Next chapter! Hope y'all enjoy this one too.
Each phase will have its own chapter - they'll all be varying lengths, too (this one will likely be the shortest).
R&R!
Five minutes pass. Nothing happens.
That's okay, Aki thinks. He'll probably be back soon.
Ten minutes pass.
Twenty.
Thirty.
After thirty minutes pass with no sign of Leorio, the room is buzzing. Aki's not really concerned, but she is a little confused. She listens to some of the other applicants talk around her.
"Where is he?"
"Was that even a real examiner? Are we in the right place?"
"That was Leorio Paladiknight - he's legit. We've gotta be in the right place."
"You think something happened to him?"
On the other side of the room, a random man tries the door. "It's unlocked!" he calls out. "We're not trapped here."
Aki shrugs. It's only been thirty minutes, that's not too terribly long.
The others settle back down in their seats, sneaking furtive glances at the doors. Aki creeps closer to the door and finds a new seat only a few feet away. She wants to be close to the exit if it's sprung on them that they need to start the exam urgently.
An hour passes.
Two women approach the door. One's frowning, the other looks more uncomfortable.
"Look, it's been an hour," the uncomfortable looking one says. She rocks on her heels, thick boots making a satisfying tapping noise against the floor. "I doubt anything's going to happen in the next two minutes."
"You never know," her friend says. "Can't you just hold out?"
"Yeah, right. Relax, I'm sure there's a bathroom somewhere in this building. It's not like I'm leaving the premises. I'll be right back."
She leaves the room, and the other applicants quiet. She's the first to walk out. Her friend takes a seat next to Aki to wait for her return.
She doesn't say anything, but after another few minutes have passed, Aki turns to her. "Shouldn't your friend be back by now?"
The woman checks her watch, frown lines etched deep in her forehead. "Probably. I'll go check on her." She leaves, too.
Aki counts the minutes, waiting to see how long it'll take them to come back. Or maybe they need to leave this room to go begin the exam?
She hesitates, especially once another thirty minutes pass and neither woman has returned. Now she's a little worried.
She's not the only one who's noticed. She overhears the others whisper, wondering out loud what's going on. They get louder and louder, and some men shift to their feet, looking angry.
It seems like perfect timing, because once this happens, Leorio comes back inside.
Aki perks up, waiting to see what he's going to say.
"So sorry for the wait," Leorio says, pressing his hands together. "I apologize on behalf of the Association. Don't worry - the exam will start shortly."
The men grumble but sit back down, pacified for the time being. Leorio disappears through those doors again.
Aki catches a glimpse of the hallway as the door closes. It doesn't look like anybody is standing out there.
Well, if Leorio says the exam's gonna start soon, then it probably will. It is boring to sit here, though. She digs through her backpack, but there's nothing to really entertain herself with.
She makes an unhappy noise. The girl with the cards had the right idea to bring them. Aki thinks she'd even prefer fishing to this. But all she can do is wait, so she just tucks her knees up to her chest and rests her chin on them, daydreaming away.
Another hour passes. She's startled out of her thoughts when her stomach growls loudly. She looks around, a little worried others left while she was distracted, but it doesn't look like anybody has moved.
Her stomach gurgles again. Out the window, she can see that the sky is growing darker.
It's almost dinner time, she realizes. That she is prepared for. She wanted to save her granola bars for if she had to be out in the wilderness in her exam, but she is getting pretty hungry.
She grabs one out of her bag and slowly unwraps it. The wrapper crinkles, and all eyes in her vicinity flick over to her.
She takes a bite, a little self conscious.
"Damn it all!" A man a few feet away from her gets to his feet, glaring. "I'm starving! They better feed us if we're going to sit here all day."
His companion, a bored-looking woman biting her nails, leans back to look up at him. "I doubt that," she drawls. Rummaging in her pockets, she pulls out a crumpled bill. "I could eat too. Here, go get us something."
The man takes it and disappears. This time, he's not the only one to slip out. It seems like one person leaving emboldens others to follow.
Aki finishes her granola bar and tucks the wrapper back in her bag. She's still hungry. Should she go get more food, too?
