DISCLAIMER: Hunter X Hunter is not mine. It belongs to the wonderful Togashi-sensee. *salutes* The plot and OC are mine though.

CHAPTER 02. Break and Run

I shielded my eyes at the sudden brightness. We were finally out of the underground pathway. What greeted us was a vast swamp littered with weird trees and plants. And perhaps, creatures. I looked around. The number of examinees has lessened but in my point-of-view, the number was still too much.

Satotz started talking once again when a tattered man appeared behind a rock claiming that he's the real examiner.

"Get away from him! He's an impostor! An animal belonging in this swamp!" He said dragging a corpse of an unusual animal nearby.

I turned my gaze to the dead creature. Before I knew it, I was holding my mouth and stomach to keep myself from laughing loudly. It looks like Satotz! No wonder he's a good target of these creatures!

"Why are you laughing to yourself?"

I wiped the tears of laughter forming at the corner of my eyes before facing the owner of the voice. It was one of the newbie trio - the one claiming to be the same age as me. My expression changed into a serious one. Not again. Killua's more than enough annoyance. I looked at him for a moment and turned away. I was aiming to get away from him when he talked again.

"So Killua's right. You like to ignore people."

That damn brat!

"And Killua said if I annoy you enough, you'll eventually talk."

I made a mental note to kill Killua after this.

"So?"

I sighed. Why are there so many annoying people in this planet?! I looked back at him. As soon as I saw his expression, my annoyed look turned into a glare. He seemed to be smirking at me.

"Why are you smirking?"

"No reason." The blonde guy said. "It's just as Killua has said. It's kind of funny." I glared at him even more. "So?"

I thought for a moment then remembered his earlier question. I let out another sigh and answered. "The creature looked like Satotz. It was funny."

"Funny?" He looked surprised. "So you don't think the Satotz we followed is a fake?"

"Huh? Why would he be a fake?"

"Just as Killua said. You're interesting."

"Huh?"

"Just like you, I don't believe he's a fake. I did doubt for a moment but analyzing the situation, the possibility of him being a fake is very low. Especially not for a hunter like him." Then, he looked at me. "On the other hand, you didn't seem to falter even for a single moment. You're so sure he was not a fake. It was like you knew even the before the bloodied man spoke and accused Satotz."

I looked at him intently. I don't like this guy. He's too sharp. "Is that so?" I said trying to play it off.

His eyes became sharp as if he's trying to read me. I just played it innocently. I don't feel the need of sharing the abilities I have with this stranger or with anyone else for that matter.

"Kurapika."

I raised my eyebrow in question. "Kurapika? What's that?"

"My name."

"I didn't ask for it."

"I know." He ended as he returned to his comrades. "It would be nice if you could tell us yours. Killua was fumbling with his description of you because you won't tell him your name." He added before completely leaving.

Just as I thought, the Satotz we followed was real. It made a small ruckus but nonetheless everything was settled. All thanks to Hisoka-niisan.

"You shouldn't do that." I said as I approached Hisoka-niisan. "What if you fail again because of attacking an examiner? That's what happened last year, right?"

Hisoka-niisan just smiled at me without answering. That's when I noticed it. This is bad. Hisoka-niisan's getting impatient.

I simply sighed and started to move away from. "Don't say that I didn't warn you, okay?" I said before moving out of earshot.

I sped up a bit trying to get closer to Satotz who was now starting to blur from my viewpoint. Once in a while, I looked back at Hisoka-niisan and those surrounding him. I've known him for so long that I know when he had this surge of terrible bloodlust. My train of thoughts was disturbed by a child's voice shouting through the mist.

"Oi! Leorio! Kurapika! Killua said we should speed up!"

It was one of the trio newbie called Gon waving frantically at the other two. He was running beside Killua while the other two was running somewhere behind me. I looked back to see how far they were. I was surprised when I saw where exactly they were. The blonde guy called Kurapika and the tall loud guy were just a few meters from Hisoka-niisan.

Bad luck. Sorry Gon but it seems that you'll be losing your friends soon.

Somehow, I felt sorry for Gon. Nonetheless, the fates of his two friends lie on how far they can run ahead of Hisoka-niisan. That proved to be difficult seeing how the tall loud guy was struggling to keep up with his current pace. Kurapika seemed able to move ahead but opted to stay with the tall loud guy.

Soon, we entered the deeper part of the swamp. By this time, the fog and mist had thickened making it almost impossible to see what's beyond the reach of an arm. This isn't good. I better hurry ahead. I decided and increased my pace further.

I ran a few strides before reaching Gon and Killua. I was aiming to run even further ahead of them when Killua decided to annoy me yet again.

"Yo! You okay there?"

Silence.

"Oi! That's not fair! You're already talking a while ago. You're going to ignore me again?"

"I'm not. I was planning to run further ahead but you suddenly stopped me from doing so." I said angrily. "What's the matter this time?"

"Hisoka."

"What about him?"

"He's sending signals."

I sighed and joined them in their running pace for a while. "Yeah. I felt that since a while ago. He's just stalling a bit."

"He's bringing the number of applicants down."

"Isn't that advantageous for all the surviving ones?"

"I agree."

"WAIT A MINUTE!"

I was a bit surprise. The loud scream came from Gon who was running beside Killua. "What's your problem Gon?! My ear hurts!" Killua retorted rubbing his right ear.

"Because you're talking as if Hisoka's planning to murder everyone behind us."

"He is." Killua and I said at the same time.

"Then, aren't you gonna help those behind us? Leorio and Kurapika are still there!"

"Who cares?" I said bluntly. "I don't remember having obligations of saving them. This is the hunter exam. We are told by Satotz-san that we might die, remember?"

Gon was silent. "But that's just not right!"

"What's right and wrong depends on who says it."

