Chapter 7: Continue x or x Not

Right at the signal, both Leorio and Kurapika shot through the swamp, the two trusting the other to get themselves as far away as they could from the magician.

The blonde kept running, his heart beating fast under him when he suddenly heard shouts echo in the air. He paused for a bit, his periwinkle shoes scraping against the ground.

Leorio?

Kurapika was about to rush back when he heard rustling behind some bushes.

"Who's there!"

His dark eyes narrowed as he held his breath steady, trying to stay calm. Kurapika took in a deep breath as he waited.

However, the plant before him remained as still as stone.

"Tch."

After a few beats, the Kurta lowered his chained swords. Enough of this, I need to get back to Leori-

Kurapika screamed as a hand suddenly shot out through the foliage.

The hand felt around a bit, before quickly dropping back down onto the ground. The blonde stumbled away from the pale hand, his heart beating wildly in his chest like a tumble of marbles thrown into an electric fan. Wha-!?

"...elp."

His thin eyebrows rose as he recognized the owner of the voice. Cautiously, the young male stepped forward as he pulled away the tough branches of the bush, peering through the thin leaves. Soft blue hair poked through the dark green, confirming his suspicions.

"Irevin."

The bluenette only managed another groan as Kurapika pulled him out of the bushes. He gasped inwardly as he took in the state of the older man.

How has he not lost consciousness?

The man's face was encased with mud and sweat, blood pulsing under his skin as he took in ragged breaths. His lips were dry and cracking despite the heavy moisture of the mist, as if he had not drunk anything for a month. He looked as if he was about to keel over in exhaustion at any second.

Kurapika held the man steady as he looked down at him. Blurry eyes met calm ones.

"Se...n." Irevin croaked, barely able to even get out a word. Everything just felt so dry to him, "H-elp. Her."

The blonde just frowned as he quickly put two and two together. Sen and Irevin had been together at the second part of the first phase, but had somehow separated due to some circumstance. His dark eyes scanned over the tired man.

Kurapika heavily doubted a girl so heavily intuned to helping strangers would suddenly leave them all alone in the swamp. It had either been Sen was caught in some trap or had gone ahead to fight something.

Alone.

All to ensure that Irevin, who was already dead tired from the first part of the run, to not have to exert any more energy than necessary.

The blonde growled in irritation as he released his hold on the man, "She would never have gotten into trouble if you hadn't begged so pitifully back at the gate. We both know that it would have been better for you to just stay behind."

Irevin slumped over as he gave a deep sigh.

There was no excuse.

It was because of him that Sen was late in the run. It was because of him that she was forced to track down the examiner through the dense marsh. Forced to detect and avoid every single trap and danger along the way. Forced to pull him through it all while he did nothing but follow.

But then, that was why he was standing here right now.

Kurapika blinked as steely lavender eyes gaze down at him.

"I-know," the man said hoarsely, licking over his chapped lips, "That's why-I looked for you."

Irevin was expecting to be punched by the way the blonde was glaring at him. Instead, his eyes widened in surprise as the blonde quickly grasped his limp hand and slung it over his small shoulders.

"Then let's go. If you're here, then I might know where she was heading."

Dragging the stumbling man, Kurapika quickly raced back to the clearing.

Where Hisoka and Leorio was at.

A low grumble vibrated deeply through the swamp. A dark shadow slowly stumping through the thick mist.

Grr...

It was a massive being. The top of its head brushed against the leaves of the tallest trees, rustling the branches. Tough, green skin shined over it, with an oval of yellow stretching across the wide belly.

The Frog-in-Waiting was slowly slumbering through the wetlands. It had grown so large that it was now impossible for it to freely jump high into the air. The frog raised its legs, slugging them across the wet marsh as it hit the ground with a heavy thump, forced to crawl over the grass. Its eyes suddenly wavered as tremors shook through its body, an unpleasant bloating rolling in its stomach.

Grrr-REEHCK!

