* Beep *

* Beep *

* Beep *

The sounds of medical machines beeping, smell of disinfectants, medicines, and old and fresh blood hung in the air of a underground hospital.

Numerous people came and laid on hospital beds around as they were treated, in a corner Ikalgo and Mira sat in a corner near a hospital bed, with an unconscious Killua laying on it.

Huha I'm so bored, there's nothing to do here, and I'm getting hungry. " Mira thought as she yawned loudly, shifting a bit on the stool she sat on next to Ikalgo.

Ikalgo had brought Killua and Mira to this back ally hospital in a nearby city, and now sat waiting by his bedside now that he was out of surgery.

Though for Mira, all the waiting, silence, and nothing to do, was making her restless, evident with her repeatedly tapping her foot on the floor, and drumming her fingers on her knee.

" So, do you think he'll be okay? " Mira asked curiously as she lazily looked to Ikalgol, while propping her head up with her left hand.

" The doctors did the best they could, thankfully we got him here the nick of time, and the surgery went well. " Ikalgo said with a sigh of relief as he looked at the unconscious human with smile.

" That's good to hear, how bad was he hurt anyway? " Mira asked as she looked over Killua's bandaged body.

" He has several puncture wounds on his arms and legs, some went all the way through his limbs, and some didn't."

" He also had some internal bleeding from the puncture wound on his abdomen, a torn earlobe, and has lost a lot of blood. " Ikalgo said as he went over what the doctors told him.

" Hmm, so who are you two, I never got to ask either of your names back then. " Mira said with a innocent smile, even though she knew their names already.

" Oh sorry about that, I'm Ikalgo, and this person is Killua, and as you can see I'm not human, I'm a chimera ant. " Ikalgo said as he gestured to himself, currently wearing clothes to blend in with humans.

" But don't worry I'm not bad, I'm not working with the other ants anymore, so you can trust me. " Ikalgo said nervously as he hope to convince the young girl.

" My name's Nia, so your a chimera ant huh, I've heard a lot about those on the news. " Mira said as she innocently smiled at Ikalgo, introducing herself under a false name she quickly thought of.

" But if your one of them, why didn't you attack me back in the cave, and why did you take the time and effort to save a human life? " Mira asked curiously, wondering why Ikalgo betrayed his species.

" Because, this guy looked past my appearance, and showed me kindness to someone like me, and wanted to be my friend, even thought of me as a cool guy. "

" And even though we were enemies at the time, he saved by life when he didn't have to, that's why I chose to save him. " Ikalgo said with certainty, smiling as he looked at Killua.

So that's why, if these two can become friends, maybe I can befriend them as well, though I feel bad that I can't be completely honest with them. "

" But at the same time, I'm the chimera ant queen, an enemy to them, and I doubt they'd be willing to be friends with me if they knew who I really was, so I'll just have to be careful. " Mira thought as she sat there.

" Wow, that's really touching, sounds to me like your both cool guys, I think we can be friends as well. " Mira said as she looked at Ikalgo and Killua, and reached out a hand to the octopus.

" Of course, you saved his life as well, that makes you a friend in my book, and I saw what you did to those fish twins, that was one impressive shot back there. " Ikalgo said with a smile as he shook Mira's hand, confirming the friendship between them.

" Yay, I made a friend at last, I'm so happy! " Mira thought with a big happy smile,

" So, do you think he'll wake up anytime soon? " Mira asked curiously, eager to talk to Killua and try to befriend him as well.

" I highly doubt it after all he's been through, he'll probably be out cold for a few days, but don't worry he'll be okay. " Ikalgo said, seeing Mira's expression and thinking she was worried about Killua.

" A few days, there's no way I can wait that long, I want to explore the city, and have to head back home before it gets to late.

" But I want least introduce myself to this Killua and ask him to be my friend before I go. " Mira thought in frustration, struggling to make up her mind.

" You want something to read, there's not much, but they've got some books and magazines? " Ikalgo asked as he got up from his stool.

" Sure, I'd like a book. " Mira said nonchalantly, still looking at Killua.

" Any particular subject you want to read about? " Ikalgo asked as he looked her, not knowing what she would be interested in.

