Chapter 94: Two Percent
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Chapter 94: Two Percent
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The five of them left the cave, and Leorio's footsteps were the first thing to disturb the morning quiet.
He was doing more hopping than walking, lifting his briefcase whenever he cleared a root as though declaring victory over the island itself. When his shoe nearly caught between two rocks, he recovered his balance and continued without acknowledging it.
"Hot food, a bath, and a proper bed. I swear I'm never sleeping on the ground again."
Killua spoke from behind him.
"You said that before you went to sleep in the tower."
"I didn't have a choice."
"And last night?"
Leorio turned and began walking backward.
"Like I've had a choice about anything on this island."
Gon quickened his pace to walk beside him.
"What's the first thing you'll do when we arrive?"
Leorio raised a finger with each answer.
"Eat until I can't move, take a bath, then sleep for a whole day."
"If you can't move after eating, who's going to carry you to the bath?" Killua asked.
Leorio slowed. He looked at his three raised fingers, then revised his plan with complete seriousness.
"Bath first."
"There's still one more phase before we get our licenses," Kurapika said.
Leorio's hand dropped slightly, but two steps later, he raised it again.
"Then I'll celebrate getting off this island first and worry about the next disaster when it arrives."
Gon laughed. Kurapika merely pointed out the root Leorio nearly tripped over next. Watching Leorio throw up his arms in celebration simply because he had survived another phase, Tonpa felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
'If enthusiasm were enough to earn a Hunter License, this idiot would have passed on the first day.'
The trees opened ahead of them, and the smell of the sea reached Tonpa.
His pace slowed without his permission.
The dock meant the end of the island.
It also meant Hisoka would be there.
His smile disappeared. His hand moved instinctively toward his chest, then stopped.
Both Badges were in Spatial Storage. He did not need to worry about anyone stealing them now.
He looked toward the dock.
'If Hisoka only wanted the Badges, we could negotiate.'
The first wooden post appeared between the trees, followed by the dock stretching over the water. Gon and Leorio reached the clearing first. Tonpa fell half a step back until Kurapika's shoulder was in front of him.
He did not stop there. He shifted sideways, placing Leorio between himself and the far side of the dock, then edged closer to Gon, using him to hide a little more of his body.
Killua turned toward him.
"Is that draft back?"
Tonpa remembered the hall beneath Trick Tower and felt an urge to push the boy into the sea.
"The shore's exposed, and this torn shirt doesn't keep anything out."
Leorio glanced back and noticed where he was standing.
"Then stand behind a rock, not me."
"Rocks don't move in the direction I want."
Killua smiled.
"So that's why you picked Leorio?"
Leorio raised his fist. Tonpa moved beside Kurapika before his temporary protection could become a new threat.
'An entire week spent building trust, and these two would hand me over to Hisoka for a joke.'
He stepped onto the dock.
Then stopped.
A playing card turned between two fingers at the far end.
Tonpa's stomach tightened before he raised his eyes. Hisoka leaned against one of the posts, wearing the same calm smile that promised nothing calm.
Beside Tonpa, Gon stopped laughing. Tonpa followed his gaze and found it fixed on the playing card. Then Gon started moving again, and Tonpa's attention returned to the rest of the dock.
Hisoka was not alone.
A tall man with a face distorted by needles stood a short distance away. Tonpa needed only one glance to recognize Illumi beneath Gittarackur's disguise. Near the edge of the dock, Hanzo sat with his arms resting on his knees. Pokkle stood beside him, his bow slung behind his shoulder.
Four.
A fifth person moved near the ladder, revealing the Badge pinned to his chest.
Tonpa's eyes stopped on the number, then rose to its owner's face. He recognized him as one of the additional applicants who had made it out of the tower, though he had not expected to see him here.
Shishito.
A rope tied to one of the posts shifted. A man sitting behind a wooden crate leaned to one side, bringing his face into view. Tonpa's gaze settled on another Badge he had not expected to find here.
Sommy.
With their group's arrival, eleven applicants stood gathered on the dock.
A long breath escaped Tonpa. It carried no relief. It felt more like a quiet farewell to another piece of the future he remembered.
'Bodoro didn't make it. Shishito and Sommy are here, and I'm the extra nobody asked for. Even canon is adding applicants in bulk now.'
He remembered nine reaching the final phase. His memory might not have retained every face in the background, but he remembered Bodoro clearly because of what Killua had done to him in the anime.
He scanned the dock again.
No sign of him.
If everyone present had enough points, nine would become eleven. Three applicants who had not belonged in the final phase he remembered, each capable of sending the matchups in a different direction.
Ding!
His next breath caught in his throat.
A red window spread before his eyes. His gaze landed on the number at the bottom, and his fingers curled into his palm until his nails pressed into the skin.
[Main Storyline Deviation has increased.]
[1% → 2%]
'Damn it.'
The System was not finished.
Ding!
