A/N: Soo I got into the HunterxHunter fandom. I wanted to make a mature story (because my character has a pretty bad potty mouth). I wanted to do something original, and I noticed that not a lot of fics has a Pokkle story, or any character related to him. That being said, please enjoy this first chapter! Let me know what ya'll think, and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Ch.1: Hunter Exam (Phase One)

"Kai, you lazy bones!" I turned around at being addressed with a bottle of beer in my hands. Then, I was slapped hard across the face. I hadn't felt it due to my inebriated state, which caused the woman in front of me to become even madder. I looked up at my land lady with my mouth open in shock.

This crazy bitch…This crazy bitch managed to track me across town to my favorite bar.

She went to slap me again, but I rose my slightly tanned hands in the air. "Whoa! Okay, alright!" I was smacked back to being sober. "What do you want? Jesus…" I turned around, which made the guys that were trying to flirt with me all back off. We had caused an A class commotion now. My medium length pink hair fell in front of my face.

"You're slipping on your rent!"

"Crazy witch, I just paid that!" I yelled back, which she gave me a glare. I took a small glance at the wall calendar that was hanging up. Then I blinked my eyes once as they zeroed in on the current date. Holy shit it was the fifth of the month. I'm surprised that she waited this long to come and track me down.

"Okay, I paid that last month."

She tapped her foot impatiently. I hated the overweight, short, petite frowning woman in front of me. She only talks to me when she needs money. I stood up and looked up at the ceiling. I hated this woman. "I get it. I'll pay rent." I whined out, much unlike how a twenty year old should act.

"It's too late Kaila," the woman spoke. I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "I tossed your stuff on the street." I looked at his woman silently, but rolled my eyes. "Fortunately for you, your brother showed up to take it." I nodded and gave a middle finger up in the air. She narrowed her eyes at me. "Let this be an eye opener for you. This world doesn't run on free money!"

She turned to walk away. "Ah, fuck you too, you old cow!" I yelled, giving her the bird with a grim frown. I took my leather jacket from the back of the bar chair and slung it over my shoulder. "Might as well get my stuff. Too bad that my luck doesn't happen all the time…" I grimaced, slipping my hands into my pant pockets. "Great. Now I have to see my brother…" Rolling my eyes, I kicked the ground.

"The hell is a Hunter exam?" I asked, looking at the printed sheet of paper that he handed me. This sounded like something that was going to be more trouble than it was worth. I looked up at him with a scowl. "Why do I need to do this with you? Isn't this something that you want?"

Pokkle looked at me with his arms crossed. He wasn't wearing his pink colored beanie, which was a good thing for me. I hated seeing that nasty thing on his head. If you ask me, the kid had a bit of a sister complex with me. He wanted to match my hair color so subtly – it was as cute as it was disgusting. "Yeah, but you owe me, big sis."

I raised my hand up. I gave it a dismissive wave. "Egh. I'm not a Hunter. I'm not a fighter. I'm only good at gambling half the time and look where that got me." I chuckled, leaning back in the blue sofa that he owned with my feet resting on his coffee table. I stretched my arms on the back of the couch. "I'd be out the first round. You really want someone to help you? How about making friends within the exam?"

"Take this seriously!" He shoved my legs off the coffee table, causing my entire body to move. I slammed my hands down on the couch cushions so I wouldn't fall. I glared over at him and pouted. "I can teach you how to shoot with bow and arrows."

"Yeah, I don't know, I think I'd prefer a gun," I rose my hand in the air and mimicked my thumb and index finger as if it were a handgun. I raised it and then shot him with it. It was a playful manner, but I felt something hot start to form in my hand and I shook it out.

That was fucking odd.

Not to mention creepy.

I frowned heavily, and Pokkle let out a groan of frustration. "Join the club, bro. Life disappoints. So do I, so I'm not sure why you tried to do me any favors…" I raised my pinky finger into my ear and scrubbed away some of the hidden earwax that was inside of it. Looking around for a tissue, I just resorted to wiping it behind the couch discreetly. "We aren't even close. You know this shit is mad awkward, too."

"Please, Kaila. This is going to be my second time taking this damn test. I need your support."

I blew out a raspberry. "That's funny. If I still had my apartment, we still wouldn't be talking, and you wouldn't even be telling me this." I stood up from the couch and crossed my arms. "You're only trying to convince me to do this, and I'm the master at deception," My pink hair fell in front of my shoulders. "It isn't even working, bee tee dubs."

