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

XI - the Strangers

After meeting up with Killua and leaving the Zoldyck estate, we made our way back to the town nearby. The trip down Kukuroo Mountain took all night, so I ended up convincing Leorio to let me ride on his back so I could sleep. He really is just a big sweetheart, you know. Short-tempered, yes, but still a sweetheart.

I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking back to the game Gotoh played last night. Just after Kurapika got eliminated, Gotoh switched things up and used the butlers on either side of him for two extra hands. It was a dirty trick, and I guessed the guy on the left. That was the direction I last saw the coin going, but Gon guessed the butler behind us and he was right.

I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck tiredly as I tune back in to Gon and Killua's conversation.

"Yeah, he's used that trick on me before," Killua tells the other boy. "Once you know the secret, it's so simple, it'll make you mad."

Oh, they're talking about the final trick Gotoh used on Gon.

"Really?" Gon questions, flipping the coin into the air. Kurapika steps back from where we're walking at the front of the pack to catch the coin.

"I'm assuming this was what he did," the blond says, flipping the coin back into the air and catching it. "Which hand?"

"It's your left hand, right?" Gon guesses. Kurapika opens his right hand, revealing the coin. "What? How did you do that?"

"Oh, I get it now!" I announce, snapping my fingers.

"Gotoh held two coins," Kurapika explains, opening his left palm and revealing a second coin.

"But he only had the one," Gon argues.

"Anyway," Kurapika continues as all four of us watch on, "he hid a coin in his right hand, while flipping the other. And then he let us see him grab the coin using his left hand. But before he asked us which hand held the coin, he raised both arms, and he slipped the first coin into his sleeve. That left the coin in his right hand." As Kurapika explains, he demonstrates the trick.

"You got it," Killua tells him.

"That really makes me mad," Gon growls.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that he only used the trick on the final turn," Killua assures him. "Gotoh hates cheating, even if it's just a game."

"That's even worse!" Gon shouts. I laugh and Kurapika chuckles from beside me. We continue to the train station, where we board a train to take us back to the airport. When we find seats and get comfortable, Killua asks us how we found where he was and how we got here.

"What?" Killua yells upon Gon's description. "You're here on a tourist visa?"

"Yup," Gon answers simply.

"Didn't you pass the Hunter Exam? You could've just used your Hunter License. It lets you stay in other countries for as long as you want."

"We told him that," I sigh.

"I already decided," Gon states determinedly. "I'm not using the license until I've finished what I need to do."

"What do you have to do?" Killua asks, leaning forward.

"The tag that Hisoka gave me!" Gon digs around in his pocket, pulling out a number tag from the Hunter Exam. "I'll return in to Hisoka when I punch him in the face!"