She considers herself an orphan, though she knows her parents are probably alive somewhere. Somewhere. She doesn't care. The day they left her was the day they died in her heart. The only two people she wants to see again are her little brothers. OC-based story. May be romance later.
-x-
A/N: So, here is the first chapter! Updates will be weekly, starting from now. I'll be updating on the weekends (probably on Fridays or Sundays. I think. We'll see when we get to the next chappie).
Also, forgot to stick this here. Yes, a disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I don't own HxH! I only own my OCs.
-x-
chapter one: their strange friendship
-x-
Miku hums to herself as she casually nabs something from an unsuspecting rich lady's shopping bag.
It's a scarf. A very lavish one, at that. Miku frowns. Such luxury.
Miku doesn't like it.
The fabric is very soft, though. Cashmere, maybe.
She will keep it anyways. After all, she needs to keep warm somehow.
Truth be told, Miku doesn't need it to stay warm. But it's nice.
Miku wraps the soft, navy blue scarf around her neck, admires it for a split second, and continues on.
What did she come here for again?
Oh, yeah. For money to buy first class flight tickets.
What? You think she's going to say food?
Why bother buying when she can just take? It's not like these people will starve if she takes from them.
Plus, Miku makes sure to steal only from the rich. Their food is better, and she doesn't feel quite as bad.
Scratch that, she doesn't feel bad at all.
Anyways, she can't stand second class. The last time she went, the fat dude next to her threw up on her.
Gross was a terrible understatement.
It was safe to say Miku was never stepping foot in second class again.
Where is Miku, you ask?
The Republic of Padokea. She is there to take on the Heavens Arena.
Yes, she can fight. Very well, if she doesn't say so herself. In fact, Miku has even been taught about nen. But only the basic principles so far.
She is eleven.
"Miku." Miku turns as she hears a voice call her name. A familiar voice, belonging to none other than her cheerful little ball of sunshine.
Yeah, not really.
His name is Kalluto Zoldyck. Yes, Miku knows he is an assassin. From a famous family full of them, at that. But he's her little assassin prótegé.
Or maybe it's the other way around.
He's ten years old (younger than her by one and a half years!), and the one who taught her about Nen. He isn't the most qualified teacher, but he's pretty good.
Besides, he's repeating the lessons his mother gave him word for word, according to him.
And she is a Manipulator, according to her water divination results. Which is good, because Kalluto is one too. That means he can give her some advice later.
Miku hasn't gotten the chance to develop her Hatsu yet, though.
"Oh, why hello there, Kallu-chan." Miku waves.
"It's Kalluto, Miku. Kalluto." Kalluto says with the barest amount of irritation audible in his voice.
He is not usually this emotive, though. Usually, it's harder to hear anything in his voice.
And if she didn't know him so well, she wouldn't be able to tell he was sulking. She frowns.
"So, Kalluto. Spill." Miku places her hands on her hips.
He stays quiet. "Nothing's wrong."
Miku sighs and shakes her head. "I've known you for a while now. This isn't nothing."
"...Killu-nii ran away." he says after a short pause.
"Ah. The white haired one?"
"Yes, and... I need a favor." Kalluto admits reluctantly. "An actual, favor favor."
She agrees readily. "Mn, sure. What do you need?" Miku inquires.
Miku was not foolish enough to believe that when Kalluto (finally) agreed to teach her, it was out of the goodness of his heart. It was an equal give and take. A symbiotic relationship, so to say.
It started when Kalluto was on a solo assassination mission. Kalluto was injured and unconscious on the ground.
It was Miku who treated his wounds. Though, she admits when she first saw him, she believed him to be a girl. Needless to say, after dressing those wounds, she figured it out.
He nearly killed her upon waking. If it weren't for the fact that his arms were kind of out of commission (as were his legs), she would have been dead meat.
Theoretically, he probably could have killed her via death bite, but that wasn't how Zoldycks killed. That was vulgar and nasty, and only a last resort.
