Chapter 10: Seventy-Two Hours in Hell, Part I
Written by: DreamerofClouds

***

Author's Note -

Hello, my darlings! I am back!! First off, I would like to apologize to all of my readers for the super, duper, uber long wait on Chapter 10. I honestly tried to write as much as I could for during my summer class but - as college is hard and summer classes are a pain (with 16 weeks' worth of material squished into 6 weeks) - it was practically impossible. I tried to publish this as fast as I can.

Granted, it is not the quality that I wish it would be; but, I wanted to publish at least something that you guys could read.

I could always go back and edit the grammar and content anyway, so not really that big of an issue for me.

Also, another thing. I want to give a little shout out to one of the most awesome wattpaders ever: @NobodyWill. She drew me an amazing rendition of Illumi and Arie's kissing scene (posted above) from last chapter and completely blew me away with her talent! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing artwork given to me. So, again, NobodyWill, thank you!! <3

Shout out to @Hatsumi_Zoldyck for being an amazing assistant! You have helped me so much in editing my stories and given me so many ideas to write about for future chapters. I couldn't have published these many chapters - with the authenticity and popularity it has gained - without you. Thank you!!

Shout out to @Monotone_Kurta for being an amazing person and for being a complete sweetheart. You have been very understanding and sympathetic about busy life things and busy school things. It is honestly an honor to have you as an amazing friend J!!

Shout out to @MissPervertx for cheering me on and for just being a complete darling! You are an amazing person!! J

Shout out to @thehisokalover for being a great and supportive fan. Keep doing what you're doing and I'm sure you'll grow to be an even better writer than you are now <3!!!

Shout out to @Lemonpretzal for being very patient and strong. Gambatte, darling!

To everyone else, thank you for being so supportive. It really does mean a lot to me that you guys understand my busy schedule. Not all authors/fanfic writers have that and I am truly blown away by the supportive community we have here on wattpad.

And without further ado, here is the super, duper, uber long Chapter 10 that you have all been waiting for. Feel free to read/rate/comment/criticize - as all are welcome. Hope you guys enjoy!

Sincerely,

DreamerofClouds

P.S. For those of you who were curious, this chapter is 39 pages on Word :P

***

"Arie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Of course you can, Princess," I rolled my eyes before giving the 16-year-old Kurta a droll stare. "You're talking to me now, aren't you?"

His eye twitched.

For a moment, I could've sworn I saw his eyes flicker from a dark brown to a shade of scarlet. Pure irritation taking its true form in the early hours of the morning.

I couldn't help but smirk.

I just love watching this kid squirm, I thought as he closed his eyes, pinched his nose with his index finger and thumb and counted to ten under his breath. He makes things so much fun!!

It was early in the morning - around 7 AM - when I (quite grumpily) decided to head over to the Mess Hall and saw Kurapika waiting for my by the cafeteria door. Apparently, he wanted to ask me a couple of questions and couldn't do it around Gon, Killua or Leorio.

Normally, I would've told the guy to pretend that he was a bird and to try to fly off of a cliff; but, with all the events that happened last night, I sort of felt guilty leaving him in the dark.

So, I agreed.

We walked over to the Great Hall where Netero and I had been fooling around in last night, sat down at a table and began our conversation.

Somewhat.

Kurapika crossed his arms and gave me a firm look.

"Listen," Kurapika breathed, frustrated. "I know I'm asking the impossible from you, but for once, shut your mouth and open your ears."

"I'm not the one talking."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't get smart with me."

"You want me stupid?"

"Arie..."

"Okay, okay," I threw my hands up in surrender and let out a small chuckle. "How may I be of service to you, darling?"

"What's your relationship to Netero?" he asked, straightforward. "You two seem awfully close for people who just met."

...It took all of my willpower not to let the cheeky grin on my face drop. Which - and I cannot emphasize this enough - was the hardest thing I had ever had to do in the past 24 hours.

"Well?" he asked.

I gave him my usual excuse to anyone who asked that question: "He's my drinking buddy," I lied.

Kurapika raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Your drinking buddy?"

"That's right," I nodded. "We met each other through family business and had a couple of drinks here and there."

He didn't look convinced.

"That doesn't explain why you were under him yesterday, or why your jack flew out of the room and practically impaled Leorio in the face," he said. "What were you doing?"

"Oh, you saw that?" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly and acted as if I were embarrassed. "I was drunk. So was he. And we had a little wrestling match."

"It didn't look like a wrestling match," he argued. "If anything, it looked like you wanted to beat him; but, he was winning."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Princess," I held up a finger and 'tsk'ed the blonde. "I was letting him win."

"...Right..."

"Don't use that tone with me," I scoffed. "I was letting Netero win so his ego would get too big for his body and roll off of his shoulders. Less work, less effort, easy victory."

Kurapika looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't. Most likely because he knew I would spit out more bullshit reasons if he did.

"That being aside," he spoke, voice quivering with irritation as he tried to move on. "Why were you trying to kill Netero? I doubt he's the provocative type, so he couldn't have possibly said anything worth fighting over."

Now, it was my eye's turn to twitch. This kid...You don't even know the half of it...

Kurapika had no idea what he was talking about. Netero was obviously one of the most deceitful, mischievous, brilliant minds out there. There was no way Netero wouldn't say something controversial.

But, I decided not to point it out, just in case I tipped him off about what Netero's and my relationship was really like. So I just sucked it up.

"You're not answering," Kurapika pressed, his impatience and short tempter starting to get to me. "Are you -?"

"He asked about my sex life," I spat out.

"..."

Silence.

A small twinge on the side of his face. The crook of his smile desperately tried its best to keep a friendly face up, but I could just imagine him doubting himself, asking: "Why did I ever think talking to Arie was a good idea?"

I had to restrain myself from smirking again. His growing anger and discomfort meant I was winning and he was close to losing his marbles.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Did he really?"

"Yeah," I said, pretending to pout this time. "Netero's a jerk. He started teasing me about it, and then - when he got really drunk - he gave me the adult talk of the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees."

"Um..."

"So Mommy Bird and Daddy Bird -"

"Shut up!" He shoved his fingers in his ears before my mature words could do any damage to his innocent brain. With a scowl and a face full of anger, Kurapika huffed, slammed his hands down on the table, and began walking away.

"Forget I asked anything," he muttered, loud enough for me to hear. "You're impossible..."

I stuck my tongue out teasingly. Score!

Guess I won this round.

Slipping my hands into my pockets, I stood up and followed the 16-year-old out of the Great Hall with a big grin plastered on my face.

So far, it looks like things are going my way.

***

Kurapika and I met up with everyone in the Mess Hall.

The place was lively and bright, a completely different atmosphere compared to the intense introductions last night. People were chatting and eating, and some of them had even formed temporary 'alliances' until the final phase of the Hunter Exam.

In the back of my mind, I took mental notes as to who was working with whom, so I didn't step on any toes. Not that I couldn't handle them; but, because it would've been a hassle if I did handle them.

Gon, Killua and Leorio were gathered at a small wooden table on the far right side of the room. Judging from all the laughter and jokes being thrown around, I'd say everyone was in a good mood.

Including Killua.

With his messy white hair, bright blue eyes and signature smirk, he looked every bit of care-free and kid-ish as any other 12-year-old did.

When Killua saw Kurapika and me approaching, he jerked his head up in acknowledgement. Like a small 'what's up?'

I did the same back to him and smiled.

"So," the Zoldyck child said, stuffing his face with a super duper fluffy pancake. "Where have you guys been?"

Just as I was about to respond, Kurapika cut me off.

"Nowhere," Kurapika said promptly as he sat down and glared at the table.

Although the kid tried to hide it with his bangs, we could all see three veins throbbing on his forehead, about ready to burst. Killua turned to me, eyebrow raised.

"What's his problem?" he asked.

"Dunno," I shrugged.

"Ah, maybe he slept wrong!" Gon exclaimed, leaning across Killua so he could be closer to the 16-year-old blond. "Kurapika, does your neck feel stiff or anything?"

Blinking his eyes, Kurapika looked up at the bright sunshine kid. For a moment, he just stared at Gon. Then, he shook his head and smiled, all traces of annoyance and irritation gone.

