CHAPTER 2

Hayuri woke up abruptly when she felt movement next to her and sat up raising her guard while frantically checking her surroundings. A light tug on her right hand and a silver haired young man next to her reminded her of what her current situation was. Her male companion looked at her with an unreadable expression and pointed to her head.

"You don't want other contestants to see you like that; they might get so scared that they'll drop out. On second thought, go ahead."

"Urgh..." Hayuri rubbed her eyes with her free hand and lightly felt her hair. Killua was right, she guessed she looked like a character from a horror show, since her hair felt as though it was a second head on top of her own. It was probably due to the fact that she'd slept with her hair tied up and it had turned into a mess while being held together. She took her hairpin off and opened her backpack to take out a foldable hair comb. She then proceeded to comb her hair for the next minute while Killua watched her thinking how much of a bother it appeared to be having long her. He had always thought that when looking at his father and brother and he thought it now looking at Hayuri. Suddenly a short melody sounded through the speakers.

"This is an announcement for our contestants. The second phase of the hunter exam will be explained to you in the dining hall in twenty minutes. Please gather there immediately and enjoy the breakfast that will be served. We will arrive to our destination shortly."

Hayuri folded the item and put it back into her backpack. She stood up to stretch her body and grunting loudly while smiling with contempt.

"Jeez, what kind of lady are you?" Killua said breaking her out of her bliss. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

Hayuri scowled and turned to look at him "I almost forgot about you. No I'm not a lady and no my parents died a long time ago." She put her backpack on her right shoulder and walked towards the door with Killua quietly following behind. Now that she was at the front and wasn't directly looking at him she realized how quietly he moved. If it weren't for the device binding them together and pulling her wrist slightly back she would've never realized there was anybody there. And she was more than impressed, since she had always felt proud about her tracking skills and senses. Curiosity got the best of her and she tilted her head to watch him on the edge of her vision.

"Hey, how come I can't hear you there? You have an impressive skill there. Where did you learn that?"

"Maybe you are just too deaf." He said mocking her.

"Really? I compliment you and that's you answer? Seems like you are even grumpier in the morning." She pouted and turned to look ahead once again, so she didn't see how Killuas free hand tightened into a fist.

They were just finishing their eggs and cereal when a tall man with short blond hair entered a stage that was right next to the buffet. He had a white suit and a flashy white smile. When he stood in front of everyone he appeared to be well mannered like a politician or a member of the royalty.

"Good morning everyone! My name is Pariston and it's my pleasure to meet you all. I will be you examiner for the second phase. This phase will take place in Mandrago Forest, a famous place for its rare ecosystem and wild life. It's a huge and dense forest surrounded by steep and dry mountains filled with rare creatures and animals due to its isolated situation. You may wonder how come such lush green and great diversity exists right next to an arid landscape as are these mountains. Well, it's all thanks to water coming from an underground spring. Your particular task is to safely arrive to any of the three sources of water while avoid getting lost or killed by a beast or another applicant. The time limit for this phase is 5 days, and once that time has passed the committee will find those who are still in the forest. We're already landing, so I will take my leave. Good luck everyone! And please try to enjoy the scenery!" He said and stretched his arms sideways and turned to leave the dining hall.

"What..." Killuas eye twitched. "Five..."

"Five days!" Hayuri yelled and face palmed. "I don't know if I can keep up with your attitude for a whole five days and nights.

Killua rubbed his temples and sighed. He knew he had been rude towards her, but it was mostly because he didn't want to relate to anybody. He had wanted to stay away from other applicants and had expected them to part ways soon. But seeing as they were going to have to work together for a week his idea of being rude and licking up fights all the time didn't seem as appealing as it did before.

Another part of him has always found entertainment in teasing other people. But it usually didn't imply being too rude, unless that person was Milluki. So he decided to change his course of action.

"Hey, Hayuri." Killua said and effectively caught the girl attention, who hadn't heard him call her name before. "I think we started off on the wrong foot. Let's try to get along better this time around, I believe it's in both our interest."

