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Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter or Naruto.
New Feelings x and x Old Friends
Sakura tied her hair into a ponytail and yawned as she walked down the stairs from her room. Her ribs still slightly ached from where Kakashi kicked her during the test yesterday, but she would be fine. She would have to get used to being hurt like this anyway—she had just become a ninja after all.
Today was her first team meeting and she was feeling very optimistic. They did well during the test and there had been a very pleasant atmosphere while they were eating lunch afterward.
Her and Naruto were getting along more well than she thought they would, and she even found out that they both had a hobby in common: going for walks or runs.
Kakashi seemed like he would be a wise sensei who would be able to teach them a lot.
Sasuke, too, seemed to be warming up ever so slightly.
Seemed like it at least. He could change moods at the drop of a hat.
But still, maybe this team really could work out.
She walked in the kitchen and greeted her parents quietly. Her father was sitting at the table reading from a newspaper and her mother was cooking at the stove. They both turned to look at her as soon as she entered.
"Goodmorning Sakura!" her father, Kizashi, greeted cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"
Sakura nodded at him and felt her mother's eyes on her. She turned to make eye contact and saw that her mother was giving her a disapproving stare.
"Today's your first team meeting right?" Mebuki asked. Sakura nodded, causing her mother to sigh. "Make sure you don't do anything to annoy your teacher. You'll need him to help you as much as possible."
Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. What was that supposed to mean? Inner Sakura was raging in her head.
"Right..." Was all Sakura said as she picked up an apple and walked out the kitchen.
"Wait, Sakura!" She turned back to look at her father confusedly. "Aren't you going to eat breakfast? You'll need more than just an apple."
Sakura shook her head. "I don't know what the training is like. I might throw up if I eat too much." At her father's displeased pout, she continued. "Plus, I'm leaving early. We aren't supposed to meet up for about 30 minutes, but I wanted to go walk around for a bit first."
Kizashi sighed. "Ok, but you can't make small morning meals like this into a habit. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A growing girl like you needs to eat more!"
Sakura knew he had a point. She would especially need to eat more so she could work on building more muscle. But for now, she just turned back around and waved, making her way to the front door.
"And Sakura," Mebuki called. With her hand on the knob, Sakura sighed and turned back to look at her mother. "Don't go running off with any boys today. I want you home as soon as possible." She narrowed her eyes. "If you disobey, I'll know. The village talks."
Sakura clenched her fist but said, "Yes mother." She opened the door and left before her parents could get in another word. Her mother was really getting on her nerves with all this talk about 'boys' and what not. The woman was acting like Sakura was doing inappropriate things behind her back.
As soon as the fresh village air hit her, she began jogging down the street with a smile on her face. Many of the villagers greeted her warmly, and she waved back.
"I wonder if Gon and Killua are home... they probably have their own team meeting, but maybe they haven't left yet..." She thought.
She jogged all the way to their apartment building and went up to their apartment to ring the bell. After a few moments of silence, she shrugged and figured they already left. Oh well. She already knew that now that they were on different teams she might not get to see them as often. She would just have to suck it up and deal with it.
She ran back down the stairs and decided to just go to a more secluded area for some peace before she went to the meeting. She still had about 20 minutes before she was supposed to be there.
As she jogged down the street, she looked up at a shop she was passing and noticed it was the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She sighed internally at the memories it brought back of her and a certain blonde haired girl. She almost felt remorseful.
Not paying attention to where she was going, she bumped into someone and abruptly stopped her jog.
"Hey Forehead! Watch where the hell you're going!"
Speak of the devil.
"Oh, it's just you, pig." Sakura let a sly smirk spread across her face. "I should've known I would run into you today. That must be why I felt a bit sick this morning."
Ino glared and fully turned around to face her. Sakura already knew this—how could anyone not—but Ino was very beautiful. Every time she looked at her, Sakura felt her own insecurities rising.
"If you felt sick it's because you looked in the mirror too long." Ino looked down to Sakura's pink arm sleeves. "By the way, I didn't get to say anything about them the other day, but now you wear arm sleeves all of a sudden? If you wanted your style to be more like mine, you should've just said so. I would've given you some hand-me-downs." Ino looked back up at her face. "Ponytail too? Wow, I must be your role model. Too bad your billboard brow kills the look."
Sakura's eye twitched. "Look, I don't have time right now." She began walking past Ino. "I have a team meeting soon and I'm not wasting my free time on you."
"All your time might as well be free time," Ino commented. "Since you're not actually a ninja."
Sakura stopped in her tracks. "...What?"
Ino smirked. "You're a civilian playing pretend, Sakura. You've always been and everybody knows it. You've always been good at tests, but you never did much in the practical side of things." She flipped her hair. "I understand you want to be close to Sasuke-kun, but this is just sad. Don't let those two new friends of yours put a battery in your back."
Sakura said nothing for a while before she finally turned back to Ino with a laugh. "That's funny coming from you. You might be in a clan, but you're more concerned about your hair and makeup than being a ninja. And everyone knows it." She held up two fingers with a mocking smirk. "If you can show me two clan jutsu, I'll give you some points." She turned her back on the shocked Ino. "Anyways, later Pig. Places to go, training to do. You wouldn't know about that though."
With that, she ran off, ignoring the pissed off Ino yelling at her. As much as she normally didn't like direct conflict with Ino, that felt good. She felt like she stood up for herself more.
Seeing that she only had a few minutes to get to the meeting place, she decided to just go straight there.
She cut through a forest to make it there quicker. She doubted Kakashi would be there this early anyway, but she always liked being punctual.
As she came across the clearing where the Memorial Stone was, she stopped in her tracks.
Standing right before the stone was the man himself, Kakashi. His back was turned to her as he motionlessly faced the stone, no doubt mourning people who died.
Sakura felt a twinge of empathy for the man. Who had he lost, she wondered? Family? A friend? She didn't know, and she doubted the man would tell her.
After a few minutes of waiting to see if he would leave, Sakura turned and was about to go a different route before she heard his voice call out.
"Goodmorning, Sakura-chan."
Sakura flinched and turned back. The man still wasn't facing her, but yet knew she was there. Even if he noticed a presence, how did he know exactly who it was?
"Goodmorning Sensei," She greeted, walking out from the forest and towards him.
He turned around and gave his signature eye-smile. "Did you guys get impatient and decide to split up looking for me?"
Sakura looked at him in confusion. "Uh, no. I was just on my way to the team meeting and decided to cut through the forest to get there quicker. It isn't time to meet for about ten more minutes, so I don't know if those two are there yet.
Kakashi hummed and turned back around.
Sakura narrowed her eyes as a question came to her mind. "Sensei... how long have you been here?" The fact that he thought the team meeting had started a while ago and figured they got impatient enough to search for him implies that he lost track of time.
The man tilted his head in thought. "A few hours, not sure how many though." He paused and Sakura contemplated what to say before he spoke again. "I'm at peace here."
