"Birds know themselves not to be at the center of anything, but at the margins of everything. The end of the map. We only live where someone's horizon sweeps someone else's. We are only noticed on the edge of things; but on the edge of things, we notice much." ― Gregory Maguire, Out of Oz

"Huh? How did a bird get down here?"

Gon's question drew the attention of Tonpa, Leorio and Kurapika. The boy pointed up at the ceiling of the testing area. A bird, indeed, was circling the low basement, rotating in uneven loops. The group watched it a few minutes. Once in a while, someone tried jumping or grabbing at it, but it was mainly left alone.

"That's definitely strange…" Leorio rubbed his chin. "Is it part of the test?"

"Wait." Kurapika stared closer at it. Something about the way it was flying seemed strange. It wasn't flapping its wings properly; it flopped and wobbled awkwardly. Not that it had a hard time staying airborne, but it didn't carry the same grace as a bird in the wild. "I don't think it's a bird."

The thing that looked like a sparrow took a sudden nosedive into the crowd, vanishing amongst the crammed bodies. "Oh!" Gon exclaimed.

"It must belong to one of the applicants." Kurapika said. "I'm sure we'll encounter them soon enough. Let's keep moving."

Before the trio and Tonpa could get much further, a chattering alarm went off, drawing the attention of all the applicants. The back wall of the room opened with a massive, earth-shaking rumbling. Dust poured from the rising half circle. Where a massive chunk of stone had just been, a man was in its place, and a hallway identical to the room extended into the distance behind him.

"I apologize for the wait." The man said. He wore a nice purple suit and had a well-trimmed moustache. "The entry period for Hunter applicants has now ended. The Hunter exam will now begin!"

The crowd stirred restlessly, but quieted when he spoke again. "A final warning. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or dead. Those who accept the risks, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you."

A long pause ensued. "Very well. All 404 applicants will participate in Phase One."

The man wheeled around, threw out a leg, and started off at a walk. With nothing else to go on but the first instruction, the four hundred people obediently began to follow him. Before long, he picked up the pace, leading them on a jog. As the run began, a bell started to ring out. It was fairly loud, and echoed in the round corridor.

"What's that?" Leorio grimaced. "A part of the test?"

"A timer, perhaps?" Kurapika wondered aloud.

"Well, is it counting every second or every five seconds?"

Kurapika paused and counted the seconds, taking note when the bell rang. "Neither. I don't think it's a timer. I believe it's coming from one of the applicants." He looked around, and pointed a finger across the crowd and behind them slightly. "There."

The source of the ringing bell was a young woman in a fine silk kimono. She jogged along in small steps but with little apparent difficulty, wooden sandals clopping lightly. The bell in question was perched atop a long, heavy iron staff, which she toted along with the tempered patience of a mother carrying a toddler. The woman's eyes were closed—no, Kurapika noticed, mostly closed: she was watching the ground. The number on her chest was 299.

"Ehh…" Leorio grumbled. "Would it kill her to make it stop ringing?"

"It seems she's also the source of the bird from earlier. Look." Kurapika pointed.

The birds, as it turned out, were precisely that: mechanical birds. Their erratic flying patterns suddenly made sense. Some were quite small, like hummingbirds, while others reached the size of ravens or even small hawks, easily up to Kurapika's knees. The little ones hovered near eye level, while the large ones glided above their heads near the ceiling. Occasionally they would emit a creaky whistle or fall back to observe the contestants.

"Huh." Gon craned his neck to see over the heads of the adults. "I wonder what they're for."

The run stretched on and on. There was no way to know how much time had passed. As it continued, the crowd began to thin out somewhat as contestants ran out of energy. Gon and Kurapika had no trouble at all keeping pace with Satotz, but Leorio had begun to struggle, neck muscles straining and sweat soaking the collar of his suit. Hence, his foul temper when a white-haired kid on a skateboard went sailing past him.

"Hey, kid! Have some respect for the Hunter Exam!" The medical student snapped. "That's cheating!"

The boy looked back with lackluster curiosity. "Why?"

"Because this is an endurance test!"

"No, it isn't." Gon added from behind them, running effortlessly. "The examiner only told us to follow him."

With the same blank expression, the boy dropped back to Gon. "How old are you?"

"I'm twelve years old."

The boy allowed a mildly interested expression, before hopping off the skateboard and catching it as it fell. "Guess I'll run too."

"Wow!" Gon grinned. "That was cool!"

"I'm Killua."

"I'm Gon!" He cast a quick look around and leaned in to stage whisper to Killua. "Hey, can you come with me to talk to that lady over there?" He pointed a conspiring finger back at the contestant with the birds. "I want to ask about her birds."

Killua looked back, unimpressed. "Sure."

The duo dropped back a bit, then sped up to start keeping pace. The bell was a lot louder up close, and the birds had a fascinating amount of detail in them. Miniscule gears, shiny brass cogs, wires as small as hairs or as large as ropes, razor sharp hooks, wafer-thin plates and flickering lights worked in perfect unison, but it seemed like something else was keeping them afloat. It was clear they were crafted with much love and care; they truly looked alive.