"No," Kurapika responded. "I didn't sleep wrong."

"Hmm?" Gon looked at him worriedly. "Then did you not get enough sleep?"

"I guess..."

And then Gon went on a tangent about how he'll wake up soon if he had a full plate of pancakes. To which, the little kid stabbed a pancake with his fork and shoved it in front of Kurapika's face.

The 16-year-old accepted it and chewed on the delicious flat cake thoughtfully.

I couldn't help but smile. Gon really is adorable...

"Hey Arie," Leorio said, grabbing my attention. "I saved you a seat."

Turning away from the three on the other side of the table, I looked at Leorio. And nearly had a panic attack.

The right side of his face was slightly puffy and tender. A small Band-Aid had covered his nose. And the skin around his eyes looked completely bruised. Really, the only decent thing about his face was his smile - but even then, his lips were split.

All of his injuries probably because of last night.

A guilty wave washed over me.

"Um, hey...Leorio," I scratched my cheek and smiled nervously. "Your face. It looks...like, er..."

"Like it got run over by a freakin' lawn mower?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded.

"Well, it did!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table as I took a seat next to him. "I mean, really. The applicants here have no class, whatsoever!"

"Yeah," I said, feeling really crappy on the inside. "I'm sorry about that."

"Sorry about what?" Leorio was incredulous. "It's not like you were the one who did this to me, Arie."

Huh? I blinked. What is he...?

"Honestly!" Leorio took no notice of my confusion and continued on. "I was just walking down the hall, talking to Kurapika, and minding my own business. When suddenly, I blacked out! Kurapika told me later that some heavy-fisted, unladylike fatso attacked me because she thought I was someone else. Talk about jerks..."

As soon as I heard Kurapika's name, I remembered: I threatened to beat the little kid if he told Leorio anything he saw last night.

Which I was glad about.

It showed me that Kurapika was trustworthy and reliable.

But, at the same time, I shot the blonde Kurta a nasty look. Was is really necessary to describe me as a heavy-fisted, unladylike fatso?

As if reading my thoughts - or, most likely, sensing my slight irritation and Bloodlust - Kurapika shot me a nasty look back.

His face told me the answer I was looking for: It was the best explanation I could think of, so deal with it...

Stupid, friggin', little -

Whatever, I rolled my eyes and huffed. It's not like I like you anyways, or care about what you think...

I guess Kurapika must have thought the same too, since he pursed his lips and went back to chewing on his pancakes.

Pushing away any unpleasant thoughts I had about the kid, I turned back to Leorio and kept listening to his random rants about finding the person who did him wrong and teaching them a lesson.

While I wasn't scared of the guy, I was pretty glad that I wasn't on his bad side. He could probably talk a person to death and still keep going after that.

The rest of the hour remained bright and lively, until someone had clapped their hands.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, and turned their attention to the front of the room. Standing on a tall pedestal, the four-foot-tall assistant Beans smiled at everyone. And behind him, Netero stood quietly, observing everyone.

"Attention, all applicants," Beans began, bright and cheery. "We have found two decapitated bodies stuffed in the janitor's closet this morning."

An awkward pause developed, as all 40 remaining applicants heard the weirdest news anyone could have ever thought of receiving. Eyes wide, brows raised, mouths twisted - everyone had some form of those facial expressions etched on their face.

Beans continued on.

"Please, let me be the first to remind you," he said. "This is a warning. All applicants must refrain from killing each other, unless instructed by a proctor. Failure to comply will result in dismissal and the offender will have to test in again next year."

Netero cast a suspicious look across the room. When our eyes met, his suspicious look became even more apparent. As if he was telling me telepathically, 'I know you're somehow connected to this.'

He raised an eyebrow - probably Netero-speak for, "Did you do it?" In response, I rolled my eyes - Arie-speak for, "You have no proof."

A stupid grin worked its way across my old man's face.

"If you have any information regarding this incident, please let us know. Otherwise," Beans gestured to the self-serve breakfast buffet. "Continue enjoying your morning. That is all."

With that, the tiny green jelly-bean man hopped off the pedestal and walked out of the room to do whatever it is he did as an assistant.

More awkward silence followed.

People began looking around them, trying to see if anyone was acting weird or out-of-character. Anyone that could be classified as the culprit.

Even my tablemates Gon, Kurapika and Leorio - with his heavily bandaged face - were quietly observing those around them. It was only me and Killua who weren't really all that concerned...for obvious reasons.

The atmosphere was so tense, I felt like the whole airship might explode.

So, I slapped my hands down on the table and stood up from my seat. Instantaneously, everyone's head turned towards me.

Leorio squealed.

"Arie!" he exclaimed, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me down. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Getting food," I replied bluntly. "It's what normal people do when they're hungry."

"Well, I know that," he replied, a tiny vein on his forehead twitching. (Probably too early in the morning for him to deal with my sarcasm). "But you should sit down...!"

I stared at him. "...Why?"

"Because!" he said, yanking my arm again. "You're drawing too much attention to yourself."

"And hiding is going to make that better?" I asked.

"Yes," he hissed. "So, sit down!"

"Idiot," I flicked him on the forehead. "Stop your whining, grow some balls and go to the buffet table with me already."

I yanked him up.

The little turd actually tried to go down and pull me with him again. So, using my awesome ninja reflex, I kicked his seat out from under his butt.

He fell to the floor.

"Ow!" he yelled, before waving a fist. "What was that for?!"

"For getting in the way of my food," I said, crossing my arms. "Now, get up."

"But, you-!"

"Leorio," Kurapika sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you just humor her and go?"

I stared at him, bug-eyed.

As did everyone else.

Ever since last night, Kurapika's been nothing but helpful.

He had dragged dumbass Leorio away when I wanted to be alone with Netero and even convinced dumbass Leorio that he was assaulted by an overweight female wrestler, instead of me.

Now, this? Pestering Leorio to walk with me to the buffet table?

It actually made me feel weird.

Tingly.

Not the good-kind tingly I usually get when I argue with Leorio and Killua. More like, the '16-year-old-is-planning-something-evil' kind of tingly.

"What's up with you?" I asked, not bothering to hide the fact that I was suspicious of him. "Stop being so nice."

Kurapika stared at me, real hard.

Like he was searching for something, thinking about something. Again, the words "evil" and "deadly plot" came into mind, and I couldn't help but glare back.

Once he realized that I wasn't looking away anytime soon, he finally sighed and stood up.

"Let's go," he muttered and headed towards the buffet line. "I'm getting more pancakes..."

We all stared after him.

Gon tugged on my wrist.

"Hey, Arie," he said, looking up at me with big, brown eyes. "Did something happen between you and Kurapika?"

To be honest, I didn't know how to answer that.

I feel like something did change between me and Kurapika; but, it was more on Kurapika's side than mine. And now that I think about it, not knowing what that change was, was killing me.

...I wanna know now, I whined.

Killua sighed.

"Don't worry too much about it," the white-haired Zoldyck waved off. "Knowing Arie, she probably killed the real Kurapika and replaced him with a robot."

Just as I was about to smack the kid, Gon's eyes grew extremely wide.

"Eh?!" Gon gasped. "Is that even possible??"

"Of course not," Killua took his knuckle and lightly rapped Gon's forehead. "You're so gullible."

"You're mean," Gon pouted.

Killua, in return, smirked.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stood up and gestured towards the table with his chin. "Let's go get more food, Gon," he said.

"Okay!"

The two kids dashed off to buffet table and began using their ninja-skills to steal whatever was left of the pancakes.

His stomach gurgling, Leorio growled.

"Hey, no fair!" he called out after Gon and Killua. "I want pancakes too!"

Setting down his briefcase, which contained all his medical supplies, Leorio rushed towards the table. Only to pause and look over his shoulder.

Directly at me.

Um...?

"You're coming too!" he ran back to me and grabbed my hand. "You started this whole thing, so you better help me get some food!!"

And with that, I was dragged into the semi-chaotic pile of people, who were beating up each other for the remaining piles of pancakes that, sadly enough, had been taken by Kurapika, Gon and Killua.

I couldn't help but smile on the inside.

You guys are such a hassle, I thought. But I love you all...

