sᴏ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘs ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ᴏᴄ.

sᴏ ɢᴏɴ ᴛʜɪɴᴋs ᴏғ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴄᴛs, ᴀs ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ sɪʙʟɪɴɢs ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴀʟsᴏ sᴇᴇs ʜᴇʀ ᴀs ᴀ ʙᴇsᴛ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ sᴇᴇs ʜɪᴍ ᴀs ʜᴇʀ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ.

ᴋᴜʀᴀᴘɪᴋᴀ sᴇᴇs ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ᴀs ᴀ ʏᴏᴜɴɢᴇʀ sɪsᴛᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ʜᴀs ᴀ sᴍᴀʟʟ ᴄʀᴜsʜ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʟᴀʏғᴜʟʟʏ ᴛᴇᴀsᴇs ʜɪᴍ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀʟʏ ᴀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇs.

ꕥ

ꕥ

Stretching her arms out, Valentine looked up at the sky and saw that it was a bright, new day. Not only that, but she also realized that it was the final day of the Fourth Phase, bringing it to an end.

The sunlight beamed down on her ivory skin and as seconds ticked by, the blonde found herself walking alongside the boy with a beige complexion and the two ventured towards the start of Zevil Island located near the shore.

When they had arrived, there were a few other's that had already arrived; including Hisoka and Gittarackur, the man covered in pins. Muscles tensing, Valentine felt a pair of eyes burning into the side of her head and she kept her eyes in front of her; not wanting to catch the man's gaze.

The salmon haired woman from before stepped onto the island and started jotting down the names of those who had passed. Apparently, only eight people had made it this far.

Looking around, Valentine noticed that Kurapika, Leorio and Gon had yet to arrive.

"Do you think they're going to make it?",Valentine questioned, glancing at Killua.

'Probably',The white-haired boy responded, shrugging lightly and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Huffing lightly at his response, Valentine looked towards the hill once again and her eyes brightened at the sight of the three. They didn't look as if they had almost been killed, only having a few spot of dust coating their appearances; minus the exception of Leorio who had a bruise on his face, while his body was wrapped up in white bandages.

Smiling brightly in excitement, Valentine ecstatically waved at them and was beaming at the fact that they were all able to move onto the Final Phase together.

Only ten people had passed and moved onto the Final Phase of the Exam.

ꕥ

'This questionnaire is mostly to satisfy my curiosity. Out of the remaining contestants, which applicants are you keeping a close eye on? Which one would you avoid fighting the most?',Netero asked.

'Number 99. Oh! And Number 399 has caught my interest as well. Number 405 was interesting, but not as interesting as those two. I would not like to fight Number 405, but Number 99 is a close second..',Hisoka told him, licking his lips.

Asking Hisoka why he wanted to become a Hunter, Netero stayed neutral as he responded with an immoral response.

Staring out the window, Valentine was sitting on a bench in the airship and her golden eyes took in the gorgeous colors of the sky, before she stared at the city below her; the bird upon her shoulder missing the thrill of flying.

As someone sat down beside her, Valentine was pulled from her thoughts and looked beside her, a look of surprise coating her face when she saw Killua.

A small chirp left Zeus's lips and he glided towards Killua, gently landing on his shoulder, causing the snowy-haired boy to look down at him, before slowly lifting his hand to pet the small bird's head.

"What're you doing?",Valentine questioned, tilting her head as an innocently confused look filled her golden eyes.

'Can I not sit next to my friend and look out the window?',Killua asked, a bit offended by her question and answered with hostility and bitterness.

Letting a small smile twitch at her lips, Valentine turned her gaze towards the window and gently nodded.

"Of course you can, I just figured that you'd be sitting with Gon",Valentine stated, turning her gaze towards the green-haired boy.

A low hum left Killua's lips and he shrugged, placing his crossed arms on his lap as he leaned forward.

'I considered it'

Turning her gaze back towards the azure eyed boy, Valentine tilted her head and placed her chin in her hand.

"So why didn't you?",Valentine questioned, her curiosity rising.

Just as Killua opened his mouth to answer, a buzz echoed from above them and the two looked up at a speaker over their heads.

Valentine was next.

ꕥ

Valentine had quite a few reasons for becoming a Hunter, but it was mostly to explore the world.

She didn't need money since her family had plenty laying around.

Out of all of the other applicants, she wanted to keep her eye on Killua and Gon; since they would most likely end up doing very stupid things later on down the road.

The applicants that she would least want to fight was Kurapika, Leorio and Killua. The reasons for her wanting to fight Gon were all for very playful reasons.

