Chapter 2: Exams and Introductions
Chapter Text
As Sakura stared down at the three males, she thought were just words creating images in the minds of the beholder. Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika were receiving their tags, just as she read. Her next move; do nothing. She concluded by far that she needed to get to the end of the book, but that didn't mean she needed to interact with them for the story to move.
Follow from a distance. She wasn't sure what might happen if she got mixed up with the main characters and she'd rather not find out.
"Yo," Killua called waving his hand in front of the pinkette's face. She quickly looked over him.
"Yeah?"
He pointed back to the crowd, "I'm gonna head on down, you coming?"
Waving her hand, she shook her head. "I think I'll stay up here a little longer,"
Killua gave her a pointed expression, "You know, you can't expect to go through the entire exam hiding from the other applicants?"
"It's nothing like that," Sakura waved, "I just want to catch up a bit on my reading; I'll find you before the exam starts."
Without another word, the white-haired boy jumped down disappearing. Leaning back in an attempt to get as one could get against a cold steel wall. Sakura started reading, probably exactly what was happening right now. She wanted to try getting ahead of the chapter again; because she had no desire for any more surprises.
The three friends didn't' see any friendly faces , those who looked their way only seemed interested for a moment, assessing before looking away. However, a man with the number 16 on his chest appeared in front of the three with a seemingly friendly smile. He introduced himself as Tonpa. Gon returned the introduction with his own along with his friends.
'Oh, that can't be good.'
Glancing from her book, Sakura saw that Tonpa was talking to the three as she read. This might be a chance for her to get more information on him as well.
...Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika listened intently to the 'exam veteran' Tonpa's advice and information on the other exam applicants. After giving them the numbers to look out for; a sudden scream erupted from the crowd, a cry of agony and obvious pain diverting everyone's attention. There they saw one of the applicants-
Sakura frowned, blinking several times with disbelief at the following words, what she was reading couldn't possibly-
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"
Quickly removing the book from her face, Sakura peered over the edge to see a man. He was on his knees, screaming; his eyes unable to close from the horror at the sight before him. His arms outstretched but slowly begging to fade away, leaving remnants of small red flower petals…until his arms were no more.
In front of the man, with his arms casually folded against his chest and a pleased smirk on his face was applicant #44.
"My how strange; his arms have become flower petals…" he stated in an uncaring yet satisfied tone of voice, holding out his hands in front of the other applicants who were watching with cautious faces. All keeping a distance from applicant 44 and his victim. "No smoke and mirrors here."
Tonpa may have been bad but she was certain his information on that so-called magician wasn't false. She would heed his advice to steer clear to the best of her ability (if her luck permitted it). No need to get involved with characters that could prove to be a hassle.
She grimaced for the applicant who had lost his limbs before going back to the book.
…Tonpa made it very clear to the three then and there; that Hisoka was not someone they wanted to trifle with. And they knew he was right. However, little did they know that it wasn't just Hisoka and the other applicants that they needed to be wary of; as the one who was giving them the information, was not doing it out of the kindness of his heart. For Tonpa himself, had a reputation amongst the hunters. A title that he had earned over time, 'Tonpa, the rookie crusher.
And as of now, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio were his next victims.
He offered them each a juice, unknowingly to the-filled with a strong laxative-
'Oh, they wouldn't!' Sakura quickly looked back down to see Gon and his friends still chatting with Tonpa. He was offering the drinks to them right now. They weren't going to get through the hunter exam if they drank laxative!
'But there's no way they would drink it right?' Sakura attempted to conclude, the book was about these characters after all.
Sakura watched the rest of the scene unfold carefully, they had opened the cans now. Leorio and Gon seemed none the wiser but Kurapika was glancing at the two of them cautiously while Tonpa watched them. Gon put the can to his mouth and Sakura was about ready to jump in front of him and knock the can out of his hand when his mouth suddenly hung open. All of the juice spilling out. Then Leorio spat out the juice quickly, wiping his mouth. Kurapika didn't even look like he had taken a sip as he threw the juice out of the can. She couldn't hear them from where she was but she could see. Tonpa put his hands together in what appeared to be an apologetic stance.
She went to the book to find out what had just happened; turns out Gon had tasted something off in the juice which was why Leorio spat out the drink, while Kurapika was a bit more aware.
'Suppose that's a good thing for me.'
