Kurapika didn't expect to draw Sakura's number out of all the applicants that had made it to the Fourth Phase. He hadn't known whether to count himself fortunate or not. He knew from the beginning who his target was and he had an idea of her abilities and fighting style. However, he was familiar with her to a personal degree and that would cause confliction. He had just barely formed a truce with her, and how he was going to hunt her. At first, he thought it best to find her, and simply ambush-as it was the best method of attack for this phase but then while he was searching for her Kurapika decided that it was not how he wanted to gain Sakura's badge. He wanted to earn it. Just as they were both working to earn one another's trust; finally he came up with a solution.

For two day's Kurapika scouted the island in search of the pinkette until he finally found her with Leorio.

Leorio jumped back after hearing Sakura's statement that she was Kurapika's target, "Say what? Is she really your target Kurapika?"

"Yes," Kurapika exhaled, clenching his fists at his sides, barely allowing himself to blink, having seen the pinkettes speed.

Sakura cocked her head to the side, "You know, there were smarter ways to go about this then directly confront me. You could've kept your presence hidden, while Leorio and I traveled and waiting for me to go to sleep before stealing my badge-or you could've pretended I wasn't your target and attacked me when my guard was down."

Kurapika remained silent and Sakura's smirked, her eyebrow raised, "So; why did you decide to confront me directly?"

"Because; I don't believe in resorting to trickery. I'd rather fight you fairly, simple as that."

Sakura didn't miss the twitch of annoyance Kurapika gave when he strained to say that. It made her curious and a little mischievous. Reaching into her pouch, Sakura pulled out her tag number and held it up. "What if I just offered it to you?"

Both Leorio and Kurapika stared at the pinkette in disbelief as she held out her arm with her tag on the end, clasped in her gloved hand.

"W-What?" Kurapika asked, blinking rapidly.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Leorio asked. He knew that Sakura had her six points from capturing her target (unaware of the extra-three points she now had) and while he wanted Kurapika to succeed, he didn't want Sakura to fail. Ever since Sakura and Gon's display of faith in the group, he had been hoping that they would all make it to the final phase together.

"This isn't a trick or anything like that; I'm willing to give my badge to you if you want Kurapika," Sakura said, she threw the badge to Kurapika and watched him catch it. He looked down at the badge in his hands, his mouth was open but he struggled to find the words. A minute later Sakura held out her hand as the badge was tossed back to her aggressively.

"I don't want to obtain the badge like this. I don't want you to hand it to me; I will earn it." Kurapika stated, his face seemed to hold hostility, but Sakura could tell that was just wounded pride at the gestured. It hadn't been for a means to insult Kurapika, but it was clear to Sakura that he was. And there was only one way to remedy her mistake.

Sakura put the badge back in her bag and then unhooked it from her waist, throwing it at Leorio's feet before pulling back the end of her gloves.

"Okay then, if you want to fight for the badge I guess I'll oblige,"

"Are you two out of your minds?!" Leorio exclaimed, "Kurapika, do you even remember seeing her smash through a solid wall with one punch!?"

Of course, he remembered. Kurapika hadn't been able to forget that display of power, but it made him realize that this was the sort of people the Hunter exam attracted and if he couldn't keep up with them, then he wouldn't be able to make it as a hunter. Sakura clearly meant to keep her abilities concealed, and she obviously had more experience than she had let on. Which had been another confliction point in him receiving her tag number as his target.

Despite Kurapika's petite build, he was more powerful than he appeared, something both he and Sakura had in common. Sakura was known to be headstrong, but she wasn't the type to engage a battle; she didn't have the same interest or hype that other's received at least not the same degree.

"Alright then, how's this going to go?" Sakura asked.

Kurapika held up a finger, "One-strike match, whoever gets hit first will lose. It doesn't count if the attack is blocked."

"Alright, let's go," Sakura nodded, bringing her one leg to the front and crouching down slightly, holding her arms up. Kurapika mimicked her movements and got into a fighting stance. Leorio swallowed heavily before taking a few steps to the back.

Several seconds past and neither moved from their defensive positions. A light breeze rustled the leaves around them, and their clothes, yet neither showed their irritation to the light brush of the hair across their faces.

Then Kurapika moved. Launching from his position, drawing his fist back until literally within arms-length before attacking. Sakura blocked his attack, followed by a kick aiming for her side. Evading the attack by jumping back, Sakura waited for Kurapika to come to her. Again they engaged; Kurapika was consecutive this time in his attacks.

Sakura held up her arms to block the oncoming assaults, while she and Kurapika began moving back.

'He's not half bad,' Sakura thought as she continued to evade Kurapika's attacks. They were fast in normal terms, but for Sakura, there was a difference with her adjusted point of vision that had become accustomed to unusually quick attacks.

Grabbing Kurapika's fist easily, Sakura continued to hold on while Kurapika threw his other fist to her side and ducking her left arm under her right, she grabbed his other fist. Kurapika tried to pull back, but Sakura was using chakra to keep him anchored.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Sakura said, smirking a little.