Not knowing what else to say, Sakura asked, "Well... are you coming to the meeting?"
"In a while," he said. "There's something I have to go do."
Swallowing her slight annoyance, Sakura asked, "Do you want to postpone the meeting? Or should we do something while we wait?"
Kakashi turned to her and shrugged. "I figured I'd just leave it up to you guys to figure out what to do when I'm not there."
"But you're supposed to be our sensei..." She knew this wasn't the academy, but weren't jounin instructors still supposed to teach them?
"Yeah, but you guys should be old enough to have ideas of what to do. You've been in the academy for years, I'm sure you have ideas." He looked up in thought before adding, "Think of it as team-bonding time. If I'm not there, you three will probably be able to bond more."
Somehow, Sakura doubted that. Sasuke would no doubt get irritated at the absence of their sensei and will probably refuse to do anything with her and Naruto.
"But what if we're training incorrectly?" Sakura asked. "For example, if we're sparring and our taijutsu form is bad. Or if we're practicing a jutsu incorrectly. Who'll correct it? We'll be reinforcing bad habits."
Kakashi's eye focused on her more. "Hmm, smart girl. You can focus on taijutsu, ninjutsu and things like that when I'm around. For now, you can just run laps and do physical training. Maybe even those chakra control exercises you learned in the academy or team-building exercises."
Sakura's eye twitched. Why did she get the feeling that this man just didn't want to teach? "Ok, but wouldn't it be better if you actually gave us a training regimen first? You know, because you're supposed to be our sensei? That way we can stick to it even when you're not around?" She asked, voice raised slightly in annoyance.
There was a brief pause where Kakashi just stared at her intently. She wondered if she had already disobeyed her mother and pissed off her teacher on the first day.
"I was hoping you kids would take your training mostly into your own hands, especially Sasuke. It isn't good to rely on others for your own progress."
Sakura looked at him incredulously. Does he even hear himself? He's their sensei!
"Does this bastard even know how to teach?!" Inner Sakura demanded.
"Good question!"
Kakashi sighed. "Look, Haruno, this is my first time dealing with genin. I'm used to working with shinobi that take their training into their own hands. I'll train you, but I'm not going to spoon feed you. Now, I'm sorry, but I have something to do." He began walking off. "I'll be there soon." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
...
"Yeah... Is it to late to sign up for a new sensei?"
"Just a bit."
After sighing and running through the forest for a few minutes, she ended up at the bridge they agreed to meet at. She saw Naruto and Sasuke already there. Naruto was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and forming a hand seal, while Sasuke was leaning on the railing staring at the river.
As she got closer, Naruto noticed her and waved with a smile.
"Morning Sakura-chan!"
Sakura smiled back. "Morning. Sorry I'm a bit late."
Naruto laughed and shook his head. "Nah, you weren't really late. Not like it matters, Kaka-sensei isn't here yet. We could come two hours from now and he probably still won't be here." Despite how annoying that sounded, Naruto didn't seem too upset about it.
Sakura sighed and decided to change the subject. "Yeah... but what were you doing just now?" When Naruto looked at her questioningly, Sakura continued. "I saw you with your eyes closed and making the 'Ram' hand seal. You seemed really concentrated. Were you practicing chakra control?"
Naruto's eyes lit up in understanding but he shook his head. "Nah." He turned away and huffed. "It's this jutsu I learned about the same day as the shadow clone jutsu. Making shadow clones were easy, but I still can't get this one down completely."
Now Sakura was curious. "What's the jutsu?"
"I think in the scroll it said 'True Transformation Jutsu'..." Before Sakura had a chance to ask 'what scroll?', the boy continued. "It's like the transformation jutsu, but it's more than just changing how I look. How do I explain it..."
Sakura looked at him thoughtfully. "You mean you can change more than just how you appear? You can change your body's properties too?"
Naruto looked unsure. "I think so. It said something like that in the scroll... My thoughts from that night are still fuzzy..."
Sakura remembered the side-affects of the shadow clone jutsu. "Isn't that the same night you told me you made too many clones at once and passed out afterward?" Naruto nodded. "That's probably why. Since you gain the memories of so many clones, it probably messes with your own memory. That's dangerous, Naruto."
Naruto huffed. "Yeah... maybe I bit off more than I could chew. I gotta avoid making 100 clones at once from now on..." He shook his head. "But anyway... I can kinda do the True Transformation jutsu... because I did it during the test when I transformed into you. But, for now, I can only really transform into people. I've tried transforming into other things and it's not working."
"What would've been the difference if you just used the regular transformation jutsu to turn into me?" Sakura asked curiously.
Naruto hummed. "Remember yesterday after the test when I was talking to Kaka-sensei? And you and Sasuke were walking a little bit behind us?" She nodded. "He asked me if that was a True Transformation Jutsu I used and I asked how he knew. He said because if it was a regular one, my chakra signature and smell wouldn't have changed. He said that my mind must've remembered your chakra signature and smell so it copied it when I activated the jutsu."
"Chakra Signatures..." Sakura thought. "That must've been how he sensed my presence in the clearing just now... Everybody has a distinct chakra signature!" She was beginning to notice that they only really taught the basics in the academy. She would have to start going to the library to learn more. Maybe drag Naruto there with her too.
On the outside, she grinned at Naruto. "That's really cool! You'll have to teach me after you get it down!"
Naruto blushed at the attention but then got a thoughtful look. "I don't know Sakura-chan... This justu is from the same scroll where I learned the shadow clone jutsu… so it must have some type of crazy drawbacks. Plus it takes a lot of chakra too."
"Well, tell me whenever you learn what the drawbacks are. If I don't like them, then you can have the damn jutsu." They both shared a laugh and looked over at Sasuke, who had turned to face them. "Something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"
"Are we just going to sit here like idiots for hours again?" He asked in annoyance.
"Aw come on Sasuke! Don't kill the mood right now!" Naruto said. "Kaka-sensei will probably be here in a while!"
Sakura nodded. "He could be doing something." He did say he was going to go do something, but Sakura felt like it was just an excuse to get away from her.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "And? We could be doing something. Training." He clenched his fist. "I don't know what type of game he's playing, but my time isn't to be wasted."
Before Naruto could say something, Sakura broke in with a smile. "So let's do some of our own training!" She turned to Naruto. "Naruto, wanna go for a run around the clearing? Twelve laps? We can get faster this way." Maybe they could do push-ups and other types of training later.
He looked at her in astonishment for a moment before grinning happily and standing up. "You bet! I won't go easy on you Sakura-chan!" He was about to run off when he turned to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke. You coming?"
Sasuke said nothing and just turned back to look at the river.
Naruto huffed. "Of course not..."
Sakura patted him on the shoulder. "He's just in a bit of a bad mood right now Naruto. Let's race without him for now."
Naruto smiled and nodded. "You got it."
"On your mark..." Sakura started, bending her knees.