Before Sakura could continue reading, a noise erupted through the tunnel; a bell constantly ringing. The tunnel quieted. A wall on the far end of the tunnel began to gradually move up, creating an opening. The noise echoed until it was gone. Leaning forward, Sakura tilted her head to the side to see what had appeared behind that wall.
A single figure stood; from Sakura's point of view, it was a tall man, with long limbs in a purple suit. He had light neatly combed hair and a mustache-though she couldn't see his mouth. When he spoke all that moved was the hair beneath his nose.
"I apologize for the wait," he said, standing with one hand behind his back. "The entry period for hunter applicants has ended. The Hunter exam will now begin!"
Tucking the book safely into her pouch, Sakura scanned the applicants in search of Killua. It wasn't hard to spot a white-haired boy; however, his height was another factor to take into account.
Once spotted, Sakura leaped from the pipe and into the crowd. A little ways from Killua, she started walking through the applicants; careful not to brush up against any of them. She tapped Killua on his shoulder and he turned around.
"Bout time," Killua seemed to be pouting. "I thought you were gonna quit before we started."
Sakura cocked an eyebrow, "And what made you think that?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders, refusing to give her a reply. Sakura was aware she didn't look like much of a fighter, but she was always more than happy to correct those who doubted her.
"A final caution. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or dead. Those who accept the risks please follow me. Otherwise," he pointed "Please exit via the elevator behind you."
Sakura had a feeling she was lacking in luck-given where it's brought her. Ability was another matter entirely.
She had admitted to her weakness a long time ago and has been pushing herself every day to correct them. She needed to have faith in her ability because there was so much more at risk than her pride. She needed to get through this story. Getting injured didn't matter, as long as she made it alive.
With a determined shine in her eyes, she smiled. 'Bring it on.'
She wasn't the only one determined to make it, not a single applicant had turned around. Of course who would after earning the right to come here? Sakura might not fully understand the motivation behind wanting to become a hunter and quite frankly she didn't care. It was clear though, that just like any great profession the road to it would never be easy.
The man turned around after announcing that all '405'applicants would be participating. Turning his back to the group, he extended on of his long legs and began walking, stretching his limbs as far as they could go in each step. His walk looked more like a march. Everyone followed behind him at their own pace.
Sakura saw that a little ways in the front, were Leorio, Gon, and Kurapika.
"This is kinda disappointing," Killua muttered.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"He said the exam was about to start, but it doesn't' seem like it has."
"You're not very patient are you?"
Killua shook his head, though he had a sheepish grin on his face now.
A minute later, the footsteps that echoed through the tunnel began to grow louder. People were beginning to walk faster and it wasn't long after that they were flat out running. That included Sakura and Killua.
Though they couldn't see him from this distance, Sakura heard the man who appeared speaking. "I failed to introduce myself earlier. I am Satotz, the Phase One examiner. I shall lead you to the second phase."
Sakura smiled as she ran with the rest of the applicants; if he was leading them to the second Phase then that meant this was the first Phase. They were going to have to follow their examiner to the next phase.
"Aw, see what I mean." Killua whined, "A total disappointment."
The white-haired boy then threw his skateboard in front of him and jumped on. He began rolling alongside Sakura at a pace where he wouldn't get too far ahead of her.
It was a time like this that Sakura thanked her master, who had given her grueling training to improve her stamina and strength. That included endurance training. When Sakura began training under Tsunade, she had started with medical practice and then went further to develop her chakra control.
There were certain requirements with being a medical ninja; that included agility and speed as well as endurance. Since a medical ninja needed to ensure they avoided injury at all costs. Although that usually meant avoiding the front lines that weren't always possible. An enemy could appear anywhere and you needed to know how to face them.
That was why Tsunade trained Sakura; not only in medical jutsu but how to use her chakra to enhance her speed and strength. As a ninja, it was also important to have advanced stamina, however as a genin that was something Sakura greatly lacked in comparison to the rest of her team. That was before she had become Tsunade's apprentice. The women put her through a vigorous training regime. She had made Sakura workout without using chakra, a jog around the whole village used to be part of that workout. When she started getting accustomed to the distance, Tsunade made her go around twice, thrice, and so forth.
Estimating the time, it had been about two hours since they started running and everyone was still going strong. Sakura assumed that they had to be at least thirty kilometers from where they started. This wasn't much to her in comparison to the distances she had to travel on missions by foot. Ninjas could run on a continuum for days, but the pace and distance depended on the individual.
