Disclaimer: I do not own hunterxhunter. All characters and plot of the said manga/anime is under the intellectual property of Yoshihiro Togashi. This is a work of pure fiction whereas names, OC's, places, or events are products of the author's imagination. If there is any resemblance to actual/real persons, places, or events, then it is pure coincidence. Furthermore, I do not own the cover image and give full credit to whoever owns it.


Case File
1.04.2008
Dr. Navi Riche

The needed classified information regarding the military movements of the Khamat troops has been successfully acquired by 0007. There were no errors with the procedure as the operation was discreet and resulted with no casualties or witnesses. 0007 has shown exceptional manipulation skills with how the information was obtained without resorting to any violence or physical torture. As of now, 0007 has not shown any signs of deficiencies with the skillset needed from a Sparrow. Further and careful observation will be done.

Mission Status: Completed


Volume 1: Chapter 1

The Storm

"I'm going to be the best hunter in the world! And if I do, I'll definitely come back!" the boy in green shouted.

He was completely oblivious to the mocking laughs of the many gruff men on the ship when he loudly and proudly claimed to the whole island that he was to become the best hunter in the world. He continued to wave both of his arms to the people cheering him on and bidding him farewell at Whale Island's shipping dock.

As the island slowly grew smaller with the ship sailing away, the boy turned around from the edge of the ship's deck and was met with glares from the men who tried to intimidate him, telling him the obvious risks of being a hunter and that he should go home since the Hunter exam is no place for kids.

While walking past the men, he remained unfazed by their remarks and continued to observe his surroundings. Eventually, he noticed a sailor being maltreated by his fellow crew members. The boy witnessed him being kicked from the behind causing him to drop the box of apples he was carrying. The bullies laughed while the poor sailor struggled to pick up the apples that fell from the box and with the loud commotion that they have caused, their captain finally emerged from his cabin.

"What are you idiots doin'?!" he scolded them, "Get your asses back to work!"

"Yes sir!" the men said in unison and immediately scuttled away in fear of their captain.

The captain eyed the sailor picking up the apples and became irritated of his slow pace. "What did I just say? I said get back to work! Move!"

The man on the floor immediately quickened his pace, and in his panic he missed two apples. The boy who saw the whole scene play out noticed this and picked up one of the apples that rolled near to him. He was about to pick up the other apple when a girl beat him to it.

"Excuse me."

The man with the box of apples stopped and turned to the girl that called out. For some reason that he couldn't point out, her striking appearance and demeanor made him fidget a little. Her stare made him quite uncomfortable, and he wouldn't feel that way if her whole appearance didn't resemble a doll. She had ginger red hair that was tied in an updo bun with a few curly strands left hanging and her skin was as white and pale as a porcelain doll. Good thing that her clothes kind of toned down her doll-like aura since they were mostly military clothing. She was wearing a loose gray sweater, with sleeves that were folded around her wrists, it was inserted in her dark olive green shorts that was held up by a black leather belt, along with black combat boots.

"You missed one," She said to the sailor then gently placed the apple inside the box. The thought of having another kid around the same age as the boy excited him since back on the island, he didn't really have friends who were within his age gap.

"Here's another one!" the boy called out and threw the apple that landed inside the box.

"Ah. T-thank you!" the sailor bowed his head in embarrassment and rushed off to do his work.

The girl turned around to find bright eyes staring back at her. She simply gave the boy a soft smile and subtly nodded at him in greeting while he smiled back at her despite of the dull way she greeted him. In that short moment, shorter than a second, he immediately noticed how peculiar her eyes were. Their color was somewhere between the shades of green and gray, though that wasn't what he was noticing, what caught his attention was how intense her gaze was despite of the approachable and polite demeanor she had around her, and after that small moment, it immediately disappeared.

The boy snapped out of whatever that made him froze for a fraction of a second as he noticed she started to walk away, his eyes still on her, wondering about the reason why she was on the ship and off to take the hunter exam just like him. He assumed she would have the same intention since most of the passengers were exam applicants. After all, if a young girl like her would be taking the hunter exam, there must be some reason behind it, just like how he had one, which was finding his dad and figuring out what made him desire to be a hunter so much that he had to leave his son behind. While getting lost in his thoughts, the girl suddenly tripped on a slightly broken wooden floorboard.

