Gon and Killua finally get to learn Ryu, with Raphael being their personal punching bag.
The group was directed to a bathhouse a little outside Bunzen, a quaint location filled with multiple onsens.
But there's one, in particular, Raphael prefers to come to.
The teen paid for the group, the members were forced to split into two separate groups. It wasn't a mixed-gender kind of bathhouse, but knowing Killua, he probably wouldn't want to relax with the person who knocked him out earlier.
No matter if he was the reason she knocked him out in the first place.
Gon was already relaxing in the spring, Killua scrubbing away at the dirt and grime that had built up over time during their training.
As Raphael joined Killua, Gon let out a sigh of satisfaction in the bath.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yeah… kind of."
Raphael raised an eyebrow, rubbing away at his dirty body with a washcloth "The temperature isn't good?"
"It is…" Gon let out a sigh as he relaxed, "I'm just worried Killua won't make it in time."
"He will…" The teen hummed, continuing to wipe his body down. He has the quickest way to leave the game on him.
At worst, it'll take roughly an hour to leave. He'll teleport to the nearest town, then they'll run straight to the harbour master.
"So how exactly will I leave the game?"
"There's a couple of ways, it depends on your luck, or how difficult you want to make your life."
"What do you mean by luck or how difficult I want to make it?" Killua frowned. What if they're super unlucky? He might miss his chance to go for his Hunter's license again.
"One is a rare spell card." Raphael offered a smile at Killua, "Through a Leave card, which, I happen to have on me. I got lucky during one of my pulls. I also happen to have a way of cloning it so it isn't used."
"The other…?"
"It depends on you, or rather your skills. You have to convince the Harbour Master to give you passage. You can do this by bribing, paying, or extorting them…" A grin curled up the boy's lip "By any means necessary."
Raphael moved to scrub a new area "Depending on his mood, one of these options could be better. Bribing him can be the hardest, considering you'll have to bargain against his mood. Worst case scenario, he'll overcharge you if he feels you've wasted his time. If he's in a foul mood, you'll save barely anything on the original cost. When he's relaxing, you can save twenty per cent. You can change his mood mid-conversation, but you must play with his emotions. Now…"
The teen redirected his attention to Killua, "If he's going to overcharge you, it's best you extort him. Beat him up, rip him a new one verbally… whatever works best with you. You can pretty much get a free passage, at worst… it'll cost you around twenty per cent of their original demand."
"That sounds pretty straightforward."
"It's easy to extort him, once you realise the mechanics. Also, he's immortal, so feel free to get creative. Oh, another thing you'd want to consider is to make sure you have Jenny on you. If you end up having to pay and you happen to have no money, when you leave and try to come back later, you'll have to repeat the whole process."
Killua gave a nod. It doesn't sound like it'll be a difficult process. All he'll need to do is go in, torture the NPC and he'll get a free ticket off the island. Otherwise, he'd have to pay for his passage.
The boy washed out all the soapy suds. It felt so refreshing to be clean again. And given that Raphael's brought them here, he probably felt the same way. This wasn't the first time Killua bathed with someone, he did it with Gon back on Whale Island.
However, this time it did feel a little weird. Especially, in this state of undress. It didn't help that he wasn't that close to Raphael either. But at least they had their towels to cover them.
Although, given their circumstances he found himself feeling a little… mischievous. Heading towards the spring, he aimed to climb in next to Gon. Killua sank into the water with a refreshing sigh, an arm reaching around Gon. His friend didn't comment on his actions. It wasn't usual for them to be this close to one another.
Raphael watched with intrigue as Killua got up, practically jogging towards the spring. What he didn't expect was for Killua to practically cuddle with his friend in the spa. He couldn't help but stare at the boy being that close to Gon, wishing he had a friendship like that.
Killua whined into his friend's shoulder, "Gon~, I don't want to leave the onsen. It feels so refreshing. You should-" As Killua turned back to Raphael, he caught the teen staring at him red-handed. He was going to have some fun teasing him about it "What are you staring at? Does someone like what he sees?"
