Exam Begins x Meeting Killua

Zaban City, in front of a magnificent building

"I believe that's the building."

"So, this is where they hold the Hunter's Exam... This is what draws..." Leorio marveled at the height and majesty of the building. It far surpassed anything near it, whether it be in terms of height or appearance.

"Hunter applicants from around the globe." Kurapika finished.

"Hey guys, it's over here."

"Eh?"

"Here," the navigator said, pointing at a small restaurant, which had clear signs of aging.

"... you can't possibly mean this shabby building?!" Leorio exclaimed.

"Indeed I do. No one would expect the Hunter's Exam to be held here, right?"

"True..."

As navigator slid open the door, the owner spoke, "Welcome!"

"Is the back room open?"

The owner looked over. "What will you have?"

"The steak combo that opens your eyes to the light, for three."

The owner narrowed his eyes, lowering his voice to seem solemn. "For three... how would you like them?"

"Grilled over low flame until cooked."

"Okay. Let yourself into the back room."

Opening the backroom door, there was a round turntable with three chairs. "Wait here," said the navigator.

"Wait? Where's the other applicants?"

"One in ten thousand applicants every year make it this far... you've done exceptionally well for first-timers. I'll be glad to serve as your navigator next year!" As the navigator closed the door, the entire room began moving downwards.

Kurapika remarked, "It appears that this room is an elevator."

"Bastard, that means he expects us to fail the exam," Leorio said, sitting down.

"Once every three years."

"What?"

"The rate at which a rookie passes the Hunter Exam. Many cannot bear the physical or mental strain. Not to mention, more experienced individuals psychologically break rookies, who then never take the exam again."

"It seems that many are determined to become Hunters, to the point that they are willing to risk it all," Veld said.

"But of course! Hunters make the most money in the world!"

"Wrong! Hunters are the most noble in the world."

"Glory hog..."

"Money grubber!"

Leorio leaned on the turning part of the table, getting uncomfortably close to Veld. "Veld. Listen. Every year, over 50 Hunters make the top 100 richest people in the world!"

Kurapika turned the turntable, moving Leorio out of the way. "Those are second-rate hunters. The true hunters are the ones that keep order."

Leorio put his hands on the turning part of the table again, getting even closer to Veld. "There are many benefits to getting a hunter's license, like unrestricted access to over 90% of the world's countries!"

Kurapika once again turned the turntable, causing Leorio to move along with it. "Hunter's have many responsibilities, such as capturing wanted criminals!"

"Fame and money!"

"Knowlege, responsibility, conviction!"

"Veld! What do you think?!"

'Seriously? Am I Gon now? Trying to use me to get an upper hand in their quarreling...'

*Ding!*

"We've arrived..."

"We'll continue this later, Kurapika."

Walking out of the elevator, the gloomy and somber atmosphere could immediately be felt. Each candidate was cautious, bar a few nonchalant ones. Each and every one of these were stronger and more skillful than the applicants the trio had encountered outside. Some people turned to get a look at the new arrivals.

"Tense atmosphere down here..." Leorio put on a more serious face.

"They are clearly different from the one's on the boat and in the city." Kurapika observed.

"Hello, please take a number!" A green, short man with no nose said.

Leorio, who was closest, took the number 403. Veld took 404, and Kurapika took 405.

"Be sure to wear this on your chest at all times, and be careful not to lose it!"

A voice said from above, "I haven't seen you guys around before!" Everyone looked up and saw a fat man with an oval nose. Rather than a "()" shape, it was more of a "<>" shape. He was wearing blue clothes and was wearing the number 16 on the left side of his chest.

'Tonpa. Heh. This time, you won't be leaving the exam alive.' "If you can tell that we're new, you must be a veteran."

Tonpa realized the vigilance in Veld, but kept the outward appearance of a friendly person, and hopped down from the pipe. "After all, this will be my thirty-fifth attempt."

"Thirty-five times?!"

Veld said, "After so many times, one should have either passed the exam or died trying... it's rather odd."

Tonpa's eye twitched, while he thought 'This rookie... I'll make sure to break him!' "Ahahah... I just have good survival skills." Kurapika raised his vigilance, realizing how suspicious Tonpa was, especially since he was aware of "rookie crushers." Tonpa continued, "If you have any questions, you can ask me. My name is Tonpa!"

