Killugon x male!child!reader
Ch 0, Ch 1, Ch 2 (you are here), Ch 3, Ch 4, ...
Summary: You finally make it to the Hunter exam! Yay! However, it isn't exactly what you expected, leaving you a little disappointed. On the bright side, at least you made a new friend! (as well as a new potential enemy). How will the rest of the Hunter Exam play out?
Chapter 2 : Friend Or Foe
You bounced from stall to stall, admiring all the different kinds of food and trinkets alike. You hear someone selling what they call a "panda-frog-on-a-stick" and your curiosity is instantly piqued.
How come you've never thought of hunting frogs for food?
You quickly run over to the stall, almost accidentally bumping into a group of teenagers. You notice Gon is already there and make your way over to him. He gives you a small smile in acknowledgement and, before you can even say anything, takes a hold of your hand and drags you towards all kinds of stalls. It seems Gon is just as amazed at the abundance of new things as you were.
You spent the next couple of minutes laughing and chatting together before Leorio called to both of you.
"What are you guys doing? We're leaving!"
Not wanting to be left behind, you quickly grabbed Gon's hand and led him towards the group.
The four of you walked until you came face to face with a very tall building covered head-to-toe in glass. Your lips parted, a soft "wow" leaving your lips in a barely hushed whisper.
However, everyone's gawking was cut short when the navigator revealed that the giant structure was in fact not the exam building. Instead, it was a wooden ramen restaurant that seemed rather plain.
"Wait, is this a joke? Anyway you look at it, it's just a restaurant!" One thing about Leorio is that he never fails to say whatever is on his mind.
"I thought the exam site would be more extravagant…" You say out loud, but you were more-so talking to yourself. At the same time, you felt yourself deflate in disappointment. Well, maybe you'd get to eat or something if it was held in a restaurant.
The navigator explained how it was a sort of disguise, nobody would expect the hunter exam to take place here, right? You figured it made enough sense and entered the building alongside your travel partners.
The Kiriko ordered a steak-combo of some sort and you felt your mouth start to water just thinking about it. You were starting to get hungry. This was only logical, you hadn't eaten all day!
The four of you were then led into a small room with a rounded table in the middle. There were four chairs around it, which obviously were meant for your group. You couldn't wait to eat!
"I can't wait for the steak-combo!" Gon exclaimed.
You were starting to think you and him were the same people.
However, the next second, Kurapika shattered your dreams with just a single sentence. "Gon, that was just a password to get us inside."
"Whattt!" You suddenly exclaimed, jaw dropping to the floor. "You tricked me!"
Your ears stretched back as you grabbed a hold of your hair, violently shaking your head. At this rate you were going to die of hunger before you became a Hunter!
"One in every ten thousand…" The blue-haired navigator started, completely ignoring your little outburst, "That's the number of applicants that make it this far. You've done extremely well for first-timers."
His words made you freeze momentarily before proudly putting your hands on your hips. You stuck your nose up, flashing a smug grin. As you continued to revel in the earlier praise while silently snickering to yourself, Gon shook the Kiriko's hand. He said a few more words before wishing your team luck and leaving.
The door clicked shut with a loud "thud" and you wasted no time in plopping down on one of the chairs. Though, as soon as your rear-end hit the soft cushion, the room shook.
"It appears this room is an elevator." Kurapika spoke matter-of-factly.
"What the hell is an elevator?" you thought to yourself as your friends all took seats around you.
You heard your stomach rumble and, as a means to distract yourself, let your head rest on the table. You tuned your friends out as they talked about whatever, only thinking about potential ways you can quell your growing hunger. Suddenly you remember something: You have that beef jerky in your pocket! You shoot up immediately and, just as you reach into your pockets, the elevator door opens.
You don't really know what you were expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.
The four of you stood face to face with a sea of people, all silently staring at you. You felt a slight shiver run down your spine. Why was the atmosphere so tense?! You imagined this to be a more…lively.. event.
Despite this, there were a couple of people who caught your eye, but you also figured that was to be expected, since you could sense that a large handful of people here were extremely powerful. You gulped hard, both nervousness and anticipation for what was to come surfacing from within you.
