3rd POV

Gon, Leorio and Kurapika were trying to track the chemicals the Ponzu carries in order to find her and have leorio take her badge.

They were nearing the cave when gon noticed something. "Hey, guys?" Gon asked "What? Did you find her." Kurapika asked. "Well we are getting super close, but I smell Akari close by too." Gon said. "NANI?" The other two shouted. "Yeah, the sent is really strong so she has to be close by." Gon explained

 "In other words, she couldn't have only passed by. She is here." Kurapika concluded

"Yes." Gon finished

TS 

Leorio was walking in the cave with his lighter being his source of light. 

Akari was casually talking with Ponzu until she heard the footsteps. Her wolf ears twitched under her beanie while detecting the sound. "Someones here." She told Ponzu who immediately stopped the conversation and put on a straight face.

Akari smelt the air and realized that it was leorio and that gon and kurapika are outside. "Dang it" She cursed under her breath.

Why are they here? They're going to get stuck here too. Akari thought.

"Burbon?"  Leorio questioned to himself upon entering the room.

"I assume that I'm your target?" Ponzu spoke up

"Ponzu!" Leorio slashed his knife in the air. He looked over to Ponzu's side where Akari sat. "Akari? What are you doing here? What's going on?"Leorio yelled

"Calm down. Put down the knife. Don't try to leave this cave. Shut up and listen." She ordered him. "Trust me."

He slowly dropped the knife to his side, but still held it firm.

Ponzu then spoke up, "She is right, we will gain nothing when fighting here."

"I have everything to gain. As you said, you're my target." Leorio yelled again.

Akari just yawned and them and closed her eyes.

"Let's pretend a miracle happens and you manage to defeat me. You will not be able to leave this cave." Ponzu said with a straight face. "What... what do you mean?" Leorio studdered

Ponzu sighed, "Burbon the snake charmer made a trap where if anyone tries to escape or approach him will be attacked by snakes."

"That's bull! You probably just want me to fail the exam by lying to me, don't you?" Leorio cursed, yelling at ponzu. "You too Akari! I bet you just used us to get this far into the exam!" Leorio yelled in an angry fit. "I'm getting the hell out of here." He spun around and made a break for the exit.

Akari quickly sat up, ran toward him and grabbed his wrist. "No, you are not! We're not lying to you. You're going to get yourself killed!" She yelled

"Why should I listen to a little girl who orders others around!?" He yelled and pulled his hand out of Akari's grasp.

"YOU IDIOT!!" Akari yelled. She yanked his shirt back and kicked him back inside the cave, but she ended up on the other side and got attacked by the snakes.

3RD POV

"YOU IDIOT!" Gon and Kurapika heard... Akari yell? They both sprint inside the cave and they saw four people. Burbon, Ponzu, and both Leorio and Akari with snake bite marks all over thier body. 

Oh no, what happened? Kurapika thought

"Leorio! Akari!" Gon shouted and approached Akari while kurapika checked on leorio.

Akari looked pale and had a straight face on. A habit she picked up whenever she felt pain. 

"Are you ok do you feel any pain?" Gon asked her and put her hand on her shoulder. She quickly shoved his arm off. "I'm fine, go check on leorio. I'm used to pain."

"No! I'm not leaving you alone. You're my friend." Gon said and started to pick up Akari. "Nonononononono! Leave me alone! Help leorio the idiot." Akari sassed back while trying to escape gons grip. "Nope!" Gon dragged her over to leorio so both of them can be checked up on at the same time.

"Kurapika, these are vipers. Their poison is not that strong but he has been bitten many times." Gon said while looking at the cut up snakes to his left. 

Akari tried to get up several times but was pushed down by gon every time. "Stop moving. The poison will spread faster is you do." Gon ordered Akari who sighed and lay on the floor, covered in bites.

"We need to take them to a doctor." Kurapika decided and started to lift up leorio.

 "You guys can't leave! You will be attacked too." Akari shouted for him to stop. Because gon moved away from her momentarily to assist kurapika, she took the chance to stand up, run in front of them and make an 'X' stance in thier path.

 "Akari." Kurapika started to say. "I'm not moving! Neither are you!" She yelled "But-" Gon got cut off by Akari, "You guys haven't been listening to us! If you try to escape you will be bitten like us. I don't want you guys to die!" 

"Akaris right. These snake traps were set my burbon who is already dead." Ponzu said

"The person who set the traps is dead? How?" Kurapika asked

"I killed him," Ponzu said. 

"Gon, carry leorio," Kurapika said as he went to burbon. "Don't do that. They also attack if you approach him." Akari warned.

Kurapika listened to her and decided to inspect at a distance. He looked at burbons hands which were covered in bee stings. 

TS (we skipped the explanation on how ponzu killed burbon)

"I have already given up on this year's exam. I'm just going to wait until this phase is over so the examiners can come to get me through the tracking device in my tag. Then I will try again next year." Ponzu explained.

"We can't do that. We need to get these two to a doctor." Kurapika said looking at Akari and Leorio.

"We have to hope he survives that long then," Ponzu said and gave Akari a hopeful and knowing glance. "Then again it's his own fault that he is in this condition. I tried to warn him and Akari tried to stop him. He was being an Idiot. He tried to get out of here despite our warnings because he believed we were lying, so he tried to storm out but Akari pushed him out of the way. She ended up getting bitten by the snakes because of that man." Ponzu told them.

The others were shocked when they heard how Akari tried to save him. They looked back to Akari who had moved next to ponzu and was taking a peaceful nap, leaning against the wall. It seemed like she was not even poisoned in the first place besides the marks on her skin. Her face showed no hint of pain.

Gon and Kurapika smiled fondly at her then continued on with the conversation by asking, "If Akari took the hit for leorio why is he bitten?" 

Ponzu took a moment before she responded, "I assume that the snakes thought they both were trying to escape so they decided to attack both of them." 

"Also what do you mean by 'he' when you said 'Let's hope he survives that long' ?" Kurapika asked annoyed. "Akari is poisoned too, but then again she doesn't look like she is in any pain"

"That's for her to explain not me." Ponzu defended "But based on what she told me during the few days we have been in here. She is going to be fine after this nap."

"Hmm" Kurapika and Gon responded.

There was a moment of silence before gon spoke, "Kurapika, look after leorio. I'm sure we will find an antidote." Gon said being certain he will accomplish just that. He walked over to Bourbon, reached out and grabbed his shirt pocket causing lots of snakes to fall from the ceiling and onto him. He searched through his pockets while the snakes wrapped themselves on him and slid thier fangs into his skin.

He felt the cool glass bottle and syringes and threw them towards kurapika who caught it. Gon then fell to the floor and the snakes slithered away.

"Use it on leorio and Akari, quickly." Gon rasped out.

Kurapika quickly filled the syringe and gave the medicine to leorio. He then went over to Akari who was starting to wake up.

Akari POV

I was taking a nap when I heard a glass bottle and a syringe!? I try to wake up as quickly as I can to make sure that they are not here and trying to stop my anima again. I heard footsteps coming closer. They sat down and bu then I was fully awake with the exception of blurry vision. I quickly swipe my arm away from the person and start to move away. I was quickly caught and sat back down. What's going on? Who is that?!

"Shhh, calm down it's me kurapika." His voice was soft and loving so I did as he said. "I'm going to give you some medicine is that ok?" He asked. "Ok" I let him take my arm and put the medicine in. "Ok gon you're next," Kurapika said and left. 

Thank god it was one of my friends and not them.