" Hmm, something that goes into detail about art with pictures, if they have anything like that." Mira said with a bored tone.

" Okay, I'll be back in a sec. " Ikalgo said, before going to get their reading material.

" Hmm. " Killua groaned, as he slowly opened his blue eyes.

" Where, where am I? " Killua thought in confusion as he saw an unfamiliar white ceiling.

" Oh your awake, I was worried about you, how are you feeling? " Mira asked cheerfully as she sensed Killua was now awake, glad to have to something relieve her of her boredom.

" You, your that girl from before, back in the underground lake." Killua asked, recalling seeing the girl shortly before he passed out.

" Yeah, I'm Nia, me and Ikalgo saved you, it's nice to meet you, I'm glad you're okay. " Mira said with a smile as she pointed at Ikalgo who was returning with two books in hand.

" Oh, your awake already, how are you feeling? " Ikalgo asked, back from getting some books, placing them down on his stool and walked up to Killua's bedside.

" I'm fine. " Killua said as he tried to sit up, but found he was struggling to do that much, and felt very groggy and out of it.

" Hey you need to lay down, you just came out of surgery two hours ago." Ikalgo said, gently getting Killua to lay back down on the bed.

" Fine, say Nia, your not bothered by Ikalgo's appearance, I guess you know about chimera ants right? " Killua asked, seeing how calm Mira was around Ikalgo.

" Yeah I know what they are, I've had to deal with some of them in my travels in this country. " Mira said, referring to the two fish chimera she killed while saving Killua.

" So, your not from this country, where did you come from originally? " Killua asked, curious to find out more about the mysterious girl.

" I'm originally from NGL, but I left there some time ago, I wanted to explore and see what things were like in the outside world. " Mira said nonchalantly as she talked about herself, but not revealing too much.

" All by yourself, how old are you, where are your parents? " Ikalgo asked, afraid that the chimera ants might have killed them.

" I'm old enough to go out on my own, and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, as you've both seen for yourselves. " Mira said with a cute childish pout as she folded her arms in annoyance.

" As for my parents, my mom died some time ago, and I never knew my dad. " Mira said sadly as her eyes became distant, remembering the few memories she had of her mother.

The only memories she had, was during the time she was awake in the former Ant Queen's womb, and when she occasionally spoke directly to her and her brother during so.

" I see, sorry to hear that. " Ikalgo said somberly, feeling sad for the young girl.

" It's alright, anyway it was nice talking to you both, but I've got to get going. " Mira said as she stood up and brushed off her dress.

" Your leaving? " Ikalgo asked as he looked at the young girl getting up.

" Yeah, I've got places to be before it gets dark, it was nice meeting you both, and I'm glad we became friends. " Mira said cheerfully with a smile.

" Friends, we just met. " Killua said with a confused tone.

" Huh, b-but I helped save your life, that make us friends, right? " Mira asked in a confused and shocked pleading tone, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

" I helped him, and I saved his saved his life like Ikalgo did, and they became friends, I did the same thing, so what did I do wrong!? " Mira thought n confusion, recalling her actions and trying to find where she messed up.

" Huh, your right, you did do that, I suppose that does make us friends. " Killua said, remembering how this young girl came to his rescue, and easily killed two fish chimera soldiers.

" Wait you mean it, we're really friends now? " Mira asked as she stared wide eyed at Killua, wanting to make sure she heard him right.

" Yeah, I guess we are. " Killua replied with a faint smile, amused by Mira's childish behavior, reminding him of Gon when they first met.

" She must not have many friends, she seems to be a little odd ,socially awkward, and very energetic too, kinda reminds me of my youngest sister. " Killua thought with a smirk, recalling some fond memories from his childhood.

" Yay, this is great, but as wonderful as this is, I really need to be going now, it was great meeting you both. "

" I hope to see you both again, hopefully next time will be under better circumstances, bye you two. " Mira said with a happy smile, before she started heading to leave the back alley hospital.

" Bye Nia, and thanks for your help. " Ikalgo said as he waved goodbye to her as she began to be on her way.

