Killer in Hunter x Hunter

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***

Killua Zoldik

It's almost lunchtime, which means it's time to stop sitting still and get down to the really important stuff. Except that begs the question: what exactly are those things?

At the moment, me, Gon and Leorio are following Biskey. She said that the topic of our conversation is too important to be discussed in Leorio's flat, so we're going to a safer place. And what is that place? And I'm not sure why she brought Leorio into this. Said his help might be useful, but warned him it was voluntary, quite dangerous and that he had the right to refuse. Maybe it was to help his friends, maybe it was something else, but even with all the warnings Leorio agreed and came along with us.

- Hey, Leorio,' I decided to ask him. - So why did you decide to help us after all? This case is likely to be really dangerous, and Bisky said that it will not be so easy to get out of it.

- What other reason could there possibly be? First of all, I just want to help you. Because given Gon's medical skills, I'm starting to fear you might not die in battle. So you could use a good doctor.

- You mean you consider yourself a good doctor?

- I... yes I... - it was obvious that Leorio was a little embarrassed. I guess he wanted to be modest, but it didn't work. - It's not that I'm a good doctor... It's just that compared to you, I'm a real god of medicine!

- Ha-ha, I see your point.

Meanwhile, Bisky seemed preoccupied. She's looking around, listening, and we're walking through completely deserted alleys right now. Is she worried that we might be followed? Given her serious look and the voice she's been talking to today, it's possible. It's not often you see Biska like this.

I daresay, and it's probably true, that it's about this criminal organisation called Passione that Bisky told us about the day before yesterday. Although she told us about it in a very superficial way. According to her, Passione is a huge and very serious criminal organisation with a very high level of influence. Well, I believe that, and apparently there are a lot of strong fighters in the organisation too. The guys I fought with in the cafe the day before yesterday, they're Passione. They weren't just ordinary soldiers. Their level was on a whole different level than mine. As much as I hate to admit it, one of them tore me apart, the one who was throwing various objects and had teeth on his hands. Yeah, that guy was really strong. I would like to believe that if I am fully prepared for the fight, and if we do meet again, the result will be different, at least not so defeated.

***

- Here we are. - said Bisky.

After almost an hour of walking we finally came to a small two-storey building that looked old, but was still residential, and was on the outskirts of the city, almost on the edge of the slums. There were few people living in the neighbourhood, and they were among the poorest of the poor, poorer than the homeless. There are no police, ambulance, or anyone else in these places, and in principle there are no public institutions like schools. Only the poor live in these places.

I wonder what we're missing here. Is this a safer place to do business than Leorio's flat in the centre of town? It probably makes sense, though. If we were really being followed, it would be easier to spot the observer, and there would be less risk of tailing him.

Next, we went inside the building and followed Bisky to the first floor. It was just as poor inside as outside, but it was a good place to live. At least there was protection from the cold, so winter shouldn't be a big problem.

- We're here. - Bisky said and then went to one of the doors and knocked on it several times with a certain rhythm. - Open up, it's me.

The door opened a second later with a slight delay and a tall man, whom Gon and I didn't recognise immediately, but it was definitely him, stepped out of the door with a little difficulty because of the massiveness of his body.

- I see you brought them after all, Bisky. Hey, guys.

- Morau?! - Gon exclaimed in surprise, while I managed to restrain myself.

There was no doubt that right in front of us stood an old acquaintance of Gon and me - Morau, the hunter with whom we had been in East Goruto more than two years ago and fought against the chimera ants.

- But what are you doing here Morau? - I asked him.

- So Bisky didn't tell you everything? She did the right thing in that case, for there might be some extra ears in town. Please, come in. You're about to find out.

With a smile on his face, Morau gave way and allowed us to enter. Once inside, we were immediately surprised by two more things. First, the room behind that door was noticeably different from the rest of the building. It was much cleaner, well furnished, and very spacious. And two: there were other people here besides Morau. And all these people were acquaintances of Gong and me.

Somewhere near the window was Nov, who looked out into the street every now and then. Hanzo, the hunter with whom we had once taken the exam, was sitting on a mat on the floor, meditating. On the couch in front of the old television set sat Nuckle and Jester, the guys we had once fought side by side against the chimera ants, watching the news. Seeing so many familiar faces in one place made me feel both happy and anxious, because I realised that if they were all here, things were really serious.

