Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 6.

Illuki turns away from the resolving situation with her arms crossed, opening her mouth to speak when she heard Hisoka hum in interest, causing her to angle her head to glimpse over her shoulder to see the silhouette of someone approaching them with something in their hand. The stomping of footsteps nearing them confirmed her suspicion that it was one of the earlier presences from before, returning to confront the pair.

"I just couldn't do it..," the figure spoke up, coming into view from the clouding mist. "This may not be my fight, but I won't close my eyes and make a break for it!" he cried out with determination, raising an arm to strike at either Hisoka or Illuki who easily avoided the imprecise swings.

'Who is this guy?' the disguised female asked herself, flipping away from his range and observing the one-sided fight between the unknown man and her acquaintance. 'This is kinda sad to witness...If he wanted to, the clown would've killed him by now' she deadpanned, slumping her shoulders.

"Mm~ I adore that look on your face," Hisoka commented, a pleased expression plastered on his sickly pale face. The male had been referring to the ambition that pooled the eyes of the shirtless man attempting to attack him and the female he called his friend, as the magician liked to refer to her. Dodging the ongoing strikes, the redhead's bloodlust begins to release, a deathly aura surrounding him as he reaches for the nape of the panting man.

Laughter cuts through the tense air, Illuki clutches onto her stomach as she laughs her heart out after witnessing her power-hungry comrade be hit square in the face by the end of a fishing pole belonging to a child; the child who had reached the end with another during the first half of Phase One. Skipping over to where the magician was, the petite woman bends with her hands intertwined behind her, a childish grin on her face. "How does it feel? To get hit in the face by a kid~?" she taunts causing Hisoka to glare down at her, pivoting his strong glare to the culprit.

"Not bad, little boy. Is that a fishing pole? What a fascinating weapon," the jester-like dressed man compliments, beginning to stride towards the minor with a hand gesturing out to him. "Allow me a closer look," as he nears, the shirtless man interferes, wobbly getting up to strike at the sinister man however is knocked out with a singular hit to the jaw.

Illuki whistles at the knockout, standing to the side and witnessing the fight between the magician and the other two applicants. Upon seeing the assault on his friend, the child panics and jumps back while swinging his weapon of choice, hitting the afterimages of Hisoka each time. "You came to rescue your friend? Such a good boy," the man slyly compliments, his afterimage appearing near the boy before fading after being hit by the child's fishing pole. "And that expression...Nice...Very nice. I'm getting excited now..," the redhead trails off, talking to no one in particular.

Assessing the situation, the magenta-haired woman snickers at Hisoka's commentary, her head turned in the direction of the forest that was covered in a mist before pivoting back to the psychotic man and the other two applicants. In the span of the few seconds she wasn't watching them, the sinister magician had the minor in a choke, held in the air with the cruellest closed-eye smile she had ever seen on him. "You're gonna kill him if you don't drop him," she snapped Hisoka out of his bloodlust and released his grip on the child's throat.

"Do not fear. I will not kill your friend. He passed," the man assures the child, crouching to his height. "Yes, you pass, as well. Grow up and become a fine Hunter," he chuckles before a beeping was heard.

"Hisoka, you and Iris should get back here. We're almost at the Phase Two site," the voice of the former assassin's brother was heard however was a little distorted.

Hisoka stands from his crouched position and pockets the device after responding cooly to Gittarackur, advancing to where Illuki stands beside the child's unconscious friend, her arms crossed as she waited for Hisoka to wrap up his interaction. The redhead picks up the shirtless man and slings him over his shoulder, turning back to the child who wordlessly watched the duo. "See you around~," Iris winks at the child, waving a hand before skipping ahead of Hisoka, leading the way back to the main group.

The return to the mass of applicants was silence between Iris and Hisoka, the female strolling with her hands habitually linked behind her and humming an unknown tune as she walked. As they reached the site, the female leads them to the outer edge of the group where her acquaintance slumped the unconscious man against a tree trunk before they walked off to a different tree. "I don't understand why the Boss keeps you around," she mumbles to herself, leaning against the tree beside Hisoka who merely smiled.

"Excellent work everyone," Statoz congratulated, capturing the remaining participants' attention. "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Viska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you," the gentleman bids them, army walking back into the forest just as the golden gates opened up, revealing a grand house and multiple cooking stations lining the front courtyard.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter?" a voice called out loudly, everyone training their eyes to a woman with blue hair that was tied into five ponytails and dressed in shorts with a sheer black top and a black bra underneath, and a pair of heeled boots decorated with bows tied her look together. "Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner," the woman introduced herself confidently.

Behind her sat an oversized man who greets the crowd with a dopey smile. "And I'm Buhara, the other examiner," he greets. The man had scruffy brunette hair and wore a yellow long-sleeve shirt with green khakis, opting to be barefoot than investing in a pair of shoes.