A couple knocks on her door and a call of "Rukei!" disturbed the girl from her quiet practice. The simple meditation of Ten was a good rest from the more intense training she had been working with tirelessly the past few days.

"The door is unlocked," she replied hesitantly as she stood to her feet, giving a side long glance towards the woman who entered. Surprisingly enough, a familiar blonde head followed that, a taller one that had to duck under the door frame, a man of similar stature after that, a short woman with a pleasant voice after, and two unmistakable conspicuous heads popped in right after, one white, the other spiky.

A whole crowd had gathered at that point and Rukei straightened her posture, very confused at the whole reception.

"What's happening-"

"Happy birthday!"

Rukei wanted to reply but was a bit too surprised as Shichi suddenly pulled a popper in her face. Rukei didn't bother to pull away streamers clinging to her hair and shoulders as she blinked dumbly.

Gon had spoken after first, bouncing up to the girl, "Shichi told us that 'that crazy woman makes us celebrate birthdays', so we wanted to do something for yours!"

Rukei felt her cheeks begin to tingle with warmth and she tried to convince herself that she was not completely, absolutely, and inexplicably overjoyed. She failed.

There was quiet snickering from the corner as a certain white-haired boy was barely holding back. Upon receiving the brunette's glance, the boy burst out into laughter, "You should have seen your the look on your face! So party poppers can actually get you to change your expression?"

And while the two held up a short banter, the older men and women started setting about to rearranging the room. Shichi was self-proclaimed boss under the reasoning that she was holding the cake and thus rendered useless to move any tables or chairs.

And so with a rickety hotel desk set in the center and chairs of all sorts pulled around it, Rukei was sung a little song, candles were blown out, and everyone shared the cake.

Shichi gave a brief lecture to the younger on how eating too much of it was bad and this could only be done once in a while. Someone made a comment on how the older was just as fussy as the younger, which ended in a childish chase around the table. The blonde chastised both lightly but each one insisted that the other started it, and they were the victim. But the laid back, easy atmosphere and air of a familiar normalcy that reminded her of the small apartment in Jianghai, gave Rukei a sense of home to celebrate September ninth.

A sudden ring of her phone brought the background bickering of Shichi and Leorio to a hush and Kurapika stopped chiding them at the call out of instinctive curiosity. She picked up the device, and took a quick look at the caller; an unregistered number. She had expected it to be Glass or Crimson.

If this is Hisoka...

"Hello, Nazoku-san. I believe today is your birthday. I wish you well."

To her relief, it was not the creepy clown. But this voice... Had she heard it somewhere before? It belonged to an older man in his later years, but had an edge of refinement and intelligence in it.

"You must be puzzled to be receiving this random call. And I have yet to introduce myself. Pardon me," there was a pause of waiting before he continued on, "But I have heard quite a bit about your memory. Do you remember who I am?"

Where had she heard it? It was not that long ago, but it wasn't that recent either... A memory of an assembly and speech flashed over her mind as she jolted out of her chair, standing up stiff, "Boss- Captain- I mean-" the girl panicked, fumbling for some appropriate title before settling for a short, "Sir!"

There was a quiet chuckle from the other end of the line, "Excellent work, Nazoku-san."

She was extremely flattered to be praised by the man for a small thing like remembering his voice. He was someone everyone in the Alliance respected, someone even the hardy Shichi would bow her head too. The man that had brought up the entire organization and held it together, Harold Andor.

But the question was, why was someone like him, calling someone like her? He was at the top with the entire Alliance ready to move at his word and she hadn't even been on an official mission. She was only a girl they had picked up from an uprooted criminal syndicate and had been doing desk work since then. Or was it perhaps her blood? She would be a good person to question if they wanted to find out more about the Zyphon procedures.

She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts as the man continued to speak. "I've been informed by someone that you've been preparing to pass a screening for players to clear Greed Island."

Informed? Who? Well, it wasn't like it was that hard for anyone in the Alliance to check what she was doing. "Yes, sir. The screening is tomorrow."

"Yes," the man confirmed that he knew of this too, "Nazoku-san, please listen to what I have to say very carefully."

"Of course, sir."

There was a moment of quiet, as if the man was still unsure wether he should relay the information to her or not. "We have finally managed to obtain news from Route. It was difficult to decipher but from what we've picked up in our interrogations is that it is highly likely that Flask is also targeting Greed Island."

Flask. The memory of a green-eyed man with an acid-like aura flipped through. If someone like him was trying to get into the screening, then Rukei could suddenly understand why the tests were so difficult.

"The reasons are still unknown. It will be highly likely that Flask will enter the game disguised. He will recognize you, if he is not already aware of your actions," Harold Andor continued, "And that is where I would like you to do something for me."

"Of course, sir."

"I would like you to intercept Flask."

Intercept Flask? Was this-?

"You will have to look through his disguise and you will most likely have to take him down by force. This will be difficult, dangerous, and new to you. This will be your first mission, Rukei Nazoku."

Rukei could not respond.

