Hey everyone, it's been awhile since I've updated, let alone posted a new story. I realize this premise is similar to my "Butler's Duty" story, but after stagnating on what I wanted to do with that fic, I decided to refresh it with what I consider a much more dynamic crossover. It's also because I recently watched HxH and can't help but write a crossover with it. I may eventually continue "Butler's Duty", but this story will be taking priority, as well as my longest fic that I intend to write to completion. I hope you all can see the same possibilities with this premise that I have, and enjoy the story.
Hunter X Zero
Chapter 1: A Bittersweet Reunion
"Please, Nanika…
…Please heal Gon!"
Standing beside a hospital bed hooked up to every kind of medical equipment imaginable, Killua could only look in dismay at the horrible state of his friend.
" 'Kay."
I know Nanika can heal him, I know it! Everything will be back to normal, I promise, Gon!
The being that cohabited the body of his sister began to reach towards Gon, her hands emitting a soft white light that grew brighter with each passing moment.
As she wrapped her hands around one of Gon's, the light briefly subsided, before reappearing with nearly blinding ferocity. The whole room was now enveloped in the harsh glow emitted by Nanika.
Unbeknownst to Killua, a violent torrent of aura had begun to emanate from the building, knocking some of the hunters outside off of their feet.
Everyone in the city with a certain level of nen mastery was able to feel the unfathomable power, incomparable to anything they'd felt prior.
The violent aura had begun to rise higher into the sky, carrying with it a malevolent darkness that seemed to never end as more aura was sent skyward.
Where that sinister energy disappeared to was unknown to any spectators, but sure enough, its darkness began to disappear from the white aura, until none remained.
"Incredible…"
Back inside the makeshift one bed hospital, Killua could hardly believe his eyes as he looked down and saw the Gon he remembered.
The awe was short lived though, as Killua knew he had to leave before Gon regained consciousness.
He can't know I'm the one that saved him, at least not right away… I have to make sure Alluka is safe first…
However, before Killua could take Alluka and make his exit, something strange suddenly flashed across his vision.
It was for the briefest moment, barely perceivable by the human consciousness, but Killua had been able to gleam some of the image.
Was that a city square? And were those chimera ants? What the hell did I just see?!
A bead of nervous sweat began to form on his forehead as he thought through the possibilities, but his situation only grew worse when he turned to look at Alluka.
Or at least, what should've been Alluka, after granting his wish.
The hollow voids for eyes that distinguished Nanika from his sister were still present, meaning something had gone wrong, but he had no idea as to what.
"Killua…"
Nanika really is still here, but this hasn't happened before! After granting a wish, Alluka always comes back…
"Yes, Nanika?"
Besides the obvious difference in facial features, Killua also knew that Alluka always addressed him as brother, and that something else, called him by name.
"She's here."
It was hard to read the expressions of Nanika, but Killua could tell that she was clearly distressed, and given the context of what she had just said, it sent a shiver down his spine.
"Nanika! Who is 'she'?"
However, before Nanika could answer, Killua blinked, and his vision began to adjust to an entirely new environment.
He instantly realized it was the same place that he had seen in the vision moments ago, although his surprise was quickly replaced with fear as the reality of his situation began to unfold.
I'm in a medieval looking city, surrounded by things that look like chimera ants… But most importantly!
Gon and Alluka are gone…
Killua began absentmindedly wandering, finding it easier to think while moving.
I shouldn't have to worry about Gon, but if Alluka is by herself, who's going to stop Illumi when he tries to kill her?!
Despite a lifetime of assassin training that helped him remain calm during high stress situations, he couldn't help but let his emotions show on his face.
Think Killua, THINK! There's too many variables to make any definitive conclusions. It's entirely possible Alluka is here as well, wherever here is…
His worry for his sister and friend had overshadowed the confusion he felt from his new environment, but after coming to his senses, Killua felt inclined to believe he was in an illusion of some kind.
There's no way I would've missed out on the existence of human-animal hybrids…
Killua had seen many strange amalgamations of animals among the chimera ants, but they always had an ant-like feature that gave their true heritage away. Whether it was chitin skin, or hands with three pincer-like fingers, he knew how to pick out a chimera ant from some other kind of magical beast.
These creatures that walked among humans seemed to be actual human-animal hybrids, whether it be mammals or even reptiles.
It was all a bit too much of a hit to what Killua considered 'reality'.
I don't know what kind of nen ability could project an illusion of this scale, but considering Nanika was scared of whoever did this, they have to be a different kind of powerful altogether…
Illusion or not, Killua was quickly called back to his senses when he heard a high-pitched scream.
