I woke up with the sound of someone speaking through loudspeakers. They were saying something but I couldn't figure out what. The room I slept in was dark, as it had no windows. I was clueless as to what time it was.
I shook my head fiercely, clearing my thoughts. Now that my eyes got used to the darkness, I could recognize the outlines of Yori yawing silently next to my legs, on the bed.
"-The airship will soon arrive at its destination." I heard the voice finish, whose owner I recognized as Beans, the weird green thing. This piece of information shook the remains of sleep off me as realization hit me. If I didn't hurry, I would miss the third phase! I jolted up from the bed, taking the bedsheets with me and startling Yori. He hissed angrily at my sudden movement.
I giggled nervously "Sorry there." and gave him an apologetic smile. I was extremely anxious as I hurriedly changed into my regular clothes and out of my pajamas. I had trouble putting my waistcoat so fast but managed to properly put it on. While I changed, Yori turned the lights of the room on and started his morning routine, which was licking his fur.
I brushed my teeth in a rush and went back into the bedroom. I put my quiver and bow in their places and grabbed my bag by its straps as I quickly left the room and ran through the halls until I reached the main entrance, where we would leave the airship to go to the third phase exam site.
When I got there, I was panting and had to support myself bowing and putting my hands on my knees. After I caught my breath, I straightened up and looked around. I was one of the first ones to arrive there. 'I guess I hurried for nothing.' I mourned mentally.
Around my were a short old man with a long, spiky, high ponytail and wearing a blue cloak (his number was #281); a tall, dark skinned man wearing sun glasses and holding a weird staff with something with an oval shape at its end (I couldn't see his identification number from where I was standing) and a fine looking woman with bright red hair and wearing sunglasses, also (her number was #80). All of them were minding their own business and seemed uninterested in me.
I looked at the wall to my right and looked through the window. We were approaching a thin tower that rivaled the height we were flying at. "I guess that's where we will take the third phase, huh?" I said looking at Yori. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as if saying he couldn't see what I was looking at so it didn't make a difference to him. I smiled, feeling rested and much better than yesterday.
I waited there for what seemed like 15 minutes or so and most of the participants were already there. When Kurapika and Leorio arrived, they sat next to me, on my right, and chatted about their ambitions when they became hunters. I was glad that they were calmer and didn't fight.
Then, Killua arrived and greeted us with a short salute. He sat on my left and let his back slid against the wall until he hit the floor. That was odd. I decided to cheer him up.
"So…" I begun "What do you think of the exam so far?" I tried. He turned his head to look at me and shrugged, relaxing a little bit.
"I'm kinda disappointed. It's way too easy. When I heard about the Hunter Exam, they said it was difficult and dangerous." He complained, to which I giggled. He pouted at my reaction and I tried to muffle the giggle with my hand to no avail.
"Well, then we should hope that the next phase is more exciting, right?" I said after my giggled died down.
"Yeah!" he said smiling and held his hand up. I've seen people doing this before so I also held my hand up and we fived.
I also smiled at his brighter mood now. 'Mission completed.' I thought happily. By now, all the examinees were here excepting Gon.
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my neck and I panicked slightly. I flinched before a familiar voice chirped "Goodmorning!" and the smell of sweat invaded my nostrils.
"Gon! You're stinking of sweat!" I protested, trying to unclasp his arms around me. To emphasize my point, Killua pinched his own nose and Kurapika and Leorio stopped talking and started coughing.
"Didn't you take a bath after the game with Netero-san?" Killua asked with a funny voice.
Gon gave an embarrassed laugh and rubbed the back of his head "Hm… no?" he answered. I paused at his answer that sounded more like a question and resumed trying to free myself from his embrace. Gon didn't move an inch 'I can't believe it! I not even tickling him!' I thought exasperated.
Thankfully, Killua noticed my attempts and shoved Gon off me effortlessly. Gon fell on his bun and pouted.
"What was that for?" he said like someone took his toy.
"You can't attack and suffocate people like that!" Killua exclaimed obviously cranky.
"Uh… actually, he wasn't suffocating me-" I started before Yori stepped on me to sit next to Killua, as if agreeing with the boy. I huffed with the weight.
