Hey everyone! Uh, this is my first story for this fandom and I just really liked Killua so yeah. I didn't really like how few Killua x Male OC stories there were so I decided to make my own! I was going to publish this maybe next week but I decided not to wait. I'm nearly done with Chapter 2 so expect that to be posted maybe today or tomorrow. I know I suck at writing so please bear with me. I would love reviews on what you think on this sucky story and I would love advice!

xxxxx

A young boy lazily looked at the other examinees from under his hood. He lightly pulled on his light purple cloak to cover him more and leaned back onto the tunnel wall behind him. He huffed softly when the edge of his cloak caught on his badge he pinned on his black sleeveless shirt and shifted the fabric around the numbered badge. He shut his red eyes to rest for a while only to open them again when he heard footsteps coming near him. He glanced upward, making sure the shadows of his hood covered his eyes, and saw a middle aged man coming straight for him.

"I noticed you over here alone and thought I would come say hi." The chubby man smiled. He stared at the man in response. After a few minutes of no response the man cleared his throat and tried again. "You're a rookie, right? My name's Tonpa and this will be my 35th time taking the exam." The young boy raised an eyebrow in response. That shouldn't be something to brag about. The man must not be here just for the exam if he failed that many times. It's either that or he's a complete idiot. "Listen," the boy coldly stared at Tonpa. "I don't want to talk so leave me alone."

The man's smile twitched as his eyes hardened. He sighed softly and reached up to adjust his hood to let his red eyes with slit pupils be seen. He tilted his head up and looked right into Tonpa's eyes.

'What is wrong with this kid? His eyes aren't normal either, dammit. I'll have to find another rookie to ruin.'

Tonpa scurried away with a quick goodbye and disappeared into the crowd. He stared after him for a few seconds before moving the light purple fabric to cast shadows over his eyes once more. The exam hasn't even begun and yet people were already looking for other examinees to ruin. "So boring..." He mumbled and sunk deeper into his cloak. He perked when a flash of silver caught his attention. He looked up and saw another boy with a yellow skateboard walking near him. The silver that caught his attention was actually the boy's hair. "Interesting..." He tilted his head and let his eyes examine the boy more closely.

The boy has blue eyes which popped against the boy's pale skin. It was a nice pale, not the sickly kind. He held out a hand in front of him and examined his own skin. His skin was the sickly kind of pale. He let his hand drop back into his cloak and raised his eyes to look at the silverette. The boy was looking straight back at him. He blinked in surprise and tilted his head. The boy's gaze drifted downward and he followed the boy's stare. The boy was looking at his half hidden badge. He raised a hand and moved the fabric so the whole badge could be seen and saw the silver haired boy's eyes widen at the number that was printed on the badge.

He let go of the light purple fabric and watched as it settled back onto its spot. He looked back up when he heard footsteps and saw the silver haired boy approach him. As the other boy drew closer he realized that the boy was taller than him. He frowned for a moment but quickly returned back to his neutral look when the boy stopped in front of him.

"You got here first?" The boy's blue eyes were filled with curiosity and something else. Hidden in those blue orbs was something dangerous and deadly. Even more interesting. He stared at the boy for a few moments before slowly nodding. He blinked in surprise when the boy's hand shot forward towards him, most likely aiming for his hood. He instinctively reached forward and grabbed the boy's wrist stopping his hand a few centimeters from the light purple fabric. The boy quickly snatched his wrist away as soon as he was caught.

"Is that all?" He glanced back up at the silver haired boy. He shifted slightly at the look the taller boy was giving him. It was a bit unreadable but there was a hint of curiosity in those blue orbs. "How old are you?" He frowned at that question and raised a hand to his hood. He pulled his hood back releasing his dark purple locks. "How old do I look?" He calmly asked.

The boy didn't even bat an eye at his appearance and furrowed his eyebrows at him. "...12." He smiled at that response and noticed that the taller boy also looked around 12 years old. He reached up and pulled his hood back over his head. "I'll see you later," he smiled mischievously. "That is if you manage to stay in the Exam."