" Huha, I suddenly feel so tired, wait my eyes are starting to feel heavy too, I can't... keep them open much longer, crap I need to...call Gon and the others..." Killua thought as he slowly fell asleep, finally succumbing to his fatigue as it began to catch up to him.

" Ahh, it's nice to be out of that place, wow the sun has moved a lot since the last time I saw it. " Mira said in a slightly shocked tone as she left the back ally hospital building.

She saw the was sun hanging very low in the now darker blue sky, not far from setting on the horizon, which meant that it would be nighttime soon.

" I wonder what time it is, huh what's wrong with my phone, the screen won't come on, is it broken? " Mira thought as she fiddled with her IPhone, not realizing it's battery was dead.

" Oh no, I just got this phone, I hope Pitou will know how to fix it, I got some nice pictures of her on this I don't want to lose.

" Huha, nothing I can do about it now, I'll have to see above it getting fixed when I head back" Mira thought as she pocketed the dead phone.

" Now then, since my mission is complete, I'm free to do as I please, and since it's my first time to a city, it's time to explore! " Mira thought with excitement, smiling happily as she looked at the city before her.

" This number is currently unavailable at this time, please try again at later time, or leave a message after hearing the beep. " Came a digital voice of a voicemail.

" Hmm, why isn't Lady Mira answering her phone, could she have accidentally turned the ringer off? " Pitou thought as she looked at her phone.

She was sitting cross legged on top on the one of the pillars on the palace's rooftop, looking worriedly at her phone.

Her worry was evident to see to all, form her crouched and tensed sitting posture, her tucked tail, and slightly flattened ears and tense expression.

She had already called Mira's phone three times, to which it immediately went to voicemail, making her more worried as more time passed.

" It shouldn't have taken them this long to hunt and taken down a single hunter for Lady Mira, she should have called me by now."

" So should Leol have by now as well, did the hunter turn out to be stronger than anticipated, did something happen? " Pitou thought worriedly as she called Leol's cell phone.

" H-Hello Lady Pitou. " Leol's said with a hint of nervousness, as he finally answered after four rings.

" I can't seem to reach Lady Mira on her phone, I hand her your phone so I can talk to her. " Pitou said as soon as Lion chimera answered the call.

" Uh, about that y-you see Lady Pitou, Lady Mira... isn't here right now. " Leol said nervously, trying to find the right words.

" Huh, your not with her, then contact whoever is, and tell them to tell her to come to you so you can give her your phone since I can't reach her on her's. " Pitou said with a sigh.

" W-Well, you see, we uhh, we...we don't...we don't know where she is. " Leol said slowly as he nervously informed Pitou of Mira's status.

" ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU'VE LOST LADY MIRA!? " Pitou yelled as she stood on her feet in less then a second.

Her protective instincts immediately went into high gear, all of Pitou's hair stood on end like needles, as she felt white hot anger well up within her upon hearing this dreadful news.

At the same time she felt her blood go ice cold, knowing that Mira was unguarded, and fearing what could have happened to her.

" W-W-We are relentlessly searching for her as we speak, w-we'll find her Lady Pitou. " Leol said nervously, feeling the intense killing intent and anger from Pitou's tone.

" For your sake you'd better, you have till sunset. " Pitou said with an emotionless cruel tone as she habe him his deadline, her voice as cold as the frozen Arctic, before ending the call.

" Lady Mira, she's all alone out there, it was foolish of me to not of think of the possibility of losing contact with her, or that she might get separated from Leol and the others. "

" If only I had thought of asking her and the king of having her assigned one of us Royal guards to accompany her, if anything were to happen to her. " Pitou thought, feeling great shame and disappointment in herself as a Royal Guard.

" I need to inform the King of this, Lady Mira, I hope your okay. " Pitou thought worriedly, looking in the direction she saw Mira went in earlier that day, before heading inside the palace.

" Huha. " Leol signed heavily as he realised a breath he was unknowingly holding in, slumping and leaning against a nearby tree as he sat down, his legs suddenly feeling weak.

" Flutter, please tell me you've found something to help us find Lady Mira. " Leol said tierdly to Flutter telepathically.

" I'm afraid not Leol-sama, and our remaining squad members have also reported the same. " Flutter said apologetically through the telepathic line.

