Rukei awkwardly tried to lift Killua's head off her shoulder without waking him. Both Killua and Gon had fallen asleep on the train ride, and left her very little room next to the window, as everyone's limbs were spread over the seat as everyone tried to get into a comfortable spot which was not quite possible with three people on the same bench.

After the screening, Rukei had learned that Kurapika, Senritsu, and Shichi had left, along with Zepile who returned the money for Gon to get his Hunter License back. And to add to it, Leorio was leaving too, back to school to learn about being a doctor. Which meant that it was time for Gon, Killua, and herself to depart from the Yorknew.

She managed to sit him up somehow, but another jolt of the train sent him back to the original position. Rukei sighed and gave up.

There was a laugh across from her and she glanced up towards the man that sat across from her with light hair and bandaged arms. He was laughing at her, she realized and returned an unimpressed stare.

"Looks like you're having a little trouble there, lass," he commented with a toothy grin, "I betcha he's doing it on purpose. I used to do that to all the pretty girls on the train when I was a young and handsome fellow! I think I still retained a little of that handsomeness," the man gave himself a look at the reflection in the window next to him and stroked the stubble of his chin, "What do you think, lass?"

"Shichi-oneesan tells me not to talk to creepy old men."

"Aw, lass's as cold as ice! I'll have y'know, I'm still at the healthy age of thirty-nine!"

This man was an unimpressive one, the kind she'd see lounging around always looking in a newspaper for a job yet never actually make a move to get one. His jolliness was notable at least. And if he managed to pass the screening, then he was no one to sniff at, Nen wise, that is. But that didn't mean she was going to reply as she stared at him dully and a bead of sweat slid down his face at the blank pause.

"I'm not a creepy old man, alright?" He assured nervously feeling the accusing and silent weight put on him, "Y'all just remind me of the kids that run around my hometown."

"That's creepy," Rukei responded immediately but instead of cringing, his expression brightened.

With that bright expression, he leaned back, "Hey, least you're talkin' to me! They call me Hyoshi. What's your name, lass?"

There was something familiar in the way he spoke that made Rukei suspicious. She couldn't pick it up right away, it was masked by his thick accent, but any familiarity should be closely regarded as danger. But if this were to be Flask, then he would already know her name, identity, and everything. Refusing her name may put her under suspicion that she knew that Flask was disguised which would put him on guard and thus make her lose her advantage.

"I'm Rukei."

"Rukei, huh?" he repeated to himself, and nodding as if he approved her name or something of the sort, "And what're you looking to clear the game for, Rukei? Money? Thrill? Curiosity?" He listed out a series of random guesses.

The brunette shook her head, looking over to the spiky haired boy who was snoring peacefully on the other side of Killua. "Gon is looking for someone," she answered a little vaguely, and leaving out the details of who exactly he was looking for and especially that she was on a mission.

Hyoshi folded his arms and glanced in between the two boys, "Okay, and which one's Gon? Snow White or Needle Head?"

"Needle Head," Rukei answered instinctively before looking back up to the man after thinking over what he just called the two, "But really, Gon's hair isn't that spiky. And doesn't Snow White have black hair?"

The man cupped his chin as he came to a conclusion, completely ignoring her question, "I see, so you and Snow White are just tagging along for the ride. Y'all must be good friends!"

Rukei's face grew a little warmer but refused to look away as the man continued to speak. His voice still held cheer but there was a muted and well hidden melancholy. It was difficult to catch, and she wouldn't have, had she not decided to keep her gaze straight ahead and look him in the eyes.

"I had good friends too, y'know," Hyoshi told her, leaning his elbows on his legs, "A bit too good. As well as dumb," he laughed to himself, "When me and my colleague messed up, this guy runs along and gets involved with some trash to find a way to help us. Guess he's in jail now."

A chill shot through her as he looked up from his feet, and re-leveled his vision with hers. It was layered behind a smile and very strongly suppressed underneath that jolliness so that she could barely detect it, so that it couldn't be picked up by the elite ex-assassin or the mountain boy with senses like a knife. His voice was even with a cold control blanketed in a casual and sunny cheerfulness. His eyes were heavily translucent with a shining merriness. But it was there.

Bloodlust.

