Disclaimer: I do not own hunterxhunter. All characters and plot of the said manga/anime are under the intellectual property of Yoshihiro Togashi. This is a work of pure fiction whereas names, OC's, places, or events are products of the author's imagination. If there is any resemblance to actual/real persons, places, or events, then it is pure coincidence. Furthermore, I do not own the cover image and give full credit to whoever owns it.
Case File #6
2.07.2008
Dr. Navi Riche
Enacted last seventh day of January, the espionage for the infiltration of the Khamat University of International Relations (KUIR) has been completed by 0007. Not only did 0007 scrupulously cover the errors committed by the previous Matryoshkaz originally part of the team, but 0007 has also completely eliminated one of the major sponsors of KUIR, the Maron family, with the minor assistance of 0001 after being contacted by 0007 3 days prior to the assassination of the Maron family. As of now, 0007 has not shown any signs of deficiencies with the skillset needed from a Sparrow. Hence, I give my full recommendation to make 0007 the final Sparrow out of all the candidates for the role.
Mission Status: Completed
Volume 1: Chapter 6
The Cynic
"I see… It's nice to meet you… Killua," The redhead spoke to him in a friendly and polite tone, but her words sounded different to the silver-haired boy's ears. After only a few seconds of meeting her, she already seemed condescending to him – although, she sounded nothing like such.
"Oi! There you are, brat!" Leorio shouted as he walked towards the three kids, with Kurapika stalking along beside him. "Where the hell have you been?" The tall man placed both hands on his hips and lifted his chin at Erin. "Heh! And you were acting all worried about me in the tunnel," Leorio then bent down towards her eye level, "Who was the one who got left behind now eh?"
"What are you a five-year-old?" Kurapika stepped in and crossed his arms. The blonde looked at Erin who returned his gaze. After the last conversation they had, he unconsciously started to put up his guard around her now. Still, he continued to act as if they never had that conversation in the tunnel in order to avoid causing any worry in the group.
On the other hand, for Erin, the Kurta's attempt to hide his cautiousness towards her was futile. It wasn't because Kurapika easily gave off clues due to obvious gestures, but because Erin was just that exceptionally good at reading people, formulating theories on how and why they acted a certain way, and in just that brief moment, she caught Kurapika watching her cautiously.
Ahh… I know that look. Erin shortly gave herself up to the familiar feeling that Kurapika's gaze gave her – a gaze that showed growing unease that could easily turn to fear when the wrong move was committed. For a fraction of a second, Erin quietly assessed her past actions instinctually. Which one was it? Hmm… When did I exactly commit a mistake? I thought helping him with his revenge would make him more comfortable and open. That's what I was told – 'helping someone can leave them indebted to you.' But my mind back then also told me that I wanted to help him. Why though? I definitely don't need anything from him. And certainly, Gon doesn't need him to pass the exam.
Erin suddenly remembered the figure of an old man.
Oh, Abian. If only you were here to answer my queries.
In the end, she decided that she was to continue interacting with the blonde the same way as she did before in order to observe more of his reactions.
"Oi Kurapika!" Leorio screamed at the Kurta, directing all his attention to him, "I don't need you teaming up with Erin to roast me again alright!"
"Kurapika, perhaps, what you said was too much," Erin spoke after her short thought process and looked at the boy she called out with a smile, "I think every five-year-old I've met would've been insulted by how you compared them to Leorio."
Leorio's eyebrow was now twitching vigorously due to his anger that was almost reaching its boiling point, "You really looove getting on my nerves huh? Erin," Surprisingly, he kept it all in. But just like a volcano that was about to erupt, he started to grip his arms and grit his teeth. He breathed in then lunged at Erin, attempting to put her in a headlock, "Come here! I'm gonna teach you some respect!"
Without any effort, Kurapika grabbed the shirtless man's necktie that was still tied around his neck, momentarily choking him, "Calm down Leorio. Were you really about to initiate a fight with Erin?"
"H-hey! What was that for?!" Leorio coughed and held his throat, "Jeez, I wasn't going to get physical! What kind of person do you think I am huh?!"
"The kind who throws the first punch after a simple provocation," Kurapika coolly replied with an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.
The two continued to argue in the background, of course with Kurapika having the upper hand, while Erin moved on from bickering with Leorio and glanced at the swamp forest, "The fog is fading," she whimsically stated to Gon in particular.
Gon started to stand up, with Killua following suit, and widely grinned at the clearer sight of the forest in amazement. He then looked at his friend who was the cause of a currently fuming Leorio and asked, "Hey Erin, what were your friends like?"
