A/N: I am back! Thank you Renaglory for always reviewing! I hope you like this one as well. To all of you silent readers, you know who you are, thank you as well for supporting this fanfic! Please continue reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter

CHAPTER 17

Leorio stared at the island, overlooking the horizon. He noticed someone approaching him from the side and saw Renée coming down the hall.

Guilt washed over him again, remembering the words they exchanged back at Trick Tower. Before she could pass by him, he gathered enough courage and swallowed his pride. "Ren, I need to talk to you."

The girl stopped and looked back at him, eyebrow raised.

Suddenly, his courage was lost and he found himself feeling awkward around her. He rubbed his nape bashfully. "About last time, in Trick Tower, I want to apologize. I mean you were right and I guess I was just exhausted. The way you said it wasn't okay but you were still right though it stung a bit and-!"

Renée gave a chuckle before laughing completely.

Leorio's brows furrowed and he started getting annoyed. 'This girl. I'm sincerely apologizing here!'

"What's so funny?" the man grumbled.

"You are! Of course I knew you didn't mean it! I didn't either. Don't worry, we're cool." the red-head smiled. Leorio blinked, slightly confused.

"We're cool..?"

"Yeah! Oh, Leorio, can I see who you got? I'm not gonna rat you out, stupid. I just might be able to help you know who that is." she said, seeing his reluctant expression.

The man handed the card he drew and she looked at the number. "How can you know which one this is?" he asked her.

"I checked all of the examinees during the first phase, remember? Oh. This is Ponzu. You know, the girl with a huge and bulky hat? She isn't that dangerous." Renée told him, handing the card back.

"Great, thanks!"

"No problem geezer!" she said, waving as she walked.

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm in my teens!"

The red-head laughed at him and turned the corner to find Gon. He was waiting for her patiently, and when she reached him, he grinned toothily at her.

"What?" she asked, getting irked by his facial expression.

"You apologized to Leorio!"

"Wha-!? I did not!"

"But you helped him. That's as close as you get to apologizing. You're really good-natured, Ren."

"Stop it Gon, that's embarrassing!" she whined, feeling the heat creep up her face. Gon laughed.

"Yo."

The two turned around to see Killua come up to them. He sat down next to Gon and then they were all silent. They watched the waves for a while, feeling the salty wind whip around their hair. Unable to contain the silence, Renée decided to break it.

"Who did you get?" they all asked at the same time.

They blinked in confusion.

"It's a secret." they responded, then they laughed at their silliness.

"Don't worry, I didn't get any of you!" Killua reassured them.

"Me either!" Gon seconded.

"Well, I can't say the same."

The two looked at her, donning on serious expressions. She put her hands up in mock defeat. "It's not like I chose to get it. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna hunt you. I want us all to pass."

"Okay, so who did you get?" Killua questioned.

"Why just me? Let's all show our cards!" she suggested.

"Okay then, on the count of 3. 1, 2, 3!" Gon exclaimed, putting his card out next to the others'.

Gon got 44; Killua got 199; Renée got 99. The last two looked at Gon in disbelief.

"Hisoka?"

"You have the worst luck possible."

The boy smiled in defeat at their words. "You think so too? I'm actually slightly happy. If it was a fight, one-on-one, then I know I'll lose for sure. But the fact that it's only stealing tags, then I have a real shot at this!" he said, determination burning in his eyes. Killua and Renée smiled in admiration at his courage.

"Anyway, who did you get Killua? Obviously, Ren got your number." he chuckled.

"Yeah well she'll regret coming after me."

She glared at him for that comment and whacked him on the head, but he dodged it easily. "Whatever, I'm not helping you!"

"But seriously Ren, I don't suppose you know who 199 is, do you?" Killua asked nonchalantly, as if nothing happened.

"Are you mocking me? Of course I do, it's Umori of the Amori brothers!" Renée scoffed.

Realizing what she just did, she smacked herself on the forehead. "Dammit!" The two boys just laughed at her.

"Thanks, dunce. Hey Gon, don't die okay?" the assassin said, standing up.

The girl glared at him, getting on her feet as well. "You don't say it like that! You say 'be careful' or 'take care of yourself'! Don't be so shy." she scolded him. Killua only scoffed at her words and turned around to walk away.

"Wha-? How dare you ignore me!? Oi old man!"

"Don't die as well, stupid girl. But if you come after me, I won't hold back." he called after her, smirking.

"Psh. If I DO hunt you down, you'll be wishing I held back!"

Gon only laughed at their antics, getting used to it by now. Renée turned towards him and huffed. "Seriously though, Gon, I want you to be careful. I won't be able to show my face to Aunt Mito if something happened to you. Which means I won't be able to go back home, and it will be all your fault."

The boy laughed again. "Killua isn't the only one that's shy." he teased. The red-head rolled her eyes and hugged him.

"Be safe, brother."

He returned the gesture and nodded into her hair, knowing that he will miss her dearly.

It was hot on the island despite its lush forest. The breeze was cool but it rarely came.

