to go as well.
"I'm getting a little bored here, so I have to do something before I fall asleep," she stretched herself. "See you around."
"Hitomi!" he said in a jump. "Do your best too!"
"I think you should save your energy a little for the test..." she sweatdropped.
She then went to the place. Hitomi walked through a long, long corridor, before arriving to a room. There was Tsezugera, standing on the middle of it.
Hitomi then noticed that there wasn't any lights so she looked above her. The light bulb was broken, and the girl had the feeling that she knew who had done it.
"Yo," she waved at Tsezugera.
"Show me your Ren," he replied coldly, and almost annoyed at her presence.
"Still angry because I pointed out your pointy ears?" she sheepishly smiled, and his eyebrow twitched. "If you don't like the elf-thing, you maybe prefer talking about your strange beard? Or about your white eyebrows that contrasts with your black hair in such a wonderful wa-?"
"Show me your Ren," he glared at her.
"Okay, okay..." she sighed. "Well, would you mind if I put some Hatsu in the mix?"
"No problem," he smirked. "Showing your Ren is basically showing the results of your training as a Hunter, so in other words you're showing me how strong you are. But if you are that confident, go ahead. Show me that Ren isn't everything you have."
"As you wish," she grinned evilly.
He stepped back when he saw her eyes turning red, the most intense shade of scarlet you could ever see. Tsezugera then found himself staring at them for a long time, in shock, as the girl just stared back.
But then her sadistic grin widened.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. "Is that sharp sound still sounding in your head?"
That's when Tsezugera's head started to hurt like hell. As she had said, a sharp sound started to ring in his head, at the point to almost lose his balance.
"It must hurt a lot..." she murmured.
"Stop it..." Tsezugera murmured, leaning to a wall to not to fall.
"What?" she grinned. "I can't hear you~"
And the sound didn't stop, and Tsezugera was sure that his head would explode if he didn't do anything any moment soon.
"I said that you have to STOP IT NOW!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Okay, okay. You are bossy," she sighed, turning her eyes violet again. "Well, did you liked it?"
His headache stopped and he stared at her for a long time.
"Is okay," his eyebrow twitched a little bit as he tried to keep his cool. "You pass."
She smirked once again, walking towards the door. She put her hand on the metal knob, but before she could do something else, Tsezugera talked.
"That eyes are not common in any normal human," he said. "Are you a survivor from the Kuruta Clan by any chance?"
"Do I look like a ghost for you?" she said jokingly. "No? Well, maybe you are right then. I'm a survivor."
Then she walked out of there and closed the door behind her. Not long after, she arrived in another room, filled with a lot of people.
Her face fell when she spotted a girl with blue eyes and light brown hair tied in two ponytails, a really girly girl.
"Did Elf-boy pass that girl... for real?" she thought in disbelief.
"Hitomi!" she heard someone calling her.
She looked up to see Killua, who ran up to her. She smiled at the sight of the boy and ran towards him too.
"So you passed too," she grinned.
"Of course," he raised his thumb. "Anyway, what was that?"
She blinked.
"I swear I heard that bearded guy yell something like 'stop' and a second later you came out from the room," he told her. "What did you do to him?"
"Oh, that..." Hitomi didn't talk for a few seconds, before smiling sheepishly. "It's a se-cr-et~!"
Before she realized what was happening, Killua was head locking her. She tried to get out of his grasp, but it was fruitless.
"Come on, tell me!" he rubbed his knuckles against her head.
"Stop it, Whitey!" she yelled, still teasing him. "Don't you know how to treat a lady?!"
"Lady? Yeah right!" he joked. "I would call you Barbie Girl, but you are not even a girl. So, let's go with Non-Barbie Girl."
"Okay, okay... I'll tell you only if you explain why the hell the lights don't work!"
He released her and smirked, but didn't say anything. That was the proof enough for her to know her hunch was right.
BANG!
They all looked at the closed door, because of that loud explosion. Hitomi chuckled before sitting in a seat, placing her hands behind her head.
"Why don't you go and interrogate Gon instead?" she looked at him by the corner of her eye.
"How are you that sure about-?"
Before Killua could end his sentence, the door opened and revealed their friend, Gon. She looked at Killua, smirking.
"Told you so."
Hitomi took some meat and and put it into her mouth. She tasted it like never before in her life because of two reasons. First, she didn't know what kind of food she would find in Greed Island, and second, everything was paid by Leorio.
Said guy was reading the contract paper.
"One, you won't complain if you are injured or killed," he read.
"I don't think it would be possible for to complain if you are dead," Hitomi commented. "It's biologically imposible... and plain stupid."
"Two, Battera-san can claim anything you bring back from the game," he continued, ignoring the girl. "Three, there will be a reward of 50 billion for clearing the game. The contract states that if that's okay then sign."
They looked at each other before nodding. After they signed the paper, they walked away the restaurant. Leorio looked at them with a smile in his features.
"Well, I'll be going now," he said, before a taxi stopped in front of them.
"You better study, old man," Hitomi told him.