Kurapika narrowed his eyes, as he crouched down and sprung up, raising his leg in threat to hit Sakura's head. He was pushed back, quickly regaining his equilibrium and holding his gaze with the pinkette, who stumbled back a little surprised.

"I wouldn't let your guard down if I were you, Sakura," Kurapika warned.

Getting back into a fighting stance, Sakura ran towards Kurapika, a little chakra added to her feet to give her an extra boost to her step. Kurapika held his arms up when he saw Sakura raise her fist, he leaned back as it neared his face, but then Sakura ducked down and swung her bottom leg out to trip him and in the position he was in with his upper-half leaned back, Kurapika didn't have time to counter and was knocked off his feet.

'Got him!' Sakura smirked, but it was short-lived when Kurapika threw his body back and held his arms straight out to catch himself in a handstand before pushing on the ground and standing straight.

'Or not,'

Leorio felt his forehead sticky with sweat, as she watched Kurapika and Sakura's fight commence. Both seemed to be on par with each other, but Sakura was yet to display her strength and Kurapika hadn't even drawn his weapons. While the two were taking their battle seriously, he wondered if they were attempting to keep from injuring one another.

'If it wasn't for that one hit rule, I doubt this fight would end.'

Ten minutes passed and Sakura was yet to launch a full assault, the majority of her energy spent on blocking her opponent's attacks. Kurapika was growing frustrated, he would have assumed that by now the pinkette would begin to feel fatigue from fighting and moving around this much, but she didn't show any sign of sweating. Constant movement at the pace they were going and yet barely a glimmer of change. There was a clear difference in stamina here. Of course, seeing as she was on par with Gon and Killua during the First Phase, that was apparent.

'Still, I have to win!' Kurapika thought as he vigorously attacked. He was trained well in hand to hand combat, but Sakura obviously also held exceptional skills in these terms. He just didn't know the extent.

Sakura continued deflecting Kurapika's punches and kicks with her hands, she had placed enough chakra in her hands to push back his attacks, but not enough to accidentally send him flying across the forest when she did.

Again the two parted.

Kurapika wiped the sweat from his chin, attempting to calm his breathing. "Why-why are you holding back?"

Sakura replied calmly, "Because I want to,"

Of course, the likeliness that Kurapika was going all out crossed Sakura's mind as well but she didn't voice it.

If she used her full abilities, Sakura was certain she'd end the match in an instant, but Kurapika seemed offended enough by her short statement so she chose to keep the rest of what she considered fact to herself.

'I'm not going to beat her like this. I'm already sweating and she looks like she can keep this going for hours,' Kurapika drew in a breath, clearing his thoughts and assessing what was present. He had to win this match, all it took was one strike, one solid hit and he would win.

Kurapika's eyes opened wide, as he reached an epiphany.

Sakura suddenly strengthened her stance when she saw the sharp light in Kurapika's eyes and the change in his expression. She assumed he was getting ready to strike again.

'At this pace, he might not be able to land a hit,' Sakura thought, 'Maybe I should just let him win?'

Slip-ups were not uncommon in battles even the most skilled fighters would have a moment to drift, but Sakura didn't think she could feign it well against sharp eyes like Kurapika's. If she was caught, there would be no chance of her repairing the damage. Little ever tolerated being underestimated, and she already admitted not to fully exposing her power in battle.

'No,' Sakura thought, watching and Kurapika drew nearer. She slowly lifted one of her feet from the ground as he threw his fist towards her, preparing to side-step after blocking but then his fist blurred out of sight. 'What?'

Sakura felt Kurapika's arms wrap around her shoulder and under one of her arms and then both her feet were off the ground as the blonde lifted her up.

'He feigned his punch to catch me off guard and throw me!' Sakura thought before wincing as her head shook from the impact of her back hitting the ground. She felt a weight on her lower-half and Kurapika's form block the sun from her face.

'Crap!' Sakura clenched her teeth, quickly moving her head to avoid Kurapika's punch before grabbing that wrist. Then she had to repeat the process when Kurapika used his other hand in an attempt to reach her. She felt him struggle against her grip, but she held on. 'There's no way he's going to be able to hit me like-AH'

Sakura shut her eyes tightly, a hard force hitting her forehead and she realized that it was Kurapika who had head-butted her.

"Ah Damn!" Sakura grimaced, feeling a headache coming on, stilling gripping Kurapika's wrist. "I didn't think you'd use your head to win this fight-literally!"

Kurapika panted softly, feeling his forehead ache a little from the impact. "I-I realized I wasn't going to be able to get you off guard in a conventional battle. At least not long enough for me to hit you,"

Sakura chuckled, "Really, it took you ten minutes to realize that?"

Kurapika frowned at the sarcastic tone, "So I thought to adopt other means,"

"Gotta admit, that was a pretty smart move. I use to do things like this to win my fights as well,"

Whenever Sakura had found herself facing an opponent she was outmatched in terms of skill and strength, she knew to be clever about her approaches in securing victory. She had to do that a lot as a genin.

