A/N: As always, thank you to the people who followed and favorites and reviewed! It's really appreciated and it makes me feel like people are actually enjoying the story so that's nice.

Chapter Four:

Milsey Wetlands. Nicknamed "Swindlers Swamp."

I stared around at the thickening fog, the milkiness all but obscuring any legitimate path. I can't even see my shoes in the dense substance, the only thing visible is the tops of the trees.

I turned, catching the wisps of motion, the ruffle of clothing. Distantly, there was the call of a bird, the wild screech of something wanting to snap up some dinner.

"We're lost," I murmured, wiping away some of the dew that was gathering at my nape. Beside me, Minoru hovered, his massive size making him tower a couple of inches above.

Eeeeehhhh, Minoru whined, glancing around before he turned to glare down at me. Why are you so bad at directions?!

I glared up at him, my cheeks reddening. "Why would we go through a forest of deception without at least a map?"

Would it kill you to follow orders just this once? Minoru seethed, crossing his arms. All we had to do was follow the lead!

My hands clenched as I gritted my teeth. "This isn't some follow-the-leader baby bullshit! I came here to actually compete-"

Well, now we're lost and the only people who are going to compete are your stupid brothers!

I let out an agitated scream, clawing at my hair. That scream was quickly replicated by a ruse raven just a couple of feet away. A moment of silence passed between us, one where the shuffling of trees and unknown animals danced around us.

"Tch," I hissed out, turning fully to Minoru who had gotten on all fours now, his nose stuck firmly to the ground. "It's been too little time for you to have picked up the scents of anyone else."

Minoru's nose was very sensitive like most animals however it took a decent amount of time for him to be able to track someone by scent alone. And considering the place that we were currently in, our sense of hearing couldn't be trusted to lead us.

Let's hope that your brother's are still following the examiner than, Minoru said, his eyes glinting up at me. We both knew that that was a very unlikely situation.

I ignored the sinking feeling of failure, walking slowly beside him as he sniffed at the trees and dirt. When we had realized our error, we had immediately stopped running so in all actuality we should only be a few feet from the main path.

"Will you be able to keep the scent while we run?"

There are three of them and they still smell like our last meal - it'll be easy enough.

We took off at a sprint, dodging through underbrush and around the treeline. The fog was making it impossible to see five feet ahead and that alone put me on edge. Beside me, Minoru kept his head bent to the ground, his breath huffing out of him in irritated snorts. He had to keep to the ground to allow him to keep the trail which was something he was unused to. Like any other bear, his stride was massive and shook the ground every time he bound forward.

The air was dense as I sucked in breath after breath, letting my legs pump faster and faster as Minoru took turns at a jarring pace. His one step ate up five of mine, making me work overtime to keep up and soon I was contemplating taking off my now drenched hoodie for the tank top and shorts just beneath. My legs burned, my knees giving an ache as we jogged down a hill.

Unwanted, we stopped just beyond a grove, the sound of my harsh breath bursting through the air.

Hisoka's here, Minoru said and I immediately dove into a crouch, glancing around cautiously. Just before our run we had had the pleasure of watching him hurl playing cards at the examiner and one of the local man-faced apes. It had been in pursuit of a good reason however the thought of possibly being stuck in the swamps without an examiner because Hisoka had decided to skewer him made it less amusing.

Not to mention that one of the reasons that we had gotten lost in the first place was because Minoru didn't want to be around him on the run. Apparently there was a bit too much trouble with even being in the presence of the scarlet haired man.

I stared at Minoru, his head raised in a tense alertness that I fully recognized. "How could you possibly know that he's near? You didn't catch a good enough whiff of-"

And then I felt it. Bloodlust so strong that it nearly knocked me over. I winced, my stomach rolling with neasia. Was this all coming from one person? Minoru's face pinched up, his stitched mouth pulling down in a deep grimace.

"Which way are my brothers?" I gritted out, watching Minoru's paw raise in a general fog-coated direction. "What about Hisoka?" His paw raised again. The same direction just a little to the right. I snarled. There was no way that we were going to be able to make it out without following my brothers' scents.

"Oh that's just fucking fantastic," I hissed out, throwing up my hands. Tugging down my beanie so that all I could see was darkness, I thought over our options. We could try to hide ourselves and skirt around him. I bit my lip. But that wouldn't work. He had some sort of ability that allowed him to detect us. Like Minoru. And I wasn't completely sure how exactly he was able to sense us. Those hide and go seek games that my mother and I had played so long ago wouldn't help me now.

