Therapists Thoughts on the Hunter Exam. (And its contestants.)

Oh god!

The air was damp and heavy as the elevator doors slid open, revealing a tense crowd of contestants ready to kill for their goals if the need arose. It was a terrifying, yet exciting prospect for me as I stepped out onto the compacted dirt floor. The room was cavernous but nearly at capacity already. The threat of violence hanging through the air like a heavy fog as I slowly made my way towards the wall on the far right. Away from the busy crowd so I could take a moment to collect my thoughts and gauge the competition.

There were a few hundred in here at least, each with their own special skill or personal goal.

Each with a vendetta they may or may not decide to kill for...

It was enough to send my blood humming through my veins at the prospect. I try my best to look around discreetly as a strange, tiny green man walks up to me with a badge in hand. "You are one hundred and eight, hageshi sato. Please put your badge on and leave it on for the duration of the test." he instructed politely as he handed it over. I just nod slightly before pinning it to my shirt.

I shift slightly, resisting the urge to check myself over like the others are doing. It would be better for them to not know how prepared I am. Even more so if they underestimated slightly, why go for a target that isn't dangerous?

"Hey newbie!" I hear a voice say from somewhere beside me, the sheer volume of it among the near silent crowd enough to throw me off kilter a little as a short, round man approaches me. His face housed a broad smile as he stared up at me.

"Hi." I reply, I didn't really know how to handle this situation if I was being one hundred percent honest. He was drawing too much attention, he leaned against the wall next to me with a before openly staring out through the crowd, idly naming some of the people he saw as he did so.

"Ya know, I've taken the exam thirty four times. I know who to be concerned about, so I like to inform the nicer looking folks about who they should look out for. As a friendly gesture." he explained.

I couldn't complain, information was information and this man seemed to be a talker. He just... wasn't the brightest. Especially when he openly admitted to failing the test for that long, it was just... strange.

I had a creeping suspicion I'd run into a lot of strange things this coming week.

He turns and quickly pulls two cans of juice out of his backpack before pressing one into my hands with a strangely menacing smile on his face. "How about a toast, to new friendship!" he exclaimed as he raised his drink.

Fuck no. I'm not an idiot...I just shook my head a little. I don't like him one bit, but being polite seemed like the wise thing to do.

"Sorry, I uhh, I don't drink sugary things." I explain, lying through my teeth as I attempt to shove the drink back into his palm. "Awe c'mon, no need to be a health nut! It's a rare occasion, you should be celebrating!" he exclaims as he again tries to push the drink into my hand.

This was getting fucking stupid.

"No, no it's not. If you want to celebrate with me then you should try to pass this time." I responded, probably not in the kindest way, but like damn this guy was annoying.

"I guess it can't be helped, you do seem like a health nut kind of person." he stated, his voice a bit tense as we both turned to stare off awkwardly into the crowd. Why the hell wouldn't he just leave already?

He stays for a few, long minutes before the elevator chimes again. The newer 'newbies' seemingly catchin the strange man's attention for a bit. I can't help but thank my lucky stars as I sneak away.

I sank into the wall at the back of the room and sigh a little before discreetly checking myself over, my tank was in place, my pants were baggy and all of the inner pockets remained hidden. My laces were tied, my 'secret' weapon was secured, and my hair was tied up. I was solid, for now. For a second I wished I could go through my pockets just to triple check everything was there, but I couldn't risk it. Not right now at least.