Leorio comes back in again, a few minutes after the others leave. He still has an apologetic look on his face, and Aki sighs. "Again, so sorry for the wait." He promises them the same thing as before, that it will only be a short while longer. He doesn't say anything about providing a meal. Once he leaves, the other applicants jeer at him, growing louder and rowdier with each passing minute.
It's not too long after that when Aki finally realizes that none of the others in search of food came back either, just like the women before. She sighs. It's like they're trying to trick them into leaving. It's like Leorio's entrances are meant to distract them.
She stiffens, going ramrod straight. Oh, of course, she thinks, a little exasperated she didn't realize sooner. This could be the exam! Her eyes flick to the doors again. This is a test of our mental fortitude. They're probably watching us now.
She glances up towards the ceiling, looking for cameras, and smirks. Well, she can out wait this now, regardless of the amount of time they'll be stuck here. She has had plenty of practice fishing with Dad. Some of that waiting game experience should come in handy.
She's not the only one who's thinking this now, either. A group of four to her right whisper frantically to each other.
"Is there really a delay? Or is this actually the test?"
"What if we need to leave the room to pass, though?"
"It's not worth leaving and screwing up to find out. Leorio told us it would only be a few more minutes."
"Hours ago!"
This time when Leorio comes back, it hasn't been nearly as long. He looks a little red-faced and sweaty, and he holds up a hand as a couple of applicants swarm him angrily.
"What's going on?!"
"We've been dealing with an emergency on the outside," Leorio explains. He runs a hand through his greying hair. "Really, sorry about the wait. But we've got a bigger room set up now. Should be more comfortable. Follow me."
Aki does follow Leorio. She trusts what he says, for the most part at least. Besides, Leorio looked earnest and genuinely apologetic.
In the crowd, she catches Shenn, Muro, and Warwick following, too. That makes her feel a little bit better, especially because she remembers one of them saying they were good at reading people. In fact, it seems like most everybody follows.
Aki notices a few people slip away and down the stairs, but she thinks they're just stir crazy. She can't really blame them, either.
Leorio leads them through a door on the other side of their sitting room, back further in the building. The new room looks identical to the last one, though it is a little bigger. He disappears again once they finish filing inside.
She takes a seat near the door again, resigned to wait longer. She also starts to doubt a little if this actually was the exam, or if this was a real emergency. Leorio really did look stressed and apologetic.
It's completely dark outside now. Aki sticks her legs through her backpack straps so nobody can take her things. She can't help it, but eventually she grows kind of sleepy. She doesn't really want to sleep in a room full of all these strangers, but her eyes get all droopy and tired. She dozes, but it's not fitful, and she jumps at every little noise.
She must fall asleep for a few hours at one point because when she wakes, the sun is rising. She looks around, blinking blearily. She's not the only one who took a nap, because a few others are snoring around the room. But most applicants are still awake, talking amongst themselves or just staring off into the distance.
She yawns, stretches, and resigns herself to do the same.
She starts to get kinda stir crazy, though. She watches, a little jealous, as two others stomp out of the room, obviously tired of waiting. She's not risking it. If this is the exam, then she's come so far just to leave now.
She eats another granola bar during the day, when the sun is nearly above them. At least, that's where she thinks it is when she peers out the tinted windows. She sighs and gets up to stretch, deciding to go for a walk.
Aki circles the room slowly, just to see what others are getting up to. A large crowd is gathered up against the windows. She gets closer, curious.
The pink-haired girl sits in the middle of a large circle, hands expertly shuffling the cards. A group sits around her, watching eagerly, and even more stand around.
A small pile of tokens sits in front of each player, of coins and buttons and other small objects: random items just pulled from pockets.
She snorts back her laughter. Poker's not a bad idea.
The girl glares at her when she approaches, and she cringes back. Well, definitely not welcome to join that game. She moves on.
A few other applicants play on their phones. They're all gathered around the outlets, charging their devices and glaring at any one who gets close with their own cords in their hands. Another person has a book open, sitting quietly on one of the couches.
Aki makes it back to her spot and sighs, sitting back down. She wishes she'd brought a book, but obviously she didn't know she'd be waiting like this. When she pictured taking the exam, she imagined a lot more action and a lot less mind games.