"You wouldn't know anything about him, would ya, Rukei?"

She did not reply for a few minutes and her iron mask was able to hold off a few seconds as she sought for moments to think. Flask? No, he wouldn't be that careless, this man was being intentional, Hyoshi wanted Rukei to know that he was ready to kill her. But for what? For whom? That friend? Information?

More importantly, why, why was he asking her?

"I don't," Rukei answered cautiously after she was forced by time to speak, or otherwise appear suspicious, "What makes you ask me this?"

"Nah, just for good measure," he replied with a grin, "But you really are amazing, Rukei. I didn't give a single specification about my pal yet you're already confident that ya don't know 'im."

Had she really fallen for a trick this simple? She had already lost her touch from the Zakuya years. What was she supposed to say? What could she say? This man wasn't Flask but this man was dangerous. She had been stupid thinking that there was only one person to actually challenge her, everyone was dangerous. But maybe he was actually Flask? She-

The man held a hand over his mouth and looked away, and her eyes followed him in confusion. Motion sickness? A sudden dizzy spell? No, this man was laughing at her. Again. "I was just pulling your leg, lass! You got so serious like a spy or something, I thought you were going to pull a gun out next!"

The girl flared up at the idea of being tricked seconds after it registered and she was about to counter until her head smacked against the window with another sudden sharp turn and she ended up even more squished up while Hyoshi took it upon himself to laugh at her misery.

Rukei didn't know wether she should yell at Gon and Killua, Hyoshi, or the conductor.

-

"I will now hand out the memory cards. But first, we must decide the order. Only one person may enter the game area at a time. We will decide the order now to forestall bickering inside the game."

Someone suggested the classic idea of rock-paper-scissors, landing Gon in first, Rukei in eighth, and Killua as the seventieth. She refused to go up against Gon and Killua first, and nobody else there knew her tendency of throwing out scissors so she managed to get a fairly good spot.

Gon used his own card naturally and surely enough, when he put his hands around the console and released Ten, he disappeared and the only thing left behind was the screen that read Now Loading. She knew that something like this would take a while to load, but after an amount of time, Rukei hoped that there was no glitch and Gon was in one piece. But he appeared to be alright when Now Playing allowed the next player to enter.

Someone was watching her.

Rukei descended the steps carefully while scanning the field of green around them. It was dotted with trees, small ponds, rocks, and things of those sorts so it wouldn't be impossible for someone to camp out there to ambush them, but the gaze felt a little farther away and rather being centered just on her, she felt it to be about the starting point in general.

Killua followed a while after that, also noting the pressure of eyes, but now, with everyone present, they were ready to set off to play and clear Greed Island.

"So, how'd it go?"

Gon glanced towards the other boy who was waving around the book levitating over the ring on his hand. "Huh?"

"Your save data," Killua clarified, "How many cards were inside?"

"There weren't any cards inside."

They both turned in surprise; what was that chip for then?

Gon hadn't minded the fact that there wasn't anything given to him by his father, aside from a single message, "Enjoy the game."

"How anticlimactic," Rukei sighed at the note of it. His father hadn't even given them a single hint. But that didn't mean that there weren't any left. No matter how careful he could have been, he must have unintentionally left a hint somewhere, somehow.

"But this doesn't really feel like a game," Killua mentioned, flipping the book around before retrieving back into the ring, "Book."

Rukei held her hand in front of her face and swiped at the air, "You're right. But it's not like I've been inside a game before, so it's difficult to say."

"What do you think about the rules?" Gon asked, looking in between them for their opinions.

"I still don't know enough yet."

"Really? I think they're sensible."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of something traveling quickly through the air, like a jet or something of the sort. She looked up to see what it was but there was no need to as the source landed in front of them, revealing a regular human.

Nen? Rukei shifted her weight to where she could dart in a moment and dropped her hands by her side to have them closer to her weapons. It doesn't appear to be his Nen though... An in-game spell then?

"This must be your first time playing the game," the man started, and from the sound or looks of it, he wasn't going to be helping them out.

Killua was quick to reply, with his normal, easy tone of voice, "I wonder if you're right. Since you're carrying a book, you must be a player."

"Well, sure," the man replied. He didn't take Killua's bluff. What was he doing? Selecting something, from the sound of it with the clicks and beeps of the book. Using a card? "Killua, Gon, and Rukei, huh?"

