I don't own HxH!
"The Numere Wetlands, also known as the Swindlers Swamp…"
Her eyes were refusing to stay open.
"...home for many bizarre animals...prey upon humans…"
Sora blinked rapidly, even discreetly pinching herself to keep her from dozing away. Her shutting down wasn't usually this fast, never once had it happened while she was clearly still standing up and on top of that surrounded by strangers. Not even the resounding 'thump' of the door hitting the floor jolted her awake.
"... every trick up their sleeve to fool their prey…"
The physical exertion just now must have drained more energy than normal, coupled that with the monotonous tone of the examiner and the breeze tickling her cheeks, the natural sedatives were successfully dragging her into a dreamless slumber.
"Oi, are you sleeping?"
Almost successfully dragging her into a dreamless slumber.
Her head snapped back up, looking at Killua who was watching her with an incredulous look on his face. His disbelief tone managed to wake her up a bit, silently glad that he's talking to her since she needed anything to fight off the drowsiness.
"Trying not to, sorry," she mumbled, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. "I'm usually not this tired, I swear."
Her answer only caused the boy to snort.
"You just single handedly rewritten the definition for weak, you know?"
Good, continue to talk to her, provoke her. Maybe the rage would wake her up.
She waved him off, absentmindedly pulling her hood to rest back on her head. "Yeah yeah, I know. Stop shoving it in my face."
Killua frowned before turning back his attention to the front where the examiner was still explaining the dangerous creatures lurking in the swamp, constantly reminding the examinees to stay close to him.
"I won't carry you if you fall asleep."
"I don't expect you to, don't worry," Sora muttered before tilting her head to the side, a sudden bright idea filled her head. "You know what, hit me on the head please."
She received a harsh slap at the back of her head as a reply, the pain and sudden force successfully waking her up and eliciting a shriek from Gon at the side and a shocked look from Kurapika.
"What are you doing hitting a girl?" Leorio gawked at which Killua shrugged. Oh, she definitely saw the not-so-discreet smug smile on his face for a split second.
"She asked for it."
But not that hard, you idiot. Sora hissed underneath her breath, her eyes sharpening a bit from the pain. "You—"
"Don't listen to him!" A voice suddenly called out from behind, cutting her off. Every examinees turned around and saw a heavily injured man currently limping toward them.
Well, if Killua's slap didn't wake her up, this turn of events would certainly do. Her brain had already started to whir and she straightened back up after doubling over from the attack.
"He's lying to you! He's an imposter, I'm the real examiner!"
At that, commotion broke out among the crowds, worried and accusing whispers filled the tense air, some people sent the examiner a dirty look while the more level-headed one demanded the injured man to show him proof of his accusation.
Which he supplied and she would believe if it wasn't that ridiculous of a fake. In his hands was an ape-like creature with fur covering all parts of his body minus the face that resembled Satotz for some reason with eyes rolled to the back of its head. The resemblance was uncanny but several things bugged her.
No human could have a tongue that long and would anyone believe an examiner could get injured that bad? If such a thing happened, then it's a disgrace and they should just return the license they have.
"He's an imposter!"
Apparently, someone— oh wait, almost everyone believed that baseless accusation. Sora groaned and mentally slapped her forehead when she saw, even Leorio ganging up on the calm examiner who wasn't the least bothered by all the dark looks he was receiving.
She couldn't contain the snort that leave her. "Even my half-asleep brain knows who's the real one."
Killua raised his eyebrows and placed his hands on the back of his head. "Seemed like you still have some brain cells left after I hit you."
"Excuse you."
All of a sudden, a murderous intent flared up, sending chills down her spine. If she wasn't awake by the start of the chaos, that just now would surely flip her fight switch. She watched as cards flew from that direction, effectively killing the self-proclaimed examiner, the monkey he's carrying immediately woke up from playing dead and scurried away in fear, while Satotz caught all the projectile between his fingers with ease.
