Chapter 2: Into x The x Fog
In the bus, she found a place next to a tall black man with gray slicked-back hair, deliberately ignoring Tonpa. She was getting a bit tired of how weak he was, already considering forcing open his nen nodes. But no. Maybe after the exam.
The man she was sitting next to, however, had a strong presence and an even stronger physical build. His aura seemed more refined than normal yet too suppressed to indicate regular nen use. Still, she wondered how she could have missed noticing him in the first phase.
"Do you want the window seat, kid?" His voice was rough yet his tone was soft, a bit too demeaning. At least he wasn't flirting with her.
"Thanks." She went past him to the window seat as he shifted to the aisle. The view outside was still that of the bloody grass field. However, soon, it began changing as the bus started its journey.
The man beside her yawned. "Thoughts, kid?"
"Hm?" She kept her eyes outside as they passed the electric fences through the only gate.
"How was the first phase of the hunter exam for you?"
She shrugged. "Not bad. What about you? You seem restless to share something."
The man smiled, suppressing a chuckle. "My name's Shinu. Nice to meet you."
"Shinu? Like the death kanji?"
"Yeah. I'm an assassin so it's actually just an alias." He explained proudly. "Anyway, see, I've heard of that hunter before-- the one who was examiner for the first phase of the exam.He started out as a magical beast hunter, but as you know, that's kinda illegal now-- more like it has a ton of restriction that make it far too boring for someone willing to live a clean life. Wouldn't you agree?" He waited for her reaction.
"From what I've heard, hunters aren't known for living the cleanest lives. Anyone who passes the hunter exam likely has strong interests and passions they aren't willing to let go of that easy. Plus you do get a lot of passes by being a hunter so... I don't really see where you're going with this. I mean, even the Chairman and Vice-Chairman have nasty rumors of supporting illegal activity."
"Yeah, but magical beast hunting isn't all about the hunt. Beast hunters also seek fame and glory, friends to brag to, and to have their faces all over the media. They may be able to hunt in secret to an extent, but it was the restriction of their bragging rights that hurt their ego the most."
"Fair point." She finally turned her eyes to him. He was a decent guy to kill time with. "I heard that the Vice-Chairman promised to remove those restrictions in one of his speeches. That's probably him trying to get votes out of the upset beast hunters for the next election-- whenever the hell that would be-- but he doesn't really strike me as the lying type."
"Oh? You don't know? The next Chairman can only be chosen if the current Chairman either dies or resigns from his post."
"Yeah? In that case it'll be a long time before the beast hunters are gonna get any laws in their favour. Chairman Netero is quite diligent in his efforts to preserve wildlife."
"Right, it is. Which is why some beast hunters, like our Mr. First Examiner there, resorted to other occupations still related to beast hunting, albeit with looser laws. You saw the beasts back there. Even with our standards of magic, those aren't naturally possible."
"You mean..."
"Yeah. Modifications, science and genetics or perhaps something more related to his nen ability-"
"You know about nen?" He was proving to be more and more interesting by the minute. "Can you use it?"
The man paused before answering, as if considering how much information to give away. "Yes and no. An acquaintance of mine promised to teach me nen if I passed the hunter exam, which is why I'm here."
"You can just say you don't wanna tell me instead of lying." She tested his statement. Truth be told, she didn't actually know whether he was lying or not, but bluffing had a decent to draw liars out.
"You're a sharp little girl." He smiled down at her, not the least bit pissed. "I'm sure you'll find out all you need to know about me by the end of the exam. So, just stay patient."
Hanako rolled her eyes back to the window. They were going through a dense forest now and the rough road they were on felt newly paved. The sun had began its journey downward, sending a chill through her body-- both from the steadily dropping temperature and the flickers of predatory eyes she kept spotting in the woods.
About an hour later, with the atmosphere of the bus getting more and more restless by the minute, they finally reached the site of the second phase of the hunter exam. As the fifty-three applicants slowly filed out of the three separate buses, Hanako made sure to keep her eyes on the strange man-- Shinu, as he liked to proudly call himself.
