A/N: 09-26-18 I went back and changed the pov from 2nd to 1st so it is now more consistent. Sorry to disappoint those who like 2nd pov stories. I shuffled the wording just slightly, but the plot remains unchanged.
Content Warnings: Swearing, hints of starvation, and mild peril
Chapter 1: Prologue
My name's Kailani but my friends call me Kai, that is if I had any friends, and I am 15 years old. I have mousy flat, light golden brown hair that is close to waist length which lacks dimension and texture. I have really crappy eyesight from staring at the sun too much as a kid, so I can't see anything without my glasses. Humming cheerfully to myself I walk down a path munching on my prized spider eagle egg that I had managed to snag a while back. Lost in my thoughts about my past in Meteor City and not paying attention, I end up tripping over a body lying in the middle of the path.
"Oww… What the hell?"
I look down just in time to see what's left of my egg fly into the dead body's mouth.
"AH! My egg!" I look down sad. Well I can't eat that anymore. I think to myself, lost in my thoughts and mourning the loss of the egg I don't notice the dead body underneath me start to chew and come to life.
"Hey, Onee-chan this is really, really good! Where did you get this? I thought it would just be a boring hard-boiled egg." Green eyes look up into my shocked, wide blue-grey ones. Jumping back 100 feet, frightened, behind a tree I hesitantly glance at what I believe to be a zombie.
"Gosh why does this stuff always happen to me when I am eating?"
I mutter falling into gloom and despair thinking I will be the next dish. Thinking of all my options to get out of this mess, I decide to be a coward and run away as fast as possible. Booking it down the road as fast as my legs and lungs can carry me. I stop when I hear the zombie call out to me.
"Wait Onee-chan!" I stop in mid-step and turn around a confused expression written all over my face.
"Huh?" I say puzzled. I thought zombies could only say 'Brains' I think to myself.
"Hey kid." I call out hesitantly. "You're not a zombie are you?"
"A zombie!? Where'd you get an idea like that?" The kid who isn't an undead wrinkles her nose at me.
"Are you sure you aren't one? Your skin is so pale it looks sickly." She continues.
"I most certainly am not!" I huff; the kid has hit a sore spot about my skin. I can't help the fact that I get sunburned easily. I chuckle nervously under my breath, not willing to mention that I have indeed seen real zombies.
"So what was that delicious egg I tasted Onee-chan?"
"Oh, that?" I pause slightly, remembering how sad I am now that it was gone. I tell her about how I found a spider eagle nest and stole one of the eggs that were down in a ravine.
Licking her lips the kid introduces herself as Menchi. She looks hopefully up at me, "Do you have any more food Onee-chan?"
Smiling at her sadly I shake my head. "I'm afraid that I don't."
Both of our stomachs growl at the same time and I realize that neither of us have had much to eat. "The spider eagle nest isn't too far from here actually, but there weren't many eggs left when I visited…."
Menchi looks up at me with hopeful eyes, and I decide to make the trip back over there with her in tow; might as well make her useful. Menchi stares at the ravine with wide terrified eyes and creeps back from the edge.
"See those bundles there on the spider webs; those are the eggs that I was eating earlier. But getting to them is tricky. Just stay there while I snag a few."
Without warning I jump down into the ravine grabbing a web with my arms, even though I feel like they are being ripped out of my sockets and heights scare the crap out of me. Feeling a slight breeze I drop from the web and head towards a bundle of eggs, snagging a few before an updraft pushes me back up. Menchi stares in awe at me and asks excitedly how I did that. I explain that there are updrafts in these ravines so when the babies hatch out of their eggs the wind carries them up out of there. All I had to do was be brave and wait for the wind.
"Hey kid, while I go look for some plants for a salad; why don't you gather some firewood to boil water for those eggs, okay?"
"Okay, she says cheerfully."
I leave my pack and metal cooking pot next to the eggs, and go off to hunt for some plants to have along with the eggs. Rummaging around in the woods nearby I spy some wild parsley and wild onion, digging it up with my bare hands. I wander deeper into the woods, unaware of a pair of gleaming eyes looking at me. I find some apple trees and pick a few to have with our eggs. Humming cheerfully to myself. Unaware there is a loud buzzing sound, I walk into a tree and a large honeycomb lands on my head. An angry cloud of Red Paralytic Honey Bees chase after me.
"SHIIIIIIT!"
I run, screaming away. Those bee stings make it not worth stealing honey from them. With stingers 3 inches in length and tipped with a painful paralytic, getting stung isn't a good idea. Running around blindly, I trip over a hidden log and land on my face.
