It's been two hours since the exam began, and we've traveled more than 30 kilometers, I think, from the starting line. I don't think anyone knows how far we'll have to go.
Nevertheless, most of us struggled to match Mr. Satotz's pace. It's like a never ending tunnel, and other applicants have started to drop out.
I was running to the right of Gon, swinging our hands and humming 'You are my sunshine' to myself cause all I could hear is 'huffing' and 'grunting' and I for one don't like that.
"Nee, I think you should move down to my hood. I wouldn't want you to fall off my shoulder if something were to happen." I said and looked at the said male, who was on my shoulder.
He nodded and slowly and carefully made his way in my hood, that was below my chin, with the help of me. I heard the sound of wheels rolling on the ground and tried to look at where it was coming from.
Is someone wearing roller skates? Bruh! I should've gotten skates, then it would've been easier! Plus I would look cool.
A kid passes by me, riding a skateboard. That's even cooler! Looking at his back, he had, what seemed, white hair wearing shorts and a longed sleeved shirt under an oversized white shirt. His skateboard was yellow with what looks like an red/orange arrow on it. I know. Bad description. But it's not my fault he's in front of me.
"Hey! Wait up, kid!" Leorio yelled at the kid with cool wheels getting his and our attention.
Maybe I should get heelies. The shoes with wheels you can take off and put on.
"How 'bout you show a little respect for the exam?!" "What do you mean?" The kid asked turning to look at him. "I mean, quit using a damn skateboard! That's cheating!" Leorio yelled as he pointed to the kid's skateboard.
"How's that?" The kid asked again, irritating Leorio even more. "How? This is an endurance test! That's how!" "No, it's not." "Yeah, he just said to follow him. That's all" Gon said with me backing up him up.
"Hey, whose side are you on, guys?!" Leorio questioned while the kid on wheels looked at us, glancing at our hands, then slowing down, rolling to the right of me.
"Hey how old are you, guys?" The kid asked us, "12 years old." Gon answered first, "And you?" The kid asks looking at me, "Oh, I'm-" 12 "-12?" I answered, "Why did it sound more of a question?" He asked with a confused look on his face.
"Cause it was a question." I said with a pout. He then did this cool trick with his skateboard and landed, catching it. "I think I'll run for a little while." He said, running to the right of me.
"Woah! That was so cool!" Both Gon and I yelled in unison. "My name's Killua." The kid with wheels introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Gon and this is my friend Michael!" Gon introduced both him and me then remembering Nee, "Oh, and this it Nee."
He added while pointing to my hoodie hood. The said male poked his head out at the mention of his name. "Woah. What is he?" Killua asked looking amazed at Nee, extending his finger to touch him.
"He's known as a Greenman. He has the ability to grow plants of any sort from his body, but he mostly grows healing and helping plants out of his body, which can be useful at a crucial time." I explained to to the curious boy to my right.
"Never heard of them." He says smiling at Nee who was holding his finger examining it. After that, we ran in comfortable silence. I heard a faint yell and was about to look when Killua spoke, probably sensing my curiosity, "It's probably an applicant who couldn't take it anymore." I nodded and continued running.
Damn. How am I not tired? We've been running for about, what? About 4, 5-ish hours? Even Yukio wouldn't be able to run for that long, and he's good in sports.
"Nee." Nee said, laying on his tummy, also on my shoulder, facing the back, pointing. I turned around and saw Leorio drop his suitcase and slowly coming to a halt. This also caught Gon's attention and we slowed down, stopping to wait for him.
As we did so, Killua stopped a little ahead of us, noticing weren't next to him. "Hey, forget about him. We've gotta keep going." Killua said, not wanting to wait for the sweaty man in a suit.
Both Gon and I didn't respond as we just kept looking at Leorio. I can feel Killua's gaze as we wait some more, until I see Leorio getting up and sprinting past us yelling, "I'm becoming a hunter, no matter what! Damn it all!"
Gon pulled me closer to him as to not be in the way and getting hit by Leorio. He then went onto getting his suitcase, that he left behind, with his fishing rod. "Got it!" He says as he caught it. Killua was amazed.
"That was awesome! Can I try that later?" Killua asks as we started to run again. "Sure, if I can try your skateboard." "Hey, I wanna try them too, guys! Don't leave me out." I yelled, "Well, is there something that we can try that's yours?" Gon asks looking at me.
