Killua was instantly startled by the sudden change. He had it hardcoded into him to avoid strong opponents, and all of his instincts were telling him to book it for the hills.
It took all of his willpower to remain in his place. The man was not even exuding any Ren to express his hostility and bloodlust. It was just the sudden change in expression that just gave him an unnerving feeling.
That man's presence was extremely intimidating. It greatly reminded Killua of his Brother Illumi. But it was also significantly different. Illumi at least bothered to hide his intentions.
There was also a strange smell of burning flesh in the air. He couldn't see the source of the fire properly, but he could guess what was inside that fiery pit.
Kite seemed a lot more composed. Preparing to bring out his Slot Machine Hatsu. There was a bit of sweat on his forehead. He was obviously preparing for a fight to the death.
He could tell that the man in front of him used Nen. He had brought nen to his eyes and used Gyo to study him and the children. He didn't even bother hiding it.
And fights between nen users are never simple. There was no simple way to determine the others fighting ability and Hatsu until it was too late.
Fighting an accomplished Nen user was a lot harder than fighting even the strongest beast.
Just as Killua and Kite were preparing to move.
"Hello!! Do you know anyone called Ashton!?" Asked Gon in a loud voice. Completely oblivious to this mans strange behaviour. He was probably glad that the person they met was a human and not a Chimera Ant.
The man in question looked confused too. He loved getting a rise out of people, but he wasn't going to actually kill them. And by the looks of it, they were the people he was supposed to meet up with.
Ashton was a simple person. He has a love for anything related to adventure, and few could match his curiosity.
He also had a strange obsession... One that shouldn't really be talked about casually.
"Of course. My name is Ashton!" Said the hunter, as the insane smile on his face rescinded into something much more tamed. The handsomeness returning to his features.
He now had a small smile, the previous light in his eyes was completely gone, leaving them as empty as the abyss.
To Killua this was terrifying, he knew that there were people in the world proficient in controlling their emotions, but this was on another level.
The only person that he could compare this to was his grandfather. He quietly gulped, thinking that it was a good thing the situation deescalated a bit.
Sometimes, Gon's naivity and unawareness of his surroundings could be helpful. This was such a situation.
Kite straightened his blue cap as he released a frustrated sigh. Either for Gon's lack of awareness or for the fact that he was just about to enter a fight to the death with his supposed contact.
"So... Are you guys the people this country hired for the ant problem?" Said Ashton, looking at them with the same smirk plastered on his face.
It was Kite's turn to respond, "Yes, we were hired through the Association. Netero probably already informed you of that..." He squinted his eyes a bit.
The man was wearing simple clothes, but they weren't in any way similar to the ones that they were forced to put on when entering the country.
He was, in fact, wearing a black suit with a white coat over it. His shoes were also black, to match his suit and hair. His hands wore some thin black gloves.
Looking more calmly at his face, Kite could now see two beauty marks under his right eye. It made him look even more harmless. His looks were certainly deceiving.
"Oh yes. Of course. The walking mummy called me about it." Said the man named Ashton, completely disrespecting the President of the Hunter Association.
Neither Kite nor Killua called him out on it. They could see that this man had some kind of past with Netero. They didn't want to tread on thin ice.
The entire conversation already got started on the wrong foot.
Gon on the other hand..."Hey! Don't say that about the old man!" He was being Gon.
Ashton's emotionless and cold smirk seemed to turn somewhat genuine for a second.
"Well, aren't you a nice kid! Why would someone like you become a hunter at such age?" Said Ash, with a hint of curiosity in his voice. His eyes still failed to show anything even resembling emotions.
"Oh! I became a hunter to look for my father! His name is Ging, have you heard of him?" Said Gon, completely losing his previous prejudice and thinking of this person as a friend. All after a simple compliment that barely meant anything.
Killua couldn't do much to help the situation. This was just how Gon was, he hadn't yet gone through enough to understand just how despicable people could be. He still trusted people too easily.
"Ging? You're Ging's spawn? I wasn't expecting the sleazy bastard to ever get any..." Said Ashton in an amused tone. His smile turning into a humoured grin.
"Still, you do look just like him, smaller maybe. But it's not that big a surprise."
Gon's eyes seemed to shine a lot brighter, he already deemed Ashton as completely trustworthy.
And Kite relaxed a bit. Since it was quite clear he was at least an acquaintance of Ging, a person with some sway in his opinion.
Killua was still sceptical, but there wasn't much he could do.
Gon didn't ask about his father's whereabouts as he already knew where to go from Kite. But this was a pleasant surprise for him.
Ashton then looked at Kite again. His grin rescinding back into that same empty smirk.
"I think it's time I brought you guys up to speed on what's been going on around these parts."
And so, the pair started speaking. Meanwhile, Gon and Killiua listened attentively, as they all realised the gravity of the situation.
"The ants are always gathering food, from humans to animals. Their queen seems to want to devour everything in this forest."
"Many people are abducted and fed to the queen. The Chimera Ants themselves get stronger as time passes."
"Wait! So you've just watched while people were getting taken away?!" Asked an aggrieved Kite. All of his memory of the previous danger he was in seemed to disappear when faced with this information.
"I'm just a traveller. I don't care much for fighting... I won't enter a conflict that doesn't concern me." The man's smile was just as emotionless as before. Casually speaking of the death of others like they were nothing at all.
Gon also gasped and frowned a bit. But, he could somewhat understand this. Having already titled Ashton a trustworthy person in his mind gave him some prejudice against his actions.
And Killua didn't really care. It's not like he could've saved everybody, and one or two people being saved didn't matter much when thousands were dying.
Seeing as they were silent again. Ashton continued recounting the things he knew about the intrusive species.
"They seem to be a pretty strong species. Even a newborn can match up with a weak hunter."
After a few minutes of hearing the explanation of how things were, Kite and the other two seemed to be deep in thought.
But Killua was suddenly returned to reality. The smell of Burnt off flesh reentering his nostrils.
He looked directly at Ashton. "What were you burning?" He asked wearily. Regaining his previous hostility.
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The second Chapter's here!
Hope you like the way this story is being told. I hope it doesn't feel like too much or too little. All information about the Mc will come out in time.
We will discover more and more about him over the course of the story.