To begin with I will need each of you to draw you hunt and who hunts you. In this box are exactly 25 numbered cards. Which means one of the numbered cards will correspond to your numbered badge. Now each of you will draw a card in the order you exited the tower. Which of you were first?"
Hisoka walked forwards and pulled out a card then walked back to where he had been standing before. I went next, drew my card and walked back to Gon and the others hoping beyond all hope that I did not draw Hisokas' number.
"You finished that quickly?" Kurapika asked, seemingly surprised.
"Yeah and it probably would have been quicker had my team member helped out but we weren't required to work together. In fact he was hoping I would have been killed along the way but his plan failed."
"So what happened to him?"
"He failed." I said clenching my fist. "The last room only allowed one of us to pass and even with all his spare time, his ambush failed."
"Well glad you kicked his ass then." Leorio said roughly patting my back in praise.
I let out a small whimper as my face turned white from the pain of him accidentally opening the wounds on my back. He stopped in shock at my reaction before apologizing quickly having not realized I had a wound on my back.
Smiling weakly I waved my hand in dismissal "You….you're fine Leo, you didn't know. I'll just fix the bandages later."
"I can help." He stated. "I am training to be a doctor after all."
I shrugged him off before being the silent listener as they began to talk amongst themselves. It took a little bit of time but soon enough the rest of this little group had drawn their cards.
"Has everyone drawn? Very well, now if you would please go on and remove the sticker. Hmmm the number you see is your target. This box has recorded the number that each of you has drawn. Each card was tallied and then stored in memory. So if you'd like you are free to dispose of the cards it makes no difference at this point. The objective is to steal your target's ID badge. The method is up to you. Procure the badge however you see fit but if you kill the target you can take their badge easily. Listen carefully. Collecting the ID badge of your specified target will get you three points, understand? Your own badge is also worth three points and all the other badges are worth one point. In order to move on to the final phase you will need to collect six points. So on your time there on Zevil Island gather enough badges to get six points or fail the exam. Only those that do will clear the fourth phase of the hunter exam."
It wasn't long after that we boarded a boat to get to the Island that could be seen from a distance. The time spent on the boat was going smoothly though the environment was more tense considering the next phase. Leorio made it a point to find me and offered to help with the wound on my back once again. I denied the offer again, at first, but he was adamant on letting him look since he was training to be a doctor. I let out a sigh and let him win, besides, it would be nice to have it stitched up. Once I agreed the captain allowed us an empty room.
"I heard what happened with that bet and if even a finger strays, I'll break it." I said glaring, with a slight grin.
"Hey!" He said suddenly worried. "It…I…I couldn't pass it up but this is different."
Looking him dead in the eyes I smiled. "Good, then there is nothing to worry about."
His nervous laughter made it obvious he was having doubts at the moment over having offered help. I pulled my shirt off and took off the bandages, sighing at the blood that had soaked them. I leaned forwards and used my shirt to cover my front, giving Leorio the ok to turn around. He took in the wound and I heard him whisper out an ouch before grabbing his suitcase for his supplies. He cleaned it out and gave me a heads up that he would need to stitch one of the cuts. Thankfully he was able to numb it a little so I didn't have to fight that pain. Once he finished that we worked together wrapping it up with new bandages.
"Try not to pull your stitches though that might be easier said than done with what's coming up."
"I promise to try and keep the stitches where they belong." I said pulling my shirt back on as his back was turned.. "Thank you, Leorio."
We both made our way back to the main deck of the boat. I didn't bother listening to the lady on the boat explain anything and left only after the time limit had passed since Hisoka had left. I knew who my target was and already had a plan in order to get my badge. I waited at a safe distance, hidden in the trees, watching for him to leave the boat. Once he did I stalked him for a few hours just wanting to see what he planned to do and with the sun starting to set I grinned. Night time was more my setting and would give me enough time to attempt to lose the one tracking me. I didn't know who it was but it wasn't any of the other contestants so I wasn't too worried. Once my target made camp and fell to sleep was when I quietly made my way to him and while it wasn't necessary to mask my Nen I did anyway. This way I wouldn't have to fight him for the badge and I suppose he would still have a chance at passing. In a swift movement I got him in a choke hold as he was startled awake. He struggled for a little bit before passing out and I gently laid him back on the ground. Finding his badge didn't take long and once I had it, I left. Though I wasn't sure how to go about the rest of the week we were given. I wanted to go make sure the kids were fine, yet I knew they would be safe enough. Maybe I would be able to relax and allow my wounds some time to heal.
One thing I could do was use my power to run around in my wolf form. The other hunters wouldn't be looking for a wolf and no one knew this was something I could do. Since the sun was getting close to setting I would wait till the cover of night to set my plan in motion. I found a nice little spot hidden away and waited there and since I was unable to keep my clothing when I transformed I quickly stripped down and placed everything in my pack and quickly turned into a black wolf. Compared to a normal wolf I was much bigger. I dug a little hole in the ground and buried the bandages that had ripped during my transformation. Though I doubted anyone in the exam would be able to track me based on scent, I wanted to play it safe. I picked up my bag in my mouth and slowly trotted in a random direction. The scent of blood caught my attention and since I didn't know who it was I ran in that direction without a thought. I ended up in a slight clearing and jumped in stupidly seeing Hisoka sitting on a log. I dug my paws into the dirt, stopping out of his attack range, if he didn't use his cards. Staring into his eyes was all I could do before letting out a growl and letting the fur on my back stand up on end. All Hisoka did was look up at me and let out a small laugh before ignoring me, getting up and walking away. As he walked away I relaxed enough to stand up straight and watch him fade into the distance.