"Woah! Careful there!" Thinking that she would fall flat on her face, the boy immediately grabbed her right arm and helped her steady herself.

She turned around, looked at him and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you."

""Don't mention it," He let go of her arm and continued the conversation. The polite smile she gave the boy was more than enough to motivate him into wanting to befriend her. After all, so far she was the only person on the ship who seemed to be close to his age. "I'm Gon! What's your name?" he asked with a wide grin on his face.

"Erin," she replied with less enthusiasm. "Are you here to take the Hunter exam?" she asked with a soft smile, not out of curiosity, but out of politeness.

"Yeah! You too?"

She simply replied with a nod and extended her hand to him. "Then I hope we get along. It's nice to meet you."

Gon smiled at her widely and accepted the greeting by shaking her hand, obviously enthusiastic with his new friend, "Nice to meet you too!"

He was about to say something else when the sound of seagulls interrupted him. Gon looked up just for a second then looked back at Erin. His grin disappeared from his face and was replaced with worry.

"A storm is coming." His remark wasn't just directed to her but also to the captain who apparently witnessed the whole scene.

The captain was intrigued by what the boy said and raised his eyebrow in question, "How do you know that, boy?"

He walked to the pair of kids and looked at Gon, waiting for any proof of his claim. Immediately, he moved his focus to the girl who answered the question for him

"Is that what the seagulls tell you?"

Gon looked at her in surprise, "Yeah! How did you know?"

She blinked and paused for a moment, her face still unreadable. "You can call it instincts."

"Wow, that's cool!" Gon genuinely complimented her and looked purely amazed.

"Or you can just call it observing."

"Eh?"

"Oh. Look, they're getting more erratic," Erin pointed out, quickly changing the topic, while looking up towards the seagulls circling above.

Gon, with his eyes closed, sniffed at the air. He quickly opened his eyes like he caught something alarming then proceeded to jump on the deck's border and quickly climbed to the ship's bird nest with fast consecutive jumps which surprised the captain.

After a few seconds, Gon's head suddenly popped into view.

"This is bad!" he shouted at the two who were waiting below. "A huge storm is coming!" At that moment, the boy reminded the captain of someone and this made him curious. He wasn't quite sure yet if this boy was who he thought he was. Unfortunately, this wasn't the time to try and remember stuff as he had more important things to take care of. Pushing his thoughts away, he instructed Gon and Erin to go below deck with the other applicants and wait till the storm passed, then quickly walked away.

Gon jumped from the bird's nest and landed effortlessly near where Erin was standing.

"Let's go together Erin!"

"Sure," She replied with the same soft and polite smile she always used.

A few hours later, the storm took over the sea and engulfed the ship in its terror. The ship rocked hardly to all sides, trying to withstand the powerful waves and winds crashing towards it, showing no mercy to all passengers on board the ship.


"So, you must be wondering why I've called the four of you here. First off, what are your names?" the captain asked.

"I'm Gon!"

"Leorio."

"I'm Kurapika."

"I'm Erin."

The boy in green, the man in the suit, the blonde teenager, and the petite girl all introduced themselves respectively, with Gon being the only one who seemed enthusiastic.

The captain took another whiff at his pipe then exhaled, "So," he continued, "Why do you want to become hunters?"

"Oi! Do you think we're that stupid?!" The man in the suit, Leorio, spoke up rather rudely and pointed at the captain in the same manner. "We won't tell you something personal that easily!"

"I'm looking for my dad!"

"Everyone's attention was on the boy that spoke up, who still managed to genuinely smile in the tense situation. "My dad's a hunter, that's why I want to become one too and find my dad!"

With what Gon said, the captain's assumption on his identity had been confirmed.

'I knew it, this boy is Ging's son!'

"Oi! What do you think you're doing kid?!" Leorio's voice blared out as he scolded Gon, "Why are you answering his question?!"

"Why? Is there something wrong about it?"

