08/04/19 - Edited


Killua sat by his brother at the very end of the waiting area. A pile of, poisoned, orange juice cans surrounded them, courtesy of a pig-like man who had a flat square nose. Said man had the #16 number tag and, introducing himself as Tonpa, had approached the two Zoldyck brothers upon their arrival to offer them drinks and information in the name of 'creating alliances and friendships'. After milking the guy of all the information he had, Sillar had promptly scared the man off by asking for 'more poisoned canned drinks'. Which was why they were now surrounded by said drinks which #16 had all but thrown at them before escaping.

After drinking another can or two, Sillar had gathered up all the cans in his arms and slipped through the mass of applicants, somehow without coming into contact with a single one, and moving all the way at the end of the blocked off tunnel. Then, he had dumped all the cans down before plopping down on the ground and retrieving his knife which he was now once again spinning around his fingers.

"Wow! There's so many people!" A loud muffled yell had the duo wincing as they both had simultaneous feelings of pity and bemusement for the poor fool who had no doubt just invited the unwanted attention of all the other Hunter applicants in the waiting tunnel. The tension in the tunnel was practically visible and the poor fool was probably shaking in his boots right now after finding himself on the receiving end of the stares, or glares, of hundreds of hunter applicants.

Through the crowd of people milling about the tunnel, Sillar abruptly caught sight of the bright blue clothing of #16 who had sponsored the vast amount of orange juice around him. He was talking to three people, with the number tags, #403, #404 and #405. Fingering his own number tag, #100, Sillar examined the trio.

One was a short green gremlin child, with spiky hair and a wide naïve-looking grin. He was #405. Another was a blonde blue-eyed teen who was wearing a traditional-looking set of robes. He was #404. The last one was a tall male with neat black hair and a pair of small spectacles that seemed as if they were more for aesthetics than actual practical usage. He had his number tag, #403, pinned to the front of his suit which did not really seem like a practical outfit considering that he was taking part in the Hunter Exam but who was he to comment?

Suddenly, there was a loud piercing scream which drew the attention of everyone in the tunnel. Outwardly, Sillar appeared unconcerned as he didn't shift at all but, under the hood of his mottled green cloak, his eyes had drifted over to the origin of the sound. There was a large space around both the victim and the culprit which helped Sillar see better even without shifting.

His younger brother wasn't as disciplined or had enough self-control though, as his head had immediately snapped over for him to stare at the scene through narrowed focused eyes. Sillar wasn't going to comment however. Killua rarely dealt with other people outside from the family and Zoldyck retainers, having been kept solely to the assassination side and away from the jobs that required infiltration. -Those were usually reserved for himself or their youngest brother- It wasn't his fault that he didn't have such experience. And Sillar was well aware of what Killua was trying to do by dragging him along when he ran away so he was more than inclined to give Killua some leeway.

Sillar shook his head slightly as he realised that his mind was drifting again and he focused back on the scene. The culprit was a jester-looking red-haired male with the number #44, whose name was Hisoka according to Tonpa. The victim meanwhile was curled up on the ground as his arms disappeared into red cherry blossoms that were actually quite beautiful in appearance if you ignored that they were previously arms. Absentmindedly, Sillar caught the eyes of the red-haired jester and offered him an appreciative nod at the skill he had displayed as he kept his knife away. After another short wait, during which no other applicant turned up, the examiner for the first phase finally arrived.

Sillar instinctively started scrutinising the examiner almost immediately. The examiner was a bright purple haired man, with a moustache for a mouth and thin skinny limbs. His eyes were half-lidded and oddly framed by mountain-shaped eyebrows. He was also dressed in a black suit, complete with a red tie and white dress shirt. Honestly, what was wrong with people's minds? Suits should be kept for formal events or disguises, not for examinations or tests in which physical exercise was needed.

"The waiting period for the 287th Hunter Exam is now over! Thank you for waiting!" The examiner said, his voice easily carrying around the tunnel which had been silent for the past day or so as none of the applicants had been really keen on conversing with any other people, as expected. "As part of exam protocol, however redundant I personally find this to be, I am obliged to inform all of you of the risks of taking part in the Hunter Exam, namely death, permanent injuries and not-so-permanent but probably very painful injuries. I am also obliged to confirm that all of you accept these risks and invite those who are now unsure about their choice to participate in this Hunter Exam to leave now through the elevator."