"Kaila, do this for your only family that you have left…"

"Bitch, you ain't shit to me. I don't give a damn if you take the test and I don't give a damn if you don't. Fuck off, I'm going to sleep in the bathroom." I waved him off but he stood up suddenly causing me to stop walking. I didn't have an ounce of anything towards him. I didn't love my brother. I was the black sheep of the family. He was the honorably prodigal son – our father would be so proud.

We continued standing silently. I let out a huff – maybe I did care a little. If he somehow died or got seriously injured I would feel guilty. "Okay, fine, I'll-!" I turned around, about to say that I would do it, but the instant I did he slapped me hard across the face. My eyes widened and he let out a shrill gasp, as though he couldn't believe what he had done. I was frozen in that spot for a bit. He took a step forward, raising his hands up defensively.

"I…I thought you were going to say no…" Pokkle stated, and I blinked my eyes, my face still being slightly numb from my binge drinking night. "Kai, I-I'm sorry."

I nodded my head and licked my dry lips. "I deserve that," I spoke, and he slowly relaxed. "Get me a bow or whatever. We can do an archer duo." I rolled my eyes, and he grinned. I hadn't seen him grin at me since we were kids. "Okay, that's creeping me out. No more of…" I waved my hand towards his face. "No more of that." I dug my hands in my pockets and started to walk towards the bathroom to sleep.

I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes annoyingly as we stepped out of the elevator. "It's a good thing that I kind of knew where to go, right, Kai?" Pokkle spoke, and I blinked at him with irritation. We had been running around since two in the morning trying to find the right testing center. I gave him a moody glare and then quickly looked away from him. My medium length pink hair falling in front of my shoulders as I did so.

"Here are your badge numbers. Try not to lose them over the course of the exam." Came a reply from one of the proctors. It looked like a damn frog – what the hell was that thing. It was green. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep that was causing me to hallucinate the odd looking life form. I looked away from the green blob man and instead towards my brother. He was holding out the number 54 badge for me to take.

"Why the hell do you get to be 53?" I questioned, looking my brother up and down. He had decided to wear the weirdest get-up that was so outdated. I couldn't tell if it was something that he gathered together from his larping sessions, or if he just in general didn't have a fashion sense. It looked like he was still on the small island that we grew up in.

"You wouldn't have even gotten the right directions if I hadn't forced the guide to tell us."

Pokkle let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, this is sort of my thing. Why would you be 53 when you didn't want to be here in the first place?"

I opened up my mouth to talk but then closed it and nodded. I really didn't even want to be here. I wondered how long I would have to last before it was acceptable to drop out.

"Fair enough," I took the button and pinned it on my dark red shirt that was underneath my unzipped black leather jacket. The strap that held the quiver of arrows to my back was almost in the way of the button, but I figured that it would be safe enough.

I started to scratch the back of my head, wondering when the test would finally start.

"You remembered to pack the arrows that have tranquilization oil on them, right?" Pokkle whispered, leaning towards my ear, only further annoying the shit out of me. I pushed him away with one arm, and he slid against the concrete easily.

"Yeah…" I trailed. "Why do you even have that kind of shit? Are you into some weird human trafficking?" Pokkle quickly placed his hands up. He looked around to see that some of the participants were giving him odd looks. His face started to flush at the embarrassment that I knew that I was causing him. "Should I be concerned, or should I be telling the police you sick fuck?"

He shook his head. "No, Kai, it isn't like that!" I looked at him in disbelief. "I want to be a Hunter of Fantastic Beasts. I-It's necessary for my future career!"

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Y-You don't believe me?!" Pokkle spoke, almost crying it out.

I looked at him with disinterest. "I don't care anymore," I looked around the tunnel to find that most of it was deserted with not a lot of participants roaming around. The ones that had looked at the two of us during the odd conversation were now walking away. I spotted an empty wall and sat down against it, bringing my head back to rest my eyes. It wasn't that bright down here, and not a lot of talking was being done.

It was a perfect spot for a nap – I could sleep just about anywhere.

"Hey there, are you a newbie?" Came a voice. I ignored it, I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes and look at the man that was currently disrupting my sleep. If I kept my silence, he should get bored and walk away. Clearly I didn't want to be bothered. "Hello! Are you awake?"

