Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 3.

In the first few days since arriving at the exams, the emerald-eyed beauty was approached by a chubby man with stubble carrying a beige satchel. The stranger had cupped his hands around his mouth to call up to where she was perched on a ledge overlooking the crowd. Curious, she decided to entertain the man with his advances and hopped down from the rocky cliff and loomed over his shorter stature. He introduces himself to her as Tonpa, a veteran who was attempting the exam for the 35th time, offering the girl a can of orange juice; from Shalnark's information, Tonpa was nicknamed the 'Rookie Crusher' by others for his attempts of sabotaging other applicants throughout the exam phases.

Staring at the man, she takes the can and cracks it open, downing the juice in one go which shocks the man. "That was so good! Do you have any more?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the side as she leaned closer to his face with a wide grin. Disturbed by her actions, Tonpa scratches the back of his neck and apologies, stating he had none left before bidding her a hesitant goodbye and good luck for the exam. The disguised woman snickers to herself as she watches him leave, crossing her arms and turning her head as she felt a presence approaching where she stood.

"Long time no see, Illumi," she greets her twin, pivoting her body to face the taller sibling with a bright grin. Her brother was also disguised, horridly might I add. He wore his usual attire however the pins wedged in his face had drained the colour from his face and sunken it, his usual luscious long raven hair had shrunk to a purple mohawk that the magenta-haired woman despised. "This is probably your worst one yet," she says, nose scrunching up in disapproval.

"You amuse me, Illuki," the disguised man uttered monotonously, staring at the petite woman who giggled in response. To others around them, it could appear his words were insincere or lacked any emotions, however, the female beside him knew better than anyone what he truly meant with his words despite the lack of emotions in them. She was well aware of her twin's apathetic tendencies were a result of their harsh upbringing but knew at that exact moment, she understood he had been sarcastic with his response. Illuki grinned childishly at her brother, catching up with him about family affairs, hearing about her younger brother's rebellion against their parents and running away from their estate.

She perks at the sound of someone crying out in agony, turning her head rapidly in the direction of the sound where she spots a mob surrounding the accident. With a knowing smirk, she bids Illumi goodbye and approaches the crowd, shoving her way to the front where she knew her target would be.

In front of the young woman was the sight of an applicant's arms dissolving into glowing red petals, the familiar figure belonging to the infamous magician, Hisoka Morow, dressed in a pale blue jester-like outfit with a star and tear painted on either side of his cheeks, stood before the victim with a sinister smirk. "Oh, how peculiar..," his voice spoke with malice, arms crossed as his eyes narrowed at the applicant. "His arms seem to have become flower petals and disappeared. No smoke or mirrors here," he opened his arms, sneering at the man. "Do take care. When you bump into someone, you should apologise," he added through gritted teeth.

"I didn't think there would be entertainment here~," her cheery voice captures the attention of applicants, their heads snapping to where she stood in front of the crowd with her hands behind her, grinning widely at the magician. "That was cool~," she absentmindedly commented, approaching the taller man, dismissing the bewildered stares applicants gave her.

The magician looms over her tiny figure, a knowing smirk plastered on his face. His body moves, bowing to the woman as if she were royalty, a hand over his heart with a closed-eye smile. "Why thank you, Darling~," he thanked her, standing up and patting her head affectionately. "What brings you to the Hunter Exam~?" he hummed, staring down at Illuki who had swatted his hand away from her hair, crossing her arms and huffing at him.

"I got bored at the hideout," she shrugs, redirecting herself to where she previously stood by the furthest wall, the magician trailing after her.

From afar Tonpa, along with 3 new addition to the mass of applicants stood watching the entire ordeal, nervously sweating at the sight of the vicious male. "That psychopath is back again," he dragged out, acquiring the attention of the newcomers he was attempting to sabotage next. Fear pooled his irises upon not knowing what the relationship between the treacherous magician and the female who had drunk his poised drink in one go, was for them to speak to each other so casually as if the callous magician hadn't committed a crime just a few minutes prior.

"Huh? Again?" the youngest among the rookie trio questions innocently, twisting to face the experienced applicant with curiosity. The child had spiky green-tinted black hair styled up and large brown doe eyes; dressed in a green and orange-trimmed jumpsuit with green boots and carried a yellow backpack along with a fishing rod.

"Does that mean he took last year's exam?" the boy standing in the middle of the trio asked. He was blond and had grey eyes, dressed in a blue tabard with red-hemming and a white training suit underneath. He carried a brown satchel-like bag.

Staring intensely at the trio, the Rookie Crusher leans forward to identify the man walking away from the scene of the crime with a young woman. "Number 44. Hisoka, the magician. Last year, he was a virtual lock to pass the test, until he all but killed an examiner he didn't like," he explained to them.

Startled by the information, the tallest of the trio, a man with short black hair and wearing glasses; wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase stutters, pointing towards the trained participant. "A-and they're still allowing him to retake the exam this year?" he asked, baffled.

"Of course. Every year, the examiners and test content change, and the examiners are the ones who choose the new content. The devil himself could pass if that were the examiners' determination. That's just how the Hunter Exam works," Tonpa clarified, maintaining an eye on where Hisoka and his friend had been. "Anyway, no one liked him. Steer clear of him, if you can," he advised the trio.

The blonde boy then adverted his attention to the petite woman leading Hisoka away from the scene, pointing at her. "And her?" he asked the experienced examinee.

Tonpa shakes his head, slightly shuttering at the memory of their previous interaction. "Never seen her before. This must be her first time as well," he admitted truthfully, eyeing the way the magenta-haired woman smirked down at where Hisoka had settled down. "But if she's friends with Hisoka, then it's best to steer clear of her as well," the man concluded with a serious tone.