"Or forever hold your peace." Sillar muttered sarcastically under his breath. Killua choked back a snort of laughter, inciting various confused and irritated looks that the two Zoldyck siblings ignored easily. A shudder suddenly ran down Sillar's spine as he felt a hungry gaze on his back but he forcefully disregarded it and returned his attention back to the examiner.

"Very well, then there will be a total of #404 hunter applicants. I am Satotz, the exam proctor of the first phase. I will now be bringing you to the site of the second phase. Please follow me." Satotz said as the shutter behind him rose up with a protesting creak.

"Second phase? So this is probably the first phase then." Killua mused out loud, glancing over at his brother who was now standing up and stowing the remaining orange juice cans into the various pockets in his cloak.

"Hmm? Probably. He didn't say how long this would take so it's a test of endurance, both mentally and physically." Sillar agreed distractedly. "Here, take these. I don't have enough space and I don't want to just leave them here." Sillar said, shoving two cans of orange juice at Killua who just took them with an exasperated sigh.

"Let's go Sillar-nii." Killua coaxed. Sillar hummed and checked the strap securing his quiver of arrows as he walked forwards, content to allow the other applicants to charge forwards first. Being the first to reach wouldn't give him any brownie points so he wasn't really going to go all out. Killua set his skateboard on the ground, stepping on it and pushing off. Sighing, Sillar started to jog, easily keeping up with his younger brother and the two conversed lowly as they headed further into the tunnel, following the crowd of people in front.

After a while, Killua caught sight of the same trio that he had noticed talking to #16 earlier. "Hey. Do you think he's around our age?" Killua asked, gesturing at the green gremlin.

"Probably. You want to talk to him?" Sillar asked, looking over at Killua. Since the both of them were only a year apart, they were around the same height and, with Killua atop the skateboard, the both of them were level with each other. If Killua were not on the skateboard though, Sillar would be around half a head taller than Killua.

"… No. I'm fine." Killua said. Sillar smirked to himself though as Killua suddenly sped up, purposely moving up to and beside the trio. Shaking his head, Sillar followed closely behind his brother, coming up as Killua was asking the green gremlin what his age was.

"I'm 12!" The gremlin replied cheerfully.

"12 huh. That's the same age as me." Killua muttered. Finally, he nodded his head determinedly and jumped off his skateboard with practised ease. "I'm Killua."

"And I'm Sillar, Killua's older brother." Sillar interjected before the gremlin could introduce himself. He smirked at Killua, feeling a little vengeful because of the younger Zoldyck abandoning him without any warning earlier.

"Hello, Killua and Sillar! I'm Gon! And this is Leorio, and Kurapika!" Gon introduced, gesturing at the people in question in order. The other two, the suited male and the blonde teen nodded in greeting and the group of 5 fell into steady silence amidst the low conversation between Killua and Gon who were looking as if they were going to be fast friends.

A couple of hours into the steady jog, Leorio started to slow down and eventually came to a halt all together. Gon and Kurapika immediately stopped upon noticing this, causing Killua to stop and consequently, Sillar also stopped jogging. But, Gon and Kurapika didn't say anything to Leorio at all. No encouragements, no words, nothing.

"Gon? What are you doing? Come on." Killua urged, glancing after the disappearing group of applicants as they rounded a corner in the tunnel. He glanced at Leorio, disdain flashing briefly in his eyes.

"Wait." Gon merely said, his eyes glowing a bright yellow. Sillar blinked in surprise, having caught a glimpse of it as he turned his head to look at Gon but, in the next moment, Gon's eyes were back to their usual warm hazel brown. Shrugging, Sillar decided that he was seeing things and focused his attention back on the fallen suited man who was kneeling down on the ground, head bowed in the perfect picture of exhaustion and hopelessness.

Suddenly, Leorio shot to his feet, eyes burning with determination. "Like hell I'm going to give up when I've made it this far! I'm going to be a hunter or die trying!" Leorio yelled as he dashed off, somehow managing to take off his suit and tie it around his waist as he did so. He was now naked from his waist up, the number tag somehow pinned onto his skin. Kurapika also quickly followed behind him, also removing the outer most layer of his clothing and hanging it on his bag for some reason.

