Author's Note: I love seeing Ging fanart like legit, it makes me scream.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 10

Ging did not know how long he and the woman were lying on the ground just staring at the night sky full of stars. What he knew was that his body was regaining strength and losing the fatigue from earlier.

"You're not a Zoldyck."

Ging blinked in surprise and turned to look at the woman who was still staring at the sky. The silence was now broken. "Yeah, I'm not. I met them earlier though."

"And they did not kill you? How surprising. Silva-san probably liked you."

Ging huffed out a breath. "He said I was unique."

"I can see that." The woman then looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"To discover and restore the Lurka Ruins." He answered bluntly, not having a reason to lie anyway.

Unexpectedly, the woman's lips quirked up. "Yeah, I've heard that line a lot."

Ging scratched his head and grumbled out, "Sheesh, is everyone I meet here that paranoid?"

"Not really paranoid." The woman glanced back up the sky. "I've always asked what other people are doing in a place like this."

"You sound like you've been doing it your whole life."

"Nah, more like four years of my seventeen. Oh wait, five years of my eighteen. I remember that I just had my birthday."

"So my assumption was right. You're the same age as me." Ging gawked when the woman suddenly sat up and turned her body towards him.

"Huh?! No way! You're lying! You don't look eighteen!"

For some reason, it annoyed Ging. "Hey! Just because I look a bum doesn't mean I'm old!"

"You're probably in your forties, just telling yourself that you're still young."

'She completely ignored what I just said.' Ging thought in exasperation. "I don't have time to clean myself up. I'm always travelling and doing my work anyway."

"'Work'?"

"Yeah." Ging figured that the woman would not believe him without evidence, and so, took out his Hunter license. "I'm a pro-Hunter - Single-Star Archaeological Hunter to be specific."

The woman gasped and quickly took the license in her hands, to Ging's chagrin. "Wow, this is the real deal! You can't really fake ranked licenses."

"Exactly. Now, do you believe me when I say I'm here to restore the Lurka Ruins?"

The woman eyed his license then him, looking straight at his eyes. He then felt a slight breeze pass him. "I believe you."

'So it is her power.' Ging noticed that the leaves did not even move that was why he figured that it was not a natural wind passing by. It really came from the woman.

"Ging Freecss, huh?" The woman started smiling and returned the license. "My name is Gale, eighteen years old, and I'm a Jackpot Hunter."

"I knew it. You're a Hunter." Ging sat up and placed his license back where he took it. "It's hard to afford the Zoldycks."

"That's definitely true." Gale sighed. "But when I became a Hunter two years ago, just having a Hunter license was not enough. That's why I became a Jackpot Hunter. I need to earn the money."

Ging understood that. He knew if he was not a Hunter, he could not have afforded all the research and the restorations he had done. Being a Hunter was definitely the quickest way to getting money and resources.

What he did not understand was the 'why'. And so, he asked, "Why did you hire the Zoldycks to kill off anyone in the forest? Does it have something to do with the Lurka Ruins?"

Gale then grinned widely, "I hired them to do that because I know how people abuse their power to satisfy their greedy desires. And yes, it has something to do with the Lurka Ruins." It was Ging's turn to gasp when Gale moved her hair away, revealing a tattooed shoulder. And the tattoo was the same symbol he had seen on the walls of the ruins. "I was a part of the Lurka Clan after all."

'I did not see that coming.' It was the only thought Ging's shocked mind could process.

"You're so shocked." Gale laughed and fixed her hair back. She stood up, offered a hand, and said, "Come on, I'll tell you all about it while we go around the village."

Ging did not trust any person's word. He learned that the hard way back when he just became a Hunter. He should be questioning the validity. He should be asking more questions. He should be...

However, he saw the bright, hazel brown eyes, the grin, and the overall appearance of Gale. His instincts were saying, 'That woman could not lie without me noticing.' And that was why his mind said, 'Fuck it.'

Ging took the offered hand.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Five years ago, my father snapped."

"What the hell?" Ging had listened to others beginning their stories with something meaningful or factual. Not something like that.

"Just hold on. I'm doing in medias res." Gale huffed out. "Anyway, so my father snapped. I expected that to happen. The Elders had been pushing everyone to their limits with all of the clan's traditions. You know how the world is ever-changing?" Ging nodded at that. "It was like that. Only a few select people were following the traditions. There were lots who wanted to discover what the outside world was. My father was the latter and he was as straightforward as a no-filter old man. When the Elders kept on going, he snapped and told them off. What do you think happened next?"

"The conflict battle?"

"Exactly." Gale frowned a bit. "It was chaos. Everywhere, my clansmen were fighting. The division was so pronounced back then. Even I had to fight because apparently, my so-called friends did not like my way of thinking."

"What was your way of thinking?"

"I wanted to discover what's out there and at the same time, I wanted to uphold my traditions. I wanted to know more and kept what I knew since I was born. Apparently, that was not enough. You had to pick a side."

"Yeah, that's how society and the world work." Ging would know. He had seen enough of it from politics and battles. Being in the middle was just as bad as picking a side. So why not just pick the side with the lesser evil?

"No place for the in-between, huh?" Gale sighed then stopped. She turned towards Ging. "So, what do you think happened next from the battle?"

Ging stopped beside her and looked around, seeing the bloody weapons. "Everyone died from fighting each other except you."

