The Otonari's Last (Hunter X Hunter Fanfic) [Indefinite Hiatus]

VIII - the Fourth Phase

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on having escaped Trick Tower," a man with a purple mohawk - who I assume to be Lippo - says as all twenty-four of us gather loosely around him. "Only the Fourth Phase and the Final Phase remain. The Fourth Phase will take place over there, on Zevil Island." He points over his shoulder at an island we can make out in the distance. "Let us proceed."

Lippo snaps his fingers, summoning another man rolling a square cart. The taller man stops the cart between himself and Lippo. I notice a small box sitting on top.

"I will need you to draw lots," Lippo explains. "This is to determine who will hunt and who will be hunted."

I blink in shock. Excuse me? Is this some kind of real-world version of "The Most Dangerous Game"?

"In here are twenty-five numbered cards. In other words, your ID numbers are on the cards. Now, I need each of you to draw a card in the order by which you exited the tower. Will the first person please come forward?"

I take a step back from the box when I see 44, the creepy clown, walking forward. I note the cuts on his shoulder and side.

"I knew that guy was a force to be reckoned with," I mumble. Gon looks up at me.

"You mean Hisoka? Yeah, we had a run-in with him during the First Phase," he tells me.

Hisoka... So that's his name. One less person I have to call by their tag number.

When I walk up after 294, I reach in and pluck out the second card my fingers touch. As I walk back to stand with the boys, I notice that one side of the card is red and the other has some kind of sticker plastered to it. Applicants continue to walk up and take a card in their assigned order. Once everyone has one, Lippo tells us to remove the seals from the cards. I tug it off and read the number written.

105? Who's that? I glance around slyly, finally catching the same number written on the tag of the man with a bruised-looking nose.

"The card indicates your target," Lippo announces. I bite the inside of my lip, my fingers trailing over the number tag on my chest. "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. Naturally, you're free to use any method you choose to steal the ID tags - including killing your target and talking the tag off the corpse."

After Lippo explains the point system, we board a small boat to take us to Zevil Island. We take off almost immediately, so I find a comfortable spot with Leorio and Kurapika to wait out the trip.

"I'd like to commend everyone on board for their excellent work during the Hunter Exam's Third Phase!" a woman on the boat with us congratulates through her mic headset. "I will serve as your guide. My name is Khara! It will take two hours for this boat to reach Zevil Island."

I sigh at the lengthy travel time, tuning her out and pulling out a snack to munch on. I offer Leorio and Kurapika a pack of pretzels each, which they happily accept.

"The battle has already begun," Kurapika mutters from my left.

"Yeah," I agree, nodding.

"Everyone's removed their tags and hidden them," Leorio notes. I had pulled mine off as soon as we sat down on the boat - giving my "hunter," if you will, just enough time to find me.

Wouldn't want to ruin someone else's chances, right? Or maybe I'll just enjoy the challenge.

Unless it's Hisoka.

I probably should've thought this through better.

"Speaking hypothetically..." Leorio mutters, speaking to Kurapika and I. "If either of you happened to be my target, I wouldn't show you any mercy."