I would like to say a big thank you to SpadesPirates4Eva, Red, Green and Yellow for reviewing and giving some tips about spacing. This has been taken into account. Also to answer a question here, this is not a "CanonxOC" fanfic. Sorry guys, I just didn't see it fit with this character. I also wanted to preserve the innocence kids had/have. Anyway, on with the story!

Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.

So this is the First Phase of the First exam. One of physical testing. I was never good at running or anything physical, maybe just a bit below average. This is probably the biggest test I'll ever have to do and although I hate to say it; I hope it'd get easier, even just by a little bit. But I knew that was not how the exam worked, it was going to get harder, more demanding and probably more violent. I don't think I can do this, but I have to try. I have to try, for my brother.

We had been running for what felt like forever and still hadn't left this tunnel. My lungs were on fire, I found it hard to breathe. When would this end. I took deep breathes to try and get the air back into my lungs, but that only made them heavier. My cheeks were red from all the running and breathing I was trying to do at the same time. Although there was nothing on my shoulders it didn't help keep me cool, I felt so hot. My brother, Gon and Leorio didn't seem all that affected by all this running.
"Hey Mishka, you OK?" I heard Gon ask as he slowed down to run beside me. I couldn't help but shake my head as we continued running.
"My…lungs…hurt…and…it's…hard…to…breathe." I said to him, taking breaths of air into my lungs with every word I said. Gon gave me a concerned look, furrowing his brows as he thought to himself and then looked back at me smiling widely.
"Breathe through your nose and out through your mouth that always works!" He said in a cheery voice and a wide smile. I nodded my head and began doing what he said; as if by magic it worked. My lungs started to feel lighter and as if they weren't on fire. I smiled widely at him.
"It's working!" I said to him as Gon nodded his head and smiled widely back. At least I wasn't going to collapse and die on the way there now. I couldn't help but look behind me, a lot of people had dropped out; the group looked so much smaller. My mouth frowned, if Gon hadn't given me the advice that would surely be me as well.

Me and Gon had caught up with Leorio who seemed like he was struggling. A kid with white hair passed us quickly. I looked how and saw he was skateboarding. I wish I had thought of that; but I can't skateboard so maybe running was the best idea.
"Hey! Wait up, Kid!" Leorio shouted at the kid who had skated past us. All he did was turn his head slightly to look at Leorio, but he didn't seem fazed by his sudden shout out.
"You should show the hunter exam some respect!" Leorio shouted at him as he turned his head even more to look at the man in the suit. The white haired boy said something, but I couldn't hear what; and I couldn't lip read either so I was at a loss.
"Why are you using a skateboard? That's cheating!" Leorio said pointing at his skateboard. I and Gon looked at each other questionably. Leorio was right, if this was an endurance test then yes he was cheating, but Gon looked generally confused. We both shrugged our shoulders slightly and turned our attention back to Leorio, who was still yelling at the kid with white hair.
"Why…This is an endurance test!" Leorio shouted at him angrily. I was glad I wasn't on the end of that shouting that must have been really terrifying! I couldn't help but flinch myself when Leorio shouted but this kid showed no sign of discomfort.

This seemed to have peeked Gon's interest as he sped up a little bit more, making me do the same so that I wasn't back there by myself.
"No, it isn't." Gon said simply as he continued his running. I looked at Gon confused and then looked back at Leorio and the white haired kid. He had turned his face fully and from what I could tell he had pale blue eyes and really pale skin. Almost sickly.
"Huh? Gon, what are you saying? Mishka do you think this is an endurance test?" Leorio said, looking at the both of us. He was still shouting though and I nodded my head, but only just a little bit enough to show that yes I thought it was an endurance test.
"The examiner only told us to follow him." Gon said as I looked back at him. He did have a point. I furrowed my brows and frowned, I had no idea what kind of test this was now but I just wanted to get through it without being like the guys at the back of the tunnel. Speaking of which, how were they going to get home?
"Whose side are you on, eh?" Leorio shouted back at Gon. Gon seemed unaffected by Leorios constant shouting.

