Stealth X Isn't X Optional
AN: Sorry for the slow updates, I recently fell down the 3d printing rabbit hole when I recently got a newer printer than my previous one which was tiny in comparison. I have been re-learning all the required skills and brushed up on my still atrocious blender skills while working on a large-scale project. If I make any worthwhile progress I'll consider putting some pics on paragraph/chapter comments.
"Well ain't that just swell…" sitting up high inside a tree I sat still while observing the movements of another examinee from afar. Looking up towards the sun that was in the middle of the sky marking that it was noon on the fourth day while on the island.
'Well, I can safely say that my target's behavior is… disappointing. It seems he is just camping most of the time. Maybe he will try to ambush a couple of people or his target on the last day? His only equipment is a medium-sized sheath knife, though his use of it seems practiced… thankfully he doesn't seem to be too much of a character, I.E boring, and most likely not a nen user if anime logic is used in this situation. Overall he is just too normal, maybe some sort of military background or outdoorsman? He is quite good at the wilderness survival aspect of this exam being able to obtain and cook food and so on… ' looking around my watch post I built over the course of the last 1 ½ days I grabbed my cup of water as I slowly combed over every step I made and planned to make
'As much as it sucked at first the muddying of the clothes on the second day was a good idea, the white t-shirt and magenta pants gave me no advantage on this island with two nen users. Then using various vines, branches, and detritus to create a poor man's ghillie suit was an alright idea though the things a bit itchy… and then slowly moving and scouting out the island was alright, didn't see too many other people and they seemed to only pass through my vicinity and no one was actually staying around me. However, I was incredibly lucky when I found my target number 89 on the night of the third day while lurking around the island. After that, I climbed up inside a tree a long distance away from his camp and tied myself around the trunk of the tree.' the real reason I decided to move so cautiously was as a form of basic training, stalking my target like this and sneaking around and observing various examinees daily schedules and 'territories' they tended to stay in was excellent practice for not only zetsu but also for blacklist jobs when I become a Hunter as they will prove excellent for making connections, training/experience, and money.
'Hmm now that I think about Magenta in the manga was a hired gun no? Maybe I will be able to pick up the work easier than normal… 'climbing down from my makeshift tower I began rifling through the pile of leaves covering the base of the roots of the tree I pull out some general supplies I left there, some nuts and berries that I saw other wildlife eating to ensure they were safe, a small box with my extra ammo inside, and my fire bow I made four days ago on the evening of the first day. Eating a light meal I began looking over both my gun and ammunition while considering my plan of attack and its several backup plans.
'This guy tends to be quite jumpy at night time when sleeping, waking up multiple times to animals walking around or distant noises resonating throughout the island. More importantly, though, every time this happens he wakes up more and more fatigued and this will only get worse as the week goes on. Therefore, I will probably rest tonight and the day after in the early morning, probably 3-4 in the morning I will creep up and shoot him… the hardest part will be pulling the trigger I guess?' finishing up my meal I stow my items back beneath the tree as I move to go on a foraging/scouting trip around the general area I'm occupying on the island. Looking for other signs of humans or disturbances in the area is key to knowing if someone is stalking me. And while I did survey the same general area I made sure to walk the area in different ways to make sure someone could not profile me like I am currently doing to my target.
"Hoh? What's this…" looking at numerous footprints running through the soft ground I look around for anyone nearby. Seeing and hearing nothing I swiftly move towards the tracks, and while I don't know anything about tracking I can deduce the tracks are recent due to the crisp edges of the indentations and knowing that they were not there yesterday.
'It was a group that moved through here, there are two different sizes of prints… no its actually three looking at it closer. The only group of three I can think of are the Amori brothers… I wonder what it is they are doing around here though?'
"!!!" looking back into the center of the island I can only describe what feels like pure dread washing over me. Every hair on my body was standing up as I felt engulfed in a deluge of negative emotions
'Holy hell is that Hisoka's Killing intent… that means that Kurapika and Leorio just exchanged their lives for two spare tags and Gon secured his points. But man is this off-putting… being unable to move due to someone else's bloodlust.' deciding to continue my scouting as it would take me away from where I sensed danger I moved further into the forest even if I would rather be in the comfort of my tree.
'Maybe I should track the Amori brothers… could be some buffer points in case I am unable to get to my target. Thinking about it wasn't Killua's target one of the brothers or was it the other way around?' following the trail further I made sure to move quietly while trying to spot anyone ahead. Hearing some noise ahead I begin to flank the origin as I move towards denser foliage while looking to see what was happening.
"Imbecile! You're too scared to fight some kid without us? You cant fight him is that it?" looking at the person who spoke I saw the middle Amori brother, who wore a typical sock hat kick down the smallest brother to the ground in anger.
"No! Uh… no that's not it at all! I was… being nice! I mean look at the poor kid, he probably only got here through sheer luck! He is too innocent to hurt all that badly so I was going to just spare him and steal his tag when he went to sleep." Lying on the spot in the most unconvincing manner the smallest brother began making floundering under the pressure of his two brother's glares.
"Hah!? You making fun of us?" The largest of the trio spoke in a terse and displeased manner
"Okay! I was just joking!... hahaha! Well because you reacted so poorly to my joke then I guess I don't have any other choice. I'll fight this kid by myself, hey kid, give me your badge and I won't hurt you ok?" with fake bravado the smallest brother began pumping himself up as he strode towards someone who I couldn't see from my position
'However, if my guess is correct that should be Killua…' I deduced using my fore knowledge of events.
"...Baka." and with a bored yet measured tone, someone outright mocked the smaller brother in his face.
'Yeah that's him alright.'