Author's Note: And so, this is the birth of an important arc in the canon universe.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 15

Ging scowled. He was distracted...again. This time, it was not only Gale.

"Solitaire is a famous card game." Red eyes blinked.

"But it can be quite repetitive and boring." Blue eyes blinked back.

I don't even like Solitaire. The paper of the sketchbook flapped with the wind.

"Can I ask why the hell are you three coming with us? I did not agree to anything." Ging asked in annoyance.

"But you did not disagree." Gale pointed out from his side. "And the more, the merrier."

'This is ridiculous.' Ging sighed tiredly. They had finally left town to move on their travel. Apparently, the three Hacker Hunters kept following them even after the job was done and was just being maintained once in a while.

He did not mind it as much as he should. He was only groaning about how it all happened when at first, he was alone, then Gale came with him, and now, three more was added. It was almost like a zero to one hundred real quick.

And there was another thing - his new...relationship with Gale.

After that talk under the sky, they had returned to their rooms and had muttered a good night to each other. Nothing really drastically changed in their relationship (and he was not expecting something like sleeping on the same bed or whatever. Not at all). When it was morning, he had greeted Gale normally. The woman had only smiled and had hugged him shortly before wrapping an arm around his. It was a touch that he was slowly getting used to.

He was glad though that nothing drastic changed. The physical touches were more affectionate and stayed longer than before. But that was okay with him. As long as they do not become the kind of couple that is really...physical and clingy, he would tolerate the touches. And maybe even initiate some himself?

Ging broke out of his thoughts when he felt a hand hold his sleeve. He turned towards Gale who was looking at him with a small smile.

"You okay? Thinking hard there." Gale reached out to pat his hair.

It was a weird feeling - getting a pat like he was a dog. But he was not opposed to it. He could even say to himself that he sort-of, kind-of, liked it. He was not going to say that out loud, of course. His response was simply, "Yeah. Just thinking."

"Just don't get an aneurysm there, old man." Gale teased with a grin.

"Idiot woman." Ging smirked and poked her on the forehead. "I told you to stop calling me an old man."

"And I told you that Freecell is the most annoying basic card game in computers."

"Ickshonpe, you're our teacher and all, but sometimes, we wonder why we agreed with your taste."

Ging raised an eyebrow at the conversation and looked at Ickshonpe's written response.

Shut up, brats. You don't know the challenge that Freecell gives. It beats Solitaire a million times over.

"So, who's the old man now?" Ging murmured to Gale.

Big, hazel brown eyes twinkled in laughter. "Ging! That's so rude!"

Ging was curious though so he asked the three Hacker Hunters, "What are you talking about?"

Eeta was the one who answered. "Incorporating card games in video games."

"Or just cards in video games." Elena shrugged. "Ickshonpe wanted to know about it."

Ickshonpe wrote down on his sketchbook, Admit it. Using cards is an interesting factor. Imagine that in an RPG or even in puzzle games.

'Cards? RPG? Puzzles?' Ging suddenly stopped walking when that thought came to him. He did not even see the questioning gazes from his companions. His mind was buzzing with ideas, or more precisely, a general idea of a game. 'Collecting cards, hunting those cards...' That reminded him of something.

'Of course, the childhood game that Gale told me.' He remembered that. Scattering the cards with her wind, must collect all before the others, using Nen to find them...

'Nen? Hunters?' The first Hunter Bylaw: 'Hunters must always be on the hunt for something'. From there, it all came to a full circle for Ging. "A game for Hunters!"

"A what?" Gale asked in confusion.

Ging just realized that they were in the middle of the forest path. "Oh, I spaced out there, huh?"

"Quite so, Ging." Elena and Eeta said simultaneously in their monotone voice.

What was that about a game for Hunters? Ickshonpe wrote on the paper.

"I just thought of the next best thing." Ging grinned. "A video game for Hunters where they have to collect cards in order to win the game."

"Oh? Just like my childhood game?" Gale also grinned. Ging could see the excitement on her face.

"Yeah, it inspired me actually."

"But when you say for Hunters..."

"...does that mean they have to use Nen?"

"Can be." Ging shrugged. "It could be a prerequisite. The player needs to use Nen to play the game."

