The nearly indecipherable yelling of diverse sellers and the screeching of exotic animals in cages drowned out her voice, leaving her question on the exam site unheard by the group that walked a little ahead of her as they continued to converse on the shady backgrounds of congested cities like Zaban.

   "Excuse me-" Rukei started, only to choke on curls of cerulean smoke that billowed into her vision. She swatted it away; the culprit with a long pipe sporting a rippling, tin frame sat on a threadbare, striped mat. He raised a brow at her annoyed stare and offered a sloppy smile and tip of his pipe as an apology.

   Withholding an aggravated sigh, she nodded back and turned to the others to restate her question-

   Only that the others weren't there, leaving the child in the bustling market street. Her eyes flew over the scene, searching for the unmistakable, red symbols on the back of Kurapika's garment or for Leorio, who stood a head taller than the rest of the crowd and theoretically should have been easy to find.

   Theoretically, Rukei reminded herself as she slinked through streams of bodies. Though searching for them was annoying, calling for them would be embarrassing: she wasn't a lost child in a supermarket.

   She wasn't!

   But the bold color of the foreign market overwhelmed her- from the excavated bug-like jewels of the ruins a little south of Zaban (it's a scam- don't look) to a roasted panda frog skewered on a stick (unheard of. A delicacy? A fraud!), Rukei found herself lingering by the stalls, not close enough to merit attention, but close enough to listen to fantastical stories.

   Rukei, no matter what she may tell the reader, was actually a lost child in something akin to a supermarket.

   Well, two children can be better than one. "Rukei, look at this!"

   Pulling the girl over to another stall filled with vibrant, harlequin textiles, Gon chattered with the seller excitedly, turning to Rukei and making a comment here and there. He devoured all the ludicrous information the mustached merchant fed him; with the way his face lit up with amazement though, Rukei almost wanted to believe it too.

   Leorio owned an unbelievably loud voice, which was wonderful in this situation, because if it were a decimal quieter, his voice would have been lost in the ruckus,"Gon! Rukei! We're going to leave you behind!"

   Gon turned about in the direction of the holler, "Just one more second!"

   "Now!"

   They hurried back to Leorio and Kurapika. They reached the plaza, clear enough for Rukei to take a breath and walk ahead at her own pace without being buffeted by people. Their guide, glancing down at the paper slip in his hand, confirmed the address and smiled to himself. "That's the place!"

   The edifice oppressively towered over them, and the sunlight off the windows glared at her. "Wow! It's so tall!" Gon exclaimed, taking a step closer to the building and glowing with excitement, "This'll be my first shot at the Hunter Exam...I wonder if this is what Dad felt like!"

   "Over here!"

   Waving at them a couple paces away, the Navigator pointed at the puny building beside it with his free hand. Overrun by the an army of ivy and with windows boarded up to hold its painted,  wooden sign, the beaten business appeared a very unlikely place to hold the test. Leorio expressed this exactly. "You better not be joking! You're telling me this tiny restaurant can hold the thousands of exam applicants?"

   "This tiny restaurant can hold the thousands of exam applicants," the man replied with a patient smile. Upon the hesitant and incredulous stares, the Navigator decided that it was best that they see it for themselves and headed off, "No one would expect the exam site here, right?

  "Well... I guess you have a point there."

  "Exam sites are supposed to be hard to find- if not, I'd have a lot more free time!"

  The Navigator laughed at his own response, before sliding open the restaurant's door. Inside sounded a steady sizzle and hearty greeting. The interior betrayed nothing different than its exterior; the chairs looked a bit rickety and worn, and a wooden block propped up a broken leg of one particular table.

   The way the cook scrutinized them however when the Navigator asked for "a steak combo that opened the eyes to the light" confirmed for Rukei that this was indeed the correct location, and the Navigator's nonsense statement was indeed a code.

   She was right, their entry into a room in the back confirmed it for her; she sat herself down with a satisfied huff, before listening to the Navigator's parting instructions. "And that's the end of my tour! Just wait here; you'll be taken to the exam site shortly.''

   "I can't wait for the steak combo!"

   "Gon," the blonde stated gently as he pulled out a chair, "That was only a password for us to get it."

   His excited grin pulled down into a disappointed frown, "Oh... So we don't get to eat?"

"So it seems," Rukei replied lightly, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"One in every ten thousand."

The four looked back up at the man who had spoken his random statement.

He explained to them, "That's the probability of the number of applicants that make it this far. For first-timers you've done extremely well." He praised them, "Good luck!"

"Kiriko-san," Gon stuck out his hand to the Navigator, "Thank you!"

He seemed touched by this action as he returned the smile and hand. "I would be glad to serve as your Navigator again next year." He left, closing the door behind him. Moments later, the room shook, surprising them.

"It appears this room is an elevator." Kurapika noted, setting his bag down. A ping caught her attention as the number on the monitor increased.