I cracked an eye open to look at the man that was talking to me. He was fat, and short. I instantly didn't like him – that fat landlady paled in comparison to this large oaf. "Fuck. Off." I spat out towards him, and he seemed taken aback by my curt tone.

He even let out a flinch – what a fucking pansy.

I closed my eye and felt my brother's familiar presence sit down by me. I furrowed my eyebrows together – how the hell did I know that it was my brother that was sitting beside me? Something weird was going on with my body now that I was talking to my brother again. I wasn't sure that I liked it too much – it seemed like too much of a headache.

"I fell for one of his tricks the last time I took the Hunter exam. I made it to the second phase before I…" He fell silent, as if trying to find the right verbiage to use. "Passed out."

"I am ashamed to call you kin," I spoke and Pokkle let out a snort. It seemed as though he was becoming less and less offended by my hostile quips and jabs at him. The atmosphere between us was becoming too friendly – I wasn't sure if I really wanted to keep it up.

I was on my own since I was fifteen – I didn't really need anyone else.

Then, I felt it.

As though someone wanted to cut me up in seventeen different ways. I would often get a similar feeling in casinos and bars all the time – but to feel it right here, underneath one hundred floors of concrete, with little to no room to escape…Oh yeah, no, that isn't very good. Time to see which one of these freaks has that feeling to them.

"Pok…" I stated, not opening up my eyes. "Do they let killers take this exam?" I spoke, loud enough for him and the rest of the fifty people to hear it.

"Kai…" He spoke in a whisper again. I opened my eyes – why was someone with the same blood as me this weak and shy? It was disgusting – if you appear like that, especially in a place like this then you'll just be taken out early. "You need to quiet your voice," he reprimanded me, but I merely rolled my eyes at his order. He refrained from letting out a sigh. "But, yes. Killers can take it, too. This exam isn't just limited to good Samaritans."

I zoned into the red haired man that was currently leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. If I was concerned about my brother's fashion sense, this guy looks like he belongs in a comic book. A comic book villain from the last century by the looks of him.

As if he could sense my gaze on him, he opened his eyes to reveal chilling, yellow eyes. I rose an eyebrow, and he smirked back in response. We stared at each other before I frowned and was about to give him the bird, but my brother held my arm down. "Kai!" He straight up hissed into my ear. I felt a splatter of spit fall onto my cheek, and I pushed him away while letting out a yell of disgust from within my throat. I might be doing this exam with him, but that did not mean that I wanted his blood, sweat, and tears (or spit) anywhere on my body!

"Don't antagonize him!" He tried to whisper, but my hand was clenched around his right cheek, pulling him away from me.

"Why the hell not?" I asked, and my brother looked around the tunnels at the other participants. It seemed that they were trying to mind their own business but were failing completely at it. I glared at anyone that dared to look in our direction. "This is why you failed last year. You need to stick up for yourself. This is so pathetic!" I hissed out.

Pokkle swallowed and looked over at the red haired man. "That's Hisoka…He tried to kill one of the proctor's last year."

I blinked and then looked at my brother. "…Really? So the proctors here are garbage?"

"That's what you took away from that sentence?" Pokkle asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. "No, that's not it! That guy is bad news!"

"Yeah, he's bad news. You see the way he's dressed?" I asked, pointing a hand towards Hisoka's direction, but my brother caught my arm in a vice like grip of his and quickly pulled it down to rest on my leg. "For the record, you aren't dressed much better. I can't believe I let you leave the apartment looking like that."

Pokkle frowned. "I like this outfit."

"Does it make you feel empowered?" I asked with mild boredom, the topic of Hisoka long since gone in my mind. I stared up at the color of his beanie and then smirked coyly. "Did you seriously get a pink beanie to match your big sister's hair color?"

"N-No!" He yelled, quickly standing up in frustration. There were now a lot more participants that were in the tunnel. "S-Screw you, Kaila. I'm going to find someone else to talk to." I waved at him half-heartedly only moving my fingers up and down in a solid motion. He clenched his teeth before quickly turning on his heels and walking away.

I lowered my hand back down to my legs and rested my head back against the cement wall. I didn't know how much longer until the exam was going to start, but there must have been hundreds of people in the tunnel now. It was hard to believe how much time had passed just by talking to my brother. I guess deep down, I must have missed talking to him.

