Tusk in HXH

The tunnel is massive, wide enough to fit 3 trains, with smooth walls that stretch endlessly into darkness. The sound of murmuring candidates echoes faintly against the walls, bouncing back to me in odd, distorted fragments. The air is cool but heavy. Theres no doubt about it. This is the first phase of the Hunter Exam.

As I roll further into the tunnel, I spot a figure ahead, a short, round man with bright green skin and a bulbous head. His suit is perfectly pressed, and he's holding a clipboard, staring at me. I know who he is from the anime: Beans, the secretary to Chairman Netero.

When I approach, he looks up at me and smiles politely, though his eyes flicker with confusion.

"Ah, a new face!" he calls out, his voice high, pitched but friendly. "Please take a number!"

I roll closer, my hands steady on the wheels.

The guy radiates an odd kind of energy, like he's both serious and unserious at the same time. As I reach him, he squints at me, his oversized eyes narrowing.

"Hmmm... I don't think you're on the registry,"

I freeze, of course, I'm not on the registry. I was dropped here by some cosmic entity, not invited. For a moment, panic starts to creep in, but then Beans tilts his head thoughtfully.

"But..." He pauses, leaning closer as if inspecting something invisible. "Your nen isn't leaking out at all. That's... interesting. You must have great control. We can make an exception for you."

I blink at him, caught off guard by how casually he just tossed out the word nen. I'd expected secrecy, mystique. Instead, this guy throws it around like it's common knowledge.

I exhale, relieved. "Thanks. My name is Johnny Joestar," I say, extending a hand. Then I add, with a small grin, "But you can call me JoJo."

Beans shakes my hand with a nod, jotting my name down on the clipboard. "Johnny Joestar. And age?"

"15" I respond.

"Well that should be all settled. Congratulations, your on the registry. Enjoy the Hunter exam."

---

The tunnel is crowded, filled with candidates of all shapes and sizes. The air buzzes with quiet anticipation, and I notice a few familiar faces from the anime scattered among the crowd. My attention, however, is drawn to a short, stocky man with a round face, blue vest and slicked back hair.

He approaches me with an exaggeratedly friendly smile, holding out a soda bottle. "Hey, your a rookie right? Good job getting here." he says, his tone dripping with fake warmth. "You must be thirsty. Take this it's on me. You're gonna need all the energy you can get."

I recognize him instantly. Tonpa. The guy who crushes rookies. His act is so transparent it's almost laughable, actually maybe it's only laughable because I know he's a rookie crusher. What i- oh I'm overthinking again I'll just get back to it.

He still keeps up the charade, glancing at my wheelchair and adding, "It's impressive you're here, you know. Not everyone has the... perseverance to do this in your condition."

Did this bastard really just subtly make fun of the fact im in a wheelchair?

I take the soda bottle, twisting it open with a hiss. Bringing it to my nose, I pretend to sniff it carefully, all while keeping my eyes locked on his. I know it's poisoned, it's always poisoned.

"It smells... off," I say slowly, feigning doubt. "I'll drink it on one condition."

Tonpa's smirk falters slightly. "Oh? What's that?"

"Shake my hand," I reply, extending my palm.

He hesitates but reaches his hand out, his smile widening again. "Sure thing," he says, grabbing my hand firmly.

The moment our hands connect, I let the Spin flow into him. It starts subtly at first, a faint vibration in his arm, but I don't hold back. The energy spirals through his body, twisting him unnaturally. His smirk vanishes, replaced by a look of shock and pain.

"What the-" he gasps, but it's too late. His entire body contorts violently, his skin and muscles unable to keep up with the force. There's a sickening series of cracks and tears as his insides rupture, spilling out in a grotesque mess onto the tunnel floor.

When it's over, the only part of him left intact is the arm he used to shake my hand. I let it drop limply to the ground, wiping my own hand on my pants.

The other candidates glance briefly at the scene but quickly look away, pretending not to have noticed. It's unnerving how indifferent they are, as if this kind of thing happens all the time.

Actually it's more like everyone saw me while I was doing it and the moment I stopped they immideatly looked away as to not be targeted.

I turn to see three familiar faces staring at me in disbelief: Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. Their reactions are stark, Gon looks curious but concerned, Leorio is visibly unsettled, and Kurapika's expression is a mix of anger and disgust.

I should probably move away from them as to not affect the can-

Kurapika approaches me and slaps me. "What's wrong with you?" he snaps. "Do you kill everyone who inconveniences you? Killing a man who just gave drinks to rookies who need help."

I blink, taken aback. "Wait-"

"You're what, 14 or 15, yet you act with such carelessness," he continues, his voice sharp. "Taking a life isn't something to be done so casually. That man wasn't even a threat to you. Did he massacre your family or something? You disgust me."