***

"You did it, didn't you?" Netero asked.

He didn't have to tell me what he meant by 'it'; I knew what he was talking about. Running my hand through my hair, I sighed and looked over at my old man.

Wearing his usual attire and happy-go-lucky grin, Netero looked every bit lively as he did last night.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Nope."

"So it wasn't you?"

"Nope," I repeated.

"Well, that's weird," Gramps said, his voice uberly skeptical. "I just think it's too much of a coincidence that you threatened to stuff me in a janitor's closet last night and then I find two bodies in the same location the next morning."

"Oh, I'm not saying it's not a coincidence," I said, giving him a droll stare. "But I'm not saying I did it either."

"But you know who did, though," he countered.

I kept quiet. At this point, that was probably the best option. The less I say, the less he has to go on.

"It was that white-haired kid," Netero said. "Zeno's grandchild."

I face-palmed myself mentally. Well, that didn't work...

Puffing my cheeks slightly, I pouted. "If you knew who it was all along, why do you keep acting like you don't know in the first place?"

"Because," he said.

And stopped there.

No explanation, no reasoning, no clean-cut answer. Just said "because". And it's so something he would do too.

I rolled my eyes. "You're so troublesome."

"I prefer to think of myself as creative and witty," he replied, flashing me a close-eyed smile. "You should too."

"Dork," I muttered.

Just then, there were three knocks on the door. Turning around, Netero and I both saw Beans come into the room.

"Chairman Netero," he addressed my quacky relative. "I'm sorry to cut your time short, but we should leave to go to the Observation Deck. Otherwise, we will be off schedule."

"Yeah, yeah," my old man waved off. "I'll be right there."

For a moment, it looked like Beans didn't believe him; but, seeing as he had no choice, he accepted it anyway. Then, turning to me, he flashed a friendly smile.

"Miss Kadan," he said. "You should probably leave soon, as well. Your friends appear to be waiting for you at the Entrance door."

I nodded. "Gotcha."

With that, the little green guy closed the door politely behind him and left. Just to confirm the assistant's announcement, I could see some of the applicants slowly spilling out of the main entrance and wandering around the top of the gigantic tower we had landed on.

For some reason, I felt like I knew this place; but, I couldn't place the name of it. Just a slight feeling that something bad had happened here.

A short moment of silence as I contemplated this...

And -

"Well," Netero said, giving me a couple of claps on the back. "I guess that's my cue to leave, Arie."

"Okay," I said, somewhat sadly. For some reason, a nagging lonely feeling curled up in the pit of my stomach.

Normally, I wasn't the type to get emotional and blubbery when it came to goodbyes; but, Netero was the exception. It was always a mystery as to when I would see him next time.

If there was a next time.

I don't know.

Maybe I'm just thinking a little too much about this. I mean, it's normal for people to miss their relatives, right? Especially if they haven't seen each other in a while.

So, I'm good.

Perfectly good.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with me.

Except my eyes were starting to sting a bit, and my mouth felt dry, and I really wanted to come up to the old man, smack him a couple times and give him a hug.

"I'll see you around!!" He gave me a toothy smile and began walking away. As if nothing about our parting really troubled him.

That bothered me more than it should have.

"...Old fart..." I muttered under my breath. "You like running around, don't you?"

He paused, mid-step.

Then swung around to give me one of his mysterious, omniscient 'Netero-looks'. You know, the one where he knows what you're thinking but raises and eyebrow and pretends like he doesn't know, anyway?

Yeah.

That.

"What did you say?" Netero asked.

"..."

When I didn't respond, he kept me under his piercing long gaze until I began to feel very self-conscious. So much, that I began subconsciously swaying side to size and rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

"It's just..." I sighed. "You always seem like you have somewhere to go. Rushing off to do something, somewhere, and I never get to spend much time with you."

"Well," Netero began, carefully watching me. "You did hear what Beans had to say. I am Chairman of the Hunter Association Committee, and - believe it or not - I do have some responsibilities to attend to."

Normally, I would have responded with a sassy comeback - something along the lines of "when did you start having responsibilities"; but, I didn't say anything. I kept quiet. Again, I don't know. It just wasn't in me at the moment.

"Just saying," I shrugged, trying to appear more apathetic than I really felt. "I never get to see you that much. It's like..."

You don't want to spend time with me...

I managed to catch myself on that.

I know the words I thought of weren't true and that Netero would never be as heartless as to make me feel that way intentionally; but, still...

It's kind of hard to not think that when one you want to be with constantly isn't there.

Netero's gaze softened.

"...You know, Arie," Grandpa said after a bit of time had passed, and walked over so he's standing in front of me. "Running isn't necessarily a bad thing."

I pouted a bit. "Don't know what you mean..."

"I mean, that you shouldn't feel down," Netero smiled. "The faster I run to finish what I need to do, the faster I can come back to you."

"Huh?"

"Remember that." Lifting his hand, he flicked me on the forehead lightly and smiled. I pouted even more and stuck my tongue out at him.

Netero did the same.

Except, he looked like a frog with a flat face while doing it. In a way, it was sort of cute but demented.

In any case, it definitely made me feel better and I couldn't help but throw my arms around him and give the old man a hug. A very nice, sweet, suffocating hug.

Netero did the same again.

It hurt.

But I could bear with it.

Afterwards, we parted and Netero reached up to clap a heavy hand down on my head so he could ruffle my hair. "Well," he said, grinning. "I'll see ya!"

"Whatever," I chuckled, swatting his hand away prior to fixing my bangs. "Do your thing so we can hang out more."

"Wow," Netero joked, a sly grin across his face. "You're a demanding one, aren't you?"

"Not really," I shrugged. "But I do expect a souvenir from wherever you're going. Something expensive and stupid."

"Only if you make me a grandson first," he teased.

"Shut up!" I aimed to punch his arm; but, for his convenience and safety, he dodged it. Which was irritating. "Just go and run already. Do whatever you need to."

"Will do," Netero made a peace-sign with his fingers. "I'm out!"

And with that, he was gone. Simply disappeared from the middle of the room, leaving me to stand alone. But I didn't feel too bad about it.

Not after all Netero had said. I knew he would come back. Not soon, but I knew it would be worth the wait.

***

"Everyone," Beans called out.

All of the group members turned their heads to see what he was going to say and kept quiet. Very quiet. For such a teeny, tiny man, Beans sure held a lot of authority over most of the dumbass applicants here.

Once he was sure that he got everyone's attention, he continued his explanations.

"The Exam's Third Phase will begin here," he gestured to the floor and - in extension - the entirety of the building. "At the top of Trick Tower."

As soon as Beans said the name, a weird shiver ran down my spine.

I finally remembered why I got a slightly bad feeling about this place. As far as most people knew, Trick Tower was some type of prison cell that kept the most dangerous criminals in check. However...

When I was a little kid, about eight or nine years old, my dad had sent a minor group of vigilantes here and assassinated them with bloodcurdling cruelty. For what reason, I don't know. And whenever I asked, he would never tell me.

The most he would say was, "Everything's been taken care of." Which made me even more curious. While my dad was a complete sweetheart and all, that day of killing had earned him a scary-ass reputation around the world.

What could have caused him that much distress?

Trick Tower, huh? I thought, scanning my surroundings and surveying any dangers. I wonder how this place will turn out...

"To pass this phase," Beans continued on, oblivious to my thoughts. "You must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is seventy-two hours."

Seventy-two hours?

Convert that into days that would be what? Three days?

Ugh, I hate math.

Plus, three days sounds like a long time for survival. Not that I can't handle it. I'm just too freakin' lazy to.

"With that," Beans held up both of his hands in a type of 'good luck salute.' "We will now begin the Third Phase. I pray for your success!"

Beans then hopped his way back into the airship, closed the door and left with a great big smile. The large flying vehicle then lifted off of the tower and slowly began making its way to who knows where.

Just before it got too far away, though, Beans came on to the speaker system and cheered us on. "Best of luck to everyone!!" he said.

Several of the applicants began wandering around, trying to find a way down. Closing my eyes, I focused on thinking of a solution myself.