The kid on the skateboard slowed down and started skating next to Gon.
"Hey, how old are you two?" He asked us both as we looked at him a little surprised by the question.
"We're twelve years old." We both said to him at the same time as he was asking both of us. The kid looked a little surprised himself.
"Hmm… Guess I'll run to." He said as he kicked his board into the air. Me and Gon watched in utter amazement as he caught the board with his eyes closed and one hand in his short pockets.
"Wow! That was so cool!" Gon said as he sped up a little to catch up. I did the same and moved to Gons other side so that I could talk to them both easily.
"That was amazing!" I said with a large smile of my own on my face as I looked at him in amazement. I had never seen anything like that! However, the kid didn't seem to share our enthusiasm for his amazing trick and kept the same straight face.
"I'm Killua." He said to us introducing himself.
"I'm Gon." Gon replied to him.
"I'm Mishka." I replied after Gon. It was amazing! I now knew two people in this exam who were twelve like me that was amazing! I didn't think it'd happen not in a million years. We decided to run together after introducing ourselves.

We had been running for a long time. Me, Gon and Killua had slipped into the back of the group. I couldn't see my brother anymore, but I know we didn't run past him. He might not look it, but he was really fit when it came to this sort of stuff. He used to practice for hours and I'd just watch him in amazement as to how he could keep up with it for so long. I tried doing one of his practice sessions before and failed. However, I was doing better at this running now than I was earlier. That breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth trick really works! I couldn't see Leorio either; he must have gotten in front of us. I heard something drop and looked behind me to see Leorio lagging behind, he had dropped his suitcase.
"I think he's in trouble." I said to the two boys looking back at them before looking back at Leorio once more. He had stopped and doubled over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath as we continued to run forward. I thought to myself before turning to the other two once more.
"I'm going to go help him OK?" I said to them and turned around, jogging back to Leorio to lend him a hand. Once I reached him I went back a little more and picked up his suit case and jogged back to his side. I began rubbing his back slightly whilst holding the suitcase handle in my free hand.
"Do you need to rest for a minute?" I asked him, furrowing my brows with a small smile on his face. He was sweating and wheezing, it really sounded like he could do with just a little breather. He shook his head though.
"Screw that…I'm going to become a hunter!" He said and then took off, leaving me behind in the dust that his feet had lifted from the ground. I looked after him shocked and rubbed my eyes slightly as some dust got into them.
"I…guess he didn't need a minute." I said quietly to myself as I jogged back up to catch up with Gon and Killua, holding Leorios suitcase handle with my hands. I could see Gon smiling to himself when I caught up and Killua looking shocked. We started making our own way again once Leorio had gone far ahead from us.

We had been running for a little while more. We had all been talking to each other, just random chit-chat and all that. Killua looked at me and Gon with a large smile on his face.
"Gon, Mishka, wanna race to see who finished first?" He asked us. I nodded my head, feeling up for the challenge after watching Leorios sudden burst of energy. I looked determined to win this little race between the three of us.
"Sure. The loser has to buy dinner." Gon said as I rubbed my stomach slightly.
"Please don't mention food I'm so hungry." I said to him sighing slightly as Gon smiled widely at me making me smile back slightly.
"Okay, you're on!" Killua said as we slowed down a little getting ready to race.
"Ready…Go!" All three of us shouted running faster so the fastest one could get up the stairs first. I didn't want to buy dinner; I didn't have much money on me at all after buying those weapons. I knew me and Gon hadn't eaten for a while so we would probably eat a lot but I don't know about Killua, it'd probably cost a lot more than I actually had on me and that'd be embarrassing. All three of us ran up the stairs taking deep breaths with every step we took. We were all at the same speed, all determined to win our little three man race.

We had eventually caught up with Kurapika and Leorio. Kurapika had his tabard off and Leorio had his entire jacket and shirt off.
"See you at the goal, Kurapika." Gon said to him as all three of us looked at him smiling widely.
"Catch you later, old timer." Killua said to Leorio making him turn to him angrily.
"I'm not old! I'm a teenager, just like you guys!" Leorio shouted making us all look at him confused. There was no way Leorio was a teenager…he looked so much older than all of us! My brother looked younger than he actually was but at least you could see he was a teenager.
"No way!" Killua said as we continued to look at him shocked. That…that couldn't be true…could it? No way! That wasn't true at all he looked too old!