"The only troubling thing about this is that there isn't any specified goal," Sakura said. It was something that could have a huge psychological effect on the applicants, who wouldn't know when the run ended.
"I don't think it really matters" Killua replied, he pressed his foot on the ground to move a little ahead. "I can go until tomorrow."
Sakura scoffed, "You mean on your skateboard?"
Killua narrowed his eyes at the pinkette, "No, on foot!"
Sakura snickered; she might not know a lot about Killua other than what he had told her. But she knew a thing or two about twelve-year-old boys and how easy it was to provoke them.
"Sure…." Sakura trailed, teasing.
"You're just upset because I don't have to run."
Sakura scoffed, though her eyes shone with mischief. "You couldn't' keep up with me on or off that thing."
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah." Sakura retorted before picking up her pace to pass Killua. She heard his foot hitting the ground to push against it and speed up.
The two began their separate race; passing a few of the other applicants. Childish as it may seem, it had lightened Sakura's mood considerably. She didn't have the same drive that the rest of these applicants had to become hunters. She wasn't a part of this story, yet somehow she was still in it. The odd one out, an extra factor. She felt distant.
It was somehow this boy that helped her forget that.
Killua was pushing harder on his skateboard to get a little way ahead of Sakura, but every time he did she somehow seemed to pick up her pace. It made him wonder how fast she could go.
They continued to race side by side before a voice broke their atmosphere that surrounded the two.
"Hey, kid!"
Killua looked beside him to the guy who was ranting at him, "Hmm?"
"You should show some respect to the Hunter Exam!"
Sakura turned her head and realized that the person who was yelling at Killua was non-other than Leorio. She found it odd that out of everyone here it just 'happened' to be Leorio who yelled at Killua.
"You're cheating, this is an endurance test. You can't use a skateboard!" Leorio continued to rant.
Another voice came behind them, a softer, calmer one. "No, it isn't."
Looking back, Sakura saw Gon running up. He didn't look tired at all, not a single bead of sweat on his forehead as he continued to run.
"Gon what are you saying?" Leorio asked appearing frustrated now, it was most likely because he himself was tired from all this running.
"The examiner only told us to follow him." Gon stated.
"Gon. Whose side are you on!?"
'And here I thought I'd be able to keep a distance from the main characters…'
Sakura looked at Killua, who was now starring at Gon. He started rolling back over to Gon, asking his age. Almost immediately after Gon said his age did Killua kick up his board, put it under his arm, and looked at Sakura.
"Hey Sakura, I'm gonna run too. Let's see if you can still keep up then,"
"That's so cool!" Gon said referring to Killua's trick on the skateboard.
"I'm Killua." Killua then pointed a finger at the weary-looking pinkette, "This is Sakura."
"I'm Gon!"
It was only when Sakura saw the two running together that something occurred to her. Though it was a bit awkward, Sakura took out her book and began reading.
Killua realized that he and Gon were the same age and here he thought he would be the youngest candidate here-aside from Sakura who fell in second.
Sakura frowned, now she was in the book as well? When did that happen?
Gon smiled at Killua; in which he kicked off from his skateboard, catching it with ease before calmly stating that he would run as well. Perhaps it was a childish tendency not to be outdone, but Killua had already decided to run beside Gon.
She had intended to keep her distance from the main character so that she wouldn't interfere with the story any more than she already was, but now she realized that Killua might also be another major character. It was stupid of her to assume that it was only Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika.
'I just involved myself with the characters without realizing; now the stories including me.'
"Um, are you reading now?"
Sakura looked to her side, where Gon was running. It was then she thought the description the book gave of Gon's eyes did not do them justice.
Killua then chided, "You'll get motion sick!"
Figuring that she wasn't going to win this, she put the book away before resuming running. "Okay, there happy now dad?"
Killua stuck his tongue out at her, "I can't be your dad; you're older than me."
"Really? You mean she isn't our age?" Gon asked looking at the pink-haired girl.
"I'm fifteen!" the pinkette exclaimed fuming as the two boys laughed at her reaction. Her appearance couldn't be that childish right?