Erin glanced at the boy whose eyes were now full of pure curiosity, "My friends?" she asked.
"The five-year-olds," he raised a finger as if to point out something that she said, "You said, 'the five-year-olds I've met' so you weren't talking about all five-year-olds right?"
Erin smiled softly at the boy and perked up her eyebrows, "Hmm… I didn't take you to be someone that particular and quick with words."
"Hehe…" Gon casually took the teasing phrase she said once again, rubbing the back of his head while giving off a boyish grin. "Well? Tell me! What were they like? What did you usually do together?" Gon asks her with no hidden motives whatsoever, he merely wanted to know more about the friend he's gained along the way.
Erin hummed then looked up as if trying to recall memories that she had, "… Friends huh?" she mumbled while still keeping a smile.
Only Killua noticed the few milliseconds of how dead her eyes looked as she gazed up at the sky.
"Hmm… It's quite hard to describe them," she lifted both hands and cupped her face with both hands – a gesture that would look endearing to all except Killua who thought it was weird. With that, he started to place Erin in the peculiar side of his radar on people.
Erin acted like she was trying to remember fond childhood memories with those 'friends' of hers when there was no such thing, "They are quite different than most… but if I were to compare them to someone… In a way," she then moved her gaze towards Killua who continued to look at her indifferently, "They were like Killua."
"Eh…? Really?" Gon was genuinely surprised.
H-huh? Killua blinked a few times since he was also caught off guard by what she said. A comical sweatdrop appeared on the temple of his head.
Gon who was still surprised, continued, "How can you tell when you've just met him?"
Erin dropped her hands to her sides and kept a pleasant face and voice as she replied, "You can call it instincts."
"Ah!" Gon exclaimed as he remembered his first meeting with Erin, "You said something similar before."
"Did I?" Erin innocently tilted her head and acted as if she couldn't recall then immediately looked at Killua once again, "I hope you don't take my comparison the wrong way, Killua," She gently smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You just really reminded me of them."
Killua kept his casual stare but deep down he didn't like the feeling of Erin's hand on his shoulder. She wasn't really exerting any force on him but for some reason, its weight felt like a really heavy burden.
"None taken," he replied while stepping forward, leaving her hand to slip off his shoulder. Intentionally, he made his voice sound like he couldn't care less about whatever she said or did.
Wearing an angel's smile, Erin looked him in the eye and said, "That's good to hear."
With that, the silver-haired boy couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly at Erin who after a few seconds, broke eye contact with him and started to converse with Gon.
I knew it. She reminds me of someone. Killua thought. And I really don't like this girl's vibe.
"This is the Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp," Satotz announced to all the applicants. "We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceives humans and prey upon them. Be very careful. If you let them fool you… you're dead."
Though Satotz spoke calmly, the unsettling warning still put everyone on edge.
The sound of cranking metal pulled everyone's attention towards the tunnel's exit, especially Erin. She found herself watching a desperate applicant beg and agonizingly crawl up the stairs, "Wait! Wait for me!" he screamed, almost getting a hand through the exit, but it was too late. The gate had shut close, with him left behind. The sound produced by the steel gates hauntingly reminded Erin of high metal walls screeching and groaning while chaos, blood, and gore occurred within them. The man's scream echoed in the redhead's mind as she continued to blankly stare at the gate that was now shut.
"Erin?"
Once again, Gon's voice pulled her out of a momentary trance.
"You were dozing off again. Are you really sure you're okay?"
Erin immediately replied without hesitation, "Yes, I am, Gon."
Why are these memories suddenly coming back to me at unpredictable times? Erin thought. Ever since the beginning of the Hunter Exam, these episodes have started to occur.
She vividly recalled the faces of a boy with deep blue eyes and a boy whose hair was as golden as honey. And why am I remembering those specific memories?
Thankfully for Erin, Satotz took away Gon's attention towards her as he continued to disclose more information about the swamp forest, "These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit," He said without batting an eye. "Hence, the name Swindlers Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived."
"Are you kidding?" Leorio said in a cranky voice, "How can they fool us when we're expecting it?"
"Don't let them fool you!" a man shouted from somewhere behind the crowd of applicants.
Leorio turned to the direction in which the sudden voice came from and complained in annoyance, "Ha?! I just said that they can't!"
"D-don't fall for his trick… He's lying to you!" the man who was the origin of the voice emerged from behind the tunnel's exit. He looked beaten up with a number of bruises and wounds on him. One of his hands held on to his ribs as he continued to shout, "I'm the real examiner! He's an imposter!" he pointed to Satotz.
