I know you already know this but then again, Hunter X Hunter is not mine. This wonderful anime story is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi

CHAPTER 9: The Young Assassin

All forty-three applicants gathered up in an empty spacious room. Netero formally reintroduced himself as the Hunter Exam Committee Chairman.

Along with him was the same short green creature that welcomed them and gave an identification number back at the underground tunnel. He is Beans, Chairman Netero's secretary.

They were scheduled to arrive at their destination tomorrow at 8 a.m. So, they let the candidates have all the rest they need for the night.

'Thank heavens! I can finally rest.' Sam breathed out.

"Gon, let's explore the airship!" Killua initiated.

The other boy was thrilled. He was willing to tour around. "Wanna come, Leorio, Kurapika?"

"Jeez, you kids have too much energy," Leorio sighed. "I'll take it easy today!"

"I'll pass the offer too," Kurapika added with a smile as he kindly declined.

Gon looked at Sam expectantly, his eyes were pleading for her to go with them. Sam could sense his puppy stare. "Sorry, Gon. I'm tired."

The boy was a bit disappointed. "Okay."

"I don't recall any challenging part during the exam. What got you tired?" Killua suddenly butted in, his hands in his pockets as if to indicate how bored he was for the whole day. "Let's go Gon. They don't want to come."

Gon nodded. "You can catch up if you change your mind." He ran after Killua already near the door until they were gone.

Sam couldn't waste energy. She needs to reserve some for the upcoming phases.

"Does anyone know how many more phases we need to take?" Sam suddenly wondered out loud.

Kurapika's fingers are under his chin. "Well, that's a good question."

Leorio's hands were in his pockets, thinking. "Did any of the examiners mention it?"

Sam shook her head. "They didn't"

"On the average, there are five to six."

Sam sighed, knowing too well the owner of the voice. Kurapika and Leorio turned around at Tonpa.

"So, it means, three to four phases to go," Leorio said.

Kurapika nodded. "All the more reason to rest."

"Resting is fine, but you guys should probably be careful," Tonpa warned.

That warning got Sam's full attention. Not because she was alarmed, but was curious as to what he was going to say.

"The secretary only told us when we'll arrive at our destination. It's possible that the third exam phase could take place on this airship, and it doesn't necessarily mean that we'll be contacted at eight in the morning."

"Seriously?" Leorio asked incredulously.

"For all you know, you could end up waking up to find out that the exam phase has already ended. So, if you want to make it to the next phase, you probably shouldn't let your guard down while you're on this airship."

"What the hell…" Leorio grumbled. "Well, thanks for the good advice."

"We shall bear that in mind," Kurapika added.

"Let's all do our best," Tonpa said in that suspiciously sincere tone of his before passing by them to exit the now-empty room.

After the three followed to leave, Sam finally spoke. "He talks as if he almost reached the last exam phase."

"Maybe he lasted up to the fourth phase?" Leorio guessed.

"I don't think so." Kurapika disagreed. "With the kind of work he's doing, I'd say he only reached the second phase. The first and second phases still had several rookies."

Sam nodded. "Same thing. Second or up to the third phase."

"You think he's telling the truth about the blimp could be the third phase?" Leorio asked.

There was a sign on the wall of the corridor to the right that said 'Sleeping Rooms This Way'. The three turned right.

"Possibly," Sam answered. "But you think a rookie crusher would have a time to give advice? I'd say he just wants to mess our brains and get anxious."

Leorio's tongue clicked. "Wow, I applaud the effort he's doing."

Sam and Kurapika chuckled.

As they arrived in the sleeping room, they looked around to look for a spot.

"Let's rest there, Kurapika, Samara." Leorio suddenly said.

"Sam. SAM." The girl uttered. "Honestly, when are you going to stop calling me that."

"Uh, how about a never?"

Sam could only give a 'hmp'.

….

Samara's eyes snapped open. She wearily blinked. Her senses focused on her surroundings. She could hear dominoes of snores from her fellow candidates, of course including Leorio's.

'Right. We were given time to rest.'

Her internal clock says the time should be around 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. What kind of ungodly individual woke her up at this early without any reason? Her body needs to rest until 8 a.m.!

Groaning, she tried to close her eyes once again. And you know what she hated the most about this scenario?

She couldn't fall back to sleep.

Sam wearily yawned. "Annoying." She decided to stand up and went out of the sleeping rooms.

To find her body a reason to get sleepy, she decided to take a walk in the hallway. She just allowed her feet wherever they wanted to stroll.

"Gaaaaah!"

Sam alarmed. 'What was that?'

The girl immediately followed where the voices came from. She sensed two men. Their backs were facing her.

And she smells blood.

Sam looked torn apart as she discovered the reason behind their screams. Her eyes went wide in shock and could only clasp a hand to her mouth.

The dead bodies of another two men lie on the floor carpet… The smell of blood was stronger.

"What happened?!" She demandingly asked them.

"W-we don't know." The man wearing a black jacket said in a trembling and panicky voice.

