To be a Hunter - 2011 (being revised)

by Relentless-virus

There was one more survivor of the Kuruta clan. Her name was Mishka, the younger sister of Kurapika. Join her on her adventures with Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio as she learns who she is as a person as well as becoming less dependant on her brother. This is the 2011 version! Being re-written and revised.

49. Invitation x And x Friend

A big thank you to Anime lover and all silent readers
Anime lover – I know I'm just so shocked it's! I don't even know how to finish that sentence! If I'm honest; I never thought I'd even get this to Greed Island or even to a popular point.
Because we are now at Greed Island I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who stuck through and read! A massive thank you to the reviewers and a massive thank you to the amazing twenty followers and nineteen favourites of this story! It's something I would have never imagined.

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Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.

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I stood glued to my spot, as I watched the whole scenery. It was amazing, and it all felt amazing too. But the one thing I couldn't shake off was the feeling of being watched, even though nobody was here…that feeling was. I furrowed my brows slightly and cupped my hands either side of my mouth.
"Gon! Killua! Where are you?" I shouted out, ungluing myself from the spot I stood at. At least the whole group wasn't around to stare at me. I took a couple of steps forward until I heard someone shouting my name.
"Mishka!" I heard Gon yell, making me turn my head to the noise source. I smiled widely at the two and quickly jogged over to where they were standing. They stood against one of the stone pillars holding up the mill.
"You did wait! Did you know we're being watched?" I said to them, keeping the small smile on my face. Gon smiled awkwardly at me as Killua sighed slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"We were just discus-" Killua began saying until I cut him off.
"And everything here is so amazing! It feels so real! Are all video games like this? If they are then I can see why the habit is so expensive. I mean it's just so-" I said to them, smiling wider as I looked around some more on the spot until Killua shoved his hand over my mouth to stop me talking. I closed my mouth under his hand. He took it away and sighed slightly to himself, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

Gon smiled widely at me as he decided to take over speaking.
"We were just saying how there wasn't any nearby towns and that everybody went in the same direction." Gon explained to me. I hummed to myself slightly and thought to myself, this place was so open and big they could have gone anywhere.
"Well, let's go. Regardless of who's watching, we should start by gathering information." Killua said to me and Gon. I nodded my head quickly; we were here to gather information on Gon's father, so it was wise to do that quickly.

We walked away from the mill and into the wide open space. Killua was in the middle of me and Gon. All our walking speeds the same as we headed in one of the directions we were being watched from. I looked around in amazement; even if this was all virtual it was absolutely amazing and felt so real.
"So, how did it go?" Killua asked us making me snap my head towards him, stopping myself from looking at all the scenery. Gon looked at him confused and I had to admit I was slightly confused to. Did everybody get a different introduction process?
"Your save data. Book." Killua said to Gon and then summoned a book. He held his hands out slightly underneath the floating book, a small smile on his face as we continued walking forward.
"How many cards were inside?" Killua asked as he pointed his finger into the air, making the book follow it and started waving his finger about, the book following all his moves.
"There weren't any cards inside." Gon said to us. I looked at him slightly confused, and furrowed my brows in confusion. Killua looked at him shocked, wondering the same thing as I did.
"Huh? For real?" He asked him wide eyed.
"But all that save data! He couldn't have just been playing about in the open could he?" I asked him, continuing to look at Gon in confusion. Gon kept his head forward as he began explaining to us what was on the card.
"But there was a message from Ging." Gon said to us, smiling widely to himself.
"What did he say?" Killua asked him as we both continued to look at him in confusion, wondering what Gon's dad could have said.
"To enjoy the game." Gon said to us simply.

I raised an eyebrow slightly in question. Gon's dad just told him to enjoy the game and nothing else? So…coming here was pointless? But it wasn't pointless because if we never came here we wouldn't have found out that there are no clues to his whereabouts here. I guess it was kind of a win-lose situation for us.

Killua looked back at the book, swinging his finger around once more making the book follow his every move.
"To enjoy the game? But this doesn't really feel like a game. Book." Killua said as I nodded my head agreeing with him. The book following Killua's finger disappeared after he said book, vanishing in a white light.
"It feels so real and looks to real to be a game." I commented on the discussion at hand. Gon looked at me and Killua questionably as we did the same to him with Killua shoved his hand back into his shorts pocket.
"What do you two think about the rules?" Gon asked us. Killua closed his eyes and hunched his shoulders, humming to himself as he furrowed his brows.
"I still don't know enough yet." Killua responded to him. Gon focused on me as Killua did the same. I thought about it for a second, humming to myself and placing a hand onto my chin.
"From what I can tell, they seem pretty fair at the moment. But, I guess we'll have to see how everything turns out." I said to him, turning my head and smiling at the two boys slightly.

