A Lily Among Blades

Chapter 3

Possible trigger warning. Please read at your own risk.

Few words were spoken as we ran through the deadly swamp. Kil, Gon, and I were close behind Satotz-san while Kurapika and Leorio ran further back. 

"I have an ominous feeling. We should move closer to the examiner," Killua said. Gon turned to call back to the other two boys.

"BAKA!" Leorio yelled in response. "If we had the energy, we'd already be up there!"

We kept running. Somewhere along the way, I drifted away from Gon and Kil.

"Oh, come on... Where did they go?"

Hopefully, I mumbled that, but nobody was looking at me weirdly, so I was hopeful. I shifted my gaze behind me. Leorio and Kurapika were gone too. Ponzu was closer to Satotz-san, but I wasn't concerned. I'd seen her with another boy, Pokkle I think.

Oooooh! Ponzu has a boyfriend! I thought. I'll tease her later.

The clown dude was nowhere in sight. That made me slightly worried. I looked around again. There was Killua!

"Where's Gon?" I asked. Killua shrugged. 

"He ran off earlier. Probably to find the old man and Kurapika." I snickered at his nickname for Leorio. 

We ran past the swamps, past the animals. We'd just gotten to the end of the field of sleeping plants. Killua and I were talking lightly when my foot sunk further into the ground than it should have. I tripped, yelping slightly. But my foot didn't come loose. Several audible cracks came from my ankle, making me cry out in pain.

"Lily!" Killua exclaimed as another applicant stepped on a flower next to my face. I drifted into unconsciousness, deliriously hearing Killua call my name.

Unrelenting throbbing woke me up. Everything was too bright. My head felt foggy and stuffed with cotton. Not really seeing anything other than white, I shut my eyes and lifted my hands to rub at them.

"-d's awa-" Random noises and fragments of sentences drifted through my head.

"-ly... Lily? Are you awake?"

I finally groaned and opened my eyes. Gon was right next to my face. I nodded, squinting. Kurapika was holding down my left leg, Killua my right, and Leorio was doing something to my ankle. Our surroundings slowly came back into focus. I was sitting against a tree on the edge of a clearing. Other applicants were milling about in front of a giant set of doors. There was a fair amount of space between our two groups.

A jolt of pain shot up my right leg, making me bite down on my hand to refrain from swearing like a sailor. Gon still has his innocence after all. A second burst of pain and I bit down harder. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, almost making me gag.

"Done." Leorio stood up. "Oh, good. She's awake."

Evidently, nobody had heard Gon comforting me and tolerating me squeezing his hand hard enough to break it.

Killua looked up, relief evident on his face. I flushed slightly, for whatever reason. Kurapika took my hand, seeing the bite marks.

"Leorio, Lily's hand is bleeding." I asked the blond what happened. I noticed Leorio's swollen face.

"Ask Mr. I-won't-tell-anyone-what-happened over there. Gon and I got here fifteen minutes or so ago to see you with a broken ankle," Kurapika murmured so Killua couldn't hear. He probably heard anyway.

"So, as soon as Leorio woke up from being punched by Hisoka- the clown dude," he pointed. "We got him to set and splint your ankle."

I nodded as Leorio finished disinfecting my bite, me flinching every few seconds. He then wrapped and safety-pinned it. I nodded in thanks, rubbing the long scar down my forearm.