Miracles in a Lifetime

V • PHASE ONE (continued) ☓ UNKNOWN FEELINGS

     "Please, do try and not be fooled by your surroundings, and make sure to stay close on my tail. Otherwise, you may fall prey to the numerous man-eating creatures lurking by," Satotz warns.

     He turns around to head towards the Phase Two site, when all of a sudden a man stops him in his tracks, claiming that he is a shape-shifting monster — a fraud. This causes everyone to go into a panic, anxiously murmuring amongst themselves about what to believe and who to follow.

     I sigh loudly in frustration as people look my way. They turn away once my aura starts to radiate ominously from me, and I focus back onto the situation playing out, only to see three cards darting my way. I catch them effortlessly in between my fingers right before they slice through me, but then I notice several more zipping past me towards Gon and Killua. I flick the cards in my hand to the ground and dash to catch the ones heading towards my new allies.

     Once I intercept the cards heading to the two boys with both of my hands, I sigh in relief and look over to them. They gape at me with shock spread across their faces.

     "Tenji-san! Did you get hurt? Are you okay?" Gon asks with concern now written all over his face. I nod in response.

     "Wh-why did you do that? W-we just met, yet you saved us right when you noticed that we were in trouble," Killua says with a flustered tone. "Why?"

     His confusions makes me stiffen in realization. Why did I react right away? Was it on instinct?

     No, it can't be. I know myself more than anyone. I've seen many people in danger — including those I've killed — and I've never given them a second thought. If I were to see people about to die, I'd just watch in amusement. If I were ordered to kill someone, I'd do it without a wink of concern.

     Maybe it's because I knew that the people I was ordered to kill were felons.

     I don't know what's exactly happening, nor do I care anymore. It's not like I ever wanted to be a killer, a monster. I was forced, I was tortured to. If I didn't listen to Ryouko, she would've killed me for rejecting it, knowing that back then, I still feared for my life.

     "Hello? Tenji-san?" Gon waves his hands in front of me. I glance at the two boys once again, observing that their faces adorn the expression of worry. It's quite uncomfortable, this foreign feeling of having people worry for me. I look away with a frown and start walking to Satotz.

     I don't like what's happening to me. It's so weird, how I've gotten so... weird.

     The only person I thought that I'd ever care for was Ren, even though he's older than me. I guess in my defense, he's only older biologically. He is a handful to deal with sometimes, always eating and acting child-like.

     Turning my attention back at the person who threw the cards, my eyes narrow as they zero onto the clown licking his lips. His aura oozes intimidatingly with danger and peril, but I am not affected as much. Just by looking at him, I can tell that he's just a lunatic searching for a good fight with strong opponents.

     He's definitely at least a little stronger than me, if not on par, but I believe I can still take him down. I send him a glare as he continues smirking at me pedophilically. Despite me scowling at him, he shows no reaction.

     Oh. No wonder he's unaffected — my hood is still covering my eyes. How annoying.

     Satotz starts speed-walking to the second Phase site and the rest of us follow as the fake examiner gets eaten by a couple of vulture-like birds.

     The pace is as slow as ever, and I get more impatient by the minute. I have been at Satotz's heels the entire time. But after a few more kilometers, we finally reach the area.

     The examiner stops and I slow my pace to a walk while heading past him to lean against the wall. I cross my arms over my chest and rest my foot on the wall.

     "You are the first. I'm quite surprised," Satotz states, looking in my direction with a blank stare.

     "Don't underestimate people just by their appearances," Ren declares with a decisive yet calm voice. Satotz nods once as an apology and stays quiet, facing the fog while waiting for the other contestants.

     A few minutes later, several people start coming in dragging their feet, their faces and clothes sticky with sweat, and others show no sign of fatigue in their steps.

     All of a sudden, I get a suspicious feeling that tingles the little hairs on the back of my neck. Gon and his friends aren't here yet. Keeping my faith, I give them the benefit of the doubt that they're okay.

     To distract myself, I play with Ren. The red dragon flies in front of me to entertain me, and I pet his head. Then, I start poking his sides, until he finally gets irritated and grunts with a pout. I give him a small smile of playfulness and motion for him to come closer. He obeys and I give his small figure an unexpected embrace. I don't know why, but I felt like cuddling him looking cute with a pout.

     I let go as I feel someone's gaze on us and glance towards them. Seeing that it's Gon and his friends, I let out a small sigh in relief. The wannabe doctor is set down from being carried as the other friends look at him with worry, which makes me smile unconsciously.

     "Alright, everyone. You will now continue on to the next step of the Exam. Good luck."

     The large gates gradually open immediately after Satotz leaves, but I still feel his presence. Before he wished us well, he seemed as if he wanted to observe us, so I can tell that he must've gone somewhere to spy on us.

     I learned how to figure that out from my training with Ryouko. She taught me to predict what my opponent will do by concentrating on their movements and where they're looking. I obtained the skill quickly, and doing it became a habit.

     It's not that I hate that, but I could care less what their move will be. It would be nice to get shocked or excited in a fight instead of achieving a boring, constant victory in every battle, all the while feeling unimpressed.

     "Welcome to Phase Two of the Hunter Exam," a female voice shouts, interrupting my thoughts.

     Hmm... Cooking. Why do I get a feeling that this is going to be quite troublesome?

EDITED ON: Thursday, November 7th, 2019