The Otonari's Last (Hunter X Hunter Fanfic) [Indefinite Hiatus]

V - the Otonari Clan

We head for a small room just off the main hallway and plop down on the floor, our backs leaning against the wall. I slip my backpack off of my shoulders, setting it between my crossed legs and unzipping it. Kurapika gives me a look when I pull a small pillow out of it.

"What?" I question defensively, zipping my bag back up. "It comes in handy!" Upon hearing a slight snore, I look to my other side to see Leorio already asleep. I smile a little, placing the pillow behind my head and attempting to follow his example.

"Ara." I open my eyes and turn my head.

"What is it, Kurapika?" I ask, blinking at the look on his face.

"Why are you taking the exam?" I blink again at his blunt question, and he quickly adds, "If you don't mind me asking."

I chuckle lightly, leaning my head back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. "I guess I don't mind. After all, the past is the past, right?" I ignore the bitter tone creeping into my voice. "Let me ask you a question first, Kurapika. Have you ever heard of the Otonari clan?"

"No, I don't believe so," he answers honestly, a puzzled look on his face.

"That's okay, not many people have." I let out a breath. "The Otonari were a people dedicated to music. They sang songs and played instruments any time they got the opportunity. In fact, their relationship to sound was so strong that they had powers over it.

"Legend in the clan says that a long time ago, the very first Otonari, back then just a small family of five, saved an old woman from drowning in a river. The old woman turned out to be the goddess of music, Kimiko. Kimiko blessed her saviors and all of their kin after them to have a bond with music."

I pause, shutting my eyes for a moment. "Unfortunately, the abilities they had put them in danger. The Otonari clan was constantly targeted by power hunters and slave traders. The attacks were never successful... That is, until a specific group of monsters caught wind of their abilities.

"These...people fought the clan and slaughtered each and every one of them before the sun rose. I'm the only survivor." I look up, meeting Kurapika's eyes, and gulp at what I see.

His eyes are a glowing scarlet color, a stark contrast to their usual gray.

"How long ago was this?" His voice is dangerously low.

"About four years."

"...Do you know the name of that group?"

"Of course," I breathe, turning away from him. Noticing that my hands were clenched into fists, I force my fingers to straighten. My eyes fall on the small, crescent-shaped cuts in my palms. "I can never forget that name. They call themselves the Phantom Troupe."

"I had a feeling..." Kurapika growls. "Your clan was not the only one killed by those monsters. What do you know of the Kurta?"

"Not much, but enough to know the Troupe went after them, too," I mumble in response. I look up at him after a moment's silence. "You...?"

He nods. "I am the last of the Kurta." I pull him into a tight hug, wrapping my arms around his back and burying my face into his shoulder. We sit there for a long time, just comforting each other as two people who shared similar experiences. I don't notice as I begin to drift off, nor do I notice when I fall asleep.

***

"I apologize for the long wait," a voice announces over the intercom in the airship.

When I woke up about an hour ago, I found myself laying on the floor with a blanket draped over me and my pillow under my head. I left Kurapika and Leorio to sleep a little longer, and found an unoccupied window at the side of the ship to look out of. I haven't seen Gon or Killua since they left to explore the ship last night, but I'm not too worried. After all, they've made it this far in the exam without any help from Kurapika, Leorio, or myself.

"The airship will soon arrive at its destination," the voice continues.

"Ara?" I turn around to see Kurapika and Leorio approaching me as they rub the sleep from their eyes.

"Hey, guys," I greet with a wide smile. "Good morning."

Leorio's stomach growls and he groans lightly, setting a hand on his belly. "I'm hungry."

"Now that you mention it, I am as well," Kurapika adds. I swing my bag off my back, zipping it open and offering them each a packet of dried apple slices. They take the food and scarf it down as we watch out the window at the passing scenery.

"Woah!" I exclaim a few moments later, pressing my hands against the glass of the window and gaping at the tall building coming into view. "That tower is huge!" Kurapika and Leorio chuckle at me and I smack their shoulders. "Hey, I've never really been out of my hometown, alright?"

I turn back to the window to pout, and continue to do so as the airship lands and we disembark. Gon and Killua join us soon afterward.

"Ahem..." Beans draws our attention. "Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower. To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is seventy-two hours. With that, we will now begin the Third Phase. I will pray for your success."

"No way," Leorio mumbles as Beans re-boards the airship, which then immediately takes back off into the air.

"Best of luck to everyone," Beans adds over the airship's loudspeaker.

Gon walks to the edge of the tower and peeks over, the three boys joining him. I start to follow them, but suddenly fall through a panel in the floor. I yell in surprise as I fall, but the panel closes again before I can draw anyone's attention. I land on my butt and I rub it as I push myself off the floor.

"Ouch..." Glancing around the room I find myself in, I notice a pedestal with a single watch on it. Walking over slowly, keeping an eye open for more panels in the floor, I pluck the watch off the stand. It reads '71:57:34' on its face. "The time left...?"

"That is right!" a voice calls through the intercom in the corner of the room.

"Who're you?"

"I am Lippo. I'm the prison warden here, as well as the Third Phase examiner. Multiple routes through this tower have been prepared. You've chosen the Path of War. You will need great strength for this path. Good luck to you, little lady." I hear a rumbling sound from behind me and turn to see a stone door sliding open to reveal a passageway.

"Path of War, huh?" I murmur to myself, following the hall to a flight of stairs leading down. "I'm guessing that means I get to fight." I smirk, popping my knuckles. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I'm led into another room. Two cloaked figures wait on the opposite side, guarding another stone door.

"And who might you guys be?"

"Our names do not matter," one of them answers in a deep, monotonous voice. "All you need to know is that we are prisoners of this tower and we have been hired to delay you as long as possible." With this, he tears off his cloak. His black hair sticks up at odd angles and his face is covered with scars, his body ripped with so many muscles I'm surprised his cloak hadn't already torn.

"That's it?" I question, tightening my backpack's straps in preparation for the fight I know is coming. "And how, may I ask, are you plan on delaying me?"

"Through your death!" The man suddenly rushes forward, his fist pulled back for a direct hit to my face. I dodge easily - being much smaller and therefore faster than him - and jump a few dozen paces away.

"Does that mean I have to kill you to move on?" I ask, disappointed and slightly worried. "Killing people isn't my favorite pastime, you know."

The man growls and lunges at me again. I duck under his outstretched fist, pulling back my own and landing a punch to his jaw. His head snaps sharply to the side, knocking him unconscious, and he falls backward to the floor.

"Hey, Mr. Lippo!" I call, keeping an eye on the second man by the door. "I don't have to kill these guys, do I?"

"No," he replies over the intercom, "but they will try to kill you."

"Alright, sounds fun," I chuckle without humor. I widen my stance and bend my knees a little, ready for my next attacker. "So you want to kill me now, right?"