Author's Note: Uh, yeah. Hopefully, this would lighten up the mood.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 21

Time passed slowly for Ging. He hid from the world while the world did not bother him anymore (he was forever grateful for Ickshonpe's hacking skills). He never bothered reading or watching any news, kept to himself whenever he was in public, and wore even baggier clothing and thicker turbans. No one gave him a second glance when he walked through towns. It was as if he was just common folk.

Despite all that, he still did his job as a Hunter. He only took the small researches though, the ones that could distract him through the days. He did not want to think of what he just...left.

'Stop it.' Ging scowled and stomped his way back to the inn he was staying at. He had finished another research and wanted to sleep the rest of the day away. But when he got to his room, a familiar scroll was on the bed. He knew it was from the old man (a.k.a Chairman Netero) before he opened it.

Let's have a friendly meeting, shall we?

Netero

The alarm bells in Ging's mind rang loudly. It was definitely suspicious. He wanted to disregard it, but he had a feeling that it was not just a friendly meeting.

And there he was again with feelings. Those did not help him in the past. Why should those help him now?

'Because you're always the curious one.' Ging damned that voice that always told him what he needed to hear. He was becoming crazy, he was sure of it. Maybe a fresh scenery would be great for him...

'Swaldani City it is then.' Gripping the scroll, Ging walked out of the room to check out. He had to travel a long way before he would reach an airship that could take him there. It was okay though.

There was no deadline after all.

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

More than a week passed before Ging finally arrived in Swaldani City (he would not admit that he procrastinated a day or two). Once he got in the building of Hunters Association, Beans was already waiting for him in the lobby.

"Kaichou was correct in his estimate. You would arrive in ten days after you opened the scroll." Beans smiled.

"That old man really knows too much." Ging grimaced. He could only wonder what else did the Chairman of the Hunters Association know.

"Follow me then. He's waiting for you."

Ging did. On the way, Beans asked him questions about how he has been and what he has been doing. He only answered vague truths ("I'm fine. Tired from travelling.""Doing some researches and restorations."). Probably sensing that he would not divulge more, the green creature then started explaining about some of Netero's crazy antics. He smiled a bit at that, thankful for the topic change and amused at the stories.

"Ah, here we are." Beans stopped in front of a wooden door. "Just step right in. And good luck."

'Good luck?' "Right, thanks." Ging opened the door and went in the conference room...

And immediately regretted opening the damn scroll.

"You're finally here!" Netero chortled. "Welcome, Ging. You're officially the 'Boar' in my board of advisors, the Zodiacs. Have a seat."

Ging's face twitched in annoyance. "You appointed me as your advisor?"

"And eleven others!" Netero pointed at the long table in the middle of the room. There were eleven other people sitting around the table, and one of them was the bane of Ging's existence.

"Even Pariston is here?"

"Ging-san! It's nice to see you again after so long!" Pariston's smile was so bright and fake that Ging thought it was really plastic.

His brown eyes surveyed the other ten and noted that they were glaring at him. He then turned his eyes to Netero who just smirked.

"Sit down there, brat."

Ging rolled his eyes and went to the only empty chair. Beside him was a green-haired woman that was somehow familiar to him. Then, he remembered. The dog ears and dog-like nose were a dead giveaway.

All of a sudden, the woman growled. "It's you, the one who bumped into me years ago. You didn't even bother to help me up."

"I was distracted." Ging said honestly and shrugged. That was the day of the awarding of newly-ranked Hunters. He was pissed off by Pariston, embarrassed by Bisky, and exasperated by the Chairman himself.

"Is that all you got to say?!"

"Cheadle-san, that's enough." A man in a cow-print shirt reprimanded. "We have other matters to talk about."

Apparently, the green-haired woman was named Cheadle who huffed and leaned back. Ging sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Mizaistom." Netero stroked his beard with a smile. "And now, Ging, you have to introduce yourself to the others. You're the only one who hasn't."

"Do I have to?" Ging groaned when the old man just smiled wider. It was such a hassle. "Fine, fine. I'm Ging Freecss, nineteen years old, Single-Star Archaeological Hunter."

There was a short silence before it was broken by a loud shout from a blonde, tanned man.

"That's it?!"

"What else am I going to say?" Ging asked in confusion. What he said was who he really was. Even though any of his information was not public anymore, those were the only things that he wanted to disclose.

"Maybe some achievements?" A huge man with a moustache stared at him. "How can you be a Single-Star Hunter for being so young?"

Then, there was a gasp of surprise from Pariston. "You haven't heard of Ging, Botobai-san? He's the first one to fully restore the Kongo Gold Vein which earned him his star when he was just fifteen. It's in his profile in the Hunter website."

"Stop lying, ken doll." An orange-haired woman drawled out while typing on her phone. "There's no Ging Freecss in the website. Are you even a Hunter, hobo?"