The three of us stopped and looked into the sky. There was a ringing sound coming from it. In the sky was a very bright light, heading towards the Earth. I looked at it wide eyed, what was that? It came down fast, hitting the ground hard. Dust flew into the air from where the thing landed. The dust cleared to reveal a man squatting and balancing on the balls of his feet, a sly smirk across his face. He had purple dreadlocks and very tanned skin. Under his left eye was four piercings. He wore headphones over his ears. He had a yellow vest top and very baggy greenish looking trousers.

The man began standing up slowly, looking at me, Gon and Killua with that sly smirk. The three of us glared at him, it was a little bit rude dropping in from the sky towards people; he could have hit one of us. Unless, that was his plan.
"This must be your first time playing this game." The man said to us. Killua smirked back at him, keeping the glare on his face.
"I wonder if you're right." Killua said back to him, not giving anything away from us.
"Since you're carrying a book, you must be a player." Killua said to him, pointing out his book. Me and Gon stayed quiet, it was always Killua who was better at these situations than us.
"Well, sure." He said to us, although it sounded a little bit sarcastic.

The man took out a card and placed it into his book, then began pressing into the book with his fingers. Killua's smirk wiped off his face as it turned into a proper glare again. What was he doing? I stood on guard, watching the man closely. He seemed to be a tricky kind of person. He hummed to himself as he looked into the back of his book.
"Killua, Gon and Mishka, huh?" The man said, taking the three of us by surprise. He looked at him shocked, standing up slightly straight.
"How did you know our names?" Gon questioned him. The man never took his eyes off the book; instead he chose to watch that instead of us.
"How indeed?" The man questioned us and then began laughing to himself.

The man looked up at us as he finished his chuckling, then back at the book, placing a hand in thought over his mouth as he continued to smirk and press more into the book. The man tapped the book, making a card fly out. He quickly grabbed it in the air, never taking his eyes off the book or the smirk off his face. He suddenly looked up at us, looking over all of us.
"Trace on! Attack, Killua!" The man shouted. The three of us gasped slightly to ourselves as the card turned into a bright yellow light. It shot out of the man's hand and towards us. The three of us split into different directions; however the yellow light followed Killua.
"You can't run from spell in this game!" The man shouted. The light caught up with Killua, hitting him hard. I flinched slightly at the look, it looked very painful. Killua landed on his feet with his arms crossed over his face.
"Killua!" I shouted to him in worry, furrowing my brows slightly.
"Are you okay?" Gon questioned him. The man laughed more to himself as he kept the smirk on his face.
"My attack worked!" The man said smugly to himself.

Me and Gon watched Killua worried as the man continued to smirk. I only caught a glimpse, but when Killua dropped his arms to his side he looked scary. His eyes were much different than before. I felt a chill run up my spin. The man must have noticed as well, because he looked at Killua in shock. Killua said something to the man and began taking a step forward. The man quickly pressed into the book and grabbed a card that flew out.
"Return on! Take me to Masadora!" The man said, turning into a bright yellow light and flying into the air. Me and Gon watched him wide eyed and confused as Killua stood in the middle of us once more, his hands shoved into his pockets. Killua didn't look too thrilled out the man having gotten away after attacking him. It made me think to myself, spell cards? The lady in the room in the mill never spoke about those and that spell looked like it hurt. We had to be cautious when in this game; we had to stay on our toes.

We decided to try and find a town as quickly as possible. That attacked sounded and looked like it hurt a lot and me and Gon were worried for Killua. We walked along the side of a river that also looked very real.
"Killua, how are you holding up?" Gon asked him, worry evident in his voice. Killua looked at us questionably, keeping his hands in his pockets.
"Hmm? I don't feel any different." Killua said simply to us. My brows knitted together as I frowned widely at him.
"It looked like it hurt a lot." I said to him, worry evident in my own voice.
"We're still worried. He definitely did something to you." Gon expanded as I nodded my head agreeing with him. Killua looked between the both of us and smiled at us.
"No point worrying about it now." Killua said to us. Me and Gon continued to look at him worried, the events of not too long ago fresh in our minds. What confused me the most was I couldn't tell if he was using Nen or not.
"Hey, was he using Nen when he said, "Trace on"?" Gon asked him confused. Killua closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly.
"No, it's probably some magic that only works in the game." Killua said, making me and Gon look at him in even more confusion.
"Magic? What kind?" Gon asked him. Killua removed his hands from his pockets and laced his fingers behind the back of his head, taking on his normal one of two walks.
"Beats me. Well, we'll find out eventually." Killua said to us. I turned my head forward once more and sighed slightly.
"I guess." I said to him, still confused by all this magic card business. I thought it was going to be straight forward, collect cards, not have magic cards thrown into the mix as well.

We continued walking forward. I watched the river as we walked, watching our reflections. This game really was good at capturing everything that happens in the real world when it came to things, such as the sun and the river showing a reflection. Who ever made it had a really keen eye towards things. Soon though the river stopped and turned into another direction as we just continued to walk forward.
"Look, there's a town!" Gon said happily, making me snap my head up. I smiled widely at the sight of the town coming into view from over the hill top. We quickly ran towards the town, wanting to get there as quickly as possible and out from the open where we were being watched.

