(A/N: So, despite me being out of the game for a while, I've decided to reboot my not so original story, Hunter X Kune, using a different title and the same characters, since I liked the names. Being more mature and taking more creative writing courses, I hope that I can finally publish something that I can take pride in. Thank you to all my readers, new and old. This story is going to be completely separate from my first. You don't have to have read my original to understand this, everything will be different.)

The freight train hummed along the tracks, as just over 350 people were crammed into just 4 rusty, old train cars. The screeching sound of the train's brakes reverbed off the rusty tracks in disrepair, against the concrete walls in the dank tunnel. Murmur broke out as the people tried their best to make heads and tails of the situation. A high pitch screech could be heard, moving from train car to train car, until it finally reached the last car. Everyone prepared themselves for what unknown lie outside their steel casket. The large sliding door that held the mob of people in the car screeched open as everyone was blinded as their eyes adjusted to the bright spotlights pointed towards them.

Chapter 1: Becoming XAX Hunter!

A soft breeze coming from the rotating fan on the ceiling blew a few stray strands of hair into the face of Takumi. The teen, no older than 16, readjusted his silky hair out of his face and behind his ears. His soft, blue eyes scanned the horizon. From the airship he was aboard, he could see the long river of which his family's dojo lie, several hundred kilometers down. He was wearing alien clothes. Or at least he felt like he was wearing alien clothes. Living in a secluded dojo all his life, he had two outfits. His training Gi, made of silk from the nearby silkbug farm, and his nightwear. Each outfit he would wash in the river daily, his Gi at 4 AM and his nightwear at 5 PM, just long enough for each phase of his day to end. Currently, he was wearing blue jeans and a light green thermal, with large bulky hiking boots covering his thick wool socks. With him, a rucksack with everything he would need: a radio, a satellite GPS, an emergency phone, and 10000 jenny to spend. The rucksack was stored neatly in the overhead container. All of this was supplied by his father and grandfather pooling every penny they had saved up. Everything was purchased from a tiny town a few kilometers down the narrow dirt path to their abode.

"Will finding the exam site be that hard?" he murmured to himself, playing with the wrapper from a consumed candy bar. As he shifted in his seat, he felt something in his back pocket lightly rub against his thigh. Takumi reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper, with a few numbers and some seemingly random marks written on it, with an address on the back. He analyzed the writing, trying his best to decipher what any of this meant. When he submitted his Hunter application, they sent him this slip of paper in the mail. His thoughts started bubbling in his mind 'Is it a code? Do I need a manual? But what type of code uses letters and numbers? Is this a password? Is this part of the exam? What do I use this for?' Takumi, visibly flustered, got out of his seat and made his way to the restroom. He stuffed the slip into his back pocket, the official association seal just barely sticking out of his pants. As he walked down his row, he heard someone behind him snicker.

"Heh, try going home, rookie. You really think you can pass this exam without being able to make out that note?" sniggered a man, wearing khaki pants and a button up. "True Hunters should be able to interpret that note with ease. By the looks of you, I bet you won't even make it to the first phase."

"And what makes you so sure you'll be able to get any further than I will?" retorted Takumi.

"I already have, piss for brains. I got to the third phase last year, more than most rookies. I'll definitely pass this year," he bragged right before laughing. "You on the other hand, don't even realize the exam began!"

'Has the exam begun? There's no way it has, how would the organization be able to track the millions of applicants every year? Well, if there is a veteran exam taker her, I guess the odds aren't that off.' Takumi thought, 'Maybe he's just trying to make me lose my cool, after all, the less people who get to the exam site means the less people vying for the same position.' Taku turned and continued to the bathroom, while the man from before continued to heckle him.

Takumi entered the restroom and locked the door. He turned the sink faucet on, releasing cold water into the sink's basin. He cupped his hands and filled them with water, and splashed himself in the face. Takumi stared at his reflection in the tiny rectangular mirror hanging above the sink. He turned the faucet off and dried his face and sat on the toilet, removing the slip from his pocket. He unfolded it yet again, and read the address outloud.

"Vykin City, June sixth" He read aloud the note over and over. "That's one week from today, I got one week to find this exam site." Takumi leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "But, Vykin City is huge, where would I even start?" He clutched the scrap of paper in his hand tightly. 'That guy is right. Any Hunter would be able to find the exam site. I've been training for years, I will pass this exam!' With his newfound confidence, Takumi shot up off of the seat he had been sitting on, only to hit his head on the low ceiling. "CRAP!"