The Final Phase was located inside a large, grand hotel that was owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee. Entering the large building, Valentine's pink lips were parted in shock and awe.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Killua rolled his eyes and let out a small sigh.

'Close your mouth, idiot',The snowy-haired boy scolded, a frown painting his face.

Immediately, Valentine snapped her mouth shut and playfully glared at Killua, sticking her tongue out at him.

Taking her gaze off of her snowy-haired friend, sun colored eyes darted around the room and took in the sight in front of her.

In front of them was Netero, looking quite cheeky and on his right, were the rest of the examiners. To his left, were a row of formally dressed butlers.

'For the Final Phase, we will be having one-on-one tournaments',Netero declared to the examinees and a board, covered in a large white cloth, was rolled into the room.

As soon as he pulled off the cloth, black lines were seen connecting to a single box on top and there was a strip of tape at the bottom to hide the faces of the remaining applicants.

'So, the last one standing wins?',The bald headed ninja, Hanzo, asked.

'Nope. One win is only required for you to pass',Netero informed,'The winners are removed from the competition, while the loser continues up the brackets. In other words, the person finished at the top will fail. Is that clear now?'

'So, you're saying that only one person will fail?',An elderly applicants asked; he was clearly experienced in martial arts.

'Exactly'

Tension rose within the air when the tape was pulled off, revealing the brackets and who would be fighting who. Five people were on each side of the board, but judging by the black lines, all of them were still connected to the top box.

Following the line of boxes, when she caught sight of her opponent, Valentine's eyes widened and her lips parted, shock filling her system.

She would be going against the loser between Gon and Hanzo, praying to herself that she wouldn't have to fight Gon.

Glancing towards Gon, Valentine watched as he did the same and the two stared at one another, before smiling at each other.

Even if they did have to fight one another, they wouldn't hurt each other; well, they'd try not too.

Looking back towards the board, the blonde girl noticed Kurapika's opponent and looked towards the blonde teen with worry.

'Impressive, right? You see under this format, every competitor has at least two chances to win a round'

'Yeah, but some people get five chances, like 405 and 294',Pokkle said.

'Couldn't you have used a more balanced balanced bracket?',Bodoro commented.

Grunting in thought, Netero started at the man.

'Now, that's a fair question. This bracket was carefully put together based on each individuals performance through the Hunter Exam. To put it simply, those who's performances were rated highly, will have more chances to win'

Gaping at her placement, Valentine was quite confused on how she had been rated so high.

She wasn't that strong.

And besides, Killua was definitely a lot stronger than she was.

Stepping forward, Killua decided to speak up and was quite confused about the placements.

'I'm not convinced',The snowy haired boy stated,'Could you explain exactly how you scored our performances?'

Letting out a thoughtful hum, Netero seemed to think about it for a moment, before shouting and waving his head around.

'No!',The older man shouted.

Letting out a small giggle, Valentine covered her mouth and looked towards the ground.

'Why not?!',Killua exclaimed, quite irked.

Letting out a laugh, Netero placed his arms behind his back and let his eyes look around, studying each applicant.

'I can't say because, your scores are classified. I can't reveal your actual scores, but I can explain the criteria we used',The older man explained,'We start with the basics. There are three categories; physical strength, mental acuity and lastly, overall impression'

Going more into depth about the categories, Netero explained each and everyone one of them individually.

'We round out our assessment by incorporating the opinions of your peers. There you have it'

Still being trapped within his thoughts, Killua began to wonder how he had scored lower than Gon and Valentine; the scoring seeming to have a negative impact on his ego.

While Valentine may have had a better overall impression than he may have had, Killua began to wonder if the girl was actually stronger than he was and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Sure, Valentine could handle herself fine in a fighting and was quite skilled with daggers, but the girl wasn't very strong compared to the ex-assassin.

Unless she was holding back some unknown strength, Killua was quite confused on how she was scored higher.

'The rules of the battle are quite simple. Weapons are allowed, cheating is forbidden and if your opponent admits defeat, you win. However, if you kill your opponent, then you will be disqualified without hesitation. And if that happens, the Exam ends and the remaining applicants pass. Understood?'

And so, the Final Phase of the Hunter Exam had begun.

Gon and Hanzo were up first.

Standing across from each other, the two males stared one another down and Valentine could feel the tension in the air.

'I'm Masta, I'll be serving as a referee for the tournament. Good luck, both of you'

Turning his head towards the referee, Hanzo spoke up.

'Hey, nice to see you again. You were the one tailing me around during the Fourth Phase, now moving on',Hanzo began, pointing towards the referee,'I have a question for you'

Taken aback, Masta blinked quickly and let out a noise of shock.