" Huha, this is bad, real bad, if we don't find lady Mira before sunset, none of us will live to see tomorrow. " Leol said flatly through the telepathic link, looking tierdly up at the sky.

" I'm terribly sorry Leol-sama, this is all my fault, if I had sent some Satellite dragonflies in a the cave, we might not be in this situation. " Flutter said, his shame clear in his voice.

" Don't blame yourself, the enemy would probably have notice them, you made the right call back then, we'll just have to expand our search grind and double our hefforts. " Leol said as he stood up and dusted his clothes off.

" Yes Leol-sama, I'll have finished looking over this whole area soon, then I will send some dragonflies to scout that nearby city. " Flutter said, as he directed his Satellite dragonflies through the forest.

" Alright, let me know as soon as you've found anything. " Leol said telepathically before he cut the link.

" Huha, what a mess. " Leol said with a heavy sigh, as he walked through the forest to help his squad in the search for the young ant queen.

" Wow, there's so many humans here, I've never seen so many before, there's way more here than there were we took Killua. " Mira thought as she explored the city.

She moved completely hidden among the crowds of humans, with her consciously using Void Presence, to block all perception of her from others.

" Huh, what's that smell, I'm smelling so many different things I haven't before, smells delicious. " Mira thought as she caught a whiff of something in the air.

She jumped from street lamps and light posts to avoid the crowds, quickly heading in the direction of the intriguing smells

" Oh wow, this is amazing, there's all kinds of food I've never seen before around here! " Mira thought as she explored where she tracked the source of the smells had lead her.

The smells lead her to an area with restaurants, and a open market nearby, with food vendors, produce stalls, and butcher shops.

The tantalizing smells of food filled the air, and sights of various freshly cooked and raw foods lined the numerous stalls and vendors.

" This place is amazing, there's so many kinds of food, I don't know which to choose, oh that looks good! " Mira thought as she caught sight of something intriguing.

As she head to a food stall, the sign on top displaying they sold poultry, in pieces, whole, and as cooked or raw.

" Wow, so those are chickens, ducks, and they have so many more here, amazing. " Mira thought as she walked up to the counter.

She looked over the various choices of whole poultry, hanging on a metal hook on a metal rack in front of the shop.

The left side had whole raw poultry, and the right side had cooked, having never smelled cooked food before, Mira's attention was drawn more to the cooked ones.

" Wow, they smell so good, I bet they'd taste great, wonder what these slips of paper with numbers mean, maybe it's the weight. " Mira thought as she noticed the price tags on them.

Since she was never taught about economic value, or even the concept of money, she no clue what the price tags meant, and didn't know about money.

" Now which one do I pick, oh that one looks good, and it smells delicious. " Mira thought, seeing a large, freshly deep fried chicken placed on a hook and hung with the rest.

With no effort, Mira jumped up high enough to grab the fried chicken off the metal rack, a couple of napkins, and wWalk off with it in hand.

Thanks to her ability Void Presence still blocking all perception and awareness of her from others, no one saw her take the cooked chicken and walk off with it.

" Hmm, this smells amazing, I bet it will taste even better. " Mira thought after she sat down on a wooden bench she found after a short walk away.

* Crunch! *

* Hmm delicious, it's so crispy and crunchy on the outside, and so tender and juicy on the inside, and its got lots of flavor! " Mira thought as she took a large bite, proceeding to eat the rest of it.

" Ahh, that was really good, but I'm still hungry, wonder what else they have here. " Mira thought as she wiped her hands and mouth clean, having eating the whole chicken, even all the bones.

After tossing the metal hook from the chicken in a nearby trash bin, Mira sat there and enjoyed the sights as she watched people walk by.

As she sat on here she noticed a young man and women standing at a ice cream vendor stall while holding hands, looking the options.

Then after watching them chat a bit, they kissed, after they got their ice cream and walked on down the street.

" Wonder why those two humans are holding each other's hands like that, and what was that they did with their mouths? " Mira thought curiously as she pondered what she saw.

" Those two certainly look like their having fun. " Mira thought as she stared at the smiling and laughing young couple, suddenly feeling lonely.