Leorio sighed and rubbed his temples, "Not a team player huh? You shouldn't just – "

"As for me captain, I want to become a hunter because I'm looking for someone," the redheaded girl said, clearly cutting off whatever Leorio had to say.

"Hey! Don't just cut me off! I was talking here!"

Erin turned to him with the most amiable and innocent smile she had to offer, "I'm sorry Leorio-san, I didn't mean to offend you."

And with that sudden expression of peace, Leorio was taken aback. He didn't expect her to counter his aggressive behavior with the way she acted and she seemed so respectful.

"But I was only having a conversation with the captain," she continued, "Whereas you were having one with Gon. In other words, you and I aren't included in the same conversation so I wasn't necessarily cutting you off. I just initiated a proper discussion with the captain not like the uncivilized ones that some people do,"

She eyed Leorio but nonetheless, Erin's expression remained the same the whole time she talked– something that clearly contradicted the blunt words she used and their implications. In fact, almost everyone in the room – except Gon due to his lacking knowledge on social cues – was quite confused with what Erin meant with those words and what her intentions were.

"W-what are you trying to say?!" Leorio aggressively asked and stomped a foot forward towards her. In the end, he still took everything she said as an insult and he felt like she was mocking him behind that pretty little smile of hers.

The captain just sighed at the angry man, clearly tired of all the shit he was causing, and went back to talking with Erin.

"So, who is this person you're looking for, girl?"

"In all honesty," she started.

"Oi! Are you guys ignoring me now?!" Leorio shouted.

"I don't know who this person is, or to be more precise, I have no clue as to who this person is," Erin finished.

Everyone went silent.

'Is she really taking this seriously?' Kurapika thought to himself. He was already getting irritated by all the racket that Leorio caused. With how confusing this girl was, it wasn't really helping in simmering down his growing impatience.

"I-I see," the captain stuttered, confusion clearly plastered on his face, "Then how are you going to find someone you have no clue about?"

"That's why I'm here captain," Erin replied, "To find clues." For a moment, the corner of her small smile tugged up just a little bit, and in the captain's eyes she almost looked like she was smirking.

"Fair enough," He said and mentally sighed.

'I can't get a read on this girl and I'm too old for these kind of mind fuckery games. I'll just accept that reason and leave her be.'

"And the rest of you?" the captain asked.

"There's no way in hell I'm telling you anything! It's suspicious!" Leorio bursted out.

"I agree with Leorio," the blonde boy spoke up.

"Oi! That's Leorio-SAN to you!"

Kurapika ignored him then explained how he could not say something so personal and that lying would just taint his honor.

In hearing the blonde boy's explanation, Erin couldn't help but laugh inside, for she knew too well that if you chose to take a path of revenge, there would be no guarantee for you to keep your precious honor pure. Still, she kept on her usual expression.

The captain sighed, "Very well, Katsuo!"

"Yes sir!" it was the sailor that Gon and Erin helped earlier.

"Notify the board that we have two more dropouts this year.

"What?!" Leorio and Kurapika exclaimed in unison.

Erin smirked while Gon looked confused. He leaned near to the redhead and whispered, "What does he mean?"

"It means," she whispered back, "The Hunter exam has already begun."

"The Hunter exam has already begun!" the captain said with a wide mocking grin on his face. He then went on to explain how there were people like him who were there to trim down the large number of hunter applicants and that he had all the authority to fail or pass an applicant on his ship.

Surprisingly, the room went silent for a second, then Kurapika spoke up, "I am the last survivor of the Kurta clan," he went on and explained how his clan was murdered by a band of thieves name the Phantom Troupe, and that he was resolved to hunt them down. The captain warned him of how dangerous the said murderers were and that the Kurta would just be throwing his life away. Kurapika replied that he did not fear death and that he only feared his anger would disappear over time.

"So you want revenge huh? Do you really need to become a hunter to do that?" Leorio rudely asked.

"That's the stupidest question I've ever heard, Leorio" the Kurta replied.

Erin wanted to rub her temples.

'Indeed, it was. I wonder how this man will survive this exam.'

Kurapika then tried to put Leorio in his place by roasting him with his explanation – there are many benefits in gaining a hunter's license, one is to gain access to classified information that is impossible to acquire through normal means.