"By the way, I've been wondering," Leorio started, catching her attention, glaring at the younger. "Who the heck thought it was a good idea to give a little girl firearms?! Please don't tell me it's this 'Shichi-oneesan'."

She scoffed before removing one of the black arms from her holster, cocking it and pointing at the old man. He freaked out naturally, quickly moving out of the way as she pulled the trigger.

An anti-climatic splat sounded through the room. Left on the wall behind him was a little splotch of pink paint. "They're paintball guns. I used to be allowed to handle real ones though," she added on, reminiscing on the past, tucking it away in it's holder.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow at this, but was then interrupted by Leorio.

"Anyways," Leorio growled, "That Navigator's a jerk. He means that he expected us to fail the exam this year!"

"Once every three years."

"Huh?"

Kurapika elaborated for the man, "The rate in which a rookie passes an exam."

After taking a seat, Gon spoke up curiously. "It's that unusual?"

"Some can't tolerate the physical and mental strain of the exam," Kurapika went on, adding to his reasons, "It's no surprise for veterans to crush rookies who inevitably never participate in the test a second time."

Rukei glanced at Leorio, "I would take his remark as a compliment."

"So people are willing to risk everything to become a Hunter..." Gon trailed off.

"But of course!" Rukei almost jumped as Leorio slammed his hands down onto the table as he jumped up. "Hunters make the most money in this world!"

"No!" Kurapika broke in, mirroring Leorio's actions. "Hunters are the most virtuous and honorable in this world!"

Leorio glared at him. "Glory hog!"

"Money grubber!" Kurapika shot back.

Rukei shifted the bag back over her shoulder, impassively watching them argue. Here they go again...

Leorio whipped his head over to the youngest boy."Listen, Gon! Every year over fifty Hunters make it on the list of the world's hundred richest people!"

The man suddenly fell down on the table as Kurapika rotated the tray his hands were on. "Hunters are often correlated with wild game and treasure but they are all second rate," the blonde declared, "True Hunters work to protect people and natural order!"

"Now look here!" The man recovered, back to yelling in Gon's face, "Once you've become a Hunter, most countries will give you a free pass! And no charge of use for public provisions! How great is that?!"

He fell down again due to the blonde boy that stood up across from him. "Hunter have many crucial and strenuous authorities such as preserving cultural artifacts or endangered species as well as imprisoning wanted criminals and disreputable Hunters."

"The fame and money! That's why people want to become Hunters!" Leorio yelled.

Kurapika finally raised his voice. "Overwhelming intelligence, a healthy mind and body, uncompromising stance; those are the traits on which Hunters pride themselves with!"

"GON! RUKEI! WHICH KIND OF HUNTER DO YOU WANT TO BECOME?!"

Gon glanced uneasily from side to side... "... W-which one? W-well, when you put it that way..."

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face. "I just want to help Shichi-oneesan..."

A loud ping and jolt signaled the end of their elevator ride. She glanced up at the number. B100. She was slightly impressed by the large number of basements; it must have taken while to build.

"It seems like we have arrived..."

"We'll continue this later."

Gon let out a big huff of relief as they stepped out into the dimly lit area filled with people who scrutinized them as they stepped out.

"Strange place down here," Leorio muttered, glancing about.

Kurapika nodded, "They clearly contradict from those other applicants we saw at the port and the city. Each is a master in his own right..."

"Hey," Gon spoke up cheerfully, only to be ignored as everyone turned away from the group. "Everyone's really tense..."

"It's only understandable," Rukei stated impassively, "We're their rivals after all."

"Please take your number!"

A small, green, sort of person, Rukei faintly wondered if he was really a person at all, gave them plastic plates with pins on the back. Rukei flipped the plate around. 402. She slipped the silver pin over her amaranth overall strap and through the soft fabric of her light yellow sweatshirt.

He smiled politely at them, "Be sure to wear your tag on your chest at all times. And be careful not to lose it!"

She glanced at the other three. Leorio, 403, Kurapika, 404, Gon, 405.

"Hey!" A voice called. She looked up where it came from. A stout, box-nosed man jumped down form where he sat and approached them, "You guys must be rookies,"

Gon looked up at the man curiously. "You can tell we're new?"

"More or less," he answered, "After all this will be my thirty-fifth attempt!"

"Thirty-fifth attempt?!"

He seemed quite proud of this. "You can say I'm an exam veteran so I know almost everyone's faces around here."

"That's not something you should be proud about..." Leorio muttered.

Kurapika gave a short, agreeing response. "Indeed."

"So if you have any questions feel free to ask!" He pointed a finger at himself. "The name's Tonpa!"

Gon grinned at him while introducing the others. "I'm Gon! And this is Rukei, Kurapika, and Leorio!"

