Mito knew for a fact that she would never get used to the quiet. For almost ten years now, her home had been noisy and busy; Gon had always had far too much energy, and often chose to spend it scurrying around the house or practicing his fighting techniques.

This would have been her cue to stamp her way upstairs to warn Gon to either go outside or to keep the noise down. "Unless you'd rather use some of that energy to help me with the chores?" she would add, with a knowing smile.

He would recoil instantly, a mildly horrified look appearing on his face, before racing outside as though she was going to change her mind if he were even a second too slow. After that, she usually wouldn't see him until dinnertime, although occasionally, he would forget to come home until after dark.

Now, though, she was left in a very different type of silence than the one she was used to. When Gon was here, it had been a respite, but now, the house was impenetrably quiet, as though any sound would just be swallowed up and never given back. She thought about this in between chopping up vegetables, gaining an increasingly uncomfortable awareness of the stagnant air around her, but she quickly severed that train of thought. Instead, she decided that what she needed most right now was a change of scenery to occupy her, so she unceremoniously dumped the vegetables into a pot for later and left for the market.

The sky was quite clear today, although the streets were still quite damp from the thunderstorm that had passed by the night before. With a start, she remembered that it had blown in from the west, the same direction that ferry had sailed in from. She chided herself for the automatic fear that welled up in her. There's nothing you can do about it. Just trust him to take care of himself.

"Freecss-san!" one of the fish vendors—it sounded like Kubara, although she wasn't entirely sure—called out to her from behind his counter. She waved in the direction of probably-Kubara's voice and made her way through the crowd over to the counter. Sure enough, it had been Kubara that had greeted her (she felt an incredible sense of relief at that; she would have felt terribly rude if it hadn't been).

"Hello, Kubara-san!" she replied, allowing herself to slip into an easy smile. "I'm truly sorry I couldn't come to work today. I've been feeling a bit under-the-weather today. I'll just have to work twice as hard tomorrow to make it up."

Kubara raised a bushy, cynical eyebrow at her. "Now, Freecss-san, don't go pushing yourself too hard on my account," he replied, and then he paused for a moment. "Although, we do miss you around here. I'm afraid some of the new hires are as dull as a brick and not half as useful," he chuckled, and was immediately met with a chorus of "I heard that!"

Mito flushed at the unwanted attention. "Don't tease them like that! I was hopeless too when I first started."

Kubara threw out a few more good-natured barbs to his captive audience of employees, and she laughed brightly in the right places, so that they would know that she was fine. However, she felt a mounting compulsion to be alone, so she hastily made her exit as soon as the opportunity revealed itself.

"Good to see you, Kubara-san," she called back at him.

Mito allowed her mind to wander as she walked along the port, distracted by the crashing of waves against the shore and the cries of seagulls squabbling over their territory. Of course, the residents of Whale Island were making plenty of noise of their own, but she found it surprisingly easy to filter out the sounds of the people.

Then came a sound even she couldn't ignore. A long white frigate, a bit larger than the usual fishing boats in the harbor, let out a long groan as it entered the harbor. It was moving quite quickly, and she immediately winced, knowing that the frigate would certainly run aground before coming to a stop. Fortunately, the frigate slowed down faster than seemed possible. Only then did she take notice of the logo emblazoned on the side of the ship: Two red X's enclosing a red diamond.

The Hunter Association.

What were they doing here? Was Ging returning to visit? Unlikely, certainly, but she had never truly understood how he thought, and he had done much stranger things before. Then, she felt the boiling hot anger welling up in her. If he truly had chosen to return—now, of all times, when Gon wouldn't even be able to meet him!—then not even all of his precious Hunter training would save him. She hurried towards the frigate, pushing through the growing crowd around the pier.

Although her view was partially blocked by a cluster of jostling shoulders, she managed to find a spot where she could see the passengers leaving the boat. The first to exit were all wearing a spotless white uniform, but the man behind them wore a dark purple suit (maybe to match his hair, which was a pleasant shade of lavender). Mito was surprised that there were so few passengers, and more than a little disappointed that Ging wasn't one of them, if she was honest. She turned away and set back the way she came, and soon, she noticed that the strange purple-haired man and his companions were walking in the same direction as her. She looked closer. Was walking even the right word for it? His strides were set at a walking pace, but they were impossibly long, as though his legs were stretching and contracting like an accordion with each pace. She thought she was walking fairly quickly, but he caught up to her with no effort at all.

