"What? So are you saying that this normal restaurant is where hunter prospects from all over the world are gathered?" Leorio asked dubiously as the four Hunter candidates looked at a small restaurant. Standing next to a grandiose skyscraper, the aging wooden walls lacked in the impressive visual factor. It didn't really resemble the glory that the Hunter Exam held. They walked in as the navigator continued to guide them in. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Welcome!" The owner of the restaurant shouted out. "Your order?"

"The steak meal."

"How would you like it cooked?"

"Slowly over a weak fire."

"Coming right up."

"Please follow me to the room." Immediately, a waiter came up to them and brought the group to the very back of the restaurant where there was an isolated room. Everyone stared at the table with food awkwardly, unsure on what to do and how to move. Finally, Valeria strided to a chair and sat down, with legs criss crossed and clapped her hands together. "Thanks for the food."

The other three slowly and cautiously followed her gesture but stopped and looked back at the navigator, when he began to talk again: "One out of 10,000. That's the probability of making it to this room. You guys have done extremely well for beginners. Alright then, good luck rookies. We'll be more than happy to guide you guys next year too." He smiled cryptically, not at all offering words that would provide them empty hope. Valeria assumed it was due to his long term experience with the job. The navigator bowed once more, bidding them farewell, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The moment he left, the room began to shake and started to move.

"That was rude. He talked as if he knew we wouldn't pass this year." Leorio started stuffing his face. The others couldn't tell if he did so because he was frustrated with the reply he received, or if he was simply starving. Kurapika decided to humour all of them by explaining the difficulties and the true intent of the navigator's "blessing": "Once every three years. That's the estimated rate for rookies passing. And we're all rookies here."

"Why do people go through such hardships?" Gon asked. It was a surprising question coming from someone who was choosing to go through such hardships himself. The other three teenagers responded at the same time with different answers. "A hunter is the..."

"Most free..." Valeria clenched her fists, revealing a more desperate vibe rather than a determined one.

"Most well paid..." Leorio smirked, rubbing his hands together like a con artist would.

"Most respected..." Kurapika exclaimed, pride and determination fueling the passion in his eyes.

"Job in the world." All three of them finished their sentences, staring at one another. Immediately, an argument took place. Leorio slammed the table every few seconds, trying to emphasize his points while Kurapika calmly denounced every claim Leorio made and elaborated on his own ideas. Valeria picked her nose and answered Leorio's and Kurapika's interrogative questions with very little idea of what she wanted to do before covering her ears and zoning out when she started to get annoyed.

"What kind of hunter do you want to be?"

"Uh. A plant researcher. Blacklist hunter? I dunno."

"Why?"

"I like plants. But also my strength is the only thing that I have going for me."

"Why did you become a hunter?"

"I dunno, personal freedom?"

"So in a sense, you mean you want to be respected right? Not for some lame ambition like money."

"Sure?"

"Nono, you want to become a blacklist hunter for money too right?"

"I mean yeh...I guess."

Gon stared at them momentarily and Valeria used this chance to reassure him. "If you're confused, don't listen to the babbling idiots. We can sort everything out after we pass the exam."

"What?!" Leorio and Kurapika shouted. "Are you saying we're stupid?"

"I think you're confused and you're just trying to pretend that you know what they're talking about so you can push the confusion onto me." Gon added and Valeria immediately avoided staring into his eyes. For a naive, nay, an extremely naive kid like Gon, he was ridiculously perceptive. Valeria cleared her throat and placed her palm on the table, cracking and splitting it in half. "You got a problem?" She stared back at Leorio and Kurapika with a menacing look in her eyes. The two shut up before Kurapika spoke again. "Then Gon, what type of Hunters do you want to be."

"I don't really know…" Gon commented. Before the group could continue their conversation any further, the elevator came to a stop and there was a ring, which indicated they were at their stepped out and the group felt the tension in the air right away. They couldn't continue the easygoing and light atmosphere they had a while ago. The other participants watched them, analyzing their newcomers and potential threats, before keeping to themselves. The three boys stuck closer to Valeria who stared at the sea of people with a dead and dazed expression.

"What's with this uncomfortable closeness?" Valeria asked the three despite not showing uncomfort unlike the words she said. Instead, she had a more motherly atmosphere as if she was the mother hen, protecting the group from some kind of predator. Although it was a laughable metaphor, Valeria held respect for mother hens. They were surprisingly, very aggressive and strong for livestock animals.

