Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter
CHAPTER 4
The sunlight streamed in through the curtains, immediately lighting up the room. The rays fell directly on the boy and his face scrunched up in discomfort.
Realizing that the sun won't go off, he groaned and opened his eyes.
He sat up groggily and stretched away the knots in his shoulders. His brown eyes stared hard at the clock on the side table that was between his and the red-head girl's bed.
Gon blinked and a grin broke out on his face as he jumped off his bed, heading towards his friend's.
He shook her awake, causing the girl to stir. She lazily lifted a lid, seeing as it was only her friend, she grunted and turned her back on him.
Gon frowned at her.
He glanced at her toes that were peeking from the sheets and grinned mischievously.
"If you don't want to wake up, then..." He grabbed her ankles and pulled, earning a yelp from her. "... I'll force you to!"
Renée fell face first on the floor and she glared at Gon with tears in her eyes and a banged up nose.
The boy only laughed at her which caused her to glare at him harder. She grit her teeth and leapt at him.
His eyes showed a hint of surprise as he squirmed beneath her. He finally broke free and immediately ran, still laughing boyishly.
"Come back here you little twerp!" she cursed and ran after him.
In the kitchen, three adults were calmly sipping tea or coffee. "What a peaceful morning." the elder smiled to which the two nodded despite the racket in the floor above them.
"I said I'm sorry! Geez, c'mon Ren!"
They were now in the forest, retracing their steps from yesterday so that they can return to the clearing where the fox-bear lay.
They had planned to give the mother a proper send off and to personally take care of the cub.
At least Gon did.
Renée was here because he forced her to. He forced her to do almost everything they ever did.
"Reeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" he whined. The red-head only glared at him before huffing and turning her head forward, deciding to focus on the path instead.
She slid down the hill, Gon followed her example. Renée led the way towards the clearing and both were surprised to see that the man was still there, sleeping beside a tree trunk.
Deciding to leave him be for now, the two made their way towards the cub.
It hissed at them but Gon showed it the fish they bought and left it on the ground.
The cub approached them warily, sniffing the air as it did. It finally reached the fish and it gave them a glance before digging in.
The two smiled at each other for their accomplishment then moved towards the mother's corpse.
A stench was already starting to permeate the air as they prepared to dig a hole.
It took the two of them hours to finally dig a hole wide and deep enough for the fox-bear and they were already tired. This left them little to no strength to move the heavy corpse but they did so anyway.
The cub only watched them curiously, it did not hiss at them or try to stop them, which Gon was glad for.
They tried pushing, half-carrying, half-throwing, but the body did not go far. The two were already panting but decided to have another go.
After watching them for a while, the man sighed and stood up.
Unknown to the two, he walked up to them and placed his hands on the fox-bear. Gon and Renée finally noticed but said nothing and they pushed together, successfully heaving the mother in the hole.
The man left while they were burying it only to return with some fish he caught when they were finished.
'Maybe he isn't so bad.' Renée thought as they sat down and ate with him.
"So you two are orphans." he started.
Gon swallowed the food in his mouth before replying, "Well technically not anymore. My aunt and grandma are taking care of me while Ren has a foster father."
The man hummed and glanced at the red-head who was trying so hard to avoid eye contact. "Ren huh?"
"It's Renée for you." she snapped.
Suddenly aware of how rude she was she returned to avoiding eye contact and focused on her fish instead.
"Right. Sorry about yesterday, Renée."
The girl looked up at him, surprised, but his attention wasn't on her anymore. "What about you, what's your name?" he asked the dark haired boy.
"I'm Gon! Gon Freecss."
'So it is his child.' he thought silently.
He internally debated on whether or not he should tell him that his father was alive. In the end, the answer for him was obvious.
"Gon, you said your parents died right?" he asked to which the boy only nodded.
"I don't know who told you that or what their purpose for that is but your father is alive."
The two children only stared at him in confusion.
"Excuse me but, who are you?" Renée asked, growing suspicious of the man. He appeared out of nowhere yesterday, he even slapped her, and here he was telling her childhood friend that everything he believed in about his parents was a lie.
"My name is Kaito. I am a student of Gon's father, Ging."
Upon hearing his name, all doubt in their hearts vanished. They never mentioned Ging's name to this stranger, but he spoke about him like he knew him for a long, long time.