I frown, he's half right Tonpa wasn't a threat, not really. I let my anger and my new power get the better of me. But he probably would have gotten some other rookies killed the next year. So I'm not completely in the wrong.

"You're right," I say quietly, lowering my head. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Kurapika doesn't seem convinced, but he crosses his arms and says nothing more.

I decide to defend myself, though. "That drink was poisoned," I say in a regretful tone. "It wasn't just a normal poison, it was lethal. If I'd drunk it, I would've died. I didn't kill him for no reason."

Kurapika narrows his eyes. "That would explain why gon thought it was expired, personally I looked the expiration date and it wasn't due to expire for another year. I assumed it was spoiled but a cold carbonated drink in a unbleached can being spoiled ..."

Leorio and gon, who were only eavesdropping now join in curious. Leorio interjected first. "Does that mean?"

Kurapika nods "Those drinks were poisoned. And if this cripple in a silly blue outfit can be trusted ..."

C-cripple in a silly blue outfit? That's harsh man ...

"Y-yeah. He was probably trying to kill you all, your lucky you didn't drink it. Also cripple in a silly blue outfit? My names Johnny Joestar, but you can call me Jojo." I say, finishing Kurapikas sentence.

"Apologies Jojo, i thought you killed him in cold blood, and that he was just a kind man handing out drinks. Still, you didn't have to go that far."

"I get it," I say, holding up my hands. "I really do. But I just learned this technique yesterday and frankly I don't really know how to control it well." I lie to kurapika, well technically i did learn the technique like an hour ago so it's only a half-lie. Although i do know how to control it.

Gon tilts his head. "What's that bag."

Really? Your not gonna ask about how I just twisted a man to death, your gonna ask about the bag? This kid really does have sharp senses.

I gesture to the bag tied to the back of my wheelchair. "Its the arm of a saint, you see im searching for pieces of a saint's body," I say, weaving together a fake story. "They're ancient relics that can heal anything even paralysis. I've already got one piece, but I need the rest. That's why I'm here."

Is it reaaaaallly a fake story tho? I mean I do need the saint's body parts. Even if I don't need them to walk again.

Gon nods, his eyes wide with fascination. "That's cool!"

Kurapika still looks skeptical, but Leorio seems to relax a little.

"S-still, that's one creepy 'technique', I'm definitely not shaking your hand anytim-" Leorio is interrupted by a voice echoing through the tunnel.

"It's time for me to escort you to the second phase of the exam."

The voice belongs to Satotz, the examiner. His words are calm, but in the tunnel it echoes and sounds like it's being said from a megaphone.

"What do you mean by that?" Hanzo, the ninja in black armor with a red bandana on his neck asks as he is in the front of the line and closest to the examiner.

Satotz adjusts his glasses. "This is the first phase," he explains. "I will lead you all to the location of the second phase."

There's a murmur among the candidates, but I don't wait to hear it. I roll up to Satotz, catching his attention.

"Can I go ahead of the group?" I ask.

He looks at me, tilting his head slightly. "I don't see a problem with it. Although i wouldnt recommend it."

With the confirmation I nod at him, then I focus on the Spin, pouring it into the wheels. The smooth surface of the tunnel offers no resistance, and I take off, the chair gliding faster than ever before.

The speed builds quickly, the air rushing past me. My hair whips around, and the tunnel becomes a blur of gray and black. I estimate I'm going around 200 kilometers an hour, the Spin turning my wheelchair into a missile.

I know there's a staircase section ahead—one of the exam's first challenges. If I don't hit it with enough speed, I'll never clear it. As the stairs come into view, I brace myself.

At the last moment, when I'm just a few meters from the first stair, I tilt the chair back, lifting the front wheels as I hit the first step. The Spin carries me upward, defying gravity as I glide over the stairs.

It's kinda surreal, flying UP stairs at such high speeds. And I think I'm nearing the top, this was much easier then expected. I guess this tunnels the perfect place for me. Long, smooth and flat. No rocks or cracks for me to lose momentum on. So I just gain and gain.

Then I reach it, the top. I don't even know how I can perceive Ive reached it, its like time has slowed down tenfold. Must be superhuman senses.

I let the momentum go all at once changing all the spin energy from the wheels to the entire wheelchair, causing it to spin so fast it makes almost a tornado.

But it works, and I lose all my momentum in a instant. This was re-

My God.

I span so fast it literally carved a spherical hole into the metal ground. It must be atleast a meter in diameter.

That's cool ... well it would be if I didn't have to know wait another hour or so for the others to arrive. Should I have stayed with the group after all? Nah. I probably wouldn't be able to climb the stares.

I can wait an hour with nothing to do.

My attention spans high enough.

Right?

...

I'm gonna be so bored.