From what I can sense, there were 40 remaining applicants on top of the tower. Most of them were scoping out the edges, seeing if there was a direct way down. Some of the slightly smarter ones were looking around to see if there were any supplies they could use.

And the very smart ones stayed at the center, watching other idiots figure it out for them through trial and error.

Not too far away, I heard Gon gaze in wonder as he peered over the edge of Trick Tower. "Ahh..."

"Er..." Hugging his suitcase tightly, Leorio let out a nervous tone. "Are we supposed to climb down?"

"That would be suicide..." Killua commented, quite bluntly. "No idiot would do that."

Speaking of which, a cocky laughter sounded behind them. And by behind them, I mean, right next to me. I had been so focused on listening to Leorio, Gon and Killua that I didn't notice the guy approaching.

It freaked the heck out of me.

My eyes snapped open, and looked directly to my left. Only to come across a near-to thirty years old man with tan skin, stupid hair and somewhat buffy arms. On his shirt, his tag read #86.

Looking over at me, Mr. 86 flashed me an overly-confident smirk and then his gaze sort of wandered south after. Which was annoying, but nothing I'm not used to.

"It may be suicide for a normal person," he said, attempting to appear uber macho. "But a top-class rock climber can handle this, no problem."

He held his hand out and motioned for my group of friends (plus Kurapika) to move over. "Step aside, and let me show you how it's done."

We all stared at him as he cleared his way to the edge and hopped off. Twisting his body so that he was facing the wall, his hands had firmly grasped the top edge of Trick Tower. After a couple of breaths, he began making his way down. Finding tiny nooks and crannies that could serve as hand holds or foot holds.

Killua let out a low whistle. "Wow..."

"Yeah," Gon said, leaning over the edge again so he could have a better look. "He's going down pretty fast."

Which means there's some sort of catch to it, I thought. Knowing Netero, he would never make it this easy. And knowing professional Hunters, Mr. 86 would die soon...

Just then, large gusts of wind began beating out in even rhythms. The gusts of wind became stronger, as if something gigantic was approaching.

Wanting to get a better look, I walked over to my group of friends (plus Kurapika XD) and leaned over the edge, next to Leorio, so I could see what was going on.

The gusts of winds were really strong now.

Before I could figure out where the gusts of wind came from, I saw them. Four monsters came out: gigantic four-armed, two-legged red babies with super sharp teeth and ugly-ass wings. They spanned about 36 feet long and 54 feet wide (with wings included).

They were also fat.

Just below them, we could all see Mr. 86 having a fit and freaking out. He pressed himself as close to the wall as possible, as if that would somehow do him any good.

"Stop!" He let out a high, but somewhat throaty yell. "Stay away! Stay away!!"

Beside me, both Gon and Leorio let out a gasp of fear. Killua had a disgusted look to his face, as if he were thinking "what the hell are those things?" And Kurapika was...well, Kurapika was Kurapika.

He simply stared.

"Stop! Stop it!!" The rock-climber yelled even louder, taking one hand away from the wall and shooing the beasts away. As if that would somehow help. "I said go away, dammit!!"

I guess the baby monsters didn't like the guy's use of profanities, because one of the larger beasts had swooped up from below, unhinged the man with its teeth and began chewing on him as it flew away.

The remaining three monsters followed their leading sibling and disappeared in the horizon as well.

"Wow," I muttered. "That was pretty ugly."

"Y-yeah," Leorio stuttered, as he kept staring in the direction that the red baby giants flew in. "Guess we can't climb down the side..."

"You sure?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "We could always try again. Second time's the charm."

Leorio scoffed. "Isn't it third time's the charm?"

"That's why I'm going after you, dumbass," I teased.

"Hey!" the 19-year-old scowled, though I could see a tiny hint of a smile creeping up. "That's not very nice, Arie."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Never said I was."

"Jerk."

"Dumbass."

"Ugh," Killua rolled his eyes prior to giving us a nasty look. "Would you two stop flirting? It's disgusting."

Instantaneously, Leorio's face reddened. Uncrossing his arms, and using his height to his full advantage, Leorio leaned over Killua and tried to appear intimidating. "We're not flirting!!"

Killua wasn't convinced.

"Right..." The little white-haired brat scoffed. "And I'm a weenie."

"You are," I said.

"I wasn't talking to you," he snapped.

"You are now," I smirked.

"Shut up!" He jumped up and smacked me on the back of the head. "I don't want to deal with your brat behavior right now."

"I could say the same for you."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kurapika's face twitch irritably. As if the poor kid was about to explode.

For a moment, I thought he was going to say something stupid, like "Stop." Instead, he simply let out an exasperated sigh and crossed his arms.

"I'm not dealing with this," he muttered, loud enough for just our group to hear. "I'll go around and look for a way down."

With that, he turned on his heel and began walking away. Beside me, Leorio chased after the young Kurta. "Oi, Kurapika!" he yelled. "Wait for me!!"

"Me too, guys!" Gon wailed, energetically jumping after them. But, he paused three feet away, prior to turning back to Killua.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "You're coming too, right?"

"Of course," Killua nodded. "As if you have to ask."

"Good!" Gon switched his attention to me. "What about you, Arie?"

"I think I'm going to go look around by myself," I said. "I personally do best when I'm alone in these types of situations. No offense."

Plus, I knew Killua wanted more bro-time with Gon. Ever since they met, the two were practically inseparable. Last thing I want to do is break them up.

"Oh, it's fine," Gon shook his head, understanding. "Everyone has their own ways on how to solve things, right?"

"You got it," I patted him on the head and ruffled his spiky hair a bit. "Now, go do your best, okay?"

"Okay!" He chirped, then turned to grab Killua's hand and drag him away. "Let's go do our best, Killua!"

"H-hey!" The young Zoldyck stammered, stumbling on his feet a bit. "Gon, quit it! Don't pull on me!!"

And I watched the two wander off in whatever direction they wanted to go in. Tightening the straps of my new knapsack, I rolled up my sleeves and crossed my arms.

Guess it's time for me to get to work...

***

It had been twenty minutes since the exam started and, so far, I haven't made any progress. Not because I had no idea what to do; but, because I was simply observing other people.

Trying to find out the best ways to not get killed.

Y'know, so I don't end up like #86.

Even then, I was starting to lose my patience. Waiting around was never really my thing anyway. I surveyed the whole area.

Geretta was going around to different floor tiles, tapping them with the tip of his blowgun. Stone Lee was crawling on the ground, on hands and knees, knocking each tile to see if they would reveal a hidden path. And Idabe simply sat on his lazy butt, complaining and asking other people if they've found a solution yet.

The guy had two rocks, a blade and a shoe thrown at him. (Courtesy of Killua, of course). Needless to say, Idabe shut up after.

I'm getting nowhere with this, I thought. Running a hand through my bangs, I sighed. I wonder how Illumi is doing...

Shoving my hands in the back of my pockets, I scanned the crowd in search of my said-beloved-missing-fiancé.

I found Illumi/Gittarackur at the very far end of the platform, opposite of me. Facing a different direction, he was completely oblivious to the fact that I was staring. Which I didn't mind too much.

He's trying his best, I thought admiringly. I should too...

But seeing Illumi standing there, all alone, was weird. As if something stupidly obnoxious had been taken out of the picture.

But what?

Then, I realized the answer to my own question: Hisoka.

That psychotic clown was missing. Suspicious, I scanned the crowd again - once, twice...five times before I stopped.

The guy wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Huh, I thought, letting the fact sink in a bit. Guess that's one person who found an exit. But how did he -

I shook my head.

Nope, not gonna think about him.

I realized it was sort of pointless to try and figure out how Hisoka got in the tower. It was like trying to play the guessing game, except I didn't have anyone to get the answers from. I would simply be running around in circles.

"Ah, whatever," I muttered, stretching my arms up in the air and then folding my hands behind my head. "As long as I don't run into him or get stuck with him, I'm good."

Speaking of stuck...

I should probably head back to Gon, Killua, Leorio and Kurapika to see if they found anything useful. I began making my way towards them.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I called out to them.

"Oi! Gon, Killua, Dumbass, and Princess!" I said. "Did you find anything yet?!"

I fell through a trap door.

Yeah.

Of all the freakin' chances...

***

Killua's Point of View

***

I looked over my shoulder.

