Chapter 4
Somewhere in the Kukan'yu Kingdom
Gon trudged his way up the sand dune. The sand shifted underneath his feet and waves of heat washed over him as he crested the top. Wind swept sand into his face, which stuck to the sweat that had started to bead on his forehead. Gon scanned the horizon. There was the shadow of some mountains in the distance, and there was the sea. Gon focused in on a particular area a few miles off and his face lit up. He turned, took a few steps back the way he had come, rotated again, and paused. With a burst of speed Gon launched himself forward and made a great leap from the top of the dune, head first, arms outstretched, laughing as he went. He hit the bank with a thud and started to slide and roll until he was at the bottom. Gon sat up, smiling, then looked back up the dune to the single sand trail he had made. The only disturbance to the smooth sands for miles. Gon's smile left his face as he turned towards his goal. He trudged onwards.
Ten minutes later, Gon knew he was getting close. The fresh scents carried on the headwind were much stronger now, so that he could tell the correct direction even in the dips of the massive dunes. When he did reach a crest, he could see the patch of greenery that meant only one thing in this part of the world, an oasis. It was much larger than Gon had been led to believe in the books he read on Whale Island, a far cry from a pond and palm tree. No, instead Gon saw a stretch of land covered in tufts of grass and bushes and trees leading on for almost a half-mile. Pools were dotted about, as were tents and campfires. Near the centre of the oasis was a very grand tent, almost like a circus big-top that Gon had seen once in Yorknew City. That is probably the best place to start looking, Gon thought.
As Gon made his final approach he took a moment to register all the information his considerable senses of hearing, sight and smell were giving him. Smoke from the woodfires in the tents. Laughter from children younger than he, playing some sort of ball game. The glint of semi-concealed daggers in the clothing of the adults. No one paid him much mind as he went, despite his relatively odd clothing and appearance. Perhaps they were used to strangers. When he got to the large tent however, two tall, bearded men in flowing white clothing barred his way.
"Do you have a gift for the Bondsmith?" one asked. The other stood with his best 'intimidation' face on.
Gon looked surprised. "A gift?" he queried.
"It is customary." said the intimidating one, giving Gon a nasty grin which revealed a gold tooth.
There was a long moment as Gon thought things through.
"I will give him an interesting story." Gon finally said with a firm nod.
"Hmm. Yes. That is the Bondsmith's favourite gift. You may pass." said the first man. The second only grinned wider.
Gon entered the tent.
Inside was a dazzling display of wealth. Everything from the bed-posts to the chandelier that dominated the ceiling seemed to be made of, or covered with, gold. Even the carpets were woven with gold thread. The gold was so pervasive that the air itself seemed to glow yellow. In the centre of the room was a chair – more like a throne really – and on that chair was an old man. His beard and hair were bone-white, his sandals tattered, and his nose crooked. As Gon approached, he noticed that the man's, the Bondsmith's, eyes were white.
Gon stood a respectful distance away and opened his mouth to speak, but the Bondsmith spoke first.
"So you have finally arrived." he croaked. "I thought you would have crossed the sand more quickly. Never mind. What is your name, boy?"
"Gon Freecss!" said Gon, a little louder than he intended.
"I'm blind, not deaf!" said the Bondsmith. "Now, let me have a look at you…"
"But-" Gon began.
"Quiet!" said the man. He then leaned forward, jutting out his chin in Gon's general direction. "Hmmm. I see…"
"Quiet!" he yelled again, as Gon lifted his finger to object. "You must have quite the tale to tell, young master Freecss. But first, my gift."
"Oh." said Gon. "I was going to tell you my story as a gift."
The old man's mouth hung open. "You cheeky little…! Never mind. Go on boy, tell me." he said, shaking his head.
And so Gon began to tell the Bondsmith everything that had happened since he left Whale Island to take the hunter's exam. He recounted his experiences as best he could, and when it came to details that he had not been there for but were relevant, he relied on other people's accounts. He gave the full and accurate truth, bar one detail. He did not reveal who or how he was healed, just that it involved nen. The old man listened intently until Gon was finished.
