__________ POV Narration__________
Before Gon reached the auditorium the situation was already at a standstill. The people mostly voting for Pariston Hill and Leorio. The other candidates only receiving a few votes in comparison.
The hunters were happy that a newcomer arrived, even if it was a child.
But they didn't expect Leorio to rush the child and hug him whilst in tears. It didn't take long for people to realise who it actually was.
Leorio was quite transparent with his intentions during the election. Repeatedly asking hunters if there was a way to cure Gon before Ashton intervened.
Now, the situation took a bit of a turn. As the friends reunited, Gon also managed to see Ashton, who was sitting down in the distance and observing the situation.
Gon looked at the ground when seeing the old scientist. But he still walked up to him, clenching his fist in the process.
Ashton just sighed for a second. Thinking that 'I guess he is still quite mad at me...' but he wasn't exactly right.
Whilst Gon hadn't forgiven him in any way, he still couldn't ignore the fact that his life was partially saved by the man.
Doing so would make Gon feel inadequate, responding to kindness with aggression was one of the things he hated the most.
And now, things somewhat balanced out, as he had as many reasons to hate the Scientist as he had to thank him.
So, when he reached Ashton's seat, he just stood in front of him and bowed. "Thank you!" That was all he did before continuing his way down the stairs.
He refused to look Ashton in the eye during the short exchange, either out of defiance or embarrassment.
But he had conveyed a clear message to the Old Scientist.
One that still left Ashton a bit confused, but not really shocked. One of the outcomes he somewhat expected. But it was still the one he found most unlikely.
__________ POV Ashton__________
So I guess the suicidal kid can actually show some gratitude. I was honestly expecting him to start attacking me again.
But I guess he doesn't really know about me killing a few hunters at the palace, if he did he wouldn't be just as friendly.
The explosion reaching the palace wasn't really something I could help with at the time. It's something I regret. Well, I don't really care about the Hunters caught in the explosion.
They were prepared to die in their mission. Them dying so I could take out the king is only fitting. But the civilians didn't really have anything to do with that.
I wonder who Gon would vote for. I would say he goes for Leorio, but I really don't think that Leorio even wants the position all that much.
After a bit, and with Pariston encouraging Gon to vote between him and Leorio. Gon finally placed his vote on the Blond man.
Saying something along the lines of 'Leorio wants to become a doctor, not the Chairman of the Association'. Which is fair enough.
I really didn't like the way Blondie looked when hearing Gon though. Like a kid that just got what he wanted. I guess he likes to predict what people do?
Well, it's a bit ironic that his actions are somewhat predictable by themselves. He seems to treat this whole election as a joke(like I do) so he's unlikely to actually accept the position.
He'll probably pass it down to the next person on the list. And, now that Leorio formally retired from the competition and went with Gon to celebrate, that person happens to be Cheadle.
Which works quite well in my favour. But I really doubt she will appreciate Pariston's disrespect towards this election. So, something will happen to him. I just don't really know exactly what.
"I, the new Chairman of the Hunter Association choose to make Cheadle Yorkshire my Vice-Chairman!" He gained the attention of the audience.
Then he said what I've been expecting. "That will be my last decision as Chairman, Cheadle will be the one to replace me." Oh, so he chose this route then?
Making fun of the next Chairman that he elects himself means that he doesn't really plan on sticking around with the Association.
And Cheadle was quite pissed, if her gritted teeth didn't give that away, her growling sure did.
Pariston decided to just leave after that. A sensible decision, but he doesn't matter to me anymore. Now that the election is over I need to go and have a coffee at Linne's place.
"Well then. All things considered, this wasn't exactly the worst outcome. Congratulations on your position, even if it doesn't feel earned, you deserve it in my eyes." I said while patting Cheadle on the back.
I couldn't really see her reaction because she was studying the ground. But I could easily discern that she was startled by the sudden physical contact. I will remember to avoid it in the future.
After that, I just took my leave. Linne also left with me. We didn't speak much about the circlet in the middle of the streets.
But the Limousine ride back to her house was still quite lively. We got to reminisce about a few things, either memories with Netero or Zigg.
Like the times when we all tried to check what would happen if we stole the eggs of a strange species on the Dark Continent. And the mother of the eggs proceeded to almost kill all of us.
Good times. I think it was because Linne wanted to try cooking an omelette with the egg as an ingredient? I only accepted because I couldn't really recognize the species in question.
We also spoke about the times when we just hung out by ourselves while the other two were busy. An hour or two went by with the two of us just talking about random things.
I don't really care if her driver hears us, especially since she said it was a trusted person.
Eventually, we reached her house, and the true conversation started.
_______________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter!
If u want to support me search VeganMaster on Patr_eon, you also get a few(32) chapters in advance. As well as consistent double uploads daily.
Discord: