Ch. 2 - Meetings x and x Interesting x Greetings
January 7th, 1999
Underground Tunnels, Zaban City
The double doors on the opposite side of the room swiftly slide open, revealing the underground tunnel with a gust of stale air. You step out briskly, heels clicking on the stone ground quietly, and glance around at the area and the decently-sized crowd in front of you. It seems like you are still fairly early.
At the noise, the applicants who arrived before you turn to your direction. The already cool atmosphere seems to chill further as a number of them blatantly state and the newly arrived competition up. Your blank expression doesn't change and you walk further in, and after a few seconds they turn away.
"Hello! Please take your number." You glance down to see a short green bean-like creature holding up a numbered pin. Beans, you recall. A fitting name.
"Here you go."
You grasp the offered pin and flip it over. The number #63 seems to greet you. A small smile returns to your face and you flip the pin into the air before nimbly catch it again.
"Be sure to wear this on your chest at all times."
Nodding at his reminder, you clasp the number onto your outerwear. "Thank you." You nod again as Beans strolls away. You've officially become a Hunter applicant. Hooray.
Before you can even take another step, another voice calls out to you from behind.
"Yo!" You slowly turn to see a stout, cubed-nosed man wave at you from across the tunnel, his voice echoing slightly in the open area.
"Never seen you here before." He stands from the pipe he was sitting on with an unassuming smile as he approaches.
Tonpa. Laxative man and proclaimed 'Rookie Crusher.' You certainly remember him and his funny - borderline annoying - antics during the first few portions of the exam. It had served as comic relief, so you couldn't complain much.
You return his greeting with a nice, close-eyed smile of your own.
.
For the next several hours, you lounge up on the pipes higher up on the wall, watching as applicants trickle in at different intervals. You spot a few notable faces every now and then, namely Killua (#99), and Gittarackur (#301). The sight of them in person elicits a small smile.
With your appearance early on as #63, it would be natural to expect that their numbers to shift one up correspondingly since they arrived after you. Except, you had anticipated this consequence when you'd done a mental run through of future events before arriving at Zaban City. So, to avoid that, you had set out early to find someone you knew would become an applicant and ensure they will - very unfortunately - not be able to attend. With some luck and your lovely Nen ability, the man who would've been #89 struck his head on a random crowbar in his room in the morning and fell unconscious, and will remain that way until it becomes too late.
Well it's not like he would've passed anyways. You'd just traded the beating he'd receive from the Amori brothers to an aching lump on the head he will find once he wakes up. In fact, he should be thank you.
The echo of a faint "Excuse me!" blinks you out of your thoughts, and you to glance down towards the tunnel entrance to see three colorful splotches of hair: yellow, black, and one dark green. Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon respectively. An spark sends your heart rate up yet again as you finally lay eyes on the main character of the Freecss. Your gaze trails them as the green bean hands them their badges, and then get accosted by Tonpa.
Shaking your head after a while, you decide it's finally time to get up. With a yawn and stretch, you gracefully hop down with the familiarclackof your heels hitting the stone ground. You head into the crowd of applicants with anticipation for the coming scene.
.
A loud, anguished cry cuts through the air, startling the crowd of applicants out of whatever they were doing and look in the direction of the cry.
The people part like water and you follow, area clearing to reveal the objectively horrifying sight of a man's arms disintegrating into glowing red flower petals.
'''
"Oh, how peculiar..."
Hisoka stands with his hands on his elbows, not even glancing down to look at the sniveling man in front of him.
"His arms seem to have become flower petals. No smoke and mirrors here."
He spreads his arms with a sly smile, taking in the tense atmosphere he's created.
"Do take care," The smile morphs into a grin. "When you bump into someone, you really should apologize."
After a long, nervous silence, the applicants around all shiver and hiss, displaying some sort of reaction of fear, anger, or apprehension. Just the emotions he had wanted to elicit through this little display.
However, as the magician's eyes, narrowed in mirth, glance over the audience, they flicker over a woman close by who appeared to have a fleeting contrary reaction.
#63, he notes, seeing the badge on her chest. For a moment, her expression had seemed to light up in a certain fascination and satisfied amusement. As soon as the look appeared though, it swiftly flickered it into demeanor of appropriate weariness, previous expression gone without a trace.
Interestingly, the woman seemed strangely familiar to the magician. After a bit of thought while strolling back to his place by the wall, the image of a TV screens flashed in his mind. Ah. Heaven's Arena.
As he had been leaving the place for the 286th Hunter Exam - the one that took place before this one in which he'd unfortunately been expelled from for assaulting an examiner - his attention had been caught by one of the screens displaying a popular fight. It was between an androgynous-looking woman with tied-back blue-gray hair and an opponent he hadn't bothered to remember. It had been the former's first fight in the 200s. The deliciously vicious scene that had ensued and ended within the next few seconds had managed to sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. Unfortunately, he had places to be and couldn't stay to meet the individual.
Hisoka certainly didn't expect to run into you, Erisu Adashino as the announcer had provided, here at the Hunter Exam.
Perhaps this exam will be more entertaining than he'd initially thought.
'''
...There's something seriously wrong with this year's rookies. Tonpa muttered to himself in his mind, ticked off.
First there was, number 63, one of the first rookies he'd tried to trick this Exam. He chatted her up successfully and offered the juice, which she'd quickly downed. But unexpectedly right after, the woman had tossed the empty can right at him and casually started muttered, "Hm, those laxatives really are tasteless... so, where'd you get them? They could be useful for..."
He'd stopped listening in shock after that. What psycho knows a drink is laced and drinks it anyway!? He glanced over at #63 in corner, who seem perfectly fine. The poison should be blowing up her bowels by now, but clearly it wasn't. He clicked his tongue and turned away. The failure did a big blow to his ego and made him uneasy.
He didn't manage to redeem himself in the next several attempts at sabotage as well.
Number 294, Hanzo, the so called ninja who refused the can... Number 301, that unsettling and certainly dangerous guy whom he couldn't even approach...even number 187 Nicolas, that snot-nosed bastard who knew about his reputation beforehand.
At least he managed to trick that white-haired number 99 kid, so he guesses it hasn't been a complete failu-
"Ne, Tonpa-san!" A childish voice calls out.
"Can I have more of that juice?"
...
Fuck, t-this year's rookies are all insane...!
Tonpa sweats and shudders. But the trepidation slowly melts into a tentative malice as he clenches his fists with anger.
...But that'll just make crushing them all the more worthwhile!
'''
The garbled ringing of a bell instantly silences the crowd, catching their attention as the tunnel door slowly rumbles open to reveal a tall, purple-suited man with a curly mustache and no visible mouth.
"I apologize for the wait." His voice echos over the silent crowd.
"The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended."
"The Hunter Exam will now begin!"