Y/n, Leorio, Kurapika, And Gon made their way to the town bordering the harbor. Gon explained how the captain had tipped him off, making his destination the cedar tree at the top of the hill.
"But I just got a text saying the exam's in Zaban."
"But Leorio, the captain himself told him this," Y/n said.
Kurapika turned to Gon.
"Are you sure you didn't mishear him?" he asked gently.
"I didn't," Gon replied.
"Hm. Well, I say we visit the cedar tree. What's the worse that could happen?" Y/n said, walking away with Gon.
"Argh! You could miss the exam!" Leorio protested.
Kurapika began to walk backward behind Gon and Y/n, shrugging
"I'm curious to see what Gon's plan has in store for us," he said. "Besides, Y/n's behavior sort of... interests me."
"Simp," Leorio muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
Leorio waved him away.
"I said it was nice knowing the four of you!"
"How long do you think before he decides to rejoin us?" Y/n asked.
"I'd give him a couple of seconds," Kurapika replied, and they laughed together.
She really is kind of pretty, he thought as she giggled.
"Three..." said Y/n.
"Two," replied Kurapika.
"One," they said together.
"Hey! Wait up you guys!" A voice called from behind.
"That was quick," Gon said.
"Eh- well, I didn't want to leave you guys alone. Besides, traveling alone gets lonely."
The group followed Gon and made their way through a ghost town.
"God, it's like no one's here," Leorio said, shivering.
"No, there's plenty of people here," Gon replied.
Suddenly, a group of masked strangers appeared before them in a makeshift stage.
"It's time for the exciting multiple choice quiz!" a woman cried, her old voice cracking.
Y/n, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio only stared blank-faced.
"I assume you're wanting to reach the cedar on the hill. Well, first you must pass this quiz. You get five seconds to answer one question. If you get it right, you move on."
"I see, It's another trial before we make it to the exam," Kurapika said, placing a hand to his chin.
"Oh brother," Y/n pouted, "I hate quizzes." She wasn't particularly good at them.
"Don't worry y/n, I happen to be great at quizzes- wait, one question?!" Leorio said.
"You may answer with one or two."
"Wait so, if Kurapika here for example gets it wrong we all fail?!"
Kurapika's brows lowered irritably.
"Not very likely, but if the roles were reversed, it'd be all but inevitable," he said, shrugging playfully.
Y/n snickered like a Yamaguchi to Tsukishima.
Gon smiled awkwardly.
"It's okay!" He interrupted, "even if one of us gets it right, we all pass. And good thing, since like Y/n I'm real bad at quizzes."
Suddenly, a tan-skinned man approached from behind.
"Excuse me, ladies, why don't you hurry it up?"
"Who the hell are you?" Leorio asked.
"So he's the one who's been stalking us," Y/n wondered aloud.
"Yeah, he's been following us ever since we left the port," Gon added.
"Why don't I go first?" The man asked.
"Should let him go first to see what kind of question she'll ask?" Leorio inquired.
"Sure, I'm okay with that!"
"M'kay."
"No objections here."
The old woman spoke, "A group of villains has kidnapped your mother and lover, which do you save?"
"Easy: my mom. I can find another lover, but you never replace your mom." He said.
"You may pass," the woman said.
"Seriously?" Leorio said.
"Wha- just like that?" Y/n stammered.
"Guess the trick is saying what she wants to hear," the man said and trotted off.
"What the hell! That doesn't make any sense," Leorio complained. "Argh, I'm sick of this, I'm going to go find my own way, come on, Y/n!" He said.
Y/n only looked up. She wasn't going anywhere. Gon meditated, crossing his arms.
"If you leave you're disqualified."
"That's nuts! There's no right answer to that and you know it!"
Kurapika's eyes widened as he turned to Leorio and Y/n, but was cut off by the woman.
"Enough! You take the quiz now, take it or leave it. If your son and daughter are kidnapped which do you save?"
Leorio growled and began to mess around with some street rubble.
