Hey guys, back with another (longer) chapter this time. And we finally get to meet someone I've been getting quite a few questions about!
I hope y'all enjoy this one. Again, I don't own HxH, but I do own these OCs.
R&R!
"Attention, applicants!" Aki jerks awake, momentarily panicked at the booming voice. "We will be descending in thirty minutes. Please prepare for Phase Two of the exam."
Shit! Aki bolts upright. She's still alone in her room, her bag at the door where she dropped it. Did I really sleep for the whole flight?
She scowls and gets up, heading to the bathroom. She doesn't have enough time for a real shower anymore, so she uses her fingers to brush her hair down to a slightly more tamed style. It doesn't help - it still sticks upright no matter how much she wets it down. She sighs and gives up, grabbing her things and heading out the door.
Aki pads down the hallway, looking around curiously. The path is lined with windows, and she pauses. Beneath them, the ground is lined with lush green trees and small farming communities. In the distance, tall brown mountains line the horizon. She doesn't know exactly where they are, but she's growing excited again. And if it takes place in the forest, then she should be plenty prepared from Dad's training at home!
She follows the hallway until she ends up in a large dining room. A few other applicants are still sitting around, laughing and eating. Workers are starting to clean up the buffet, so she hurries over and grabs a couple of apples. Two she shoves in her bag, and one she bites into.
"Applicants - please proceed to the lowest floor to prepare to disembark."
Aki follows the line of people to the lowest floor of the blimp. It's louder down here, closer to the engine, and they're all cramped pretty close together.
There's a flash of pink to her left. The other girl her age is pushing through the crowd, trying to get near the doors. She and Aki make brief eye contact, but she doesn't stop, moving forward until she's out of sight.
Aki sighs. A huge, burly woman stands in front of her. She doesn't think this lady would appreciate her pushing past.
"Hey, can I have your attention, please?"
Aki looks up. Hanging above everyone's heads is a woman, with short coily hair and dark skin. She swings from the beams above onto a stack of shipping crates and stands with her hands on her hips.
The crowd quiets, and she grins at them.
"Welcome. I'm Alyx Fort. I'm a ruins hunter, but more importantly I'm your examiner for Phase Two." She smirks. "So listen up, because I'm only going to explain all of this once."
The blimp suddenly shutters and thuds. Aki wobbles and realizes, We just landed!
The doors hiss and slide open, the bright sun temporarily blinding everyone.
"Welcome to the NGL!" Alyx calls out.
The NGL! Aki's read about it - it used to be a self-governed country where its people refused to use any sort of modern tech. But after its leader was killed, it was dismantled and eventually put under the Hunter Association's jurisdiction, where it's been held for the last several decades. Now it's some sort of nature preserve in the areas where residents don't live. At least - this is what the government wants you to think.
Her parents have told her otherwise. They were both still rookie hunters when they went to the NGL, on a science expedition with some other hunters investigating what turned out to be an army of chimera ants who'd gotten incredibly advanced through consumption of humans. One of Dad's close friends was killed in the mission, so he doesn't like to talk about it, but Papa quietly told her about the mission and about the ants, after the last visit from Ikalgo.
The crowd around her is murmuring. Dying of curiosity, Aki stands on her tiptoes but can't see above the crowds to look outside.
"Get off the blimp, and I'll explain the challenge to you." Alyx watches, hands on her hips, as the crowd slowly shuffles off.
When Aki finally touches the ground, she looks up. Behind her, and the blimp, is the forest, stretching on. But right in front of everyone is a tall brown structure, a huge gaping hole swallowing the light.
"Okay, listen up," Alyx yells. She stands on the ramp, overlooking the crowd. She juts her chin towards the cave. "This used to be the underground home of an ancient race wiped out millennia ago. Much more recently, it was the site of a drug ring from when Ming-Jol-ik was ruler."
Well, that's part of the truth.
"Inside are thousands of tunnels left by that ancient race. There are no lights. You have twenty-four hours to find your way out of the maze. This is your only entrance - do not exit this way, or you fail. All of the smaller exits are also blocked up. There is only one way out. Find it, under the time frame, or you fail. Understand?"
Aki's excitement has been replaced by a sinking feeling deep in her stomach. She nods anyway, knowing that Alyx can't see her. Where is she even supposed to begin with this?
"Time starts now. Good luck." Alyx waves her hand, and applicants take off running into the mouth of the mountain. Aki trudges behind, a little slower, and enters the cave. She walks down until she can no longer see the light from the sky and closes her eyes tight to let herself adjust to the dimness.
She's still in the main entrance tunnel, which is wide and stretches nearly twenty feet across. Dim lights line the way, but the further she goes down the more spread out they become.
Aki watches - the tunnel is also surrounded by smaller tunnels, spreading off further into the ground. Each one is just as dark, and people fan off into each. She counts - at this junction, there are thirteen other tunnels. In front of her, the main tunnel drags on, though no more lights are installed on the walls.
Only a few other applicants linger in that main drag. It's only been a few minutes, but everyone is trying to get done as quickly as possible. Aki sighs, unsure about what to do.
Getting near the wall, she closes her eyes and concentrates. There was no need for her to use Nen on the last phase, but it might come in handy here. She concentrates on Zetsu, so if others lie in wait in the tunnels to attack, her concealed presence may give her the element of surprise and save her.