Ickshonpe then waved his sketchbook to get some attention. What if we make the players physically go into the game? It's more fun that way than using a controller.

"Genius!" Ging liked that idea. It would definitely make the game more interesting and at the same time, difficult for the players.

"And we could rank the cards in difficulty of obtaining. Place some limits." Gale suggested.

"That's a good one, Gale!" Ging could not stop smiling. So many thoughts and ideas were forming in his head. It almost gave him information overload. But he could feel excitement fill him up, spreading through his veins, giving him an adrenaline rush. "Let's do it! What do you guys think? Can we do it?"

"I don't mind." The twins even quirked up their lips into a small smile. Ging was sure that they were also excited with the prospect of making an actual video game.

I've always wanted to make a video game. And I'm not going to waste this opportunity. Ickshonpe wrote on the sketchbook.

"Gale?" Ging was surprised when he saw the black-haired woman smirk.

"If it's for Hunters, then it better cost billions of Jenny. And we should only make a few copies. That way, it would circulate through auctions and resellers, and from there, we'll earn loads of money!"

Ging snorted softly and chuckled. "You and your money, woman."

"Jackpot Hunter here." Gale twirled with a laugh.

Ging understood though. It would be beneficial to them if they did that. It was a difficult task after all - making a video game out of nothing. Hell, there were only five of them who would do it, and that made it more difficult.

"We need more people though." It was as if Gale read his mind. "I don't think five people are enough for this."

"True. I'll inform my group about this and they can give us some contacts." Ging was about to take out his phone when he stopped at Ickshonpe's written words.

We should write down our ideas first, brainstorm about it, and from there, we'll make a proposal. If this is going to be sold, we would need business partners and they would want to read about it.

Ging nodded at that. "You're right. We need to form it first."

"We can also think about the technical details on how we should do it." Eeta stated.

"Like what platform, what codes to use, etcetera. We need to research." Elena added.

That's our task as Hacker Hunters. Ging and Gale will think about the gameplay itself and how the Nen will work on that.

Ging felt really excited as he watched the three Hacker Hunters converse about the technicalities. He did not expect that his idea would be taken as seriously as this. But now that it was, he definitely wanted to see it done. It looked like restorations and researches would have to wait for a while longer.

"I'm really happy that you're doing this, Ging." Gale told him while looking down. It made him smile and flush a bit to see that Gale was trying to hide her own flushed cheeks. "I can see that it's really getting you excited and happy."

"I am excited and happy." Ging assured. "This would be fun. Challenging but fun."

"And saying that my childhood game is an inspiration? That just made me like you even more."

And Ging blushed at that and he had to turn around to hide it. "That's too blunt, Gale, damn it. And it's a sort-of restoration, too. Restoration of culture. Something like that." He was babbling.

There was a small laugh and arms wrapped around his waist. "Thank you." Gale mumbled at his back. "Thank you for doing this, Ging."

Ging smiled and turned around to pull her into a proper hug. It probably surprised her from the gasp that escaped her lips. He was surprised himself that he had the guts to do this. "Thank you as well. For just being you."

Gale just smiled and nuzzled his chest. He was really happy to have Gale with him. She could have left him and did her own work right after the restoration of the Lurka Ruins. She could have not travelled with him, not listened to his stories, not told stories in return, not left him alone when he was in his pensive moods, not teased him for looking like an old man with his scruffy facial hair, not wrapped an arm around his own, not hugged him, not kissed him...all those could have not happened...

But they did. He experienced all of them with her. He learned more about her, and even about himself, about what they could have and what they could feel. The possibilities were definitely endless. He wanted all of those and more with Gale.

So, he just hugged her tighter and kissed her on the head. But then, he saw a flash of light at his right.

"Oops, there was a flash."

A sigh. "Elena..."

"You two!" Ging broke out of the hug to chase the twins who were holding cameras. "You better delete that!"

"No!" Was the simultaneous shout.

He heard Gale laugh out loud and imagined that Ickshonpe was writing 'hahaha' multiple times on the sketchbook. He could only sigh and grin.

'This is going to be fun!'

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Oh yes, the birth of G.I. or at least, the idea of it. Exciting!

Expect in the next chapter: Another, Explosion, Fumbling

See you next time!