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Leorio had been panting for fifteen minutes and it was driving Kurapica up the wall. The group and the examiner had been running for what seemed to be three hours. Most of the exam takers were either on the ground or still trying to catch up to everyone else.

"So I said, 'I'm just stronger than you'" A man with a bald head and black suit had been boasting about himself for the whole time they had been running.

Hisoka, Gon and Killua were still running in the back and weren't getting tired at all. The examiner looked behind him every once in a while to see how all the participants were doing. Kurapica stopped running and saw Leorio huffing and puffing his brains out. Once Gon, Hisoka and Killua passed them, Gon stopped running the right way and ran the other way toward the man.

"Are you alright pops?"

"I'm not pops!" Leorio coughed again.

Tompa saw what was happening and an evil grin made its way onto his face as he stopped running and hurried toward them. Hisoka noticed Gon wasn't there and stopped running and turned back to where his toy had gone. Killua looked behind him and saw the man walking back.

"Gon" Gon looked up at Hisoka.

"Is that your name?" Gon nodded at the taller boy.

"I'm Kurapica, this idiot is Leorio"

"We're wasting time Gon"

"Hisoka-san, isn't there some way we could help?"

"Actually there is a way, remember that sweet smell earlier?" Tompa came from behind Hisoka and Gon.

"If I remember correctly, it's called healing cedar, it's a sap like substance that helps you get energized"

"Do what you want, we're leaving, Gon" Hisoka walked off again and Gon waved goodbye to the three of them and ran after Hisoka.

"I'll show you the way, come on" Tompa walked in the opposite direction.

Kurapica lifted Leorio's arm and lifted Leorio off of the ground and helped him walk while Tompa led the way. On the way they saw the kid that they had met earlier. The boy had snot and tears running down his face and his laptop was no where to be seen. Tompa smiled his sweet and pleasant smile and lifted his arm and hung it around his neck to help him walk.

He led them on until they were at the fork in the road and went to the right. The smell got stronger as they drew closer to the sap that laid ahead. Kurapica and Tompa both let the men down next to the sap. While Kurapica was busy attending to Leorio, Tompa was quietly walking backwards and trying to get out. His once nice smile turned into an evil grin as he back away until he was at the fork again. He was about to turn around when he ran into a person smaller than him.

"It's hard to believe a person with your evil mind would fail thirty-five times" Tompa gulped as Killua walked up to him.

"You do know what I am capable of right?" Tompa's forehead began to sweat and quickly ran past the boy at full speed.

Killua looked down the dark passage and heard someone screaming. He got on his board and rushed toward the screaming. He had to quickly dodge the man that had lost his laptop so he wouldn't bump into him.

"Leorio, pull yourself together!" Killua pushed off from the ground and went up to the room that held the sap.

"Even though you're a bit smart, you're still new at these things" Killua took out a small round ball and threw it at the side of the wall, making a big blast next to them.

"Kurapica?" Leorio looked at Kurapica with confusion.

"Hurry up, you guys might not make it to the second exam in time" Killua used his bombs to blow the walls up.


The group of people that were still running and the examiner all heard a loud sound coming closer. The examiner heard it but just kept going as a loud explosion came from the wall. Three people ran out from the hole in the wall and began running with the rest of the group. Gon saw the boy from earlier and smiled a bit. A light was up ahead and the exam takers all started to run faster, knowing that it would mean the end for their running.

"We're right on time"

"Killua, you made it!" Gon burst out and ran next to him.

"I got held up by those two" Leorio over heard this and glared at Killua.

"What happened Killua?"

"They were tricked by that fat guy from earlier, he knew there was sap here but they didn't, the sap is a substance that assassins use to trick a person's mind, it only works on people who have had recently bad experiences in their life"

"So....does that mean I'm not the only naive person here?" Leorio growled.

"Don't stick Kurapica and I on your level Gon"

"But....you guys did the same thing I did, you trusted him" Leorio shut his mouth and didn't say anything more.

"Why are you back here Gon"

"Ah, Hisoka-san, they were tricked like me"

"I see" Leorio gulped, knowing that the dangerous man probably found out what happened and who was there at the time.