The environment for this phase was in sharp contrast with the first. Instead of a clear open sky, there were dark clouds squirming around in the sky and strong sandy winds blowing in their faces, lowering their field of vision. They were on a beach, and that was where the nice part ended.
Hanako pulled up her hood to avoid getting any more sand in her hair, hoping to shield her eyes a bit too-- a bit of Gyo helped with that as well. Many other applicants, however, were already coughing and sneezing. Hanako frowned at their privilege.
As usual, there had to be an overconfident someone. A tall slim blonde, with a surprisingly muscual physique, began taking off his clothes with glee. "This." He grinned. "This is nothing for a pro swimmer like me!" He haughtily declared. Hanako couldn't help but snort at his demeanor. The examiner hadn't even announced the rules of the exam yet and the idiot was already preparing to swim.
Giggling, he jumped into the water and began to swim. "I won't be waiting for all of you suckers on the other side!" He threw back a taunt, eliciting no reaction from the far more level-headed crowd. Eyes only silently judged his foolish attempt.
As expected, only a few strides in, he began flailing his arms, crying out for help. Something seemed to have latched onto some part of his lower body, dragging him down. Hanako strengthened her Gyo, but could sense no nen attached to him-- not even the basic aura of a living creature. Had the examiner set booby-traps of his own? As if they didn't have enough weird creatures in the water. Even without Gyo, she could see stranged fishes and other unidentifiable beings prowling around in the water.
The crowd watched on passively as the pro swimmer's screams turned muffled underwater. A shaking arm reached out before suddenly being pulled back, and that was the last anyone ever heard of that guy. The mass turned even quieter.
Hanako could feel the curiousity rising in her chest. Who cares if going into the water was part of the exam or not. She felt drawn to the mysterious water. With a confident smile on her face, she stepped forward. "I'll try next!" She announced, walking over to the shore.
The waves were more brutal than she had expected and she suddenly admired how far the idiot had managed to get on raw strength alone. She'd definitely need nen for this. She glanced back for a moment, searching the blurry crowd for Hisoka or the Shinu-guy. She couldn't see much but she could sense their attentions directed onto her.
Alright. She just didn't have to embarrass herself like that swimmer dude. How hard could that be? She crouched down to check the water first. Instantly, she shuddered. It was stupidly cold. As if the winds weren't bad enough. And then there was the problem of the weird thing that had dragged that guy down. Her impulse began dying down, self-control taking over.Maybe stepping back would be the right thing to do.
Hanako squeezed her eyes to clear her head. Too late for that. She stood back up and placed one boot-covered-foot in the water. Maybe she should take off her clothes first? They would only weigh her down. Nah. Another boot and the hem of her jeans began soaking the water. She took a deep breath, ready to dive in when-
Something hard pushed against her right boot, forced to land by the waves. Huh. She crouched down once more to pick it up. A glass bottle with a rolled up scroll inside. Nice vibe.
The cork was tight but after a bit of Ren, she managed to pop it open. The crowd was getting restless now, questioning murmurs rising in the air.
Her eyes scanned around for any more signs of the bottle but the visibility was too low for her to be sure. Hopefully, this was the only one.
"Hey! Why the hell are you just sitting there?" A distracting voice called. "You shitting your pants or what?"
"She has something in her hands." A calmer voice interrupted, yet clearly annoyed.
"Oi! What is that?" The first voice yelled out once more. "You got that from the water."
Ignoring him, Hanako wiped off her wet hands on her jeans before fishing out the scroll. It was written in the common hunter language, likely instructions from the examiner. Cool. She could monopolize on this.
Under the Woods, Over the Sea
Find your number and you shall be free
Hanako frowned. How could something be under the woods and over the sea at the same time? Determined, she began walking over back to the forest. Only one way to find out.
"HEY!" A bunch of voices called out. "Where the hell are you going?"
Before they could attempt to follow her, she increased her speed and faded her presence, disappearing into the fog. Good riddance.