The next two hours were filled with the bickering between Sakura, Gon, and Killua. They argued a bit over Sakura's age and appearance. How she looked like a 'tall twelve-year-old' according to them. During this, they had fallen behind the rest of the applicants, because they were running as four, not three. Leorio was falling far behind, panting heavily with beads of sweat dripping down his face.
The book had already told her a bit about him; he stated that his reason for becoming a hunter was for financial benefit. During the second chapter, he nearly ended up going the wrong way for the exam site and failed the test to take the exams. If it hadn't been for his friends, he might not have made it. He didn't give her the same sense as the others did.
'In this case, it might not be a good thing.' Sakura thought. Although she could relate to Leorio in a lot of ways. With the choices he had made by far, she felt that she would've done exactly the same. She had been like that as a genin and always depended on her teammates to get her through things. She couldn't keep up with them. Always watching their backs…It was the worst feeling.
And to see someone else in a similar situation; story character or not…
Sakura began to backtrack until she was jogging slowly beside Leorio, "You okay?"
Leorio continued his stumbled, attempting to reach the group he could barely see as his vision was begging to blur. "W…What do you think?"
Sakura kept a calm expression, she heard Killua calling her back to the front but she didn't look up at him.
"Only….one rookie….everyone three years pass…the exam" Leorio panted "So for a normal…..human like me…" he strained to get the words out "It isn't even worth dreaming about…"
Dropping his suitcase, Leorio stumbled a few steps before he crouched down, sweat dripped down his chin.
Sakura bent down so that when Leorio looked to the side, he was at eye level with her. "Are you giving up?"
Leorio sucked in a huge breath before replying, "I-I'm not a monster like the rest of you, I'm not like the rest of you."
Putting her hand under her chin, she tilted her head to the side, "Then why are you here? Why are you doing this?"
That question seemed to trigger something within Leorio, Sakura saw a glint in his eyes but that didn't mean it was enough to recover him. Sakura was attempting to get Leorio to find a resolve, for it was always a resolve that got her through difficult situations. What kept her going no matter how hopeless things seemed. It was how she found the strength to fight during the chunin exams; to get stronger as a kunoichi.
Leorio's eyes then trailed forward, to where Gon and Killua appeared to be waiting for them. Gon stood silently watching Leorio. Keeping his gaze fixed, unwavering and the message was clear. He would not move until Leorio started running again. Sakura noted this as well. When words don't work, use silence.
Finally, after a few more heavy breaths, Leorio began to move "Screw it." He pushed back on the sole of his foot and launched forward, breaking out into a wild sprint. "I'M GONNA BECOME A HUNTER."
With a small smile Sakura stood up straight, she was about to grab Leorio's suitcase that he left behind when she heard a whizzing sound. A fish hook fell onto the briefcase and was caught on the handle. Sakura followed the case as it was pulled through the air, watching as it landed in Gon's hands. Killua appeared impressed by the move before he looked back to call Sakura.
"Okay, Sakura can we go now?" Killua called impatiently.
With a playful gleam in her eyes, Sakura pushed forth on the sole of her feet after pumping some chakra to her feet she charged forward; a loud bang echoed through the tunnel from the speed. She blurred past Gon and Killua who just felt a sudden breeze after that had their hair blowing.
It had only taken a few steps for Sakura to get ahead of Gon and Killua, very far ahead. The two boys spun around, staring at her in shock as the pinkette seemed to dust off her hands.
"Wow…."
Arms crossed, one eye closed, Sakura gestured with her head to the darkness of the tunnel. "I thought you said you wanted to go now."
Killua and Gon ran over to her until they were running side by side again.
"How did you move so far so fast?" Killua asked,
"Can you teach me how to do that?" asked Gon.
The pinkette looked up in mock thought, "I wonder…."
"Come on!"
"Tell us."
"Sakura."
"Please."
"Please."
"TELL US."
Sakura felt the vein on her forehead throb, the two boys had somehow managed to go for the rest of the run almost nonstop, continuously asking her to explain how she had done what she did. It was entertaining at first, but she forgot how persistent boys were. Their stubborn and hardheaded nature that wouldn't quit. She hasn't dealt with that in almost three years before Naruto returned, but he was older now and Sasuke wasn't there to clash with him (though there was now Sai, he didn't tick Naruto off as much.). So she was a bit out of practice on how to deal with this.