We made it to the town in one piece. It was huge! There was a banner hanging at the entrance and then various more just dotted around the place saying "Welcome to Antokiba, City of Prizes!" The three of us looked around, looking at all the various posters of different things.
"Are those the prizes?" Killua questioned as we continued to look at all the posters stuck on the walls of the city.
"Wow, all these are prizes?" Gon questioned in amazement and excitement.
"I think they may be!" I said to the two, looking around wide eyed.
"Looks that way." Killua commented, looking at a poster showing a dog. I came up behind him and smiled widely, it looked really cute!
"Oh! He's so cute!" I said hanging behind Killua looking at the poster with the dog on. Of course, even if we did get it; all the items would belong to Mr Battera so I wouldn't be able to keep the little dog.
"Oh, Killua, Mishka…Look." Gon said, grabbing my attention. I looked in the direction he was looking at. There was a massive board with different colours and numbers and writing beside the numbers on it. In front of it was a huge crowd of people.

Me and Killua took ourselves away from the prize board and stood next to Gon, just staring at the giant board.
"Antokiba Monthly Tournaments Schedule." Killua read off.
"There's a rock-paper-scissors tournament this month." Gon said making my face drop.
"Why did it have to be rock-paper-scissors?" I questioned looking at the board with a not too happy face. I wasn't good at rock-paper-scissors, even when I was younger and played against Kurapika and Pairo I never won. I only won if they let me win, after they both won nine times each.
"The prize is a Sword of Truth." Killua said, making me perk up again. We walked towards the board and into the crowd to get a better look at the board with all the tournaments on.
"Is that an important item?" Gon questioned. I shrugged my shoulders as he looked at me and then looked at Killua with Gon.
"Probably. Look over there." Killua said, looking to the right of us. We turned our heads. It was one of the guys back in the room with us, the one wearing the skin tight red top.
"And over there." Killua whispered to us. Me and Gon turned our heads to the left to see another person who was in the room with us. It was the really dark coloured skinned man wearing a blue long sleeved top and blue trousers, he looked to be deep in thought as he looked at the board.
"Should we participate?" Gon questioned.
"Of course." Killua replied to him.

Gon turned to me and Killua, smiling widely and holding up a finger to us.
"Then let's try to win all kinds of prizes." Gon said excitedly to us, making me and Killua turn to him, forming a small three person circle between us.
"We should also gather information." Killua said to us just as our stomachs started rumbling loudly. The three of us pulled faces as our stomachs rumbled, we hadn't eaten since about lunch time with Leorio and god knows when that was in the real world, that could have been two days ago in the real world…but if that was the case than did the world lack a day and night system?! That would make things confusing.
"We should eat first though." I muttered to the two as they nodded their heads in agreement.

We walked away from the board with all the tournaments and went to find somewhere we could eat. We found a nice little café the sign above the door had a picture of a cats head with a knife and fork next to it. The three of us entered the café making the doorbell ring.
"Welcome! If you can finish this within thirty minutes, you don't need to pay! In addition, you'll also receive a Galgaida as your prize." A man that looked a lot like a yellow cat said to excitedly, putting in front of us three huge plates of spaghetti. He wore chef whites, the big hat included. It looked like he had whiskers as well. I looked the plate in shock; we had to finish this all?! I wouldn't get through half of that…I was going to have to pay! But I didn't have any money!
"Okay, begin!" The chief said to us, not really giving us a choice. Did all he serve here was spaghetti? I mean we kind of walked in and that was it, he just dumped this in front of us. I looked at it in panic as Gon and Killua started eating it at rapid speed.

With much regret of coming to this restaurant I began eating my "this would serve an entire family" worth of spaghetti.
"Hey, chef. Do you know how to use magic?" Killua asked him with his mouth full of spaghetti.
"What's that?" The chef asked Killua in confusion.
"Who's the most knowledgeable person in this city?" Gon questioned him, his mouth also full of spaghetti.
"Knowledgeable? What's that?" The chef said to him. I looked at the chef shocked as I chewed on some of my food, Gon sat wide eyed with Spaghetti hanging from his mouth and Killua looked at him rather annoyed by the whole conversation.
"They guy doesn't know anything." Gon whispered to us, slurping up the rest of his spaghetti.
"He's probably just an in game character." Killua whispered back to us annoyed.
"Most likely, I haven't seen any cat people in the real world." I whispered back to the two, putting my fork into my mouth with spaghetti on it.