"Very well. Now that you all are here, you can exit the airship. We have already landed on the designated place for the third phase and you will receive further explanation once we get there." Beans said over the ruckus and everybody fell silent.
We all looked at each other. Kurapika had a determined look on his face while Leorio looked about to faint, hyperventilating. I didn't know how I was feeling. Anxious, perhaps? But I wasn't feeling the chill in my stomach that usually accompanied anxiety. Anyways, we formed a line to get off the airship.
We had landed during our discussion so I hadn't noticed it before. But now that we were standing on the roof of the tower, I realized that the tower wasn't thin like I initially thought.
After all of us were standing there, many asking questions to each other, Bean cleared his throat to draw our attentions.
"Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower." he explained. Someone asked something but he ignored it and resumed his explanation "In order to pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive." I gulped when he said 'alive'. 'This means we're much likely risking our lives after entering this tower… I guess this is good news for Killua. But this also means I'll be in danger, too.' I thought dryly.
Beans added "The time limit is seventy-two hours." 'Three days, huh?' I mused. Beans raised his gloved hands "With that, we will now begin the Third Phase." I looked at Gon and the others from the corner of my eye. Kurapika seemed to be thinking the same as me. He probably came to the same conclusion I did. Killua and Gon exchanged glances. While Killua looked uninterested, unlike I thought he would be, Gon raised his eyebrows, impressed with something I couldn't figure out. Leorio looked bewildered. "I will pray for your success." Beans finished.
Killua shrugged when I felt chills running down my spine. I turned back and Hisoka and Gittarackur were standing a few meters behind us. Hisoka waved slightly with a wicked smiled plastered on his face and closed eyes. I gulped.
After the airship took off and left us on the roof of the tower, we heard "Best of luck to everyone!" bid by Beans. I sighed in annoyance 'And we will need it.' I thought, my head hanging low.
I stood there, trying to figure out what to do next while Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio leaned over the edge of the tower roof and looked down. I absently took notice of someone talking to them and climbing down the tower.
"Ho-ta-ru-chan~" a husky voice sang behind me. I jumped slightly. 'I let my guard down!' I thought startled. Yori growled next to me and I turned in the blink of an eye. Hisoka bended a little so his face was centimeters from mine, as he was incredibly taller than I was (you can't blame me, I'm only 12 years old).
"W-what?" I asked a bit bluntly and stuttered, my voice a shrill and horse. I couldn't help but be intimidated. After all, Hisoka had this effect on people. Not to mention he was using nen to appear more dangerous.
He closed his eyes as he smiled "Please take a step back." and he gestured with his arm, motioning behind me.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion "Why?" this time, my voice came out more naturally and Yori arched his back in an attacking stance.
Hisoka kept his smile and simply pushed me lightly, but with enough strength to make me take a few steps back to keep balance.
Out of nowhere, the tile I was standing on weaved a little and I fell into the opening it formed. I fell for a second before landing ungraciously and Yori crashed onto me, taking the air from my lungs. I groaned in pain and he stepped off me.
I looked around. We were in a dark square room with a single source of light that barely illuminated the faces of the other three people in the room. I analyzed each of them. A man with dark, shoulder length hair whose number was #85; a woman with blue hair arranged in a braid that fell over her right shoulder and bright green eyes whose number was #112 and, finally, my eyes fell on a short snot-nosed blond guy in his mid-twenties.
I grimaced. This phase wasn't going to be easy. And then something hit me 'Wait. Where's Hisoka. I thought he would want to do this phase together…' I wondered.
As if on cue, Hisoka fell from the ceiling, the hole briefly enlightening the room. He swiftly and graciously landed in a crouched position next to me.
The first one to break the silence was the raven-haired man. "You. Put these on." he said in a low voice and threw stopwatches at us. I caught it with ease and looked at it. There was a small glowing screen with a countdown clock. It showed us how much time we had left 'seventy one hours and forty five minutes…' I read. There were also two buttons. One with a red circle and another with a blue 'X'.
"I don't like these. They're ugly and the colors are wrong!" the blond man screeched. I winced at how loud he was.
