Chapter 1: The Tiger Falls
Oskos Chimeto was a hunter. A great one at that. With more than 10,000 criminal, mythical beast, and duelist kills to his credit, his achievements were on a completely different level. When he was very young, Oskos’s brother, Olskon, went to become a hunter and ended up becoming a member of the 12 Zodiacs and served until his death at the hands of Hisoka Morow. Oskos heard of this and at the age of nine, a few years before Oskos was even eligible for the Hunter Exam, Oskos lied about his age to get in. He went as far as to forge documents. He was not checked because Oskos was more physically strong and mature than others his age. He passed the exam without raising any suspicion. 18 years later, Oskos was a well known hunter. Oskos is a specialized hunter called a Battle Hunter which is a type that specializes in defeating enemies several times stronger than themselves. Oskos was a rare breed; he was capable of using all six nen types without struggle, although he tended to lean on Emission. The only one in the world known to do this. At this point in time, Oskos was 27 years old and a single star Hunter. Word was swirling around that one of the 12 Zodiacs had been found dead under mysterious circumstances. It was decided that the replacement would be randomly selected from a group of single and double star hunters as well as a small group of triple star hunters. Oskos was one of the 14 hunters to be considered. The chairman of the Hunter Association, Issac Netero reached into a box and pulled a slip of paper out. “Forgive me if I pronounce this wrong, Oskos Chimeto.” Netero said. Oskos stood. Oskos walked up onto the stage. Netero stuck his hand to shake. Oskos did. “Welcome, Tiger Zodiac.” The other eleven Zodiacs, including Ging Frecess who had a reputation for being a chronic no-show, applauded from the front row. Oskos took a jokingly over exaggeratedbow. One or two of the Zodiacs laughed, Cheadle Yorkshire, the dog zodiac tilted her head in confusion. Ging, the boar zodiac, stared.
Oskos had not thought about the great weight that was now on his shoulders. He had to help keep stability within the Hunter Association. The Zodiac that had died was the former Tiger Zodiac, named Kanzai, who was found torn to pieces in an alley. Oskos was determined to find and defeat Kanzai’s mysterious killer. The Zodiacs immediately held a special meeting, the first time Oskos would assemble alongside his new comrades. “What, exactly, do we know about the circumstances of Kanzai’s death?” Asked Cheadle, by far the smartest of the Zodiacs. Oskos scored 134 on his IQ test. Cheadle, only three years older, scored 162. Chairman Netero shook his head. “We don’t know anything that we didn’t know before.” He said, looking slightly annoyed. “Hey!” Ging spoke up, “We’ve got a new guy, we should introduce ourselves. This is boring.” The whole room glared at Ging. “No, no, he does have a decent point.” Netero spoke. Most of the room sighed. “My name is-“ one of them began but Netero cut them off, “let Mr. Chimeto go first.”
”My name is Oskos. My brother was the previous Dog Zodiac until Ms. Yorkshire replaced him. If you remember, Hisoka Morow killed my brother close to 13 years ago.” Oskos explained. The room looked at him somberly, as if they weren’t depressed enough already. “Please address me by my first name.” Cheadle said, her voice quiet. “Of course, I don’t remember your name though.” Oskos said. “Cheadle.” Cheadle replied, still quiet. Oskos nodded. The rest of the Zodiacs finished their introductions. “Ging”, “Pyon”, and so on so forth.
When they finally returned to the task at hand it was decided that Kanzai, due to the injuries he had suffered, was probably killed by a Chimera Ant, and a strong one at that. Netero had been involved in the effort to eradicate the Chimera Ants, but all the hunters he would send to do it would be killed one after another. An endless cycle of bloodshed. Netero had decided that he would have to go after the Chimera Ants himself, namely by killing the Chimera Ant King. “Oskos, you should go as well.” Netero declared to everyone’s surprise. “But sir, a Chimera just killed the previous Tiger Zodiac.” Cheadle said, concerned. “I have confidence in Oskos!” Netero said.