Ging gawked. 'The nerve of this people...'"Who are you calling a hobo? And Pariston, stop talking!"

"But Ging-san, it is an amazing achievement! You have to tell how you managed to hide your information though."

'But it didn't stop you from knowing my every move anyway.' Ging gritted his teeth. He could contact Ickshonpe to get more security to his data... 'I'm not going to even finish that.'

"Pariston, shut up! You're annoying, talkative, and noisy!" A woman with a high bun screeched out. "And you, Ging! You're a brat, you look ugly like a hobo, and you're also annoying!"

"Cluck-san, don't shout at him. He's just a kid." Another huge man, but with an afro, placated.

"Stop calling me a brat and a hobo." Ging was beginning to be pissed off. No one in the room was taking him seriously.

"Oh look, he's finally showing some guts, the dumbass." A lanky man in a blonde semical hairdo stated.

Ging slammed his hands on the table, making the others look at him, and glared at the lanky man. "You, and all of you, should shut up and just take what you know with a grain of salt. And stop insulting me, damn it!" He was really pissed off now.

"Oh, I apologize on their behalf, Ging-san." Pariston had the gall to bow his head. It just pissed Ging off even more. "They just have no idea who you are. I could enlighten them for you. I know that you also restored the famous Lurka Ruins."

Ging's eyes widened when his instincts felt a slight shift in the tone of Pariston's voice. It became softer, smooth, cunning, sly. It was dangerous. He could tell that Pariston did it on purpose, to get a rise on him. 'Just how much does this rat know?'

"You were the one who did that? You're that infamous archaeologist?" Cheadle suddenly asked with wide eyes.

"Uh, it's no big deal." Ging tried to push away his skepticisms about Pariston. It would do him no good at his current situation. "It's my job after all."

"That was a difficult task." A tanned, voluptuous woman muttered. "It was said to be inaccessible because of some force."

"Yeah, but it was no big deal. There are always loopholes."'And sudden appearances of assassins and...hold that thought!'

"I still can't believe it as much, but if all of those are true, then I'm okay with Ging." The one in the cow-print shirt ('Mizaistom, I think.' Ging thought.) nodded. "Also, Netero-kaichou picked him to be a Zodiac so I'm sure that he has some achievements."

"That's right." Netero spoke up. Ging almost forgot that he was there. Only because of the overwhelming aura he remembered. "Don't worry about Ging. He may be young, but he's a genius and a hardworker."

Ging flushed, winced, and slouched in his seat. Compliments always did that to him.

"Kaichou, do we have to talk about anything else?" The blonde, tanned man whined out. "We already know everyone here."

"Well, Kanzai - " Before Netero could finish his sentence, a yell from the orange-haired woman stopped him. "What is it, Piyon?"

"Another game was sold for a grand total of forty billion Jenny. Now, it just makes me more curious."

Ging was shocked at that. 'Don't tell me that's...'

"What kind of game sells for that hugeass amount and what dumbass would pay for that?" The lanky man grumbled out.

"It's called Greed Island. It's said to be a game for Hunters and that it's a treasure hunt game."

Just hearing those two words after quite a while made an impact in Ging. His last memory of it - the tears, the turban, the child... 'Damn it.' He clenched his fists tightly to rein in his emotions. He did not even notice the subtle glances from a questioning Cheadle, a smiling Pariston, and a pensive Netero.

"That must be one tough game." Botobai hummed.

"But whoever made it is so damn rich now." Kanzai plopped two arms on the table. "Lucky bastard."

Ging winced at that. And he did not hide it enough when suddenly, somebody was touching his shoulder.

"I noticed that your aura was fluctuating." A man with long, black hair tied to a ponytail murmured to him. "Are you okay?"

The sight of the black hair was too much for Ging. He stood up, shrugged off the hand, and started walking towards the door quickly.

"Hey, where are you going?! We're not dismissed yet!"

He did not process who shouted it. He did not care. He just wanted out of the room, out of the building, out of the town.

The guilt was eating him up. He tried his best to ignore it, to not think about it. But, of course, he could not do that. Gale was - is - an important person to him. And he just left her like that, like the bastard he was. He was not lucky. He never got the right stick in the end.

Ging had always wanted no regrets. He would take all in stride, learn from it, and come out victorious. But from what he did, he only learned that there was no such thing as no regrets. And it sucked even more than his inability to maintain good and healthy relationships.

'I hate this.' Ging hardened his gaze. 'I hate this feeling.'

And he was the one to blame for his own complaints.

He did not notice the small smirk that appeared on Netero's face before he shut the door behind him.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Oh, Ging with feels is so confused. I love it and hate it at the same time.

Expect in the next chapter: Father, Hawk, Cushion

See you next time!