"You bet!" She said and raised her hand with a peace sign.

Both walked to the main hallway and exited the airship to find themselves in front a beautiful landscape. Hayuri couldn't hide her surprise and joy and even Killua, who wasn't especially keen of nature, felt his eyes widen a bit. Most examinees were having similar reactions and they stood there for a couple seconds before taking off.

"I suppose we should also get going. Let's walk around until we find a stream of water to follow." Killua motioned towards the edge of the clearing.

"You don't know much about navigation do you?" Hayuri raised three fingers. "There are three easy ways to find water. First, we should check out the general topography in order to find the lowest parts of the land. Second, tree trunks that are constantly shaded will have a higher humidity where they receive humid wind. Third, most mammals will live near water."

"Well, what can I say; I've never really been the nature loving kind of guy." He shrugged.

"A friend of mine always says someone who hates nature should never be trusted."

"Well, I never said I hated it. I just have never had the chance to get to like it." Killua said. "Besides, you're stuck to me anyways, so that doesn't really matter."

Both walked out of the clearing and into the forest after Hayuris directions. They follow the general direction that they read on the tree trunks and walked for a couple hours. During that time they encounters two wild animals that attacked them; the first looking like a lion that stood on two legs, and the second that looked like a bear sized crustacean. Both were pretty strong animals, but they were no match for any of them. Suddenly they came across a 50 mt tall tree that could've been 500 years old and climbed it. While standing on top Hayuri quickly explained how to assess the landscape from above the canopy and pointed at the lowest part in their area. It was around 20 kms away, which meant they'd have to walk for four hours. Since the sun had been burning for a while now, Killua assumed it was noon and suggested they had lunch. They gathered some logs to build a fire, killed a weird animal that was the size of a rabbit and skinned it.

"You know, you are actually not bad to be around when you're not being a jerk" Hayuri smiled while holding her half of lunch on a stick. She and Killua had been walking around all morning and, even though they hadn't talked too much, it had been a nice conversation. When they didn't talk they were left in a comfortable silence and enjoyed the scenery. At least Hayuri did.

"Not bad? I told you, you should be grateful it's me coming with you. I'm the best company you can find."

Hayuri rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. They finished their dinner and walked the remaining four hours to the lowest part of the forest. On their way they encountered a couple other animals which they intimidated with no trouble at all and they were left alone. When they got there they walked around for another bit until they heard the sound of streaming water. They followed the sound and found a crystal clear stream that was packed with fish and other creatures that looked like bald rabbits. The slope was steep enough to make a strong current and the water white. The sound of running water was so strong that if they stood too close they could barely hear each other speaking.

"Wow, it's pretty." Hayuri admired what laid in front of her.

"I guess." Killua put his free hand into his pocket and stood next to her for a couple minutes.

"Ahm…" Hayuri scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "The sound of running water has made me want to go to the toilet."

"Well, that's an issue right there. I had forgotten there were no doors out here." Killua sighed and scratched his temple looking around. "I have an idea, come on." He said and lead Hayuri to the river bank and pointed at a tall dense shrub just at the edge. "Being this close to the river won't let me hear a thing and being on the other side will cover you up. Good enough?"

Hayuri sighed and smiled "Yeah, good enough. Stand there and don't peek. Got it?" she raised a fist while stepping behind the bush.

"Tch, as if I'd want to see something like that." He scoffed and waited until she came out.

"I think this idea will come in handy as long as we are out here."

"It definitely will. We should find a place to sleep and then get dinner." Killua pointed at the sun, which was nearing the horizon.

Both of them agreed on sleeping between the raised roots of an old tree. They found firewood, caught a couple fish and cooked them next to their sleeping spot. They ate as night fell upon them while speaking a bit about everyday subjects until the fire died down.

