"What? So are you saying that this normal restaurant is where hunter prospects from all over the world are gathered?" Leorio asked dubiously as the four Hunter candidates looked at a small restaurant. Standing next to a grandiose skyscraper, the aging wooden walls lacked in the impressive visual factor. It didn't really resemble the glory that the Hunter Exam held. They walked in as the navigator continued to guide them in. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
"Welcome!" The owner of the restaurant shouted out. "Your order?"
"The steak meal."
"How would you like it cooked?"
"Slowly over a weak fire."
"Coming right up."
"Please follow me to the room." Immediately, a waiter came up to them and brought the group to the very back of the restaurant where there was an isolated room. Everyone stared at the table with food awkwardly, unsure on what to do and how to move. Finally, Valeria strided to a chair and sat down, with legs criss crossed and clapped her hands together. "Thanks for the food."
The other three slowly and cautiously followed her gesture but stopped and looked back at the navigator, when he began to talk again: "One out of 10,000. That's the probability of making it to this room. You guys have done extremely well for beginners. Alright then, good luck rookies. We'll be more than happy to guide you guys next year too." He smiled cryptically, not at all offering words that would provide them empty hope. Valeria assumed it was due to his long term experience with the job. The navigator bowed once more, bidding them farewell, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The moment he left, the room began to shake and started to move.
"That was rude. He talked as if he knew we wouldn't pass this year." Leorio started stuffing his face. The others couldn't tell if he did so because he was frustrated with the reply he received, or if he was simply starving. Kurapika decided to humour all of them by explaining the difficulties and the true intent of the navigator's "blessing": "Once every three years. That's the estimated rate for rookies passing. And we're all rookies here."
"Why do people go through such hardships?" Gon asked. It was a surprising question coming from someone who was choosing to go through such hardships himself. The other three teenagers responded at the same time with different answers. "A hunter is the..."
"Most free..." Valeria clenched her fists, revealing a more desperate vibe rather than a determined one.
"Most well paid..." Leorio smirked, rubbing his hands together like a con artist would.
"Most respected..." Kurapika exclaimed, pride and determination fueling the passion in his eyes.
"Job in the world." All three of them finished their sentences, staring at one another. Immediately, an argument took place. Leorio slammed the table every few seconds, trying to emphasize his points while Kurapika calmly denounced every claim Leorio made and elaborated on his own ideas. Valeria picked her nose and answered Leorio's and Kurapika's interrogative questions with very little idea of what she wanted to do before covering her ears and zoning out when she started to get annoyed.
"What kind of hunter do you want to be?"
"Uh. A plant researcher. Blacklist hunter? I dunno."
"Why?"
"I like plants. But also my strength is the only thing that I have going for me."
"Why did you become a hunter?"
"I dunno, personal freedom?"
"So in a sense, you mean you want to be respected right? Not for some lame ambition like money."
YOU ARE READING
Boundaries
FanfictionValeria Lavine couldn't care less about the world more than anyone else. But she was the one who was most insistent on saving her brother and disobeying her clan's traditions. Valeria was born in a village with enhanced superhuman strength that coul...
