Author's Note: It's growing!
Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.
CHAPTER 17
After Gale's birthday, Ging and his companions became busy with the video game. They had finally begun talking to the investors to discuss contracts for the selling of the video game (Ging was even surprised that they were entertained because the game was not yet finished). They had also talked to potential people that could help them in forming the game.
It was there that they met List and Wdwune.
They met up in a restaurant in the town they all agreed upon on. Ging blinked in surprise at seeing the two males. List was a short, blonde man with green eyes while Wdwune looked scruffier than he was with a messy afro and a cigarette stick in hand.
"Nice to meet you, List, Wdwune." Gale smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Gale-san." List nodded and grimaced when smoke passed by. "Wdwune-san, please don't smoke here. This is a public establishment."
"Oops, sorry, List."
Ging smiled wryly. He did not expect that List and Wdwune would be like that, but he did not care. To him, they looked like people that he would get along with. "Okay, so you know that we're making a video game and we picked you two to be the visual artists."
"Yes. We would like to know what the game is about." List said with a smile.
And so, Ging explained the game. How it would start with applying Nen on the console, how the person would be transported to the game itself, about the card collecting and the various places in the game, and so on and so forth. At the end of his explanation, he drank the remaining water in his glass and watched List and Wdwune gawk.
"That's pretty damn amazing." Wdwune was the one who snapped out of it. "So the player himself or herself will be playing it, not through some controller."
"Who will take care of the beginning?" List questioned.
"Eeta. She's a Hacker Hunter." Gale replied. "And at the ending, when players leave the game, Elena, her twin sister and also a Hacker Hunter, would be there."
"And Ickshonpe, their teacher and a Single-Star Hacker Hunter, will be doing most of the technical details and coding of the game." Ging added. When he saw the two glance around, he snorted. "They're not here. They're officially stuck in the 'digital world', their words."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Wdwune flailed. "Does that mean that the player will die if he or she dies in the game?"
Ging frowned and sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, it is a game for Hunters." List muttered. "They should be aware of that before they play the game."
"That's true. Oh!" Wdwune snapped his fingers. "That means that the game will take place in a super large area, right?"
Ging was shocked at that. He actually had not thought about where the game would take place. From his peripheral vision, he saw that Gale was also thinking the same lines as him.
"Since we have lots of towns and it should be large and wide enough for the players to actually feel like they're travelling in an RPG, it should be in an island." Gale stated.
"An island? Where would you get an island?" Wdwune was flailing again.
"We'll buy one." Ging said in a matter-of-fact voice. "We can do that. We have billions of money as Hunters."
"Ging-san, it's like you're seeing a can of soup and an island in the same category." List chuckled.
"Gale could do it." Ging could see that Gale was already researching on the laptop given to them by Ickshonpe. "She could probably haggle the prices down or something."
"Oh yes." Gale grinned widely. "Since I'm a Jackpot Hunter, my aim is to gain more money and lose the least amount possible."
"You two are crazy!" Wdwune shouted, gaining wide-eyed looks from the other customers of the restaurant. "But I like it! I'm in!"
"Wdwune-san! Keep it down please! I'm so sorry about him, Ging-san, Gale-san. However, I also accept the job." List bowed and at the same time, pushed Wdwune's head down.
Ging just slouched in his seat, already feeling embarrassed from the stares. "That's great and all, but can we get out of here?"
Needless to say, they threw down some cash and got out of the restaurant.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Ging! Look at this!"
Ging stopped his reading of one of the storylines in getting a card to see what Gale was talking about. "What is it?"
"Number eighty-four, Paladin's Necklace." On Gale's hands was a gold-chained necklace with a shield on the center. "It has the Reflector card's abilities - the player will not be affected by any spells cast on him or her and it can undo curses on cards by touching them. Just as long asthe player is wearing it, of course."