Gon tried to call out, but nobody answered. Some even went as far to glare at your group.
Seriously, what is up with everyone here?
As you looked around, you noticed a small green blob in a suit making it's way towards you. Is this a new type of animal? You wonder.
It gave Leorio a pin with the number 403 on it, then made its way to Kurapika. He gave him an almost identical one, however he had the number 404. Then, the green blob turned to you and Gon and handed both of you another white pin. Gon clipped his on his jacket, revealing the number 405. You mimicked his actions, clipping in onto your dark brown jacket. You wore the number 406.
All of a sudden, you hear someone call out to the four of you.
"Haven't seen you guys around before. Yo!"
It came from a brunette sitting atop a pipe. The first thing you noticed about him was the vibrant blue of his garments and his rather plump build. He jumped down from the wall and cheerily greeted your group.
While walking towards you guys, he revealed that this was his thirty-fifth attempt, so if we ever needed anything, we could ask him. Though, you couldn't help but feel as though the fact that he failed so many times wasn't a flex…
Still, you and Gon thanked him for his generosity. He was offering help, so you didn't wanna be completely rude. Soon after, he introduced himself as "Tonpa". Gon took him up on his offer and asked him about the other experienced exam takers. You listened carefully to Tonpa introduce each and every one.
Personally, you liked to find out stuff on your own, but a few words of advice never hurt anybody.
Out of nowhere, a piercing scream interrupts the fat man’s explanation. You all look over to the source, only to find a man kneeling on the floor, arms disintegrating into what looked like small little flowers. You found yourself staring at the scene in shock.
"Ah, how peculiar. His arms seemed to have become flower petals and disappeared."
Judging by how they'd spoken in a nonchalant tone, you figured that whoever just spoke was the one behind that whole spectacle. You looked over to try and identify the speaker and your eyes landed on a rather peculiar looking man. He was fair skinned with pink and purple hair. He also wore what seemed to be a star-shaped sticker under one eye and a tear-shaped one under the other. As you stared, his eyes looked over to meet yours.
Instantly, you broke out in a cold sweat.
You quickly looked away and broke eye contact. It's not even like he exuded any bloodlust towards you, in fact, it seemed like he could care less about your existence. However, instinctively, you knew that this was not someone you wanted to get involved with. Perks of being an experienced hunter, you guess.
You shakily ask Tonpa. All your life, you were considered an apex-predator on your island, so you're not that used to feeling such fear and dread.
You had to know more about this guy.
"Number 44. Hisoka, the magician. Last year, he was about to pass the test until he almost killed an examiner he didn't approve of." Tonpa replied with a more serious tone.
"A-And they're still allowing him to retake the exam this year?!" Leorio cried out in disbelief.
This, however, wasn't that much of a surprise to you. As far as you’re aware, no one ever said that a requirement of being a Hunter is being a good person.
The tense atmosphere around you guys slowly relaxed as Tonpa pulled out four orange cans, effectively changing the subject. You perked up right away, beaming at him as if he were some sort of holy saint.
"Sustenance! Finally!" You cheered before quickly cracking open the lid and putting it to your lips.
Suddenly, your ears turn to the sound of laughter coming from a group near you guys. They said something about Tonpa being one of the most vicious people here, which made you stop in your tracks. You looked the rotund man up and down, trying to identify any signs of potential danger.
"This guy? Really? I don't sense any danger coming from him.." You silently thought to yourself, drink still pressed to your lips.
You decided to ignore it and just drink your juice. If Tonpa was truly "vicious" as they put it, you would've felt it instinctively.
The moment the orange liquid entered your mouth, you spat it out right into Tonpa's face.
It tasted absolutely disgusting.
You sheepishly apologized, feeling a bit guilty as the plump man wiped the liquid off his face. He did a poor job at concealing his annoyance.
Though, you felt less alone knowing you weren't the only one who found the taste odd, since Gon spat the drink out at the same time as you. However, he was a lot more mindful than you and managed to avoid getting it on anyone.
"Mr. Tonpa, this juice must've gone bad. It tastes funny."