"Do you think he's distracted enough to get around him?" I breathed.

Minoru sniffed at the air, raising up on his haunches. Smells like fresh blood. I would say that he just got done killing a whole group. And… he's still on the hunt… Has to mean that there are more.

A small chance but one that we needed to take. I took a breath. The fog gave us an advantage. We could use it to get away. Even if he had an ability to track us, there was a good chance that we could move fast enough to get around him and to the examiner before he could kill us.

"We'll take our chances," I said, tugging my beanie back and checking that the daggers against my forearms were still secure and that the cord and launching device were working. If it came to a fight, I wasn't going to be helpless. My eyes moved to Minoru's eyes, his face tense. "You ready?"

Silently, he nodded and we took the hill at a run, Minoru's snout stuck to the ground. We didn't try to conceal our presence - it would slow us down too much when what we really wanted was to get around Hisoka as quick as possible. In times like these, it was one or the other. We couldn't choose both stealth and speed. We weren't nearly that skilled.

There was a small clearing just up ahead, bordered by trees and deep, dense brush. And at it's center was Hisoka, his smile smug as a lean figure lay at his feet - one of the other contestants - the one who I had thought looked like a real estate agent. How in the world had he come into contact with Hisoka?

I kept charging, not breaking speed even as the scarlet-haired man turned, his eyes lighting up as he caught sight of me.

Keep running! Minoru ordered, his paws digging at the ground, kicking up gravel and leaves as he stormed through the clearing. The lean man's chest moved, drawing in a breath. I gulped down a wild breath. He was still alive. Where were his friends? How had he gotten separated-?

A red bob flew through the air, whizzing around the clearing in a desperate attempt to hit Hisoka. The momentary attention that he had given me was pulled to the edge of the clearing.

I let out another ragged breath, my arms pumping faster as the small figure of a boy, panting and shaking caught my eyes. The little boy in green. The one who smiled so much.

Minoru, the boy! I cried out, watching with mounting horror as Hisoka advanced on him, his face pulled into that sly smile.

Don't you dare- But I was already turning, my dagger snapping out, a deep fear pumping through me. Hisoka would tear him apart. He was so young. So vulnerable.

My dagger flew before I could think, my wrist flicking so that it wrapped tightly around Hisoka's hand. Bad idea. I gritted my teeth, watching as the scarlet-haired man's brows went up. Too late to rethink. I yanked, turning fully so that I could use all of my force to haul it back, dragging him with me.

For a moment, I felt it working. My muscles burned as I felt him stumble at the end of my line, a hiss of breath escaping him before… nothing.

THUNK. I winced, staring dumbly at the tree just behind me, the dagger that I had thrown now embedded into the wood. My cord hissed as it retracted back into the spool that I had. For one brief moment, I caught Minoru's wide stare, his eyes asking me what I had done. Why I had done it. What this meant for the life that I really wanted to continue past this day.

"I didn't think you would play with me."

One second later and I would have had his hand around my throat. Sweat dribbled down my throat, my back arching as I flipped back and then tripped some of the silvery cord that was still attached to both my arm and the dagger embedded in the tree. Hissing, I yanked against it still crouched in the dirt as Hisoka loomed above me, those golden eyes glinting in the foggy light.

I was trapped, tied to a tree like an animal. Snarling, I slid back to the base of the tree, the cord at my arm tightening even more.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" The green-haired boy screamed, that little pole of his gripped tightly in his hands and Hisoka's eyes slid to him. And the most frightening thing was that there was interest there - the same type of interest that I had seen reflected up at me as he had held me before. On the ground just a few feet away, the retail agent struggled to his knees.

But they were just a bit too far away. I gulped, trying not to shake as Hisoka leaned down, his breath tickling my face. He was going to kill me.

A snarl broke through the clearing followed by the snapping of branches and brush as Minoru barreled into the clearing, a roar ripping from his throat. I could feel his white hot rage pounding through him. The same rage that I would have had. And the same desperate fear.

"Ah, I forgot," Hisoka mused softly, dancing out of the way as Minoru's paw took a wild swipe at his side. They swept through the clearing, one diving forward with powerful sweeps that ended up knocking the green-haired boy back and the other with light steps. As they roamed about, a sick dawning took hold of me.