Leorio was about to retort when Gon cut him off, "Hey Leorio-san! Why do you want to become a hunter?" His positive vibe temporarily broke off the tension./

"Me?" he leaned over the boy, "Money! Money can buy you everything! A huge mansion, cool cars, and the best liquor!"

"Money can't buy you class Leorio," Kurapika said.

The man in the suit paused and looked over the guy who just insulted him, "That's the third time. Let's take this outside," he glared at him, "I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline here and now."

"Take that back Leorio!" the Kurta demanded the man who was walking away towards the door, "Take that back," he reciprocated Leorio's glare.

"That's Leorio-san to you."

Kurapika quickly followed the man outside and the two of them disappear from the room.

"Hey! Where are you two going? I'm not done yet!" the captain yelled.

"Let's just leave them be," Gon suggested, "My Aunt Mito always said that if you're fighting with someone and you wanted to get to know that someone, it's important to figure out why that person is angry in the first place," he smiled with reassurance, "It's better to let them figure it out themselves."

"That's good advice, Gon," Erin said and the boy just sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Captain!" the sailor who was holding the ship's wheel called out with a terrified voice, "Look!"

Everyone then noticed the huge waterspout that was in the way of the ship's course.

"Move!" the captain ordered while taking over the wheel, "You kids go help the crew!" he addressed Erin and Gon.

The two nodded at each other and ran, going towards the upper deck.


"Take back what you said Leorio! If you do, then I'll forgive you!" Kurapika shouted, not minding the storm and waves crashing on the boat.

"Then I have no choice," Kurapika mumbled while pulling out weapons of his own.

Before anyone had the chance to strike first, a scream echoed out catching the attention of the two. It was Katsuo getting dragged by a rope as he held on for dear life, with great force he was whipped away, quickly passing between Kurapika and Leorio, and thrown off the boat. The two immediately acted and grabbed the edge of the ship with one hand, while reaching out to grab Katsuo with the other.

Unfortunately, they did not make it and the both of them cursed under their breaths. Suddenly, two figures leapt off of the ship with their arms extended to catch the falling sailor, it was Gon and Erin – the boy grabbed Katsuo's left arm while the redhead caught the other. In an instant, Kurapika grabbed Gon while Leorio did the same to Erin, and on a count of three they pulled them both up, and into the safety of the ship.


"What were you two thinking?!" Kurapika scolded the two kids who were sitting down on the floor, "Honestly, how reckless can you be?" he folded his arms in disapproval of their actions.

"If we weren't there to catch you guys, then both of you would've been shark bait by now!" Leorio added.

Erin lowered her head, trying to show that she was apologetic, but Gon spoke up for the both of them, "But you did," he smiled widely, "The both of you did caught us!"

Kurapika and Leorio were left dumbfounded with how simple minded the boy was.

"Y-yeah, I guess…" Leorio stuttered while leaning over in defeat of trying to reason with the boy.

Erin stood up, "Well, I guess there's that. There's no need to get so worked up uncle, you just saved someone's life," she patted Leorio's shoulder.

"Who are you calling uncle?!"

She tilted her head innocently, "With your constant demand for respect from someone younger, I just assumed you were an old man," she then gave him an angelic smile, "I apologize."

Leorio's eye twitched, "You fake little bi – "

"Gon!" a man called out – it was Katsuo, "Thank you for saving me!" he bowed and gave him the biggest smile ever.

Gon was waiting for him to thank Erin as well, but he noticed the sailor fidget a little as his eyes darted from the girl to the floor. Gon assumed that he was just embarrassed and said, "Erin also saved you!" he pointed to her with a grin, "Ah. But I guess you didn't know since you fainted,"

Katsuo looked up, "Ah! Y-yes, that must've been the case," he turned to Erin and bowed, "I apologize and thank you very much!"/

"Don't mention it," she replied.

Her voice sent cold shivers down his spine and when he looked up, she was staring at him with her usual kind expression, but her eyes said something different. All of these went unnoticed by the other three because of how subtle it was, and it seemed like you'd only notice her subtle gestures if you were the receiver. He thought he wouldn't be able to move from his frozen state but luckily, Gon started talking again, "We also didn't save you on our own, Kurapika and Leorio helped us!"