"Of course, you are able to decline. I understand that you have not been given any field work before and you are not registered yet as one of our official Alliance Hunters. You are not obligated to take this assignment."

"Sir, please allow me to take this mission," Rukei replied as soon as she could find her voice with a set determination and fire. She had been waiting for this moment for three years.

This silence was not the unsure or reluctant one, it was the satisfied one, content with her answer. "Very well then. This is an order. Intercept Flask while he is in Greed Island, and capture him alive."

"Understood."

But before the man could hang up, Rukei needed to know something. She stopped him but half regretted it, realizing the difference between ranks.

"Sir, I apologize if I am being offensive, but what was the necessity of calling me personally?" Rukei questioned carefully, "You could send for my division captain or a secretary to inform me of this."

A laugh sounded from the other side at her sudden question. He was not angry with her nor was he offended by her question. "A higher ranked Hunter contacted me directly concerning your progress. She had a lot of faith in you and I wanted to see why. That is all. Happy Birthday, Nazoku-san."

A click! signified the end of the call and she gave out a nervous sigh that she had been unaware she was holding. Gon grinned, he was sitting right beside her so he easily overheard the conversation. "This is great! You finally got your first mission."

She gave him a small smile and took the offer of a high-five, "Yeah."

"But still, this means we got to be really careful when we go to the screening and when we're in the game," Killua brought up, words half jumbled due to the fork in his mouth.

Gon was more positive though, "But we still haven't payed him back for what he did to Rukei at Heaven's Arena! And this time, we'll all be strong enough to take him, I'm sure of it!"

"I hope you're right," Rukei replied, though she was honestly just as confident as he was. She had advanced sharply the past few days. Flask or not, Rukei was sure she stood a chance.

"You'll be fine," a hand ruffled her hair much to her annoyance, and she looked up to see Shichi with a somewhat forced expression of unconcern, "You're thirteen now. You can handle it, can't you?"

"A higher ranked Hunter contacted me directly concerning your progress. She had a lot of faith in you."

Leorio gave a jaded scoff, "Most thirteen year olds don't run around trying to track syndicate freaks."

Shichi had not forgotten her previous argument with the man as she whirled around to face him, "Well, y'know, grandpa, I took the Hunter Exam when I was thirteen. I don't know what you used to do way back when, but you should keep up with the young people."

"I already told you, I'm not old!" Leorio yelled, while pointing at the woman's dirtied leathery shoes with the metal clasps, "If anything, you're the one who's outdated. Your boots are hideous!"

There was an indignant gasp from the woman, "'Scuse me, these boots were made for combat."

And so, the subject of Rukei's safety and ability quickly changed to the questioning of Leorio's age and Shichi's filthy footwear.

-

"Rukei, surely, you can at least trust me to carry some dishes down to the lobby?" Shichi questioned while giving an irritated glance back towards the girl who watched her older sister dutifully as she glanced over the borrowed plates and down the steps to give it back for the service to wash.

"No," the brunette replied immediately, "You're terrible at housework."

Shichi rolled her eyes at her sister's comment, "Is this even considered housework?"

"You're terrible at housework."

Shichi flinched and Rukei gave her an annoyed look. No doubt the same memory had passed over their minds, most likely some incident back in the apartment. Their apartment was a victim to a lot of things and a home to many stories.

The two rounded the next set of steps. Shichi had both lost in a game of rock-paper-scissors versus everyone else, oddly enough, being the most likely candidate as winner. And Rukei had refused to leave Shichi and plates together without supervision.

The woman set the dishes on the counter, waiting there for confirmation until one of the workers had taken them away and put them elsewhere. In the meantime, Shichi was faced with Rukei's statement.

"Thank you for speaking to Harold Andor for me."

The woman mumbled, "I have no idea what you're talking about," while turning her head to the side and rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

Rukei ignored the denial, not even bothering to make a comment on her awful attempt of a lie, and the younger continued, "You don't have to do things behind the scenes all the time."

Shichi did not reply aside from a half-hearted grunt as an acknowledgment that the brunette said something. Perhaps Rukei was Iron Face, but Shichi had been nicknamed Iron Head through the Alliance, marked by her rough, unyielding, 'I-am-always-right' adamance.

"You always do that, leaving everyone else in the dark while going on some mission nobody knows about. You worry me," Rukei huffed and added lightly, "That's horrible, Shichi-oneesan."

"Well, y'know," Shichi replied back with a cheeky grin, "Only a monster can defeat a monster."

And only Shichi and the not present Kurapika knew the gravity of behind the words she spoke so frivolously, how much Shichi actually believed the phrase to be true, and how much Shichi believed the phrase to be a part of her.

"What are you talking about? It's not the monster, it's the hero isn't it?"

Rukei had replied those words without thought. She had only believed Shichi's statement was the start of a banter and Rukei wasn't going to lose as she passed the dishes over to the worker who had finally dropped by to carry the plates away.

"You can't change the legends like that, Shichi-oneesan. Crimson will yell at you."

