A couple hours ago the huge, dark tunnel had been cold and damp, but with a few hundred wannabe Hunters packed in here it was getting hot and stuffy. I glanced down at the number badge pinned on the left side of my long, black coat. 244. I had to be one of the last few? Qualifying for the Hunter exam was just way too easy if this many people got this far, and people were still slowly filing in.

I pulled a black button from one of the pockets inside my billowing sleeves and flicked it up into the air. If I had to wait much longer, I was probably going to die of boredom. Impatience was going to lead to my death, I'd been told more than once. I actually got bored waiting for my button to come back down and took to scanning the crowd, again.

Sighing for what was probably the 100th time, I moved away from the shadows of the wall and started forward, eager to find some entertainment for myself.

Five minutes later, I was spinning some guy's kunai around on my finger and looking through the rest of the items I'd stuffed in the pockets of my cargo pants. It was so easy I didn't even have to try. There was no way these guys were going to pass the exam and become Hunters… I pulled out a long bullet and tossed it. Someone's ID, some other useless trinkets, coins, two watches, three bracelets, a small phone, a wallet, all added to the growing pile against the wall. "Boring…" I mumbled quietly before dumping the rest of the crap. As the last of it dropped down, a big, odd coin rolled down the small mound before coming to rest against the black toe of my boot. I blinked once, before going still. A spider with too many legs was engraved on that coin. I'd seen those coins enough to know exactly what it was… And who it belonged to.

I'd picked the pocket of a member of the Phantom Troupe… And I had no clue who it was!? I hadn't even been paying attention to whose pocket I stole from. Shit! I knew what all of the members looked like. I would have recognized one of them. Plus, none of them would fall for something as shitty as my pick-pocket skills. I hadn't even been trying. If there really was a Spider among my fellow applicants than they let me steal this. Drawing in a slow breath, I tried to calm my racing heart and think it through. They were likely watching me right now. Playing with me, like the pathetic, little buzzing fly that I was. They were either a new member of the Troupe I didn't know, or they were in disguise.

I just had to give it back and bolt. There was a good reason I was a thief, and it wasn't my shabby pick-pocket skill. I had an ability that was hopefully going to save my life once again. The problem was… Before I could switch it back… I had to spot the Spider. Then switch it… All before they killed me. I crouched down slowly, my fingers reaching for the coin. The moment I touched it a chill raced up my spine. I whipped my head to the left, my eyes instantly connecting with the only ones on me. Time seemed to freeze, or slow down. Like what people say happens when you're about to die. We were both partially hidden. Him in the shadow of the wall and me in those of people I was crouched behind like the little rat I was. His eyes were yellow. Almost glowing. Crimson hair… An oddly painted face? I didn't recognize him, but I knew that look. I was about to die… There was something in his hand. I didn't get a good look at it, just enough to know something was there. Something that could kill me! I didn't think anymore I just switched it. The coin disappeared from my fingers, replaced by something lighter. Whatever he'd been holding. I didn't look to see what was in my hand now, I just jerked forward and scurried away, flashing across the floor, and dodging people in a blur until I was entirely on the other side of the crowd. From there I shivered, crouched on the ground, watching with my back against the wall.

I was sure… That was the closest I'd come to being killed in a long time. Maybe ever. That guy was a Spider. I was sure now. After a few minutes I looked down at what was in my left hand. A playing card? It was the King of Hearts. I wanted to laugh at the flat image of a king apparently stabbing himself in the head. How fitting…

He didn't seem to be following me… My switch ability would have perfectly replaced the card from his hand with the coin. All I had to do was touch something and I could switch it with something else so long as I could see the thing I wanted to switch with. There were limits, but I'd been able to do it for as long as I could remember. Switching small things like that was as easy as breathing.

