A/N
Here's the people's reward from last chapter! Seems like a theory have been found closely related to our dear female lead. So as promised, I've updated the next hint as soon as possible~
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2 hours
That's how long they had been running since the first phase of the Hunter Exam have started. Few had already drop dead from fatigue, but many still remain from the main pack.
One of those remainders was a certain male whom Leorio had reprimanded from using a skateboard. The girl was watching the scene from behind them in amusement, just a few men covering her body. Gon helped the albino kid in proving that he, in no way was cheating. This gesture seems to have won the interest from the white haired boy and introduce himself to the green haired boy.
"Ore wa Killua."
"Ore wa Gon!"
Both kid seems to hit it off right after introducing themselves and both ran together. She stayed behind, keeping with her own pace to avoid tiring herself in a hurry.
While she had been living through the forest of wilderness, she was more accustomed in jumping through trees and vines. She doesn't often get the chance to run straight for hours from all the trees always in front of her unlike this straight hall- tunnel. Which only meant that she doesn't know if she would have enough stamina to keep on going if ever the exam would last for a day or two without resting.
Though, dark inside the tunnel, tall trees do also cover the forest against the sunlight. Especially at night with only a small bonfire to provide her heat and light at the territory of many predators. Tgerefore, she is more or less use to such places with no light.
And with an unknown length of place to run is not a big deal to a person who often goes on to explore an unknown forest to find new territories where foods and animals flourish.
Overall, besides the boredom from plainly running in a dark tunnel along with many men, smelling the mixtures of their body odor along with their unhygienic breath huffing through the air (to which she filtered with her makeshift mask using her handkerchief sprayed with her favorite scent of flowers), she thought nothing of her current situation, running at the tail of the hordes.
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Her pace went slow after seeing a familiar man wearing in suit that stand out from the rest pass by many, his body in quite a bad condition along with his breath shortening as ever. She stopped herself as soon as she recognize the man and went to his side rather than continuing to run.
His breathing is shallow and it must have been hurting his lungs, continuously burning him, specially with the tight suit he's on.
Bent down by her side, she pulled his cheeks up and met his eyes, "Onii-san, your breathing is getting nowhere."
"Hah?" Dumbstruck at the girl, he pushed her aside, "Just run and leave me be. You'll get left behind." He huffed once again, too tired to say more or even shout at this point.
Unfazed, she pulled out his necktie and unbuttoned the first two of his white shirt, worn over his black suit to help make room for his lungs. "You'll also get left behind Onii-san."
She retrieved something behind her cloak and took out an extra handkerchief she has with her. She used it to wipe Leorio's sweat.
"What are you doing? I told you, just leave me be. I don't want you getting left behind 'cuz of me." He cough at the process as he swat the girl's hand from his face.
With her lips drawn in a line, she muttered, "Yada..."
Leorio look up at her from gazing at the floor.
"Yada." She repeated with more vigor, "You are already my nii-san. And I will not leave my nii-san behind. Families... they don't leave each other behind, right?"
Leorio's eyes widen at her words. 'What was that? Was she for real?' The man couldn't believe of what he had heard from the girl. To be certain if he did not hear a buzzing fly in his ear to feed him with random words that just coincidentally formed those same words, he look straight in her eyes.
'Ahh...' His doubts crumbled apart at an incredible speed within seconds at seeing those eyes of her. Those were certainly not the eyes of someone who'd lie.
His mouth formed a trembling grin as he bent over to hide his sickly expression he refuse to show to the girl.
'Damn.' Leorio muttered in his head, 'This must be the very first time someone have actually thought of me as close as their family. And a brother at that too.'
Leorio felt his eyes water. He wanted to laugh. Howl at insurable feelings that he wanted to let out in joy. But deciding against at those action, he rested himself with a simple joyful grin.
He raised himself from his crouching form. He brought both his hand at his hip as he leaned back to inhale a long breath. He turn down at the girl who was looking at him in confusion. He patted her hooded head. With a cheshire smile, he said, "Arigatou, imōto."
Wide eye, Leorio may not know but those simple words brought a seeping warm gentle flood in her heart. She clench at her fast beating heart. Though confuse, this emotion, this emotion she's feeling right now, it was familiar. It was very familiar, something that she was taught before. Yes, it was an emotion she was taught by someone before.
