Killer in Hunter x Hunter

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***

Trey Evans

The sun is slowly setting over the horizon, and the dark clouds thickening in the sky suggest that rain is on the way. This weather, with its gloominess, only adds to the already melancholy mood to which not only I, but everyone else as well, is subjected at the moment. And so, just thinking and looking at the clouds, the first raindrops began to fall from the sky, one of which hit me in the eye. Yeah... They say that when it rains, the air is fresher and full of ozone and various essential oils, geosmin, flavonoids, that sort of thing. It's all very nice, but I don't want any extra drops to get into the room, so I hurried to close the window where a fly wanted to fly in, but didn't have time and ended up staying outside.

Shit, the forecast said sunny weather. Bastards!

It's still quite entertaining to watch the raindrops and listen to the sound of them, so I stayed by the window. Meanwhile, the rest of us are doing our own thing. Christopher is just lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling with his legs dangling from the ceiling. Steve sits on a chair and watches the quietly running TV, which he has turned to his side. Patrick, meanwhile, is sitting at his laptop while simultaneously trying to read a book, and so far he's doing so well.

Wow... what an atmosphere. It just so happens that nobody has anything to do. None at all. Not even an assignment from their bosses for some reason.

By the way... The last assignment was a few days ago. It was the same nightclub hit that Steve took on. And according to Steve himself, that's when he met Alan Lake, who he claimed had been given the exact same assignment. And so after that we all had to ask: what the fuck? Such a thing simply can not be that the bosses made a mistake and sent on the same mission members of two different squads. So there are only two possibilities: either they did it on purpose, or Alan Lake just wanted to fuck us up. Somehow I believe in the second option most of all, because... why would the bosses want to push us together on purpose? What's the point? It doesn't make much sense to me. But still... you can't deny the possibility completely.

All right, enough of this nonsensical theorising. We don't have enough information to know anything.

***

Time was ticking away. The sun had finally set, so I had to turn on the lights in the room. There were no new cases, so the rest of the guys were still doing what they were doing. I was starting to think about going for a walk or sitting down at my laptop, when suddenly Patrick decided to talk.

- Tell me Steve,' he said to Steve, who was still watching TV. - What do you think is the meaning of life? How should it be lived?

-What's the meaning of life? - Steve asked in surprise, and then thought for a few seconds. - Of course you asked. Well, I guess... hmm... I guess you have to live for your own pleasure. Enjoy every day. You gotta appreciate your life. In general... one should live for oneself.

- For yourself?

- Yeah. What's the big deal? It's not unusual, all people live for themselves.

Now Patrick's thinking about it. Apparently Steve's words had struck a chord with him.

Hmm, it's true. What is the meaning of life? I haven't asked myself that question for a long time, and I don't really care about it. Living for yourself? I'm not interested in that kind of thing. To live for the sake of something else, or someone else... I don't know.

The meaning of life... Hmm... What is the meaning of life?..? To tell you the truth... I have no idea. I don't know what I'm living for.

Meanwhile, Christopher had become animated as well. He smirked slightly, then materialised his guitar and began to slowly strum the strings, most likely thinking of something to play.

And his stand is quite interesting. With the sound of his guitar, he is able to both kill and just play as if he were playing a regular guitar. Well, like a normal guitar... The distinguishing feature of his guitar is the sound. It is capable of sounding like a regular acoustic guitar, as well as an electronic guitar, and an electro-acoustic guitar, and so on. But what's even more amazing is that when he plays, you can feel the presence of other instruments, even though he seems to be playing only the guitar. Yeah, it's really amazing. I'm surprised Chris has never performed on stage, by the way. He usually just plays for himself, although with such talent he could easily become a famous rock musician.

And now he's finally finished strumming and started playing.

- It could have been easier,

It could have been better.

Luck would have been in his hand,

Lucky chance

The winds could have wings,

The seas of emerald,

The snows of mother-of-pearl.