Katsuo gladly bowed at them and thanked them.

"Y-you don't have to thank us," the Kurta looked away in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah! I'm just glad you're okay!" Leorio said while rubbing the back of his neck, clearly feeling the same way Kurapika was feeling.

With that, Katsuo gave them one last smile and walked away, not daring to take another glance at Erin.

After a moment of silence, Kurapika suddenly apologized to Leorio and addressed him more respectfully which made him more embarrassed. He told the Kurta to just call him the way he was already addressing him and then apologized for his rude behavior.

"I like you guys!" the captain laughed loudly while leaning against his cabin's door, catching the attention of the whole gang, "Alright! I'll take full responsibility in taking you four to the next port where you can easily find the Hunter Exam's site!"

Leorio stood up straight and looked at the captain in shock, "Does that mean?"

"The four of you pass!"

Kurapika and Leorio smiled while Gon and Erin jumped, giving each other a high five. The laughter of the two kids filled the air as the ship calmly sailed away.


The sun was setting, and Katsuo was almost done mopping the floor of the ship's deck. He looked around and noticed that there were only a few people above deck – most were crew members who were finishing up their chores. He continued mopping, feeling very peaceful while listening to the splashing of the waves against the ship, until a certain sound made him froze – it was the sound of a person's voice.

"Hello Katsuo-san," the voice behind him said, he recognized that voice and knew who it was, even though he felt very uncomfortable he pushed himself to turn around and look at the owner of the voice.

"H-hello, Erin…" he greeted her while she nodded in reply, "Is Gon not with you?" he glanced behind her, hoping to see him accompanying her.

"No," she replied, "He's below deck still trying to help the failed applicants recover from their seasickness."

"I-I see…"

Katsuo gripped his mop and continued to do his chore, trying to ignore the disturbing vibe that Erin left on him. She just stood there and remained quiet, then suddenly started walking towards the nearest railing and leaned over it.

Katsuo couldn't take the silence so he asked, "So… What brings you up here?"

"Hmm… What do you think, Katsuo?"

The sailor continued to stare at the wooden floorboards as he mopped and mopped and mopped – not knowing how to answer her question, trying to avert his attention elsewhere, other than the growing uncomfortable sensation surrounding him. Why did he feel that way when Erin was around? His memories shifted to the time when the ship was in the middle of the storm, recalling his almost dying moments and the events that transpired beforehand – events that only he seemed to know of, but something he couldn't understand.

~ Flashback ~

'Come on Katsuo! Get a grip on yourself!'

The sailor urged himself as he held back the ropes supporting the ship's sails. He used every bit of strength he had, though he greatly struggled. The shouts of the crew members were blocked by the sound of raging winds and intense rain which made it more difficult for Katsuo to hold on to the rope.

'This hurts!'

His hands were burning and it felt like every inch of his body was aching.

'I can't do this anymore!'

When his limbs were about to give up, he noticed Gon slightly near to him, holding and pulling on to another rope with almost little effort. The sailor felt ashamed that he was actually thinking of giving up when there was a child doing so much more than him.

'If Gon can do it, then so can I!'

With a newfound strength and will, he pushed his limits and started pulling./p

Meanwhile, Erin was pulling the rope just behind Katsuo. There were only two of them on one rope and she wondered where the other crew members were.

'Oh well, it's not like they'll contribute more than this person in front of me. That's not the problem right now though, the main problem is –'

She glanced at Leorio and Kurapika who was about to fight then sighed.

'How foolish, pride can only get you so far.'

Erin wanted to ignore them but she predicted that they were probably going to stick around with Gon throughout this whole trip – Erin blamed it on the boy having some kind of magnetic power that attracted others towards his pure soul – and if that were to happen, she had to make sure that the two of them would make up. If they engage in physical combat now, then unnecessary grudges couldn't be avoided – this could result in future conflicts which would lower her and Gon's chances in finding the exam site, and eventually pass the Hunter exam.