The black haired man ignored the comment and clarified "According to that tablet, these buttons will offer us options and the majority wins." I nodded, signalizing I understood. I saw from my peripheral vision that Hisoka smiled.
"I don't like his smile." the blue haired woman muttered loudly enough for all of us hear as if Hisoka wasn't there. 'Nice. I'm stuck with a psycho – who happens to be my ally, an arrogant and loud knucklehead and an extremely annoying woman. The only decent person here is the black haired person.' I thought exasperatedly and internally sighed.
"Repeat it." Hisoka said, with his smile still on and a murderous aura around him. This wasn't getting us anywhere so I took the initiative and walked over to the only door in the room.
"Repeat what?" the woman said stupidly.
I pretended nobody said anything and read aloud what was written on the door "At this door, select 'O' to open, 'X' not to open." I turned to face the group "Shall we?" and put a hand on my hip, annoyed.
Everybody nodded but the woman put up a face before doing so.
"You lot have to select 'O'!" the blond man said, making me deadpan. We all looked down at our stopwatches and selected 'O'. Soon enough, the number 5 appeared besides the 'O' sign on the door and a zero appeared next to the 'X'.
We all walked through the hall that opened, as the door slid to the side. We all walked, me taking the lead. The hall had brick walls and its ceiling was lower than the room's we were in before.
"I'm Fukui Akio! Remember that! When I become a famous hunter, I'll let you become my servants!" the blond man suddenly shouted 'I guess we're introducing ourselves, then?' I mentally suggested. Fukui was a rather known surname, which explained why he was so full of himself. If I'm not mistaken, it's the name of a family of rich merchants.
"And I'm Mori Haruka, the greatest woman to ever walk on these lands!" the woman said, brushing her braid off her shoulder. She guffawed afterwards. 'These will be the longest 71 hours of my life…' I cried internally.
"Saito Kaede." the raven haired man said barely audible and simply.
"Hisoka." said man said with another smile and a dark grin. 'And this is my hint…' I thought.
"I'm Hotaru. Nice to meet you all…" my voice dropped at the end. I didn't really mean the last part but the situation was awkward enough as it was. I was hoping to leave the atmosphere more comfortable with it.
"Hotaru? What a ridiculous name!" Akio snickered. I glared at him and gritted my teeth. This human was bothering me to no end.
Surprisingly, Hisoka was the one to stand up for me. "Not as much as yours~ and your name really suits you~" he raised an arm with the palm of his hand facing upwards.
Akio widened his eyes and opened his mouth in a furious fit. By now, Haruka was laughing nonchalantly and Kaede was suppressing a smile. I mouthed a 'Thank you.' to Hisoka and replied mouthing a 'No problem.' with a dark diversion lacing his features.
I ignored the darkness surrounding him. I was kind of getting used to it.
We walked for about three minutes before we reached the end of the hall, where the hall split. "A bifurcation." Kaede murmured. Both ways were blocked by iron bars.
On our left, was a sign that read 'One path lead to a trap and the other is a shortcut. Choose 'O' for right and 'X' for left.' I tilted my head. A 50-50 chance. Also, it didn't specify if the trap would deadlock our way down or simply hider it.
"You must choose left!" Akio said bossily. I frowned and Yori furrowed his muzzle, showing his teeth. He wasn't enjoying this either.
"I'm actually surprised you can read." Haruka remarked mockingly. Akio fumed and gritted his teeth.
I looked down and pressed the 'O' button as a payback for his bossy behavior. Apparently, I wasn't the only one as the sign showed that out of the five of us, four chose to go right.
Akio snarled like a wild animal "I said we should go left!" and stomped. I raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's five against one, you know." I warned him.
"Five? I think you don't know how to count, brat." he said arrogantly and put his hands on his hips. He obviously didn't notice that Yori was also a potential adversary.
"You're the only one who don't know how to count." Kaede commented and headed towards the right hall whose iron bars retreated into the floor.
We all followed him with Akio following behind. He was murmuring profanities and curses under his breath, although not loud enough so we could hear him. We walked for so long that was suspicious. I also realized that the halls were inclined. That was barely noticeable.
"This doesn't look like a shortcut." I told them. Hisoka nodded in agreement but creepily enough was still smiling.
