The elevator doors ding open and the 120 applicants in the underground tunnel look up. Two figures emerge, both dressed similarly in black.
The first woman is grinning widely, hands on her hips. Her light purple hair is up in a bun, keeping it off her neck, covered by the high collar of her shirt.
Her companion has her light brown hair in a ponytail, her shirt covering her arms which were folded across her chest.
"Hello!" A small, green creature approaches the two, grinning happily. "Please take your number badges! Thank…"
He hands the first, 121, to the one with purple hair, who fastens it on her shirt before taking strides further inside.
He falters as he looks at the second, who finally cracks a small smile, taking the second badge. "Thank you, sir."
The creature nods, a smile returning to his face. "Be sure to wear this on your chest at all times, please. And be careful not to lose it, okay?"
She nods, fastening it to her shirt before moving past him.
"Barely two minutes in and you already made a friend."
Adella looks at Ryn, sending her a look that tells her not to start. But of course, Ryn already has started, and won't be stopping until after the exam ends, whenever that may be.
"Well, have you seen any worthwhile opponents?"
Adella motions for the corner, where a red-haired man sits making card towers. "The clown."
"More magician I think." Ryn answers, shrugging. "I don't think he will be too much of a problem."
Adella merely moves further to the side, not wanting to speak to the other applicants. She wasn't good with crowds. But before the two can get far, they are approached by a short, pudgy man, a badge proclaiming he is number 16 on his blue shirt.
"Don't think I've seen you two before! My name is Tonpa, and this is my thirty-fifth attempt at the exam!"
Ryn snorts, clearly unimpressed. "You haven't made it in thirty-five tries? Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something."
Tonpa grimaces, but quickly returns the smile to his face. "Yeah, well, it never hurts to try again! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help!"
He moves in, clearly acting as though he had top secret information to share. "Stay away from number 44, Hisoka. Nobody likes that guy."
Ryn and Adella catch each other's eye, both starting to smile, as though they have just heard a joke.
Tonpa, rather unsettled by the two rookies, reaches for the pouch at his side. "Anyway, what say we have a toast to friendship, huh?"
He hands them each a juice, which they take hesitantly.
Adella looks to Ryn, as if asking if they should, but she has already opened the juice. Sighing, the brunette follows suit.
"Well, cheers!" Tonpa clinks both of their cans with his own before pulling back to let them drink. Adella notes he does not. And she soon realizes why.
"Oh my gosh, Ryn! I made this!"
Her friend pulls the juice from her mouth, wiping at it with her hand. "Really! I can't even tell! You finally made a good one."
Adella rolls her eyes, causing Tonpa to take a step back. Something wasn't right. "You… you make this drink?"
Adella laughs, shaking her head. "No. I made the poison you've put in it. Nice try, but I've made sure none of my poisons can hurt me. And this one likes sampling them so she's immune too." She says, motioning to Ryn who is practically inhaling the drink.
Tonpa takes a few more steps back, slowly putting distance between them. "You… How…"
Adella shrugs, lifting the poisoned drink to her lips. "I think we can let you off with a warning this time. But if you try to sabotage us again…"
Tonpa yelps as Ryn, now finished with her drink, crushes the can in her fist. "I'll make sure you end up like this."
"How long before it starts?" Adella shrugs, mostly ignoring Ryn's complaints. "There are 402 applicants right now. We should be starting soon."
Ryn looks up, scanning the room which has filled over the past few days. "I still think spikey boy is creepy."
Adella looks up, straight at the man Ryn is referencing. Number 301, Gittarackur. He was rather unsettling, his head bobbing and clanking as he walked. It almost looked as though it would fall off at any second.
As she is looking, his head turns, as if sensing her stare. He grins at her as their eyes meet, clearly trying to intimidate her. She merely flips her middle finger up at him, making him shake in amusement.
"I don't know how you can get away with stuff like that." Adella finally breaks her staring contest with the man to turn to her friend.
"I'm not scared of him."
"Neither am I. I just don't want to look at him."
Adella laughs, glad to see her friend is still just as blunt as always.
The doors at the far side of the underground area open, causing the applicants to look up one by one. Three new contenders enter, one a young boy, no older than twelve-year limit to the exam.
