From Dark 'til Dawn
by Hunter K (former GW)

disclaimer: HxH (c) Yoshihiro Togashi.

Chapter 1:
+ Greed Island +

The nightlife at York shin is extravagant compared to Whale Island's. It's 9:00 pm yet the streets boost with people, some rushing for their graveyard shifts and some relaxing after the very tiring day. But the group has no time to experience the excitement of the city nightlife for they are after the most expensive game soft ever… Greed Island.

With Jin being one of the programmers of the known hunter game, Gon believes that through it he can uncover a way to find his father.

The four of them made their way at the Southern Piece Auction House. The registration and entrance fees were a bit stiff; no wonder why only those who stand out in business industries are invited on such glamorous occasions. But they are hunters, and there's no way those business typhoons could stand against them. The four of them entered the auction room. They were elegantly clad. Gon in green, Killua in purple, Leorio in blue and Kurapika in white suit, no one knows whose idea was the rainbow thing but they sure look like they just came from a prism while walking side by side. The group divided into two sets; Gon and Killua, and Leorio and Kurapika.

The auction was boring as Gon thought. It really was. All were silent, raising their hands, forming signs that are nearly faint to understand. But Gon's boredom ended when he saw Killua, raising his hand with palms wide open.

And the auction master said, "Five times! That'd be 255 billion guineas!"

The green kid's eyes almost bulged at the amount. "Do you know how much is that?" he confronted his friend while his left hand pointed at the auction master's direction. "Where are we gonna get such money?" Killua just stared blankly, silently, before cracking into a guilty smile.

"Okay, I'll lend you money…", Miruki Zoaldyeck finally answered after contemplating for at least half an hour and finishing 20 orders of Takoyaki.

"YES!", Gon and Killua energetically shouted in unison, while Kurapika and Leorio just smiled and shook their head at the two.

"One, condition…"

"What?", Killua shouted, making most of the diners turn their heads at them. "You are lending us the money! It's not like we're not gonna swindle you!"

Gon turned to his friend after bobbing his head to the other customers for apology. "Kill, lower your voice."

"Okay. Take it, or leave it?" the fat guy said, still munching his last bite of Takoyaki and downing it with soda.

Killua glared at this, his eyes turning blank.

"Don't scare me, brother."

Killua just fixed his stare.

Gon shook his head. "It's not like we got choice anyway…"

Kurapika stared. "Tell me your terms, before we settle."

Miruki smiled contentedly, his eyes shrinking into mere slits before turning serious. He leaned forward, spreading his gaze at the four in front of him. He lowered his voice, saying, "I wanted the four of you to play the game for me."

"Deal!", Gon shouted excitedly.

"Brat," Miruki turned to Gon and spat, "I'm not done yet!"

Gon just nodded meekly, a goofy smile still plastered on his face.

"You are going to look for four valuable items in the game." Miruki's voice lowered, making the group lean on the table to hear him. "It is rumored that these items can be taken outside the game. Make sure you can get all four and you don't have to pay."

"DEAL!" the four shouted in unison, which made all the people in the vicinity stare at them in the umpteenth time this day.

The team stood in front of the game console. It was but a tiny box of metallic blue, yet what's inside was the mystery.

"Okay. All ready?", Miruki asked after telling them about the items they are about to bring.

The remainder of the group just nodded, except Gon, who jumped up and down spiritedly (like a frog expecting the rain), shouting, "Yeah! Let's go beat this game!"

"Just remember. Your lives are at stake. No saving points. No re-spawn points. Just mere live or die. Understand? Be sure to bring the items with you when you're done with the game.", Miruki said seriously, stuffing handfuls of chips into his mouth.

All of them nodded, signaling the beginning of the game.

AND… THE GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH STARTED…

Four bodies lay lifeless on the floor. All their souls departed to enter the RPG world. Miruki stared at the monitor while the game started the introduction. The narrow slits of his eyes swelled at the sight on the screen. It says:

Five player data loading…

"Five players?", he murmured to himself. He stared at the bunch of lifeless bodies on the floor before muttering, "Then who's the fifth?", in a very confused tone.

. tsuzuku .

AN: That was short and not pretty scary. Sorry for the late update. I'll make sure to update sooner. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks!