Chapter 6
Confusion and the Magician
Nozomi sat near Hisoka and number 301, whose name she found out was Gitarakuru, as the number of passing applicants slowly increased. Her thumb rubbing against her bare wrist as she anxiously waited for her friends to show up. She continued to wait patiently, watching Hisoka build a house of cards to help distract her from the anxiety that was slowly eating her away.
She glanced up to the sound of a door opening to see a man stumble out, barely alive. Once he stepped into the room he passed out. The Amori brothers went over to check if he was okay, but unfortunetly he was already dead. Sighing, she returned her attention back to the cards.
"One minute left." the speaker announced.
Right after the announcement, one more door opened and to the girl's surprise, three people appeared.
"Gon, Killua and Kurapika." She sighed in relief and got up to her feet, about to join them.
Leorio and Tonpa came out a few seconds after, praising Gon for his idea. Soon, an announcement was made, declaring that the third trial was over and that the door to the outside was open.
"You guys made it." Nozomi smiled as she walked towards the exit with the group.
"Yeah." Gon turned to look at the girl with a beam, but his smile dropped. "What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?"
Gon's comment caught the attention of the others and all of them turned to see the girl coated in blood.
"Um... I fell into an illusion trap and some stuff happened... But the only place I'm injured is my hand." She answered, waving the hand with shards of glass still stuck in it.
Before the others could continue questioning her, the examiner of the third round began to speak.
"Congratulations to all of you for exiting the only have two more trials left: the fourth trial and the final."
"Two rounds left." A few of the applicants sighed with relief, yet disappointed that the exam wasn't over yet.
"The fourth round will take place on Zebiru's island. Well lets hurry." With a snap of his fingers, a box on a trolley was brought to the front by his assistant. "You will need to do a lottery."
Most of the applicant murmured among themselves, confused by the examiner. It was until one person asked the examiner why they would have to participate in a lottery.
"This lottery will allow us to determine the hunters and the prey." The examiner explained. "Inside the box there are 25 numbered cards. These numbers are just the same as the ones that were given to you in the beginning of the competition. Well, pick a card in the order you arrived at the tower's bottom."
As he finished his explanation, Hisoka stepped up to the box. Next is was Gitarakuru, then Nozomi. In her head she prayed that her target wouldn't be one of her friends and the one who would be hunting her would be Hisoka or Gitarakuru. When everyone had a target, the examiner explained that their target's number and their own number were worth 3 points, while the other tags were worth 1 point. In total, an applicant needs 6 points to pass the fourth trial.
After the examiner finished his explanations, he lead all of the applicants onto a boat which would lead them to their next destination. Nozomi was about to walk off when she boarded the ship, but a pair of hands halted her movements. Peering up, she saw Leorio and Kurapika looking down at her with a serious expression.
"Let me treat your hand and you better not struggle, got it?" Leorio ordered and Nozomi sweat dropped.
The twelve year old girl sat in between Gon and Killua after getting her hand patched up. Her focus was on the back of her wrapped up hands as she remembered Kurapika's look as if he recognized the tattoo's on her hand, but she didn't know whether she should worry or not.
"So, which number did you two pick?" Killua asked.
"What about you?" Gon countered but Killua simply replied that it was a secret, ending with a glaring competition.
"How about we count up to three, and we show our targets?" Nozomi suggested, trying to ease the tension.
The boys nodded in agreement. Then, at the count of three they all put out their cards for one another to see. Once seeing Gon's number the other two twelve year olds looked at him in shock.
"Wow that... sucks." Nozomi muttered
"You're not very luck at lottery!" Killua stated and Gon sadly agreed.
He then picked up Nozomi and Killua's target numbers.
"Number 198 and number 199, whose number is that?"
The two shrugged and the boys started to talk. While they were conversing, Nozomi felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier until she could not keep them open anymore. Allowing herself to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness.
"Um..." a ten year old Nozomi started as she walked beside the young man who raised her.
"What is it, Nozomi?" He asked, without taking a glance at the dark hair girl.
The girl's eyes were cast towards the rugged pavement as she tugged on her black gloves for some sort of comfort.
"You know the story you told me about... About the kurta clan..." Her master turned her head to look at the girl as she continued speaking. "... Do you believe that it's right to steal their eyes? Just because people want their scarlet eyes?"
The man narrowed his eyes on the girl before sighing out loud, ruffling the child's hair.
"You still have a lot to learn."
Nozomi wanted to ask about what he meant, but she suddenly felt something flying towards her. By instincts, she used her daggers to redirect the object before looking in the direction of the attacker.
It was there she met a certain bloodthirsty magician sitting on several slabs of rocks, along with ten or eleven others.
"What an interesting toy." The magician smirked, licking his lips.
Nozomi felt her temperature drop dramatically, but she did her best to hide her fear.
A voice and some rocking of the twelve year old's shoulders made her stir and her grasp on the arm beside her tightened. Slowly, her eye fluttered open to see Gon holding onto her shoulders.
"Hey Gon... Wait... What am I holding?" Nozomi cautiously followed the arm in her hands to see a silver hair boy with a face as red as a tomato. "Ah! I'm sorry Killua!"
The girl shot up to her feet and scratched the back of her head, a soft pink color highlighted her cheeks.
"Idiot..." He muttered and walked off with his hand buried deep in his pockets.
Nozomi was about to drop her hand down back to her side when she noticed the slight weight difference on her wrist. Gazing down, her body froze and joy filled her face.
"You're back!" She exclaimed as she rubbed it against her cheek.
"Oh! That was yours?" Gon asked and Nozomi nodded. "Killua was holding it in his hands for days. He never let go of it."
He did that?... She stared at the loose jewelry on her wrist before breaking out into a bright smile. How sweet.
"Come on Nozomi. The fourth round is about to start!" Gon stated as he grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her to the front of the ship.
When the two arrived at the front, a woman explained that their limit on the island is one week and once they have collected 6 points worth of tags they must return to the ship. When the woman announced that the first applicant who reached the bottom should leave first, Hisoka entered the forest. Then she told the remaining applicants that each person were given two minutes of time before letting the next person leave.
"Third person!" The woman called.
"Good luck." Nozomi whispered to Gon before running into the forest.
Killua looked at his green clad friend. A small frown was worn on his face as her felt a little annoyed that Nozomi seemed more interested in Gon than him.
A full day had passed and during the whole time Nozomi was hidden within the trees, trying to keep an eye out for her prey and the person who has her as a target. Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone approaching but she decided to pretend to be oblivious until the person struck.
When the person made their move, Nozomi immediately spun around to defend herself from the attacker. However, before she had the chance to even turn around she found herself pinned against the cold ground. She grunted in pain and focused her eyes on her attacker then gasped.
"H-Hisoka?!"