Naruto got into a crouched position. "Get set..."
"GO!"
They took off from the bridge while their raven-haired teammate watched them go.
"Goodmorning Kite, Bisky!"
Killua looked at Gon. He appeared to be back to his usual cheery self, if not even more cheery. Did he have a good dream or something?
"Goodmorning Gon, Killua," Kite said. "Did you boys sleep well?" He looked particularly at Gon.
Gon nodded with a smile and Kite turned to Killua who nodded too.
"As you know, today is the first official day we're together as a team. The chunin exams are in a few months and this team is required to complete a few C and D rank missions in order to qualify. On days like today where we don't have any mission, we'll train."
"So what are we doing today?" Killua asked.
"The same thing you boys did yesterday," Bisky chimed in, a wicked smirk appearing on her face. "You're going to maintain your Ren for as long as possible. When you get tired, you'll spar with me until you drop. Then I'll fix you back up and we start all over. Understand?"
Killua cringed but Gon just laughed and agreed happily. At this point, Killua had to acknowledge that his friend was actually insane.
"This won't be an every training day thing though. You two also need time to work on your Genjutsu dispelling, Nen techniques, Hatsus, and any other individual skills you may want to work on," Bisky said. "But either way, I need you two to be absolute savages by the time of the exams. I heard from the Hokage that you aren't the only skilled genin out there that will be participating." She looked at them intently. "You need to train hard to make sure you solidify your chances. Get too cocky and you might get your asses kicked. So get to it!"
"Osu!" They said, activating their ren.
Kite walked to the other side of the clearing and sat against a tree to watch the boys. Bisky came to stand next to him, pulling out an inappropriate magazine. She began reading with a blush and a perverted smile on her face.
"Biscuit-san... really?"
She looked at him and giggled. "Don't mind me. Just passing the time." After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Good job, by the way."
"What do you mean?" Kite asked, even though he had a good idea of what she meant.
"With Gon. He's back to normal. Actually, I'd even say he's better!" She gave him a sidelong look. "Don't think I didn't sense you on the roof with him last night."
Kite should've known he couldn't put anything past Biscuit. "He just needed to get things off his chest I guess. He tries to deal with things alone too much. He's too young for that."
At least Gon has people around him that care for him. When Kite was that age, he didn't have any choice but to keep things to himself because he had been on his own. It wasn't until he met Ging that his life changed for the better.
He smiled slightly at his memories. Perhaps Ging intended for Kite to be for Gon what Ging was for him.
Biscuit sighed. "I'm just ashamed that I didn't notice earlier. Then again, he'd never shown signs till now. I guess back on Greed Island he was always busy so he didn't have time to think too much. Makes you wonder exactly how much he keeps to himself..." She mused. "I'm sure we'll be able to tell whenever something is bothering him though."
"And when something is bothering him... I expect I'll be the one that has to talk to him again..." Kite muttered.
"Ah, so do you understand then!" She chirped, patting his shoulder proudly. "From now on, your new job is keeping those boys happy! Repeat after me: A happy Gon equals a happy Killua!" She cackled loudly, causing Gon and Killua to look at her strangely from across the clearing.
Kite pulled his hat over his eyes and turned away. "When did I become a child therapist...?"
Bisky laughed at his expense.
Back at the bridge, Sasuke was watching his teammates run laps in silence. He was getting increasingly annoyed as he watched them and their sensei still had not shown up. What was the point of even coming to these damn meetings?
When Sasuke got home the night before, he felt two emotions running through him. Curiosity and anger. Curiosity because he was interested to see how this team would work out. But anger because Kakashi and the others had treated him like an incompetent child, like he was a rotten egg who would drag down the whole team. Kakashi may have been the main one, but Naruto and Sakura also treated him like he needed to fix himself. On top of that, he felt like a fool when Sakura realized the meaning of the test before him.
Yet now here he was, watching the two running laps happily and trying to outdo each other when their sensei was almost an hour late. He was the incompetent one? These two didn't have a care in the world, and clearly their sensei wasn't that on top of things either. They were wasting Sasuke's time.
Somehow, in a day's time, his team managed to make him feel like a fool but yet the only one with sense. They're driving him over the edge.
Sasuke watched as Naruto lapped Sakura once again, putting him two laps in the lead. He acknowledged that Naruto was quite a bit faster than Sakura when it came to running and also had much more stamina, but he was still slower than Sasuke. If these two were only on this level... they don't hold a candle to him.
But yet, they looked like they were having a good time. They were smiling and laughing, and it seemed like—
So what? Having a good time won't make Sasuke stronger. He didn't get as skilled as he did by laughing like an idiot.
He clenched his fist. That's another thing. Kakashi completely ignored his own superior skills and potential in order to focus on these two, just because they were more willing to work as a team. And yet Kakashi can't even show up on time to a team meeting.
The irony.
Sasuke was rookie of the year. The last Uchiha in Konoha. An avenger. He didn't have time for these games. He was already above these two. But he needed to get stronger. Much stronger.
He scowled watching Naruto cheer Sakura on as she finished her last lap.
The girl was sweating profusely and panting harshly, struggling to finish the race.
She was slow. Too slow. She and the blonde idiot would slow Sasuke down.
He.
Could.
Not.
Have.
That.
"Sorry Sakura-chan! I told you I wouldn't go easy on ya!" Naruto said with a laugh as the two walked over to Sasuke.
Sakura, panting heavily, gave a small smile. "You're amazing Naruto. It's like... you never run out of gas."
The boy gave a proud grin and turned to Sasuke. "Enjoy the show, bastard?"
Sasuke scoffed and turned away. At that moment, he saw something that pissed him off.
Kakashi was sitting on top the gate of the bridge just reading casually.
...How long had he been there?
"Good job you guys. Well, two of you, anyway." The man looked pointedly down at Sasuke, who glared back.
"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto said excitedly, running forward towards the gate. "Did you see how good I did?"
Kakashi eye smiled at Naruto. "Yes, I did. You really have never ending energy." He hopped off the gate and turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you're not slow for a genin, but you're not as fast as Naruto yet. However, you did pace yourself much better than he did. If he had regular amounts of stamina, you probably would've beaten him."
Sakura nodded, planning to improve her speed and stamina.
Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "May I ask why you didn't participate?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't like how the man was looking down on him. "They aren't faster than me. Why would I waste my time and energy?" He put his hands in his pockets. "How about you actually show up on time and train us?"
Sakura looked nervously between Sasuke and Kakashi while Naruto narrowed his eyes and spoke calmly. "Training is training, idiot. The more you run, the faster you get. The more push-ups you do, the stronger you get. Common sense." When Sasuke turned to glare at him, he continued. "Don't try to put all the blame on sensei. If you want to be a skilled ninja, don't you think getting faster is part of that? Or are you just too good to work on the basics? Last time I checked, you're still a genin like us."