Renée could feel sweat dripping down her forehead and she cursed. 'Who knew it would be so hard to find someone in an island? I mean one or two of 'em should be easy prey!'

Feeling her hair stick on her nape, she grumbled in annoyance. "Water sounds wonderful right now." she decided, making her way through the forest.

The red-head expertly found a lake, knowing that denser trees lead to a water source. She scooped up some of the lake water and purified it using 2% tincture of iodine. Renée took a large gulp of it, refilled her bottle and purified it, saving it for later though she made a mental note of where the lake was.

She walked around more, memorizing the island despite the scorching afternoon sun. The girl continued to travel until sundown, but still not a single soul was found.

'Gosh why is it so hard to find someone!?' she thought angrily, punching the leaves of her makeshift bed. Renée lay down on the ground with a huff.

Her eyes lazily watched the stars twinkle and she felt them getting droopy. She didn't realize that she was so tired and that her legs were sore from all the walking.

'I wonder if Gon's okay.' she thought before drifting off to sleep.

The night was very peaceful. In fact, it was too peaceful that it was bothersome.

The man continued to creep up near the lake, knowing his target was there. He had watched her run around for no reason so she must be extremely tired now.

To prove his luck, he found her under a tree, lying down on a bunch of large leaves. He wondered why she was sleeping out in the open. He saw how careful she was when awake, but now she is actually careless. Or maybe carefree?

'It doesn't matter, I can just end this now!' He stabbed his dagger at her throat. On the last minute, Renée jumped away. She was left unscathed except for the few strands of hair the knife got.

The man turned to her, surprised.

"I praise you for your stealth. I didn't feel you coming until you decided to come to the lake. And that dagger is really sharp! Must be pretty valuable huh?" she babbled on.

Getting over his surprise, her attacker lunged towards her. She ducked and rolled, tripping him. In an instant, she was on top of him, her own weapon drawn and pointed threateningly at his head. "Don't move. If you move, I'll stab you." she said in a considerably low voice.

The man laughed nervously. "No, you won't. You can't!"

"I've surprised you once before. I don't think you'd like me to do it again."

This time, he gulped. Even if she was just a little girl, even if she was pure and innocent-looking, he knew she was serious. There was also the issue of the blade, which looked wicked from his point of view.

"Alright, alright. So now what?"

"I want your tag."

The man fished the tag out of his left pocket and threw it towards her as best as he could without being scratched by the sword.

"Do you have any other tags on you?" Renée asked, pocketing the plate.

The man shook his head no and she sighed in disappointment. "Well, at least it's one down. Gotta do something about this." she muttered to herself.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

However, before he received a proper reply, he was knocked out cold by a strong punch to the jaw.

"Sorry mister, but I need to win. I need to help my brother, you see, so I can't be left behind. I think my need is greater than yours. Not that I'm dissing your dreams or anything. There! All done." the red-head spoke to the unconscious man.

She searched him to make sure he really only had one tag and managed to find another one hidden in his boot. The one he gave her was probably a decoy and the one in the boot was his real plate. Whichever the case, those were worth 2 points for her.

Satisfied, she successfully put the man on multiple large leaves that were bent at certain places and then hauled the leaves and gently pushed it towards the middle of the lake, the leaves acting as a boat. "Thanks for the tags!" Renée called out to him while giving a little wave. Then she packed up her things and left to find another place to sleep in.

This day was much like the first one, but unlike before, Renée opted to go through the denser areas instead. She also had no luck in finding another tag.

The thought made her sigh.

'It's been three days since I took that guy's tag. Oddly enough, he didn't follow me. I wonder if he drowned?' Being so distracted by her thoughts, she failed to avoid a large root that was exposed above the soil. Clumsy as she is, Renée tripped and dove nose-first into the dirt.

"Shit! That's the second time I hit my nose! Why, universe!?" the red-head cursed, sitting up immediately and rubbing her bruised nose.

A chuckling voice brought her senses on high alert and she scanned her surroundings. She slightly relaxed when she saw a familiar face.

"You look stupid, stupid." Killua greeted her, still laughing at her blunder.

"You look like an old man, old man." she scoffed at him, straightening up.

He only smirked as he sauntered towards her. As he was walking, Renée noticed that he was being followed, albeit sloppily, by one of the Amori brothers. She was about to say something but Killua just shook his head no. Shrugging, she kept her mouth shut.

"So how's your hunting going? You didn't follow me." the assassin asked.

"You're so full of yourself, I only need one more point. Besides, I'm not into old men."

"I didn't mean it like that, dunce!" he retorted, slightly flustered.

Noticing his discomfort about the topic, she decided to tease him more. "Why are you so defensive? Can it be that you like me?" Renée gasped dramatically. "Oh Killua I never knew! The answer is no!"

Getting over his shock, the boy only rolled his eyes at her antics. "Puh-lease. Who would like you? You're ugly, a dunce, and flat!"

This time, she was taken aback. "Say that again you little bastard!"

"And deaf."

"Why you-!"