Me, Gon and Killua had all ran ahead after Leorio declared he was still a teenager. Gon had taken Leorio's suitcase from me with his fishing rod. That was amazing as well! He swung the fishing rod and took the handle from my hands and reeled it back in! Both I and Killua wanted a go with it, Gon said we could but in return Killua had to let him try his skateboard. I wanted to try his skateboard to; but I didn't have anything they could try. Killua said I was allowed to try though this one time but next time I got something new he got to try it first! I couldn't argue with that and agreed with it.
"I'm impressed that you two can keep up with me." Killua said out of know where breaking the silence between us all. We both looked at him, Gon rubbing the back of his head and me smiling widely at him whilst furrowing my brows. I was surprised I was keeping up with them too.
"Really?" Gon asked him in a questioning tone as Killua raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him questionably before looking forward once more.
"Or maybe it's just that everybody else is too slow. Man… The Hunter Exam is gonna be a breeze. That's no fun." Killua said, lowering his head making me and Gon look at him in surprise. I didn't think it was going to be, this first exam was killing my lungs and I had several stitches whilst running all this way; the exam was going to be a huge challenge for me. Gon I didn't know. I think it would be a challenge for him as well.

Gon decided to break the silence between us all that had appeared once more.
"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon asked him as I looked at him wondering the same thing. Killua lifted his head and looked at Gon a little surprised.
"Me? I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be fun. But this is disappointing." Killua said smiling to himself as he closed his eyes and looked forward. So he was doing it because he was bored? I guess that's a reason to do it but I don't know if it'd take this exam just because I was bored. It made me wonder about it though.
"What about you, Gon?" Killua asked Gon after he finished his explanation.
"Well, my dad's a hunter. So I want to become a Hunter, like my dad." Gon said with pure admiration in his voice. I couldn't help but smile at the way he spoke about his father, it was nice to see. We moved over to avoid running over someone who had passed out on the stairs that seemed to continue forever.
"Hmm? What kind of Hunter is he?" Killua asked him as we continued to look forward up the stairs, avoiding people as we ran.
"I don't know." Gon said cheerfully making Killua look at him and then laugh to himself and turn his head away.
"That's kinda weird." Killua said as Gon turned his head to face him.
"Really?" He asked him as Killua turned his head to face Gon and me.
"You want to be like your dad, but you don't know anything about him?" Killua said as Gon looked forward once more, determination and a smile sitting on his face.
"I was raised by Mito, so I've only seen my dad in pictures." Gon said, explaining his little story about his dad.
"Who's Mito?" Killua asked as I looked at him in question to. I didn't know who Mito was, but I know Gon spoke of her quite highly and a lot.
"Aunt Mito." Gon said as I nodded my head making an Oh like sound. So he was raised by his auntie. That was a little bit like me, expect I was raised by my brother because everyone was killed. But still, same thing…sort of… a little bit.
"When he was twelve, my dad took the hunter exam. He passed and became a Hunter. Then he left the island. I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter over being with me." Gon explained as we looked at him oddly. I couldn't help but smile though; it was a nice little reason.

Killua looked at me next, the same questioning look.
"What about you, Mishka?" He asked as I looked at him oddly before looking away and to the ground slightly.
"My brother is becoming a hunter so I'm becoming one to." I said to him, looking back up and smiling widely at him. Although this is what I said I was beginning to think if I really did want to be a hunter, or if I said I did because my brother was becoming one. It rattled my brain, I kept telling myself I wanted to be one…but…Killua raised an eyebrow slightly and looked around.
"Who's your brother?" He asked as I looked at him oddly.
"Kurapika. He's the blonde guy we passed earlier." I said to him, smiling widely as my words was filled with pride and proudness. Killua looked behind him slightly, although we couldn't see them anymore.
"Hmm…You two do look similar with the blonde hair. But your eyes are blue and his are grey." Killua said looking back at me as I nodded my head smiling widely.
"His eyes are naturally blue he just wears contacts." I said to him as he nodded his head thinking somewhat and then turning his attention back to me as I sighed slightly to myself taking in a lot of air. It was getting cooler. A lot cooler, and a lot lighter. We all looked forward and widened our eyes in surprise. Someone shouted about there being an exit. I couldn't believe it; we were finally exiting the tunnel! This really really really long tunnel that didn't seem to have an end. We all smiled widely and rushed forward to see who would get out of the tunnel first.

