"-mi."
"Risumi?"
"Risumi!" Someone shouted.
"Uhh?" I mumbled blearily. I rubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand as the other held on to . . . a furry . . . leg? Oh, right. Kirriko. Flying. Yeah. We were bobbing lopsidedly through the air, me weighting him down because Gon was already on the ground.
Stifling a yawn, I let myself fall to the ground. "Thanks for taking us!" I call up to them. Two Kirrikos flew away into the crisp morning air, leaving the Brother Kirriko in human form to guide us to the Exam site. His clothing is kind of American-Indian, complete with a feather sticking out of his headband.
Zaban City is chaotic, there's no other word for it. The streets we navigated were clogged with people and lined with shops selling everything from jewellery to bananas. "Oh, excuse me." I said, trying to fit through a gap in the crowd. Someone's heavy boot thumped down on my foot and I hissed through my teeth. "Excuse me sir, could you let me by?" I asked a man who stood in my way, yapping on his cell phone. He barely spared me a glance. Bodies pressed in on all sides. Fine, if this is how you want to play it, fine.
I elbowed the man and slipped past him and nudged the next one at an angle so I could fit through. But there were so many people and not enough space. How did the others get past? Where are the others? I stood up on my tippy-toes in time to see Leorio's spiky brown hair bob further into the crowd. Argh.
"Risumi!" Kurapika's voice. Front and left. I elbowed my way in that direction until I saw his blonde head, glancing every which way.
"Kurapika!" I called, reaching out my hand. His head whipped in my direction. He grabbed my hand and hauled me through what seemed like a conga line. "Oh, gee. Thanks." I said, breathing heavily.
"Try to keep up, will you?" He said as he pulled me along with him.
"I'm not good with crowds." I mumbled. So claustrophobic. My height certainly doesn't help.
"Kurapika, Risumi!" Leorio yelled. I saw his brown hair sticking out of the crowd, turning left and right like a periscope in a submarine. Height advantage right there.
"Over here." Kurapika called. He's elbowing too, I see. He's just better at it. Leorio grabs Kurapika's arm and drags us out into a considerably thinner crowd. What are they selling over there to make so many people congregate, I wonder.
"Jeez, you two are hopeless." Leorio scolds. Gon smiles angelically up at me. I run my hand down my face and try to catch my breath.
"Risumi is the one who got lost." Kurapika grumbles.
"I wasn't lost, it's a straight road." I said crossly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Leorio said, offhandedly. "Let's just get going." We followed our Kirriko guide the rest of the way. The shops are cheaper here, not as impressive but still awfully nice to my virgin eyes. Gon picked up a weird green fruit and stared at it, puzzled, until Leorio dragged him away. Racks and racks of jewellery sparkle in the sunlight. I stared at them as I pass and zone in on key-shaped pendant. I craned my neck to look back at it before Kurapika tugged at my hand. I smiled sheepishly at his exasperated expression.
We burst out into a wider, classier shopping district. "The building's just across here." The Kirriko pointed across the road. A towering glass office block broke the clouds with its hundreds of stories. Gosh.
"They're gathered from the four corners of the world." Leorio murmured.
"It'd have to be big to contain so many people." Kurapika said, ever the practical one. Gon and I just stared at it.
"No, not there." The Kirriko said, pointing to the right. "There."
A dumpy Chinese restaurant stood there. Well that's a bit of a letdown.
"Hey, navigator! If this is a joke it's in bad taste." Leorio protested. "You want us to believe thousands of candidates are waiting inside?"
The Kirriko grinned impishly. "Precisely. No one would imagine thousands of Hunter candidates are waiting inside." With that, he pushed the door open and we were greeted with the scent of sizzling onions.
"Hello, what would you like?" The man behind the counter asked as he tossed rice in a wok.
"A steak!" Our navigator said. The cook raised his eyebrows.
"How would you like it cooked?" he asked, weighing us up.
"Slowly grilled over a low flame, rare."
"At the room in the back, sirs and miss!" An energetic waitress waved us through. Indeed, it was a room. Nothing strange about it at all. Set yum-cha style with an inset grill in the centre. We stood around awkwardly.