"This must be the trap! I ordered you to choose the left way!" Akio yelled. The rest of us sighed, silently agreeing to cast Akio out excepting for Hisoka. The clown like man had a murderous aura around him that engulfed us and made me feel slightly jittery. Thankfully, he didn't attempt to do anything of the sort and Akio still had his head on his shoulders. At least physically.
After walking for ten minutes, according to the stopwatch, the hall enlarged alarmingly. We found ourselves staring at a large room with five lifts in the opposite wall. The bricks gave place to large concrete plaques and the headroom was almost twice as taller than the halls'.
Above the middle steel lift was a sign like the ones we ran into previously. This one read 'Three of these lifts will lead to the lower levels of the tower. The other two will automatically disqualify whoever take them. Choose 'O' so every member will take a lift and 'X' to reveal what lifts will disqualify you. However, if you choose the latter, two people will have to stay behind until the 72 hours are over.' I finished reading.
'So we did choose the shortcut, back there… but this could also be the trap. After all, no matter what two of us will fail this.' I considered.
I looked up, both Akio and Haruka seemed troubled, and concerning their popularity among the party, I would be, too. Akio was pacing around the room and I could see beads of sweat rolling down his high cheeks. His bright expensive clothes were beginning to dampen. Haruka, on the other hand, was as still as a statue, not moving a muscle.
Hisoka had a carefree body language and didn't seem even the slightest unsure about his choice. 'It's so plain obvious what they're going to choose. If the last option happens to be majority's choice, then a fight is inevitable to break out. In this scenario, Hisoka guarantees his slot in the Fourth Phase. Also, from my observations, Akio and Haruka are the most likely sacrifices. They're conscious of this and this awareness explains their behavior and will probably lead them to choose the first option given to us. At least they would stand a chance. I won't even try to read Kaede. Being as stoic as he was, it's pointless. Now… what do I want?' I thought.
I looked down at my stopwatch. 'The last option is also the one that benefits me the most… but is it fair for Akio and Haruka? Isn't choosing this the same as condemning them to failure…? Just like Kuro ani did to me for these years…' I grimaced with those thoughts.
"Hey! You, the brat with the idiotic name! I demand you to choose 'O'! Otherwise you will have to face the consequences! You know, you're the weakling here so I'm only helping you." Akio smiled smugly, plainly faking all of that in a desperate attempt before completely panicking. Even after finishing talking to me, he kept mobbing his mouth out of nervousness.
Something in his speech really unnerved me. Maybe it was the fact that he insisted in insulting my name. A name that my precious friends liked. Maybe it was the way he was so convinced that I would be easy target. Maybe it was the way he underestimated me. But, regardless of the reason, that helped me to make my decision. I pressed the 'X' button. Now the result of this Phase was in Kaede's hands.
Kaede looked down and made his move without sparing a second glance at us. Three of the lifts' doors opened. The first two and the last one, from left to right. Kaede chose the last choice, also. But what threw me off was why he did so. 'Is he that confident in his abilities? Meaning he felt in the same position as Hisoka? Did he want to get rid of those two?' I wondered but my thoughts were short lived as Akio and Haruka's bodies dropped dead, cards sticking out of the back of their necks.
I gulped at the sight. Even though death and murderer wasn't something new for me, it was still hard not to look away and throw up. A Jack of clubs card was deep inside Akio's neck flesh while a Queen of diamonds was in Haruka's.
Of course, being the daughter of blacklist hunters, the idea of someone's life being taken didn't bother me. However, seeing with my own eyes one's life seeping out and leaving an empty body with no soul was… uncomfortable.
To make things worse, the knowledge that the person's soul entered the void never to return to this dimension, against its will, saddened me. Because of my lack of freedom, I always valued the liberty humans had. They don't have to worry about breaking an ancient agreement that could lead to the destruction of a whole dimension, concealing their identities or giving protection to spirits.
Shikigamis, gods' guardian spirits, are spirits who make a special contract or bond with a god. They are loyal to their masters, the god they make a bond with, and serve them. In return, the gods lend them energy. This way, spirits can have better lives at the spirit's plan, where violence between spirits and territorial fights aren't uncommon. Usually, because it's easier to make connections with the same kind of spirit, gods only have one kind of shikigamis.