"Uh," Leorio interjected, his eyebrow twitching as he looked at the position the two were still in. "How long are you guys going to stay like that?"

Kurapika and Sakura looked at each other and realized that Kurapika was still stacked on top of Sakura and she was still holding his wrists, anchoring him. Quickly Sakura shot up without thinking and the two ended up bumping heads again before Kurapika pulled back holding his forehead.

"Sorry!" Sakura grimaced, holding her own forehead.

"N-No, I-I'm at fault for not moving," Kurapika attempted to remedy, although he was having some trouble with that when he could barely think straight.

Leorio just shook his head, smiling to himself. "Kids…"

"Leorio, pass my bag please," Sakura called and the older teen did as she requested. Catching her pouch, Sakura dug out her badge and held it out to Kurapika "Here you go. You earned it,"

Kurapika took the tag and placed it in his bag, "Thank you. So what are you planning to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. After their episode, Sakura went to immediately hand over her badge to Kurapika. "Before you showed up, Leorio and I were going to team up and look for his target,"

"Yeah, but that's when you had six points Sakura. Now you've only got three-four if you include the badge you took from that guy who stole mine" Leorio stated.

Giggling, Sakura rubbed the back of her head with a bashful expression. "Actually….I already have six-points."

"HUH!?"

"Yeah," Sakura chuckled, "I got two badges from these guys I ran into on the first day."

Leorio looked ready to pull out his hair, "You should've said that when Kurapika demanded your badge, you idiot! We could've avoided a fight amongst friends!"

"Because I sincerely doubt Kurapika would have taken the badge from me anyway," Sakura shrugged, watching Kurapika flinch. "You heard him, he won't accept it from me, because he probably still doesn't think of me as a friend. I was actually hurt by the impersonal decline."

Kurapika winced, "I-I didn't mean to make you feel that way! I simply didn't want to get your badge without earning it fairly, because I thought that this would be the only way you wouldn't' resent me!"

Sakura and Leorio because still and looked at the Kurta with wide eyes, Kurapika realizing what he said looked away with a clear blush on his light skin.

Leorio snickered, "Wow, Kurapika….you're actually being bashful."

Glaring at Leorio, Kurapika huffed. "Let's just get going. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long. We've already made quite a commotion."

"You two are the ones who made the commotion," Leorio grumbled but otherwise followed after Kurapika with Sakura.

The sky turned orange tinged with purple, but Gon remained silent and still as he observed Hisoka sitting under a tree. His focus narrowed on the other applicant, waiting for his chance to capture his tag. Gon believed his presence to be completely concealed under the thicket of bushes, his breathing shallow, but for a moment he thought otherwise when Hisoka moved and calmly requested that whoever was hiding to come out. Gon didn't move, but Hisoka had and was making his way over to the bushes. Gon thought he had been discovered and would have leapt out, had it not been for the presence he had missed right next to him.

There was another applicant, wielding a spear, he was Goz and he challenged Hisoka to a duel. While Gon couldn't comprehend why someone would demand a fight with Hisoka, he was eager for his chance to attack Hisoka while he was occupied with attacking his opponent. Taking down his prey, left all defenses down. However, Hisoka only continued to evade Goz attacks with little effort.

Goz stopped attacking, demanding to know why Hisoka was not fighting back. Hisoka stated then that there was no need for him to do anything other than evade as Goz was on the verge of death anyway. A swarm of Hemotropic Butterflies was gathering behind Goz and that's when Gon noticed the injury on his back. The butterflies were attracted to the scent of fresh blood. Obviously, Hisoka knew this as well. Someone had already dealt a fatal blow and Goz only desire was to die during battle.

Hisoka refused to fight someone who was already dead. Goz attempted to attack Hisoka once again in a rage, bringing forth his last ounce of strength but he never reached Hisoka before his life ended. A stream of precise needles embedded in Goz's face as he fell to the ground. Gon watched shocked.

Gittarackur apologized to Hisoka, stating he had accidentally allowed Goz to escape, but Hisoka knew better and told him not to pity those who serve no purpose. Gittarackur countered the argument, as Hisoka had done the same in walking away from enemies, but Hisoka stated he only did so for those whose premature deaths would be a waste. He relished in preserving fruit until they were ripe, as it were.

Hisoka then asked Gittarackur about Goz's tag, seeing as this was his target in which his acquaintance had already claimed before allowing Goz to escape. Gittarackur then pointed out to Hisoka that he should start hunting as well. He would have given Hisoka a tag from the person who had attempted to snipe him, had it not been for the pink-haired girl who interrupted his kill.

Instantly Hisoka became intrigued and Gon became eager, his ears perked though his presence still well kept. Gittarackur told Hisoka that he nearly killed someone when another applicant saved her. Hisoka elaborated that the pinkette was known as Sakura, and she was one of the applicants that had caught his eye during the First Phase.

Gittarackur commented he wanted to kill the pinkette as her antics had agitated him, he had also noticed that she was close with Killua, but that was no longer an option as she was already Hisoka's prey.