"We just think that you have the most relaxed expression. So like, it feels as if we stick close enough to your unaware and lazy personality, we won't go crazy from the tension. Besides, if anything happens you can use your gorilla strength to beat the shit out of others-" Leorio replied before he was cut off. Valeria had turned her head immediately, with a wide eyed and crazed look as she quietly questioned: "Who are ye calling gorilla?". As if on cue, the floor underneath her suddenly became cracked and turned into a crater. She spat at the ground, brought her thumb to her neck and quickly motioned "off with your head", warning Leorio to never call her a gorilla again. As Kurapika and Gon stifled their laughter, Leorio bowed in apology while Valeria stomped away in anger.

A man watched them enter and immediately figured out they were rookies. An abnormal alien with monster strength, she was a rookie and thus still very gullible. He decided to approach the girl, who was separated from her group, and offered his hand in greeting. He waited for the green bean-like creature to hand Valeria her number tag before he formally introduced himself. "Yo! I'm Tompa! Glad to meet ya! Here's a can of juice as a token of friendship." He pulled out a can of orange juice instead once he noticed that Valeria simply stared at him instead of shaking his hand. She adjusted her gaze and fixated it on the can instead.

"Valeria." She responded with her name before taking the can and opening it, slightly curious what the mysterious juice was. However, before she could take a sip of it, another kid approached them. He had spiky white hair and bright blue eyes. He is the same height and looks the same age as Gon. With a skateboard tucked underneath his right arm, he outstretched his left in a demanding demeanour.

"Hey Tompa. Do you have any more of that juice?"

"Huh? Sure…" Tonpa looked baffled before opening his bag to reveal cans of the juice. The kid shamelessly took numerous cans of juice and began to chug all of them down. Valeria arched her eyebrow and offered it to the boy. "I didn't drink any, but I think you need this more than me."

The white haired boy stared at her momentarily, studying whether or not if she knew what was really in the can, before he grinned. "As thanks, I'll let you know that there's some serious wack stuff in there. Ah, don't worry about me. I've been trained so that even the most hardcore poisons don't work on me."

However, before Killua could take the can, Valeria clenched her fist around the juice, causing the juice within it to explode out and drip down her hands. Killua jumped back, barely avoiding getting drenched before frowning at the girl with a displeased look. But the girl directed her hostility towards Tonpa and before he could react, she placed her hand on his hand. What appeared to simply be resting her hand on his head was actually a very heavy push towards the ground. Tonpa found the pressure on his head unbearably heavy and the ground beneath him, when he tried to withstand it, crumbled and formed a crater. His knees then gave way and he fell onto them, breathing heavily from exhaustion. She then "lightly" tapped the back of his head, planting his face into the ground.

"If I had drank that, shit myself out of the exam and died, I would've made sure to personally pluck your limbs, boiled them with shit and fed it to you." Valeria dug her heel into the man's back angrily while a shocked and pale looking Killua had a nervous smile on his face. This girl, no, this gorilla was batshit crazy. He'd rather not associate himself with crackheads. Tonpa struggled to get up, but could barely move so he talked instead. He turned his currently bloody and swollen face towards her. "Ummm...I don't think a dead fish eyed gorilla like you would die from that."

Valeria grabbed him by his collar and smiled with that empty pair of eyes. "Whad'ya say, you fat piece of lard? Want another blow to your face by this dead-fish-eyed female gorilla?" She was about to punch him when a weird screech echoed throughout the room. Valeria flung Tonpa to the side and dusted her hands as she directed her attention to a lanky man in a suit with a particularly styled moustache.

"Let's commence the Hunter Exam! I will confirm one more time: The exam is extremely difficult and dangerous. If you don't care, please follow me." He said. Without hesitating, he turned and began walking down the tunnel. Not much longer, he began to pick up his pace. Valeria found herself transitioning from dragging her feet to now running. She had mindlessly followed him, but everyone around her seemed perplexed as to why they were running.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Satotsu and I'm the examiner of the first exam. I will now escort you to the second exam site." Their guide seamlessly and calmly introduced himself, not at all interrupted or affected by his odd style of walking/running. Valeria noted it was a very impressive skill. For the lungs, stamina, and vocal cords. Vocal cords? He could pull off incredible singing.

"What? What about the first exam?" Someone asked, who was clearly more in the right mind and concerned about the right things.

"The first exam already began...it's to follow me to the second exam."

Valeria was running and minding her business while the white haired boy next to her was riding a skateboard. Their eyes met each other briefly and they started to run/skate faster and faster. Annoyed, a vein popped on Valeria's forehead as she gritted her teeth. "Hey...are you picking a fight with me?"

The boy smirked. "Not a fight but a race. Let's see if you have super speed like you do for super strength." He then began to pull ahead, and Valeria felt her irritation boil over as she suddenly started sprinting. "Damn brat."