And when they said last resort, they meant last resort.
He also was in a forced Zetsu, which meant he couldn't have used Nen to kill her.
Somehow, Miku was calm throughout the ordeal, though she didn't know why.
Kalluto left, but not before sticking a piece of folded paper in her pocket, "IOU" scrawled haphazardly.
She knew that Kalluto could not be much older than her little brothers. And yet, she knew he was strong. Very strong.
So logically, of course Miku would ask him to teach her.
It was hard to convince him. But he soon relented when Miku told him she would do him favors.
His first request was candy.
His second was a cake.
His third was a stuffed teddy bear.
Miku was confused, but complied anyway. Apparently, Kalluto had a secret sweet tooth and a penchant for cute things, but did not want his family to know.
Kalluto recommends weights for her to wear, and gives her poison to put in her food.
Miku looks at him like he's crazy, but he simply shrugs and says, "Your choice."
She does, in fact, consume it. Her stomach is absolutely miserable (and it feels like she's choking sometimes), but she bears with it. After all, building an immunity to poisons is probably useful.
He continues to supply her with poisons to take, and she does.
He tells her when to get heavier weights, and she does.
He tells her to meditate for three hours a day, and she does.
He teaches her assassination techniques and asks her to practice them, and she does.
Sometimes, it feels like Kalluto is the older one.
(Miku still can't get over the fact that Kalluto is probably a prettier girl than her, and he's not even a girl.)
Kalluto mostly asks for outside favors that he himself cannot do due to family restrictions, and in turn, he trains her when time allows it. Which is not a lot, but Miku is willing to accept what she can.
Part of the reason she came to the Republic of Padokea is because it's Kalluto's country, which means they can meet up more often, when he isn't away on assassination jobs.
Miraculously, his family does not know about her yet. That, or they've chosen to turn a blind eye.
Either way, she and Kalluto have a strange relationship.
"I want you to take the 287th Hunter Exam." Kalluto states stoically.
"Eh...?" Miku raises a single eyebrow. "What now?"
"Take the 287th Hunter Exam. I am certain that my older brother will be there. I cannot attend for numerous reasons. But you can."
Miku shrugs. "Guess I can. No harm in that. Ooh, a Hunter's License is worth a lot too..." She taps her chin in thought.
Kalluto nods. "Okay. You will qualify, since you turn twelve before the Exam. Also, I suggest you reach the 200th Floor before the Exam if you do not want to start over, so you have a month to take it. It should take around that long, I believe, if not less. The 200th Floor fighters use Nen, by the way."
"It's all on you if I die though."
"Please. You are too stubborn to die." Kalluto scoffs.
Miku smiles. "So, you want me to update you on how your brother is doing?"
"Yes."
"Can do."
She flashes him a smile. His mouth twitches.
-x-
Miku easily reaches the 190th Floor. She can see she has been analyzed by a man with a half untucked shirt and a little boy probably Kalluto's age following. His round glasses glint in a calculating fashion.
He knows Nen. The kid (is his name Sushi or something? Miku can't remember) is fighting also, and he uses Ten in matches. The man is good at heart, but maybe not as trusting.
She has not used Nen in any of her matches yet. Does he know she uses Nen?
That is a possibility. Either way, it probably won't affect her, should he not approach her.
Her signature move before the 200s is a judo flip. It was fun seeing the stunned looks of the audience. How could a little, frail girl like her flip a 300 pound sumo wrestler?
Well, duh. Through weight training. If those lazy people in the audience bothered to train like her, they could do it too.
Finally, she is on the 200th Floor. Kalluto is right when he says that the 200th Floor fighters are all Nen-users, because three are waiting for her. They are using an intimidating Ren, though that isn't very intimidating to her.
Kalluto's can definitely be intimidating. It can be cold and sharp as steel, and yet very smooth and graceful.
Theirs, on the other hand, is like a pool of shallow water in comparison to the deep end.
