Chapter 1

10 am, sitting at the outside dining table at his favorite coffee shop, the gentle sun shining over York New City, a woman sitting in front of him, wearing a business suit, her lips moving, firm gaze, yet trembling hand, the last word before her lips shut as she gets up and walks away, before the cycle repeats.

A trance, that's the state Luffy was currently in. His mind was blank, rattled by the scenario that had occurred some time ago. Yet, he kept running, keeping his pace close to the other people around him. But of course, a trance will eventually be broken.

" Gah! "

With the pained scream that escaped the mouth of the victim, Luffy snapped out of his trance and instinctively jumped to the right, pushing off with his left foot. Turning his head to the victim, he gazed at the body of a man in a suit, lying on the ground in pain.

" Oh crap! " Luffy exclaimed, rushing over to the man he stepped on. " Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention to what was happening around me. "

" It's fine! I'm fine! " The man in the suit said, pushing Luffy's hands off him after he helped him get off the ground. Gritting his teeth, he quickly removed his blazer and white dress shirt, placing his tag on his body.

" I will become a hunter!! " He yelled resolutely, anger seeped through as he kicked off the ground, rushing forward passing by two kids, one wearing only green clothes and the other carrying a skateboard.

Luffy stared in surprise and shock, his eyes gazing in the direction of the man who ran past him. Immediately after, something flew close to him, a hook wrapping around the handle of a black briefcase, before being pulled back towards the caster by a wire.

" Woah. " The kid with the skateboard said, watching as the green-clothed boy catch the briefcase.

" Okay. Let's go. " The kid said.

Both turned around and ran down the tunnel. Luffy stared as they left, his mind perplexed on the event that he was a part of and witnessed. Looking around him, he noticed the tags on the other people running past him. Looking at his chest, he saw the number 150 on his tag.

' When did I get this? Am I in some sort of competition? A race maybe? But that guy said he is going to become a hunter. Is this the hunter exam? How am I even here? ' Luffy thought, but he could not recall anything before that brief encounter and after the reveal.

' Well, I can't say this is too bad. I don't have anything to do so why not continue? Let's see how far I can get. ' Luffy resolved, before lightly jogging forward and then picking up the pace.

The long tunnel gets Luffy to wonder how far he was from the entrance and how close the exit was, but that didn't matter at the moment. Luffy kept running, passing by others at a constant pace.

" Alright, everyone. This is the last leg of the journey, try to keep up. " A voice called out.

' We're nearing the exit huh? I should speed up. ' Luffy thought, increasing his speed, passing by more contestants.

" That's... a lot of stairs. " Luffy muttered, his eyes widened at the sheer height and amount of steps, the light at the top, nothing more than a small light in the dark. Taking a deep breath, Luffy ran forward and started to climb up the stairs, skipping a step each time he moved up. The light at the top started to glow brighter as Luffy stared at it. He wanted to reach the light quickly, his legs adding more power to his movements, going faster up the stairs.

" Ah, aren't you the guy who stepped on Leorio? " An innocent voice asked from Luffy's left. Luffy turned his lead to the left, gazing at the kid who he saw before, the one wearing only green and had a finishing pole, before looking at the others. The kid with the skateboard who has white hair, the bare-chested man who he had stepped on, and a blond-haired teen running alongside them.

" You're right. " The white-haired kid confirmed.

" Stepped on him? " Kurapika questioned, intrigued.

" Yeah. I tripped and he ended up stepping on my back. " Leorio confirmed.

" Was it on purpose? " Kurapika asked, glancing at Luffy.

" That I don't know. " Leorio admitted turning his head towards Luffy. " Why did you step on me? I mean already forgave you, so I'm just curious. "

" I was in... a little too deep inside my head. ' Luffy admitted. " I wasn't registering anything happening around me and just kept running and then I.. stepped on you. "

" Really? " Killua questioned, " What could have even caused that? "

" Something personal. " Luffy answered.

" Must have been something that shook you to the core. I know that feeling well. " Kurapika admitted, in a somber tone.

" Hmm... " Killua hummed as he stared at the light above, coming from the end. " Oi, Gon. We are almost at the end. Want to see who will reach the top first? "

" Eh? Okay. But does the winner get a prize? " Gon asked.

" We can decide later. " Killua answered. " Now, on three. Three! "

Suddenly KIllua sped up, running up the stairs, skipping multiple in the process, he looked to the side to see Gon right beside him. A grin formed on his face as he picked up more speed, while Gon did the same.

" Those two are monsters. " Leorio said, panting heavily as he watched two 12-year-olds run up the stairs at a breakneck pace and they weren't even sweating.

" Well, they seemed pretty even so far, wonder who won? " Kurapika pondered.

" I think the white-haired kid probably won. " Luffy answered.

" I'd say Gon won. " Kurapika answered.

" It's a tie. " Leorio said.

" Well... we can always ask them when we reach the top. " Luffy said, Kurapika and Leorio nodded their heads in agreement.

...

