"So you lost your eye to Illumi Zoldyck?! How terrible!" Clyde said across from with a shaking, excited finger in the air. I rolled my one eye at his endless enthusiasm. Hopefully, tomorrow, Flole can take a look at it...

When Mercutio confirmed that Kurapika's hostages were released and safe, we were allowed to go. Evira was gracious enough to let us use one of the limos to drop us off. Which we did of course. Currently, we were talking amongst ourselves; trying to decide where to eat. It was us five, Clyde, Shoot, and Briannaisa of all people. We were on our way to drop off Shoot.

My eye landed back on Clydd. I shrugged.

"Well, it is what it is. Hopefully, Flole can fix it."

Kurapika nodded, "Flole is your other aunt, correct? From what you've told us, I would have liked to meet her in person." I saw Leorio nod in agreement to my right.

I shrugged again and turned to Briannaisa, far to my left, "Hey, where is Flole? And where's Mayer?"

Briannaisa sneered and refused to answer. I don't know why she came with us if she's pissed at us. She's been cross-armed and angry the entire time I've seen her with me ol' one eye. I frowned as everyone grew uncomfortable. Everyone except Clyde, who waved his hand cheerfully. But, I could see there was his smile was strained...

Clyde waved his hand, "Do not worry about her! She is mad we defeated her! Hahaha!"

"Tch, that's not why I'm angry! You guys kidnapped my sister! You took advantage of my sister's Nen restriction! That's low, even for you guys."

Considering Claudette the last time I saw her use her combat Nen ability, she turned into an obedient puppet; it was fucked up that they took advantage of it. Still, I didn't do it.

I had to crane my head to squint hard at her. This half field of view fucking sucked.

"I didn't kidnap shit," I pointed to everyone else into the right of the limo, "They kidnapped shit! I was just a useful distraction. I'm innocent of any disasters here."

Clyde shook his head and pointed to himself. Mock shock on his babyface, stacked on top of a tree trunk neck.

"We did not kidnap her! She agreed to help us! We had contacted her as soon as Kurapika contacted us."

She shook her head and sneered like a gangster, "I don't belive that one bit! She wouldn't go against our mom like that! And, even if she would, how'd'you know she'd even help you?! Huh?!"

I grimaced at her fury as everyone else in the limo felt that cold awkwardness of being around sputtering anger. Clyde was the only one who knew her well enough to ignore her attitude. He continued speaking like nothing was happening.

"We are of similar disposition and mind, Claudette and I. I had a feeling she would help, that is all. But it was tricky! To be sure, I had to question her indirectly. Had she not been so willing to assist us... my brother and I would have certainly lost to you two... She did not explain how furious or dangerous you were as a real opponent. So do not fear! She was not completely disloyal to you and your family!"

Briannaisa stewed at Clyde's answer, her eyes and face making it obvious she couldn't deny his words... but it was obvious she still wanted to be angry. She kept looking at the floor and trying to figure out things in her mind. I eased her out of it.

"Based on Clyde's bruised face and your sterling appearance: you whooped blondie's ass here. I didn't think the gap between you two was that big." I heard Clyde yelp a, 'Hey!' and glared at me as I stared at Briannaisa.

She blushed for a moment before glaring at me, but she did a bad job of hiding the smile on her lips.

"What? Do you think I'm just good looks? We did go easy on you during your training."

"Eeeh..." I squeaked my voice as high as I could and looked up. I made the ugliest and stupidest face imaginable. Topped off by giving her the so-so sign to mess with her. She scoffed in good humor, against her will, as she tried to stay angry and failed.

Kurapika shook his head as he fought to stay composed at my stupid face, "James had nothing to do with our plan. As he said: he was a useful distraction. Because of Evira's control over him, he was a liability to against your group. We didn't know how Evira's surveillance ability worked, but we knew she could only see James. Your group was off balance by monitoring him; unsure of what the four of us were planning."

Briannaisa stared at Kurapika, 'hmped', and replied, "Well, I'm not telling you how my mom's ability works..."

I waved my hand dismissively at her, "We didn't ask you, shaddaup."

If she had an object to throw, she'd have thrown it at me. That's how red her face was. I laughed like Muttley.

"And Knuckle?" Shoot said from thin air, causing all of us to have a heart attack. I turned to my left to see the ghostly man sitting right next to me. I held my chest for a moment to stop my heart palpitations. How the fuck does he seemingly fade into the background in a limo?

Killua shrugged, "He kept guard over Prince Kacho."