The teen's eyes widen, turning away out of embarrassment. He has not only been caught staring at the boy but the sudden shyness was because it was another guy… while he was naked.
They were all guys here, so there shouldn't be any reason to be embarrassed. Maybe it's because he was caught "You're not normally this cuddly with Gon. Is there a special occasion?"
"Huh?!" Killua grew flustered from the comment. He's not cuddling with Gon, this was normal behaviour for them. If he knew any better, he'd assume Raphael was paying extra close attention to their friendship "Why are you paying so much attention to us?"
Not only had he been caught staring, Killua was accusing him of being engrossed in their friendship, "I- I'm not!" He shouldn't feel flustered… should he? Gon wasn't complaining about Killua hugging him, so it shouldn't matter. Should he even be reacting this way?
Killua took note of the teen's reaction. He was flustered about complimenting Gon and his friendship "If I knew any better…" The boy got a wicked grin, "I'd think you were checking us out."
"I…" Was he really? No, that could be right. Killua was just taking a jab at him, "I'm not!"
Killua found himself laughing at the teen's flustered expression.
Grabbing Killua's wet cloth, he flung it at the boy. He won't be the only one being humiliated in this situation.
Killua had been laughing so hard, he hadn't noticed the wet rag sailing into his face. The wet splat knocked him backwards into the spring.
The splash combined with his friend's sudden shrill made Gon laugh. He knew he shouldn't have given their circumstances. They were wasting too much time here. He dreads to think that Killua might not be able to apply for the Hunter's Exam.
Killua may have gone too far with the teasing, but the loud wet splat was worth it. The boy threw the wet towel back in response, Raphael catching the object with ease.
He found himself smiling because Killua returned it with a little bit of aura, "That's cheating."
"No, cheating was throwing it at my face while I was laughing."
Raphael and Killua levied an intense glare at each other, the former eventually crackling with laughter. The whole ordeal was stupid. It was one big joke, with a bit of teasing from both sides.
In the end, all he did was get caught staring at two friends hugging each other. It was pretty stupid he got flustered from that.
He wiped his body down quickly, opting to join the others. Sinking into the nice warm water, he relaxed in the spring. It was a wonderful feeling. He just wished he could've brought them sooner, rather than having to go through all those days sweating it out as they trained non-stop during those months.
Sure, they could've had a bath in one of the ponds, but they never had time with all that training Bisky placed upon them. At least for them to have one together.
Anyway, even if they did, it would've been nothing in comparison to the onsen they're relaxing at right now.
Raphael was eventually forced to point at Gon after all his fidgeting, "Relax, he'll make it. I promise."
"I know… I know…" Gon let out a reluctant sigh, "But I'll feel bad if he doesn't get his own licence."
"But, Gon~" Killua clung onto his friend, "The onsen feels so good."
"If I knew you liked springs this much, I would've brought you to one on Whale Island."
"Nah, I just want to get out of the Hunter's Exam. Between the training getting more interesting, and the things I might miss out on, I'd rather stay here."
"I know…" Gon brightened from the situation. He'd like Killua to stay behind too, but he failed because of his brother's interference last year. Killua deserved to pass, "But your brother caused you to fail last year. You deserved to pass."
Killua shrugged, "Ehh, at least Oreo got to pass."
"Who names their child Oreo?"
"Technically, it's Leorio. But it's fun to tease him. Whenever you get it wrong, he always enunciates his name as slowly as possible. No matter if it's the first time… or the two-hundredth."
Raphael quirked an eyebrow. He doesn't see how that's funny, but he supposes Killua finds humour in teasing others, "He sounds like a fun friend. Why didn't he come here with you guys?"
"He's studying to be a doctor!"
"He must be smart for his age. A teen, studying to be a doctor."
"He's actually, nineteen…"
"Nine…" Raphael pauses, letting the age gap between the two, sink in. Two teens made friends with a young adult, during the Hunter's exam, "He's nineteen?"
"Well, he should be close to twenty now."
