Chapter 3.

Navigators: The Hunter Exam s held at a different place each year. It is the job of Navigators to know where it is, and guide promising Hunter Applicants there. It is all but impossible to reach the hall without their guidance.

The hall is deliberately hard to find, and the path is strewn with traps to whittle down the number of applicants. Any applicant who gets through screening must find a navigator, and then prove to the navigator that he or she is worthy.

"Two hours my ass…" Chino muttered, the two-tone terror glaring around the dense woodlands surrounding their path in distaste "I'm starting to think that old woman screwed us over!"

"Hate to admit it, but I think you're right…" Dokuro muttered, ignoring the glare the Gakuran sporting teen leveled in his direction in favor of pulling out his pocket watch "It's been almost four hours since we've started…" he noted with a frown "not only that but the sun's already set."

"Don't tell me we're gonna have to rough it out here?" Chino demanded, eyeing the woods in apprehension "Aw man…I didn't wanna bring this up but I REALLY need to take a dump…"

"Charming…" Dokuro muttered, his lip curling in disgust, before shaking his head and pointing off to the side "Just go behind a bush why don't you?"

"At this stage I could care less…" Chino muttered, holding himself as he crab-walked towards the nearest patch of foliage, before glaring over his shoulder "And don't you try to peek on me Milk Tank!"

"Moi?" Nikia asked, a catlike smile adorning the elder teen's face as she batted her eyes with false innocence "Why Chibinosuke, whatever do you mean?"

"You know EXACTLY what I mean…" Chino growled, his mismatched eyes narrowing at her one last time, before the gurgling in his stomach caused him to waddle awkwardly into the undergrowth.

"Barbarian…" Dokuro scoffed, shaking his head as the sounds of Chino rustling through the undergrowth, opening one eye to frown at Nikia "Don't even think about it."

"Aww…" Nikia pouted, the elder teen putting a finger to her lips as she unleashed the puppy eyes "I wasn't going to do anything bad…"

"Nonetheless, I'd rather you refrained from starting an incident while we're out here." Dokuro muttered, completely unaffected by the eyes as he thumbed towards a nearby sign "We're in Magical Beast Territory, I'd rather avoid making any unnecessary noise."

"HEY WHAT THE HELL?!" an enraged voice demanded, the duo looking in the direction Chino had gone in alarm "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING MIDGET!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' MIDGET SHITLOCKS?!" came Chino's enraged response, the sound of a fistfight breaking out two seconds later, Dokuro and Nikia looking on in wonderment as the combatants rolled out of the foliage, a literal cloud of fists, feet and testosterone laced stupidity.

"Don't…say…a word…" Dokuro muttered, his eyebrow twitching as held up one finger to silence Nikia, who was looking highly amused at this latest turn of events, the fedora sporting teen setting his suitcase aside, before lashing out with his wires.

"Hey what the hell-?!" Chino demanded, yelping as he was yanked out of combat and suspended in the air, his pants around his ankles, by the fedora sporting teen's wires "What the hell Doc?! I was winning!"

"The hell you were midget!" came the angry response, the owner the man with red-streaked dreadlocks from Dolle Harbor town, who was likewise suspended in mid-air with his pants down "And get me down from here you little bondage freak!"

"As you wish…" Dokuro muttered, a vein bulging on his Fedora as he twitched his wires, recalling them back into his sleeves as the hapless duo fell to the ground headfirst, their curses filling the night sky.

"Fuck!" Chino swore, glaring at the fedora sporting teen from the corner of his eye "A little warning next time doc?! I coulda gotten brain damage!"

"I doubt that…" Dokuro muttered, shaking his head with a snort "There'd have to be something to DAMAGE first."

"Why I oughta!" Chino began, only to freeze, looking up to find Nikia crouching before him, cupping her cheeks with a decidedly catlike smile on her face "What?"

"Chibinosuke's not so shabby downstairs…" the elder teen noted, Chino following her gaze, only to leap to his feet with a shriek, pulling his pants up with a mortified expression "So cute."

"You're a freak!" Chino snapped, pointing at the foreign teen, his hackles raised even as Dokuro held the bridge of his nose in irritation, the dreadlock sporting man blinking between them in confusion.

"What the hell?" the newcomer muttered, which in Dokuro's opinion, pretty much summarized the situation nicely.

"So you're name's Ron…" Dokuro muttered, looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen as they walked along the path, trying to diffuse the situation, as Chino and the dreadlock sporting teen hadn't stopped glaring at each other the entire time "First time applying?."

"Pretty much…" Ron admitted, deciding to ignore Chino for the moment, the Knuckle Bomber promptly boasting he'd 'won' their staring contest "Same for you right? I saw you back at the harbor."

"Hey!" Chino exclaimed, looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen in confusion "Didn't you get on the bus? What're you doing here?"

