MOON ; hxh & kny

CH.3 | SECOND PHASE

✧．SECOND PHASE

"𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄- the creatures here are witty, their tricks are endless and deadly. this is not their whim, but the basis of their entire ecosystem. that's why it's called the 'swindler's swamp.'" the examiner explained, warning the examinees yet another time.

"follow me closely, and stay focused. if you don't, you're lost." y/n dusted herself off and stood up, stretching. muichiro did the same.

"that's a lie! he's lying!" someone shouted. turning around, it looked like an injured person- staggering towards them with a limp. he also seemed to be dragging something behind him, but it wasn't very clear from that angle.

"he's an imposter! he's not the examiner!" the man yelled, pointing to the current examiner. "I'M the real examiner!"

the current examiner looked at him with an apathetic expression, his eyebrows not even raised in surprise. as if he knew this would happen.

"an imposter?! but...then who, or what is he?" some middle aged man said. "I'll show you!" the injured man responded, finally revealing whatever he was dragging.

"oh!" y/n covered her mouth in faux shock, seeing a thin...monkey like thing with the examiner's face. muichiro rolled his eyes, unamused with the drama. this was a waste of time, could they just progress on already?

"they lust after fresh human flesh, but are too weak of limb to capture prey on their own." the man 'revealed'. "so they disguise themselves and lead a crowd of humans to the wetlands where, in coorporation with other creatures, they capture them alive!"

y/n yawned.

"this time, they're out to sweep up the entire hunter applicant pool!" he announced dramatically.

muichiro yawned.

just then, three cards flew towards the man- lodging themselves in his face. he let out a choking sound, before dropping to the ground with a thud. meanwhile, the real examiner seemed to have had cards thrown towards him too, except, he had caught them before they could have dealt any damage.

"heh heh. i see." the perpetrator chuckled, shuffling the cards in his hand with exceptional skill. meanwhile, the supposed-to-be-dead monkey glanced at the man, before sprinting away upon realising that he was dead. wow, what a good friend.

however, another two cards where thrown towards it, effectively killing it off.

y/n and muichiro looked at each other, befofre shrugging in sync.

"that monkey was playing possum!" the examinees came to a shocking realisation. "now we know." the clown...joker? said. "he's the real thing." the examiner flicked away the cards he caught, looking unamused.

"examiners are hunters who do this, without pay, at the request of the judging commitee. a simple hunter, which we ourselves aspire to become, would have no trouble dodging my attack." the man explained.

"i shall take that as a compliment." the examiner said. "but, the next attack on me, for any reason, will be grounds for immediate disqualification." "sure." he replied casually.

then, a flock of bird like creatures swooped in, and begun to dig into their meal...the dead man faced ape. ah, the way of nature.

"do you feel it?" muichiro said, but he didn't look over to the girl. "hmm?" she replied, smiling. "the joker's gaze? yeah, i do. his bloodlust as well. reminds me of a demon." y/n said, amused.

"right." muichiro agreed, hand resting on the hilt of his katana. "should i do the honours?" y/n turned her head to look at him, before placing a hand on the top of his head.

"you can't, mui." she gave him a few pats, before retracting her hand. "you know he's just playing." muichiro frowned, but didn't say anything in response. this guy wasn't a threat for now, although his bloodlust said otherwise. he was testing them, taunting them to make a move. 'come on, fight me' was what he was trying to convey.

and acknowledging it would bring more harm that good, anyway.

"let's go." y/n nudged him, gesturing to the examinees whom already begun running after the examiner. muichiro sighed, but obeyed.

"do you see the kids?" y/n asked. both her and muichiro had advanced to the front of the group. "no." he replied, taking a swift glance behind him. "they seem to be close behind, though. and being watched by the creep."

y/n hummed, seeing the fog getting thicker as they advanced. "oh well. they'll be fine, probably. killua seems skilled!" she smiled, muichiro sighing. "he's no better from a demon. you know he's killed before."

y/n hummed in response, the fog shrouding her figure. "an assassin at that age, but could you tell that he doesn't want to kill anymore?" she asked, muichiro frowning. he was definitely not an empath, so no.

"eyes," y/n continued, her figure slowly being shrouded completely in the fog. "are  windows to the soul."

she disappeared within.

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