I certainly did miss roasting him whenever I could.

I let out a sly smile before shrugging my shoulders loosely. Then, it dropped as more people clouded my field of view. Still, the objective here is to gather strong allies that could watch your back. It might have been a competition and individual exam, but only chumps truly believe that they can be successful all on their own. I had to get Pokkle to go and talk to people and hopefully make connections – I was absolutely useless at this type of stuff.

It was really my style, and I doubt it ever would be.

Letting out a small sigh, I raised a leg up to readjust my spot on the ground. It was a good thing that Pokkle's apartment was paid off by our father. Despite the result that happens during this test, I would still be able to mooch off of my brother until I could stabilize myself financially. Our father has high hopes for my brother. He believes that he can be successful. That's why, I wasn't given any handouts since I moved out of the main house when I was fifteen.

No one would waste resources on a nowhere investment.

There was a scream from somewhere in front of me, and I frowned before hopping quickly to my feet. I had been sitting here for the past couple of hours in my own self-loathing thoughts. This had better be on the money entertainment!

I must have looked a little too eager because some of the people parted in time to let me see a man with his arms slowly being disintegrated into pink flower petals. I watched in pure amazement and not terror like the other people were. It seemed as though my ears had gone deaf to the man's agonized screeching and wailing. He was drooling from how much screaming he was doing, and his eyes were wide with tears flowing out of them.

But who cared about his face?

His arms – what the hell was going on with his arms?

"Oh, look at that," came a man's voice. It sounded warped, and full of lure. As though he wanted everyone to pay attention to him. He welcomed a fight – I could hear it in his tone. I glanced over to find the red haired man dressed like a jester with a hand on his waist. The man that looked like a comic book villain. Hisoka – that was his name. "It looks as though the man's arms are disappearing." A smirk was playing on his lips – as though he were enjoying it.

I continued to watch the flower petals drop from the man's arms to the ground. I took another step forward – what the hell was the trick? There had to be a trick, people's arms didn't just turn into fucking flower petals. Taking another step, I hadn't realized that I was the only one now within the circle aside from Hisoka and the man that was losing his arms.

"It's no trick, I assure you," Hisoka's voice continued. There was unbridled joy in his tone. I slowly looked away from the man and took a step back. I must have had a face of confusion, because the jester's yellow eyes were focused on me for a split second. The instant that our eyes connected, I felt a pang of fear go through my entire body. It was as though he was silently telling me that he could hurt anyone that he wanted to – and there wouldn't be a single thing I could do about it.

I took another step back to fade into the crowd, never looking away from him. A smirk appearing on his face before he turned around. "When you bump into someone, you should at the very least apologize."

When he was walking away, I hadn't even realized that he was wearing high heeled boots. I stared at his retreating figure – I didn't know what to make of the guy. I couldn't shake the taste of sugar in my mouth though. I spit on the ground, eager to get the sweet taste out of it…I didn't know where it came from.

The entire tunnel was brought to life with hushed whispers. The sounds of the man's screaming stopped, and he had passed out from either the pain or the shock. He might have even been dead, but that didn't concern me. Besides, if I try and help the man, then people might think that I had something to do with it. I certainly look and act like the type to try and kill other participants.

I felt someone running towards me – their intent was to get to me. Taking an arrow from the quiver, I armed it, hiding it from the unsuspecting individual. My leather jacket sleeve did that perfectly. "Kai!" Pokkle yelled, and I instantly let out a sigh of relief.

I placed the arrow back to its quiver as soon as my brother rounded the corner of people. "It's just you."

"What were you going to do with that?" My brother pointed to the arrow that I had just dropped back into the quiver. I waved off his question with a shake of my head. He knew that I wasn't going to answer the question and chose to drop it. "Are you okay? You were so close to that…" His words trailed, he didn't know how else to explain it.

Honestly, neither did I.

"It's best if you stay away from Hisoka."

I nodded. "It's not like I was going to run up and give him a hug…" I crossed my arms. "I get a weird feeling from him. Like, he'll stab me with a knife thirty times. Then…" I pursed my lips in thought. "He'll chew bubble gum or something." I rolled my eyes at the weird sensation. Not to mention the taste of sugar from my mouth wasn't completely gone. "After that…he'll build a card tower on top of my corpse."

