I trailed behind Hisoka, still too shaken to get close to him.
"Do you think I'll bite little fruit?" he hummed, glancing back at me over his shoulder with a smirk.
"In all honesty, I have no idea what to expect from you," I answered, my expression clouded. He snickered quietly, causing my brow to furrow even more so than it already was.
"It seems we are in the same situation. First, how you managed to catch up with everyone even though you were left behind and by any normal means should not have made it, and second, that little spectacle back in the clearing there. I'm very interesting in what that was."
"What's the point of spilling my guts to you? I only promised to tell you the answer about Jōki, not anything else. And until it proves worthwhile to tell you everything about me, I plan to keep my lips sealed," I bit out bitterly. I didn't know why I was being so snarky with him; I was already painfully aware that he could kill me in the quarter of a second, but it seemed I was unable to keep my mouth shut and not speak my mind in his presence.
The magician shifted his captive over his shoulder, chuckling quietly to himself. "Well, I suppose I can be patient for a while longer. Now tell me, what is this form you call 'Jōki'?"
I drew the vial that held Jōki from my pocket and uncorked it, allowing Jōki to flow out. Hisoka stopped and turned to watch, his expression one of mild interest.
"Jōki...is a cloud, to put it simply."
"A cloud?"
"Mhm. While clouds usually don't have a solid form, Jōki is different because it's infused with my Nen. Nen helps keep it in a solid form that's strong enough to carry me, as well as directing the cloud to rise, fall, and drift like normal so that I can travel. But my Nen isn't the only thing sustaining it. Clouds need moisture to maintain their form, so I have to keep Jōki constantly hydrated or it'll disappear," I explained, giving Jōki a small push so that it lazily drifted towards Hisoka.
"So the more energy you put into it, the faster it travels?" He inquired, reaching down to touch the cloud.
I gave a curt nod.
"Interesting..."
His sharpened nails sunk into Jōki, and I frowned lightly as I clicked my tongue to draw my cloud back. Hisoka raised his head and gave a teasing smile, before standing to his full height and turning away from me. I drew Jōki back into the vial and placed him safely away as Hisoka began to walk away, seemingly satisfied for the moment with what I had showed him. We continued on our journey in silence, and I wonder if the magician actually knew if we were headed in the right direction or not. What heightened senses did he have that he could so confidently lead us through this swamp, despite Satotz's warning of certain death if we got separated from the group?
Not too long and we were on a grassy forest path, the fog left behind us. Although the route we took was sunny and bright, I could still hear the dwellers of the swamp lurking just beyond my sight in the cover of the underbrush, and began walking closer to Hisoka. Not expecting him to suddenly stop at some random point, I collided into the magician's back, nearly falling before his hand shot out and gripped my arm.
"S-Sorry," I murmured, shifting uncomfortably in his grasp, hoping he'd let go.
Hisoka merely smiled, but not in a friendly, reassuring way. "I suppose you're going to stay by my side until this is over." Strangely, his words sounded more like a statement than a question, and I hesitated in giving him an answer. He regarded me with those piercing amber eyes, and I began to squirm under his gaze as it slowly swept me from head to toe. What was he playing at?
"I'll give you a warning; I do have another ally on my side that might take...interest in you. I suggest not finding yourself alone with him. I'm certain he'd kill you in a much more painful way than I," he stated, a grin stretching over his features as he brought his face closer to mine. I was pretty sure I turned as white as a sheet, and I could feel nausea hit me in the gut as I thought of how much worse Hisoka's supposed "ally" could be compared to him.
"W-Well...m-maybe I could m-manage on my own f-for a time..." I stuttered, now avidly trying to wiggle out of his grip. I'd find someone else to stick with, or if we weren't going through any more swamps I could probably brave the rest of the examination myself.
"On your own?" he chuckled, finally releasing my arm and bringing his hand towards my face. Gently threatening, he dragged a single sharpened nail down my cheek, leaving a streak of blood in his path. The wound stung briefly. "Oh no my little toy, you're staying by my side. I won't have you broken by anyone else."
[~TIME SKIP~]
I stood frozen in fear, shaking in my boots as I looked up at the man standing over me. Man...he was more like a monster. Hundreds of pins stuck out of every part of his body, and his skin was a sickly color green. Flared lavender hair stuck straight up in a sort of Mohawk, and a creepy smile was plastered on his face. My eyes darted around as he leaned in closer, but there was nowhere to run. My back was against a tree, and this man whose name I learned was Gittarackur stood on my right, and Hisoka stood to my left, his arms crossed over his chest.