Gittarackur then started removing the pins from his head one by one, Gon watched as the individuals face started to shift and mold in an unusual manner the instant all the pins were removed. The clammy looking greyish skin became pale, hair changing from purple to a silky black, growing long, his face rounding and eyes taking an oval-shaped, like a void. This was Gittarackur's true appearance.

Gon didn't know that this discovery wasn't all 'Gittarackur' was hiding but thought little of it.

As Hisoka's mysterious acquaintance dug a hole deep enough to bury himself in, he wished Hisoka good luck before going down into the hole to sleep until the final day.

Hisoka's thoughts were occupied on the details he had been given in regard to the pinkette's evasion of the other applicant. Remembering the sharpness of her emerald green eyes, how she smiled when he approached her, masking her fear. He wanted to experience that again.

'I look forward to devouring her one day,'

A hand landed on the girl's shoulder while she read, "Sakura!"

"Eee!" While the contact had brought Sakura back to reality, there was a split second between the physical present and the written present, within that period, fright controlled her movements and she accidentally hit Leorio with the book in his face.

"Sakura, what the hell!?" Leorio exclaimed, gripping his face as it throbbed.

Scrambling to her feet, Sakura waved her arms around, her heart beating rapidly "I'm so sorry Leorio, you surprised me!"

"I called you five times!" Leorio told her, wincing as Sakura places her hand on his face before a soothing coolness crawled under his skin and got rid of the dulling pain.

"You were rather entranced in your book Sakura," Kurapika said, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. "We've got to start moving,"

Sakura nodded, "Right,"

Sakura, Leorio, and Kurapika decided to scout the island for a while but eventually stopped for a short break, in that time Sakura decided to catch up on what was happening around the island and she was disconcerted after what she read. Killua was being followed, but he wasn't bothered in the slightest, and Gon was hiding well from Hisoka, but she was disturbed by the conversion between Gittarackur and Hisoka.

'Please, don't let me encounter Hisoka and please Gon, don't do anything stupid.' Sakura silently prayed. There was still a lot going on that she wasn't aware of, even with the book in her possession. Least now she knew who to take caution of.

She wondered though, if Gittarackur was going to give Hisoka the badge he had gotten from Siper, it would mean that Siper was supposed to die and Hisoka would have one of the three badges he intended on getting himself.

'I would prefer it if he didn't make it at all,' Sakura shivered.

Although luck was rarely on her side.

Traveling with Kurapika and Leorio meant Sakura was taking the low-ground, and that made them all the more vulnerable. She had been able to collect her tags because she was moving quickly through the forest, her stamina via chakra ensured she could hold up for days if she wanted to. That didn't make her any less human than her friends though if anything she was just as vulnerable if not more.

'Suppose dire situations just bring out the best in me,' she thought sarcastically, yet there was a hint of truth in that form of thinking.

The moon was full that night, contrasting against the dark sky and complimented by countless stars, yet there was no time to stop and admire the view or it could be the last thing seen. Leorio, Kurapika, and Sakura continued to travel through the forest.

"Keep your guard up." Kurapika told the two, "Night provides the perfect cover for someone to attack their target,"

"Right," Leorio nodded.

"Don't have to tell me," Sakura muttered. While night provided the perfect cover, Sakura preferred attacking during the day for the same reason, because while others would hunt at night, they would evidently be exhausted during the day and hide out-it was only a matter of finding them after. She could do well with either, but preferential, her sight wasn't as sharp in the dark and she would have to rely a lot on her senses. It wasn't that she couldn't, she just didn't particularly find it enjoyable.

'It's also smarter to stay in one place if you're going to be moving on foot like this out in the open,' Sakura thought, but she couldn't tell Leorio or Kurapika that because they couldn't travel as she did. As a ninja, they always kept to the high-ground, but that would be too difficult for the two males and it would just slow them down.

"Whoa!" Leorio exclaimed as he slid down the rocky hill, Kurapika held up his finger.

"Shh, Leorio,"

"Sorry, I slipped" the older teen grumbled, picking himself up from the ground. Unlike his friends, he wasn't exactly dressed for the woods.

"Let's keep moving, I don't like being this out in the open," Sakura said anxiously looking around.

The three continued down a near cleared forest path, by far there didn't seem to be anyone present. Sakura actually hoped it stayed that way because unless it was Leorio's target, they would most like have to engage in meaningless battles.

"I know who my target is not, but how am I supposed to find her on this huge island?"

Sakura gave a deadpan expression, "Leorio, you're taking the exam to become a hunter-you have to hunt for her."

"I know that! But isn't walking around aimlessly a waste of energy?"

Kurapika looked at Leorio blankly, continuing to walk ahead. "Constantly whining and complaining is an even bigger waste of energy,"

"You both already have your six points-so you're finished." Leorio trailed, "But if I don't find my target…

Sakura was going to comment that they would simply find three other applicants and take their badges instead but her thoughts flashed away in an instant when she finally noticed the sudden fear on Leorio's and saw him stop. She then looked back at Kurapika and saw that he had stopped walking. Further ahead of them, leaning against a tree with a card in between two fingers was Hisoka.