Keeping one hand brushing against the wall, she goes straight, continuing down the main drag. She's in total darkness soon, which is terrifying, and she carefully keeps her senses on high alert. Each step is careful, and she brushes her foot on the path before her with each step, not wanting to fall into any sort of hole.
The wall starts to veer to the right, and Aki follows it. She can't tell how wide the cave is now - only that when she sticks out her other hand, she still can't feel it.
Aki really doesn't know how long she follows this for - but eventually her foot in front of her brushes stone, and she immediately pauses. She reaches out her other hand and realizes she's just touching stone.
Is this sealed off?
She stops touching the wall and feels around the stone in front of her. The corners are rounded - it's not a continuation of the tunnel, but an actual rock blocking the path.
She frowns. She must be getting close to one of the smaller exits Alyx told them about. They're trying to redirect her. She sighs, and follows the rock around until she touches the other side of the tunnel. Time to backtrack, she thinks sullenly.
As she walks back, she starts to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It's weird how she hasn't run into anyone else - or any sort of trap. Is this just a completely wrong area, and she's not even close to finding her way out so they didn't think to try and trick people all the way over here in the middle of nowhere? Or is her Zetsu really working, and her concealed presence is protecting her from both traps waiting to feel aura or other applicants lying in wait? She doesn't know what the answer is, but all she can do is keep moving forward.
Her hand suddenly cuts off from the wall and she freezes, fingers grasping for nothing but air. She sticks her foot out. She can still feel the smooth ground in front of her; there isn't a drop off. She leans over, trying to find the wall again. Instead, she finds the sharp edge of a corner. It slices the pad of her finger. Wincing, she sticks her finger in her mouth, turns, and kicks out.
It's another tunnel. Facing this way, in the distance she can see a small yellow pinprick. Is that a light? Am I back where I started?
She decides to follow, still keeping close to the edge. As she draws nearer, she realizes she's not back to that main tunnel - this is a new one. At the end of the hall, beneath the hanging lantern, are two more tunnels.
She hesitates. Which one?
The one on the right has lanterns lining it. The left is pitch dark.
They want people to go down the one with the light. I bet there's something lying in wait down there. She turns towards the left tunnel and wilts. But I don't want to go back to not being able to see…
She pauses underneath the lantern and then squints up. It's almost double her height, so she kicks at the wall until there's a chip in the stone and then hoists herself up. As she tugs on it, she realizes the lantern is welded to the wall and groans. But there's a small glass door, and so she breaks it and grabs the candle inside, wincing at the melting wax on her hand.
She slides it onto the piece of stone she'd kicked off and presses it down firmly. It means people can now definitely see her coming though, and so she focuses on building her defenses back up instead of Zetsu. She shrugs - it's a worthy trade off in her eyes; now the light can lead her.
She holds it in front of her as she goes down the left tunnel, making sure there's nothing on the path in front of her. She can hear voices as she approaches, getting louder and louder, and the sounds of heavy thudding.
Aki hesitates. Trap? Does she really want to walk in on this and put a target on her back? Not really. But what if this is the way out? She hesitates and groans.
Setting the candle on the ground, she activates her Zetsu again and moves forward. The crashing gets louder as she approaches, and she rounds a corner, which she's thankful for, as it protects her candle.
One flashlight lays on the ground, casting a faint beam across the cavern. Aki catches glimpses of what's going on, but it's all very scattered.
Two angry men stomp around. Aki can hear the heavy sound of a fist hitting flesh, and she winces. She creeps forward and is nearly hit by the person being flung against the wall.
Aki freezes.
The pink-haired girl is now struggling to rise. Even from the dim flashlight beam, Aki recognizes her hair. She hacks and spits.
"You little bitch," one of her attackers says. "You think you can act like that and get away with it?"
"We ought to teach you a lesson," the other says gruffly, "or send a message back to your old man."
Their words chill Aki, stiff with terror. She hides in the shadows - and it stills seems that none of them are aware she's there.
What should I do?
"Three words for you," the girl says, voice wheezy. She staggers to her feet, braced against the wall of the cave. "Fuck you, assholes." She puts her fists up, protecting her face.
Aki catches a glimpse of one of the men's faces. Twisted in fury, he charges towards her.
Aki's feet carry her before she can really process what she's doing. She runs headfirst into the charging man, knocking him to the ground with one quick swipe to his legs. The other man freezes, obviously unsure about what happened. She pivots, still shrouded in the darkness, and lunges towards him.
The only reason she is able to knock them over is through luck and the element of surprise, she realizes, much to her dismay. Both men immediately spring back up, snarling.
She rushes to the girl, still braced against the wall, and grips her wrist.
"Come on," she hisses, catching a glimpse of wide golden eyes as she tugs her along. "We have to go, now!"
"Who the hell was that?"
Aki whirls around, panicked as the men come towards her now, too. The flashlight shines right across her feet, so they know exactly where she is. The girl kicks out and sends the flashlight spinning, and in that moment both she and Aki immediately bolt.
Aki's grateful she knows what direction she came from, and she runs blindly without the light, pulling the girl behind her.
"Keep up!" Aki whispers. The girl hisses in pain but ups her pace.
Aki crashes face first into the curve of the wall and curses as something wet drips out of her nose. Luckily, the girl fumbles into her backpack and not into the hard stone. Fumbling blindly, Aki gropes her way against the wall until she rounds it and spots her little candle still sitting on the ground.
