As the sun begins to set, the four of us stand on a grassy knoll several yards from the mouth of the cave. There's a moment of silence as we contemplate our next moves.

"What do we do now?" Kurapika asks, speaking up first.

"I'll go in alone, of course." Leorio responds, setting down his briefcase. "The three of you, wait here."

"Wait, wait, I'm coming too!" I quickly interject.

"What? Why?"

"Um… Remember, Ponzu is my fifth cousin once removed!"
Kurapika frowns. "I thought you said that she was your fourth cousin twice removed?"

"Um, same thing, same thing." I wave it off with my hand and hope Kurapika doesn't think too deeply into it. I should probably start keeping track of my lies at this point, or I might end up backed up into a corner later on. "Anyway, since we're totally family, I should come in and help you out, right, Leorio?"

Leorio doesn't reply, instead snatching up a stick from the ground and brandishing it in front of him. He advances towards the cave entrance and pokes at the stones in the opening with his stick, checking for traps.

"Okay, I'll be heading in now." Leorio announces to us once he's completed his little investigation.

"Wait for me!" I raise a hand.

Leorio turns to look at me. "I'll be going in alone. Don't follow me, all of you."

"I'm coming." I say firmly. "It's my cousin we're talking about."

I'm not even sure why I so desperately want to tag along. Maybe it's to cover my tracks of parading around as Ponzu's distant cousin, or maybe it's to spend a little extra time with the hottie. I'm not entirely sure what the motivation is, but I keep my resolve.

And soon, Leorio caves. "Just Bella, and you're only coming to convince Ponzu."

"Thirty minutes, then." Kurapika lifts his hand to display three fingers. "If you two don't come out after thirty minutes, Gon and I will go in there, too."

Gon nods along eagerly, but Leorio quickly shuts them down. "No. If that's the case, then you and Gon will return to the starting line."

"No." Kurapika says right back, "Since we're a team now, we won't leave any of you behind."

Kurapika considers us a team? That's- that's so precious- oh my-

Leorio doesn't seem to share the same mushy feelings that I do, because he turns away. "We'll split up, then. I might have been the one to ask for help, but I want to do this on my own."

Aww, come on, Leorio…

"No." This time, it's Gon who says this, speaking firmly.

"What did you say-!" Leorio exclaims, shaking a fist in Gon's face.

"We choose to stay. You won't oppose, will you?"

Well, Gon, who in their right mind can say no to your adorable little face?

Leorio's reactionary expressions are so cute and fun to watch- he awkwardly turns away, mumbling, "Suit yourself" as if we can't see that teeny-tiny blush that's growing on his face. He tosses his briefcase at Gon and says, "I'll leave the badges to you."

I stand and watch him for a moment before remembering that I'm supposed to follow. "Holdup, Leorio!" I call, stumbling forward.

"Still, you really don't have to come." Leorio says, flicking his lighter. A small flame erupts at the top, and he starts into the cave, the flickering light gently illuminating our path.

"See, I haven't seen my cousin in so very long, so I have to go." I ramble, following him into the darkness. "Family reunion?"

We carefully plod through the cave. Once we've made it a small way in, Leorio closes his lighter, and I take advantage of the opportunity to hold onto the cuff of his sleeve ("So I don't get lost, right?").

My heart palpitates when I clutch at his sleeve, because I still have an extreme crush on this man- but Leorio pays the action no mind. He brings out his switchblade, all serious-like, and holds it at the ready.

The dark cave tunnel opens into a fire-lit inner cavern, where I carefully release my grip on Leorio to peer around him.

"Isn't that Bourbon?" Leorio says in surprise as he spots the snake charmer slumped up against the cave wall. I'm a little freaked out by the corpse and I instinctively huddle a little closer to Leorio.

"I'm guessing that one of your targets is me?" Ponzu's voice comes from the darker side of the cave. At the sound I turn to see her, and I'm genuinely ecstatic. She has her iconic hat and green hair, and her large eyes are actually really pretty. I feel pretty proud to be her not-quite-cousin.

"P-Ponzu!" Leorio steps forward, slashing his knife in the air.

"It's no use." Ponzu says. She sounds almost bored. "It's useless to fight here."

"Well, it means a lot to me. Just like you said, my target is you." Leorio moves closer to her, but Ponzu doesn't even flinch. She just stays chilling up against the wall.

Ponzu sighs. "Although it's impossible, even if you win… you still won't be able to leave this cave."

"What's the meaning of this?" Leorio mutters. Silence falls and I decide it's my time to speak.

"Hey, cuz!" I say, sliding out from behind Leorio. "It's me!"

" 'Cuz?' " Ponzu repeats, visibly perplexed.

"You know… you're my cousin, after all… haha…" My speech dwindles.