Turning his head to the city street packed with carriages being pulled by giant lizard-like creatures, he saw a human woman who had tripped smack in the middle of the street.
Without even thinking, Killua burst forward, scooping the woman up in his arms, and jumping back to the edge of the street.
Such a feat didn't require the use of his nen, but he was still fast enough that most of the onlookers couldn't register what had happened. Nonetheless, once they saw that the woman was out of harm's way, a chorale of cheers erupted thanks to his quick thinking.
"Are you alright, miss?"
After setting her down on her feet, the woman dusted herself off, and offered her heartfelt thanks.
"Of course! Thank you so much, and I can't believe a kid your age can move that fast! Are you training to be a knight when you grow up?"
Killua was now unconvinced of his theory that this was an illusion. His brief conversation with this woman felt all too real, and he couldn't begin to imagine what the purpose of creating an illusion with such depth would be.
Also, what's this about knights? It feels like I'm in the fantasy world of a children's book… Still, this could be a useful piece of information…
"I never actually thought about being a knight, my dream has always been to be a pro hunter."
That's not true at all, but let's see where this gets me…
"P-Pro hunter? I've never heard of such a profession. Well, whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be great at it!"
Bingo. She has no idea what hunters are, and if I were anywhere in the developed world, people would know about the hunter association…
Could this place be similar to greed island? No, that wouldn't be possible… The amount of nen that would be needed to conjure this many NPCs is way too high…
These are real people…
Smacking himself in the face in frustration, Killua said his quick goodbyes to the woman he'd saved, and continued down the street.
*Grumble*
I guess I didn't give much thought to eating while I was trying to get Alluka to Gon… Maybe I can swipe something from one of these stalls…
Killua passed by several merchant stalls until he found one selling a variety of fruits that looked familiar to him.
The man behind the stall looked like quite the character, his well built muscles on display underneath nothing but a small vest, and unnatural dark green hair that leaked out from under his bandana.
Although, considering his hair color matched his beard and eyebrows, it was possible it was his natural hair color.
Even the normal humans around here have some strange peculiarities…
"Hey, boy. Those are some weird clothes you got on, are you travelin' from somewhere?"
Admittedly, Killua's blue athletic shorts and turtleneck that he wore underneath a plain white t-shirt contrasted greatly with the medieval garb worn by the city's inhabitants.
"Yeah, I've come all the way from Kukuroo Mountain. Ever heard of it?"
Looking down at the store signs, Killua made note it was written in a language entirely unfamiliar to him.
Yet I can understand him perfectly, it sounds like he's speaking the common language…
"Never heard of it. Doesn't matter to me though, you here to buy something or not?"
I don't think it's even worth trying to buy something with my Jenny, there probably isn't even paper currency in this civilization in the first place…
"Sorry sir, I'm broke!"
"Well then get lost! You're taking up space for paying customers!"
Killua playfully shrugged and walked off, pulling an apple out from his pants once he was a few stalls away.
Gon wouldn't appreciate me stealing like this, but I doubt that guy is gonna hurt over the loss of one apple…
With little information to act on, and his situation still completely bizarre, Killua decided to enjoy this unexpected period of serenity.
Whatever had been done to him was by an entity that was able to overpower Nanika, which he previously thought was impossible. His primary objective would be either finding Alluka, or finding a way back home, assuming she wasn't brought here as well.
Gon has plenty of other people to support him back home, I know he'll be alright… For his own sake I hope I don't run into him…
On some level Killua believed this, but he couldn't deny the part of him that wanted to explore this new place with his best friend.
…
After finishing his apple and doing some sightseeing, Killua had picked up a few facts about his location by eavesdropping on some of the locals.
He was in the city of Lugnica, capital of the country bearing the same name. The only information he could glean about the country's government was that it was a monarchy, but there was no current reigning monarch.
I can imagine that would cause trouble for a medieval kingdom that governs based on bloodlines, but apparently a group of wise men have taken temporary control of the country until a new ruler can be found…
Unfortunately, nothing he learned gave him any further inclination as to where in the world he had wound up.
The current most logical assumption is that I've been teleported to some civilization in an uncharted part of the world… But I can't wrap my head around how such a populated city is unknown to any of the known parts of the world…
Killua had considered the possibility that he had been sent back in time, but he found it much less believable than the current scenario he was calculating.