"Ah hell, of all the times to be fucking clumsy."
I groan, trying to swat away a few of the wasps and succeed for the most part, but, end up getting stung by several of the more persistent ones. "God I hurt!" I scream to no one in particular. Trying to pick myself up off the ground, the bees are still behind me. Spotting a massive pile of foxbear dung on the ground, I mutter to myself angrily, hoping to cover my body from the bees before rolling around in it. The bees quickly lose interest in me because of the smell, and I sigh in relief.
"I really didn't think that would work!" I say excitedly to myself, or at least try to considering I'm covered in foxbear poo.
"God, can this day get any worse?" I say out loud. I grimace at being covered in feces and head to a stream to wash it off. Washing off the muck I feel slightly better, and then I wonder why my head feels so heavy. I end up pulling off a honey comb that fell from the bee's nest.
"No wonder those assholes were so persistent. Well, since I already have it, I might as well use it." I wince at the stings I've acquired for the accidental prize.
"Won't be too long before the venom hits…" I rush back to where I left the pack and the eggs only to find a pair of beady greedy eyes looking up at me. The black mask of a raccoon smirks at me as it picks up the eggs I carelessly left lying around.
"HEY, HEY! Damn it! Give those back you little bastard!"
Dropping my scavenged goods on the ground, I yell in frustration, while trying to chase after the asshole. Almost catching him, I stumble at the last second, freezing up from the paralyzing venom the bees injected me with. Feeling my body start to freeze up; I barely make it back to our campsite before the equivalent of rigor mortis sets in. Menchi, who had been gathering firewood at this point, hears my yelling and runs back in my direction with what she had found.
"Hey! Where are our eggs?" She asks before noticing the state I'm in. Smiling wryly up at her, I can only imagine that I look like shit. Hair tangled and sopping wet, face and body streaked with mud, including the large welts on my skin swollen to the size of baseballs from the stings. Not to mention, the eggs being stolen by those damn raccoons. Yeah... It had been a fucking fantastic day.
"Let's say an uninvited guest decided to help himself to our eggs while we were away. I really hate those fucking, thieving raccoons. I swear, wherever I go they seem to stalk me…" Getting lost in my thoughts thinking about all the wonderful ways I can exact sweet revenge on what I believe are the spawn of hell. Menchi notices me getting really quiet and looks at me concerned.
"Are you okay Onee-chan?" She asks quietly.
"No kid. I got stung by some red paralyzing honeybees, had to roll in foxbear poop and ended up with our eggs stolen. And now, I can't move, everything is just fine!" I spit out sarcastically.
"Even if I could move, there aren't any more eggs that I can grab for us. The rest are in a narrow crevice I can't fit in."
Menchi's eyes light up and she says "I can get them Onee-chan!" She runs off before I have a chance to warn her that it's highly dangerous. Thinking that the kid is as good as dead, I feel just a little sad at the idea. I stay where I am and hope the bee venom wears off in a few hours, before anything else can find me in these woods. Closing my eyes I shiver, but I'm not sure if it's from being soaked, or remembering that there was a foxbear somewhere in the area. Sometime later, after dozing off for a bit, I'm awakened from the sound of something moving through the brush. Stiffening thinking it might be the foxbear that lives around here, I quickly close my eyes, preparing for death before a bright voice says to me.
"Hey are you sleeping Onee-chan? I got the eggs just like you asked!"
I stare up into Menchi's face shocked that she is not only alive but, she has armfuls of spider-eagle eggs.
"Hey munchkin," I say through numb lips. "I thought you were dead."
Menchi pouts at this and sulks, saying "It wasn't hard. I just did what you showed me, even though I was really scared, it was fun too."
"You look good kid." I smile up at her face, her cheeks are flushed pink and her green eyes are bright with excitement and life. Looking up from her face to the top of her head, I snicker at her wild blue hair, being wind tussled into 5 points almost like a star.
"However, your hair seems to be a bit of a mess." I snicker again. She wanders over to the stream and I hear her scream. I end up bursting out into raucous laughter when she comes back with a glum expression on her face. "Ah kid, it's not that bad." I laugh with mirth.
"Actually, it looks good on you; you should keep it like that. I think there are some hair ties in my bag that you can use." Both of our stomachs growl again, and I look down embarrassed.
Swallowing down my bitter pride. "Hey Menchi, can I ask you a favor? I can't cook because of those bees. It's embarrassing but, I can't even boil a pot of water in this state. Can you prepare the meal for us?"