Those blue orbs hardened with annoyance at his words. He pulled his cloak tighter around his body and walked away. He could feel the silver haired boy's gaze on him till he entered the crowd. He weaved around the other participants aimlessly while he looked for another spot to occupy. He looked around and saw Tonpa approach a group of three people. "Looks like he found more rookies..." He muttered.

He blinked in shock when he bumped into something and turned his head to see what he bumped into, ready to quietly apologize if it was a person. "Watch where you're going, kid!" A taller man sneered down at him. Three other men who were next to the man he bumped into glared down at him too. "What's a kid like you doing here?" The tallest man of the group looked down at him. "You won't last even a second in the exams!" The men started laughing. The last one of the line waved a large hand towards the exit. "You should leave before you get yourself hurt!" The man smirked as his friends snickered. These guys were getting on his nerves. Arrogant fools.

"I should be telling you the same thing but I'm afraid you don't have the brain cells to process my advice." He coolly said. That stopped the laughter. "Who the hell do you think we are, brat?!" The first man snarled. "Imbeciles." He deadpanned. They should know better than to think he was weak because of his appearance. "Why you...!" The first man, obviously the leader, reached out to grab him when a loud scream stopped everyone in their tracks.

He tilted his head and turned his head in the direction of the scream and the first thing he saw was flower petals. Beautiful red flower petals. Red eyes followed the trail of petals and saw them coming from another examinee's arms. The man fell to his knees as he stared in horror and agony at his disappearing arms. "Oh, how peculiar..." He saw a red haired male standing near the man. He blinked at the man's unique appearance.

"Magician?" He mumbled. The man had a tear drop and a star painted on his cheeks completing his outfit. "His arms seem to have become flower petals." The man's voice sent a shiver down his spine. Something was off with that man. He should stay away. "No smoke and mirrors here." The man creepily smiled. "Do take care. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize." He looked towards the man he bumped into and rolled his eyes. Jerks will always be jerks, words from a creepy magician won't change that.

The crowd murmured uneasily around him and he took the opportunity and slipped away from the arrogant men. He weaved around the people around him while thinking about the scarlet petals. I wonder how he did that, he thought absently. That trick wasn't achieved by any normal means so he must have used something, but what?

He stopped walking when he saw a flash of green. He turned his head and saw a young boy take an orange can from Tonpa's hands. The two others in his group also had cans in their hands. The boy in green had an interesting, innocent air around him. He tilted his head and inched closer so he could hear what they were saying.

"...plays the nice guy, despite being nastier than anyone else here." He stopped next to a group of men who were also watching Tonpa interact with the spiky black haired boy, blonde teen, and a man in a navy blue suit. "Tonpa, the rookie crusher..."

Rookie crusher, huh?

He turned his attention back to the group as Tonpa's voice reached him. "Best of luck to all of us!" Tonpa had his back to him so he couldn't see his facial expression, but he could detect deceit in his words. They clicked their cans together. The three rookies opened their cans while Tonpa just stood there, softly snickering. "No doubt he poisoned it from the way he's snickering." He pulled on his hood for the sake of doing something. He paused when something occurred to him.

He couldn't smell any scents of fruit from the canned juices. So obvious, but will they notice it? He silently watched as the spiky haired boy and man with glasses took a sip from the can. The boy's amber eyes widened and the juice came pouring from the boy's mouth like a waterfall. He could see Tonpa recoil in shock and chuckled. "Tonpa-san, this juice must have expired." The boy's young voice reached his ears. "It tastes funny." The man in the suit quickly spit the orange liquid out at his companion's words. The blonde merely started pouring the drink on the ground.

"Seriously?" The man had an annoying voice. "That was close!" The man wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his suit. "H-Huh? That's strange..." Tonpa nervously rubbed the back of his head. He smiled at the fact that Tonpa got caught in his own act and silently turned around and went back into the crowd. He wandered around for a couple of minutes when the tunnel echoed with a loud, squeaky sound. Reminds me of an alarm clock. He turned his head towards the sound along with everyone else. The end of the tunnel started rising revealing more of the tunnel.

