It didn't take long to realize the first phase was an endurance exam. I was lucky that Hisoka had let me go, but I was extremely wary of his aura just behind me. It had been a few minutes since the start of the exam, and quite a few people had dropped out. I tried to get lost in the mass of running bodies, but no matter where I tried to run, I could feel him tailing me. Then there was the effort of steering clear of the one man with several pins stuck all over his body. With both of their presences so near, I felt like a trapped hare.
My legs wouldn't keep up the pace of my strides for long, so I decided to use a different method. I focused my nen to my feet again. Only this time, I made it take on on a slippery quality. It was like ice skating. Only it left chaos in wake. As I heard people slipping and falling behind, I couldn't help but smile. It wasn't like they were seriously injured, so I didn't see the harm in continuing my little self-serving prank. I was enjoying the little bits of mayhem that were ensuing behind me when Hisoka spoke up beside me.
"Well, that wasn't very nice~..." He spoke in a false pouty tone.
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck and arms raise at his presence so near. "..!" I squeaked as I mis-stepped and started to fall backwards. My arms shot out in a vain attempt for balance, but that seemed to be just what he wanted, because he grabbed my hand and began dragging my still sliding self behind him. What manner of karma is this? This guy seems like the type to kill you after you stop amusing him. I could feel sweat accumulate on the back of my neck as I came to that realization.
Once he was sure I wouldn't fall, he let me go. I quickly resumed my sliding pace. "Don't go falling, now~ You might get trampled!" Hisoka chuckled in his lilting speech.
"I-I'll try to remember that." I squeaked. I immediately began sliding further up the group, only to get within range of the pin faced man.
I almost froze in exasperation as I noticed the clacking noise he made. "Hello." His voice sounded distorted a bit.
"H-hello." I tried to stay focused on the path ahead. I glanced to the side to see his still clattering form. "That doesn't look comfortable..."
"It isn't." He admitted in his warped voice. I felt myself relaxing around this man, even despite his foreboding aura. I felt less like prey, and more unnoticeable.
"I guess you have your reasons for hiding your identity, but I, myself, wouldn't find it worth the discomfort." I admitted. I continued to stare ahead, jumping over a fallen examinee here and there.
"Why is that?" He questioned. His neck cricked with an uncomfortable sound. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the sound, and couldn't help the compulsion to answer truthfully.
"Needles freak me out, and pins are very similar."
I glanced again to see the smirk on his face. "I see."
"That doesn't necessarily mean I'll roll over and die when being presented with a needle. I just prefer to stay away from them..." Stop talking, you idiot!
"I understand." He merely replied. Things quieted down between us. I could feel awkwardness starting to creep in.
Stairs appeared, and I correctly assumed that we would be climbing them. The nen at the bottoms of my shoes dissipated, leaving me to climb unhindered by anything slippery. I opened my mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a few kids.
"Loser buys dinner." The two agreed. I smiled and hung back to get close to them.
"Did I hear a race in progress?" I asked with as much friendliness I could muster. "The name is Akiko."
"Killua." The white haired boy replied.
"I'm Gon!" The green clad boy introduced himself with much enthusiasm.
"And yeah, we're gonna race. You want in?" Killua asked.
"No, thank you." That would hardly be fair. "But how about I call who wins? I can easily get ahead to be sure."
"Yeah!" The boys answered in tandem. I smiled.
"Alright. Ready?" Both boys nodded. "Go!" I shot ahead, calling nen into my legs so that I could jump ahead. So absorbed in the game, I didn't notice that I had caught the attention of both Hisoka and the pin faced man. We were almost out of the stair well when I heard the little boys catching up to me. I quickly began to jump over heads until I jumped over the procter's head head first, to watch the boys tie. I felt my face rearrange into a smile. I quickly reoriented myself by back flipping mid jump to land between them.
The two began to argue who won and who owed who dinner. "Boys. You tied." I tried to quell the little quarrel. My hands found their way to the boy's heads. The boys began to blush. "You two are so cute~!" I giggled. I was oblivious to the stares we were receiving.
"Hey! You're messing up my hair! And don't treat us like we're babies. You can't be much older than us!" Killua complained.
"Hm? But I'm twenty two." Everyone around us stared at me in wonder.
"You're kidding!" Killua shouted.
"Really?" Gon exclaimed.
"I really am. Though I don't look it. At least, not in the face." I shrugged.
"Cool!" Gon cried out while his friend continued to stare at me shock.
I smiled. "Thank you, I guess. I think I'll wait for the next part of this phase. That was fun." I turned and walked away to the edge of the group.
"You're really twenty two?" The pin faced man asked. He clattered a bit on the way to me, so I wasn't all that surprised when I heard him address me.
"Is it so surprising?" I asked.
"I suppose not." He continued to stare at me. I stared back, with a growing sense of awkardness.
"My name is Akiko." I finally introduced myself.
"I am called Gittarackur" He replied in such a blank manner. I held out my hand, which he took with his own.
"Nice to meet you." I smiled at him.
"Likewise."
I had decided to stay by Gittarackur while we waited for the next part of the exam to start. I had decided to pull out my clunky looking headphones to listen to some music while I waited. I closed my eyes only for a few minutes as I stood, and when I opened my eyes, there was a tense atmosphere.
In my mental absence, a man-faced ape had tried posing as the real examiner, but was dealt with by Hisoka. I sort of paid attention after that as the proctor explained the Numere Wetlands. Basically: keep up, and keep him in sights. Easy. Where was the challenge?
As he set his pace, I made sure to stay right behind the proctor. I was practically riding his coat-tails. Luckily, this time, the running didn't last long. When we reached our destination, the examiner turned and eyed me in amusement. I stayed silent and strolled casually over to a nearby tree and sat against the roots. The others didn't take long to catch up.
As soon as the last few stragglers showed, the door to the stone wall opened behind him and he bid us all farewell. I looked through the opening and spied a HUGE man with rather unremarkable features beside his size, and a fit woman with green hair that was tied into five different sections.
Looks like phase two has begun.