You're Actually Pretty Nice

"Looks like you dropped something."

Luo Ye's voice was light and airy.

Like a feather, it drifted into the air boiling with the heat of their fierce battle.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The fanatical, twisted smile on Hisoka's face stiffened.

His blood-red eyes fixed on Luo Ye.

The emotions churning within them were no longer pure excitement.

There was... a trace of bewilderment.

Slowly, almost mechanically, he lowered his head.

He reached toward his waist.

There was nothing there.

The [44] badge that should have been hanging there, representing his identity and his value as a target, was gone.

The air was deathly still.

In the distant grass, Gon and Killua's hearts were almost pounding out of their throats.

Their palms were slick with cold sweat.

What would Hisoka do?

Fly into a rage?

Take frenzied revenge?

Or...

A dozen worst-case scenarios flashed through Killua's mind.

Every one led to the same ending.

A total wipeout.

He was ready. The moment Hisoka's aura showed any sign of running wild, he would grab Gon and sprint in the opposite direction, using every escape technique he had ever learned.

As for Luo Ye...

He would have to fend for himself.

But what happened next completely overturned both boys' understanding.

Hisoka didn't fly into a rage.

After freezing for three seconds, the smile on his face began to melt and spread again in a bizarre way.

It wasn't a furious, savage grin.

It was a kind of...

The purest, most absolute emotion one might show upon discovering a new world, upon tasting an unprecedented, unimaginably exquisite delicacy...

Ecstasy.

"Hmm... hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm..."

At first, he chuckled softly, his shoulders trembling.

Then his laughter grew louder and louder, increasingly impossible to contain.

"Ahahahahahaha-!!!♥"

Hisoka threw back his head and let out a sick, deranged laugh that echoed through the jungle.

His body doubled over with laughter, both hands covering his face, as though that was the only way he could contain the immense pleasure gushing from the depths of his soul.

"Wonderful..."

"Simply wonderful...!!!"

He lowered his hands, his face with its painted teardrop and star flushed with excitement.

He looked at Luo Ye.

His gaze no longer regarded him as a "toy" or a "fruit."

Instead, he was looking at a perfect, one-of-a-kind... work of art that sent tremors through his body and mind.

He finally understood.

Not a single word this boy had spoken from the start had been arrogance.

"I'll hold you off for him while he takes it."

This hadn't been a foolish plan.

It had been a perfect script that accounted for everyone.

He had used himself as bait, gripping Hisoka's full attention with his inconceivable ability to withstand punishment and his rate of evolution.

He had left Hisoka hopelessly immersed in the pleasure of "nurturing a fruit."

And the real finishing move had come from the little fruit hiding in the shadows, the one Hisoka had always considered mere "supporting cast."

A feint in one direction, a strike in another.

Luring the tiger away from its mountain.

They hadn't come to fight him.

They had come to make a fool of him.

And he had willingly stepped into this game tailor-made for him, enjoying every moment.

This feeling...

This deeper pleasure of satisfaction welling up after being fooled, rather than any anger...

It was an entirely new experience!

"So that's it... so that's it...♣"

Hisoka's breathing grew heavy.

"I didn't lose in strength..."

"But... in how the game was played...♦"

He looked at Luo Ye, the fervor in his eyes almost enough to set the air ablaze.

In the distance, Killua was completely dumbfounded.

"Hey... did this guy... get beaten stupid?"

He couldn't understand how Hisoka's mind worked.

He got played, and he's still laughing this happily?

What kind of weird fetish is that?

Only Luo Ye watched Hisoka's reaction with an expression that said, "Just as I expected."

To deal with a freak, you had to use a freak's methods.

You like playing games?

Then I'll play an even bigger one with you.

"So, Mr. Hisoka?"

Luo Ye brushed the dust off himself and spoke lazily.

"Was that enough excitement for you?"

"This buddy of mine doesn't have much else going for him, but he's got steady hands."

He paused and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Still, we've mostly got you to thank for pulling this off."

"Hmm?" Hisoka's laughter stopped, and he raised an intrigued eyebrow.

"If you hadn't been so focused, so invested in beating me up, we never would've had such a good opening."

Luo Ye spoke with utter sincerity.

"You kept all your attention on me the whole time just to give us an opening, even ignoring your badge when it fell off. You're actually pretty nice!"

"Pfft-"

In the distance, Killua nearly choked.

Talk about rubbing salt in the wound!

This guy really knows how to tap-dance through someone's minefield!

Yet Hisoka's reaction once again defied expectations.