"It's amazing that Wdwune and List can do this. Their Nen abilities are truly unique." Ging had to admit that making the video would be difficult without the two males' powers. Wdwune's ability abled him to conjure whatever he drew on a special kind of paper. Meanwhile, List's ability was to place whatever power that was needed for the cards. Ging did not know how the blonde could do it, but he figured it was a Specialist type of ability.
"I know, right?" Gale smiled and threw the Paladin's Necklace up. "Back!" At her word, the necklace changed into its card form.
"It's good that the ring is responding well." Ging touched his own that was on his index finger. He and Gale had decided on using rings as a sort-of controller in the game, giving it three commands - Gain (to change a card into an item and to use a spell card), Book (to summon the binder to place the cards in), and Back (to change an item to its card form). However, the Back command could only be used by the game masters, which were Ging, Gale, the three Hacker Hunters, List, and Wdwune. If they did not do that, then it would be abused by the players. It was why they formed the card transformation limit and the one-minute limit.
The ring would not be much of a hassle to hold (Ging's idea) and looked quite amazing with the Nen engravings on it (Gale's idea). He was the one who made the rings since he was knowledgeable with the Nen engravings. Eeta and Elena's Nen were also in the rings to keep track of them in the island.
Speaking of the island, Gale had managed to buy one, much to Ging's shock at how fast it was. It was in the middle of the sea (which was good since it would be not much accessible) and directly at the east of Yorkshin City, the city where they met and paid the former owner of the island. When they had first arrived on it, Ickshonpe immediately dragged Ging with him to plan where they would put the towns, beasts, and most especially, the special Nen barriers for the game, much to Ging's chagrin and the women's amusement.
"I can't believe that it's coming along so well." Gale grinned and twirled around, her winds making her hair flutter. "And it hasn't been a year."
"True." Ging grinned back and in a spur of the moment, grabbed Gale by the waist and they spun around.
The black-haired woman squealed and laughed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to hold on. "Ging! Wait!"
Ging then dropped them on the grass. They were now lying side-by-side, staring at the sky once again. "I won't do that again, you know. You're quite heavy."
"Lies. As if you can't carry me with those muscles." Gale teased and groped his arms.
He shivered...and he did not know if it was a pleasurable shiver or a not-so-pleasurable shiver. "Shut up, woman."
"Old man!"
Suddenly, a sketchbook blocked their views. On it was, Sorry to burst your happy bubble but I need to tell you something.
"What is it, Ickshonpe?" Ging asked as he sat up. Gale continued lying on the grass.
He waited until Ickshonpe was finished writing. We need someone to guard the island from outside intruders, like people who would come here through boat or other means beside the console.
"I understand." Ging hummed and thought of a person that could do that. His mind then strayed to the piece of news he randomly found in the papers. 'The murderer who only uses bare hands with no evidence left, huh?' "I think I have someone."
"You do? Who is it?" Gale questioned.
Ging just smirked. "You'll see. We'll be going back to Yorkshin then." It was the last place he heard where the murderer was.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"You want me to what?"
"Help us make a video game." Ging smiled a bit. "It will not land you in a dingy prison, but you will be living in an island. Don't worry, it's quite modernized."
"Hold up there, mister whatever. Can you start again from the beginning?"
Before Ging could start explaining again, he was beaten to it by Gale. The two of them were currently in a bar in Yorkshin City (leaving the three Hacker Hunters in the island) to meet a man named Razor, a murderer that is on the wanted list of the police. Gale was shocked when Ging had explained that he wanted Razor to guard the island, however, she had just shrugged and had given an okay on that.
"Razor-san, we are making a special video game that involves the person playing it to be transported in the game itself. Because the island where the game is situated is accessible to anyone with a boat, we need someone to guard the island from intruders. And we want you to do that."
Razor was silent and wide-eyed before he huffed out a slow exhale. "Why do you want me, a murderer, to guard your game?"
"Because you're strong, Razor." Ging said bluntly. It was true anyway. It was the first factor that came to mind when he thought of someone who could guard the island. "We need that strength. You won't hesitate to fight those intruders." He could see that Razor was thinking about it.
