Hunter X Hunter Esther

11) How Is This Even A Quiz?!

When the ship arrives at dock, Gon is extremely excited. The moment the board falls, he immediately jumps off. “We’re here!” He shouts. I walked off the ship, taking out the baggy Gon gave me beforehand. Keeping a neutral face, I walk to a nearby pole. “Bleh…” I could hear Gon reassuring the others that I’m fine. I glance back at them, giving them a thumbs up.

Ever since I could finally speak, vehicles and other forms of transportation don't do well with me. If I get off anything that moves, expect me to be sick. “Thanks for everything, captain,” glancing back, I see Gon talking to the captain. “I had a really great time sailing aboard your ship.”

“You’re a good kid though,” the captain blows out from his pipe. “If you could appreciate a rough voyage like that one, you’ll be alright,” he laughs as I walk up to them. “But remember, you’ve only reached Dolay Harbor. There’s still a long way to go, and it ain’t gonna be easy.”

“You’re right, thanks,” Gon agrees. When I arrive, the captain smiles. “Let me give you some advice.” “Advice?” Gon asks. The captain points somewhere. “Look. See that big Cedar Tree on the hilltop?” We look towards where he’s pointing. Behind the city, there stands a lone tree up a hill. “You should make your way up there first. It’s a short cut to the exam site.”

“A short cut? Got it!” Gon and I nod. “So, we need to just head for that tree! We’ll do that captain!” Gon grins. I sign, “Thanks.” “Best of luck!” The captain winks. “Yeap, same to you!” Gon and I run off. “Take care!”

_

“This doesn't make any sense. Are you sure the captain said to go to that tree?” Leorio asks as we stare at the board map. We’re checking which way is the exam site. “Yeah, he said it was a shortcut,” Gon says. “According to this notice, it says the exam site is somewhere in Zaban City. And the tree is not even close to it,” Leorio scratches his head.

“Are you sure you didn't hear him, right?” Kurapika tries to clarify. Gon shakes his head. “No, he told us to go to the Cedar Tree.” “This notice isn't any help! Where, exactly, in Zaban City are we meant to go?” Leorio shouts. I sign. “If it told us where it's being held, people would flock there. This must be another test to see if we can get there with limited knowledge.”

Leorio just stared at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Um…What?” I face-palm. “Esther means that this must be another test. We have to get to the exam site by ourselves,” Gon clarifies. “I knew that!” Leorio shouts. “Anyways, I'll go have a look. The captain must have had a reason to suggest that,” Gon says, I agree. We start to walk away.

“Hey, you're serious? The bus to Zabon city is about to leave. We should just take that,” Leorio suggested. I stop and look back. I stare at him, pulling out a sign from seemingly nowhere. It reads, “I have motion sickness!” Gon and I continue to leave. Kurapika soon follows after talking with Leorio for a bit.

Leorio walks off to the bus but soon runs back to us. Wonder what's that about. Coming further into a run-down city, I could smell multiple people all around me. Not to mention, someone had been following us. Couldn’t they just pop out and walk with us? Oh wait, they must be selfish.

“I don’t see anyone,” Leorio comments. He looks around. Gon grins. “Nope. There are many people here!” “What?!” Doors begin to open. People wearing strange costumes come out. They are pulling some sort of cart with an old lady inside. “W-what the heck is this freak-show?” Leorio stares at them, sweat dropping.

The old lady stares at us, making us gulp. She then speaks. “…Exciting…” “Exciting?” Leorio asks, blinking confusedly. She repeats again. “…Exciting…EXCITING TWO-CHOICE QUIZ!!!” Ah!!! My ears sting! Why did she yell?! The costume people start making music. We just stare dumbfounded. You can’t be serious?

“You boys are headed for that tree on the hill, correct? To reach that tree, you must pass through this town. I shall administer a single-question quiz,” the old lady says, her hands resting on the rails. Leorio stares, still confused. “Hold on. What’s going on here?” “Obviously, a quiz,” I whisper, but he still heard. “I know that, but what for?”

“You have 5 seconds to state your answer. Give the wrong answer, and you're disqualified. You'll have to give up on taking this year's hunter exam,” the old lady explains, completely ignoring Leorio. He looks at her, mad. Kurapika looks on, thoughtful. “I see… Then this is part of the hunter exam.”

“So that's what's going on,” Leorio grins. “I happen to be a quiz expert. Wait! Only one question?!” He shouts, shocked. “Your answer will only be the number 1 or 2,” the old lady holds up two fingers. “Any other answer will be considered incorrect.” “Hold on! All 4 of us share one question? So, if one of them answers incorrectly, I'm disqualified too?” Leorio asks, pointing at us. Kurapika slaps away his finger.

“As if that would happen! What scares me is the high likelihood of the vice versa happening.” “What was that?” Leorio glares, but Gon cuts him off. “But you know. This is way easier, since only one of us needs to know the answer. I'm not good at quizzes,” Gon rubs his head embarrassingly. I nod in agreement.

I can hear footsteps approaching. Turning around, I see a man who smells like who was stalking us. I frown at him. The man grins cockily. “Hey, there. Hurry it up. Or else I'll answer the question first.” “Who are you?” Leorio asks. “He followed us here, all the way from port,” Gon answers. “Huh? Seriously?”

Glaring at the man, I tap Gon’s shoulder. He looks at me, reading what I sign. “I have a suggestion.” “You do?” Gon asks, catching everyone’s attention. I nod and continue signing. “Since he wants to so badly answer the question, we should let him go first.” Gon nods, he repeats what I signed to the others.

“I agree. We can let him go first to see what kind of question we should expect,” Kurapika agrees. “I have no objections,” Leorio agrees. “Alright then,” Gon grins, turning to look at the man. The man shrugs. “Then I’ll get to it,” he walks up to a stand, waiting to hear what the old lady will ask. She stares, then speaks.

“Here is your question…. Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one. Select 1 for your mother, or 2 for your lover. Which will you save?” Everyone but the man looked at her, surprised. How is this even a quiz?!