A rustle alerted them that the person following them hadn't given up. "Hey Killua, why is he even following you? You're not his target." the red-head asked.

He shrugged. "Probably needs extra points cause he didn't get his target."

"Wow. How wrong is he to have chosen you."

"Aww. I didn't know you thought so highly of me." he teased. Renée felt her face grow hot and she smacked him in the arm.

"Y'know, she is right. I already know you've been following me for days. I admire your persistence but it's getting bothersome. Just come out already." Killua called out.

Nothing.

"Fine. I'll go there instead." he sighed and lazily walked towards a nearby bush.

"Yo Imori. We finally found you. We're finished with ours, did you get your target yet?" two larger Amori brothers, unhidden, asked the one behind the bush. They looked up at Killua and Renée and understanding dawned on them and they proceeded to beat their younger brother up despite his excuses.

"Fine! I'll do it." he said, determined.

His brothers judged him as he approached Killua menacingly. "Hey boy, just give me your tag if you wanna live." he threatened.

Renée laughed at this and Killua remained expressionless. "Stu~pid!" he replied.

Angered, Imori kicked the assassin hard in the gut and Killua fell flat on his back. The girl and the attacker both laughed when this happened and this got the Amori brothers confused.

"Hey girl, why are you laughing at him? Isn't he your friend?" the larger one, Umori, asked.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she replied to them, "I'm not laughing at him. I'm laughing at you idiots." This got them more confused until Killua jumped up from the ground and took a plate out of his pocket. "198 eh? Then that means one of you is 199 right?" he asked them.

Imori panicked and searched his pockets, confirming that the boy really did steal his plate.

"Tsk. Get in formation!" Amori barked at them. The trio dispersed and formed a triangle around the two kids. They were all tense and preparing to fight while the children were just calm and looked slightly bored.

Renée saw Imori getting too close to her and she reacted by kicking him in the gut, causing the poor man to fall unconscious. "That was for my friend." she muttered darkly.

Killua stared at her from the corner of his eye, masking the surprise he felt. 'Friend..?'

Distracted by her triumph, the red-head failed to notice Umori step up behind her until it was too late. Taking advantage of it, the man grabbed her arm and twisted it towards her back and pressing his other arm dangerously tight around her throat.

The assassin turned towards him and glared, making the air around him shift. His eyes looked cold that it made Renée and Umori shiver.

Steeling himself, the larger brother held firmly to the girl. "Just hand over your and Imori's tag then nothing will happen to her." he threatened, cursing himself for squeaking slightly.

Killua detected the slight tremor and smirked. In a blink of an eye, he vanished and reappeared behind Amori, his claws were out and positioned right at the man's throat. "About that, I'd like to see you try."

Amori gulped, silently praying that Umori won't do anything rash. However, the brother just stared Killua down. The assassin wanted none of it and allowed a drop of blood to trickle down Amori's neck.

Renée felt her attacker's grip on her slacken and she took advantage of it. She elbowed him right in the ribs and he gasped for air, letting her go and backing away slightly in the process. Then she swung her sword, scabbard and all, and smacked him across the face, instant KO.

"Umori-!" Amori exclaimed before he was knocked out cold as well.

"You didn't need to be so flashy." Killua scolded her.

"Yeah, but it was taking so long! And it was hurting too much."

"It was all because you got in the way, stupid girl!"

"Ha!? At least I knocked out two of them! How many did you get, old man?"

"Whatever." he shrugged her off and headed for Umori's unconscious form. He took the tag that said 199 and pocketed it, and he threw the card 197 towards Renée who caught it with ease.

She looked at him curiously as he threw the other tag to somewhere far away. "You needed another one right?" he asked, not facing her. She smiled, pocketing the tag and decided not to say anything about it.

"Let's look for a place to sleep, Ren. I haven't slept for days cause of these idiots!"

"I know a place. Try and keep up, old man!"

"Shut up, girly."

Another three days passed and the speakers around the island blared, calling the attention of all the examinees to return to the drop off site.

When Killua and Renée got there, she got worried when she didn't see Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika. The red-head felt like she was being stared at and her eyes darted towards Hisoka.

The jester smirked at her and revealed four tags, none of which was his.

'Then does that mean Gon was successful? If so, where is he?'

The lady called her name and she raised the tags she fished out from her pocket.

"Okay then, I guess that's everyone!"

Renée anxiously bit her lip. 'Gon where are you?'

"Oh, we have three new arrivals!"

"Gon!" The two twelve year olds turned towards the opening and smiled when they saw their friends emerge from the shrubs.

They held up their tags and each of them had two, meaning they all got their targets.

Renée noticed that her brother's smile was different from usual so she made a mental note to ask him later.

"Okay! That concludes the fourth phase! 10 examinees passed!"

END OF 17.

A/N: Sorry for the really late and quite lame update. I'm trying to rush things so I'll do each chapter phase by phase. Thank you very much for supporting me and it was you guys that kept me going this far. I hope you continue doing so cause I love you guys. Happy holidays everyone!