Chapter 12

Kiyomi has been running for four hours. She watches as everyone around her slows down or collapses. She stops when she sees a pair of stairs. She looks up to see people lying or sitting on the stairs. Kiyomi takes a deep breath and runs up the stairs. I wonder when the first phase will end. She thinks to herself.

She continues up the stairs passing people collapsing down around her. A man tumbles down the stairs in front of her causing her to jump to the side. She watches as the guy tumbles down the stairs. She sees a light as she continues up the stairs.

Once she reaches the top of the stairs, she sees a lot of people were already at the top. Kiyomi holds her eyes closed as she walks into the crowd of people. 

"My feet hurt..." She sighs, pulling at her shoes. 

"Aw, is there something wrong baby spider?" A soft voice says from beside her. She narrows her eyes and quickly looks towards Hisoka who is smiling at her.

"Can you call me by my name instead of constantly calling me baby spider... I hate that nickname... I have an actual name you know..." She sighs as she glares at him.

"I know- but I like calling you that... So, deal with it~" He replies with a smile on his face. She glares at him then sighs as she takes off her shoes to rest her feet. "If you need a little break... I don't mind carrying you~" He soothes. Kiyomi furrows her eyebrows and tilts her head. She slowly looks up at the man beside Hisoka. His skin is kind of purple and his hair is a purple blue color. His badge number says three hundred and one and he has a bunch of yellow pins poking out of him.

"Why are you hanging around a Zoldyck?" Kiyomi questions Hisoka, sighing a bit. Hisoka smiles more at her as the man walks closer to her. He leans towards her. She narrows her eyes at him as he aggressively twitches.

"Just as impressive as always baby spider~" Hisoka softly bubbles.

"Chrollo contacted me about you." The man says.

"I bet he did... Why are you really here though?" She calmly asks him.

"Family business." He replies. Kiyomi stares at him for a bit before nodding. 

"Family business... Is that kid... number ninety nine... your brother?" She asks as she slowly looks at the boy with the messy white hair. She stares at him a bit causing him to look at her. He furrows his eyebrows and looks away, but Kiyomi's eyes stay on him.

"Your Nen doesn't match your skill-" The man calmly says still staring at Kiyomi. She slowly looks at him with a blank expression on her face.

"I don't have any Nen." Kiyomi states. "I never had Nen to begin with..." 

"But you can manipulate it... Is that right?" He questions. She furrows her eyebrows a bit and tilts her head.

"You're Illumi, right? The one who tried to kill me a few years ago." Kiyomi questions.

"You were able to figure out who I am just by being in my presence?" Illumi questions.

"I already felt your aura before, so I was able to tell it was you. Everyone's aura feels or looks different. Kinda like when you eat chocolate... depending on what brand you get it from... one brand could make their chocolate bitter... while others can make theirs very sweet. It's a horrible reference but I can tell the difference between chocolate so that's the best reference I can give you." Kiyomi blankly says as she looks away.

"Is that so... Have you noticed the change in my aura?" He asks.

"Yes... those pins are altering it... but it's still your aura. No matter if you change it or alter it, I can still sense it and feel the difference but know whose aura it is exactly."

"Scary~" Hisoka softly bubbles.

"I see."

"Baby spider... If I were a chocolate... what would I taste like?" Hisoka asks, smiling at Kiyomi. She stares at him with a blank expression on her face.

"Very salty... a very unappetizing salty." She blankly answers.

"Aw... that's exactly how I imagine it to taste~" He soothes. Kiyomi scrunches her nose and squints at him.

"Have you spoken to my brother?" Illumi asks. Kiyomi slowly looks at him and shakes her head.

"No... I haven't and I don't plan on doing so." She sighs.

"Good... If I catch you with him... I'll kill you." He says in a calm tone. Kiyomi stares at him a bit before sighing and adjusting her outfit.

"Yeah yeah... I could care less about your brother." She sighs.

The fog around Kiyomi starts to thin. She looks around as she sees her surroundings a bit more.