"Go after them!" The men's voices get louder and louder behind them. Aki looks over her shoulder, the light from their flashlight bouncing along the wall as they chase her.
"What's the plan, genius?" The girl hisses.
Aki scowls and tugs her towards the candle, though she knows the girl can't see her face. She grabs the candle and cups her hand around the flame, letting go of the girl's wrist.
"I didn't think this far ahead," Aki snaps back.
Loud footsteps echo around them, and she blows out the candle. Suddenly, the girl grabs her arms and tugs her close.
"Don't say a word," she hisses, breath hot against her temple. The girl lets go of one of her shoulders but still grips her other bicep just as tightly.
Aki suddenly has the strangest sense of vertigo as her feet no longer touch the ground. She flails desperately, confused and terrified, but the girl doesn't break her grip.
"Stop fighting!" The girl whispers. "Hold on."
The men stomp directly underneath them, and Aki realizes that they're somehow… stuck to the ceiling of the cave? The flashlight shines the path in front of the men, showing nothing. She silently prays they don't shine their light up.
"Where the hell did they go?"
"Stupid bitch. Come on, they probably went down that other tunnel."
They run off. In the distance, Aki watches until their light blinks out of sight. Back in total darkness, she realizes in dismay.
The girl lets out a sigh of relief and releases her hold on Aki's arm. She crashes into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She wheezes, heart racing but grateful to be back on the ground.
A light thud echoes somewhere near her head. Groaning, Aki sits up.
"Pass me the candle. Tell me you didn't drop it."
Aki does, fumbling blindly until she presses it into the girl's hand. The girl fiddles around with something. There's a sharp scratching sound and then a small flicker of light blinks into existence.
The girl holds the relit candle up, kneeling next to her. Aki winces at the sight of her face, one eye already swelling up to an ugly purple. Dried blood is caked across her temple.
The girl scowls. "Don't think you're a pleasant sight, either."
Aki touches her nose and winces again, this time from pain. She rubs at her upper lip, trying to wipe some of her own dried blood off.
"You're welcome," Aki snaps. "They would've killed you had I not stepped in."
"I didn't ask for your help."
Aki snorts. "But you needed it anyway." The girl's face darkens, and then they both glower at each other. Finally, Aki sighs. "Look, I don't want to fight you too. I didn't help you because I wanted anything."
"What, so you just expect me to believe that you saved me out of the goodness of your heart?" Sarcasm bleeds through every word, and Aki scowls at her.
"Yeah, actually," she snaps. "It's what any good person does."
The girl doesn't say anything for a moment, lowering the candle so her face is shrouded in darkness. She holds it towards Aki, and Aki stares back at her. The girl must see on her face that she means it, because she doesn't sound nearly as aggressive when she responds.
"Thanks," the girl finally says, and then even more quietly, "I'm Aya."
"Aki."
"Yeah, I remember."
"You know, my offer to work together on this still stands." Aki grins at her, hoping she'll see it. "Maybe it'll save you from getting jumped again." Aya doesn't respond, and Aki presses on. "Come on, we stand a better chance with the both of us."
"Don't think this makes us friends," Aya says, "just allies. Temporary allies."
Her voice is filled with begrudging acceptance. Aki still beams in her direction - excited because after all this time, she's finally got an ally.
"Whatever makes you feel better," Aki promises. She stands, brushing her backside off. She holds out a hand, but Aya knocks it to the side, pushing herself up. Undeterred, Aki shrugs it off, and they start making their way down the tunnel. "How injured are you?"
"I don't think I broke anything." Aya runs a hand along her side, wincing a bit. "Just bruising."
That's good. Means I won't have to carry her around.
Aya still holds the candle. Aki takes a moment to steal another glance at her face, staring grimly ahead.
"Why were they after you?"
Aya's mouth flattens into a thin line. "That flashlight was mine," she says venomously. "I found it first."
"You found it?"
"Sure. There are supplies hidden all over in these tunnels. I got lucky, stumbling on that one."
"I thought I heard one of them say something about your dad?" Aki knows she's snooping, and with the dirty look Aya shoots at her, also knows she overstepped.
"That's none of your business," Aya snaps. "Look, we can work together, but we're not friends. You don't need to know anything about me. I don't need to know anything about you. Got it?"
"Got it," Aki says sullenly. They trudge along in silence.
It's been hours, and they're still stuck. They've gone down tunnel after tunnel - not only have they not run into any other applicants, but they haven't gotten any closer to finding their way out.
"What the hell is this?" Aya says suddenly, breaking the silence. She holds up their candle. "Look."
Aki comes up next to her and stops, an uneasy chill immediately rushing down her spine. The tunnel they just exited opens up into a wide cavern, but the ground is covered in massive piles of bones, as far as their light extends. The piles stretch up the wall, taller than both of them.
"I don't know," Aki says. She has a really eerie, sick feeling deep in her belly.
"Well, shit," Aya says. She takes a step closer to the nearest pile and bends over. The light exposes how clean they are, smooth and white. "I don't wanna run into the thing that did this."
Aki looks over her shoulder, nervous and still a little ill. Aya must not know about the Chimera Ants - obviously, why would she? The pit sinks even lower in her stomach. Her parents fought the beings that slaughtered all these people. She can't imagine. She's not blind to the dangers of being a hunter, but this is far greater than she ever imagined.
