*Sorry, auto release didn't work for some reason*
*Book 2 is out*
Latest Update:COMPLETE
Summary: [Completed] Fem! Gon. The story retold. But this time? With Romance. And a few more changes.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/7636977/1/Two-Rivers-Beginnings
Word Count:151k
Chapters:34
CHAPTER 1: Kaito x Gon x First Encounter
WHALE ISLAND
Amongst the vast waters known as the Indian ocean rest a small island created and shaped by natural forces like the volcano that used to be underneath and the strong waves that hit on a minute-basis. It had been untouched by modern technology and had somehow, through time, adopted the shape of a whale- and hence its name.
Whale Island.
Deep within it existed a small and peaceful village, a little far away from the ports where its most advanced settlements laid. Its houses conformed to a certain style, yet most established their own identity as directed by the people who lived there.
One such house was located farther from the rest. It was also a pub and shop which meant people still went there, despite its relatively isolated position. But the most interesting characteristic that the home had was that it was built under two trees- entwined together after long years of company. It also stood at a small hill intensifying the effect of its odd majesty and charm as it stood against the deep blue sky.
The house looked cute and peaceful on the outside. But its interior was the exact opposite.
"Waaaaaa… I'm so bored Mito-san! Can I please go outside?" A 9-year old girl with the name of Antigone Freecs implored her aunt. The little girl was cute with her huge eyes and raven hair that framed her face perfectly. Her aunt's eyes twitched.
"No, Gon, you're a girl. And girls are supposed to know how to do house chores." She stated as a-matter-of-factly.
"But I already do know how to do them! Desu." She retorted. 'Doesn't mean I have to do them…'
Mito winced, knowing precisely what the girl just mused. She sighed and whispered to herself, "You're really nothing like your mother…" forgetting the fact that her niece had superhuman senses- and that meant the little girl heard.
Gon tilted her head in wonder. "Nothing like…you, Mito-san?" She asked innocently, even when she knew Mito wasn't her birth mother she never knew either of her parents. So she pretty much believed Mito was her parent. Mito's eyes widened and she quickly tried to hold back her tears.
There was a silence that ensued and Mito quickly rummaged her brain at what to do. First thing was to permanently hamper her tears. Unfortunately, seeing Gon's worried stare did not help her achieve that.
"You can go o-out and play now, Gon." She muttered out-of-nowhere making Gon frown.
"But if I leave, you'll cry." She bluntly stated, making Mito really want to cry on the spot. "Why all of a sudden, Mito-san?"
Mito went closer and hugged her tightly. "It's fine Gon, it's nothing you did. So go out and play now. I need some time alone, please."
"But…"
"Please?"
"B-But."
Twitch
"Get out, Gon." She ordered, gently pushing the girl to the door.
"But—"She retorted as she stepped outside.
"Get OUT." Mito finally snapped... and slammed the door at her face.
...
FOREST
Gon absent-mindedly wondered around the forest. At a young age, she knew when her aunt was lying. She was extremely worried about the older girl and was in a trance the whole time. Time passed and not even the tall roots on her path hindered her dazed walk. What actually pulled her out of her daze was a loud growl that would make most people immediately run for their lives or freeze in terror.
But not Gon. She lived in the forest her whole life- and she was gifted with incredible instincts so that she was able to survive and learn anything on her own. She calmly looked around to see that she walked into fox-bear territory. Her eyes shifted to the source of the sound.
It was a fox-bear, of course. And a huge one, at that.
She gulped.
'Uh oh….'
The beast growled again, this time making her shiver. She saw the cub right beside her. The bigger one was the mother, she knew. And she immediately deduced that she was in more trouble than she had expected.
There was absolutely no way to tame this one. She was a mother. And it was nearly impossible to tame a mother who was convinced that something… or, unfortunately, someone… would harm her child.
She quickly surveyed for an escape route.
The fox-bear went closer making her flinch. She frantically looked around again.
There was no escape route good enough to outrun the animal. It was already too close to her. But nothing good would happen if she just stood there- so she decided to try the closest escape route and pray that lady luck was on her side.
She carefully stepped back and gestured to run when—
SLASH
A sword out of nowhere found itself inside the mother fox-bear... and an instant later the creature was laying lifelessly on the ground with a helpless cub crying for her.
Gon froze.
...
The tall long-haired man towered over the small girl who was frozen in front of him. She was staring blankly at the two beasts. He saw tears line up in the kid's eyes. He knew that it was not tears of relief, it was of grief. He frowned irritably.
"What the hell is a little girl like you doing deep in the forest? And in monster territory! Did you not know that you could've died?" He yelled at her vehemently only to be ignored.
"You didn't have to kill her."
"That's true. So I should've let her kill you instead, huh?"
"She has a child."
"…that reminds me." He muttered as he unsheathed his sword once again and walked towards the cub. "This little one must die as well. He will attack humans after this." He said, held up his sword, and whispered an apology. He then gestured for a painless slice, when-
"NO!" The girl shouted determinedly and placed herself in front of the cub. The man flinched at the girl's quickness, but froze at her strong unwavering gaze that was all too familiar to him.
He- after a second of pondering- mechanically returned his sword back to its cover and stared at the girl with eyes full of inquiry. "What's your father's name?"
But to his surprise, she shook her head. "I can't tell you. Mito-san told me that I should not give other people's or my name to strangers." She stated making him wonder who this 'Mito-san' was. He sighed.
"I suppose so… so, what are you planning to do with the cub?" He asked, this time, curious.
"Raise it." She replied. And he scoffed.
Why wasn't he surprised?
"Good luck with that then, kid."
