Chapter 1

The light emanating from the television glowed dully, the blue-ish hue being the only light in the dark room as William stared at it with a smile on his face. He was lying atop a dishevelled pile of blankets which covered his bed, before he reached out and grabbed some chips from the packet before stuffing them in his open mouth.

On the screen was Hunter x Hunter, one of his favourite animes he had ever watched. It was the Hunter Exam arc, near the beginning when Gon and friends were on the boat. William was, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it, a huge fanboy of the show. He yawned, although he kept the smile on his face. He honestly loved the show – sometimes spending hours upon hours looking up how Nen works or studying the characters.

He heard thunder outside his room, jumping slightly before breathing out to calm himself. It was just some silly thunder, he reassured himself, before turning back to the show.

As he watched it right then, though, he couldn't help but feel some emptiness.

"I wish this show was… real." He thought, both embarrassed for wishing it but mournful that it wasn't.

Realizing how stupid he was sounding, he shook his head and nervously laughed to himself.

"Too much Hunter x Hunter for one day." He joked, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off.

Moving backwards, curling himself up in his blankets, he sighed and turned off the lamp next to his bed. And then he went to sleep.

-0-

"Once I'm the best Hunter in the world, I'll come back!"

Gon waved as he looked over the railing of the boat, looking out at the sea and beamed with excitement. As he stared at the blue sea that separated him from his home, all he could see were new opportunities. He was going to become a Hunter – what kind of Hunter, he didn't know or care. All that mattered was that he was going to find out what was so great about being a hunter

"The greatest Hunter in the world?"

"Kid doesn't respect us."

"Every year, there are millions of skilled applicants for the Hunter exam. But only a handful are selected – don't say stuff you can't back up boy."

Gon observed the people around him, all with threatening appearances, before walking away. He noticed two people bullying one of the sailors and frowned, walking down the stairs before the captain walked out, dealing with them. However, something in the corner of the boat caught his eyes and, as he turned around, his eyes glimmered with shock as he recognized the outline of a body.

It was a small boy who, from the looks of it, was around Gon's age. He was dressed normally, in a navy-blue jumper and black jeans, nothing particularly eye-catching about him. He was crouching, lying against the wooden railing of the boat which was clearly holding him up. His head was tilted down, his hair covering the front of his face from view, but it was clear that the child wasn't conscious.

Immediately, Gon ran – well, more accurately, he hopped from one foot to the other in long-strides – up to the boy, kneeling down. He gripped the boy's shoulder before shaking it slightly, hoping to wake the child up.

"Hello, are you alright?" Gon asked, concern evident in his voice. He hated seeing people hurt, especially someone his age.

The boy tossed and turned slightly, mumbling something incoherently, before finally opening his eyes slightly and staring at Gon. He squinted, trying to make out the other's facial features, before yawning and going to rub the sleep out of his eyes with his sleeve.

"Urgh… what's going on?" He whined, yawning tiredly as he groaned to himself, "I've only been asleep for three minutes, m— "

William blinked for a moment, recognizing that this was not in fact his mom and this was not his room. For some reason. He looked around, noticing the floor felt cold and unfamiliar and wooden. He noticed the floor felt like it was slowly swaying from left to right.

'Am I… on a boat?' William thought to himself, before staring at the boy who had woke him up. The first thing he noticed about the boy in front of him was that he was wearing exceptionally weird clothing – it was all green. His hair was spiky for some reason, which made him look at the boy with a guarded expression.

"Hey, why were you sleeping?"

William was taken aback. "Why was I… what?"

"You were sleeping, even though it's really bright!" Gon pointed out, before adding, "And you were sleeping in the corner of the boat!"

"A boat… I…" William had no words, completely bewildered by what was going on around him.

"Yeah! Oh, my name is Gon! What's yours?" Gon asked, abandoning the subject entirely. William could only wonder what his attention span was like… and then he thought about it.

'… Gon!?' The boy was flabbergasted, recognizing all Gon's features now – he was the spitting image of the main character. At first, William tried to rationalize it – wondering if he was dreaming – but then the boat made sense; they were on their way to the Hunter Exam.

"What's your name?"