My brother looked at me with one of his eyes squinted. "You okay?"

"Probably not, no…" I made a small face. This entire exam was causing me to feel and see things that I never want to witness again. I saw the way he was still looking at me with concern. Then I steered the conversation into one where I could openly complain. "This exam better get started quickly or I'm going to pull out. Seeing a man's arms being disintegrated was enough action for one day. Plus, I'm dead ass tired."

"Wouldn't want you to be alive ass tired," Pokkle muttered out with a small grimace.

I narrowed my eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to…?" I began to ask but was prevented when there were heavy footsteps. I blinked my eyes as I saw a man – a very skinny man – appear from walking out of one of the elevators. His walking motion was almost mechanical. "Who the hell is that?" I pointed at the man rudely, but I had given up on manners since I turned fifteen.

"My name is Satotz. I am the examiner for phase one. Follow me," he instructed. I looked to try and find his mouth but couldn't. It must have been covered by his long, luscious mustache. I glanced over at my brother, who let out a shrug. I rose my eyebrows up for a few seconds before I followed after the man. Not very far in front of me was Hisoka, who was almost following directly behind the mystery man.

I cringed before keeping my distance, making sure that my brother didn't advance too far to the front. We kept in time walking with the man, before he started to take longer strides. I made a face and then started to sprint suddenly, much to my own annoyance. "Pok, you didn't say we had to fucking run!" I spoke in irritation.

Pokkle shrugged. "No test is ever the same."

"This is such bullshit…" I muttered out, trying to not fall out of place where I was. "I'm running on three hours of sleep. I'm going to strangle you…" I continued to mutter, and although my brother couldn't hear exactly what I was saying, he was getting the feeling as though he were in danger. He chuckled nervously and did his best to keep his distance from me as well.

"Follow me if you want to get to the second phase."

"What about the first?"

The man was silent for a moment. "This is the first phase. Follow me."

I clenched my fists. "Bullshit-bullshit-bullshit-!" I whispered harshly through my own clenched teeth. I continued to run, keeping mostly to the front of the herd. My brother was starting to slow down, but I gripped his arm in a vice like grip suddenly. I didn't even know how I could do it that quickly – but I summed it up to rage. "No, you don't get to drop out! We're fucking running!"

"That dude's girlfriend has his balls tied, my guy…" Some random guy said behind me. I could hear his condescending laughter, which only further irked me further. I was in no mood to deal with sly comments like that.

I turned around and brought out a kick, causing him to fall to the ground with other people hopping and moving around the fallen man. My teeth were clenched and I was seething. "I'm his sister, you disgusting mother fucker!" I was seeing red now, but I turned to the front and calmed myself down. I let go of my brother whose eyes were wide from fear and he kept in time with me. He wasn't even thinking about slowing down now.

I caught a glance of yellow eyes and a pale face. It turned around, but I didn't miss the smile on his face. I didn't know where to place it – that man is Hisoka. Was it a smile of glee or amusement? I shook my head quickly to quell my thoughts.

Ignore him, Kai.

You just have to focus on getting your lazy brother to that finishing line – that's it. After this phase you can drop out and go back to his shithole apartment. Then order as much pizza and porn as you want and that's fine. Also, buy an entire liquor store from the credit card that you stole from his wallet.

I smiled slyly at that – yeah, that sounds like a good night.

"Can we…" Pokkle called out. "Slow down…" He panted. "Please?"

"No. We keep going," I stated, not even slightly winded. That was odd – I was the one out of the two of us that never exercised. I sat on my ass all day, and he was actually training for this exam. "Control your breathing, you obnoxious horse. The second you start gasping for breath it's over. And if it's over you are buying all my groceries for a half a year."

Pokkle grimaced, mimicking one of my world famous' grimaces when I'm displeased. "Can't we call it even?"

"No!" I yelled glaring fiercely over at him. He further looked displeased. "Wipe that frown off your face or I'll fucking punch it off for you!" I yelled, raising my fist and clenching his shirt tightly in my hand. I felt that his shirt was almost completely drenched. "You fail this year and I'll bury you right next to our mom, you got that?"