"One in ten thousand." The Kirriko said. We stared at him. "It's the proportion of candidates that get this far. Have courage, my little friends, I'll be happy to be your navigator next year as well." He slipped out of the room, waving.
There was a click and suddenly it felt like my stomach was pushed into my throat. Oh my god. I leaned back against the wall and pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes. Elevator.
"He's making fun of us." Leorio said indignantly. "It's like he's sure he won't pass this year!" Well it's a hard test, my manly man. Appendix.
"One every three years." Kurapika said slowly. "That's the number of candidates that pass on their first try, do you understand now?" There was a manic gleam in his eyes.
What have I gotten myself into? Well if it's going to be that hard, I'll definitely be up to scratch with my plans if I pass. Intestines.
"But if that's the case, why are people ready to do anything to become Hunters?" Gon wondered. Oh my. This kid is almost in his teens yet he has the mentality of a five year old.
"You understand nothing? Are you doing it on purpose?" Leorio roared, outraged. Gon looked slightly taken aback.
"To be a Hunter is the –" Kurapika and Leorio began at the same time.
"– most Noble thing ever!" Kurapika finished. Liver.
"– thing that brings the most money!" Leorio shouted. They glared at each other.
"Suck up."
"Money grubber."
"With the title comes a license. With that you can travel to all countries, plus you get free access to public services!" Leorio said, closing his eyes as if relishing the thought. "Out of a hundred of the world's richest men, 60 are Hunters. The license is a symbol of glory and wealth! You only have to sell it to be able to live in luxury for seven lifetimes!"
Yeah, that sounded pretty good to me. Oh, I hate elevators! I swear I left half my organs up in the restaurant.
"No, the true role of a Hunter is to protect the people and maintain the balance of nature!" Kurapika cut in angrily. "To hunt for animals or search for treasures are what amateurs do. Professional Hunters have the principal occupation to preserve objects of cultural history or saving rare species of animals and plants. That's not all, they must also arrest wanted criminals and Hunters gone wrong! A fiery mentality, and iron constitution and knowledge set in stone: All this is indispensable to be a good Hunter! It is hard work but very satisfying!"
Kurapika, the world isn't made of saints. Gon looked like his eyes have gone in different directions. Seeing as neither will yield, they rounded on poor Gon.
"So, Gon!"
"What kind of Hunter do you want to be?"
Gon looked completely torn between them.
"Risumi!" They turned to me.
"Uhh I'm doing it to save a life." I said, hesitantly. The blonde looked satisfied. "My own life." I clarified. He gave me a look of disappointment. Hey! I can't help other people if I'm rolling over dying.
Ding.
"We'll finish this discussion later." Leorio said to Kurapika who nodded curtly.
100 levels below ground. This doesn't feel so good. There was a tense silence as we waited for the elevator to release us.
The doors slid open to a huge underground cavern. There was a greenish tinge to the lighting and sewerage pipes were visible in the walls. The crowd that turned to seize us up was stiff and cold. There was not one friendly face. No one spoke and no one moved. I was finding it rather hard to breathe.
I avoided eye contact with everyone, instead looking at their eyebrow or neck. They didn't disappoint, one man was sporting a Victorian-style ruffle. A strange man in circus clothing sat building a house of cards with a leer on his face. The candidates here were nothing compared to the ones from the ship. These were veterans.
How will we keep up with these monsters?! We're just kids! Normal, regular kids! Gon is twelve!
A little man with a bean-shaped head walked up to us with sympathetic eyes. He tossed a circular plate to each of us in turn. Mine read 406. I pinned it to my shirt wordlessly.
"Welcome to the Hunter Exam." He said.
"Thanks, mister!" Gon said, happily.
"Thanks." I said flatly. The others didn't say anything. There was a soft thump as a pudgy man leapt down from a pipe.
"Hi, I'm Tonpa. Nice to meet you." He said kindly shaking Gon's hand. The rest of us stared at him suspiciously. Here in this dog-eat-dog tunnel is a little dude shaking our hands? Sure. But I shook his hand anyway. "You guys must be new."
"How can you tell?" Gon asked, eyes wide. Honey, we totally stick out.
"That's easy." Tonpa said. "I've been taking this test since I was ten, this is my thirty-fifth time."