- Oh, hello guys! - It's been ages since we've seen each other. How are you guys doing?

- Relatively well so far,' I replied. - What about you?

- How can I tell you?

- What's this meeting about? - Leorio asked. - Is this some kind of secret club or something?

- Ah, your name is Leorio, isn't it? - said the Jester with his usual gloom in his voice. - I've heard of you around here. Don't worry, everything will be explained to you too.

Yes, we could really use explanations now, because we're having trouble figuring this out on our own.

- This is our headquarters,' Biskey said. - It's too unsafe in the centre of town, so we've set up here.

- Why is the city centre unsafe? - Gon asked.

- Passione. The closer to the city centre, the greater their influence. Only here, on the outskirts, can we set up our headquarters. It's still not completely safe, but it's something.

- Why--

- Why is all this happening? It's simple. The Hunter's Association is at odds with the Passione. Although not openly.

- What? But why?

- To be honest... we were forced into it. Like I said, they came out of the blue a couple of years ago and grew in influence very quickly. Having no trouble taking out the rest of the Mafia, they eventually began to reach out to us. Their clinging paws... or should I say tentacles, began to reach out to the Association. Even her... they wanted to devour her. Naturally, we couldn't sit idly by and that's why we organised a covert struggle against them.

- Why covert?

- Because it's too dangerous to confront them openly. It's too early for that. So we've organised this little headquarters on the outskirts of Yorkshire to confront them covertly and get as much information as we can.

- So you're saying this is their lair?

- Yes, Yorkshin is where the Passione leadership is based, it's their main base.

- What about the other hunters? You're not the only ones involved in this, are you?

- Yes, it's just a small fraction of those fighting against them. But it's too risky to use too many people against them. It could cause suspicion and noise, so we could be exposed.

- Mm-hmm... I see... I see...

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. So, without knowing it... we got into a confrontation with them when I interfered with those guys in the cafe? Wow.

Meanwhile, I walked past the couch that Jester and Knuckle were sitting on, and the TV they were watching changed to the news.

- In other news. The police have no suspects yet in the mayhem and murder case at the city nightclub. All the CCTV footage has mysteriously disappeared, and of the eyewitnesses, no one has been able to remember the perpetrators' appearance well. Despite this tragedy, the general manager of the club stated that the show mast go he.

Murder and mayhem in a nightclub? Nothing to be surprised about, as Yorkshire has always been known as a crime city. You don't see this sort of thing very often, though. I wonder if Passione could be involved. I don't know.

- Wow, these people,' a voice suddenly sounded behind us. - It had been a long time since we'd last met.

The voice sounded suspiciously familiar. I'd definitely heard it before, and it didn't inspire confidence. Gong and I instantly turned around and saw someone we didn't expect to see.

- Gentsuru!

- Gentsuru!

I had already forgotten about that tall, bespectacled blond man, but hearing his voice brought back memories. Me, Gon and Bisky fought against him on Greed Island over two years ago. I wouldn't say it was quite a difficult battle in our journey, but it remained in my memory.

- What are you doing here Gentsuru? - Gon asked with apprehension in his voice and braced himself for a possible attack. I did exactly the same.

- Quiet, quiet, calm down, I'm not here to antagonise you. We all have enough conflicts, and I don't need any more, not for me and not for you.

- Oh, yeah? So... what do you want, then?

- He's with us,' Bisky said. - Yes, we were enemies in the past, but now Gentsuru has allied with us and is going to fight against Passione.

- What~?

- Whato~?

Here, even I couldn't contain my surprise. Gentsuru has decided to ally with us? And Biski is okay with that? I'm a little confused. If he decided to take such a step and everyone else agreed to it, then the situation is more serious than I thought.

- Ha, surprised? Those who were enemies yesterday are now allies. I'm shocked at that myself.

- But... but why? Why did you decide to join us? I doubt your motives are purely altruistic, you'd never rise to this. It must be something else, am I right? What is the real reason for this decision?