After this I managed to avoid running into Hisoka for another three days. Whether he was tracking me or just found me by accident was something I couldn't figure out but he had me cornered. My back was literally up against a stone wall and I wasn't sure exactly how to react. I would never beat him in a fight but at the same time I couldn't just give up. I let out a growl and bared my teeth slowly letting the bloodlust overcome me. I would not give up without a fight, even if I were to die here. He wasn't going to make the first move so I ran at him, dodging to the left before attempting to land an attack. He vanished and appeared behind me and I barely managed to get away from his attack. This wasn't a form I was use to fighting in but I didn't think I was doing horrible. He landed many more attacks than me and I was beginning to take notice of them along with the ones I already had. I pulled out the cards sticking from my front legs with my teeth and quickly caught another aimed at my head. Running at him I latched onto his arm, piercing the flesh. With his other hand he grabbed onto the back of my neck roughly. I didn't let go but I realized my mistake as I let my growl get louder. I bit down harder on his arm, able to taste his blood flowing as he gripped my neck harder. He could have taken care of me then and there but he just waited until I let go of his arm. His hand went to reach towards my back and I bared my teeth again and went to open my jaw only for it to be snapped shut. He continued reaching and that was when I felt him remove multiple cards from my back before dropping me to the ground. I lowered my head, with my ears pinned back, growling at him but ultimately admitting defeat.
"Oh come now, Fang." Hisoka said, patting my back and removing the last card, then turned and walked away. "I wonder what else you are hiding?"
I turned around and slowly went towards my bag but stopped as soon as I saw it flying towards Hisokas' hand. I went to ask for the bag back but found I was still unable to open my mouth. I used gyo real quick and let out a growl seeing the ren from his abilities. It was pointless to run away at this point so I followed without paying attention to where we were going. After walking for at least twenty minutes Hisoka stopped and sat on a large flat rock, placing my pack on the grass by his feet. I sat across from him and looked around at our surroundings. It was a little more open than I liked but with someone like Hisoka around, I rather doubt that mattered.
"You need to clean those wounds of yours. I suggest you turn back to normal."
I looked over at Hisoka and tried to speak but the bungee gum still held my jaw shut, so I shook my head no. He continued to glare at me and before long I stood up and approached him, pawing at my pack. He released the gum and I picked my pack up looking to use a tree as cover. A card stopped me from leaving his sight and I let out a whimper in surprise realizing I wasn't going to be allowed to leave his sight. I turned my back to him as I turned back to my human self, insanely happy with the length of my hair which covered down almost to my knees. Reaching into my bag pulling out clothing, I quickly pulled on my underwear and shorts. Grabbing my shirt was met with it being pulled from my hand. I brought one arm up to cover my chest the best I could before looking back at Hisoka both embarrassed and angry. He stood up and walked over towards me laughing at my embarrassment.
"I do rather like that look but you do need to wrap that wound on your back." He said teasingly into my ear. "I'm only helping."
I felt his fingers brush against my neck and he went to push my hair out of the way. I could have helped, I had my hair tie but I'd have to stop covering myself to help. He stopped at one point, once he saw the extent of the wound and gripped my hair tightly pulling my head back so that I could look him in the eyes. His nails started tracing a random pattern on my neck and I closed my eyes not sure what to expect. Was he debating if I was worth keeping alive? The nails left my throat and I heard him going through my pack before pulling out what he needed. Expertly he tended to the wound and wrapped it up nicely, then moved to my front to tend to my leg. While he was doing that I quickly put on my bra and shirt, feeling much more comfortable. Once he was done I went to pull my leg back but his grip held firm. His free hand reached up and grabbed my left wrist, then pulled it towards him. The wounds from his cards marked them but they didn't seem worth bothering with to me. He thought otherwise it seemed and cleaned them both up. Once he placed the clean supplies back into my bag he moved back towards the rock he had been on before.
"What am I going to do with you?" He hummed out as I felt the pull off his bungee gum, on my wrist, pulling me to his side.
My glare was directed down at my wrist, at the bungee gum I couldn't see. I wonder if there was a way to avoid being stuck by it once it was attached. The bigger problem at the moment was with how relaxed I was in his presence. This was such a slippery slope to be on. His hand grasped my jaw and turned my head to look at him. My glare from before now aimed at him as we stared into each other's eyes. As his hand moved to my check, his thumb softly stroking below my eye, I closed my eyes and leaned into it. He paused for just a second before bringing his thumb to brush against my lips before laughing and lying down on the grass. In my head I moaned in shock and disappointment, hating my feelings. I had expected a kiss. Of all the things to be thinking about this was not where my mind should be. Oh I knew he was toying with me but it seemed he had a plan. I layed down and made sure to roll to my side to make space between the two of us before falling to sleep with empty dreams.