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Chapter 12

X-X-X-X

"What kinds of animals are on your island, Artie?" Gon asked as the Navigator lead us to the Hunter Exam.

"Tanuki, tigerwolf, raccoons, hawks, crows, stuff like that. I have a tigerwolf partner back home, but I had to leave him behind with his mate and pups. Izanagi isn't actually a resident of Eternal Spring, I got him on a trip to another country." I said as Izanagi nuzzled my cheek.

"Eternal Spring?" Gon asked curiously.

"It's an island where it is forever spring. The island is separated into five parts. The northern forest of cherry blossoms, the east has apple trees, the south has plum, the west has apricot, and the central part of the island is made up of peach trees. The trees are always full of beautiful flowers, it's also never too hot or too cold." I explained pushing my glasses up a bit.

"I want to go!" Gon said with a wide smile.

"Hm...bad idea...If I have to return, I have to endure another round of arm wrestling...also Marc-sensei might..." I muttered a bit worried about Gon's safety.

Gon was staring at me with curious eyes as I continued to think about what Marc-sensei may do to him if I did bring him home. Marc-sensei said that if I brought home a boy when I return, that he would take it as me wanting to marry him. Wait, maybe if I drag Leorio and Kurapika along...no, wait, that's bad. While Leorio would be excluded almost immediately, he'll probably be even harder on Kurapika and Gon since he would have a limited amount of time to torture them. I may be his student, but I'm almost like his younger sister/daughter.

"Artie, aren't you going to eat?" Gon asked drawing my attention.

"Hn?" I looked up to see we were sitting down at a table, when did that happen? "Right, sorry, I was thinking too hard about something. Such a bad habit of mine." I said picking up my fork.

I ignored Leorio and Kurapika when they had gotten into an argument about whether or not being a Hunter is a respectable or well-paying job. I think it's both, but there is no way I'm going to say that to them. I fed Izanagi some of the meat after blowing on it a few times. This meat is good, I might consider eating here next time I ever end up in Zaban city. I glanced at the other door when I heard a ding, time to depart.

"That was pretty good." I said rubbing Izanagi's back.

"Yeah!" Gon said looking relieved when Leorio and Kurapika finally stopped arguing.

I lowered the rim of my hat when the doors opened and eyes were immediately on us. While others immediately dismissed us...I could sense someone with ill intent towards us. I silently looked around until my eyes landed on a pig faced man sitting on a pipe. I clicked my tongue when we made eye contact and I ignored him even though he started talking to those in my group.

"Please take a number."

"Thanks..." Was that small person really a person? He had a weird look about him. Izanagi's feathers were starting to ruffle under the pressure and I reached up, patting his back while I put my number tag on my shirt, 406."We'll be okay, I promise."

"Artie! Tonpa-san has taken the exam 35 times! Isn't that amazing?"

"Amazing is it?" I adjusted my footing before lifting the rim of my hat up a bit so I could stare at the pig faced man properly. "Someone would have passed after ten or so tries, but to fail so many times and continue on...you must have your reasons, eh?"

"R-Right."

"Hm."

I dismissed Tonpa for the time being, but kept part of my attention on him in case he tried something fishy. I took time to use Examine on those who gained my attention. I tilted my head to the side when I caught sight of a man dressed similar to a clown. I would have used Examine on him, but what I saw shocked me to the point of forgetting. He just...cut off the arms of someone.

"...Tonpa, who is he?" I questioned staring at the man.

"Ah, he's dangerous. Number 44, Hisoka the magician. He would have passed last year, but he was disqualified for nearly killing an examiner who got on his nerves." Tonpa answered.

"Hm..." I lost sight of him, shit, that was a good opportunity to gain information about him. I should have used Examine when I had a chance. I turned my attention back to Tonpa when he started to give out drinks. "..."

I used Examine only to find out they were drinks laced with laxatives. I narrowed my eyes at him and he didn't bother giving me one. I silently reached out quickly, knocking the cans out of Gon and Leorio's hands before they could try to drink it. Kurapika was staring at his drink and he se began dumping the contents when I turned my gaze on him.

"That's rude, Artie!" Leorio shouted at me.