He narrowed his eyes as the wall went up. Even with his eyesight he couldn't see the end of the tunnel now. A man in a blue suit and a short, red tie was calmly standing in the middle of the tunnel as the wall completely disappeared into the ceiling. He slowly blinked as he stared at the elegantly dressed man. Does he not have a mouth? He mentally shrugged it away. He had seen far stranger things than this. "I apologize for the wait." The wisteria haired man said in calm tone. "The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended."

He sighed with relief. The long wait was finally over. "The Hunter Exam will now begin!" That must mean this man must be their first examiner. Everyone around him started to grow excited at the wisteria haired man's declaration. "A final caution. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead." He rolled his eyes at this. No doubt everyone here knew that long before they came here. "Those who accept the risks, please follow me." The man pointed at the elevator in the way back. "Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you." He glanced back at the exit, curious to see if anyone here was too scared to take the Exam.

No one moved.

"Figures," He turned back towards the mouthless man. "Very well. All 404 applicants will participate in Phase One." The man turned around and did something very odd. He started walking with his limbs completely straight. He tilted his head at this, however started walking also. After a few minutes of walking he noticed that the wisteria haired man's strides were growing larger. He had to start jogging to keep up. Murmurs of confusion drifted around him as the other examinees picked up the pace.

"I neglected to introduce myself. I am Satotz, the Phase One examiner." So he was right, this middle aged man was their examiner. "I shall lead you to the exam's Second Phase." He tilted his head at this information. So it already started? He looked around him at the other examinees who were all running. Phase One must be an endurance test since the examiner was making them run just to catch up with him.

"Second Phase?" A man dressed as a ninja asked. "What about Phase One?"

"It has already commenced." Satotz merely said without turning around. The people around him started muttering uneasily at the examiner's words. Satotz turned his head to look at the participants. "You must follow me to Phase Two. This is the exam's First Phase."

"Follow you? That's it?" The ninja asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," Satotz turned back towards the front. "I cannot tell you where or when you must arrive. You need to follow me." He slowly nodded his head at the wisteria haired examiner's words. Not knowing how long you'll have to run will take its toll on the mentally weak. He had no doubt many people will drop out in this test.

He smirked as his light purple cloak fanned out behind him as he ran. His hood somehow defied gravity and stayed up. Already he could hear a couple people drop out completely exhausted. He snorted softly as he heard yet another wail of defeat. "Weaklings..." He mumbled.

xxxxx

His internal clock told him that two hours have passed since Phase One started. Satotz has led them over thirty kilometers already and he still couldn't see the end of the tunnel. A light blue glow flickered at the edge of his vision. He turned his head slightly and saw a fat teen running with a laptop in hand. The air around the black haired teen oozed with cockiness as he gazed at his laptop screen. "He won't last much longer..." He grimaced at the teen's scent. He lowered his pace and gradually fell back till he couldn't see or smell the cocky teen.

The heavy scent of sweat greeted him and he looked at his side. A couple feet over was that man in the navy blue suit with sweat dripping down his face. "Him too..." He scoffed. Honestly, no doubt these people underestimated the Exam. He rolled his eyes and faced the front. He blinked when the sound of wheels reached his ears and looked towards its source. Oh. The silver haired boy from earlier was riding his skateboard. Their eyes met for a brief second when the other passed the sweating man.

He smiled and dipped his head forward in a nod towards the silver haired boy. The boy didn't get a chance to respond since the man started yelling. "Hey! Wait up, kid!" The silver haired boy looked towards the man with an innocent expression. "You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!" He curiously watched as the man yelled at the silver haired boy.

"What do you mean?" The boy blinked at the man innocently. "Why are you using a skateboard? That's cheating!" He tilted his head at this. Satotz didn't say anything about having to run. What the silver haired boy was doing was perfectly within the rules. "Why?" The boy looked from his skateboard back to the man.

"This is an endurance test!" The man's voice was very annoying. He sighed and wondered if he should correct the man, however the boy in green beat him to it. "No, it isn't." The man and boy looked back at the spiky haired boy who was running a few feet behind them. "Gon, what are you saying?"

"The examiner only told us to follow him." The boy, Gon, explained. "Whose side are you on, eh?" The man had a vein popping on his forehead. He chuckled softly at the man's actions. Amusing. His gaze followed the silver haired boy as he drifted to Gon's side. "Hey, how old are you?"