Something skitters to her right, and she jumps. It's just Aya, digging into one of the piles. A small skull rolls off the pile by her feet. It's not very large, obviously a child's.
Aki stares into the empty sockets for a moment more. "Leave it alone," she says finally, stomach twisting. "Let's get out of here. This is so wrong."
Aya groans. "There's nothing back here, anyway. Someone just put all these bones here." She tosses the leg bone she's inspecting back into the pile and shrugs. "Weird. But hey, look. Another tunnel."
Aki follows her finger to the other side of the cave, where a new tunnel continues on into the darkness. She passes the candle back to Aya. "Lead the way."
They're both quiet as they leave the room and continue on. The images seem stuck in her head, and she clears her throat, turning back to Aya, desperate for a distraction.
"Do you have a watch?" Her voice is still hoarse, and she coughs again. "How long have we been down here?"
"No. But we can't have been down here for more than eight hours." Aya holds up the candle to look at her, light flickering on her grim-faced expression.
"How have we not run into anybody?"
"Half the battle's just figuring out which way to go." She lowers the candle and then mutters, "not that you're helping with that."
Aki scowls at her and stops in the middle of the cave. Aya turns back to her, eyebrows raised.
"I'm hungry," she says, gritting her teeth so she doesn't say anything rude, "and we need a break." She's still on edge from the cavern. "Sit down." She plops down in the middle of the path and fumbles around in her backpack. "I'm serious!" Though she scowls, Aya follows her lead, setting the candle down between them.
Aki pulls out the apples she took from the buffet. Something flickers in Aya's gaze, though she turns away, pretending to be preoccupied studying the cave wall.
"Here." Aki holds out the second apple. Aya doesn't move, so she waggles it a little.
Aya studies her for a moment before reaching out to grab it. "Thanks," she mutters.
Aki takes a bite in response. She's got a question that she's been holding on to since they first teamed up. She keeps sneaking glances over.
Finally, Aya stops and glares, pointing at her with her half-eaten apple. "What?"
"I've been wondering… how did you get us on the ceiling?"
At this, Aya's face transforms. She actually looks pleased for a moment. Smirking, she holds up the hand not holding the apple. She flicks her wrist, but nothing happens.
Aki looks at her for a moment, unamused. "What?"
"You can't see it? Think. I know you were using Zetsu earlier - I had no clue you were even there."
Oh! A nen ability. Aki looks at her with all new interest. She channels Ren, and when that's not enough, tries Gyo by focusing her aura in her eyes.
A purple strand extends from the tip of her finger. Aki follows it, eyes going crossed as she realizes it's glued to her cheek. She tries to touch it, her palm sticking to it.
"It's sticky," she says in surprise.
"Sticky webs," Aya says, a hint of pride in her voice. "They're like threads, but they're automatically sticky."
"Whoa!"
Aya flicks her wrist again, and the web retracts.
Aki blinks, relaxing her eyes. "That's cool," she admits.
"You obviously know your shit. What's your Hatsu?"
Now it's Aki's turn to duck the question. "Don't have one yet."
Aya laughs and then stops. "Wait, you're serious?"
"I just haven't come up with anything yet," Aki says defensively.
"Touchy, touchy." Aya takes another bite of her apple. "It's not often I meet another kid, much less one with Nen. How come you know it?"
"Ha, you're not getting a tragic backstory from me yet," Aki says, grinning to cover the sudden pang she feels about the memory of her Nen initiation. "But my parents have been training me, since I was about six, I think. They're both hunters. What about your parents?"
Aya averts her gaze. "My father trains me," she says shortly. "He's a hunter, too, but he doesn't really go on jobs."
"Oh, gotcha." Aki chews on the inside of her cheek. She remembers the men who attacked her mentioning her father. He must not be a very nice guy, so she decides to change the subject. "When did you start training?"
"When I was six."
"How old are you now?"
"Fourteen."
"I'm only twelve," Aki says. She smiles again, but Aya doesn't return it.
"Enough small talk. We need a plan," Aya finally says, tossing the core to the side once she's finished. "... got anything?"
"I grew up on an island," Aki says around her last mouthful of apple. "I've never been in any caves like this. But if I had to guess… if we're underground, and we want to find an exit above ground, or somewhere in this stupid tower, then we need to make our way uphill."
"Impossible to do that when we don't even know which way is up," Aya points out.
Aki shrugs. "It was just an idea. Either way, we're wandering around blind."
"And we need a new light. The wax on this one is almost completely melted."
"If we make our way to another crossroads we'll find one. Or maybe we can find another supplies bag like you had." Aki shakes her head. "There's gotta be a pattern to the tunnels. Whoever built it had to have set it up a certain way. Right? So if we can figure out what they were going for, we can probably make our way out."
"You know, that first main tunnel we entered through… I bet some of these tunnels loop back to that. Actually, I bet all of these are connected somehow."
Aki turns her head sharply. "Do you think we've been going around in a circle?"
"I sure as hell hope not." Aya's quiet for a moment. "But no, I don't think so. We both went down the same way initially, right? We haven't ended back at that crossroads we came out of. We'd recognize it because I presume you took the candle off the wall." She snorts. "Which is an asshole move, by the way, but wasn't a bad idea."
"Thanks, I think."
"It doesn't matter. If I was building this maze, you know what I would do? Have that center tunnel be the connector for all of them. The side tunnels all connect back to it, and some of them to each other, but that's where you can always go back to if you get lost."