Briannaisa face faltered as she stared at Killua with disbelief, "You held that screaming, short-fused idiot with that petulant, irritating girl?"

I fought my best to keep my face neutral and not question why a Prince was a girl. Just go with it all James, don't question shit... this is how you look smart and knowledgeable. Have an understanding face on, and nod with intelligence…

Gon and Killua looked confused, "Huh?"

Shoot looked sick at the thought of something, "He's not the type of person who plays well with abrasive personalities."

Who the fuck is Knuckle? From Sonic? I thought things were supposed to get more understandable after I passed the Hunter Exam, not less!

I held up a basketball referee timeout gesture as curiosity killed me, "Hey, time out! What the fuck happened? And who's Knuckle? Princes? And..."

I pointed to Shoot, "Who the fuck are you?!"

Everyone stared at me with understanding frowns. Briannaisa nodded, "OK, now I believe he planned nothing."

I fluttered my eyes, "Aw, you flatter. Still scarred from my ass-kicking during my training?" I said with a wink of my eye.

"Shut up... we were going easy on you," she said with a flat look. Clyde nodded too, an annoyed frown plastered to his face at my prodding, feigned arrogance. Or real arrogance, can't tell. I'm too high from passing the Hunter Exam and coming out of this confrontation with Evira unscathed. Two for two, baby.

Clyde nodded, "Yes, we were going easy on you. We did not even use close to our full strength!"

I waved my hand, a donkey smile to rile them up, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Use all the excuses you want, but I'm amazing. It's ok, whatever makes you feel better..."

I could feel Clyde and Briannaisa boil with anger as I laughed maniacally on the inside. Everyone else in the limo stared at me with disbelief. The limo slowed down and came to a smooth stop. The moment it did, I bolted for the door. That head start only lasted all of one second before Clyde and Briannaisa dragged me back into the limo and proved to me that they were stronger...

Shoot left the car, pretending that he saw nothing as he got off at his stop. My hands reaching out toward him for help. The rest of my friends looked at me mercilessly as Briannaisa put me in a rear-naked choke... Clyde put me in an ankle lock.

This went on until we arrived at the restaurant... worth it... ow...


Mayer put down the receiver of his rotary dial phone on his right. A lonely nightstand with a lamp phone.

He laid in his massive bed as he stared at the ceiling, lethargic, tired, and in pain. He could only see half the world — the left side of his head covered by white bandages. Some curly hair, pale skin, and a damaged mustache peaked out from underneath it all. His massive, muscular right arm was held in a sling. As weak and powerful as a baby's limb. Bandages crisscrossed his bruised, battered, and cut-up body. He resembled a mummy. Every part of his form wounded in some way or shape. He stared at his bare, spartan room in Evira's skyscraper. White, barely furnished, and empty of all personality.

Only a bed and his mind.

Save for the person sitting in a wooden chair at the foot of his bed.

The blonde little girl flipped through a men's model magazine as she sighed, white gloves turning through pages as she enjoyed the images of scantly clad men. A dark pink mantelet with white fringes covering her shoulders. Underneath that she wore a light and a dark pink sleeveless dress. Blonde hair covered her head, tied up in twin pigtails that spiraled down either side of her head like drills. Dark pink shoes, almost brown in color, were at the ends of her legs. Covered by folded over socks. She looked like a porcelain doll come to life.

"Biscuit," Mayer said as he groaned in pain, "is it necessary for you to stay in my room while you wait? Evira has provided you with adequate acom-"

"Oh save it," she said without even looking up from her magazine. She flipped through another page and continued, "If you aren't going to tell me what happened, then I'll keep bothering you with my presence until you do."

Mayer grunted. Why did Evira hire her of all people to train those two children? Yes, in terms of masters, there were very few greater than her. He would gladly admit that Biscuit Krueger was the better of the two. But, in terms of personality...

Biscuit giggled and blushed as she commented on one of the men in the magazine. For a man of solitude and quiet, this was hell.

Mayer sighed and began speaking in his native Doits, "We were raised in the same village and you haven't even changed one bit, Bisky. When will you grow out of your ways?"

She scoffed and gave Mayer a pointed look. She replied in the same language, "When you stop being a stubborn idiot, Mayer. You contact me, out of the blue, and ask me to train two kids in exchange for Blue Planet... I wondered who told you I wanted it? So I come here and find you like this?! And you refuse to tell me anything? I'd like to think we're better friends than this..."