Gon gave me another annoyed look. "I'm going back."

"Be my guest." I replied bluntly and ignored the annoyed look he's giving me. Immediately, he made a 180-degree turn and ran back to save his friends.

"He's too innocent." Killua said.

"And friendly." I added.

"That's going to kill him someday."

"I agree."

"It seems that we agree on a lot of things."

I shook my head. "I'm merely voicing out the practical side of the events. Anyone who's thinking the same way will agree to us."

"Is that so?" Killua said as he started riding his skateboard.

"I thought you're his friend. Aren't you saving him?"

"No need."

"Huh?"

"Gon's amazing. He can come back alive."

"With Hisoka-nii-" I trailed for a bit. "With Hisoka being there, I don't think so."

"Nope. He'll definitely live." Killua smirked widely.

I sighed. "You're too willful. Goodluck on that. Hope you enjoyed your short time with your friend." I ended and moved farther away from Killua and ran to get nearer to Satotz-san. There's no way he could live. Hisoka-niisan is not the type to spare people. He kills for fun and he kills when he feels the need to do it.

It wasn't long when we reached the destination for the second part of the exam. I looked around and smirked to myself. I knew it. They won't survive Hisoka-niisan's bloodlust. Sorry to say Killua, you just lost your new friends. I walked to a nearby tree to get some rest from all the running I made. I was about to sit down when I saw a silhouette running towards me.

"Eh? Hisoka-niisan?"

It wasn't the fact that Hisoka-niisan made it alive that surprised me. It was the fact that he was carrying someone in his back. Moreover, it was one of those newbie trio. I watched him silently as he made his way towards me and laid down the guy he was carrying.

"Why did you carry him here?"

"Would you like it better if I kill him?"

"Not exactly that." I said looking at the guy. He has a huge bump in his left cheek making his left face swollen. "It just surprised me. You actually let people live."

Hisoki-niisan laughed at me and started patting my cap-covered head. "Is it that unusual?"

"Yeah." I said wriggling away from his hand. "And don't pat me with your hands! They're dirty! You've just killed people with those hands! I don't want to smell like dead people!"

Hisoka-niisan gave another boisterous laugh. "These people are interesting. You also noticed it, right? You were smirking after they bombed the cave a while ago."

"I was only interested in that small child called Gon and that other child there called Killua."

"Because they're on the same height as you?"

I gave him a light punch in the chest. "No idiot! And stop picking on my height!"

"Haha! So? Why did they interest you?"

Before I knew it, my face turned serious. "Oniisama's like them. Headstrong with overflowing guts and bravery. I thought that if he's here he would love to have little brothers like them."

Hisoka-niisan didn't reply to my answer. He just gave me one last pat and walked away. My hand went again to my earrings as I remembered my brother again. Where are you right now, Oniisama?

"Oi!"

A loud voice shattered my thoughts. Ugh! I moved too late. I should have walked away the moment Hisoka-niisan left me here. I looked behind me to see the rest of the newbie trio with Killua running towards me. The child called Gon and his friend, Kurapika tended to the unconscious loud-mouthed guy. While the two were checking on him, Killua stood beside me with a huge smirk on his face.

"I told you he'll make it."

"Huh?"

"Gon. I said he'll make it remember?"

"He did not make it." I said as a-matter-of-factly. "Hisoka-nii…Hisoka just let him live for now. He's interested in them that's why he let them live."

"Is that what he said to you?"

I looked at him for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I saw you talking to him casually a while ago. You know each other?"

"I believe that's none of your business."

"Hmmmm." I made a side glance at Killua who was now looking intently at me. He was about to ask another question but was stopped when we heard that the loud-mouthed guy was finally waking up.

"Leorio!" Gon exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. Ouch!" He winced as he touched his swollen face. "What happened to me?"

They all looked at each other. The loud-mouthed guy whom Gon called Leorio seemed to forget everything that happened to him.

"Don't you remember anything?" Kurapika started asking.

"I do remember until I attacked Hisoka, but after that…" He trailed. He must be sound asleep when Hisoka-niisan brought him here. I saw Gon and Kurapika nodding to each other agreeing not to mention anything anymore to Leorio. Killua also joined them in conversation giving me an escape route. At least, the topic is off now. I should move away before they realized I'm still here. I walked away quietly. I haven't even made three steps when Gon stopped me.

"Nee, arigatoo!"

"Huh?"

"You were looking after Leorio before we came, weren't you?"

I gave him a confused look. "I am not. I just happened to be here when Hisoka-nii…Hisoka left him here."

"Soredemo, arigatoo!"

"You're weird." I told him honestly. This child is too pure for his own good. "Anyway, I'll be leaving."

"Matte!"

I scratched my head rather forcefully and turned back angrily. "What is it this time? Can't you at least guess that I don't want to be associated with you? With anyone of you?"

All of them seemed surprised. I was surprised myself too. I've been annoyed by the group since a while ago that I already snapped from it. I glared at them angrily. "If you excuse me, I wanted to be left alone." I turned around again and this time, I strengthened my will to completely ignore them for the rest of the exam period.

"It's not true that you don't want to be associated with us. Because I think you're a nice person after all! " Gon started. In spite of it, I didn't make a move to turn back or wait for him until he's done with his speech. But I do hear the earliest part of his monologue. "My name is Gon! And these are my friends! It would be nice if you could become my friend too! I am aiming to become a…." The rest of his words were lost in my ears. I only heard fainted words from Leorio about leaving me alone since I am an annoying brat or somewhere along those lines. I walked near the front of a tall gate waiting for the examiner to appear within it. Sorry dudes. I am not one of you and I don't see the need of having friends. I've been living without one so having none for the rest of my life isn't really a problem. I only need my family, my Oniisama and no one else.

つづき

片桐キリハ