"That was awful!" he cackled. "Where was the romance? The political intrigue? The unexpected betrayal? Well, other than what you did to Killua!". The Bondsmith laughed until he started to cough.
Gon looked stricken. "But those things didn't happen!" he said.
"Well, make it up!" replied the Bondsmith. "I've listened to a thousand-thousand stories in my time, I'll know which parts are true. With an account such as yours it was hard, I'll admit, but you told no lies, eh?"
"Should I try again?" asked Gon.
"No, no. An honest boy like you would never be able to spin a good tale. Nonetheless, I enjoyed your story, so we'll move right ahead and discuss the reason for your visit, shall we? Be quiet! Good. I am, as you have no doubt found out before you came here, a dealer in nen. I knew what had happened to you before you walked through that door. And, I know how to fix it. Well, how it could be fixed, anyway. Well boy, do you want to know what's wrong?"
"Yes!"
"You made a contract that drained all your aura, and your potential aura, to beat that ant. Aura is lifeforce boy, you shouldn't be alive. But you are, which means whatever healing you had must have restored it. With me so far?"
Gon nodded firmly.
"So why can't you use nen to express your aura if it was restored? Because the contract is still on you, boy. The contract wants to drain all your aura to kill the ant, and it nearly did, but now your aura is back and the ant is dead. It's all gone wrong. So in a schism of nen law that even I don't understand, the contract cut off your supply of aura. Still with me?"
Another nod, more slowly this time.
"Now the debt needs to be paid. A portion of the aura you used in that fight with the ant needs to be poured back into the contract to break it."
Gon looked confused. "How do I do that?" he asked.
"You don't, you can't." came the Bondsmith's reply. "Your aura is sealed tight. You can't even detect it, or other people's. Someone else has to do it. Which is where I come in."
"You'll feed aura into the contract to break it?" said Gon.
"No. No! Stupid boy. This will take months, years even. I can't be stuck with you for that long! You'll have to find someone else. No, what I will do is to make a new nen contract between you and the poor soul you still need to find. Then you can share aura, and the debt will be paid off. Eventually. As the debt is paid, the contract will weaken, and you'll have limited access to your own aura."
Gon's eyes went wide. How am I going to find someone who will do that?, he thought.
"Of course, then there's the matter of payment. My advice you can have for free. The nen contract will be expensive for you though. You'll have to find a suitable payment for the third in this party as well. But you're a hunter, right? Shouldn't be a problem."
Gon sat down and stared hard at the floor. He had a lot to think about.
"Oh, oh! Here comes another one. Quiet for months, then two in one day. It never rains but it pours, they say. Let's see if he can cross the sands quicker than you, eh?" he said to Gon.
Killua raced across the sands, godspeed crackling. Time was of the essence; every moment wasted a moment Alluka was in danger. The sun was getting low in the sky. Suddenly, Killua was hit with someone's en. Killua almost fell over. He could have sworn the was no one around for miles, but there it was, a tendril of lifeforce leading off into the distance.
He must be powerful, thought Killua, but I think he's using a trick here. There's no way he could cover the entire area for miles around with his en, so I think he must push out a tendril and sweep it around in an arc until he finds something. He's like a radar!
There was nothing for it but to keep on going. All the en tendril really did was confirm Killua was on the right track. He sped on.
"That's more like it!" said the Bondsmith. "Here already. Tell him to come in!" he shouted to the men outside the tent flaps. Gon turned to face the entrance. The newcomer walked in.
Silence.
Gon looked up in shock at Killua with his mouth a perfect o. Killua, frozen mid step, looked down at Gon.
"What are you doing here?!" they cried out in perfect unison.
The Bondsmith roared with laughter.
Whew! That was a long chapter. Kudos to you if you make it this far :^) If you have and want more, leave a like or comment – it would mean a lot!
Thanks,
Snali ;P