"So Zephile isn't the first adult you made friends with?"
"Nope, there's Kurapika. Probably a few more from the Hunter's exam, but we're not as close to them as we are with Leorio and Kurapika." Gon was quick to confirm, "We fought the Phantom Troupe with them."
To go toe-to-toe with the Phantom Troupe, they must have some massive balls of steel, "I wouldn't mind meeting them one day, after we complete Greed Island, of course."
"I'll introduce you." Gon offered the teen a bright smile, "I think you'd get along with them, especially Kurapika."
"How so?"
"Well, he's completely focused on eradicating the Phantom Troupe… but when I first saw him, he was reading a book."
"Gon, I don't think that counts towards us being good friends."
"No, he's smart and knowledgeable. I think you'd get along with him."
Raphael could agree with that. If Kurapika was knowledgeable on unknown topics, he'd want to converse with him. A guy of that calibre might know a thing or two that could intrigue him "I would like to meet him."
The teen smiled as he relaxed in the spring, "We'll relax a bit then get out. If Bisky is being stubborn by refusing to leave the onsen, we'll head straight out without her."
The two boys agreed to that.
"~"
"So, what do you want to do?" Raphael rang out his hair, removing any excess water. He felt nice and refreshed, so he didn't mind what Killua preferred to do. They could go to the Harbour and get a pass, or Raphael could relinquish his Leave card.
It wasn't like he'd need it. He has no reason to leave Greed Island…
"Wouldn't the Harbour Master be the better option? Doesn't the Leave card instantly leave the game?"
"Both drop you off near the exit point. From there you can pretty much leave to go anywhere."
"Killua, please take the Leave card. You might not have enough time to apply for the exam."
Killua frowned at the request. Both lead to the same area. So, it doesn't matter if he goes through the harbour, which would only take an hour at most, or he could use the Leave spell card. Raphael mentioned he could leave to go anywhere.
Theoretically, he could leave to teleport straight to the city where the exam will be held. So, it didn't matter which route he took "Gon it'll only take an hour at most to go to the harbour."
"Please, for me." Gon gave his biggest puppy dog eyes, Killua growing flustered from his friend's action. Why did he have to be like that… to abuse their close friendship by making requests he knows he could never reject? Killua awkwardly turned away, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to muster the word, no. But as he turned to face his friend, he just couldn't say it, "Alright, fine…"
Gon cheered loudly. He brought Killua into a tight hug, practically jumping for joy.
Raphael thought Killua would awkwardly stand there in the boy's arms. But between his flustered cheeks and a small smile, there might be a little more to them than meets the eye.
Killua found it impossible to break Gon's heart "Can I have the Leave spell?"
"Book." Raphael drew his only copy, handing it over to the boy. He saw no point in making a copy of the card. It'll be useless at this point "Here you go. Oh, before you go, you might want to give me the monster cards you obtained. You'll lose them when you leave the game."
"Sure. Book." After exchanging their cards, Killua took the Leave, holding it up with a smile "I'll go pass the test real quick, and be right back."
"Oh, you should head to Dolle Harbor. There are these monsters called Kiriko that live beneath a cedar tree on the mountain. If you tell them you're my friend, they should take you to the exam area."
"Perfect. I'll see you guys soon."
"Leave on." In a flash of bright light, the orb sailed across the sea towards the large dome which serves as the exit hub.
This left only Gon and Raphael to drag Bisky from the spa, "Alright, let's collect Bisky and continue with some training."
"Yeah!" Gon cheered at the idea. As much as it'll be sad to do this without his friend, he was happy Killua would get a chance to complete the Hunter's Exam again. "I wonder what Bisky is going to make us do next?"
"Something fun, hopefully…"
"~"
The two were forced to chase after Bisky, the older woman smiling as she held up her finger. She was recreating her Gyo challenge, with numbers counting from zero to nine. This was her Transmuting category training.
Using their aura from the tip of their finger, they must count to nine, starting with zero. They needed to do this without erasing the last number. So, zero becomes one, one becomes two and so on.
