Chapter 4: The x Exam x Begins

"Greetings," A weird looking guy with purple hair and a dashing mustache caught the attention of the 400 people crowded around for the exams. "My name is Satoz and I am the first examiner. I will lead you to the second phase of the exam."

"What's the first phase, then?" A random person shouted, quite irritated.

"Follow me and you'll find out," Satoz replied, a slight hint of amusement on his face as he started to walk in a weird fashion. Not knowing what else to do, the participants start to follow him.

While the pace was still slow, Gon slips through the crowd and places himself right behind the Hunter. "Ano, Satoz-san?" Gon asks, attempting to get the man's attention with a sweet, innocent tone.

"Yes, young man?" Satoz turns his head and raises his eyebrow at the sight of a kid taking the Hunter exam. "It's a surprise to see someone as young as you here."

"Yup!" Gon chirped. "Anyways, I wanted to ask if you can go a bit faster. I want to pass the Hunter exam as soon as possible."

Gon could only assume that Satoz smirked, as he doesn't really have any lips. "As you wish, young man," he said. "Before I do so, may I ask your name?"

"Un!" Gon nodded, his smile widening. "My name is Gon!"

'So this is the "Gon" figure that Netero-dono warned us about,' Satoz thought inwardly as he picked up his pace. He didn't intend to go at a fast speed until about an hour in, but since this "Gon" kid asked for it, Satoz figured it would be wrong to refuse his request. 'Let's see how you deal with this.'

-

"Really? A skateboard?" Leorio asked Killua, panting as he continued to run. It's been about two hours now, and Leorio was wondering how he was still running. "This is an insult to the Hunter exams."

"Satoz-san only said to follow him but never said that skateboards weren't allowed," Leorio and Kurapika jumped as they heard Gon's voice. They turned their heads to see Gon jogging behind them. "We just need to follow him by any means necessary."

"Gon!" Leorio shouted. "It's been two hours! Where have you been?! We thought you dropped out already!"

"Ah," Gon said, as if he just remembered something. "Satoz and I were talking about my dad. He's a famous hunter, you know?"

"You were in the front?!" Leorio exclaimed, refraining from shouting as to not use too much energy.

"Yep!" Gon said before turning his attention to Killua. "Ne, Killua. Want to race?"

Killua kicked up his skateboard and started running next to Gon. "Sure, this is getting boring anyways."

"Ne, if I win will you let me try your skateboard?" Gon asked.

"Sure, but what if I win?" Killua shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'll teach you something really cool!" Gon exclaimed. It wouldn't be a bad idea to teach his friends Nen early on. It will only prove to help them down the road. Plus, even if Gon might not be there, the face Silva would make when he finds out that Killua unlocked the ability to use Nen during the exams would be priceless.

"Alright, you're on," Killua smirked as the two ran off.

"You've got to be kidding me," Leorio grumbled to himself. Kurapika only nodded silently in response.

-

"I win!" Killua shouted, reaching the exit only a split second before Gon.

"Haha, you did!" Gon smiled at his friend. Of course, he let Killua win, so he had an excuse to teach him Nen. "That was fun, Killua."

"Yeah," Killua smiled back at Gon. Having friends isn't so bad.

"Ano, Satoz-san," Gon turned his attention to the examiner. "Is this where the second phase is?"

"No," Satoz replied simply. "We are just waiting for everyone before we can start the second half."

Kurapika arrived soon after Gon and Killua did, and Leorio barely managed to squeeze by before the door to the tunnel closes.

"This is the Milsy Wetlands," Satoz said. "Otherwise known as the Swindler's swamp. We will continue soon. If you want to live, it will be in your best interest to stay close to me."

"Wait!" A man appeared by the tunnel. "That bastard isn't human! He's actually a man faced ape who wants to lure you in and eat all of you! The bastard knocked me unconscious and took my place!"

"What the hell?" Leorio asked himself.

"Well," the ninja named Hanzo stated. "Satoz does look a little weird."

Before anyone else could react, six playing cards were sent flying, three towards each examiner. While Satoz caught the cards with his fingers, the other man was hit on the head, chest, and stomach before collapsing, his form changing into that of an ape.

"There," a magician said as he flicked his wrist, calling the cards back to him. "That solves that problem."

"Hisoka-san!" Gon whined instinctively. He and Hisoka had travelled a lot in the Dark Continent, and despite his homicidal tendencies, Gon managed to get along with Hisoka, their antics usually lightening the bleak mood of the Dark Continent. "That isn't nice!"

"Oh?" Hisoka turned his head to look at Gon, a sadistic look in his eyes which caused Leorio and Kurapika to shiver. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Gon!" Gon chirped, smiling as if one of the most dangerous criminals in the world wasn't standing right in front of him.

"Well, Gon," Hisoka licked his lips, smiling at the boy with interest. "You're a very interesting fellow. Be sure not to die out there before I can kill you."

"Okay!" Gon said excitedly, causing Kurapika and Leorio to shoot Gon looks of concern while Killua let out a soft giggle.

"Anyways," Satoz said loudly, clearing his throat. "As you can see, there are many predators out there who will want to eat you. If you want to stay alive, be sure to follow the path."

-

"I think we should stay far away from Hisoka," Killua said. "His bloodlust is immense. I can practically smell it in the air."