The medieval era technology supports such a theory, but there's no record of a "Kingdom of Lugnica" that I've ever heard of. Besides that, this city seems much larger and more advanced than what's typical of an actual medieval city…
Nonetheless, to learn that his world was much larger than he originally thought, Killua couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
What else could be out there that we aren't aware of? Or even worse, what would happen if these unknown threats made contact with the known world?
Realizing that his current predicament held greater importance than simply returning home, Killua felt a new sense of determination.
He had to warn everyone that they were operating with frighteningly little information on what was truly out there.
Standing in the middle of a scenic bridge, Killua was alerted to something at the edge of his vision.
Is that a girl? Jumping from building to building?
She didn't appear to be much older than himself, but Killua thought her revealing outfit was unbecoming for someone of her age.
It was the first relatively superhuman thing he'd seen since he had been sent to Lugnica, however, he noticed that the girl wasn't using nen in any way.
Gon and I were able to do stuff like this before learning nen too, but it's strange that the first exceptional individual I've found isn't a nen user… At least I can assume so, considering she isn't maintaining a ten of any kind…
With nothing else to act on, Killua went into a state of zetsu and started to trail the girl across the city's rooftops, going completely unnoticed by his target.
It wasn't long before the girl disappeared from the rooftops, jumping down into what Killua assumed was an alleyway.
As he got closer to where the girl had made her descent, he heard the distinct cry and shouts of three different men.
Did she attack people in the alleyway? Or was it something unrelated altogether?
His curiosity piqued, Killua made it to the end of the roofline and peered over, maintaining his zetsu to avoid being spotted.
Instead of the girl that he expected, he saw someone that he hadn't anticipated at all.
Fists shrouded in aura, a lone figure in green stood over the crumpled forms of the would-be muggers.
"GON!"
Disregarding his zetsu entirely, Killua beamed down towards Gon, wrapping his arms around him as he stood in surprise.
"Killua? You're in my dream too? That's awesome!"
Gon hugged his friend back with even greater vigor, but Killua couldn't help but have a perplexed look on his face.
"Gon, you think this is all a dream?"
"Yeah! How else would I be back to normal in a crazy world like this? Did you see all the animal people? It's so cool!"
After hearing his friend's explanation, Killua couldn't help but smile.
"Of course you'd say something like that…"
"Huh? What do you mean? Are you saying this isn't all a dream? Does that mean I'm in heaven?!"
Killua couldn't help but facepalm at Gon's jump in logic, but for someone who expected to die, it couldn't be that outlandish of an assumption.
"Gon, do you really think there'd be muggers in heaven? Besides, I'm not dead, and neither are you."
Gon smiled and raised his arms to do a goofy flexing pose, ecstatic over being back to normal.
"Hahaha! I don't feel very dead either! And look! I even got my nen back!"
Killua had already assumed as much, having seen the aura lingering on his fists after dispatching his attackers, but as Gon gleefully activated his ren, he could really say that his friend was back to normal.
"But wait, if this isn't all a dream or heaven, where are we? And how am I back to normal?"
"Well, this city is called Lugnica. As to where it is exactly, I have no idea. What I can tell you, is that I'm the one that healed you."
A look of awe spread over Gon's face, eager to ask what his friend had done to overcome such odds.
"Actually, it'd be more accurate to say my sister, Alluka, saved you…"
"Really? I'd love to thank her myself, do you know where she is?"
The fact that Gon was in this place made Killua want to believe that Alluka was here in this city as well. Yet for the present moment, he had no way to be sure.
"She was with me right before we both got sent here. It's possible she's here as well, but right now I have no idea."
Gon quickly mirrored Killua's look of concern, realizing how important Alluka was to his best friend.
"Don't worry, I'll help you find her. We won't even think of going home until we've looked this entire place over!"
Such a claim would seem ridiculous from anyone else, but coming from Gon, Killua knew that he meant it.
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
Finally reunited, Gon and Killua fist bumped, wide smiles plastered across their faces. It was nice to relish in the moment, but Killua quickly remembered that he'd let something slip his mind.
"By the way, Gon, did you see a girl around our age come running through here?"
"You were following her? And she led you to me? That's pretty crazy, but yeah, she came running past me and jumped back up onto the roof at the end of the alley."
She's probably long gone by now, what a shame…
"Well, maybe we'll run into her again, but there's nothing that can be done now."
As soon as Killua thought that he and Gon were alone, besides the unconscious thugs laying around them, another person walked in from the entrance to the alley.
"You two, I'd like to ask you to graciously return what you stole."
…