"We went to the end of that main tunnel," Aki points out. "Dead end, we went down the two tunnels at the back. We're somewhere up in the center now. It has been a gradual incline, but we're making our way up."
"Doesn't matter. I have a feeling we're in the center right now, after that creepy bone cavern. We should still go back to that main tunnel. Head left instead of right this time."
"What if instead we picked one direction and just went that way. Like always picking right - every tunnel, every turn. Eventually we have to hit the edge, right?"
"Again, until you keep going in circles," Aya snaps.
Aki groans and flops back onto the ground. "We should've been marking our path." She bolts back upright. "Your webs! It's like a string, right? Can we leave a trail of it?"
"And have everyone know where we're going?"
"Who's using Gyo without a hint?" Aki says, scornfully. She widens her eyes. "You saw the tower before we entered, right?"
"Obviously."
"How high up can your webs go?" Aya's eyes grow wide, too. "If we find any sort of opening leading up to the top, we can climb our way up."
Aya snorts. "Right, climb. You mean have me pull your ass up." She considers this for a moment. "We haven't passed any sort of hole like that, but I'll keep an eye out."
"Or we can avoid all that by breaking through the walls. How strong are you?"
Aya looks at her like she's crazy. "Not that strong."
"My dad - with his nen ability, he could do it." Aya's still looking at her like she's insane. "It was worth a shot."
"Not worth killing ourselves by bringing the cave down on our heads."
Aki grins. "Hey, it doesn't matter. We have a plan. Kinda." She nudges Aya's knee with the toe of her boot. "Aren't you glad we teamed up?"
"Don't touch me."
Unperturbed, Aki gets back to her feet. "Break over. Let's go!"
Sighing, Aya follows her lead. "Has anyone ever told you you're too upbeat?"
"No, actually." Aki grabs the candle. "Come on! Do the strings."
"They're webs." Aya rolls her eyes but flicks her fingers, sticking it to the ground. "Watch your step. If I were you, I wouldn't stop using Gyo."
Aki shrugs and does as she says. "Fine by me. First things first… let's go find another light."
And so they continue on.
Two hours later, Aki and Aya find themselves still continuing on. They stumbled upon a new crossroads and took a new candle. In the dim light, Aki can see beads of sweat start to form on Aya's forehead.
She doesn't look too good, Aki realizes. "Need a break?"
"No," Aya snaps, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Don't worry about me."
"How long can you hold those for? Or more importantly, what distance?"
"Never tried to do this before. No clue."
"We need to stop and rest soon anyway. If we haven't circled back to where the webs started, then I'd say we've gotten lucky and found a new path."
"I can tell we're higher up in the mountain," Aya says. "It's weird, I can sense the bulk of my webs below us."
"We've probably missed the central tunnel, then." Aki blows out a huff of air, making her bangs flutter around her face. "I think you can drop the webs."
Aya stops walking. She jerks her wrist and keeps her hand outstretched. The webs flicker and twist as she retracts it. "This may take a while."
"I haven't seen any holes leading up," Aki says. "Well, I guess we can just start heading left. Maybe we'll hit the outer edge of the mountain. Do you-"
"Shut up," Aya suddenly hisses.
Aki clamps her mouth shut, turning her head to glare, but Aya isn't looking at her. Her head is tilted towards the path they're heading down.
Uneasiness flickers within her. "What is it?" Aki whispers.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Suddenly, she feels it. A slight rumble beneath her feet.
"Something's coming." Aya cusses. "We need to go, now."
"We don't have time," Aki says. The rumbling under her feet is getting bigger, and she can even hear a faint roaring. "Get behind me!"
"Are you serious!?"
"Yes! You're getting your webs back; I can handle this!" Aki turns her face away from Aya and steps forward, hoping she can't read the nervousness on her.
The creature approaching chirps, and Aki covers her ears. It stomps on two spindly legs at them, arms - no, wings - flapping and causing Aki's hair to fly around.
"Protect the candle," she says, but Aya is already one step ahead of her, turning around and curling her body around the light.
"What the hell is that thing?" Aya says. All Aki can see now are dim shadows, but the sight of the creature's face spooked her, too. "It looked like a bat."
"Not a bat," Aki says weakly, stomach dropping. Chimera ant! Aya turns back around, trying to get another glimpse.
The creature roars as the cave brightens again, illuminating its blunt nose and dark eyes.
"Aya!" Aki hisses. "Hide it!"
The creature makes another loud, unearthly noise and takes off towards them, wings flapping rapidly.
Aki shoves Aya aside, out of its path, and tumbles the other way. The bat slams into the wall of the cave, only a few feet away from each of them. It makes a horrible sound of pain and screeches angrily.
"Regular bats can't see very well, but they have really good hearing." Aki is back in darkness, both Aya and the light disappearing. "Don't talk, don't make any noise. It can use echolocation to find you." She can feel the rush of air on her face as it approaches and ducks, rolling away. "Shit!"
The bat suddenly stops moving, though Aki can hear its heavy breathing.
These chimera ants were part human. Does this one remember…? "Hey, we're sorry for intruding in your home," Aki says, voice catching. "My name is Aki. Do you have a name?"
There's no response, but another screech, and then Aki is slammed against the wall. She struggles against the bat, its velvety trunk trapping her. She kicks wildly, but it doesn't budge, hot air blowing against her face.