Hisoka was playing with Minoru. Playing until he got tired.

"STOP!" I screamed, tugging futilely at my dagger, the blade sunk all the way to the hilt within the oak. A growl pierced the air followed by a whimper. Hisoka had dodged around another barreling run, kicking at Minoru's flank. "PLEASE!"

Desperately, I yanked up my sleeve, tearing at the contraption on my arm until it finally gave way sending me sprawling to the floor. Minoru lay just a foot away from me, his eyes dazed as he blinked up at the foggy canopy of trees. No blood. Just dazed.

The relief was short lived as I caught the familiar sweet scent mixed with the tang of iron and ink.

"Did you turn around to save the boy?" Hot breath tickled the hair at my ear, making me freeze for a moment before I rolled away, panting. Just across the clearing, the green-haired boy was struggling to a sitting position. "Surprising. I thought you would save yourself."

I rolled, sending my foot out to connect with his face and only finding air. How did he do that? I stumbled into a crouch, blinking around through the errant curls that stuck to my face in sweaty clumps. This wasn't good. He was everywhere.

And nowhere at the same time.

How did you fight a shadow? The fog?

It was like everything in this forest wanted to hide him.

I whirled, bringing my leg out again to try and hit a leg as I saw the cotton of his legs, his curled shoes. But no. That was the fog. It dissolved as soon as I connected. It made me feel small. Small and slow.

"You should probably get out of here, green bean!" I called out, my hands digging into the grass and dirt at my feet. Sweat trickled down my throat, chilled by the dewy air. Wildly, I tried to catch glimpses of him as he moved around the clearing. One moment he was just there - within the reach of my legs or hands but then the next he was behind me, smiling. Always smiling. "Take the old guy with you!"

"That's very heroic." I choked out a breath as a kick landed to my leg, sending a spike of pain bursting up my shin. I had gotten too close to catching him and he had quickly reprimanded me. Shaking, I yanked my leg back under me, my other dagger clenched tightly in my hand. His eyes were luminous as he crouched in front of me. "Why?"

"We're not leaving you!" came a cry from across the clearing and I resisted the urge to look and see where the little boy was.

Unblinking, I stared into Hisoka's golden gaze, trapped. For once, I saw the tip of his smile wilt a bit.

Unwanted, my body moved of its own accord, my hand coming up to - what? Slap him? Feel the angular expanse of his jaw? Before I could touch him, his hand was wrapping around my wrist, strong and unforgiving, his face blank as he stared at me.

"I don't think you would understand even if I explained it to you," I whispered, feeling somehow sorry for the man in front of me.

"Don't hurt her!" Green bean's friend was up again, his steps unsteady as he dragged himself across the clearing.

A deep sigh broke from Hisoka as he suddenly stood, my hand still firmly clasped in his. "Calm down. You and your friend have passed."

He turned slightly, tugging me up with a grin. "I hope you both become good hunters." Hisoka's eyes turned back to me, his smirk firmly back in place. "You're going to be coming with me, little mouse. It would be a shame to miss the next test."

Before I could do more than give an indignant, "hey!" he had hoisted me up, tossing my effortlessly over his shoulder. Hisoka carried me around like a weighed nothing, the expanse of his shoulder wide enough to make me feel small. Clutching my beanie, I kicked at him.

"Let me down!" I screeched, pushing at his back so that I could see something other than his back. Minoru was still out cold, the old man and little kid just reaching him. "TAKE MINORU PLEASE! PLEASE!"

Shrill beeping pierced the air and Hisoka pulled a small, green walkie talkie from his pocket.

"Hisoka. You should get back to the team," a voice warbled out. "We're almost at the Second Phase Venue."

Dumbly, I stared at the blinking dot at the top left of the small screen. He had had someone on the inside this whole time. There had been no way that he would have gotten lost.

"Okay. I'll be right there," he said, turning calmly and walking easily from the clearing with me flailing on his shoulder.

"You can't take her!" That red bob came sailing over Hisoka's shoulder, nearly snagging my shirt. We were already too far away though. The fog had gobbled us up, leaving little to no trace that we had ever been there.