Y/n lowered to crouch in her feet, placing her hand on her chin. She didn't know what to do or how to answer. The gender of the child didn't matter, and so, there was absolutely no right answer, just like Leorio had said. Y/n's eyes widened. She shot Kurapika a knowing glance. He nodded in response. The correct answer... was silence.
"Your time is over," she said finally.
Leorio suddenly jumped towards her, stick in hand, ready to beat the old woman.
"Leorio!" Y/n cried incredulously, but Kurapika had already stopped him, blocking him with his wooden pair of swords.
"Out of my way!"
"Stop it! Can't you see we've already passed?!" He yelled.
Leorio took a step back.
Kurapika continued.
"Our only choice was to stay silent since, as you said it yourself: there's no right answer."
"But the other guy passed!"
"She never said he was correct," Kurapika said.
"Which means... that wasn't the right way was it?" Y/n asked.
"That is correct," she said, opening a side door. "This is. The couple who lives under the tree will guide you to the exam site."
Leorio was taken aback.
"I hope you'll forgive me for being so rude," he told the woman.
"And for almost beating her," y/n muttered.
Leorio looked at her annoyed when the woman spoke.
"It is alright, you just become the best hunter you can be."
Behind them, Gon whined.
"What is it, Gon?" Y/n asked.
"I can't figure it out, I'm stumped."
Y/n smiled and the rest of them chuckled a little.
"You can stop now," Leorio said
"The quiz is over," Kurapika added.
"I know that, but what if one day I do have to choose between two people like that? I just hope I'll know what to do."
The rest of them considered this.
He's right, as hunters any one of us could have to face a similar situation. I hope we all know what to do, Y/n thought.
As they walked, Leorio began to complain.
"Man, I can't even see," he mimicked the old lady, "you'll reach the top in two hours! she said, well two hours was two hours ago."
Kurapika rolled his eyes.
Y/n shuffled through her bag.
"You wanna see something cool?" She showed him a tattered photo.
"These are my friends from when I was little! I took this with my father's camera a long time ago. This is kind of the only photo I have left."
Leorio looked at it. "Is that you? You were so small!"
"That's me," she replied. She passed the picture to Gon.
"Aw, Y/n you look cute! And who are they?"
"Those were my childhood friends, Aamir, Dalimil, and Latika," Y/n said.
(Imagine your baby self in the photo lol)
Kurapika glanced over Gon's shoulder to see.
He then studied her wistful face, pretty in the dim light.
"Y/n..." he said quietly.
She looked up with a weak smile. Their eye contact was broken when Gon spoke.
"Look!" he said. "It's a house!"
When they finally reached it, Leorio knocked, but no one answered.
"You think it's okay to let ourselves in?" Y/n suggested. He shrugged.
"Coming in!"
Leorio and Kurapika pushed the doors in, only to find an eight-foot creature hunched over a bloodied, injured man. All four of them let out a gasp of shock.
"What is that thing?!" Y/n exclaimed.
"It appears to be a Kiriko, they're incredibly intelligent creatures," Kurapika replied.
"He's got a woman!" Gon pointed out, and it took her in its claws, bursting out the window.
Kurapika and Gon followed quickly behind. Leorio and Y/n ran up to the man.
"Uh, are you okay?" Y/n asked.
"I am only slightly injured, but please, save my wife!" The man cried.
"Leorio," Y/n said "Tend to his man's injuries, I'm going to help the others. Meet us back here and don't leave his side."
"Got it," Leorio said before Y/n wisped out the window.
She ran trying to catch up to Kurapika and Gon. Kurapika felt someone behind him and swung, narrowly missing Y/n. His eyes widened when he realized it.
"Y/n! I am so sorry I thought it was-"
"Don't worry about it, where's Gon?"
"He jumped into the trees to catch up with the Kiriko. He's incredibly fast."
"The man back there said that was his wife. I told Leorio to stay with hi-watch out!"
A woman fell from the trees, whom Kurapika swept out of the sky.
"Damn that was reckless," he said.
"Yeah," Y/n said, pulling out a retractable metal staff. "We need to get Gon and return, I doubt we could take on a Kiriko without stronger weapons. I'm going to go find him."
