Wet earth slid under her feet as she dug her heels in, sending HyunJin a tad bit further than it would’ve the day before. She snapped her head to the right, searching for- there! A glimpse of vibrant green she saw in the corner of her eye, more saturated than any foliage around. It was sticking out even better so low to the ground, against more natural greens and browns of a damp forest floor.

HyunJin backtracked a couple steps. Down, in a hollow created by roots of an old tree, was Gon. He sat there, looking past her with an unfriendly intensity, hugging his legs, half of the face covered by his arms folded on top of his knees.

“You good?” said HyunJin, keeping her distance. Gon’s current posture was completely different from what she saw previously of him. While HyunJin was content with listening for the most part, not eager to lead the conversation in a company of strangers, h e was one of the main talkers at the bottom of the Tower. And even before - a sincere and energetic kid both outside the stages and during them.

Was he more displeased to see her personally and got his eyebrows tied only when she arrived, or was he annoyed at the world at large?

“Go away.”

HyunJin barely heard his muffled voice over distance between them. Still, it was clear he was… vexed.

“I am not your hunter,” offered HyunJin, digging up and showing a plate with her target’s number. If possible, she would avoid creating any misunderstandings. She stopped out of concern, see, Gon?

“I know,” the boy said in the same tone, his eyes drilling holes in the space slightly in front of her half-turned body.

This wasn’t going in a cooperative way. 

Luckily, HyunJin was already on her way back - she found her target’s target dead some ways away from there, his head almost fully separated from his body in a single clean cut.

It was a wound that looked just like the marks she saw back in the swamp during the first phase.

She didn’t want to dwell on it. 

Nothing good came from dwelling on things for too long.

HyunJin glanced around. Ground around the boy’s hiding spot was undisturbed - either rain had enough time to destroy any footprints left, or Gon sat there since before it started. In any case, he was in this mood for hours by this point.

So this wasn’t about her. HyunJin hummed, giving his shelter another glance. 

The spot Gon stuffed himself into was barely big enough, his greenish-black spiky hair pushed against its roof. It was wider than higher, but still was a place only a child could fit into. Which, “Where is your fishing pole? Did you lose it?”  

Answer did not follow immediately. HyunJin patiently waited, tilting her head to the side, staring down at Gon.

As minutes passed after each other, the boy must’ve acknowledged her immovable indifference to the passing of time. 

“It’s too big,” Gon mumbled, still not meeting her eyes.

And then again that sullen silence.

Was this what her mom experienced in HyunJin’s youth? Hearing numerous stories of her childhood forest adventures every birthday, she was pretty sure one of them had her mom similarly digging her from some nice newly found dirtholes, which likely were just someone’s burrows.

HyunJin took well to her mom’s teachings all for this one moment.

It still was going to take some time.

HyunJin looked to the sky, rubbing her neck. Was she more concerned over a nice kid Gon who looked downright miserable or that grown-up rude adult who she met for the first time yesterday, and who can easily take care of himself for an hour or two longer?..

Well then.

She was good with animals - she could do well with kids too.

HyunJin slowly, clearly telegraphing her every step, approached the hollow, watching for Gon's reaction. He kept his gaze fixed in front of him, stubbornly ignoring her.

Coming within two meter range of him, HyunJin threw her backpack on the ground.

“Please watch this for me for a moment. I will be back soon, Gon.”

She sprinted away before the boy could give his refusal of the imposed promise of a company.

Now, where was that appletree grove?..

It took her a bit longer than expected to find one of them. There were admittedly more of them on the other half, where the bigger river ran, but they grew in abundance here too.

HyunJin tucked as much as she could in the hem of her outer shirt, swiping this particular grove clean of any ripe fruit. That should be enough for the two of them.

Back at the spot, Gon sat just as he was when HyunJin left him.

Stopping at a heedful distance again, she sat on the ground, criss-crossing her legs and resting the hem with the harvest between them. Taking the nicest-looking one, HyunJin casually threw it at Gon, before picking her own and biting into it.

The boy caught the fruit with one bandaged hand, lowering it with a newly resurfaced frown.

HyunJin ate her apple without any hurry. There wasn’t any concern about this attitude of his - her target won’t die without her, she was already done with her challenge and she picked a lot of apples. The boy could take all the time he needed.

Besides, HyunJin could always go and gather more.

After some time, when she was already close to finishing the third apple, Gon finally spoke. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

She swallowed and made a vague wave at him. “Misery loves company and I am yours - I can’t go past a kicked puppy. ‘Specially one I’m kinda fond of.”

After yet another bout of silence, a much shorter one, Gon brought the apple to his mouth. For that he lowered his other arm, revealing remnants of a large bruise on his cheek, in all its greenish glory. Judging by the sheer size and intensity - the gifter didn’t hold back.