"Thirty-fifth!" Gon said in admiration.
"I'm what you'd call a veteran." Tonpa laughed. "If you have any questions just ask."
Leorio turned to me and Kurapika. "If I were him I wouldn't be so proud. If it takes thirty-five years…"
"Yeah," Kurapika agreed.
"He's like a bug, really." I added. "Nothing great but can't be killed. A cockroach, if you will." Leorio snorted.
"Oh, man, that's great." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
At Gon's indirect request, Tonpa began making one-sided introductions. I listened closely while vaguely letting my gaze drift from person to person.
A tortured scream rang through the air. The crowd quickly gave it a wide berth. I used Kurapika's shoulders as leverage to jump higher. A man's hands were dissolving into flower petals before my eyes.
"Oh, how strange." The man in the jester outfit murmured. "He doesn't have any arms. Just magic, ladies and gentlemen, just magic..." I was only high enough to see for a second, but the scene struck horror in my veins.
The man was still gasping incoherent sentences as he gaped as his arms, or what's left of them. He was close to hyperventilating.
"You have to be more careful. And don't forget to apologise when you hit someone." He looked around at everyone. His slit-like eyes flashing on his structured face.
"#44. Hisoka the Magician." Tonpa said, as Hisoka walked off, whistling. "Last year, everyone said he would have won but he killed an examiner because he didn't like him. He was disqualified."
And they let him back? I shall stay invisible throughout the test, oh yes I will.
Leorio voiced my horror, stuttering.
"Examiners change every year, the examiners are the ones that choose the content of the test." Tonpa continued. "They hold all of the power: If an examiner says 'it's okay', no matter if a demon or hell spawn… Last year he mutilated not only the examiner but twenty others that you don't see this year. Stay away from him."
Oh, buddy, you have no idea how far I plan to stay.
"Oh, by the way," Tonpa said. He pulled five cans of soft drinks out of his bag. He passed them around. "Shall we drink to celebrate our meeting?"
"Thanks!" Gon said. I seconded him. Kurapika and Leorio were both looking quite stunned at this new development.
I cracked open the tab, expecting to be hit in the face with a fizzy orange scent. But nothing came. The carbonic pressure was too flat to even release air. The juice was either really old, like, several years old or it has been opened before. No one carries around year old juice, seriously.
Tonpa, that sneaky little dude was trying to knock us out. I opened my mouth to tell the others but I was cut off by Gon letting the juice flow out of his mouth like some gross orangey waterfall. He burped.
"Tonpa, your juice tastes weird, I think it's expired!" He exclaimed. Why does he think the best of everyone, expired juice, my ass. The cans have been opened before, the carbonated pressure's flat. Leorio and Kurapika poured their drinks out quick smart. I followed suit.
"I'm sincerely sorry." Tonpa said, clasping his hands and lowering his head.
"No, you don't have to apologise!" Gon said. "But it's lucky I drank that drink first, I often ate plants in the mountains I don't have any problem detecting weird tastes." He said happily.
"Yes, very much so…" Tonpa said, sweating. His face was no longer kind and relaxed, it had the squinty consistency of someone sucking on lemons. Tough luck, little man.
A sharp, irritating sound pierced the thick tension. It sounded like an amplified alarm clock. It looked like a sock puppet. A tall man in a business suit held it by the very tip of his fingers. His moustache gave him cat-like smugness although I couldn't see where his mouth was.
"Here I am. Time for the reception is over." He said. "Now let the Exam begin. This way, please." He gestured to the length of the tunnel. He must be a butler of some sort. "We'll begin with a short verification. It's a very difficult exam. You could miss a chance and hurt yourself, or simply die. There will be moments where you or your companions get irreparably hurt. There are things that can't be avoided. Now follow me." His voice was silky and slightly amused. "My name is Satotz, I am to lead you to the destination of Phase Two."
"Phase Two? But what about Phase One?" Someone piped up.
"Ah, but the first has already begun." I bet he's smirking behind that moustache of his. "If you're able to follow me to the place where the second phase stands, you'll have passed the first. I won't tell you where we go or when you'll arrive, you'll have to be content with following me."
The Hunter Exam has begun.
~oOo~