Mayer chuckled, his voice deep and booming. It halted as he groaned in pain from his rib injuries. When the pain subsided, he turned to Biscuit and nodded, "I've known you since you were a child. I am proud of what you became and trust you, but know there are things I can't tell you. The life of a criminal is not an easy one, nor is it one of transparency. It is a lonely one, filled with secrets..."

"I agree, the life of an idiot is a hard one indeed," she said in a huff as she closed her magazine and began speaking back in what would be called English in a universe far away, "Freakin' Enhancers... I rather speak to you in this language. You're always a speechmaker in our native tongue."

Mayer refrained from laughing for fear of his ribs. It lit happiness in his heart to see she had changed little since she was a child. Though, whether that was a good thing, he could not say.

She walked over to Mayer and looked down at the injured goliath, hands on his hips. She shook her head in disappointment.

"Who are these kids, anyway? Your boss is willing to pay a fortune to help them out."

He grunted. He was not surprised she knew he was not what he pretended to be. He replied in the common tongue of the world.

"One is the son of Boar, that blasted Ging. The other is the grandson of Zeno. My student has become friends with them. I have been informed that they contain massive Nen potential. That is no surprise, given their parentage."

Biscuit's eyebrows raised, but her voice barely changed above her nasally voice, "Wow, your student became friends with them? That's quite the connections he made."

Mayer shook his head gently, "I doubt he knows. Or would care. James does not care for formality or background. He is an understanding person. As long as he is not angry," he frowned.

She smirked as she pressed a finger to her lip, "That sounds like someone I know in his youth."

He grunted, "Yes. He is similar to how I was in my teens. He too is an orphan of sorts. Life has not been kind to him, but I believe he is growing into his own. At least he has moved past his arrested development," he stated flatly.

Biscuit nodded, respect and sadness in her eyes. Her next words were whispered.

"You know... when you left the Hunter Association and joined the Mafia... everyone thought you lost your mind. But I knew it was because of… everything. I was scared you'd lost yourself in your rage. But seeing you now... its good to see that you're still the same old teen who wanted to be a Mayor," she ended in a giggle, hand covering her mouth. Doing nothing to stop the sputtering and large, or hide her laughter-filled cheeks.

"Please do not tell James that..." he said as he covered his face to hide his embarrassment.

"They offered you the chance name yourself in that orphanage run by those Japponese... and you call yourself Mayer?! Bahaha!"

"Please stop."

"Who was stupid enough to let a child name themselves?" she slowly doubled over as her mocking laughter rung out. Mayer stared at the ceiling in defeat.

'Now your official job title the Majordomo of this building... Mayor Domo, Majordomo! Why didn't I ever think of that?! Pfft, hahaha!" she said as tears of laughter streamed down her face at the bad joke. Mayer would never forgive Evira for that joke, her strange sense of humor…

"Please stop this hell..." Mayer whispered to no one in particular...


I woke up with a jolt to someone pounding on my door. I whipped my face of drool and blinked like a madman. It only felt like an hour...

I came back early to take a nap. I felt tired and, even if I can fake it for a long-ass time, I'm still an introvert. Papa needs his alone time. That and the back of my head hurt from being pistol-whipped...

Since I didn't actually 'own' the condo I was in, held no keys, and everyone could walk in and out of it at will... 'my' room wasn't correct. I walked over and opened the door.

Briannaisa standing there, her face a mask of annoyance as she stared at me. Her face slowly slackened and turned red as she continued to stare at me, her mouth slightly open as she turned dumb for som- oh. I was in my boxers.

I closed the door in her face and made myself decent. I put on my green suit pants, white long-sleeved shirt, and left my tie off. Socks on, shoes on. I rolled my sleeves up and looked at the mirror, smoothed out as much of my beet colored, curly hair of bedhead, and let Briannaisa in. She stared at me with pink embarrassment and a frown as she walked in.

"Flole wants to see you. She wants to see your eye," she said while looking away.

I shrugged, nodded, and followed her out of my- the condo. A silent, awkward walk through hallways, a ride up an elevator later, and I was standing in front of a wooden door on the penthouse floor. Briannaisa knocked and-

When the door opened, a haggard Flole appeared in front of me. Bandages and a sling on her left arm. She looked like she could barely breathe; her face a mask of bruises, scratches, and a broken nose covered by a metal splint. Black eyes met mine. Made worse was her pale skin. She grimaced in pain from simply standing there. Eyes heavy and dark with exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Her short, pixie cut was gone. In its places was a short, curly, almost bob cut that went to her ears. Which was disturbing... since hair doesn't grow that fast in two weeks.