"I have a camera, a kalimba-" "What's that?" Killua asked me from the left of Gon. "It's like an instrument you can play, but it's mainly with your fingers." I say, trying to find the right words.
"Sure, I'll let you try my skateboard if you let me try your 'Kalimba'." Killua said raising his one of his fingers, looking at me. "Yeah, me too!" Gon said with a smile, excited to see what it would look like. "Deal!" I said, smiling at the two boys.
As we continued to run, there were more people dropping left and right, seeming to give up. I wonder why. Oh look stairs. ... Wait, STAIRS?!
"Hey, I've got an idea. Let's race to the finish, see who's faster!" Killua presented his idea with Gon agreeing, "Sure, okay! But the loser has to buy dinner."
"Yeah, you're on! What about you, Michael? Wanna race?" Killua asked leaning a bit, to see me. I thought for a moment, looking at Nee. "What do you think, Nee? Should we race them?" The said male looked at them then turned to me with firm nod.
"Count us in!" I yelled, clenching my fist. "Ready? Go!/Nee!" All four of us yelled as we ran up the stairs, with Nee standing on my shoulder, gripping onto my left pointed ear.
As we were running, we caught up with Leorio and Kurapika. From what I'm hearing they're talking about what Leorio's real reason of becoming a hunter was, then it lead to an argument.
"It's not. Be honest. Do you really believe that money can can buy everything? Tell the truth!" Kurapika yelled at the now shirtless man.
Since when did he become shirtless and where did Kurapika's blue thing go? Are we suppose to take something off?
"Damn right, I do! For the right price, you can buy treasures, dreams, hearts, and even people's lives!" Hearts? Like the organ or love? Wait, you can buy dreams?
"Take that back, Leorio! I will not stand here and allow you to insult the Kurta!" Kurapika growls back at him. "What? It's the truth, isn't it? If I had money, my friend would still be alive today!" Leorio looks and yells at Kurapika with anger, but it was mostly to himself.
This caused Kurapika and I to gasp. He lost someone? It was quiet for a while then Kurapika broke it, "Was he ill?" "Yeah, it was a curable disease." Leorio responded then he went silent, remembering something.
Aw, baba.. you poor thing. "The problem was that the operation cost a fortune. I was naive. I figured that I could become a doctor, so I can cure kids with the same disease and tell their parents they owed me nothing...That it was free of charge! That was my dream."
Shit.. I can hear him crying from here.. "Pretty good joke, right? Turns out to become a doctor, you already have to have an obscene amount of money! Get it now? The whole world runs on money, so I'm gonna get as much as I can!" Leorio finished.
"I think we should go faster. Right, Nee?" I asked looking at the greenman in my hood, who nodded. "See you at the finish line!" "We'll meet you at the top!" "Yeah, catch you later, old man." Gon, Killua and I said as we were right beside them.
"Hey, I'm not old! Can't you tell I'm a teenager just like you?!" Leorio shout at us, making us all shocked. "Huh?!" "No way!" "Whaa?" Bruh, I almost slipped from being to shocked.
After we came out of our shock, we waved, more like I waved, goodbye to Leorio and Kurapika and continue running ahead occasionally moving to the side to avoid exhausted applicants on the ground.
"I've gotta tell you, guys, I'm pretty impressed that you can keep up with me." Killua states as we continue to run, "You are?" Gon asks as he rubs his head and laughs. "Same here. I'm just surprised I didn't stop at the two hour mark." I said, agreeing to Killua who just glanced at me confused but didn't question it.
"Or maybe they're all so slow, you guys seem fast." "Hey!" I yelled but was ignored, "Man, I thought the hunter exam was gonna be more of a challenge. This is boring." Killua says, looking down with disappointment.
"The fuck kinda entertainment you asking for?" I asked, but Gon turned and scolded me for using a swear word, then looked at Killua, asking, "Hey, why do you want to be a hunter, anyway?"
"Who, me? I never said I wanted to be a hunter. I just heard the exam was supposed to be really hard. It sounded kinda fun, so here I am, but it's not as fun as I thought. What about you?"
"Well, the thing is my dad's a hunter, so I decided I was going to be a hunter just like him, no matter what!" Gon said as we moved to the right to avoid an applicant, "Hmm. So what kind of hunter is he?" "No idea."
"There's different types of hunters?" I whisper/asked Nee, who just shrugs. Killua laughs at Gon, for not knowing what his dad is. "It's the weirdest thing I've ever heard!" "Huh?"
"You want to be the same kind of hunter as your dad, but you don't know anything about him? That's nuts!" "Mito's the one who raised me, and she told me a little, but I've only ever seen him in pictures she showed me from a long time ago."
"Wait, so who's Mito?" Killua and I asked as we run pass another applicant. "She's my aunt." Gon responded smiling. "Ah."
"She said that my dad took the hunter exam when he was only 12 years old, too. He passed his first try and became a hunter. That's when he decided to leave the island. So I came here in order to find out why he chose being a hunter over staying at home with me."
Damn, ain't that a big goal. Oh, is that light? We all looked up to see that we were nearing the finish line. "The exit!" "Oh, thank goodness!" "We're finally getting out of of this dark tunnel!" Many applicants let out a cry of joy as were all getting closer to the top.
Gon, Killua and I sped up even more, if possible, passing by all the applicants that were ahead of us. Hey, look, Hisoka was here the whole time. Noice. The said male turned to me, making eye contact. Not a second later, I did a 'panic run'.
'Panic run' is basically me running on all fours. I only 'panic run' when I know I'm in trouble or scared. Fuck! I made eye contact with a beautiful human!
Completely forget about the race, I sped up trying to get away from the accidental eye contact situation. I managed to beat Gon and Killua, who tied, by four seconds.
"Yeah, I did it! I finished first!" Gon yelled, raising one hand. "What are you talking about? I totally won." Killua said, disagreeing with Gon. "I don't think they notice us." "Nee." I said, with Nee sighing, shaking his head in disbelief.
They continued arguing then asked Mr. Satotz, who was also watching them fight, who won, "You crossed the finish line simultaneously, though the young girl in front of you crossed seconds before the both of you did." He said pointing at me.
"What?!" This shocked the boys, whipping their heads in our direction, "When did you get here with out us seeing you?" Killua asks, walking up to me and shaking me, making me dizzy. "I did a 'panic run'." I replied, still dizzy.
"A what?" Killua asked, stoping his shaking. "A 'panic run', it's basically what it sounds." I said as I got out of his hold, grabbing my throbbing head with both hands.
"I guess that makes her the winner. That means me and Killua have to buy you dinner." Gon said with his finger up, smiling. Does he ever get tired of doing that? Like seriously, doesn't his face meat hurt?
"I guess you're right. Rules are rules." Killua states, putting his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Mr. Satotz, is this where's the second phase begins?" Gon asks the man with no mouth. "No, it isn't. We have quite a way to go." "Aww, man."
Time skip
We waited near the exit of the tunnel as applicants exited, I was just waiting for Kurapika and Leorio to show up, hoping they didn't give up.
"Oh." I made a noise as I saw Leorio weakly walk out of the tunnel with Kurapika following not long after. I ran up to them and hugged Kurapika, telling him that he and Leorio scared me for taking too long, then crouched down and offered Leorio a water bottle that was in my backpack while Gon greeted Kurapika.
"Hey, Kurapika." "Oh. Hey. Is this our destination?" He asked, still huffing. "Nope, not yet." Gon responded, with yet again another smile. "Mm. I see." "Hey, Kurapika, want some water? I have an extra one in my backpack." I asked the now calm male, "Sure, thank you."
I smiled at him, getting up from my crouched position in front of Leorio. "You had water the entire time?!" Killua yelled at me. "Oh, shut up! I was saving it for Leorio, then I saw that I had another one so I offered it to Kurapika like the humble person I am." I yelled back, walking to Kurapika then stopped, standing right in front of him, while grabbing and handing him the extra water bottle from my backpack.
"Looks like the fog is lifting." He says before he took a big sip. "Really?" Gon asked while he and Killua got off the ground, standing up. We all looked to see that the fog is indeed lifting, revealing beautiful scenery with a rising sun.
"The Milsy Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp. We must cross it to reach phase two of the exam. This place is home to a variety of truly bizarre animals, many of which are crafty, voracious monsters who deceive and feast on human prey, so please, be very careful."
Mr. Satotz turned to face us, raising his finger, "If you are deceived, you will surely die." He says. Many applicants let out mummers until the tunnel began to close. Closing on on an applicant that was about to make it.
