Ayan~ I'm sorry that Im not updating my rewritten stories. I wrote this story on a whim. It may or may not be continued. Sorry for any inconvenience. School has been impossible lately. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 1: Duty X Obligation X Life
Deep in a lush forest, a young green-haired girl holds up a shiny silver whistle. The undergrowth teems with apprehensive creatures, recognizing her scent and aura. This land, teeming with danger to all others, is her safe haven, her refuge from society. Her mouth curves into a slight smile, but her eyes remain shut, just as they have always been. She breathes in and blows as hard as she can into the tiny instrument. A clear, high-pitched note echoes across the expanse, bringing it to life as animals rush to obtain their orders. Her smile widens without seeing as she commands them. They know she is the ruler of this forest.
"No killing. Near deaths are fine. Maiming is ok. Capturing is what we're aiming for. Bring them all to me. Thank you for helping me. Challenges are what make life interesting. So let's have some fun, ne?" The monsters understand and spread out. The girl's eyes finally open, revealing in them an animalistic tendency. She has marked her prey.
"And now the games, oh Chairman, shall begin, and the force of the gale shall cause havoc upon this area. Once again, I accept your terms. Therefore, please take care of me, ne?" she says happily, joyfully. "As for you, dear examined, you are yet children in the ways of the world. I shall teach you, ne?" On that parting note, spoken to no one in particular, copper wings expand on her back and she disappears.
Naught but a whisper remains: "No traces, ne?"
The first stage of the Hunter Exam is the hardest for Kimiyo, it always has been. She has done this for thirteen years, ever since her master was a two-year-old child, and still the first is the most difficult, the reason being too many people. Her master's family has dismissed the pre-exam as impossible, and she is thankful for that piece of common sense. She knows that too many people will not affect the other contestants that much, but then again, they all have a different purpose for doing this. There are definite similarities, she thinks, between them and me. We all train hard for this. We all are hoping against all odds. We all believe we will make it. Yet we still will probably never understand each other, she admits. That thought is what depresses her the most.
There are always her favorites, too, among the contestants. This year, she is favoring the group she sees far ahead of her: the group that came in together as the last ones. The young scruffy man with kind eyes, the blonde teen with calculating eyes and the spiky-haired boy with forgiving eyes (she likes him the most, she can tell the others have been touched by him because of the way their eyes soften when looking at him). The boy prodigy (for she can tell just how amazingly skilled he really is) with the curious and pained eyes is coming up on a skateboard next to them, joining in on their conversation. He is another favorite. She hopes that the spiky-haired boy and the boy prodigy will become friends, because maybe, just maybe, the prodigy boy eyes would also soften. She smiles when thinking that, because he reminds her of her master, who also could do with a friend like the spiky-haired boy.
With that she begins to worry about her master, who as also done this several times. You can't help but worry with a master like mine, she thinks happily, for thoughts of her master cheer her up. She hopes her master is doing fine out in Numelle's Swamp, but she knows it will all turn out alright. Her master is almost a pro at these things. Her duties and obligations to her master sends her train of thought to the one who obstructed her last year, Hisoka.
He is her last favorite, the red-haired magician with the playful uncaring eyes, if only because he always makes her duties so much harder just by being there. If he passes, he will not be there next year. That would be very nice, she thinks dolefully, but it may or may not happen. Am I allowed to hope for the may, with a man like that? Or am I just being selfish?
She then wonders: why can't people just get along?
Nicolas knows that he is done for. He is worthless, so he doesn't care. Collapsing to the ground, soaking with sweat, he feels foolish at ever coming here, ever thinking he just might pass. His thoughts spiral in despair, going back and forth and around again. As swallowed up by misery as he is, he doesn't notice the mice and rats that are slowly surrounding him. If he did, he might have had the chance to scream before he was knocked out by the figure behind him and carried away by the rodents to somewhere else. As it is, he will probably later regret giving in to Tonpa's psychological torture.
Satotsu knows that something is missing from this stage. He cannot sense any death. The drop-outs are disappearing one by one, and this worries him, although only slightly. Those people don't have the aptitude, he thinks. They are not my concern. Or are they? It is always possible that they are future hunters. Still, this exam is one they will fail, and I am not proctoring the next ones. Examining is a one time thing for everyone but the Chairman. If they want to become hunters, they must survive the aftermath of failure as well. He pushes his questions to the back of his mind and continues leading the others. As the exam progresses, he finds his thought turning to other subjects, more immediate ones, such as the boy who was just behind him that reminded him of someone...
Ayan~ Thanks for reading this. As I said, I may or may not continue this. Reviews would probably help out the "will continue" side of the argument. This story, if continued, may have a bunch of OCs. We've already met our main OCs, Kimiyo and "the green-haired girl," whose name, by the way, is Tôko. I know some people have some, ah... difficulties with reviewing, like if they don't know what to say. Therefore, I will be nice (Ha! Me? Nice?) and give you guys at least one question, probably more, per chappie. You don't have to answer them, and if you do, you don't have to do all of them. It's just, you know, me trying to get reviews, which I live for;) Questions for this chappie number two. Who do you think Kimiyo's master is, and who would you wish her master is? (No, they don't have a relationship, their circumstances are similar to Killua [insert fangirl squeals] and Goto) Other question is what do you think Tôko's true purpose is? I'm pretty sure I foreshadowed it...
So... yeah. Please review. Thanks.