Third Person POV: ??

287th Hunter Association Exam,

Underground Tunnel Marathon, Time remaining: 1 hour 15 minutes

Zaban City, a rooftop somewhere.

“This should be the place. No mistake.”

A boy thought out loud as he looked at the waves of men and few women going in and out from the rundown diner. His voice sounded immature, cheeky, but masculine at the same time.

The boy had spiky silver hair, ashen skin, and blue eyes. He was relatively lean and wore a white turtleneck shirt with dark blue long sleeves. The youth also donned purple and white boots under lavender-colored shorts that reached to his knees.

He was currently skateboarding on the edge of a reasonably high building.

The daredevil-like motion tested senses and precision, but the boy looked relaxed. He paused for a moment before he resumed heelflips and tricks of all kinds. His vision focused down:

“There’s no way in hell that shack would naturally attract this many tourists.

It’s a cover!”

He smirked and tapped with his feet, then grabbed the board under his shoulder and figured:

“I won’t be needing this book anymore, so maybe I should throw it in the trash down there.

Hmm. Having a geek for a brother has a few perks…Maybe I should go easier on him next time.”

The boy reminisced indolently about the place his family wanted him to see as “home” as he exited the rooftop and the building.

This was the first time he ran off. It certainly didn’t help things that he stabbed that woman. However, she had to get in his way as usual, and he couldn’t endure it anymore...

As the teenage hormones kicked in, the thrill he felt from this rebellious venture, washed away any sense of guilt that was trying to creep in his gut.

If anything, that lady would probably be boasting about his ruthlessness to his dad right now.

…………………………

Twelve minutes later,

After he picked up his ears and listened to similar words some of the customers gave before disappearing in the back of the shop, the youth figured out the passcode.

Being a hitman and all wasn’t something he found enjoyable, but even he had to admit that he was suited for it. Adding to his unusual physical gifts, his brain worked fast.

As he also ordered the rare steak combo, he was guided politely by one of the employees in a room behind the main hall. The place was a lot bigger than it seemed from the outside.

The food was already served hot and ready, which caused him to be a bit confused. But after the room “transformed” into an elevator, he relaxed and ate the food hungrily.

………………………….

“Uwa, so crowded!” The kid climbed down from the elevator after it stopped and opened.

As he came in contact with the unkind gazes from the crowd of participants, he grinned and picked up his skateboard.

After what, he came down from the elevator and started scanning around.

“So weak...Is this the hunter exam?” The kid thought a bit disappointedly. Most of them were adults or geezers. He didn’t know how many years they had trained, but he was quite confident he could kill them in a heartbeat.

One of these losers came to offer him a drink politely and explain how things worked around here. He didn’t pay attention to the guy’s name, but he accepted his gift kindly. He loved canned juice, even if this one seemed to have been “altered.” Not that he cared since he was long since resistant to all sorts of poisons.

He waited for the guy to end his constant and long monologue on most of the retakers to finally open the can and enjoy it in peace. But just as he did so, he finally realized something strange.

There was a kid here, just behind him.

That kid seemed to be around his age, but that wasn’t the most crucial fact.

The boy kept staring at him with glowing eyes as if he was about to cry any minute. Despite how uncomfortable he tried to make the kid understand the situation was for him, he kept staring and muttering some senseless number even after he turned his back.

To be honest, this situation was new for him, but he also came here to make friends and couldn’t act too rude. The boy didn’t look malicious, so that was one thing… He mustered his courage, walked closer to him, and finally asked what was wrong. He visibly had something to ask him.

“Is there something on my face?” He did his best to take a somewhat kind tone, but the voice came out rude and hostile.

“210...” The kid’s mutter finally became distinct.

“210? What’s that?” He frowned and asked again. More confused than previously.

At that very moment, the teenage and frail-looking boy finally snapped out of his daydream. His eyes regained their color. But just as they did so, another weird thing took place.

He began to sob and cry. Yes, he cried…and hugged him.

“Are you okay?” The silver-haired boy blushed, rubbed his head, and questioned. He wasn’t great at all with that kind of person.

His little siblings were a bit strange too, but they were far from being crybabies. The only one he shared a good relationship with was under house arrest for long. As for the other one, he was that woman’s good soldier.

What he wanted to ask the most would probably offend this boy. What was a crybaby doing here, taking the hunter exam? Did someone steal his lunch or something?

“Huh...kid. What’s your name?” He fled from the hug and asked a bit troubled.

“My name is Gon, Gon Freecs. I’m eleven.” He replied between sobs and sniffs. His snot was even coming out of his nose.

As the other participants noticed the comical scene, some of them shook their heads.

“What’s yours?” The boy dried his tears and also asked.

“Killua. Just call me Killua.” The boy hesitated on the best answer for a few seconds before he replied kindly.

At that moment, the wheels had started to turn inside that fast brain of his. He was too desperate to care what other people thought of him.

No matter how weak this kid was, he would become friends with him if he turned out to be a sincere and genuine person. It didn’t matter if he failed this exam. He might even go as far as to protect him.

As this thought passed through his mind, another incomprehensible matter happened. The previously fragile and weak-looking boy stopped holding him before engaging in a hostile staring contest with a mohawk haired guy, that had needles all over his skin.