"Do I know you?" she asks.

"Well, I know you, and that's what counts, right?"

"Are you working with that guy?" Ponzu asks, looking from me to Leorio.

"Oh, yeah, I guess."

"Bella, what are you-?" Leorio mumbles to me. "Aren't you her cousin?"

Ponzu sighs again. "What's your name, then? We'll be spending some time here, might as well."

"Oh, I'm Bella! But, I was kind of an idiot, so my full name is Portabella. Portabella Mushroom. Well, I guess it could be worse, they're actually really tasty if you grill them with some salt."

Ponzu blinks once, twice. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand any of what you just said."

"Do you not have portabella mushrooms here?" Wait, that could explain things. If this breed of mushroom doesn't exist in the Hunter-verse, that saves me a lot of embarrassment.

"More importantly." Leorio interrupts. "What did you mean when you said we won't be able to leave this cave?"

Ponzu shrugs. "Exactly as I said. There's a trap in place. None of us will be able to leave, not even me."

"A trap? What kind?" Leorio asks, his knife still out and readied.

"You'll see for yourself." She moves her attention over to me, and I gulp. "So, Bella, is it?"

"That's me!" I salute.

"What makes you think we're cousins?"

Well, it was sort of a lie made up on the spot to cover my own ass- but I can't exactly say that to Ponzu.

"Come on, Cuz! Don't you remember me?" I laugh nervously.

Ponzu's face is still dead serious. "I think that I would remember having such an odd cousin as you."

Alright, I'm a little offended.

"Bella…" Leorio whispers to me. "Whether she's your cousin or not, I need her number plate. Don't stop me."

"Stop you from doing wha-" I can't even finish my sentence because Leorio's advanced on Ponzu with a knife.

Um, that escalated quickly.

To her credit, Ponzu rolls out of the way, dodging the blade by a few inches. She immediately repositions herself against the wall, in the same casual resting pose as before, as if nothing had just happened.

"Like I said. You won't be able to defeat me in a fight."

Leorio straightens up, his resolve clear in his eyes. "We can take it outside of this cave. I won't- no, I can't- lose."

"If I were you, I wouldn't leave here…" Ponzu trails off.

Leorio ignores her, and storms off to the cave exit- then stops dead in his tracks as an avalanche of long-ass snakes drops from the cave ceiling.

And yes, I scream.

I really had to. Like any normal person who's confronted with a wall of massive, shiny, slithering snakes, I panic. I stumble backwards, trip over a rock, and have the wind thoroughly knocked out of me as I land on my flat ass and watch the thick mass of creatures descend upon us.

"A trap's been set. Don't you see? None of us are leaving this cave." Ponzu's voice has a bitter note to it.

"But, Gon and Kurapika…" Leorio whispers to himself, the hand holding his knife slightly trembling. "They'll come in if I don't leave."

"That's too bad, then." Ponzu shrugs. "If they come in, they'll be stuck in here, too."

Leorio looks to me, then to Ponzu, as if trying to make up his mind. I barely have time to think before he makes his decision and stumbles forward, into the tunnel.

And, well... the snakes come back.

They linger on his (well-built) body, small fangs digging into his skin. There's too many to count and I squeeze my eyes shut, but that doesn't stop me from hearing the rustling sound of snakes shifting over their prey.

Leorio's knife is still in his hand, and he slashes at a few, wriggling bodies hitting the cave floor. By the time I open my eyes to look again, the majority of the creatures have slithered away, leaving behind the bitten and bloodied Leorio.

"Kurapika! Gon!" He bellows to the cave pathway, struggling from the ground. "Don't come in!"

And of course… those two idiots ignore him completely. Are we surprised? Footsteps thump as Kurapika and Gon rush inside the cave, unaware of the snakey mess that's about to go down.

"Leorio!" Gon calls, being the first to the fallen's side.

"Idiots." Leorio manages to say, sweat rolling down his face. "Why do you guys still come in so recklessly?"

"It's a kind of viper." Gon says, glancing at the snake carcasses. "If he's been bitten by just one, the poison wouldn't be that strong. But… Leorio took too many bites."

He crouches and lifts up Leorio's arm, doing his best to draw out the poison using his mouth.

"Bella! Explain!" Kurapika commands, kneeling next to Leorio as well. He's in business mode, each move precise as he looks over the scene.

"Ah- he just- snakes!" I splutter. "Lots of snakes!"

Kurapika hesitates, clicking open Leorio's briefcase. "Let's stop the bleeding."

"I'll help!" I scamper towards the three, wanting to be useful. What Zevil Island's taught me so far is that I can't do shit.

"Bella, take off his shirt." Kurapika instructs, retrieving a roll of bandages from the case.