"You can find your way back?" Hisoka called cheerily and I gritted down on my tears, thrashing violently in his hold and getting a pinch right to the underside of my butt in return. "You should stop kicking now. Before I get angry."

"Well, you're making me angry!" I seethed, punching at his back. "What the hell is the deal? Let me down! I can find my way back on my own."

"Maybe so, maybe not," he said noncommittally and I bumped up with the force of his shrug. "Either way, I thought that this would be a better way to keep you close than to let you wander off and possibly get gobbled up by all those nasty monsters."

"Oh, I highly doubt that you're not ten times worse than any one of those monsters," I snarled, glaring at the pink material of his undershirt as I went limp. My kicking wasn't doing anything and all of that fighting had made me a bit tired. At least with Hisoka I knew what I was getting. And for some reason because of his blunt ways, I believed that he wouldn't kill me. Right now.

He would tell me before he chopped me up, watching with pleasure as I squealed.

There was silence as we made our way swiftly through the dense forest, fog making the walk seem eerily like swimming through milk.

"Who was that on the walkie talkie?" I finally asked. There were very few people that hadn't been giving Hisoka the side eye after he turned that guys arms into origami.

"Someone that you don't want to meet," he said simply and for the first time his smile was completely gone. There wasn't much more to be said after that.

Still, I tried.

"Why are you so fast?" I whispered, remembering how I had felt in that fog, punching out at air. "How did you become so strong?"

"You could say I'm a quick learner," he chuckled and I glared at his back. That wasn't really an answer. "Perhaps I'll teach you."

"That seems very charitable," I snipped, crossing my arms. "Very unlike you."

"Eeeehhhh. That's not very nice." I yelp as he pinches me again, resisting the urge to smack his back.

The fog is beginning to thin out and our path is becoming clearer and steeper. It would make sense that the forest would be like a sort of basin, collecting at the bottom, rolling down from the hills above. Minoru and I should have taken the risk of aerial predators and just flew to the testing ground. Then we could have avoided all this nonsense.

"You seem to rather like crouching." I stilled at the thoughtful words. "It's almost as if you're afraid to fight at the same level."

I flinched. I had tried to be a brawler like my brothers but - I winced, thinking about all the broken ribs and noses. One time one of the guards had caught me and broken both of my hands after he had seen me stealing from his client. I learned quick. Guys like that - all brawn - had little balance. If you got them low, you could trip them up.

I could almost feel Hisoka's eyes slip to me slyly. "You fight like you're more accustomed to running away than sticking through to the end."

"And you fight like you're getting ready to do the salsa," I snapped, blushing.

"Ah, just an observation, little Morie," he smiled innocently.

I stiffened. "How did you find out my name?"

"You're brothers said it," he threw out, nonchalantly.

My mind scrambled. Had they? When..? Oh. That first time when they had found me with Hisoka. I deflated a little bit. And now he was hauling me around like a sack of potatoes. Great.

"Ah, looks like we made it." I blinked, pushing up off of his back quickly to stare around at the clear surroundings.

We were still in the midst of a massive forest but the fog had cleared away, leaving a clear, bright day. Other contestants milled about in front of a massive gate, a brick wall going as far as the eye could see. Thick wooden doors stood tall, closed tightly against the forest beyond.

And right at the edge, looking anxious stood my brothers. Relief pumped through me, making me weak.

"I suggest that you not get lost again." Strong hands lifted me, setting me close enough to the ground that my toes could graze the dirt but not close enough for me to actually stand. Annoyed, I glared up at Hisoka, waiting. He smiled. "I don't like it when my toys go off and get themselves broken before I have the pleasure."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I said sardonically. What an arrogant -

He set me down completely, looking slightly bored.

"Oh and Morie?" I stopped, turning from my near dash to my brothers. His hands had slipped into his pockets. "Stay away from the nice man with the pins."

I blinked, confused until a distinct clicking reached my ears and one of the taller, scarier contestants walked forward. His face was pulled into a grotesque mask, every bone apparent through his purplish skin. Mustard pins poked from his face, down the entirety of his body. Hisoka's eyes closed in a sinister smile. "He likes to break things that aren't his."

In other words, he would kill me.

Hisoka didn't need to tell me twice. Giving a swift nod that seemed to delight the scarlet-haired man more than before, I turned tail and ran. Even though I was sure that Hisoka could tear through most of the people here, being with my brothers was a welcome comfort.

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