"I see...I see…" The clown from before shuffled the rest of his cards and all the examinees around him backed away.
"That settles in then… you are the real examiner, that was a lot quicker than just sitting here and asking questions, correct?" He continued casually as if he hadn't threatened the examiner's life a second ago who tossed away the cards in his hands.
"Examiners are hunters picked by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any hunter, bearing the title we seek, would be able to defend themselves from a mild attack like that."
"I shall take that as a compliment," Satotz said, his eyes closed. "However, if you attack me once more, for any certain circumstances, I will report you for turning against an examiner and you'll immediately be disqualified from this exam. Are we clear?"
The clown smirked.
"Sure. I got it," He said, walking away.
The choking aura from the exchange dissipated not long after that, finally allowing Sora to breathe, cold sweat sliding down her cheek, and once again reminding her that she should, no, must stay away from the man's path.
After reminding the examinees once again to not lose sight of him else they wouldn't make it to the second phase, and silently judging the sheepish participants for falling into one of the tricks the man had spoken not even an hour ago, Satotz was back to running—read walking— again with those long legs of his.
"I won't save you if you fell asleep in the midst of running and got eaten by a carnivorous frog as a result."
"Eh, I've rested long enough. I'll be okay for a while, thank you for your concern," Sora replied dryly, sending a thumbs up to a worried Gon to reassure him.
"Don't worry, Sora. I'll save you!"
"Now, why can't you be sweet like him, Killua?"
Said boy only huffed in response.
Few hours passed and the fog got thicker and thicker, different compared to when they first started when Sora could still feel the ray of sunlight piercing her eyes. Now, even when she was running only a step behind Gon and Killua, she could barely see them. Her sneaker splashed quietly on the wet ground and she cringed at the feeling of damp socks. She should have worn those old boots if she knew it would be like this.
A blast of killer intent reached them and once again, shiver ran down her spine, knowing completely who was the owner of said intent. She saw Killua visibly tensing up before glancing over his shoulder, meeting her gaze as a result.
Sora didn't know the clown name so she settled on drawing a star and teardrop in the air, the white haired boy's eyes blinked in surprise or astonishment— he's insulting her at this point— then nodded, turning back to the front.
"Hey, Gon, Sora," Killua spoke up.
"Huh?" Gon looked at him.
"Let's move up," Killua continued.
Sora nodded, increasing her pace slightly so she was running at the black haired boy's right.
"Okay, we don't want to lose sight of the examiner," Gon agreed.
"More importantly, we should keep our distance from Hisoka."
Ah, so the clown's name was Hisoka. One more name she added in her list of 'people who she should avoid at all cost unless she wants an early death even with how tempting it is'.
"The guy attracts trouble. I can smell it."
"Smell it?" Gon asked before proceeding to sniff the air.
"Hmm, I can't smell anything," the boy muttered to himself but Sora could hear him clearly. In her heart, she wondered how someone as pure as Gon could survive in this world.
"Leorio! Kurapika! Killua said it's better to move to the front!" Gon yelled through the thick fog.
"Oi, you really are a fool," Killua scolded him.
"Moron! If I had the strength, I'd already be there!" Leorio called back from behind and based on how faint his voice was, he was quite far from their current position.
"Don't worry about us! You guys go ahead!" Kurapika added.
"Eh…" Gon voiced out his concern, eyebrows pulled into a taut.
"They'll be fine, Gon," Sora said, patting him softly on the shoulder. "Have faith in your friends."
Even if she said that, she wasn't sure of the fact herself. Sure they had talked for a bit back there and she genuinely thought that they were strong and determined enough to reach the end. But Hisoka was another matter itself. She could only hope that they wouldn't fall prey into his hands.
"You're right." Gon sighed, casting another worried glance to the back.
"Let's go, Gon, Sora," Killua cut and must be equally eager as her to get further from the predator somewhere behind them.
"Ah, wait for me!"