That was the same question he was asked earlier. Seems like he's interested in those who look around his age. "I'm twelve years old." He watched as the silver haired boy thoughtfully stared at Gon. The boy in green smiled at the other boy.

He gaped in shock when the silver haired boy kicked his skateboard up into the air and caught it with one hand. That was pretty cool. "Guess I'll run too." The silver haired boy started running without missing a beat. "Wow!" Looks like he wasn't the only one impressed by that skateboard trick. "That was cool!" Gon grinned widely at the boy next to him.

"I'm Killua." The silver haired boy introduced himself.

"I'm Gon." The boy in green cheerfully introduced himself too.

He blinked in surprise when Gon's amber eyes suddenly met his red ones. What surprised him even more was when Gon grinned and waved at him. His cheeks heated up and he swiftly faced the front, pulling his hood slightly. That was when he noticed them. The four men from earlier were running right in front of him. They noticed him in the same moment he noticed them. The leader elbowed the man to his right with a snicker and they started to fall back. He cautiously watched them as surrounded him. The leader was at his left while his buddies went to his right, front, and back.

"It's you again, brat." The leader sneered down at him. "I think it's time we taught you a lesson in manners, right?" The man smirked as his friends laughed, agreeing with him. "You shouldn't teach someone till you've mastered the subject." He calmly looked up at the bigger man from under his hood. "You don't have the right to teach me manners, I'm afraid."

The leader's eyes widened with rage and he snarled down at him. They started closing in on him slowly, making sure he had no where to run. He acted quickly. He jumped up when the leader swiped at him and used the man in front of him as a jumping board. He back flipped off the man sending him into the ground roughly and landed on the man who was stationed behind him.

The man cried out in surprise when the heels of his shoes dug into his face sending him to the ground too. He landed on the ground in a crouch and darted forward towards the last lackie. "What the-?!" His fist made contact with the man's cheek and he could see something white fly out of the lackie's mouth as he hit the floor. He started running as soon as his feet touched the ground and turned his head to face the shocked leader.

"Are you done?" The leader flinched at the cold glare that was directed at him and sweat dripped down his face. The leader tripped over his own feet and crashed to the ground. "Thought so," He snorted as he faced the front again.

"That was so cool!" He jumped in surprise at the sudden cheerful shout and turned his head. Gon and Killua were both looking at him. Gon was grinning widely while Killua had a slightly impressed glint in his eyes. "Can you show me how to do that?" Gon asked with that dazzling smile.

"S-Sure..." He mumbled with flushed cheeks. He wasn't used to someone complimenting him on something he had done. "I'm Gon and this is Killua!" The silver haired boy waved casually when he was introduced.

"My name is Asa Kleinfelder." He introduced himself. "Why were those men after you?" Gon asked with a confused look. "Oh," Asa looked back at his attackers fallen forms. "I ran into one of them earlier and more or less mocked him." He looked back at the boys, one looking curious and the other looking amused.

That's when he heard something drop against the ground. Asa looked behind him to see the man in the suit with his hands on his knees, his briefcase a couple feet behind him on the ground. "Gon..." Gon turned at the sound of his voice and saw his companion completely exhausted. Gon started slowing down before completely stopping in his tracks. Asa came to a stop next to Gon while Killua stopped a couple inches ahead of them.

Asa curiously watched as the man glanced up and saw them staring at him. "Hey, forget him." Killua looked at Gon. "Let's get going." Asa glanced between the boys before looking back at the man in the suit. I wonder if he's going to give up, he thought. He wouldn't be the first person to give up in Phase One. Killua raised an eyebrow as he stared at Gon who was staring at his friend with determination.

"Screw that..." Asa perked up when he heard the man speak in a soft voice with his eyes screwed shut. Oh, he's giving up. "Let's go," Asa turned around and started walking. "He gave-"

"I'm gonna become a Hunter! Damn it all!" Asa froze at the sudden shout and a blur swiftly passed him sending his cloak flying around him. He hurriedly fixed his cloak and stared at the man's back with disbelief. "Huh, he certainly is fast..." He mumbled as he turned back to the two boys.