Erin glanced back at Kurapika and Leorio which looked like they weren't going to make amends soon without any intervention. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

'How troublesome.'

She loosened her grip on the rope.

'I'm sorry Gon, I lied to you a while ago,'

Erin slowly let go of the rope that she and Katsuo were holding, 'I never thought your advice was a good one.'

Katsuo noticed the sudden lack of force pulling from behind him and turned around only to find himself making eye contact with Erin – she only looked like she was holding the rope, but she wasn't exerting any pulling force. He saw her say something but he couldn't hear her, it almost looked like, "I'm sorry, Katsuo-san"

Katsuo suddenly felt a quick sensation of pain to his side – like somebody just punched his ribs. Because of that he lost his balance and in a blink of an eye, Katsuo was now flying through the air and grabbing on to the rope while screaming. Everything seemed to play out in slow motion as Katsuo tried to understand the situation he was in.

'W-what just happened? I'm falling off the ship?' The thought terrified him.

'But wait… It felt like something forcefully pushed me…' He immediately thought of Erin, and the words that she might have uttered. 'Did she do this? But how? There's no way! I didn't even see her move. I didn't see anything.'

The sound of crashing waves grew louder and louder as he continued to fall off,

'I guess this is it huh?' Katsuo accepted his fate and closed his eyes.

Then suddenly, he felt skin touching his, there was a pair of hands holding on to his arm, his eyes immediately went open and he saw Gon, the kind boy, grabbing on to him. He was about to exhale a relieved sigh when he saw that there was another person doing the same as Gon.

'Erin?! Why is she saving me? Didn't she –'

Everything was so confusing for the sailor, and his body couldn't cope up with the experience of almost dying, and so he went unconscious and everything for him went black.

While Leorio checked Katsuo's state, and Kurapika yelled at Gon and Erin despite of the storm, the redhead was deep in her thoughts.

'Mission accomplished Erin, could've done it better but as long as Katsuo went towards the intended direction, then it's good enough.'

~ End of Flashback ~

"What do you think, Katsuo?"

The sailor looked up at Erin who was now staring at him, her eyes reflecting the sunset's light. She walked closer and stood in front of him, her feet slightly apart and her hands clasped behind her back, with a gaze that never faltered. Even though he was a lot taller than her, the way she stood intimidated him.

"I-I…" his voice cracked, unsure whether he should say what he thought out loud. However, it seemed like he didn't have a choice because Erin looked like she wasn't going anywhere until she received an answer, "I think you're here to talk to me and make sure that I don't snitch," he continued and broke eye contact with Erin – looking down on the floor. The sailor might not have been the most physically stronger ones among the crew, but he certainly was perceptive.

"Snitch?" she asked, "About what?"

Katsuo looked up, "Huh?"

She went back to her soft demeanor, "Did something happen? Did you see anything?"

He couldn't answer a question that he wasn't so sure of himself.

Erin took steps forward then stopped when she was already standing beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Did you see anything happen, Katsuo-san?" she asked again.

He swallowed then said, "N-no…"

"Then," Erin slightly squeezed his shoulder, "There's nothing to snitch about, right?"

"Y-yes… Nothing… at all…"

She giggled, a sound that should've been coming from an angel, "Silly Katsuo-san, then I'll be going now," Erin started to walk off and waved, "Take care!"

Katsuo exhaled a breath that he didn't know he was holding and anxiously glanced at Erin's retreating figure.

No one could see the expression she wore as she walked away, but it was stoic and unyielding.

'As long as I make sure that Gon and I will pass, she thought, Then I'll get closer to my objective.'

She took one last look at the sunset then proceeded to walk downstairs below deck, back to the company of the kind yet naive boy.

After all… Gon is my first clue.'


Author's note:

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to give this fanfic a chance! I hope the first chapter wasn't too long or dragging, and if you have any helpful tips regarding my writing style and the way I pace the story then please leave a constructive review, it would be really helpful, especially since this is my first fanfic :D

Do not worry if Erin's character is kind of throwing you off and making you confused because it's meant to be that way hahaha, and I will reveal bits and pieces of her past along the way which might answer some of your questions.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick for more!