"I kept hearing screaming around us," Gon murmured out as they continued to run ahead without a clear view of where they're going.
The fog had thickened considerably to the point they couldn't even see what was in front of them. Coupled with various cries and screams that were a mix of human or unknown beast they didn't know of, needless to say, the situation wasn't looking good.
"It's reminding us to stay alert."
"I wonder if Leorio and Kurapika are okay..." Gon glanced back for the umpteenth time that day.
"They are," Sora tried to reassure the boy for the umpteenth time that day, "they'll be fine and we'll meet them in the Second Phase. Trust them."
"Yeah." Gon let out a shaky breath and she patted his shoulder again. "Yeah, you're right. You keep reminding me, thanks Sora."
She only hummed in response, knowing just how precious the taller friends were to him.
They continued to run a bit after that when suddenly, Sora felt her soles brushed past something on the ground which she frowned at. Simultaneously, the three of them stopped in their tracks.
"Huh?" was the clever thing that left their mouths when the ground began to violently shake and just like that, they fell into the gaping maw of a beast laying awake for them.
Darkness enveloped them and it took her a while before she could get used to it. The smell of something rotting hit her nose with full force and she coughed instinctively. Sora didn't even want to think about the content of the sticky substance she was currently bathed in.
"Killua! Sora! Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"I'm beside you, Gon, I'm fine," she said, nudging the boy with her foot to let him know of her location before she tried to stand up to no avail. From the deep reverberation she was feeling, Sora sensed that the beast was currently in the midst of moving around.
"So, any idea to get out of here?" she asked without expecting any answer, simply to fill the void while unstrapping the tonfa from her belt. "Because if you guys don't, I can start beating our way out of this beast's belly."
"No need."
And not a second later, there's a bigger tremor than before, the air grew stuffy and Sora flinched when the sticky substance seemed to fill the open chamber at an alarming rate. Just when it reached her chest,
BLERGH
The beast spat them out, finally releasing them out of its disgusting mouth. The trio fell soundly in the puddle of the same sticky substance from the inside.
Sora watched as the monster toddled away, a giant frog with its green skin perfectly blending with the grass they were sitting on. It's not weird they failed to notice it.
She looked down on her soaked clothes—trying not to pay attention to the fact that she's covered with a frog's slobber from head to toe— and tried to calmly rummage through her pocket in search of her matchbox despite the thunderous beating of her heart. When her fingers touched the dry edges of the brown box, she allowed a relieved sigh to leave her mouth.
Her action didn't escape Killua's critical eyes though. But the boy said nothing.
"Looks like we didn't suit its taste," Gon sheepishly commented while rubbing the back of his neck.
Now that her heart's settled, Sora lifted her arm and watched as the liquid dripped down to the ground, wrinkling her nose automatically. "...gross."
"It was this," Killua answered, showing an orange can that was all too familiar.
"Ah! That's from Tonpa-san! Guess he saved us," Gon exclaimed.
"It seems he still has use for that can after all," Sora commented, clearly amused by the situation. "Just how many cans did you ask from him, Killua?"
"That's the last one, I've drunk the rest," the white haired boy said coolly while tossing the can away, "Besides, even without it, we could have escaped anyway."
Sora stood up from her spot and snorted lightly. "Now who was the one who said that he wouldn't save a certain someone if she fell into the mouth of a carnivorous frog?"
"The three of us were stuck inside it, you fish eyes. It's not only you."
Ah, she got a new nickname already and a pretty creative one at that, getting her approval at once.
She shrugged as if trying to say 'so your point is?' at the same moment Gon opened his mouth, "I'm still worried about Leorio and Kurapika."
The maroon haired girl could visibly see Killua's lips thinning in what seemed to be faint annoyance before he too stood up. "Forget about them. Let's go. We need to catch up while we can."
He took off running, not even checking if the rest of the two followed him. Both Gon and Sora quickly joined him, the black haired male lagging a few steps behind her.
