Chapter 27: The x Final x Confrontation

January 17, 1999 (Zevil Island: Day 6)

Save for the sounds of water playing on the stones, the riverside was a bit too quiet. Even the birds seemed to have been holding their breaths as a smiling Pakunoda approached a tense Levi.

"Stop right there." Paku's smile faded into a raised eyebrow at Levi's words. "You have my badge, don't you? Please give it back."

"Is this your way of trying to get out of the deal?" She sounded more serious now.

"No. I stole his badge for you earlier. You are the traitor."

Her smile returned. "And what makes you think that's the case."

"Well... I met someone who told me about your ability."

"I see-" her smile widened as she nodded. "-that would make me the prime suspect. However, I don't have it. End of story."

"But then-"

"I don't know. And helping you get your badge was never part of the deal. It also seems like you've already gotten your target's badge... which means I don't have to help you."

"Wait, how did you-"

"You would have started whining about how you don't have any badges left."

Levi's lips thinned. "Mean."

"You asked for the truth. I gave you the truth. Why would I want to sugar coat it?"

"I didn't expect you to be this mean..."

"You're accusing me-"

"For something you did-"

"I did not-"

"Who did it then-"

"Not my job-"

"But-"

"Badge. Complete your part of the deal. Give me my target's badge."

Levi clenched his fists. He didn't want to break a promise... besides it was his fault that she got hurt and... perhaps she wasn't lying...

He thrust his hand into his pocket and threw the badge towards her. She caught it with ease, gave him a small smile, and walked away... just like that?

Before she disappeared into a grove of trees, she glanced back. "Nobunaga.Try him."

Levi gasped.

"Guess I was right after all." Phinks smirked.

"Yeah... thanks. Miss Pakunoda all but confirmed it."

"So, we'll have to go confront him now."

"Wait, what about your badge?" Levi leaned forward. "Don't you have to get it back from Mr. Shalnark."

The man smirked again. "Who said I let him have it?"

"I still don't get it though... I was using En to search my surroundings but I didn't sense Mr. Nobu or anyone else for that matter." Levi pouted.

"You're not the only one who can use En."

"Wait, so he can use En too? Woah! What's his range and-"

Phinks clamped a hand over Levi's mouth and hissed at him to shut up.

Levi turned his attention back to the clearing they had been observing from the trees. A certain swordsman came into view.

"Told you I could sense him... just couldn't tell where..." Phinks whispered.

His Zetsu's awesome... Levi thought. He couldn't sense him at all. Why did he just come out into the open now though...

Nobunaga sighed and unsheathed his sword with a ~ching~. The blade was smudged with blood. He started examining it intently. He must have killed someone recently...

"Come out already." He frowned, still not taking his eyes off his blade. "I can sense you two's presence. I can even guess who one of you is."

Levi looked at Phinks, who nodded. It was time to go.

He jumped down from the tree, covering his body with a good amount of aura.

"Lemme guess, you want your badge back?" He finally took his eyes off his blade.

Levi nodded, eying one of the two badges pinned to the man's clothes.

A second later, the sharp edge of Nobunaga's sword nearly sliced him in two. Levi leapt up just in time to dodge it.

"Then you're gonna have to fight for it!" The swordsman yelled, launching another attack.

Still air-borne, Levi dodge to the side, folding his arms in front of him to protect his face. This time however, he wasn't as lucky, and received a cut on each forearm.

Once the two pairs of feet hit the ground, the dodging game continued. Up! Down! Left! Right! Left again! Now, up!Adrenaline rushed throughout his body. Levi could barely see the swiping blade and had to rely mostly on instinct to figure out its position.

His rapid movements were quickly consuming his energy. He had to counterattack as soon as possible.

He urged his mind to focus, sliding his right hand into his pocket.

Ka-ching!

It was a dagger against a sword! Levi had managed to catch Nobunaga's next swipe. His whole body trembled. Any second now... his blade was going to break...

He was holding the dagger upside down with both hands, pushing it's blade against the sword's. On the other hand, Nobunaga was holding the sword with only his right hand, resting the other one in his pocket. The casual stance along with the care-free yet somehow still fierce look in his eyes finally damaged Levi's spirit enough.

He leapt back before his blade could break and ran into the woods. The swordsman delibrately gave him a small headstart before giving chase.

Levi knew he couldn't keep it up forever. Any second now, he was going to catch up to him.

He finally took the proper turn and reached the second clearing. Time to put the plan into action...

His body split into many- at least that's what his aura said so. Even En couldn't distinguish between the illusions and the real one.

Nobunaga slowly stepped into the clearing, his sword back in his sheath. He was an iaido master after all, his speciality was sudden attacks.

He quickly counted the Levis in front of him-- 12. All of them were holding the same dagger, and even their injuries were the same as the real one's.

Alright... instead of one... I just have 12 targets... not bad kiddo... but they are moving in a simple pattern...

Ka-ching!

True to his name, without a warning, he leapt forward, slashing away nearly all of the illusions at once. They didn't disappear once the blade went through them, however, that confirmed that they weren't the real ones. Besides, if they couldn't touch enitities, that meant they couldn't attack any either.

Just a distractions then, huh... for a second there, I thought they were actual clones... Nobunaga smirked. Well, this just makes my work easier then...

From the right to the left, ten of the illusions had been swiftly exposed. They didn't even flinch while the blade went through them as their actions had been pre-programmed.

Before he could touch the eleventh one however, five more figures jumped at him from behind.

Front or back? Which one of them has got the real one?! I didn't sense the other five before so they must be freshly made... which means...

Swish!

The blade passed through all five of them. Before the swordsman even had the time to react however, a blurred figure passed in front of him. His En wasn't on so he couldn't tell who he was. What he could tell though... was that the figure had touched him.

He blinked.

What...

All the Levis had disappear. None of them... had been real. He checked for his badges. They were still pinned to his clothes... except... Levi's had been replaced by the one he had left in the hole.

He unpinned the decoy and stared at it. It grinned madly back at him. With a flex of his fingers, he destroyed it.

He had been tricked.

He couldn't sense a damn person except his observer from the hunter association. Levi had gotten away with his badge, and whoever was with him had also disappeared.

"That was awesome!" Levi squealed.

They had been running through the trees for about an hour and had finally stopped to rest in the shade of tree.

"Maybe," Phinks replied nonchalantly, "he was going easy on you though."

"Easy?"

"Yeah... he wasn't using En and even gave you a head start into the forest. If he wouldn't have done that... the plan might have failed."

Levi lost his enthusiasm. "Ok..."

January 18, 1999 (Zevil Island: Day 7)

"Hey Killua!" Levi rushed out of the woods into the clearing where the participants stood waiting.

"Oh, hey Levi." Killua smiled.

"Uh-" Levi looked around, "-Did you see Gon?"

"Nope. He's not here and... I didn't even see him during the exams."

Levi grimaced. "I hope he's doing okay-"

"Hey Killua, hey Levi!" Gon jumped out of the trees and landed beside the two.

The trio beamed and chatted away, unaware of the dangers of the next part of the infamous hunter