I know you already know this but then again, Hunter X Hunter is not mine. This wonderful anime story is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi
CHAPTER 3: THE NAVIGATORS
"Eh?" Reacted Leorio.
Sam nodded. "You failed to notice but you said the answer yourself. There is no correct answer." Still trying to convince him.
Kurapika explained that there's no correct answer to this quiz, but the rule is we can only answer 1 or 2. Meaning they can't say anything at all.
Leorio's face remained puzzled. "But that guy just now!"
"The old lady never mentioned he's right. This was the trick of the quiz." Kurapika pressed.
"You're right." The woman admitted, nodding her head to those masked people, who were opening a secret passage just beside them. It was a dark path. "This is the right path towards the lone Cedar tree. The path is a two-hour trip." She revealed.
Leorio hung his head low. "Old lady, I'm sorry."
"No, there's nothing for you to be sorry about," the woman laughed, forgiving him easily. "I do this job to meet people like you. Work hard. I wish for you to become a good hunter."
"Thanks," Leorio mumbled.
The young girl could only sigh in relief.
Finally, this quiz is over. Leorio might be a short-tempered ass but he's a good guy deep down. But Sam won't say it out loud. His head is already packed with air as it is.
The woman congratulated the four. Seconds later, there was cheering and banging of drums. And these mask-covered idiots brought back her nasty mood a few minutes ago. Irritated, she faced the crowd and warned the next person hits the drum; she'll make that person a living drumstick and bang his head to the drum instead.
Of course, feeling threatened, the so-called 'musicians' paused in midair. Satisfied by their reactions, she went in first followed by Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio, who was waving back at them.
The moment those people closed the passage, darkness immediately wrapped around them.
After a few minutes of walking, Gon let out a deep breath. "Whew," he sighed. "I can't do it! I can't come up with an answer!" he declared.
The other teens all began to laugh. "You were thinking this whole time?" Leorio asked cheerfully. "It's over now."
"Huh? Why?" Gon asked, not understanding.
"What do you mean?" Leorio asked exasperatedly. "The quiz is already done with."
"I know that," Gon replied. "But if I ever really come across a situation in which I have to choose between two people who are precious to me to rescue, what am I going to do?"
The three of them froze, not anticipating Gon's surprisingly deep concerns.
"Neither is the correct answer," Gon continued, "but there might come a day when we must make a decision."
Silence reigned for a long while as they pondered this.
'A time will come we have to make a difficult choice.'
...
"Ah, there's light!" Gon said instead, pointing towards the end of the tunnel.
Sam heaved a sigh. "Urgh, finally."
They rushed forward and were disappointed to find they were surrounded by forest. The large tree was still very far away in the distance.
"Ah, what the heck!" Leorio cried in dismay. "Hasn't it already been two hours?"
"It's barely been half an hour," Kurapika corrected. "More importantly, what's with that sign?"
"What sign?" Sam asked, being the most oblivious of their surroundings.
Gon and Leorio turned to where he was pointing. There was, indeed, a sign which read 'Beware of demon beasts.'
"It says, beware of demon beasts." Gon read out loud.
"I thought this was the right path!" Sam moaned. "The one without the beasts! How unfair!"
The boys shook their heads in exasperation, and the group continued walking, all the way up until it became dark.
"Two hours on foot?" Leorio complained. "It's gotten completely dark! Two hours passed two hours ago, dammit!"
Sam was inclined to agree. "I'm hungry," She whined. "And thirsty."
"Yeah, and I have to go to the bathroom," Leorio added.
Gon continued. "Hey, there's another monster sign!" he exclaimed, pointing. This made the fourth one they've seen so far.
"Why are there so many signs?" She wondered aloud, just as Kurapika stopped in shock.
"I see it!" he declared, pointing straight forward.
There, underneath the tallest tree, was a small, wooden house.
"Finally," Leorio grumbled.
Kurapika 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," She reasoned judiciously. "I'm sure there are other navigators. Some people might not even need navigators to make it to the exam center."
Walking up the steps, Leorio rapped smartly on the door.
There was an ominous silence.
"Eh, whatever," Leorio said, shrugging. He turned the knob, ignoring Kurapika's scandalized expression. "Coming in!" he announced, pushing the door open.
The four of them gasped at what they found inside.
There's no more welcoming than arriving at a house in a middle of a beast-infested territory and when you decide to enter, a huge magical beast welcomed you with a young woman in its grasp.
The place was a complete mess. The man, who seems to be the husband, was lying in his stomach, reaching for his wife.
"A monster!" Leorio screamed, alerting themselves of danger.
The beast went past them with an amazing speed, and they could only watch the beast get away as it carried the poor woman.
Gon and Kurapika followed it without delay, leaving Leorio to take care of the wounded and Sam to protect them both, in case something would try a sneak attack.
"Me, the blind girl protecting two older men twice my size." Sam mocked the irony of the situation. But since she has zero experience in giving first aid then she just let it go.
The brunette heightened her sense and took her metal stick. She sniffed the place. The smell was somewhat... odd.
The very place itself smelled just like the beast. In every corner of this house, the smell lingered like it has been in there for a very long time.
'I must be wrong. The beast just waltzed in here. Of course, it would stick to the room. Not to mention, the couple lived here for a long time. The smell outside must have leaked in here.'
"Samara, can you give me a hand?" Leorio called the girl, breaking her from too much investigation.
"It's Sam." The girl corrected.
Sam walked towards Leorio, still a bit wary of her surroundings. She kneeled and helped the man to sit up.
"I'm almost done."
To her surprise, her companion was fast in wrapping him with bandages. But her astonishment died immediately when she smelled something again...
The same smell as the creature. But now it was coming from the very man they were trying to protect.