" Hmm, I wish Pitou was here, I'm sure she would have fun, better then being cooped up in the palace. " Mira thought, thinking of the pale cat chimera.

" Oh I know, I'll bring back some stuff for the others while I'm here, I'm sure there's something there they'd like. " Mira thought with a smile as she got up, letting her nose lead her around as she continued to explore.

She went to several vendor and food stalls, grabbing and trying all the new food that smelled good and caught her eye.

" Hmm, it's pretty late right now, I better be heading home now, I hope brother and the others like what I've got them. "Mira thought as she looked at the large cooler she in each hand, each full of various kinds of foods she had tried.

After seeing the sun's current position, and after she gathered what she liked best, and what she thought her brother and the Royal guards would like.

After she was done, Mira decided to call it with her trip, and decided to head for an alley she knew would take her out of the open market area.

" Hmm, I wonder where I can find directions back to the palace, if only I had a map, then I could find where the City Peijin is. "

"Though I wouldn't be having this problem, if my stupid phone was working, then I could use that App thing Pitou put on it that showed a map my location on it . " Mira thought irritability while fiddling with her phone as she walked down numerous alleys.

" Maybe I should head to this city's train station is, yeah that seems like the easiest way to get there . " Mira thought, consciously enabling her Void Presence to let others who saw her notice her, but only see her as a human.

" Well, well, look at what we have here boys . "

" Hmm? " Mira said, looking up from her dead phone after she rounded a corner

Seeing three grown young men, standing near a small staircase leading to a door in the alley, looking at her as they stood up.

One wore black hoodie, beige T-shirt, brown jeans, and dark shoes, with thick metal rings on all his fingers.

Another guy wore a light blue tank top, grey pants and red tennis shoes with white sports tape wrapped around his fingers, hands, and wrists

The last guy wore a short sleeved white slick T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and light brown tennis shoes, and all three men had toned built bodies.

" Oh I see aura around these three, so these are special humans, though they look pretty weak. " Mira thought as looked at the three young men, seeing aura around their silhouettes.

Though thanks to Void Presence concealing the Mira's aura from detection, the three men couldn't sense or see any aura from her.

Suddenly, Mira felt her stomach growl, and an intense hunger a moment later, much to Mira's annoyance as she felt the sensation.

" Why am I so hungry again, I ate a bunch of food earlier, I guess it wasn't very filling. " Mira thought, recalling all the human food she ate earlier.

" Hey girly, your trespassing on our gang's turf, if you don't want trouble, you best hand over all your money. " guy in the white t-shirt said, as he and the other two walked up and circled around her.

" How annoying, I just want to get back home already, if I wasn't carrying these stuffed coolers, I'd just jump my way across the city. " Mira thought with a frown, readjusting jer grip on the coolers in her hands.

" Well girl, you got money or what? " One of the men asked loudly irritable tone, seeing Mira was unresponsive.

" These humans are annoying, and I'm so hungry. " Mira thought, as her mind focused on the feeling of her hunger.

" Hey girl, you listening! " On the young men said threateningly, leaning down and getting in Mira's face.

* Crunch, splat! *

Before any of the young men could even register want happened, a sickening crunch and splat was heard, as the guy leaning down in Mira's face had a big chunk of his head missing

What happened, was that in less then a second, Mira had bitten 1/3rd of the man's head off, bitting into his skull like it was a eggshell.

" Hmm, so this is what fresh special humans tastes like, very tasty. " Mira thought as she chewed and swallowed, closing her eyes afterwards, savoring the taste of raw human Nen user meat.

" Eh? " One of there remaining two guys said, looking at the man on the floor, whose head now was missing a large chunk.

Then they looked at the young girl standing in front of them, whose mouth, neck, and spots of the front her clothes were now coated and dripping with fresh blood.

When the two young men finally realized what had happened, fear gripped them immediately, realizing what the young girl just did.

As they stood there paralyzed with fear, their survival instincts screamed at them that they were in mortal danger and to run.

Then one of the guys hesitantly moved his foot a half step in preparation to make move, the other guy did as well.

Though this proved to be a fatal mistake, the action instantly getting Mira's attention, causing her to open her eyes and look at them with a blank stare.