'What is it?'

'We can only win if our opponent surrenders, correct? Knocking them unconscious doesn't count, no TKO's either?',Hanzo questioned.

'Those are the rules',Masta answered.

Looking towards Gon in thought, it was clear that Hanzo had already begun to think over a plan in his head.

'Now, time to begin'

Once the whistle was blown, the two of them immediately lunged at one another and unfortunately, the battle hadn't gone in Gon's favor.

ꕥ

The blonde couldn't bare to watch any longer.

The sound of knuckles meeting limbs echoed throughout the air and each time it reached her ears, Valentine flinched.

Everyone in the room had been forced to watch the scene before them and the blonde's once bright and lively eyes were now distant and full of rage as she gazed upon the blood stained floor.

The boy; who Valentine had begun to see as her brother, had stubbornly refused to surrender while Hanzo continued to brutally beat his opponent.

While this was happening, Leorio had shouted out his protests against the man's cruel actions.

Golden eyes darkened and Valentine took a sharp breath when she heard the older man threaten to break Gon's arm and once again, he had stubbornly refused.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered shut and a loud snap echoed through the air, followed by a whimper of pain. Valentine couldn't help but mentally hope that the boy would surrender and knowing how determined he was, she knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

Opening her eyes, Valentine looked towards Leorio and Kurapika; the two teens were trembling from the rage they felt. Turning her head forward once more, Valentine knew that their rage could easily match her own.

Continuing to showcase his skills, Hanzo stood on one hand, before balancing on only one finger, talking about himself and his life story. It continued until Gon sent a powerful kick towards the man's face.

'I let you kick me on purpose',The ninja stated, blood running from his nose.

Rolling her eyes at the man, Valentine shook her head and left out a huff; knowing full well that he didn't.

'You're a liar!',Leorio shouted.

As Hanzo threatened to cut off Gon's legs, Valentine's fists tightened and her eyes narrowed in anger, feeling as Zeus's talons dug into her shoulder, angry chirps leaving his beak.

If he does that, Gon would bleed to death and Hanzo would fail. He'd only be killing Gon just to kill him and Valentine found it both sickening and twisted.

'A permanent injury should help you wake up. But first, I'll ask you one more time',Hanzo said,'Surrender.'

Huffing, Gon furrowed his eyebrows together.

'I won't accept that!'

Everyone that was watching on the sidelines, paled at his reaction and Valentine's brain short-circuited.

'I don't want my legs to be chopped off, but I don't want to surrender either!',Gon proudly declared,'So let's find a different way to fight!'

Suddenly becoming irritated, irk marks appeared on Hanzo's head.

'Hey.. do you even realize the situation you're in right now?!',The ninja exclaimed, his pupils turning white with annoyance.

Suddenly, a small giggle broke through Valentine's lips; the sound was as sweet and as soft as a melody and she rose a hand, trying to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter, but it was no use.

Slowly, a few people began to join in on her laughter and let out chuckles of their own at the scene.

Noticing her laughs, Killua's eyes narrowed in confusion and he tilted his head as he glanced towards her.

"This.. This doesn't make any sense. The situation hasn't changed, Gon hasn't gotten any stronger than his opponent and his arm is still broken. So why.. why has that brutal atmosphere from before become lighter?"

Killua didn't understand.

As Hanzo pointed the tip of his blade against Gon's forehead, the laughter in the room ceased and everyone began to think of the aftermath.

'Why won't you concede? It's an easy thing to do',Hanzo asked desperately, a bead of sweat trailing down his forehead,'You can always try again next year'

'I'm going to find my dad',Gon stated, standing confidently and determined as scarlet blood ran down his face,'My dad's a Hunter, so I want to become one too. If I give up now, I'll never find him.. so, I won't back down!'

Silence lingered through the air and the tension was so thick, you could slice through it with a knife.

'Fine. I surrender, you win'

In the end, Hanzo had given up.

'I can't kill you, no matter what. And I can't think of another way to make you surrender. So, I don't have a choice'

Not being satisfied with his victory, Gon began an argument which he didn't win and Hanzo had thankfully knocked him out. He had informed the Chairman to forcefully give Gon his Hunters License later on, since he was so stubborn and he'd most likely refuse.

Dealing with a strongly determined opponent was hard, especially if it were like this situation; the Final Phase.

A small sigh of relief left Valentine's lips and she mentally thanked whatever higher power there was, thankful that her friend's suffering was over.

But little did she know, that this was only the beginning of something dreadful and in the following matches, something would go terribly wrong.