"You kidding me?" Ron demanded, eyeing the two-tone terror like he was an idiot "The bus was obviously a trap, it circled the entire town all day without going anywhere."

"I figured as much…" Dokuro muttered, even as Chino gaped at them in confusion "If it was so simple to get to the exam there wouldn't be a need to cull the number of applicants."

"True that." Ron agreed, eyeing the fedora sporting teen with a hint of approval "In any case, I memorized the route from the map, then rode it until it came close enough to the mountain before getting off, made my way this far using one of the back roads."

"What about the magical beasts?" Nikia asked, the foreign teen looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen curiously as she slumped on top of chino as they walked along, her boobs resting on his head, much to his irritation.

"I've got some experience roughing it." Ron admitted with a smirk, thumbing at himself with a confident air "I can tell when a Magical beast's in the area by reading the trail signs, I was making my way up to that Pine Tree on the hill when I stopped to take a leak…" he scowled at Chino "You know the rest."

"Indeed." Dokuro muttered, shaking his head at their first meeting with the dreadlock sporting teen, and how long it had taken for them to separate him and Chino long enough to agree to a truce.

"Question!" Nikia asked, raising her hand in the air, still resting atop an increasingly more irritable Chino's head "Why're we heading there?"

"There's supposed to be a couple that live under the tree that are Navigators." Ron revealed with a solemn expression, though he shot Chino an amused look "Some old guy I helped out in town told me if I give a good impression, they'll show me the way to the exam hall."

"So you're pretty much screwed then." Chino snorted, smirking at the taller teen even as Ron glared at him heatedly.

"Enough already." Dokuro ordered, glaring at the two pointedly, "There's no need for all this infighting." Nodding his head towards a dim light in the distance "I can see the cabin up ahead. Like it or not, we're in this together, and if we're supposed to impress the couple the last thing we need is showing up on their doorstep looking like we just came back from a fistfight."

Chino and Ron scowled, glaring at each other heatedly, before snorting and averting their eyes from one another, Nikia giggling at how childish they were behaving, even as Dokuro led the way up to the cabin under the lone pine.

"Finally made it…" Chino muttered, looking up at the humble structure before them with a hint of annoyance "Seriously, who in the hell lives all the way out here?"

"I think it's nice!" Nikia reasoned, smiling to herself as she listened to an owl call and the thrilling of crickets in the underbrush "It's so lively out here, and you can see the stars!"

"So long as it's got indoor plumbing and cable I could care less." Chino muttered, shivering as he held his stomach "Thanks to shit locks here I never got to finish my business earlier…"

"I think I see an outhouse around back…" Dokuro muttered, cutting off Ron's angry retort as he pointed to a small, shed-like structure just behind the main house, only to blink as Chino waddled towards it awkwardly "Wait! You can't just use someone's toilet without permission!"

"Believe me, I'll thank them when I'm done!" Chino moaned, the two-tone terror's face grimacing as he let off little bursts of gas with each step, opening the door of the shed, only to grimace "SWEET JEEZUS IT STINKS IN HERE!"

"Oh good grief…" Dokuro muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose "Look, hold your breath and hurry up, or keep the door open if it's that bad."

"Like hell!" Chino swore, glaring at Nikia over his shoulder, who kitty-smiled in response, the very picture of false-innocence "Ah screw it!" he muttered, taking a breath before rushing in and slamming the door shut.

"He's a real riot that one…" Ron snorted, shaking his head as Dokuro held Nikia back by her belt to keep her from tip-toeing towards the outhouse "How'd you three hook up?"

"Long story…" Dokuro muttered, shaking his head in irritation, praying against hope that the navigators had some aspirin to kill his headache "Let's just get in and apologize to whoever's in there."

"Whatever you say…" Ron chuckled, marching up the steps of the wooden patio to knock on the door "Yo! Anyone home?" he called out, only to frown as no reply came.

"That's weird…" Dokuro muttered, eyeing the light from within "There's light…but it's obviously not from a fireplace or the chimney would be smoking…someone has to be up."

"Or Some-THING." Ron muttered, drawing the younger teen's gaze to a series of scratches around the door handle, FAR to long to be those of a family pet.

Dokuro frowned, tossing his attaché case to Nikia as he pressed up against the other side of the door, readying his wires, Ron slipping a folding switchblade out of his pocket as he gripped the door handle, the two of them nodding to one another as the elder of the two slowly opened the door to gaze inside.

"H-help…" a weak voice pleaded, a wounded man with woodland clothing reaching imploringly towards the doorway, the room around him completely thrashed, the culprit responsible holding a struggling woman in it's clutches as it glared at the intruders.

"Kill…" it hissed, it's long, vulpine like features drawn back in a snarl, before lunging at the doorway, faster than anything it's size had right to be "Kill…kill…kill!"