"Me?" I say, looking to Leorio. My face gets all red when I picture myself undoing the buttons on his shirt.

Now is not the time for this…

"Quickly!"

"Right! Yes sir!"

Gon helps me roll Leorio onto his back. His eyes have closed, which spares me some embarrassment as I work to open his wrinkled button-up. I've seen Leorio shirtless many times already, but something's different about it when he's like this…

Pull it together, Bella.

Once Leorio's bare chest has been exposed to us, the thoughts of his built body fade away as I realize how badly the snakes have gotten him. There's a lot of nasty bites, many more than I'd expected, and they ruin the beautiful-ness of the shirtless Leorio.

How dare they.

Kurapika and Gon both instruct me as we carefully bandage him up and fit him with a quick change of clothes. The bloodied shirt is then bunched up and shoved back into the briefcase.

"That should do it." Kurapika says breathlessly when we finish, clicking the case back together.

"We still need to get him to a doctor," says Gon. Together, they heft up Leorio, supporting him with their shoulders.

"It's no use," Ponzu says. She's been so quiet this whole time that I've nearly forgotten she's here. "You'd better give up on that. You can't leave this cave."

The wobbling trio pause.

"What do you mean by that?" Kurapika asks.

"Whoever comes into this cave and tries to leave… those snakes would attack." As she says this, the snakes begin rustling again, and I cringe away.

Damn it, I hate snakes.

xXxXx

You probably know what happens next. Gon gets mummified in a mass of snakes as he digs through Bourbon's corpse, Kurapika performs some shady injections to the boys, and the next thing I know the entire cave is filling up with a thick smoke that's making me sleepy...

It's nighttime when I reawaken.

We're outside the cave. Next to me, Leorio and Kurapika are laid out on the grass, unconscious. They're both beautiful as always, and I can't help but admire their sleeping faces a bit.

I can't see Gon anywhere, but I have faith that he'll be back soon, so I shift my focus to Ponzu, who is sitting hatless and asleep against a nearby tree. There in her lap sits plate 103, Bourbon's.

With my own plate, one of the Amori brothers' plates, and Kenmi's plate, I have a grand total of five points. And with Bourbon's, it brings me to a perfect six.

"Sorry, Cuz, I'll be taking this." I say under my breath as I swipe the plate from her lap.

I barely have a moment to celebrate my victory because Ponzu's hand moves at lightning speed. Her fingers clasp around my wrist, preventing me from pulling back any farther. "What are you doing, Portabella?"

"Oh! You remember my name?" I say, genuinely flattered.

"That's not the point." Ponzu glances around at the two sleeping forms on the grass. "I see, so we did make it out of that cave."

"Yup! And, about the plate…" I struggle to pull my hand back, but Ponzu's got a strong grip. "Cuz, I need this-"

"You keep saying 'Cuz'." Ponzu mutters. "But that's just impossible."

"It is?" Hell, I can't keep track of my own cousins.

"I don't have any family." she lets go of my hand, speaking softly. I'm surprised by the sudden change in tone and now I just feel awkward.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's nothing to do with you. But that's why it's impossible for you to be my cousin. That's all."

"Well, we can be… um, spiritual cousins." I suggest. "Cousins at heart, you know?"

Ponzu shakes her head, but she's smiling slightly. You know, I'll take it.

Later, when the sky has stopped being emo and reverted back to daylight, I find myself and my companions at the edge of Zevil Island, facing the small boat that brought us here. Actually, we're a tiny bit late, as everyone else has already gathered in a very socially-distanced group. When the four of us push through the trees, Killua is the first to notice our arrival.

"Gon!" the fluffy assassin says, completely ignoring the rest of us.

"Another four candidates have returned." Khara, our helpful guide from before, has her clipboard out and she scribbles down something. Killua flashes a thumbs up (it's utterly adorable) to which Gon responds with a slight thumbs up of his own.

I scan over the group and instantly notice Hisoka, who is staring at us- well, Gon in particular. And I'm uncomfortable.

"Here are the last four. The first one will be… Number 404, Mr. Kurapika." At Khara's signal, Kurapika shows off his two badges. Then it's Leorio, Gon... and last but also probably least, it's me, struggling to hold up all four badges at once in my tiny little hands.

"These are the ten candidates who have passed the Fourth Phase!"

Holy shit, I actually did it.

xXxXx

"That was embarrassing. If you guys hadn't helped me, who knows what would have happened." Leorio remarks once we have safely boarded the airship. "I promise I'll return the favor. So… thank you."

He looks off to the side and scrunches up his face, cheeks reddening slightly. Oh god he's so cute sometimes, I swear-

"Attention, all candidates. The Chairman wishes to interview you." I'd know Beans' voice anyday, and it's just now blasting out of the airship's speakers. "When you hear your number, please come to the reception room on the second floor for the interview. We'll start from Number 44, Mr. Hisoka."