"Never trust someone you just met, especially not during the Hunter Exam. Kill them with kindness, as some say. Gon, if you're thirsty, just ask and I'll give you some water." I said patting his head.

"That's still mean, Artie. You should apologize to Tonpa." Gon said frowning at me.

"Not happening." I turned my gaze to Tonpa, silently threatening him with my gaze. I freaked him out when I turned my eyes gold for a moment using Eagle Eyes. "It takes a liar to know a liar, right?" I questioned with a sly smile.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about! E-Excuse me!" Tonpa said quickly running off.

"Smart choice...if he stayed any longer I might have tried to gut him for trying to pull that shit on you guys..." I muttered lowering the rim of my hat.

"How'd you know he put something in the drinks?" Kurapika asked turning his gaze to me.

"Did you trust him when you first saw him? I can see trusting Leorio since he seems too stupid to pull that shit and Gon is too honest for his own good. 35 times he attended the Hunter Exam, how many times would you try before giving up?"

"I see your point."

"Glad you do." I froze when a loud ringing echoed through the tunnel. "So, it finally begins..."

"Now, this concludes the registration. We will commence the Hunter Exam." I stared at the examiner, what a strange appearance he has...I don't even see his mouth moving. "Please, this way. I will confirm one more time. The Hunter Exam is extremely difficult, so whether it is because of unfortunate luck or lack of skills, you can get hurt or die."

"Scare tactics, huh..."

"And there have been numerous instances where the examinees have been incapacitated by other examinees. If this doesn't matter to you, please follow me." Silence for the next few seconds. "Understood. All 405 applicants will participate in the first Hunter Exam."

I tilted my head to the side a bit as I saw the pace began faster until everyone was running. Izanagi took flight when I began running, but I know he'll come back to rest when he gets tired. I glanced behind me a bit when I heard a familiar sound, a skateboard? A kid with silver hair quickly moved past us on a skateboard, I guess it wasn't my imagination after all. I ran ahead when Leorio began shouting at the kid about his skateboard only to get quieted by Kurapika's facts about how it was fair so long as an applicant doesn't cheat.

"Gon, I'm running ahead. I need to keep up with Izanagi." I said keeping an eye on my partner.

"Sure thing! We'll meet up later anyways!" Gon said giving me a wide smile.

"Hn. I'll slow down when Izanagi gets tired. Later." I said before running ahead.

We continued to run for four or five hours, but I'm curious about who will end up dropping out first. Izanagi returned to me at the three-hour mark and I had to carry him in my backpack as I ran, but I ended up somewhere in the middle when I had to slow down for a bit. I heard Leorio's loud voice coming from the back and I blinked in confusion when I saw him run past me with low health.

"That idiot...!" I muttered lowering the rim of my hat.

I ran to catch up to him until I was with him and Kurapika. I stuck close to Leorio and I used First Aid on him so some of his stamina and health would stop decreasing so much. While it exhausted me out a bit, I would feel bad if he failed so soon. He might be loud, but he's a good person...plus it's funny to watch him get angry. I left him be when I found he was going to be alright for the next hour or so. If we stop soon, I'll be able to focus on him more easily and maybe use First Aid on him a bit more.

"Congratulations! You have unlocked the class Field Healer! You have been awarded 100 experience Points!"

"Hm...Useful..."

Too bad I can't open the Menu right now. I'm stuck in the middle of a quest right now after all. Until there is a break period between exam parts, I won't be able to open it. If I could, I would have loved to open it now so I could take up a few skills that would be useful in this situation right now. I shivered when I saw the long stairway we would have to go up. While I have the stamina for this, just remembering how many times I had to go up and down the stairs leading to the house on top of the mountain for the first month of my training...my knees died a little during that time.

"Ah, Artie!" I glanced back a bit to see Gon and his new friend. "You're really fast, huh?" Gon asked catching up to me.

"Yeah, these stairs are nothing compared to the one I have to walk up every day to get home after wandering down the mountain." I stated lowering the rim of my hat.

"So you're Artie?" I nodded my head. "I'm Killua, how old are you?"

"13, you?"

"12, same as Gon."