Gon was grinning. Asa tilted his head when the spiky haired boy grabbed the fishing pole he had strapped to his back and threw the line. He watched in amazement with Killua as the hook caught the briefcase. Gon expertly flicked his wrist and caught the briefcase in his free hand. "Cool!" Killua grinned. "That was awesome." Asa agreed. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the strong scent of medicine that came from the breifcase. The man must be an aspiring doctor. Gon smiled in response and they started running again to catch up with the rest of the group. "Let me try that later." Killua glanced at Gon's fishing pole. "If you let me try your skateboard, okay?"

Asa wanted to try both the fishing pole and skateboard but he didn't have anything for the boys to try in return so he kept quiet. If he found something later he would mention it, but for now he had nothing.

"Oh?" Asa smiled at what he saw coming up. "What is it?" Gon curiously looked at him. "I see stairs coming up." Gon blinked before looking in front of them. "I don't see anything..." Asa softly chuckled and shook his head. "I can see a lot farther than normal so I'm not surprise."

"That must come in handy." Killua said.

"It does." Asa hummed. His vision helped him in many situations. Especially in life or death situations.

xxxxx

"Asa was right!" Gon chirped as the stairs came into view. "Asa is amazing!" Asa flushed at the compliment and hurriedly pulled his hood to hide his red cheeks. "I-It's nothing..." He mumbled. He glared at Killua when he heard the other start laughing. Killua innocently looked away causing him to turn away with a huff.

Asa glanced up to check on their examiner and noticed that Satotz's strides became longer. He certainly is pushing us, he dryly thought. A lot more people will drop out at this rate.

"Gon, Asa, wanna race to see who finishes first?" Killua's voice drew him out of his thoughts. Asa looked at the silver haired boy with a smirk. "Sure. The loser has to buy dinner!" Gon grinned at them. "Alright, but I'm afraid you two will have to empty your pockets soon." Asa chuckled as the boy's eyes hardened with determination. "Okay, you're on!" Killua smirked back at him.

"Ready... Go!" Both Killua and Gon sprung forward at the same time. Asa laughed as the two ran even faster than before. "Better catch up!" Asa quickened his pace and ran past the other participants in a blur. He went up the steps two at a time and caught up to the two boys right as they were passing the blonde and the man in the suit. Except he was shirtless now. The man's jacket was tied around his waist.

Asa silently slowed his pace and ran behind the four as Gon said, "See you at the goal, Kurapika." He assumed the blonde was Kurapika since Gon was looking at the blonde when he said that. "Catch you later, old timer." Killua smirked at the older male. Asa chuckled softly at the look of rage that bloomed on the man's face.

"I'm not old! I'm a teenager, just like you guys!" The three all froze at what the man just said. Looks of shock and disbelief rose on their faces as they stared at their companion. Asa snickered and shook his head. "Huh? No way!" That was the only thing that came out of Killua's mouth as he stared wide eyed at the older male.

"Don't you know people can look younger or older than they look?" Asa called out, drawing their attention. "Just look at me!" He laughed as he quickened his pace to run next to Killua and the man. "Eh? How old are you, Asa?" Gon still had that look of disbelief from his companion's words.

"Me? Oh," Asa frowned as he quickly tried to remember which year it was now. "I don't know."

One of the participants near them tripped on the stairs and fell down with a loud shriek. Asa grimaced at the loud voice and shifted closer to Killua. "Didn't you say you were twelve?" Killua frowned at him. "You said I looked twelve," Asa pointed out. "I never confirmed that, did I?" He laughed at the look of annoyance on the silver haired boy's face.

"Bye!~" Asa waved and ran up the stairs, leaving the others behind. He could hear Gon and Killua quicken their pace after Gon said goodbye to his companions. After a few moments the two boys were on both his sides as they matched his pace. Asa smiled at them before facing the front to make sure he didn't trip over any fallen bodies.

