Hunter X Hunter

Whale island; an isolated island, surrounded by water on it's sides, filled with exotic plants and creatures, harmful and dangerous, under control by humans and the bearing the home for Gon Freecs.

Gon could be seen sitting on the thick branches of an old tree, shedding it's leaves, too old to be alive, too big to provide sunlight to the saplings hidden under it's shadows. Yet the determined stare in Gon's eyes was unwavering. He was covered in leaves, bright green just like the shirt he wore, black like his hair, still like the fishing rod he held in his hands, steely like his look.

The string moved, being tugged from the other end dipped in water. The look in his eyes changed, he was fired up now, determined, he could prove himself now,prove that he was ready, that he could walk in his father's footsteps.

"There it is! Got it! Got it!"

His grin widened as he felt the strong force pull him into the water. His sudden action scaring the animals and birds seated in the gigantic tree. Planting his feet against the groves in the branches, he pulled against it, forcing the fish to show itself. He was trembling with excitement, his eyes sparkling like the very water splashing beneath his feet. Sweat dropped from his forehead, outlining the structure of his face until finally dripping from the tip of his chin.

"It's over!"

He shouted to the vicinity pulling out a large shrimp like creature. It's tentacles and fins moving in air, confused over the sudden change in it's surroundings. It's mouth still closed around the string of Gon's fishing rod.

XXX

Gon ran down the streets of his town, the fish way too big for his tiny fragile hands holding it like his life depended on it. Men and women alike were surprised at the feet he had managed to accomplish, startled at seeing him hold the gigantic creature above his head, but his smile assured all, making his eyes appear as if splits.

He threw the gigantic beast on the pavement in front of the appreciated audience. they oohed and aahed to his pleasure but the two that stood out were his grand mother, covered in a shawl and his aunt, wearing a disturbed expression on her face. The old woman's voice was barely heard as she said;

"Well..."

The villagers were still contemplating Gon's feet as they spoke over one another, wondering loudly in the crowd;

"Even with five men, we weren't able to catch the pond's master..."

"I've fished here for ten years, and i thought we'd never see it!"

"Very strong, this boy..."

Gon's voice however was heard by all;

"I fished the pond's master like i promised!!! Your turn to keep your promise, Mito-san!"

He held out a piece of paper, the inscription card for the hunter exam. He waited patiently regardless of the woman hesitating in front of him. Silence surrounded them for a moment until someone from the crowd yelled at her;

"Come on! Let him pass this exam"

"Yeah!" Another one followed, "I'm sure Gon will be a very good hunter!"

This broke Mito's patience.She'd had enough;

"How careless! Pay attention to what you say!"

"She's right!" Gon spoke,unfazed by Mito's sudden change in temperament, "Words are important! And wasn't it you, Mito-san, that taught me to always keep my promises? Wasn't it?"

Heaving a sigh of defeat she moved forward to grab the parchment and enter the required information in it's place.

XXX

"Do as you wish."

That was all Mito had to say to Gon before he went away from her, probably for a long time.

"Alright! Thanks!"

Gon raced down the streets to the ship harbor with all the energy he had.

XXX

Gon's grandmother was the only one accompanying Mito in the now silent home she possessed.

"It's in his blood" The old lady said, looking at the picture of a man, placed on the fire mantel. He was covered in cloth, a bike in the background, his face a shadowed element in the photo.

"But how?!" Was all Mito could manage , the rest of her energy wasted on banging the innocent wooden table she sat at.

Sweat dropped down from her forehead as she yelled a few more words, clearly worried for a child she had raised, regardless of the kid not being her's; Gon.

"I never told him that his father was a hunter! He never even asked...!"

The old lady was the only one with the ability to reason with the younger woman;

"Someone could have told him, or his decision is just a coincidence...

"At any rate," She continued, "I always thought this day would come... I don't have the will to stop him... The light in his eyes, his father was exactly the same..."

XXX

Sorry Mito-san! In fact, i've known everything for a long time...

Gon' mind wandered to past times, the adventure that had turned into a story time, all those years ago. He walked through the forest, pausing just long enough to grab something that reminded his of certain events.

Reaching a certain point in the forest, a cliff, he whistled as loud as he could, only to have a gigantic bear like beast appear before him. It jumped on Gon, causing both of them to fall into the water sparkling down below.

Fishing was what Gon was doing with this magnificent beast. His wet clothes resting with the fire. Glancing at the beast beside him, and the card he held in his hand, His mind traveled a couple of years in the past;

Three years ago,he was confronted by a similar beast, the one beside him now was a tiny thing back then, hidden behind the enormous beast. Just seconds before the beast's extended claw could have slashed at him, a sudden movement in the nearby trees revealed it self. Bearing a sword, now against the huge hand of the beast, the man's long hair flew with the wind, their movements restricted by the hat sitting atop his head. A green card marked with a 'X' flew from his possession, landing beside the then fragile body of Gon, tears falling freely from his eyes, the scared look decorating his face.

"A Kitsume-Guma (bear-fox) and her son... I'm not happy to have to do this, but such a monster can cause serious harm to a man, so... I must get rid of this..."

Within seconds of slashing his swords at the so called'monsters' his attention shifted towards Gon, now laying down on the rough ground, scared yet mesmerized by the man in front of him.