" #$%&! " The two young men thought as Mira focused her eyes on them, sensing they were being viewed as prey.

Taking a chance, they channeled their Nen and used Ten to enhance their bodies speed and stamina, and then tried to make a break for it.

* Swish! *

Then, before two guys could even blink, make a sound, or move an inch, their necks were suddenly sliced nearly clean through, splattering the right ally wall with blood.

" Huh, odd what just happened, I sensed they used Ten, and I thought they were to run away and I couldn't use my hands because of these coolers. "

" I didn't want to put them down on the ground and get dirty, so I didn't know what to do, then I suddenly felt something move on my back, in fact I still do. " Mira thought feeling and odd sensation from her back.

" Oh wow, I have a tail, I didn't even know I had one, it reminds me of brothers, though its a quite different, but still this is amazing! " Mira thought in excitement as she looked behind her.

There behind her, extended from underneath her skirt, was indeed a tail, it was fifteen feet long, as thick as a garden hose, smooth, and was a non- reflective jet black.

The tail looked to resemble a scorpion tail, and extended from her lower back, if you looked close enough, you would see it had segmented V shaped joints across it.

And at the end of the tail, was a nine inches long, thin, razor sharp, and dark crimson, blade-like stinger, with had a few drops of fresh blood falling from the it's tip.

" Wow, this is amazing! " Mira thought happily as she playfully moved her newly discovered tail around as she tested its moments.

" Wonder how if I can conceal it somehow? " Mira thought pondered as she closed her eyes and placed Jer hands on her hips in thought.

Seeming to responded into her thoughts, Mira felt her tail quickly retract back underneath her skirt and into her body, sliding underneath her skin.

" Wow feels so natural, like a third arm, neat, good to know I can do this. " Mira thought, as she extended and retracted her tail in and out of her back a few times

Then once again Mira felt her still present hunger, focusing her attention back to the three humans she killed, smelling the scent fresh blood meat.

Mira then used her tail to hold the coolers of food, then in a blink of an eye, Mira was on the headless body of the first human.

Proceeding to tear and rip into the body like a starving animal, gorging and eating with no restraint as she used her her sharp nails and teeth.

* Crunch, rip, crunch, tear, crunch! *

She ate the eyes, most of the skin, the rest of the brain, then tore off the arms, legs, ripped out the ribs, and heart.

Then she ripped open the torso and plunged her face in the viscera, gorging on the liver, kindness, pancreas, and intestines as she lapped up the blood, doing the same to the other two bodies.

* Clank *

" Hm? "

Hearing something hit the ground, Mira paused her eating on the third body, lifting her blood smeared face, she looked at where the sound came from.

Looking down at the ground, Mira saw an phone laying near the pant's pocket of the body she was currently eating .

" Oh a phone, it must be this human's, and it's working too, nice now I can find a map and get home! " Mira said happily as she opened a map app on the phone.

" Hmm so I'm here, and Peijin is over there, and the palace is here, I should make be able to make it back if I take a train there. "

" Alright that's what I'll do, but since I've got some time so I'll finish eating, then I'll get going. " Mira thought, as she pocketed the phone and went back to eating.

" Ahh, that was great and filling. " Mira thought as she licked the blood form her lips, having finished eating what she wanted from the three bodies.

"oh no I got blood all over my clothes now, I guess I'll have to have them washed when I get back. " Mira thought with a slight frown as she examined her dress.

The once pristine amethyst dress, was now coated and splattered with fresh blood, from the neck, down to the skirt.

" Well there's nothing I can do about, time to go home, wonder how brother and the others have been?" Mira thought curiously, walking out of the bloody alley.

She left unnoticed by anyone, consciously enabling her Void Presence to block all perception of her from others before she left the alley.

As she left the bloody alley behind, she looked at the map on her newly obtained phone, and made her way to the train station to head home.

" While this trip was certainly fun, I can't wait to tell brother and the other's, and hopefully they'll like these snakes I bring back. " Mira thought as she rode on top of a train heading for Peijin, enjoying the wind in hair.

Now, after making some friends, and finishing her first trip to a city, the young ant queen now makes her way back home.

How will things go when she returns, only time will tell.