In the heat of the moment during a stressful situation. A person's reason dwindles and acts on emotion or instinct instead of thinking logically. For example, if there's a fork in the path in the middle of the forest, normally someone would stop and think which way would be the best route to take, but what would a person do if they were short on time? Say that person is trying to get a wounded, starving, or dehydrated person to the hospital by bringing them out of the forest and trying to find the quickest way out. They would rush through the path they came from without thinking about if any of the other paths would be quicker to get through.
Decisions have various outcomes that vary from good and bad. And those decisions can influence the decisions of others further down the line, causing a chain reaction. This is why the butterfly effect is so popular in science fiction tales involving time travel. One small change or alternate circumstance can change a lot more than people would think. This story starts with such a change.
But before we begin we must look at who these people are first and what they mean to each other, and wherein this story does the change begin.
This is a world of incredible people called Hunters which only the most skilled, talented, strong, and determined can become one. Hunting strange beasts, capturing the most dangerous of criminals, finding valuable treasures, people have many reasons to want to become one. Gon Freecss, despite being thirteen years old, is a Hunter, but his reason for becoming one is unique. When he was young he never got to know his father who abandoned him with his aunt Mito and was told his parents died. That is until a Hunter named Kite, who admired Gon's father Ging, saved the boy's life from a foxbear and told him that the ultimate test he was given was to find him.
Gon then wanted to see for himself what made Ging want to be a Hunter over being a parent. Until finally he was able to take the exam. During which he made a few friends including his best friend Killua Zoldyck, an ex-assassin that comes from an infamous family of professional killers for hire. Along the way, Gon and Killua grew stronger as Hunters especially after learning of the power of Nen, a power that involves harnessing the aura within themselves to perform all sorts of superhuman feats. After following one lead on Gon's father Ging he and Killua were transported to a remote region where Gon met Kite again after five years.
Kite reveals he had succeeded in finding Ging and had been contracted by the Kakin government to document strange species. And during Gon and Killua's stay with him and his coworkers/apprentices, they find out about the possibility of a dangerous creature that washed up near a remote autonomous region called NGL, a Chimera Ant Queen. The Chimera Ant Queen has the unique ability to pass on the genes and characteristics of the creatures it consumes through Phagogenesis.
And this Queen is the size of a human, and after starting to devour the people of NGL as well as various animals she begins to birth Chimera Ant soldiers. Soon Chimera Ants with human qualities are born that are more intelligent, have the ability to speak, and even individuality such as wanting names. However, the Queen's main goal is to give birth to the Chimera Ant King so that it may go out and expand their species while she prepares to birth another King. As the queen hides in her nest surrounded by her various offspring until the King can be born as her subjects capture more humans for her to devour. Below the Queen is the Royal Guard, below the Royal Guard are the Squadron Leaders, and so on.
Kite brings Killua and Gon along with him to exterminate the Chimera Ants before they spread further and kill more people. While killing various Chimera Ants along the way, one of the Royal Guards is born with a powerful aura known as Neferpitou. After learning more about Nen from a surviving Nen user that came to NGL they begin the process of getting other Ants to go through the process of unlocking the Aura Nodes. However, Neferpitou picks up on Kite's aura far from their location and decides to go test their power.
The trio walks through the forest as in the distance following a few Chimera Ants they spared. He sees the Chimera Ant Nest in the distance, a large hollowed-out hill made out of dirt and feces from various Chimera Carpenter Ants. As Kite steps forward he manages to step in the enormous reach of Pitou's aura through their En. He is the only one able to sense the rapidly approaching danger with Gon and Killua unaware.
He was about to warn Gon and Killua about the incoming danger, however...
Kite then sprints towards both Gon and Killua and grabs both of them out of the way as Neferpitou lands a few feet across from them.
"Mrwow, to think you were quick enough to get out the way in time, nyat bad," Neferpitou said.
The Chimera Ant gets up and turns to them glaring at them with its piercing red eyes. Besides their human face and hands, they appear to have insectesque legs that give them a doll-like appearance. As well as cat ears in place of human ears and a tail. And rising from them is a menacing literal aura. As Gon and Killua stare in shock, surprised to see someone so powerful, Kite stands in front of them to be the only thing in Pitou's way.
"Damn it, how are they so strong, how many humans were killed just for this one to be born? There were probably Nen users here before us that perished and that is why this one is born with Nen. If that is the case then they might be-" Kite thought to himself.
After the thought dawning on them of what they're facing and what that entails, Kite knows what he must do.
"Gon, Killua, I'll try to handle them on my own but you two must retreat. On my signal I want you two to leave," Kite whispered.
Gon is about to say something before stopping to think that Kite will be fine and he'll probably retreat and follow them if things go bad, though still feels bad about leaving him behind and is hesitant as he clenches his fists. Before Killua puts a hand on Gon's shoulder.
