Riza Chronicles: Book 1

I... What?

If they had gone with Gon's idea, then she would've come face-to-face with a full-fledged pedophile. 

The kid's intentions were good.  He claimed that Satoz had told him about the meaning behind the serial number on the back of each Hunter's license; and how the last 3 numbers represented their class of graduates. The guys had taken part in the 287th session of the exams; and so the last three digits on their cards said such. Riza's number was 286; which meant that she had taken the test a year before they had. 

Apparently they knew someone who had taken the exam the same year as her; except they had failed. According to Gon, he very well might know even a small, helpful detail about the amnesiac. However, everyone else immediately turned down the idea; seeing as though none of them wanted to deal with the person that he was talking about. Killua had even claimed that he "wouldn't wish that creep upon even his worse enemy." 

So, naturally, Riza quickly hopped on the "anti-clown" bandwagon as well. 

Instead, she was dragged to the nearest library. Seeing as though they now had a very effective means of finding out more about the girl, it was best to not put it off; especially since some members of the group weren't exactly comfortable with Gon clinging to his new "friend" like an excited puppy. 

Kurapika went ahead and plopped down at one of the computers, meaning that the rest of them had to crowd behind him. He would've used Riza's card but, seeing as though she was pretty much a walking potato at this point, figured that she might've forgotten her password as well (I'm just assuming that this is a thing just in case  a Hunter loses their license). So, instead, he used his own. At the very least, they now had a name. And, unless she was as important of a Hunter as Gon's dad, then it shouldn't be too hard to pick up a good amount of information. 

There were just the basic things like her birthdate and what type of Hunter that she was; which turned out to be Archaeological. Of course, not every moment of her life had been highlighted. There were many things that Hunters preferred to keep secret, just in case someone was looking them up in order to hunt them down. But, that didn't mean that their search immediately became fruitless. 

"Hm... There seems to be three other people who graduated the same year you did, Riza-san." The blond hummed. 

Leaning forward, the girl tried to get a better look at the screen. "Really? Who?" 

"Seira Deleon, Mari Amaya and... Kai Murano." Kurapika had hesitated a bit with the last one, as he needed to double-check to make sure that he had read it correctly. But, the moment that he had confirmed it, he opened up three separate tabs in order to check out their profiles simultaneously. 

"Wait..." 

Starting from the beginning, he read through all of them. "Seira and Mari are both Beast Hunters, and look to be your age. And Kai is a Blacklist Hunter and... shares your birthday." 

Gon tilted his head to the side slightly and frowned. "So.. Riza has a brother?" 

"A twin brother, yes." 

"COOL! You're so lucky, Riza! I've always wanted a sibling." 

"Yeah uh... No you don't, Gon." Killua muttered. 

She didn't answer. All the bluette could do was stare at the faces on the screen, trying to place these new puzzle pieces in their correct spots. Seira had long red hair with a small lock that wouldn't cooperate and stood up, and bright emerald eyes. Mari's silver hair was cut short, her bangs were held back by a bunch of red bobby pins that formed a crossed star; and mischievous maroon eyes stared back at the girl. And Kai was basically the male version of Riza; except he looked extremely bored and pissed off at the same time, and his eyes were a more golden color than her plain brown ones. But, they all shared one strong similarity. 

Riza knew them, all of them. She couldn't pinpoint how, but the feeling of familiarity pounded against her skull. 

Reaching up, the girl grabbed onto the crescent pendant on her necklace; holding it so hard that the somewhat sharp points dug into her flesh. "Where are they?" She breathed. "Can you find out?" 

"There are a few articles that we have yet to look through, but I can't directly track them down." Kurapika sighed. "The best I can do is contact them and hope that someone answers, or at least calls us back within the next couple of days or so." 

Leorio crossed his arms over his chest, and stared down at the blond. "Come on, genius. At least look at everything. I mean, really. We can't just leave the girl twiddling her thumbs waiting for a call that might take weeks to come." 

"N-no, it's fine!" She pressed. "I'm fine with--." 

"Ne, Kurapika." Gon spoke up. Pushing past the rest of the group, he positioned himself right next to where the male was sitting. He pointed a finger at the screen, positioning it right below a headline that had caught his attention. "What about this one?" 

'The Phantom Troupe Strikes Again?' 

It could've just been Riza's imagination, but through the reflection of the computer screen, she could've sworn that Kurapika's eyes were now red. But, her attention was quickly ripped away from the color of his irises, and towards the context of the article that he had almost too eagerly clicked on. 

It had been written two months ago, but the words that it contained didn't lose any of it's importance. 

"...A few days ago, a group of Hunters ran into some bad luck while on a job together. The job itself  had nothing to do with the criminal group, but they seemed to have showed up regardless. Mari Amaya, Kai and Rika Murano, and Seira Deleon had been tracking down an unnamed animal at the time. They had followed it, and had apparently trapped it; which had almost officially dubbed their mission a success. 

However, moments after they had managed to catch the beast, they were greeted by the infamous group, the Phantom Troupe. According to survivor Riza Murano, they were apparently after the beast as well. They had only been up against three members of the gang, but had been severely injured in the process. Known members Machi, Shalnark, and Shizuku had, according to Miss Murano, been the ones to attack them. They had escaped with the Hunters' prize, and had left them to die. 

Luckily, the four managed to make it to the nearest village, where they had contacted the Hunter's Association and asked for help. But, when backup had come, their injuries had been discovered to be so extensive that three of the four Hunters are still currently comatose. Riza Murano is currently the only one who remains awake, and who's health is rapidly improving due to the skilled doctors in Yorknew city..."

The article stretched on for another page or so, basically going on and on about how other Hunters had been trying to track down the Troupe due to this incident and yada-yada. Once it reached this point, Riza had begun to zone out. Not because the article became boring, but because she was trying to process the information that she had just been given. 

She took a step away from the screen, reluctant to believe that the words had been true. On top of her newfound distress about the matter, her head decided to hate her. A pounding headache sprung up, threatening to tear her skull open. The bluette winced and closed her eyes for a moment, in hopes that maybe a little darkness would get rid of even a little bit of the pain. However, she immediately regretted the decision. 

The scene only lasted for a split second, but it confused and terrified the hell out of her. 

Bright lights, screeching tires, and blood. So much blood that it made her sick. 

{...I have lost control over how many times I update this in a week. Forgive me.}