2 years previous
From the moment he sat down in his seat, Ging knew he was on the wrong bus.
"Hello, my name is Kiwi Loo and I will be your bus guide for the trip up to Kukuroo mountain!" A cheery seeming orange haired woman says into the speaker held in her hand and Ging thought.
Why are adults always so stupid. Ging sighed, closing his eyes and listening to Kiwi list facts about the mountain and the Zoldyck family. Who knows? Maybe there's some interesting stuff there Ging thought boredly, only slightly cheered up at the thought.
Kiwi said some more stuff about Kukuroo mountain, and pointed it out on the left side of the bus in that annoying voice of hers. A vein bulged on his forehead and he suppressed the urge to punch her.
Opening one eye he analyzed the mountains and surrounding forest It just looks like your normal everyday… something caught his eye. A flicker of movement near the top of Kukuroo mountain, shrouded by the mist. Now that's unusual Ging smiled, a glint in his eyes.
The bus finally stopped at the entrance and everyone filled out of the bus. Ging looks at the giant doors and grunt Definitely can't open those, they must be at least a ton each! Takes a glance at the wall low chance of being able to scale that either. Guess I'll go around.
Ging starts heading off into the woods to the south of the gate but is interrupted by the annoying bus tour guide.
"Don't wander off, we'll be leaving soon!"
Ging turns for a moment, "No, you'll be leaving soon," and continues walking away into the dense woods, leaving a sputtering Kiwi behind trying to find his parents.
Ha, good luck with that the thought of the flustered tour guide made Ging break out into a happy run. After a while, Ging found a place where the branches of a tree on the inside of the wall loosened the dirt under the wall. Ging dug through the soft dirt and poked his head out on the other side I made it in.
Silva's POV
Today was poison resistance. There was a room in the mansion completely dedicated to storing the thousands of poisons used in poison resistance and for jobs. By the end of the session Silva had hives all over my body and had thrown up everything his stomach could offer.
Zeno appeared to be disappointed at the results but he said nothing, he rarely ever did. Silva was a strange child of the Zoldyck family, even after the torture he was put through, he still wanted to be like a kid. I wonder what other kids are like he pondered.
It was just Zeno, Maha, Silva and his mother in the estate, so he had never actually met any other children before. In one of his culture studies for how to act like an innocent child he read that children asked weird questions and cried a lot.
Good thing I'm not an innocent child then. But still… I wonder if kids are really like that?
After a couple hours in this train of thought Silva found that he wandered off to the southern section of the estate. He turned around to start walking back to the mansion, but then he heard a twig snap and he froze.
Zeno said that he wasn't ready fight some opponents, and that if you are not 100% of winning to run away as fast as I could. I immediately concealed my presence and the footsteps stopped for a moment before picking up speed before slowing down to a stealth walk. I was completely and utterly shocked when a kid my age appeared from the undergrowth.
I can take him I thought, this kid probably just got lost and wandered onto the estate but I knew that was wrong before I thought it. The entire estate is surrounded by a huge wall, which I sometimes wonder if it was to keep intruders out, or me in.
I could not suppress my growing curiosity overpowering the driven in instinct to kill him. I was startled out of my deep thought by the child in front of me.
"I didn't know that assassins had kids" The spiky haired child said obnoxiously.
"Well why not?" I retorted harshly. I guess that kids are like I was told.
"Fair point. I didn't think about whether they had kids or not. Think about it, if I go up to a stand to buy some… chocolates for example, I don't ponder if the stand employee has kids or not."
Silva blinks. Ok. Not what he was told kids were like. Taking a look at the kid, he realised that the kid's clothes were all dirty. He was struck by realisation.
"Did you… dig under the wall?"
"Yep!" The child said, and the loudness of his voice reminded Silva exactly where they were.
"Shhhhhh," Silva hissed and whispered, "You need to leave before my dad comes back."
The black haired kid pouted, "But I wanted to play with you some more!"
Silva felt something bad is going to happen really soon if he doesn't get the kid out of there.
"Later!" Silva whispered franticly.
The kid took Silva's hands and locked pinkies with him before shaking their hands, "It's a promise."