"Uh—my name… is William." He mumbled his name, staring at the way the sun shined down, highlighting the outline of the boy's face and body. It was just too real, even though there was no way it could be.

"That's a weird name."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is. But I like it!"

"Thank you… and no, it isn't."

"Yes, it- "

Seagulls, or what looked like seagulls (William wasn't entirely sure whether they were actually seagulls like in the normal world or just a similar species from here), started cawing which caught Gon's attention. William watched as Gon did everything that he expected him to – he talked to the captain about the upcoming storm, started sniffing the air… it was so abnormal, William thought, to watch everything happen around you and know what was going to happen.

Suddenly, Gon started jumping up the mast with such precision, such power that took William's breath away. It was if Gon had started flying and that was the moment William realized this was all happening. Even though he could feel the wood beneath his shoes, the wind blow through his hair, what had made it feel so real was seeing Gon jump. It felt like there was no way he could've imagined seeing someone do something like that, casually jumping up a boat with barely any effort.

The main character started talking about a storm, staring determinately at the captain who seemed to stare at them with recognition. Oh right, William remembered, he was sure that the captain transported Gon's dad, Ging, when he was twelve as well.

William, his tense legs moving slowly but surely, sauntered over to the bars. The sea, volatile and yet dignified, crashed mellowly against the side of the wooden ship. William couldn't help but notice the way the sea glimmered, the helpful rays of sunlight transforming the sea from some colourless water to a magnificent painting that exploded into a colourful array of blue, white and purple. He concurred with his earlier belief:

This was all too real.

-0-

After the sailors felt the slight pitter-patter of early raindrops and saw the darkening of the warm sky, all the Hunter examinees on the boat were moved to the deck below- not that it did them any good, mind you, considering almost everyone and their grandmother became incredibly seasick. William couldn't blame them: the ship couldn't stay still, rocking frequently as if it were sinking. He was still slightly annoyed at the various groans and moaning that plagued the ship, though.

Unsurprisingly, the few people who weren't sick were Gon and his yet-to-be friends and the crew (actually, Katsuo was faring surprisingly well). Unpredictably, however, was the fact William hadn't gotten sea sick.

He had never been one to get easily sick; not during long car rides, not during cold and wet winter days and not even when riding the ferry. He supposed that his usual immunity had something to do with it but frankly, he blamed it on his observation of Gon, Leorio and Kurapika. Luckily, none of them thought to look his way, otherwise he surely would've been asked what he was doing from Gon or a standoffish "what-are-you-looking-at" from Leorio. Kurapika would pretend either way that he didn't see him or didn't care.

William had discovered that he had gotten slightly younger. He used to be twenty-one years old but now, he deduced, he must've been twelve since him and Gon were around the same height, but he could be wrong – either way, that's what he was going with. Most people would be horrified to realise they were younger but, honestly, William was glad about it – the longer he didn't have to grow up, the better. Although he wasn't sure whether it was stalking or not, he decided to follow Gon and friends until he could find a way to get back home.

No, that implied he didn't have some sort of plan.

His plan came in the form of Alluka – the second-youngest Zoldyck child (it was never explained to the viewer but William came to the conclusion that Alluka was a boy who identified and dressed as a girl). Either way, Alluka, or namely Nanika, could grant whatever wish you wanted but the consequences of said wish would be horrifying – unless of course, you were Killua, who skipped the consequences all together. In a sense, Killua was his ticket back home: he had to befriend Killua so that he'd ask Nanika to send William back to his reality.

It wasn't as if Killua and Gon's standards for friends were particularly demanding, either. William was still unsatisfied with this plan, considering that would mean he would have to wait until the 13th Hunter Election arc, which was ages away.

The Captain glanced from behind the door, watching the various examinees. Despite the disappointing amount of people who were sick, he noticed a few "tough nuts" who managed to stick it out: the little boy in green, who tended to the various sick people by providing them with herbs and water, a blonde-haired boy, who was reading some novel, a black-haired man (or what looked like one, at least), who had been munching on what the man later exclaimed to be a rather sour apple, and finally one boy with messy brown hair, who was quietly sitting on the floor while he observed the people around him, namely the other three tough nuts.