Gentsuru changed visibly after Gon's words. His gaze darkened, his teeth gritted, and looking at his hands, one could see the veins of anger on them.

- You... you want to know the reason? Why I decided to get involved in this? Then listen,' he instantly closed the distance between us and leaned in a slightly intimidating tone. - It all started about a year ago. Me, Sab and Bara had long ago given up on Greed Island, so we decided to do something else. There were plenty of options, it was possible to find a good job and live in peace, but we found it boring, and to tell the truth... it's not easy to find such a job. So, we decided to find something we could make a good living at. And then... unexpectedly, we were contacted by some people who were willing to pay a good amount of money for information about Passion. Specifically, there were still some members of the old Mafia alive who wanted to get even with Passione and regain power. So they hired us to sniff out something... some valuable information and secrets. 'Hah, what's the big deal! It's just a regular mafia that you have to sniff out some secret that will point out their weak spot or something. It shouldn't be anything difficult.' - that's what we thought at the time. No, we were certainly prepared for various difficulties, but at the same time we realised that we shouldn't expect anything supernatural from the mafia. Having learnt a little information from ordinary pawns we started to dig deeper. And so, one day, when everything seemed to be going as it should, I was sitting in my flat and thinking over the further plan of action, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Already thinking that it was Bara and Sab coming back, I went to open it, but as it turned out, I was wrong. Instead of them there were some parcels, in the form of many boxes, which were addressed to me. It was definitely very strange and suspicious, but I also really wanted to see what was inside, so I took them inside and started unpacking. At first it was unclear what it was, but somewhere around the sixth box the realisation came to me... and with it the horror. Bara and Sab were chopped into thirty-six pieces and placed in the same number of formalin frames. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, I was so terrified that day that I ran away from the city. I wanted to hide, so that the Passione would forget and not touch me. But it didn't last long. Soon my fear changed to rage. I was angry... and that anger hasn't subsided to this day. All I wanted then, and still want now, is to avenge my friends. You wanted to know why I helped you? You wanted to know my motives? Well, here they are. I just want revenge, and you are nothing more than a means to an end. That's all.

Without another word, Gentsuru went into the next room and slammed the door behind him. Gon and I could only look at each other in silence. I remember very well that Gentsuru is not a good person. Only his friends are of value to him, and he doesn't care about anyone else. But even so, Gon and I understand him perfectly. Losing the only people close to you is a big blow. The fact that he hasn't lost his mind after that shows he's a resilient person.

- I think it's time to take them to him. - said Hanzo, who had stopped meditating.

- Yes, that's right,' agreed Biskey. - Gon, Killua, follow me. You, Leorio, stay here.

- Where are we going? - Gon asked. - Who do we have to take us to?

- You'll see everything. You'll definitely be surprised Gon. - She said with a small smile and led us into the next room.

This building is surprising me more and more. There are more rooms than there seem to be when you look at the size of the building from the outside. Probably not without the intervention of someone's ability.

After a couple more rooms, we entered the one where the man was waiting for us. I didn't notice anything special at first, but after a few seconds of looking at Gon's almost shocked expression, I finally realised who it was. Gon had told me about him often. The turban on his head, the old grey and worn clothes, the unshaven face. There was no doubt about it, it was Gon's father, Gene Fricks.

- Hello, Gon. Haven't seen you in a while. You've grown a lot.

- D-jin! - shouted Gon and almost ran into his father's arms. - I finally found you!

- Well, how can I put it... it was more like I let you find me. There's a reason for that, though.

- Huh? What's that?

- Gon, you see... without realising it, you've been playing a very dangerous game. Bisky should have told you about it by now.

- Yes, Bisky told us something about the Passionnaires and their influence and all that. Killua accidentally stumbled across some of their representatives the day before yesterday and even had a battle with one of them, after which he had to stay in hospital for a while.

- Yeah, well now that you know everything. Then I want to ask you something: what is your goal? You've wanted to find me for a long time, I know that, but that's not the reason you came to Yorkshire, at least not the only reason. You need something else here, am I right?

-Yes, you're right. I have another purpose. I came to this town to find another person.

- And who is that?

