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DISCLAIMER: I WISH I own Hunter X Hunter

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CHAPTER 6: Pass X Fail X Illumi

The Final exam had finally started and it was announced that only one could fail. This made most people sigh in relief, for they were confident it would most likely not be them. Rules were simple: rendering one's opponents unconscious would result to a null battle to be continued after the opponent wakes up, while killing would mean disqualification. All they had to do was make the opponent say 'I Give up' and they'll officially be hunters.

If only it were that easy…

The first match was Kurapika vs. Hisoka. They showed great skill, impressing everyone in the room. It was a very entertaining match, but it ended with many questions on everyone's minds.

In the middle of the match, Hisoka approached Kurapika and whispered something in his ears. His eyes turned crimson for an instant, an expression that told Gon he was in shock. Then to everyone's surprise, Hisoka gave up- and Kurapika was a Hunter.

Gon looked at his friend worriedly as he rested near them. No one else noticed the instantaneous change in his eye color, but she was sure it happened. She congratulated him, and she only received a weak smile getting her even more worried. She shifted her gaze towards Hisoka who was looking at them. He put his finger on his mouth as a gesture of 'Keep quiet', and she reluctantly nodded at him. Whatever it was, it wasn't her place to do otherwise.

Several minutes later, it was announced that it was Gon's turn next. Her match was with the Ninja. She wasnt confident because she had never seen him use his true ability, yet she wasn't a tad scared either- Hanzo was a good guy, why would she be scared of a good guy?

And no one knew if that was even a good thing...

During the match, Gon managed to land a few good punches on Hanzo- but he was much too strong. He was on a totally different level from her altogether.

BAM!

Was the sound of Hanzo's latest hit, and with it more of the girl's blood was spilled. His eyes twitched.

Hanzo was a Ninja, and they had one of the most severe training regimes in the whole world. So he could not show any sign of weakness. The girl entered the exam on her own will- and he would not show any pity. He blinded her, took away her sense of hearing, and broke one of her arms. Each time she cried out in agony, yet he still could not make her give up.

He ignored the shouts all around him- some shouting at the girl to give up and some telling him to stop. He could feel the anger and deathly glares from her friends- and to his surprise, even from Hisoka. They were mad at him, and the only barrier from him and them were the examiners. He could feel that they would attack him as soon as they leave.

Indeed... everyone was mad at him.

Everyone except her.

And every time she looked at him with eyes filled only with unwavering determination, he couldn't help but flinch. She wouldn't give up, even if he killed her. He frowned and gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was reaching his limit– he had to finish this. Fast.

And so, he gestured for the deathly blow.

…

Killua was ready to commit a cold-blooded murder. Every time Gon yelled in pain, the sharp weapon in his hand – or rather, his hand itself- got sharper and sharper by folds. But when Hanzo finally went in for the kill- he froze. He couldn't move. How could he not move?

No matter how he shouted at himself to move, he just couldn't. The advent of losing Gon was terrifying, but he never could've imagined he would freeze. It was like time stopped, and his eye widened as he shifted his gaze back to the duel and the blade was no longer an inch away from her.

"GON!" Was all he could utter, and it was almost a squeak.

But then Hanzo stopped, only half a centimeter from her forehead.

Gon didn't drag her gaze away from Hanzo, and it was still as full of resolve as before. She was alive, and wasn't hurt any further.

"I give up." Hanzo announced and Killua felt his feet give way. He lost his strength and sat down on the floor, shaking. He heard that Kurapika and Leorio were on the floor sighing in relief as well.

But it seemed that their moment of peace was just momentary.

"Wait! What are you doing? The fight isn't over yet!" Gon yelled at the retreating Hanzo and pointed a finger, in her unbroken arm, at him accusingly. Hanzo frowned and shook his head, he should have known that even giving up wouldn't be easy with her.

So he walked closer to her and she returned immediately to her fighting stance. He put a good amount of strength on his feet and leaped to her so fast that the next thing she knew- she was already unconscious.

...

"Gon..."

Killua watched his friend get taken away to the hotel's clinic. He and the others wanted to come with them, but the president refused to. So he begrudgingly decided to wait and get everything over with.

