When Satotsu jogged up the stairs, I made a trail of ice which leads to the exit. Before leaving Gon and Killua alone, I declared a deal.

"The last to reach will treat for dinner!" I exclaimed and quickly skated towards the exit which I surpassed even Satotsu himself.

Gon's and Killua's cries of betrayal echoed through the tunnel and gone ignored by me. The followed the trail of ice and reached the top the same time Satotsu did which left him bewildered. I immediately made the ice disappear into thin air, including the blade under our shoes.

"You're last!" Gon and Killua shouted simultaneously.

"Actually.. Both of you reached the same time which makes the two of you last!" I laughed and my heart burst with happiness knowing that I'll get free dinner later.

Both of them looked at me with eyes which showed a playful type of sadness.

"It's not nice to cheat, Tsukino." Gon frowned.

Killua head locked me while I choked on my own saliva.

Idiot!!

It seemed he noticed that he used too much strength, so he quickly pulled away and apologised to me.

"I'm so sorry, Tsukino!"

"It's fine.." My voice cracked in the process of recovering from the attack.

Once everyone has reached the top, we were told to follow Satotsu closely because of the dangerous creatures found in the woods which may bring death cast upon us. Suddenly, a fake figure claimed himself as the real examiner.

What happened after that I did not pay attention because well.. Obviously it is a fake.

"Killua! May I borrow your skateboard?" I asked Killua who seemed bored too.

"Sure, if you know how to use it."

He flipped the skateboard into my waiting hands. I gently placed it on the ground and tried to balance myself on it which I failed miserably and caused me to fall forward. Unfortunately, Killua was in front of me.

"Waaaahh!" I squeaked and fell on top of Killua.

Killua stood still on his spot and embraced my small frame to stop my fall. My throat caught a gasp from escaping through my lips as a wave of a type of wood scent crashed into my nerves and it sent a weird comforting feeling to my heart. Butterflies flapped its' wings inside my belly which appeared out of nowhere. Both of my hands grabbed his shirt in fists unconsciously as my heart hammered my chest. Beneath his long sleeve, I could feel the muscles pressing my body and holding me firmly in his arms. We stayed in that position for a little while and we even missed the action when Hisoka attacked the examiner.

It took us minutes to come to our senses and slowly separate from each other. Not long after that, I could feel someone watching me and glaring daggers on my back. I turned around, but found no one in particular to have been staring at me with such intensity.

Soon, the examiner start jogging again which left the whole team of participants to follow him and try their very best to be close. I was going to run, but was immediately grabbed by the arm and pulled on to a flat board which moved in fast speed. Afraid to fall off and bury my face into the mud, I wrapped my arms around the torso of the young boy in front of me.

I tightened my grip around his abdomen when he sped up to catch up with Satotsu. All of my insecurities and fear were wiped away the moment he placed his hands on mine, as if saying that it will all be fine. I smiled at the small gesture and rested my forehead on his shoulder, secretly inhaling his fresh scent of wood. No words were exchanged, only squeezes on my hands for comfort whenever he took some turns and picked up his speed.

"Killua! Tsukino!" Gon shouted when we finally reached by his side.

"Hey Gon!" Killua waved and I beamed with a light blush spread across my cheeks.

"Let's get closer to Satotsu, some participants ran into trouble already." Killua suggested.

I was so engrossed with Killua that I did not notice at all. I could even sense a huge wave of bloodlust from the back.

What an idiot I am! I knocked myself mentally.

"K-Killua..." I awkwardly called while he was still accelerating.

"Hmm?"

"I'm fine on my own.."

"It's too dangerous to stop now, Tsukino."

He got a point there.. I pouted.

"Killua, I'm heading back! I think something happened to Leorio and Kurapika!" Gon said and left without hearing our reply.

"But- HEY! That idiot!" Killua hissed.

"I think we should go too. I'm sure they won't be able to handle it." I said, sensing the bloodlust where Leorio and whom I assumed is Kurapika are.

"No, it's too dangerous. We can't handle it too."

"But we can't leave Gon go alone!" I pleaded.

"I won't let you go there, Tsukino. Even I can't handle it. If I can't, you don't stand a chance at all."

I frowned at his words which sent needles to my heart.

I'm not that weak.. Am I..?

I pulled my arms away from his waist and clumsily hopped off the skateboard, ignoring Killua's calls. With one swift motion, a trail of ice lead to the back where Leorio, Kurapika and Gon are located. I skated towards that direction with the fastest speed I can go without toppling over.

In a matter of seconds, I reached a spacious field and caught Gon in the hands of a magician with bright fuchsia hair. Automatically, I reached for my sword and attempted to slash his hand.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" I shouted.

He quickly withdrew his hand and dropped Gon onto the ground.

"Tsukino!" Gon gasped.

The magician looked at me seductively while licking his pale lips. I gulped nervously and shivered a little, but I stood on my ground. Cold sweat escaped from the pores around my body drip onto the moist ground.

"My~ This year's participants sure are interesting~♡"

"Cut the crap." I hissed.

I held my sword firmly in my hand, preparing for an attack. Once again, he licked his lips with a sinister smile on his face and launched at me. Suddenly, a blur image of a yellow object flashed in front of me and hit Hisoka which threw him a few feet away. I looked up to see my defender.

"Killua.."

"Gon, are you fine?" He asked while standing in front of me.

"Yeah.. Leorio was knocked out." He stated while dragging Leorio's body closer to us.

"Where's Kurapika?" I asked although I do not know him.

"I assumed he ran off before I reached."

"Eh? He's such a coward." Killua muttered.

I flicked the back of his head and said,"He probably has a reason!"

"Kukuku.." Hisoka chuckled and looked at us with eyes filled with dangerous, yet unreadable emotions.

The three of us, minus the unconscious Leorio, got on guard. Killua stood in front of me protectively with his right hand blocking me. Gon held his fishing rod, prepared to attack. I held my sword diagonally with the tip pointing downwards.

"Don't worry, I won't kill any of you.♡ Because you are all qualified.♢" He said with a decent smile.

"Huh?" We chorused.

BIP! BIP! BIP!

An electronic device was brought out and a few words came out from it.

"Hisoka! Hurry back! I don't think it'll be long before they reach the venue where the second test takes place."

"Alright, I'm heading your way~!♧"

After he finished that sentence, he kept the device into his pocket.

"All of you will grow up to be good hunters..♢"

With that, he is gone and left us all alone.

"Gon! Killua! Tsukino!"

Eh?

We turned our heads and found a blonde waving at us.

How did he know my name? That's Kurapika if I've not mistaken..

As if answering my conscience, he smiled and said,"I listened to your conversation with Gon and Killua earlier."

"Oh.. Then you're Kurapika am I correct?"

€€€€€

We finally reached the venue at the last minute, thanks to my ice. Fortunately, Kurapika is a fast learner and gracefully skated with the extra weight on his shoulders which is Leorio. He laid him down on under a tree before Leorio's eyes open and slightly flinched at the sudden change of light.

"W-What happened?"