"I will, Chibi-chan," he replied, pissing Hitomi off a little. "You guys be careful. I think you will be okay together but you can't be certain."
"We'll be fine," Killua assured.
Leorio was about to enter to the taxi but Gon stopped him from doing so.
"Leorio!" he called. "The next time we meet you'll be a doctor, right?"
"You..." he looked at him in surprise. "Does that mean we won't meet for a minimum of four years?"
"I don't think it will be that much," Hitomi commented. "But it won't be anytime soon either."
And after that, Leorio left in the taxi. Gon waved the guy before walking away along his friends, and started to talk about the game.
"There's one thing we learned," Killua said. "Something can be brought back from the game."
"That's true," Hitomi nodded. "That would explain why he wouldn't mind about spending that much money in just a game."
"What do you mean, guys?" Gon asked.
"They are not real-world objects, they come from a fantasy one. They could be anything like a medicine for all illness, infinite money or even one which can give immortality to the user," she explained. "Well, they are millions of possibilities."
After leaving York Shin, they went to the agreed place. There were a lot of people and consoles, in which they were some people playing, who never returned.
"Before we start, I would like to give you some information," Tsezugera said. "These games aren't independent, meaning that no matter which system you start off with, you all end up in the same place."
Hitomi turned to Killua.
"Is that what they call an online game?" she whispered.
"It's something like that," he nodded, putting his hands on his pockets.
"What does that mean?" Gon asked, cluelessly.
The white-head sighed.
"It's hard explaining to a gaming newbie," he said. "But it basically means that everyone gets to play in the same place."
"What? Isn't that obvious?" he asked. "All the games are here."
"It's not like that but... Oh, well."
Tsezugera then hold a memory card and showed it to them.
"Once you put this in, you will start the game immediately," he told them. "But first we must choose the starting order. When you get into the game there is an explanation of the game but it can be heard one at a time."
"So even if we start all the same time we will have to wait inside?" Puhat asked.
"Exactly," he nodded. "We will pick the order here so there won't be a hassle inside."
"Okay then," Puhat nodded. "Let's go with rock-paper-scissors. The loser is the winner."
"Agreed!" Gon raised his hand, happily.
Killua stared at him in disbelief while Hitomi crossed her arms in front of her chest, shaking her head. All Hunter played some rounds and, after a while, Gon got declared the first place.
"Number seventeen..." Killua mumbled to himself.
"Oh, such a wonderful luck," Hitomi teased. "I got in the second place."
He glared at her, annoyed.
"How did you do it?" he asked.
"Didn't you learn anything in the Trick Tower?" she grinned. "It's called psychology, dear Leorio."
"What did you call me?" he asked, as his eyebrow twitched in irritation.
"Oh, that's true, you are Whitey. I'm sorry," she sheepishly smiled. "It's just like you look awfully a lot like him. I think I just mistook you two."
A vein popped up in his head, but not long after he smirked in a teasing way.
"So tell me, Miss Strategy," he joked. "How come Gon defeated you?"
"Well, you just can't use psychology on Gon," she sighed, annoyed. "He doesn't think to begin with."
"Maybe you have a point..." he sweatdropped while looking at the boy.
He, on the other hand, walked to the front.
"You have a save data, right? Are you going to use it?" Tsezugera asked. He turned around and glanced at his friends, who nodded. "Don't worry. Wherever the data was saved, you'll all start on the same place."
Gon put the ring on his finger and introduced the memory card on the console. After that, he put his hands above the JoyStation.
"Gon, once you hear the instructions wait for us at the starting point," Killua said.
"Before Killua arrives... it will sure a lot of time," Hitomi murmured.
Killua gave her a death glare, which she ignored. Gon laughed a little bit, before nodding. He performed Hatsu on the console and he got sucked all of sudden, startling the other players.
"Once the words 'Now Playing' appear, the next person starts," Tsezugera instructed.
Not long after that, the text 'Now Loading' changed to 'Now Playing'. Hitomi released a long sigh, before putting the ring in her finger. She looked at Killua and smiled a bit.
"See you later, then," she said.
"Yeah," he nodded.
Hitomi did the same thing that Gon did. She introduced her memory card and performed Hatsu in front of the Joystation.
She felt a bright white light shallow her, before starting to fall towards somewhere. A new world, in fantasy.
"I welcome myself to Greed Island," she smirked.
End of the 22th chapter! I swear her Nen ability was supposed to be a little... I don't know, less lame? Either way, I'm sorry :(
Well, let's begin with the reviewers...
havanatitiana: I'm sorry for the last chapter, that was kinda lame, but I hope you liked this one! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
SoulXHunter: Sorry to you for the same thing :( Either way, I wish you liked this chapter and thank you for leaving a review :)
JokeLover123: Thanks for leaving a review! Let's hope you had fun in this one :)
SlightlyYandereMelissa: I'm glad you liked that :) Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
alice: Thanks! I wish you liked this update :)
Mr. Kohen: Thanks for the review! I wish you liked this chapter :)
Silent Readers: Thanks for passing by here! Hope you had fun :D
See you all later!