"Hm." I stared at Killua, using Examine before turning my gaze away. I'll check on his information later, also...this kid...he smells like blood. "I guess we're the youngest to take the Exam."

"I guess, but if the Hunter Exam is going to be this easy then it's going to be pretty boring."

"Why take it then? From what I can tell, you don't seem to have any real reason to take it."

"I heard it would be incredibly difficult so I thought it'd be fun to try it out. So far, I'm pretty disappointed."

"What about you two?"

"My father's a Hunter. My goal is to become the kind of Hunter my father is."

"Gon, you have to first find him."

"Then what about you, Artie?"

"Hm...I actually need it to travel to restricted areas and for the information. I'm an orphan, but...well, the first memory I have is of my mother crying before I was abandoned. I want to find out what kind of person she is and why she abandoned me."

"Eh...So, what are you going to do when you find her?"

"I just want to know why I was abandoned. I don't care too much about staying with her. She might be my mother, but I can't actually see her as one since I've been pretty independent since I was a kid and I never really needed a mother."

"Was she pretty?"

"That's the kind of question you ask, Killua?"

"What? I'm just asking. Besides, you don't look like much."

"..." That's only because you can barely make out my face. "She was beautiful."

"Hm...Hey, take off the hat so I can see your face."

"No way."

"Come on, don't be stingy."

"Touch me and you will lose that hand." I saw light up ahead. "I can see the exit."

I slowed down once the three of us reached the top. I was sweating a bit so I took my coat off, placing it in my bag next to Izanagi. The lazy bird was still sleeping too. Really, I wonder if it really was okay to bring him with me if he's not even going to do his job as my partner and stay awake to watch my back. I half-heartedly listened to Satotz talk as I stared at the swamp ahead.

"It stinks of blood and death." I muttered with a small frown.

"Artie?" Gon asked looking at me.

"Don't worry about it, just muttering to myself." I said patting the top of his head.

"It's a lie! He's lying to you! He's not the real examiner, I am!"

"Hm..." I stared at the injured male and then at Satotz. I can't tell who is real or who is real without looking at the information from Examine. "I wonder which one is the fake..."

"Look at this!" The injured male brought out a monkey with a similar face to Satotz. "A human-faced monkey that lives in the Numere Marsh. Human-faced monkey like human flesh, but their arms and legs are extremely weak because they're thin and lanky. So they disguise themselves as humans and discreetly lure their prey to the marsh and band together with other species to eat them. That one's trying to lure all the Examinees and decimate them all at once."

"Ah." I watched as cards hit the injured male in the face, killing him. I quickly look to Satotz to see he is holding the cards in his hands. "Cards...then that means."

"I see, I see." Number 44, Hisoka the magician. Not someone I want to get on the bad side of. "That proves it. He's the real one. The Examiners are Hunters who are commissioned by the judging committee and take on this duty for free. It wouldn't make sense for a person who holds the very occupation we're aiming for to not be able to fend off an attack like this."

"I'll take that as a compliment. However...from now on, any attack on me whatsoever will be considered an act of rebellion towards the examiner and I will disqualify you immediately, understood?"

"Yes, yes."

"Hm..." I stared at the birds that suddenly flocked towards the dead bodies. "The law of nature at its finest I suppose. Not even on my island is it this brutal...This is why I hate swamps."

"Artie, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." I lowered the rim of my hat, biting my bottom lip. "Let's get going before we're left behind."

I was thankful Gon didn't say anything after that. After seeing someone or rather someone who looks like a person die right in front of me...well, it brought about a lot of bad memories about my own death before I became Scarlett. I was actually concerned about my idiot friend now. Did he really die, is he still alive, or...did he end up like me? I don't know, but...if he did end up like me then I'm going to give him a punch to the face for doing this shit to me.

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Chapter 12 Ends

I love and hate Hisoka...he is a bastard, but he's a funny bastard. Scarlett knows when she is outclassed and there is no way she would be willing to go against someone like Hisoka. Hisoka would find Scarlett interesting due to the fact she is a Specialist and she is still 'unripe'...what a scary thought. Well, I don't have much else to add so that's it for today. Until next time, my dears~! Bye-bye~!