- His name is Risotto Nero. I must find him and understand something.

- You do? - Gene seemed surprised by this, but not too surprised. - Then I'll let you in on a secret I've recently learnt about myself. Risotto Nero is the boss of Passione.

- What?! He's the one who organised all this? He's the one behind all this?

- Yes, he's behind it all. So you want to find him?

- Well, yes.

-...well, you'd better follow me, then. There's something I need to tell you.

Gene opened the door to the next room and we just had to follow him. Bisky, meanwhile, was left behind and decided to head back.

As we walked through the many empty rooms I noticed something strange. It was Gene's footsteps. The sound of his footsteps was very unusual. There was nothing wrong with his gait, but the footsteps... there was something wrong with the sound of his footsteps. They sounded heavy and tinny. Eventually, Gon noticed it too.

Soon we finally entered a room that was not empty like the others. It was furnished with furniture, among which the most prominent was a hanging board on the wall, to which were attached many notes and memos, as if in the office of some film noir detective.

- Have a seat.

Gene took a seat on the armchair, while we took a seat on the couch opposite the armchair.

- So... so you, Gon, want to find this man, Risotto Nero? And why do you want to do that?

- How to say... I have my reasons. He once stood in my way and prevented my revenge. And he got a lot of people killed. In a nutshell, that's why.

- And you called Killua to help you with this?

- I did.

- Ehhhhh,' Jin sighed heavily, his eyes darkening. - And I take it... now that you know about us, that we're fighting against the Passione, you'll want to join us and help us?

- I do. - replied Gon with a striking nonchalance in his voice.

- Well... discouraging you is a useless idea. I know your temper. You're a damn stubborn guy, and you'll stick your neck out to the end. But I'm gonna try to talk you out of it anyway.

- What? Why?

- You see Gon... those people you're going to fight against... they're incredibly dangerous. It's better to give up now before it's too late.

- But why

-Why? I'll show you why now.

Jin bent down a little and pulled up his trousers, and we, and especially Gon, went into a real shock. Now it was clear why I found the sound of Jin walking so suspicious. He simply didn't have legs! Instead, there were iron prosthetic legs that reached his knees.

- N-but...

- Are you surprised? Would you like to hear how it happened?

It was hard for us to talk now, especially Gong, so we just nodded silently.

- Well, then, listen up.

***

- It was over two years ago. At that time, I was actively wandering around the world and doing my own thing. One day, I was contacted by the mafia, or the government, or whoever, it doesn't matter. These people wanted to hire me to take care of a man who was causing them a lot of trouble. From what I understood, they were developing some kind of computer with artificial intelligence specifically designed to decipher codes and ciphers. The first prototypes of this computer were already ready, but they were very few, so they were very valuable. The point is that one of these computers was being hunted by a man. They didn't know why this man needed this computer, but he was causing them a lot of trouble. He was acting alone, and the powers that these people had couldn't stop him, and in the meantime, as they said, he was getting close enough to them. That's why they needed my help. There wasn't much to do, and the money was good, so I agreed. What struck me, however, was that they knew nothing about the attacker's appearance. He didn't leave any clues that could give even the slightest clue. It was pretty strange, so I had to investigate on my own. I went to my target's former places of business to check things out for myself, but it didn't do much. But after another attack, I was finally able to pick up on his trail, so I started following him. It wasn't easy, he was a master of stealth and escape, but no one can hide forever, and eventually I caught up with him. It was far away from any settlements or civilisation, out in the open amongst nature. Then we were standing right next to a steep and high cliff, with only rocks and a raging sea below. Then we stood opposite each other, face to face, and there was something strange about it - the appearance of my opponent. He was an above-average man, wearing purple shoes and trousers and a mesh T-shirt. He had long, pink hair that came down below his shoulder blades and was covered in black patches. But it wasn't all that was strange, it was something else entirely. I couldn't see his face. It wasn't some sort of ability, but it still felt mystical. His whole face was covered in shadow, as if the world itself didn't want me to see it. The only thing I could see was his eyes. They were sinister eyes of green colour, reflecting madness. I'm not going to lie, this man definitely inspired fear in me, which surprised me a lot. But I wasn't going to stand still and shake with fear, so I started the battle... and that was a fatal mistake. This man's ability... I couldn't understand it. Then something strange happened. When I tried to attack him he suddenly disappeared... and not just disappeared... along with that I replaced that the action I was about to perform was already completely gone, though I had no recollection of it at all. I couldn't understand what this ability was, and I couldn't copy it. Its nature was not clear to me, but it was definitely something unusual. I decided to attack again and it was a mistake. He used the same ability as last time again and was already at my back. When I realised this, I felt a terrible pain and found that something had cut me from my shoulder to my chest, but I couldn't see what it was. It was something invisible. Almost instinctively I used Gyou and then it appeared to me... It was a crimson coloured monster, it had an incredibly evil expression on its face, and apparently it was obeying this person. Then this man spoke to me. 'In this world, it's the results that matter, not the actions.' - was all he said. I don't know how, but a picture of everything instantly formed in my mind and then I realised what his ability was. He was manipulating cause and effect, removing the cause from this world and leaving only the effect. Scientifically speaking, he was cutting out time. Too bad it was too late when I realised. 'I shouldn't have fought him, I should have run.' - I thought at the time. But I didn't want to die either. His monster was about to deliver the final blow, but by gathering all my strength and will into a fist I was able to escape him. I jumped aside, straight down the cliff where the sea was raging, but he still managed to get me. With his blow, which was to be my last, he cut off my legs. I collapsed on the rocks below and was swept away by the current. I was on the verge of death, swimming in the open sea, I don't know by some miracle, but I managed to survive. Luckily this man didn't come after me. I guess he thought I was dead, but it was for the best. After that, I rehabilitated for a long time, and then decided to study this strange phenomenon that I observed in the battle with this man. However, it didn't last long and soon they, the Passione, showed up and what happens is what happens.

