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"Would he tell me his name?"
"Would he be willing to talk to me?"
"Someone as strong as him, at his age... He must look down on weaklings like me..."
The blond, bowl-cut boy's fingernails had dug deep into the flesh of his palms behind his back, but his face still wore that timid, cautious expression as he watched the white-haired, blue-eyed boy.
The other boy had a rare, complex charm that combined two extremes, making him especially eye-catching.
"Before asking someone's name, you should give yours first."
The white-haired, blue-eyed boy raised an eyebrow, the black markings on his face shifting with it. His gaze was cold, but nothing more.
There was no contempt, no admiration. Just cold indifference.
It was an utterly impartial look, and for no reason at all, it put the other boy at ease.
"My name's Maro. I came from Youkelin City..." The blond, bowl-cut boy introduced himself with a hint of shyness, even blushing.
What was with this guy... Blushing over nothing?
Su Wu couldn't bear to look and turned his gaze to the sky beyond the glass window.
Come to think of it, Maro sounded a lot like monkey...
"So you came from Youkelin. Got it, monkey." Su Wu gave a slight nod and replied politely. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake.
Ah, he'd gotten the other guy's name wrong.
Never mind. It wasn't a big deal. Even if the guy realized and got angry, what could he do about it? He was weak.
The name Youkelin sounded familiar, too. Wasn't that the city with the auction? Supposedly, it was controlled by the mafia.
How could a monkey who lived in a city controlled by the mafia look so timid?
"Um... you still haven't told me your name..." Maro asked cautiously.
"...Hill." Su Wu gave him his fake name.
"Yeah! Hill! Can I team up with you?" The blond, bowl-cut boy's face lit up with visible excitement and joy.
But Su Wu had only given him a fake name. He really couldn't understand what went through the minds of weak creatures.
Thinking that, he gave a decisive answer. "No."
He had no interest in teaming up with anyone, especially someone who might turn into dead weight.
"I mean while we're on the airship. You don't have to look after me once we get off. And if I get into trouble on the airship, you don't have to help me, either. Just let me follow you..." The blond, bowl-cut boy tried to think of something that might sway him, but the white-haired, blue-eyed boy remained utterly unmoved.
"You're so noisy." Frowning impatiently, he cut the other boy off.
"Don't follow me." His figure vanished from in front of Maro in an instant.
"...He turned me down..." The blond, bowl-cut boy stared at the empty space before him and lowered his head.
"Of course. No one wants to be friends with someone as weak as me." He murmured to himself.
Blood dripped from his palm onto the glass. He hurriedly crouched down and wiped it clean.
Su Wu ditched the monkey and went alone to an unoccupied lounge.
The lounge was a single room, with a bed about 1.8 by 2 meters and a private bathroom.
It couldn't compare to the luxurious hotels outside, but it was still much better than an ordinary inn.
He set his backpack on the bed, took out a pen, and wrote a little note to stick on the door.
[Do not enter without permission.]
After checking what he'd written, he headed off to the recreation room, satisfied.
Quite a few people had beaten him there.
Some sat at the bar drinking, while a few others sat around playing cards.
"You lost again. Looks like your luck's been pretty bad lately."
"Bad luck can get you killed in the exam, you know."
The biggest winner wore a mocking grin. The biggest loser flew into a rage and drew his knife, pressing it against the winner's neck.
"If you kill me now, you'll be disqualified from the exam." The man with a knife at his throat wasn't fazed in the slightest. He even kept shuffling the cards, unhurried, his voice calm.
"Then let's see if your luck holds out until the exam's over." The man with the knife put it away and sat back down, threatening him viciously.
He had clearly decided to settle the score once the exam was over.
Su Wu watched the scene and sat down on a corner sofa, sinking into its soft, fluffy cushions.
"So examinees aren't allowed to kill other examinees..."
"Why do I remember Hisoka killing a lot of examinees?" he mused.
Hisoka passed the exam later, too.
So as long as you weren't caught, it was fine.
After all, the Hunter Exam was life-threatening by nature.
"Anyone want to play cards with me?" he asked lazily, raising a hand.
No one paid him any attention.
That was only natural. Which of these criminals would want to play with a kid?
"Then does anyone want to go to the training room? I can be your sparring partner." Su Wu asked again, unsurprised.
This time, someone finally responded.
Looks like there were quite a few fighters here. That made sense, since they were all taking the Hunter Exam.
"Are you serious, kid? You don't look qualified to be anyone's sparring partner." The man who answered Su Wu had enormous biceps and didn't like to dress properly. He made a point of showing off his muscles.
His fists and biceps were bigger than Su Wu's head.
What a coincidence. I don't think any of you are qualified to be my sparring partners, either. You're not even one percent as strong as Sid.
But he had nothing better to do, so he'd let them have the same sparring-partner status as Sid for now.
"We'll see." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy was slumped in the sofa, looking like even getting up would take too much effort. His voice was lazy, with a hint of amusement.
"Hmph. Let's go." The man walked out of the recreation room first.
Su Wu got up from the sofa and followed him, yawning as he went.
Behind Su Wu came the other examinees who wanted to see a good show.
The airship was spacious, but the area available to examinees was limited. There were separate recreation rooms, dining rooms, lounges, and medical rooms, as well as restricted areas that only examiners and professional Hunters could enter. That left even less room for a training room.
So there was no way to give each person their own training room. The examinees all shared one, which was large enough for dozens of people to train at the same time.
By the time Su Wu and the others arrived, there were already people in the training room.
As soon as the door opened, they heard the sound of fists striking flesh.
That showed just how good the training room's soundproofing was.
Su Wu stepped inside. It was equipped with all kinds of training gear, including wooden dummies and punching bags.
The people inside were scattered around, each training on their own. Some were sparring one-on-one.
The blond, bowl-cut boy—Maro—was sparring one-on-one, too. And yes, he was playing a very important role in the exercise: punching bag.
His life energy was about the same as his opponent's, yet he was getting completely pummeled.
Sure enough, monkey suited him better.
"Take a good look. He might end up just like you." The man with the enormous biceps lifted his chin and sneered at the one-sided beating as he spoke to Su Wu.
"Oh, really?" The white-haired, blue-eyed boy curled his lips into a smile, a sinister gleam in his expression.
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