Maybe because she's nearer to the spot where Gon was, she could hear his sudden decreasing footsteps which alarmed her greatly. She stopped to check up on him, freezing when she no longer could spot the familiar spiky hair anymore. When she looked back in front, Killua had been swallowed by the thickening fog.
Shit.
The only thing she could see for the past minutes was an endless stretch of green with no signs of Gon and Killua nor Leorio or Kurapika anywhere.
She did, however, catch the faint yells and screams from a distance and that was the direction she was currently heading toward, silently hoping the noise belonged to the main group.
Sora tugged the hood closer to her face, frowning when the sounds became increasingly quieter instead of louder as she got closer. When her foot reached the start of a clearing, there was none at all. What she saw though, caused cold sweat to break out once more.
Dead bodies were clustered around a certain person, that one person that she had desperately tried to avoid since the start of the exam at all cost.
Hisoka.
She threw herself behind a tree, praying that the man hadn't noticed her advancing. The girl have played years of cat and mouse already, what's another one to add?
That was what she thought anyway as she failed miserably to calm herself down. Her clammy hands went up to cover her mouth tight to prevent her ragged breathing from being heard. Her knees felt weak but she pressed herself deeper into the tree in an attempt to steady herself.
It proved to be a fruitless effort because even with the thick trunk shielding her from his view, Sora could feel a penetrating gaze on her back, straight on her position as if there was nothing between the two. At that, she curled down to make herself smaller; smaller and smaller until she's one with the tree. Her heartbeats were loud against her own ears, desperately hoping that if the clown had that sixth sense to detect people then at the very least he didn't have any acute hearing.
The wind picked up and the grass rustled as light steps approached her spot before it abruptly stopped. She tensed up, wondering what had caused a looming hunter to stop in their tracks when she heard the answer not a second later.
"URYAAAAAAA!"
Leorio! Who in their right mind would attack a predator out for blood? Sora cursed, hastily standing back up with her legs already prepared to bolt out to get the man. Her intention was put to an abrupt stop when an intense wave of bloodlust washed over her, nearly knocking her out cold as Hisoka reached out to grab Leorio's tie.
A bait of a fishing pole struck his cheek and it was not relief that felt her chest, it was dread.
"Gon!" Leorio yelled.
Why is Gon here now? She wailed in her heart.
"I made it in time." Sora heard his words from a distance and she was hit with the sudden realization. So that was why he had just randomly disappeared. Not only Hisoka but it seemed like Gon had an equally acute sixth sense.
"Not bad boy," Hisoka complimented, turning his attention to the black haired boy who gripped his fishing pole tighter.
"Is that a fishing pole? What an interesting weapon of choice," He continued as he steadily walked closer to Gon.
"Can I have a closer look? Ah, but first."
Sora froze when she felt the gaze on her once more.
"How long are you going to hide there, little mouse?"
It was as if her whole body had been doused with a bucket of ice water. The girl shivered from the nonexistent breeze and cautiously stepped out from her hiding spot, her tonfa gleaming in her hands.
"Sora!" Shouts came from both Gon and Leorio. She paid it no mind when she herself was busy stopping her trembling fingers. The handle kept slipping away from her sweaty hands so she had to grip them even harder.
Hisoka seemed pleased at the turn of events because the glint in his eyes only got wilder. "Now that everyone is here— "
"Your opponent is me!" Leorio yelled as he ran up to Hisoka, a stick in his hand.
Sora was momentarily stunned when Hisoka effortlessly punched him in the face, sending him flying into the air, knocking him unconscious.
"Sora, look out!"
That single sentence snapped her out of her daze and before she knew it, her back had already crashed into a nearby tree, the rough wood digging through her skin as the impact from a kick to her chest didn't even give her the leisurely to gasp out in pain when she was busy gasping for air, a tough task to do with blood pouring out her mouth.