She was wearing these old, green pajama looking clothes that wore loose on her. Most definitely to let her move comfortably with her injuries...

She stared at me with kindness in her eyes and a soft smile. Even injured.

"James... sorry... for my..-"

"What happened?" I said. I could see Briannaisa eye me from the corner of my right eye react with surprise.

"Best... for... you... to come... in."

I nodded and walked in, only to pause when I passed through the door. I turned around to see Briannaisa standing there. She hesitated, hand reaching out from her waist, before pulling it back to her chest. She shook her head.

"Sorry... I have work to do. I only brought you here to see... sorry... I wish I could stay. I'll see you later James," she said softly before slowly walking away.

I stared at the spot where she was. She drifted away from my vision. From her words, she hadn't seen her aunt and only heard about her condition. Who did this to Flo-

7

"James..." Flole said as she broke me out of my strange thoughts. I shook my head and walked in. My mind…

My eyes widened at the sight before me.

Her apartment was... a mess. But a mess straight out of a cyberpunk world or the Matrix. There were piles of paper, fast food wrappers, and old clothing all over the living room. All over everywhere. This wasn't a living room by any imagination, as no human could live in it. I think there was a futon buried under something... that something being piles of food trays.

Black computer monitors and computer towers were littered everywhere, flattening grass green carpet. On the vanilla walls were even more monitors of various shapes and sizes, each of them feeding information of some kind or another. We didn't get far as she sat down on a rolling office chair and sucked air greedily. After a few minutes, she seemed to feel better and spoke.

"Sorry for the mess and my state... it's hard to speak with broken... ribs and a... bruised... sternum. Come, grab a seat," she said as she moved nodded her to a nearby chair next to what looked like an office desk. It was hard to tell because it was piled high with clothing and assorted printouts. Instead of taking off the items one by one, I lifted the chair and shook everything off before sitting across from her. She was sheepish, as she should be. Holy fuck...

I shook my head as I stared at the room that should be on an episode of Hoarders. I looked around the mess of a condo and clicked my tongue in disbelief. I struggled to be diplomatic about my next words, so I just said 'em.

"What the fuck?!"

She chuckled before she stopped in pain and breathed deeply. I frowned and decided not to make her laugh. My tone became somber as I became serious.

"Why is your place such a mess? And what are all these computers, monitors, and printers doing here? There're at least twelve monitors here."

She slowly spun around to stare at everything before eventually arriving back to her original position. She stared at me shyly.

"Remember that I'm the real second... in command of the Tao Long? Well... Evira doesn't have many people to... trust," she scratched her cheek sheepishly before continuing. She sounded like she had asthma, "I'm pretty smart, so it falls... on me to manage everything... along with Acardi, Darsten, Zelle..."

"Who's Acardi and Darsten?"

"He is Evira's advisor and in charge of... the legal side of the Mafia. Darsten... runs smuggling operations... But I didn't bring you here... to explain all that. How does your... eye feel? What... happened?"

I waved my left hand, a frown on my face, "No way, what happened to you Flole? You look like shit. You look worse than I did after my last training exercise."

She sighed, which caused her to wince for a moment. She nodded her head and replied, "We have duties out... side this universe. To protect the terri... tories Zhulong has under her... charge. It has... it doesn't concern you."

I clenched my teeth and shook my head, "The fuck it doesn't. You got hurt, and I..." I realized I was standing suddenly up...

Flole smiled softly and shook her head, "You're a strange person... James. A person shows you... an ounce of kindness and you trust them implicitly... that's a dangerous habit to have in this world..."

I frowned. She was right. I blustered along to deny it.

"Ok. Sure. But I'm supposed to 'help Zhulong's brother'. It doesn't take a genius to see I won't be staying here," I said, pain escaping from my voice. She frowned.

"Yes... you won't be staying here... but Mayer and I won't' let you... leave until you are ready. Considering the people we... fought nearly killed us... you are not ready to leave on your quest. You need to master Nen... at the very least."

"But what happened to you and… I suspect Mayer?! And why is Zhulong's brother so fucking important!" I exhaled harshly before stopping myself from getting worked up. I calmed down, sat down before continuing, my voice quiet, "You were supposed to tell me everything, remember?"

Flole closed her eyes and frowned. It was obvious she didn't want to broach the subject. She opened her eyes and stared at me seriously. Her soft eyes became hard and piercing. It wasn't the steel-like calculating look Evira gave people. It was a surgical, analyzing stare of a doctor making a tough decision...

