Chapter 2: Exams and Respite

Gon leans forward on the crow's nest as a familiar wind brushes upon his face. The storm was huge, no doubt, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the constant raging winds of the dark continent. He closed his eyes as he let his aura flow through him and out into a protective bubble.

'I'm able to practice my Ten for now, but my Ren would surely cause someone to notice, even if they can't use Nen,' Gon thought, reminiscing back to the time of Heaven's Area and Hisoka's "trial" for Gon and Killua. Gon needed to increase the amount of aura if he wanted to go through with his plan. After a few minutes, he hid his aura and hopped down, landing in front of the captain.

"Captain-san, I think there's a storm coming!" Gon explained, keeping his energetic and cheery façade.

"Oh?" The captain huffed, a puff of smoke following. "And how would you know that?"

Gon smiled his signature contagious smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The seabirds are warning each other of a huge storm," he stated matter-of-factly as the Captain narrowed his eyes, making an unreadable expression. "Also my nose is really good, and I can smell it!"

The Captain smiles, his eyes gleaming with something akin to nostalgia. "You know, you remind me of someone," he chuckles to himself and turns around before Gon can ask any questions. "ALRIGHT STATIONS, EVERYONE! YOU ALL WANT TO BE HUNTERS?! NOW IT'S TIME TO PROVE YOURSELVES!"

Gon strolls into one of the many rooms meant for the examinees to relax as a huge wave hits the boat. Gon huffs in amusement as he sees a few examinees fly down the hallway. Gon then sits down to meditate, continuing to practice his Ten.

Kurapika walks down the hallway, nonchalantly moving side to side, avoiding the people struggling to grab a footing on the boat during the storm. The storm was a little harrowing to him, but it was nothing compared to the sandstorms in Meteor City. He sighs as the memories put a dampener on his mood and turns to enter the room where the examinees were supposed to go so he could finally have some peace and quiet to think.

The first thing he sees is a small boy who seemed to be meditating. Before Kurapika could internally comment about the scene unfolding, the boy opened his eyes and is expression morphed into one of slight shock, but Kurapika did not miss the shine of longing in the boy's eyes. This expression only lasted for a split second as the boy then smiled which almost glowed as he ran up to Kurapika before stopping right in front of him.

"Hi!" The boy almost shouted in what seemed to be glee. "I'm Gon! What's your name?"

A multitude of thoughts rushed into Kurapika's head. Why was a boy in the Hunter Exam? Kurapika narrowed his eyes as he felt suspicion and envy rise in his heart. Suspicious that such a young boy could even make it this far, as every other person was sick except for him, Gon, and that one old man reading a book in the corner. The envy was from the innocence and happiness radiating from the boy, making Kurapika almost forget Gon's initial reaction to him. Almost.

"Kurapika," Kurapika simply stated, his expression softening ever so slightly. He would eventually figure out more about this boy, now named Gon as time went on, assuming they would be taking the Hunter exam together. "It's nice to meet you, Gon."

Gon beamed at this statement, his smile widening, which Kurapika initially thought was something not possible. "Nice to meet you too, Kurapika-san!" Gon turned to face the old man, his smile not faltering in the slightest. "Hey ossan! Come meet Kurapika!"

A tick appeared on the old man's forehead as he closed his book and sighed, standing up. "I already told you I'm not that old!" He walked over, stepping over all the sick people groaning in pain. "Anyways, I'm Leorio, but that's Leorio-san to you."

The "old" man, otherwise known as Leorio gave Kurapika bad vibes already. He narrowed his eyes at the man, preparing to say something that would probably offend Leorio, but Gon's cheery voice snapped him out of his stupor. "Kurapika-san, please don't be too mean to the ossan. He might look weird, but he's a nice guy, I swear!"

The tick reappeared on Leorio's forehead as he opened his mouth to tell Gon off, but he reconsidered. His face softened into a smile. "Thanks, Gon, but you shouldn't call me an old man. I'm only nineteen, ya know?"

"NINETEEN?!" Gon and Kurapika's eyes shot up. Kurapika notice that the familiar light of surprise was absent in Gon's eyes. Kurapika was about to say something rude, but the door opened behind him before he could do anything rash.

"Gon-san, Leorio-san, Kurapika-san, can you please report to the captain immediately?" A crew member asked. Before anyone can respond, Gon gleefully bounded out of the room.

"That kid is sure something," Leorio sighed with exasperation as he stomped out his cigarette.

"That's something we can agree on, Leorio," Kurapika said calmly as he walked out of the room to follow Gon.

"That's Leorio-san to you" Kirapika could hear Leorio shout through the raging storm.

'Damn, I wish I could have tried to have them get along a bit better,' Gon thought as he entered the Captain's office, Leorio and Kurapika following a few seconds later.

"Ne, Captain-san," Gon asked, a flawless imitation of childlike curiosity plastered on his face. "What did you want us for?"

