Ocean/ Captain's ship/ Deck
The scene showed many people rushing around the deck as a certain duo walked onto the deck.
Leorio and Kurapika… thanks to some insult from Leorio when he was ticked off by Kurapika's lack of respect and right now they were about to fight while many sailors were trying to work to keep parts of the ship intact.
"Take it back and I'll forgive you Rioleo." Kurapika said while Leorio stares at Kurapika.
"Take it back yourself… Kurapika… I've said what I've said." Leorio said while he stayed steady on the rocking ship.
After that, Kurapika drew some wooden sword like weapons which had a rope that connected the two back ends together for a faux nunchuck like weapon with longer wooden sticks more or less while Leorio pulled out a butterfly knife that he flipped into the open position effortlessly when he held it in his hand.
"Are you ready!?" Kurapika said as he charged Leorio.
"Bring it!" Leorio called out when he got ready to counter but before the duo could get close, part of the ship broke and thanks to that many were knocked off balance while the piece of the ship flew towards Katzo before anyone could react for a moment though as the scrawny crewman was sent flying and would fly over the ship railing, Leorio were running towards Katzo while a surprised Kurapika followed suit as fast as he could while Gon, Emerald, Pitou, and even Shunpei with Lillum quickly following and while Gleeco could normally care less… well seeing Lillum did get him to smirk as he quickly gave chase.
As Kurapika and Leorio jumped to try and get Katzo, the gripped the railings with one arm each while they reached for the flying crewman but missed by an inch… however Emerald and Gon jumped by while Kurapika and Leorio were shocked but quickly moved to grip one of Gon and Emerald's ankles as they gripped Katzo's ankles while Pitou felt her tail get gripped making her cringe but she gripped Emerald and Gon's free ankles while Shunpei was the culprit when he made sure Pitou didn't go flying from the ship as Lillum hugged Shunpei from behind while Gleeco… well he pulled a Gleeco moment and pretty much gripped Lillum's breasts from behind making her blush big time while Gleeco grins as he gripped her breasts hard when he *helped* pull her back towards him as everyone worked to get Gon, Emerald, and Katzo onto the ship.
Once everyone was fully on board, some of the crewman were happy Katzo was OK and as Emerald rubs his head and Gon rubs his face, Leorio, Kurapika, Pitou, Lillum, and Shunpei all moved to get in front of the duo while Lillum forgot about Gleeco grabbing her breasts in the confusion and just figured it was because of the storm and stuff.
"What were you two thinking!?, a mermaid would be hard pressed to survive a maelstrom out there!, you two would go under in a split second!" Kurapika said when he looks at Gon and Emerald who leaned back when Leorio put his two cents in.
"Yeah you morons!, if we didn't grab your legs you would be sleeping with the fishes as we speak!" Leorio said while Pitou glared at Emerald and Gon.
"Yeah and not the nice kind where you eat one, you two would be the fishes food!" Pitou said while Lillum and Shunpei berate the duo on the rash move though Gon helped defuse the situation when he looks at he group.
"Yeah but… you grabbed our legs right?" Gon said making everyone around him look at him after a momentary silence… Kurapika chuckles as he looks at Leorio.
"My apologies Leorio for my disrespect." Kurapika said while Leorio chuckles.
"Eh forget it, honest mistake… sorry for that crack about your clan." Leorio said while Gon, Pitou, Lillum, and Shunpei smile at this while the captain looks on and he laughs getting their attention as the boat starts to settle when the storm starts to pass.
"HAHAHA!... what a pair you two are… Arrogant, single minded… but I've taken a likin to ya… and since I'm in such a good mood I'll bring you all to the nearest port closest to the Hunter exam." The captain said surprising them all.
"Really?... what about the test?" Gon asked while The Captain chuckles more.
"Eh, too nice of a day now for tests… come on I'll show you more about steering this tub." The Captain said as an excited Gon ran after the captain while many others chuckles at this as many went back to work while Pitou went to heal Katzo while a few people worked to repair the part of the ship that broke.
Thanks to this, the rest of the trip was uneventful thanks to the storm passing, things more or less went well as the ship went to port while Leorio, Kurapika, Lillum, Shunpei, Emerald, Pitou, and Gon got off the ship with Gleeco following them much to Emerald's chagrin since it seemed Gleeco had eyes on Lillum and possibly Pitou of the group.
Thankfully he told everyone about Gleeco and while they were a bit on guard, Gon pretty much caused many to relax since if Gleeco tried anything, everyone would gang up on him and stuff… no reason to attack him and if he was as fast as Emerald claimed, letting him run off even by chance would be bad for others so currently everyone was technically playing babysitter to Gleeco so he wouldn't do anything evil.
