Kisho fell into an extremely awkward silence.
He had been careless. He didn't dodge. The old driver flipped the car; the old captain capsized the ship.
He—Kisho—was a Nen user, playing a completely unfair game of hide-and-seek with a six-year-old child in the great forest… and he still got caught.
—Look, that's Spider Number Eight, using Nen to play hide-and-seek with a six-year-old kid, and still getting caught~
Kisho: "..."
Tsk, good thing no one knows about this embarrassment, otherwise how would he keep mixing on the scene!
Actually, in the instant before being caught, Kisho sensed something was off and activated "En"—and it was precisely because of that that he realized the one approaching him silently was Gon and not someone else. Otherwise, he would have instantly released "Ren" and, depending on the situation, chosen to counterattack or retreat.
But Gon in that moment completely surprised him.
He couldn't sense from the Gon approaching him the "aura" a normal six-year-old child should have.
—Like an inexperienced Nen user using "Zetsu": deliberately restraining their aura, yet still letting a trace leak out.
In other words, this little guy hadn't learned Nen at all, yet he was already able to use "Zetsu".
Kisho turned around and looked at Gon, who was standing behind him, laughing brightly, giving him a thumbs-up, and he praised him without holding back:
"That was amazing! You won!"
Praised by the boy he had always regarded as a target, Gon bashfully raised his hand and rubbed his head.
"Eh-heh~"
Kisho joked:
"So you can hide your aura too, huh? I didn't notice you approaching me at all."
"Mm~ Because I felt that every time you always noticed I was nearby before I noticed you, so…"
Gon scratched his head shyly.
"I was copying your movements and breathing, and then…"
He gently raised his hand and pressed it against his own heart.
"I can make my heartbeat quiet down—turns out it really works, lots of small animals can't notice me coming at all!"
Kisho's eyes widened.
Looks like in these four months, the one who gained a lot wasn't just him alone.
As expected of Ging's son. Just by imitation, he could already grasp three or four parts of it; he hadn't even learned Nen yet, and he already had the prototype of the skill "Zetsu".
This was probably talent and bloodline—if Gon were written into a novel, he would definitely be the main character without question.
Kisho thought for a moment and continued asking:
"Even if I couldn't notice you, it shouldn't have been that easy for you to find me, right?"
"Because I knew it was almost impossible to find you in the forest, so last night I didn't sleep at all~"
Probably feeling like he was cheating, a blush appeared on Gon's cute little face.
"This morning, after you got up, I just kept following behind you."
After explaining, the hard-won victory made Gon excited, his eyes widening.
In those amber-colored eyes, pride was practically overflowing as he continued:
"But I was afraid you'd suddenly disappear again, Kisho, so I specially picked the moment when you looked the most relaxed, eh-heh-heh-heh~"
Kisho fell silent.
Inertial thinking, plus underestimating his opponent—this time, he really didn't lose unfairly at all.
Looking at Gon's smug face, Kisho snorted coldly, then pounced and fiercely tickled him:
"You're way too proud!"
...
"Kisho, are you leaving tomorrow?"
Whale Island—by the lake where Kisho and Gon first met, the two figures sat side by side just like the first time they had seen each other.
Kisho nodded lightly.
"That's right, because there are very important things I have to go do."
"...Oh."
Gon showed a dejected expression.
"After you leave, there won't be anyone to play with me anymore."
Although it wasn't news he wanted to hear, Gon didn't say any of the things other children might say, like "Don't go" or "Stay".
"When I have time later—"
Kisho thought about it, then didn't continue with that kind of empty promise.
He changed his wording instead.
"After I go back, I'll ask Aunt Mito to leave me a phone number. If I can come play with you, I'll call you in advance."
"Of course, you can call me too. In some situations I might not be able to pick up, but once I see it, I'll call you back."
"When you grow up and if the conditions allow, I can also take you to play outside Whale Island."
"Really?"
Gon turned his head and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Why would I lie to you?"
Kisho smiled and reached out to rub Gon's hedgehog-like hair.
"You're my second best friend, after all. I wouldn't lie to my friend."
"Second?"
Gon was curious.
"Then who's the first?"
Kisho fell silent for a moment, then revealed a gentle smile.
"My first friend is a bit withdrawn and doesn't really like chatting with people—but when he's willing to come out, I'll definitely bring him to meet you."
Gon nodded vigorously.
"Okay~"
Kisho smiled, then slowly stood up.
He reached out his hand to Gon.
"It's about time. Let's go back~"
...
The next day.
Kisho stood in front of the small tavern, wearing new clothes bought with the "salary" Mito had forcibly stuffed into his hands, bidding farewell to Gon, Mito, and Grandma.
Mito looked at Kisho, who was fully prepared.
"Remember to write letters to Gon and to us!"
"Eh…"
Kisho scratched his head.
"Can't I just call or send emails? Writing letters is really troublesome."
"No."
Mito raised one finger and shook it.
"Letters feel more intimate. When you read a letter, you can also feel the mood you were in when you wrote it."
"...I understand."
Kisho sighed helplessly and agreed.
"Oh, right, aren't you taking your guitar with you?"
Grandma suddenly remembered something and pointed at the guitar leaning against the tavern counter.
Kisho said:
"I'm not taking it. I'll leave it to Gon as a keepsake."
Gon tilted his head.
"But didn't Kisho say a few days ago that you weren't taking it because it was too big and inconvenient to carry?"
Gon blinked.
"And back then you even showed a heartbroken expression, saying it was too expensive and you really couldn't bear to part with it…"
The exposed Kisho instantly had black lines all over his face.
So the "innocent and adorable friend" was totally an illusion—this guy was clearly a black-hearted angel!
"Hahahaha~"
Seeing Kisho's expression, cheerful laughter rang out in front of the tavern, and the air was filled with joy for a moment.
Kisho coughed lightly, trying to ease the unbearably awkward atmosphere for himself. Then he turned serious and bowed slightly toward Mito and Grandma.
"Thank you so much for taking care of me during this time!"
After expressing his thanks, Kisho said softly:
"Then, I'm heading out~"
He slowly turned around, carrying the farewells of Gon and the others with him, and strode forward toward the rising sun.
The Hunter Exam—he was coming!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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