HyunJin looked away, chewing.

Her almost-healed scratches and a bandaged wound were a step under the severity of the others’ struggles, she supposed. She got a knife skewering her arm, but it was nowhere close to landing a solid blow on her face.

But that was luck, not skill. Not something to boast about.

HyunJin didn’t feel undeserving of it, though, - always felt this way.

Probably just her nature - was lucky here, will get unlucky somewhere else. Somebody else was living it the other way.

No big deal.

Sigh . HyunJin’s gaze turned upward, to the thick clouds above them. Hopefully it wouldn’t rain again. She could do just fine in a downpour, but she much preferred dry and warm sunlit places.

Finishing the apple in two bites, she fished out a jar of ointment out of the backpack and held it out to Gon. He ignored.

HyunJin huffed and threw it directly at him, followed by another apple.

She tapped her cheek twice indicating what it was for. Gon shook his head, “I heal fast, I don’t need it.”

HyunJin pretended to not hear him and leaned back into her nature-gazing, biting loudly into a small apple. Mm, an especially sour one. 

The tree Gon snuck himself under was quite old, now that she paid attention to the plant itself. Rough and twisting, it grew with many aged wounds and broken branches. It must have seen many fights on this island.

Speaking of, there were quite a bit of rough patches throughout the forest. Some had a number of trees that were broken in half, some were clearings with uprooted grown trees. In this area, partially dead trees grew in a way that suggested they were cleft, too, but only halfway, with parts of their canopy missing or dried. 

There was also a weird clearing with cleanly chopped shoulder-high hemps a ways back - they had their cuts lined up, as if they were slashed in one single move. Which was odd - they covered a decently wide area.

But none of those incisions seemed as old as on Gon’s tree - HyunJin would give them less than ten years, but this one had them since the seventies at least . Cortopeas grew slowly, if she remembered correctly.

As her apple whittled down, she picked yet another one.

In her life, HyunJin heard so much about her bottomless stomach, it might as well be true at this point.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gon unscrew the lid and smell the contents. HyunJin lit up on the inside, but outwardly pretended to not notice. He sniffed it for longer than expected, and at that HyunJin quirked an eyebrow. Another sharp nose? 

Apparently deeming it safe, Gon put some on his cheek, then released bandages and spread some more ointment on his palms. A quick glance revealed many burst blisters and she had to bit her tongue to stop saying any sympathetic words. Screwing the jar shut, Gon glared at her, but there was no actual bite. Satisfied, HyunJin caught the jar and threw his next apple in exchange.

“I would prefer to cook fish, but wood isn’t dry enough,” explained HyunJin apologetically her choice of food.

Gon opened his mouth for a moment, as if to reply, but then decided against, taking another dour bite instead.

She would take that as an improvement still.

“I finally found my target yesterday,” said HyunJin nonchalantly. “He was beaten and unconscious, bleeding out from a wound in his stomach. The forest around was in rough shape too, with slices on the trees, bloodstains and whatnot. He was almost cold when I got to him.”

Gon idly spun the apple in his hand, looking at its other side and gave a non-committal hum.

“Lucky for him, he survived - wouldn’t have if I didn’t carry first aid everywhere. If he is religious, he has to interpret this as a divine sign! Unless infection sets in, he is out of the woods... Usually, when someone gets wounded in the mountains - I live in a village there - I only stop the blood and carry them to a clinic. But I still sewed enough emergency cuts to do it well on my own.”

Even hunters from nearby villages had to tread carefully in the Wives’ range - and they have grown on those foresty slopes.

Some of the aloofness in Gon’s expression slowly got replaced by a shade of curiosity. She held her tongue until she was rewarded by a begrudging, “Mountains?”

HyunJin mentaly pat herself on the back. See? Good with animals and children just as she promised.

She leaned on her arm and smiled, settling for a ramble.

“Yes, I grew basically in the middle of nowhere. Easiest way to get from somewhere civilized is by train and rare daily buses from the city. Still, it does not deter tourists. Sadly .” HyunJin sighed. “They were the ones I got to train first aid skills on, by the way, - there are many visitors from the closest city, who want a taste of the ‘real nature’. They love to ignore official trails or even simple hand-drawn signs that explain the dangers and give the death count of exact mountains... To be fair, most of those who traveled to our village in particular behaved. …for the most part. If they bother to book tickets, means they usually go to the museum, not to scale mountains. It houses artwork and some photography, nothing fancy. But there are many half-abandoned roads all around the bases of the mountains and one popular scenic trail to the east. Many who climb and decide to wander on their own have no intention of visiting local residents,” HyunJin sighed again, thinking of the smudged horde of tourists’ faces. “It was my first job, unofficial and self-imposed. I go out to find - or more likely just stumble on - any and bring them to my village’s clinic if they need help. Or guide them out. I roam mountains daily, almost all the time… Whenever I am free from helping the family museum or, previously, from homeschooling,” HyunJin grimaced, thinking of her sweat-earned education. She added, explaining. “Homeschooling .”