"The Milsey Wetlands, popularly known as the Swindler's Swamp..." Satotz says. Kiyomi looks in the direction he's talking in but can't see through the crowd of people. "This is the path we will have to take to get to the second phase." He continues. 

"So, more running..." Kiyomi quietly says.

"If you need a little ride... the offer is still on the table... but... my nice deeds don't come for free~" Hisoka says looking down at Kiyomi.

"No... I'll pass. I would rather be eaten by a bunch of fire ants then to let you carry me." She sighs.

"So mean~" He says with a smile on his face.

"There are many rare animals here that you can't find anywhere else. Many of these animals prey on humans by playing tricks on them. Such creatures are resourceful and greedy." Satotz states. Kiyomi slowly rubs her arms. 

"This is giving me goosebumps." Kiyomi sighs. "I can't tell if it's because I'm cold... or because I'm standing by you." She says glaring up at Hisoka who is still staring at her. He smiles again when their eyes meet.

"If you get tricked, you will die." Satotz adds. Everyone gasps. The sound of the gate behind them closes. Kiyomi stares down at her shoes that are all beaten up already. I wonder how long these designer shoes will last. She thinks to herself. "These Wetland creatures will use all kinds of tricks to catch their prey... In doing so it becomes an ecosystem where they get their prey through deception. That is why this is known as Swindlers Swamp." Satotz continues. "So be careful to not be tricked. Follow behind me closely if you want to be safe." 

"This is so ridiculous!" A man groans. Kiyomi turns her head towards the man talking. He's wearing no shirt and has a tie tied around his neck. That's the man who wore the blue suit earlier. Number four hundred and three. "Now that you've warned us, who's gonna get tricked now?" He scoffs.

"DON'T FALL FOR IT!" A voice shouts from a distance. Kiyomi's eyes drift towards who said that.

"Of course I'm not falling for it." The suit man sighs. A man walks out from beside the structure. He looks beaten up and his clothes are all ripped.

"EVERYONE! DON'T FALL FOR IT! HE HAS BEEN LYING TO YOU! HES NOT THE EXAMINOR! HE'S AN IMPOSTER!" The beaten-up man yells. "I'M THE REAL EXAMINER!" He shouts.

TING

"A lie..." Kiyomi softly says. Hisoka smiles more causing Kiyomi to look towards him.

"He's lying?" He bubbles.

"Yeah..." Kiyomi says nodding as she looks towards the man pulling out a weird looking monkey.

"This is a man faced ape... That man is one of them! He plans on deceiving you and eating you all... " The man implies as he points at Satotz.

"A man faced ape?" Kiyomi says in a confused tone.

"Say, baby spider..." Hisoka softly says.

"What now?" She sighs looking up.

"If you pass the hunters exam... I promise I won't put you to sleep and take you to Chrollo if you do me a little favor."

"Eh?"

"Come to Heavens Arena and fight me..."

"Why should I? That's a great way for me to get caught..." Kiyomi sighs.

"Aw... I promise I won't let them take you... Just one little fight- okay~?" He soothes as he holds six cards at the tips of his fingers. She squints her eyes at him and cross her arms.

"Yeah... no..." She listlessly says. He smiles at her as his eyes bore into hers. He quickly throws the card at the man who claimed he was an examiner and Satotz. The man falls down after being hit and Satotz caught the three cards Hisoka threw at him. Hisoka laughs and looks back down at Kiyomi.

"You were right... He was lying." Hisoka says looking at Satotz. Everyone looks towards Satotz then back at Hisoka who's smiling with his eyes closed. "A so called examiner is a hunter hired by the selection committee... Not every hunter is the same, but that kind of attack was easy to deflect." He calmly states. "So... the man who has been leading us this entire time is the true examiner..." He adds. Everyone gasps and looks at Satotz.

"Thank you for explaining that... I will take that as a compliment... but if you lay a hand on me again for any reason it will be considered a violation which will result in immediate disqualification." Satotz says, as he looks at Hisoka. "Do you understand?"

"Of course." Hisoka says smiling back at Kiyomi. She narrows her eyes and walks away from Hisoka, moving deeper into the crowd of people. He watches her as she does.

