Judge and Jury

Untitled Part 1

You had grown up in a rather confusing part of Meteor City, meaning there weren't really any records of you ever existing in the first place, much less classifying your Nen. Parents were a luxury you didn't have, being orphaned as long as you can remember.

But... you did have one true friend in your youth.

One person who helped you learn to survive, who taught you all you know, who cultivated your abilities as you aged, growing closer with each passing year until... he vanished. The death of another child, Sarasa, seeming to hit him hard. He hadn't been the same since, leaving only 3 years later.

Time without him taught you a lot, even as you question why he abandoned you – feeling as though he left you to rot... after everything you had been through together...

Still, part of you couldn't blame him. Part of you hoped he'd gotten out and made a better life for himself.

Sometimes you swear you still see his face in the crowd, aging past your teens, into your early 20s, then mid-20s, still never forgetting his features.

They've surely changed by now; 10 years will do that.

You've been fighting, just as he always warned against. But he's not around anymore, and you want to travel the world, to experience a real challenge, to actually FEEL something after spending so long being so numb to those around you.

Getting your Hunter license is something that only seems logical, given the end goal. Besides, it's much easier to explain the deaths you leave in your wake this way.

Not that death is ever the goal – if anything it bores you...

You just want something that will actually satisfy that craving, to fill the hole inside from when your childhood friend left. He had been like a sibling and parent wrapped all in one, the only companion you'd ever really had, the only one you thought you'd ever need.

But you'd managed just fine on your own. Becoming an adult was the easy part, finding your purpose is the real struggle. Everyone else is just... lacking.

Even the licensing exam is just another step along the path, an end to a means, the match being over far too quickly for your liking and leaving you to contemplate what qualifications they even require to enter such an exam. Were they even filtering people? Or pairing them fairly?

Your opponent had barely even gotten warmed up before you ended the fight, knocking them out cold before they could waste more of your time.

Many still speculated around your Nen, the possibilities around what it could be and how you use it – you usually don't have to rely on it. Especially not being faced with the likes of this... trash.

And you certain knew trash when you saw it...

They hadn't been worth your time in the slightest, their energy barely registering, their color draining just from a flash of your own bloodlust.

A shame really, you had hoped to enjoy the trial before claiming your license. The entire process had been much easier than you had heard – the hardest part had been simply finding the location to begin with... the last few weeks had ended with this lackluster finale...

Still, as your footsteps echo down the long hallway, you feel drawn toward a dark, empty doorway, pausing to quirk a brow over your shoulder as you take a single step back.

You can sense someone within, the room suddenly flashing as their aura shifts, revealing a strange, eccentrically dressed man perched in his seat. He must be waiting for his own match.

Shame... he could have been fun. If only you'd been paired with him instead of the dull excuse of an opponent you'd been dealt.

A coy smirk tugs up at the corner of your lips as you flare your own energy, a glint shimmering as he flashes his teeth in a wicked grin, his eyes seeming to light up before you continue on your way.

Such a shame.

Still, you find yourself lingering around the arena, curious what other interesting encounters this place may yet to produce. Maybe you'd run into the strange man? Perhaps make a few 'friends', learn from the locals if there was anything or anyone worth seeking out.

It wouldn't hurt...

You could plaster on a charming smile and mingle, pretend to make nice in exchange for information.

Though, as the hours pass, you grow weary of this as well.

With a sigh, you find yourself descending the steps to continue on your own journey.

However, as luck would have it, two young boys rush after you, skidding to a stop before you as they jump up and down.

"You were great!" One exclaims.

"Fantastic!" The other boasts.

"You HAVE to come with us!"

"Why?" You raise a brow at either of them, folding your arms across your chest.

"You're an enhancer, right?" The darker haired boy beams up at you, "I am too!"

"We're looking for strong people to join our team!" The white-haired boy mirrors your stance, seeming the calmer of the two.

"What makes you think I'm an enhancer?" You move to step around them, finding them increasingly annoying as they block your path.

"Aren't you?" The dark-haired one tilts his head, glancing only briefly behind you.

The hair at the back of your neck prickles, clenching your jaw against the urge to spin around as the eccentric man from earlier comes to stand beside you, his shoulder brushing against yours.

"Are you boys harassing this nice young lady?" His voice lilts, his golden eyes raking over you with a growing smirk.

You simply shrug him off, deciding you had changed your mind about wanting to see him again – his current annoyance far outweighing your previous curiosity as you again move to sidestep the children.

Though, you again find your attempts to be in vain.

"I'm not an enhancer," you sigh, hands moving to your hips as you scowl down at them, "what the hell do you want a team for anyway?"

"If you want to find out," the man steps in front of you, pushing the boys out of the way as he extends his hand in offering, "then you'll have to come with us."