"She'll be with me for the remainder of the examination."
Those had been his only words as we approached the scary man coming into the clearing where all the other applicants were resting. Gittarackur's gaze had wandered from his companion to me, and I flinched at his gaze. Despite the seemingly harmless look on his face, he radiated danger, and I knew the other applicants were smart to stay away from him. Hisoka set Leorio down at the base of a tree, not too far from the other applicants and turned to Gittarackur to speak, and I took the opportunity to slip away, hopefully unseen. Of course, Hisoka wasn't stupid, and neither was Gittarackur, and I soon found myself cornered by them against the tree I had moved to to rest.
"Now now little fruit, running away isn't polite," Hisoka stated, looking down at me with a bored expression. My eyes wandered past the two of them to the other applicants who observed from the corner of their eyes, and knew that they wouldn't be of any help to me. Despite my crippling fear, I was just going to have to brave through this...and hope I wouldn't get myself killed.
"W-What, I can't be away from you for four or five minutes to have a rest?" Although stuttering at first, my voice grew a bit stronger, and I crossed my arms in the same manner as Hisoka and looked up at him defiantly. I couldn't let him bully me around. "I just followed you to make sure Leorio was safe, but trust me, I don't really have a desire to be a part of whatever union you two have; this isn't the three musketeers after all," I drawled, my gaze sweeping to Gittarackur. I was quick to look away as his body began to click, click, click as he stood tall, his eyes still trained on me.
"Hmm, you're not very good at listening, are you?" Hisoka leaned in close, invading my personal space as he reached his hand towards my face and pinched my left cheek in between his thumb and forefinger. Squeezing it tightly like a grandma would her youngest grandchild in awe of how chubby the child's cheeks were, he brought his face only an inch away from mine, locking our gazes. "I already told you, that you were going to remain besides me for the remainder of the exam. Or shall I have to tie you up...if that's the only thing that will keep you from trying to run off, pet?" His words sent shivers down my spine, while the lewd gaze in his eyes set a small fire in the pit of my stomach. Such an unnatural and alien feeling disturbed me, and I quickly shook my head to clear the fog that had invaded for a split second.
My eyes wandered to Gittarackur, who was watching with interest. His eyes swiftly met my own, and I looked away, feeling the bloodlust that seeped from him. Hisoka was right about one thing, I shouldn't be left on my own with this guy.
"S-Sorry," was all I managed to murmur before Hisoka let go of my cheek and turned his back, sinking down at the base of the tree to sit.
"Well, whatever. Even if you do try to run off, I'll always be able to find you~" he hummed, glancing up at me with a smirk. I shivered again, and using what little strength I had left in my legs, jumping to grab the lowest branch of the tree and swinging myself up. It wasn't far, but I felt comfortable being a little bit out of reach of the two below me. I settled down between the branches and attempted to control my erratic breathing.
...It wasn't long until I witnessed from my position in the tree Gon and his other companion jogging into the camp, and gave a small sigh of relief that the younger had made it safely. 'Perhaps it would have been safer to stick by Gon's side, and not follow Hisoka. Unfortunately, it's too late to change anything,' I thought to myself, giving yet another sigh.
Gittarackur had wandered off somewhere in the crowd, and I glanced down at Hisoka who still stood against the base of the tree. His eyes were trained on Gon, a pleased smile on his face. Gon noticed his presence, and Hisoka gestured to where he had sat Leorio down, who was slowly coming back to consciousness. Hisoka must have felt how I was staring at him, because one of his eyes cracked open as he tilted his head to look up at me, his mouth curved. I merely scowled back before turning my attention away from him, to Satotz who had stepped into the middle of the clearing to speak.
"Excellent work, everyone. Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." the examiner stated, before strutting again past all the applicants back into the forest.
'You couldn't pay me a hundred thousand jenny's to go back in there...' I thought, quivering at the thought of being by myself in that creepy swamp. A loud rumbling drew my, and the other applicants attention, and we watched as the two massive doors that enclosed the forest park slowly opened.
What challenge awaited us next? And more importantly, would I survive through it?