His accusation caused murmurs to spread within the large group of applicants as confusion filled the atmosphere.
"Look," the man who claimed to be the examiner dragged something from behind the tunnel's exit. It was a creature that none of the applicants have seen before. It appeared to be dead as it was lifelessly dragged by the man. The creature had abnormally long limbs and bore the same features of a monkey. It had claws and its mouth gaped open revealing sharp teeth and a long tongue hanging from its mouth. But what really made the majority of the applicants more alert and cautious was how the creature alarmingly resembled Satotz.
"Woah! He looks like Satotz-san!" Gon exclaimed which seemed to be more of bewilderment rather than fear.
Killua merely furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the scene in suspicion.
Erin, however, tilted her head and commented, "Ohhh… I've never seen a purple monkey before." She almost sounded like she was fascinated by the bloodied creature in front of her, completely ignoring the important issue on hand.
"Seriously Erin?" Leorio looked at Erin with a perplexed face. He already knew that she was weird, still, he couldn't help but mumble, "That's what immediately came to your mind?"
"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that live in this Swamp." The man claiming to be the real examiner continued, "They love the taste of human flesh so they disguise themselves as humans," he aggressively pointed at Satotz, "That's what he's doing right now! He intends to bring you to his other companions, trap every single applicant, and devour you all!"
The crowd of applicants became more confused. A number of them still doubted the yelling man, but a lot were also starting to become convinced and were thinking of going against Satotz, including Leorio.
"Hmm…" Gon wanted to weigh the situation but he knew that doing so would take a lot of analysis and brainstorming, which wasn't exactly his forte. And so, he turned to his friend, hoping that she already held the answer to their dilemma. After all, he fully trusted that she would have already figured it all out. "Erin, what do you think?"
"Oh. He's lying," she immediately replied without batting an eye.
Killua, who was more contemptuous and was far from trusting towards Erin, raised his eyebrows and suspiciously asked her, "On what basis?"
The redhead faced him with a smile and immediately spoke, "Well –"
Before getting another word in, several cards sliced through the air as they veered towards the man claiming to be the examiner and Satotz. The former couldn't see the attack coming and he fell to the ground with a few of the cards embedded on his forehead and torso. The latter, on the other hand, effortlessly stopped the cards with his hands and tossed them away. After a few seconds, the creature that looked like it was dead suddenly stood up and pounced away in a panic.
A chuckle from the middle of the crowd drew everyone's attention. "I see~ I guess that settles it," Hisoka stated as he magically shuffled his deck of cards in the air, "You're the real one," he gestured towards Satotz. "Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter bearing the title we seek would possess the skills to block a simple attack such as that."
"I shall take that as a compliment." Satotz replied, "However, if you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner and have you disqualified. Are we clear?"
"Crystal~"
After witnessing the whole spectacle, Gon turned to Erin with an amazed grin on his face. "Woah, Erin you were right again! You're like a lie detector or something!"
"Thank you Gon," she replied sweetly, "Feel free to ask me anything anytime."
While Gon and Erin continued to converse about random things, Killua quietly observed the redhead. And the more he did, the more he started to get irritated. He couldn't tell why, but for some reason, something about Erin really bothered him. Under normal circumstances, she was the type of person that he would avoid at any cost, but since she and Gon seemed to be very close, he had no choice but to bear with her unsettling presence. In the end, he still wanted to stick around Gon since he seemed to be the most interesting thing so far, and he wasn't going to let some girl get in the way of his desire to look for fun in this boring exam.
Crows started to land on the fake examiner's body and feast on his flesh.
Leorio gulped and nervously stated to his friends, "Damn… Nature can really be brutal to watch."
"He was attempting to confuse the applicants and draw some of you away from me." Satotz pointed out. "I believe a number of you were convinced by the ploy for a moment?"
In embarrassment, Leorio chuckled and rubbed the back of his head after being struck by Satotz's comment.
"We can't relax our guard huh?" Killua murmured.
"Yeah," Gon nodded in agreement.
Satotz walked towards the corpse of the fake examiner, "What you just witnessed was an example of how cunning these creatures are," He then turned back towards the crowd and asked, "Do you understand the risk of losing sight of me in these wetlands?"
The crowd stayed silent – which was the only confirmation that he needed, "Now then, let us be on our way," he said then started to run towards the swamp forest and the dangers that awaited them.
Killua sighed, sounding like he was getting bored, and complained, "Another marathon huh?"
