Shuffle The Deck

Chapter 1 - Enter Delilah Suibami

Stepping off the boat, she folded her palms to the sky, letting out a yawn. The ride from the Zoldyck Estate to Dolle Harbor was a couple of days long, but she had finally arrived in port. Most of the contestants on the ship had failed, so she and four others were the only ones who passed the first step to becoming a Licensed Hunter.

It really wasn't her dream, but since she knew Illumi would be taking it, she couldn't pass up this opportunity. He was almost never around now, so any chance she got to see him, she took it.

The two were basically inseparable until Illumi began taking more assassination gigs, and Lilah had been practicing her Nen for years on end. Whenever Illumi did come to visit, she would seize the opportunity and show him how much she'd improved. Despite having learned Nen thirteen years ago, she had been keeping her abilities mostly secret and not using them often. However, she and Illumi usually sparred quite a bit, getting her more familiar with direct combat.

"So the exam's in Zaban City, isn't it?"

"That's what I heard. C'mon, let's get to the bus before it leaves!"

She stared at the group of overzealous men curiously. She pursed her lips and faced the map a few strides before her. The easy way out for the small-minded. 

Her brisk walk towards the sign was thwarted by a small voice, her ears perking up as she heard talking from behind her. Pretending to have forgotten something on the dock, she raced towards the voices and right past them. As soon as they were in earshot, she looked around the ground, trying to find something that didn't exist.

"Oh yeah, let me give you a bit of advice as a small token of my appreciation," an old captain said.

"Advice, sir?" Came the voice of a young boy, no older than thirteen she would have guessed.

"Look," he pointed in the direction of a mountainous hill. "Do you see that big cedar tree? The one up on the top of that hill?"

"Uh-huh," the boy looked curiously at the hill, eying the tree.

Lilah listened in, now making her way back toward the map. She had heard enough but slowed down her pace to catch the man's last words to the small boy.

"You'll wanna make your way there first," he lowered his voice, "It's a shortcut to the exam site."

An upturned grin smeared itself onto her face.

With a quick look back, she noticed two more bodies standing next to the boy she had seen a few seconds ago. Trying to identify their features, she locked eyes with the blonde-haired one.

She cursed silently and quickly turned her head back in the direction she was walking in. She did, however, determine their appearances.

The young boy who spoke with the captain had spiky greenish-black hair, as well as a green jacket and shorts. He had piercing brown eyes and always seemed to wear a smile. He sported long green boots and a yellow bag on his back, carrying what seemed to look like a fishing pole.

The one who had made eye contact with her had shoulder-length blonde hair with unruly bangs, as well as gray eyes. He was wearing a white training suit underneath what seemed like a blue tabard decorated with a red-colored hem.

The last one was quite tall, with a short spiky black crew cut and small brown eyes. He was in a snappy blue suit, with tea-shade sunglasses on the brim of his nose. He carried a black and red briefcase and looked laid back and calm.

She walked through a deserted town, trying to look for any human faces. Sure enough, she reached a corner where she turned and saw a whole bunch of people. There was an old woman sitting in the middle of the road, on a wooden desk connected to a backboard that covered the road ahead.