"Hey,"

It was like her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw the magician. And if he was here, it meant that Gon wasn't too far behind.

'He's probably watching us,'

Hisoka finally decided to start hunting, but of everyone he could've run into, it had to be them.

'Must be the fate set in the book already-though I'm wondering how we're going to get out of this.' Sakura swallowed heavily. She didn't like to recall her last encounter with Hisoka, but she had hoped it would be just that-her last encounter.

"Imagine meeting you here," Hisoka stepped away from the tree, causing everyone else to take one step back when he neared.

"Somehow I highly doubt that this is a coincidence," Sakura spoke before she could stop herself.

Hisoka smirked, "You see, I need three points. Would you mind giving me your tags?"

"What was that!?" Leorio exclaimed, "Screw that! I'm not gonna-

"Leorio!" Kurapika silenced his comrade; for fear of what might happen if he didn't. He looked back at Hisoka, keeping a straight-face. "You said you needed three points, which would imply that neither one of us is your target correct?"

'What are you playing at Kurapika?' Sakura thought anxiously. He was the only possible target along with the three badges Sakura had collected

"I'm the one asking the questions here," Hisoka held a smile as he spoke. "Will you give me your tags?"

Kurapika looked at Sakura; she was the only one holding tags worth one point and if one of those turned out to be Hisoka's…

Sakura understood this as well, she didn't know how likely this fact would be but at the same time, she knew that Hisoka was short on tags because he would have been demanding only two hadn't it been for the fact she had drawn #80 and got the tag first.

'Even if we attempt to negotiate with him, what are the chances he'll let us go with just one tag?'

"No," Kurapika stated, "We will not surrender our tags,"

Hisoka licked his lips, and began walking forward, "Very well, if you won't hand them to me, then I'll just have to take them,"

Leorio and Kurapika drew their weapons, but they were trembling already as Hisoka drew nearer. Sakura was the only one yet to assume a defensive position.

Then Sakura remembered something from her first Chunin exams, a lesson she had learned from her worst enemy but one she hadn't forgotten. When being hunted and in the sights of a predator, it was common to surrender something more tantalizing to distract the predator so that the prey could make their escape. Sasuke had done this when he tried to help them escape a fight; it hadn't gone as planned because of Naruto's intervention, but that was just as it was on the verge of success.

"Wait a minute," Sakura stepped forward, her shoulder's stiff as a board and Hisoka ceased his advance to watch her. It was like trying to appease a hungry predator. The only difference was, unlike a regular predator, this one would be unpredictable and she could not afford to drop her guard for a moment.

"At the present, we have seven tags-those including mine, Leorio's and Kurapika's, my targets and three others worth one point to us." Sakura held up four fingers, "Amongst them, only four could be your target. That is the three I collected or Kurapika's. Leorio was the target of #118, my target was #80," Sakura saw Hisoka's fingers twitch at the mention, "And I was Kurapika's target."

Reaching into her bag, Sakura pulled out two of the three badges she had gotten, "Since I have given my badge to Kurapika, I've needed to claim three other tags worth one point. I'm willing to put up two of them and no more than that. I still want to pass this exam and you shouldn't have a problem getting one more. But we won't give up any of the tags worth three points to us."

Leorio spoke up, "Wait Sakura, if you do that then you're going to be two points behind."

Kurapika held out his arm to stop Leorio from continuing, he understood that this was the best thing if they wanted a greater chance of escaping with their lives and avoiding a fight.

Sakura strengthened her stance then, her eyes becoming hard. "If you can't accept that offer; then I'm willing to play pretend just this once and see how well you qualify to be a hunter."

Sakura didn't know what possessed her to say that, but there was something, just for a moment, a flicker of what she couldn't describe wrapped around her. And she wasn't the only one to notice it, Kurapika and Leorio were watching Sakura's back cautiously now. For a moment, they felt as if they were being defended from one predator by another.

Hisoka remained silent far longer than anyone was comfortable with. Sakura knew Gon had to be somewhere close, but she made no effort in an attempt to find him or he would lose his chance. This way, Hisoka would have to find one more applicant to fight and Gon could get Hisoka's tag in turn. That was, so long as neither of the tags she gave up was Hisoka's target.

'This is the best solution,'

Sakura felt a bead of sweat slide down her skin uncomfortably, she barely blinked as she watched Hisoka. There was something burning in his eyes after she finished speaking and that's what caused her to begin to feel weak in the knees. But she reminded herself constantly she had fought opponents with greater experience to her and she managed to survive; it didn't matter how because in the end, she was the one who pulled through. She wouldn't allow herself to die here and she wouldn't let any of her friends die either.

Hisoka covered his face with his hand and began laughing, his shoulders shook as if he had heard something that gave him the best laugh. His entire body trembled and each cackle sent a new shiver down the three's spine. Through the crack of his fingers, Hisoka looked at Kurapika.