I heard a chuckle from further up, and just my luck it was coming from Hisoka. "What are you laughing at-ah!" I was pulled backwards, causing me to almost tumble. I realized that it was Pokkle and I frowned as we stopped for a split second. We came to a stop, allowing other people to pass us, which only started to annoy me.

He was panting relentlessly, and I almost felt bad for my little brother. I nodded, trying to calm my beating heart as well. I fanned my face with my hand, noticing that it was a little flushed from all that exercise. "Good idea. Catch your breath. Then, we'll start running again," I crossed my arms and looked at the herd of people that were falling out second by second.

It was a little sad that they couldn't handle this test of endurance.

"No! It's not that!" Pokkle yelled angrily. I looked at him uncaringly. I didn't know what he was on about. "Don't pick a fight with a man that can disintegrate arms, Kai!"

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Listen. If you think for a second that he actually turned that man's flesh into petals, then you're really stupid, Pok." I began to walk away, but was hauled back by the quiver on my back. I pouted and puffed my cheeks trying to hold in my anger at being manhandled by my younger brother.

"I want us both to live. With all our limbs!" He spoke, and I rolled my eyes again.

"And I'm telling you; he acts like he's a great magician or something, but it's impossible for that to happen. He wants people to be afraid of him. I'm not going to fall victim to his scheme." Pokkle placed his hands to his pink beanie and was trying his best to scream out his frustration. I could see the way that his fingers were digging into it. Yes, I was obstinate and head strong, but I was never one to back down from a challenge. "Now, let's get going, or we really will fall behind."

I started to jog, and Pokkle slowly started to join me. I heard him let out a couple of grumbles under his breath. On our way, we passed a huffing black haired teen. He was wearing a suit, causing me to skid on my heels. I was an absolute sucker for anyone in uniform – and a suit included that. "What-? Kai?" Pokkle stated and I waved at him to go.

"I'll catch up," I stated, looking back at the teen. My brother stomped away, but he should know my antics. Even when I was still fifteen and living with everyone, I was completely into romance. Whether that included boys or girls was up in the air. I usually liked my partners with a good profession attached with them. "Hey, how old are you?"

The teen lifted his head. "Nine…Nineteen," he spoke, trying to catch his breath. I grinned – then it was completely safe to start flirting with him. He met eye contact with me and I smiled shyly at him. I was doing my best to become more feminine, and it tricked all the boys and girls. A smile appeared on his face. The poor man must be so deprived of female attention.

"Whoa, you're…You're a girl!"

"Yes. I am," I said, waving my pink hair behind me. I took a step closer to him with a smile. "How about you and I…!" I placed a hand up to put on his chest, but then I was suddenly pulled by an unseen force. My eyes widened as it gave me a small tug and stopped. My feet skidded along the concrete of the ground. I could tell that the man that I was trying to flirt with was looking at me in confusion.

"What in the actual…?" I began to say but was prevented when the force fully pulled me. I was flying past most of the participants, not even having my feet touch the ground anymore. I couldn't help the scream that was flying out of my mouth, and I was desperate to latch onto anyone or anything that I could.

Most people ducked out of the way while some looked at me out of fear.

Hearing my screams, my brother turned around. "Kaila!" He yelled, trying to grab onto me. The moment that our hands touched, another tug was being forced, and I started being pulled up the steps that were now in front of us. I searched my entire body for anything that would indicate some rope, but my search was coming up empty.

"Gah! Stop this!" I yelled, and after a final pull, I was somewhere along the middle of the stairs. I let out a few breaths, and my throat was a little sore from all the screaming I had done. Placing a hand up on the wall, I watched as some of the participants looked at me as though I were a witch. I raised my other hand to nurse my throat and gave them a deadly glare if they glanced at me.

Whatever kind of trick that was – it made a mockery out of me.

I glared at the ground, feeling anger radiate off me in waves. "K-Kaila!" My brother panted out in relief. "What was-?"

"I don't know….I don't care," I seethed out. My brother's eyebrows then raised.

"Oh, so you do want to know, and you do care," Pokkle stated in a teasing tone. I looked up at him with my scathing look, and he dropped all sense of amusement. He cleared his throat. "I can see the light coming from the door. We're almost there!" He changed the topic, and he gripped my hand. I stared to run as he pulled me and I let out an uneasy sigh.

We reached the top of the stairs and emerged into the outside. I inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air. Pokkle placed his hands on his waist and looked at me with a grin. "I knew we could do it."