"How do you know our names?" Gon demanded and Rukei quickly held a finger over her mouth to tell him to be quiet as the man was occupied looking down on the book. Asking questions, making deductions, or saying anything at all actually, gave away more things about themselves.

The man suddenly grinned, snatching up a card from his book. "Trace on! Attack Killua!"

Trace?! Rukei whipped around as a flash of light shot forwards towards the white-haired boy that sprinted away from the beam. She half-expected it because of it's name, but the light turned towards the same direction as Killua, before finally catching up and shooting through him. It appeared to have no outward effect...

"You can't run from spells in this game!" The man cackled, "My attack worked."

Silence fell over them as Killua looked up with darkened and frightening eyes.

"What did you do to me?"

And as Killua turned to take a step, the man drew back with a "Return on! Take me to Masadora!" And he was gone.

The three walked on for a while quietly, not sure what to start with. Since the man said the 'attacked worked' then that meant that there was a chance for it not to work. Did they have a way to defend against it?

Gon finally spoke up, "Killua, how are you holding up?"

"Hmm? I don't feel any different."

Despite the boy's cool and bored tone of voice, Gon was not convinced in the least, "But I'm still worried. He definitely did something to you."

"No point in worrying about it now," he assured with a smile.

But even if Gon's concern was put off, even for just a little while, his curiosity was waiting in line right after that, "Hey, was he using Nen when he said 'Trace on'?"

It's obviously different from my Trace," Rukei murmured, "But it seems more to be of a in-game spell or magic than his own ability."

"Magic? What kind?"

"Beats me. Well, we'll find out eventually."

A town was sighted up ahead, one of the towns she felt the pressure of watchers from. The town was known as Antokiba, City of Prizes, as the banner hung in between two trees in front of the city proclaimed. All over the doors and walls, buildings and apartments, little papers with different inscriptions were stuck.

On a particularly large board where people had gathered around, was a list of Antokiba's Monthly Tournaments Schedule, the one that month being a rock-paper-scissors tournament with the prize as the Sword of Truth. Other players were scattered amongst the crowd, so it could be concluded that the Sword of Truth was a good item.

But their plans had been postponed by the growling of stomachs, so they stopped by a small restaurant, where they had received two Galgaida from an in-game character who had also explained to them the nature of cards.

A loud boom that rumbled the building they were in called the three back outside where a crowd had formed, and she could see the faintly visible smoke rise from the center. She slipped through the people to find a body fallen in a small pool of blood, most likely a large wound from his stomach. She remembered this man; this was the man in the red shirt, the one who she passed directly after in the screening.

"His body suddenly exploded. From the inside."

"Hey, Killua... Was the magic used on you earlier..."

"I don't know..."

Rukei whirled around to face both of them as she spat out directions quickly, "Masadora. That man said he wanted to be taken to Masadora, Return must be some kind of magic too, we need to find him perhaps we can-"

Before her statements could no longer be comprehensible, she was thankfully stopped by a man who approached them. "Don't worry. There's no such spell in this game. As you just said, it's something like magic. He died from another player's Nen."

The crowd began to disperse as they continued to speak with him, "Does that mean the players are trying to kill each other? Why?"

"Player hunting," the man answered, and they questioned to which he replied that he would explain later. He suggested that they team up, as he knew of some kind of sure way to clear the game. Of course, it was fishy and suspicious, but they ended up deciding to go because the spell cast on Killua still bothered them.

And large groups of players helped her get a better idea of who was who and what was what so that she would be able to sniff out and capture Flask. Sure enough, there was a small amount of people there, one of them being the man who suggested rock-paper-scissors, another being the woman that beat her to get seventh place, a man with darker skin and seemed to be of calmer countenance, and a girl about their age.

"There was just another player killed. His stomach exploded. It was the Bomber."

A man with gaunt cheeks and glasses explained a little further to the new players, "Players aren't killed by spells. No spell in this game is capable of injuring people. Which means that you won't be harmed or killed by any spell that's been cast on you."

There were forty different spell types, the one cast on Killua being a card that gave the current location of where he was at all times. Players waited by and watched the starting point to cast these kind of annoying things on newbies, so that they could steal cards from them later on.