"If we stay here we'd just be slowing Kite down," Killua whispered to Gon.
Unfortunately seeing Neferpitou up close he can tell they are way out of their league and that Killua is probably right. Even if he is reluctant to do so. Kite then summons his Nen ability, a strange floating clown like entity known as Crazy Slots. Pitou tilts their head in curiosity wondering what he's about to do.
"Looks like you're going to need a very good spin, I got a good feeling here," Crazy Slots said.
Rolling numbers from one to nine in his mouth before stopping on the number 4 and changing into a large long-barreled carbine rifle with a silencer attached to the barrel and Crazy Slots at the end of the gun's long stock. The sky darkens as clouds begin to cast overhead as the rain starts to pour. The sounds of the rain droplet impacting the ground and the leaves are the only noise that breaks the silence during the intense staredown.
"Wow no comment of this being a bad spin, I guess it is a good spin, I've been telling you before it's a good spin!" Crazy Slot said.
Kite then raises the gun towards Pitou and shoots a powerful bullet to their face causing Pitou to reel back. Gon and Killua then use the distraction Kite made to dash off back to the border of NGL, the duo disappearing into the distance and obscured by the trees. As Kite smiles to see that they listened to them and is solemn knowing they will be alright. He turns to Pitou who begins to stand up straight again. They appeared to take very little damage as the bullet grazed the exoskeleton of their forehead barely. As they start to make a sinister smile.
"Nevermind, very bad spin, respin quick, QUICK!" Crazy Slots shouted.
"No, for once it's a good spin," Kite said.
Kite then begins unloading a rapid-fire of bullets towards Pitou, who responds by putting their arms up to block the bullets. Each shot only damages their sleeves and only grazes/scratches their rough skin. Until a clicking sound was heard as the conjured rifle was out of ammo as Crazy Slot turns to "normal" and begins panting.
"Give me a minute...before you use me again...sheesh." Crazy Slots complained.
"This is just a war of attrition at this point, all I need to do is make sure Gon and Killua are far away enough before I can retreat, or last long enough to get a lucky roll though the odds of that are pretty low with an opponent this powerful. If neither works out I still have that last resort just in case," Kite thought.
Pitou stopped guarding as they pointed towards Kite.
"You, what's your nyame?" they asked.
Kite was wondering why they would be asking that.
"I mean since I am going to be killing you I want at least to know who you were to remember you by," Pitou said.
"Hmm, I can use this to stall for time," Kite thought.
"You can call me Kite, and usually when people ask for someone else's name they give theirs in return. Though I suppose despite your appearance you are not human enough to understand our culture," Kite said.
"Nyow that's just rude, I did my research reading some books here and there that were taken from some human habitats. And if you must know my name is Neferpitou, and I'm a Royal Guard," they explained.
"Just as I suspected, I also did my research on your kind as well. And I know that Chimera Ant Royal Guards and the King are given special treatment before being born so to speak. Given only the best genes from the various beings that the queen consumed, meaning you're created from the devoured blood of a large number of humans and cats with a little base Chimera Ant DNA mixed in. Instead of most of the other Chimera Ants who are given random percentages of genes from random creatures the queen devoured along with the base Chimera Ant gene," Kite explained.
Neferpitou's pupils begin to dilate as they listen to Kite's words. As they stopped to dwell on this information.
"Ah I see, so that's why I was born with so much Nen, it seems you have a lot of knowledge stored up in that brain of yours," Pitou said.
They then extend their claws out from their hands.
"I can't wait to pick through it and see what else you know," they said with a manic smile.
Pitou rushes forward with insane speed. Crazy Slots starts spinning before stopping on the number 3 and takes the form of a strange mace or staff-like object with Crazy Slots on one end and a club card suit-shaped ornament at the other end. Kite then blocks the first claw attack from Pitou with his staff before rapidly spinning it to parry each one of the incoming claw swipes that are being armed towards his neck. He then pointed the club-shaped ornament at the end of the staff towards Pitou's abdomen.
"Extend," Kite said.
Before the staff begins to extend in length as Pitou is pushed back into a tree with a heavy impact tilting it back some while they are pinned to the tree. Pitou tries to claw the staff apart but can't seem to break it. So instead they used their elbow to break the tree behind them and make some distance from Kite. Pitou then lands on top of a tree branch above crouched down like a cat ready to pounce. Kite then uses his extended staff to swipe at Pitou.
Pitou then travels across the canopy to dodge each and every swipe coming their way. As they try to attack Kite from above. The Kite manages to swing his staff to knock Pitou out of the way. As Pitou rolls across the ground before getting on all fours and arching their back. Pitou then jumps to a tree and kicks from it and speeds towards Kite as they move and twist their body in midair to dive kick Kite.