I felt like I was going to explode. I certainly didn't want to eat again, ever, at all, for the rest of my life. I had my forehead on the table with my arms outstretched in front of me and plate pushed away. How Killua and Gon eats that much on a normal basis was beyond me entirely. I had forced myself to finish the giant plate of food as I didn't have any money and I didn't know how to make up for that fact if we had to pay.
"Oh, no! You did it! Here is your prize, Galgaida." The chef said, handing us each a card. I brought up my head from the table slightly and took the card from him, feeling very heavy everywhere. I looked at the card while resting my chin on the table.
"One thousand two hundred and seventeen. F one hundred and eighty five." Killua read off the card as the three of us examined it.
"What does this mean?" Gon questioned in confusion. If I was honest I didn't really care at the moment, I just wanted to be sick.
"Is this your first time seeing a card? The left number is the item's card number, and the sequence on the right ranks how difficult it is to obtain. There are ten ranks; from SS to H. F would be the third easiest." The chef explained to us. I looked at him slightly annoyed, the tops of my eyelids dropping in annoyance.
"It didn't feel easy." I muttered to myself, dropping my forehead back onto the table. The chef either didn't hear what I said or chose to ignore it as he continued with his explanation.
"The number next to the rank is the item's maximum transformation limit." The chef explained. I peeked my head up and looked at the card that was in my extended arm in front of me. That was even more annoying.
"Oh, which means this item card…" Gon began saying and then trailed off looking at the card closely.
"Is nothing but junk." Killua said annoyingly as I glared at the card.
"I feel like I'm going to be sick because of a junk card…that's annoying." I muttered to them, glaring heavily at the card.

Suddenly a large bang echoed through the café making me sit up straight in an instance. There were screams outside, so something terrible much had been happening. Gon and Killua sat up probably themselves looking in the direction that the sound came from.
"Book." The three of us said, summoning our books. We quickly flicked to the back pages and stuck the junk card into the back where we would hopefully never have to see it again.
"Book." We said once more, dismissing the book in a bright white light. We quickly stood up from our seats and removed ourselves from the table we sat out, running out of the café to see what was happening. I would have to be sick later; assuming I wasn't going to be sick soon after all that food and now with the running.

We ran towards the crowd and pushed our way through to the front. We gasped at the sight in front of us. There on the ground in a pool of his own blood, was the man wearing the red skin tight shirt and jeans, an actual person not an in-game person.
"I've never seen him around."
"That's brutal." People began commenting looking at his body. I stared at the body wide eyed, only the whites of his eyes showed, which made it all that much more terrifying. I covered my mouth with my hands in fear and thought, wondering what had happened to the man.
"Hey, what happened?" Killua questioned one of the men standing next to us. I dropped my hands a little from my mouth, holding them near my throat and looked at the man as well, my brows knitted together as we waited for his answer. The man pointed to his body, looking at Killua.
"His body suddenly exploded. From the inside." The man explained to us. I hesitantly brought my head back to look at the corpse on the floor, Killua and Gon doing the same. The body started glowing in a purple like smoke making me gasps slightly to myself. The body glowed and then started disappearing, the blood disappearing with it.
"He disappeared?" Gon questioned in confusion.
"He probably went back to the real world. Game over." Killua said to us as we watched the smoke rise from the ground where his corpse was.

We stayed silent as we continued watching the smoke rise. It was very real here, that body was very real; that man was no dead in the game and real life, there was no way to return. I kept my hands close to me by my throat as I stared at the spot wide eyed.
"Hey, Killua. Was the magic he used on you earlier…" Gon questioned in fear. I thought back and gasped what if that happened to Killua?!
"I don't know." Killua muttered back to us. This was scary, very scary; we had no idea what the man used on Killua and he could very well end up like that man that just disappeared. This situation was dreadful and suddenly very scary to be; if Killua wasn't scared than I certainly was for him.
"Don't worry. There's no such spell in this game." A man said from behind us. The three of us turned around and faced him, a sigh of relief leaving me. That was good, Killua wasn't going to explode from the inside…that was so good to hear. The man had very messy maroon coloured hair and a red hoodie with the hood being grey.
"Spells?" Gon questioned him confused. The man looked down at us, a glare never leaving his face.
"As you just said, it's something like magic." The man said to us, his glare turning into a very slight smirk.

People began walking away from the scene as the body had disappeared. They were going back to their normal, everyday lives. The three of us continued to stare at the man in interest and confusion, spells? That's what that man earlier who attacked Killua said earlier, he said spell cards.
"He died from another player's Nen." The man explained to us. So he was an unlucky one and died from Nen.
"Nen?" Gon asked confused. Not so much confused about Nen but more confused that someone killed someone else with Nen.
"Does that mean the players are trying to kill each other?" Killua questioned him.
"Why?" I asked myself, confused as to why the players would be doing that.
"Player hunting." The man said to us simply.
"Player hunting?" Killua repeated after him.
"I can explain later. Anyway, are you interested in teaming up? We know of a sure way to clear this game." The man asked us, taking the three of us back by surprise. Team up with him? And what's more he said "we" so there were others in this team; and they all knew how to clear this game.
"If you're interested, follow me. My allies are waiting ahead." The man said to us as he began walking away, pointing a thumb towards the direction he was walking in.