The feeling of dread slowly started to ease as I rubbed the card between my fingers. It was just a plain card, but I wasn't stupid enough to underestimate the situation. Someone like him could probably kill with a toothpick. I'd returned the coin… So that was enough, right? My hand was shaking as I turned the card over. Just a plain checkered back... Slightly larger than standard size. What does it take to be able to kill someone with something like that? My train of thought wasn't helping me calm down at all as I pictured the edge of the card sliding across my skin like some kind of deadly papercut…

"Hey… Are you okay?" I startled, looking up and into a face leaning down over me. Was that a… Kid? Spiky black hair and big brown eyes. What was a little kid like that doing at the Hunter exams? I let curiosity help ease the fear of eminent, painful death.

"Y-yeah… I just—

"Gon, who's that?" A second male voice asked and soon another face was above mine. A tall guy in a suit. A third appeared. A blond with big, dark eyes. "Are you alright? You look like you're in shock." A hand was suddenly against my forehead, under the messy edge of my short bangs. Normally I would have avoided the contact but being surrounded by a bunch of boys made me feel a little better for some reason.

"Probably because a guy dressed like a clown or a jester, or something, almost killed me." I quietly replied as the tall one pulled his hand back.

"You must mean Hisoka the Magician… Number 44, right?" This came from another random man who came close and squatted down across from us. He looked like an older guy, maybe even in his 40s.

"Good thing you ran away! That magician-guy just cut someone's arms off for bumping into him!" My head dropped at the tall guy's words, unable to suppress a shutter.

"Leorio, I thought you were going to help him, not make him feel worse." The blond sent the tall one, Leorio, a glare before offering me a hand. I took it and let him pull me up. "I'm Kurapika, and this is Gon, and Leorio." He had a slightly reserved smile. Shaking like a scared mouse in the corner wasn't enough to get past those walls. Kura-pika was clearly wary of me.

"And I'm Tonpa." The older guy piped in.

"I'm Hisaki… Um… Thank you." Back on my feet I offered the boys my own weak smile before brushing off my coat.

"What do you know about this Magician, Tonpa?" Kurapika asked.

"Well, he was here last year too, and he seemed like a shoo-in, but then he attacked an examiner that he didn't… Um, approve of, and was disqualified." Tonpa stood up while glancing around like he thought the magician might pop up and slit his throat with a card just like the one I'd slipped into my coat pocket.

"And they didn't tell him to take a hike for good?!" At Leorio's near shout, I looked over. He didn't get it yet, even after watching that Spider kill a man. He'd made his way here to become a Hunter without realizing that there was a good chance he would fail… And that failing usually meant death… Or maybe I was the one who was wrong. This was my first time too, after all.

Tonpa calmly explained a second later, "of course not. We get new examiners each year. They decide what the tests are, and who gets to take 'em." Tonpa came a little closer, his voice taking on a bit of an ominous tone, "the devil himself can pass the Hunter exam… If an examiner says it's okay." I looked at my fellow newbies. Leorio still looked a little pissed but maybe a bit more worried now. Kurapika was calm and thinking about it while holding his chin and if Gon had heard any of it he wasn't even the least bit worried. In fact, when he noticed me looking at him, he gave me a huge smile that almost startled me. I tried to smile back but I'm not sure what look I ended up giving him. He's certainly… Different from the others. "Hisoka took out 20 examinees last year, a score I'm sure he won't mind improving on. Steer clear of him, if you can." I nodded right away. That was good advice I already planned to take. "There are lots of others like him, too, but I can show you the ropes."

"Great!" Gon immediately replied, smiling at the guy.

"Hey, what say we…" Tonpa took a second to dig around in his pack before pulling out four cans of juice. "Drink a toast – to friendship and luck!"

"Sure!" Gon happily complied and we all accepted a can. The sugar probably would make me feel a bit better but suddenly Gon was spitting his out. "Tastes weird Tonpa, must have gone bad!" Weird, huh? Me, Leorio, and Kurapika poured ours out on the ground.

AN- Sorry for the mistakes. I'm editing myself so there's bound to be a lot. This story is following the manga more than the anime before branching off at times, so a lot of the lines will be straight from the manga. Boring for you maybe, but fun for me! :D