Shuffle The Deck

Chapter 4 - Drawn Cards

She wanted to reply. She wanted to step away. She wanted to forget about what had just occurred. But she couldn't. His voice made her shiver, and she had no choice but to see what he meant. 

"Pick six, my dear," he coaxed softly. 

With a raised eyebrow, she drew six different cards from the deck in his calloused hands and placed them in his palm. He chuckled and brought his face even closer to hers. "Good girl."

She backed away, her eyes glowing profusely as he fiddled with the cards between his fingers. He caught her gaze and mouthed "Watch this."

She did as she was told, arms folded. Stupidly, she found this entertaining.

He readied the cards and let them fly in a swift motion. The speed of them traveled like daggers, each one acting as a deadly weapon. Her eyes followed the cards aimed at the imposter, who kept saying that Satotz was the fake examiner.

In a mere instance, all three cards she had chosen buried themselves in his chest with a cutting motion, killing him instantly. Her eyes widened as he tumbled to the ground, exposing the truth.

Hisoka chuckled, playing with his cards a bit more. Lilah's jaw hung slightly open. Smooth, she thought.

"I see, I see. That settles it then. So you are the real one," he sneered in a smart tone. Satotz said nothing, just kept his calm posture for the time being. Hisoka continued rearranging his cards, while voices of disbelief rang from all over.

"The examiners are Hunters. Each is hand-picked by the exam committee, to do this job without pay. Anyone who holds the title we're vying for ourselves could have deflected that attack, and quite easily, I might add."

Hisoka folded the cards back in his pocket, crossing his arms over his body with a smirk. Satotz explained that if he ever attacks him again, he'll have him immediately disqualified, which sent people into murmurs and soft chatter. Lilah, however, kept her gaze on his cards, his weapon.

"Is that clear?" Satotz asked sternly.

"Of course," he answered, a grin playing on his lips.

"Now, please follow me," he spoke as he began to run, not losing his pace. Lilah stayed close to Illumi, making sure not to leave his side. However, when there was a point in time when Kurapika asked her to come over to speak with him, she reluctantly left him. Illumi promised to find her and help her to the Second Phase if she got lost, so reassurance was on her side.

"Alright, what did you want to talk about?"

Kurapika let out a small sigh as he ran, and looked into her eyes.

"Is there a connection between you and the man with pins in his head, by any chance?"

"No. I was curious about him. Wait, do you know anything?" She bluntly lied.

"Unfortunately no, I don't. Anyway, how's your head?"

"Much better, I just needed to walk around a bit and it went away."

"Perfect, I was worried for nothing."

"Looks that way," she smiled kindly at him.

She waved and zoomed ahead of him, trying to find Illumi in all this fog. After she activated Gyo, the search began, and she ran for a bit before catching a glimpse of someone not too far ahead. Instead of going straight, she curved to the side, making sure the person didn't notice her. Zetsu came into play and she finally saw who was standing in the middle of the misty haze.

"We'll spare your life if you promise you'll never take the Hunter Exam again!"

The men pointed their spears at Hisoka, who seemed completely unfazed by their antics. Lilah stayed hidden, making sure no one felt her presence using Zetsu to her full ability.