The three of us turned around slightly, forming a small semi-circle between us. We looked at each other seriously, thinking of what we should do.
"What do we do?" Gon questioned us in a hushed voice, keeping the conversation between us.
"Sounds suspicious. And we're already off to a bad start." Killua whispered back to us.
"I don't know if we should trust him so easily, it's a difficult call." I said to them in whispers myself to keep the conversation between us. We stayed quiet, trying to think on what to do until the man broke the silence.
"As I recall, on your way here, another player used an attack spell on you." The man said making the three of us gasp then glare at him. That meant he must have been one of the two people who were watching us from the distance.
"Have you been watching us?" Killua questioned him seriously.
"Yeah. And I wasn't the only one. Lots of people keep an eye on the starting point. If you come, I'll explain why. I can also tell you about the spell that was cast on you." The man said to us, trying to egg us on to follow him. I just couldn't trust him though no matter how much I wanted to. He was watching us, which is a little bit creepy, especially knowing there were many other people watching us from the beginning as well. Killua's glare turned into a smile as he lifted a hand up.
"You're being very nice. There must be a catch." Killua said to him, his smile turning into a smirk. Me and Gon looked between Killua and the man. The man closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly, facing it towards the ground.
"We have no chose. This game is difficult, unpleasant and frightening. Once you realize that, you'll be more willing to accept our offer. Well, it's your first time playing, so you could use the information…" The man said trailing off as he looked at us again.

The three of us continued to stare at him, never daring the take out eyes off of him. He seemed very persistent to get us to join them to clear the game.
"What makes you think it's our first time? We could be returning players." Killua questioned him and then said to him. The man stared at us and turned around to face us fully again. He lifted his hand, his fingers outstretched.
"Book." He said simply, summoning his book in a flash of white light. The three of us jumped back from his instantly keeping out distance away from the man.
"This proves that you're beginners." The man said to us. The three of us clenched our teeth together as we glared at the man. He opened the book by looking at it and continued to explain why he believed we were beginners.
"An experienced player would react by summoning his own binder. Because you need spell cards to defend yourself." The man explained to us. Me and Gon looked at Killua as he kept his eyes on the man.
"Then the spell cast on Killua…" Gon said trailing off.
"Could only be stopped by another card." Killua said bitterly and angrily.
"That also means we can't use Nen to stop it…" I said to them, trailing off on my own sentence. It only made sense, if you needed another card to stop a cards attack; then our Nen was useless here.

Me and Gon looked back at the man when he began speaking once more, the three of us determined to keep our distance from him. We only had the fish card, and even then we didn't know what it could do.
"Even when you aren't carrying any cards, you should still summon it. It's an important bluff. Book." The man said, dismissing his book in a bright white light. Once the book was out of sight and the man's hand was back at his side, we decided to was safe enough to walk over to him. We dropped the glares from our faces as we walked towards him, still staying on guard.
"Hey, how do we obtain spell cards?" Gon asked him. It seemed like an important thing for us to know if we were going to survive any more spell card attacks. The man looked at us sternly as we stopped in front of him, Killua shoving his hands into his shorts pockets.
"The easiest method would be to go to Masadora, City of Magic." The man explained to us.
"Masadora?" Gon questioned him. I looked at Gon and Killua, remembering about the name.
"That was the name that that other guy shouted when Killua was about to walk towards him." I said to them. Killua thought back slightly and looked a little surprised as Gon did the same. Gon smiled widely and turned his head to face Killua and me.
"Killua, Mishka, we should go with him. I'm still worried about the spell on you and I'm sure Mishka is too. Okay?" Gon asked him as I nodded my head agreeing with Gon. Me and Gon smiled widely at Killua as he looked between us both slightly surprised and wide eyed.
"Sure…" Killua said trailing off.

We followed the man through the city. I moved so that I was next to Killua, making him in the middle of me and Gon. I didn't want to be near the guy that was leading us to the group, not after we found out that he was one of the men following us. We eventually reached a large area that was far quieter compared to the rest of the city. Puhat was there, which kind of surprised me as I thought he would be the type of guy that travelled alone. The group of men and one girl stared at us as we stopped in front of them, all of them either standing or sitting on the steps.
"Is this everyone?" The man next to us asked.
"Yeah. Everyone else turned me down." One of the men sitting on the steps said, sounding a bit disheartened by the whole situation of being turned down.
"Let's get started, then." Another man said, this time it was one of the guys standing on the steps.