But player hunting wasn't centered about just about getting the cards alone; killing wouldn't get one the other player's cards. Player hunting was to increase the card transformation limit system. As those trying to recruit them put it, a way to try and stop killing, but only had the reverse effect.

The group offered a three month schedule of clearing the game if they were to help, but of course, the money was to be split.

One agreed, raising a hand, "I don't like the idea of splitting the 50 billion. But I like the three month schedule for clearing the game."

Another agreed upon hearing that he would get a larger cut for obtaining an SS rank card which said quite a bit about his confidence.

"I'm going to decline."

The woman that had beaten her in rock-paper-scissors crossed her arms. Her hair was cut short and she wore a jacket with oversized sleeves that hung over her fingers. Rukei grew a little more curious of the woman with her answer.

"Sorry, but I need every single jenny of that 50 billion."

They nodded in understanding as the woman sauntered away, and the group turned their eyes on the three children. "What about you three?"

It was quiet but Rukei could catch Gon's words. "Killua, sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm out."

The brunette glanced over and realized that he was angry.

"I'm playing this game on my own."

And with that, the spiky-haired boy marched away, leaving everyone else in a confusion. Killua responded first with a toothy grin and a 'you heard the leader!' before they both ran after the storming Gon.

"Hey, Gon... Will you explain what that was about?"

"What's wrong?"

For a second, Rukei thought he was going to continue to ignore them, but he stopped suddenly which almost made her slam into his back as he took a deep breath and turned around with a bashful smile. "Sorry, Killua. I couldn't take it anymore."

"I still don't get why you're apologizing," the white-haired boy replied awkwardly.

Gon looked down at the cobblestone road guiltily, "But this means you'll be stuck with that spell for a while."

Killua scoffed, folding his arms behind his head, "Oh, is that why? Don't worry about it."

"But you're playing this game to help me find my dad...," the spiky-haired boy insisted, his words still weighted with remorse.

The other boy however brushed away the subject, more interested in what exactly got Gon angry, "Anyways, why were you so mad back there?"

"Because they had nothing but bad things to say about the game Ging made, like how it's based on killing and stealing," the boy finally admitted, looking up with that indignant gleam shining in his eyes.

Oh, was that it? It was a reasonable thing to be angry about; Rukei would be ticked off if someone smack talked the way Shichi solved a case or something. She supposed it was the same thing.

"I want to do what Ging said, and enjoy the game," Gon confessed, glaring at his shoes, "When I first started, I knew it wouldn't be easy. But that was because I thought all the players enjoyed playing the game. People have died. But it's the player mentality, not the game, that scares me. They're willing to hurt others to get cards."

"Really? I think it makes sense."

Gon looked up, switching his glare from the ground to the white-haired boy, "Killua, you really mean that?"

"That's why this game is meant for Hunters," he pointed out.

"We're to be prepared for this," Rukei nodded, glancing in between the two, "It's essentially our job to be in danger."

Killua slid his hands into his pockets with his normal coolness as if to calm the other boy down, "Killing is wrong. I agree with you on that part. But what if two players have a fair fight with predetermined rules, and the winner gets to take a card?"

"Th-that's acceptable," Gon agreed, suddenly grasping the idea.

"See? When that guy cast a spell on me and when those guys carry out their plan, they're just following the game's rules," Killua finalized his example.

Gon nodded, looking back down at the ground with a new light in his vision, "Yeah."

"Though it does still feel lame," the boy added with a shrug, "Well, forget about them. Let's enjoy the game."

There was a small smile in Rukei's eyes as she elbowed him lightly, "You can say some smart things every once in a while, can't you?"

The boy gave her an annoyed glance, catching onto the 'every once in a while' in her statement, "What do you mean by that?"

"Killua."

"Hmm?

"Thanks."

Killua turned with a surprised shine in his eyes, though there was something a little deeper behind that gleam.

Gon, in all his honesty and forward brilliance, went on, "I'm glad you came with me. No... I'm glad I got to know you!"

Killua huffed and whirled back around so they couldn't see his face, "Cut it out, stupid. You're embarrassing me."

"Why? I really mean it."