He jumped as Katsuo suddenly bumped into the Captain in a rush to get the water to Gon, who quickly provided it to an ill man who was very eager to have some. The three other tough nuts, Kurapika, Leorio and William, stared at the boy with slight interest, specifically the latter who's eyes seemed to light up with recognition.

These ones were certainly interesting, thought the Captain.

-0-

"First, tell me your names."

The four applicants were standing in one perpendicular line, staring at the Captain in front of them. He analysed them with his hands firmly placed in his pockets, his cigar hanging from his mouth as the smoke slowly raised to the roof of the room.

"I'm Gon!" yelled the enthusiastic boy in green.

"I'm Kurapika." The blonde-haired boy calmly asserted, his voice sounding nothing but professional.

"It's Leorio." The black-haired person in a suit muttered in a begrudging manner.

"… William." Mumbled the brown-haired boy in the jumper, who seemed to be gripping the ends of his sleeves fiercely with his hands in what appeared to be a nervous habit.

The Captain nodded before continuing. "Why do you want to become Hunters?"

"Hey!" Leorio exclaimed. "If you aren't an examiner, you can't boss us around."

William, wincing a little bit, took one step away from Leorio before staring back up at him again. He didn't want to appear rude but Leorio seemed much louder in real life than when watching him on TV.

"Just answer the question."

"My dad was a Hunter." Gon exclaimed, completely fine with the idea of explaining his reasons, "I left Whale Island because I want to know why my dad desired to be a Hunter so much!"

There was absolutely no malice or disappointment in his voice. The other participants were confused by this but William understood – it was revealed later in the series that Gon had never intended to reconcile with his father but just to find him. He knew that Gon was just naturally curious, and said curiousness would lead him on a journey that took over the course of years to find someone he didn't even really want to get to know. It was weird but endearing.

This surprise was cut off by Leorio's cry of anger. "You're not supposed to answer his question!"

"Why can't I tell him why I'm here?"

"Not a team player, huh?" Leorio huffed, "I don't want to reveal why I'm here."

"I agree with Leorio." Kurapika said, which resulted in Leorio getting pissed off, stating that Kurapika was younger than him and therefore should refer to him with respect.

William probably would've been annoyed by this and assumed Leorio to be a bad person if he hadn't had the foreknowledge of his development and backstory.

"It's quite simple to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie."

"Hey! Are you listening to me!?"

"However, it is quite shameful to rely upon deceit. That said if I told you the truth, I would be exposing my deepest of secrets. That is why I cannot answer this question."

"Hey, you… Don't ignore me!"

William sighed, looking at the ground troubled. Shameful to rely upon deceit, Kurapika said. And yet, if William wanted to achieve his goal, he had to lie – they wouldn't believe him otherwise.

"What about you, kid?" The Captain's question caught him off guard, resulting in him fumbling about like a fish out of water. He tried brainstorming the answer that was easiest to believe, knowing that if he was caught he could be kicked out of the Hunter Exam and never meet Killua or Alluka. He couldn't not give an answer, either, because he'd be kicked out. "Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?"

"U-um, I'm taking the Hunter Exam because…" He trailed off, biting his lip out of nervousness. For a moment or two, he struggled to think of an excuse before noticing the way his hand trembled in fear. He must've looked so shy – and then William had an idea. "… because I want to get braver. I'm… not strong, but I want to be."

It wasn't as if he was telling complete fallacies. Nervousness hadn't just been a trait he picked up when he woke up in the Hunter x Hunter world. All his life he had never been the person he wanted to be: someone who was strong, who could get things done. He longed to be someone strong, like Gon, who wasn't afraid of failing because he had confidence in his abilities. But, regretfully, in his real life he had never stepped outside of his comfort zone, never tried to achieve his goal because he didn't believe he could achieve them. Knowing that he wasted his life, he planned that, when he gets back, he was going to become the person he wants to be and not the person who it's easy to be.

William wringed his hands in nervousness, knowing that if they didn't believe him it could lead to trouble. However, as the group looked at him, their eyes seemed to cloud with understanding. Considering the child in front of them, all nervous and panicky about answering a simple question, the idea that he wanted to be stronger wasn't all too strange.