"A student of Ging? What does my dad do?" Gon wondered aloud.
"Your dad is a hunter, Gon. He's the best hunter I know. I am currently on a quest to find him because when I do, only then will I become a pro-hunter. I came here on Whale Island to see if there are any clues because I know that this is his hometown. I did not find anything of much use to me regarding his whereabouts but now I know that there is you, his son."
"What's a hunter?" Renée asked this time.
"A hunter is someone who looks for treasures. Treasures that are very hard to find. It can be found anywhere in the world and they risk their lives for it. Not only that, they also protect and preserve the environment. Hunters train and improve themselves so that they can be of use to society, like enforcing the law, protecting the people, etcetera."
Each word Kaito mentioned about being a hunter fascinated Gon. He was amazed to know that his father was alive as a hunter, and the best one at that!
Kaito fished something from his pocket and handed it to Gon.
It was a plastic card that looked like it was broken off its chain.
"This is Ging's Hunter License. He gave it to me and told me to return it when I find him. I'm giving it to you because I know you'll put it to good use."
Gon continued to marvel at the piece of plastic. Renée, on the other hand, did not like where this was going.
She knows that look on her friend's face and she can already see herself disagreeing to whatever he has on his mind.
"How do I become a hunter?"
There it was.
The question she did not want to hear.
'Dammit Gon! Why are you so curious about everything!?' she mentally face-palmed.
"There's a Hunter Exam every year. You can join once you're twelve. Here."
He gave Gon two slips of paper. Renée peeked at it over his shoulder.
"Hunter Exam Application Form." they read aloud.
"You two should try it. I'll be leaving tonight. I need to try and find clues as to my teacher's location so I can pass his test. I'm looking forward to seeing you two again, as hunters." Kaito stood up, tipped his hat to the both of them and walked away.
The two children put their fire out and left the cub, or rather Kon, some more fish before they walked home as well.
The trip home was relatively silent.
Both were thinking deeply so neither said a word.
That is until Gon decided to open his big mouth.
"Will you-"
"No." she cut him off.
She already knew what he was going to ask and she didn't feel like leaving the island, let alone take the Hunter Exam.
"Eh! But I haven't even said anything yet!" Gon whined again.
The red-head huffed for the nth time that day and faced Gon, stopping them in their tracks.
"I don't want to take that stupid exam! I know you want to meet your dad again but I'm sure as hell that Aunt Mito won't allow you! There's a reason she lied to you about Ging. He left you here when you were a baby to be a hunter. Don't you feel abandoned? Why would you want to see him when he didn't even visit you once. Not even a letter!" she yelled exasperatedly.
Gon took in all her words calmly, which irked her even more. They stared at each other for a while before Gon finally spoke.
"I know Aunt Mito has her reasons for lying about Ging. I also know she won't approve of this at the start. I don't feel bad though. Even if he left me to be a hunter, even if he is considered as the world's worst father, I'll only feel excited. It's exciting to know that my father is alive somewhere and is the best hunter! It makes you wonder what it's like to live the same life right? Being a hunter must be so amazing that he didn't feel like taking care of me. I want to take the exam and be a hunter so that I can feel it too. When I become a hunter, I will know how amazing it is then I'll find him. I'll find him and tell him that he was right!"
Renée could only stare at Gon.
He was so positive about this that it amazed her. He admired his father a lot and didn't feel bad at all when he found out Ging was alive.
She wished she could be like that.
To be as positive and naïve as Gon.
"So, will you take the exam with me Ren? I can't do it without you."
Her brain protested. It urged her to say no to him.
She looked at his innocent face that was split into a grin and she found herself losing.
'How could I say no?'
Knowing that she was getting herself into trouble again, she nodded.
Gon smiled toothily and hugged her.
"Thanks Ren. You're the best friend I ever had!"
She blushed at his compliment but hugged him back all the same.
"I'm the only friend you have Gon. Besides, you'll be the one to tell Aunt Mito." she whispered in his ear.
Renée felt the boy tense up in her embrace and she could only laugh.
END OF 4.
A/N: I am actually finished with about 13 chapters, all stored in my phone. I just cant post them all because college is hectic. I will try to update in close intervals though, like I've been doing with the previous chapters. Please review!