Privately, Sillar felt that the pain from the number tag pinned on his chest and the embarrassment from being half naked was what was keeping Leorio going but it was apparently working seeing as how the duo was already catching up to the group in front. Gon grinned happily and took out his fishing pole from behind his back, swirling it once around his head before whipping it at the suitcase that Leorio had left behind, expertly hooking onto it. With another swish of his wrists, the suitcase flew towards Gon who easily caught it. Holding it in one hand, Gon looked expectantly at Killua who was looking at him with wide awed eyes.

"Cool!" Killua exclaimed excitedly as they set off down the tunnel again. "Can I try your fishing rod later?"

"Sure. As long as you let me try your skateboard too." Gon agreed readily, a wide smile on his face.

"You're on!" Killua said. "Now, do you want to race with me? Let's see who is faster shall we? The loser can tell the winner to do any one thing. Can you go up ahead and judge for us, Sillar-nii?"

"Yes…" Sillar replied hesitantly, eyeing Killua warily. Killua only gave him a small smirk in return though, and when Gon agreed excitedly, he slumped his shoulders. Then, just before he was about to speed up and run ahead of the duo, an idea struck him. "Wait! Why can't I join the two of you?"

"Because you'll win for sure and that's not fun!" Killua pouted. "And besides, that's basically the same as giving you a free wish along with a side dish of our ruined pride!"

"Oh come on Killua! Sillar can't be that fast, he's only a year or so older anyway right? He can join us." Gon persuaded.

"A year older, I'm going to be 13 this year." Sillar corrected with a beam. "And thank you Gon!" Sillar turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Killua who frowned disgruntledly.

"Whatever. Let's start now." Killua forced out. Without waiting, he immediately sped off, weaving through the people in front and easily passing by them. Startled, Gon and Sillar stared after him before quickly giving chase. However, Killua had gotten a head start on them and, while Sillar was slowly starting to catch up, the distance between Gon and Killua wasn't decreasing at all.

Sillar noticed this and, a wide smirk growing on his face, he retrieved one of the many orange juice cans he has stuffed in his pockets and held it in his hand, eyeing Killua through narrowed eyes. Taking in a deep breath, Sillar pulled his arm back and smoothly chucked the can at Killua. True to form, the can flew through the air, heading straight for his younger brother. However, before it managed to hit Killua's head, Killua ducked down and the can flew past him above his head harmlessly.

Regardless, Sillar's aim had been achieved and he grinned as Killua rolled on the ground and popped up on his feet, instinctively spinning around and dropping into a crouch. Catching sight of Sillar's grin, Killua relaxed and sighed, before he groaned in frustration as he finally realised that he had just been tricked. By this time, Gon and Sillar had caught up to him and the trio were standing in front of a long flight of stairs that led upwards, farther than they could visibly see.

"I. Hate. Stairs." Sillar spat out as they were sprinting up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Killua shot him an amused look, one which Sillar returned with a vehement glare. They were coming up on Leorio and Kurapika now, both of whom were jogging up the stairs as they conversed. Also spotting them, Gon called out to them cheerfully.

"Hey! Leorio! Kurapika! We're having a race, the loser has to do anything the winner says. Do you want to join us?"

"Gon? As well as Killua and Sillar." Kurapika greeted. "Sorry, but I think we're going to have to pass. I don't think I can go any faster than this but have fun."

"Yeah. I'm whipped!" Leorio whined.

"Not literally I hope." Sillar quipped. He stared back at the others, excluding Gon who was smiling naively, who were giving him odd looks.

"… I'm just going to forget that my brother ever said that." Killua deadpanned. "Anyway, I guess your age is catching up to you huh old man."

"What do you mean 'old man'!" Leorio raged. "I'll have you know that I was born in your generation too!'

"What?!" Everyone paused and stared at him, jaws dropping in shock and surprise at the earth-shaking revelation. Finally, Sillar laughed, shaking his head.

"That's called denial old man…" Sillar said, trailing off hopefully as he waited for Leorio to say that he was just lying or joking.

"You brat!" Leorio yelled. "You're looking at a very youthful 19 year old teenager!"