"Yes. Just... my state... I wish it were under better circumstances, so... I'll try my best. Zhulong is a god... but there are countless gods in the multiverse... a dime a dozen… there can even be countless gods in a... single universe. The word… really means nothing… What makes Zhulong... special is her duty to maintain… stability in the multiverse," she stopped for a moment when the effort became too much. Once she recovered, she continued without hesitation.

"She is only... a child but... it is a massive burden on her."

I clenched my teeth as she continued to speak through her pain. I felt like shit convincing her to talk... but I deserved answers, "A child? She was a grown woman to me. How old is she?"

Flole frowned and looked down, "About as old as Evira... and I. In our second lives... around a hundred and twenty years old..."

I stared off into the distance as my brain tried to comprehend what I heard. Flole and Evira didn't look older than forty, and saying they looked forty was disrespectful. They looked way younger. Flole smiled as she fought not to laugh.

"Yes. My sister and I are biologically immortal... due to Zhulong's blessing…" her smile faded as sadness flowed down her face, she pulled down her collar on her right to show the same tattoo I had on my hand, "and so are you, James... I am sorry."

I stared at her in confusion. I had no words.

I didn't know how to process this. I wasn't upset... just... what?

Yet her frown didn't disappear. She looked down and shook her head, "The fate laid out before you… is one of hardship, James. I have seen countless worlds... and have made countless friends. But... I have also seen countless friends die... and countless worlds end..."

I stared at her as the echoes of history escaped her voice. Her high, pleasant voice was gone. Replaced by a tired, withered tone that matched her exhausted, sad eyes. By the glazed look on her face, she saw things I had no comprehension of... or maybe I would one day see...

She turned her head up and stared at me, "Another issue is that your... ah... infertile."

"What?"

Flole nodded and looked away, "Zhulong is only a baby in terms of..." she winced in pain but continued, "her father... bars her from... allowing her mortal servants... the ability to reproduce. The gods are... nothing if not... selfish and suspicious... of power... to pass on power... is a risk."

I looked on her face, searching for something that could... stop this strange spiraling feeling in my head. I felt dizzy. The world wasn't real. I never... thought about children, but not be able to have any... now...

My voice was dry and tentative. I felt like a child searching, "Is... is that why Evira adopted children? Briannaisa and Claudette? Even Pairo?"

Flole nodded slightly as she looked down, almost viewing the past with a small smile, "That's one reason... we reincarnated in another world... one exactly like this one. Evira, my sister Gerel... and I are fraternal triplets. Souls in... new bodies. We were born in the Kakin Empire as peasants... That's why our names are sound… so strange..."

She continued to look at the past, nostalgic smile on her face. It slowly disappeared as whatever memories she saw changed to things terrible...

"We were Hunters... We were called to the NGL because of a disturbance... creatures called Chimera Ants... Briannaisa and Claudette were NGL soldiers that… sacrificed themselves... against drones to save villagers while my sisters... and I fought the officers..."

Flole clutched her shoulder as she became completely silent. Staring off into the distance. She stayed like this for a minute or two, silent as death. Her eyes were wide and tracking. Horrified. Seeing things I wish... or don't wish to see. Traces of terror in her eyes.

"Flole... Flole..." I reached over and shook her knee when she didn't respond, "Flole!"

She jolted up before hissing in pain. She stared around in surprise. It was as if I woke her from a dream. She stared at me without recognition for a moment before blinking, adjusting her eyes to now and blinking her past away. She shook her head and sighed.

"Sorry... the older you get... the easier it should be to forget... a mortal's mind isn't supposed to... remember this much. Experience so much... Human brains evolved to forget... but Zhulong's divine power makes... us eternally youthful… our minds sharp… we are capable of re... covering from everything but the most fatal of injuries... but that means we can never forget… vivid… immortality isn't… all its cracked up to be," she said with a sad smile.

I stared at her... I could feel my eyes and face soften. I can't imagine what she's been through. Then I remembered my restless nights… Hisoka around's hand around my throat… the people dying in the Hunter Exam… the shuttering of he train…

All of it as vivid as if it just happened. I can't forget.

Oh god.

I wanted to leave this topic. I didn't want to keep stressing her out when she was this injured. And I didn't want to think about it… But...

"Is that why Evira recognized Gon? Why she knows so much about what is happening? When she looked at Gon... she was happy."