Satotz looked behind him as me and Gon came past him one side and Killua went past his other side.
"Goal!" All three of us shouted with one arm in the air. All three of us landed on the ground and stopped turning to face each other.
"Yay! I win." Gon said happily with his arm in the air as I gave him a playful like glare and shook my head.
"No I did! I landed first." I said back to him keeping my balled hands in front of my chest with a wide smile on my face.
"What are you two talking about? I was faster…" Killua said stepping towards us.
"I was." Gon retorted back.
"No I was." I retorted back myself.
"No I was!" Killua said back to us.
"I was faster, so you two have to buy dinner!" Gon said back to him as I shook my head quickly.
"Na-uh, I was so you two have to buy dinner!" I said back to the two.
"Nope. I was faster. So you two buy me dinner." Killua said back to us as I shook my head quickly once again.
"But I was faster." Gon said as I shook my head one last time.
"No way it was me who was faster!" I said back to them as all three of us looked back at the guy with the moustache and the purple hair.
"Hey, who was faster?" Gon asked him as he smiled widely. I had a determined but confident smile on my face and Killua had a serious look on his.
"I believe that you crossed the finish line simultaneously." He said as we all looked seriously once again and looked back at each other.
"Oh… Then I'll buy you two dinner." Gon said looking at us. I looked at Gon slightly shocked but more so confused.
"Huh?" Killua said looking confused as Gon continued his sentence.
"Then you two buy me dinner!" He said as I raised an eyebrow slightly, looking as confused as Killua did. Killua straightened up and shoved one hand back into his pocket.
"I don't get it." Killua said as I shook my head as well.
"That sounds really confusing." I said to him, furrowing my brows with a confused look on my face as I was trying to work out how that would work.

Gon turned around and faced the guy with the purple hair once more.
"Hey, Satotz. Is this where the Second Phase of the exam takes place?" Gon asked as I looked at him as well, wondering the same thing. I could finally feel the cool air better now that I had stopped running. My lungs felt heavy once more, I didn't realise how much I had been running; I felt so tired and really hungry. The talk about whose buying dinner didn't help.
"No, we still have quite a way to go." He said as I sighed and dropped my hands by my side. Well, it was a little too good to be true for our run to only take place in the tunnel. I guess we were waiting here for the other applicants to arrive, seeing as us three were the first up here.
"Oh…" Gon said in reply.
"I guess we'll have to wait for dinner." I said to them both as they nodded agreeing with me. I felt my stomach rumble and pulled a slight, I was so hungry.

The three of us sat on the ground as we waited for everyone. The other applicants finally made it out of the tunnel all huffy and puffy and quite smelly too. I looked around for my brother, trying to spot where he was and to make sure he got out of the tunnel OK. It wouldn't feel right going ahead without him; but I didn't have any doubts that he didn't make it. We finally spotted them, Leorio was hunched over breathing heavily and Kurapika had just exited the tunnel.
"Hey, Kurapika." Gon said smiling widely. He waved to us slightly as he looked around. I quickly stood up and latched myself to him hugging him tightly with a wide smile on my face. I was glad to have made it myself; it made me even happier that he made it to. I could feel him put a hand on my back and rub it slightly as he took deep breaths, probably trying to catch his breath as well.
"Is this our destination?" He asked. I shook my head into his side.
"No it isn't." Gon replied.
"I see." Kurapika said as he continued to take deep breaths. I could feel him move slightly meaning that he was looking around, his hand never leaving my back.
"The fog is fading." He said as I peeked my head from his side to see the fog lifting from the ground. I could hear Gon move as he got up from the ground himself. Taking a better look I could see all the trees and bushes.
"It looks like a forest." I said to them, keeping my tight grip around my brothers' waist with my very tight grip on his clothing as if afraid he'd go somewhere and leave me behind. His hand rubbing my back was the reassurance that he wasn't going to. Birds flew out from the trees over head of us and into the sky. I couldn't help but wonder where we were, it was so strange.