Kakashi and Sakura looked at Naruto in slight surprise. He'd shifted tones so quickly—he didn't even raise his voice to get his point across.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and turned away from them, narrowing his eyes at the water.
Naruto had a point. He doesn't remember the boy ever saying something that sensible, especially not in that tone of voice.
Not to mention he used some clever strategies during the bell test.
Sasuke's starting to think the foolish personality is just an act—at least partially.
First Sakura starts acting different, now Naruto too. Where were these sides of them all throughout the academy? Was the fangirl and the idiot just routines they acted out? He didn't know.
But regardless, they were all starting to grate on his nerves.
"Now Naruto, Sasuke does have a point. I wasn't here so he saw no reason to participate." Kakashi turned to Sasuke and eye smiled. "So from now on, if I'm not here, it's mandatory that all of you run laps around the area. If I find out any of you didn't participate you'll be punished." Sasuke felt his blood boil. "Punishments may include severe physical training, a sparring match with me, or even just me not training you at all for a week. Depends on my mood."
Sakura looked nervously at Sasuke. She hoped his temper wouldn't explode.
Naruto on the other hand, just held out a fist to Kakashi. "Don't worry sensei! I'll make sure we all run whenever you're not here! Promise!" He patiently held out his fist waiting for Kakashi to do the same. Kakashi awkwardly gave him a fist bump and the boy beamed at him.
Now Naruto was back to this. Sasuke glanced back at him and couldn't tell if the boy was acting right now. It didn't seem like it, he even seemed genuinely happy as he spoke excitedly to their slightly uncomfortable sensei.
Still, Sasuke was sure of it now.
There's more to Naruto than he thought. Just like there was more to Sakura than he thought.
That day a few weeks ago, when Sakura followed him to the weapons shop and he had told her to improve herself, he never expected for her to change this much personality-wise. He thought she would stay her fangirl-self, but at least be good enough to run away so she didn't become a burden.
But somehow she had become more openminded and had a less childish outlook.
Somehow she managed to become friends with Naruto, the boy she used to get annoyed by.
Somehow she had befriended two "homeschooled genin" and apparently trained with them on her down time.
Somehow had started being around Shikamaru and Choji, even sitting with them at lunch the last few weeks in the academy.
Somehow she exceeded his expectations with the ninja wire and skillfully placed a series of traps alongside Naruto during the bell test.
Somehow she figured out the point of the bell test and became the reason he passed.
Somehow she had stopped treating him like he was the center of her world, and now he was reduced to a teammate she's trying to connect with but is a bit wary of.
Somehow. In just a few weeks.
He clenched his fist. No way all of this was brand new.
Was he just bad at reading people? Memories of Itachi before and after the massacre flashed across his mind but he pushed them away.
Sakura, holding back a giggle at Naruto's behavior, changed the subject. "Anyway sensei, what are we doing today?"
Kakashi hummed. "Well, I thought it over, and at first I was going to have you guys do physical training. But since you two just finished a race, I'll save that for another time." He looked at them. "For now, let's go over some team formations."
"Team formations?" Naruto asked. "You mean tactics? Like what we did during the test?"
"Yes, Naruto," Kakashi said. "We'll have to learn each other's individual skillsets and come up with formations in which to use them in different scenarios. This can draw the line between a group of skilled individuals and a skilled team."
While Naruto started chatting excitedly and Sakura was smiling, Sasuke stared at the river in silence with his back turned to them.
"Will that be a problem, Sasuke?"
Sasuke glared at the water. Of course the man would call on him.
He turned around ready to say something spiteful when he saw Sakura looking at him hopefully and Naruto looking at him with a 'don't screw this up' look.
He refused to be the child in the group.
"No... that's fine."
Kakashi eye smiled.
Naruto looked pleasantly surprised.
Sakura beamed at him.
...And why the hell did all of that make Sasuke feel slightly better?
He forced those thoughts out of his mind and soon enough, they were discussing team formations and tactics with a far friendlier atmosphere than Sasuke was comfortable with.
"Well, that wraps up training for today boys!"
Killua glared at Bisky. He was convinced this women was the devil. They had been training nonstop since morning and the sun was now almost completely down. Him and Gon fell unconscious three times today and each time she just used her hatsu to fix them back up again. Pure evil.
"Bisky," Gon started, wiping sweat from his brow. "What are we doing tomorrow?"
Bisky just shrugged and pointed to Kite, who was sitting against a tree with his eyes closed. "Ask him. He's the squad leader."
Kite opened his eyes. "The Hokage will probably have D-rank mission for us tomorrow."
Killua rolled his eyes. "Great. So what are we doing? Babysitting?"
Kite had told them about how D-rank missions were the same as regular chores. It was safe to say none of them were too thrilled at having to do them.
"Be careful what you wish for Killua," Bisky commented. Killua just huffed while Gon laughed a bit.
"The chunin exams take place in about 4 months. In that time, we need a total of at least 20 D-ranks and 5 C-ranks completed for you to be eligible for them. Normally, there's no real mission requirement, but since you're foreigners, the council and village elders aren't too keen on treating you just like regular Konoha shinobi. There's a lack of trust."
"Well that's just great," Killua huffed.
Kite nodded in agreement. "We should be able to breeze through all the missions easily enough. Some of them could prove time consuming though. Even spanning over a couple of days for one mission."
Gon tilted his head. "We'll be really busy then. We won't have as much time to train as I thought."
Bisky shook her head. "No, you won't. This isn't like on Greed Island when we have a lot of time to focus solely on Nen training," She said. "On top of completing the missions, we'll have to go through other types of training such as Genjutsu dispelling and improving your fighting styles." She casually twirled a kunai around her finger.
Kite nodded. "Which is why Bisky pushed you so hard with your Ren training. You won't be able to do this that often. Every moment of training counts."
Killua sighed. That meant that everyday they did have Ren training, it would be hell.
"Well, you boys shouldn't worry about that now," Bisky said, patting them on the shoulders. "Go home and get some rest. I'm going to go to the store and buy some groceries for you. We'll meet up here again at the same time tomorrow morning. Be ready to work." She laughed when she saw Killua giving her the evil eye.
Gon nodded with a smile. "Ok. Thanks Bisky," He turned to Kite. "See you tomorrow, Kite."
Kite gave him a small smile and a head nod.
Killua gave a slight wave as he and Gon turned around and began walking away.
"Man, I'm beat," Killua sighed. "The old hag is a real witch."
Gon laughed. "Yeah, even the Ren training back on Greed Island wasn't this much. She's really trying to make us stronger."
Killua watched as Gon walked forward with a spring in his step. He contemplated what to say. "So Gon…"
"Hm?"
"You're ok now right?"
Gon turned to him curiously. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really hungry though, we should go get something to eat."
Killua nodded. "Yeah sure, let's go to BBQ again. But that isn't what I meant." At Gon's inquisitive gaze, he continued. "Ever since the test with Kite, you've been acting a bit... down. But today you seemed better than normal."