Gon chuckled. "At least we're outside now. Right, Erin?"
"A lot of the applicants will die. Probably more than half," The redhead morbidly commented despite the pleasant face she had.
"Really?" Gon perked up in worry. "You're usually right about this stuff y'know?"
"Yeah… That's why it's so sad…" she replied while still wearing her soft expression.
Then why are you smiling? Killua thought as a bead of sweat appeared on the temple of his head.
"Don't worry Gon, you and I aren't included in that prediction," Erin reassured the boy.
His forehead furrowed as he asked, "Just the two of us?"
"Oh, I'm sure Kurapika… and Leorio would make it."
Killua kept a bored look but noted in his head. She definitely hesitated before mentioning Leorio.
Silence.
Then Erin suddenly spoke up, "… Oh, right. And Killua too," she said daintily but didn't even bother to hide the fact that she forgot about him for a moment.
"… Thanks for the concern I guess," Killua wanted to roll his eyes but decided not to. He didn't want to show Erin that he was affected by what she said since she was starting to irk him even more. "But either way," he continued, "I'm gonna pass since this exam is such a piece of cake –"
"Ohh… Look Gon, the fog is thickening," Erin turned to Gon, showing Killua that she already wasn't tuning in to their conversation.
"Ah you're right," Gon agreed as he glanced around.
The nerve of this girl! Killua's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Erin but the silver-haired boy still kept it all in. Eventually, his exasperation died down as he started to sense something hostile in the air. He glanced behind him to find a group of applicants slowly starting to surround Hisoka. They were doing a sloppy job of hiding their plan of ganging up on Hisoka, but Killua wasn't really concerned with the other applicants. No, he was more concerned about the fact that Hisoka was enjoying their hostility towards him as if he was lusting for all the peril, blood, and killing that was about to happen.
Killua turned to Gon who was running at his right side. "Gon, I think we should move up ahead."
"Yeah," Gon replied, "We shouldn't lose sight of Satotz-san."
"I'm more concerned about increasing our distance between Hisoka. Staying close to him is dangerous. I can smell it in the air."
"Smell?" Gon sniffed at the air. "Hm… He doesn't smell though?" he then turned towards Erin once again, to ask for her 'instincts'. "What about you Erin? Can you smell him?"
Erin closed her eyes and gracefully sniffed a few times. Afterward, she opened her eyes and looked up as if she was trying to process what she just smelled. "Hmm… Rose petals… no… probably iron…"
"Hmm…" Gon sniffed again, "You can really smell that?"
"Eh. Instincts," she replied nonchalantly then turned to Gon and whimsically asked, "I'm curious though, can you smell Leorio's cologne from here?"
"Oh wait, let me try!" Gon was about to sniff at the air once more but was stopped by Killua.
"Oi! I'm being serious here alright!" Killua kept his voice down but he surely wanted to yell at Gon and Erin. Still, he couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice. "We should really put more distance between us and Hisoka as soon as possible."
"Sure, I guess…" Gon shrugged then obliviously called out behind him, "Leorio! Kurapika! Killua said that we should move up!"
"You idiot!" At this point, Killua couldn't help but yell at Gon in a scolding manner. "Can't you sense the tension surrounding us?"
It didn't seem like Erin heard Killua's warnings since she also started to shout back at the grumpy man, "Leorio! I can't smell your cologne from here! You probably bought a cheap one!"
"Oi!" Killua yelled at Erin as she innocently smiled back at him. Killua scrunched his face at her and complained in his head. There's no way that this girl is as dense as Gon. She's probably just making fun of me!
"Gon, you moron! If I had the strength then I'd be way ahead of you guys!" Leorio's voice blared out from far behind the three kids then continued, "And Erin! What the hell are you talking about?! This isn't really the time for that!"
His voice was followed by Kurapika who then reassured them and said, "Gon! Erin! Don't worry about us! Go ahead, we'll catch up!"
"Aw…" Gon expressed disappointment since he wanted to run alongside all of his friends, especially since the trail ahead was going to be a dangerous one.
"They'll be fine, Gon." Erin reassured him, "They're not weak," she lied.
I wonder if Leorio would make it? Erin wondered in thought without a hint of worry or care.
"Let's go, Gon," Killua said as he sped up further away from Hisoka, while Gon and Erin followed the silver-haired boy.
"I hear people screaming all around us," Gon commented with slight concern in his voice.
The three kids had already been running for quite a while in the thick fog. They have lost sight of Satotz and the front runners but all of them kept their cool.
