//𝘙𝘌𝘉𝘖𝘙𝘕♡

The fourth stage.

I drew Aiko again, but this time with her bow. I was stupid and forgot to draw the arrows.

✄┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

Studying the landscape of the small island, I shaded my eyes with my cowl from my cloak against the sun to get a better look. It was a green and brown mottled cloak, and it was supposed to help when you wish to conceal yourself in a forest or flatlands. Aran has the exact same one, only his was longer.

Aran has other colors too, one for in deserts and one for in a more snowy land.

Adjusting the cowl so it hung over my face, creating a shadow that looked over half of my face, concealing the eyes.

Looking back at the island, I saw a forest. Along the horizon I could make out some huge rocks, jutting out of the forest and assembling a gloomy background to the bright and cheerful looking trees.

As the speedboat got closer to land, the spectator lady told us that we would go single file on a plank over to the other side, we would be going in order to who finished the last fade first.

Sliding into the shallow waters, the boat came to a slow stop as the captain heaved a sturdy looking plank across the distance between boat and land.

"First up is number 44!, you may walk across." She cried.

She kept going of a list in her hands and at last reached my friends.

Before that however, I was watching my target, number 80, as she walked across the makeshift bridge and weaved into the trees. She headed to the north-west of my sight.

"Next up is number 99!, good luck!" She said.

Waving and giving short goodbyes, we all wished eachother good luck, and a couple of don't die's could be heard as I hugged Killua, Gon, Leorio and Kurapika.

"Bye guys." Killua said as he glided off the plank and headed off into the trees.

"Bye, see you after the fourth phase!" I say as the small lady ushers me into the strip of wood.

Lightly walking over the plank, I head in North direction, hoping not to alert number 80, Siper, from feeling followed.

After around 20 meters, I head slightly to the west, in Siper's direction.

I pull the cowl of the mottled cloak even further downwards as I conceal my presence. I have perfected my zetsu from a young age from my days as a stealer and beggar.

Your skill at tracking people and remaining unseen is remarkable, as Aran once said.

In that statement, I quickly found Siper's tracks. An inexperienced person probably wouldn't pick up the small hints at a person recently being here.

Small red hair strings, soft imprints in the ground, or even flattening of wet grass.

This had turned into hunting the hunter.

She was tracking someone, but I couldn't even begin to phantom who.

She had decided to also conceal her presence and tread carefully.

Darting through the trees, I keep an eye on my surroundings for any unnatural movement of someone following me.

I think that would be quite difficult though. I thought, while crouching by a soft footprint in the ground. I have been trained for this sort of thing after all.

Estimating that I was only a couple of hours away from her I noticed a slight movement in the corner of my eye. Keeping my breathing normal and regular, as not to alert the stalker that I had noticed them.