At the sound of Hisoka's name, Gon's face clouds up slightly and my stomach turns yet again. What sort of responsible adult am I, letting a child like him near Hisoka? He may be hot, but he's still a creep.

Well, my turn in the interview room comes awfully quick, and there I am, squatted on a pillow in front of Netero himself. He wastes no time on introductions, and instead jumps straight into writing with a brush pen on the small notepad held in front of him.

"Why do you want to become a Hunter?"

I pause to consider the question. It's not like I really had a choice, huh? First was the death thing, then it was the reincarnation thing, and then boom, here I am, Portabella.

I speak the truth, or as close the truth as I can get.

"So I can stay close to the people I care about."

Not a lie- I probably care more about these characters than I do myself.

"I see. Then, out of the nine other candidates, who do you keep your eyes on the most?"

"Leorio." I say this without hesitation. "These eyes are definitely on him. I could stare at him all day."

Netero makes a little "hmm" sound and takes a note on his pad. I don't know what kind of notes he's getting out of that, but oh well.

"Final question, then. Who would you least like to fight?"

I guess I had kind of forgotten the purpose of this interview, but now that he's reminded me of fighting my brain comes back to my head. I should answer carefully this time. Who wouldn't I want to fight…

"Hisoka." I say, with a slight shiver.

Netero writes once more and then smiles placidly. "That's all, you may leave."

"Uhh, thanks, then." I jump up from the cushion and wiggle the cramps out from my legs. On my way out, curiosity gets the better of me and I peek over Netero's shoulder to see what he's been writing.

It turns out he'd just been doodling hearts. There's not a single legible note on the piece of paper.

He's not even good at it. Those hearts are wobbly.

xXxXx

On my way back from the interview room, I run into Kurapika.

The tips of his bangs are a little wet as are the cuffs of his sleeves, so I assume he's just come from washing his face (gotta love a man with a skincare routine). He seems a little surprised to run into me, and his unguarded expression slips into a more carefully controlled one.

"Heyy, Kurapika…" I give him a half wave.

"Bella, I was just meaning to talk to you." Kurapika looks around, but there's no one in this hall but us.

Oh, this can't be good.

"What is it?"

"What are you planning?"

"Huh? Planning?" Which one, Pika? The plan to keep you all together, the plan to meet Chrollo when his hair is down, or the plan to eat dinner? You're going to have to be a little more specific.

"You're always looking at Leorio. The others, they trust you- but if you're plotting something against him-"

"You've got this all wrong!" I hold out my hands in front of me as if trying to shush him. My face is probably beet red. "I'm just looking at Leorio because- because-"

he's so goddamn hot-

"because he's so…"

My brain short-circuits. I have literally no way to end this sentence without sounding creepy.

"He's so… pretty…"

That's it, it's over for me. Kurapika's going to stop trusting me, the others will be quick to follow, and the reign of Portabella Mushroom will come to a swift, sad end. Fanfic over; mission failed.

Instead, Kurapika gives me the slightest smile and has the audacity to pat me on the head.

"I forget that some of you are children, too… I'm sorry, Bella."

Wait, what?

"Hey, Kurapika-!"

"But you know, Bella, I don't think you're his type."

The nerve of him- of course as Bella I'm not his type, I would be greatly concerned if Leorio started going after thirteen year-olds.

Still, if Kurapika is just passing me off as a delusional tween, that might actually be in my benefit. It would stop all of this suspicion he's garnered about me- and give me an easy out for wanting to keep everyone together.

"I think it's nice to have dreams. I won't tell Leorio," Kurapika says. You know what, if this is the path this is taking, I'll just throw another one in there.

"Kurapika, I think you're pretty too." I say it with full confidence, ready for any reaction.

A small chuckle, and his eyes go soft.

"Thank you."

I wish I could say that the reason this chapter took, what, a month? to write was because I was editing and perfecting it. Alas, no- I am someone with a job and responsibilities which have started up again. This chapter was technically ready to go weeks ago, but life gets in the way sometimes, and, well, you know.

This chapter, hmm. Well, I've always liked Ponzu, so playing off the "cousin" gag for a little longer seemed like fun.

I guess I'll address the last scene here. Kurapika, by nature, would probably be the most suspicious of Bella. I wanted a way to relieve some of that suspicion. I think he's someone who is good at understanding people, so it's likely he would understand Bella's nature in this way, even if he gets a few details wrong. TL;DR: Kurapika thinks Bella is a delusional fangirl. And he's not that wrong.

My brain's running on backup batteries, so I'll end this here. Thank you to anyone for reading. The next chapter is titled "Tournament Arc"- that will be fun :)