"These Wetland creatures are not to be underestimated, for they will use every trick in the book to fool their prey." Mr. Satotz said gaining all our attention, making us gasp. "This is an ecosystem in which all creatures hunt by the art of deception, and that is why it is also known as Swindlers Swamp. Now then, please follow me closely so you won't be deceived." He said turning away from us making the tension grow.
"Is he messing with us? If we know they'll try to deceive us, who's gonna fall for it." Leorio sated standing up. Look who decided to join. Not even a second later. "Don't fall for it!" We all looked to see a man with brown hair, covered in dirt and bruises. "Listen, didn't I just say that we won't?" Leorio said also looking at the male.
Keeping his eyes on the unknown male, Kurapika pulled me closer, protectively, while I hugged my backpack in my arms after putting Kurapika's water away. "Don't let them fool you. Heys lying. That man is lying to you!" The unknown man yelled, pointing to Mr. Satotz.
"He's an imposter, a total fraud! I'm the real examiner! You got it?!" He yelled again, pointing to himself. Satotz an imposter? But he was running with us the entire time. Plus an imposter wouldn't have an awesome mustache like Mr. Satotz. I was brought back when the unknown man held a large monkey? Hey, it has Mr. Satotz's face but..
dead.
"This is a man-face ape from the Milsy Wetlands." Ape. It's called an ape. Not 'a large monkey'. Did I lose some brain cells when I arrived here? I blame Gon for breaking my fall.
"The man-faced ape loves the taste of human flesh, but their limbs are really long and thin, so they're actually quite weak. That's why they disguised themselves as humans. They trick us into following them into the Wetlands, where they work together with other creatures to kill and eat us. That's what he wants! To deceive the entire hunter applicant pool and feast on everyone of you!" He finished.
I didn't get to hear what the applicants said as I saw three cards fly towards the unknown man, impaling and killing him, then another three card flying towards Mr. Satotz, who caught them with ease. I saw something coming at me so I shifted/tilted my head to the right, but it burned and turned to smoke in less than a second, before it could hit me. The hell was that?
I heard cards being shuffled and a man chuckle. "I see. I see. That settles it, then. So you are the real one." It was Hisoka! Everyone was shocked and trying to comprehend what had happened. Did Hisoka also throw me a card? Was it the eye contact?! Oh shit, if it was then I should apologize.
Just then, the weird looking ape jumped up and ran away. That shit don't look right. "The examiners are hunters. Each hand-picked by the exam committee to do this job without pay. Anyone who holds the title we're vying for ourselves could have deflected that attack, and quite easily, I might add." Hisoka stated.
"I shall take that as a compliment. Thank you. Still, should you choose to attack me again for any reason, I will have no choice but to report you for attacking an examiner and have you immediately disqualified. Is that clear?" Mr. Satotz threatened Hisoka. "Of course."
Birds landed on the now dead unknown man, who was laying on the ground still having the cards in his body, eating him. Isn't Hisoka gonna miss his cards? Wait, how is he gonna play a game if there's cards missing?
"Nature can be so brutal. It's hard to watch." "So he was a man-faced ape as well." Leorio said with Kurapika following after, pulling me even closer, basically hugging me from behind with my tail wrapped around his right leg.
"He was trying to confuse the applicants and lure some of you away. These attempts are to be expected." Mr. Satotz explained.
"We can't let our guard down." Killua concluded with Gon replying with a 'Right!'. "Please be aware that you will encounter such deception on a regular basis." Mr. Satotz said walking to the edge of the group where the dead man/ape laid,
"I must assume that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my true identity. Understand? I want to make it abundantly clear that if any of you are to lose sight of me once we enter the fog of the Misly Wetlands, you have no hope whatsoever of reaching the second phase of the exam. You've been warned." He said walking away in the direction of the second phase.
"Now let's begin. Please follow me." And with that, we began our way into the Wetlands, running. He makes running look so easy and graceful. There were lots of 'huffing' and 'puffing' from the other applicants from all the running we're doing.
"Oh, great. It's another marathon." Leorio complained. "Except this time, we're in a swamp, and running on wet ground requires significantly more energy." Kurapika also states after him.
Running on wet ground is like running in snow, right? Then this shouldn't be a problem. I kept running as Nee rested comfortably, well as comfortable as he can, on my head. I just hope this part won't be dangerous, cause I sure as hell don't want to lose my new friends, and I'm sure Nee would agree.