When she mentioned studying, Gon unconsciously sat straighter, posture turning animated. As HyunJin said the last part, he nodded, groaning in exasperation.

“I know! Aunt Mito always says it's important and has me studying for hours ! It is always so boring and hard . She says I need it and that children at school have to do more - but that doesn’t make subjects any easier!”

HyunJin gasped, also sitting more attentively. Finally, someone who understood! “Yes! I once went to this one school when I visited a city to ask children around - and they had five days of six and a half hours of studying daily! That does not account for homework time! And any extracurricular schools some children go to. They showed me their textbooks and all.” She huffed. “Homeschooling was tough, but regular studying sounds even worse .”

HyunJin had her doubts if she would have been able to live through that.

Gon gaped at her, hands flying to his head. “Oh no, really?! She must’ve told the truth! I thought she made that up just to scare me!”

“ Go fish ,” said HyunJin with a weak smirk. “You have several years more of that ahead.”

Gon sighed, dropping arms by his side, shoulders dropping down. “Which year are you on?”

Despite posing against a twelve-year old, HyunJin half-smirked. “Finished two years ago.”

She felt smug about that. The only drawback she had on that smugness was in the deal HyunJin and her mother made several years ago - her mom agreed to let her go to the Hunter’s Exam only after she finished her curriculum. So HyunJin hurried to complete everything as soon as she could - even the extra stuff she suspected was sneakily added by her mom - only to find that the paper she signed had a fineprint that wasn’t just for visual authenticity. She had to finish the curriculum and be eighteen at the time the Exam began.

HyunJin always double-checked any deals and agreements she had after that.

“No way!” Gon threw his head back, fingers digging into his hair. “I hoped you were also behind!”

“Thanks. It was my mom’s condition, to finish it before I could take the Exam.”

As she sighed, briefly mourning her short-sightedness back then, Gon adorned a face of wonder. “Woah, I am so glad I only had to fish out Lord of the Lake to be let to come here! That is much easier!”

She blinked. “Lord of the Lake?”

HyunJin nodded along as Gon described the giant fish and the three-day patience test he had to catch it.

“We only have oversized lizards called... What is their proper name?.. Mourning Redhorned lizards.” HyunJin closed eyes, tappin her chin, before amending. “Them, and a Bald Guardian who is rarely seen close to human habitat, but is seen. It is old and lives in solitude, mostly eating those lizards.” HyunJin looked back to Gon. “It attacked cattle previously, but shepherds scared him away with their poor shooting. Their rifles don’t get much use anymore, but they sometimes carry those old things on pastures more as a threatening gesture,” HyunJin snorted. “Who knows if Baldie actually remembers the weapon or only the danger, but it avoids human settlements.

“The only ‘real’ faunal danger to wanderers is one elderly lion who lives several peaks over,” scratched her chin HyunJin in concentration. “But it doesn’t really travel anywhere close to my mountain.” 

Gon absentmindedly nodded, pondering. “Nothing like that back home. Some foxbears, but they don’t attack humans outside of when they are with a cub and somebody tresspasses their territories... Maybe that is why many people carelessly wander and get lost regularly on our island. We don’t have as many tourists either - we are a simple fisherman's island, those who come mostly use the port to transfer ships.” He frowned. “The worst is during the rain season - many who travel deeper into the island slip or get caught in the river currents. That doesn’t happen too often - we usually get to warn them. Some visitors still slip through though. I always search for them afterwards - their relatives come to ask and grieve. Or even lash out.”

HyunJin nodded in understanding. “I know the feeling.” 

Sometimes she wasn’t fast enough as she carried them down or found an already-corpse altogether. Rarely, fingers were pointed at her , but there was nothing HyunJin could do about that irrational anger.

She was at loss what to do with calm criers too - she could give them condolences, but was unable to pacify without pointing out it was the deadman’s choice and they were the one responsible for their death.

She cleared .

“Hello, I wear tight jeans and an oversized hoodie, never told anyone where I went and can’t climb a tree - of course I can scale this mountain up, no problemo!” grimaced HyunJin in a high-pitched voice. 

Gon burst out laughing. She knew he knew she knew.