It was happiness. An euphoria.
'Ah... Imōto... he called me imōto...' Giddiness. She felt giddy. A distant memory calling her the same title echoed in her head. And even with no knowledge of who that person from the other end of the side, her heart continued to flip flop in an unnatural beat that had her feeling warm. She held at her chest tightly, hoping to never let this fluttering warm feelings escape. Hoping for it to never slip past his hand and lost it. Afraid that she may forget this oh so tender warmth.
'Please... never take this happiness away from me... Onegai...'
Leorio look up to where the main group have vanished from. The girl sensing his overly too quiet nature followed his trail of sight when she also saw two male waiting before them. The main pack long gone from their view.
It was Gon and his new found friend, Killua.
The tall man furrow his eyebrow and knelt down at the floor confusing the girl. "Come." He called her.
Still confuse, she did not hesitate to take his hand. Leorio led her behind her back and with a surprise yelp, before the girl knew it, Leorio had piggy back ride her.
"Eh?" She uttered.
"Hold on tight imōto, cuz we're going on a blast!"
Still dumb founded at this weird position and still not getting what Leorio will do, she held Leorio's shoulder still following her brother's weird instruction.
"Yosh!" With an unknown determination filling Leorio, adrenaline kick at him as he sprinted back at the main horde with his war cry.
Zooming past so suddenly, the girl instinctively held Leorio's shoulder much tighter at the wind impact to avoid falling down.
As he continued to run, he turn back at the two male who was left behind and yelled at them, "What are you doing you brats! We're going to leave you if you don't hurry up!"
The girl look behind her too and saw Gon smiling ever so brightly before using his fishing line to take back Leorio's forgotten case. Once done, he run with the white haired, yelling back to them, "Matte!"
Giggling as they ran towards them to catch up, the girl watching them do so was taken aback at the transition of the events. She look at his proclaim brother and at the two male who have already catch up to them at no time. Even at the ever so confusion of what was happening, she couldn't help but smile ever so little at this.
She was a bit awkward at the position she was in, but she was very much comfortable at leaning in the broad shoulder of her brother who was carrying her. Her stiff body slowly disappeared and in it, she leaned her whole weight to Leorio.
But that seems to be a mistake because soon after, Leorio got tired too quickly after.
"Uh- I thought I could carry you until the finish line, but I guess I still can't..." He awkwardly said.
"It's okay nii-san. We can just run together at finish line."
"That, we can do together."
Like that, they continue to run up ahead the stairs until they came across a familiar blonde man.
Both Leorio and the girl run further ahead to catch up to him so they could as well run together with someone they know.
"Yo, Kurapika!"
The said male turn to the voice, "Leorio," his eyes travelled at the young red riding hood, "and you're also here too. But where's Gon and Killua?" He notices the absence of the two male.
"They're right behind us. They'll find their way here." Leorio turn back at the sea of people when his eyes caught two distinctive hairs, "And speaking of which, there they are."
Kurapika look towards the general direction of where Leorio was looking at and soon saw the two approaching male, much younger to them.
Once they caught up, they exchange a quick greetings, unknown of them, one have found itself separated from the group.
A reunion only to end up a separation.
How curious.
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"Leorio-san, you were just with her right? Where is she?"
Already guessing of who the person is at the use of the female pronouns, he look at the general position she was at from the beginning before the two male came to greet them. But no one was beside him.
"Huh! She's gone!" Leorio's little outburst took the whole group's attention to face him.
Killua saw the old man head swift at the many other direction to try looking for the lost girl with the other two. "Who?" But seems like Killua forgot who this girl was. Undoubtedly, she was wearing a cloak so there's no way the albino would guess what gender was underneath the cloak was.
Gon look back at the albino, "The one we've been running with Leorio. But now she's gone." His eyes droop.
Now remembering the cloak person, Killua took a moment to look at the sea of people with idle, not necessarily using any effort to look for the strange red hooded cloak girl, "Who is she even?" He turn back at Gon.
The green head smiled, "We met her while taking the test from the Kirikos."
"Kirikos?"
"The Kirikos were the navigator who took us to the exam site. They live at the top of the cedar tree up a hill." He shortly explain.
"And, what about this girl?" Killua took back the topic about the girl.
