Inseparable

Off To The Hunters Exam!

12 years later...

"Hey Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been to visit you in some time, there's been a lot going on. I miss you every day. I'm going to take the hunter exam and I wish you could see my Nen ability now. I'm so incredibly proud and it's all thanks to you. I love you always." She knelt and put flowers next to a headstone.

Her father passed away just a year ago while he was on a job. Ash knew that's how he would meet his end given that he killed people for a living. But that still made it super difficult for her to cope with. As silent tears began to roll down her eyes, she reminded herself that her father would always be with her in spirit as well as all the lessons he taught her.

She stood up and walked back to her car and began driving back to her apartment. The city she grew up in was left to decay ever since it was bombed out, which forced her to move. She chose a more bustling place to reside, being right outside of the heavens arena in the Republic of Pedokea. Since she was relatively new to the area she hadn't had much time to explore the area or check out the heavens arena. But that wasn't her priority anyway. All she wanted was to pass the Hunters Exam and get a hunter's license without too many issues.

Once she got back she received a phone call, giving her directions of how to get to the starting point of the exam. Then she began packing a small bag with her knives, some extra clothes and toiletries, and of course some bungee gum that she always carried with her since it was her favorite then she was off to the exam site.

The next day...

"Ahh Zaban city." she sighed "So where are we going?" she asked the kiriko after they transformed into their human shape. "Follow us! We'll take you to the entrance to the exam. "Great! Thank you so much!" she said, full of hope. As they walked further into the crowd, she noticed the amazing smell of food, the different people, the pretty jewelry, and the art. Sure she heard stories of how seedy this city was but that didn't take away the child-like excitement she was feeling. "Alright, we're here!" Ash looked at the giant building and began walking that way. "No, ash! This is where you're going." The kiriko pointed to a small, dilapidated restaurant. "Ooohh, that makes sense." how embarrassing, they must think I'm so dumb... she thought to herself. "They wanted to make sure to pick a location no one would suspect. You'll see once we get inside." said one of the Kiriko. Then they headed inside.

"Welcome, take a seat," said the chef. "Good day sir, Is the back room available?" asked the kiriko.

"What are you having?" asked the chef, seeming to catch on to where this was going.

"The steak combo, please. The one that'll make us see the light." said one of the kiriko in a grandeur manner.

"How do you want em' cooked?" asked the chef.

"Grilled slowly over a low flame till done, please!"

"Alright, go sit yourselves in the back room."

She and the kiriko found the room, it was quite small. Just one table in the middle with a couple of chairs surrounding it. "Well, here you are Ash. good luck with the rest of the exam," he said. "Thank you for all your help," said Ash. "You're very lucky, only 1 in 10,000 make it to this point. This is a great deal for your first time. Well done." she nodded and smiled at him and he did the same. Then he left and closed the door behind him. Ash's nerves began to skyrocket as she felt the room start to descend. "Woah, so this is an elevator." Then everything started to click, she was about to take the hunter exam.

The doors opened to a huge underground tunnel filled to the brim with applicants.

"Hello ma'am!" said a tiny green man. He sort of looks like a jelly bean she thought to herself.

"My name is Bean, here is your applicant badge. Please do not remove or lose it as it is very important." She took a look at the badge. "Thank you," she said. Number 100 was the number she had received. "Alright. I'm pretty beat, let me go find a spot to rest for a bit." She began walking further into the tunnel and looked around at the opponents. Some were huge and muscular, some were scrawny, some had cool outfits, and some had cool hair. She walked over to a ledge that was in a less bustling part of the room and she dropped her bag and sat herself down. She closed her eyes and tried relaxing her body and nerves as best she could.

About 4 hours later...

She opened her eyes and there were about three times as many people as there were before her nap. She immediately stood up and stretched her body when she heard a man screaming in agony. There was a crowd forming at the center of the tunnel and she began to see what appeared to be red flower petals floating into the air from the center of it. She ran towards the crowd to see what the commotion was all about. As she got closer, she sensed a familiar aura that she had not experienced since... since I last saw him...she thought to herself.

Luckily she was tall enough to see over some of the crowd and that was when she saw him, and her heart dropped to her stomach. The crowd began to disperse since the screaming had stopped and the flowers disappeared. Then he was revealed, and she was standing there frozen.

He slowly turned around to see him fully.

"Why hello, Ash."

It was him... in the flesh.