Author's Note: AH IT'S HERE! THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CHAPTER, MY GOD.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 9

It still took hours before Ging found the Lurka Ruins. The forest was wide and massive with foliage almost everywhere to the point that he had to jump on the tree trunks just to pass through. It was a challenge but he persevered.

Looking up, he noted that it was mid-afternoon. He had some time left before dark. His senses may be more perceptive than normal; however, he would still have difficulty in navigating in a dense forest without sunlight.

But then, his brown eyes noticed something. The ground by his feet was not as mossy and grass-laden as the ground he was walking on earlier. It meant that it was recently stepped on by many people.

'Bingo.' Ging smirked a little and brisk-walked forward, following the path. He was excited. He could feel it rushing through his body. Finally, he was going to discover the ruins. He would be able to learn more about what happened, what was the Lurka Clan, and so many other questions that kept forming in his head...he would learn them all.

With one last step, he was in a clearing, surrounded by rubble and remains of what was the Lurka Clan all about. He had finally arrived in the Lurka Ruins.

'Whoa, it's like a town.' Ging did not expect it to be quite large. It was definitely bigger than the recent ruins he had restored but not much larger than the Kongo Gold Vein ruins. If he had to estimate how long the restoration would take, he would say about a year.

He cautiously walked around, careful not to touch anything lest he further destroyed the already ruined...ruins. 'I have got to stop doing that pun.' He rolled his eyes.

The most intact ones were the walls of what seemed to be small houses. They were probably just deteriorating from nature, seeing the vines and moss covering them. Then, there were some symbols on the walls, odd trinkets lying on the ground, and even some weapons with dried blood on them.

'Conflict within the clan, huh?' Ging could see that happening from the weapons. The reason was still unknown to him but he could learn it during the restoration surely.

After a quick glance around the ruins, he stopped in the middle and let out a breath. He looked up with a smile. "Okay, time to inspect then."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ging took note of everything he could see that would be helpful. Carefully touching things to gauge the fragility, copying down the symbols and writings, even inspecting the soil and the surrounding foliage - he did what he had to do so that the restoration would run smoothly.

He reached a small, circular clearing when all of a sudden, a huge gust of wind passed. 'Huh, so it's windy here.' He looked around and made some deductions. 'Probably a place where they gather around a fire or something. Or a training ground? Maybe a ritual ground?' The possibilities were quite endless.

He was about to go back to the village when suddenly, he felt an incoming attack. He quickly threw himself to the side and watched as it impacted with a bush, which was sliced and torn to pieces. He did not see what was the attack. He only knew that it was the kind of attack that could potentially kill him.

Ging tried to sense who and where was the one attacking him. He had no time to focus on that though. Another attack came at him so he swiftly dodged that as well.

'Is it Nen? Could it be In?' He activated his Gyo and waited for the next attack. It came again and at his side. He glanced at it but still did not see anything. 'Could be Nen but it's not using In.'

Another one came from above. Ging dropped to the ground and waited for it to pass. The wind that the attack left almost blew away his turban. 'Wait, wind... Wind attacks? A wind-like Nen ability?' He had never heard of an ability that was like an elemental one. Nen was really versatile if that was the case.

Suddenly, continuous attacks came from all sorts of directions. Ging jumped, dodged, and side-stepped away as fast as he could just so that the attacks would not touch him. And he still had not sensed the user.

He decided to provoke the user. "Hey! What is this? Abata?"

To his shock, he got a reply...and it sounded like a female. "That's the wrong fandom!"

'Wow, who would've thought?' Ging heard the voice but since the wind attacks were still coming, he could not focus his hearing on where the voice came from. He had to use his ears to sense the upcoming attacks and dodge them.

And he did dodge them all. There was no pattern, just continuous attacks from everywhere and anywhere within the clearing. Sometimes there was only one, sometimes there were continuous attacks. It was difficult, especially since he could only rely on the sound and the occasional rustle of the leaves to notice where they would come from.

When the sun was setting, Ging was panting in exhaustion. His muscles were definitely stretched to their limits just so he could dodge the quite obnoxious attacks. His senses were strained and he was getting tired. He did not expect that the attacker could last that long using the ability.

But then, the attacks stopped coming. He was waiting for it however there was none. The sun had completely set and the night sky was beginning to darken the surroundings. He decided to not care anymore and fell on the ground on his back.

'I never had a fight like that...if it was even a fight.' Ging did not attack even once. He did not even know where the user was. He just jumped away from the wind attacks. 'If she - surely, she's a woman? - wants to attack, she will. I'll get myself ready in a few.' He kept his guard up though. He was not stupid enough to just relax from a potentially deadly attack. The wrecked land and plants were sufficient proof for that.

Staring up at the sky, Ging's brown eyes took in the stars that were beginning to appear one-by-one. It was amazing to him. He had never stargazed just after the sunset before. It was always a few hours after the sunset where he knew that all of the stars would be present.

He then felt someone drop beside him. He turned his head to look and it was a female that looked to be his age. Long, black hair with a tinge of green sprawled on the earth and big, hazel brown eyes stared right at him.

Ging did not know how to react seeing her. And so, he did what he did best. He kept quiet, turned to look back up at the sky, and tried to ignore the body beside him. To his surprise, the woman did not say anything to him either. When he looked at his peripheral vision, she was also staring up at the sky, the stars reflecting on her hazel brown eyes.

'How flowery.' Ging willed the flush on his cheeks to disappear. He was only describing what he was seeing. There was nothing else on it. He was only lying on the ground to rest his body. Some random person just suddenly dropped beside him without any invitation or permission from him, not that he cared really.

They were silent, did not look at each other, and just stared up at the stars. They did not know that it was going to be the first of many things done together.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Short, yes, but the next won't be. Abata = Avatar!

Expect in the next chapter: Gale, Beast, Jackpot

See you next time!