"…Well. We're not going near that topic ever again." Killua decided. Simultaneously, the others nodded their heads as Leorio gazed at them in betrayal. "Now come on guys. I want to get that free meal."

"Are you sure you can beat me?" Sillar teased.

"Yes. Because there's no way you can catch up if you are too far behind us." Killua said seriously.

"Behind you? The three of us are on the same steps. Why would I-Killua you utter ass!" Sillar yelled in anger as he rolled down the stairs. Halfway through his question, Killua took advantage of his distracted state and swept his legs out from under him as they were jogging up the stairs, still beside Kurapika and Leorio. Stumbling, Sillar lost his balance and slipped, falling backwards down the stairs.

"What did you just do? He's going to die!" Leorio yelled.

"Nah. Sillar-nii is stronger than that. Falling a couple flights of stairs won't hurt him." Killua dismissed. "Now, come on Gon. Before he recovers and catches up with us!"

"I don't think you should have done that, Killua. That was dangerous. Sillar-san might be very badly injured." Gon said reproachfully.

"Exactly! And what do you mean he's stronger than that! He's falling down concrete … stairs… Is your brother actually taking the stairs three at a time at full sprint?" Leorio asked in disbelief. Immediately, the 4 of them stopped and turned to look at the scene.

"Is… is his legs actually covered in purple flames or is that just me?" Kurapika asked slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes. Yes it is. And this is where I run for my life." Killua said calmly. Then, he turned and bolted up the stairs, running away from Sillar whose eyes were somehow glowing faintly purple with anger and determination from under his hooded cloak. Gon stared before he ran after Killua, panicking slightly. Kurapika and Leorio were right behind the two boys, and the 4 of them bolted past all the other applicants, fuelled by panic and slight terror as they ran away from Sillar.

Soon, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and the 4 of them charged right past the examiner, who turned his head to look at them in slight surprise, just as Sillar caught up to them. They were far in front of the other applicants and the examiner moved to the side to both watch the show and to wait for more applicants to turn up.

"Hey Sillar-nii. You won't actually kill me right? I'm your precious younger brother, aren't I?" Killua said nervously, holding his hands up placatingly.

"I don't know. Will I? Why don't we check?" Sillar grinned menacingly. The purple flames covering his legs started to dissipate slowly but, if anything, Killua looked even more anxious as he gulped and looked around at the other three who were suddenly now standing as far away from him as they could although they still stayed in the area outside the exit of the tunnel.

"We offer Killua to you Sillar-san!" Gon yelled nervously.

"Yes. Please take him as tribute." Kurapika continued.

"Spare me! I'm too young and handsome to die!" Leorio wailed.

"Correction. We offer Killua and Leorio to you as tribute." Kurapika corrected blandly, eyeing Leorio wickedly. In response, Leorio wailed even louder.

"Guys!" Killua said, offended and panicked, as Sillar took another step closer. "Wait, Sillar-nii! I use my wish for winning this race! Don't kill me!" Sillar paused in the middle of his slow menacing steps.

"Fine. Spoilsport." Sillar pouted. Killua, along with the other 4, sighed in relief. Then, a small chuckle came from behind them and they spun around, looking for the source of the sound. By now, there were already quite a few applicants that had arrived and they were all staring at them in shock, with a little tinge of fear in the weaker ones and excitement mixed with wariness in the stronger ones.

However, the source of the chuckle turned out to be the examiner who had a hand in front of his mouth casually. He met their gazes evenly, pulling his hand away and twirling his moustache gently. "Yes?"

"No. Nothing." Leorio blinked owlishly back at the examiner's carefully blank face.

"Well, in that case, since the five of you seem to be done with your little… show. Let me explain where we are and the next part of this phase shall I?" Satotz said. An embarrassed grin swept across both Gon and Leorio's face, as the group of 5 turned to face Satotz who was looking at them meaningfully.

"Now, congratulations on making it through the first part of the first phase and welcome to the Wetland Marsh, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. The rules for this next half of the first phase is the same as the first half. Just follow me." Satotz announced. Then, he put up a single finger, eyes gleaming. "But, be warned. The Wetland Marsh is filled with intelligent beasts, all of whom employ many tricks to lure unsuspecting people to their deaths. That being said, as long as you follow me, you'll be fine. If you lose me though… well, failing this Hunter Exam will be the least of your worries."