"I'm impressed that you can keep up with me." Killua spoke up after a few minutes of peaceful silence. "Really?" Gon rubbed the back of his neck with a small laugh. "Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow." Killua said with a bored look on his face. "Man... The Hunter Exam is gonna be a breeze." Killua compained, obviously disappointed. "That's no fun."

"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon shifted a bit to avoid stepping on one of the examinees. "Me?" Killua lifted his gaze from the stairs and back on them. "I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter."

"Eh?" Gon blinked in surprise.

"I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be fun." Killua smirked with his eyes closed. "But this is disappointing." Asa softly laughed at the arrogant boy next to him. No doubt the Exam will have a few twists in it to keep them entertained in the future, so the silver haired boy shouldn't be worried about being bored with the Exam.

"What about you?" Killua asked in return. "Well, my dad's a Hunter." Asa looked at the black haired boy in surprise. Having a parent as a Hunter would be an advantage since the parent would no doubt train their child in preparation for the Exam. "So I want to become a Hunter, like my dad." The three of them moved a little to the right to avoid another body.

"Hmm... What kind of Hunter is he?" Killua asked, interested. "I don't know." Gon said with that same cheery tone he always had. Asa nearly tripped at Gon's response. How could he not know?! Asa looked at Gon in disbelief while Killua laughed. "That's kinda weird."

"Really?" Gon innocently questioned. "You want to be like your dad, but you don't know anything about him?" Killua had an amused twinkle in his eyes. "I was raised by Mito-san, so I've only seen my dad in pictures." Gon turned back to the front with that cheerful smile. Mito-san? "Who's Mito-san?" Killua asked the question Asa was thinking. "Aunt Mito."

"Oh..." Killua and Asa exchanged looks before looking back at Gon who had started talking once more. "When he was twelve, my dad took the Hunter Exam. He passed and became a Hunter. Then he left the island. I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter over being with me."

Asa was amazed that there was no bitterness in Gon's voice, only innocent curiosity. If that happened to him he knew he would've been bitter and hated his father, yet Gon displayed none of that. He has a strong spirit, he thought. "Asa, why do you want to be a Hunter?" Gon turned those amber eyes on him causing him to blink in response. Asa noticed that Killua was also looking at him for his answer.

"I was bored and decided to take the Exam," Asa nodded towards Killua. "Like Killua." Gon nodded while Killua looked thoughtful. He perked up when he saw a light at the end of the tunnel and nudged the two boys in the side, gaining their attention.

"Look," Asa pointed at the light. "It's the exit!" The boys looked at each other before taking off. Asa threw his head back, laughed, and ran after the duo. To others he was nothing of a blur as he zoomed past them. After mere moments he stepped into the light and heard grass being crunched under his shoes.

He skidded to a stop and turned behind him just in time to see Satotz step out of the tunnel. He waved at the surprised examiner who quickly regained his neutral expression. He watched as the examiner started turning his head to look back into the tunnel when both boys bounded past him cheering, "Goal!"

Asa pressed a pale hand to his mouth to muffle his laughter at the boy's entrance. "Yay! I win!" Gon cheerfully threw his free hand up into the air. Asa tilted his head as he stared at them, noticing that they haven't noticed his presence yet. He shook his head with an amused smile and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Let's see how long it'll take them.

"What are you talking about? I was faster..." Killua playfully smiled. "I was." Gon insisted. "No, I was!" Killua argued. "I was faster, so you have to buy dinner!" Gon seemed convinced that he won. "Nope! I was faster. So you buy me dinner." Killua stubbornly said. Asa chuckled at both boy's stubbornness. "But I was faster!"

Gon turned towards the examiner who was staring at them. "Hey, who was faster?"

"I believe that you crossed the finish line simultaneously, however," Satotz pointed at Asa. "I believe your friend here crossed the line before you." Gon and Killua snapped their heads in Asa's direction who waved at them in response. "Eh?" Gon gaped at him. "When did you get here, Asa?"

"I crossed the line before Satotz got here." Asa laughed and walked towards them. "I believe you both owe me dinner?" Both boys slumped forward, defeated. Asa giggled at their reactions before something occurred to him. He couldn't eat human food. Great, I just dug myself a hole, he gloomily thought. "Hey, Satotz-san," Gon quickly perked back up and looked towards the wisteria haired man. "Is this where the Second Phase of the exam takes place?"