They laid down next to each other in between the roots and under the canopy. Hayuri covered them with a thick scarf that she carried, which managed to keep their arms warm enough. Killua was pressed to Hayuri, position he was kind of uncomfortable with. He wasn't used to touching people and cursed the binding device that didn't allow him to be somewhere else.

"Hey, I don't bite. No need to be so tense." Hayuri chuckled "Besides, this way we won't have to bother about freezing in our sleep."

"Yeah, you're right. G'night." He said. She was right; there was nothing to get worked up about. Killua took a deep breath, forced himself to relax and slowly drifted to sleep. He was used to sleeping on edge, resting his body but not his mind. Somehow now, while in the middle of the hunter exam, he had a dreamless and relaxed sleep like he couldn't remember ever having.

The next two days they followed the stream upslope to its source without any incidents apart from the occasional attacks from wild beasts. Each day they would hunt something to eat, build a fire, eat with little conversation and sleep next to each other to keep their warmth. Both Killua and Hayuri found themselves actually enjoying the company and feeling some kind of unexpected familiarity on the way they spent their days.

The morning of the fourth day they were suddenly woken up by their instincts that screamed there was something dangerous around. Both sat up suddenly and almost at the same time to come face to face to the jester like participant that they weary of. Their sleepy demeanor was instantly washed away by dread.

"My~my~ look at the two of you cuddling like that. Have you gotten intimate at a time like this?" He asked while liking his lips and shivering in delight. "You could invite Hisoka to participate sometime~"

"Nothing has happened, you creep!" Hayuri answered with a light blush and wondered why he spoke of himself in third person.

"Well that's definitely boring. I expected more of my favorite applicants." He said licking his lips. "I've been looking for you and can't wait to get a taste of you~"

Killua and Hayuri frantically looked at each other with confused and crept out expressions. What exactly did he mean with taste?

Suddenly Killuas alarm bells rang and he pushed both himself and Hayuri away from the tree just in time to avoid four cards that were now struck to the tree trunk. They were immediately on their feet and swiftly dodged 6 more cards that were thrown their way. Right behind the cards came Hisoka with great speed aimed a kick at Hayuri who managed to block him out with her forearms. At the same time he punched Killua who dodged at the last minute and threw a side kick to his side and sent him back a bit. Hayuri jumped back to put some distance between them, but her wrist pulled her back to Killua.

"Damn, how are we even supposed to fight like this?" Killua glared at their joined wrists and hissed.

"Get on my back." Hayuri said and Killua stood frozen on his spot. "Come on!"

Killua quickly jumped on her back to have her put her free hand in her lower back to hold him up and hold her left tied up hand up next to his.

"You're our hands." She said and Killua nodded. Hisoka smirked and attacked again trying to punch Hayuri on the gut. She dodged sideways and aimed a kick to his side to have her ankle grabbed. She took advantage of her momentum and kneed Hisoka on the gut in the blink of an eye forcing him to release her leg. As soon as she was in a standing position again Killua aimed a circular punch to his jaw, which was swiftly blocked, but pushed Hisoka a couple meters back.

"Switch!" Killua said getting off and letting Hayuri on his back. Hisoka then smiled wickedly and was on them in an instant. He threw a low kick to Killuas knees, but he ducked and took the hit with his thigh instead. Hisoka tried to grab Killuas neck repeatedly but his hands were deflected by Hayuri every time. He smirked and aimed a punch to Killuas cheekbone, but she blocked it with her forearm sending both her and Killua flying backwards a good 5 meters.

"You have passed, you are both strong. But you'll lose anyways. That last punch you received had only 5% or the power of something that you lack. I'm not telling you what it is, but you'll get stronger without it. I'm looking forward to fighting the both you when you have it."

And with that he was gone.

When he was far enough Killua turned to Hayuri.

"Hey, are you all right?" He whispered.

"Yeah, I believe that my right forearm is damaged, but apart from that I'm fine."

"Good, I don't want to have to drag you all the way." He said standing up and taking a couple steps but limping a little while doing so.

"That kick to your thigh really got to you, huh?" She said smirking.

