About ten minutes later.
Outside the wooden cabin beneath the cedar tree.
The Kiriko couple, having arrived late, sniffed the air and picked up the scent of the white-haired boy coming from inside their home.
"..."
They exchanged a silent glance.
Decades of marriage allowed them to communicate without words. They both shifted into their human forms, planning to play the role of the "guide couple" who had been out all night. They would go inside, assess the situation, and then decide how to test the boy.
However, a shared worry gnawed at them: had their children accidentally spilled the beans while they were gone?
With their guard up, the couple pushed open the door.
Creaaaak.
The female fox, now disguised as a middle-aged woman, rushed toward the back of the house the moment she stepped inside, calling out for her children.
"Yuko! Shuichi! Are you two okay?!"
The cabin's layout was simple. By the time she finished shouting, she was already in the dining area.
She looked up and froze.
There was the white-haired boy, sitting politely at their dining table, eating breakfast with her son and daughter like he belonged there.
"..."
The fox couple was speechless.
They had been proctoring exams for decades, but this was the first time a candidate had broken into their house just to mooch a meal.
And he was eating a lot, too!
Burp!
Yuu swallowed the last piece of bread and let out a satisfied belch.
He took a sip of water and nodded to the young man and woman sitting across from him.
"Thanks for the food!"
Fifteen minutes ago, he had knocked on the door and explained his situation to the two children who were just sitting down to breakfast.
When they heard he had been attacked by Magical Beasts, traveled alone for over ten hours without food, and had no parents or family to rely on...
They immediately invited him to join them.
Yuu didn't want to be a freeloader, but he was starving, and he didn't want to turn down their kindness.
"They say 'poor scholars, rich warriors.' Now I get it. Martial artists really do eat a lot..."
"Money really is essential. You don't have to use it, but you can't be without it."
Practicing Nen burned a ton of calories. If he got injured in a fight, medical bills and food costs would add up fast.
Thinking this, Yuu shamelessly grabbed another piece of bread from the center of the table and stuffed it into his mouth.
He completely ignored the fox couple standing by the door.
---
Finally, the couple snapped out of their shock and resumed their performance.
"You two are safe... oh, thank goodness!" The woman rushed over and hugged her daughter tightly.
Her acting was Oscar-worthy.
She held the hug for a long moment before turning her attention to the stranger.
"But... who is this?"
She looked at the white-haired boy with feigned confusion.
---
"I'm Yuu Gojo. I'm here for the Hunter Exam."
Before the children could speak, Yuu introduced himself.
He paused for a moment, glanced at the couple, and continued.
"But..."
"I really should apologize."
"I made you chase me for so long, and then I went ahead and ate all your breakfast..."
Yuu looked embarrassed, and it was hard to tell if his apology was genuine or mocking.
But the meaning behind his words set off alarm bells in the fox couple's heads.
Their first reaction was to look at their children, suspecting they had blown their cover.
But the son and daughter looked just as surprised. They shook their heads subtly, eyes wide with innocence.
Seeing this, the parents didn't press them.
The husband spoke up, his voice steady.
"Young man, I believe this is our first time meeting..."
"Did you perhaps eat some poisonous mushrooms in the forest? Are you hallucinating?"
"Nope."
Yuu shook his head. He looked them straight in the eye, his gaze clear and direct.
"You two are the Magical Beasts who were chasing me earlier. Right?"
"Oh? What makes you think that?" the husband asked.
"You can shapeshift into humans perfectly on the outside, but you forgot about the internal stuff... or maybe you just can't replicate it."
"Heart rate... breathing..."
"Your rhythm is completely different from a normal human's."
Yuu pointed out that even now, he could sense their heart rates, breathing frequency, and blood flow were elevated from the exertion of the chase.
---
Silence filled the room.
The couple stared at the boy for a long time. They wanted to argue.
But in the end, they both burst out laughing.
"Honey, did you hear that?"
"He called us Magical Beasts to our faces!" The woman laughed, looking at her husband.
"Interesting! Very interesting!" The stoic-looking husband laughed so hard he broke character.
"To think he could tell the difference just by listening to our breathing... what an incredible kid!"
"We really lost this one..."
"Miserably, I'd say..."
With that, the couple dropped the act.
Hair sprouted on their faces, and their bodies expanded, shredding their clothes. Their features elongated into snouts, and long, rabbit-like ears popped up from their heads.
Soon, they stood in their true forms: two towering Kiriko.
These were the same beasts that had chased Yuu through the forest.
But now, their expressions weren't vicious. They looked calm and gentle.
"I knew it," Yuu said confidently.
"You're the first candidate in days to see through our disguise," the female Kiriko said.
"Honestly, though? Your deduction skills are impressive, but I was more shocked by your speed and power."
"Your movements were sloppy. Your footwork was full of holes. You were relying entirely on raw physical strength and reaction time to keep your balance."
"And yet... you still managed to leave us in the dust. That means your endurance, strength, and reflexes are far beyond human norms."
"In other words... you pass."
The female fox's generous praise made Yuu a little bashful.
"You're too kind," Yuu scratched his cheek, smiling.
He knew she was right, but he didn't let it go to his head. He had plenty of room to grow.
For example, refining his "Cursed Ten" technique to include teleportation for even more mobility.
Or learning advanced Nen applications to improve his efficiency.
---
The male Kiriko glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's getting late..."
He looked at Yuu.
"I'll take you to the exam site now. If you're ready, let's go."
"Okay," Yuu nodded.
---
Before leaving, Yuu turned to thank the two "children" who had fed him.
"Breakfast was delicious. Thanks for the hospitality."
"You're welcome."
Seeing their kind faces, Yuu smiled.
Even though they were the offspring of Magical Beasts, they were genuinely polite and kindhearted individuals.
"See you around."
---
Yuu said goodbye to the fox family.
The father Kiriko grabbed Yuu and soared into the sky, flying him toward the Hunter Exam venue.
---
A few hours later.
Yuu followed the Kiriko—who had now disguised himself as a middle-aged man again—into a bustling city surrounded by mountains.
The peaks around the city were capped with snow that never melted.
Since it was January, and given the geography, the air in the city was biting cold. Yuu had to keep his "Ten" active to keep warm.
"This is Zaban City, the location for this year's Hunter Exam," the Kiriko explained, checking a note he pulled from his pocket.
"I'll take you to the entrance. Whether you become a Hunter or not is up to you from here on out."
"Got it."
Yuu nodded and followed closely.
He looked around curiously as they walked.
They wound through several streets before stopping in front of a clinic that looked like it barely had any customers.
The front of the clinic was plastered with exaggerated ads for... embarrassing medical issues.
Hair loss, hemorrhoids, that sort of thing.
"..."
Yuu knew this was coming, but seeing it in person still made him pause.
"Seriously? Here?"
"Only a place like this could hide the exam site from millions of wannabe Hunters... right?"
The Kiriko chuckled at his own joke.
"Alright, let's go in."