"Out of curiosity, what is your number?"

"#404." Kurapika was surprised his voice was so steady even when he could barely feel his tongue right now.

Hisoka put away his card and placed both hands on his hips, "Very well, you have yourself a deal. I'll take the two tags."

Sakura stepped back without turning around and placed the two tags she had chosen in the crevice of a tree trunk. Leorio and Kurapika were close behind her watching Hisoka in case he changed his mind or this was a bluff.

"Don't worry, I'll stay right here until you're out of sight," Hisoka assured them. He watched as Kurapika, Leorio and lastly Sakura took a turn into the thicker part of the forest. "And by the way," he called to Sakura, "I'm afraid at this moment; you wouldn't be able to judge if I'm qualified; that role is still far from your reach."

Sakura gave one final hard glare at Hisoka before disappearing with the two males.

Hisoka went to the tree after a minute and examined the tags with little concern. #118 and #390; neither were his targets.

"Pity. Both are the wrong tags." Hisoka continued to smile though. His thoughts fixated on the three applicants who had caught his eye.

Gon was stunned. He could not believe the risk Sakura had taken in confronting Hisoka as she had. While he was hiding and waiting for his chance to strike, Gon had been conflicted for a moment as to what he was going to do when he found out that Hisoka was targeting his friends. He decided that if it turned into a fight he would abandon his plan and help them, he was grateful to Sakura and relieved that the tags she gave up weren't Hisoka's target.

'I only have one more chance,'

Sakura stumbled; her knees giving in; she collapsed on the forest floor holding her weight on a tree trunk. After running a full twenty minutes non-stop, navigating through the thickest part of the forest; the three were convinced that they weren't being tracked by Hisoka but they still wanted to put as much distance between them and him. Even after all that time, Sakura was still feeling the effects of interacting with Hisoka. It was like the prolonged effects of a severe flesh wound, even when wrapped and tended to, it would sting. She could not believe her own actions; this was the kind of thing she usually scolded others for.

"You okay Sakura?" Leorio asked, "Are you tired?"

"No, it's not that," Sakura panted, her head between her knees. "Just…..the next time I do something like that one of you punch some sanity into me!"

Leorio snickered dryly, "R-Right….like any of us could do that."

"I'll let you," Sakura deadpan.

Kurapika looked around, they were much deeper in the forest, the thick bushes and soft soil would make it difficult to travel on foot and wouldn't be preferential. "We should stop here for tonight,"

"We can keep going. I'm okay, just a little shaken." Sakura said standing once again.

"I know but it's going to be light out in a few hours; best get some rest. I'd honestly rather avoid meeting any more applicants tonight after this,"

No one could disagree there.

With no time to set up camp, Kurapika, Leorio, and Sakura found their own patch of ground to lay on, under a tree and barely saying another word to each other fell asleep-or so it seemed. Within half an hour, Leorio was snoring loudly and Sakura starring up at the canopy of trees attempting to see the stars in vain. She wasn't the only one still awake.

"That was a risky collaboration," Kurapika stated, crossing his arms. He was leaned back on one side of the trunk of the tree, but he knew that Sakura hadn't fallen asleep yet. "But none the less the most sufficient. And thanks to your quick thinking, we managed to make it out of there alive."

Sakura sighed, her arms folded across her stomach. "Well, when I realized you weren't going to push me over the cliff and let Hisoka take one of the three tags I had; I decided to take the plunge myself."

"So, what do you intend to do now?"

"Well, I've got to get me two more badges for myself," Sakura said casually. She was certain Kurapika understood what she was implying. She needed to get the badges quickly, so she would have to part ways with the two for now. She'd keep an eye out for Leorio's target as well.

"When are you leaving?"

"At first light," Sakura told him.

Kurapika closed his eyes, "We'll see you on the last day then?"

"Mmm…." Sakura trailed, "Actually, if you can't find Leorio's target you should go and wait near the check-point. It's a common tactic, I'm sure other applicants will do the same thing if they can't get their six points too. Though the last day's a bit too risky, maybe the sixth…"

"That makes sense. So you'll be there on the sixth day?"

"Hope so," Sakura said. "I need two more tags."

Things went quiet for a while and Kurapika contemplated something, "What if….I gave you back your tag?"

The answer was swift and like a kick to the Kurta's gut,

"I won't accept it,"

"Why?" Kurapika asked almost too quickly, hissing softly when he remembered Leorio was basically in between them.

"Because you already earned my tag and you shouldn't underestimate me, I'll get back the points I lost," Sakura stated haughtily, although she was smiling now. "Also it took effort on my part just to get you to take the badge, no way I'm letting you give it back to me. Now it's your turn to be patronized,"

"I wasn't trying to patronize you or anything of the sort,"

"Listen; there are only a few people that are going to make it through this phase. And I'm willing to bet you, Leorio, Gon, and Killua are meant to pass this phase. I'm not going to jeopardize that,"

"But why?"