As the group got off the ship, Leorio looks around and whistles.
"*Whistle… looks like all these people are looking for Zaban…" Leorio said while Kurapika looks around as well.
"Most of these people are probably going our way." Kurapika said while Gon was called over by the captain and after some talk with Gon thanking the captain for everything and wishing him well with the captain doing the same, he points at a large tree in the distance.
"A final word if I may… that lone pine tree up on that hill maybe a good place to start looking for the exam hall." The Captain said as Gon smiles when he ran to tell the others though he did say this when he looks back at the captain.
"Alright, thanks!, bye!" Gon quickly said as he waved to the captain who waved back as the Captain chuckles.
"Stop Frettin' Ging… That's a fine young lad you've got there." The captain said while he was unaware of him and Gon getting watched by a mysterious figure.
After this, Gon and the others were at a map with Leorio questioning the way to go when Zaban was opposite of that tree in the distance.
"I don't know about that Gon… see?... Zaban's right on the map, you can't miss it?... why go up there anyway?... best shots an express bus ride to Zaban… climbing that hill would be a waste of time." Leorio said while Kurapika hums.
"Hmm… you sure thats what the captain said Gon?" Kurapika said as Gon nods his head.
"Yup… and I'm going to check it out, beats waiting for the bus at least if you ask me." Gon said and as he walked away, Emerald and Pitou follow while everyone else looks at one another… after a bit with Leorio following after everyone else did when he heard about the busses to Zaban being a trap, well… everyone wound up at a decrepit looking down.
"Wow what a crummy place… not a soul around…" Leorio said while Gon, Emerald, Kurapika, Pitou, Gleeco, Lillum, and Shunpei all look around.
"Oh there are a lot of folk here." Gon said while Kurapika follows suit.
"Yes, better keep your guard up." Kurapika said as Emerald cracks his knuckles.
"Yeah… plenty of people watching." Emerald said while a nervous Leorio looks around.
"How can you tell?" Leorio said while Kurapika looks at Leorio.
"I hear them breathing." Kurapika said as Gon points to various buildings.
"And clothes rustling… are they hiding?" Gon said while the others gave similar sayings though Lillum said she could see them faintly in the darkness after she removed her sunglasses when they got here.
Leorio blinks as he looks around while listening intently but he heard nothing.
"Well pardon me for having normal eyes and ears." Leorio said as he adjusts his glasses.
As he did that, everyone got on guard and Shunpei jolts when he hid behind Emerald when many people in masks and an old woman walked from the buildings with a large stage being pushed by a few masked people while the old woman sat at a desk on the stage.
"The exciting…" The Old woman said while Leorio gulps.
"TIME FOR THE MIND BOGGLING TWO CHOICE QUIZ!" The Old woman shouts with comically wide eyes making everyone sweatdrop.
After some talk with everyone getting told they would only get one question for the entire group and anything aside a yes or no question would fail the entire lot of them, and after a moment with Leorio getting pissed thanks to the mystery figure, a Hunter to be seemingly getting the answer right with an impossible question and the answer being neither one, however thanks to many's serious hearing levels noticing a scream most likely from the mystery Hunter or now ex-Hunter to be and from Kurapika noticing something after Leorio said there was no right answer, well… nuff said after some words of encouragement and an apology from Leorio when Kurapika blocked him from hitting the old woman with a stick, the group continued onward down a long pathway that was revealed when the old woman said this as she watched the group leave.
"Hehe… Aside from that Gleeco guy who rubs me the wrong way… the rest of them are not too bad… especially that Gon kid… he got the main part of this test since reality can be cruel... still… I wonder why a Chimera Ant is with that group…. Still with a large group like that..." The old woman said when she noticed the joints that Pitou was trying to hide and she looked at one of her men who nodded as they went to report things to the president of the Hunter Association and to make some calls.
With the others… It took two or so hours of walking with the group taking an occasional break for the non-Aura users minus Gon and Kurapika who were used to walking long distances, and with the occasion complaint from Leorio about how long its been… the group were approaching their destination when they remembered what the old woman told them.
"There's a house under the pine tree… there is a couple who lives there and they are Navigators… if you manage a favorable impression they'll see you to the Exam hall." The Old woman said in everyone's memory as the group approached a large cabin under the massive pine tree.
Thanks to how dark it was and how late it was as well… many in the group first thought that the inhabitants of the cabin were sleeping, but a moment later, Emerald, Pitou, and Gleeco got on guard when they felt something off as they approached the cabin… the others got on guard when things seemed a bit… to quiet.