Flole's face beamed, "Yes. Gon is a very special person... A child of power... and an old friend... he has no hate or malice in his heart. He is a child who can... understand most anyone. Yet... the most resilient of people... are the ones who implode the worst," she looked in the distance again. I snapped my fingers in her face to bring her back from whatever horrors she witnessed.

"Stay with me, Flole. Let's move on from... all this. What happened to you?"

She sighed, "Sorry. I'll hurry on through... Evira sent me to stop a pair of people like us... except they escaped their universe because of the... manipulation of an unknown god. Unlike you and I... they craved power for selfish reasons. The device they were given... allowed them to travel to different universes... that opened up a hole in the membrane... the 'skin' of the universe. Allowing horrors in... They didn't care... even after I explained it to them. They didn't care... how many worlds ended… universes... died... all they wanted was to steal... more power. To be gods..."

I stared, feeling my face turn into a mask of disgust and terror. She continued, her voice becoming more and more clinical with each word. Military…

"I engaged in combat... I had the upper hand in the... beginning. That was until I found out... they had acquired immortality. Along with their stolen... biomechanical suits they... wore me down until I... was forced to retreat... This is the result of that engagement."

She shook her head, anger in her voice, "Since they weren't... stopping and, for lack of a... better term giving universes... fatal infections... Evira sent Mayer... He took one of their... devices. Mayer believed he could stop them... That was until their… benefactors showed up."

Flole stared at me, emotionlessly, "Their benefactors is the same... creature that infected Zhulong... with a demonic sickness. She is slowly losing her... mind and her strength... while the creature and its... allies are consuming more and more... of her territory. Us servants of Zhulong... are trying our best to keep things going... but without Zhulong's power we... are slowly being whittled away..."

I looked at her as she stared at me without even the barest of hope. I reluctantly spoke up.

"Is... is that why you need me? To stop this creature? By finding her brother?"

She shook her head, "No. Zhulong wants you to... find the outcasts from… your universe. Survives. Her brother is about to be born… So that you can protect and... guide him. To avoid the same fate... as her."

"What? Why my universe?" I said as I stared at her in confusion, searching for answers.

She looked down. The pain on her faces no longer physical.

"You know… why you are… so special? You universe… is an egg… the womb of a god… once he hatches… you are lucky James. Your father too… your mother… the birth of a god of the All… consumes…"

Flole looked up. Her eyes refusing to budge from her responsibility of telling me the truth.

"Everything…"

I sat there.

Numb.

"Hunt the weak… that is one rule of the… hunt… She has already resigned herself to... death. Slowly losing her... mind and power... While she hopes... her unborn brother might heal her... her father… has abandoned her… her older brother is indifferent… Deep down... I think she doesn't have hope... sitting with all those souls... in her heaven..."

Flole looked at me with despair. Her next words were fact.

"This is the twilight of a... god."

I opened my mouth. Then I closed it.

She stared at me, focusing on my bandaged left eye.

A brief shine of emotion entered her eyes as stared at me, glazed.

"There those who hunt beasts... Some who hunt monsters... Even those who hunt man... The logical conclusion is that... there are those who hunt gods."

She stared at me like a sad dream. Green eyes refusing to allow hope...

"Who will stop those... who prey on the weak?... Who will hunt the hunters?"

"In the end. No one."

Something coalesced inside of me. A slowly swirling sensation that grew heavy in my heart. A sense of dread... a sense of rage... a sense of purpose.

A sense of fairness.

She continued, not understanding what she just did. A soft, forced smile slowly formed on her lips.

"Now. Let me look at your eye."


I left Flole's apartment feeling empty. While I had countless questions left, the answers I received made me reluctant to ask. A lot on my mind…

She scheduled a surgical appointment for the end of the week with a surgeon she trusted. While she doubted my left eye would ever be back to normal vision, it'd be better than the complete blur I had now.

I was informed that her Nen ability, the one used to heal me and restore my stamina, was actually the acceleration of time. She could age people by hitting them really, really hard. I was aged a week with every thwack of Stick. And since I was immortal, all it did was force my body to grow faster than possible - on top of my ability to adapt to universe bullshit anime physics.

Hmm. Now I can see why Stick was only used on me and not on anyone else. They'd have aged themselves instead of recover from exhaustion, heh...

The fact that I'm immortal... and infertile is burning a hole in my head. My universe about to disappear… I don't know what to think about anything right now…

I walked through the hall of the penthouse floor, down the elevator, and back to my floor. I moved slow, lethargic; unable to put much effort into my step.