Takumi exited the bathroom, making his way towards his seat. The man who had discouraged him before was now sleeping, and Takumi decided to repay him. Noticing he had a bag under his seat, Takumi discretely took the bag and brought it back to his seat. He had opened it up, and started rummaging through it. He had found a notebook belonging to the man, and decided to flip through the pages. 'Heh. A "Hunter" like him, keeping a journal.' Takumi's eyeballs practically popped out of their sockets when he read what was on the last page the man used. 'No way! He had the same slip of paper that I got. And he's decoded the message using some sort of cipher.' He continued reading, until he got to the bottom where, after rearranging the random numbers and letters, was an address in Vykin City with a date- June fifth, one day before the exam began. Takumi flipped to the next page and pulled out a pencil. He shaded the whole page in lightly, making a copy of the previous page. He removed this sheet carefully, as to avoid leaving and marks in the notebook, and folded it up and placed it in his pocket. After, Takumi slid the notebook back in the man's bag where it had been, and placed it back under his seat.

'Two sixteen Belleview Avenue, June 5th,' Takumi thought. 'The address where I take my first steps to becoming a Hunter!' Taku yawned, as he thought of all the hard work he'd have to do if he was going to get his license. He reclined in his seat. 'I better hit the hay, I've gotta be at peak performance if I'm expected to be a Hunter!'

-{==}-

'Ugh, this exam is going to be so boring,' Kune thought to himself. 'I got to the final phase, and then that creep eliminated me from the tournament.' Kune glanced at his rolled up his sleeve, revealing the spot where once, a very large incision split his arm. 'And all I got to show for my effort, a huge scar.'

"The exam will take place here, mister." Kune looked down, and saw what seemed to be a sprawling metropolis. His guide, an ugly winged creature with the ability to shapeshift and mimic any human it's met. The Kiriko, as they called themselves."Do you see that shack, down at the outskirts of the city?"

Kune squinted, trying his best to spot the shack his guide was referring to, let alone the outskirts of the busy city. "What the hell are you talking about? There isn't any shack here!"

"Show some respect! Without me, you wouldn't even be able to find the exam site. You should know, it changes location every year!" the Kiriko shouted, reasonably annoyed. "Keep acting like that and I might just drop you!"

"Fine, you're right. But still, I don't have the same super vision you have."

"Hmph"

About half an hour later, the Kiriko let down the teenager in front of a tiny, decrepit wood shack. The shack was surrounded by swampland, which was too expensive to make suitable for any city developments. Trees dotted the swamp, most of them thin and stalky. Except for one noticeably different tree. This tree easily rivaled some smaller skyscrapers in height, and looked to be 60 meters in diameter. The tree sheltered Kune and his guide from the sun's rays. The Kiriko morphed back into his human form and began stretching his arms while Kune dusted off his khaki shorts. His black hair was swept back because of the wind, which severely irritated Kune. He tried matting it down, but to no avail.

"Carrying someone in the sky for hours is really tiresome," the winged beast said with a grunt. "Wait outside, I'll bring you to the site."

The Kiriko walked into the shack and began tapping on the wall, until a loud thunk came from a spot by the only window the shack had, almost as if it weren't made of the same wood as the rest of the wall. The shack's interior was barren, except for an old sofa and a sink that was missing it's faucet. The Kiriko pressed down on the wall, to reveal a switch. Flipping it, caused a low humming sound to be emitted from the shack, until suddenly loud screeching sounds pierced the silence in this calm forest scene. Curiously enough, the origin of the sound was the large tree, which lay no more than one hundred meters from the shack.

The guide stepped outside the shack, and explained to Kune that the tree housed an elevator bringing him down to the exam site. Kune thanked his guide and started off to the tree. He stepped into the dimly lit interior, which was covered in cheap, peeling wallpaper with floor the floor being made of synthetic wooden tiles. Two buttons presented Kune with a choice; it was either up, or down. Kune pressed the latter. 'What should I expect?' thought Kune, as the elevator screeched as it lurched downward. 'I know I thought this would be easy, but if that freaky Jester dude is there again, I don't know what to do.' A few moments later, the gears moving the elevator etched into stillness, as the doors open and scraped against the cheap floor. "Here I go..." he whispered.

-{==}-

Hey! Thank you for making it to the end of the chapter. All reviews are welcome, give me your honest feedback please! I plan on updating when I'm bored, so I apologize if you don't get weekly updates or anything like that.