It's been over twenty years. I bet there isn't much human left in him anymore. Aki's stomach drops, and she starts fighting against it harder. It's belated, but she uses Ten to try and up her defenses, and then focuses her nen into making her kicking stronger.
The bat's wing flaps against her face, and then a sharp stinging pain lines her face, temple to chin. It's lucky she just increased her defenses, because it's not as deep as it could've been. She screeches anyway and headbutts the wing, feeling the slight scrape of its claw retreat. There's a small sucking noise, which horrifies her.
"You just had to be a vampire bat, didn't you?!" Aki fights against it once more, blood trickling down to her neck. The creature makes a noise that almost sounds like laughing, and though she can't see anything, Aki squeezes her eyes shut.
She doesn't have Dad's Jajanken, but he has taught her how to build up a punch. She goes limp in the bat's grasp, sliding down the wall a little. With a little more room, she slips her arms out from under its trunk and presses them together, building up.
Something noses against the side of her face. She shudders, the chill of it running down her full body, and desperately concentrates on her ability. She waits for it to nose up against her cheek again, chest heaving. The moment it does, she lets out a yell and twists her arm around, nailing the bat in what she thinks is the temple.
There's a loud crashing noise. Something cracks under her hand, and the reverberation pushes her back up against the wall. The bat sails away from her, and she slumps down, panting. Her hand hurts.
The bat makes a weak noise, now several feet away from her. Part of her is grateful she didn't kill it, but she's also still worried that it's going to regroup and attack again. Shaky, she stands up, using her sleeve to wipe at her face and inching away from the wall.
"Aki!"
Aki turns her head. To the right, Aya approaches, the candle still alight and flickering. A sense of relief watches over her at the sight.
Aya whistles. "Look at you." She passes the candle over to her and squints over at the unmoving lump of bat. "Did you kill it?"
"No, but it's injured." She shakes her hand, knuckles still aching. "Pretty badly, I think."
"I heard the impact. You've got a pretty good punch." Aya sighs, long-suffering. "Guess I'll put it out of its misery."
Aki turns her head, cringing and a little nauseous at the ensuing crunch.
Aya walks back over to her, as casual as ever. "You will not believe what I found."
"What?" Aki holds the candle up so she can see her face, purposefully avoiding the bat in her peripheral vision.
"Follow me." Aki does, and Aya leads them down the tunnel. "I backtracked while you fought. Didn't want that thing to snuff out the candle, you know." Aki bites down a snarky comment, but focuses herself to school her expression when Aya glances back over. "We must've gotten too close to its lair, that's why it attacked. Look."
Aki holds up the candle, surprised at the widening cavern. No longer a narrow tunnel, but an open area. The soft tapping of dripping water sounds to her right. And above them, a small hole, far up on the ceiling. Muted light flows through, and Aki stumbles forward to squint up at it. The moon peers down at them. Clear, shaky relief washes through her, and she shudders.
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Aki turns. Aya's golden eyes watch her. "There had to have been an exit around here. I can't imagine there's a lot to eat in these tunnels, so it had to have a way out to go to the woods and hunt."
"You're right. Good thinking."
"And it's still nighttime, so we haven't blown our full twenty-four hour time limit yet." Aya smirks, obviously pleased.
"I wouldn't get too cocky yet," Aki says. "We still gotta climb our way out. Might be smarter to wait until dawn, so you don't have to climb and hold a candle to see footholds."
Aya snorts. "Yeah, right." She raises her hand and flicks it.
Aki blinks tiredly, but activates Gyo anyway. Up on the ceiling, one end of her webs sticks. It extends far, but not as far as it appeared in the dark.
The heavy thudding of footsteps echoes from behind them. Both Aya and Aki turn, stepping out of the mouth of the tunnel. A man approaches, out of breath, and holding a flashlight in front of him.
He spots them and pauses, eyeing them suspiciously. He obviously doesn't deem them worthy adversaries, snorting and passing them.
"You girls got lucky," he says scornfully. "Someone took out that bat before you got here."
Aki huffs. Yeah, I wonder who did that.
Next to her, Aya rolls her eyes. "Yeah, someone did all the dirty work for you, too," she says sweetly. "Guess you also got lucky."
The man scowls at them, mutters something under his breath and then turns his back on them.
Aki looks over at Aya. "Let's get going."
Aya's watching the man intently. "Hold on, I want to see this."
The man smirks back at them over his shoulder. "Let me show you how it's done," he says. He approaches the wall, directly under the hole in the ceiling, and sticks the end of his flashlight into his mouth. Tilting his head up, he scans for cracks, and then braces himself, slowly raising himself up.
Aki watches, eyes scanning the crevices he's using.
"He's doing better than I expected," Aya murmurs under her breath. Aki bites the inside of her cheek so she doesn't laugh, but Aya snickers anyway.
The noise must throw him off because his foot slips, and he slams back down onto the ground, knocking the wind out of himself. Wheezing, he sits back up, grasping around for his flashlight.
"Maybe I should show you how it's done," Aya says confidently, a sneer toying at the corners of her mouth. She takes a step forward towards the wall.
The man staggers to his feet and steps back, sneering back at her. "Go on, then, girl."
Aya tilts her head up towards the ceiling and squints. She raises both of her hands. Without Gyo, it looks like she's pulling herself up in midair.
