Apex Predator

Margay II

Beta: TaintedLetter

(≧ڡ≦*)

Outside of the tunnel was nothing but a dense fog that carried with it the scents of a swamp and muggy forest.

Gon, Killua, and Miwa took a seat on the slab of stone just outside of the sewers as they waited for Gon's friends. Miwa would learn that the blond boy with the broken core was named Kurapika, and the older one who was almost left behind was named Leorio.

Kurapika and Leorio were near the end of the group, so it took a few minutes before they had caught up. Kurapika had discarded his outer shirt in favor of only wearing his white undershirt and white pants, and when he reached the trio he greeted them with an out of breath hello.

"Is this our destination?" Kurapika asked them, glancing around the fog.

"Nope!"

A small gust of wind blew through, and with it the fog began to slowly lift up. It was still present, but the denseness was no longer so thick that Miwa couldn't see through.

"The Milsy Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to bizarre animals, many of them crafty creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Please be very careful as you follow me," Satotz said, drawing everyone's attention back to the pink-haired proctor. "If you are deceived, you are dead."

With that remark, the gate to the sewers shut closed.

Satotz continued. "With that in mind the creatures here will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit... Hence the nickname Swindler's Swamp. Follow me closely so you can't be deceived."

'Maybe I should mark Gon and Killua with hiraishin. They both seem competent enough to not get lost, so having back ups would be smart.'

Or maybe you're just worried about them and want to keep an eye on them! And you call me a tsundere.

Miwa's cheeks flushed, but she ignored Kurama.

"Don't... Don't be deceived!" cried out a voice.

All eyes swiveled over to a human—no, Miwa could smell that whatever it was over there was not human. The-thing-that-looked-human stumbled out, appearing battered and nearly dead. "Don't let them fool you." The thing pointed accusingly at Satotz. "He's lying to you! He's an imposter!" It pointed back to itself. "I'm the real examiner."

There was some confusion amongst the examinees, and they all turned to question amongst themselves about what was going on.

Holy fuck are they actually falling for this?

The thing pulled out another creature that vaguely looked like Satotz. "It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Milsy Wetlands. Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they are quit 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—"

Miwa could not believe that some of the humans were now turning on Satotz as the creature spewed out its ridiculous speech. Even Gon's friends looked at Satotz distrustingly.

'This is just wasting our time at this point,' Miwa decided, and with a flick of her wrist, and a little enhancement from chakra, she threw a wooden senbon needle at the thing. It dug straight into its head, piercing all the way through the skull so only a tiny hole could be seen.