"What's in it for me then?" Razor muttered.
"Freedom from the police." Gale smiled. "We'll be taking care of that. You'll be paid for your services as long as you do your job. You will also have additional jobs but nothing you can't handle. Again, you will be paid for that. What do you think, Razor-san?"
Razor took a deep breath and sighed. "You know, it's the first time I heard my name so many times within a span of minutes."
'That's a weird answer.' Ging thought and listened to Razor's monologue.
"I'm the typical abused boy who was called a worthless little shit by my dumbass father. I grew up with violence and so, I turned to violence. It was what I knew. I killed to get my frustrations off me. And it sickens me to hear my name in that disgusted voice." Razor then turned to him and Gale. "But then, there's the two of you. All I can say is that you're crazy for thinking of me for the job. But my answer is yes, I'll take the damn job. And just Razor, no honorifics."
Ging grinned. "That's more like it."
"Nice to be working with you then, Razor." Gale also grinned.
"So, where's that island and what can I do there?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
One of the nights that Ging stayed up to go over the construction of the buildings and the storylines was interrupted by a knock on his door. He figured it was something important if the person deemed to go to him. "Come in."
The door opened, revealing Gale wearing a somber expression. "Can I stay here for a while?"
Ging would have blushed at the insinuation, but he did not process that. Just seeing Gale's face made him think it was serious. "Sure."
Gale closed the door and immediately went to his side, curling up beside him. He placed the papers on the nightstand and pulled her closer. They were silent. It was his way of letting Gale do whatever she wanted.
Then, she spoke in a quiet voice. "So many things have happened in my life after I met you. The restoration of my old home, meeting new friends, all those travelling, everything and anything. I feel so lucky and afraid." Ging only rubbed her back at that, keeping quiet and just letting her talk. She continued, "I'm afraid that this would be all just a dream and I'll wake up all alone with the ghosts of my clan haunting me."
Ging stated the only thing that came to mind. "I don't think ghosts would follow you every single day of their deaths." There was a chuckle at that. "Hey, I'm stating an opinion here. And anyway, I assure you that this is no way a dream."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because if it is, then this is not what's supposed to be happening in my dreams."
"What?"
Ging chuckled at her confused tone. "I never dreamed of getting a girlfriend and having someone with me in my travels. I always want to be alone."
"Are you asexual or something, old man?" Gale squeaked when Ging poked her sides.
"Shut up. I just don't think of romance. My mind was always on discovering. To feel that excitement and happiness afterwards. It's like a high to me."
Ging looked at Gale who cupped his cheek, rubbing a thumb on his scruffy facial hair, and said, "But now, what do you think? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"
"Wait, I think those are lyrics." When Gale pouted, he conceded. "Okay, okay. To answer your question, I think that I prefer this to any real life scenario or fantasy. I'm really happy all of this is happening to me."
"Nice answer." Gale smiled and their lips met in a soft kiss. When they parted, she whispered, "I really like you, Ging."
Ging blushed and hid his face on a laughing Gale's hair. "Sheesh, stupid woman. You just had to say it like that."
"I like surprising you after all."
"Of course you do." Ging pulled her even closer until she was on his chest and they were side-by-side lying on the bed. He pulled the blanket over them. "Now, I want to sleep."
"Okay." Was the murmur before he felt the even breaths. It would seem that the talk took a toll on Gale.
He was glad to know all of that though. It was like they had talked their insecurities out, letting the other know what was happening. It made him feel closer to the black-haired woman and he knew he was really falling.
'This may not be the life I dreamed of, but I know I made some right decisions.' With that thought, Ging gave one last kiss on Gale's head and closed his eyes to sleep. Another day was waiting for them, and he could not wait to live it.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Ah, the game is almost finished. Ah, something is going to happen soon. Ah, the horror! Any way the wind blows!
Expect in the next chapter: Celebration, Liquid, Purple
See you next time!