We fell quiet as the man next to Gon began speaking.
"Another player was just killed. He arrived with the rest of you. His stomach exploded. It was the Bomber." The man explained. I looked up at him slightly confused, the Bomber? So there was a guy that they knew going around exploding people. The name seemed fitting, seeing the guy exploded from the inside. Gon and Killua looked up at the man as well, confused themselves.
"The Bomber?" Gon repeated after him.
"The victims aren't killed by spells. No spell in this game is capable of injuring people. Which means that you won't be harmed or killed by any spells cast on you." The guy who spoke a while ago said. He was very tall and very slim. His skin was pale and he had very pale blonde hair. He wore glasses and a long white coat with blue collar. He kind of reminded me of a doctor. What he said though made me sigh in relief that meant Killua was going to be fine.

The tall man walked next to the guy next to Gon.
"There are forty different spells. The one cast on you was an inspection spell. Either Trace or Adhesion." The man next to Gon explained to us.
"In short, once the enemy uses these on you, he will know everything about you." The pale looking guy said, taking over the explanation from the man next to Gon. I thought back, that explains how he knew our names without us even giving them to him. It made me a little angry, wasn't that classed as cheating in some sort of way? Or was in an upper hand? Me, Gon and Killua moved away from the men standing in front as the group started forming a small circle between us all. This way, it was going to be a lot easier to talk.
"Some players wait near the starting point in order to cast these spells on new players. As soon as a player obtains a valuable card, they'll show up and steal it. In some cases, they kill their target." The pale guy explained. What a dreadful thing to kill anybody over, their cards. It was almost petty and sad.
"Like the guy who just died? I won't be that easy to kill." Puhat said confidentially. I furrowed my brows slightly, I remembered someone saying to me a while ago, well a long time ago, that those who act the most confident will always get themselves killed. I think it was several people who told me, but I remember one of them was Jerome.
"No, he was killed by something else. There is a violent faction hunting players. This was done by one of them… The Bomber." The pale guy explained to Puhat, keeping his same neutral gaze on him. His words wiped the confident look away from Puhat's face within seconds. We all fell silent once more. I could feel my arms and legs stiffen and a chill run up my spin. This "bomber" guy, sounded frightening. I didn't want to come across him at all.
"Bomber…" Gon muttered to himself, just loud enough for me and Killua to hear him.

One of the other men started talking. He was quite largely built. His hair was a dirty brown colour and stood up on end; he wore a pink button up shirt.
"In this game, there are three ways to acquire item cards. Do you know what they are?" The man said to us. I looked at him confused, the girl at the beginning of the game only said there were two…so what was this third one? Gon hummed to himself as he thought about it, and then looked up to the man.
"Find them yourself." Gon said to him.
"Trade with other players." The dark coloured skin man said. He was one of the guys we saw earlier in front of the tournament board.
"Steal them from other players." Killua said. I thought back to these, did the lady at the beginning of the game say that? Or was I imagining it and she didn't mention them at all?! I looked around in confusion, having confused myself with my own thoughts and what was actually said to me. I didn't understand the game as much as I like to think I did.
"Yes, those are the three ways. However, the number of players stealing from others has recently increased. That's due to the card's difficulty to obtain and the card transformation limit system. Players who can't obtain cards themselves choose to take them from others." The man explained to all of us. That meant we really had to be on our toes to protect any card we gathered. If we found a rare one, we would have to take extra measures not to lose it or have it stolen from us.
"If those players resist, they're killed. When they die, their ring disappears, and their cards are lost. However, it increases the transformation limit of that type of card. If you kill a player, you can't take his cards. That rule was meant to keep players from killing one another." The man explained to us. That rule didn't seem to be working if people were killing each other.

I thought to myself, looking away from the man. It was all so much to take in, players killing other players if they didn't give them their cards. Because of that the cards transformation limit rose, it was a never ending cycle of killing players just for their cards. Maybe the goal of those killing one another was to raise the transformation limit…but it was so gruesome and seemed petty and sad.
"But now, it's backfiring. It's been over ten years since the game's release. If no one can find a way to beat it, the killing will continue. That's why we're trying to end this mess. We're recruiting allies to clear this game. We need your help." The man who led us here explained and said to us. Me, Gon and Killua looked at him, a mixture of glares and confusion written on our faces. Didn't he say they knew a way? Did he lie to us just to get us to follow him?
"How do you plan to obtain cards? One, find them yourself. Two, trade for them. Three, steal them. Which method will you use?" Puhat questioned him, closing his eyes and resting an elbow onto his knees, he's head lazily in the open palm of his hand.
"Three…" The man who led us here said to him. I glared at him, I couldn't agree to that; that was wrong.
"I assume you mean to use all three methods, but three will be the primary method." The dark coloured man said, dropping his head forward. He leaned on his elbows that sat lazily across his knees.
"What, so you'll still use force?" Puhat questioned him even more.
"No! We won't use violence to reach our goal." The man who led us here retorted back to Puhat.
"Spell." The dark coloured man said, making the group of grown men look at him in confusion.
"You'll use spells. Am I right?" He questioned them, opening his eyes and bringing his head up a little bit.
"Correct." The man said to him.