"Veld. Kurapika. Leorio." Veld pointed to himself, Kurapika, and Leorio while saying their names. "Say, who else has taken the exams multiple times?" Veld had asked this not for himself but for Kurapika and Leorio. He didn't know if not mentioning it would affect their passing or not, so he decided to say so for their information.

"Well, I have the most experience here, but there are a few others. For instance, number 255. Todo, the wrestler. He's incredibly strong and smarter than he looks. 103, Bourbon, the Snake Charmer. Be sure you don't end up on his bad side, since he holds grudges. Number 191, Bodoro, the Kung Fu master. He's growing old, but he's the best martial artist here. 197, 198, and 199, Amori, Imori, and Umori. The brothers have excellent team work. Lastly, there's number 384, Gerreta the Huntsman. Good with clubs and the blowgun."

As Tonpa finished speaking, a man with a medieval look— black pauldrons and a purple cape— bumped into a red-haired man... "Aaaaah!" The man screamed, drawing the attention of all the examinees. The man's arms disintegrated into red four-leaf clovers. "Oh, how peculiar... his arms seem to have become flower petals. No smoke and mirrors here. Do take care... when you bump into someone, you really should apologize."

The examinees scrunched up their faces and grunted out of fear and anger. Tonpa said with sweat on his face, "That psychopath is back again... Number 44. Hisoka, the Magician. Last year, he was all but sure to pass the exam until he killed an examiner that he didn't like."

"A-and they're allowing him to take the exam again?!"

"Even the devil himself could pass if that were the examiner's decision."

"T-that's..."

"Oh, right! Here, want a drink? To mark our acquaintance. How about it?"

Leorio, as naive as ever, gladly said, "Oh, thanks! I was thirsty!"

Tonpa also handed the juice with laxatives in it to Veld and Kurapika, who seemed to have dropped their guard. "Heheheh... there he goes again, pretending to be friendly, even though he's the nastiest one here."

Tonpa briefly looked over to the one's who were speaking with an annoyed expression. Veld took the chance and swapped his and Tonpa's drinks while he was looking away, unbeknownst to Tonpa. However, Leorio and Kurapika saw this, as well as a certain white-haired boy with blue eyes.

Tonpa looked back, saying, "Then, let's toast!" 'Hehehe. The juice I gave you contains an extremely strong laxative... one sip and you'll be unable to control your bowels for three days straight!' Tonpa thought while swallowing his juice, unaware of his impending fate.

After the liquid entered his mouth, Veld spit it out, exclaiming, "Ah, it seems to have expired!" causing Leorio to spit his out as well. Kurapika had pretended to take a sip, but didn't let any liquid enter his mouth. He proceeded to pour it out onto the ground.

"E-eh? That's strange! Eheheh." 'Impossible. That laxative should have practically no taste or scent!' "I'm truly sorry! I didn't realize that the juice had expired!"

Veld said, seemingly concerned, "Ah, what about you Tonpa-san? Are you okay?"

"Yes, it seems I'm okay. Sorry about that... then, see you around!" 'Sheesh, there's something wrong with this year's rookies! Number 294 Hanzo... at first he seemed gullible, so I approached him... *Flashback*

"Don't tell anyone else... but I'm secretly a ninja. I seek the legendary ninja scroll... shh... which is said to be placed in a location inaccessible to ordinary people."

"...So, how about it? Want a drink?"

Hanzo's eyes sharpened, and in a serious tone that concealed a threat, he said, "As a ninja, I make it a point to not accept drinks from others," his eyes narrowed, "Sorry."

"I-I see..."

*Flashback End*

I could tell by his eye's that he's no fool. One misstep, and I could've died... speaking of danger, there's 301. I can't even go near that guy.' Tonpa continued reviewing all of the dangerous or exceptional candidates for a while.

*Rumble*

The tunnel began shaking, and the wall was lifted up, disappearing.

"I apologize for the wait. The entry period for the applicants has ended. The Hunter Exam will now begin! A final warning. There is a danger of death. Those who accept the risks, follow me... It seems all 404 applicants shall participate in the exam."

"I had hoped a few would withdraw," Leorio said.

As the examiner sped up, forcing the examinees into a run, he said, "My name is Satotz. I shall be your examiner, who shall lead you to the second phase of the exam. This is the exam's first phase. You shall follow me to phase two. I cannot tell you where or when we must arrive. You simply need to follow me."

Kurapika analyzed his words. "It seems that this is not only an endurance test, but a mental test as well..."