"Yeah…" I muttered out, looking at anyone that might be suspicious or responsible for what had happened to me. I wasn't disappointed to find Hisoka looking at me with an amused smirk on his pale ass face. I narrowed my eyes. I was about to walk over towards him, but was once again from making any interaction with the man when my brother pulled me back.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from him?"

I let out a scoff. "You're the younger brother. Let me confront him. He's fucking shifty." I placed a hand on my waist and glared at him. "It was a trick. I don't know how, but he did it. He had to. Him being a fake magician and all." I glanced over to Hisoka to find that he was also placing his hand on his waist. Deciding that was being too similar to him, I instead crossed my arms. He decided to cross his arms, too, and I let out a growl.

I could see his smirk filled with mirth plastered on his face.

Raising a clenched hand, I was about to take a step over to confront him but was pulled back again. "Did you see that? He's testing me!" I gritted out, causing my brother to try and calm down the fire that I was currently breathing.

"I-I made it!" Stated the man from before. I turned to look at him, and then my coy smile was on my face. I pushed my brother away from me, causing him to stumble backwards a few steps. Walking over to the man from before I grinned and placed my arms behind my back.

"Hello!" I greeted cheerfully with one raised hand. "Glad to see that you made it!"

He raised his head. "Y-You're that girl from earlier," I saw the blush creep onto his face. "I'm Leorio," he offered his hand out.

"Kaila," I spoke, and I was about to take it, I felt another harsh invisible tug. I looked exactly to Hisoka, who was pretending to look at something else with his hand resting on his chin. "I'm sorry. I think that someone is playing a game with me," I spoke, dropping my cheery tone and back to the one that promised death to a person's newborn son.

"Oh," Leorio brought a hand up to his head. He then smiled. "Uh…So…Are you here with anyone?"

I smiled. "Just my brother over there. He didn't want to go alone. I have to watch over my little brother, you know." I turned to wink at Pokkle, who instantly frowned. He then proceeded to look away while letting out a grumble underneath his breath. "What about you? Are you…here with someone?" I asked through my lashes as I looked at Leorio innocently.

"Uh, not in that way!" Leorio spoke, placing his hands out. I smiled at him. "I'm here with my companions; Kurapika and Gon."

"They sound lovely. It's good to have friends. But you know, after this exam, you should find me again. I would be more than happy to get to know you a little better," I spoke, walking over to touch his now shirtless chest. The man looked to be a little well-built. He might not be a runner, but his body is too toned. A pull on my body caused me to skid my feet on the ground, and I let out a small gasp as I tried to stabilize myself. "Not this shit again…" Before I could say anything else the tug morphed into a pull.

The invisible rope, which I still couldn't find, was pulling me directly towards Hisoka. I narrowed my eyes, and then brought out an arrow. I held it in my hand tightly. If he thought that he could play a dirty game with me, then I would shove this arrow head right into his dick. I smirked as I couldn't contain the evil glee that was trapped somewhere in my eyes.

I ended up right in front of Hisoka, who was looking at me without a smile. He was looking at me with a cold expression. I felt shivers run down my spine, and couldn't stop the small tremble that my body did for a couple seconds. My grip on the arrow in my hands was numb, and I felt it drop to the ground almost silently. The only thing that my mind was focusing on was the man in front of me – who didn't look very happy with me.

My eyes widened, and I could feel that the mood between us was very tense. "Don't," he spoke, taking a pause. "Do that again."

His cold words escaped from his lips. I stared up at him, and I tried to open my mouth. I felt small and weak under his gaze. It remained silent. He lifted up a hand and I tensed my body. I was going to lose my arms. I was going to lose my legs. I was going to die right here and now because I didn't listen to my brother like a fucking complete idiot.

But this wasn't even my fault – I didn't even walk over to Hisoka. I was pulled by some invisible rope! I was going to lose a limb and it wasn't even my fault!

The hand landed on my shoulder, and I still couldn't move or even breathe. His fingers dug into my shoulder, almost possessively. I remained staring up at him from the cold fear that swept through me. I didn't dare to move. I didn't dare to look away from him. His cold yellow piercing gaze was enough to command me to stay where I was.

"Welcome everyone, to the Numere Wetlands. This is also known as the Swindlers Swamp."

To be continued...