There were a lot of things Shichi wanted to say in that moment. How Rukei was wrong, how life wasn't some blasted legend or stupid fairytale, how Shichi was no longer qualified to be a hero, how the pages of reality's tale were stained in red and black, how the words like 'bravery' and 'justice' were smeared over, how something inside Shichi still wanted to believe what Rukei had said, how it's not that easy.

But Shichi only managed a tired, "You're an idiot."

-

"Are you sure about this? They're going to be pretty down when they find out."

The airport was filled with traveling, returning, and waiting people along with the on and off chiming of the intercom calling flights and announcing delays. Shichi adjusted the strap of the guitar case slung around her shoulder and checked for her Hunter License in her pocket quickly, to make sure that she could get through security with the weapon on her back.

"They'll be fine. People come and people go," she assured the man in front of her. Rukei should have been used to this by now. Did she like it? No, but nothing could be done as Glass called Shichi back to Jianghai to look over some documents that would be too risky to send over.

The blonde nodded in agreement, "Right now, they should be focusing on passing the screening. Tell them we'll meet again."

Leorio appeared a little down himself, but gave them an assuring grin and thumbs up. "Sure. You got it!"

"So long."

And as Kurapika turned on his heels with the short farewell, his companion following after him, Shichi was about to take back to her seat and wait for her next flight. But something tugged at her, and annoying feeling that forced her to walk briskly to catch up to the blonde as Leorio called Senritsu back.

"Hey, wait a minute, Kurapika," and the boy turned at her call. He waited for her to continue as she quickly put the sentences together in her head, "So, uh, remember when I told you that you had to be a monster to kill a monster?"

The calm and easy look in his eyes was slightly disturbed by her bringing up of the bloody night. He gave her a simple, detached 'yes' as a reply to her question.

"Listen, I-," the woman stopped and gave a sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck and continued to say her least favorite words, "I might have been wrong back there. Sorry."

Kurapika was aptly confused by the turn of her statement and perhaps, her nature, "What do you mean?"

"Rukei told me some stupid stuff, but in a way, it was kinda stupidly right," Shichi laughed in embarrassment, "'It's not the monster that kills the monster, it's the hero' is basically what she said. So just... Uh, y'know," Shichi searched for the right phrase but ended up sounding more like an idiot, "You don't have to make yourself a monster."

Kurapika stared at her, with such a blank and unnerving stare that told her exactly what she feared. She did sound like an idiot. He sighed and gave a reply, "It does not matter who or what I have to become, wether it be the hero or the monster. I shall avenge them by all and any means."

Ah. So that was it. Shichi returned a deep exhale and gave a weary smile, "Figures. Well, don't worry the other guys too much,"she added, glancing back towards Leorio speaking with Senritsu, "You've got good friends."

"I know."

-

"Let us begin the test. One at the time, come up and show me your Ren. A shutter and curtain will block any view of the stage so the other applicants cannot see what's happening. The moment we've chosen thirty-two players, the test will end."

And with the simple directions, Rukei immediately stood and gave her two friends, 'I'll be going ahead' before heading over to the edge of the stage as instructed. She heard Killua call after her, but she could not waste a moment. It was highly likely that she would be able to see the others that had passed after she herself did, and she needed to keep tabs on every player for Flask.

Rukei was the second person to take the test after a man with a red shirt.

She glanced about the stage before returning her eyes to the man who stood in the center, with his arms folded and gaze looking down on her. She could catch a hint of amusement, the sneering type, from him there.

"Let's see your Ren."

"Am I allowed to demonstrate something other than Ren?"

"Sure. You can do anything to show that your Ren I saw four days ago isn't your real strength," he agreed and Rukei couldn't help but feel annoyed at the choice of his words. 'You can do anything' subtly pinned a sound of desperation to her.

Rukei was used to taking arrogance. Shichi called everyone around her an idiot and her little sister was not immune. But she was not taking it from this man. She strode over to the wall at the far end across the shutter, and quickly dipped her finger into a tube of paint stowed away in her pocket.

She paused for a moment, looking back just about as she was going to mark the wall to ask another question, "Hypothetically, if I were to damage the walls, equipment, you, or anything in this room, would I have to pay for damages?"

The man gave an amused scoff at her question filled with a good amount of arrogance itself to counter him. "No. We are the ones asking you to demonstrate your power. Well, it's not like you'll be able to destroy anything here that easily-"

"Trace."

And so, as Rukei stepped away from where she stood, a car crashed through the wall, half of it's partly mangled frame sticking into the room, the clear mark on the hood could be seen. The glass of the headlight falling to the ground broke the silence that fell over for a few moments.

"I'm not paying for damages."

Rukei was the second person to pass the test after the man with the red shirt.

。。。

A much shorter chapter, but it's a simple set up to Greed Island! And Flask is back in the picture. There hasn't been enough characters shown and hints dropped yet, but I'm going to be very impressed with whoever figures out Flask's disguise first!

I'm getting kinda used to writing and reading Hunter, wow. Another gif for everyone!

Also thank you very, very much for 1K reads and 100+ votes, I am very, very grateful and happy!