HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

The ocean looked like a sheet of emerald jade, reflecting the sunlight. The shimmering waves sparkled like countless diamonds, and the white foam looked like bubbles from a little mermaid's final moments.

Plop. A glass bead fell into the water, breaking the surface's tranquility.

A young man sat at the bow of the ship, propping his chin up with one hand. His snow-white hair, now slightly longer, caught the sunlight, adding a warm glow to its strands. His bangs had grown past his brows, and the black curse mark on his crown faintly showed through.

"One week was too long. I should've just made it three days."

He didn't even know why he blurted out "one week" in the first place. He was surprised at his own patience.

Drifting at sea for an entire week, surviving only on freshly caught seafood—every fish here was at least a meter long, and the meat was delicious.

Which meant he spent the entire week in an endless cycle of allergy—meds—allergy—meds.

No matter how much he liked seafood, eating it for a whole week straight made him sick of it.

Luckily, just when he was at his limit, the week was over.

Cyr hopped off the railing and signaled for Maro to activate the island's pre-installed broadcast speakers.

"Testing, testing. Time's up. Anyone who got six points can come back now. If you didn't, just wait where you are for the committee to pick you up."

His lazy voice echoed across the entire island, repeating three times before stopping.

One by one, candidates emerged at the designated meeting spot.

In the end, nine people stood before Cyr.

"...Why are there still nine of you?" He squinted, voice filled with impatience.

Hisoka, Killua, Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, the nail guy, and the bald ninja—those were familiar faces. They passed in the original story too.

But the other two…? He wasn't too sure. He never bothered remembering characters whose designs weren't his type.

…Wait a second. Killua didn't pass in the original timeline, right? Because of the nail guy—Illumi.

What did Illumi do again? He couldn't quite recall.

It had been years since he watched the anime. And ever since arriving in this world, his Six Eyes were constantly flooded with too much information. The fact that he remembered anything at all was already impressive.

The nine candidates felt the young examiner's irritation and then noticed the blond young man beside him, coldly watching them.

Why were they being glared at for passing the exam?

And that tiger—it looked ready to rip them apart, but the moment it turned to the examiner, it softened into a big cat?

There was so much they wanted to complain about. But in the end, they only exchanged glances and stayed silent.

Cyr slumped against the white tiger, sounding completely drained.

"Whatever. Get ready. There's an interview tonight. Oh, and by the way, the final exam is in three days, personally overseen by Netero."

Never again. He was never playing examiner again. This was worse than a normal job.

The white tiger carried him into the waiting airship.

As for the boat? It was left behind for the committee to pick up when they came for the other candidates.

—

"An interview? That brat's in charge of it too? Sounds like a pain…" Leorio muttered once the examiner was out of sight.

Just like another certain white-haired brat they knew.

"I wonder what kinds of questions he'll ask. If we don't answer well, will it affect the next exam?" Kurapika was already considering worst-case scenarios—like failing because of a bad interview.

"…"

A heavy silence fell over the candidates.

"He didn't seem that hard to talk to," Killua said casually.

At least, he had always treated him nicely. Just like how Killua had this strange sense of familiarity with him—like facing a sibling or another version of himself. It didn't feel distant at all.

"Yeah! Examiner Cyr is a good person!" Gon nodded confidently, sounding completely sincere.

Leorio and the bald ninja gave him a look—then, in perfect sync, shook their heads.

So naïve.

That examiner was the most dangerous one they had met so far.

Sometimes, the vibe he gave off was the same as Hisoka's.

And Hisoka was a psycho who killed people just for fun.

"Doesn't matter if he's a good person or not. The point is, he's the examiner." Leorio took a deep breath.

"So let's figure out how to deal with his interview questions."

"Who even knows what he'll ask?" Leorio scratched his head, then suddenly turned to Killua.

"You seem close to him. Why don't you go gather some intel?"

"…It's just an interview. What's there to worry about?" Killua waved it off, completely unconcerned.

—-—

The interview was scheduled for 8 PM.

A group of candidates sat together, anxiety hanging over them like a dark cloud, as if they were about to step onto a stage for an exam.

The first to be called in was Hisoka, who had been casually stacking a tower of playing cards.

The moment his name came through the speaker, his tower collapsed, cards scattering across the table. He calmly picked them up one by one before heading to the interview room.

"Why does Hisoka look… a little stiff?" Gon asked, watching Hisoka's back as he left, his tone filled with curiosity.

"You're imagining things. No way Hisoka would be nervous," Leorio scoffed.

If anyone should be nervous around Hisoka, it was other people. Hisoka himself? Not a chance.

—

Cyr spread out eight candidate photos on the table in front of Hisoka.

"The candidate you're most interested in, and the one you least want to fight," he said lazily, like a disgruntled employee forced to work overtime, radiating an energy that screamed, Let's get this over with so I can clock out.

Hisoka didn't hesitate.

"This one." He pointed directly at Killua's photo.

"And the one I currently least want to fight." He gestured toward Gon's picture before lifting his gaze with a smirk.

"And the one I most want to fight… is you."

A sharp, almost tangible killing intent radiated from Hisoka, clawing its way toward Cyr in a silent yet aggressive challenge.

Cyr merely glanced up, unimpressed, his tone flat.

"I don't want to fight you. It's been a year, and honestly… you're a fucking disappointment."

Hisoka's smirk wavered.

"I expected you to reach Netero's level by now," Cyr continued, his voice eerily calm. "Have you even been taking your training seriously, Hisoka?"

The disappointment in his voice was unmistakable.

For a split second, Hisoka's expression blanked out—like his brain had short-circuited.

What did he just say?

He expected me to reach Netero's level? In a year?

And because I didn't, he's disappointed?

Why did this feel like he was a fruit being judged by an impatient farmer?

Cyr sighed, as if reluctantly making a concession.

"Fine, I'll give you another chance." His tone was filled with both exasperation and an odd sense of indulgence.

"Come find me when you've reached Netero's level. But be quick about it." He leaned back, resting his chin on his palm. "Because if you take too long… even Netero's level won't be enough to fight me anymore."

His words were so casual, so matter-of-fact, that it was downright ridiculous.

Netero—the head of the Hunter Association, a world-class powerhouse—was being dismissed as a mere stepping stone in Cyr's eyes.

Anyone else would have immediately written him off as delusional.

But Hisoka… Hisoka couldn't.

Because…

Cyr's presence, his aura—was at least several times stronger than it had been a year ago.

Such terrifying growth speed was unprecedented.

And compared to him… maybe my own progress really has been too slow, Hisoka thought, for the first time ever.

°°°

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