"It's just a muscular thing, no biggie; I can keep up to you no problem." He turned his head with pride.

"You don't have to act al macho around me. You won't impress anyone here." Hayuri smiled and Killua turned to give some kind of retort when he saw her crouching with her back towards him. "Get on."

"No way, I won't have girl carry me to the third exam." He crossed his arms pulling her right hand along.

"Agh!" Hayuri hissed at the pain in her arm and glared at Killua. "Be more careful, will ya?"

"See? How do you expect to carry me around with an arm like that?"

"I have an idea" she said pulling out her thick scarf and tying it around herself in a cross shape. "See? If you put your legs in here I won't have to use my arms to hold you up."

"I refuse. My pride as a man is on the way."

"Is your pride so big that you'll risk failing the hunter exam?" She pointed out and when Killua stayed quiet for a couple seconds she continued. "You know that if you walk the rest of the way you probably will end up with a seriously injured muscle. If you don't strain it, it will probably be much better when we get there."

Killua sighed knowing that she was right and simply put his hands on her shoulder for support while placing each leg between her side and the scarf. He then crouched down as well and she fastened her scarf around his legs so that it supported his weight without stretching too much. When she was done Killua took her backpack and put his arms around her shoulders.

They walked for the whole morning while the scenery changed from abundant green to one with less vegetation. They decided to stop by a sunny and guarded spot next to the stream they were following. As soon as Killua got off Hayuri laid down on the floor and released a long sigh.

"Heeeee…" she wiped the sweat out of her forehead. "Damn, you look pretty lean, but you're heavier than you appear."

"What can I say, I'm all muscle." Killua smirked and Hayuri rolled her eyes. He lifted their joined wrists "Hayuri, come closer to the stream, I'll catch something to eat while you take a break."

When Killua had caught a couple fish, Hayuri stood up and followed him around the clearing while he picked up some firewood. Since they were both injured and didn't have the energy to find a lot of wood, Hayuri suggested that they built a rocket kind of oven with rocks around the wood to do a better use of the heat. Killua did the handwork since his arms were in good condition and he then light the fire up. When it was hot enough, he stuck the fish with two tree sticks and put them over the fire. When they were finishing their fishes something occurred to Hayuri.

"Remember that Hisoka told us that we had passed? What was that all about? Does he think himself to be some sort of examiner?"

"I thought about it during the morning and I think he is just a sick freak." Killua said making Hayuri sweatdrop. "From what I observed, he has some kind of sick obsession with power. Maybe he expected us to be stronger; maybe he just wants us to get stronger. I don't really know, but I think trying to understand a psychopath's train of thought will get us nowhere. We should just try to get away from him."

"Yeah."

"I'm now a little worried with our pace though. Before we were going at a steady and fast pace, but now we're probably the slowest candidates." he said scratching his chin.

"Well, having you walk is out of the question, since it would be just as slow and you'd worsen your injury."

"Why do you care?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you care about my injury? If our roles were reversed I'd have you walk around without a second thought."

"I don't believe you." She smiled. "We were attacked as an item, and your injuries are my responsibility, just as mine are yours. It just makes sense that we'll look out for each other out until we get to the third phase."

Killuas eyes widened at that. He had never thought about things this way. He had been taught to be selfish and work individually every time. He was supposed to kill his target, avoid getting in trouble and get rid of anything or anyone that got in the way of his purpose.

"You are weird." He chuckled.

"You think so?" she shrugged. "Any way, when I say I'm a little worried I don't mean to say I think we'll fail. I just like making sure we'll get there first. I have the feeling we'll get there sometime tomorrow."

"I see what you mean. The phase was thought in a way that a certain number, let's say 20% of the current participants will finish it. If we take into account how fast we have been moving the last three days, we would've probably arrived today before noon. Since we're taking around three times as much time now that I'm injured, we'll probably arrive just before nighttime."