You thought it was so simple

So simple it seems.

Hmm, that's an interesting song, and quite unconventional for him. Chris usually favours something heavier and more energetic, but this song is noticeably different.

Meanwhile, Patrick is done with his musings and turns to Steve again.

- But what kind of life is it to live for yourself? It's... it's selfishness. What about other people?

- Well, people are inherently selfish. I don't see anything wrong with that. If you think first of others and then of yourself, you can die before your time.

- And if it's the other way round, others will die, and then there'll be no-one left to help.

- And again, and again, listen,

We breathe in big gulps,

We're broken toys

In the hands of a giant,

♪ In the hands of a giant ♪

And on and on and on, listen, yeah.

Christopher kept playing the song, and it was like Steve and Patrick didn't notice it, and just kept arguing with each other.

- You know, altruism is a bad thing. You put someone else's life before your own, and you end up dead.

- Is that it?

- Yeah. You know, your worldview reminds me of some classic comic book character. They're always trying to save others, but they don't care about themselves. It's all in the name of fucking justice.

- Well, what's wrong with that?

- There's screaming and dancing again,

And the drums are beating

And begging for illusions

Empty glasses.

And the voice of iron trams

Breath of the morning.

You thought it was so simple,

So simple it seems

- Well, I already told you what's wrong with that. Comic books are one thing, but reality is another. You don't live long in reality with that kind of mindset.

- So, what, you're just gonna turn into a scumbag who doesn't care about anyone? Can you even call yourself a human being?

- And again, and again, listen,

We breathe in big gulps,

We are broken toys

In the hands of a giant,

In the hands of a giant

- What's with the scum? All I'm saying is that you should just appreciate your life.

- Hmm. Is that it? Sounds to me like you're just trying to run away from your problems.

- And again, and again, listen,

We're taking big gulps,

♪ We're broken toys ♪

In your hands,

In your hands.

They were silent for a few seconds. Patrick's words seemed to hurt Steve. And I think I understand why.

- It's... it's rubbish,' Steve replied in a low voice. - I'm just looking out for my life. Is that a bad thing? I...I just want to live.

- Hehehe,' a smile appeared on Patrick's face. Apparently, he got what he wanted. - Who the hell are you kidding? I can see you're lying. And it's not just me, everybody else can see it. You're trying to run away from your problems, you want to justify yourself, but deep down you know it's all a lie. I know, I can see that you're not like that.

- What is, will be,

♪ what is, what will be ♪

That's the way it was before,

That's the way it was

Burn without ashes

¶ burn without ashes ¶

Big hopes

Great hopes

The winds should have wings,

The seas of emerald,

The snows of mother-of-pearl.

You thought it was so simple

So simple it seems

- That's all it is, that's all it is.

Steve stopped talking and lowered his head, while Patrick, with a smile on his face, continued to look at his notebook.

Hmm, I think I'm starting to realise something. Patrick didn't just ask Steve that question, no... He wants to get to the bottom of his soul.

- And again, and again, listen,

We're taking big gulps of air,

♪ We're broken toys ♪

In the hands of a giant,

In the hands of a giant

I can't say for sure, but just like Patrick, I've been studying Steve's character for a while now. I don't know if Christopher guesses it, but... Steve's heart is full of contradictions. I don't know the reason why, but it's definitely true. Something's tearing him apart inside. Some kind of conflict. He's trying to convince himself that everything is normal, that it's the way it should be, but at the same time he realises it's not.

Patrick's probably trying to help him with his inner conflict by asking him about it.

- And again, and again, listen,

We breathe in big gulps,

♪ We're broken toys ♪

In your hands,

In your hands.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see how it ends.

Meanwhile, Christopher played the last chords of the song and then took the guitar out of his hands. It was beautiful, though. Though he doesn't write anything of his own, but only performs other people's songs, but he does it cool.