"I wanted to ask you three why you were taking the hunter exam, considering you three are the only ones who aren't down for the count," The captain chuckled to himself as he took another drag from his pipe.

"Ah, can I go first?" Gon exclaimed, his hand in the air. The captain smiled softly and nodded. "I want to get the attention of a certain man, and I was hoping to meet him during the exam."

Kurapika opened his mouth, obviously agitated, but the captain put his hand up, gesturing for him to wait. The sparkle in the captain's eyes portrayed his interest. "Oh, and may we know the name of this man?"

"Un!" God nodded, clenching his raised hand into a fist and holding it in front of him. "I wanted to talk to Isaac Netero-ojisan!"

"Isaac Netero, the chairman of the Hunter Acossiation?!" Leorio exclaimed in shock, practically jumping at Gon's statement. "What would you want with a bigshot like him?!"

Gon turned to Leorio, smiling with the intensity of the sun, his eyes closed in an expression of joy. "I wanna fight him!"

Dead silence. The only thing heard for a few moments were the waves crashing and the thunder and lightning crashing down on the sea before the captain started laughing, his booming voice filling the room with his jovial laughs. "You're an interesting one, kid, I'll give you that!" He boomed. "Now, what about you two?"

"I refuse to state my reason," Kurapika said, a determined look on his face.

"I refuse as well," Leorio followed up with an indifferent expression.

The boisterous laughs of the caption suddenly stopped as his face hardened, giving a very serious expression. "Ya know, I was hired to make sure that there aren't too many applicants, so I have every right to make sure you don't make it to the Hunter exam, so it would be in your best interests to answer my questions."

Kurapika and Leorio stiffened at the captain's statement, and there was a small silence between the four. "Revenge," Kurapika broke the silence, his eyes turning into a brilliant scarlet. "The Phantom Troupe destroyed my clan, and I'm going to kill every single one of them."

"Why would you become a hunter just for revenge?" Rather than stay silent, Leorio decided to satiate his curiosity.

"Hunters have access to information that everyone else does not, Leorio," Kurapika stated simply as a tick appeared on Leorio's head. "It makes tracking down those filthy spiders all the more easier for me."

Leorio sighed, as he looked around. "Well, as for me, all I want my license for is to get money," He stated, not necessarily enthusiastically, but stated nonetheless. "Hunters get a fortune to sit on and free use of public amenities. I just want to live my life in comfort."

"That's an awfully, selfish reason, Leorio," Kurapika states, not even caring to look at the man he was berating.

"And you're one to talk?" Leorio said, finally snapping. "Ya know, if your clan was all like you, no wonder they were all wiped out! I mean you can't even show respect!"

"Take that back." A wave of killer intent washed over the room as Kurapika's scarlet eyes bore into the doctor-in-training.

"You're going to have to make me, Kurapika," Leorio's voice was filled with venom as he shot a glare at the scarlet eyed man. "Let's take this outside."

The trio walked outside as Kurapika held his wooden blades, gripping them until his knuckles turned white. He raised one and pointed it at Leorio, who was standing a few feet away, pocket knife in hand. "I will defeat you for daring to disrespect my clan."

"Well, I'll beat your ass for disrespecting me!" Leorio exclaimed with a comical expression of rage plastered on his face.

Before they can start, a man slips and falls, tumbling between the two duelists and flying off the ship, shocking the both of them.

As Kurapika and Leorio's faces widen in shock, Gon's face is filled with determination. He runs after the man, rushing between the duelists, and jumps off, arms outstretched to catch the man's legs.

Gon wasn't able to see the looks on their faces as he jumped, but by the guardian of the final gate, he could swear that they would have been priceless. As he grabbed onto the man's legs, Gon felt a hand grasp on either one of his. He smiled softly as he achieved his mission, as he could almost feel the smile that Leorio and Kurapika were giving each other as they heaved Gon and the sailor back onto the ship.

"Ya know, you're not so bad," Leorio states, a smirk on his face as he looked at his rival. "I apologize for disrespecting your clan."

Kurapika's expression softened as he smiled for quite possibly the first time in years. "Same with you, Leorio-san," Kurapika emphasized the last part of his statement as they both looked at Gon.

"Hehe!" Gon smiled as he stood up and looked at the two of them. "I'm so happy you two made up!"

Leorio sighed as he hit Gon on the head, a comical anger radiating from him "You idiot! What were you thinking?!" He shouted as Gon rubbed his head. "What if we weren't able to save you?!"

Gon looked up at him with childlike innocence before smiling. "But I knew you two would save me! We're friends after all, right?"

"Friends?!" Leorio sputtered. Kurapika giggled softly at the two's antics as he looked towards the horizon, noticing that the storm was almost over.

"Yep!" Gon also turned to the horizon, an uncharacteristically soft smile on his face as a tear rolled down his cheek, full of grief and sorrow. "Friends." He whispered, almost too soft for the two to hear. Almost.