Neb: I do not own Hunter X Hunter

The darkness shifted around Minaga as he headed through the library. He wasn't able to escape it, and he lost track of Zata. Occasionally he would feel a blade run along his back. He suspected that was Zata's sword, forged by his father. Perhaps she's looking for some poetical justice. The blade that was forged by the Morodasu Blacksmith will kill his Morodasu son.

Minaga kept his defense up, using his wind sword he would occasionally block an attack that came his way. Still, he needed to be careful, he didn't fully understand the extent of Zata's power. She called it a Distortion Darkness. So she didn't just black out the area, she is able to distort it or bend it to her will. That meant there was no escape. What kind of power is that anyway? What does it classify as? Not an enhancer or an emitter. Transmuting Nen into darkness made sense, but it didn't full cover her ability. Perhaps this is Conjuring. So she's a Conjurer.

Minaga moved to the right dodging what he thought was an attack. He noticed a bookcase move past him like it was a truck. She can manipulate the speed of the objects around her in this darkness as well. This ability is becoming more troublesome, the more Minaga learns about it. He needed to figure out the weakness. An ability this strong needs a balance, meaning something she is doing or saying is holding the conjuration. He had to think back to when she first started using this ability. She spun her umbrella, then the area around him distorted, and then it enveloped in darkness.

He moved to the left dodging another two bookcases that flung past him. Then he ducked as some of his hair got clipped by a blade. She was nearby. He swung his sword around himself, in hopes of cutting her, yet he clashed with nothing and felt no one. It must be the distortion part of her ability. She's able to attack him up close, yet far away. He needed to take advantage of the distortion somehow. He also needed to stop whatever is keeping it going. Another four bookshelves moved by him. Instead of dodging left or right, he jumped up on one of them and begun riding on it like it was a speeding vehicle.

"Don't think you can escape," Kata's voice echoed around him.

He didn't worry about her, instead he closed his eyes and focused. Where was the bookshelf moving, did it take turns or continue in a straight path? He extended his wind sword to an even longer sword and slashed around himself. He felt himself hit something just barely grazing it. When he did, the darkness slowly begun to vanish. He noticed Zata's umbrella in the clearing, before it started spinning again and then the darkness began to cover everything again.

"The umbrella has to keep spinning," Minaga thought to himself. "Zata, lets stop this and talk."

"I am not interested in the words of a murderer," Zata growled as her voice continued to echo around him.

Minaga tried focusing on the voice. An echo is a sound wave's equivalent to a reflection. It has to start somewhere and then reflect. What he needed to do was find out where her voice was loudest and strike. In his moment of planning a blade cut across him once more across the chest. He fell back and grunted. "Why don't you just kill me?"

"I will," Zata responded. "But only when I know you won't be able to stop me. You took out my mentor, which is no small feet. "I will not underestimate you like did.

Minaga stepped forward expecting to hear her step back, but that wasn't the case. He could only hear her voice, not her movements. This ability sure was annoying. "Your master was arrogant in his own ability. I hope you aren't getting cocky as well."

"Such a rude boy," Zata spoke up. "Rude boy!"

It was in that moment she screamed, that Minaga was able to sense her location. He lifted his wind sword and charged to his right. She was far, but he could pick identify her location through her echos. He took his sword and stabbed straight in front of himself. The darkness began to clear as Zata fell back. She was shaking in fear as she felt his wind sword press against her throat.

"Go ahead," Zata yelled. "Do it! Kill me like you did the old man." Her umbrella fell on the ground cut in half, unable to to keep her conjuration active.

"First I need to know where the Star Pupil is," Minaga spoke up. "If you tell me, I'll let you live."

"You will never find her," Zata chuckled.

Minaga was going to step away, but she pushed her neck forward through the wind. His eyes widened as he watched the life leave her eyes.

"I will haunt you," she gurgled as blood filled her mouth. Zata then passed out from blood loss as Minaga made his wind sword vanish. He noticed several books lying around him, one of witch he thought was covered in blood, but then realized it was a book with a red page. He picked up the page and then read it.

I am the light, the ever bright. I fight and smite with all my might. No dark shall live on within my light, for I am to powerful for the dark to fight. All dark shall die that's in my sight. For those who are dark, shall feel plight. What am I?

"A hypocrite," Minaga spoke up before vanishing from the library and appearing next to the examiner Aki.

"Very good," Aki spoke up. "You may join the others." Minaga turned to see the amazon woman Yane standing next to the Red Haired man Dendo.

"That leave one page," Yane spoke up. "I hope your friend will make it."

"Yujima is a smart guy," Minaga spoke up. "He should be fine."

"What was your red page by the way?", Dendo wondered.

"A riddle," Minaga yawned. "Didn't require much thought or research."

"There are many ways to do research," Aki smiled.

Minaga glared at Aki. Zata had power over darkness, but she wasn't evil. She just wanted to avenge her comrades. The riddle was about him killing her.

"A riddle huh," Dendo chuckled. "Mine was a puzzle piece that could only be solved by reading every book on the history of Transmutation."

That must mean Dendo had the abilities of a transmuter. He probably should have kept that to himself.

"My page was a bunch of lines drawn in the form of boxes," Yane spoke up. "It took me a while to realize it was a map of the building."

"Neat," Dendo chuckled. "So who hadn't been killed by Yuni yet?"

"Yuni had killed no one," Aki spoke up. "Minaga however, had killed two competitors. Leaving the last page to either fall in the hands of Gorobei Yujima or Kenari Kazeta. I am excited to see who makes it out on top."