[Warning: A powerful individual is watching the Host.]
The hair on Tonpa's arms rose.
He did not turn his head. His gaze drifted over the water, the posts, then the faces at the edge of his vision as he tried to determine which of the two monsters had decided to take an interest in him.
The playing card stopped between Hisoka's fingers.
The pause lasted only a moment. Hisoka tilted his head slightly, his smile widening by a fraction Tonpa barely caught.
A third window appeared.
Tonpa's eyes caught on the name. A chill spread beneath his shirt despite the morning warmth.
[Hisoka's Current State: Surprised.]
'By what?'
He forced his shoulders to remain loose and bent to adjust his shoelace, though it was not untied. When he straightened, he kept Gon between himself and Hisoka.
Had Hisoka noticed the difference since their last encounter on the island? Tonpa's aura was no longer leaking, but his strength and speed had changed since then. Perhaps Hisoka had noticed something else—something Tonpa himself could not sense.
The worst possibility was that he found the surprise entertaining.
'Watch someone else. Shishito's brand-new. Still in the wrapper.'
A broad shadow fell across the dock.
Tonpa looked up. The wind struck him first, sweeping Gon's hair backward. The airship descended over the water, its engines roaring loudly enough to make the wooden boards tremble before its door came level with the dock.
The door opened, and a short gangway extended from it. An official stood at its entrance with a clipboard and asked each applicant to present their Badges before boarding.
The line moved slowly. As his turn approached, Tonpa willed Badges 16 and 303 out of Spatial Storage, keeping them cupped in his hand until he reached the official.
The official inspected them, recorded his six points, then returned them and waved him through. Tonpa closed his fingers around the Badges and willed them back into storage before stepping onto the gangway.
He crossed without looking toward Hisoka.
He did not need to look to feel those eyes on his back.
By the time the Badge checks were finished and the door closed, all eleven applicants were aboard.
The windows rattled as the airship rose away from the island.
Tonpa chose a seat apart from the others at the end of the lounge and rested his head against the wall. The survivors' voices carried between the other seats. He should have felt relieved now that he had officially passed the Fourth Phase, but the new number remained lodged in his mind.
Two percent.
He closed his eyes, and Bodoro's face appeared in place of the window.
In the future he remembered, the man had reached the final phase. After confronting Illumi, Killua had killed Bodoro, failed the exam, and returned to Kukuroo Mountain. Gon and the others had followed him, beginning the Zoldyck Family arc.
Now Bodoro had not even made it this far.
'I stole a Badge to keep myself alive. Did I steal an entire arc along with it?'
Tonpa opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
Bodoro's absence guaranteed nothing. Shishito might take his place in the matchups, and someone else might become the victim. Then the memory of Killua holding the needle between his fingers returned, and Tonpa's jaw tightened.
Bodoro was not the only thing missing from that scene.
The needle was no longer in Killua's head either.
Illumi remained, along with everything the family had instilled in Killua over the years. Removing a piece of metal had not erased all of it. But it had made Tonpa less certain of what would happen when the brothers stood face-to-face.
'He might pass this time. Or Illumi might find another way to send him home. Damn it… I didn't just change the names of the opponents.'
His stomach slowly churned. He no longer had enough information to be certain of anything. Every attempt to put the pieces in order ended with another possibility.
Hisoka's laughter drifted from the other side of the lounge.
Tonpa stood.
He could not remain seated imagining the matches, so he headed into the corridor under the pretext of looking for water. A few steps beyond the lounge, the walls began to muffle the engines' roar.
Ding!
His foot stopped before it touched the floor.
[Warning: Killua Zoldyck is watching the Host.]
Tonpa closed his eyes for a moment.
'Does this brat never get tired?'
He continued without looking back. As he passed a window, he caught the reflection of white hair at the lounge entrance. It slipped out of view the moment his gaze shifted toward it.
Apparently, Killua was still suspicious. What Tonpa had done for Gon had bought him only one percentage point, exactly as the System had announced.
He kept walking until he reached another bend.
Gon stood at a long window, his palms resting on the ledge as he watched the clouds beneath the airship. He did not look up at the approaching footsteps.
Tonpa slowed.
This quietness was nothing like Gon's enthusiasm as they had left the cave. But it reminded Tonpa of the look he had seen on the dock, when the boy's eyes had settled on Hisoka's card.
It brought a scene from the anime to mind.
Was the Badge still bothering him? Tonpa remembered that Gon had struggled to accept the way Hisoka had returned it, along with the debt Hisoka had insisted on placing him under. Perhaps seeing him again had brought those feelings back.
Tonpa's gaze shifted to the glass. A reflection of white hair appeared at the bend for a moment, then vanished.
Killua might be watching him. He might be worried about Gon. Tonpa did not need to settle that question now. It was enough that the boy had stayed close enough to see what he was about to do.
The corner of his mouth rose.
'A chance to fool the brat… without even having to look at him.'
He approached the window.
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