Gon turned away with a small smile. "Yeah, everything's okay Killua. I was a little frustrated, that's all." He clenched his fists and made eye contact with Killua. "But from now on, I won't let anything get me down! I'll get stronger and keep moving!"
Killua studied Gon's shining eyes for a moment and concluded that he really was okay. He smirked back. "Oh yeaahh? Well you won't leave me behind, Gon!" He said, causing Gon to laugh. "As a matter of fact, whoever does worse on the mission tomorrow has to do a thousand push-ups!"
Gon's laughter filled the area as the two boys made their way down the village street.
"You're on, Killua!"
It was dark out by the time Sasuke was making his way home. As he walked down a dead street leading towards the Uchiha complex, he paid no mind to the night air that swept across his face nor the tree leaves that fell down around him. He was too lost in his thoughts.
"Ridiculous," He thought. "Absolutely ridiculous."
He was more confused than he'd been in a long time.
Just two days ago, he had been hating the idea of working in a team and refused to work with his teammates outside of the times that were necessary.
But then he ended up begrudgingly working with them during the exam.
Then he got home that night and felt annoyed by the way Kakashi and the others looked at him, like he was the bad apple in the group.
That annoyance travelled over to this morning, and he was more or less back to not wanting to be on a team.
...Up until they all directed positive reactions to him for the first time. Somehow, that actually made him feel happy.
It was the closest thing he's felt to his family ever since the massacre.
And isn't that just foolishness?
He's annoyed by Naruto.
He's only recently learned to tolerate Sakura.
He can't stand Kakashi.
But somehow these three annoyances managed to make him feel something remotely close to what he felt for his family?
Disrespectful.
Unthinkable.
And on top of that, nonsensical.
This is why he needs to be alone, because he doesn't need to be plagued by foolishness like this.
He can't tell if some of Naruto's idiocy left the boy and rubbed off on him, or if he was just lacking in resolve.
He doesn't need anything holding him back like these... feelings he's starting to have.
Not to mention, the feelings only got stronger throughout the day.
As they went over team formations and began to put them into practice, he was actually having fun. He hasn't had fun in years, hasn't allowed himself to, but yet he was having fun.
There was even a few times where Naruto screwed up a team drill and he had to force himself not to smile or laugh.
And isn't that just foolishness?
When was the last time he'd gotten the urge to smile or laugh?
This was unbecoming of him.
He needs hate. Hate gives him the resolve to get stronger. That's how it's been for years, and it's exactly why he steers clear of everyone else.
He doesn't need anyone else.
He doesn't need any distractions.
Yeah, that's all. He'll just play along with them to make things go smoothly.
He'll learn everything he can from Kakashi and then once he becomes a higher rank he'll move on and get stronger on his own. Naruto and Sakura weren't of importance.
He clenched his fist in his pockets and steeled his gaze.
He's going to kill Itachi, no matter the cost.
He won't fall behind because of these weak emotions. Or because of the three fools.
"Well, that's an intense aura if I've ever felt one."
Sasuke tensed and felt anger pool in his stomach. What a coincidence.
"What do you want Kakashi?"
Kakashi laughed from behind him and walked a bit closer. "Is that any way to talk to your sensei?" When Sasuke didn't reply, he continued. "I didn't come to anger you or anything. I just came to congratulate you. You did well in training today, and you worked smoothly with Naruto and Sakura. That's a huge attitude improvement in a short amount of time. I'm proud of you." He paused for a moment before adding, "I figured you would get mad if I brought this up in front of those two, so I decided to talk to you in private."
"Attitude improvement?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. He turned to face Kakashi with a glare. "Don't get it twisted, Kakashi. Nothing's changed. I played along so I won't be hindered by you placing importance on teamwork over my own growth. I still can't stand the three of you."
Kakashi looked unimpressed. "Oh, is that so?" He asked. "Because I could've sworn I saw you crack a smile or two during training, even though you tried to hide them."
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He saw that?
He quickly put on a blank face and turned away. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about. As if I could enjoy any time I spent with you three."
Kakashi chuckled a bit and Sasuke turned back to glare at him. "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself," Kakashi commented. "If you can't even do something as simple as stay true to yourself, do you really think you have what it takes to kill Itachi?"
Kakashi watched as Sasuke's face slowly twisted in rage. "What... did you just say?" The boy asked quietly.
Okay, maybe Kakashi should've known that was a touchy subject and maybe he shouldn't have brought it up. He was lacking in tact.
He put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Look Sasuke, I could've worded that better, but I didn't mean to belittle you. I just meant that your mindset could use some work if you intend—"
"Who the hell are you to tell me what I need to do? What the hell do you know?!"
Kakashi sighed. Oh boy. He really didn't know how to deal with kids, let alone guide or teach them.
Sasuke was standing a few feet away from him, body shaking with barely contained rage.
Kakashi knew that the boy clearly had some deep-rooted anger issues. Mental health issues weren't uncommon among experienced shinobi, but this boy had just barely gotten started. Kakashi himself could relate.
Shinobi are put under evaluations for psychological issues every six months, and academy students are required to undergo one before becoming genin. Sasuke and the other genin took their evaluations two days ago in the academy, and somehow Sasuke passed his. He had no doubt in his mind it was because the boy was the last Uchiha, and the village elders wanted him within their ranks no matter what because he could become a powerful weapon. It's a disaster waiting to happen.
He considered the possibility of convincing the boy to go to a psychologist on his own, but he doubted that Sasuke would want to talk about his problems. His pride simply wouldn't allow it. Kakashi would just have to deal with him far more carefully than Naruto and Sakura.
He really didn't sign up for this.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry about what I said. You're right, I have no idea what you're going through and have no right to tell you what to do." He kept his hands up in a calming gesture, and saw Sasuke start to relax slightly. "I'm just worried about you. I've known people who were lead to their end by a similar mindset to yours. I'm not saying there's something wrong with you, per se, but just the way you go about things. There's always room for improvement."
Sasuke calmed down a bit more at that and scoffed. "Thanks, but I don't need your concern nor anybody else's." He turned around and started walking away.
Kakashi sighed. "If you feel that way, I can't change your mind." He looked up. "But no one is perfect Sasuke. Not even you." When Sasuke stopped walking, he continued. "If shinobi were meant to do things on their own, there would be no point putting them in teams. Why do you think ninja squads exist?" He walked closer. "To help each other grow, to support each other, to make up for each other's flaws and weaknesses. Sasuke, everybody has weaknesses. If you try to do everything alone, I guarantee that things won't work out for you."
While Kakashi said that, he knew it was a half-truth. If Sasuke continued down this path alone, it's true that the boy would be able to kill Itachi. Because hate drives him forward. But what would become of his mental state? What would his purpose be after that? In Kakashi's eyes, getting revenge and then being broken and empty afterward isn't a good ending for Sasuke's story.