Through her hazy vision, she saw her weapons lying a few feet away from her place and Gon single handedly fighting against Hisoka alone. Her ears were ringing and she felt something warm dripping from her forehead as she shakily stood up, blinking away the blurriness and getting back her bearings. After wiping the blood on her chin, she finally began sprinting toward the battle in the clearing, scoping her weapons along the way.
Sora gritted her teeth, ignoring her pounding head even when it was threatening to split her skull into two and the way her chest clenched in pain as she swung her tonfa at the man's torso while he was approaching Gon.
"Oh, the mouse is still awake, I see. Not bad." Hisoka turned to smoke the moment her weapons met his body before immediately materializing from thin air behind her. But this time, her reflex was fast enough and she jumped back as far she could, not allowing the man to touch her.
"A mouse's durability is no joke. Isn't that why they are pests in the first place?" She let a large grin grace her face, despite the coiling fear, and watched an even creepier smile widened in her direction.
This man's crazy.
Gon used the moment of the distracted Hisoka to throw his bait, landing it in front of the pink haired man that was followed by a cloud of dust.
The black haired male appeared from behind him while Sora from the front, swinging both of their weapons at the same time and the girl briefly felt the spark of triumph in her chest.
Her hope was dashed when she found herself and Gon being hoisted up high above the ground, an iron grip around her neck. Weapons dropped to the ground as their hands were too busy trying to claw their way out of the choking hold.
"How wonderful."
No, no, no, she didn't want to die at the hands of an increasingly unsettling clown. Even if she died, she certainly didn't want the place to be in the middle of nowhere with various kinds of organisms laying awake to feast on her lifeless body.
She swung her leg to his stomach but the man didn't even budge.
"Feisty, aren't you? Good, good."
This is bad, her consciousness was fading.
"I really do love that look," Hisoka said, a blush appeared on his cheeks as if he was drunk at the sight of two kids fighting their way for survival.
Her struggle weakened, her fingers no longer having the strength to pry the man's grip and she dimly saw Gon give up on his. Sora closed her eyes, sinking her nails to the man's wrist. Was this how her life going to end after all? After all those endeavors she had to suffer, she would die because of a chokehold from a clown?
The next second, much to her surprise, she found herself being dropped unceremoniously to the ground and her hands flew to her throat as she coughed, sputtering to gulp down the air as much as she could. By her side, Gon was doing the exact same thing.
"Don't worry." Hisoka crouched down in front of them and Sora cautiously looked up, not knowing what the crazy man was planning.
"Your friend is alive and well." Another smile. "Because he has passed."
If her head wasn't pounding after it had been split open with blood rushing to feel her oxygen deprived brain, Sora would have shot an incredulous look at the man. What bullshit was he spouting right now?
"Hmm, you passed too," Hisoka continued, giving Gon an eye-closed smile. "I hope you'll become a good Hunter."
"As for you."
Sora froze once more when Hisoka turned to look at her, still with his eye-closed smile. "Of course, you passed too. Shax never told me he had such an interesting pet."
Her blood ran cold and she openly gaped.
He knew him?
Loud beeping noise interrupted her own thoughts as Hisoka fished out a walkie talkie from his pocket.
"Hisoka, you should get back to the team. We're almost at the Second Phase Venue," a disjointed robot-like voice came from the held item.
"Okay, I'll be right there," the clown replied and stood up before hauling Leorio on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"We all need friends," he said, glancing back, "you can find your way back, yes?"
Gon nodded while Sora looked genuinely lost at the question. She'd trust the black haired male for it.
"That's a good boy…"
After he said those words, Hisoka slowly walked away and disappeared, completely swallowed by the fog. Sora stared at the empty spot where the clown had previously been and switched her attention to Gon when he began panting harder, a drop of sweat sliding down his face.
The shock must have registered late.
"Gon, are you okay?" the girl asked, genuinely concerned and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Deep breaths, okay?"