Aki looks on, a little amused, as the man's face pales. He watches, jaw dropped. It's not a quick ascent by any means, and even from the ground Aki can see how red-faced she is from exertion. When she makes it to the top, she swings up onto the ridge of the hole. There she sits, kicking her legs and waving at them tauntingly.
The man curses, stomping at the ground.
"Go on then, Aki, your turn." Aya's voice is faint, but even so, her gleeful tone is evident.
Aki sighs and walks over towards the wall. She spots the first foothold and angles herself below it, bracing herself for the climb.
"What are you doing?" Aya calls out.
Aki looks up and sees Aya's outstretched hand. She focuses, blinking to use Gyo. Dangled toward the ground is one of her purple webs, swaying gently a few yards away.
She laughs, hopping down from the wall and jumping up to grab it. She tugs it, making sure that it's stuck firmly to her hand. She looks over her shoulder and grins at the man, before using it to hoist herself up.
It's obvious almost immediately that she can't climb it like Aya can. It sticks to her skin, whereas Aya has free reign over it. The web tugs above her, and she can feel Aya hoisting her up slowly.
"Let me up, bitch!" The man yells. Aki looks over her shoulder, only to see him running towards her, hands outstretched for her legs.
She yelps and swings up, pulling them just barely out of reach. He isn't deterred, just turning around and repeating his movements.
Aki kicks at him, but she's still in his reach. Faintly above her, Aya is cussing up a storm. Praying that Aya has a good grip, Aki kicks her legs, gaining momentum, and then swings towards the wall, using it to kick off. She wraps herself up in the webs, looping it around her waist, though it tugs at her skin painfully. But it keeps her out of reach, and she bounces herself off the wall to help Aya out.
The ascent is even slower for her, and when Aya finally hauls her up onto the edge, she looks close to passing out, panting heavily. Still, the look on her face is smug as she stares down at the man.
"Idiot!" Aya calls, waving at him as he screams at them from below.
"You did all that on purpose," Aki accuses. "I thought I was going to have to climb."
Aya smirks, though she slumps back against the rock, pressing her hands against the webs along Aki's stomach to get them to release.
"All in good fun," she says.
Aki rolls her eyes, taking a moment to look out from the mountain. They're high up, though she can see the peak climbing up even further into the sky. Hundreds of feet in the air, the forest is the only thing she can see, stretching on for miles. The association blimp must be on the other side of the mountain, she assumes.
"It's pretty," she says. Then she looks down. On the ground below are a handful of people waiting, mere pinpricks from their vantage point. "How the hell are we going to get down from here?"
"Don't look at me for this one," Aya says. She still looks exhausted, though her breathing is beginning to even back out. She peers down with the same disgruntled look that Aki feels.
The outside of the mountain is worn smooth from the elements over the years, and Aki leans far over the ridge to look down. "Think we can slide?"
Aya snorts. "If you want to break your neck, sure." But she leans over to look, too.
Aki hums, looking out into the woods. The tops of the trees are about thirty feet beneath them, rustling gently from the wind. "I have an idea. You sure you can't use the webs for just a little bit longer?" She points out towards the trees, looking back at her with raised eyebrows.
Aya groans. "They better give us a real break after this test," she gripes. But even as she speaks, she presses her palms against the side of the mountain, activating her webs. "Just hold on, I don't want to do this twice."
Aki grabs at her shoulders, clinging on, though it's a little uncomfortable to be so close to her. Aya must feel the same way, face turned away the entire time as she lowers them down.
Once Aki's feet brush the leaves, Aya curses and lets go. In a fleeting moment of freefall, they tumble into the branches below, until Aki grabs onto a tree branch with one hand and then to Aya's hand with her other. Aki holds her breath, worried the branch will break under their weight.
"I lost my grip," Aya says, scowling up at her. "I've used the webs too much."
"That's okay," Aki says, panting. "We're close enough. Hold on!" She swings Aya and practically launches her towards the tree trunk. Aya slams into it, sending the birds around them chittering.
Aki pulls herself up onto her branch and slides down towards Aya, who clings to the tree, feet braced around the trunk. She glares at her.
"What the hell?"
"Sorry," Aki says. "I was worried it was going to break." As if on cue, the branch teeters and crashes behind them. The end of it knocks the back of Aki's head as it falls down, tumbling through the lower branches and then finally onto the ground.
Aya smirks, watching as Aki rubs the back of her head.
"Not a word," Aki warns.
Aya's smirk grows. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Aki makes a face and then gets to her feet, one hand balancing her against the trunk. "Now we just have to climb down from here. Definitely easier than climbing down the mountain."
"For you, maybe."
"Probably. I grew up on an island, there were woods behind my house. Dad used to take me out and leave me there, to teach me all about my surroundings." She hops down onto the branch next to Aya, holding out a hand. "Want me to carry you?"
"No! Just… help me up." Aki grabs her arm and tugs her away from the trunk and onto the branch. Aya sits, sighing in relief now that she no longer has to strain to keep her hold.
"You sure?" Aki asks again. She meant her offer; after all, Aya lifted her in the cave. Though she's really tired, she doesn't think she's nearly as exhausted as Aya is.
"Fine, if you're offering," Aya snaps. "But only to shut you up." She doesn't move, and so Aki snorts, pulling her to her feet. Then she drops down, bracing herself on the branch.
"Get on my back," Aki says. Aya does as she asks, arms wrapped around her shoulders. She stands, grimacing a little under her weight. Aya smacks the back of her head, like she knows what she's thinking. "Just hold on."