Sakura turned on her side, giving no response other than, "Goodnight Kurapika,"

Kurapika wanted to ask her more questions. He wanted to know what made this girl so adamant about believing that they should be the ones to pass this phase. Then he remembered that this wasn't the first time this had happened either.

"Goodnight,"

When Kurapika woke up the following morning with Leorio, Sakura's side was already empty.

'Ah man, I really should stop biting off more than I can chew!' Sakura chastised herself for what felt like hours. Like she told Kurapika, at first light she had left the two males behind to go off and scout the island for applicants to obtain the two points she needed to pass. Despite what she told Kurapika, she didn't know if she was going to be able to make it through this phase when she had given up her badge to him and the two badges she obtained

"I swear if I ever get the chance, I'm going to get that psycho and kick the crap out of him," Sakura muttered, leaping through the forest. She hadn't stopped scouting for applicants since this morning after leaving Leorio and Kurapika. She could only hope that they would find Leorio's target before the deadline. Taking only one break that day, Sakura had kept a strict pace but even so, the number of applicants would be expected to decrease even if it was only the fourth day.

She realized only later that she wasn't so much as looking as she was blowing off steam because she was furious. Every time she thought about gaining new tags, something sparked in her. She knew that the wisest course of action was to hand Hisoka her tags and avoid a fight and she was fortunate enough to get away with giving him two, but still it infuriated her.

Especially his last words.

He may as well have said it straight out. She wasn't qualified to judge him as a pretend examiner because she didn't meet the criteria. He was many leagues above her and he knew it. From their first confrontation, he knew. And that irked her dangerously. Compared to him she was weak. Yet he was waiting, waiting for her to become comparable, to become strong so that she was worth killing.

It was difficult to place her feelings on the matter.

He was stretching her sanity slowly and she didn't know how much longer it would be before she snapped. Fear had been the only thing to ground her, but if that subsided like before and she slipped again, there was no guarantee Hisoka would allow her to get back up again.

Sakura stopped on a high branch and brought a hand to her throat, her fingers dancing across her skin and her heart started beating rapidly.

'What is this?'

Vigorously shaking her head, Sakura slammed her palms against her cheeks thrice before stretching out her limbs. 'Come on Sakura! Get it together.'

She reminded herself of her objective; to finish the book, compared to that this phase was nothing more than a minor task in achieving her goal.

Sakura deflated, sliding down the branch. "Damn, minor task or not finding two more applicants at this time isn't going to be easy given the limited number and method people can use to get these tags." Sakura rested her chin on her knees. 'Can't fate cut me some slack just this once?'

In a moment, Sakura heard something whizzing past the trees, it was light but it was loud enough to catch her attention and allow her to see something flying past her at a short distance. It was small and white.

'What's that?'

Jumping up, Sakura leapt through the trees at top speed until she was nearly in front of the object and extended her hand, grabbing it in mid-air. Landing on the ground, Sakura looked at the item to confirm her suspicions. A wide smile broke across her face when she saw the tag in her hands; the ID tag that had literally come flying out of nowhere!

"#197 huh?" Sakura looked back at the forest she had come out of. It was one of the thickest parts, with the biggest canopy; so she figured it would be one of the best places for applicants to hide or plan an attack. However, she didn't think a tag was literally going to come flying in her direction. The chance was so slim, she had to look up at the sky and mouth 'thank you' to whoever might still like her up there.

"Alright, just one more tag to go!" Sakura punched upwards.

Sakura paused, she knew that this badge belonged to one of the Amori brothers and Killua was targeting one of them. She narrowed her eyes.

'Couldn't be right?'

Sakura chose not to dwell into questioning how that tag had fallen into her possession and took it as a great blessing of being in the right place at the right time for once. While she was curious, she didn't turn to the book; her determination to find her last target that day at its peak. However, the rest of the day was a slow one as it seemed a miracle was only going to present itself once to Sakura.

She kept on the move the entire day without encountering a single applicant; although she wasn't distraught over only regaining one tag. The only issue that continued to dwell on her was Hisoka. Her mind was constantly drifting in its free time to her short encounters again.

Sakura sighed, taking a stick she had left by the fire, impaled with a fish she had caught near a river. She blew away the steam coming from the near-whole fish. One of the few things she knew how to make and ensure it was edible.

She set up camp near the riverbank on the outskirts of the forest, a lot more out in the open than she would initially opt for, but her caution and guard felt slack. Encountering Hisoka had brought her senses to their peak, and once she was out of his presence, it collapsed.

'I shouldn't be thinking this way,' Sakura thought.

Holding up the book with her free hand, Sakura stared at the letters of the title, the flickering fire giving her the light she needed to make out the depictions. She had only been in this world a few days, but her stomach still churned when she thought of home. It wasn't comparable to being out on missions, because she wasn't usually alone and secondly, she was in her world.

Sakura opened the book, 'I just have to keep my eye on the goal,'

Though what she read next had her completely dropping the resolve she had barely captured for a moment.