Viscous fluid suddenly burst out from the frog's mouth, emptying its bulging stomach. The beast quivered, before shuffling back the way it came, glad to be finally rid of the nauseousness.

There, slopped over in the puddle of goo, were two young boys.

"Pah!" Gon coughed, rubbing a sleeve to his face, trying to get rid of the slime. He glanced over to the large amphibian, "Hehe...I suppose we didn't taste all that good to him."

Killua spat as he tried to clear his sinuses, "I think this was more of the reason." His lips turned up to a smirk as he lifted up an opened can of orange soda, a stray drop falling down to the mushy puddle.

"Ooh! That orange juice from Tonpa-san!" Gon laughed, quickly getting up as he wiped his hands on his shorts, "I guess we have him to thank for getting us out of there."

The pale boy sniffed, he rubbed his nose harshly against his sleeve, "Che. I could've gotten out of that situation by myself without much trouble."

Gon simply laughed, before suddenly blinking. He sniffed the air, his delicate nose twitching as a familiar scent wafted up to him. His eyes widened.

"Killua! This way! Hurry!"

"Eh-?" Killua barey had any time to respond before a sticky hand grasped his pale one and quickly tugged him through the trees. Though slightly irked at being forced to follow, the little assassin felt his curiosity spark up as he followed the spiky haired boy. His eyes widened slightly before swiftly dulling back down.

"Oh."

.

"Leorio-san!"

Gon quickly rushed down towards the man as soon as he spotted his prone form lying on the ground. Killua simply shuffled alongside him, giving a casual glance to the older male. He's not dead. That should be a plus.

The spiky haired boy quickly shook the man, trying to wake him up. "Leorio-san! Leorio-san!"

Leorio gave a loud groan as he slowly blinked back to life. His face scrunched against the light as he tried to sit himself up.

"Keh. What happe-"

"Leorio!"

The three looked up to see Kurapika staring down at them worriedly. Over his shoulder was Irevin, looking about halfway ready to be sent to the underworld.

Leorio searched frantically around the area, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Wh-ere's Sen?"

"Eh?"

.

.

Pain.

Just that one word cannot even hope to describe the feeling she has right now.

Sen groaned as she felt her body twist. She felt sparks and flickers of hot blood cut through her stomach, slicing itself all the way up her throat. She should have been accustomed to this sort of sensation by now. The rips in her muscles. The bruises on her organs. The fractures in her bones. It shouldn't have effected her so much.

And in a way, it didn't.

The girl turned her head, squinting at the bright sunlight as her consciousness quickly shook off the inky darkness. If she had a normal body, she would have been dead from the first strike. If not for a flimsy cover of chakra shifting above her abdomen just in time, Sen would be just about ready for another Restart.

Not only that, if she had not encountered this sort of traumatic pain many lifetimes before, the shock of the blow alone would have sent her into a comatose state for an entire week. The pain itself would have left her crippled for months.

In truth, she was long accustomed to this sort of treatment upon her bodies.

So the girl awoke within a matter of minutes from Hisoka's unrestrained strike, blinking. A blurry shadow above her soon came into focus and she felt her heart drop.

Now Sen was desperately wishing she had never opened her eyes.

A pale magician grinned down happily at the girl, his thin eyes turning into slits as he twirled a strand of black hair between his clawed fingers.

"Good morning, little girl~."

Sen froze immediately, her dark eyes connecting to glowing yellow ones. The heavy fog quickly clearing out of her mind. She was laying dangerously close to the pink haired man.

Too close.

The girl tilted her head slightly as she felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach as she felt taut muscles underneath her. Oh glob.

She was lying on his lap, facing upwards at the smiling jester. Hisoka simply hummed with amusement as he played with a lock of black hair between his fingers.

"You woke up faster than I expected."

Sen just stared up blankly at the pale face, eyes wide, her pulse beating rapidly beneath her skin.

It.

On.

His lap.

Her head.

What.

He.

Just. Head. Lap. Her.

What.

A shout choking in her throat, she quickly forced herself up, pushing herself as far away as she could from the man. She cringed as a sudden burst of pain blasted over her midsection.