"Alright... Y/n wait-!" Kurapika said. "Stay safe."
A tiny smile grew on her face.
"You too," y/n said, turning to leave.
His voice got muffled as she ran towards Gon. "Are you alright miss?"
Such a gentleman, Y/n thought as she left.
She ran and ran until she barged into a clearing, just before stammering back into the thick bushes.
She could see Gon in the moonlight in front of... a Kiriko.
It lifted its claws the size of human heads and hurled them down.
"No!" Y/n said as she bolted in front of Gon, hands shaking.
The Kiriko didn't hesitate and only cried out in its shrill voice, "Two in one!"
Y/n saw her life flash before her eyes before Gon put his hands on her shoulder, looking past her and asked, "And who are you?"
Y/n lowered her staff and opened her eyes to see razor-sharp claws only millimeters away.
"What?" Y/n sputtered, turning her sweating face sightly to look at Gon.
"Haaaah?" The Kiriko exclaimed.
"You're not the one I hit. Your voice is higher and thinner."
Y/n stepped aside.
"What do you mean, Gon? There's another one?" Y/n questioned, looking around.
"That's right," Gon replied.
"You can tell us apart?" The Kiriko asked. "Hubby's gonna love this. Hey honey!"
This kid's incredible, Y/n thought.
When they all returned, Kurapika and Leorio were already at the cottage. Kurapika perked up at seeing Y/n emerging from the forest, lifting a couple of branches out of her way.
"Y/n, you're alright!" He said. "Gon!"
"We're okay," y/n said laughing, and they held each other's hand ever so lightly.
Gon smiled, "Yeah, and Y/n was super brave!" He said, pushing y/n toward him slightly.
Kurapika didn't let go of her fingertips.
"I'll bet she was," he said, eye gently smiling at her.
She tapped her chin with one finger, embarrassed. "I wouldn't say brave..."
"Hey, guys you're back!" Leorio said, walking up to them. Kurapika turned to him already blushing.
"Ehehehehe what's going on here?"
"Uh, look, it looks like the Kirikos have something they would like to say," Kurapika said suddenly.
"My name is Yenni." the female Kiriko said. "This is my brother Janero and these are our parents. We help examinees every year."
They have names? Y/n thought.
"Mr. Kurapika, we only gave you the vaguest go hints, but you were able to figure out we weren't a married couple. You pass!" Yenni said.
Kurapika smiled at Y/n.
"All right!" She cheered.
"Great job!" Gon said, putting his little fist out for a fist bump.
"Mr. Leorio, you never realized I wasn't who I claimed to be. But you addressed my wound efficiently and assured me my wife was going to be okay. For your kindness and compassion, you pass." Janero said.
Gon gave him a fist bump as Leorio sunk to the ground, relieved.
"Ms. Y/n, you quickly adapted to determine where your skills were needed most, and most incredibly, quickly volunteered your life in exchange for your friend's safety. For the demonstration of your skills and selflessness, you pass." the Kirkiro Janero continued.
She did what?! Kurapika thought.
Gon saw his bewildered face. "She almost tried to save me with her own life from one of them. I had it under control the whole time, though," he whispered to Kurapika, winking.
Kurapika could only nod.
Y/n scratched her head a little. "Well when you put it like that it makes me sound reckless," she replied to the Kiriko, chuckling.
"Alright!" Leorio said.
"You passed!" Gon said, fist-bumping her.
Kurapika smiled at her. "Nice job."
"And Mr. Gon, your superhuman abilities and ability to discover the difference between us was impressive! You absolutely proved yourself to be qualified to take the exam. You pass as well."
Gon fist-bumped everyone with a smile, glad to have passed.
As the four of them were carried in the sky by the Kirikos to the exam site, Leorio and Kurapika bantered a bit, to Y/n and Gon's amusement. They all laughed in the bright moonlight. Little did they know the real excitement was only beginning...
✨Did You Know?✨
Y/n uses a metal traditional Bo staff, which is similar to an Aikido staff, the weapon of choice in the Emerald Tribe. The main difference is that the Bo staff is longer.