The two began racing until they reached Gon, Leorio and Kurapika. One could argue it was an unfair race. Valeria, with an ugly expression on her face, was sprinting with her dead fish eyes looking like they were going to pop out and her eyebrows were going to permanently knit together into an unibrow. Meanwhile, the boy just skated forward with a serene, slightly childish, expression with ease. However, Valeria, thrown into the unexplored and dangerous forests and mountain ranges of her hometown, developed enough stamina and muscle to outrun the largest python species in the world, the angriest wild boars, and the wickedest bears. Although it was slightly unattractive and boorish.

"Oh!" The four exclaimed, when they were reunited. Kurapika looked like he wanted to ask if she was okay, but after their brief journey together, he figured it was just another Valeria thing. Leorio and Gon, however, were focused on the new kid on a skateboard.

"Hey kid! That's not fair!" Leorio shouted.

"What why?" The boy asked, innocently. Innocent. Valeria almost snorted to herself. Within the first few seconds she met him, she could tell that Leorio and Gon were definitely more naive and innocent than him. Leorio especially.

"It's not against the rules…" Gon responded for the kid. "The examiner only said to follow him."

"Don't waste your stamina." Kurapika sighed.

"Stop complaining, Luigi." Valeria added.

The boy glanced back at Gon, interest in his eyes. As if pondering something, he finally asked: "Hey you...how old are you?"

"I just turned 12." Gon answered.

"Hmmm…" The newcomer hummed. He then leapt off his skateboard, demonstrating a small trick that Valeria could not tell if he was trying to impress Gon or not, before running next to Gon. "Fine, I'll run too. I'm Killua."

"Wow that was amazing! I'm Gon!" Gon smiled brightly. Valeria's baffled expression showed both worry and concern for Gon. Killua read her mind instantly. She found Gon too trusting and too easily impressed. Too simplistic and too innocent for the Hunter exam. Killua pointed, rudely, at Valeria and asked:"Hey miss! What's your name?"

"I'm Valeria." She answered, skeptically.

"Not King Kong? What a surprise." Killua responded within less than a second and Valeri immediately rolled up the sleeve of her cardigan, her third vein popping. "Why you-"

She was cut off immediately as the boy targeted his interest in Leorio instead. Kurapika also, tiringly, restrained her by using a trick he learned over the course of their journey: sticking one of the mystery lollipops Valeria always carried with her into her mouth. They've all learnt that the lollipop wasn't just to cure the girl's boredom and the need to jump into danger-it was a way for her to manage her temper. Although she appears to remain in a state of boredom, carelessness, and laziness, she was rather easy to rile up. It just depends whether she's seething with anger or if she becomes an annoying prick instead.

"Hmmm….What about you ossan! What's your name?" Killua looked at Leorio. Leorio looked offended and shouted at him."Wha-?! I may look like this but I'm still in my teens just like the rest of you guys."

"Eh?" Valeria's face reduced to a completely blank face, frozen and ready to disintegrate. Kurapika shared the same state of mind, although less stupid of an appearance. The two began to contemplate things, murmuring so it seemed like they were attempting to whisper, but truthfully they were loud enough that the whole group could hear what they were saying.

"So...there are middle-aged people who still have toddlers' faces." Valeria began.

"The world is truly a surprising place. I have to explore more, there's so much that I don't know yet." Kurapika nodded.

"Oi. I can hear you." Leorio muttered menacingly. Of course, the pair ignored him. Three hours had passed and almost everyone was ready to pass out, except for Valeria, Gon and Killua. They seemed to be doing swimmingly well, in fact. Kurapika wondered if it was because the boys were children, who always seemed to have an infinite amount of energy. Valeria...she was a mountain gorilla. Kurapika himself, however, was doing relatively well. Other than feeling slightly tired and dripping with only a few beads of sweat, he was doing alright. However, the same cannot be said for Leorio. He was panting heavily and he was soaked in sweat. His feet started to drag him down, and the distance between him and the group grew wider and wider.

"Where's the oss-teenager who looks like a middle-aged man and the kids?" Valeria asked, after a while.

"You still haven't gotten over it yet, have you." Kurapika laughed, brokenly. Talking was still a bit of a taxing action for him.

"Well...I find it really hard to believe. I mean...if you were 100% certain about someone's identity to only have the entire impression destroyed within a second - it makes you suffer an existential crisis." Valeri closed her eyes and shuddered. Kurapika opened his mouth then closed it. He then, carefully, chose his words: "I think you're just overthinking it."

Valeria was about to reply when Leorio suddenly, bursting with energy, dashed past them. As he hollered at the top of his lungs with no particular reason, the kids skipped up next to Valeria and Kurapika with matching amused expressions. Valeria and Kurapika stared at Leorio's oddly running figure with concerned expressions.

"What the hell?"