Their current goal was to complete this within five minutes while avoiding obstacles.
As Gon was trying to shift zero to one, Raphael was already at two. It wasn't that he was better than Gon, it was that he had some experience implementing an aspect of Transmutation within his abilities. He found it a little easier to manipulate his aura into different numbers. But as good as he was right now, he was still too slow for Bisky's liking.
The boy darted between two trees without looking up, still focused on the task at hand. Although he was cheating by using En, his training with Gon and Killua made it much easier to control two different techniques at the same time.
A loud crash caused the pair to stop, Gon now lying on top of a tree he uprooted when he had ran into it. Gon groaned on top of the tree, "Ow…" He rubbed his head absentmindedly; an imprint was left behind where the initial impact happened.
"You weren't using Ken, were you…?"
Gon continued to grovel against the tree, a meek voice escaping as a whine "No…" Getting up, he pointed at Raphael, "But you were cheating. You were using En."
Bisky gave a nod, "Yes, he was. But you should've at least used Ten. You were so fixated on that one, that you failed to keep up your defences."
"Ehh…"
"That being said, if you continue to use En. For every number Gon makes, you have to go through the entire process."
"Seriously?!"
"Yes!"
"That's like… under two minutes to recreate zero to nine."
"That's the least of your worries. I expect all three of you to complete it in under a minute." The two groaned as Bisky ushered them to get up and keep going.
Unfortunately, or more fortunately in Gon's case, the sound of someone teleporting to their location made them pause. Except for some odd reason, Raphael was the only one preparing for a duel "Book."
A man with a low-trimmed afro stood in front of them, wearing a unique set of blue shirt, and pants. He recalled meeting this person a few months ago. He was one of the newer players "Abegane, correct?" His eyes fell onto the object attached to his shoulder, a timer counting down from 4111, "What-"
Abegane interrupted the boy "Your other friend isn't here?"
"He's busy attending to something. Now about the counter?"
Abegane's eyes moved from the trio to the counter, sighing in defeat. He probably didn't have enough time to discuss everything in great, detail. But given his circumstances, he needed to warn a few groups about the situation "We were fooled by the Bomber. Will you listen to my story?"
"Book." Raphael removed his defences. If he's just there to talk he wouldn't need to defend himself.
Given the circumstances, Abegane was acting a little too calm considering the danger he was in. Was it possible it was due to the counter on his shoulder? Or was this a trap to lure others into the Bomber's grasp?
"~"
Abegane went over all the details, telling the three all about Genthru's abilities.
Honestly, it was a lot to take in. Raphael tried to recall if Genthru ever said Bomber as he touched him. He couldn't recall a time. But if he did, he was surprised he never felt aura being pushed into his body. Maybe it was a condition of his ability. Nobody knows until it's too late… in this case, his explanation of how his ability works is the condition to activate it.
Was that why he never felt the sensation…?
Was he even under the influence of the Bomber's hidden attack? It was a little concerning if he was.
"The others are waiting at our base for the Bomber to disarm the bombs. They believe the terms he gave them, even though it was probably a bluff."
"So, they'll die if they don't hand over the cards. And if it's a bluff, they'll lose. But if they don't hand over the cards… he risks losing everything." Genthru was playing a very dangerous game. Considering Abegane was here, it meant he didn't believe a word the man said.
"Can't anything be done?" Gon asked the question on everyone's mind.
Raphael knew of a way, well… not an actual way. More of a method. But the chances of someone that powerful being around were very slim "A Nen exorcism…"
"Raphael is right. But they'd have to be very powerful to remove that many bombs. So, unless they're prepared to accept casualties… I don't think anyone could help them."
"That's if we could find an Exorcist. Not many players have a Hatsu so finding a Nen Exorcist would be very slim. On the other hand, the condition for breaking Genthru's ability is near impossible. Whoever attacks first, will die. Those who are lucky enough to get the bombs removed will not help those who still need to remove their bombs. They'll bail… No one in their right mind would volunteer to stay and help them."
