Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Hunter X Hunter or any of the characters. This fic is purely for my reader's enjoyment, and I make no profit from it.
General Warnings: Violence and death in later chapters
Summary: Nen is incredibly diverse, and not easily understood. When Zeno Zoldyck finds a rare treasure on his mission, he does not hesitate to act. Naruto on the other hand does no know what to think about the deceptively old assassin that literally whisks him away. Gen fic
Chapter 1 - Rare Potential
The small mansion was practically looming over his small form; it's empty windows seemingly boring into his cerulean eyes. He didn't let it intimidate him – this mansion was merely like all the others – a target for him and nothing else. His small, but strong legs carried him soundlessly close to the building and without pausing one leap propelled him onto its cold stone walls. Instead of heeding gravity, his body remained crouching on the uneven stone for a single moment before he sprinted upwards, his gaze focused on the upper left window where he had rarely seen any lights during the time he had observed this house.
He suppressed the uncomfortable feeling of hunger rumbling in his stomach with practiced ease – pacifying his mind with the knowledge that soon he would be able to eat. The small figure smirked as he arrived at the small window – only large enough for a child of his size to move through – before he concentrated that odd warm feeling always cursing through his body into his right arm, wedging an old piece of metal between the window-frame and it's wooden surroundings before forcefully cracking it open with force his body was not supposed to have.
His steps were silent as he walked through the empty small storage room and though he was tempted to sift through the forgotten goods laying in this room ready for taking, he didn't. Not only did this room remind him of his home city, but staying too long could lead to unforeseen consequences he had no wish to experience.
His home – Meteor City – was a place that was largely unacknowledged by the outer world. A supposedly empty city with mountains of garbage poisoning the surroundings. But for all it's bad points, Meteor City was still the only home he had ever known, since he was dumped there when he was still a baby with only a blanket and his name stitched onto it.
Naruto.
He had as he grew up quickly learned that he was different from the other children. They all had the same jaded eyes, the same wariness, the same constant pains from hunger – but Naruto was stronger than the other children. He had this strange warmth inside of him that would make him stronger and faster – able to do things normally not possible. So Naruto regularly stole food from the Mafia mansions several miles outside of the city in order to feed those who could not yet provide for themselves.
As he silently ghosted through the dark and dreary mansion, the six-year old had no idea that this night would be entirely different. Because for the first time, someone else was watching, and the old assassin was very much intrigued.
...{1}...
Zeno Zoldyck was old and powerful, having experienced much of the secrets the world and life itself had to offer. He was also a man not easily surprised. But as he watched the small, malnourished boy easily break into the secure mansion using clearly untrained but powerful Nen - he could not help but be impressed.
The boy was incredibly young, and untrained - only acting on instinct and raw talent alone. Zeno quietly followed the boy, his mission for the moment forgotten as he observed the boy's silent footsteps, his constant awareness and the instances when the child would run and halt along a wall.
A natural Transmuter maybe? But then the boy would clearly reinforce himself to push his malnourished body to it's limits and Zeno had to scrap his previous theory. Either the boy could do both categories on instinct alone, or he might even be a rare specialist.
One could never tell with children from Meteor City - a child with a certain genetic trait would be entirely possible. But still the sheer potential this boy carried was perhaps even larger than his youngest grandson's, though Killua was only three years at this point in time.
It was staggering, and Zeno was loathe to see it wasted.