As soon as those words left Gon's mouth, Leorio spat his drink out as well. Kurapika, on the other hand, was definitely more civil than the three of you, as he simply dumped the orange drink out.
Tonpa looked startled and collapsed to his knees, apologizing to the four of you. An act you considered to be a bit dramatic, but whatever. At least he was sincere.
"I've tasted all kinds of mountain grasses and plants. So I can usually tell when something's off."
He lived up in the mountains too? You genuinely started to believe that Gon was your long lost twin or something.
Tonpa quickly apologized one more time and ran off. The action kinda reminded you of a kid trying to escape punishment (you are definitely not speaking from experience) for some reason.
As you turn to your friends, your ears catch the sound of a voice that seems to belong to another kid around your and Gon's age. You try to look for the source, but fail and decide to let it go. You'll probably get the chance to meet them later.
Suddenly, the room begins to shake as the wall in front of the horde slowly merges into the ceiling, revealing a tall, slim man with oddly styled purple hair.
It kinda reminds you of octopus legs.
Also, for some reason his mustache is literally growing out of his nose???
Moving on, the man starts to speak and, based on what he's saying, you deduct that he is in fact the examiner.
The Hunter exam is finally starting.
You feel your tail twitch in excitement as a giant smile etches itself onto your lips. Your life truly has just begun.
"A final word of caution." The purple-haired examiner spoke, "If you lack the necessary skills or if you're unlucky, you will end up seriously injured or dead."
Your aunt had already warned you of this before, so it didn't worry you. You trust in your abilities and believe you have what it takes to become a Hunter. Nothing will get in the way of your dream: It's what you were born into this world for. If anything, the man's warning only served to strengthen your resolve.
After he was done talking, the examiner turned on his heel and began walking through the tunnel. You do as he says and follow after him, though you try to stay close to your three comrades. After a few minutes, the odd man picks up the pace and starts running. At first, this caught you off-guard but you quickly regained your composure and matched his speed.
While running, he introduced himself as "Sato" and explained how he will lead the group of examinees to the second phase. Everyone around you was surprised to find out that the first phase had already commenced, which you found pretty stupid.
Had Sato not already told everyone that the exam had already started? Really, what surprised you the most was the fact that there were "phases". You honestly just expected to take one big test and pass.
Maybe you should've done some research beforehand…
Well, this seemed to be some sort of endurance test so no real problem for you. You have tons of that.
Feeling boredom hit you, you thought about talking to the spiky-haired boy beside you, but decided against it. You don't think he'll have any trouble either, but you still don't want to risk distracting him.
It's been two hours since you've been running and you had gotten wayy too bored almost thirty seconds in. Which means that you completely abandoned your earlier thought and had in fact been bothering Gon the entire time. Although, the boy didn't seem to mind at all. Actually, he seemed to welcome it more than anything.
"Hey! Wait up kid! You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!" You hear Leorio yell from his position in front of you.
You turn your head to catch a glimpse of the boy Leorio is talking to and your breath immediately catches in your throat.
"Wow, he's pretty." you stated blankly, (in your head of course).
You're not that experienced when it comes to socializing (since you really only ever talked to your aunt and father), but something tells you that saying that out loud would be considered weird.
"Using a skateboard is cheating! This is an endurance test!"
"No, it isn't." Gon chimed in and you turned your head to look at him.
"The examiner only said to follow him."
As soon as he finished speaking, the white haired boy rode towards you and Gon.
"Hey, how old are you two?" He asked nonchalantly.
"I'm twelve years old. Him, too." You replied, nodding towards the boy beside you.
The boy riding what Leorio called a "skateboard" stared intently at you two for a few seconds before flipping off his ride and running alongside you guys. Your mouth gaped open in awe seeing him do his little trick.
"That was so cool!" You and Gon exclaimed simultaneously.
"Katsumi!" You exclaimed a little too excitedly, tail wagging to match your enthusiasm.
You watch as Killua's eyes find their way to your ears and tail. He allows his gaze to linger for a beat too long before he meets your eyes once again.
"Are those real?" He asks pointing above your head where your ears were.
