12 Respective x Reasons

(gonna skip over that one kid who failed with Tonpa and the Amori brothers tormenting him. That's honestly all that happened for a few pages.)

80 km and counting. Number of dropouts: one.

The group of applicants marched down the pathway of the tunnel, but the tunnel slowly began to go uphill. "Look!" An applicant exclaimed, starting to see stairs in the tunnel.

"Well now... This is new!" The stairs signified change, which meant that this part of the first phase was going to be over soon.

Satotz kept "walking" as he reached the stairs, leaping multiple steps at a time while others stuck to running.

"Now then... Let's pick up the pace, shall we?" Satotz gave them a bad omen, before leaping up many stairs at a time, leaving the examinees in the dust. They all had to jump higher with each step to attempt to catch up.

"Check out this guy, would'ja? Looks like he's just out fer a sunday stroll!!!" An applicant complained over the loud steps of the others.

"Probably lose some on this leg." Another person mumbled under his breath...

Leorio was sweating all over, breathing heavily, all nine yards. The spark of determination in his eyes previously was beginning to waver at the surmounting steps. He even had his upper garments of his suit wrapped around his waist, and his tie crudely made into a thin scarf on his neck.

"How are you doing, Leorio?!" Kurapika shouted over the loud stepping and breathing of other applicants.

"Great!! Never better! Found extra steam in the boiler once I stopped giving a fig about how I look!!!" Leorio yelled, huffing in between words.

"Strip me naked, I'm keepin' up! Go ahead and pretend you don't know me if you want!" Leorio mocked himself as he sped up the stairs past Leorio.

"He raises a good point..." Kurapika muttered to himself.

"Ew, you're gonna strip nakey?!!!?!" Yukana made his presence known to Kurapika, who was startled and almost tripped if not for Yukana's hand grabbing him.

Yukana had his jacket off, showing off the red markings on his arm. Kurapika stared for a bit, trying to identify them. They looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place his finger on it. Yukana was sweating a small bit, as endurance wasn't his strong suit. He was more of an in-and-out, dine-and-dash, quick battle kind of guy. Kurapika also noticed Yukana was more hopping than running up the stairs, and he could literally see the muscle contraction in Yukana's legs after every jump due to the sweaty pants clinging to his body.

(A/N Don't get any weird ideas, weirdo.)

"We don't wanna be left in the dust by the old man, do we?" Yukana sped up with Kurapika, reaching Leorio once more.

"May I ask you something?" Kurapika asked, the question mainly directed at Leorio.

"Save yer energy for runnin', not chitchat!" Leorio said something intelligent, for once in the story.

"Is it really money you're after?" Leorio, despite not having extra energy to talk, was intrigued by his question.

"I bet not. I've only known you for a few days, and its true that you're an indiscreet fool..." Leorio was beginning to get angry again. "... But as shallow as you say? I think not! I've met people motivated only by money, and they don't show this kind of dedication."

"Hmph! Fat lot you know." Leorio said between huffs.

A small pause ensued before Kurapika said, "The Scarlet Eyes." which confused Leorio, but not Yukana. Yukana had a face of sadness but he forced his face back into its original position.

"That's why the Kurtas were targeted." Many examinees began to fall on the stairs, of which the three had to avoid them. "The scarlet eyes are a special trait of my clan. Our eyes turn a fiery scarlet when our passions are excited, and our irises stay that color when we die in that state. It's regarded as one of the most beautiful colors in the world."

"That's why the Phantom Troupe attacked?" Yukana and Leorio simultaneously said. Yukana was never told why they did it, but he was in disbelief of that being the only reason for them to do it.

"Their eyes were stolen from every body. All of them... Killed for what death creates." Kurapika's hair shadowed his eyes as he ran, and so did Yukana's. "So I've sworn to capture the Phantom Troupe and recover the eyes of my clan!!"

Leorio stared warily in Kurapika's direction, but got confused when he saw Yukana's expression. 'Wait a minute, no, he's probably just angry for him.' Leorio dismissed the thought of Yukana having some kind of knowledge about it.

"They've probably already been sold on the black market to wealthy and powerful clients... The kind normal folks can't get within a mile of." Leorio thought out loud.

"But Hunters can. A hunter under a contract to a rich client can gain plenty of access and information."

"Contract...? Everyone hates those kinds of hunters, They have no pride or honor..." Leorio gazed at Kurapika once more, this time in a surprised way. "... They're just dogs out for petty rewards."

"My own pride is nothing next to my kinsmen's suffering." Kurapika closed his eyes, most likely thinking about his revenge and retrieval.

"Hmm... Then how about it, Leorio?" Yukana shifted his attention from Kurapika to Leorio after the silence.

"Sorry." Kurapika stared confused for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't have such lofty motives, Kurapika. Money is all I'm after."

Leorio stared ahead, as if he didn't want to talk about it. Not here, and not right now at the very least.

"That's not true! Not everything in the world can be bought, Leorio! You know that!" Kurapika yelled at the "greedy" "old man".

"Ha! Dream on!! Everything's got a price--Human life-" Yukana grimaced at Leorio's declaration. "-Human hearts, even dreams! There's nothing that isn't for sale!"

"What a terrible thing to say!" Yukana watched these two clashing beliefs with a blank look on his face, no longer a smile on his face.

"So what?! It's a fact! My friend would still be alive if he'd have the price of his life!" Kurapika finally understood, but Leorio growled about his big mouth and letting it slip. Yukana thought he was talking about human trafficking.

"Was he ill?" Kurapika's voice had gone soft, showing almost no sign of the argument before.

Leorio was silent for a few moments, before deciding it was okay to tell, "He could have been cured. I'm a simple guy. Figured I'd become a doctor so I could cure some kid with the same disease, and tell his parents they owed me nothing!" Leorio grimaced, clenching his teeth in frustration and exhaustion as the climb got higher and higher. "Do you know how much it costs to even try and become a doctor? The mind boggles!! It's always about money!! Always!!! That's why I want it!"

Kurapika's face lightened up as Leorio opened up. "And you, Yukana?"

Yukana felt his senses come back to him, although he almost tripped at the mention of his name. "Cough cough... What?" Yukana nervously looked around.

"Didn't you say you had a falling out with your mentor? What did they do to make you come here?" Kurapika pried in curiousity. Leorio glanced back at Yukana as he began to sweat more.

"Well," Yukana's eyes began to harden into a glare. "I'm not gonna explain to you my entire life story, but my mother was put into a coma due to an incident that happened."

Kurapika nodded in understanding of the feeling of revenge, while Leorio was surprised. "So, I turned to my mentor for help. When the rest of my family left me alone, and took my mother with them, I wanted to become stronger to prove to them I could help."

Leorio, this time, nodded in resonation with Yukana's explanation, but still confused. "But why did you leave your mentor?"

"My mentor... She did something really bad. She deprived someone else of their family." Leorio and Kurapika just had a shocker. Yukana said he was 12, and he had already gone through so much.

"She was my only pillar, but I couldn't face the guilt I felt from being around her." Yukana took a deep breath before continuing, "She tried to keep my from leaving, but gave me this." Yukana held up his outer haori and showed a few long and thin scars on the right side of his stomach. They looked a little recent.

"Not to be rude, but what does that have to do with becoming a hunter?" Leorio inquired.

"For a few reasons. First, I wanted to test myself. Second, I wanted to legally hunt down the ones who broke my family. Third, I want to be able to face my mentor and stop them from doing horrible things to other people."

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Yukana gained a pleasured expression. "And last, to satiate my desire for the impossible."