Samara straightened her back and her face went hard. Leorio was already done with the bandaging when he watched the blind girl's walking stick, already adjusted its original length. It was enough to entrap the man's neck, her hands on both ends. Ready to choke him with it. "What are you doing Samara?! Are you mad?" Leorio exclaimed, trying to swap away the stick.
The girl's stare was cold and alert. "Stop the treatment, Leorio." She said in between. "Okay, Mr. Pretender, cut the act, or I'm going to choke you to death," Sam warned. "And don't even try snapping my stick into two. It's quite hard than it looks like."
"What are you talking about?! Can't you see he's injured?" Leorio yelled still trying to push the weapon away from his patient.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Honestly Leorio, can't you get the situation? He's faking this injured husband act!"
Leorio looked ridiculed and confused.
The fake injured man only chuckled. Two heads looked at him now with confused looks on their faces.
What the heck is funny about this? Did he lose some screws and become a demented, crazy person-beast? Aren't crazy creatures more aggressive and... well a bit difficult?
"Before I explain everything, would you mind telling me how you found out who I was?" He asked Sam.
The girl's forehead furrowed. "We're not close. Why should I tell you?" Sam replied, her weapon still not leaving his neck.
"I promise you two I'm done testing you. I'll explain everything if you tell me how did you discover my act."
"I still don't get why I should explain myself to a beast." She retorted.
The man sighed. "Because it depends on whether we'll take you to the exam site or not. It's your loss if you don't."
'He's the navigator.' She mentally concluded.
The girl clicked her tongue. "It's the smell of this bloody house and your scent's similar to that beast earlier."
The man acknowledged her answer and asked Sam to withdraw her weapon. He thanked the girl and promised not to do anything. He wants them to follow outside to meet the others.
Of course, she was a bit skeptical but released the stick and followed him silently. He better not does anything funny because she is not fond of raging beasts.
True to his words, the man did nothing. They waited for a few minutes before Kurapika and Gon came into view. Two beasts were with them along with the 'wife' they chased to save. Sam grinned and waved to welcome them, thanking them that both were safe.
"How many years has it been since someone was able to tell us apart?" The beast on their right talked. Yeah, the beast talked. Why isn't that surprising?
"I'm ecstatic!" The other added.
The gang gathered around in front of the beasts. Leorio whispered to Kurapika. "Can you tell their faces and voices apart?"
The blond looks bewildered at the boy and the beast. "I can't tell them apart at all."
"How about you? You also have good hearing abilities." They asked Sam.
"Well, only to distinguish the gender maybe," Sam responded. She tried to guess. "I think the one on the left is a male because of its gruff voice and the one on the right is a female because the voice is lighter," Sam responded.
Leorio couldn't believe it. "Really?"
Kurapika looked stunned. "All I hear is the same."
The two Kirikos laughed, saying the girl was correct. Gon also joined their laughter.
"You see, the one Kurapika and I beat up is the husband." Gon pointed out. His statement only made the two sweat dropped.
"Which one are you talking about?" The two simultaneously said.
The beasts introduced themselves as the Navigators. Their family provides support for the Hunter Exam. The girl who acted as 'wife' was their daughter, and the man beside him was their son.
The Navigator guides those applicants because the Exam sites are quite difficult to locate. They test the applicants first to see if they're qualified to take the Exam.
First, they started to evaluate Kurapika. He was able to determine that they weren't spouses because those tattoos are symbols of women being single for life. He demonstrated that he is way knowledgeable and therefore passed.
The second was Leorio. Although he never realized his true identity the way he tends his wounds faster and more thoroughly than a doctor made the son applaud him. And while he gave his first aid, Leorio continued to reassure that his wife was safe, thus letting him take the Hunter Exam as well.
Next was Samara's turn. The girl saw through his act because of her keen observations. The smell around the house helped her to conclude that they are living there together for a long time. Also, he praised Sam for staying behind and protecting them both. And with that, she passed the test.
Lastly was Gon. His superhuman physical abilities and powers of observation make him worthy to take the Hunter Exam so he passed.
Sam and Gon high-fived each other while Kurapika and Leorio bumped their fist. For the first time today, Sam felt more light-hearted and at ease, now knowing that she was taking a step toward her goal.
But her smile faded when the Navigators told them how they take the participants to the exam. "I-is there no other way? Hey, do we need to fly?" Sam gulped, her face now sweating a lot.
Gon looked worried. "Is there something wrong Sam? Are you afraid of heights?" He inquired.
But the girl snorted, "Me? No, perfectly fine... It's just that, blind people have issues with heights?"
"Meaning, you're afraid of heights," Kurapika stated matter of factly.
The Kiriko laughed. "A blind person taking the exam. You got guts. That's something new. However, the only way there is to let us Navigators carry you."
"No! Have some courtesy for people with disabilities!" She ranted. "I demand a different route where I can travel by foot!" Well, that's how desperate she was. The boys made every possible means to persuade her but she keeps on saying no.
"NO! No one is taking me up there!" Sam pointed to the sky as she continued to blabber. "Anyone who touches me is dea-" A piercing screech followed as soon as the beast grabbed Samara's shoulders. Lots of vulgar words escaped from her as she tried to move and struggled around to let go but the beast just ignored her swearing.
The four Kirikos began flapping their wings. "Well, we shall lead you to the Hunter Exam Hall." The husband Kiriko announced. Soon the boys were up in the air, telling them to hang on to Kiriko's legs. Gon was with the husband Kiriko, Leorio with the wife Kiriko, Kurapika with the daughter Kiriko, and Sam later found out that it was the son Kiriko who dared to grab her.
The sooner they land on Zaban City; she would beat up that damn Kiriko boy!
And together they went off.