Then, he waved at her, and she nearly had a heart attack on the spot. "Why, are you Mito Freecss?" the man asked cheerfully. It seemed that he already knew the answer as well as she did, but he paused for a moment to allow her to answer.

"Y-yes, sir," she finally answered. "Forgive me for asking, but who are you, exactly?"

The man's eyes crinkled in delight, as though her question had been entirely unexpected. "An excellent question! I am Satotz, a Ruins Hunter of the Hunter Association." To Mito's surprise, he did not elaborate any further, only answering the question immediately asked of him. She barely suppressed a groan. This conversation was going to be awkward.

"What brings you out here? We certainly don't get many Hunters out as far as Whale Island," she remarked, a hint of annoyance slipping through in her voice.

Mito saw the barest flicker of emotion flicker across his face, gone as soon as it had come. She hoped he hadn't noticed her annoyance and become offended. However, when he spoke, his voice was lower and gentler. "Ah, Miss Freecss, you certainly get to the point. You and Gon-kun have that much in common."

Wait, was this about Gon?

"You met him?" Mito asked.

"Yes, Miss Freecss."

Mito paused, pulling the words together inside her before speaking them. "And is he alright?"

"I'm afraid… we don't know. Miss Freecss, your nephew is missing."

Four days ago:

It was the beginning of a marvelous game. Hisoka Morow had been finishing up his hunt (yet another depressingly mediocre Hunter wannabe, but beggars can't be choosers). He leapt into the air, closing in for the proverbial kill when he felt a new presence burst into his notice, Nen exploding outward from a singular point within a nearby bush. It must have been Zetsu then. No sooner had he taken notice of his new prey than a projectile sailed out of the bush and towards his tag. A red bobber, attached to a thin line of string.

The bobber held fast on his tag, caught by the tiny metal hooks protruding from its sides. Hisoka considered plucking off the bobber or cutting the fishing line, but stopped himself immediately out of curiosity, so with a jerk on the line, the tag went flying back toward the boy in green.

The boy began running as fast as his legs would carry him, but was quickly intercepted by another hunter who had been waiting to ambush the unsuspecting child. Soon enough, the boy was sprawled out on the ground, completely immobilized by some nerve agent, and the other wannabe was walking away with both badges. Hisoka wasn't a fan of poisons even on the best of days—they struck him as the weapon of a coward who didn't want to finish their battles. But worst of all, the wannabe had turned his back once he finished giving his utterly bland monologue to his captive audience. Hisoka now knew that the man was utterly worthless. A Hunter never turned their back, not unless they had a death wish or were just painfully stupid.

"7,000 times I could have killed you over the past two days," the Hunter had gloated. Hisoka snorted. Was the little Hunter aware that he could have killed him twenty-three times over since the beginning of his droll little speech? Besides, counting openings like that was meaningless. If the man was worth anything as a Hunter, he would have struck at the first opening he spotted and killed his prey immediately. Anything past that was the arrogance of a predator who only knew how to hunt for sport.

So Hisoka quelled his bloodlust, lodging a nine of clubs squarely in his esophagus. The man was not worth allowing to live; he had already fulfilled his pitiful potential, and he'd had the nerve to attempt to steal the prey of a superior predator.

"My, what beautiful form!" he exclaimed, sitting down cross-legged on the patch of dry grass in front of the boy. "You managed to surprise even me. Tell me, where did you learn to hide yourself from notice like that?"

The boy trembled with fear now, but to his credit, managed to keep his voice level. "Nobody taught me, if that's what you mean. I figured it out from watching the animals..." the boy trailed off, before admitting begrudgingly, "and you."

Hisoka gasped. "You are truly something special," he told the boy. "You know, little hunter, you're quite the hot topic up at the headquarters. It seems you even managed to impress the nasty old geezer who runs things with that little ballgame."

Gon's eyes widened quite noticeably, but he didn't respond. Hisoka had to resist a giggle. Surely the boy didn't think he would have gone unnoticed, with raw, beautiful potential like he had? Clearly he had much to learn about the true nature of the Hunter Association. Thankfully, he would soon be taught.