"No, we still have quite a way to go." Asa sighed at this. He looked around their surroundings with a frown. The only place they could run through now was that swamp that was covered in fog. He made a mental note to stick close to the two boys during the second half of Phase One.

"Oh..." Gon made a disappointed sound. They sat down near the entrance of the tunnel to wait for Gon's companions. "Hey," Asa looked towards Killua when he whispered softly to him. "Yes?"

"Were you telling the truth about not knowing your own age?"

"What do you think?" Killua narrowed his eyes at his cheeky dodge. Killua opened his mouth to respond but Gon cut him off. "Hey, Kurapika!" Gon called out the blonde's name when the other appeared from the tunnel. Kurapika waved in response as he struggled to regain his breath back. "Is this our destination?"

"No, it isn't."

"I see." Kurapika looked around as the older male on the ground next to him panted. Gon stood up and waved a hand towards Asa, grinning. "Kurapika, Leorio, this is Asa." Asa stood up when the black haired boy introduced him. "Asa, this is Kurapika and Leorio." The man, Leorio, grunted in response without looking up. "It's nice to meet you." Kurapika smiled and held out his hand for Asa to shake.

"Likewise." Asa politely said and gently shook hands with the taller blonde. He paused when he felt something from Kurapika. Revenge hung heavily around the blonde teen. Such an interesting group I stumbled across. The blonde blinked in surprise at his sickly pale hand but quickly smiled again. He could see Kurapika shiver slightly and let go of the other's hand, knowing that his low body temperature caused the shiver. Asa looked back at the boys before looking towards the foggy swamp. "Huh?" He blinked in surprise.

"What is it?" Asa turned towards Gon before looking back at the swamp. "The fog over there is fading." Gon turned towards the swamp and smiled widely as more of the fog faded revealing more of the area. Asa watched as a bunch of crows burst out of the trees and disappeared into the sky. Asa nudged Killua lightly with the tip of his black shoe. Killua groaned softly in response and got to his feet.

"The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp." Asa glanced at Satotz when the man started speaking. "We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam." He softly sighed at this. With a name like that this swamp could only mean doom to a lot of participants. "We're going to have to be careful," Asa murmured softly. Killua nodded in response, already looking bored.

"This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them." Asa shivered. That sounded a bit too close to what he was. "Scared?" Killua smirked, misunderstanding the reason why the purple haired boy shivered. "No," He rolled his eyes at his companion and playfully stuck his tongue out at him. They snickered for a few moments before Satotz's voice drew their attention again.

"Be very careful. If you let them fool you..." Satotz turned to face the examinees with a hand up in the air. "...you're dead." Asa shook his head at this. Even with this warning there was no doubt some examinees would get tricked while in the swamp. The participants uneasily muttered amongst themselves while a very few of them looked unaffected. Asa noticed that the magician was one of those who were unaffected.

Asa looked behind him at the entrance to the tunnel as the door started coming down. He watched as a man fell at the top of the stairs and reached out towards them while desperately screaming, "Wait for me!" He shook his head slightly as the door completely shut the man in darkness. "Fool," He scoffed. "He should've been faster than that."

"These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey." Asa looked back at their calm examiner. "An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit... Hence the name Swindlers Swamp."

"The same can be said for mankind," Asa muttered softly. "Humans also deceive others to get what they desire."

"True." Asa jumped which made the silver haired boy laugh. Asa glared at Killua for startling him and turned away with a huff. He saw Satotz turn around to face the swamp. "Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived." Asa glanced around him when an animal-like scent swept past him. He frowned softly as everyone around him tensed with determination.

"What a joke." He heard Leorio say. "How can they fool us, when we're expecting it?"

"You'll be surprised at how easy it is to fool people," Asa coolly said as he continued to try and locate where the new scent was coming from. "Especially gullible people like you."

"What was that?!" Leorio growled as a vein made itself known on the man's forehead.