Huh, I thought, before shrugging it off. I could've sworn I heard something...

***

Arie's Point of View

***

"Shit!!" I cursed.

The fall had taken me by such surprise, I didn't have enough time to grab on to the ledge and pull myself up before the trap door had closed. Instead, I prepared myself.

Rotating my body so that I would land on my shoulder instead of my head, I braced for impact, successfully performed a tuck-and-roll, and landed comfortably in a crouching position. Simultaneously, I took out my Jacks too; just in case someone had tried to attack me.

No one did.

The room was cold, dark and dreary as if the place hadn't seen sunlight in years. It even had that stale smell to it. All of these clear indications that I was alone.

Carefully, I stood up, shrank my Jacks and somehow managed to calm myself down...for three seconds, before I realized I'm stuck in this place.

Without help.

Without a plan.

Without Killua.

Hell, I was supposed to be looking after the kid! Not actually trying to pass the Hunter Exam. My one responsibility and I screwed up.

Stupid friggin' little...!

I could feel my anger literally manifesting inside of me. And honestly, I would be more than glad to stab the nearest thing. It was a horrible, nasty emotion.

"Stupid piece of shit!" I threw both of my Jacks at the opposite wall in pure frustration. Usually my Jacks were sharp and strong enough to penetrate and embed themselves in anything.

But I guess the walls were made of materials harder than most things, because my weapons simply bounced off and skidded across the floor.

Which did nothing but spike my temper again.

Stomping over, I snatched my weapons up from the ground and turned back to the ceiling/trap door.

"NETERO!!" I cursed aloud. "I know you can see and hear me, old man! Get me the hell out of here!!!"

"Oh, my, my, my," a dark, mysterious and perverse voice said from behind me. "That's quite a temper you have there, Arie~chan..."

...

...

...

OH HELL TO THE NO!! I nearly smacked my head against the wall. You have got to be kidding me...

Of all the rotten luck I had, why did I have to be stuck with him?! I mean, honestly! I'm a good person.

I fix my bed, take out the trash and kill anyone stupid enough to think they could get away with breaking the law. If anything, I was one of the nicest people I've ever known.

[Me: That's a biased opinion >_> Arie: *smacks me upside the head* Urusai... Me: I'm sad now T^T...]

I mean, what the hell did I ever do to piss off the world that made them decide that I had to be constantly be punished with crappy situations?

Screw you! I mentally repeated for the umpteenth time today. Hopefully, whoever it was that was messing with me, had heard it.

Sighing, I finally accepted there was nothing I could do anything under these circumstances and got over my little tantrum. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and saw Hisoka.

Sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, Psycho Clown smiled widely and held up a friendly hand.

"Hello~!" he greeted.

I glared at him.

"My, my," he said, opening his eyes a bit and revealing cat-like yellow orbs in the dark. "Why so hostile, Arie~chan?"

"I already told you," I glowered, gripping my Jacks firmly. "Stop calling me Arie-chan!!"

"And I've already told you," Hisoka replied smugly. "No can do."

"You won't listen to me, will you?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

"Ever?"

"Yeah."

"...I hate you," I scowled.

"You made that very clear," Hisoka winked, though I could see the gesture was meant to be more teasing than flirtatious.

"Don't call me that again..." Fuming because of the nickname and his lack of decency, I cast the 24-year-old Jokester an even nastier glare. "If you do, I'll kick your balls."

"Go ahead," he said, nonchalantly. "I don't mind."

"I mean it," I said, getting ready to swing my leg back and nail him in the groin. "It'll hurt. A lot..."

"Oh really?" His voice sounded a tad too sadistic for my liking. Leaning back in a leisurely manner, Hisoka spread his legs wide open and fully exposed his crotch. "I'll think of it more like a massage."

...

I lost all motivation to extract my revenge.

Along with my appetite.

Nope, nevermind! I huffed, trying to calm myself down and think rationally. Though, I could still feel the vein on my forehead throbbing. I'm not dealing with him. I'll find a way through this tower on my own.

"Oh?" Hisoka tilted his head, cockily. "What's the matter? Are you ignoring me now?"

"..."

"You are, aren't you?" He fake-pouted. "That's not very nice of you, Arie~chan."

My stress mark popped. "I swear to God, I'm gonna -"

The humor in Hisoka's eyes were gone.

The crazy look was back. And I didn't like it one bit. He reminded me of the Joker high on crack. Terrifying as that was already, Bloodlust was slowly seeping out of his body too.

Indications that he was ready to kill.

Soon.

Before I could get into a defensive stance and enlarge my Jacks, Hisoka body-slammed me against the wall.

A sharp, searing pain broke across my upper back as the psycho held me down. Using his arm, he pinned my neck against the wall and pushed up, so I had no choice but to raise my head. Making it extremely difficult to breathe.

My hands grasped for his arm, trying to push him away.

"W-what...are you..."

Those were the only word I managed to choke out before Hisoka shifted the position of his arm and forced his elbow into my shoulder. Like a thumbtack penetrating a corkboard.

It stung like a mother.

So much that I had no choice but to let my arms fall to my side, in order to relieve the numbing pain.

"Now, now," he said, in a commanding tone. "Be a good girl and listen to me, like you do with your fiancé."

I kicked his side.

Or, at least, I tried to.

Hisoka stepped out of range, forcing him to let me go - for a few seconds. I didn't get more than two to three breaths of rest before he lurched within arms range and slammed me back into the wall.

More scorching pain.

"ARGHH!"

"Please don't be too difficult," He said politely, though lacking in compassion. "I wouldn't want to hurt my friend's plaything."

"Plaything, my ass!" I snapped.

Wrenching my jaw open, my teeth latched on to his arm and dug deep into his skin. The strong taste of salt and copper seeped into my tongue and dribbled out of my mouth.

Most people would freak out when someone bit down on their arm. Even the muscular tough guys would, at the very least, let out some sort of scream.

But not Hisoka.

No.

The insane red-head merely smiled and tilted his head, as if he were amused by simply observing me. "That's something I didn't expect," he muttered, more to himself than me.

Without warning, Hisoka easily shook me off and flipped me over. Now, my front and side of my head were pressed up against the grainy concrete brick wall.

His legs on either side of me, Hisoka firmly pressed his body against my backside. A hundred and one rage thoughts scrambled around in my head, too intoxicated from adrenaline to organize themselves.

Hisoka buried his face at the crook of my neck, causing me to flinch.

The psycho put more of his weight on me.

And, for some reason, I suddenly felt very aware and self-conscious of how close Hisoka was and how our bodies were touching. Of all the dumb things I could have thought of at this moment, and this had to be it?!

"You know," Hisoka whispered. "If you had just listened to me, I would've been a lot gentler."

"And who the hell would listen to you?!"

I spat some of his blood at his face.

It hit him across the cheek.

Firmly, Hisoka took his arm again and pressed it against my neck so that I was forced against the wall, leaving me with just enough room to breathe. With his free hand, his fingers lightly skimmed down my shoulder to my lower back, trailing lower and lower...

All sorts of alerts went off in my head.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!!!" I pleaded, panicked. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Something I should've done since you dropped into the room," he whispered, voice husky. "This is for being a bad, bad little girl."

...Click...

I felt something cold, heavy and metallic dangle down from my wrist. Before I got a chance to wonder what it was, Hisoka lifted himself off of me and smiled.

"There we go," he said. "You're all done."

Done? I thought, confused. Done with what?

Peeling myself off the concrete wall, I brought my right hand out from behind my back and looked at it. A thin, silver band clung heavily around my wrist.

"What the heck is this?" I asked, flailing my arm in Psycho Clown's face. "It's not some type of tracking device is it? 'Cause I'm telling you right now, I already have enough stalkers and don't need anymore!"

"Oh, don't worry, Arie-chan," Hisoka waved off. "It's not a tracking device for me. It's a tracking device for the exam proctor."

Still peeved off, I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that the stopwatch I just placed on you is multipurpose," he explained. "It helps us keep track of how much time we have left before the exam ends - which is what the numbers are for - and also helps the proctor keep an eye on us - which is what the camera is for."

"Camera?" My eyes darted to the watch and I carefully examined it.