"Saku-
"AAH! Enough already, two!" Sakura snapped throwing her head to the back. She was already starting to feel winded from running, she could feel the sweat on her forehead, and dealing with two whining boys weren't helping her nerves.
"Is she mad?" asked Gon in general curiosity.
"She's fuming." Killua snickered.
Again, Sakura felt her brow twitch in annoyance, "Okay listen here you little-
Killua looked in front of him and smiled, "Look we're at a staircase!"
Turning to where the young boy was looking, Sakura saw that there indeed was a staircase. It was but, the width was wider than the average staircase; able to fit about five people together horizontally. It was also very long; she couldn't see the end of it and they were supposed to run up there. Several applicants were already making their way up.
"Let's race to see who finishes first!" Killua exclaimed; he sounded rather excited.
"Okay," Gon said, "Loser has to buy dinner!"
"Alright! Let's go." Killua said, "Come on Sakura!"
If any outside party had seen the three they would have thought them to be friends even though they just met each other a few hours ago.
"Fine," She was amazed at how quickly their minds could wander from topics but in this case, she wouldn't point it out.
They pulled back to get in line together, then they set off after shouting 'Go' simultaneously.
It was only after the race had begun that Sakura realized Gon and Killua were far from normal. She had her suspicions since they haven't shown the slightest sign of fatigue even after running over five hours but she hadn't realized they were able to increase their speed and keep up with her current pace. It made her wonder what other skills they must have. Sure she had read up a bit on Gon, he had skills with a fishing pole and he was fast and he had an incredibly sensitive tongue but she wondered about his fighting skills. Then there was Killua, the boy said he was an assassin before.
'I'm anxious to see what else they can do. If the book permits it.'
She glanced at Gon and Killua, both were smiling as they looked ahead.
"Hey, I see Leorio and Kurapika up ahead!" Gon said pointing in front of him.
The thee caught up to the two, Leorio had removed all the clothes on the upper half of his body, his jacket wrapped around his waist, while his tie trailed behind him around his neck. Kurapika had also removed his tabard and was in his white bodysuit.
Kurapika looked at the three, "Gon, who are they?"
"Oh, this is Killua and Sakura." Gon introduced gesturing to the two.
"Hey" Killua greeted.
"Hello." Sakura waved. Now she had officially met all of the characters she had read about by far. "How are you feeling Leorio?"
Leorio turned to her with a grin, still keeping pace even though he was winded. "I'm definitely gonna make it."
The pinkette smiled with silent approval before Gon spoke.
"We're gonna go up ahead, see you at the goal."
Kurapika nodded, "Alright."
Killua looked at Leorio, grinning "See you later old-timer."
Leorio glared back at Kurapika, "I'm not old! I'm a teenager just like the rest of you!"
For that instant, everyone froze mid-run with one leg up in the air and the other in front of them. Sakura almost tripped on the stair in front of her. She read, Leorio appeared older than he looked but she didn't know how old exactly. The way he was described and from seeing him, she assumed he had to at least be in his late twenties.
The stairs seemed endless and Sakura was beginning to think that they were. Gon, Killua, and Kurapika had moved ahead of Kurapika and Leorio who were keeping their own pace. While they continued with their race. They had to continuously maneuver out of the way of the applicants who were lying around on the stairs-having given up.
"Come on, when is this gonna end?"
"Tired?" asked Killua, though it was more in a teasing manner than concerned.
Narrowing her eyes, Sakura scoffed. "As if."
"Well, it is surprising to see that you can both keep up with me," Killua said turning to Gon, who had a slight sweat, but barely compared to other applicants.
"Really?" Gon asked, rubbing the back of his head in a bashful manner.
"Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow." Sighing in disappointment, Killua hung his head dramatically, "Man, this Hunter Exam is gonna be a breeze. That's no fun."
"Hey," Gon called, craning his head to the side. "Why do you want to become a hunter?"
Killua turned to Gon, "I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I just heard it was really hard so I thought it'd be fun." Killua was smiling again, "But this is disappointing. What about you?"
Sakura looked at Gon, she already knew the answer but the book didn't give a dialogue for the characters to speak. So she wanted to hear him say it.
"Well, my dad is a Hunter." Gon started explaining, "So I want to become a hunter like my dad."
"Mmm, what kind of Hunter is he?" asked Killua.
Sakura avoided another exhausted candidate on the stairs as she listened to Gon.
"I don't know."