I don't know what to think about my old universe not existing… or being eaten… does it matter? I don't live in it anymore. Its a cosmic cycle, from what she elaborated. No one feels anything when it happens… I don't know…

And… most people would find the prospect o being functionally immortal awesome. Some even the fact they'd shoot blanks all day long... but for me? I don't know. Twenty-nine years felt like a long time for me, I can't imagine twenty-nine to the twenty-ninth power... and that ain't even infinite. No possibility of children...

Well, at least I don't reform like Buu or something. I'll still die if something hits me hard enough. That's always a morbid option... Wait, how is that an upside, James? The fuck?

As I walked through the corridor, I noticed there was a surprising lack of guards. I guess now that the 'threat' is over, no need to use up resources. I found out from Flole that the Tao Long is a lot smaller than the other Mafias. What they make up for in size, they make up for in quality and power. It became understandable why she would recruit star talent like she was a coach in desperate need of superstars...

I sighed as I got to my door and twisted the knob. The moment I opened it, a pillow smacked me in the face. I pulled it off to see Gon and Killua bouncing around a cleared living room full of futons on the floor. Leorio underneath an avalanche of pillows and blankets. An arm sticking out of the pile like a twitching cockroach leg.

Even after everything I learned… I couldn't help but smile. Small victories better than no victories.

Jeez. How the fuck were there that many pillows?

"What'd you guys doing in my, er, this isn't my condo is it? Ok, what are you guys doing here?"

Gon beamed as he bounced around the room, avoiding Killua's assault. There was a pile of everything - food, sweats, video games, comics - on a large cart in the middle of my room. Or, rather, several carts. Strung around everywhere were toys of various types and sizes. This fucking place looked like Tom Hank's room in Big, except more.

"Why is there a small trampoline in the room?" I said as I matured past the minefield of adolescence to get to Leorio. I pulled him out of the stack of pillows. He said his thanks and laid on the pile of cushions like a defeated boxer. From the red marks on his face, he got annihilated by the pillow fight co-reigning champions.

Killua laughed as he landed on Gon with a massive pillow, pinning the kid to a futon as he laughed and squirmed. He turned up to me as he held his opponent down and answered.

"We came back here an hour ago and the concierge told us we could stay in your room. He also said we were allowed to order anything we wanted,"

Gon laughed as he crawled under the child-sized pillow and got into seiza position, a large, mischievous smile on his face.

"We decided to order as much stuff as we could! We wanted to see how much stuff we could order before they said no. They never said no!"

I turned to one corner of the living room where a mountain of ChocoRobo-Kun. With a smaller, no less frightening sized, a mountain of used wrappers right next to it. That shit is diabetes, what the fuck. I turned to Killua in disgust, who stared at me with cat-eyed grin.

"My family doesn't let me eat them. They don't want me to end up like my older brother Milluki."

I wonder how big this Milluki was, "Oh, so you decide to do it anyways? That's death over there. Sugary death!" I said with a point at the, frankly, terrifying amount of candy.

Leorio rolled out of the pillow coffin and laid on his back, staring at the three of us with tired, dismissive eyes.

"I tried telling them that, so they buried me pillows. That's what happens when you try to help," he grumbled.

"Look, if you guys are going to stay until tomorrow I ain't' having non-" I said before being hit by another pillow. What's with these two and pillows?

"Ahh! Watch the eye! Ahhh!" I said as they threw pillows at me with way too much force. Fucking children and lack of restraint.

Yet… shit… I knew why Evira and Flole cared and the guys so much… there really was something special about all four of them.


Leorio and I grumbled as we rode the elevator down to the basement with Gon and Killua. We were tired from the amount of energy these two kids generated all night, hopped on pure candy. They were perpetual motion machines. They barely slept and they weren't even tired. We were tired of looking at them. And from our shitty sleep too...

In front of us was hoodie dude and Cabo. I sized them up as they spoke to each other in hushed tones. Hoodie dude was shorter than either Leorio and I, around two meters tall, but taller than Cabo. The fisherman looking guy was about Kurapika's height. Both of them looked to be in their mid-twenties, and stupidly strong from how relaxed they were. They were the ones who retrieved us this morning to meet Mayer; as well as give Gon and Killua gifts?

The elevator opened to reveal a giant, truly massive airplane hanger-like gym. It felt like I just got off the Men In Black elevator. The entire room was pristine white and jade.