"But you don't need to become a Hunter to become stronger, you know." Leorio pointed out, wondering why the kid would choose something so extreme if he wanted to something as simple as being stronger; a simple trip to the gym would suffice. The Hunter Exam could kill him.

"B-because in the Hunter Exam, if I don't become stronger, I'll die!" William rushed out, trying to end his part of the conversation as quickly as possible. "The Hunter Exam will force me into becoming someone who's strong, else I won't survive. So—I… that's why I want to take the Hunter Exam."

He trailed off, not knowing what else to say but nobody questioned him again. He seemed too innocent, too shy to be hiding anything. The Captain nodded at him before turning to stare at Kurapika and Leorio.

"So, you two still refuse to answer my question." He turned over towards Katsuo. "Hey Katsuo, tell the examination board we have two more dropouts."

The two were shocked. "What do you mean?"

"You don't get it? The Hunter Exam has already begun." Kurapika and Leorio gaped, both of them exclaiming loudly upon hearing this revelation. William knew that the two would've be dropping out but it still must have been terrifying for them.

"There are many Hunter wannabes as there are stars under the sky. The examiners don't have the time or resources to review them all. So they hire people like us, to trim the fat. I've already identified that everyone else on the ship had to withdraw. If they couldn't stand a simple storm, they'd stand no chance in the Hunter Examination's later stages."

He stared at them.

"In other words, you only proceed to the main exam if I pass you. So think carefully before you answer my question."

Gon said 'so he says' to the group but William couldn't help but stare at the Kurta. He was frowning with his eyes closed before opening them, staring angrily at the faded ghosts of his pasts, stained with red.

"I am the last survivor of the Kurta Clan. Four years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals. My goal is to hung down that band, the Phantom Troupe."

"So, you wish to become a Bounty Hunter? The Phantom Troupe are a Class-A bounty. Not even the most grizzled Hunters can touch them. You'd be throwing away your life."

Kurapika did not even hesitate. "I do not fear death; I only fear my rage will fade over time."

His eyes flashed a dangerous red, the determination and vengeance in his eyes clear to anyone who saw it. Leorio scoffed.

"In other words, you want revenge. Why do you need to become a Hunter?"

Kurapika calmly insulted Leorio before listing off a bunch of logical and obvious reasons for why someone would become a Hunter: access to restricted areas and hidden information, the ability to commit certain acts otherwise considered impossible. He then rounded off his arguments by taunting the man but luckily, Gon managed to calm him down by asking for why he wants to become a Hunter.

"Me? I'll keep it short. I want money."

William sighed, listening to Leorio go off on a rant about how important and great money was, what it could buy and how it made you happy – unfortunately, Kurapika couldn't stop himself from insulting the man one more time with an inappropriate comment about money not being able to buy class.

"That's three times now." Leorio muttered. "Step outside. I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline now."

Kurapika growled. "Take that back, Leorio!"

Leorio stared back at him, as Kurapika repeated himself.

"That's Leorio-san to you."

The Captain was both surprised and annoyed. "I'm not finished yet!"

"Just let them go." Gon said, looking at William and the Captain. "Mito-san once told me that if you want to get to know someone, you need to make an effort to learn why they're angry. It is important for them to understand why they're angry – so we should let them settle it themselves."

Everyone looked at Gon with renewed interest. William especially, as this had originally cut to a flashback to Mito-san telling Gon but now he was watching Gon really tell the anecdote – it was like reading somebody's memory. He wondered how often this feeling would occur.

"L-look!" One of the sailors who had been manoeuvring the steering wheel pointed at the sight in front of him. They all turned to see a horrendous storm outside which blistered and blundered, tearing through the sea as if it was nothing. The crackling of thunder frightened William but he soon reassured himself that nothing bad would happen to him, the boat doesn't sink. This isn't a big deal, he thought, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"If we get caught in that waterspout, we'll sink!" Katsuo realized.

"Lower the sails now."

"Aye."

"We'll help, too." Gon said, gesturing to William with his thumb. He was caught off guard by this action, much preferring to stay inside the ship, before nodding violently.

Katsuo was overjoyed by the idea of help. "Uh-huh, come with me."