Rukei smiled softly to herself as she just barely caught a glimpse of Killua's eyes. Gon had the same effect on all of them.

But if only Killua would realize how much he meant to them too.

-

Gon and Killua both tensed when they heard a sharp crunch sound from the girl sitting a little behind them. Grains of the pebble she was playing with slid in between her fingers and down the steps.

"Uh, Rukei?" Gon asked tentatively like he were stretching a rubber band and waiting for it's snap.

Killua slowly tried to look past her bangs to see her eyes, "... You okay?"

"I know it's been a while and this isn't exactly the same as it was back then, but as far as video games are involved...," she started slowly, and her strained tone told them exactly how pissed she was, "Nobody, nobody has ever sniffed me like that and gotten away with it."

They had just gotten the Sword of Truth stolen from them by some snobby, cursed, jeering players that she would like nothing more than to beat senseless. Well, perhaps not senseless, perhaps almost senseless so they could still hear her mocking taunts and all the other annoying things she would put them through. But against the spells and the numbers, the card was swept out of their hands just like that.

"Oh, that's right," Killua recalled as she stood up angrily, doing everything she could to contain herself, "You used to play video games a lot."

"But you know, this isn't really the same thing as 'video game'," Gon noted, referring back to the real presence of everything in the game. But they both fell silent when she turned to look at them with a violent spark written in coral.

A bead of sweat slid down their faces as they tried to get her to cool off a little. "Well, if we want to start being able to counter guys like these, then we better start gathering up spell cards at Masadora."

"No objections!" Gon agreed firmly as he too stood to his feet.

The first thing they got was the map, the blank one. At first, Rukei approved of Gon's decision as she thought that he had thought through it logically. The blank map was cheaper, and if she could get a look at the filled in map, at least once, she could draw one out for them. But Gon's almost painful positivity was the main reason behind the decision; it'd be more fun to fill in the blank one!

The map was difficult to make sense of as expected. They had to ask someone, who directed them eighty kilometers north where they would reach a lake. Near the north end of the lake, they could find Masadora.

"If we hurry, we can go eighty kilometers in a day."

"It'll be like the Hunter Exam."

"Yeah!"

The man behind the counter dropped in a "Assuming you'll survive. The mountain is crawling with bandits. And once you pass the mountain, you'll encounter hordes of monsters. And that terrain is basically a giant puzzle, a labyrinth."

"Bandits?"

"Monsters?"

They all turned to each other excitedly at the words, "Now it sounds more like an RPG!"

"A giant puzzle...," Rukei mumbled to herself. It had been a while since she solved something other than her cube.

Gon threw his fist in the air with enthusiasm, "I want to see the monsters! Let's hurry!"

And just as they were about to depart from Antokiba, they were stopped by a "Please wait!" from a higher-pitched, girlish voice.

Running to catch up with them in the most delicate manner, a girl with a pretty dress and hair pulled up in pigtails had a request of them. "I beg you!"

"What?"

"Please let me join you!"

"Oh, sorry," Killua replied shortly while holding up a hand, "Can't."

The girl's face fell with dismay as she clasped her hands together, "Wh-why not?"

"You'd be a nuisance."

Rukei would rather not have to watch out for another person and teaming up with someone she just met seemed difficult in a game like this, so she agreed with Killua's judgement. Though, he really didn't have to be so blunt.

"Hey! Hold it right there- please! I'll try really hard not to get in your way!"

Rukei was quite surprised by this girl's plea. If this girl was asking to join them, then did that mean she had declined the earlier group's offer? Then why did she want to go with them? Perhaps it was because they were the same age?

Or was it because this girl was actually Flask? Very, very unlikely. It may have been easier for Flask to masquerade as a taller figure but someone shorter and that young? The oldest one could possibly be for disguising someone like that would still have to be in their teens!

If only Rukei knew.

。。。

Greed Island is finally unraveling! Take careful note of all characters, actions, similarities while Rukei tries to identify Flask from all the players. Greed Island is really so great, there are so many, hilarious, weird cards that could be taken advantage of. Really, they're wonderful.

I redid Rukei's character reference and Rukei's smile and put them in their respective chapters, Duty X and X Departure along with Wish X for X Change so go check them out if you like! I think they look a little more HxH-y now.

Thank you for reading!