I averted my eyes after figuring out the cards that took Akio and Haruka's lives and walked to the first lift. Kaede mysteriously copied my movements without looking at the bodies lying on the cold concrete, as if he had expected it. 'I should keep an eye on him. He's acting way too suspiciously.' I made a mental note and nudged Yori's back, as he had followed me and was sitting to my left.
Yori looked up and tilted his head, as if asking 'What?' and showing his confusion at the same time. I mouthed 'Keep your guard up around Kaede.' to him and he nodded in response.
After Hisoka retrieved his cards and cleaned them by quickly swinging them, the blood on them splashing on the walls and the floor, he walked to the last one of the open lifts. As soon as he was out of sight, meaning he entered it, the steel door close in front of me and I heard the familiar sound of casters and tethers moving. I was tense for a moment, considering the possibility that the trap was actually a fake information in the sign but I could tell that the lift was moving downwards. In other words, closer to my goal.
Considering the tower is tall, the descent took a good few minutes. It didn't surprise me. I expected it to be because we were given three whole days to get to the base. If the Hunter Exam is like people say it is, then three days would barely be enough time to an experienced fighter to make it to the base.
During that time, I caught myself wondering how Gon and the others were doing. 'What if they got separated?' I bit my lip in concern but then relaxed 'Kurapika is clever. He surely found a way to make all of them stick together in this.' I nodded to myself and ignored Yori's scared looks directed at me.
When the lift slowed down, I snapped out of my thoughts and prepared myself for anything. The lift came to a stop and the door opened painfully slowly.
Outside the lifter was a dark circular room with stairs leading further down into the tower. The stonewalls gave an eerie feeling and the air was cold and humid. I shivered and stepped out of the lift. When I looked around, I was surprised to find myself alone in the room. I had expected to find Hisoka and Kaede there but was greeted with the silence of the stones.
After Yori got out of the lift, its door closed again, leaving us in complete darkness. I sighed. Now it would be troublesome to find the stairs. As I was about to reach my hands out to search for one of the walls, bright white lights shined on the high ceiling and cast an uncomfortable light on the room.
Next to the stairs stood a muscular figure covered by a cloak in straps. Even through the cloak it was possible to deduce that under it was a man with massive well developed muscles, even rivaling Hisoka's built.
His hands were secured by thick handcuffs and so were his feet. I frowned. I didn't like where this was going. His loud metallic clicks, he handcuffs fell and hit the floor, making even louder clangs.
I took a fighting stance and so did Yori. I could tell he was silently snarling and I took my bow off my shoulder and over my head. Because I don't have much stamina nor physical strength, supporting Yori with my arrows while he did the short-range attacks was the best battle tactic.
As the man rubbed his sore wrists, I took an arrow from my quiver and placed it on the bow, not stretching the string as a cautious matter. If I attacked first, I could lose a chance to get a harmless outcome.
"I'm sorry, little girl, but I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." the mysterious man said nonchalantly.
Author's note:
-Well… here's the so awaited chapter! I hope you liked it. It's 2 and a half a.m. here so I'm dying from tiredness. That's why I'm really sorry for the spelling, grammar and other errors I'm sure that this chapter is filled with.
-Hey, Shin'a! I really missed you ;u; it feels so good to have you reviewing my story and it really incentives me whenever I'm tired or sleepy. I'm really thankful for your support and comments! I tried making this chapter longer than last one and more interesting… so please let me know of your opinion, OK? :D I'm sorry last chapter was short… I did it in a hurry (well, I also did this one in a hurry but I put a little bit of more effort into this one). As for your English, I think it's perfectly fine and you can express your ideas nicely (not that you should listen to me, I'm not a native speaker, just like you xD). Hotaru sent you strawberries to thank you for all the support! ;D
-KarennPuff, thank you for sharing your opinion on the story! As you and other readers seemed to like Hyou's relationship with Hisoka, I think I'll try to develop it further :) I'm truly happy you're liking this so far :D and thank you once more for reviewing!
-Thank you for reading this!