"The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Be very careful." Satotz began explaining to us as he looked out to the wetlands. So that meant it wasn't a forest like I originally thought. I didn't know what was scarier, a forest with big deadly animals in it or a wetlands with big scary cunning animals that prey on people who are also deadly. Both seemed like pretty bad choices to me. Satotz turned to face us with a finger next to his head.
"If you let them fool you… you're dead." He said. Those words made my stomach drop. I had stopped hugging my brother for dear life and instead held onto the back of his shirt with a tight grip, those words only made me hold onto it tighter. Gon and Killua were to my other side as Leorio was standing next to Kurapika as well. I felt a chill run up my spin, but rather that was because of the cold wetlands air finally getting to me or his words I couldn't decide. I think it was a mixture of both. I heard the shutter being to close. Someone hadn't made it, he got to the top and it closed in front of him. I furrowed my brows, that was really unfortunate.
"These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit… Hence the name Swindlers Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived." Satotz said as he turned around once more. We of us in our little group look determined to stay close to him and each other. Leorio clicked his tongue as she shuffled his weight slightly and stood up slightly hunched over.
"What a joke. How can they fool us when we're expecting it?" Leorio said. I thought about it before replying to him myself.
"Does that mean they're like cats?" I asked him as he looked at me questionably with an eyebrow raised.
"Cats? What do you mean?" he asked me wondering what the connection was.
"Well, we expect cats to scratch us when we stroke their belly, but when they roll over we do it anyway even though we expect it, and then they scratch us. So it's like cats!" I said to him, explaining what I meant. I could feel Gon and Killua look at me oddly. Kurapika looked at me questionably as well as Leorio looked as if I had said something nasty.

He didn't get to answer as we heard someone shouting from within the group, drawing our attention to that noise instead.
"Don't let them fool you!" Someone shouted as Leorio stood up straight and turned his head to the person, completely forgetting what I said.
"I just said that they can't." He said as we all looked at the noise source. A guy came out from behind the entrance of the tunnel, he looked beat up and scruffy. His face had scratches all over it, as if he got into a fight recently.
"D-Don't fall for it… He's lying to you!" He said pointing a finger at Satotz.
"He's an imposter! He isn't an examiner..." He said as he pointed his thumb towards himself, a seriously look about his face.
"I'm the real examiner." He said surprising everybody. I looked surprised myself; I looked up to my brother to see him unfazed. It looked like he didn't believe him. I took a step behind him slightly to keep myself as far away as possible from him.
"An imposter? What's going on?" Leorio said as he looked forward to Satotz. I looked at Satotz as well. No, that couldn't be true.
"Then who is he?" A bald guy wearing what looked like leather said as he also looked at Satotz. I looked back at Gon and Killua questionably wondering if they knew anything about what was going on, but they didn't seem to know either.

The man continued to walk out from behind the entrance, dragging something behind him. The hand was pale, very pale. I could feel my eyes widen at the sight. It looked like Satotz, but he was also covered in brown hair and was completely naked and very skinny. He's tongue dangled from his mouth and his eyes had rolled back into his head. I began to shake as I stepped behind my brother even more, grabbing onto his shirt with my hands and burying my head into his back keeping my eyes shut tightly. That couldn't be true, he…it looked dead! It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying.
"He looks just like Satotz!" Gon said as I stayed behind Kurapika.
"It's scary I don't want to look at it!" I said back to him through Kurapika's back. I could feel Kurapika move slightly to try and look at me and then move back once he had done so to look at that thing once more.
"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands!" he said as Leorio shuffled slightly.
"A Man-Faced Ape?" He questioned him in disbelief.
"Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they're quite weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands, where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them." The man explained. I could hear his clothes moving, it sounded like he was doing something; but the body never dropped as a thud never hit the floor.
"He intends to trap every single applicant!" The man finished. I shook my head in disbelief continuously into Kurapikas back. That couldn't be true, it really couldn't be true!
"Bastard…" I heard Leorio say, but it sounded as if he said it in disbelief.
"He certainly doesn't walk like a human…" The same voice that sounded like it belonged to the guy in leather said.