But then, he saw Hanzo- and Killua felt anger arouse from inside him. He lost control and was about to attack him when he felt a hand from behind.

"No, Killua." Kurapika ordered firmly. Killua glared at him for a moment but sighed in the end. Kurapika was just as worried about Gon as him, yet he remained composed... at least on the exterior- so he thought that he should, too. And as soon as Kurapika felt Killua relax, he let go of his shoulders and shifted his gaze towards the ninja.

"Why did you lose on purpose?" He asked in a rather condescending tone of voice. He just knew that Gon would not like winning this way, and he felt especially insecure when he recalled what happened during the fourth exam.

"I lost fair and square. Not in terms of strength, of course, but in will power." He stated and then scratched his cheeks out-of-nowhere. "And... that kid also had that annoying quality that made people want to help her."

A certain pink-haired examiner grinned.

"You know, in certain contexts… the last sentence meant she's 'cute'." Menchi, oh so-helpfully, commented making the Ninja go slightly red, even through his bald head- getting Kurapika and Killua to twitch.

"How shallow for someone who meditates..." Killua whispered like a brat and Hanzo immediately gritted his teeth and thought of a counter-attack. Nothing came though, he was an idiot for most part.

"Gon would never accept her license if she finds out about this." Kurapika stated, hiding his ever growing annoyance. Hanzo turned to him and winced at the accusations.

"That's not my problem! And I don't think she's cute!"Hanzo yelled and then whispered, "She's like… 7 years younger than me…"

Menchi scoffed and the smirked evilly. "He so does think she's cute that way." and then laughed boisterously. A few people sweat-dropped and the others relaxed by a bit. It seemed that all the joking around somewhat calmed the tension around the room and Netero, being the patient old man he was, cleared his throat as soon as he saw the contestants were ready for another fight.

The next match was Killua against Pokkle. Pokkle was the weakest in the batch, but he encountered and befriended (in as sense) Gon a few times during the earlier exams. Bow-and-arrow was his specialty but other than his accuracy, he was nothing really special. Killua knew this, of course, and now that he calmed down he decided he didn't want to fight such a weakling.

He wanted to have a good, satisfying match like Gon did (even when she wouldn't think so). Besides, he was no longer in such a hurry to see Gon. It wasn't like she would go anywhere at that state, anyway.

"I give up." He stated coolly. Pokkle protested for a bit but then upon realization that he did not have any chance, he agreed. The people who knew Killua sighed, but didn't really care. Killua was strong and he can take on his next opponent…

…right?

And a moment later they, once again, found that they were too naive.

Killua's next opponent was Gitarakuru– the odd zombie looking contestant that was always seen with Hisoka. At first he didn't really mind. Killua knew he was strong but thought that he was not strong enough to present a real threat to him.

That was, until he slowly plucked the needles off his face... and Killua's eyes widened at the sight of what the already frightening face was morphing into. It turned into a young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, with ebony hair complemented by his deep dark eyes.

Killua shivered at the sight- as if the handsome long-haired man was a monster.

"Aniki..."

"Hello, Killua." His brother nonchalantly greeted. He had always sounded that way, and almost no one would be able to discern the annoyance in his voice.

Almost.

"What a-are you doing here?" Killua managed to ask, as coherently as he could.

"What? I just wanted the license since it's quite convenient. Encountering you was just a fortunate twist of fate." He smirked, telling Killua that he was lying.

"I won't come back." He stated almost immediately. His was full of determination, something Illumi had only seen once in his eyes to some degree- and that was when he ran away. Although… for reasons Illumi could not yet fully understand, the resolve in his brother was much stronger than it was back then.

And Illumi did not like it. He did not like it at all.

"I can see that." He said calmly and Killua did not drop his guard. If anything, he increased it. Killua knew his brother, and because of this he was terrified of what he might do. Not to him, but to-

"Is it that girl's influence?" He muttered wearing that sly smile of his, almost to himself, and Killua's eyes widened even more.

"It is, isn't it?"

"NO." He spat immediately.

"No use lying, Killua. I'm taking you back home with me, and that's a decision you can't disagree." He ordered, and for some reason Killua considered it immediately. He had never disobeyed his brother, and it was lucky that he wasn't home when he ran away. He would've stayed if his brother ordered it.