***

- So, that's my story.

Gon and I sat there with our mouths half open, trying to come to our senses. Not to say that Jin's story impressed us is to say nothing. Gon was so lost in emotion. There was anger, shock, and much more. In time, however, we came to our senses and began to think more soberly. In the meantime, Jin began to speak again.

- I hope you understand why I told you this. There are forces in this world beyond the unnatural, and these forces can be truly terrifying. After giving it some thought, I've decided to call them stands.

- Booths?

- Yes, stands. This power is definitely not derived from Nen, although there is some connection between the two. But the point is... you have to realise that if you want to go up against Passione, you have to be prepared to face something like this. Or even something even worse.

- Are you saying that there are people with such powers in Passion?

- Yes, I think so... though no, I don't think so, I'm sure of it! There are definitely people with such powers there, and most likely... at least Risotto Nero is one of them.

- Risotto too?!

- Yes, but there's probably more. So that's what I'm getting at... this could be incredibly dangerous, so you'd better abandon your venture. Don't fight the Passione. It's too dangerous. It could cost you your life. The men who own the booths are very powerful, they're no match for you. Give it up.

Gon was silent for a while, but I could feel his determination growing stronger by the second. There was no doubt that he was determined to fight against Passione, despite his father's warnings. Well, in that case... I'll be along with him. It may be a deadly gamble, but I'm used to it. Yeah, well, you can't leave Gon alone. He could do something stupid.

- I'm sorry, Jin, but no,' Gon said firmly. - Now that you've told me all this, I'm convinced that I want to continue to pursue my goal. Don't try to talk me out of it, I'm going to do it anyway, with or without you. I've already made up my mind.

-Jin sighed heavily and then looked at Gon with a slight smile on his face, even if it was only for a second. - Eh, what can I do with you. All right, so be it, you can join our alliance. But be warned, I warned you.

- Ha, don't worry, I know exactly what I'm getting into.

- Suit yourself. Then I'll give you some more information about Passion, everything I can dig up.

***

After some more time with Jin, Gon and I were standing in the common room by the window.

- Well, Gon,' I said to him. - What now?

- You know, before that I had doubts about my goals, of which I had two. I had already achieved one of them - finding my father. But now there's something else. Now I know what I want, and I know I have to do it. I'm going to achieve my goal.

- And what is that goal?

- To kill Risotto Nero.