Reaching the top was quite rewarding in itself. The feeling of clearing the hurdle of running for so long and even up an extremely long flight of stairs, made Luffy feel accomplished in that task alone. Leorio had propped himself against a wall, panting heavily from the sheer exhaustion of running that much. Kurapika had his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath while Luffy had gotten his breathing under control.

' Why is there so much fog? How is it possible for that tunnel to reach all the way here? Is this an actual place on the map or a room created by the hunter association for the exam?... ' Luffy's thought swirled around in his head, focusing on the current moment.

" Kurapika! Leorio! " Gon called out, jogging towards his friends, Killua right beside him.

" Yo old man. You made it. " Killua congratulated, looking at Leorio.

" I'm not.an old.man. I am a teenager. " Leorio stressed.

" Keep telling yourself that, it won't make you any younger. " Killua teased, crossing his arms behind his head.

Painfully, Leorio raised his hand and flipped Killua off, who just stuck his tongue out in defiance.

" Oh, that's right. What's your name? " Gon asked, looking at Luffy while catching the attention of his friends.

" Oh... I did tell you. " Luffy realized. " My name is Luffy. "

" Gon. "

" Kurapika. "

" Leorio. "

" Killua. "

As more and more participants completed the staircase climb, time advanced slowly as many regained their stamina and fortified their mental strength.

The fog didn't help anyone, many were worried and nervous about the upcoming trial, as they couldn't see any dangers that were guaranteed to be present.

Luffy looked around at the various participants, taking into consideration the weapons they brought they brought with them.

" Times up. " The examiner announced.

Luffy looked at the man, unable to think of his name, considering how detached he was from reality at the beginning of the exam.

The metal doors closed behind them, no more participants will be allowed through.

" Very well then. We will now begin part 2. " The examiner revealed.

" Part 2? "

" Does he mean he phase 2? "

" The first half of phase 1 is complete. The second part will begin now. Sane rules apply from before, you must simply follow me to the end in time.

However, we will be traversing through the Milsy Wetlands, home to many carnivorous animals and dangerous planets.

There are also multiple traps set up by the hunter association, which may, but probably lead to your death, do please follow me closely and watch your step. " The examiner advised.

However, before departure, an interruption involved everyone present.

" Wait! That guy isn't the real examiner! " A voice yelled out.

The participants looked toward the owner of the voice, and a man in a blue sweater emerged, dragging something along with him. Covered in brown fur, it was a monkey, the tail gave it away.

" This is a tricky beast, a monkey who can transform into humans to trick them. I'm the real examiner!! That is just a monkey trying to trick you into becoming food!! " The man yelled.

" Is that true? "

" Is he the examiner though? "

Rumors began spreading through the group, as many got caught up in the aftermath, unable to know for certain who the real examiner was. Was it the man in the blue sweater or the man in the suit?

Cutting through the air and the conversation, playing cards flew through the air towards the two suspects, one of them catching the cards one at a time mid-flight, the other getting stabbed in the arms, legs, and head, toppling over, officially dead and transforming into a monkey.

" There we go. The real examiner is him. " A low, delicate voice rang out, catching the attention of all the participants, the same voice that was etched into their memories even before the exam started.

Following everyone line of sight, Luffy looked at the man, dressed as a clown, a jester, shuffling cards in his hands. Surprise filled Luffy's mind, his head turning around to see the monkey stabbed with cards.

' How did they pierce it!? I don't think cards, no matter how skilled a person is, can lodge them into an animal or a human! ' Luffy thought, before looking at the jester with a mix of fear, suspicion, and awe.

" Well, the situation seems to be resolved. That was a clear example of the trickery that exists in the Nilsy Wetlands. It seems to have affected more people than I thought. " The examiner said, looking at the participants.

" However, " He said, looking at the Jester with a firm gaze, " Please do remember contestant 44, you've already harmed an examiner before and have been disqualified. For your own sake, please do not make this a habit. "

" I'll keep that in mind. " The jester said, smirking.

" Very well. Now then everyone, let's begin. "

Just like that, the examiner began running into the fog, as many dashed right after to not lose sight of him.

The dense fog lowered the visual prowess of the participants, many of them were unable to avoid their demise, whether they were eaten alive, or fall into a pit filled with spikes and dissolved in the stomach of giant flowers with teeth.

Luffy watched all this occur with his eyes, his mind focusing only on the present, the situation at hand has gotten drastic so quickly with the danger he was in.

' Holy shit! ' Luffy thought. ' And I'm currently a participant in this prelude of an exam. This is dangerous as it is, yet hunters can go into more dangerous situations! '

' How do I even kill them? I doubt I can do anything with my bare hands. Maybe if I had a gun? Yeah, that would work. But I don't have one. ' He thought.

' But many of them do. ' Luffy thought looking at the people around him.

He remembered many people bringing weapons, many brought guns. Whether they were farther ahead or dead was unknown.

' The examiner has mainly been running in a straight line but making turns here and there to avoid traps and animals. ' Luffy thought coming to a halt.