"You won't believe this but she's an awesome actress!" He did this with his arms in motion, clearly exaggerating his words. But to Gon, he wasn't.
"Eh?"
Gon thought that she really was amazing! Her acting was remarkable!
As a boy who grew up with the nature, it was rare for him to watch people in the tv. But there was this one drama he caught a glimpse his aunt was watching in the tv.
His aunt Mito explain to him the story when she saw Gon also watching behind her. She couldn't stop talking about how both the actor and actress in the drama was amazing at acting.
Though, Gon didn't had a plan to sit there and listen to his aunt talk about things he wasn't that much interested at, he found himself immerse once another character showed up suddenly.
His aunt Mito called him, "The female lead."
She describe her as someone who really took her job very seriously who committed herself into immersing as the female lead in the drama who was a stoic, calm, and a real queen boss even at the fact the actress was a just a sweet happy go lucky cinnamon in real life.
After seeing a live drama acted by the little girl at the hut, the green bean thought that the little girl was as awesome as how the female lead acted inside the TV too!
In addition, she was also cute just like the actress!
But he instantly frown at remembering the girl hiding her beauty inside the hood of her cloak. He decided that he don't like hooded cloaks that much now.
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While Gon fangirl at this mysterious cloak person, Killua decided to keep quiet and simply listen to him.
Having the chance to talk with Gon, based from his own observation, Gon turn out to be a gullible and quite naïve child that exaggerates everything. Thus, Killua can't imagine this person as what Gon has mention her to be.
If the green bean really is telling the truth and this person really was that amazing, awesome and... c- ... ... something, then he'd just see it for himself.
When he meet her again, that's if she survives.
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"Goal!"
Two figures appeared beside the examiner at both sides as soon as it turned it's back. It smiled behind it's mustache, if he even had a mouth, amused at the two fourteen years old bicker at who was the first to arrive. Unknown to any of them, a cloaked person had arrive not too long and had walk to explore the close perimeter of the new place.
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It was a forest yet at the same time it was not. This place is more likely to be a swamp from all the smells her nose could pick up after removing her makeshift mask. And speaking of smells, the smell of blood is rather thicker than any smell in the whole ground. She could tell a lot of cannibalistic creatures lives here that feast human or animals. Almost every living beings in this swamp, has a very unfamiliar smell for her who had trained her nose to distinguished each living creatures from the wilderness she was living before.
She didn't know how far she had ventured on her own, but once she decided to go back, she saw no one from the meeting place with the entrance- or exit door, whichever it was, from the tunnel, have already shut close.
Oh, well. More exploring it is. She could smell where everyone is when needed. Thanks to the carry ride she was given by Leorio, she had a nice long swift of her brother's perfume enough to remember it. Surely, she could use that advantage of hers to find the main pack.
While exploring however, she'll need to look out for the time. She won't want to be left behind because of her interest of exploring such new place, different from the wilderness she had been living.
But before that- she needs to refill herself from her thirst.
She took a small pack from the remaining four packs she had kept inside of her cloak and rip it open. Smelling at the delightful aroma, her lust grew stronger and the heat inside her body grew hotter. Her pheromones, or in other individual's case, her hormones soon curled at their domain inside her body to be let out.
Disregarding every demand from her body however, she quickly drunk the liquid from the pack she had opened before 'it' did completely went out of control.
The liquid trickled down her mouth, to her jaw and down to her neck. It oozed from between her collarbone, sliding down her cleavage of her (wait, why's the detail too specific?)
Gulping down the packs and squeezing it until the last drop, she lick her lips at the delightful taste.
"Gochisousama." (Thank you for the food)
Whispering this words, she secured the pack, back inside her cloak...
Now, back to exploring shall we?
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Presenting, the Little One!
Hear, hear! I, the Little one have delivered you all a very big hint!
Although vague it is, this is the only hint I could give you the best as I could possibly provide.
Oh! And news I see, some of you have been able to see something closely behind the veils of Pandora. Hear! Hear! As the truth you've found is but the tip of an iceberg. Be careful of the traps set by the lies however, as they too, like I, do not like to share much valuable information to others.
Oh, but do remember I only share in exchange of your thoughts~
See ya~
-You may have forgotten everything, but know they still exist inside you. But do be reminded to stick close to others and not get lost. You wouldn't want to miss an interesting talk about you...