This is much more her speed. She's familiar with the woods (though not this particular one), but either way, she's had plenty of practice running across the trees. She knows what she's doing. Dad's training regimen came in handy after all. Moonlight lights her way, and she whoops excitedly as she bounces from branch to branch. The whole time, Aya clings to her, cursing in her ears as she drops lower and lower.
Aki laughs, and then once the ground is in sight, drops down in the middle of the other finished applicants sitting around. She lets Aya down and then plops back, grateful to be done for the time being.
This area is well-lit. There's a handful of others applicants already finished as well, some sleeping and some just eyeing them curiously. Leorio, Alyx, and a handful of other examiners stop speaking, watching their entrance.
Aya groans, throwing herself back. "Never fucking again," she sighs. "Welcome," Alyx says, breaking away from the examiners and trotting towards them. She puts her hands on her hips and whistles lowly. "Looks like you both went through hell."
"Just tell me we passed," Aya says, narrowing her eyes up at her.
Alyx smirks at them. "Phase Two, at least. Congratulations."
Aki laughs. She and Aya exchange relieved looks, at least before Aya realizes it ruins her coolly detached image.
Aki doesn't even care. She turns back to the other examiners and waves at them. Leorio looks back at her, a pinched expression on his face.
Alyx follows her gaze and laughs. "Leorio is our doctor on board. Looks like he's seen how beat up the two of you are. Go get patched up by him, and then get some rest. We have a couple more hours until this phase ends." She walks off, towards the other applicants sitting underneath nearby trees.
Aki pushes herself to her feet, nudging Aya. "Come on, let's go get looked at."
Aya's eyes are closed, and she waves her hand dismissively. "Go away. I need to sleep."
Aki shrugs and pads towards the examiners. She pauses in front of them and gives a sheepish smile. "Alyx told me to come get patched up."
"What the hell did you do, kid?" Leorio says. "You look even worse up close." He pulls up his first aid kit and opens it in his lap, digging around inside. "Sit!"
Aki does as he asks, kneeling on the ground where Alyx had been sitting. "It can't be that bad," she protests. "It doesn't really hurt anymore."
Leorio scowls at her. "That's the adrenaline talking." He pulls out a mirror and shoves it under her nose. "See?"
Aki does make a face at her reflection. Her nose is a little bruised, and there is a nasty gash along the length of her face. Dried blood is caked all over her face and shirt.
"What did you even do?!"
She thinks back. "I ran into a wall. And fought a bat."
Leorio mutters under his breath, tossing the mirror to the side and pulling out the antiseptic. As he works to clean her wound, through which Aki grits her teeth through the burning, he juts his chin towards Aya, still sprawled out on the ground. "Who's your friend?"
"That's Aya," she says. "Actually, I think you need to go look at her, too. She and I teamed up after she got beat up by some other applicants. I think she said they bruised her ribs."
"Not what happened," Aya calls out, though her eyes remain shut. "My ribs are fine." Aki scowls at her, and as if she can see it, Aya flips her off.
"Huh," Leorio says, then he raises his voice. "Well, if you want to pass the next couple of phases, I suggest you do come get looked at. You're going to want to be on your best game for what comes next."
Aya opens her eyes and looks over at them. Sighing dramatically, she gets to her feet and staggers over, taking a seat next to them. "Didn't realize you were allowed to talk about the other phases."
Leorio scowls at her. "You're not getting anything else out of me," he warns. He finishes with the injury from the bat and gently feels Aki's nose. Surprised, she lets out a little yelp.
"That hurt!"
"Yeah, well, it would hurt more if you broke it. I don't think you did this time, but if you hit it again you'll definitely want me to set it."
Aki scowls and scoots back, letting Leorio check over Aya next. She rests her chin on her knees, watching as she sits grim-faced through her exam.
"I don't think you broke any ribs," he says finally, "but you should be careful, too."
Aya looks over at Aki. "Better now?" she asks sarcastically, standing up and stalking off to sit underneath a tree. She leans back and closes her eyes, ignoring them.
"You know, she reminds me of someone," Leorio says, eyes narrowed. "But I can't place who…"
Aki shrugs. "Thanks, Mr. Leorio," she says, grinning at him.
"Go get some sleep," he says. She follows Aya, settling down next to her under the same tree. Aya doesn't say anything, so she rests her head on her backpack and closes her eyes, too.
"You're not half bad," Aya says. Aki opens her eyes and looks over at her. "I mean, I did carry you around in the last half of the phase, like I said I would, but you held your own pretty well in the rest of it."
Aki snorts. "Yeah, okay," she says. "Just remembered who carried who through the trees."
Aya looks over at her, face neutral. Then it lights up as she smirks. "Like I said, not half bad. Maybe you had the right idea about working together."
Aki sits up. "You mean it? You wanna work together for the rest of the exam?"
"If you don't make a big deal out of it, then sure." Aya turns her head away, closing her eyes again.
Aki grins and squirms in her seat, excited.
"Again, not if you make a big deal out of it," Aya says, voice firmer.
Aki quickly lays back down, though she can't get rid of the wide smile on her face.
Finally, a friend. She's got some hope for the rest of the exam after all.
And there we have it. Phase Two of the exam is complete. And now we've officially met Aya... still any ideas on who she is?
Let me know what y'all think. Please R&R!