Gon was relieved that his friends were able to escape a battle with Hisoka, and he was also relieved to find that the two badges left behind by Sakura weren't Hisoka's target, giving him one more chance to initiate his plan to steal Hisoka's badge. Gon, however, became stumped when he realized that Hisoka's next run-in could end as a negotiation as he had just witnessed-though that thought quickly vanished when he felt the overwhelming bloodlust coming from Hisoka. His encounter with Gon's friends had left him with a strong desire to kill, enough to send nearby animals scurrying away from him.

Gon spent the entire night shaking in fear but was able to keep his presence rooted as well as remain present despite his instinct telling him to get as far from Hisoka as possible. When the sun rose, Hisoka began to move and Gon knew that regardless of what the other applicant would do, Hisoka was going to attack.

Running up ahead, Gon was able to spot the next person Hisoka would encounter from a tree. Another applicant that neither were familiar with, but was known as Agon applicant #281. After, Gon discovered the spot where the two would meet; then he waited. It didn't take more than a minute for Hisoka to spot his target in the clearing and rushed towards him with a maddened expression unlike anything Gon or his friends had seen before.

Gon threw his fishing rod forward just as Hisoka and Agon were about to cross weapons. The timing had been perfect, as Hisoka barely registered the fishing-lines presence until it was already reeled back by Gon, taking the badge with it. Hisoka didn't even acknowledge his kill, instead kept his focus on Gon who was holding his tag.

Gon couldn't help but watch Hisoka as he felt at the area of his chest for his missing badge, it gave the boy a sense of pride knowing that his practice and work had been worth it.

'Forget that Gon, get out of there you moron!' Sakura mentally screamed. She was curled up now, so focused on what she was reading, her surroundings were almost nonexistent. She couldn't feel the grass tickling her skin, nor the eerie silence that was looming over her. She nearly forgot that all of this must have happened today, as the book mentioned, but she was more disconcerted for Gon's safety now.

When Hisoka took a step in Gon's direction, he immediately turned around and began running as fast as he could to get away. Understanding that the roles between predator and prey had been swapped the instant Hisoka had spotted him. However, Gon was still captivated by his accomplishment of capturing Hisoka's badge that he barely felt the prick in his neck before his whole body went numb and he fell.

All Gon could move was his eyes, and he used them to follow the hand that took the tag he had dropped on the ground, following up to a man he remembered Tonpa introducing as Geretta.

Sakura remembered him as well, Tonpa had told her he used blowdarts with his specified weapon. Gon was his target and the boy had been unaware that while he was shadowing Hisoka, caused the perfect opening for Geretta to attack.

'Dammit!' Sakura clenched her jaw so tight it hurt her, but she couldn't stop and continued to read.

Geretta told Gon that he should've been watching his own back while attempting to jump another's and that would be his downfall. Geretta took Hisoka's badge and then Gon's own badge he had put away in his bag and left.

Gon laid on the ground paralyzed and frustrated. He watched as a butterfly landed on his hand, and then straight into a spider's web, unable to escape-helpless; just like he was.

Then he heard a noise and his senses perked, along with his anxiousness. Before it turned to fright when Geretta dropped down in front of him, his eyes wide open but lifeless, a small line of blood running down the side of his mouth and when Gon looked up the culprit revealed to be Hisoka.

Hisoka looked at Gon with a wide grin, as he complimented Gon for his masterful hunting strategy and display of skills, especially his self-taught method of concealing his presence. Having waited for his chance to strike by timing his attack with Hisoka's. Hisoka observed the two badges in his hand before tossing it on the ground. It was Gon's tag as well as Hisoka's. After that he was about to walk away when Gon called him back, wanting to know the reason why he had appeared if not to take back his badge.

Hisoka then stated he had only come to compliment Gon, since Geretta turned out to be his target, and with the other three badges he had collected, he no longer needed his own tag and would gladly give it to Gon, if not to have the debt repaid later.

What was meant to be sheer luck were a mere insult to Gon, and that fury built gave him the strength to move his aching muscles and stand, clutching Hisoka's tag. Gon said he had no desire to be indebted to Hisoka and held out the tag to him. Hisoka only grinned and stepped over Gon, his bloodlust coming forth again after it was only calmed a few moments ago.

Hisoka refused Gon's offer to take back his tag, stating that he would let the boy live for now, as long as it suited him until he was worthy of killing. Gon was then hit with the most powerful and painful punch he believed he could ever receive. Hisoka walked away then, stating he would only take back his tag once Gon was able to deliver a punch to his face as he had done.

Sakura's eyes grew soft as she continued to read what happened after Hisoka's departure; Gon had been left gravely wounded, but by nightfall, he had managed to find a hiding place in the trunk of a tree where he was planning to wait until he could move properly. His frustrations on a full high.

'Oh Gon….' Sakura closed the book.

Okay everyone. That's all for now and because I've got a load of submissions due, I won't be updating for two weeks, but I'll be back after that hopefully.

In the meantime…

REVIEW