It made Mayer's Batman-like training room look fucking pathetic. There were countless people of all shapes and sizes exercising here. Some looked like mafia members. Some important fat-cats with pudgy bellies meandering on treadmills, who exercised their eyes harder than their bodies. They stared at the myriad of women in here. Men, women, countless people. There were various private rooms that people could use. One for tennis, wall ball, basketball. An area for free weights, machines. There was an Olympic sized swimming pool to the right. This was a super gym and super stupid. How did they get the permit-

Oh right, she owns the city. What was I thinking?

I shook my head as my comrades looked in awe at everything. Gon and Killua's faces lighting up like fireworks. Leorio was both awestruck and dumbstruck by the size and amount of crap they could fit underground.

We followed our two guides like zombies, our heads on swivels at everything around us. It was training heaven- was that a rock-climbing wall?

I almost walked into Cabo when they stopped at a receptionist area and a cheery lady who reminded me of a cat greeted the two. The three exchanged pleasantries before she pointed to an area waaay in the back. It was a staircase down to another floor. We continued our zombie walk (or in the case of Gon and Killua, jumping up and down like the children they were) as we entered through the door and went down to the next level.

The five of us exited to a small room with two security guards stationed at a desk. It reminded me of a government reception area. White, pale yellow walls and two chairs to the right - completely lifeless. The guards took one look at Cabo and the hoodie man and let us through. We walked past the desk, down a hallway, and to a single double door to our right. It felt like walking through a stadium hallway or something.

I realized why it felt like a stadium the moment we opened the door. An arena that could fill a few thousand people greeted us. Currently, it filled an entourage of people. In front of the raised, flat, tiled arena was an entourage of people.

There stood Shoot and a guy standing next to him who looked like if Yusuke Urameshi did the fusion dance with Kuwabara, wearing white Bancho clothing. That's the word? Bancho? Anyways, he looked annoyed to be here as he looked around with his beady eyes. Shoot looked like he was debating whether to hide or not.

Mercutio was there in the right, looking indifferent as always. Next to him was that racer, pilot, amazonian woman called Camber. Surrounding them were several people. A... what?... I titled my head as I stared at a woman who looked straight up like a silver Kamen Rider or Power Ranger. She had her arms crossed and stood there... heroically?

Strangely, red Amori, Amori, of the aptly named Amori brothers, stood there. Being all Amori... Amori, heh. I forgot he and his brothers got memberships to Mercutio's group for their job. Whelp, it looks like his brothers are still injured since I see them nowhere around here.

Kurapika and Pairo were there as well, waving at us. Now that I saw them, it was crazy how alike their clothing was. Red and blue. Hot and cold. The color scheme should be flipped around. Next to them was Claudette, waving enthusiastically. A wide, energy brimmed smile on her face. She was wearing her off duty clothing, which consisted of a yellow dress so yellow the sun might be owed royalties. Kalvin and Clyde stood next to her, arms crossed as they laughed their asses off in their identical white short-sleeved shirts, brown pants, and boots.

Standing in the center of this crowd of people was Mayer, tall and... covered in cuts, bruises. Bandaged head to toe. His left arm in a sling and bandages covering the left side of his head. He was as still as a statue, his eyes staring at us with respect... and smoldering intensity...

Next to him was a small girl that looked about Gon and Killua's age, and about their height too. She was blonde, petite, brown-eyed, and covered head to toe in pink. The girl looked as fragile and dainty as a doll. The contrast between her and Mayer was jarring. Was she his niece or something?

To her left was a cart with what looked like a video game console on it. There were a bunch of peripherals on the cart too. Controllers, memory cards, something to add more memory cards. On the pile of was a video game case called 'GREED ISLAND'. Which sounded badass. I want to play that.

We walked through the corridor of elevated stone seats and reached the congregation of people. Hoodie and Cabo left us and stood with Mercutio and his group to the left. The three of us stared at Mayer and the girl, blazing white lights hitting down on us as tried to focus on the two. I could tell in my remaining peripheral vision that Gon and Leorio were staring at hulk sized Mayer in awe.

Mayer spoke up, his deep, gravelly, yet strangely soft-spoken manner of voice coming back after all those weeks.

"Congratulations James. I am proud of you. Congratulations to all five of you."

My smile grew.

"But what awaits you five is a training worse than hell."

And my smile turned into a massive frown.


Hello dear readers!

Not much to say here except...

I hope you are all doing well and continue to do well! Be happy, healthy, and safe!

Rondo out!