"You're wrong," Sasuke said, turning back to face him. "I know I can kill Itachi. I just have to stay focused. People are distractions."
He was very single-minded. That was dangerous. Kakashi would have to try and change that.
"But you'd no doubt lose your mind in the process. Solitude isn't a good thing, Sasuke. If you continue down this path, what will happen to y—"
"I don't care what happens to me." Sasuke clenched his fists, glaring at the ground. "...All I care about is making sure that man meets his end. I don't give a damn what happens after. Even if it means the worst for me."
Kakashi was truly sad to hear that. The kid was worse than he thought. "…If you sacrifice everything to kill Itachi, who will restore the Uchiha clan?" Sasuke flinched a bit at that, and some of his resolve faded. "You realize I could put you on probation from all ninja activity if I believe you're mentally unstable right? From what you just told me, you could be considered a possible threat to yourself and others."
Sasuke's glare came back in full. "I'm not mentally unstable, and how the hell am I a threat to others?! I just want to be left alo—"
"I know, Sasuke. I know," Kakashi said. "But if you continue down this path, you'll become more and more corrupted. Trust me, I've seen this before. You have a very dangerous mindset. Dangerous enough that you might have to be removed from the active force."
In all honesty, just because Sasuke was the last Uchiha, Kakashi knew that the boy could never truly be removed from the ninja force. Even if he's publicly taken off, behind the scenes ANBU will just pick him up and mold him into a ruthless ninja. Kakashi remembers his old days in ANBU, and how it had almost driven him to insanity.
He didn't want that for Sasuke. He wanted to give the boy a chance at a better life.
He had to stop this before it got worse and it became a repeat of past tragedies.
"Look, I'll be fine. Like I said, I'll work together with them," Sasuke said lowly, looking away. "But I'm not going to play house or whatever the hell it is you want me to do. We're a genin squad, not family."
"You're wrong Sasuke," Kakashi said, making Sasuke look back at him. "Your comrades become your family." When Sasuke rolled his eyes, he continued. "I know you don't want to hear this, but you should cherish your genin teammates. They're the ones you start your ninja career with. You get comfortable with them, grow with them, get support from them, and overall just form a bond that will last a lifetime."
Kakashi looked deep into Sasuke's skeptical eyes. "If you let them in, they'll always be there for you. They'll be there when you need training partners. They'll be there when you're promoted to chunin and jounin. They'll be there when you're ready for your revenge. Hell, they'll even be there when you're older and start your own family or when you... start teaching your own genin." Thoughts of his own genin teammates not being here right now made his chest clench painfully.
Sasuke looked down and appeared to be having an internal conflict. It seemed like the words were reaching him.
Kakashi's eye was slightly downcast. "You should cherish your genin teammates, not everybody has them for life. You never know when you'll lose them. Forever."
"Lose...?" Sasuke scoffed, his eyes shadowed. "I know all about loss already."
Kakashi sighed. "You're not the only one." When Sasuke looked up at him, he changed the subject. "The point is, your teammates are people you can depend on, and they'll be there with you through thick and thin. Through the toughest of times. They won't hold you back Sasuke. They'll give you the strength to keep moving forward." When Sasuke's eyes widened, he added, "But only if you let them. It's all up to you Sasuke. You have to let them in."
There was silence for a few moments where Sasuke seemed to be deep in thought.
"...So I can end up watching more people I care about die?" Sasuke asked quietly, turning around. "Sounds like a fool's game to me."
Kakashi watched the boy's back in silence before speaking again.
"Sasuke… I can't promise that won't happen. Nothing is certain. But what I will say," he paused. "...is that I was a lot like you when I was younger." Sasuke turned back to look at him in disbelief. "I'm serious. I refused to get close to my teammates or anyone for that matter. I was too focused on myself and my own issues. But..." He took a breath. "...It only took me losing them for my mind to change." He looked down. "Now, I would do anything in the world to have them back."
Sasuke looked at him quietly in understanding, no doubt thinking about his own family.
Kakashi met his eyes. "You don't want this type of regret hanging over you Sasuke. You have enough on your plate as it is. If you let them in now, you can all grow together and get strong enough to protect yourselves and each other. But if you distance yourself, you'll be too far away to help when trouble comes."
Sasuke flinched and rocked back on his feet slightly. The words must've hit him hard.
"I'm not telling you to bring them gift baskets to every training session or something," Kakashi said. "Just... try not to hold yourself back or push them away. Don't be opposed to the idea of getting acquainted with them. If for nothing else, for the fact that they'll actually treat you like a real person instead of worshipping you like the Uchiha God I'm sure your academy teachers praised you as. They're people you can actually depend on. Have they not already proved themselves? Are they not different from what you thought of them at first?"
After a long while of silence, Sasuke closed his eyes and smirked. "Fine." He promptly turned and began walking away.
"Wait, that's it? Just like that?" Kakashi wondered.
He considered if there was anything else to say and added, "Uh, remember Sasuke! Same time and place tomorrow!"
Sasuke replied by half-heartedly waving a hand and continuing his walk.
Kakashi knew he reached the boy, but didn't know to what extent. Hopefully Sasuke fully understood the importance of what he said and took heed.
He sighed. He really wasn't good at this teaching thing.
Back at the Hunter Association building, an old man was neglecting his paperwork in favor of hopping around his office and bouncing a ball around.
"Netero-san... you still need to fill out this docum—" Beans had to dodge the ball thrown at him. "Netero-san!"
"Oh, come on Beans!" Netero said, balancing himself on one hand. "That's too boring for me right now! Let an old man have his fun!"
Beans sighed. He observed the man, clad in a black tank top and martial arts gi pants, hop around the room like an energetic child.
He just shook his head and made his way to the door. "Fine, but please try and complete it when you're done what you're doing!" Netero gave him a thumbs up. The green man sighed once again and exited the office.
Right at that moment, Netero's phone began to ring.
The old man came out of a handstand and looked at the phone curiously. The main person who usually calls him was Beans, and he had just left. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it said "unknown." Who could it be?
Answering out of mild interest, he said, "This is Netero speaking, who's calling?"
Silence over the line. Netero didn't bother repeating himself, he just kept waiting and listening.
After a few moments, he was graced with a familiar voice.
"...Netero."
Netero's eyebrows rose high. "Zeno? This is a surprise. I haven't spoken to you in a long time. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"We believe Killua and his friend Gon somehow ended up in the Shinobi Nations."
At that, Netero nearly dropped his phone. "What?" He had stopped keeping tabs on the boys a while ago, but last he heard of them was that they both beat Ging's game Greed Island.
"You heard me," Zeno sighed. "Illumi had a tracker needle on Killua, but he lost the ability to sense it. Silva and I told Illumi that it's possible that Killua was in the Dark Continent, and that the atmosphere there was messing with his ability to sense Kil."
"So you just told Illumi that because you didn't want to explain the truth, right?" Netero asked mischievously.