"Listen up. The fog will get thicker the further we go in. If you lose me then don't expect to make it to the second phase, so please be careful. Now... lets go ahead... follow me." He says turning and moving off into the distance. Everyone follows behind him. Kiyomi continues behind a group of people.

The ground is wet and soggy, and the fog is getting extremely thick. The people around her begin to disappear which causes her to stop running. She slowly looks around her. People around her start to scream and cry. She sighs and closes her eyes. Something moves from under her which causes her to jump back. The monster grabs at another person beside her. She turns her head and looks off into the distance. She shivers when she feels a strong tense feeling in the air. She slowly turns towards it and squints her eyes as she tries to look into the distance.

She quickly moves in the distance towards the tense feeling she felt a bit ago. She stops when she sees a bunch of men surrounding Hisoka.

"What a bunch of Idiots..." She sighs. She jumps up into the tree and watches.

"I've been thinking since last year... a person like you isn't fit to be a hunter." A guy with his hair tied back in an oddly short ponytail says to Hisoka. 

"We'll let you go if you promise to never take the hunter exam again." A bald man says.

"That's fine... I'm getting in this year, so I won't need to take it again..." Hisoka replies. 

"Yeah? You think you can make your way to the second phase through this fog? Ya idiot." The guy with the ponytail says. Kiyomi squints her eyes to get a better look at his badge number.

"Number seventy six..." She quietly says to herself.

"EXACTLY! You're just like us... we will be eliminated cause we couldn't keep up..." A purple haired man with a big nose says. Hisoka starts laughing and stares at the guys with a smile on his face.

"So... you're supposed to be the examiners now? A hunter is someone who hunts for prey... so who is more suitable... you- or me? Let's play examiner... lets see who passes the test- shall we?" He says with a smile on his face.

"ENOUGH! SHUT HIM UP." The guy demands. Everyone charges at him. Hisoka pulls out a card and spins in a circle very fast. All the guys collapse. Kiyomi squints her eyes as she watches the ponytail guy crawl away. Hisoka flicks the card and it goes straight into the guys head.

"I can never understand how that's possible... it's like his cards are made of steel..." Kiyomi sighs and tilts her head. "He looks like a clown but fights like a magician... what a weirdo..."

"Now now... do you guys want to play the examiner game too?" Hisoka says as his eyes dart into the distance. Kiyomi slowly looks to where he's looking at to see the blond feminine guy and the blue suit guy. Kiyomi tilts her head to see what they will do as Hisoka approaches them. 

"NOW!" The blond one yells. They run opposite ways causing Hisoka to stop.

"Smart..." Kiyomi softly says to herself. She sighs and prepares to jump down off the tree and try to find her way back to the examiner. She closes her eyes to sense her surroundings but quickly opens them and looks towards her left to see the suit guy walking back towards Hisoka, holding a big stick.

"I can't do it... This has nothin to do with me... but I can't play pretend and run away." Suit guy huffs.

"Number four hundred and three... What an idiot..." Kiyomi slowly says to herself. 

"I'm not going to run away... I'm not like that!" He shouts as he charges towards Hisoka. Hisoka quickly moves, preparing to knock the guy out. But then something flies through the air hitting Hisoka in the face. Kiyomi quickly looks to see where it came from. A boy in green with black spikey hair holding a fishing rod reels his line in.

"A fishing rod...? He looks to be about my age..." She softly says to herself.

"Not bad... little boy-" Hisoka says, smiling at the boy. "Is that a fishing rod? What an interesting choice of a weapon." He says. He slowly turns and approaches the boy. Kiyomi stands up a bit, gripping onto the tree. "Can I see that weapon of yours real quick...?" He asks as he holds his hand out. The boy takes a few steps back, holding tightly onto the fishing rod. 

"NO! I'm the one... you're supposed to fight!" The suit guy says charging at Hisoka from behind. Hisoka quickly moves and punches the guy, causing him to fly up and back. The boy jumps and attacks Hisoka but misses. 