"Hey!" A voice behind them spoke up before either boy could ask the woman anything. A surly-looking man was puffing to catch up to her, as well. "You with the bell! Stop right there!"

The woman didn't stop, but lifted her head. "Are you referring to me?" Her voice was soft and clear.

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you! You better stop ringing that damn bell! It's really annoying, you hear me? Well, I bet you can't, since that thing is so loud!"

"I cannot do that. I apologize."

"Huh? Like hell you can't!" Spittle flew from his lips, and he jabbed a finger at her accusingly as he ranted. "I'm gonna go far in this thing, got it? I don't want stuck-up people like you telling me what to do all th—"

The rude applicant was cut off with a watery choking noise. It happened so fast that Killua could barely follow the exchange. The woman slammed the staff into the stone and used her momentum from running to swing all the way around to land a solid, bone-crunchingly hard kick to the man's face. The instant before it landed, Killua noticed that the bottom of her roundish wooden sandal was plated with metal, likely for that exact purpose. The kick barely slowed her, and she swung back around to complete a perfect 360-degree turn, wrenched the pole from the ground, and kept running as though nothing had happened.

The man went spinning, crumpled into a heap, and did not move again. Killua gave an impressed whistle, and they watched him shrink into the distance behind the running herd.

"That was amazing, miss!" Gon gushed.

The woman with the birds smiled faintly. "Thank you. Rudeness is so intolerable. My bell is not so terribly loud."

"I can barely hear it anymore!" Gon beamed. "It faded into the background, since I've been hearing it since we started running."

"I'm glad it doesn't annoy you. What is your name?"

"Gon Freecss." He supplied willingly.

"Gon." She tested. "A good, strong name. Mine is Hitomi. It's very nice to meet you."

She's really polite, Killua thought, watching the woman carefully. But that kick was way stronger than I'd been expecting. It definitely would have killed either of us if she'd missed, and she's probably only ten years older. As it is, that guy back there might be dead.

"And what's your name?" Hitomi's question interrupted his train of thought.

"Killua."

"It's very nice to meet you, too. Why are such young boys like you entering the Hunter Exam?"

"I thought it might be fun. I heard it was tough, so I wanted to give it shot. It gives me something to do, anyway."

"And I want to find my dad and be a Hunter like he is!" Gone responded confidently. "So this is my first step."

"You aren't interested in the money or fame at all?"

"Nope!"

Hitomi paused, thinking, and then broke out in a full-bellied laugh. She tossed her head back, revealing small white teeth. "That is interesting! You two are something special. I have a feeling you will go far in this Exam."

"So, this isn't your first time taking the Exam?" Gon asked.

"Ah, it is, actually. I knew a Hunter who took it, however, and she gave me some helpful advice on what to expect."

A noise behind them, someone falling or laughing or some such, drew her attention, and she cocked her head back. As she did, she looked up to reveal large, soft, pearl-white eyes. Killua raised his eyebrows, mildly surprised. "Hm. You're blind?"

"Oh!" Hitomi blushed and turned her head away. "My, I'm so embarrassed. I usually keep it secret much longer than three hours."

"How can you take the Exam if you're blind?" Gon's question was not malicious in any way: simply curious.

Hitomi smiled. "I can't tell you everything, but I can give you a hint:" She raised a small finger to point at the bell. "I must ring this almost constantly. How do you suppose that helps me?"

"Uh…" Gon squinted, thinking hard about it. Killua regarded him, then the blind woman. It's obvious, Gon. "I don't know."

"You seem to have a guess, Killua."

The white-haired boy glanced up when she addressed him. "How could you tell?"

"Your silence was weighted. I could sense you wanted to say something."

Killua shrugged. "It's like echolocation, right?"

"Bingo!" She chirped in English. "That's precisely it. I use sound waves to listen to how big a room is, how many people are in it, where most things are, and even how high the ceiling goes."

"Really?" Gon beamed. "That's so cool! But, I wanted to ask, what keeps your birds up in the air?"

Hitomi raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Why would you like to know?"

"Well, they don't smell like real birds, since they're made of metal. And…" He scratched his head. "There's more, but I don't know how to say it."

"None of the parts are working right." Killua interjected flatly, having been thinking about the subject as well. "They're too heavy to stay in the air, even for a toy. And if you're blind, how did you put them together? They're way too detailed."

Hitomi chuckled. "My, how observant. Keep thinking about it. For now, though, it will be my secret until you can tell me with certainty that you know how they stay airborne."

One of the smallest birds, no taller than a finger, landed on Gon's shoulder, and he watched it with amazement as it sang a tinny, creaky tune. "All right! I promise I'll figure it out!"

Hitomi turned her head to smile at them, her eyes closed once more. "I can't wait."