I watched the man who brought us here carefully, if we weren't going to use violence that was good, but we were still stealing…who knew how long it took those people to get those cards; it didn't feel right just taking them from other people.
"There are certain spells for taking cards, and there are cards that defend against those spells. We'll focus on monopolizing these cards." The man explained to us, making Gon and Killua look at him with interest. I wondered if the two boys were feeling the same as I was about stealing other player's cards.
"We're going to use the very card transformation limit that's frustrated the players. This is the only way to clear the game." The man explained. So he did know how to clear the game after all, it wasn't just a bluff to make us follow him.
"I have met many players, and they all reached the same conclusion. Even if you search for cards, they'll be taken from you eventually." The tall pale man said to us.
"Because this game is based on players taking cards from each other. We will ensure that we can take cards from other players, while mitigating our risk of losing cards." The man with the dirty brown hair explained to us. I looked at Gon from the corner of my eyes, he seemed angry about the whole situation. I furrowed my brows slightly, I didn't want Gon suddenly exploding at the group; but at the same time he needed to let them know how he felt about stealing other player's cards.
"You're leaving out something important. Upon clearing the game, how will you split the reward?" Puhat questioned him, raising an eyebrow in question.
"You were hired by Mr Battera, right?" A short man with dark purple hair and wearing a pin stripped, long sleeved shirt retorted back to Puhat.
"So you knew who we were when you invited us." Puhat said to him, his voice getting lower as if he wasn't expecting that answer.
"Yeah." The man said to him, his smile turning into a stern face. I looked at the short, purple haired man as he began speaking to Puhat once more, taking my eyes away from Gon.
"Mr Battera also hired us to play this game." The short man said to Puhat.
"That means the reward will be fifty billion. We'll split it among everyone who helps." The man who led us here said to Puhat.
"Currently, we have fifty-three players. It'll take two months to collect the remaining spell cards, and one month to get the cards we need. We can finish in three months." The man with the dirty brown hair explained to us, looking over all of us that were new to the group.
"Of course, if you join us, we'll remove any spells cast on you." The pale looking man explained to us. I looked at Killua with a very small smile, he looked unsure about having the spell removed from him.

I looked at Puhat who raised his hand next to his head.
"I'm in. I don't like the idea of splitting the fifty billion. But I like the three months schedule for clearing the game." Puhat said to him. I looked at him slightly annoyed, so he was only here for the money not for the enjoyment of the game. Originally, we were here to find information on Gon's dad, but seeing as he wasn't here, we were just here for fun now; and shouldn't that be what the game was about? Having fun? I couldn't help but glare at him slightly, clenching my hands into fists. It was a game, it was meant for fun, not for prize money or anything like that, and yet here they were, discussing about stealing cards from other players.
"What about you?" The pale looking man asked the dark coloured man, who was looking at Puhat. He turned his head to face the pale man, keeping the bored expression on his face.
"I have a question. If I obtain an SS rank card on my own, what's my cut?" The dark coloured man asked the pale looking man.
"Naturally, you'll receive five hundred million for a card of that rank." The man who led us here said to him. The dark coloured man looked at him slightly wide eyed, surprised by what he said, and then turned his head and closed his eyes.
"Okay, I'm in." He said to him. The man who led us here looked at me, Gon and Killua sternly.
"What about you three?" He asked us.

I looked at Gon. I didn't want to join; I didn't like the idea of stealing other player's cards, it wouldn't feel right. If Gon and Killua decided they wanted to join the group then they could, I would play on my own and try to get the cards by myself; without stealing them. However, I knew that Gon wouldn't join, we thought on the same bases of good and bad most of the time; and this was one thing that I knew Gon wouldn't agree with.
"Killua, sorry." Gon said to Killua, making Killua look at him confused.
"Hmm? What?" Killua asked him, confused by what Gon meant.
"I'm out. I'm playing this game on my own." Gon said and turned on his heel to walk away. I smiled slightly at his retreating back at least that meant I wasn't playing on my own. Killua looked at me with a confused look as I smiled at him slightly. We both began to follow behind Gon. Killua stopped and looked at the group as I did the same.
"You heard the leader. I have to pass." Killua said to him as I nodded my head agreeing with him.
"That goes for me too." I said to them, smiling widely at them. Me and Killua looked at each other again, smiling widely at each other people running after Gon who had left us behind.
"Hey, Gon! Wait up…" Killua yelled after him as the two of us ran quickly to catch up with our friend.