You notice Gon look over to you in his peripheral, probably trying to see what the cat-eyed boy was talking about.
You let out a quick "Yep." before breaking eye contact to look in front of you, though your smile never once left your face.
After a couple minutes, you notice the sound of Leorio's familiar footsteps start to slow down, which catches your attention. Gon seems to notice as well and slows down before coming to a full stop. He turns around to face Leorio, though he never once utters a word. You and Killua stop running as well.
You can safely assume that Killua doesn't actually care about Leorio and likely only stopped because of Gon, but you're not too sure why you yourself stopped too.
As much as you care about your new friends, you're not the type of person to go out of their way to look out for anyone else. Perhaps it was curiosity: curiosity about Gon, to be specific.
As much as you two were similar, you also had a lot of differences, so a lot of things he did never made perfect sense to you. This is also the reason you mimic his behaviour often.
You've always learnt things on your own and you can safely say that, out of everything, you learn the fastest with mimicry.
Suddenly, Leorio yelled something and started sprinting towards the rest of the examinees, which startled you a bit. Despite what you said earlier, you are in fact happy to see those you care about succeed. A small smile finds its way onto your face as you watch the man pass the three of you. Gon then grabs Leorio's abandoned suitcase using his fishing road, impressing both you and Killua.
"That was so cool!" Killua exclaims while you fervently nod your head in agreement, tail swishing from side to side once again.
"If you let me try your skateboard later, okay?"
There was a slight pause between them before Gon looked over to you, eyes sliding down to your jacket.
"You too! I wanna try on your jacket. It looks cool."
And just like that, you all unanimously agreed that, later, you'd all try each other's things.
After what felt like hours of running, a giant pair of stairs came into view.
Was everything outside of your island just super-sized? Or maybe this is normal and you're the weird one here. It also seems like Sato had picked up the pace, judging by the reactions of people around you. You, on the other hand, had no issue with this.
You weren't even close to being tired after all.
Probably out of boredom, Killua suddenly suggested a race between the three of you to see who finishes first. You tend to get a little competitive at times so naturally, you agreed. It also helps that dinner is on the line (though you can't really afford to lose because you forgot to grab pocket change when leaving the house). Before they even got to start counting, you started sprinting up the stairs as if your life was on the line.
You hear them yell behind you, causing you to turn around and stick your tongue out at them.
Though, to your surprise, they easily caught up to you.
Eventually, the three of you managed to catch up to both Leorio and Kurapika. You really haven't seen Kurapika since it started, since he was way further ahead than you. You enthusiastically waved to the two, earning a soft chuckle from the blonde. Gon spoke up right after:
"See you at the goal, Kurapika."
"Catch you later, old man." Killua's nickname for Leorio earned a snicker from you.
"I'm not old! I'm a teenager just like you guys!"
You felt the world still for a second.
Your jaw went slack as you stared at Leorio incredulously.
"There's no way you're anywhere near a teen!" You blurted out without thinking.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
After getting over your initial shock, you continued to run alongside Gon and Killua.
However, there was a slight problem.
At first, you were pretty confident that you had a decent chance at winning, but you've been stuck at the same pace as these two the entire race!
"I'm impressed you guys can keep up with me."
Killua stole the words right out of your mouth.
"Or maybe it's just that everyone else is slow."
For some reason, his words really wounded your ego. You watched as Killua deflated, muttering something about this being “no fun”.
"Hey, Killua, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon inquired, turning to look at the sulking boy beside him.
"Me?" Killua looked up to meet his eyes, "I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter."
This confession earned a confused reaction from both you and Gon.
"I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be pretty fun. But this is pretty disappointing."
He didn't look all that disappointed to you, though.
"Well, my dad's a Hunter, so I want to become a Hunter just like him." Gon explained while the three of you moved to the side, to avoid the unconscious body of a fellow examinee.
"I want to explore the word and discover all it has to offer!" You chirp, eyes shining with excitement at the mere thought of your future.
Both boys gave a small hum in acknowledgement and a short-lived silence fell over all three of you.
"Hey Gon, what kind of Hunter is your dad?"
That shameless admission incited a laugh from Killua, clearly amused.