"Exactly, so we shouldn't worry about being late. What we should worry about is being attacked by another beast or applicant now that we're injured. We have to be extra careful. I can tell you have good instincts, so I want you to focus on our surroundings while I take us uphill. Is that all right with you?" She said and Killua nodded.

"I have noted that the vegetation is now scarcer, which means we are more exposed to attacks."

"On the other hand, the fact that the vegetation is scarcer means that we have gone a long way uphill, since there is not as much organic matter on this part of the slope resulting in less vegetation."

"Also, since there is less vegetation, we are less likely to find wild beasts. They probably roam around the greener parts of the valley." Killua raised a finger and they silently agreed to take off.

They made sure the fire was out and Killua climbed on Hayuris back again. They had walked for two whole hours when Killua noticed that there was movement nearby.

"Stop!" he softly hissed and Hayuri immediately did as he asked. It was only when she was standing still that Killua realized her legs were shaking. He could tell that her body was too fatigued to be able to fight properly. He silently cursed and pointed to their right, where he sensed the movement. He climbed off and leaned on his good leg waiting for whatever came their way. After a couple seconds a figure appeared from behind a few shrubs. It was a wild beast that resembled a reptile walking on two legs and had big claw like hands. Its skin was red like and looked to be almost an inch deep. It also was much bigger than the last ones, reaching up to 2,5 mt tall.

Hayuri tried her best to maintain her body in a steady position and keep it from shaking, but failed miserably. If there was something she knew about wildlife, was that predators always went for the weak one. And if it attacked her now, she wasn't sure she'd live.

The beast came to a stop in front of them and thoroughly observed them. Killua and Hayuri stood frozen and waited for some sort of reaction. Suddenly it sprinted towards Hayuri with a claw raised. She had enough experience to already know she didn't currently have the strength to avoid, deflect or block such an attack and felt death closing in on her.

Killua watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes and time seemed to stop. He remembered what he had been taught since he was a kid; to always work solo and keep his identity hidden, to always get rid of whatever got in his way, to never waste his energy on useless things while on a mission. While these memories flashed through his mind, he watched Hayuri close her eyes on the attack. Before he knew what he was doing, his nails sharpened and his arms were as fast as whips.

Hayuri waited for the blow on her head with closed eyes, but it never came. She heard a loud thump and opened her eyes to find the beast bleeding to death on the ground with its claws cut in half. On her side stood Killua leaning on his good leg with a nonchalant expression.

"Wow. You did this?" She asked pointing at the corpse at her feet. "That's some sharp weapons you have there."

"I guess." He shrugged

"I knew it." Hayuri smirked at him. "Deep down you're a good person acting all tough."

"I'm not. You're my ride." Killua mumbled. That's right, she's still useful.

"Oh, right. I forgot." She turned her back to him and crouched. "Let's go."

Killua frowned and wondered if it was all right to do that since she was exhausted.

"If you walk and injure yourself further all my effort will be in vain." She complained looking straight ahead.

"But look at you! You're almost at your limit."

"I think of this as training. Besides, as soon as we arrive I'll get a good night's sleep and a whole day to recover. It's just fatigue, I'll be all right."

"Fine..." Killua hopped on and she started walking.

A couple hours later, when Hayuri thought she'd collapse anytime and the sky was red and purple, they got to a rocky wall and a waterfall. But the water didn't fall from the top, instead it poured right out of the wall. It was yet another breathtaking scenery to look at.

"We did it!" She smiled and crouched down. "You don't want to finish the phase on a piggyback ride do you?"

Killua sulked a little bit while getting off and slowly walked to the rocky wall next to Hayuri until they saw an assistant waving at them. He looked at the girl that still had her wrist tied to his. She looked a little pale, was covered in sweat and had bags under her eyes. Her right arm was swollen and her brown hair was disarranged. She really was a mess.

"Hayuri."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime." She smiled a toothy grin.

"By the way, the name's Killua." He said while turning around and walked to the assistant.

It was only at that moment that Hayuri realized that he had never given her his name before.

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