"Just stay on your guard," Killua continued to look ahead without seeming to be affected by all the agonizing screams that the three of them have been hearing.
Erin glanced at Gon who was running between her and Killua then asked, "Are you worried about Kurapika and Leorio?"
After the redhead mentioned their names, Gon wasn't able to hide how worried he was for them and now wore an upset expression, "Yeah. I am."
The three kids continued to run for a few seconds until Erin suddenly slowed down her pace and stopped. Gon and Killua noticed what she did and so they also halted from running. The two boys were now standing a few feet ahead as they looked back at her with a perplexed look as to why she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The boys were about to speak up and question her but immediately noticed that something was off with the landscape that they were currently standing on. They might have had an extremely observant nature to quickly notice Erin's actions and the change of landscape, but it looked like their reflexes came short when a small patch of land suddenly dropped down, leaving the two boys standing on nothing and slowly falling down into a hole.
Erin quickly lunged for Gon and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the edge of the hole. Swiftly, at the same time, she also reached out her other hand to Killua.
Time seemed to slow down for Killua as he internally debated whether to accept her help or escape from falling into the hole all by himself – after all, he could easily do the latter. But Erin wore a genuinely concerned expression as she held out her hand to him. After that fraction of a second of Killua's inner tug of war, he instinctively reached out to Erin's hand. However, as he attempted to take a hold of it, he found himself grabbing unto nothing.
What!?
The silver-haired boy realized that Erin missed the timing of when to grab his hand and also seized thin air. He moved his gaze towards the redhead's face and saw her staring him down once again – looking completely ominous and he could swear that he saw the corners of her mouth go up ever so slightly as if to mock him. And then he knew, she missed his hand on purpose.
This b*tch!
Killua could have easily jumped out of the hole himself, even if Erin intentionally missed his hand, but at that time, he was too preoccupied with being pissed off at her actions, so he missed the opportunity to avoid being swallowed up by the gigantic frog that emerged from the hole.
Erin, while grabbing Gon, jumped away from the unusual creature.
"Oh no! Killua!" Gon shouted and immediately pulled out his fishing rod. With a giant leap, he was now soaring towards the frog that was now crawling away, and once he reached the surface of its head, he swung down his rod with full strength. However, the attack seemed to have no effect on the frog whatsoever and only resulted in Gon being blown back towards the direction he jumped from, and safely landing beside Erin.
"Are you okay?" Erin asked Gon as he immediately stood up.
"Yeah!" He assured her then said, "We have to get Killua out quickly!"
Once again, the boy repeated the same attack but tried it on a different part of the frog's body. Still, to no avail, the same result happened and he winded up back to Erin, "Its body is like jelly. He's absorbing all my hits!"
Despite what he said, Gon continued to attack and find other ways to immobilize the frog. Because of that, Gon was unaware of how Erin wasn't doing anything at all to help him. Just like all the other times, she would have episodes of memories, she was blankly staring at the sight occurring before her eyes.
Suddenly, the frog stopped crawling and acted oddly. It looked constipated and tried to hold in whatever was down its throat but in the end, the frog vomited gallons of bile along with a drenched Killua.
After vomiting, the frog continued to crawl away as if nothing happened.
"Killua!" Gon ran towards his friend who was still sitting in a puddle of vomit. He looked extremely pissed off but of course, it was understandable. Although Gon didn't know that part of the reason why he looked that way was because of a certain redhead.
Gon rubbed the back of his head and attempted to joke, "I guess it didn't like how you tasted huh Killua?"
"No, it was because of this," Killua then pulled out a can of juice.
Gon beamed in recognition of the object in Killua's hand, "Ah! Tonpa-san's juice!"
"It probably vomited because of this," the silver-haired boy coolly threw the can into the puddle while standing up, "Well, I could've escaped myself pretty easily."
"I guess we have to thank Tonpa-san for saving you huh?" Gon laughed while Erin slowly walked closer behind him.
Killua glared at the redhead who was staring at him in an emotionless manner as she moved closer.
Gon, who was completely oblivious of what transpired between his two friends, turned to Erin, "Thanks for the quicksave Erin! Being covered in vomit would've really sucked."
Killua was still glaring at her and so he also noticed how she suddenly snapped out of the empty state she was in once she heard Gon's voice. Immediately, her smile returned as she nodded at Gon then looked at Killua.
"I'm sorry Killua," Her soft and innocent voice grated his ears, "I couldn't grab you on time."
Killua didn't even bother to hide how he narrowed his eyes at her, "I see."