' I know many of those people have died, I should be able to get some weapons if they aren't broken. '

Luffy ran away from the group to go scavenge for supplies. The fog was quite dense the further you stood up, when crouching down, there was less fog.

Able to take a look around him, Luffy found some items around him. A spear and some knives were surprisingly common, but he didn't take them with him at all.

But he managed to reach the place he was looking for. A pistol lay on the ground next to a severed hand with a wrist strap attached to it.

' That's it! ' Luffy thought ecstatic, grabbing the gun and removing the wrist strap filled with replacement rounds for the pistol.

' This will do. And they haven't been used at all. '

All the bullets were still there. Whoever's gun this was, will he was dead and it's currently in the hands of Luffy.

Looking around a bit more, yet finding nothing else that can help him, Luffy felt it wasn't enough, so he ended up taking two knives along with him, just in case. After all, you can never be too careful.

Running in the direction the examiner showed, Luffy aimed to get back to the rest of the group, his confidence rose with the weapon he had on hand, but he was still extremely cautious of anything that could harm him.

Silence permeated the air, the only sound noticeable to him was his footsteps.

' There they are. ' Luffy thought, the group in sight.

Taking his time, he jogged to the rest of the group, blending in with them.

' Though the number of people diffently decreased. ' Luffy thought.

" Oh, it's you. "

Turning his head, Luffy looked down to see Killua running alongside him.

" Yeah, it's me. Where are the others? " Luffy asked, not seeing them anywhere.

" Probably at the back. Gon turned around to face off against Hisoka. " Killua said.

" Hisoka? " Luffy questioned.

" Ha. You don't know who that is. Were you not paying attention this entire time? Even Leorio knows who he is. " Killua said.

" Nope. Don't know who Hisoka is. " Luffy admitted.

" You're either blind or deaf for not knowing. Maybe you're the old man instead. " Killua thought out loud, sighing.

" It's that the guy who dresses like a clown. "

" Hmmm...oh. So that guy's name is Hisoka. Good to know. " Luffy said.

" So... why did you join the hunter's exam? " Killua asked, not caring, but tried to start up a conversation since no one else he knew was here.

" I didn't even know I joined. " Luffy said sincerely.

" Eh? How does that make sense? What do mean you don't know how you joined!? " Killua exclaimed.

" Exactly what it means. I was too deep in my head at the time and didn't pay attention to many things that occurred. Though, I think it was more like, nothing mattered at all. I woke up when I stepped on Leorio's back though. " Luffy said, though agreed with Killua, how deep was he in his head to not even notice that?

" You must not get enough sleep. Were you tired from overworking yourself or something? " Killua asked.

" No. Though I admit that I have overworked myself numerous times. " Luffy chuckled.

" Wait, you've overworked yourself. From what, your job? How old are you? " Killua asked, confused.

" I'm 33. " Luffy said.

" 33! " Killua said, shocked.

" Is that so surprising? " Luffy asked.

" Yeah! I thought were at least Kurapika's age or in your 20's. " Killua said.

" Nope. I'm 33. " Luffy confirmed.

" How!? You look like you're 19. " Killua said.

" Thank you. " Luffy said with a smile.

" That wasn't a compliment. " Killua deadpanned.

" It wasn't? " Luffy asked surprised.

" Nope. " Killua said.

" Oh. " Luffy responded.

" By the way... do you even know how to use a gun? " Killua asked.

" Yeah. I practice shooting as a hobby. " Luffy informed.

" Shooting as a hobby? Why? " Killua asked.

" It calms me down. " Luffy said. " By the way, what was the examiner's name? "

" Eh? You didn't even pay attention to that. " Killua said.

" Yep. " Luffy said.

" Wow. The examiner's name is Satoz. " Killua said.

" Thanks. "

...

" Killua. Luffy. " Gon called out, walking up to them with Kurapika in tow.

" Gon. You've finally made it. " Killua said.

" Yeah. Sorry, it took a while. Hisoka was really strong. " Gon said.

" Yes. But you did most of the work, I just stood by and watched. " Kurapika reassured.

" At least Leorio's all right. " Gon said, looking at Lerio sleeping against a tree.

" I don't think he's all right. " Luffy said, looking at Leorio's face.

" He isn't. " Killua said.

" Well, Hisoka did punch up quite hard after he ran in recklessly. " Kurapika mentions.

" He just ran in. Did he have a death wish? " Killua asked.

" No. He just needed to stand up to his morals. " Kurapika said.

" Attention everyone. " Satoz said, gaining the attention of the participants who passed the first phase.

" Congratulations on passing the first phase of the hunter exam. As of now, I'm no longer the examiner and will merely be a bystander watching you. The next phase will begin now, so please... step through the gate. " Satoz said as the gate opened.

With the first phase completed, and the second underway, Luffy wondered what would happen next.

____________________________________________________

Sup.

So this is the first chapter for a new fanic and thus a new project I'm experimenting with. It was in my head for good while now, but I've finally made the first chapter.

Leave a comment for what you thought of this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed.

Have a nice day.