For someone who had a near early death experience, she found herself to be awfully calm, tranquil almost, despite the rambling thoughts that happened just seconds before. Her breaths had considerably returned to normal and her shaking had stopped. She couldn't say the same for Gon though.
The said boy nodded, visibly trembling and took a deep breath.
"Gon! Sora!" came a yell from a distance, a familiar blonde hair emerging from the thinning fog.
"Are you okay? What did he do to the both of you?" He asked once he was a bit closer to the duo.
"I'm okay, just a bit injured." Sora winced as she stood up, cradling her chest lightly. She must have broken a rib or two and her neck hurt when she touched it. The bruises that would appear there must have been beautiful.
"Your head is dripping with blood and you said it's only a bit injured?" Kurapika took out a handkerchief from his bag before giving it to the female who accepted it grimly with a sheepish smile.
"As long as I can still walk, any injury is only a bit for me," she said, quickly wiping away any remnants of a battle from her face. "I'll be sure to wash it and return it to you soon, thank you Kurapika-san."
The blond haired man only sighed and turned to the silent black haired male. "How about you, Gon?"
Gon said nothing, only giving one firm nod, and simply picked his fishing pole along with Leorio's briefcase to hang on it. The girl too strapped back her forgotten weapon to her belt.
Sora looked at the sun shining brightly on the sky and squinted, lifting her hood to shield herself from it. "I think we should get going by now. Many have probably arrived at the venue site already."
Gon and Kurapika nodded, Sora was glad some semblance of life had returned to Gon a bit, and the trio continued their journey across the forest.
"This way," Gon said as he led them to another dirt covered path after sniffing the air.
"You can really tell?' Kurapika asked, faint amazement in his tone.
"Mhm," Gon answered, earning a look of exchange between Sora and Kurapika. "Because Leorio used a distinct cologne. I can smell it from a few kilometers away."
"Wow, you're like a dog," Sora said in awe. Had there been no Gon, she and Kurapika would have been stranded and run around in circles. But the blonde haired seemed smart enough so it's probably going to be her with her non-existent sense of direction.
"Lots of people have said that about me," Gon said and gave her a smile while rubbing the back of his neck as if embarrassed.
"That's a compliment, you know?" She patted his shoulder to which the boy's smile widened into a grin before it abruptly disappeared when he focused back to the front.
"Say, Kurapika, what did you think Hisoka meant when he said that we passed?"
Ah, that must have been why Gon was awfully quiet along the way once he finished recounting their encounter with Hisoka, only quipping out to lead them to another direction.
The boy in question hummed for a bit before answering. "He's probably reviewing the candidates."
"Reviewing?"
"Yes. In his mind, he has his own set of standards to test a person's skills. I guess he has his standards to measure a candidate's power. You, Leorio and Sora must have met his standards. That's probably it."
Sora shivered while Gon thought for a bit. "You think so? But I wasn't able to touch Hisoka at all."
"But you landed a hit at the start, right?"
"That's because I took him by surprise," Gon said and briefly looked up, "besides, Leorio clearly lost. But he said Leorio passed too."
"Maybe he sensed an aura similar to his own," Kurapika stated after a moment of consideration.
"Aura?"
"I don't think Hisoka is qualified to be a Hunter. But, he is highly skilled. His moves are flashy. Nobody can deny his abilities," the blonde looked at Gon and Sora for a bit before turning back to the front. "Someone who possesses such power is able to seek out those who possess the same power."
Great, now a crazy clown was interested in her. Should she be honored that she was deemed as powerful by the man? Or cursed at the fact she wouldn't get her peace back and has to constantly think about her safety? Not that wasn't what she was doing this past few years but she wasn't really keen of the idea of a madman hunting her down.
"I think, based on his experience and instinct, he could tell that you three have what it takes to be Hunters," Kurapika continued, brows pulled into a frown, "in his mind, he probably thought that it'd be a waste to kill you off."
A silence. Sora looked away to the side, eye twitching. It's just like what she feared.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I should be more careful with my words."