"Don't let them fool you!" An unfamiliar voice shouted out, catching everyone's attention. "I just said that they can't." Leorio glared in the voice's direction only to stop in shock at what he saw. A battered man limped from around the small building. "D-Don't fall for it..." Everyone muttered in surprise. "He's lying to you!" The wounded man angrily pointed towards Satotz. "He's an impostor! He isn't an examiner..." The man pointed at himself. "I'm the real examiner."

Asa silently inspected the injured man. The man's scent wasn't human. It was very similar to the swamp. Asa nudged Killua and murmured, "He's the fake." Killua nodded having already came to that conclusion. "An impostor? What's going on?" It seems like Leorio hasn't caught on yet.

"Then who is he?" The ninja's eyes darted between the fake and Satotz. Asa shook his head at this. Surely someone else knew that the injured man was lying? "Look at this..." The fake dragged a limp figure into view causing a ripple of shock and uneasy through the participants. "He looks just like Satotz-san!" Gon gasped. Asa frowned at this. "It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands!" The ape looked dead with its long tongue dangling out of its mouth.

However, he could tell that it was still alive.

"A Man-Faced Ape?" Leorio's eyes widened.

"Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they're quite weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands, where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them. He intends to trap every single applicant!" Asa had to hand it to the fake examiner, he was making it quite convincing. A lot of the examinees were now looking at Satotz with distrust and were shifting away from the wisteria haired man.

"Bastard..." Leorio muttered.

"He certainly doesn't walk like a human..." The ninja warily looked at Satotz.

That's when he sensed the bloodlust. Asa jumped backward at the sudden bloodlust, bumping into Killua, and flinched when a card flew right past his face and lodged itself in the fake's forehead while two others went into the fake's chest. Asa turned his head and saw the magician smirking. He saw that Satotz had a couple of the magician's playing cards trapped between his fingers.

"Are you okay?" Asa took a step back away from Killua. "Yes, sorry for almost knocking you down." He reached up and adjusted his hood back to its former position, having almost been knocked down by his sudden movement.

"I see, I see... That settles it..." Asa looked back towards the magician and saw that the taller male was shuffling even more cards. "You're the real one." Asa glanced back at Satotz and understood why the magician did that. The real examiner would also be a Hunter. A Hunter that could dodge or block that attack.

Satotz let go of the cards and let them drift down to the ground. Asa turned his head and saw the ape scramble across the grass back towards the swamp, desperate to escape now that its act has been found out.

"Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack." The magician explained in that voice like silk.

"I shall take that as a compliment." Satotz calmly stared at the magician. "However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner and you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" Asa could detect a hint of a dangerous promise in their calm examiner's tone.

"Sure." The magician said without a care in the world. The magician turned his gaze towards Asa and smiled with a sinister glint in his eyes. "I apologize for almost hitting you, little one." Asa returned the magician's gaze with a glare. He knew that the magician did that on purpose. He also knew that the magician didn't regret his action.

The caws of birds made everyone turn back towards the corpse just in time to see a few vultures settle down for dinner. "Nature really can be brutal to watch..." Asa had to agree with Leorio. Nature can be beautiful at times and yet still be brutal at other times. "So he was a Man-Faced Ape, as well." Kurapika watched the birds with disgust.

"He was attempting to confuse the applicants, to lure some of them away." Asa turned his gaze away from the birds and back on their examiner who started walking between the examinees. "We cannot relax our guard." Killua warned them. "Yeah." Gon agreed while watching Satotz with a focused look in his eyes. "We'll make it through." Asa nudged both of them with a smile. Killua and Gon exchanged glances before smiling too.

"You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis." Satotz stopped a couple feet away from the corpse. "I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?" A good number of the participants, Leorio and the ninja included, tried to act like they weren't fooled. They were horrible actors.

"Do you understand?" Satotz turned to face the examinees. "If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind."

"We should stick together." Asa whispered. Killua and Gon nodded in response.

"Then let us be on our way. Please follow me." Satotz started running with his limbs straight again and the examinees all followed. Asa made sure to stay between Gon and Killua to make sure he doesn't lose them once they enter the foggy swamp.

I hope something exciting happens before we reach Phase Two, he thought with a small smile. The Exam is suppose to be a cure for my boredom.