Sure enough, just as Hisoka said, there was a microscopic-sized lens at the very corner of the stopwatch screen. Same color as the background, it could have been easily missed.

Urgh... I groaned internally. That's really creepy. Some pervert's probably peeping on me right now...

"It will be useful for when we work together," Hisoka continued.

My eye twitched. "Work together?"

"Yup!" he nodded, before pointing to the wall behind him. "There's a plaque nailed to that wall which says, and I quote, 'The two of you must come to mutual understanding in order to reach the goal.' That implies teamwork."

Ew.

Teamwork?

With this lunatic?

"Forget it," I scowled, still upset. "I'm not working with you. If anything, I'd rather shave off a homeless man's beard and use it as my own personal loofah."

A funny look worked its way across Hisoka's face. "Would you really?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You're a strange one, aren't you?" he chuckled.

"I could say the same for you," I spat back.

"Fair enough, fair enough," he said, shrugging. "In any case, I knew there was a high probability that you would refuse to work with me given our previous encounters. So, I forced the bracelet on you."

"You could've just handed it over to me, like a normal person," I said, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms. "I could have said yes."

An amused glint sparked in his eyes. "Would you have said yes?"

"Shut up."

Hisoka chuckled.

"My point is," I continued on. "If you had been less irritating and more reasonable, then then chances of me saying 'yes' would have been more likely. Got it?"

Hisoka didn't respond.

He just watched me.

Like Illumi did.

But creepier.

I didn't like it one bit. Taking in a deep breath, I calmed myself down forced myself to relax. Something tells me that if I didn't learn how to control my temper around him, we would be getting nowhere.

And then Hisoka would probably kill me in the end, for making him fail the Hunter Exam a second time.

"I see you two are getting along well," a voice said from the darkness.

Both Hisoka and I looked in the direction of where the sound came from. Although it was dark, our eyes had adjusted to the room and we could make out the thin outline of a voice box fixed at an upper corner of the room.

"Oh?" Hisoka tilted his head. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lippo," the person speaking through the voice box introduced himself. "I am the prison warden here, as well as the Third Phase examiner."

My breath hitched. Third Phase examiner?

Last I checked, Lippo was a close friend of mom's and had helped dad in assassinating a group of vigilantes fifteen years ago. What the heck was Lippo doing here as a proctor?

Was he a Hunter, too?

"Multiple routes through this tower have been prepared," Lippo explained. "You have chosen the path of tag-team. Cooperation will be key if you wish to clear this phase of the exam."

Hisoka cast me a smug, all-knowing look. As if he was mentally pushing my buttons and saying, 'I told you so...'

I flipped him off.

He grinned even wider.

Lippo didn't seem to notice our small exchange; and, even if he did, the guy didn't make any comment on it.

"Part of being a Hunter includes cooperation and communication," he said. For some reason, I had a feeling he was directing that more to me. "Whether you are working alone or with a group, both are necessary skills a Hunter must develop in order to become effective in what they're doing."

There was a significant pause, as if giving us a chance to contemplate his words. Then, a section of the wall our right lifted up and revealed a small, narrow hallway.

"Best of luck, applicants."

And with that, Lippo was gone.

Letting out a deep, guttural laugh, Hisoka turned to me. "Shall we go, Arie~chan?"

"Shut up."

I stomped past the insane red-head - pushed him over, actually - and headed out of the room first. To where, I don't know; but, any place is better than just being trapped in a room with the likes of him.

***

Hisoka and I have been walking down the small hallway for the past 15 minutes. For the most part, he was annoying.

Like Leorio, except less cute.

Multiple times, the guy would ask me stupid questions, like "Are you mad, Arie~chan?", "Are you hurt, Arie~chan?" or "Are you still ignoring me, Arie~chan?"

He kept on bringing up things that would piss me off.

It was always Arie-chan this, Arie-chan that, Arie-chan whatever; I'm actually starting to hate my own name. I swear to God, if I have to hear it one more friggin' time, I'm gonna take my Jack and shove it up his -

"Arie~chan."

"FOR THE LOVE OF-!!" I took out my Jacks and nearly stabbed the guy in the throat. Luckily for him, he was just out of range. "WHAT?!?!"

"You're not focusing~!" he said, a little too sing-song-y. "You almost walked into a wall."

"What wall?!?!"

"That wall."

He pointed in front of me.

Sure enough, there was a gigantic, concrete brick wall three inches away from my face. So close, my nose could almost touch it.

"You know," Hisoka said, all deviously. "You could say thank you. Technically, I did save you from a face-plant."

I scowled.

I hate this guy.

In all honesty, I don't know how Illumi can stand him.

"And do be careful," Hisoka said, pulling me out of my rage thoughts. "You don't want to walk into it."

Just for the hell of it, I argued back. "I'll walk into whatever damn wall I want. So go jump off a cliff and die."

An amused expression worked its way across his face.

"Sadly, there is no cliff, so I can't," Hisoka replied smugly.

"I'll find one for you," I said.

"I'm sure you will."

I rolled my eyes. Could he be any more optimistic?

Just as I was about to say something else, a small white plaque tacked on to the wall had caught my attention. Hisoka noticed it too, because he dropped his 'I'm-a-jackass' personality and narrowed his eyes. Quietly observing it.

On the plaque, the following words were written: "Which way do you want to go? Left for

'Single.' Right for 'Double.'"

What the heck does that mean?

Are we supposed to go right, 'cause Hisoka and I are a team? Or could we really choose left, and not have to work with each other? Or is it talking about a battle?

They could've, at least, made the choices clearer, I thought grumpily. Seeing as there was no way to tell just by looking at it, I chose randomly.

"Let's go right," I said, turning on my heel. "Come on."

I got about three steps away before I realized he wouldn't follow me. No footsteps or creepy aura looming over my shoulder.

I turned around.

Hisoka stood exactly where I left him, arms crossed. His eyes never leaving the white plaque, the guy actually looked contemplative.

"Oi, Psycho," I said, pointing down the right hall. "I'm going this way."

"That's too bad," he responded, smirking smugly after a moment of silence had passed. "Because I'm going this way."

I stared at him. "But I already chose this way."

"See ya then!"

The guy - the stupid, stupid, dumbass, sadistic, pervert guy - gave me a quick 'goodbye' wave and began walking away. Stress marks popped up all over my forehead.

Why that little -! I scowled, resisting the urge to grab my Jacks and impale the guy again. Just 'cause he's a couple of years older, he thinks he can boss me around and everything.

Quite pouty, I jammed my fists into my back pockets and began following Hisoka, unwillingly. "Asshole," I muttered.

All of a sudden, Hisoka stopped mid-step.

My breath hitched.

Shit, I cursed, watching him carefully. Did he hear me?

Turning around, Hisoka raised his arm and tilted his head, confused. Small buzzing noises came from his silver bracelet.

"I think this is trying to do something..." he said. "What do you think?"

"Um," I somehow managed to say. "I don't know."

"Oh..." he said. "Okay."

***

Meanwhile, In Lippo's Office...

***

"NETERO, PUT THAT DOWN!!"

"Nope!"

The 108-year-old man easily dodged the two bulky Hunters who dove after him. Using only his left hand, Netero slammed both of said Hunters' heads together and forced them to topple down. Fortunately, they landed on something to cushion their blow.

Unfortunately, it was Lippo.

Needless to say, the tiny Blacklist Hunter was crushed under the two bigger Hunters' mortifying weight.

Smirking triumphantly, Netero flashed them a peace sign.

"Don't worry, Lippo," he grinned. "I'll take good care of this."

He held up his hand to show Lippo and the other two a small metallic box that had the words "Shock Button" imprinted on it. On the box were two small buttons, which each - if pressed - had the ability to send 50,000 volts through a person's body.

So far, the only person that it had been tested on was applicant #44 Hisoka. But, much to Netero's surprise, the man had barely flinched.

A sick, evil grin spread across Netero's face. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

[Me: For those of you who are confused as to why Netero is at Lippo's office in Trick Tower, he just wanted to check up on Arie and make sure everything else is okay. Arie: Then why didn't you just say that? Me: Because I was too lazy to write it...and this is more comical! ^^ Arie: ...Idiot...]