Satotz paused, looking around at the mixture of grim and pale faces around him. "Well, let's not dally any longer. Let's-"

"Wait! Don't follow him!" A yell cut off Satotz. The applicants turned and looked to the side where an injured man, clutching his stomach with one hand and dragging something behind him with the other, stood. Sweat poured down the man's agonised face as he straightened and pointed accusingly at Satotz. "He's tricking you! I'm the real examiner!"

Murmuring started up among the applicants who were glancing between the newcomer and Satotz. Amusingly enough, Satotz was actually just standing by the side quietly, watching the proceedings with polite interest as though he hadn't just been accused of trying to kill and eat all of the hunter applicants. By his side, Killua snorted quietly, no doubt having also figured out who the real examiner was, as he watched silently. The other 3 weren't as astute though and they were discussing among themselves.

Sillar sighed tiredly as one of the other applicants suddenly brought up the point of Satotz's odd running style, inciting another, more heated, round of discussions. Idiots, the entire lot of them. "Do you have any proof?" A balding ninja-wannabe asked suddenly, eyes narrowing at the injured man.

"Yes!" The man replied quickly, almost too quickly in fact. He then showed the crowd what he had been dragging behind him. "This is a man-faced ape! It is an inhabitant of the Wetland Marsh that disguises itself in order to lure other people into the Wetland Marsh and then feed on them." The man-faced ape he was holding out had purple hair and a curled moustache, his long tongue hanging out from his fanged mouth.

He looked very much like how Satotz would likely look like if he was a monkey. And that was what seemed so… off about the whole scenario. It was pretty obvious to Killua and Sillar although it seemed as if the other applicants were being fooled by this trick. Not all of them though, Sillar mused, eyeing Hisoka who was looking rather bored with the whole thing. He was chatting to #301, a tall lean man with pins all over his body. That must hurt, Sillar winced, shivering slightly as he imagined having numerous pins piercing his flesh.

Suddenly, Hisoka brightened up, his boredom appearing as if it was a figment of one's imagination, as he turned considering eyes on Satotz. His eyes then also darted over to Sillar, no doubt noticing his gaze, and he winked. Sillar blinked owlishly as Hisoka raised a hand and flicked his wrist, poker cards suddenly appearing in between each of his fingers. Their eyes meeting, Hisoka inclined a head towards the direction of Satotz and the injured man as an indigo energy flickered to life around the cards.

A moment later, the poker cards pierced through the air, shooting directly at Satotz and the injured man. Satotz easily caught the cards between his own fingers, skidding back slightly on the ground from the pure force and momentum behind the cards, but the injured man gasped and fell over backwards, poker cards sticking out of his chest. A hush fell over the applicants as they stared in shock at the scene, stunned by the sudden violence.

However, while the other applicants were now staring at Hisoka, who was grinning maliciously, Sillar's eyes were fixed on the indigo energy around the cards stuck between Satotz's fingers. A sudden surge in energy rose from Satotz and the indigo aura dissipated. At the same time, the indigo aura around the cards stuck in the now dead man also dissipated. Staring at the indigo -purple- energy, the sounds from the surrounding gradually grew softer and softer until he could now no longer hear anything but a distant buzzing. And, try as he might, Sillar could not escape the painful silence.

Green was good. Green was natural, nature's essence at its core. Along with blue, the sea's essence, it represented the home of every single lifeform on Earth. Purple, on the other hand, was bad for some reason. Purple was… unique. People didn't like purple. They disliked it. Either it was too bright or too dark. Furthermore, purple didn't fit in like any other colour. Purple was…

"Sillar-nii!" A loud shout coupled with a rough shake broke Sillar out of his trance. Sillar blinked owlishly, staring down into his brother's frantic icy blue eyes.

"Ice is also water. Icy blue is also a good shade of blue. Good job." Sillar patted Killua on his soft white hair before wandering off after the examiner who was starting to enter the Wetland Marsh. He set off at a steady jog, slowly moving past applicant after applicant and further ahead as the mud squelched noisily under his foot.

"What just happened?" Kurapika asked finally, looking down at Killua.