"Ehhh!? What do I get out of all this?"
"Well for one kid, you don't go hungry. Two, you get experience in an important life skill. Three, you get to help someone else instead of just yourself. Isn't that a good thing, wanting to help others? After all, you might not be alive had my egg not fallen in your mouth earlier."
"Now go start that fire with that wood and, fill that pot up with water and set it on the fire. After that's done, put the eggs in there and wait for the water to hit a boil. Once it reaches a boil, place that lid on it and remove the pot from the heat. Let the eggs sit in the water for 12 minutes, before removing them with a cedar branch that should work as a ladle. "
Once Menchi has gotten the eggs in the pot to cook, I tell her what to do next. "I want you to work on the salad next."
"Salad!?" Menchi moans. "I hate greens."
"Shut up and eat your vegetables! You haven't heard what I wanted you to do yet anyway. In my pack there's a knife, but be careful it's very sharp. I want you to cut the apple into wedges and wash the greens in the creek upstream. Bring back a little bit of water. Cut the top and bottom off the onion, peel the outside and then cut it into thin slices. Mix the honey with a little bit of the water and toss the apples and greens in the sauce."
A little while later the food is ready, the smell of the warm eggs teases my nose with its scent. Menchi ends up having to feed me because I still can't move. She shoves the hot eggs into my mouth burning my tongue. However, I don't say anything about it, simply savoring the soft, hot, delicious egg instead. This is nice I guess. I think to myself, before Menchi shoves the salad into my mouth and I end up choking because I can't swallow it all. Spitting out the food Menchi looks up into my eyes challengingly and says.
"I thought you said to eat your greens, you're no better than I am!"
"I am eating my greens!" I argue back petulantly. "You shoved them in there so fast I couldn't swallow. I was choking. You made me waste food! I don't ever want to waste food. You don't ever know when your next meal will come along." I grit out angrily, becoming quiet as I think about my childhood. Always feeling the hunger gnawing away at me, but not being able to do anything about it. Constantly on the verge of collapse because my body didn't have enough energy to keep functioning. Those were bad times… Menchi flinches away from me when I yell at her, and I sigh in frustration.
"Look, I'm sorry okay…? I'm a bit sensitive when it comes to food." I hold back on telling the full truth.
"Where I come from, food was a scarce and precious commodity. I saw a lot of my fellow people starve to death and those that were still alive, fight to protect what meager scraps they had. All around us were mountains of garbage, piles of rubble and ruined buildings." I say in a serious voice.
"Really?" Menchi asks wide eyed.
"No kid, I was just making that up, there's no such place." I smile while lying through my teeth. Menchi doesn't need to know of Meteor City, the place the world has forgotten and where the millions that live there don't exist.
"I grew up in a boring village north of here. My people are nomadic and live off the land; it's why I'm so good at scrounging up grub."
I ask about why Menchi was traveling on the road and so skinny. She tells me about a tiny country called Jappon and this thing called 'sushi', a weird bald-headed snot-nosed brat was talking about as he passed through her village one day.
"He kept bragging to everyone about how the food in his country was so much better than the muck we eat around here. It got me really mad at how he dismissed our culture." Menchi complains in a huff.
"You know Menchi; it sounds like you have all the makings of becoming a gourmet hunter."
"What's a gourmet hunter?" Menchi asks tilting her head in confusion at me.
"Ah, um… well, a gourmet hunter is a person who travels around the world constantly in search of rare ingredients, better food and culinary experiences. Much like you are doing wanting to try out that dish called 'sushi'. You want to experience the world through your mouth and senses, rather than just think about food as being sustenance." I say, thinking carefully about how to word it so this kid will understand.
"Are you a gourmet hunter Onee-chan?" Menchi asks again, curious and nosy about my past.
"Nope, I am not anything interesting like a hunter; I just know how to cook." I smile back sadly, remembering that I did once have that wish, when I was starry-eyed and younger like Menchi is now.
"But kid, if you want to become one it won't be easy, but I know you have the ability to do so. Grabbing those spider eagle eggs took a lot of guts, being a gourmet hunter isn't just about eating good food. It's about being willing to face the hardships and danger just to have the chance to. If you put your mind to it you can become a famous hunter. Whether you choose to do so however, is up to you. Try not to be too picky about your food otherwise you will end up being hungry all the time, okay?"
"Okay Onee-chan!" Menchi chirps back. "You know I think I will become a hunter for you Onee-chan, okay?" She continues.