Zeno said nothing for a few moments before sighing. "Yes. We plan on telling him, just not right now. We don't know how he'll take the information and it might cause him to act unexpectedly. He's overprotective of Kil, almost like his mother."
Netero nodded, even though the man couldn't see him. "So you believe Killua and Gon somehow bypassed the Dark Continent and went straight to the Shinobi Nations? Normally, you have to go through the Dark Continent to make it there."
"Yes, but we believe they were transported there by Nen. Nen that is probably from someone involved with Greed Island."
Netero's mind instantly travelled to Ging.
"Of course, that makes sense. Ging often goes to the Shinobi Nations whenever he goes missing, so he probably intended for Gon to come there to find them. Killua was just collateral," Netero thought. He knew he shouldn't tell Zeno this, lest the man get annoyed at the two Freecs.
"So why are you telling me this?" Netero asked. "You've been there before, I'm sure you still have an idea of how to get there and would be able to find Kil once you're there."
"Yes, but I've only been there once. You've went there multiple times and stayed there for far longer amounts of time than I have, Netero. You practically lived there at one point," Zeno said. "You know the in and outs of that place, and I deemed it necessary to request something from you."
"And that is?" Netero asked, already seeing where this was going.
"To send a team of Hunters there to regain Kil," Zeno said. "Getting through the Dark Continent is difficult enough, and it's a very dangerous voyage. But I also have not been there in many years and the time spent there the last time resulted in Kikyo giving birth to that demon child locked in the basement. May I also mention I only got to the Shinobi Nations by accident?" Netero hummed at this, but Zeno kept talking. "I will not lead my family to their doom."
"So instead, you want me to send Hunters there with my guidance so that if anything goes wrong, they'll be the ones that die."
"Good to see we're on the same page. As for what you get out of this, the Zoldyck family will pay the Hunter Association a large sum of money, and we'll even throw in a free favor for you. Any other payment you may want, as long as it's reasonable, is negotiable. What do you say?"
Netero rubbed his chin, one person in particular coming to mind that would be suitable for the mission.
"Ok. I think I can do that," Netero said. "But this can't be an immediate thing. I'll have to take time gathering members for this team and we'll have to go through plans to ensure the mission is a success. The team probably won't head out for about a month or two."
"That's fine. Kil shouldn't be in any immediate danger right now, I'm sure he's found some place to reside. As long as we get him back, I'll be patient." Zeno replied.
A question popped into Netero's mind. "And what will the Zoldyck family be doing during all of this?" He asked curiously. "Surely you won't just sit back while your heir is out of your reach? And wouldn't Illumi be valuable for finding Killua faster?"
"I never said we wouldn't be going, Netero," Zeno said, and Netero could hear the grin on the man's face. "I just said to send some Hunters to go ahead of us." There was a pause before the man added, "What I had in mind was that if they don't return within a certain amount of time, or if we somehow confirm their deaths, you could personally lead me, Silva and Illumi there yourself. I'm sure you've been itching for entertainment anyway."
Netero hummed. "What about your grandfather, Maha? It's been a long time since I've seen him."
He heard Zeno scoff. "He doesn't do too much nowadays, but maybe we could convince him to come too. After all, he hasn't been to the Shinobi Nations in a long time." He paused before continuing. "In fact, the last time he was there was when you two fought each other."
Netero laughed heartily. "Good times."
Zeno scoffed. "Anyway, what do you say?" he asked.
Netero felt himself grinning. Things were finally getting interesting.
"Deal."
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
A group of mafia security guards were in the room shouting at each other, trying to figure out who could be calling their boss's cellphone.
A blonde haired young man clad in a black suit walked into the room to see what all the commotion was for.
"Boss! This phone call is coming from an unidentified ID! We don't know who it is!"
The blonde sighed and rubbed his temples before walking over to the phone. He must've forgotten his cellphone in this room, but he wished it had been on silent.
Not in the mood to play games, he swiftly picked up the phone and spoke in a clipped tone. "State your business."
"Oh dear... is that any way to greet an old friend? Kurapika 🎔?"
Kurapika's eyes widened at the familiar voice and he glared at the phone. "Why do you still have my number?"
"Oh, no reason... I just thought it'd be nice to have your number in case I ever wanted to... play 🎔."
Kurapika clenched the phone tightly. "I'm not in the mood for games Hisoka. Goodby—"
"Chrollo." At that, Kurapika stopped. "I'm sure you felt it, but in case you didn't, Chrollo got your Nen purged from him. A while ago, actually ◇ ."
Kurapika did know. In fact, it was part of the reason why he had been in such a bad mood lately, despite having gained back so many of his bretheren's eyes.
But he wouldn't let Hisoka know that.
"I don't care."
"You're lying 🎔," The clown immediately replied.
Kurapika gritted his teeth. "What does that have to do with me? I don't care about the Troupe right now. I'm focusing on other things."
"Oh, but the troupe cares about you ◇. And now that they have Chrollo back, what's stopping them from storming your cute little mafia hideout right now? Slaying all your associates and stealing all your beloved Scarlet eyes? Don't you think it's just a matter of time before they find you? Hmm ◆?"
As much as Kurapika hated to admit it, Hisoka had a point. But he didn't know what the clown was getting at, he never did.
"And why do you care?" Kurapika questioned.
"Isn't that what friends are for?" Hisoka purred. "Don't tell me you don't consider me at least a friend now, Kurapika 🎔."
"I don't."
"Not even after that precious night we spent together 🎔?"
Kurapika held back a disgusted shiver. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"The night we had our first date in the abandoned Yorknew amusement park." Hisoka let out a moan. "My favorite memory of us. You looked quite appetizing that day. Such fire in your eyes 🎔."
Kurapika would never understand this person. "That wasn't a date, Hisoka. That was me meeting you for information on the Spiders. I still don't consider you a friend, nor do I trust you."
Hisoka hummed. "How hurtful Kurapika 🎔... You make me cry scarlet tears... but I guess we'll just never see eye to eye ◇." The bad scarlet eye joke annoyed Kurapika, but not more than the clown's amused giggles. "It's a shame, because the ones you consider friends just happen to be in grave danger right now ◆."
What the hell did that mean?
"You're talking about Gon, Killua and Leorio?" He questioned. At the hum he heard from Hisoka, he got irritated. "Stop messing around! What did you do to them?"
"Oh, me? No... I would never ◆." The clown chuckled a bit while Kurapika was clenching and unclenching his hands, letting out an intense aura that was scaring away the others in the room. "But let's just say Gon and Killua have been missing for a while now. You haven't heard from them... have you?"
Kurapika didn't speak to them or Leorio in months, but that was mostly because the boys had been in the game so they couldn't call and Kurapika always ignored Leorio's calls. He didn't know what to say to him, and he thought it would be best if Leorio didn't get mixed up with him.
Melody, who had probably heard everything being said, came into the room and looked at Kurapika with concern.