"Adella, no. I know that look. You are not…"
Ryn can't stop Adella as she rises. Thankfully, the two are far enough away from them that Ryn has the chance to catch her if the crowd can slow her down. Sadly, it seems the universe is not on her side today.
Adella crosses the crowd with ease, her intention clear. As she reaches the other side, now only feet from the trio, she spies Tonpa handing them juice. Adella scowls, moving swiftly to interrupt.
"Hey! What are you…"?
The young boy that had captured her attention spits up the drink. "Uh, Mr. Tonpa? I think the drink has gone bad."
Tonpa recoils, bumping into Adella who hisses at him. He retreats quickly, clearly not willing to be stuck between her and the other rookies onto his scam.
"Sorry about him. I wouldn't trust him much. I'm Adella. Who are you?"
The boy grins, sticking out a hand to shake. "I'm Gon! Gon Freecss. This is Kurapika and Leorio. We're all new."
Adella takes his hand, smiling as she shakes it. "Nice to meet you Gon. I'm new too. So is my friend, Ryn. She…"
"Adella!" Ryn grabs the brunette, pulling her back. "What are you doing? We aren't here to make friends!"
Adella shakes her off, scowling. "There is nothing wrong with being polite. Gon, this is Ryn. I promise she isn't as rude as she seems."
"Pleasure to meet you! I love your hair! It's really pretty!"
Ryn glances down at the boy, shocked to find his innocence genuine. He actually really did like her hair. "Oh. Uh, thank you?"
Adella chuckles. It seemed Gon had won over Ryn rather quickly, not that she would ever admit it.
A buzzer goes off from somewhere in the room. Everyone looks up just as the wall across from the entrance lifts away, revealing a tall lanky man in a purple suit.
"Come on." Ryn grabs Adella's arm, pulling her towards the front of the group. Adella tries to pull away, annoyed Ryn has interrupted her conversation, but her grip is too strong.
As Ryn moves them through the crowd, Adella runs into someone.
"Hey, watch it!"
She looks down, shocked to find another boy, also looking to be twelve, by her side. "Sorry! So sorry." She pulls her arm free from Ryn, who immediately turns to grab her again.
"I'm Adella. Nice to meet you- oh!"
As Ryn pulls her away, the boy manages a smile. "Killua. And don't worry I can see your friend is being a little more aggressive than you are."
Adella smiles, waving as Ryn finally pulls her to the front as the alarm stops. "Honestly Del, leave them be."
"Just because you like being rude, doesn't mean I have to be."
"I apologize for the delay. Thank you for waiting. The entry period for Hunter applicants is officially closed." The man scans the room as he speaks, looking at the crowd.
"So, with no further ado, the hunter exam will now officially…" He pauses as his gaze reaches the two women. Adella simply smirks, folding her arms over her chest.
Killua notes this, eyes narrowing. She seemed nice enough, even apologizing when running into him hadn't really been her fault, but still, something about her was off.
"Begin." The man regains his composure, continuing. "One final word of caution. If you're short on luck or ability, keep in mind there is a very real possibility you could end up seriously injured. Death is another distinct possibility. If you are willing to accept the risks involved, I'll ask you to follow me. But for the rest of you, kindly exit through the elevator located behind you."
He motions to the entrance, the same elevator that had brought them down here. No one moves.
"Right then, very well. All 404 applicants will now participate in phase one."
Adella leans over to Ryn. "Only 404?"
"Oh right, you were sleeping. The magician turned someone's arms into petals for running into him and not apologizing."
"What a diva." The two snicker, clearly more amused by the cruel trick than worried.
The proctor turns, beginning to walk stiffly through the tunnel.
Adella and Ryn begin moving as the group surges forward. For a few minutes, it's a nice pace. But then, he begins getting faster, never appearing to change his pace, yet somehow doing so. As the leaders begin to jog, so do the two women.
"How rude of me, I neglected to introduce myself. I am Satotz, your examiner for the first phase of the exam."
Adella chuckles. "What a jokester. He really thought we'd buy that he forgot?"
Ryn shrugs. "Just because we aren't dumb doesn't mean others aren't."
"It is my responsibility to lead you all to the second phase. The first phase is quite simple. Just follow me to the second phase."
Ryn grimaces. "So is phase one running?"
Adella shakes her head. "Not really. I think it's more about keeping up."