"Hisoka-san isn't that bad when you get to know him," Gon said, smiling reassuringly at his friend. "He may have his quirks, but he's a really dependable guy!"

"Quirks," Leorio muttered the word as if it were a curse. "Dude's a fuckin pedo."

"Not really," Gon said. "He just wants a fun fight."

"How do you even know so much about him?" Kurapika asked.

"Well, one of my friends knew Hisoka," Gon said. It technically wasn't a lie.

"You sure have a lot of friends in high places," Leorio grumbled, Kurapika nodding in agreement.

Before Gon could respond, a giant toad popped up from the ground. As it prepared to eat Killua, Gon jumped up and kicked the creature, sending it sprawling. "Run!"

Gon didn't need to tell them twice. The four started running, weaving their way through applicants getting mauled and eaten. After a few minutes of running, they encountered Hisoka, surrounded by dead bodies.

"Ah, Gon-chan~" Hisoka turned, staring at Gon with a sadistic smile as he licked his lips. "I'm so excited to see you."

"I'll hold him off," Gon said, stepping forward.

"No!" Kurapika shouted at him. "I won't abandon you!"

"It's me he wants," Gon said. "I'll meet up with you at the second phase of the exam. That's a promise."

Kurapika hesitated, but eventually nodded. The three ran past Hisoka as he continued to stare down Gon. The time traveler was grateful that he had talked to Hisoka earlier without fear, as it caused the magician to care far too much about Gon to prevent the other three from escaping.

"I take it you want a fight?" Gon asked, taking on a semi-serious tone as his cheerful smile morphed into a smirk.

"It seems that you know me well," Hisoka replied.

"That I do," Gon said as he finally let his aura flare around him.

"Interesting," Hisoka said as he flared his Nen in response. "I see you've unlocked your Nen."

"Godspeed," Gon muttered to himself instead of replying, letting the electricity envelop him. He dashed towards Hisoka, kicking him in the face. Gon knew that even though Hisoka had a much higher reserve of Nen than Gon has right now, but his body wasn't fast enough for him to surpass Godspeed until he had his stint with post-mortem Nen.

Hisoka recovered quickly, dashing at Gon. The boy dodged a punch from Hisoka and landed a punch in his face. He noticed that Hisoka tagged Gon's fist, so Gon tagged his Bungee Gum to Hisoka's so if he ever tried to pull the boy, it would be rendered useless.

"You have my Nen ability," Hisoka said, obviously perplexed. "How did you do that?"

"If you think I'll tell you my Nen ability, then you're dead wrong," Gon said, smirking. "We have to become friends first, at least."

Hisoka chuckled. "If that is the case, then I guess I'll let you live for now," he said, turning around. "You are very interesting, but your blows are still weak. Come back when you're a bit stronger."

Hisoka tried to dash away, but Gon was able to catch up easily. "Ne, Hisoka-san," Gon said, startling the psychotic man. "If you want to fight me so badly, why don't we become rivals?"

"Rivals," Hisoka pondered the statement. He had heard something from Nobunaga about rivals making each other stronger. If becoming Gon's "rival" would make him stronger at a faster pace, then it would be worth it. "I accept. This will be most interesting, Gon-chan."

-

Ging shot out of bed, panting heavily. He looked around wildly before grabbing a pocket watch. What the hell? He thought to himself. He remembered finding said pocket watch in the Dark Continent his first time around and had always kept it on him just in case it had a use. He then saw a picture of him and a sixteen year old Gon accompanied by his best friend, Killua. Next to the picture was Gon's old fishing rod, which Gon had given his father shortly after his aura nodes reopened when he was fourteen.

Suddenly, there was a buzzing on his phone. That was weird, Ging hadn't had a phone on him since the rebellion started. He picked it up and pressed the power button. Ging looked at the screen and dropped the phone. He didn't even read the message before he dropped the phone. What had stunned Ging was the date. He was four years in the past.

Ging picked up his phone again and dialed Gon's number. He knew Gon didn't have a phone at that time, but he hoped and prayed that somehow this message would get through. After he met Gon for the first time, they had gotten to know each other very well, and Ging started to realize how much of a shitty father he was. He had no idea where Gon was or how to contact him, but this was his only hope. He would not be the same deadbeat dad that he was in his last life. He didn't know what was going on. He was supposed to be dead, but whether this was a dream, heaven, or hell, it mattered not. He had a chance to connect with his son and right his previous wrongs, and he sure as hell wouldn't pass it up for the world.

-

As Gon arrived at the second phase of the exam, there was a buzzing sound in his pocket. Gon turned around, confirming to see if Hisoka was there. Gon had dashed ahead of the magician as to not arouse any suspicion from anyone, including his friends. He took out the scanner and the first thing he saw was: New Voicemail.

'Cool. I didn't know the scanner could double as a phone,' Gon thought as he navigated through the scanner. It seemed that the Caller ID was off, but Gon thought that if someone knew his phone number when he himself didn't know the number registered to the scanner, then it must be worth the seven seconds the voicemail lasted for. Gon pressed the play button as he put the device to his ear.

"Gon," Gon's face paled as he recognized the voice of his father. A million thoughts whirled through his head, Gon not being able to grasp on one long enough to completely register in his brain. "It's me, Ging. We need to talk."