Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter.
CHAPTER 10
Zaban City was bustling with life.
Its streets were filled with people who all looked busy and hurried. Some people were shady while the others seemed fairly normal as they went about their daily lives.
Gon couldn't help but be fascinated with it all. He awed at every shop whether it sold food, jewelry, antiques, and even one that held a faux fortune teller.
Renée also lingered behind in mild curiosity. She wasn't as energetic as Gon but she equally wondered at the merchandise.
Whale Island was never this crowded and therefore the people weren't so busy. Most people that came to the island were fishermen that had to either restock or make a trade, sometimes both. That was the reason the native islanders were only very few and Gon and Renée were the only children present.
"Hey you two, we'll leave you behind if you don't hurry." Leorio called out to them.
The two children glanced up and smiled sheepishly as they weaved through the crowd to catch up.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Hunter Exam should be held right over here." their navigator, the son, said. The four looked up ahead and gawked at the large, fancy building in front of them.
"So this is where the Hunter Exam is to be held." Kurapika muttered.
Gon balled his hands into fists as his eyes shone with excitement and determination. 'I wonder if my dad felt the same when he took the Exam.' he thought proudly.
"Hey you guys. It's over here." They all turned to the navigator and saw him standing in front of a tiny, slightly run down restaurant, his eyes watching them in amusement.
"Wha-!? You can't possibly expect us to believe that THAT is where the Hunter Exam is to be held!?" Leorio exclaimed.
"It sure is. No one would really expect this restaurant to contain thousands of applicants right?"
"Well that's true but..."
The four entered the restaurant and a little bell tinkled above their heads when the door opened.
"Welcome! What can I get you?" a man, the cook, greeted them immediately.
"I'll have the steak combo, for four." the Kiriko replied for them.
This simple statement visibly caught the cook's attention and he looked at them sharply. "For four? How would like them cooked?"
"Grilled under a low flame until cooked."
At this, the man relaxed and continued cooking the meat on his skillet. "Let yourselves in the back."
The Kiriko led the way and opened the door for them. The room was small but it can easily fit ten people. It was plain and only a table and some chairs at the center of the room served as the only decoration present.
"This is where I leave you. Good luck on the Exam. I'd be happy to be your navigator again next year." the Kiriko smiled at them.
"Mr. Kiriko, thank you!" Gon said, extending out his hand towards him.
For a moment, the son seemed surprised but he shook the boy's hand anyway.
Once the door closed, the room rumbled and they felt it slowly descend.
"It's a lift." Renée muttered absently.
"That bastard. What did he mean by next year?" Leorio grumbled as he sat down.
"The chance of a rookie passing the Exam is once every three years. He was saying that to be kind, and I honestly appreciate that." Kurapika explained as he too sat down.
"It's that rare huh?" the older male thought vaguely.
"I wonder why so many people want to be Hunters." Gon wondered aloud.
The statement caused a sudden outburst from the other two males who looked at him aghast, as if he had grown two heads.
"What are you talking about Gon? Being a Hunter is the most honorable thing in the world!" the blonde said.
"Huh? Honorable!? You've got it all wrong! It's the most profitable!" the dark-haired man countered.
The two glared at each other and started calling the other names. They showcased their points of view to Gon, who was stuck between two of his friends. He glanced at Renée, his eyes pleading and she couldn't help but laugh silently at his predicament.
"So which is it Gon?" Kurapika forcefully asked.
"Which Hunter do you want to be?" Leorio followed.
The boy looked torn.
He couldn't possibly choose between their options as what a Hunter he should be because it felt like he was choosing one friend over the other.
'Then again, their glares do look intimidating.'
"We've arrived."
The three turned towards the red-head as the lift chimed.
"We'll continue this matter later." the blonde muttered, fixing himself.
Gon breathed a sigh of relief and mouthed a small thank you to his childhood friend. Renée gave him a small smirk before following the other two outside.
The four found themselves in a dark tunnel with hundreds of other examinees. There's a palpable tension in the atmosphere and it was all directed towards the newcomers.
"Welcome to the Hunter Exam! My name is Beans. Please take a badge." a green blob-man greeted them immediately.
He was handing them four circular badges with numbers printed in black at the front. Each of them took one.
402: Renée;
403: Leorio;
404: Kurapika;
405: Gon.
"That will serve as your number throughout the examination. Please attach it on your shirts and be careful not to lose them. Good luck!" At that, Beans left quickly and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.