"We just found them like that!" Said another one who was wearing a yellow tank top with curly brown hair. He attempted to touch one of the dead guys.

"Don't touch them!" She roared at the curly-haired man which prompted her to stop immediately.

"One of them could be knocked out and needed first aid!" He bellowed.

Sam takes a closer look using her echolocation… They're dead. "If there are traces of your handprints in their bodies, most likely you'll be the primary suspect. This is a crime scene. Don't ever touch anything around it."

"Let's go… We'll be blamed." The first guy insisted.

'Scaredy cat.' She only rolled her eyes.

She just ignored those two and went on observing the dead men. "One of you should report this to the examiners."

"But-"

Her eyes were dead serious as she looked at them. "They won't blame us, all right." She said in a firm tone.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Now go!" The girl demanded. The man complied and scurried off.

Sam continued to circle the corpses, still making sure she was not too near. It took ten minutes before the man returned. He brought Mr. Satotz and some staff with him.

"Didn't you know it's forbidden to near the dead bodies?" His right eyebrow curled up as soon as he neared them.

"Sorry sir. We were just observing, but I assure you we placed enough distance from it." Sam replied.

Satotz looked at the staff. "Prepare any available big pieces of cloth. We'll use it to cover the dead bodies. Make sure to use gloves in doing so. I'll report this and make arrangements to send their bodies to their family." He ordered.

"Yes sir." The staff hurriedly left.

His attention was back on them. "You three, what are you doing here in this hour? You should go back."

"We're innocent, sir! Please, we didn't do anything!" Said by the same coward a while ago.

Sam stopped herself from glaring at him. 'He's too defensive. The examiner was asking a different question.'

The examiner raised an eyebrow at them. "How can I make sure of that? There are cases that whoever sees the corpse first turns out to be the killer."

"But we didn't do it!"

"You're alibi?" The examiner asked. The two told their reason. "And you?" He asked Sam.

"I was taking a stroll before I heard the scream. I don't have proof but…" The examiner was anticipating what she was about to say next. "I can assure you that we're innocent."

"Oh?" Now he sounded amused by her response. "Care to explain?"

Sam willed herself to not stutter in front of the examiner. "I happened to observe the corpses when I arrived so I could give you some of my insights." She said, puffing out confidence. "They were killed by someone whose expertise lies in killing. After meeting other participants for only a day taught me the big difference." She's highly specifying Hisoka. "These wounds are works of a very skilled person."

"Are you saying we're just mediocre?" The curly man was enraged.

Sam just rolled her eyes. "This is not the time for that, idiots. I'm defending that we're not guilty of this."

Satotz looked way beyond pleased at the girl. He clapped as if to congratulate her. "I applaud your observations. True, none of you three did it. It was a good thing I tested you. You gave me a very short entertaining moment. Well, then." He was about to leave the three when Sam stopped him.

"Aren't you going to look for the killer?" She asked. "You're not going to do an autopsy or anything? It might point to the person behind this."

"Miss…" Satotz called out. "You should know by now the possibility of getting killed in the exam. And besides, we didn't forbid anything about tricking, pranking, hunting, or killing anyone whilst inside the airship." He said before he turned around and left them for good.

True. But still…

They should at least protect their applicants not until the exam proceeds a few hours from now.

And also, who would do this? Sam's suspicion is Hisoka. Well, he's the only person she could think of doing this.

But the wounds they received say otherwise. Their skins were gashed out like a wild animal clawed them. There may be others of the same breed as that clown. But who?

Or maybe Hisoka's using other methods in killing people this time. Is he playing examiner again?

The cowardly man thanked Sam. The other one copied, but he still wasn't pleased with what she pertained. They left right after the staff returned with the cloth as instructed by Mr. Satotz.

She felt a sudden sense of alarm. Knowing she might not be safe right now if she continues to take a stroll. Or worse, she's already a target for butting in.

"What are you doing here, Sam?"

Sam was quick to spin around, panicking. She heaved out a sigh of relief. It's just Killua. All by himself. "Oh, it's just you. Please don't do that. Someone could get a heart attack." She said irritably. "It's Samara."

To what she recalls, they weren't close yet.

"Oh, miss grouch." The brat commented.

Sam grumbled. Then her attention went to Killua's arm. A faint stench of blood, similar to the dead bodies the two older men found.

It didn't take long for Sam to put two and two together. Killua walks around like he has no presence at all. He moves as silent as the graveyard.

'Well, nobody said children can't be killers.' Sam gulped. "Really? In the hallway? You could have picked a hidden location, you know."

Killua's face breaks into amusement as soon as he sees the girl's alert expression. "I guess that's a normal reaction. It's just Gon who's abnormal." He gave a light-hearted laugh- it was an ordinary laugh. "He's the only one who did not fear the fact that I came from an elite family of assassins. Can you imagine that?"

Sam's eyes widened. 'An elite family of assassins?'

And yet they're of the same age.

"See you around, Samara." He said as he turned around and left her.

Seriously? She's been squabbling with a young killer all this time?