Just the Maid

Chapter 27- The Hunters and the Hunted: Part One

I waited for who knows how long. A little mechanism in the wall provided food at each mealtime. After a while, the pink-haired guy from the first phase came out of a door to my far right.

"Well hello..." he said to me. I glanced at him, then looked away. He didn't say anything to me after that. He just gave me this really creepy vibe.

Eventually, more people arrived. Everyone sat in silence.

'Where are they? I figured that they would be done by now...' I wondered.

"One hour remains," the announcer called from the hidden loudspeakers. Now, I was getting antsy. I had to do something before I went crazy. I stood. Everyone looked at me, but I didn't care. I started pacing in front of where I was sitting. More time passed.

"One minute remains," the voice said. I started cracking my knuckles. As soon as I cracked my last knuckle, a door started opening. I swiveled around to see Gon, Killua, and Kurapika standing in the doorway. Killua was looking around for something. When he saw me, he stopped, and smiled. I walked over to him and the others.

"Hey, glad to see you're alive," he said. I glared at him. "What?"

I punched him in the arm. Not too hard, but just enough to show him how upset I was.

"Ow! What was that for!?" He rubbed his arm like he was actually hurt.

"You scared me, you prick..." I whispered. He just chuckled. I felt my eyes start to tear up. Why am I crying!? It's not a big deal!

"It's not a big deal, stop being such a baby..." I whispered to myself. I used the edge of my cloak to wipe away my tears. Suddenly, two arms wrapped themselves around me.

"I'm sorry I scared you. But don't cry. Your crying face is pretty ugly." I gasped in surprise.

"B-But you've never seen me cry... Have you?"

"You'd be surprised how much I see. My sneaking skills are on point."

"Yeah..."

"Hey! Lovebirds! You coming or what?" Leorio shouted. I immediately blushed and scooted away. Killua laughed at me. He picked up his skateboard and beckoned me to go with him.

We rushed out into the bright sunlight. I shielded my eyes from the sudden sun and took in a breath of fresh air. When my eyes adjusted, I surveyed the rest of the contestants.

"Congratulations on having escaped Trick Tower, everyone," a voice said. It was a man in large, round glasses and black outfit. His hair was purple and stuck straight up from the middle of his head, the rest shaved clean off.

"Only two more phases remain. The next one will take place on the island behind us: Zevil Island. Let us proceed." With that, he snapped his fingers high into the air. A man in a yellow outfit and long ears wheeled out a box with a slit on top.

"I will need you to draw lots." Murmurs spread around the crowd.

"This is to determine who will hunt and who will be hunted," the guy said. He grinned an evil grin. "But there are 25 of you, so a random number has been picked to be hunted by two people. So, in the box are 25 numbered cards, two being the same number. These numbers are the ID numbers on your buttons. Now, I need each of you to draw a card, in the same order that you exited the tower. Will the first person come forward?"

I stepped forward to the box. Some people murmured and gasped a little in surprise. I started to reach my hand in when he stopped me.

"Sorry, but in order for this game to work, we need to have your face showing, that way we know you're not a native or something." He grinned again. I just pointed to my button. "Yes, but they could steal it-" I didn't wait for his excuses, so I grabbed a card and turned to leave. I stepped away, but he grabbed my hood. I spun around and jerked back, but my cloak had already been pulled off.

'Dammit!' I screamed internally. Gasps of surprise filtered through like a tidal wave. I gritted my teeth and snatched my cloak back from him. I gave him the meanest glare I could, but when I did, he just looked shocked.

"Y-You're... You're-"

"YES! That's me, thanks for blowing my cover, sir. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to my spot and cool off before I rip your head off!" I stomped back to where Killua and the others waited. Everyone was still staring at me.

"What are they so surprised about? It's not like you're the only girl here," commented Killua.

"That's not the reason," said Kurapika. He looked at him as Kurapika put his head into his hand thoughtfully. "She's Katara Dragoness, a famous singer also known as KitKat. She's ranked number one in countries across the globe."

The boys all gaped at me. I looked away, embarrassed.

"This is super cool!" said Gon, excitedly.

"I just... don't want you guys to treat me differently, alright?" I say. They nod.

The excitement finally passes and everyone retrieves their respective cards.

"Hey Killua," says Gon.

"Hm?" he replies. His hands are behind his head and I'm sitting on his skateboard.

"He said something about hunting and being hunted. Does that mean we'll be fighting each other?"

"Yeah, probably," he replies, nonchalantly. Then he walks up and grabs his card. Gon after him. Then Leorio, then Tonpa.

"Has everyone received a card? Then remove the seal," the guy says.

I peel back the seal. My eyes grow wide.

"The card indicates your target." Everyone immediately covers their numbers.

"This box has recorded which card each of you drew. This means that you're free to dispose of the cards if you wish. The objective is to steal your target's ID tag."

"Oh, so we don't need to kill each other!" someone called out.

"Naturally, you're free to use any method you choose to steal the ID tags," mohawk-man adds. "Including killing your target and taking the tag off the corpse.

"That sounds like the fastest way," said another guy.

"S-So that's what this is about?" the first guy commented.

"Dummy, there's nothing to be scared of!" chided a third guy to the first.

"Listen carefully!" called mohawk-man. Everyone turned their attention to him again. "Your target's ID tag is worth three points. Your own ID is also worth three points. All other IDs are worth one point. You need six points to advance to the Final Phase. So while on Zevil Island, you must gather enough ID tags to total six points. That is the condition for clearing the Hunter Exam's Fourth Phase."

With that, he lead us down to a boat. We boarded and settled down as the boat started to move.

"I'd like to commend everyone on board for their excellent work during the Hunter Exam's Third Phase! I will serve as your guide. My name is Khara!" A woman with a headset and a white and yellow shirt and red skirt and pink shoes stood at the head of the boat. "It will take about two hours for this boat to reach Zevil Island. All 25 applicants remaining here are automatically qualified to take next year's exam!" She winked prettily at us, all kawaii- and moe-like. "So if you fail this year, don't feel bad. You're always welcome to come and try again next year..." She trailed off a bit.

"The battle has already begun."