They followed his instructions and pinned their badges on their chests.
"I wonder if the Exam will start soon." Gon voiced out.
"Well it should. You're probably the last ones to arrive."
The four turned towards the voice and their eyes landed on a heavy-set, box-nosed man whose badge read '16'.
"You must be rookies. My name is Tompa!" he said, reaching out his hand.
Gon immediately took the chance to make a new friend and shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you! My name is Gon! This is Kurapika, Leorio, and Renée! How did you know we were rookies?"
"Ah that's easy! This is my 35th try at the Hunter Exam! I'm sort of a veteran here so I can easily tell which ones are new." he bragged.
"I don't think taking the Exam 35 times is something to be proud of. It simply means you're a loser, but I admire your persistence." Renée blurted out.
Her black-haired friend elbowed her for the rude comment and chuckled nervously at Tompa. The man, on the other hand, seemed to not notice the insult or simply didn't care because he only continued smiling at them.
"Say Tompa, since you're a veteran, is there someone here we should watch out for?" Kurapika tactfully, and smartly, changed the subject and the so-called veteran engaged them in a more serious conversation about the other candidates.
Two people stood out for Renée and they were 44: Hisoka and 301: Gittarackur. Something felt off about them and she immediately wrote them off as 'extremely dangerous'.
As if confirming her suspicions, Hisoka magically dismembered another examinees arms and turned them to flowers. The jester said something about apologizing but she couldn't hear it through all the man's screaming.
"Anyway, to commemorate our friendship, let's have a toast!" Tompa snapped her out of her thoughts as he handed each of them a can of orange juice.
Leorio accepted gratefully as he was already quite thirsty and so did the others. However, the red-head only glanced at the can before staring blankly at Tompa.
Getting uncomfortable under her gaze, he squirmed awkwardly and withdrew his hand, putting the juice away.
Gon threw her another dirty look before taking a quick sip from the can. Almost instantly, the boy spat the juice out. "Tompa, I think your juice has expired. It tastes funny."
This resulted in Leorio spraying out the juice in his mouth and Kurapika threw out the can's contents on the floor.
The man looked absolutely mortified by Gon's statement and apologized profusely. Of course the boy forgave him but as soon as his eyes met Renée's, he knew that she had already seen through him.
Panicking, Tompa made up an excuse to check up on other candidates and left hastily.
The black-haired boy turned to her and she readied herself for an earful.
"You knew it was expired didn't you. That's why you didn't accept it."
She blinked at him before laughing loudly. 'How can he still seriously think it was expired?' she thought amusedly.
Gon looked at his friend with an impatient expression and she stopped laughing. "Yeah, yeah. I guess you can say that I knew it was expired." she waved her hand dismissively.
The boy was about to retort but then a loud noise echoed through the tunnel.
"This Exam requires you to surpass your limitations. There are times that you may run into some unfortunate incident with your fellow examinees or on the Exam itself. The incident earlier is an example of what you may become so if you are short on luck or ability, then I suggest you exit via the elevator behind you." the man in front gestured towards the said contraption.
His warning was greeted with silence for no one dared to move.
His eyes lazily scanned the crowd once more before announcing that the Exam may start with 404 participants present. "Then without further ado, please follow me."
The man started walking deeper into the tunnel with the whole crowd of participants in tow. Renée noted how his strides were odd and that he was also picking up the pace.
"What's happening?" Leorio voiced out as he too noticed that the others were already jogging.
"I forgot to mention one detail. My name is Satotz. I will lead you to the second phase of the Exam."
"Second phase? What about the first?" a bald man asked him.
"It has already started. I am your examiner for this phase. To get to the second phase you must simply follow me. I cannot tell you when or where we will arrive in our destination so be careful not to lag too far behind." Satotz explained.
"With that said, this phase not only tests our physical capabilities but also our mentality." Renée stated.
"Why? It seems simple enough." Gon asked.
"The fact that he can't say the time of our arrival and the location of the second phase will cause a mental strain. Soon, people will start wondering how long we have to run or how far we have to go. This can cause others to break down, not knowing if it is worth it to continue." Kurapika explained to which the red-head nodded gravely.
"Of course it's worth it! Having the opportunity to obtain the Hunter License is enough motivation for me. If you don't wanna strain yourselves then don't think about it!" Leorio huffed loudly.
'If only it were that easy.'
END OF 10.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. Here's the start of the Hunter Exam!