"He can and he will!" Leorio shouted from behind him. Killua flinched; he knew that Leorio was trying to help him… but if only he knew-

"I'm not talking to you." Illumi just stated stoically and glanced momentarily at Leorio, who in turn, winced at his stare. Illumi shifted his gaze back to his brother and asked,

"What do you want from her, anyway?"

Killua didn't answer at first, but he felt that strange sensation that was surrounding his older brother again and it terrified him- as it always had.

"I want to be… friends with her…" he whispered unsure of himself. It was one of the few things he felt insecure about, and insecurities were not something he liked to talk about. Especially not to his brother who had control over his every wish-

"But you're already friends! A-At least that's what she already thinks!" Leorio couldn't help but intervene. No one liked where this was all going. And as he heard the statement, Killua's eyes dilated with a mixture of emotions– of delight… and soon enough, fear.

"That's right, Killua! You have got to believe in her!" Kurapika shouted. Illumi smirked at this, but his brother knew very well what it meant. Killua immediately looked at his brother imploringly, but could not muster the strength to speak.

"Eh… she already thinks you're friends? I'll have to kill her, then." He said in feign playfulness. Killua's whole body shook in terror. He couldn't imagine Gon disappearing from the world. Gon… her innocence, kindness, and cheerfulness-

"You'd be disqualified if you do that." Netero intervened sternly, getting Killua to hold on onto a pinch of hope that no harm would come to Gon.

"I see…" Illumi mumbled and then nonchalantly scratched his cheeks. "I'd just have to pass the exam first and then kill her."

"NO!" Killua yelled in despair, but he could not move and just watched his brother slowly walk towards him. He held his hand up and it slowly approached him emitting an even more powerful aura that rendered Killua helpless.

Illumi would kill her if he didn't come home with him, and Killua wouldn't be able to handle that. He wasn't even sure if his brother would spare her even if he came back with him. He wanted to shout. He wanted to shout at Gon to run- as far away from him as she could.

But he had to take his chance. He silently apologized to her for breaking their promise...

Click

And his mind went blank.

Gon woke up two days later, with Satotsu sitting beside her bed. He explained that she passed the exam, but she naturally couldn't accept something like that. She had received too much help to feel that she deserved it, but the examiner just stated that she'd be able to pay them– and many others- back by folds if she's a hunter and that (somewhat) convinced her.

"Besides… you would've passed anyway since a contestant got disqualified." He stated as calmly as he could. He knew very well how close the two children were, but it was best that the girl would know as soon as she could.

When he was certain she was completely calm, he told her everything– The conversation the Zoldycks had. That Killua gave up, and then killing another contestant afterwards. He added, quietly, that Killua had left for his home.

He stated everything in a way that would make Gon (hopefully) believe that there was nothing she could do and that she had to let Killua go. He even omitted the fact that Illumi threatened her life. He and the other examiners just knew she'd put herself in danger if she found out.

"I don't believe you. Killua wouldn't do that." She said without a hint of hesitation in her eyes. Satotsu was not surprised, and he just sighed.

"Yes. A lot of debate had aroused due to that."

"And…?" She asked hopefully.

"But everyone witnessed what happened, and there is no changing the decision of the committee."

Her eyes widened in despair. "That's not fair!" She yelled vehemently, but Satotsu did not even wince.

"They're the rules. And there is no hard evidence that it's wrong."

"Killua wouldn't break his promise."

The examiner batted an eyelid. "Promise…?"

"He said he'd find my father with me." She stated with more conviction than before.

"His family comes first." He replied immediately. From where this was going, Gon would get herself killed.

"But he doesn't even like them! He hated killing, I know it-" Her eyes widened at the realization. "Something went wrong. He wasn't himself when he did that- Satotsu-san!"

But Satotsu couldn't say a thing. To think she'd be able to get to that deduction so quickly surprised him.

"Satotsu-san…" She muttered almost imploring him to speak. The examiner sighed in defeat.

"They are still having a discussion about it in discussion room." He whispered and she beamed at the new streak of hope.

"Arigatou, Satotsu-san!"

...