She remembered the name. She had certainly heard it before. She could not remember exactly what was said about him but if Shichi mentioned his name then that meant he couldn't be up to any good.

"Hey, Tonpa-san, are there any others that've taken the exam multiple times like you have?" Gon asked, a very good question in her opinion. She was curious and the information would be very useful.

225, Todo the wrestler. 103, Bourbon the snake charmer. 191, Bodoro the martial artist. 197, 198, 199, the Amori, Umori, and Imori brothers, and 384, Gerreta the Huntsman. Shichi mentioned a few of them.

She took mental notes of the characters, as well as a couple others that she marked as potentially dangerous, like the man that walked around with pins sticking out of his head. 301.

She didn't think that was a good sign and obviously the people that swerved clear out of his way were thinking the same thing.

A scream ripped through the tense air, causing her to whirl around, met with the sight of hundreds of red flower petals falling from the ground, fading away from a man's arms. The man fell to the ground, helpless to do anything as he watched with fear as his limbs disappeared.

"Oh my, how peculiar," an exclamation from a chilling voice had her snapping her head over to the source. A red-haired man with gold eyes, a painted face, and a costume that resembled that of a jester held out both hands as if to prove something. "No smoke or mirrors here," he smiled sadistically, "Do be careful. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize to them."

She also made a mental note to stay far, far away from this man. She glanced at his plate. 44. Even his plate had bad luck written all over it.

"That psychopath is here again...," Tonpa muttered angrily, but as quietly as possible not wanting to catch the attention of the man.

"Again?" Kurapika raised an eyebrow. The whole idea of the situation didn't seem likely. "Does that mean he failed last year?"

"Hisoka the magician," he spat, "He was a virtual lock to pass until he all but killed an examiner he didn't like." She immediately recognized the gap in power between the man and the rest of the applicants. She wondered if anyone would be stupid enough to pick a fight with him.

Leorio was baffled by the judgement the Hunter exam showed. "What?! And they're letting him take the exam again?!"

"The examiners and test content change every year. They can pass anyone they see fit. Anyway," he mentioned, "Nobody likes him, so I would stay away as far as possible."

Rukei was sure that was what everyone had in mind anyways.

"Oh right!" Tonpa retrieved a couple, orange, tin cans from his bag. "How about a gift to mark our acquaintance?"

"Just when I was starting to get thirsty," Leorio proclaimed. Rukei observed the can in her hand, rolling it over.

She observed it a little longer looking at the label. "Shichi-oneesan says too many of these are bad for your health."

"S-shichi?! Like Tsujou Shichi?!" Tonpa stuttered over her name. This made Rukei even more suspicious but she nodded.

"Yes." She replied dully, "Tsujou Shichi. She was thirteen when she took the exam. I suppose you've met her."

He smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head, beginning to perspire. This man was definitely off. "Y-yeah, sure I remember her! Wow, isn't that nostalgic, we were friends!"

Now that was when she was sure that this man was going to trick them into something. Shichi would never mention anyone at the Hunter exam that she was 'friends' with. The thirteen-year old Shichi didn't make 'friends'.

Gon had already started drinking by the time she turned to look at him. She was going to tell him to spit it out until he spat it out himself in a distasteful manner.

"Bleh!" He looked up at the older man, "Tonpa-san, I think your juice must have gone bad! It tastes funny!"

Seconds later, Leorio spewed out the juice. Kurapika cooly dumped the contents onto the ground. She stared at the still unopened can in her hand, not sure what to do with it. She decided to toss it when she got the chance, stuffing the probably poisoned drink away in her bag.

Tonpa appeared to be sweating bullets, "W-well, isn't that strange? I'm very sorry! I didn't know the juice had expired!"

"That's okay!" Gon, all innocence and smiles, concerned for the man, "Is your stomach okay?"

"U-uh, yeah," he stammered, "I'm fine..."

Gon grinned, "I've sampled all kinds of mountain grasses and plants, so I can usually tell if something is bad."

"R-really? That's amazing! Well, sorry about that! So, I'll see you around," he said awkwardly, before shuffling away. And as he shuffled away, she remembered. Tonpa. The rookie crusher. Shichi had a couple particularly derogative comments aimed towards him. 

Leorio huffed, still angry that he almost drank 'expired' juice. "What a talkative old man!"

A very loud, bell like sound broke through the air as she was going to tell them about her discovery. The large, panel of a wall began to lift, revealing a tall, lavender-haired man in a suit. He stopped the ringing and hid the oddly shaped bell away. "I apologize for the wait. The entry period for the Hunter exam applicants have ended. The Hunter exam will now begin!"

She cracked her knuckles and neck. She would be lying if she said she was not a little excited. She had gone under specific training for the exam for a few months now and she hoped it would not go to waste. She could feel the competitive, determined air return, and she rather liked that.

Finally... She and all her friends took their first step past the starting point.