Hello hello everyone, a new face greets you all! I'm Ash-Lee, or just Ash usually. Welcome to my…our…story! Now read on and make sure to read carefully, not everyone is as they seem… I'm kidding I'm kidding, just read and I'll see you in a bit!

-The Examinees-

Gon took the 405 badge that was handed to him upon exiting the lift that had taken him, Kurapika and Leorio to the Hunter Exam Site located beneath Zaban City. Now, as he cast his eyes around the underground tunnel, the warning that the captain had given him rose back to the front of his mind.

"Kid, I like you so I'm going to tell you some advice. You see that massive Cedar tree up there on the hill? Head towards it. You'll be tested along the way there but you will meet the Navigators that will take you towards the first stage of the exam...Also, a warning for you to keep in mind...if number ten is a blonde female, be careful of her. She's not all that she seems."

The atmosphere was tense, the eyes that had turned their way upon arrival soon leaving them as the interest vanished. Gon continued to scan the crowds before a voice called

"Hey, haven't seen you guys around before." Three pairs of eyes rose to look at a brown haired round-nosed guy smiling down at them from his spot atop the pipes lining the walls. Gon took a few steps forward asking

"You can tell we're new?" The guy chuckled and jumped down replying

"More or less. After all, this is my thirty-fifth attempt." All three pairs of eyes widened as Leorio and Gon cried

"Thirty five times?!" He grinned widely.

"Yep, guess you could say I'm an exam veteran!" Leorio and Kurapika sighed as Leorio muttered

"That's not something to brag about..." Kurapika voiced his agreement as the guy, number 16, added

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I'm Tonpa." Gon smiled and thanked him before introducing himself and his friends. He cast his eyes around quickly once again before asking Tonpa

"Say, are there any others that have taken the exam a bunch of times?"

He looked almost proud as he replied

"Well, I have the most experience here but there are a few others. For instance, there's him..." He pointed to a large guy eating some snacks with the number 255 on his badge.

"Todo the Wrestler. He's unmatched in strength and he's a lot smarter than he looks." He the pointed to a guy wearing a turban.

"On the other side we have number 103; Bourbon the Snake Charmer. He tends to hold grudges so you don't want to end up on his bad side. And then.." He pointed to an older man calmly meditating cross-legged on the floor.

"Number 191, Bodoro the kung fu master. He's getting old but there still isn't a better martial artist around." He next pointed to a group of three men, all three smirking confidently.

"Then you have the three brothers; Amori, Imori and Umori. They perform consistently well thanks to their ecellent team work. And number 384, Gerreta, the huntsman..." He pointed to a dark skinned male carefully cleaning the end of a long blow gun.

"He specialises in killing all manner of creatures by blow dart and club. There are many more but they have taken the test many times." Then he looked around and turned to the trio adding

"And the psychopath is back. Number 44, Hisoka the Magician. Last year he was virtual lock to pass the exam until he all but killed an examiner he didn't like."

The trio stared at him incredulously as Leorio asked

"And they're letting him re-take the exam?!" Tonpa nodded grimly.

"Of course...anyway, no one likes him. You should stay away too." Gon frowned in Hisoka's direction but couldn't hide his excitement of the challenges that awaited him.

Then he remembered the captain's words again and turned back to Tonpa asking

"Hey Tonpa, what can you tell me about Number 10?" Tonpa blinked, looking confused, but answered nonetheless.

"Number 10 hey? They're the one who holds the record for Most Exams Taken; they've been here even more than me. I honestly don't know that much about them but I can tell you that, since I entered, Number 10 has always been a young blonde female. And every year that I come back, she's always here but...you know what's odd?" Gon shook his head, listening intently as Tonpa continued,

"She never seems to age. When I first entered the exam, I heard that she nearly always makes it to the Fourth Phase, often making it right to the Final Phase but she has yet to pass, plus from what I've seen she is still in her mid-twenties!. She's been here every year that I have but...I can't see her today though I'm positive she's in this crowd somewhere; she always is."

The trio looked at each other before Gon grinned widely saying

"Let's see if we can find her!"

Looking at Gon, Leorio and Kurapika sighed in almost harmony as Tonpa gave them a bewildered look, the boy grabbed onto Kurapika and Leorio as his rod hooked the collar of Tonpa's shirt. Dragging them through the sea of applicants he used his keen eyes to search out the figure he had been told about. It didn't take him too long to see his target and Tonpa was worried about how she would react to this crazy rookie.

"Hi! My name is Gon!"

The blonde female looked up from her book and she inclined her head slightly. Something made Gon believe that she had just said 'Hello' back to him.

"You don't talk much do you? Nor do you show that many emotions."

She bowed her head slightly and Gon smiled at her. Tonpa was staring at the rookie, How the hell could he understand her? The queen of silence? Heck, Tonpa realised with a start, I've never even heard her speak!