***

"Finally!" A weird buffy man in tight-ass spandex posed idiotically. "I have found you, Hisoka! Prepare yourself for ultimate destruction!!"

Hisoka and I just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What the hell?" I muttered, confused. "Who the heck is this guy?"

"I don't know," Hisoka shrugged. "But he seems to want to play with me, Arie~chan. "

I scoffed. "You're disgusting."

"Am I?" the red-haired clown asked. "Or is he?"

Hisoka gestured to the guy in front of us. Mr. Spandex - who looked a year or so older than me - fashioned long black hair, a black tie-on mask and a fluorescent neon red belt that contrasted against his black full-body suit.

The guy tried to do another macho pose.

...

My eye twitched.

"I take it back," I whispered to Hisoka. "You're right."

"Oh-ho, what's this?" A wide-spread smirk festered on Hisoka's lips. "Are you agreeing with me?"

"Don't push it," I scowled.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the insane red-head's stupid smirk grow even bigger. Ignoring the fact that he was enjoying my disgust, I focused on the weirdo in front of me.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Spandex Man bowed theatrically. "I am Shita Komie, also known as Shita the Watcher. I will be your examiner for this challenge."

I narrowed my eyes. Shita the Watcher...

Now, where have I heard that name before? And now that I think about it, the guy's voice sounded familiar. Really familiar.

"Please, step forward applicant #44."

Hisoka winked at me. "Guess it's my turn first."

"Yeah." I nodded, then exaggeratedly rolled my eyes. "Break a leg."

"His, of course," he replied.

With that, Hisoka got into the arena and took a very lax, laid back pose. Despite the fact that he didn't seem all that interested, I could tell he was just itching to kill something.

Literally.

"For this challenge, the rules are simple," Shita explained, with a somewhat weird look in his eyes. "A Death match. We will be fighting for the right to win Arie's heart."

I nearly went bug-eyed when I heard this.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "It's you...!!"

I finally remembered who this weirdo was and why I chose to forget him. As he said, he was known as Shita the Watcher.

He was a stalker.

My stalker.

No joke.

My dad Sol Kadan had arrested Shita several years ago, when I was seventeen. The guy had been following me around for weeks - may have been a couple months - before he finally got the guts to disable our state-of-the-art security system, sneak into my room and cuddle up with me until the morning.

It was really creepy.

A blissful look lit up Shita's face.

"Ah, Arie," he moaned ecstatically. "I can't believe it. You are finally talking to me again."

Goosebumps ran up and down my spine.

Looking over his shoulder, Hisoka had a strange look on his face. It wasn't really an upset look or anything; but, at the same time, it wasn't happy either. I don't know.

I couldn't read his expression.

"Don't worry, darling Arie," Shita gushed, pulling me from my thoughts. "I will get rid of this heathen, and we can finally be together again!"

"Heathen?" Hisoka turned his attention back to my stalker. "I prefer to be called a sadist."

Shita shrugged. "Whatever the case may be, you will die."

"Be careful what you wish for."

And with that, an intense battle broke out between the two. Shita had taken out his Naginata and Hisoka got into a fighting stance. The two came at each other with unyielding forces.

From what I could tell, Shita had been training for a long time. Unlike before, when he tried to fight off the security guards and police when they took him away from my house and to Trick Tower, Shita's movements were fluid and decisive.

Deadly.

But not yet perfect.

Hisoka, on the other hand, was...

Damn.

As much as I hate to admit it, Psycho Clown was really good - as in really, really good. Not only were his movements quick, but they were fluid and decisive like Shita's. He did several front flips, back flips and aerial flips in whatever direction he desired.

If that wasn't enough, he even got out of some close-call situations by bending in ways I thought were impossible for the human body to accomplish.

So, yeah.

Damn.

The fight went on for about five minutes before Hisoka began knocking Shita around. He kept aiming for the guy's face and stomach, but none of the vital spots. Almost as if Hisoka were testing him.

And with every hit, Shita was getting slower and weaker. I almost felt really sorry for the guy, with the way he was barely able to fight back.

Hisoka delivered one last blow to Shita's stomach before the Naginata-wielder crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap.

With barely any strength left, Shita peered up at Hisoka from under his long black hair. "Y-you're n-not gonna win this round..."

Psycho Clown looked at him mercilessly.

"How disappointing," he said, a cold look in his eyes. "I thought you would be more fun."

Bending down, Hisoka easily took the Naginata from Shita's hands and pointed it at his face. Eyes wide, Shita stared at him.

"W-what are you -"

"You said this was a Death match," Hisoka responded, cutting him off. "In a Death match, someone must die."

"B-but I can't die..." Shita gurgled, as thin streams of blood began bubbling out of his mouth and down to his chin. He cast me a sorrow-filled, yet hopeful look.

My brows furrowed.

"Shita," I whispered.

"I still...have a whole life time...t-to spend...with Arie..." he said weakly. "R-right, Arie?"

"Is that so?" Raising the Naginata above his head, Hisoka remained emotionless. "That's too bad."

Just as Hisoka was about to bring the blade down, I flashed myself in front of Hisoka, caught his wrist, twisted the weapon out of his hand and threw it across the room.

I gave Psycho Clown a warning look. "Let him go."

The corner of his mouth turned downward.

"You're defending him?" Hisoka asked, his voice with a slight undertone. "That's unusual of you."

"Shita's already doing time for his mistakes," I justified, trying my best not to lose my temper. "Not only that, he's already suffered enough from your beatings. Can't you see how weak he is?"

"I can," he replied, indifferent. "Which is why he doesn't deserve to live."

I growled. "How can you say that?!"

"Need I remind you that this is a Death match?" Hisoka said. "In a Death match, someone must die. Otherwise, there would be no point in having the battle."

Still keeping a firm grip on Hisoka's wrist, I turned to look over my shoulder and down at Shita. Barely conscious, the guy still managed to smile at me.

"We don't have to follow through the Death match, do we?" I asked Shita kindly. "There's another way, right?"

"Y-yes," he replied softly. "Will you...come see me, if I l-let you go?"

I thought about it.

Then nodded.

"Sure," I agreed. "But finish your time in jail, before I do."

"Th-thank you...!" The look on his face couldn't have been happier. Sincere, unadulterated bliss that took me by such surprise, I almost forgot about what he did to me a few years ago.

Almost.

Focusing my attention back to Hisoka, I flashed him a decisive look.

"See?" I said, content. "Now turn around and walk away."

"...How boring."

"Boring?"

Without explanation, Hisoka side-stepped me and decapitated Shita. Blood sputtering, the head rolled off a few feet away and came to a stop with his face fronting us.

The serene smile was still plastered on Shita's face.

***

Hisoka and I didn't talk much after he killed Shita.

We had nothing to say to each other and, frankly, neither of us were really in the mood to make up. More so me than him.

First off, Hisoka had no right to kill Shita. That guy was already in prison for breaking into my house and he was slowly trying to recover from his obsession. Second off, what he did wasn't too bad, compared to other felons.

Don't get me wrong – breaking into my manor and sleeping in my bed without my knowledge is beyond creepy. But, he didn't hurt anyone; didn't threaten anyone; didn't kill anyone.

Shita was more of the gentle stalker than the insane, sociopathic psycho stalker.

And third off, it really messed with me when someone dies before their due time. The guy was at the young age of 25 and still had about 60+ years before his natural death. If Shita were destined to die beforehand, then it should be for something reasonable.

Like mass murder.

But no.

Shita simply died.

Dammit, I cursed, jamming my fists into the back pockets and glaring at the back of Hisoka's bright, fuchsia-colored hair. I'm so pissed...!

I didn't know whether to kill the insane, psychotic monster on the spot, or to wait until I get home so I could report the whole incident and have a whole mob of vigilantes hunt for Hisoka's head.

I mean, the guy hadn't shown an inkling of sympathy or remorse for the late Komie as we walked to our next destination.

For some reason, that fact bothered me more than it should have. And I didn't know why, couldn't figure out why.

My blood pulsing through my veins, I was too intoxicated with anger and frustration to think clearly.

***

Another fifteen minutes had passed before Hisoka and I reached the next testing center.