...

Two hours later— 30km past the start.

Leorio was sweating profusely, grunting every now and then. When he saw a kid on a skateboard, he got riled up. "Hey, kid! You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you using a skateboard? That's cheating!"

"Why?"

"This is an endurance test!"

"Leorio, you're wrong. The examiner simply said that we have to follow him."

"Y-you... whose side are you on, Veld?!"

The white-haired kid slowed down, allowing the skateboard to lose momentum, which caused him to fall back to Veld's position.

"Hey, how old are you?" the white-haired kid asked.

"I'm 12. You?"

'Huh... we're the same age...' "I'm also twelve," he answered. He stepped on the back of his skateboard, causing it to launch into the air, spinning. When it reached arm height, he rached out and caught it. "Guess I'll run, too."

Veld raised his eyebrows. "Pretty cool."

"I'm Killua."

"I'm Veld."

...

A certain fat, slick-haired rookie was panting, having trouble keeping up. "Hey, rookie! Looks like you're having trouble, huh? It's rare to see such a failure!" one of the three brothers mocked.

"Losers like you are always going to fail the exam," another one of the three brothers continued.

"Don't come back, you brat! If you do... hehehe" the last brother finished.

"Aaaaaah!" The poor kid collapsed.

Veld looked back at the scene, staring at the three brothers with chilly eyes. 'If I meet them... heheh. Maybe I'll take a leg or two...' Veld wasn't angry that the rookie was mentally broken. In fact, this was not the worst thing, as someone so mentally weak wasn't suitable to be a hunter. Even if he had passed, he would sooner or later die, though, Veld also didn't care about that. It's simply that, although he is apathetic to such things, he doesn't like it either. When meeting ruthless people, he will be even more ruthless. Veld will find that he even somewhat enjoys being ruthless to such people. 'If you kill, you should be prepared to be killed. If you break someone, you should be prepared to be broken...'

...

Two more hours later— 60 kilometers have been traveled.

Leorio as slowed down to a walk, sweat dropping onto the ground. Veld stopped and turned around. "Hey, ignore him," Killua said... after a moment of rest, Leorio said, "Screw that... I'm definitely gonna become a Hunter!" He sprinted at full speed, somehow gathering enough energy to continue. Veld smiled and dashed back, grabbed the suitcase, and began running again.

"Veld, wanna race to see who's faster?"

"Sure! How about the loser has to teach something to the winner?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I know how to use a knife, and I think you have some pretty interesting skills as well. How about it?"

'Hmm, I probably know how to use the knife better than you... but it should still be interesting.' "Sure!"

'Heh, I bet he's thinking that he's better with the knife than me.'

...

{Author's Note: Okay, I'm gonna summarize Kurapika's and Leorio's interaction. Basically, Kurapika said that he didn't think Leorio was after money, as he's seen such people, and that Leorio is different. Then Kurapika told the story about why the Phantom Troup hunted his clan; it was for the scarlet eyes, which are considered one of the seven most beautiful colors in the world. Every pair of eyes sold for an enormous amount of money. Leorio proceeded to say that he in fact did want money, because that's what the world runs on. It can even buy lives. After he said that, Kurapika got mad, but Leorio accidentally said that his friend died because he lacked money, diminishing his anger.}

After the interaction, Killua and Veld caught up to Leorio and Kurapika, and Killua said, "See you at the end, old man!"

"I'm not old! I'm a teenager like you guys!"

"..." Kurapika and Killua put on stunned expressions.

...

"I'm pretty impressed that you can keep up with me." Seeing Veld's expression, he continued, "Perhaps it's just that everyone else is weak. Sigh, I was hoping for more from the Hunter's Exam."

"Maybe its the first one that is easy. Most likely, the first couple of exams are "trimming the fat" and the last few are the harder ones. I believe that there should be at least one phase that has the applicants fight against each other."

"Hmm, maybe you're right."

Looking at the light up ahead, Veld said, "Looks like the exit is just up ahead!" Both of them sped up, racing past all of the other examinees. "Goal!" They exited at the same time.

"Heh, Veld, looks like I win!"

"No, I clearly was faster by a few milliseconds! Let's ask the examiner, he should have had a clearer view! Hey, who passed first?"

"I think you both exited at the same time..." Satotz replied.

"Hmm, then how about this Killua? We'll teach each other something when we pass the exam!"