The girl waved her hand while Gon shook his head. "Actually, I felt really excited at that moment."
"Eh?"
"Even though I wanted to run away in fear, I had no chance to run. But I still felt excited," Gon explained before turning to Kurapika with a big smile on his face, eyes sparkling. "Weird, right?"
Sora scoffed lightly yet her lips lifted up into a fond smile. She understood that all too well. When your sense of curiosity overtook your fear, you couldn't help but think that there must have been something wrong with you for feeling that way.
She curled her fingers around the bump in her pocket where her matchbox was.
Just like that day.
Kurapika opened his mouth but closed it back, the trace of seriousness faded away a bit but it still lingered and they continued their track in silence.
From afar, the trio saw a meadow sprawled with exhausted participants. A giant door loomed behind them and Sora unconsciously gulped. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Looks like we made it," Kurapika commented, his eyes darted left and right to check the condition of the examinees, most were still lying dead tired on the ground.
The girl panted lightly from all the running and was glad that they could finally slow down into a brisk walking speed as they entered the place, searching for one particular person.
"Leorio...Leorio…"
The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she and Gon felt that awful penetrating gaze from one direction. Hisoka must have been there. Once their eyes met his, he smiled and pointed to his right in a relatively barren area.
"Leorio!" Gon exclaimed as he ran to the still half-naked man who was nursing his swollen cheek. Sora and Kurapika followed him closely to surround the man. The girl winced seeing the giant bump, feeling her chest constricted in tandem. As someone who had been kicked by Hisoka himself, Sora knew how it felt.
She pressed a hand over her sternum, nearly recoiling at the jolts of pain. Damn, she really needed to check just how bad it was.
"Ow. Why do I have so many injuries?"
The trio blinked.
"You don't remember?" Sora asked, clearly stunned. Just how powerful was that punch to completely mess up someone's head?
"I can't remember anything…"
"We probably shouldn't tell him what happened," Kurapika whispered, earning a nervous smile from Gon and a sigh from Sora.
"Yeah…"
"Gon!" A familiar voice called out from behind.
"Killua!" The black haired male called back, happy to see his friend walking toward them.
"I can't believe you managed to find your way here. I didn't think you'd make it," Killua said, a relieved smile tugging on his lips.
"I followed the smell of Leorio's cologne," Gon replied as he approached the pale skin boy.
"Smell? Is that you got here?" Killua exclaimed in shock before his eye twitched. "You must really be a freak."
"Oh, it really was seeing magic happen when you're experiencing it first hand. He's just like a dog." Sora stalked closer then lifted up a peace sign. "Yes, I'm alive, no need to look so surprised, Killua. I'm not that incompetent."
Well, she wouldn't be if Hisoka had really wished to kill them both earlier.
"I wasn't going to ask that."
"Trust me, I know from the look on your face."
The white haired boy huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine, smartass fish eyes."
"Everyone, job well done. The Visca Forest Reverse is the venue for the Second Phase," Satotz announced, interrupting the two.
"I'll take my leave now. I wish everyone the best luck."
And with that parting words, Satotz walked back through where he had brought the participants from and disappeared among the dense foliage.
As if on cue on his leave, the giant door began to rumble as its hinges rolled to the side to slowly reveal what was hidden.
Sora felt herself grow nervous and she unknowingly tugged her hood closer to her face. Fighting beast? Taming them or collecting dangerous plants? She didn't know what to expect.
But she certainly didn't expect the rows of kitchen counters right before her eyes.
Additional injuries? Additional injuries.
I hope you will continue to stay tuned to the rest of the chapters and thank you for taking your time to read this. Thank you so much for all the favs and follows like wow! I didn't expect there will be so many of you already. I can't express how grateful I was.
Some scenes were different or omitted completely from the original one so if you're interested in that then you can maybe check it out.
I would love to hear your opinions about this chapter!
Bye!