The examiner and everyone else began to slow down as they neared the exit. Tompa noticed that Hisoka wasn't with the crowd of people but was instead running along side with Gon and Killua.

'How did they manage to escape?' He thought as everyone stopped at the same time as the examiner.

"Numele swamp, also known as Swindler's roost...to get to the second exam, we must go through here, the animals will try anything to trick and eat you, please be very careful, if you get tricked, you will die"

"That's a funny thing to say, if we know we're gonna get tricked, how can we be tricked?"

"He's lying!" Everyone turned their attention to a man that looked as though he was beaten up.

"He's a fake, he's not an examiner, I'm the real examiner!"

People started to get confused.

"Fake?"

"What's going on?"

"So who's that guy over there?"

"Which one is the real examiner?"

Gon tugged at Hisoka's pant leg.

"Hisoka-san, what do you think?"

"Just watch...." Hisoka took out six cards and threw three at the man that had just come and three at the examiner.

The man that was holding a bag fell to the ground with the cards in his face. The examiner caught them with no trouble. The thing that was in the bag felt itself drop to the ground and he peeked his head out of the bag and noticed his friend on the ground with cards in his face, Hisoka knew that the monkey was there and threw a card at it. It pierced through the bag with no sweat and straight into the back of the monkey.

"This way, it's much faster.....it settles everything, you're the real one...mr. examiner"

"Anymore acts of violence against the examiner, for any reason will result in you failing, understood?"

"Yeah....hm?" Hisoka noticed Gon was staring at the dead animal.

"Gon, why are you still staring at it?" Gon shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked with Hisoka a bit more.

"That is the rule of this swamp, eat or be eaten" The examiner explained and walked to the front of the group to lead them to the next exam center.


They started off with more running and most of the people groaned as the examiner walked faster again. Hisoka and Gon stayed in the back again. Killua ran beside them. Leorio and Kurapica were up ahead but a bit of fog came out from no where and started covering everyone up.

"This fog makes it easier" Hisoka grinned evily.

Hisoka followed a few people who had gotten separated from the rest of the group. Gon followed after him with Killua running behind him.

"Hisoka-san, we'll get separated if we lose the examiner....wh-what are you doing?" Gon asked as another card was thrown at another person.

"Just helping the examiner out, their job will be a bit more easier if I do this, don't you think so?"

"But..."

"Just don't get in the way and your little friends back in the group won't get hurt"

Gon clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. Killua sighed and went back to the group with his hands in his pockets. As he was out of sight, Hisoka finished the last person off and walked up to Gon.

"Are you mad with something, if it's your friend Leorio, that you're mad with, tell me and I'll deal with him....he was the one that let you go with that man wasn't he?" Gon's face saddened a bit and he released his hands from the form of a fist.

"It's not him....I....don't know what's going on anymore.....I want to find my father but...at the same time....travel with....you...you're the only friend that's still with me....my friends on the ship are all gone....I made a new friend who's almost like you but I don't know if he's going to leave for some where far away if he passes and if he does and you're going a different way....I just feel a bit lost..."

"Basically, to tell you a full story short...you're anxious"

Hisoka kneeled down at his level and lifted his chin a bit and plunged his mouth onto Gon's. Gon closed his eyes and as he let Hisoka wander through out his mouth. He didn't know what feeling he had but his instincts were telling him that Hisoka was a good person, despite having almost killed the examiner and killing a couple of people, deep down was a hidden thing that no one knew about except for Gon.

Hisoka stopped as he heard a few screams not too far away. Saliva dripped from Gon's chin as Hisoka straightened up.

"That voice....is Leorio-san's!"

"So?" Hisoka began to walk back to the group.

"But....even though he didn't say anything to the man....I still want to be his friend.....I don't want be anyone's enemy!" Gon rushed off further into the swamp and dodged a large turtle that was about to grab him.

'What a troublesome boy....but....he is a bit fun.....for a toy' Hisoka stopped walking and walked in the opposite direction.