I'LL BE WITH YOU ― KURAPIKA KURTA ✓

──── 𝙀𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏

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After passing the second phase, everyone boarded onto the blimp to move to the Third Phase.

"I wasn't planning on making my introduction so soon, but I might as well since we are all here," Netero said, followed by a hearty chuckle, "I am, Netero, chairman of this year's Hunter Exam selection committee."

The same green bean from when everyone first entered the exam stood by his side with a smile, "And I'm his secretary, Beans."

"Originally, I'd made to make my appearance during the exam's final phase, but as I'm already here..." Netero trailed off as he scanned the room. "I'm loving this tension in the air! So I think I'll stick around for the rest of the trip,"

"We are scheduled to arrive at our destination tomorrow morning, at 8 am. You will find dinner waiting in the dining hall," Bean spoke up again with his plastered smile, "You are also welcome to get some rest. You are free to do whatever you want until you are contacted."

"Gon! Let's explore the ship!" Killua remarked with a grin earning a 'Yeah!' from Gon.

"How can they have so much energy?" Leorio thought out loud, "I'm hitting the sack."

"You can say that again," Kurapika agreed, tiredly, "What about you, [Y/N]?"

The female shook her head, "Going for a walk," She said before walking away,

"Ey! Let me join you, too!" Riley chimed as he walked side by side with [Y/N], who didn't care at all.

"Oi, do you ever wonder how many phases are there?" Riley asked.

"Never thought about it," [Y/N] replied emotionlessly.

Riley hummed as he played around with his jewelry that is around his neck, "They never mentioned it, huh? There could be ten phases or even twenty of them. Aren't you afraid or a little shaken up?"

"No. In order to get strong, I must pass the Hunter Exam and achieve my goal," [Y/N] coldly answered.

'I wonder what her goal is,' Riley thought, keeping the statement a mental note to himself.

"On average there are five or six phases," Tonpa, the rookie crusher, overheard their conversation and decided to join in.

Riley stared at him before humming, "Then that means we have three or four more to go,"

"You should be careful, you know," Tonpa warned as they stop in their tracks, "They only told us when we'll arrive at our destination. It's possible that the third exam could take place on the airship on itself, and it doesn't necessarily mean we'll be contacted at 8 am," He explained.

"Alright, we just don't sleep then," Riley said as if it's the easiest thing to do, "We can just meditate while resting,"

Tonpa's body freezes as he mentally panics, "B-But you might wake up to discover that the exam has already ended. If you plan to make it to the next phase, don't let yourself relax on the airship."

Riley just blinks at him before letting out a fake smile, "Alright, that was some good advice. We'll have that in mind," He then waved him off.

"Let's do our best!"

Once they were far away from Tonpa, Riley spoke up, "So that's the Rookie Crusher, eh..? He's really weak that I can easily crush his soul," [Y/N] simply stayed silent even by Riley's comment, "Do you want to grab some food? I'm quite hungry,"

"Sure," Was [Y/N]'s reply before Riley grinned as he grabbed her wrist and started to drag her all the way to the dining hall. Riley grabbed a few plates while [Y/N] grabbed one plate since she wasn't all that hungry.

"Hey, love. Do you have any favorite applicants?" Riley asked as he started to chow down his food.

[Y/N] slowly turns her attention to Riley since the boy called her 'love,' "Who are you calling 'love'?" [Y/N] coldly asked

Riley slightly flinches as he looks over to [Y/N] with a nervous look, "Uh...you...If you don't mind..." He nervously replied.

"Don't call me that," She coldly said.

"Right..." He nervously chuckled, "Anywho, like I asked, do you have any favorite applicants?"

[Y/N] thinks for a moment before answering, "Your sensei and Gon,"

"Ah, you've taken notice of my sensei." Riley lightly chuckled, "You know I'm interested in you. You seem quite strong," He stated.

"Hunters are continually seeking rivals. The Hunter Exam is a place to find opponents worthy of respect," [Y/N] said.

"Agreed there," Riley said as he placed down his fork and looked out the window, "Wow, look at the city," [Y/N] did as she was told and looked out the window, from her perspective it looked like the land was covered in shiny jewels.

"Say, I was wondering for a while..." Riley spoke up, "What do you think about Kurapika?"

"Nothing more than a friend," [Y/N] replied,

"Really? Have you been noticing the usually glances at you?" He questioned,

"Noticed," Was [Y/N]'s response before continuing, "Not looking for a relationship,"

"Alright, well...what about me?" Riley asked slightly leaning in,

[Y/N] didn't even hesitate to reply, "Not even interested and you're just another playboy," She coldly responded.

"Just because I called you 'love,' once doesn't mean I'm a playboy!" Riley protested.

[Y/N] and Riley decide to take another walk down the hall while they chatted. Well...it was mostly Riley doing the talking, [Y/N] was just silent. Suddenly, Riley let out a yawn, surprising the silver-haired boy, "Well would you look at that," He mused, "I guess I'll get some sleep. I can't wait for the next phase. Anyway, see you [Y/N]!" With that, he walks off to find Hisoka's room.

"See you," [Y/N] muttered as she walked over to find her friend's room. 'Something about his aura...' She trailed off her thought before narrowing her eyes where Riley walked off. '...I'll have to see if it's that powerful.' Once she found her room, she went over to an empty spot, let out a small tired sigh before falling asleep.

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