"Is it true when they say you've taken the exams forty-four times?" Tonpa went to correct the kid but found himself frozen when number ten opened her mouth. "I may be old Gon, but not that old. I've taken the exams forty times. Also, my name is Grace. Just so you don't have to call me number ten, kid." All of the older men found themselves wrapped within the melting chocolate mixed with smooth honey that was her surprisingly deep voice. Gon smiled brilliantly before re-hooking Tonpa and grabbing both Leorio and Kurapika and dragging them off with a wave.

"Bye Grace! I'll see you later!"

They were running for the first task. Grace was gliding along the roller blades that she had packed, which were useful for once...she hadn't had a reason to use them before. So it was a test of endurance and mental stability for this year's first task, Hang on what was... He's using laxatives this year? And none of the rookies look troubled, looks like he's in for a tough time this year. Grace found herself right beside Satotz as he did his strange walk-run-jog-march thing that she had seen before.

"Hello Grace. You know I'm rather surprised that you told that kid your name." Her slightly raised eyebrow was all he got but he took it to mean 'What's it to you? The kid is interesting for a rookie, so are his companions.' As they both continued to run, or roll, Grace noticed a young girl coming up to them. Another rookie? This year's bunch seem competent for once, it's weird... It was then she realised this girl, number 169, had a large smile on her face as she mimicked Satotz's way of running...or was attempting to. Grace turned her head slightly to watch in amusement at the girls attempt.

Soon enough the girl was right behind them, catching up easily even as she finally got Satotz's run exactly right, looking quite pleased with herself as she matched her timing with the purple haired man who sweat dropped ever so slightly after watching her actions from the corner of his eye. The light brown haired girl suddenly started laughing as she muttered

"This feels so weird...but it's surprisingly easy to run like this." With that she laughed harder as Grace turned her eyes forward again, face betraying no emotion even as she thought no, you're the weird one.

Within the next second, she heard a murmured

"Oops...messed that step up..." before a loud crash echoed from behind her. She turned, bracing herself just in time to stop herself from falling over as the girl somersaulted into the back of her legs. Grace rolled a bit forward before stopping herself and turning to face the girl on the ground who was rubbing her head, ignoring the applicants running around them. Earnest yet mysterious dark blue grey tinted eyes rose to meet Grace's dark grey blue tinted ones. Grace blinked once and rose an eyebrow. The girl blinked back before sighing and bowing her head saying

"Yeah, yeah I know; I'm sorry for running into you." Grace replied by tilting her head to the other side ever so slightly. The girl laughed and stood, brushing the dust off her pants saying sarcastically

"So glad I'm forgiven for my major crime against you." Grace didn't move an inch but, again, the girl seemed to read her as if she had said the word aloud.

"I'm just messing with you. But still, you had to stop me when I was on a roll. Why?" By now, Grace was confused but getting tired of the rookie so she turned and started to return to the run. Then she stopped as the girl muttered

"Geez, I know the roll was intentional. Learn to take a joke." With that she took off, weaving her way back through the applicants that had passed the two girls during their brief stop.

With no emotions showing as usual, Grace mentally stared after the brown haired girl. She hadn't said a word or shown any expression that would have betrayed what she was thinking or what she had intended to say yet this girl, this klutz of a rookie, was seeing straight through her mask of emotionless silence to the woman who was talking animatedly...and so damn easily too.

...And, for some reason, that really irked her. With her annoyance levels bubbling slowly, Grace turned around and started rolling off through the throng of applicants, returning to her spot beside Satotz moments later, the odd girl not too far behind her once again.

As the end neared, she could hear the relived voices of the other applicants, well, from the ones who hadn't dropped out yet anyway plus a pair of children's footsteps drawing closer. Reaching the exit a step behind the examiner, Grace moved to the side, taking her rollerblades off and putting them back in her bag. As Satotz turned to evaluate the remaining applicants, two kids raced past him, the weirdo girl two steps behind them. Satotz revealed nothing as he turned to watch the two boys arguing over who won, the short girl stretching as she walked off a little, looking around in curiosity and Grace was looking bored as usual, leaning casually against the wall waiting for the others to catch up. Mentally Satotz smiled…this year's bunch was an intriguing lot.

Finally everyone else arrived, many out of breath while few were either winded slightly or completely fine. All eyes rose as the thick fog surrounding them started to clear revealing a large and dense tree filled landscape. Satotz looked over the applicants and said

"The Numere Wetlands, also known as the Swindlers Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach the site of the second phase." Grace looked up at his words, eyes widening ever so slightly as a shudder coursed through her.

And that is the just a taste of what's to come. Can you guess what Grace is scared of? It's really kinda funny actually but I'll keep my mouth shut and you can just find out in the next chapter. We have more ready to go so, if you like it, let us know and we'll have a new chapter up for you within the next couple of days. Please review, I want to come back and talk to you all again! And Grace does to but she's too busy quaking in her boots to talk right now…maybe she'll speak up in the next chapter.

Hope to see you soon!

Bye

Ash-Lee (and Grace)