When Leorio knocked on the door and stuff, the door opened slowly and everyone got shocked looks on their faces when they saw a number of beast like beings in the room while one held a female gripping at its wrist while an injured man was on the ground as he tried to reach for the woman… closest thing to describe the creatures was a mix of humanoids bigger than a human, they had light brown fur of various shades while they had lupine like heads… long ears similar to rabbits though pointed to the sides more than upward with the ears being slim, they had darker brown to almost black colorings on the tip of their ears, a lion like tail, three fingers and toes with deadly claws on each finger and toe… and most had six whiskers… Emerald recognized them as Kiriko, rat fox like beings who could shapeshift if needed but he had no idea why they were here.
When the group got on guard with weapons or combat stances and the trained Aura users got ready to use Aura, the Kiriko surprised them when they all bashed through the back window of the ruined cabin and took the woman with them.
This results in Emerald looking at Leorio, Pitou, Shunpei, and Lillum.
"You four, take care of the injured man!, the rest of us will help the woman!" Emerald said and while he could care less about Gleeco and what he would do… a moment later Emerald, Gon, and Kurapika all followed the Kiriko while Leorio and Pitou knelt next to the man while Leorio was shocked at what he saw… deep claw marks… unlike the canon this was not the same Kiriko as the manga or anime versions it seems.
"Not good… he won't last unless we get help and… what the!?" Leorio said while the man's wounds seemed to stitch themselves up as Pitou held her hand over the man's body.
"I can explain how I'm doing this later… for now I'll treat the more life threatening injuries… Lillum… Shunpei… keep on guard, while I'm doing this nya can't move far from this man so it will be a bit before nya can do anything… for all we know more Kiriko are around and could jump us at anytime." Pitou said with a serious look on her face when she didn't like this situation.
As Lillum and Shunpei quickly got on watch… many never noticed Gleeco having left the building more or less while the scene went to Emerald, Gon, and Kurapika as they rushed outside and after Emerald used some En and Gon's sight in the dark being well developed, the group were off on chasing the Kiriko who continue to carry the woman away more, some Kiriko tried to attack Emerald, Gon, and Kurapika but thanks to Emerald being trained to be a Hunter with Aura, he managed to intimidate many of them when he emits a shocking amount of killing intent which nearly stunned Gon and Kurapika and they were not targets, many weak willed Kiriko just feighted and many other scattered in a panic which allowed the trio to rush by others towards the Kiriko with the woman in his arms, Gon managed to find out it could speak when he in told the Kiriko to let the woman go… after it spoke with an insult to Gon, Gon gave it a small insult and this distracted it enough for Kurapika to catch the woman who fell when Gon used his fishing rod to hit the Kiriko on the head, after this happened with Kurapika landing, he watched as Emerald and Gon chase the Kiriko when it threatened them and Emerald wanted to make sure this guy wouldn't try another attack in the darkness with Gon going to back him.
At this time, Kurapika pretty much did the same thing he did in canon when he made sure to check on the woman's health… however thanks to Leorio being with Pitou to help her with the man's real injuries… well when a double of Leorio tried to get near Kurapika, Kurapika who was ready to attack *Leorio* in some anger, well… Gleeco surprised him when he actually kicked Leorio away from Kurapika and lands near him.
"Freaking A… can't believe I had to help here… don't be a fool Kurta guy, freaking saw this Kiriko take that four eyes's look." Gleeco said while Kurapika blinks at the nickname though he did look at *Leorio* who growls at Gleeco.
"Damned Human… thought more of use would have ended you all at the cabin!" The Kiriko said as a couple large figures got behind the Kiriko while Gleeco chuckles.
"Considering we have backup… pretty sure you guys may want to define more of us." Gleeco said as the Kirko in its normal form blinks before it looks back to have wide eyes at two royally pissed off Kiriko… though before it could run, it had its throat clawed out by one while the other rushed by Gleeco as Kurapika got on guard though the Kiriko saying this did cause Kurapika to blink again.
"Daughter!, are you alright!?" The Kiriko said causing the woman in Kurapika's arms to giggle a bit at how protective her father was while Kurapika was a little surprised by this development.
"Yes mother… I'm fine… but two other hunters to be went after the leader and when I saw a rather large Kirko with them, I'm worried that they may have issues." The woman said as Gleeco rolls his eyes.
"Hey, not like I'm thrilled about this but I wouldn't worry… sure that kid may have issues if he went up against those Kiriko but that Emerald guy, the other one, pretty sure those Kiriko will have one hell of a shocker if they tried to attack him." Gleeco said while Kurapika scoffed.