"No comment?" Hisoka hummed. "Between you and me, I was in Greed Island with them. The boys, along with their mentor, beat the game about a month ago. And I was there to witness them get caught up in a transportation Nen ability that sent them somewhere unknown." Kurapika's eyes widened. "A little Needleman assassin told me he had placed Nen on Killua to track him wherever he goes, but can no longer sense him. That's because apparently the boys have been sent to the Dark Continent. I'm sure you've heard of it?"
Kurapika had heard rumors about the Dark Continent, but this made him worried about his friends for the first time in a while. He always figured that they would stay safe as long as he kept his distance from them so they wouldn't get caught up in his problems again.
How foolish he was.
"Kurapika? Hello?" Hisoka hummed. "Talk about suh-eye-lens(silence) 🎔."
Kurapika took a deep breath. He was one more eye joke/pun away from using judgement chain on the clown the next time he sees him.
"What am I supposed to do? I don't know anything about the Dark Continent and I doubt I'd be much help. Gon and Killua will be fine. They're probably just on another adventure right now."
He was trying to convince himself. From the way Melody was looking at him, he knew that she could tell.
But he didn't care.
Hisoka made a mock noise of surprise. "Is that cowardice coming from you Kurapika? My, how heartless. The Kurapika I know wouldn't abandon his friends ◆."
Kurapika clenched his fist. "You don't know me."
He heard quiet chuckles from the other line and wondered what was going through the clown's head.
"Indeed, it seems I don't. Well, don't mind me. I was just calling you to deliver the news." He chuckled a bit more. "After all, I'm sure you'll change your mind very soon ◇."
With that, Hisoka hung up.
Kurapika sighed and looked down. In truth, he really wanted to help Gon and Killua and make sure the boys were safe. But he couldn't just drop everything and go try to save them without even knowing the situation.
For all he knew, he could just be walking into his death. From the stories he'd heard, the Dark Continent wasn't to be taken lightly.
Melody put her hand on his arm and squeezed comfortingly. "I'm sure they're fine Kurapika," she said.
Kurapika nodded. They probably were fine. For now. They were strong boys.
But would they be fine in the long run? Kurapika had no way of knowing.
The two boys he met during the Hunter exam... he had no doubt they had grown a lot and improved with their Nen.
But he didn't know if they could survive a place as notoriously dangerous as the Dark Continent.
And that scared him.
Those two and Leorio along with Melody were the closest things to family he has. Even if he barely talks to them.
If they were to die without him even trying to save them... he doesn't think he could forgive himself.
But could he really drop his life's purpose of gathering the scarlet eyes to jump into such a dangerous and unknown journey?
He took a seat on the nearby couch and Melody sat next to him. Everybody had cleared out when they saw how angry he was getting before, so it was just them two.
At that moment, his phone rang once again.
Not bothering to check the ID, he just answered. "Hello?"
"Is this Kurapika?" The voice was familiar, but one that Kurapika couldn't quite place. It sounded like an elderly man.
"Yes, who's asking?"
"This is Chairman Netero from the Hunter Association." Kurapika's eyes widened. "I'm sure you remember me from the Hunter exam."
"Yes... nice speaking to you again," Kurapika replied unsurely. Two strange calls back to back? Not a coincidence.
Netero chuckled a bit before speaking. "I have a mission I'd like you to participate in."
"Let me guess..." Kurapika said. "Going to the Dark Continent?"
Netero made a surprised sound. "...Did you develop a mind reading ability?"
Melody laughed slightly next to Kurapika while Kurapika just sighed. "No. But right before you called, somebody else called me and brought up the Dark Continent, saying that Gon and Killua are stranded there and need help." He took a breath. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Netero was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Who told you that?" He asked curiously.
"Hisoka. He implied that he got his information from Killua's brother, Illumi."
Netero hummed. "That makes sense... him and Illumi did seem kinda close... If I didn't know any better, I'd even think they were fuc–"
"Okay, what did you call for?" Kurapika cut in. He didn't need any disturbing images in his head, he already had a headache. "If it's the whole Dark Continent thing, I don't know how I'd be of help. I've only been a Hunter for a little over a year, and I know nothing about the Dark Continent." He wanted to help Gon and Killua, he really did, but this was sounding like a really bad situation that he wouldn't be able to help fix.
"Well... let me make a correction," Netero said. "Hisoka got misinformation. Gon and Killua are not in the Dark Continent. The Zoldycks told Illumi that he couldn't sense Killua because he was in the Dark Continent, but really that was just to cover up the truth."
Kurapika felt a wave of relief, yet confusion and wariness go through him. "So where are they?"
"They're in a place that can normally only be accessed by going through the Dark Continent, but it seems they were transported there by Nen. The place is called the Shinobi Nations by those who know of it."
"Shinobi? Like, Ninja?" Kurapika asked. Melody too was confused.
"Yes, precisely. We have shinobi here too, but it's different there. It's like a whole other civilization. The Shinobi nations have large shinobi villages and ninja acting as a military force for each village. The boys most likely have taken refuge in one of those villages for now. I'm sure they're much safer than they would've been in the DC."
Kurapika relaxed a bit more at that, but then a question popped in his mind. "Wait, so you want me to go through the Dark Continent and get to the Shinobi Nations to bring them back?" This was all sounding like a lot more than he had grown accustomed to in the past few months. His goals were usually much simpler than this.
"Well, you and a group of other Hunters, yes," Netero said. "The Zoldycks have put in a request for Killua to be rescued, and they want a group of Hunters to go in for the job. I figured you would be a logical choice. You've proven yourself to be level-headed, intelligent, and from what I've heard from your Nen master, you've grown powerful. You also care about Gon and Killua. Most hunters won't willingly go on this mission for people they don't know or care about."
Kurapika saw the man's point, but sighed. This was the second time he faced a dilemma like this.
His purpose or his friends?
The first time was much simpler. Gon and Killua had been hostages for the Troupe but Kurapika had a guaranteed way of getting them back. It was a no brainer to choose his friends.
But now, the boys were far out of his reach and he didn't know if there was much he could do for them.
Logic tells him to just keep going after the eyes and let Netero form a team comprised of more experienced Hunters to go save them.
But emotion tells him to go after the boys despite the risks and lack of knowledge.
He was confused.
He was confused until Netero spoke again.
"Oh and by the way..." he started. "I understand you're looking for the lost eyes of your clan?"
Kurapika felt the familiar burn of his eyes that occurred almost whenever the scarlet eyes or his clan was mentioned. "Yes... I am. What of it?"
Netero sighed. "Well, I didn't want to play this card so early, but you seem conflicted. So I'll make things simple." Kurapika braced himself for what he was about to hear. "An abundance of Scarlet eyes have ended up in the Shinobi Nations."
Kurapika's eyes glowed red and his aura spiked, overwhelming Melody's senses.
"I'm listening."
Chapter 12 End
Thanks for reading!