"Did you come here to help your friend?" Hisoka asks the boy. The boy flinches and jumps back. Hisoka quickly moves behind him and leans towards him. "What a good little boy~" He soothes. 

Kiyomi watches as Hisoka walks up on the boy as the boy constantly attacks him. Her grip on the tree tightens more. The boy smashes his rod into the ground and surprise attacks Hisoka from behind. Hisoka quickly moves and grabs the boy by his neck, squeezing it tightly. The boy grips onto Hisoka's arm as Hisoka squeezes tighter. The boy struggles to move from his grip.

"I really love that look~" Hisoka soothes. The boy's grip weakens causing Kiyomi to let go of the tree and jump down.

"Let him go, Hisoka!" Kiyomi shouts with purple eyes. Hisoka lets go of the boy and smiles. Kiyomi quickly walks towards Hisoka, causing him to look at her. She walks in front of the boy with an irritated look on her face.

"You ruined my fun..." Hisoka softly says, smiling down at Kiyomi.

"Fun? Leave him alone..." She huffs.

"Aw~ and why should I listen to you, baby spider?" He asks, leaning towards her a bit.

"Leave" She demands. His eyes go dull for a second but quickly go back to normal. She furrows her eyebrows when she notices her ability doesn't work on him. He's just like Chrollo and Feitan... She thinks to herself.

"That little ability of yours doesn't work on me..." He softly bubbles leaning more towards her and rubbing his nail across her cheek. "If you really want me to leave... then show me what you're really capable of..." He soothes.

"Tch... Why don't you just not be a weirdo and leave him alone..." She huffs.

"A weirdo? What a cruel thing to say~" He chuckles. "How about this... I will leave him alone if you take me up on that offer..."

"What offer?" She questions.

"Heavens Arena..." He says, sadistically smiling at her.

"Fine..." She sighs.

"Oh... but- there's more." He says narrowing his eyes at her. She furrows her eyebrows and tilts her head.

"More?"

"The fight is just so I don't turn you in... but in addition of saving your little friend here... how about... If I win against you at the Heavens Arena... say- I get to see what you're truly capable of... underneath it all... how does that sound~" He says as his eyes bore into hers and his grin giving off a creepy look.

"... What do you mean by that specifically?" Kiyomi asks.

"You'll see when the time comes." He soothes. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Fine." She sighs. His smile grows more.

"You're very lucky little boy- I was going to have my way with you... but I guess I will have to wait until later." He softly says as he approaches the man in the suit and picks him up, throwing him over his shoulder. "Since your friend right here brought me much joy... I will get him to the second phase... but the rest is up to you... Bye bye little boy... Bye bye... baby spider." He soothes as he disappears into the fog. Kiyomi stares off into the distance Hisoka walked in. She slowly looks at the boy who's staring up at her.

He's breathing heavy and staring at her with blank eyes.

"Are you okay?" She softly asks. He snaps out of it and sighs, sitting up fully.

"Yeah... I'm alright... Thanks-" He says slowly standing up. Kiyomi furrows her eyebrows a bit and sighs.

From a distance he looks very short... but he's a bit taller than me- that doesn't make me feel so great... I wonder when I will get taller. Kiyomi rests her fists on her waist and stares at the boy.

"You should be careful with that weirdo... You'll never know what his true intentions are... I bet they're never great..." She sighs, looking off into the distance.

"Yeah... Who are you by the way?" The boy asks. Kiyomi slowly looks at him and smiles.

"I'm Kiyomi..." She soothes.

"Oh... Hi! I'm Gon." He bubbles.

Gon... Number four hundred and five.

"I like your rod." She softly bubbles pointing towards his rod.

"Oh... thanks..." He says looking at it.

"You're really cool... Let's be friends." Kiyomi bubbles.

"Okay! Sure!" 

"Great... See you later!" She waves and runs off into the distance. Gon's smile slowly disappears as she disappears. He looks in the distance she left in feeling confused.

"Baby spider? What kind of nickname is that?" Gon questions as the feminine blond guy runs towards him.