Author's Note: I love writing this. Seriously. Thank you for proofreading, Amy and Mackan.
Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.
CHAPTER 3
Ging felt happy, excited, giddy even. He was finally going to be a Hunter after two years of training for it and proving it to his family. He could finally discover new things, know more, and see what he wants.
"Let's go here, Ging-san." Beans turned a left in the hallway.
"Right." Ging followed after.
The airship had landed in Swaldani City. A short car ride later, they had arrived in the Hunters Association building. It was tall, Ging had noted, and looked as modern as the other buildings surrounding it. It was as expected in a metropolitan city.
"Here we are." Beans stopped and knocked on the double doors. "Netero-kaichou, I'm here with Ging Freecss, the one who passed this year's Hunter Exam."
"Oh come in, come in!" A jolly, old voice called out.
It made Ging bristle in wariness. 'That does not sound like a chairman to me.'
"Um, Ging-san, I hope you won't take this as anything but a piece of advice." Beans chuckled nervously. "The Chairman is not-so-ordinary and I'm apologizing in advance if he's somewhat...crazy."
Ging was definitely wary now. He could only nod.
Beans then opened the door, revealing wooden floors and paper walls. Ging looked ahead and saw an old man putting a brush in an ink pot. He knew it was Isaac Netero, the Chairman. He had seen pictures of the Chairman when he was researching. He had expected what he was seeing.
It was the atmosphere he did not expect. It was heavy and surrounded him like a blanket. It was like a weight on his shoulders - it was not that uncomfortable however, it was just there.
But, it disappeared when Netero raised his head and smiled. "Sit down and let's have some tea. Beans, join us."
"Thank you for the offer. I would love to, Kaichou, but I need to go do the paperwork for the Hunter Exams." Beans smiled a bit. "Since you're doing the orientation. Sir."
To Ging, the 'Sir' sounded like an afterthought.
"Ah, a shame." Netero chuckled. "Okay, you're dismissed."
Before Beans left, Ging said, "Thank you, Beans-san."
Beans just looked at him, smiled, and nodded. "You're welcome, Ging-san. And just call me Beans, please." Not waiting for a response, he walked away, closing the doors behind him.
"Now, then. Let's get to business." Netero cleared his throat. Ging turned his eyes at the old man and sat on the wooden floor, cross-legged, in front of the low table Netero was using. "Ging Freecss, congratulations on passing the two hundred sixty-seventh Hunter Exams. You are now officially a Hunter. Blah-blah-blah. The rest are just for formalities."
"Uh, thanks?" Ging grinned which he felt was more of a grimace than anything.
Netero was silent, staring at him until he said, "I would like to show you a Hunter license."
Ging saw the old man take out a card and slid it towards him. He took it, rotating it back and forth. He thought the Hunter license was more extravagant looking than what he was holding. It was no more than a size of a credit card and just as hard as one.
"When you have a Hunter license, you have access to first-class accommodations, lots of money that could last generations if sold, and permission to enter almost any place in the world, even the restricted ones." Netero pointed at the license. "That's the standard one. When you rank up as a Hunter, your card will be replaced with one designated to your rank with added benefits, of course."
"Rank?" Ging never heard or saw that.
"Yeah, Hunters can gain stars which will designate their ranks. The most common, of course, is the one with no stars. Then, there's Single-Star, Double-Star, and the rarest, Triple-Star. There are only less than ten Hunters who are Triple-Star ranked. You can gain stars if you contribute a lot for the society and all that."
Ging processed those words and eyed the Hunter license in his hands. It was sinking in him how powerful Hunters were. Not just in fame and glory, but also literally in money and power. It was like Hunters were different people from normal people. No wonder they are treated with awe and respect.
But he did not want that. The money, the fame, the glory...they were like add-ons to the title 'Hunter'. He just wanted...wanted...
"Why do I have a feeling that you don't care about all those?" Netero suddenly asked, breaking him out of his reverie.
Ging decided to be honest. "I don't. I'm happy I have them, they'll definitely make life easier, but I'm not aiming for that."
"What do you want then?"