You chimed in, "That's kinda weird."
"Really?" Gon turned to look at you with slight confusion on his face.
"You want to be like your dad, but you don't know anything about him?" The white-haired boy teased.
Gon then went on to explain how he was raised by his aunt, similar to you in a way, and has only ever really seen his dad in photos.
"I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter over staying with me."
You turned your head towards Gon, silently observing him. Again, you don't understand his way of thinking.
You yourself have no real parents. Your father just happened to find you on one of his excursions and took you home. Sure, sometimes you get a bit curious about who your real parents are, but it never truly lasts long. I mean, you lived with your dad your whole life, so you don't even really consider your biological parents yours anymore.
Well, everyone's different, you guess.
A ray of light shines on your face, interrupting your train of thought, and you snap your head towards the source.
Suddenly remembering your race, the three of you dash forward, each set on being the winner.
"Goal!" All three of you yell out at the same time, flying past the examiner.
"Yay! I win." Gon cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
"What are you talking about? I was faster…"
"No way! I definitely passed both of you." You argued passionately.
The three of you did a little back-and-forth over who was the faster one until Gon turned to ask Sato who the actual winner was. Turns out, you all passed the finish line simultaneously.
Therefore, Gon ended up coming to an agreement: He would buy you dinner, you would buy Killua dinner, and Killua would his dinner!
After a while, the majority of the examinees made it up to the top, so really you guys were just waiting for Kurapika and Leorio to make it as well. Though, it did take a while, so your trio decided to relax on the floor in the meantime. Soon after, your original group was reunited once again.
As the fog lifted, you gawked at the beautiful, lush forest in front of you, making you a bit nostalgic.
Sato then began explaining how to get to the second phase, but everything kind of went out one ear and out the other for you. The only thing that really stuck for you was the fact that there were an abundance of new creatures for you to discover. You felt your body jitter with overwhelming excitement.
You wanted to start moving right away!
Though, once you heard that animals here were masters of deceit, you couldn't help but worry. You were basically the most gullible person alive.
Well, it's not entirely your fault, as you lived in a pretty honest household. There was really no point in lying, therefore you also never understood why exactly people lie.
Well, at least you had your friends by your side. They didn’t seem like the type to easily fall for deceit, excluding Leorio. If anything, you'd just follow their lead.
Suddenly, a loud cry echoed from beside the large metal box.
"Don't let them fool you!"
A beaten blonde man emerged from the side of the building carrying a purple-haired monkey that looks shockingly similar to Sato.
"He isn't an examiner…I'm the real examiner!"
Your ears and tail shot up in surprise.
"Seriously?" You shrieked. That would mean Sato had been tricking you from the start!
Though, the more you stared at the injured man, the less it made sense.
You didn't sense a strong presence coming from him, unlike Sato. You're sure they wouldn't let just anyone be an examiner, so he'd at least have to be strong. It wouldn't be sensible if the examiner was weaker than everybody else. You quickly shake your head, letting your fluffy locks hit the sides of your cheek.
There's no way that man’s the real one.
The dirty blonde went on a whole tangent about these "man-faced apes", though it was short-lived.
You blinked and suddenly there were cards flying in the direction of both the blonde man and Sato. One caught them, one did not. You had no clue people could even die from something as flimsy as cards.
You didn't even need to look in order to figure out who instigated the attack.
It was most likely Hisoka again.
Really, no one else here was bold enough to pull something like that.
Even so, accidentally, you let your eyes to drift over to him and immediately regretted it.
As soon as your eyes met, you broke out into a cold sweat again, a violent shiver surging throughout your entire body.
You quickly pull your eyes away. There was something seriously off about that guy.
Killua seemed to notice your reaction and looked at you, confused. Though he didn't say anything about it.
You took a few deep breaths and decided to just try and focus on the exam.
Sato began running ahead again and your group followed. This time, however, you stayed even closer to the two boys on either side of you. The only thing bothering you was the constant running. Sure, you loved to be moving and could easily keep up, but if this whole exam is just gonna be running, it's gonna get boring fast.
You hoped that whatever lies in the wetlands will be far more entertaining.