"That was strange… I wonder… But…" Leorio muttered to himself, hand rubbing his chin as he stared after Sillar thoughtfully.

"Is… Is he ok?" Gon asked hesitantly, glancing at Killua beside him.

"…No. But he will be." Killua replied solemnly. Then, plastering a smile on his face, Killua grinned at Gon. "Now, come on, we should be going now. Don't want to lose the examiner do we?" Without waiting for a response, Killua dashed off, laughing lightly as Gon chased after him.

Meanwhile, Sillar had encountered a very big problem. "Ugh." Sillar groaned in disgust. The sound of the mud was becoming very irritating. Crinkling his nose with distaste, Sillar tried to reduce the amount of noise he created and, as a result, fell back slightly to the lower quarter of the group just as the ground around where he had been previously opened up. The people in the area panicked, screaming as they started their new adventure down a frog's throat along with a large piece of land.

Sillar eyed the frog as it leapt away in satisfaction after its meal of approximately 10 people, along with a crap load of dirt and vegetation, at once. "Huh." He commented eloquently, leaping over the hole in the ground. "I wonder if it ever gets indigestion…" He continued musing after landing on the ground. Then, a short distance away, the frog froze mid-leap and suddenly spat up everything that it just swallowed, land and people and all. "Well, that answers that."

Then, Sillar veered off from the path that the examiner was taking and jogged over to the area where the frog had spat up its meal, right on top of Killua, Kurapika, Gon and Leorio. "Having fun down there?" Sillar asked mildly, his lips twitching as he fought not to laugh at the sorry sight of 4 very disgruntled males covered in frog saliva and mucus.

"Shut up Sillar." Leorio grunted as he stood up and tried to clean himself up. The others followed his example and globs of frog fluids dropped to the ground.

"That was disgusting. And not an experience I ever want to repeat again." Killua snarled, shoving a couple of the other applicants off of him. "Let's just go before that blasted frog comes back and I get distracted with blissfully eradicating it."

"Language." Kurapika scolded. "But, I agree. We should leave now before we lose the examiner." And with that logical conclusion, the group of 5 dashed off and chased after the disappearing backs of the other applicants. Mist was now starting to sweep in and surround them, reducing their field of vision. Soon, all that they could see was white, as well as the hazy shadowy figures of the people in front of them. It was slightly disconcerting, especially with all the screams that were rising up all around them.

However, they soon broke through the mist and found themselves in a wide open clearing. Hisoka was standing in the centre, several corpses littering the ground beneath his feet, and smirking at a panting man with sweat trailing down his face. When the group of 5 appeared though, Hisoka's eyes darted over and the sweat-covered man took this chance to run away. He didn't get far before a poker card stopped him in his tracks and he dropped to the ground.

"Why hello!" Hisoka greeted, his tone bright and cheerful despite the visible carnage, blood, gore and corpses around him. "Would you like to join in on my little game of Examiner and Applicant?"

"No, thank you." Kurapika replied politely. Then, without taking his eyes off Hisoka, he murmured under his breath to the rest of them quickly. "On my count, we separate and run. He can't chase all of us at once."

"That's unfortunate. I'm afraid you don't have a choice though. You can forfeit I suppose but the penalty is death." Hisoka's voice dropped an octave at the last word and his grin was now far more menacing and far less cheerful. Trying to keep an eye on Hisoka, Sillar glanced at his brother who was shivering slightly in fear.

"It's fine. I'll protect you." Sillar murmured, ruffling Killua's hair. The words felt right, and familiar, somehow, as if he had said it multiple times before. Sillar didn't have time to contemplate it though as one of the supposed corpses groaned, surprising Hisoka and causing him to glance down and away from the group of 5. Kurapika swiftly took advantage of Hisoka's distraction, yelling out for the rest of them to run. Immediately, the group of 5 separated into 2.

Killua, Sillar and Kurapika ran to the left while Gon and Leorio ran to the right. "Splitting up hmm? Good choice. Now, who should I go after?" Sillar heard Hisoka muse to himself as they darted into the trees. They continued sprinting away for a short while until, Sillar finally noticed something.

