Killua went to the resting area where an attendant had told him he could find Gon. He found Chairman Netero waiting for him outside, casually chewing a stick of gum and bouncing on an inflatable exercise ball.

"No one is allowed to see the injured until they have recovered," he said. "Gon will be in here for quite a while still, and the Hunter orientation starts in half an hour."

I hope Gon hasn't gotten his hopes up too far. Being a Hunter doesn't mean he's going to find Jin soon...

"I know, but I want to see Gon first."

"I'll tell him you dropped by."

"I guess that's okay," Killua said, and walked away, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

"Who was disqualified?" A pause. "Satotsu-san?"

"Actually..."

Pain flashed across Gon's broken arm, and he failed to stifle a cry of pain.

"You should be resting."

Despite the constant throb of pain, Gon's voice remained firm. "I'm fine."

"You were under stress for the entire Hunter Exam. You need to rest."

"I won't be able to rest until I know who failed."

Satotsu gave in to Gon's seemingly unshakable resolve, saying, "All right. I'll tell you."

"Pokkuru surrendered at the beginning of the fourth round, when Killua told him he wasn't afraid to kill."

"Killua wouldn't—" Gon said, then stopped. Satotsu waited to see if he had anything to say, then continued his tale.

"He might have been bluffing, but the threat was effective. Since Bodoro had not recovered by the end of the round, the seventh round became the fifth."

"So Killua passed?"

"He did."

Gon's eyes lit and he sat up, ignoring his broken arm. "Where is he?"

"He came to see you after he received his license, but you were resting, and he was not allowed in."

He paused, halfway out of the hospital bed. "Can I see him now?"

"He will soon be at the orientation with the other qualified Hunters. You will attend it when you have fully recovered. For now, I do not know where he is, and you should not be out of bed."

Gon laid back down reluctantly. "Tell me what happened in the fifth round, then."

"Gittarakuru threatened to put a pin through Pokkuru's eye."

Anything is allowed, as long as he doesn't die...

"Understandably, Pokkuru surrendered. And since he had just lost to Killua, he would only have one more chance to become a Hunter."

"That was the second to last match?"

"No. The second to last match was Bodoro versus Leorio. Leorio and Bodoro fought intensely, as both wanted very much to become Hunters. Leorio, however, eventually let down his guard, and Bodoro hit him in the chest. Leorio was knocked down by Bodoro's force, and he surrendered shortly afterwards."

"So Pokkuru fought Leorio?"

"Yes. Pokkuru poked his injured chest with his knife, and Leorio surrendered."

"He didn't pass?" How would Leorio afford to become a doctor now?

"No. In the end, Netero changed his mind and proclaimed Leorio a Hunter. It was very strange."

Gon almost sat up again, and fell back to the bed, clutching his arm. "So everyone passed?" he said in a strained voice.

"Yes. Everyone passed. You didn't have to do that," Satotsu said, indicating Gon's broken arm.

"I did," Gon said fiercely. "Even if I'd already been a Hunter, I would have done it anyway. Jin would have wanted me to."

"You really are exceptional, Gon. If you had said anything else, even after all you've gone through, you would have been disqualified. Now, you have truly proven that you have what it takes to be a Hunter." Satotsu reached into a drawer and took out a red card with the symbol of the Hunters' Association on it.

"To many Hunters, this card is an enigma. It is both the most precious thing they own, and as worthless as a piece of trash. This is because while the card is a symbol of everything they have ever dreamed, the fulfillment of the dreams themselves is worth far more than anything a Hunter could possibly own."

He held out the card to Gon. "It is your choice what you think of this card, and what you will decide to do with it. If you do not want to be a Hunter, you are free to sell the card, or hide it forever, or even burn it, but be warned: once you have passed the Hunter Exam once, you are forbidden to take it again. Gon... this is your Hunter License card."

"My... card?"

"Yes. You already know when you will use it, don't you?"

"I'm not going to use the card until I've paid back all the people who helped me pass the Exam."

"A worthy goal." Satotsu held out his hand to Gon, and Gon reached out with his unbroken arm to take it. "Congratulations on your qualification. You earned it."

A grin spread across Gon's boyish face. "Thank you."

The air felt stale as Killua stepped out into the sun's glare, blinding bright after the dim enclosure of the Final Exam, his hand coming up out of long reflex to shield his eyes. When he saw who awaited him outside, he almost turned back. Deliberately looking down, he kept walking without conscious direction, until he was too far away from the door to escape.

Silent, leaning on one of the poles supporting the building behind him, was his eldest brother, Illumi. He hadn't changed much in the past few years. His sleek, black hair had grown longer, running down the full length of his back, but other than that, there wasn't much of a difference.

The monotone voice was still the same, and it would still be unthinkable to disobey what it said.

No, Illumi hadn't changed much at all.