"What are-" The girl coughed midsentence, drips of red sliding down the corners of her mouth, "What do you want?"

Hisoka just chuckled, subtly licking the edge of his lips as his yellow eyes trailed along that crimson drop. He felt his blood pump as her gaze burned down at him, but he held himself. The girl was just so enticing. So exquisite. His fingers clawed at the ground, his long nails digging in into the earth.

No, he had to hold himself. If not, he might accidentally break his new toy before he gets to solve the pieces. His lips stretched to a tight smile.

"I just wanted to help a fellow competitor out, Sen~."

The thin girl shivered as she heard her name roll off the man's tongue with ease, dripping like a melted lollipop. Why was he getting so familiar with her?

Sen glowered slightly at the magician, not believing him in the slightest as she placed a hand over her stomach. She barely had any chakra left for use, but revealing her healing ability to this guy was just plain stupid.

His dark voice suddenly twirled around her ears, forcing her to look up at him. His golden eyes sparkled up at the girl, "After all, I was just so inspired by your performance back at the gate."

Sen stared at him warily, taking note of that odd tilt to his voice. Her dark eyes subtly glanced around the area, noting a few people taking their breaths underneath the trees. She spied the crop of lavender hair a distance away, patient eyes staring out to the marsh. So they were at the end of the run. Or at least at the next stop.

The girl looked around searchingly, hoping to spy a blue suit or a lock of white hair. Where were the others? Were they still stuck back in the swamp? Did they not make it? Her breath paused.

She needed to go back for them.

The girl was about to stand up when Hisoka suddenly moved forward, a clawed hand reaching out to her.

Sen quickly flicked a hand, feeling her muscles tear against each other. The earth suddenly spiked up from the ground, the pointed end stopping abruptly right below the man's jugular.

"Stop," Sen huffed, clenching the front of her shirt, "Don't come any closer."

Hisoka felt his fingers twitched as the sharp earth scraped at the skin below his jaw. He can feel his blood start to boil. So fast. So precise. His golden eyes gleamed as they met burning black ones, a small hand tense in the air. One snap of a slim finger and his throat would be gone. If he let it.

Dark eyes widened in surprise as the man laughed breathily, slowly pacing back down onto the grass. Grinning, he pointed a pale finger to the edge of his lips, the claw tapping ever so gently on the side.

"You got a little something here."

The girl blinked, tentatively licking at the corners of her mouth, registering the metallic taste. Grunting, she quickly wiped away the blood with the back of her hand. That's it. I'm done. Her legs shook as she attempted to lift herself up and walk away from the man, only to feel a rib dig deep into a spleen.

She bit back a groan of pain, forcing herself to see past the sparkle of stars scattering across her vision.

Hisoka hummed in slight disappointment, "It's seems we won't be passing this exam together, Sen."

With that, he leapt into the trees and vanished out of sight.

"Don't worry, Hisoka," Sen chuckled in dry amusement, "A couple of broken ribs aren't enough to stop me."

A/N: Ahhh gashhh. How long have I been gone!? Weeks. Months. Years. Decades. OTL

College was worse than what I thought. I didn't have the time to work on this story at all. T_T

For that, I apologize for the terribly long wait. m(TAT)m

And I'm going to apologize even more, because I don't think I'm able to update this story as often as I used to. I have, unfortunately, been shackled with new chains called 'Responsibilities'. x_x

Being old sucks.

I don't know when I'll be able to update this fic again, but I do know I want to finish it, at least in this lifetime. I do hope this chapter was entertaining enough, if not then a bit more appeasing than that cliffhanger from the last chapter. Haha.

(Though reading all your guys's theories about that click made me giggle. But none are right and I don't think any future guesses will be.)

Info that may or may not be interesting to you:

When Sen ended up in Gakuen Alice, she found that her Alice ability was Aging. However, she was only able to make things get older and in an accidental use of her powers, aged herself to an old granny and then quickly died the next week. She was such a derp.