Killua started laughing, "That's weird. You want to become a Hunter but you don't know anything about him?"
"Killua!" Sakura exclaimed.
"What?" the white-haired boy asked, wondering why the pinkette suddenly seemed ticked off.
Gon didn't seem deterred though, they continued running. "I was raised by Mito-san, so I've only seen my dad in pictures."
"Who's Mito-san?"
"Aunt Mito," Gon clarified for Killua "When he was twelve my dad took the Hunter exam. He passed and became a hunter. Then he left the island."
Sakura noticed that Gon hadn't stopped smiling while he explained the story to them, she thought he would be at appear somewhat hurt, especially after what he said next.
"I want to find out why he chose to become a Hunter over being with me."
Killua and Gon then looked right at Sakura, making the pinkette move a little ways to the side away from them. "What?"
"Well, why?" Killua asked, his face looked like she was expected to know what he was talking about.
"Mmm?" Sakura played coy.
"Why do you want to become a hunter Sakura?" Gon asked, still smiling.
She was worried about this. With a nervous smile, Sakura began thinking of a story. In the end, she spoke.
"I was just curious," she told them, looking ahead of her
"Curious?" the two boys asked together.
Sakura nodded, "That's right. I wanted to see what the Hunter Exam was like so I thought I'd take a look."
Technically, she wasn't lying about her curiosity being the reason for her taking the Hunters Exam.
"That's weirder than Gon's reason," commented Killua,
"Weirder than taking it because you thought it would be fun?" Sakura remarked.
They didn't press any further on the topic, something bright caught their attention in front of them and they realized that they were reaching the end of the dark tunnel and staircase.
"Alright!" Gon and Killua picked up their speed and ran a little ways ahead of Sakura, while the pinkette kept her regular pace, smiling as she watched them speed passed the other applicants who were still running.
"Okay, no more playing around."
Pumping chakra through her legs, Sakura pushed forward, leaping over several flights of stairs, she blurred past the other applicants and was hit with a cool breeze of the outside. She stopped to look around at the outside, taking a deep breath of relief. Those hours in a dark tunnel took a toll on you. She stretched out her arms and grinned. Happy to be under the sky.
'Finally.'
Turning back she saw the examiner Satotz appear, then Gon and Killua jumping passed him screaming "GOAL"
Hand on her hip, Sakura stood in front of the two boys who seemed to have crossed the line together. "Suckers!"
"Sakura!?"
Gon and Killua looked back and forth between the tunnels exit and the pinkette in front of them, who had a rather cocky expression on her face.
"When did you-
"How-
"Guess you guys owe me dinner." Sakura stuck out her tongue at them.
Killua pointed at her in an accusing manner, "You did that move again didn't you?"
Putting her hands at the back of her head, Sakura looked up at the cloudy skies. "I don't know what you're talking about."
But she looked back at the boys with a playful grin, which they returned. The three sat down near the entrance while the other applicants started pouring out. However, Sakura found that her victory came with a penalty, and once again it was back to badgering.
"So are you gonna show us how you did that?" asked Killua.
"Nope," Sakura leaned back against the wall of the tunnel's opening.
"Satotz-san, is this where the Second Phase takes place?" Gon asked their examiner.
"No, we still have a ways to go," Satotz said
Leorio and Kurapika were some of the last to make it through the tunnel, Leorio came stumbling up the stairs completely out of breath while Kurapika simply ran up beside him. Most of the applicant who managed to keep up with the examiner was already out.
"Hey, Kurapika!" Gon called,
Panting softly, the blonde boy waved at Gon, "Hey. Is this our destination?"
"We apparently still have a long way to go," Sakura told him.
"I see," Kurapika turned to look ahead of him, "The fog is fading."
The fog was clearing in the distance and it was possible to now make out more of the surrounding area, dark shapes started to form and then make out trees and other plant life.
"The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp." Satotz said, "We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many cunning and insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Be very careful. If you let them fool you, you're dead."
Sakura swallowed hard, she hadn't read to this part of the story. She honestly wished she had been able to get through this chapter before she-got through' the chapter. She still didn't fully understand, what this business was with her name showing up in the book. At least if it was to go through a forest, this wasn't anything unusual for her.
'Well, with everything else that's happened…' Sakura stood up along with Killua and Gon as they watched the opening of the tunnel start to close. A metal door descending and one desperate applicant begging for them to wait before shutting closed.