"Hello," she greets casually, and fiercely emits her own Ren.
They back off soon after that.
Hm. Miku seems to have acquired Kalluto's sadistic tendencies.
She sees a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye, and a hears a chuckle. His Nen is strong.
Miku tells herself not to mess with him.
But she's finally in the 200s, and the Exam is a couple months away.
Oh, that's right. She had almost forgotten.
"Happy twelfth birthday to me." she says quietly. She has never celebrated it with anyone since she was six.
Kalluto doesn't celebrate birthdays in the first place, but he always finds the time to send a something her way. Like a Chocorobo-kun. How, she doesn't know.
She treats herself to a nice, luscious cupcake that day, and blows out a single candle.
She doesn't wish for anything.
-x-
Miku sits on her large bed in the room she earned the next day. There is a nice view out the window, but she doesn't care for it too much.
She pulls out a notebook from her drawer.
"I need to develop my Hatsu." Miku says aloud. "But I still don't know what I can do..."
Manipulation, manipulation... what could she manipulate?
"Ugh! Why is this so frustrating?" Miku slams her face into a pristine pillow.
That's right. Her creativity streak is zilch.
Miku knows she'll need to develop her Hatsu somehow, if she wants to continue fighting in the 200s. But then again, no more money is given here.
"Maybe I'll just not register and start from the beginning some other time." Miku giggles. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
Miku stands up, and rummages around her belongings. "I need to decide what to pack, don't I?" she muses out loud.
She decides to treat it like... a camping trip. A very glorified camping trip with the possibility of AC and getting her hands dirty.
Two extra, identical changes of clothes. Check.
Toiletries (and tampons... just in case it happens. Which it hasn't yet, but you can never be too careful when it comes to these things). Check.
Weapon of choice. She decides to use plain tonfa for the Exam. Check.
Food rations (she hates them, but they get the job done). Check.
Candy, and lots of it~! Check, of course!
She can't survive without her daily sweets. Her sugar intake is dangerously high, but she doesn't care.
Kalluto keeps telling her she'll get fat. And she tells him he's being a hypocrite.
But so far, she hasn't gotten fat, so that's good.
Multifunctional black hooded cloak (for a mysterious air! And to keep warm and cozy). Check.
Water canteen. Check.
The Hunter Exam is drawing near, and Miku absolutely cannot wait! Yep, she is definitely hyped for sure.
She dials Kalluto, seeing as it's one of the times he has told her she is allowed to call him freely.
"Kallu-chan~!" she sings. "Hello."
"What." His voice is flat.
"Hey, don't be like that! I'm taking the Exam soon, you know." Miku pouts playfully, but she sobers. "Aren't you going to tell me how to get in?"
"And here I thought you'd never ask."
"I know it's in Zaban City. But I haven't signed up yet, and I don't know where to go. I'm too lazy to find out for myself, so tell me? Pretty please?"
"You're signed up already. I took care of that part for you. To get in, you need to tell the guy at the restaurant this when you order."
"Order?"
"Yes. So listen. Ask for a steak combo that opens your eyes to the light, for one. When he asks you how you want it, say grilled over a low flame, until cooked."
"...Say that again?" Miku blinks once. Twice. "I didn't get it the first time."
He repeats it (but not before sighing and muttering, "Can't be helped..."), and Miku commits it to memory. "Okay, I think I've got it."
"Good. Because I wasn't about to repeat it for a third time."
"Kallutoooo."
"Don't drag out my name, or you'll wear it out."
"Psh, you totally love me."
"...Shut up."
"Is there anything else?"
"No."
"Okay. Bye—"
"...W-Wait."
"What is it?"
"Could you..." he mumbles something inaudible.
"Hm?"
"Could you sing for me?"
Miku pauses, not knowing how to reply. Is this a request of a friend, or a part of their deal? She doesn't know, but she thinks that either way, it's fine.
"Okay."
-x-