"A Kiriko!" Ron swore, leaping back just in time to avoid having his head bitten off by the beast as it burst through the doorway, taking it's screeching hostage with it "Dammit! He's getting away!"

"You go after it!" Dokuro ordered, rushing forwards to examine the wounded man on the floor before them even as Ron took after the beast "Nikia! My case!"

"Here!" the foreigner offered, holding it out, her eyes widening as Dokuro cracked it open, revealing a change of clothes, and several survival supplies "Wow! You came prepared!"

"Just the bare essentials." The teen countered, drawing out an emergency needle and a bottle of morphine "The Hunter Exam has a fatality clause written into it's application form, if you die in the attempt, the committee isn't held responsible, so it's wise to prepare for anything."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" a familiar voice roared outside, the duo looking up just in time to see the outhouse go rolling down the side of the hill.

"Aaah…" Chino sighed, a smile of absolute bliss adorning his features as he sat in the dank, smelly outhouse "That's so much better…"

Sighing in contentment, the Knuckle Bomber was eagerly reaching for the roll of toilet paper that adorned the wall, eager to get out of here and into the house proper, when the door slammed open, the tall shadow blocking the moonlight outside snarling down at him, only to freeze, covering it's nose with a howl of anguish.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Chino roared, his fist ramming into the interloper's stomach, doubling it over so that he could see its face "IT'S OCCUPIED DAMMIT!"

The beast loosed a choked howl, clearly trying to avoid breathing through it's nose as it struggled to get out of the pungent outhouse, but Chino, who didn't enjoy being interrupted in his 'business' had gotten a good hold on one of it's ears and wasn't letting go without a fight.

"ORAAAAAAAAAA-!" the knuckle Bomber roared, dragging the struggling Kiriko into the outhouse with him, the door slamming shut behind the beast, it's yelps of pain and growls of fury intermingled with the sound of fists and claws clashing in a battle for dominance.

So fierce was the battle within that the outhouse actually began to jump about, tilting this way and that before finally toppling over sideways and rolling down the hill, Chino's howls of 'SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT-!' trailing in it's wake.

"Good grief…" Dokuro muttered, sweat dropping at the sheer absurdity of what he'd just seen through the window as he shook his head.

"Chibinosuke's in trouble!" Nikia exclaimed, looking distraught at the idea of the diminutive Applicant fighting for his life in such a predicament "Should I go help him?"

"Don't worry about that idiot." Dokuro muttered dismissively, his tone deadpan "I'd be more worried about whatever's locked inside with him." he waved a hand at the taller teen dismissively "I've got things covered here, go check on Ron, see if he's found that other one yet."

"Got it!" Nikia agreed, turning on her heel and racing out the door after the dreadlock sporting teen, leaving Dokuro with his patient.

"That should do it…" the fedora sporting teen muttered, wrapping the last of the man's injuries tightly before packing the rest back into his case "Anything else hurt?"

"I can't thank you enough…" the man offered, looking up at the teen gratefully despite his wounds, one hand going to his shoulder "But my Wife…please get my wife back…"

"Don't worry, we'll get her back." Dokuro assured him, placing a hand on the man's wrist, his eyes suddenly going cold "Now then…why don't you quit horsing around and tell me what's REALLY going on?"

"What…?" the man demanded, only to flinch, eyes widening as something, make that several somethings, wrapped around his limbs.

"You really think I wouldn't notice?" Dokuro asked, his gloved fingers tensing as the light shone off his wires "Your wounds were superficial at best, I doubt a magical beast would cause this much destruction without leaving more lasting injuries." He glared at the bound man before him "Also…some of the BLOOD I wiped off when cleaning your 'wounds' FADED, as if it wasn't really there, which means it's an illusion."

The man flinched inside his constraints, only to smirk, his face splitting into an unnatural vulpine leer as Dokuro looked on impassively.

"Dammit!" Ron swore, the dreadlock sporting teen looking round a deserted clearing ringed by trees desperately, his switchblade in hand "Where'd that furry little bastard go?!

"Mr. Dreads!" a voice called out, the beanie sporting teen turning just in time to see Nikia racing towards him "Doc-kun sent me to help!"

"Back up!" Ron barked, whipping round and aiming his knife at the girl "Just stay right where you are!"

"Huh?" Nikia wondered, looking confused as she nonetheless complied, coming to a halt a good ten feet away from the teen "What's wrong?"

"What's the squirts name?" Ron demanded, glaring at her as he continued to aim his knife in her general direction "Answer me!"

"Chibinosuke?" Nikia wondered, looking at the taller teen in confusion, only to blink as he sighed and lowered the knife.

"Sorry bout that…" Ron supplied "Kiriko are shape shifters, tricksters by nature. They can take any form and imitate someone right down to their voice, couldn't let ya get close without checking first."

