devil's advocate ─ hxh

vi

LET'S x PLAY x A GAME

What was with Chairman Netero suddenly appearing here?

"Something wrong?" He asks, sounding a little coy to Haekura. Gon is the first to speak up, not really feeling threatened by the Chairman's presence.

"Netero-san, did you see someone coming from that side?"

"No, no I didn't." He sounds even more coy now! Killua seemed to be thinking similarly with Haekura, finding him suspicious as he stares him down.

"You're pretty fast for an old man." Killua comments, dropping the hostility.

"That little trick? I barely moved." Netero smiles, replying humbly as the white-haired boy becomes more aggravated. The atmosphere gets tense as he glares at Netero and Gon only looks back and forth between them confused.

Haekura watches in silence, not glaring at Netero, but still thinking of what he'd want with them and why he was here. It didn't seem as if he was just passing by to greet them.

"What do you want? You don't have anything to do until the last phase right?" Killua changes his tone immediately, turning hostile to the Chairman. The silver-haired girl beside him had been meaning to ask the same thing, and thankfully Killua had done it for her.

"No need to be so unkind." Netero replies, unfazed by his hostility. "I got bored and was looking for some companions."

"By the way, I meant to ask you," He continues, changing the topic, "Any thoughts on your first attempt at the Hunter Examination?"

"It's fun!" Gon is the first to reply, nodding enthusiastically. "There weren't any of the written tests I was dreading."

"I'm disappointed. I expected the exam to be far more difficult. I assume the next phase would be more entertaining?"

"Well now...I don't know about that." Netero answers mischievously, not able to give a sure answer to Killua's question. "What about you, young lady?" He asks Haekura who'd been off at the side watching carefully.

She raises an eyebrow before responding.

"It's okay. It's not exactly what I expected, but it does feel like a Hunter Exam." She replies, monotonous and unassuming. She was being honest about her answer though. It wasn't too bad for a rookie like her, since she's not exactly lacking in ability.

"Let's go, you two." Killua turns to walk away as Gon looks confused, but not before Netero stops him again. The tension in the air still hadn't disappeared as Killua stops in his tracks.

"Now wait just a moment. Would you care to play a game with me?" He turns around, considering Netero's offer.

"A game?"

"If you defeat me, I'll issue your Hunter licenses on the spot!" A tall offer, Haekura muses as her eyes narrow, skeptical of the offer. Gon doesn't think much of it and agrees immediately, excited at the thought.