"Okay kid, make me proud." I smile as the fire burns down into glowing embers, the night is getting late. Before falling asleep, I call out to Menchi
"My name's Kailani, not Onee-chan, but you can call me Kai okay? My friends call me Kai."
The next morning I stretch the stiffness out of my body as the sun shines brightly into my eyes. It feels good to finally be able to move around again after being helpless last night due to the bees. Feeling the need to use the bathroom, I wander over to a bush to relieve myself, pondering over yesterday's events.
"God I hope I never see another Red Paralyzing Honeybee for as long as I live. They really aren't worth the effort." Checking myself for damage from yesterday; I discover that the swelling from the stings has gone down significantly leaving smaller, slightly itchy, red bumps behind. I touch my head gingerly, wincing as I feel a bruise the size of a bowling ball forming.
"Must be from when I tripped over that stupid log. Other than some scratches from running around in the bush blindly, I feel ok. I've had worse, not too bad considering what happened yesterday." I say out-loud to myself.
Wandering back next to the campsite, I spot Menchi still asleep. I also spy some spider-eagle eggs that Menchi must have forgotten to cook. Huh… guess she forgot these. Oh well, I'll cook up some breakfast for us anyway, no sense letting these go to waste. I heat up the pot from last night until it gets hot enough for the metal to expand slightly, before pulling out a small bottle of oil I had in my pack. I pour some into the pot, coating the metal, and letting the oil heat up before cracking the leftover eggs into it. The smell of frying eggs fills the air and Menchi's nose twitches in her sleep before she finally wakes up.
"Smells good" She murmurs sleepily, not quite aware of what's going on.
"Good morning." I say to her. "How do fried eggs for breakfast sound? We also have some honeycomb and apples left over from yesterday. Grab some leaves and it will be ready in a minute." I turn back to cooking the eggs and flip them over expertly without breaking a yolk. Menchi comes back with several large sycamore leaves that I use as plates. I dish up the eggs between us, and toss her an apple. I slice a piece of honeycomb off for her. We eat in silence, the only noise being the slurping and crunching from the food.
"Well." I say finally breaking the silence. "I guess this is where we part ways. I have things I need to do and you are heading off to Jappon, right? I'm glad I ran into you even if you ate my last egg." I smile at her fondly.
"Take care of yourself. You said you wanted to try to be a gourmet hunter? Take these as a parting gift from me." Hefting into her small hands I give her my beat up cooking pot, a bag of salf and my chef's knife. "My cooking pot, it might not look like much, but it still makes great food despite being beat up on by the world. Salt, so that life may always have flavor even if it is just a boring piece of stale bread. My chef's knife. A chef's knife is a cook's livelihood; you'll take very good care of it, won't you? And finally I give you these words of wisdom."
"Food isn't just food, it has a way of making people smile, just like you, regardless of if they are down on their luck or better off in life. It brings people together from all walks of life. Don't forget that just a simple meal can change a person's life." I wink down at her before walking away not giving her a chance to thank me.
AN: So how did you guys like this?
I ended up spending most of today trying to come up with an interesting opening plot. At first this was for fun but then I started to worry about creating a Mary sue type character or having the grammar be all messed up. Then I started to worry that I was making the plot boring so I looked up all these ways to improve a story. Now I feel like I am writing a novel to publish for snobs instead of fellow fans. I hope it came out okay. Writing like this though is tiring because I have to constantly revise stuff. I hate that this text editor thing lacks a tab button so I have to hit the space bar a bunch of times. TL:DR
I haven't written more because I am not sure how you guys will like this story. If the reviews are good I already have most of the next chapter planned out and written but I will probably flesh it out more now that I have a prologue written. Hard to believe I am writing this whole thing out of order!
I know this story says that it involves the Phantom Troupe, Gon and Killua, don't worry they will be appearing later! I am trying to keep everyone as in character as possible but Idk how well that will turn out. I guess the story is sorta AU, but not really, as it's still in the hunter universe.
This story will contain many topics that people will find disturbing, it will include but not be limited to swearing, torture, gore, mentions of abuse and child abuse as well as strong, explicit content. If all that shit doesn't bother you than this is the fic for you! I will try to mark at the top of each chapter some content warnings but this story is rated MA for a reason.
For those who are interested fun fact: The way I wrote how to cook hardboiled eggs is one of the correct ways to do it. It works best with large size Grade A chicken eggs. Put the eggs in a pot of water, cover with at least 1 inch worth of cold water over the tops of the eggs. Bring it quickly to a boil, take it off the heat, slap a lid on it and let it sit for 12 minutes. Bingo, perfect eggs. Not rubbery or green.