It was a different question from 'Why do you want to become a Hunter?'. Ging was not prepared to answer it because he, himself, did not know the answer. It was as if he was grasping fog. It was around him, he could sense it, but he could not hold it like it was something tangible. And so, he replied, "Something that is not in front of me. Something that is not yet discovered. Something that no one else knows..." He raised his eyes and stared straight at Netero. "...and I'll be the one to show it."
Netero grinned then, much to his surprise. "Spoken like a true Hunter. You're already committed to the First Hunter Bylaw."
"Hunter Bylaw?" Ging questioned.
"Yup." Netero rummaged through a pile of scrolls beside him, throwing some behind him and making Ging wince when the scrolls unroll and hit the floor. "Ah! Here it is!" He placed a scroll on the table and opened it. "There are ten Hunter Bylaws. You'll be given a copy when Beans gets back here, of course, but here's the original copy. It's the one I wrote when I first came into position as Chairman."
As Ging read the First Hunter Bylaw, he could not help but snort. "'Hunters must always be on the hunt for something.' I think that's already implied."
"Yeah but it's an important one." Netero shrugged with a laugh. "You can't really be called a Hunter if you're not even hunting."
Ging had to agree with that. And as he read the other bylaws, he began smiling. 'So this is what a Hunter is supposed to be. Sounds good to me.'
"Are you excited?" Netero asked.
Ging could not hide the smirk. "Definitely!"
"That's good then! So, do you have something specific in your mind?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ging cocked his head to the side.
"You know, like a specialization. While doctors have different fields like pediatrics and cardiology, Hunters also have those."
Ging blinked at that. He had not thought of that before. It never slipped in his mind that he should have a specialization. 'Well, it's not as if I know the different kinds of Hunters.' He thought with a sigh.
"From what you told me, you want to discover new things, right?" Ging nodded at Netero's question. "Have you heard of the Kongo Gold Vein?"
"Not really."
"Well, it was a land full of gold back in the past. The people who lived there thrived with the amount of gold they had. But then, an earthquake struck. It was a massive one that killed all of the people there, buried alive when the shaking created cracks and ruined the land forms. It was a catastrophe." Netero shook his head sadly. "From the gold to the people to even their culture – they were destroyed and buried to the ground. Of course, not all was destroyed but now, it's in ruins."
Ging was curious. What was left in the ruins? Could there still be gold? What about the people? Was there information about them? The possibilities were endless. He wanted to know them all. He wanted to see for himself what could be restored from those ruins so that everyone could see that it was not just a place of catastrophe but it had life.
"I can see your mind running amok." Netero laughed. "You're really excited about this?"
"Very." Ging smiled a bit. He could even feel his excitement course through his body, making him fidgety and want to do something. "I want to know. I want to discover."
"You're fitted to be an Archaeological Hunter then. Finding ruins and restoring them to their former glory - that's what they do."
Ging thought about it and nodded in agreement. It did suit his interests.
"Of course, even if that's your specialization, you can always take on any job available here in the Association like research and stuff. The possibilities are endless!"
Ging snorted in amusement. "We think alike then, Kaichou."
"That's good to hear." Netero chuckled.
Inwardly, Ging was wondering if he was somehow manipulated into taking a task.
"Do you have a question by the way? You can ask and I'll try to answer it as much as I could."
There were lots of questions that Ging wanted to ask (especially about the Kongo Gold Vein but he figured that he would have to attain information on that on his own), however, he decided on the question that he had the most vague answer to. "What was that heavy atmosphere earlier when we came in here?"
Silence dropped in between them and they just stared at each other's eyes, not looking away until Netero smirked and told him in a teasing manner, "That's. A. Secret."
Ging's eye twitched in annoyance at the answer. 'This old man...' He did not finish the thought as suddenly, the doors behind him opened again.
"Oh, Beans! You're back!"
"Yes, Kaichou. Ging-san..." Beans went to his side and gave him a black folder with the Hunters Association logo on it. "...this is your Hunter license. You can use this to verify that you are Hunter and to gain access in the Hunter website. Please do not lose it because it will not be replaced. Also, since you have taken the exam and passed, you cannot retake it anymore." Then, he was handed a pile of papers. "And those are some papers that you have to read and sign. It's just for formalities but all in all, you're now a Hunter."