"True…"
Raphael thought about people who could probably help them. His father… Probably even Bisky. If she had the right Nen ability, he could see her taking down Genthru. She was skilled enough to come up with training methods for different categories. Who knows what else she was capable of…
"Jispa was our group's strongest fighter, and he was defeated in an instant. At that point, our loss was assured. And allowing him to leave the game was a fatal mistake."
Jispa is strong… But Bisky must be even stronger than him. Binolt was on a similar level of strength to Jispa, maybe a little weaker than Jispa. But, Bisky defeated Binolt in a split second.
Surely, Genthru wasn't on par with Bisky…
"We had indulged in a moment's victory cheer before we could verify each member's cards and assigned roles. That's when he caught us off guard." Abegane remained silent, the three looking at each other a little worried.
Genthru had to have premeditated everything. From acting frail to the moment, he revealed his intentions. He truly was a meticulous man to have planned out everyone's demise from the beginning.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but I was so distracted, I didn't notice him using Leave until it was already too late."
Bisky knew how that happened. Between the attack on Jispa and his explanation, unless they were prepared, none of them would've had a chance to stop Genthru from escaping. But even if they all were mentally prepared to launch a counterattack within that instance, there was no way they had enough Leave cards for all of them "You were probably focused on understanding his explanation."
"Yeah…"
"It didn't help that you were a group of ragtag weaker fighters." He didn't mean for it to come off as an insult. It was a fact about that group. Nickes' and the alliance intended to monopolise every spell card so nobody could do a damn thing about their group going on the offence "Genthru probably planned on using that to his advantage from the start. Rally you to do his bidding… then abuse your trust to steal everything in the end."
Abegane nodded, "He probably did. We were thrust into that situation with zero warning. Given our mental state, there was no action we could've taken."
"Why are you telling us this?" Given everything Abegane has stated, there was no reason for him to warn others. Raphael needed to know what his intentions were. Was he planning on using them to release himself from Genthru's ability? Or is this just him assigning himself to fate and warning others to not go up against that man?
If he does get Nickes' cards, it would be impossible to avoid Genthru. He'll be the only one in the game with Angel's Breath. And considering what they know about Genthru's, he's probably planning to max out the capacity before anyone has a chance to gain a second one… That's provided Nickes' Alliance hasn't maxed out that slot already.
"Because…" Abegane found himself looking at the floor, "Of everyone I've met on this island, you are the ones I believe I can most rely on." Looking up, his expression was stern. If he had a chance to escape this nightmare, he needed to find a way to that solution. Exorcism was the gateway towards the solution "If you run into any other players, please tell them about the Bombers. Once everyone knows how his ability works, they should be able to protect themselves. And if possible, I would like you to avenge us! If not, could you at least promise that you won't let him clear the game?"
"Yeah."
Gon agreed to the impossible. Genthru has the rarest card… or he would soon. There were only two options, put him in a place where he'll have to use one of those cards… or somehow steal it through a Tax Collector's Gauntlet or a Levy card.
Unless they get super lucky and manage to obtain every spell card on their next purchase, and Nickes hasn't made copies yet, there's no way they can get an Angel's Breath, without earning Genthru's ire.
Bisky and Raphael couldn't back out since Gon had agreed to Abegane's request. They would have to fight Genthru. "Understood."
Even if Gon hadn't agreed, Tsezgerra probably would have pulled Raphael into a fight with Genthru's team. He was also planning on winning Greed Island.
"Sorry…" Abegane paused for a moment. He didn't have much time left after all that talking. He probably had even less time if the deal goes through, "I'll use what time I have remaining to warn others about the Bomber. Book." The man drew a card "Return on. Bunzen!"
The trio looked at each other a little worried about their circumstances. There were only a few possible solutions to make sure Genthru never won, so a fight with the Bombers was bound to happen in the future.
"We should return to training to get our mind off things. Gon and Raphael, start at zero."
Although glum about the situation, the boys followed the older woman's request. They'll need to get stronger if they have a chance to fight someone who could create explosions within his palms.
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.