Far from getting angry, he laughed even more happily.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~♥ That's right. Half the credit for your victory goes to me."

He gladly accepted the "compliment."

"As a reward..."

Hisoka suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Killua's pupils contracted sharply, and he was just about to shout, "Run!"

A moment later, Hisoka stood before Luo Ye.

Less than half a meter separated them.

He reached out and lightly traced Luo Ye's cheek with his fingertips.

Right over the cut his own playing card had made earlier, now completely healed, with only a faint red mark remaining.

"This wound... the next time we meet, I'll make it bloom into an even prettier flower...♠"

His voice brimmed with suggestiveness and danger.

With that, he didn't so much as glance at the distant grass.

He turned and walked away with elegant steps, slowly disappearing into the jungle's shadows.

From beginning to end, he never said a word about the badge.

As though that badge no longer mattered to him.

He had already gotten what he wanted.

An unprecedented, perfect game that had delighted him in body and mind.

Only after watching Hisoka's retreating figure disappear completely...

Did Luo Ye let out a long breath.

"Fuck, that scared the shit out of me."

He touched his neck, feeling the icy chill along its back.

"I thought he was going to snap right there and skewer the three of us like candied fruit."

The gamble paid off.

That freak really did go for it.

He turned and walked toward Gon and Killua's hiding place.

Only when Luo Ye appeared in front of them did Gon and Killua slowly recover from their overwhelming tension and shock.

"We... we did it?"

Gon looked at the [44] badge in his hand, still warm from Hisoka's body, and felt as though he was dreaming.

"We did it!"

Killua's face shone with irrepressible excitement.

He punched Gon in the shoulder.

"You nailed it! That last cast was pure genius!"

"Hehe..." Gon scratched his head sheepishly.

"Teamwork-that's what it's all about!" Luo Ye walked over and plopped down on the ground, looking utterly drained.

"Without me tanking up front, where would you get the chance to deal damage?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're the best." Killua rolled his eyes. "But seriously, what are you made of? Hisoka knocked you around like a punching bag, and you're completely fine?"

"Trade secret."

Luo Ye gave a mysterious smile.

Inside, he was popping champagne.

[Combat ended. Calculating results...]

[Proficiency in "Combat Adaptive Evolution" greatly increased...]

[Overall physical strength increased by 12%...]

[Total Nen aura increased by 8%...]

[Permanent high-level resistance to the aura properties of "Bungee Gum" acquired...]

What a massive payday!

"Anyway," Gon said, holding the badge out to Luo Ye, "Luo Ye, Killua, thank you! I never could've done it without you!"

His eyes were filled with sincere gratitude.

"All right, all right, you're getting way too mushy."

Luo Ye waved a hand and pushed the badge back.

"That's your prize. Keep it safe. You've got enough points now, right?"

"Yeah!"

Gon nodded firmly.

His own [405] badge was worth three points, and Hisoka's [44] badge was worth another three, giving him six in total.

He had now completed the fourth phase of the exam.

"That's great!" Killua was genuinely happy for him, too.

"Our tactics were leagues ahead! From planning to execution, flawless!"

As their commander, Killua was overflowing with a sense of accomplishment.

He looked at the two companions before him.

One was simple-minded, yet possessed the instincts of a wild beast and astonishing potential.

The other seemed lazy, yet possessed monstrous strength and a mind that saw through everything.

Being with them...

Seemed a lot more fun than being at home, carrying out those boring assassination missions.

"Hey, you two."

Killua suddenly spoke up.

"What are you planning to do after the Hunter Exam?"

"Me?" Gon thought for a moment. "I'm going to find my dad!"

That had always been his goal, and it had never changed.

"What about you?" Killua looked at Luo Ye.

"Me?"

Luo Ye yawned and lay lazily on the grass, his hands tucked behind his head.

"Wherever he goes, I'll go."

"There's always something fun to watch when you're with him, right?"

"Tch. No ambition."

Despite his words, the corners of Killua's mouth curled up without him realizing it.

The three exchanged smiles.

At that moment, all the tension and danger from before melted away.

All that remained was the relief of having survived and the unspoken understanding between friends.

"All right, enough chatting."

Luo Ye sprang up from the ground.

"Gon's got enough points, but I still need two. What about you, Killua?"

"I still need one," Killua said. "My target's a rookie. I can take care of him anytime."

"Then it's settled." Luo Ye clapped his hands. "Now, let the fun begin! Time to pick up the points we're missing!"

"Let's start with..."

His gaze swept through the jungle before finally settling on one direction.

"That guy who's been hiding in the tree, watching the show all this time."