Ging skimmed over the papers and found nothing unsual on it. And so, he took a pen from Beans and signed on the lines. After that, the green creature took the papers and said, "Thank you and congratulations again, Ging Freecss-san. On behalf of the whole Hunters Association, we hope that you will contribute greatly to the society and to the Association. Let us work together in harmony and peace."
"Uh yes, right." Ging quickly stood up and did a half-bow. "Thank you, too, and let's work hard." He was not used to these kinds of things.
"No need to be so stiff, Ging-san." Beans laughed and patted his shoulders. "Kaichou, are you done with the orientation?"
"Yes, if Ging does not have any more questions?" The Chairman winked and grinned.
Ging shuddered and immediately backed away until he was at the double doors. "No, no more."
"Then, you can go now. Thank you again, Ging-san!"
"Right. Bye." Ging opened the doors and went out of the room. Before he could get far, he heard Beans ask if the Chairman said something to him. The old man just answered a maybe. 'I was definitely manipulated, I swear.' He grumbled on the unfairness and his stupidity for getting hooked on it. 'Old men do know a lot then.'
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Arriving at the first floor, Ging went out of the elevator and was about to head straight out of the building when all of a sudden, someone bumped into him so hard that he was pushed from where he was standing.
"Oh my, I sincerely apologize for bumping into you. Oh dear, oh dear."
Before he knew it, he was straightened up and someone was patting his body, flattening his clothes. "Hey, it's okay, you don't need to do that." He pushed away the hands, cringing a bit that somebody actually touched him.
"Oh, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."
"Nah, it's..." When Ging looked up, his brown eyes widened at the sudden brightness. As his eyes adjusted, he could see it was because of the huge smile (all perfect teeth) and just plain because of the blonde guy with, for some reason, sparkles surrounding him. What shocked him the most was what he sensed around the man that he bumped into.
It was dangerous. It was dark. It was menacing. All behind the bright facade was so much bad that Ging could not help but shiver. 'Who is this guy?'
"You must be Ging Freecss, the only passer of this year's Hunter Exams." The blonde man was still smiling (and it unnerved Ging even more than hearing a look-alike of himself laugh out loud) as he stretched out a hand. "My name is Pariston Hill, Single-Star pro-Hunter."
Ging just stared at the blonde, smiling man in front of him, not taking the offered hand or even moving away even just a step. It was as if he was paralyzed there, unable to do anything else. 'What is this?' He actually felt it before, when he entered the Chairman's room. However, unlike the Chairman's which only felt like something heavy was on him, Pariston Hill's was heavier and was a mix of dark and evil.
Pariston kept smiling even as Ging watched the offered hand go. "I'll just assume that you are too shocked to even shake my hand." And to Ging's surprise, Pariston began walking away.
Ging knew he had to say something. Anything. Just so that he could be distracted from the darkness surrounding Pariston. "Uh, yeah, sorry about bumping into you and all."'Seriously, why do I have to be so awkward again?'
Pariston stopped and turned towards him slightly. "Oh, it's okay, Ging-san. Next time..." Ging's breath hitched when he felt the presence become even darker and heavier. "...please do be careful." Then, it was gone as the blonde man went inside the elevator.
Breathing heavily, Ging had to lean against the wall so that he could regain his senses. He never felt something like that in his entire life. It actually scared him. It was like a black aura coming at him.
'Aura, huh?' Ging's instincts was saying that this was something important. It might even pertain to the 'secret' that Netero said earlier. 'Well, no time like the present.' He pushed back from the wall and walked towards the exit. He would find out what the 'secret' was. He would also go to the Kongo Gold Vein and restore it.
'But first, resources and information.' He smirked and clutched the black folder containing his Hunter license. 'Time to have some fun then!'
And it was the start of his life as a Hunter.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Be calm, my too-creative brain and energetic fingers! This is just too much fun! Oh why does Ging Freecss have to be such an enigma?!
Expect in the next chapter: Hard Times, Good Times, Shitty Times
See you next time!