'There's no turning back now,'
Satotz continued speaking, "These creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain their food through deceit…hence the name The Swindlers Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived."
Everyone listened quietly, contemplating what their examiner just said. Sakura was thinking very carefully, they were going to have to run through this swamp, in a fog so thick you could hardly see what was right in front of you; yet they were expected to keep track of their examiner.
'This exam is brutal,'
Sakura broke out of her thoughts when she heard a shout,
"DON'T LET THEM FOOL YOU."
Heads turned to the left, behind the walls of the tunnel a figure appeared. A man, his face covered in marks and bruises, his clothes torn as if he had been in a scuffle and lost.
"D-Don't fall for it," he said, before pointing straight at Satotz, "He's lying to you! He's an imposter! He isn't an examiner! I'm the real examiner."
Everyone started looking back and forth between Satotz and the man who claimed to be the real examiner. Questions were flying around about who was the real examiner. Sakura along with others was suspicious about this.
"Look at this…" said 'real' examiner, he pulled on something behind the wall with him and revealed a creature with a face that resembled Satotz', the limbs were long like humans but covered in hair like an ape. Gasps echoed through. Though Sakura was beginning to find this remarkably convenient. "It's a man-faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands. They love the taste of human flesh but their limbs are long and thin so they are very weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into the wetlands, where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them."
Once again he pointed at Satotz "He intends to trap every single applicant!"
Murmurs were going around the group of applicants now, on whether or not what they just heard was true. Apparently, from what Sakura was hearing, quite a few believed that Satotz wasn't who he said he was. Sakura, on the other hand, had her doubts, when she looked at Killua she saw that he too didn't seem to believe this.
Before there could be any further debate about it, there was a whizzing sound, and the 'real examiner' was lying flat on his back-dead. Embedded in his chest and head, were plain cards. However the cards weren't thrown in only one direction, on the opposite side, Satotz held several cards in between his fingers.
Following the sound of shuffling, everyone looked over to Hisoka who was dealing with a deck of cards. Obviously stating where the attack had come from.
"I see, I see," Hisoka said, "That settles it. You're the real one."
The man-faced ape that looked like Satotz ran away into the fog, leaving behind his dead companion-whom Sakura assumed was also a man-faced Ape. Satotz didn't respond, throwing the cards down. Sakura saw the way they moved through the air, that they were light and not weighted or sharp as she thought.
'Those were normal cards, yet he threw them straight through…
Hisoka began to clarify why he attacked both of them; saying that examiners were hunters selected by the committee for this duty. "Any Hunter bearing the title we seek would've been able to block that attack."
"I shall take that as a compliment, however, should you attack me for any other reason. I will report you for turning on an examiner. Are we clear?"
"Yes," Hisoka responded, unconcerned.
When put into perspective, that statement made sense. If Hisoka hadn't attacked then there would most likely be applicants following the fake examiner into the swamp to be killed. However, Sakura felt that Hisoka didn't attack for the sake of finding who was the actual examiner.
'Creeps at the chunin exams creeps at the hunter exams.' Sakura thought, craning her head to the side to see that there were vultures already eating the man-faced ape's corpse. Their beaks tearing into the flesh with little resistance.
"That would've been some of us if we had followed him," Sakura said.
"Mmm, nature sure is brutal," Leorio replied.
"We can't relax our guard," Killua added, tugging on Sakura's gloved hand.
Satotz started making his way through the exam applicants and to the front where he could address them while explaining that the creature intended to lure some them away. When he stated that some of them were obviously convinced that the story about him being a fake was true, there were a few nervous laughs heard in the crowd-including Leorio's.
"Do you understand?" asked Satotz, "If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exams Second Phase."
That sounded more like assurance than a warning. Satotz then announced that they were going to be moving once again. As they started to run, Sakura looked at the ground, she spotted the three cards that Hisoka had thrown at Satotz. Pinching both ends she bent them downwards, it flexed easily. Her eyes narrowed.
'How-
"Hey, Sakura!" Gon called, "Let's go!"
Putting the card in her back pocket, she started running over to the group "Coming!"
Sakura didn't know it yet but, she had just ended the third and fourth chapter of the book and even though it was a thought placed at the back of her mind, she did not know what it meant to have her name appear in the story and the effect it would have.