I heard something go through the air at great speed before landing into something that sounded like flesh. I peeked my head slightly from behind Kurapikas back to see the guy who had said he was the examiner fall to the floor with cards in his torso. My eyes stayed wide in fear as I continued to feel my body shake in fear. He's body landed on the floor with a thump. I dared to look at Satotz and saw that he caught the cards with his hands, the same look on his face; one of utter seriousness. Soon the sound of shuffling cards was heard through the air and then a chuckle. I dared myself to look to see who it belonged to, and saw it belonged to none other than Hisoka.
"I see, I see… That settles it… You're the real one." He said as I looked back at Satotz who just flicked the cards away onto the floor. My eyes were still wide in fear as my body shook as well. I was so scarred, how could cards kill someone like that? That dead ape didn't help the matters, it looked terrifying to see. Soon, another noise was heard and the ape that I thought was dead got up and started bouncing away. I looked at it still scarred.
"Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack." Hisoka said calmly as I watched the exchange from behind my brother.
"I'll take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. And you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" Satotz said, matching Hisokas serious but calm tone of voice.
"Sure." Hisoka said back to him with his eyes closed.

I heard the call of birds and looked up to see them fly down to the body that laid on the floor. They were vultures, and they began picking at the fresh corpse.
"Nature really can be brutal to watch…" Leorio said. I stayed closely behind my brother, just peeking out enough to see what was happening from behind his back.
"So he was a Man-Faced Ape, as well." Kurapika said in some disbelief of what had happened.
"He was attempting to confuse the applicants, to lure some of them away." Satotz said as he began walking.
"We cannot relax our guard." Killua said as I nodded my head in agreement with him.
"Yeah." Gon said back to him.
"We could end up like that if we did." I said to the both of them as they nodded their heads as well. I still shook in fear, it was scary to watch. Gon turned around to face me and looked at me oddly.
"I thought your eyes were blue?" He asked as I looked at him oddly and slipped behind my brother some more. Killua came and looked to looking as confused as Gon.
"They're red now, did you put contacts in?" Killua asked as I shook my head, slipping more behind my brother to hide my face.
"Well, it's pretty cool!" Gon said cheerfully making me look at him oddly before smiling widely at him. I could feel myself calm down slightly. Gon looked at me oddly again.
"They're blue now. That's so cool!" Gon said as I smiled a little bit wider at him.
"Really?" I asked him as he nodded his head with a large smile on his face in pure excitement. Killua nodded his head as well in agreement as I smiled wider. I could feel Kurapika turn around slightly to face me probably.
"Try to keep your emotions in check here, Mishka. You don't know what could happen if people see." He warned as I nodded my head, fully understanding what he meant. Leorio didn't look fazed, but instead looked saddened by what Kurapika had said. Gon and Killua looked confused, but they dropped it as Satotz walking got louder.

We all turned to face Satotz. He had his eyes closed and hands behind his back.
"You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?" He said as he looked at the body being picked at by the vultures. I heard Leorio and another guy laugh slightly out of nervousness and couldn't help but look away from the man myself. I had also thought he was an imposter and now felt bad for doing so. I looked back at Satotz when I heard him shuffle. He turned to face us all.
"Do you understand? If you lose sight of me in the Numere wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind. Then let us be on our way. Please follow me." Satotz said to us calmly. The silence that followed was almost unbearable, it was quiet; so, so quiet.

We all began following him once more into the fog. We were back running once more. I was running with Gon and Killua once more, this time being in the middle of the two boys as Gon was last time. It felt different than running on the flat dry ground, it felt heavier on the legs as we brought up mud with our steps. This was going to be a lot harder and if I was honest; I didn't feel ready for it at all. Not one bit. But the thing that made it better was that I had made two friends here who were my age and my brother was here to; that's what kept me going through all this running. I just hoped that's what kept me going through the entire exam.