Kite then uses the staff as a shield as the force of the kick propelled him back into a tree. He slowly picks himself up and surprisingly is still able to stand. Though the force from the impact did hurt him more than he expected. Pitou is shocked to see the outcome of this as they land. Tilting their head upon seeing Kite not paralyzed from the shock.
"Good thing I was able to use Ryu on my back in time, they may be powerful but they do not seem to know any advanced techniques besides En. If they knew Ryu or Ko they would become more dangerous. Though at the same time I can't defeat them without those techniques, if I don't stop them here and let them develop a Hatsu I am not sure if even Ging would be able to stand a chance," Kite thought.
"That's strange, I could have sworn an attack like that would have broken his spine. It didn't look like he used Ten to block it though maybe he's just that resilient. Just the thought that he probably has some ability he is hiding from me still is making me want to pick him apart even more," Pitou thought.
Pitou then casually walks towards a tree, Kite is confused by what exactly it is that they are trying to do. Before Pitou kicks said tree down and begins to claw it down to scratch out some of the bark and wood before making a large wooden sharpened stake they effortlessly lift up. Pitou then hurls it at Kite as he plants his elongated staff on the ground and gets back. The staff bends and stops it before it repels and launches the tree back toward Pitou. However, Pitou doesn't attempt to get out of the way.
Pitou then begins to use Ren and then with a graceful well-timed kick the makeshift giant wooden stake out of the way while also splintering it. After doing so they begin to flex their legs as if their muscles are starting to feel looser. Kite picked up his staff as he stared down at Pitou.
"They are just toying with me, figures since they most likely were only recently born. Even they don't know their own strength or limits. Unlike them, however, I have years of experience under my belt. I may be able to find a way to turn this around." Kite thought.
Kite then lifts the staff over him like he's about to swing despite the distance between him and Pitou.
"Extend," he said.
As the staff elongates to an incredible length before being swung downwards towards Pitou. Pitou decided to dodge the attack not because it would hurt them but more so to see if they could. However, Kite then says something else that they manage to catch with their advanced hearing "Enlarge.".
The golden club-shaped bauble at the end of the staff grows to incredible size as Pitou looks to see an enormous shadow over them. The enlarged end of the staff crashed down on Pitou as Crazy Slots returned to his normal form. A clover-shaped crater is left as Pitou seems to be getting up from it. Still, barely any damage was done besides being covered in dirt and some bruises but still superficial damage at best. Pitou seemed mildly annoyed too at this as they began to dust off their clothes after standing up.
"Nyow that was a dirty trick, so that weapon can do more than just get longer. And it was also one of those gun things earlier, why is that?" Pitou asked curiously.
"Well since telling you won't be able to help you because of its random nature Crazy Slots rolls a number from one to nine, each number representing a completely different weapon with their own set of abilities...it's an annoying power." Kite lamented.
Pitou squinted at him.
"Then why do you have it?" Pitou asked.
Then Crazy Slots rolls again and lands on 2 and transforms into a large scythe which Kite holds in one hand. Before going closer to Pitou and unleashing a large, invisible slash that begins to clear the area around them, or as he dubs it Silent Waltz. Pitou's instincts tell them this one is a lot more dangerous than the others as they jump out of the way as many of the trees around the area are cut down. Pitou then lands a few feet away from where they were standing and notices a small wound on their leg.
"So they can hurt me after all, that just makes things more interesting," Pitou thought.
"Because of that weapon's limits and conditions, it was strong enough to do a minimal amount of damage, meaning some of my weapons can damage them. And they don't seem to know that limitations and contracts can strengthen Nen yet either thankfully. " Kite thought.
"Alright then, that was a good warm-up, time to fight more seriously," Pitou said.
Kite wondered what they meant before he was startled to see Pitou moving at ludicrous speeds towards him and appearing in close range. As Pitou began to aim a palm strike towards his stomach with their claws out. Most likely to attempt to disembowel him. In just a split second he then uses Ryu to defend that spot as Pitou's hand digs in and sends Kite skidding backward. Kite then unleashes some spittle from his mouth but luckily no blood.
Pitou's grin widened as they stood up after releasing such a blow. Flexing their outward hand's fingers as if it's reflexing from hitting something hard.
"Since you were kind enough to give me the name of your Crazy Slots ability and what it does, mind telling me how you did that one just now?" Pitou asked.
A bead of sweat goes down the side of Kite's face. Even if it was focused in that spot for a fraction of a second they managed to notice his Ryu. They are more perceptive than they let on, but he had no choice but to use it. Cause if he didn't he would have died then and there.
"Whatever it was, your aura was focused just in that spot for just a quick second and I have no idea how you put it there. Though I am sure I'll learn sooner or later," Pitou said.
At first his opponent was just playing with him, fittingly how a cat plays with its prey. And now they are starting to show what may or may not be a portion of their true power. Now he is not sure if he'll be able to last long enough for luck to save him.