So that's how you want to play huh? The silver-haired boy thought then started to walk away. Fine by me.
"What is it Gon?" Killua looked behind to ask the boy in green. He was starting to get bothered by how Gon was constantly darting his eyes behind him as the three of them continued to run.
"I'm just worried about Kurapika and Leorio."
"Forget about them." Killua insensitively replied then looked back towards the front.
The silver-haired boy was running ahead of Gon and Erin, while the redhead was keeping close to Gon but still ran a little bit ahead of him as well. She wanted to run beside Gon but he told her that it would be best if they ran in a single file so that the three of them wouldn't be singlehandedly attacked by some creature. He said that if one of them noticed something off, then that person could immediately warn the others or escape any attack. Erin heeded his suggestion and was now consistently looking behind her to check on Gon.
She then decided to look towards Killua.
This boy... His name seems very familiar.
Erin looked back at Gon for a moment and found him still wearing a worried expression.
Tsk… I knew those two would be a hindrance. They're affecting Gon this much already. She turned to Killua once again. And this boy… I don't know why but he somehow keeps on bringing out the Sparrow… But that just means he is very dangerous… not a good companion for Gon at all. But how do I keep him away? He's already been smitten by the 'Gon-magnet' as well… Oh well, I'll figure something out. Killua will just be more of a thorn compared to the others. Hm… Killua… Killua… Killua… Kill –
Erin stopped in her tracks as she finally remembered why his name seemed so familiar to her. Coincidentally, Killua also halted from running and exclaimed, "Oh nice! It's the main group," he turned back and called out, "Gon! We finally found the –" the silver-haired boy then raised his eyebrows and mumbled, "Huh? Where'd he go?"
Erin widened her eyes ever so slightly and whipped her head behind her only to find no one there.
Killua asked, "You didn't notice him go wherever the hell he –"
The redhead didn't even let him finish his sentence as she vanished in a blink of an eye.
Killua sighed. Off to save Gon's ass huh? He thought while running towards the main group. What a b*tch.
"I… made it in time…" the boy in green said while panting from how fast he ran. He was now holding out his fishing rod and kept a defensive stance against Hisoka.
The magician, who was now surprised by the unprecedented attack, gazed at the boy and said, "Not bad, little boy…. Is that a fishing rod? What a fascinating weapon," He started to walk towards him slowly, "Allow me a closer look."
"Your fight is with me!" Leorio yelled and attempted to attack Hisoka only to be knocked out cold by a single punch from the magician.
Hisoka turned towards the boy in green once again, "You came to rescue your friend?"
The boy started to swing his rod and aimed his hook at Hisoka who suddenly disappeared. "Such a good boy…" the magician's voice crept behind the boy's ear to which he instantly reacted and swung his rod behind him. Hisoka's body merely evaporated into smoke then suddenly materialized at another location. The boy in green immediately acted and swung his hook at Hisoka who effortlessly dodged each attack that was thrown at him from a distance, "And that expression… Nice… Very nice… I'm getting excited now…"
With a shout of determination, the boy swung the string of his rod towards Hisoka with what seemed like his full strength. The magician readied himself to dodge the hook nearing him. But then, it suddenly dropped to the ground – its impact leaving a bunch of dirt flying up to block Hisoka's view, a misdirection that the boy planned out. He was quick on his feet as he immediately arrived behind the magician and braced himself to swing down hard at Hisoka. His attack came short as he realized that Hisoka was now holding him up with his right hand – choking him. The boy dropped his rod and tried to pull apart the fingers gripping his throat. He continued to struggle and kick around in a futile effort.
Hisoka who maniacally widened his grin at the boy he was choking ravished in the pleasure of the sight. Ah~ how I love that look…
All of a sudden, a wave of strong hostility made Hisoka quickly turn his eyes to his right, towards the menacing aura's direction. But then as if it never appeared, the ominous source completely vanished.
Though initially cautious, Hisoka raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Well ~ well…
Then in an instant, Hisoka swiftly tilted back his head, barely dodging the knife that came flying out of nowhere dead straight towards his head from the opposite direction of the hostile source. Of course, Hisoka then moved his attention towards the direction where the knife came from.
Without a warning, a small figure appeared on his right side. The figure belonged to a girl with bright red hair.
Hisoka was caught by surprise as he quickly turned to the figure that he spotted from his peripheral vision.
The knife was a decoy. He realized as the girl swiftly readied herself in a position to kick him in the face.