"Considering you're a rapist from what I heard, surprisingly you have such high expectations of the guy who kicked your ass." Kurapika said as Gleeco chuckled while the Kiriko were surprised to hear what Gleeco did.
"Yeah well considering I nearly got one shotted by a freak of nature, will take more than just beastly shapeshifters to beat him… oh and if you guys are the navigators… try and not think leaving me behind to take these guys to the exam… I can either follow with my Tricky feet… an ability fully trained Hunters can get if they want serious speed so I can follow, or better yet… I could kick the ass of many here… and from what I can tell only Emerald and that cat girl bitch Chimera Ant of his could kick my ass and last I checked Pitou is busy with that guy in the cabin and Emerald is chasing after hostile Kiriko… so pretty sure you can guess what the best course of action to take with me later is." Gleeco said while he grins as he emits some serious killing intent to the Kiriko and the disquised Kiriko woman and Kurapika making them all pale greatly while Kurapika was reminded that aside from Emerald who fought and beat him, and Pitou who was strong in her own right… Gleeco was of a similar level to the two… even if he was much weaker given he heard how Emerald one shotted Gleeco... Gleeco was the fastest guy in terms of speed and Emerald even admitted that if Gleeco got his speed going in a straight up race, Emerald doubted he could keep up, there was a difference in speed in battle and a race however since in a race, all Gleeco had to do was run in one direction full blast and he would be gone, in battle one has to stop and change directions daily so it's simply a matter of perspective in fights to guage and Emerald warned after showing some of his strength earlier when he busted a few boulders with his fists alone that while he was stronger than Gleeco… that strength wouldn't matter much if a cautious Gleeco was keeping his eye on Emerald now.
Meanwhile with Emerald and Gon…
They managed to catch up to the Kiriko who ran into a large field… however the Kiriko smirks when a massive, almost rabid looking Kiriko appears and Emerald's eyes narrowed when he actually sensed Aura from it… he looks at Gon after that.
"Gon… let me take the larger Kiriko… you take the smaller one." Emerald said which made Gon nod his head as he kept his eyes on the smaller of the two Kiriko.
He knew that Emerald picked his opponent with a reason and figured it was because of this aura stuff… for some reason the Kiriko was emitting serious killing intent and not the normal kind that put Gon on serious edge so he was grateful Emerald took the larger one… for some context it was similar to what a certain jester like killer in a certain tower did to block Gon and Killua's path… in this case Emerald was taking on that killing intent when he boosts his own Aura to get the Larger Kiriko's attention and Emerald walked to the side and the larger Kiriko growls as he moved to walk parallel to Emerald leaving Gon and the smaller Kiriko alone as he grins at Gon.
"Hehe… going to enjoy ripping you to shreds kid for that attack… though while I may kill you in one hit… Bruno won't be so kind since he loves to play with his meals." the Kiriko said as Gon narrowed his eyes.
"Why attack your own kind then?... you have a scent similar to the woman and if Kiriko are shapeshifters, why attack them?" Gon asked while the Kiriko frowned.
"Because they work with humans… it's pathetic... us Kiriki submitting ourselves to those pathetic humans?... bah!... I'll teach anyone that humans are not worth our time and those that get in our way shouldn't be living!" The Kiriko growled out as Gon frowned more when he didn't like this Kiriko.
"I'm going to have to teach you a lesson about harming others for no good reason…" Gon said as he got in a battle ready stance while the Kiriko laughed as his claws sharpened.
"You!?... you're nothing but a kid who sucker struck me, what can you do?... you know what, just forget it and die!" The Kiriko said as he charged Gon who surprised the Kiriko when he jumped REALLY high in the air so fast he lost track of him.
"What!?" The Kiriko said as Gon pulled back his fishing rod and swung it forward with all his might and as the Kiriko looked up, he got a full hit of Gon's fishing hook's ball part to the face which caused him serious pain as he was stunned while Gon fell towards the ground.
Once he was there, the Kiriko fell to a knee while he held his head with a hand when he saw stars and Gon took the opportunity to pretty much hit where the sun doesn't shine when he kicked the Kiriko square right in the nuts making the Kiriko howl in agony as he fell on the ground to hold his aching balls while Kurapika, Gleeco, the Kiriko parents and daughter ran to the field to see this and the males cringe and Gleeco had a flashback of his defeat to Emerald with a shot to the balls… thankfully he wore a metal cup… the Kiriko on the other hand didn't… thankfully for the Kiriko it wasn't an Aura empowered kick and as the Kiriko slowly recovered, he had a claw at his neck by the father of the daughter and before he could move the Kiriko had a slit throat while blood dripped onto the ground while many were surprised by this as the father looks at Gon.
