N. E. N. [ H U N T E R X H U N T E R ]

Chapter 8 - ハンター 試験 | パート5

'Maybe... maybe I could just let my emotions flow once again, maybe I could be happy, like when I lived with Yuji... maybe...' I continued to think about it, until I noticed that the three kids were walking after Netero.

Hiroe seemed to be jumping up and down, very excited about something.

Curious, since I didn't listen to the conversation, I followed, still thinking about the emotion issue...

N. E. N. POV

Maybe I should stop daydreaming all the time and start paying attention to what people say. I mean, I pay attention to my surroundings, just... not to what people say, meaning I have no idea at all where Netero wants to bring those kids.

I recognized the way they were heading to. It was the room in which he and I used to spar together. Or play the ball game.

I assume he wants to entertain himself by playing the ball game, it has always been his favourite. We played very often, maybe once a week, to see my progress. I only managed to win the game during the third year, and it was only during the two last month that I won weekly. Before that, the winner would alternate between my sensei and I.

To cut the long explanation short, even though it's pretty much finished, the kids stand no chance. Netero will give them a chance, though never let them win. He did that with other kids too, during other exams. If they made it high enough to meet the chairman, (which only two kids achieved during the three years I witnessed,) they would get to play.

I was never jealous of the fact that Netero never played lightly with me, as it would have been too easy. My way to train isn't little by little: you got to give me a challenge and give me time to finish it. Like they say, aim for the moon and if you can't get to it, you'll fall on the stars.

Even though I disagree with the scientific sense of it, (as stars are actually suns very far away from us), I get the idea. And the thing I could add to it is that once you're on a star, try again until you get the moon.

Think what you want about it, we can all have our opinions. Like those who think it's better to aim for something small and gradually place the bar higher.

Like I expected, we arrived at the training room. Behind the pretty little cushions on the walls was heavy metal, prepared to defend the airship against powerful punches.

Netero explained the goal of the game, while playing with the yellow ball, and asked who wanted to go first.

Hiroe raised her hand, saying "me! Me!" But Killua decided to go on his own.

I could tell he already hated the chairman, and didn't trust him at all. I wonder why...

They started to play, and it was obviously a one-sided combat. First, when Killua made that assassin technique move... which reminds me of a certain family... Netero easily moved away from the boy as he plunged for the wanted item. Then, for every move Killua made, Netero simply dodged like if he was playing tag with a three years old.

When Killua decided to kick Netero's leg, I could only cringe as I imagined the amount of pain he was in right now. I saw the small amount of nen Netero used to protect himself, just in case, and it was beyond enough to break a normal kid's leg. We're lucky the kid we're talking about is anything but normal.

Next went Gon, which made Hiroe pout childishly as she wanted to play too. The forest boy's idea wasn't bad, to jump for it, as it took Netero by surprise, but the strength he used ruined it all when he hit the ceiling.

I had never used techniques or feints, as I wanted to get the ball by overpowering Netero, not by using luck. I never used nen either, as mine has always been stronger than Netero's and I didn't want to cause any harm. It must be fun to spar with kids with a wild imagination.