"Yeah. sure, promise." Silva said hurriedly, "Now go!"
"See ya." The kid gave a wave before disappearing into the woods.
About a minute later, Zeno came. Taking a glance around the area, his gaze fell back onto Silva. He grabbed Silva by the arm.
"Isolation training," He stated, directly to the point, "7 days, no food."
Silva nodded, not like he could do anything else, "Yes father."
The isolation chamber felt really oppressing. He had never had any problem with the chamber before, just go in and wait until the time is up. But now, it made him feel hollow as his thoughts roamed.
Did something change since the last time I was here? Silva thought as he looked around the dark room. The room was plain and boring. Nevermind… if anything changed I would've realized it as soon as I walked in.
Silva continued to think, which was the only thing the isolation chamber was good for really. If the isolation chamber didn't change, then my perception of the isolation chamber changed?
That brought his thoughts back to earlier today. The kid his age who managed to sneak into the Zoldyck compound.
It was so funny though, that he had to fight the temptation to laugh. No adults in his family nor adults trying to get past the wall ever considered digging under it. They just assumed that if you put a really big wall there that the only way past it is over or through.
Well, over near the gates it extends underground. Otherwise the bombs would bring the wall down, but if they had digging equipment, they could easily get under it.
A kid, who probably isn't even in gr.1 yet, outsmarted hundreds of adults with one simple act.
That kid. Silva's thoughts were brought back to the black haired 6 year old. The thought came to him.
The isolation chamber didn't work before because I was already isolated. The more he thought the more he was surprised. Someone was able to bring him out of an isolation he had since birth in approximately 5 minutes.
Who is he?
Ging's POV
Ging casually walked through the streets of the town, hands behind his head in a way that comically made him look like a bored teenager. Who was 6.
Ah, now I'm bored again. Ging thought as he blew a strand of hair out of his face. Kukuroo mountain was fun to explore, and he was able to talk to someone his age who wasn't a half-wit.
Not that adults aren't half-wits either. Ging reflects as he enters an apothecary that he spotted.
"Welcome," A voice chimed as he went in, "How can I h-" The store manager stopped as he saw Ging, and switched his tone of voice to a baby tone.
"Hey little guy, are you lost?" The man said.
Ging was now irritated, "No, I am not lost, I came here to take a look around if you don't mind." Ging was still polite even if the man was annoying. Afterall, other kids his age don't even know what an apothecary is.
The man seemed a bit surprised, but that quickly passed. "Go ahead. I'll be out back if you plan to buy anything."
Ging didn't plan on buying anything, but he was genuinely pleased with the drop of the babying attitude. He walked around the store and read some of the plaques that said what they were for and where to find them.
Something caught his eye. A red plant in the corner of the room that he had seen plenty of on the Zoldyck property. Interesting.
As he was about to reach out and grab the plant the apothecary owner pulled him away.
"Don't go near that plant, it releases toxic fumes that can damage the mind. It's especially dangerous for young people.
"But this plant grows a lot near my friends house." Ging said, "His mind seems alright."
"You'd want to remove those as quickly as possible," The store owner replied, "The changes aren't often noticeable very quickly, as this plant dulls the will and individuality of those who inhale its fumes."
"Then why do you have it?" Ging asked.
"It's a useful pain reducer for adults, but with children the effects on the mind are great. It's nicknamed the soul eating plant because children who inhale it enough will become like robots. Detached and won't do anything if it's not an order. This plant is actually illegal in many countries as they would use them to make child slaves obedient."
Gings eyes were wide, "Is there a cure?"
"With minimal exposure to the plant, the effects will eventually go away. With higher rates of exposure the only way to cure them is to administer some sort of emotional shock, which is extremely difficult as their emotions are dulled."
"Thanks mister," Ging said as he started to run out of the shop.
"Feel free to drop by again sometime!" The store owner called after him.
As Ging ran back towards Kukuroo mountain he had only one thought in his head.
The white-haired boy.
Authors Notes: This story is beginning when they are 6 years old. Ging and Silva are not the same age in canon but they will be the same age for the purpose of this story. The prologue is 2 years ahead of the story as a glimpse of the future, but the present time in the story is when Ging and Silva are 6.