The man who had hired him a few weeks before had taken great pains to conceal his identity, wearing a thick, boxy cloak in order to hide his frame.

"During the Hunter Exams, please look out for a boy with dark-green hair," the man told him. "This boy is named Gon Freecss. I would love to meet him, if you would be so kind as to bring him to me."

"What's so important about some snot-nosed little brat? Is he supposed to be strong?" Hisoka had asked.

The man sighed. "You've got quite the case of tunnel vision, haven't you? But no matter. To answer your question, the boy is rather strong for his age, but that's not what makes him so fascinating. Just think for a minute. I'll even give you a hint. What's the boy's surname?"

Hisoka paused to consider that. The man had said his last name was Freecss. "Do you mean that this boy related to the Boar Zodiac?"

The man chuckled. "Exactly. The boy is the son of Ging Freecss. Unfortunately, Ging abandoned his cute little son ten years ago, so the boy is now following in his footsteps by taking the Hunter Exams. However, Ging is still quite devoted to his son, more than he would ever care to admit. I believe he has convinced himself that he is acting in the boy's best interest by severing contact. How would you like to show him the error of his deadbeat ways?"

Hisoka could only nod, breathless at the opportunity which had just revealed itself.

"Excellent. Then this will be your mission: You will take the Hunter Exam one final time, but you will not finish it. Instead, you will retrieve the son of Ging Freecss during the Hunter Exam without drawing suspicion to me. I don't care how you do it, but I would prefer the boy alive if it's not too much trouble.

"I don't mind you drawing attention to yourself, however," the man continued, as though sensing the unspoken question. "I know how badly you want to fight the Boar. That is the way of the strong, after all, to test their strength until it inevitably fails them," the man punctuated his statement with a wry laugh, "but then again, what would I know about something like that?"

Hisoka shook his head. His employer was one of the strangest Hunters he had ever met, and they disagreed on almost everything important about the Hunter Association. No, the true "way of the strong", as his employer had put it, was to cull the weak from the world, those who would never rise above their stations. But impulsive as he was, Hisoka was not so headstrong as to disagree with the man who wrote his paycheck.

"If I take this job, I have two conditions," he said. "I want to receive my Hunter's License once I bring him to you. And I don't want to be paid in money. I want to fight you." The man laughed again, more genuinely this time. It lilted and swayed gently in the air. "I'm afraid I won't be half as interesting to fight as you might think. But I accept your conditions. Bring the boy here without being followed, and I will give you a hunt to remember."

The man had utterly lied to him, he was absolutely certain. Hisoka had added his second condition because of what he sensed from the strange Hunter: His Nen was perfectly pleasant: smooth and unassuming, and Hisoka was reminded of a reflecting pond. Nobody had Nen that normal, especially not a high-ranking Hunter, which could only mean that this man was the best liar he had ever met.

So now he would deliver the boy to his employer and be done with him as soon as possible. As much as Hisoka ached to watch the boy grow stronger before his own eyes, he knew it would only spoil the thrill of the hunt, knowing what he was capable of. Better to let the boy scrape by on his own, learning the ways of the world so he might make for a nice tasty morsel when the day of the hunt came. The boy wouldn't die before his time; Hisoka was absolutely certain of this. He had already seen the brightness behind the young hunter's eyes, burning with the will to survive.

"Gon-kun, it's about time for us to go. Don't scream now, for both of our sakes," Hisoka drawled.

"What do you mean?" Gon squeaked. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I won't do anything to you, for now. You're much too interesting for any of that!"

Hisoka yanked Gon roughly from the ground and slung him over his shoulder, already breaking into a run. Details came sharply into focus, as they did during all his best hunts. Barbs of wind tore at his face and arms, and the crunch of leaves and twigs under his feet seemed impossibly loud, announcing his location to all. Perhaps this was what fear felt like: the knowledge that if you make a mistake, you will die. That your life has been wrenched out of your own hands and into those of another. In a way, it was more beautiful than anything in the world.

A/N:

So ends the first chapter of my first ever fanfiction! I'd love to hear any constructive criticism you have, so don't hesitate to review. Also, I am taking suggestions for what Nen ability to give Pariston (since it is unspecified in canon), so I'd love to hear any ideas that you all have.