"Close enough." Gale smiled and to Ging's surprise, he sensed that something was different from the smile. Something...darker. All of a sudden, the black-haired woman picked up a twig then broke it in half with one hand. "I snapped."

Eyes widening, Ging stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"You don't have to look so afraid." Gale assured. "It is what I just said. I don't remember what happened during that time. But when I came to be, everyone was dead...killed by me."

"How do you know that if you don't remember anything?"

"Because they were all sliced to pieces by my wind."

'That's a dangerous ability.' Ging thought grimly.

"But don't worry, I won't lose control like that again." Gale raised her hand and moved it like she was conducting an orchestra. Ging then felt a breeze pass. "I'm sure you know Nen. You're a pro-Hunter after all, Single-Star to boot. Remember conditions?"

"Limitations and vows." Ging recited, having read it from his research.

"Yes, that. When I formed my Nen ability, or I guess I should say name it because I already have it from birth..."

"You were born with those winds?" He interrupted.

"Yup!" Gale smiled. "It's a Lurka Clan thing. Everyone in the clan was born with it. No exceptions."

"Okay, continue. Sorry." Ging winced. Apologizing still irked him.

"It's okay." Gale waved it off. "So I was saying, when I named my Nen ability, I made a condition. That condition was if I snapped again, before I could attack anyone and anything, my winds would kill me."

Ging whistled lowly. "That's a hell of a condition."

"It's actually helped me a lot. It keeps me grounded and calm. Sure, I could never keep anger away. We're humans. We're supposed to be emotional people. But having that condition helped me control myself."

Ging looked down. His mind was reeling from the information he was given and from Gale herself. 'To have to make that limitation and vow to follow that...her resolve is strong.' He did not know how she could do that. Having killed her whole family - her whole clan at that - and surviving by herself...he gained a newfound respect for her. Glancing up to see Gale smiling at him with curiosity in her eyes, he thought, 'How can you still smile like that?'

"So that's my past." Gale grinned. "You're like, the first person to know that."

Ging grinned back. His mind was still spinning with questions and hypotheses; however, he knew there was time for that later. For now, he said, "I'm honored."

Gale laughed and twirled, her hair flowing freely. "You should, Ging. That's like SS-class information."

"Don't get cocky." Ging snorted. "That's A-class at best."

"Ruin the fun would you?" Gale pouted.

It was ridiculous...and calming. Ging never felt this relaxed with anyone. Ever. Not even with his special non-profit organization. It was as if he was already trusting Gale to not attack him or something else.

'How disconcerting.' It left him confused but before he could think more of it, he heard Gale ask a question.

"Hey, since you're really adamant with restoring the ruins of my clan, why do that? Is it because it's your work?"

"It's not just because of work." Ging told her in vehemence, feeling insulted by her insinuation. "I want to discover it and restore it to its former beauty and glory. I want to know more about its past. The culture, the traditions, everything about it. And I want the world to see it." His brown eyes stared right at the big, hazel brown eyes. "It's not about me. It's about everything that this encompasses."

Silence dropped in between them. Gale just stared at him with wide eyes while he just cringed a bit. 'Well, that was unexpected of me.'

But then, Gale smiled gently and softly and to Ging, it was really really beautiful. "I'm glad that you think that, Ging."

Blushing, Ging looked away. "Y-Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"You're so awkward. Were you shy as a kid?"

"Let's not talk about that." He did not want to remember much about his past and, simultaneously, his family.

"Yup, you are."

'She ignored what I just said again.'

"Anyway, now I know that you have good intentions with the Lurka Ruins, can I help with the restoration?"

"Huh?" Ging blinked in surprise. "No, I don't need your help. I can do it."

Gale frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just as I said." Ging scratched his head in confusion. 'Why is she getting mad?'"I'll just contact my group to get them here with the necessary materials."

"I want to help!"

"And I don't need it!"

"I have the money!"

"So do I! You're not the only Hunter here!"

"I have the knowledge! I'm part of the Lurka Clan, remember?"

"Look, let's calm down here." Ging placated, feeling tired from the shouting. "You don't know much about restorations. You might just get in the way."

It seemed that those statements were the wrong things to say. He gawked when all of a sudden, Gale was growling and he could see wisps of black aura coming out of her body. It was almost beast-like. 'Was this what made her snap?' Huge gusts of wind were already surrounding them. 'Oh shit.'

"You will let me help in the restoration or so help me, somebody's gonna get hurt!"

"Okay, calm down!" Ging raised his hands up. "Fine, fine! You could help."

Instantly, the winds and the black aura disappeared. "Really?!" Gale was back to smiling.

'I knew it. It is dangerous.' Ging sighed. Gale was the typical woman with mood swings so he figured that the wind responds to that. "Yeah, just let me get in touch with the team. You could help us understand everything in here."

"Okay!" Gale agreed with a grin.

'This is gonna be a long restoration.' Ging took out his phone and began typing an e-mail. Inwardly, his heart was beating loudly and he could feel the excitement rushing. 'But it will be fun.' He eyed Gale, who was still twirling and letting her winds flow into a breeze, and smiled. 'Another bond formed.'

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Ah yes, the "last of the clan" trope. I couldn't help it. It was too much of a plot bunny. Gale is definitely important.

Expect in the next chapter: Restore, Stories, Snarky

See you next time!