We followed Gon away from the open area; he seemed very angry over the whole thing and was leaving me and Killua behind him bitterly.
"Hey, Gon…" Killua said trailing off as we walked a bit faster to catch up with our very angry friend.
"Wait up please? We didn't join them." I said to Gon as me and Killua caught up with him, walking behind Gon at a very quick pace.
"Will you explain what that was about?" Killua asked him. Gon stopped making me and Killua stop behind him. He took a very deep breath and exhaled quickly, then turned around scratching the back of his head, smiling awkwardly at me and Killua with his eyes closed and brows furrowed.
"Sorry, Killua, Mishka. I couldn't take it anymore." Gon explained to us. I looked at him wide eyed for a couple of seconds before smiling widely at him and laughing slightly to myself, covering my mouth with my hand a little bit. There was no need to apologise to us really.
"I still don't get why you're apologising." Killua said to him confused and angrily. Gon dropped his arm back to his side, the smile disappearing from his face as he furrowed his brows more and pulled a face of confusion.
"But this means you'll be stuck with that spell for a while." Gon said to him apologetically. I dropped my hand to my side and smiled at Gon widely as Killua sighed slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Oh, that's why. It's not a big deal." Killua said to him, lacing his fingers behind his head. Gon frowned at him as he furrowed his brows.
"But you're playing this game to help me find my dad…" Gon said, trailing off and looking away from him.

Killua closed his eyes and furrowed his brows slightly, dropping his head a little as he kept his hands behind his head.
"Anyway, why were you two so mad?" Killua asked both me and Gon, looking at us in confusion. Gon perked back up and looked at Killua sternly, his apologetic look turning into a glare.
"Because they had nothing but bad things to say about the game Ging made, like how it's based on killing and stealing. I want to do what Ging said, and enjoy the game. When I first started, I knew it wouldn't be easy. That was because I thought the players enjoyed playing the game." Gon said, making me and Killua look at him with wide eyes as he explained. Gon's dad made this game? That was really cool to know actually. Gon's dad had a really big imagination for making this entire game…and possibly a lot of free time to code it all. Gon dropped his head, looking at the stone floor as he continued his explanation.
"People have died. But it's the player's mentality, not the game, that scares me. They're willing to hurt others to get cards." Gon explained to us. I couldn't help but agree with him, people were willing to kill others just to get their cards; it only made me agree with my past thoughts about it being petty and sad.
"And stealing other peoples cards when they worked so hard to get them…it's just plain wrong and unmoral. I couldn't agree to something like. Not to mention killing people just to raise a limitation on the card itself…it's so sad and petty." I said to him, my own gaze turning into a stern look.
"Really? I think it makes sense." Killua said, taking me and Gon by surprise. Gon looked up at Killua confused as I raised an eyebrow in question, looking at him.
"Killua, you really mean that?" Gon asked him, his look of surprise turning into a glare. Killua leaned forward a little bit, unfazed by Gon's look.
"That's why this game is meant for Hunters." Killua explained to him.
"But…" Gon said trailing off, either waiting for the but or waiting for Killua to explain some more about why he thought it made sense.
"Killing is wrong. I agree with you on that part." Killua said dropping his hands from the back of his hand and shoving them back into his shorts pockets.

Me and Gon continued to watch Killua as he smiled widely at us, continuing speaking himself.
"But what it two players have a fair fight with predetermined rules, and the winner gets to take a card?" Killua questioned, dragging a hand out of his pockets and pointing it at Gon.
"Th-that's acceptable." Gon said, his eyes turning wide as he thought over Killua's question. Killua pointed at me taking me back a little bit. I thought over his question and swung my hands behind me, lacing them slightly together.
"I guess that's okay." I said to him after thinking about the question more.
"See? When that guy cast a spell on me and when those guys carry out their plan, they're just following the game's rules." Killua said to Gon.
"Yeah." Gon said, lowering his head slightly, glaring at the stone floor.
"I guess." I said to him, turning my gaze away slightly and holding my fingers a big more tightly together behind my back.
"Though it does still feel lame. Well, forget about them. Let's enjoy this game." Killua said to me and Gon as he began walking away, a finger on his chin in thought. Me and Gon turned our heads watching him walk away.
"Killua…" Gon said trailing off.
"Hmm?" Killua asked back as he continued walking forward.
"Thanks." Gon said to him, smiling widely. Killua stopped walking and turned to face Gon wide eyed, as if never being thanked in his life for anything.
"I'm glad you came with me. No…I'm glad I got to know you!" Gon said to him, smiling widely. I nodded in my head in agreement with Gon's statement. Killua turned back around embarrassed and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Cut it out, stupid. You're embarrassing me." Killua said to him. Me and Gon looked at each other smiling widely, before looking back at Killua.
"But it's true! You're one of the best people I've ever met!" I said to him smiling widely.
"Don't join in, idiot!" Killua said back to me as he began walking away. Me and Gon began following him, Gon looking confused as I just smiled widely t myself.
"Why? We really mean it." Gon said as I nodded my head agreeing with him once more.

Me and Gon ran to catch up with Killua, Gon running ahead of us as I walked in between the middle of the two, turning on the balls of my feet slightly whenever I was talking to the two. Killua eventually caught up with me and when that happened we caught up with Gon, smiling widely to ourselves, Killua in between me and Gon.

I was glad to have met the two boys and glad I got to know them. I was even more glad that these were the two people in the entire world that I could call my best friends.