"Ok…" Nikia reasoned, stepping closer to her fellow aspirant "So where's the one you were chasing earlier?"

"Out there…" Ron muttered, growling as the beast loosed a mocking cackle from the woods surrounding them "Led me here like a bull on a ring, now he's runnin' around throwin' off my sense of direction"

"What about the wife?" Nikia wondered, looking around the clearing in concern, even as the woman called out in alarm.

"Still got her…" Ron muttered grimly, his eyes narrowed in anger "Furry little bastard…I'll skin it alive if it's harmed one hair on her head!"

"We gotta lure it out first…" Nikia reasoned, eyeing the circle of trees warily, only to frown, leaping towards the nearest cluster with surprising speed, grabbing Ron's Knife in the process "There it is!"

"Hey!" Ron swore, looking up in anger as the girl made off with his weapon, only to blink as she hurled it at a nearby tree, the Kiriko pulling up short to avoid being perforated, giving Nikia time to leap forwards, her foot lashing out in a flying roundhouse kick that struck the beast on the back of it's head, sending it sprawling forwards with a howl, dropping it's prey in the process.

"CURSES!" the Kiriko swore, springing to its feet with a snarl as it rounded on Nikia, who'd scooped up the released woman in her arms, the beast's claws at the ready "You'll pay for that you little minx!"

"ORAH!" Ron bellowed, tackling the beast full on, putting it in a full nelson as it thrashed in his grip, his muscles bulging with the effort of keeping it in place "Nikia!" he called out, teeth gritting tight "Get her outta here! I'll hold it off!"

"No need." Nikia assured him, the wife blinking, only to choke as the foreign teen put her in a headlock, Ron's knife held at her throat "We're not going anywhere."

"You-!" Ron swore, his eyes widening in alarm, even as the beast froze in his grip "Don't tell me you're one of them!"

"Nope!" Nikia kitty-smiled, even as she pressed the tip of the knife against the startled wife's neck "But SHE is…isn't that right, Kiriko-chan?"

Ron blinked, only to look on in wonderment as the wife chuckled, her features elongating, becoming more vulpine, as whiskers and ears sprouted from her head.

"Someone want to tell me what the HELL is going on here?!" Chino demanded, the irate Knuckle Bomber standing downwind from the rest of his party as he glared at the husband, wife, and the pair of Kiriko that lined up before him "One minute I'm taking a dump, the next I'm locked in a roller coaster from hell with fuzzy over there!"

"Weren't no bed of roses for me neither." One of the Kiriko muttered, only identifiable from his mate in that SHE wasn't covered in waste "What the hell did you EAT kid?"

"I'd rather not know…" Dokuro muttered, covering his mouth with his handkerchief, even as Ron held his nose and Nikia waved a hand in front of her face "What I DO want to know is what's going on here? Where are the Navigators?"

"That would be US." The apparently female Kiriko explained, smiling at the group's confusion as she gestured to the 'husband' and 'wife', who now bore whiskers and Kiriko ears "These are our son and daughter, though how you realized they weren't human is beyond me."

"Dokuro noticed there was something off about me when he was applying first aid back in the cabin." The 'husband' explained, gesturing to the bandages still wrapped around him "Though he still managed to administer the necessary aid and support, even as he laid his trap."

"I'm curious as to how you noticed 'I' wasn't what I appeared to be." The 'Wife' asked Nikia, looking intrigued "What gave it away?"

"Your tattoos are all wrong." Nikia pointed out, earning a look of confusion from the men in the group "My mamma took me to a shrine once, and all the priestesses there had tattoos like that. It means they can't get married or have sex…" she shivered "She always used to threaten to put one on ME if I misbehaved…"

"You two never seemed to click at all." The male Kiriko noted with a hint of amusement, even as Chino and Ron rubbed the back of their heads in embarrassment "Still, it takes guts to take on a magical beast with your bare hands, most people couldn't hold their own against one of our kids, but you kept me and my wife on the ropes, though admittedly we weren't trying all that hard."

"I can go another round if you're up to it fuzz-face." Chino offered, rotating his shoulder eagerly as he grinned at the shape shifter.

"No need." The male offered with a hint of a nervous smile "You've already proven yourselves, so we'll take you straight to the exam hall."

"I think a BATH would be good first, dear." His mate countered with a pointed look in her vulpine eyes, which flicked towards a flushing Chino as well "I'm not flying next to you smelling like THAT."

"Yes dear…" the male sighed, before sprouting wings and latching onto Chino "There's a nearby lake we can soak off in, be back in a tick."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Chino yelled, looking down in growing alarm "Lemme go! I can use the bath in the cabin! OIIIIIIII-!"

"Good grief…" Dokuro muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose even as Nikia giggled and Ron guffawed at the Knuckle Bomber's futile thrashing, the pair making an oddly shaped shadow against the full moon as the cackles of the Kiriko joined in.