"You're not allowed to get in the house until you tell me the truth." Mito stated decisively as she pushed her rugged-looking niece, with a number of wounds here and there, out the door… again.
"But Mito-san-!" Gon shouted and knocked on the door at the rate of 20 knocks per second.
"No." Mito responded firmly from behind the door. Gon let out a heavy breath of defeat and readied herself to telling her aunt the truth.
"I found a fox-bear that lost its mother. I tried to raise it…" She muttered under her breath making Mito open the door.
The woman stared at her to check if she was lying and Gon did not flinch. The woman smiled fondly at the little girl and patted her head. Something like this she could not stop making Gon do. It was, unfortunately, something she inherited from both her parents.
So, instead, she would be there to ensure the girl was safe no matter what she tried to do. "You should start taking care of yourself, Gon."
And the girl only grinned.
"Hai!"
*The next morning*
Gon excitedly ran towards the river where she left the long-haired man and the cub- which she decided the name Gonta- and remained balanced as she ensured that the bowl of milk on her palm would not spill. She saw that the man had his back on the tree hugging his sheathed sword that reminded her of an animal sleeping yet remaining alert all throughout. He had his hat covering his eyes, though, so she wasn't certain if he was sleeping with his eyes closed. He certainly didn't feel like he was in deep slumber...
She shrugged and went to the cub lying near her mother. Gon stared sadly at the mother fox-bear for a while and decided to bury her. She dug a huge hole and readied a bed of flowers beside it. Then she placed herself near the mother fox bear and took a deep breath to ready herself to move its large corpse. But the body of the fox bear, nearly 20 times heavier than her, seemed to be reluctant to move. She pushed and pushed until it finally moved half a meter.
She pushed again, this time it moved by itself.
She blinked, and eventually realized that the long-haired man was helping her. She smiled at him, but the man just ignored her and continued pushing.
"Thanks." She said as he returned to his original position. He made a simple nod.
She whipped her head back to the cub, and took the bowl she put somewhere and placed it near the cub. She walked back and pretended not to watch. Several minutes later, Gonta slowly walked towards the bowl and slowly licked the milk away. She smiled and let herself watch the cub openly. She stared at the cub fondly but paused when she felt that she was being stared at, herself.
She looked at its source and asked, "Is there anything wrong long-haired-niichan?"
"Kaito's my name, kid."
"…is there anything wrong Kaito-nii?"
"Omit the honorific."
"Why?"
"I don't like it."
"Why? Mito-san said I should since you're so old." She stated bluntly making him sneer in both irritation and amusement at the oddly polite insult.
"… I'm only turning 17 in a few weeks."
"Really?"
"Really."
She beamed getting him to wince.
"(Advanced) Happy birthday, then. Kaito-san!"
...
*A few days later*
Gonta playfully played with the little girl as they played in the river. Gon already caught the cub's heart, and Kaito was very impressed.
'Good hunters are liked by animals.' He mused recalling how her father, his master, was also loved by the creatures. She already introduced herself as Gon Freecs. She didn't say what her father's name was but it was obvious that they're related. Ging told him about a child he left behind, and it could only be her.
He did not know why her aunt kept her father from her, but he knew it was none of his business. In fact, he had no reason to stay… the time he found out that his master wasn't here and the moment she gave him a basket of fruits as a birthday gift he should've left.
He looked at the girl who was watching her new-found friend fondly as she made a fish act like catnip.
He closed his eyes again and went in for another nap.
'It's not like I'm in a hurry, anyway.'
...
Later that day, the noise the two animals were making woke him up. They were wrestling each other, and Gon surprisingly showed quite impressive athletic qualities. He continued watching them for a while- soon after getting into a fight with himself again. It had been several times whether or not to tell her about her guardian's lies. After a long while of rationalizations... he had finally decided to go with the former.
"Gon." He called. She was out of sight and was probably up a tree somewhere far away, but the girl had superhuman hearing. It didn't take long for him to hear the gentle rustles of leaves, that sounded different from the rustles caused by the wind. It got louder and louder, and soon she got close enough to speak with him.
"Hai?" She asked with her trademark stare.
"Is your father's name Ging Freecs?" He asked her bluntly catching her by surprise. She involuntarily let go of the branch but she reflexively regained her balance, much to Kaito's relief.
"You know him…?" She responded incredulously.
"He's alive, and I'm looking for him right now." He stated at the girl who looked as if she believed him but, odd enough, he could not sense a trace of anger that he expected to be there.
"Why?"
"He's my mentor as a hunter, finding him is the last part of our exam."
"I see…" She muttered and Kaito flinched at the continuous absence of anger in her eyes.
"Your aunt lied to you, you know."
"Yeah. But she has her reasons, I'm sure she's planning on telling me in the future." She smiled at him sadly. "And I think I knew he wasn't dead yet…" He patted her head.
"You sure are mature for someone so simple-minded..."
"Hn?" She tilted her head.
"Nothing." he sighed. "I'll be going now."
"Huh?" she uttered and stood up as well when he did- so abruptly, too.
"I can't stay here forever, you know."
"You can't?" She asked with innocent skepticism. He hid a smile.
"No. But we'll meet again if you try to look for your father. If you want to, of course."
"I will. But I don't think Mito san's going to like it." She muttered, but it was obvious she was determined to do what she just said.
"Become a Hunter, just like him."
"I'm planning to."
Kaito chuckled. "...that was quick."
"He-he.I want to find out what kept him from coming here."
He grinned.
"We'll be waiting, Gon!" He declared and started walking away. She waved at him.
"See you soon, Kaito!"
Certain that it would, indeed, happen soon.
.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/7636977/1/Two-Rivers-Beginnings