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Kurapika pushed his sopping bangs out of his face as though it would magically make him see better. However, they fell right back into his line of sight and stuck there. Leorio's teeth chattered loudly in the background, almost loud enough to contrast the thunder directly overhead. Gon was in the corner, wringing out his shoes, with a comical amount of fluid pouring from simply one boot.
The door to the captain's cabin slammed open, and a voice somehow louder than Leorio's obnoxious chattering broke through the semi-silence. "Howdy!"
Kurapika shrugged his way out of his drenched tabard, the fabric clinging uncomfortably every step of the way. He turned to face the voice to find a crew member standing in the doorway, a small pipe in his hand as he leaned against the frame with an abundance of nonchalance.
"What do you want?" Leorio whined, already stripped down to his bare essentials and shivering.
"Offering warm, dry clothes!" the sailor announced.
"That sounds amazing, thank you," Leorio spoke through his chattering teeth, "I think I'm going to contract hypothermia if I don't get warm and dry soon."
Dramatic much, Leorio?
"Thank you, mister!" Gon exclaimed as Kurapika began to wring out the fabric of his tabard.
"Oh, don't ye worry about callin' me 'mister'. My name's Corin."
"Thank you, Mister Corin!"
"Gon… he just said not to call him 'mister'," Kurapika murmured.
"It's fine!" Corin roared, the sheer volume making Kurapika shake more than the cold, wet clothing did, "The lad can call me what he wants! I simply prefer Corin to Mister Corin, but it's up to the kid."
"Thank you, Corin," Leorio added, "I'm assuming you need our sizes, then?"
"Or a rough estimate," Corin answered, "The more exact the better."
"Oh! I'm a small!" Gon exclaimed.
"How fitting for the pipsqueak!" Corin announced, turning to Gon with a bright smile and playfully ruffling Gon's drenched hair.
"I'm an extra large," Leorio bragged, "I got all of my father's height and then some."
"One extra large coming right up!"
Kurapika continued wringing out his tabard as Corin continued running his massive mouth.
"Hey, Blonde Chick!"
Kurapika winced, knowing that Corin was talking to him. However, he wasn't a chick at all. Somehow, merely traveling to the next location had turned into an awkward memory that would keep him up for months and maybe years.
"I'm not a chick," Kurapika murmured, removing his shirt as proof—and to wring it out.
"My bad," Corin responded, a hint of a hurry present in the man's voice. "You just seemed delicate and look very pretty. You could fool many a man if you wanted to."
"I'm a medium," Kurapika interrupted. "That is my generic letter size. If you need the specific number, I'm typically a six."
Corin blinked.
"I'm in charge here!" the man roared. "You do not get to say your size unless I ask!"
"They both said theirs before you asked," Kurapika pointed out coldly. "Are you treating me differently because of my feminine face? I am very clearly male."
""You're being too sensitive! What size are you?" Corin bellowed, sticking his face right next to Kurapika's.
"If you're not going to listen the first time, I'll stay in my cold, wet clothing and you can explain to the captain exactly where your actions led when I inevitably come down with pneumonia."
"You tell him!" Leorio shouted from across the room.
"Yeah!" Gon agreed, his face pulled into a tight frown. "What Mister said!"
"I told you to call me Leorio!"
Kurapika resisted the urge to smile at the antics of his fellow candidates.
"Last chance, brat," Corin warned, tightening his hand into a fist. "What size are you?"
"I already told you," Kurapika answered calmly. "It is not my fault that your brain holds information about as well as that pile of wood that your crewmates call a bucket holds water."
Kurapika turned away and began walking towards the area where the captain had instructed them to hang their wet clothing. Corin began to growl, a primal animalistic sound.
"Why, you—"
A THUD sounded from behind Kurapika. The blond turned to find that Leorio and Gon had banded together to tackle Corin into the wall.
"Back off!" Leorio yelled, "You've asked him three times in rapid succession! He's cold, wet, and tired! Give him a break!"
"And traumatized because he's the sole survivor of the Kurta Clan!" Gon added. Kurapika had to fight the urge to facepalm at Gon's statement. Angry and focused on vengeance? Yes. But traumatized? That word simply did not fit.
The captain stepped through the open door. "I was afraid of this," he remarked around his cigar. "Corin can be stubborn at times."
"Captain," Corin stammered, "It's not what it looks like, I promise!"
"I heard everything you said from the other room," the captain deadpanned. "I'll get you clothes to borrow until yours have dried."
"Thank you," Kurapika breathed with a quick and elegant bow.
"None of that, my boy! Just doing what a captain is supposed to do!" the captain returned with a vibrant smile, "And you handled Corin very well. Your patience is impressive."
"Thank you," Kurapika felt his cheeks heat up.
Gon and Leorio slid off of Corin, who hurried out of sight immediately.
"I'm deeply sorry about his behavior," the captain apologized. "It was not right of him to treat you like that. Gon, Leorio, you were right to tackle him before he could punch Kurapika."
"I accept your apology," Kurapika answered as he removed his pants and set to wringing out what fluid he could in a methodical manner. Gon and Leorio's clothing and shoes had been strewn about the cabin, leaving it only a smidgeon cleaner than a pigsty.
The captain hurried to get the dry clothes for them all.
"Thanks for standing up for me," Kurapika whispered.
"Don't mention it," Leorio shrugged. "I can't stand loudmouthed idiots like him."
Then how do you stand yourself? Kurapika wondered, but kept this thought secret.
"You're welcome!" Gon exclaimed, his bright smile back on his face.
With a jolly whistle, the captain stepped back into the room with dry clothes in hand.
"Small," the captain announced, handing a bundle to Gon.
"Extra large for our tall friend here," the captain continued. Leorio grinned as the captain handed him yet another bundle.
"And a medium. You deserve to be heard the first time you speak, my boy. Now, all of ye had better get dried off and changed. Then, your next orders are to get comfy and rest, ye hear?"
"Yes, sir!" Gon, Leorio and Kurapika all answered at once, saluting. It had to have made an uncommon sight, three Hunter Exam candidates in naught but their bare essentials, saluting their unofficial examiner, but it didn't matter. They had weathered a storm outside and in, and no one could take away the comraderie that the rain had watered just enough to turn it into a beautiful bloom.