"Can you stand?" Was all the man asked Gon at first

"Umm... Yes-"

Gon was cut of by a serious blow to his head, aimed by the man in front of him. He was angry, even Gon could see it, but it did become obvious as soon as he started yelling at Gon;

"Idiot! No one enters such a dense forest at a time like this!"

"Look!" He continued, pointing at a tree, marked with scars, the bark of the tree destroyed, left in shreds, " That is a territorial mark left by Kitsume-Guma! You can see it, can't you?! Any animal seeing that would run to another mountain in two seconds! Did your parents never teach you this?! Shit... That bird, Why didn't i pretend not to hear it? Killing this way really makes me feel bad... It's been a long time since..."

"I have no father..." Murmured Gon, "No mother either... They died in an accident right after after i was born... My aunt is taking care of me."

"I'm sorry... Put this on your wound, to prevent gangrene"

The baby beast was however, still alive.

"What're you gonna do with the little Kitsume-Gama?" Asked Gon, only to be answered with the words that surprised him more then the stranger himself;

"Eliminate it. He is not even weaned. He'll die of hunger. If we let him live, He will surely feed himself with a feeling of hatred towards humans, who killed his mother. He'll be a danger to people"

The sudden movement of Gon, running towards the bear-fox caught him of guard. Gon engulfed the tiny demon in his arms, regardless of the way it was scratching at him, damaging him, hurting him.

"I'll take care of it!"

"That's impossible! Kitsume-Guma don't let themselves be tamed by humans!"

But the look of determination in Gon's eyes and his hold on the bear-fox stopped the man from speaking further on that topic. He however was reminded of someone when looking into the boy's eyes

"But... You are... Tell me, is your father named Jin?"

Letting go of the demon, Gon rose to his feet;

"You know my father, sir?"

"For a surprise, that's quite a surprise... There was something i couldn't explain, myself, that's why i came back to Jin's birth land... Looks like my trip wasn't so useless after all. I'm Kaito! I'm a hunter... Sit down," he said sitting himself down on a log wide enough for the two of them, "I'm a disciple of Jin's, Jin taught me hunting from the very beginning. The last test he imposed on me was to find him. And this is much harder then any other hunt! He's the best hunter i know! And if i hadn't met him, i'd still be living on the streets of a shanty town."

After hours of talking, Gon had reached a decision;

"Jin isn't dead!"

"If you aunt lied to you, it's because she doesn't want you to follow the same path as your father. But there's nothing i can do. I can see in you the traits of the best hunters."

The little bear-fox came out after Kaito was gone.

A good hunter... Is liked by animals

Kaito's voice rang in Gon's head, His hunters licence now in Gon's hand.

"Well..." Gon spoke to the now large demon he had once saved from Kaito, "Kon, we won't be able to see each other from now on. 'Cause i'm gonna become a hunter! A hunter must be feared by animals in forests, and must do work others hate them for. That's why an animal that gets along with a hunter will never be able to reign in a forest. Kon, you're the lord of the forest... I don't want to create any problems for you... You understand?"

With those last words Kon got up, moved towards the shelter of the trees and disappeared among them. A clouded expression shadows Gon's face only to be replaced by astonishment when he sees Kon standing in front of him again, flanked by all other animals.

"Bye! Take care of yourselves!"

That was all Gon could manage, despite the need to cry he stopped just outside the forest, walking the rest of the way to his home.

Mito was sitting on the table, drinks in front of her, covering the polished surface of the wooden table

"When do you leave?"

"Beginning of next week..."

"I see... What your father does... You knew?"

"Yeah."

"He... He left you when you were just a baby... And despite this..."

Gon's reply to all her tries to make him stay was a shock to Mito

"Ready to abandon his son to continue being a hunter... 'Hunter'. It must be incredible work, to that for it."

"Gon... You... You really are his son!"

Mito slammed the bottle on the table, getting up she let the chair fall down and stormed away, away from Gon.

Sorry Mito-san... But you're right... I'm his son

Gon's thoughts wandered to Kaito's words;

The last test consists of finding him. And that is much more difficult than any other hunt! Because he is the best hunter!

XXX

I'm leaving to find my father!

He stood in front of the passenger ships, moving in between crowds of people giving him last time wishes;

"Take this! My present for you leaving."

"Take care of yourself!"

"Ah!" Gon muttered, "Thank you!"

And then he saw Mito, standing away from the crowd, waiting for him;

"Mito-san! Thanks for all you've done for me."

"Gon..." Her voice was shaking, tears streaming down her face, "I'm sorry... I lied... Jin never abandoned you. It was me who took you from your father, asking the court for your supervision."

"Hmm..." Regardless of her words Gon had a smile on his face, "I know you lied to me... When you lie to me... You can't look directly at my face!"

Even when he was on the ship he couldn't help but shout at Mito;

"Take care of yourself! I promise i'll become a supper hunter and be back!!"

A low laugh behind him caused him to look back at the groups of people, ready to become a hunter.

"A super hunter? You're joking kid... Just on this boat, we're a tenth of people hoping to become hunters. Every year from every where around the country, thousands of men, each one more skilled than another, will come to the exams... A lot of people, but few become hunters, each one has his priorities, and here, it's common to see people killing their own companions... You see kid, it's easier to say that do."

That's the way Gon's trip began, who left to become a hunter and meet his father. "It's gonna run wild." This is what the captain said, and this is what Gon kept in mind.

A/N : Well that's the first chapter! 2194 words! I mean WTH! This is my first time writing something so go a little easy on me. Also don't be a ghost and do comment and like.