ANIMOSITY | hxh

sixteen

Gon felt like his world was collapsing.

When Kurapika and Leorio told him the news, he could almost feel his heart stop. In only less than a day, two of his closest friends had vanished before him. He clenched the Hunter's license in his hands, Tsuno's license. He wouldn't allow himself to lose hope. Something must've happened. And he couldn't help but think of Illumi, the center of it all. Gon didn't understand what connection he had to Tsuno, or why this would cause Tsuno to run away. But everything was fine before he showed up, so it doesn't leave anything else. But he find them. Tsuno and Killua both, and bring them back. No matter what.

He looks up at Kurapika and Leorio, a determined expression on his face. "It's okay," he says, "Because I'm gonna find them. Both of them." The older boys nodded at him with a smile. "Don't leave us out!" Leorio pumped his fist. "We'll help." Kurapika added. Gon softened and gave them a big grin, "Right!" He cheered.

———

Tsuno had been walking for nearly 2 weeks, in the hot burning sand.

She panted, covered in dirt and clutching her opened wound threw her torn medical gown. She could barely see, with sand in one of her eyes. And her pace had only gotten slower with her bruised and splintered feet. And she hadn't eaten anything at all in who knows how long. But she couldn't stop, she had to get home. It was the only thing she knew, and everything else felt so dangerous. So unfamiliar.

Somehow through the sandy haze, she was able to see the desolate city in the far desert. She brightened up with a sense of urgency, stumbling as best as she could, completely focused of what was ahead of her. Too focused. She tripped over her own feet, falling with a weak yelp and landing directly onto her face. She twitched, trying to will herself to move. She slowly turned her head, trying to get her face out of the suffocating sand. She breathed heavily, swallowing as much air as possible. She was too weak to move, to pull herself up. So with her one good arm, she kept dragging her body forward, slowly traversing the terrain. It hurt, it burned, but there was truly nothing else for her to do. She refused to just sit there and perish. She refused to be unknown, to be useless. It may not even be worth it, to reach that trash pile of a city. But at least she wouldn't stop fighting. That's all that matters.

From behind her, she heard some footsteps moving in her direction. Or rather Meteor City. She didn't stop moving though, she couldn't. And it was unlikely that a stranger would care to give her the time of a day, probably preferring to leave her for dead. The stranger quickly caught up to her at the pathetic pace in which she as moving, and surprisingly, they stopped. Tsuno caught the figure out of the corner of her eye, still panting from exertion. They crouched beside her, observing her with cool, dark eyes. It was a man. She narrowed hers, the burning sun enhancing their golden light. She huffed, still crawling. He probably just wanted to watch her, like some circus act. Maybe even laugh. But her thoughts were interrupted by his voice. "Going somewhere?" The voice was casual, a bit amused even. Like she wasn't on the brink of death.

She growled, her voice hoarse and gravelly. "None of your business." She said, continuing her trek. "Don't you want help?" He prompted from out of her view. She didn't answer, the whole was all pointless. The man got up and moved in front of her, halting her movement. She snarled as best she could with half of her face pressed into the sand. "Get out of my way." He only blinked at her, his lips twitching into a small smile. "What's your name?" He asked, ignoring her spiteful demand. Tsuno only stared at him for a moment, considering if she should respond. "Tsuno." She croaked weakly. She didn't know where that name came from, it just felt natural. It's one of the few things she's sure of. The man hummed, tilting. "It doesn't suit you." He told her, before reaching down a hand. "I'm Chrollo."

———

It had taken a month, to open the Zoldyck testing gate.

Then they had to go through Canary, and even Gotoh. But finally, Gon had reunited with Killua.

"Gon!" Killua cheered after peeking through the doorway, bruised on his face. Gon turned around, his eyes brightening. "Killua!" He grinned. He jumped up from the couch, covered with bandages. Killua walked over, "And... Kurapika? Liorio?" He said, trying to remember their names. "It's Leorio!" He grumbled, a vein popping. "At least he remembered my name." The blonde sighed. Killua paused suddenly, looking around the room for someone specific. He looked to Gon with a raised eyebrow, "Where's Tsuno?" He, asked. He ignored the dark thought that she may not want to see him after what had happened. He couldn't help but blame himself. If he had moved, if he had stood up for himself, then maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to step in.

Gon's face fell, as well as Kurapika's and Leorio's. "We... don't know." Kurapika said. They told him what had happened after he had left, and showed him Tsuno's license. Killua looked at it forlornly, and shoved into his pocket. "Okay. I have an idea where she went." He said casually, but you could tell how disappointed he was. Gon brightened with the new information. "Do you really!?" He asked eagerly, ready to go find her. "Yeah, but you'll have to wait." Killua shot him down, sighing. "She's in some junkyard called Meteor City. Probably, it's where she grew up. But the way she described it was pretty dangerous. We'll need to get stronger." He said, clenching his fists. The time where she told him her past, the two of them all lone in the middle of the night. "The way she described it?" Kurapika asked with a raised eyebrow, causing the young boy to blush. "That's not important!" He shouted flushed, and Leorio leaned over him with a teasing grin. "Sounds pretty important to you." He snickered.

Killua shoved him off. "Anyways," he cleared his throat, "Let's get out of here." He said, referring to the Zoldyck Mansion.

———

Chrollo helped her, got her into Meteor City. She still didn't know why. He carried her, allowing her to see how the people seemed to part for him. Her eyes darted around in wonder, and he chuckled softly. Her brought her into a small house, and laid her down on a run-down couch where he tended to her wounds. He prodded around her large shoulder gash where the stitches snapped. "How did this happen?" He asked, in that cool and collected voice. She averted her eyes, furrowing her brows. She didn't know, and she hated it. Hated not knowing anything about herself. He hummed, assuming she just wouldn't talk about it. He disinfected it again, after removing the old stitches, and patched her up. "I can't stitch wounds, so this will have to do. But I'll have someone more experienced help you out, okay?" He said, looking into her eyes. He seemed to have a weird fascination for them.

Tsuno just stared back, face scrunched with confusion. "Why?" She breathed out. She couldn't wrap her head on why he helped, why he is still is helping her. Chrollo had a small smile, "You're interesting." He told her, but she just looked at him like he was crazy. He laughed, "The way I found you, people in that sort of situation give up hope. They become desperate for some miracle. But when you looked at me—before I even spoke—your eyes seemed so full of mistrust. You didn't care for what I had to say, and just kept going. Even when I stood in your way, you demanded me to move." Tsuno blinked at him, before moving her gaze to her lap. "You're strong. Let's just say you've caught my interest."

She felt a giddiness in her chest. It felt.. nice. To be complimented for her strength, it made her want to be stronger. She felt her lips twitch into a small smile since she woke up in that room. "I can see some untapped potential in you. Right now, you're like a small campfire, but I think you can grow into a wildfire." He said, putting a hand on her head. Her eyes widened, shining with admiration. "So, let me help you. Let me help you push away those restricting boundaries." He persuaded, looking deep into her eyes. She thought for a moment. What else was their to do? Life out the rest of her life in Meteor City? With no memories? No, she wanted to become somebody. To go down fighting. To make a difference.

No matter what kind of difference it was.