Gon arrived in the room just in time to see that everyone was arguing. The main topic was Killua's disqualification and the fact that he simply did not seem to be himself that time. The topic shifted to other contestant bickering like Kurapika and Pokkle about each other's qualifications, but the topic usually went back to Killua.

They immediately turned around at the sound of her entrance.

"Gon…" Leorio and Kurapika muttered in relief, while most the others felt similar thoughts.

Well, most of them.

Illumi didn't even bother turning around. Gon saw his trademark raven hair and stomped towards him.

"Bring Killua back."

"He's not yours, you know." He answered bluntly getting her to frown.

"I know. But he ran away from you, so I can say the same thing about you." She spat back. Netero smirked at her odd fluctuations of wit.

"He's back with his family." He replied coolly, but Gon felt the irritated atmosphere that surrounded him. "And he came back in his own will. You'd just be wasting your time– and your life, may I add – trying to get him back."

"No I won't." She replied getting Illumi to smirk lightly in misunderstanding, only to make him frown abruptly a second later.

"Because I know he'd come back with us."

The Zoldyck mentally winced at her confidence. She didn't have to say that- Illumi knew his brother would come to her if she went to get him. But Illumi was not going to allow that to happen, now would he?

He held his left hand closer to her, but she jumped back immediately sensing barely-revealed aura in his hands. Illumi frowned deeply. She was too sensitive that it was dangerous. She was showing too much potential.

And she had gotten much too close to his brother's heart, as well...

That moment, Illumi made a resolve- he'd just deal with Hisoka later.

Illumi decided that he was going to have to kill her.

Soon.

Hisoka involuntarily flinched at the sight of his acquaintance's aura. Ten seconds after the first time he saw it, every person in the room save for him died. A dozen politicians and their wives, to be exact. It was the aura telling him that he was completely eager to kill the girl- an uncharacteristic mood for an assassin who was just killing for profit.

Normally he wouldn't mind, he'd even watch the bloodshed in amusement. But this was different. He did not want the girl dead, which was odd since that would only happen if the person still served some use to him- like Illumi. And at the moment, he wanted him dead.

It seemed that Hisoka would have to protect the girl.

At least until he finds out why he wanted to, anyway...

Kurapika, on the other hand, barely noticed the killing intent emanating from both Illumi and Hisoka– he was filled with other emotions. He was extremely delighted to see Gon well but what made him feel… irritated, was the fact that the only person she could think of at the time was Killua.

Of course Kurapika understood that Killua was her best friend, but now he could see that there was something different. He didn't know how long it had been there exactly but he knew he didn't see it because he wanted to fool himself.

It was the look that he saw countless times… in his and Killua's eyes.

He felt his hands clench involuntarily.

He was definitely turning into one selfish person...

.
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END OF CHAPTER 6

Coming Soon:
CHAPTER 7:Confrontation X Zoldycks X Underworld

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REPLIES TO ANGELS:

hunterxhunterfan123 - Thank you so much for the review~! Haha, and yeah it's really hard generating ideas nowadays...

dark angell - It won't. I set this story to be at least 20 chapters long. Thanks for the comment!

(2) I am so sorry for the supremely late update, and it's just that ideas are hard to come by now that I'm no longer addicted to writing...

imachan1208 - Thanks for the review~! Kinda sad that this chapter isn't even that sweet. XD And thanks for Reading and reviewing my other stories, too. ^^

Phoenix- Thunder - HAhah. Thanks for the comment~! Sorry for the late update. XD

itsmemaellanie - Ahaha. He's really adorable isn't he? Thanks for the comment~

Navaka114 - aw man. I hope the scenes with those two was good enough. Haha. Thanks for the comment~!

Baylee1100 - Oh dear, I suppose there's Killua and Kurapika. A little of Hisoka, and maybe Hanzo after the timeskip.

Jhoi Marie Boli - lolz. At 12 years old, it's pretty hard to put more romance. XD Thanks for the comment~

cyberphantom25 - Thank you so much for the review~!

LieutenantWinter - I'm glad you thought so. Thanks for the review! And I made a fanart of Fem!Gon btw, it might help XD

Ogure Michiyo - Thanks for the comment~! And sorry for the very late update...

CrystalVixen93 - Here it is, and Thanks for the review!XD

Thank you for reading!

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