"Where is your friend?" the Kiriko asked with a friendly but worried tone.
"Oh he went to fight that really big Kiriko that way…*Points in a certain direction*... heard his name was Bruno." Gon asked while the Kiriko looked surprised as the three Kiriko look at one another and they rush to where Gon points as the others follow… though Gon did offer a prayer for the Kiriko who was killed and hoped it appeased the Kiriko's anger… may come and bury the body later if it was allowed.
Though when the group got to where Emerald was… well… they were shocked when they saw Emerald while he was looking down at the massive Kiriko while Emerald had a foot on Bruno's head while Emerald's clothing was torn here or there while some cuts were seen on his body as the Kirko Bruno was still alive while the beastial Kiriko pants for breath.
"Had enough?... I can keep fighting for a while if you want to keep going." Emerald said while many heard this from Bruno while he was quiet but he didn't move so Emerald figured Bruno gave up.
"Good… strange though… lost some of that drive in the middle of the fight like you were confused… wonder what that was about." Emerald said while many blink at this but thought nothing of it as Emerald removed his boot from the side of Bruno's head and the hulking beast of a Kiriko got up while he looked like he had a bruised eye, some missing teeth, some bruised ribs… pretty much many places of his body were bruised greatly and he looked like he could barely stand as he sat on the ground as emerald looks at the Kiriko near Gon and the others.
"Where is that other Kiriko?" Emerald asked while Gon rubs his head and points at the father.
"Well… during my fight with that guy, I managed to stun him… the father of the daughter here killed him when that happened, not sure if that is why this Bruno guy helped that guy but if he had some kind of dirt on him, doubt he can use it right?" Gon said while Bruno was surprised but he kept quiet as many wondered if he had some kind of issue or throat probably that prevented him from speaking… either way many decided to leave Bruno to nurse his wounds as they returned to the cabin… when they did, many Kiriko were around while some were bloodied and bruised and some were even tied up while Pitou was busy healing some as the group of Hunter's to be and the friendly Kiriko met up in the cabin that was cleaned out.
"I am so sorry you all had to deal with this, this wasn't what was supposed to happen… many Kirko were called because of the number of people here and while most were gone my son and daughter were posing as a couple to test you two while we would return… but thanks to this surprise attack when we were called away to get more help… we have no choice but to give you a lift to the exam site since you did help our son and daughter." The father said as he looks at the group.
Most were surprised by this offer as Gon made his concern known.
"You sure about that?... won't you get in trouble?" Gon asked while the Kiriko father chuckles.
"Eh its up to me and my wife mainly, these guys owe me and are willing to give most of you a lift, some won't be able to help since they were just coming to help with the test, some of you will have to stay behind for a day and it will be a bit before we can come for the second group… thankfully the exams test won't be for a number of days so may as well pick who goes ahead and who stays behind.
"Oh mind if I stick behind?... need to make sure that this nice lady here is 100% unlike the brother here since I didn't get to examine her yet and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want Leorio to examine her." Pitou said making Leorio jolt as he looks at the father Kiriko who gave Leorio a narrowed look.
"H-Hehe… hey I'll leave… no issue with that!" Leorio quickly said as Kurapika chuckles.
"I'll go as well… when it comes to medicine I highly doubt I would be helpful aside from first aid." Kurapika said while Pitou nods her head.
"Good… I'll need you two to babysit Gon since I need to check Emerald for his injuries and it could be more than just and to keep a certain someone from trying something…" Pitou said as she looks at Gleeco who chuckles.
"Fine by me, may as well say goodbye when we get there since once we get to the exam site no more need to team up in this odd group." Gleeco said while Emerald rolls his eyes since he wasn't going to react to Gleeco hamming this up.
Thankfully after this and with Emerald giving Gon some advice on watching out for Gleeco just in case, Gleeco, Shunpei who agreed to leave the area with Leorio and Kurapika, while Lillum stayed behind.
So the group that stayed behind were as followed… Emerald, Pitou, Lillum...
The group that left… Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Shunpei, Gleeco…
Thanks to the Kiriko who helped the leaving group, the cabin Group were getting things cleaned up for now as Pitou looks Emerald's injuries over though… Pitou smirks when she could use this to her advantage when she eyed Lillum and the Kiriko's daughters bodies and Emerald's as well.
The scene than fades to black on this night but Bruno was seen nearby as it fully faded… what would he want from the group after he got his ass kicked?... no one would know until next chapter which will be lemon filled from head to toe… see you next time in CCTC.