“There are a couple in September every year - freshman students from the universities in the city like to travel on the weekends, drunk on their newfound freedom.” HyunJin told him. “Or just drunk. That one also happens. I got really good at first aid that way.” 

The first time HyunJin dragged someone down as not-yet-a-teenger, freaking everyone out, her mom sat her down and taught the basics. And now it helped her to get her target’s tag.

She really didn’t get why her mom never tried the Hunter Exam-

Oh, right. They were in the middle of something.

“So,” sobered up HyunJin, “this was really nice - we get each other well. Remind me to give you the address after the Exam, I think you would enjoy my home. Now.” She leveled her gaze on the boy. “How can I help with your problem?”

Gon tilted his head, not getting the hint.

“Do you need help getting your tag back?” explained HyunJin her assumption.

Gon’s shoulders dropped a bit, his gaze lowering to the ground. “Ah. No, I still have it.”

“Then do you need help with your target?” tried HyunJin.

The boy shook his head, looking down on his bandaged palms. “No. I’m done with that too.”

…Okay. Then what was the problem?

“Congratulations?..” trailed down HyunJin.

Gon clenched fists with rising fire in the eyes. His lips went tight in displeasure as he pulled his knees back up to his chest, coiling around them, closing off.

HyunJin was officially lost.

“ Why are you angry then? Did something bad happen?”

“I…” started Gon, then bit it down, changing the course. “My target was Hisoka.”

Oh. 

“Oh.”

“I came up with a plan on how to snatch his tag without fighting.” Wait, he said he got his target’s tag. Gon must’ve succeeded. That was… terrifying in its own way. “It took me several days of training and stalking him, until I finally got it. The perfect opportunity. I snatched it just as he went for the kill of the other examinee.” He mimicked the gesture of holding something with one hand above the other and jerking them up in an arch.

That cleared up the close-by body of her target’s target that HyunJin found. “With your fishing pole.”

He nodded, bitterly scowling. “But I was too careless. My own target watched me for two whole days and I never knew. He followed me and knocked me down.” Gon clasped his fist several times. “A paralytic. I couldn’t move and he simply took both tags. 

“It was horrible. I could only lay there, useless, as he praised me and went away… Several minutes later, Hisoka returned with his head and those tags. He,” Gon seethed, making a slow inhale, “gave them to me. Returned them. I wanted him to take it back, his tag - I didn’t need his pity. To take it back and not give it to me like a hand out to someone weak .”

HyunJin silently watched as Gon grit his teeth, the apple long forgotten. His fists began shaking.

“But he refused. And punched me. Said he would take it back only when I could repay him in kind.” He swallowed and his voice turned hushed. “I felt so helpless.” Gon’s face scrunched, pushing back bitter tears.

HyunJin turned away, giving him a modicum of privacy. 

It took a while for Gon to compose himself again and breathe out. His voice was quieter than before and emptier, defeated.

“Then I found this hollow and waited out the rain. Then you found me. That's it.”

Jesus Christ.

HyunJin thought for a minute as they sat in silence.

“Do you want my honest opinion or do you want no opinion at all?”

Gon sullenly poked one of the roots. “Opinion.”

Her eyes found his and held steadily. “I think you managed to accomplish an incredible feat and had no hand outs for that second tag of yours,” said HyunJin bluntly. “You devised the plan, prepared for it and executed to a T. You waited for the right moment and stole the tag from Hisoka of all people. It is unreal. Almost unbelievable.” HyunJin shook her head, slowly getting fired up herself at the boy’s obstinacy. “Unless you did something like that before or truly one of a kind , it is reasonable that you lost track of everything beside your goal. You are the only one who can’t accept it. I think so, your target - Hisoka - thinks so, your hunter thought so as well… You can’t possibly be beating yourself down for not blocking a punch from a bloodthirsty killer as you laid paralyzed-”

“I pushed myself to stand by th-” interrupted Gon, correcting, but HyunJin had none of that.

“Even more so! You overpowered a paralytic on your sheer will! Gon, it is amazing and certainly praiseworthy! Just because you can’t make Hisoka take the tag back isn’t the end - it simply means you can’t do it yet . You made an experienced fighter, a proficient murderer acknowledge you - Gon, this is not what a ‘helpless’ person can say!”

HyunJin put the remaining apples on a wide enough log and stood up.

“If you are so insistent in marinating yourself in pity, go ahead, it’s up to you. But at least admit that you have successfully finished arguably the most dangerous hunt of all on this island and deserve to submit Hisoka’s tag.”

HyunJin picked up her backpack and stood for a second longer, seeing if there was anything she wanted to add.

As no more words came to her, she turned around. “Meet you at the finish line.” 

She strode into the solitude of the forest. 

Only silence followed her.