She's fast. Hisoka noted and started to analyze how he was going to handle the incoming attack. In just less than a second, he could see that it would be too late to block her kick with his left hand that was free compared to the other one that was holding the boy up and choking him, and so he decided to drop the boy to the ground in order to use his right arm to block the attack.
Hisoka immediately let go of the boy and moved to block the redheaded girl's kick.
But her attack never made contact with him.
The girl just strongly swung her leg down, missing Hisoka by a few inches. The latter realized that in swiftly connected movements, she only used the momentum of her kick to land beside the boy, wrap her arm around his chest, and jump as far away as possible from the magician while carrying the boy in green.
Hm~ she purposefully attacked from the right after the decoy so that I would drop the boy… How interesting…
Once the two kids landed in a safe distance, the redhead protectively crouched in front of the boy while facing Hisoka, her right arm extended with him behind it.
"Gon, are you alright?" she asked with a monotonous voice but still kept her eyes on Hisoka.
The boy coughed a little but managed to reply, "Un…"
Hisoka watched the redhead in interest as he smirked widely. Ah~ it seems we have another one here… Another fruit that has yet to ripen~ His eyes tried to trace the expression that the girl wore, but he saw nothing. Even though she was currently facing a threatening man oozing peril, she wore an expressionless face – there was nothing to be read from it. For it was all empty. Almost dead.
Hisoka grew even more curious as he wondered if the little girl standing protectively in front of Gon was the source of the menacing aura he felt a while ago.
Hm… Perhaps this one's already ripe enough?
Hisoka's grin grew even further and he was about to make his way towards the redhead but a ringing sound stopped him. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a device that looked like a walkie-talkie. He pressed a button and listened to the distorted voice that came out of it.
"Alright," he seriously replied and placed the device back into his pocket. He turned towards the two kids who have now attracted his attention. The girl was still in the same position while Gon was now panting as he tried to keep himself upright by placing both arms and knees on the ground. He looked at Hisoka with a mix of emotions – fear, caution, wariness, and… a hint of excitement.
"Gon, right?" he asked the boy but received no reply. Nevertheless, he didn't need a confirmation since he heard the redhead call out the boy's name earlier. "How wonderful…" Hisoka purred, "I really do love that look…"
He then turned his gaze towards the redhead and asked "Your name?"
The girl blinked at him without giving away anything that would allow him to read her face.
But then, she tilted her head while keeping eye contact with him, as if she was also looking at something that piqued her interest, the same way that Hisoka was curious of the two of them.
"Erin." She replied tediously.
Hisoka smoothly crossed his arms and said, "Do not fear, I will not kill your friend. He passed," he gestured to Leorio then slowly waved his hand at Gon and Erin and continued, "Yes, the two of you pass, as well. Grow up and become fine Hunters."
Hisoka then slowly stalked towards Leorio.
Gon and Erin strictly kept their eyes on the magician as he crouched down and placed Leorio's unconscious body over his shoulder. "It's always good to have friends…" he said in a slur, "You two can find your own way back, yes?"
Gon slowly nodded at him while Erin continued to watch without any reaction.
"That's a good boy…" Hisoka told Gon and looked at Erin, "I'll leave it to you to take care of him since that's what you want… little ginger~" he purred then walked away.
As Hisoka's figure disappeared into the fog, Kurapika's voice filled the silence surrounding the two kids.
"Gon! Erin! Are you alright?"
Gon finally snapped out of whatever he was feeling and slowly stood up while trembling. Kurapika finally arrived and stopped in his tracks.
"I'm fine," Erin told Kurapika who was now panting in front of the two kids. She then turned towards Gon, "Are you hurt in any way?"
Gon shook his head, "I'm fine. We should quickly find the next exam site and make sure Leorio's okay."
Erin and Kurapika nodded then followed Gon as he led the way.
"This way."
"You can really tell?" the Kurta asked in curiosity.
"Yeah," Gon replied while still in some sort of daze, "Leorio's cologne is very unique. I can smell him from a few kilometers away."
"I guess that answers my question," Erin informed Gon who weakly chuckled after hearing her comment.
Silence filled the air for a few seconds until Gon spoke up, "Say, Kurapika… What did Hisoka mean when he said that we passed?"
Kurapika thought about it for a moment then replied, "Hisoka might have been acting like a judge."
"A judge?"
"Yes, He must have his own benchmarks for evaluating the power of a person. It's possible that he was ascertaining each applicant's strength. Apparently, you, Erin, and Leorio must have met his standards."
"But… I was powerless against him. Unlike Erin," Gon sounded dejected as he stated that fact.
