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II
O t h e r H a l f
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Shino was about to reply to Gon's answer but a voice interrupted their conversation.
"I apologise for the wait."
A wall rose and revealed a tall man with silver hair and a notable moustache in a suit.
"The registration for the Hunters Exam Application has ended. I am the first phase examiner. Final warning: If you continue to do these exams, it is likely you will end up seriously injured or even dead. So if any of you wish to back out, please proceed to the elevator behind you."
Silence as no one of the 405 applicants moved an inch towards the elevator.
"Very well. All 405 applicants will proceed with the Hunter Exam." The examiner turned his back to the applicants, "Follow me."
He started leading the way, all applicants walking at first until he started to pick up the pace which resulted to everyone jogging after him.
"I will be leading you to the second phase."
"Huh? The second phase?"
"What about the first phase?"
The examiner turned his head around, "The first phase has now commenced."
"This is the first phase?"
"Strange..."
"I am the first examiner, Satotz. And I will be leading you to the second phase."
Meanwhile, Gon and Shino regrouped with Kurapika and Leorio,
"I see... The first phase is testing our mental resilience, and also our psychological strength..." Kurapika murmured beside Leorio.
"Hey! Kurapika, Leorio! I have a friend I wanna introduce to you two!" Gon grinned brightly before moving out the way to reveal the brunette girl who glanced at them with a blank look.
"Hello..." Shino greeted and gave a nod to the older friends of Gon, "My name is Shino Netero..."
"Oh, hi there." Kurapika said neutrally giving a nod back, thinking why her family name sounded familiar, he gave his name, "I'm Kurapika."
"Gon! We don't need any allies— we can't turn enemies into allies— What if they trick us?!"
"It's best to make them into allies, Leorio." Kurapika sighed, "More allies means less enemies— and unless Shino is planning a betrayal/ become a backstabber, she would have to deal with all of us three against herself."
"Correct—" Shino nodded in agreement before Gon interrupted,
"And that's Leorio!" Gon laughed, introducing him to her, "Don't worry too much, Leorio! You thought you wouldn't be able to trust me and Kurapika back at the boat but now you do!"
Leorio blushed as he looked down, "Ugh, fine. I'll try with her too. As you already know, I'm Leorio—"
He was then interrupted by a silver haired boy with sapphire eyes riding on a skateboard,
"Hey! Riding on a skateboard is unfair and against the rules!" Leorio yelled, annoyed by the boy's audacity.
"Hah? So? I can ride it if I want."
Leorio let out a screech as he explained, "Everyone's running so you have to run as well! It's a test of endurance so you need to participant too!!"
"That's not true." Gon interfered with a blank look, facing forward as he jogged, "Satotz never said to run, he said to follow him."
"Correct. He means to follow him by any means necessary. As everyone did not have the equipment for transport, almost all chose to run." Shino blinked as she felt Gon's hand slide into her's, "Is there something you need, Gon?" She tilted her head.
Gon shook his head with an idiotic grin, "Nothing! Your hands just feel very soft and warm— I like it! And thanks for agreeing, Shino!"
Shino blinked twice in confusion before shrugging it off and continued to let Gon hold her hand.
The silver haired boy hummed before skating over to the other two teenagers holding hands.
"Hmm... How old are you two?" He asked.
"12!"
"12..."
"So we are the same age, huh!" Gon grinned to Shinoo, who only nodded to confirm.
The boy hummed again, "Same as me... Alright then." He then did a trick that cause him to carry his skateboard under his armpit before beginning to jog, "Guess I'll run too."
Gon's eyes sparkled, "That's so cool!"
Killua glanced at him strangely before introducing himself, "I'm Killua."
"And I'm Gon!"
"My name is Shino..." Shino greeted, not giving her last name as the other two didn't.
Killua shuffled a little forward to take a good look at Shino as Gon was in between the two, before humming and stated, "Aren't you polite."
Shino tilted her head and furrowed her brows slightly before saying, "Well, there's no reason not to be, especially to people you first meet. Unless you know them beforehand, you almost cannot be rude to them."
Killua blinked before he smiled slightly, "Fair enough. I guess people need to be more polite like you for their first impression..." Killua's gaze went to Leorio's figure as Leorio started to slow down with Kurapika trying to keep his pace but slowing down a bit alongside him.
Gon nodded, agreeing with Killua's statement, "Shino is so nice and pretty! Her hands and cheeks are so soft..."
Killua's smile twitched slightly, "Is that why you're holding hands?"
Gon nodded without a hint of shame, "Yep! But it's not only because of that, Shino has a goal— a harmless goal— and I want to help her achieve it. No matter how much I look at her, she just doesn't look to have bad intentions." Gon said sincerely.
Shino stated at him with a slight hint of shock before giving him a slight smile, "Thank you for saying that, Gon. I promise I have no hidden intentions, Killua. My current goals right now are to complete this exam, and find a goal." She turned her gaze to Killua's ocean blue eyes, the latter's eyes widening a bit though feeling a little confused.
"Find a goal?"
"I want to find the meaning of my life."
"But isn't it obvious? You were born to live."
Shino shook her head lightly, "It is not as simple as that... I feel like there was a reason why I was born— and I want to find out what it may be, no matter how stupid or complicated it is— I want to feel full and content."
Killua hummed, "Heh... I know what you mean that she doesn't seem to be someone with hidden agendas, Gon. She's too sincere and surreal."
"Right?" Gon chuckled, swinging his and Shino's joint hands back and forth, widening his grin even more,
"That's why I really like her!"
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Relationships take time, especially the types that require deep trust, care, and love.