"Guys! I don't think he's coming after us." Sillar called out lowly, in case Hisoka was actually nearby. "I can't hear anything." The three of them stood still, listening out for any sounds and, when neither of them could hear Hisoka, or anyone else, coming after them, they relaxed… Until they realised that that meant that Hisoka had gone after Gon and Leorio. Now panicking slightly, the three of them doubled back, wondering whether they would make it in time to assist Gon and Leorio or if all that awaited them were two more cooling bodies.

Sillar glanced at Killua's pinched and worried face, smirking slightly to himself. Killua had likely grown attached to Gon, and maybe Leorio as well. Killua generally adopted a hands-off policy unless the person involved was someone that he cared about. That he was actually going along with Kurapika to check on Gon, and Leorio, meant that he was at least invested in their safety.

As they burst into the clearing, they were greeted with the sight of Hisoka with his hands around a struggling Gon's neck as Leorio lay unconscious on the floor. "Gon!" Killua yelled out. However, against all expectations, unlike Kurapika, he didn't move forwards and instead stayed within the relative safety of the trees. Sillar clicked his tongue as Hisoka turned his head and stared directly at them, eyes wide and crazed.

With his right hand, Sillar unbuckled the strap keeping his bow in the holster on his left and removed his bow from the holster, gripping it in his left hand. Sillar retrieved an arrow from the quiver behind his back with his right and placed it on the string. Taking a deep breath, Sillar smoothly withdrew the string until his thumb touched his nose and aimed at his target. "Let Gon go." Sillar called out warningly.

"Are you sure you want to do that? You might hit your little friend here." Hisoka replied, a sly grin sliding back onto his face as he indicated Gon with his free hand. Immediately, Sillar released the string, immediately placing another arrow back onto the string even as his first arrow flew straight and true, in between Hisoka's legs. The arrow pierced the ground just a few inches away from Hisoka, vibrating from the force of the impact.

"Last warning. The next one goes in you. Release Gon." Sillar said, eyes cold as he gazed at Hisoka as if he was simply a target and not an actual living breathing human. Hisoka shuddered, grin widening as he obligingly released Gon. Gon slumped to the ground on all fours, raising a hand to clutch his throat and coughing as he frantically drew breath after breath into his lungs. "Thank you. Now, leave." Sillar instructed, bow still aimed at Hisoka.

Throughout all this, the bow hadn't trembled at all, remaining straight and upright without a single deviation, a testament to Sillar's arm strength. "Yes, yes. Do you want me to bring your unconscious friend to the site of the next phase?" Hisoka asked politely, his hands up in surrender even as his eyes were alight with amusement.

"Do you take us for idiots? There's no way that we're going to trust him with you!" Killua suddenly burst out, glaring defiantly at Hisoka, who frowned minutely before his usual smirk returned on his face. "You're probably planning to kill him on the way or something like that!"

"Why, you wound me. Your friend passed my little game. He has much potential, I wouldn't just kill him like this. Especially when he's unconscious. How boring that would be, to simply kill someone when they can't fight back." Hisoka replied, looking and soundly oddly serious even though his hands were theatrically clasped over his heart in a dramatic pose.

"You know the way to the next site?" Sillar decided to refrain from commenting and asked Hisoka.

"Yes. Do you want to know how?" A Cheshire grin spread across Hisoka's face as he stared anticipatorily at Sillar. "Here's a hint. Follow the indigo."

"Indigo?" Sillar parroted in confusion. He glanced around the clearing, wondering what Hisoka was referring to, until he spotted a thin indigo line on a tree at the other end of the clearing. "Ah. Indigo. Cute. Although I'm not sure when you had the time to do that. We can take it from here Hisoka. Thank you for your help but you can leave now."

"If you say so. I look forward to seeing all of you ripen." Hisoka purred before sashaying away, moving past the tree marked with an indigo line and disappearing into the forest. Sillar released his breath, slowly releasing the tense bow string as he removed the arrow. He kept his arrow away and holstered his bow, using the familiar yet quick routine to ground himself as he took deep calming breaths. Finally, after he had deemed himself sufficiently calm, Sillar looked up to see what the others were doing.

Killua was currently helping Gon while Kurapika was waking Leorio up with a couple shakes and light pats to his cheeks. Once they were all up and, in Leorio's case, coherent, Sillar led the way through the forest in front of the others as he was somehow the only one that could see the indigo line.