Instead, she tries to decide if this really is the exam. She settles on yes, and that it really is just testing the applicants' mental fortitude, because if there was a real emergency - wouldn't they have been told more details? Or just had the exam postponed?
That's what she's hoping for, at least. She'll be pretty irritated if she finds out she's been sitting here for nothing.
The door opens, but this time, a man Aki's never seen before comes in. "Again, we apologize for the wait," he says. "Everything's been taken care of now. So please, follow me so I can lead you to Phase One's location."
"Finally!" Someone calls out, and then it's a mad rush to the door. Aki stands, content to follow, and then hesitates.
Why didn't Leorio come back? Is this a trick?
The applicants filing out the door don't seem to think so; they just look relieved to finally be leaving.
She looks at some of the people still left in the room. Some look hesitant, just like her, trying to decide whether they need to follow or not. Some haven't even gotten up from their seats, watching the ones leaving with faintly disgusted looks.
She can see that Shenn, Muro, and Warwick remain seated. Same with the pink-haired girl, still wrapped up in her game.
Slowly, she sinks back down to the floor. The last few people trickle out the door, and it closes finally behind them.
About fifty people just left, Aki thinks, a little shocked. Now she really is nervous - what if that was the actual first phase? Was she supposed to follow?
It's been roughly a day and a half since she arrived at the exam site in the first place. Nobody else comes in to tell them the exam is about to start, or to explain the wait, and she gets a sinking feeling in her stomach. Maybe she really did miss her chance...
Aki eats her last granola bar and takes another lap around the room. She counts the number of applicants left - three-hundred and twenty seven. Sixty two people left over the course of the past day.
Or, sixty-two people are the only ones who progressed, she thinks, stomach still twisted up in knots.
Leorio comes back in, looking calm and collected this time around. Everyone watches him, eyes narrowed.
Aki stands, arms crossed and hands tucked under her sides. Please...
"We've been here over forty-eight hours!" An angry man yells, cracking his knuckles menacingly. "Tell us what's going on!"
"Congrats, guys," Leorio says. A mischievous smile plays at the corner of his mouth. "You've finished Phase One of the exam."
Toe-curling relief spreads through her body. Aki sighs, feeling all of the tension leave her shoulders.
"I thought the Hunter Exam was supposed to be difficult," someone jeers. "You've just had us sitting around for two days."
Leorio narrows his eyes. "You may not think that anymore after Phase Two."
The jeering quiets.
Leorio turns, looking at them over his shoulder, and waves a hand. "Follow me. For real this time."
Aki joins the crowd pushing through the doors. Her legs are stiff, even from her frequent walks around the room. She bounces on the balls of her feet, ready to go out and do something exciting.
Leorio leads them out the door and up the stairs, all the way to the roof. One of the Association's blimps hovers, a bridge extended for boarding. The engines whir and kick up dust, sending Aki's hair flying around her face wildly.
Whoa! It's not her first time on a blimp, but it's the first time on one of the Association's blimps. A few people stand on the inside of the blimp, watching them.
Leorio makes a waving noise. Applicants start to file away towards the on ramp.
Aki stands, waiting towards the back of the line. The pink-haired girl walks up to her, knocking her on the shoulder.
"So," she leans in close to her ear, yelling over the engine's whining, "you made it to round two."
"So did you," Aki says. "You change your mind about working together?"
She snorts. "Yeah, right. Just wanted to say I'm surprised to see you progressing."
Aki flushes, part angry and part embarrassed.
The girl smirks and walks away, further back towards the end of the line.
Ugh!
Aki stews all the way through the line, long after she boards the blimp. The other attendants, examiners for future phases Aki assumes, herd them off in different directions.
"It'll take about eight hours to reach our next destination," one of them shares. "Feel free to get some rest, or go eat. We have a buffet prepared in the dining hall. There will be an announcement about descending when we get close."
"Any hints on where we're going?" Another applicant asks.
"Nice try," the examiner says. She points down the hallway. "Keep going. There should be a room with your badge number on it. That's yours for the time being - scan the badge to enter."
Aki does as she says, padding down the hallways until she finds her room. She scans her badge and slips in, a little excited. The room is small, a wide bed taking up most of the space. A personal bathroom is attached.
She goes and plops down on the bed, burying her face in the pillow, and falls asleep instantly.