Gon and Katsuo, soon followed by William, ran off onto the deck. The sound of water sloshing around as people ran was discomforting. Grabbing hold of the rope, standing right behind Gon, William pulled as hard as he could to help the others out, temporarily forgetting that they'd be safe – it didn't feel safe.

He knew that somewhere else, Kurapika and Leorio were fighting for no other reason but because of individual pride and their refusal to back down. He tried to get a sneak glimpse at the fighting before seeing the group of sailors pulling Katsuo's rope let go, sending the man flying. Due to his foreknowledge, he noticed it first and quickly shouted out.

"Katsuo!"

Hearing William's yelp, Gon immediately located Katsuo and, barely taking one second, ran down towards the deck. Kurapika and Leorio tried to grab him but barely missed, before a seemingly flying Gon launched himself towards Katsuo, grabbing the man by his legs as the two other examinees each grasped onto an individual leg. William rushed down the deck and sighed in relief, seeing all four of them fine. Although he knew that everything would be fine, he had been afraid - no, terrified - that his inclusion would mess it all up.

Reaching over the railing, he healed the three participants and Katsuo up as he heard groups of sailors rushing towards them to make sure they were all group all muttered their thanks and they all breathed out a collective sigh of relief.

-0-

"You idiot! If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd be shark bait by now."

"Honestly, how reckless can you be?"

William, with the smallest of smiles on his face, watched in amusement as Kurapika and Leorio berated the small boy, who just beamed at them with his sunny smile. One of his favourite things about the show was the dynamic of Gon, Kurapika and Leorio (and Killua but he wasn't here) so he was disappointed when the group became less and less prominent together as the show went on, with Kurapika and Leorio being kicked to the curb, especially Leorio. Watching them interact with one another as real people was just as amusing, maybe even more so.

"But you did catch me!" Gon pointed out. "You both caught me! And William helped us up!"

The line 'William helped us up' sent said boy into a spiral of self-pity, for not actually helping in any meaningful way.

Leorio looked flabbergasted. "Well… I guess so…"

"Gon!"

"Katsuo-san!"

Katsuo ran up to the group, a grateful smile on his face. "Thanks, Gon! You saved my life."

"I couldn't have done it alone." Gon said, gesturing to the other three. "These guys helped save you to!"

Katsuo smiled at them to show his appreciation. "Thank you very much!"

Immediately came three responses:

"No, you don't need to thank me."

"Well… Yeah, I'm glad you're okay."

"I didn't even… do anything so—so you don't have to thank me."

"Yeah! So, I'll be returning to my station!"

Kurapika, seeing the way Leorio was happy that he saved Katsuo, smiled which immediately prompted Leorio to question him.

"I apologise for my rude behaviour." He turned to look at Leorio. "Sorry, Leorio-san."

Leorio was surprised. "Wh-what's with the sudden change? We sound like strangers." He shrugged it off, trying to act indifferent. "Just call me Leorio… Leorio works. And I'm sorry, too. I take back everything I said – I was wrong."

"No, it's okay-"

"I like you guys!" The hearty voice of the Captain echoed. "Okay! I'll take responsibility for bringing you four to the port closest to the exam site."

"R-really?" William asked, although he already knew this would happen.

"What about your test?" Gon asked, cheerfully.

"Like I said, it is my decision to make!" The Captain said this, before walking away. "And all four of you pass!"

The four smiled as Gon celebrated by jumping in the air. William stared out into the distance, at the shimmering horizon of the sea, and hoped he wouldn't mess up his chances.

Hey guys!

I decided to get into the Hunter x Hunter fanfiction scene: this isn't my first ever fanfiction or story but it is my first ever fanfiction on this website. I haven't seen a large amount of male OC x male canon so I decided to write a story as such myself!

I've already written up to the point where Killua and William meet, so I will be releasing them in the following week. I decided to try and give William his own distinct characteristics rather than just make him a repeat of me - he is easily frightened and shy but he wants to get stronger! I decided to make William come from the real world because I felt like it'd be interesting and it would give him and Killua good reason to talk.

Anyway, thank you for reading up until now. Keep reading as I will be releasing the second chapter very shortly.