HunterxHunter: Reborn With Crazy Potential

We push through the last stretch of foliage, and the clearing opens up ahead. The group's gathered in a small camp, and the moment they spot us, they stand up in unison.

Killua, lounging lazily against a tree, is the first to speak. "Took you long enough," he says, but there's a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He's always the laid-back one, but his eyes sparkle with curiosity as he watches Hanzo.

Leorio, sitting on a rock flipping around his knife looks up and waves saying, "Thought we were gonna have to come looking for you."

Kurapika stands a little apart from the rest, arms crossed, his sharp gaze scanning the area always alert, always on the lookout. His eyes fall on Hanzo, and I can tell he's assessing him, though he says nothing.

And Nicholas, being the big back he is, is standing by the campfire, his gaze steady on the cooking food.

"Hey, guys!" I call out, waving as I close the distance.

Killua grins. "I was starting to think you got lost."

Leorio chuckles, shaking his head. "Nah, just keeping us in suspense, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I had a bit of... business to take care of," I say, glancing at Hanzo. "But I brought someone along."

Hanzo hesitates for a moment, clearly not used to all the attention. He steps forward, his hands awkwardly at his sides. "Uh, hey... I'm Hanzo," he says, offering a small wave.

The group exchanges looks, trying to make sense of the situation.

Nicholas stands up from the fire, his voice quiet but warm. "Nice to meet you, Hanzo. I'm Nicholas."

Hanzo looks at Nicholas, and then at the others. "Uh, nice to meet you all too."

Leorio grins and stretches out a hand. "We're all pretty normal here, don't worry about it. Just... no funny business, alright?"

Hanzo laughs nervously and shakes Leorio's hand. "No funny business, I promise."

Kurapika steps forward, his expression unreadable as always. His eyes narrow slightly as he examines Hanzo. "So, you're traveling with Lucas now. What's your story, Hanzo?"

"Story?" Hanzo's mood instantly changes and he somehow transforms from shyish to a full-on yelling anime protagonist power of friendship bull crap extravert in a matter of only 2 seconds, "I was born in Jappon and I was trained since birth. I have never broken training in 18 years. I decided to attend this year's Hunter Exam to get a hunter's license so I can find the Hermit's Scroll, which, according to the rumors, is located in a country barred to commoners."

"I am a Jonin of the cloud village!" Hanzo yells excitedly pulling out his Cloud Village Jonin card.

The group falls into a brief silence, processing Hanzo's sudden outburst. I watch as Killua raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued but doing his best to stifle a grin. Leorio's mouth hangs open, and he stares at Hanzo like he's trying to piece together whether he's serious or just messing with them.

Kurapika stays the same, his posture stiff, arms crossed. His eyes flick over Hanzo, as sharp as ever, but he doesn't speak immediately, as if he's waiting for something more.

Nicholas, on the other hand, simply looks up from the fire, his gaze steady as he watches Hanzo with quiet interest.

"Cloud Village Jonin, huh?" Killua finally breaks the silence, leaning forward against the tree with a smirk. Despite Hanzo's somewhat clumsy introduction, I can tell he's trying to find his place among us.

Kurapika's voice breaks through the laughter, calm and measured, but with a touch of skepticism. "A Jonin of the Cloud Village, and you've decided to take the Hunter Exam? Interesting." He pauses, his gaze narrowing slightly as he studies Hanzo. "I'll be watching closely."

Hanzo nods enthusiastically, though there's a slight wobble to his confidence. "I know, I know! I'm ready for whatever challenges come my way. I've been trained for this!" His eyes light up, and for a moment, it's hard not to feel like he believes every word.

I glance over at Kurapika, sensing the tension in the air. He doesn't trust easily, and that's something I understand.

"Alright, enough with the grand speeches for right now," I say, trying to redirect the mood. "I know Killua, Myself, and Hanzo all have enough points to pass so have you found your targets yet?"

"Yeah, every one of us other than Leorio has the points we need plus we have 2 badges that are one point to any of us.," Kurapika responds.

"We ran into Tonpa and a guy with a monkey. After killua knocked them out we interrogated Tompa and learned that my target is a girl named Ponzu and she is one of five remaining examinees who uses chemical weapons. Apparently, she uses a variety of toxins and waits for her prey to fall for the traps she has set." Leorio explains.

"Okay, that's good so you know who she is but do you know where she is? Also, where is gon?" I ask pretending to not know the answer to either of the questions.

"Gon went off to find Hisoka by himself. I asked to join but he said it would be better if he went alone so I came and teamed up with these guys." Killua quickly stated with a serious face.

Just as Killua finished his sentence Gon jumps down from a tree surprising everybody, myself included.

Kuapika asks "Gon do you have all the points you need?" 

Gon replies "Yeah how about you all?"

Leorio yells "Wait WHAT! So I'm the only one without enough points to pass?!?"

"Yeah I guess", Killua says while punching Leorio's shoulder playfully.

As we catch Gon up on what happening we walk to a high point having Gon track the smell of the chemicals Ponzo uses. Once we find the cave I 'quickly search with En and Eko informing everybody that the cave is probably a trap and there are snakes all over it.

"Should've known Ponzu wouldn't make things easy," Killua says, his eyes glinting with a hint of excitement.

Kurapika looks around at the group, his posture as unshakable as always. "We have to be careful. The toxins could affect any of us if we're not prepared."

Gon, ever the optimist, grins. "We'll handle it. We've gotten through worse, right?"

We all start to cautiously approach the mouth of the cave. The ground beneath our feet is rough, with craggy rocks jutting out from the earth. I extend Eko again, sweeping it out into the cave, trying to feel for any signs of unexpected changes from the original story.

We walk closer to the mouth of the cave, the tap of feet against hard stone evident in the silence. The cave feels colder the deeper we go, the air thick and damp, almost suffocating. 

I lead the group around a bend and into the main cave. Bourbon is sitting dead at the back wall of the cave while Ponzu is sitting in the corner of the cave. She looks up at us, her eyes wide with confusion, maybe fear.

Her gaze shifts between us, curiously. "Are you here for my badge or for shelter?" she asks, her voice rough, strained.

"Your badge. So hand it over." Leorio quickly and aggressively states.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway since there is no possible way to escape this cave for any of us," Ponzu states like it's a fact.

"In fact, Ponzu, there is a way for all of us to get out of the cave and for you to pass. You see we happen to have 2 badges of no worth to us, so if you agree to do me a favor after we escape I can give you Bourbon's badge and the two one-pointers in our possession."

"Hm" Ponzo hums in thought with a pondering look on her face before asking "Well it depends if your plan for getting out is stable and what it is I would need to do as a 'favor' for you," in a questioning tone.

"Well I have a plan but you would have to trust me because it's my secret and I can't tell you how I would do it. The favor wouldn't be that big of a deal and besides it would be more of a trade-off than a favor.

I can see Ponzu is still speculating whether or not to trust me so I don't wait for her to confirm. Even if she says no I will still go through with my plan anyways so there's no point in waiting or even asking for her opinion.