"I never managed to hit him though…" Erin attempted to cheer up Gon.
"Didn't you land your first hit on him?" Kurapika asked as he also attempted to do the same thing Erin tried.
"Only because I surprised him. Besides, Leorio passed, even though he lost…"
"Hm… Perhaps he sensed that you were kindred spirits."
"Kindred spirits?" Gon asked.
Me? A kindred spirit? Erin questioned in her mind as well. I am fully certain that it was not because of that reason.
"I seriously doubt that Hisoka could qualify as a Hunter," Kurapika bluntly stated, "However, I must admit that he did impress me with his superhuman agility and graceful techniques. It's quite common that those who possess special talents are drawn to others with unique gifts. Most likely, Hisoka's polished instincts and experience told him that you three had the potential to become Hunters. Killing you guys now would have been a waste… That was his perspective."
The Kurta realized only after he said those words, that he might have been too blunt. "Oh, I'm sorry! Was that insensitive on my part?"
"No… But I was pretty excited as well," Gon shared to his friends without any filter at all, "I was scared, I wanted to run away. But I couldn't. And at the same time, I was excited. Isn't that strange?" He glanced at Erin and Kurapika with eyes that were full of excitement then looked back at the front.
Kurapika was initially taken by surprise but slightly smiled at the optimistic boy's statement. Erin, on the other hand, held an empty expression as she slowly realized how she did not find the words that came out of Gon's mouth to be ideal and pleasant for her.
"Oh. Looks like we made it in time," Kurapika stated as the three of them finally arrived at the place where the main group of applicants was stopping by.
A lot of the applicants were exhausted and rested on the ground.
But instead of resting, the first thing that Gon did was look for Leorio.
"Leorio…" he murmured then noticed someone's gaze fixed on him. He turned towards its direction and found Hisoka leaning under a tree, smiling at him while pointing to a certain direction.
Gon followed the direction to which the magician pointed at and found Leorio slumped over on the ground under a tree shade. "Leorio!"
Gon, Erin, and Kurapika ran towards a slightly unconscious Leorio.
"Man… That hurts…" Leorio rubbed his cheek which was now swelling very badly, "Why the heck am I all beat up?"
"Huh?" Gon and Kurapika expressed at the same time.
"My memory's kinda hazy..."
The Kurta leaned in to whisper at Gon's ear, "I think it's best not to tell him what really happened."
"Yeah…" the boy agreed and chuckled awkwardly.
"Did you guys see what happened to me?" Leorio darted his eyes between the three standing in front of him.
"Eh…?" Gon, who was not an expert at making up excuses or lying, struggled to look for the right words, "U-uh… You see…"
"You tripped and fell down a really long cliff. I'm surprised that you're still alive," Erin told him with the purest voice.
"Ha?! I think I would remember if something that extreme happened to me y'know!"
Once again, Leorio and Erin started to bicker back and forth.
"You must've bumped your head too hard."
"You've got to be kidding me! Only an idiot would be THAT clumsy!"
"… Oh… So you are aware…"
"AWARE OF WHAT?!"
Killua's voice suddenly caught Gon's attention.
"Gon!" The boy who was called out turned to Killua, not minding the bickering that was happening between Erin and Leorio, "Ah! Killua!"
"I can't believe you actually got here… I thought you were done for,"
"I just tracked Leorio's cologne."
"Cologne?! That was how?" Killua slouched down and stared at Gon with a dumbfounded expression, "You definitely are weird."
"Excellent work everyone!" Satotz called out to the crowd, "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. With that, I shall take my leave. I wish the best of luck to everyone."
After his final words, the first phase examiner ran back towards the forest as the applicants looked on to his disappearing figure.
A few seconds later, the enormous gates that seemed to be the entrance for the Second Phase started to open.
Within it came a loud and strong female voice, "Will all applicants who passed the First Phase enter?"
All the applicants followed the woman's instructions and they all stood before two people. One of them, the woman, was sitting on a luxurious couch and announced, "Welcome! I'm Menchi."
The other, who was extremely large and didn't seem to have the normal size of a human being, was sitting behind Menchi, "And I'm Buhara," he enthusiastically introduced himself.
"We will be your examiners for Phase Two!"
Author's note: Hey everyone! Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter coz' I sure did enjoy writing it hahaha. Anyways, please feel free to leave any questions or thoughts in the review section. I would love to interact with my readers and answer your queries; of course, as long as they're spoiler-free *wink*
See you all next chapter and I hope you'll stick around for more!
Stay safe! Thanks! God bless! And have a Merry Christmas!