The room was wide and spacious, a perfect place to run around and have a battle in. At the center of the room was a 200 x 200 meter long platform that was surrounded by a moat of corrosive acid.

From what I could tell, the place hasn't been cleaned since it was last used. Bodies of previous examinees still littered the liquid-filled trench.

I wrinkled my nose. "What the hell is this place?"

"Looks like a graveyard," Hisoka said.

No dip, shit-lock, I thought, trying my honest best to hold my tongue and not to roll my eyes. I couldn't tell, after seeing the decapitated limbs and rotting skin.

'Cause, apparently, I'm that stupid.

Hisoka must have sensed all my hostility, because the psychotic clown crossed his arms and cast me a humorless smile.

"Careful, Arie~chan," he warned slyly. "Watch your temper."

I ignored him.

Just then, a small section of the wall on the other side of the room detached itself from the main structure. In its place, a dark, narrow hall.

Heavy slaps sounded against the cold concrete floor, indicating that whoever was coming was gigantic.

Huge.

Titan.

As if to confirm my thoughts, a cloaked figure emerged from the darkness. Easily nine feet tall, the man had metal shackles wrapped around his wrists and feet. The hood of his uniform was pulled down so low, I couldn't see his face.

But at the very least, I could sense he was watching me.

Just me.

Huh, I stared back intensely. I wonder who he is...

An ominous click sounded and Lippo came on to talk through the speaker – conveniently placed at one of the top corners of the room, where no one could see it.

"Congratulations on making it this far, applicants," the Hunter examiner commended. "For the next challenge, one of you will participate in a one-to-one battle. Decide on which one will partake in this exercise and we will continue from there."

Before Hisoka could say anything, I shook off my backpack and stepped up.

"I'll do it," I volunteered.

Hisoka's eyes turned to me.

"Oh?" A slightly amused tone poked out from Psycho Clown's voice. "Do I finally get to see what you're made of?"

"Yeah," I retorted, shooting him a nasty glare. "It's called balls of steel. Something you don't have."

A dark chuckle worked its way through his lips. "You don't know that."

Before I could say something stupid like, 'You wanna compare, dumbass?' I mentally flipped him off and tuned him out.

Last thing I needed was to have Hisoka irritate me before a battle. Doing so would distract me and dull my senses, which may cost me an arm or a leg.

I don't know about other people, but I'm rather fond of my arm and leg and would want to keep them attached to core of my body as much as possible.

Carefully making my way to the central platform, I rolled my sleeves up and tightened my ponytail.

"So," I asked Lippo the speaker. "How are we going to do this?"

"Same path as your partner has done before," Lippo replied. "A Death match."

I nearly face-palmed myself. I mean, seriously...

What was it with all these inmates and Death matches? It were as if these people were eager to die. Which made this a little depressing.

Ah, whatever, I shrugged off. I'll figure out some way to let Hisoka and me pass. Or, better yet, maybe just me.

Plus, how bad could this nine-foot tall giant prisoner be?

"Okay," I agreed.

"Good," Lippo finalized. "In that case, begin the battle."

There was another ominous click and the speaker shut off; though, I was still fully aware of the fact that the Third Phase examiner was watching.

Taking my Jacks out, I prepared myself.

Lifting his hands slowly, the prisoner pushed his hood off and removed his cloak.

The man was middle-aged – around 45 years old – with slicked-back black hair, gray streaks and a nasty scowl. Despite the fact that he looked grumpy, I didn't find him all that intimidating.

You can do this, Arie, I told myself reassuringly. Just paralyze the guy – long enough that he could pass off as a dead person.

That way I could convince Lippo without having to kill someone.

Besides, I've done it before when I went on solo missions. The skill came in handy and I've pretty much mastered it.

As far as I can see, I should have no problem.

"Now," the prisoner spoke in a (surprisingly) deep, throaty voice. "Before we begin, I would like to introduce myself."

I raised an eyebrow. Okay?

"I am Ab Valentine," he said ominously. "You may have been too young to remember; but, we have met before."

Other eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Arie Kadan," Valentine said in an all-knowing, creepy tone. "Daughter of Sol Kadan and heir to the Kadan household."

My face paled a bit.

Oh god, I thought, mortified. I really hope this guy's not another stalker. I don't think I can handle a pedophile version of Shita.

"Um..."

"I don't know if anyone has told you," Valentine began eyeing me up and down. "You look very much like someone I once knew."

Just to be nice, I smiled. "And who would that be?"

"Your mother."

Quick as it came, my smile instantly vanished. "Excuse me?"

"Your mother," Valentine repeated, a dark twinkle developing in his eyes. "Angela Jacqueline Kadan."

Ba–dump.

Narrowing my eyes, I let out a low, feral growl. So animalistic, I almost didn't recognize it. "Stop playing around, asshole."

Valentine's sickening grin broadened.

"When I first saw you," he continued on. "I thought you were her, Angela. But no – you couldn't be. Your hair is too long, your height a little too short and – what's more – you don't have the same scars as she does."

Ba–dump.

Anger, frustration, rage – negative emotions came spilling out of me, one after another. I tried to calm myself and think rationally, find a way out. Not to let this Valentine guy manipulate me. However, it was easier said than done.

I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into his neck and take a big, muscly chunk out of him.

Ba–dump.

Behind me, I could sense that Hisoka was watching intently. If anything, I could practically feel his eyeballs rubbing themselves up and down my bare back.

Ba–dump.

"Funny thing though," Valentine dragged my attention back to him. "I enjoyed giving Angela all of her scars."

Ba–dump.

Before I knew what I was doing, I dropped my Jacks, reached into my front pockets, pulled out a black rubber ball, infused it with all the Nen I had in my body and – with tremendous strength that I knew would render me motionless afterwards – I reeled my arm back and pitched a hardball at the prisoner's chest.

The rubber ball made impact, splintering Valentine's sternum and puncturing his thoracic cavity so hard that the ball and the 45-year-old-man's heart burst out from his back and flew out, over 50 feet away.

Valentine crumpled to the floor in a bloody heap.

Not moving.

Not breathing.

Not worthy of life.

Everything was deathly silent, save for my heavy breathing. I watched Valentine's body, very closely, to see if the asshole had somehow survived for a minute.

He didn't.

Satisfied that he was finally gone, my breathing slowed back to its regular pace and I straightened myself up. Fixed my shirt, retied my hair, and tightened it.

Once done, I bent over to scoop up my Jacks from the ground, shrunk them back to travel size and stuck them inside my back pocket. Then, walking over to the other side of the platform, I retrieved my bloodied rubber ball and placed it back in my front pocket.

Right beside my foot was Valentine's heart.

It was still beating.

Very faintly.

I picked it up, and felt the muscles contract and relax gently in my hands. Surprisingly, the bloody organ was soft and squishy. Nothing like the personality of the human it came from.

I crushed it.

Streams of blood oozed out from the ripped aorta, vena cava, arteries and veins. Fatty adipose tissue squelched themselves out from the organ, giving me a repulsive view. And the cardiac muscles gave one last shudder before it finally became still.

Disgusting, I thought, playing with the dead organ.

The blood was starting to become sticky in between my fingers. A sign that I had to dispose of the heart soon. Otherwise, it would begin to smell.

And I know just how to do it, I thought.

With the heart limp in my hand, I made my way over to Valentine's body and picked it up by the scruff of its neck. It was warm and bloody as well.

Not even bothering to carry it properly, I dragged the meat-sack over to the edge of the platform, gore and body fluids leaving large, streaky trails behind. Once there, I dropped the body down on the ground and kicked it over.

Slowly, the giant lump of flesh rolled over and made a splash in the river of acid. Following it, the heart.

I watched with unyielding satisfaction as the heart and the body were stripped off by the acid, layer by layer.

I didn't know how much time had passed, before hearing the soft scuttling of feet. Hisoka stood beside me, arms crossed.

Though I wasn't making eye contact, I could tell he was more than amused.

"Care to explain what just happened," Hisoka asked, reverting back to his usual personality. "Arie~chan?"

"I killed a man," I replied bluntly. "Simple as that."

"Didn't look that simple to me," he pressed on. "What was the real reason?"

"He mentioned my mother."