Hunter X Hunter Esther

12) Continue Forward

“How is this even a quiz?!” Leorio shouts, clearly annoyed. He’s ignored once again as the man presses the button. “The answer is 1,” he says with a smug grin. A tsk sound escapes from me. There is no correct way to answer a question like this. Just what is that old lady planning? “And why did you make that choice?” The old lady asks.

“It wasn’t all that hard. Because you only have 1 mother in the whole world, but you could always go out and find yourself a new lover,” the man says. Ah, so he’s that type of dishonest scum. I glare daggers at him, causing Leorio to gulp. The old lady stares at him. She goes to the side, opening the pathway for him. “You may pass.”

The man smirks as he walks away. Leorio’s enraged. “Hey now, that’s all bull! How is that the right answer?! Are we supposed to give answers the old lady wants?! And that’s considered correct?! Hey! Say something!” The old lady just stares at him, not answering. Just what are we missing about this situation?

“I won’t put up with this sham. I’ll find a different route,” as Leorio turns away, the old lady says hold up. “Refuse to take the quiz, and you’re disqualified.” “That's just ridiculous! Different people would expect different answers! There is no right answer there never has been!” Leorio shouts. Kurapika seems to have figured something out. “There is…no right answer?” Wait a minute…

“Wait!” The old lady shouts. Causing Kurapika to freeze before he told Leorio anything. “Not another word from you. Say anything but the answer, and you're immediately disqualified.,” she threatens. I glance at Kurapika and see him clenching his arms. When we make eye contact, I nod. We’ll just hope for the best.

The old lady begins the quiz. “Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. You can only rescue one. Select 1 for your son, or 2 for your daughter. Which will you rescue?” The countdown begins. I glance back at Gon and see him thinking long and hard about the question. I just hope he doesn’t mess this one up.

The sound of wood makes me perk up an ear. Looking at my side, I see Leorio picking up a plank. He swings it, as if measuring up the impact it could cause. I gulp, crossing my arms together so that I won’t wind up doing something stupid too. “Buzz, time’s up,” the old lady says. Suddenly, Leorio pounces at her.

Thinking fast, I grab his head from behind as Kurapkia jumps in to block the plank with wooden num-chuks. I slam Leorio’s face onto the ground, causing him to drop the plank as I question myself internally if he’ll avoid me after this display. Hearing him groan, I quickly jumped back and away from him. Standing next to Gon nervously. Me and my stupid impulses.

Leorio sits up, holding his injured face. He glares at me as I hide behind Gon. “Why did you do that?!” He shouts as he walks up to me. Before he could lift me by my shirt, Kurapika intervened. “Calm down Leorio! Esther was only trying to stop you from doing something you’ll regret!”

“How am I supposed to calm down?! I won’t be satisfied until I teach that old hag a lesson!” Leorio shouts, even more enraged. “We got it right! Do you really want to jeopardize that?!” “Huh?” Leorio freezes. Looking confused between me and Kurapika. I sigh in relief. “It was silence.” “Silence? What do you mean?” He asks, even more confused.

“It’s as you said, there was never a right answer. But the quiz required that we answer with the number 1 or 2. Which means, we weren't meant to respond at all. Silence was the only answer,” Kurapika says. “But what about that other guy?” “She only said he can pass, not that he was right. Which means that this isn’t the correct path.”

“You are correct,” the old lady says, catching our attention. She smiles as she gets up from her cart and walks up to a door behind her. “The correct path is over here,” Two masked people open the door. It’s dark, but I can see a light at the other end. “This leads directly to the tree. Walk two hours, and you'll reach the top.”

“Oh…so that’s what this is about…,” Leorio mumbles to himself. “A couple lives in the cabin beneath that tree. They shall serve as your navigators. If you meet their standards, I believe that they will guide you to the exam site,” the old lady says. She bows. “If you’re still not satisfied, then go ahead and grab this old hag wherever you wish.”

Leorio stares long and hard at the old lady. He bows at her, apologizing. “Granny, I’m really sorry,” the old lady smiles. “No need to apologize to me. The only thing that keeps me going every day is the hope that I’ll meet someone like you. Work hard and become an exceptional hunter,” Leorio smiles. “I will.”

Gon sighs as he falls to the floor. I stare at him, confused. He rubs his hair, unable to come up with anything. “It’s no use. I can’t think of an answer,” Kurapika and Leorio glance at each other. They laugh. “You were still trying to find an answer? You can stop,” Gon looks up at him, confused.

“Huh? Why?” “The quiz is over,” Kurapika answers. Gon looks at me, I shrug. He smiles. “I know. But you know… What if I run into a situation like that and I can only save one person? What should I do then?” Everyone goes silent. I sigh, he’s always been like this. Not that I mind. We think deeply about it.

“It wouldn't be right to choose just one…But one day, I might have to make that choice,” Gon says with conviction that I am inclined to believe him. For a moment, I think about that question. About having to choose between my mother or my lover. Although I am unsure of what a lover is, I do classify it as ‘friend’.

If I had to choose between my mother or my ‘friend’, what would I choose? Could I even choose at all? Would I regret that decision? Or would I be okay with it? For the first time in my life, I’m questioning my loyalty… I feel someone tap my shoulder. I tense up. “Esther?” Gon says. I blink and look behind me at the corridor.

“It’s time for us to go,” Gon grins. I nod stiffly, following along behind him. When we enter the corridor, I glance back behind me. I sigh, it seems it’s gonna be dark for at least 2 hours. With that thought, the door behind us closed. Leaving us with no choice but to continue forward.