- By the way, - Patrick turned to Steve again. - You're a fatalist. Why do you have to worry about anything? Because if everything is destined by fate, it makes no sense to think about yourself or anyone else first. It's just the way it's supposed to be.

- Erm... well... that's...

- Hey! - Patrick suddenly exclaimed looking at the laptop screen. - Everyone here, there's a new order from the bosses!

I jumped a little on the spot at this sudden and unexpected news.

Wow, I had just forgotten that we had not been given assignments for a long time, and suddenly it appeared. The others were no less surprised, Chris almost fell off the couch.

- So what is it? - Chris asked, heading for the laptop.

- You'll see for yourself. - Patrick answered, looking at the screen in surprise.

Everyone gathered around the laptop and started to read the new order.

- You're kidding!... - surprised Steve.

- Is it serious? - Chris couldn't believe himself.

Any of us expected something like this, but it was the last thing any of us expected.

According to the new order from our superiors, a direct clash with the Hunters' Association is about to begin. In addition to the Association's main base, there are also hunter forces in Yorkshin itself, and it's against these hunters that our unit will have to go.

Dr Diamond

Ah, the human body is like the forest. It would seem that it has already been fully explored, that all the paths have been trampled, and that all kinds of life have long been in the encyclopaedia. But all this is only at first glance. If you just slightly cut through this crust, a lot of interesting things come to light, and when you study them, you will find amazing things. All of it... it's all already learnt, but at the same time it's not. When carefully studied and analysed, one can find many things interesting and new.

Though here it also depends on who you are in this forest. It is hard to surprise an experienced explorer, but a small child will oohing and aahing at the sight of every vessel and stone. The explorer must dig deep to really find something new.

That's the way life is in the forest. Every rock, every branch, every blade of grass fulfils its role. Everything blooms and smells, but just stop moving and everything stops. In such a case, a forest stream immediately comes to mind. As long as it is running, the water in it is clean and suitable for drinking, but as soon as it stops moving and stands still, the blood in it stagnates and then the heart cannot function normally. Water stops flowing through the vessels and eventually the whole body dies.

When movement stops, life stops. It's true what they say, movement is life. Ha, the analogy of the body and the forest fits perfectly! Here's more proof of that statement!

But still... if you make blood move through a body that's been dead for a long time, it won't come back to life. It's not that the brain is dead, it's that the soul has already left the body. And if the soul has been disconnected from the body for a long time, that's the end of it, and it would be very problematic to connect them after so long.

Hmmm..... that's pretty... pretty... so....

Wait a minute, what was I just thinking? Well, fuck it!

- Hey, Doctor, wake up! - There was a voice beside me. - You've gone too deep into your thoughts again.

- Oh, yes, that's right!

Huh, I'd forgotten I was doing an autopsy with Leorio at the morgue. Hmm... now I see why I've gone too deep in my thoughts and started making strange analogies. All because of the corpse. What was I thinking? Anyway, never mind.

- Shall we get on with it, Doctor?

- Yes, yes, of course.

We're almost finished, just a few more areas to dissect and that's it for today.

With a firm and steady hand, I run the scalpel over the lung, then do the same with the heart. Yeah, now the picture is very clear. The deceased was a heavy smoker and cause of death was a heart attack. Although it's also worth noting that the lung condition suggests the deceased had early-stage cancer, but died before he knew it.

That makes sense. What about Leorio?

- Do you understand, Leorio?

- Yes, of course, this time it's no big deal.

I didn't doubt you.

- It's also worth noting that he was highly susceptible to vascular disease. Smoking made it very difficult for the blood to flow. Even now, if you artificially force the blood back through the vessels, you can hear the sound of the blood flowing differently from normal. Normally you hear a clear shuh-shuh-shuh-shuh-shuh, but here...

- Ahem, ahem! I think that's enough Doctor.

-..... Oh, right, that's enough for today, then.

I'm really getting carried away today. Right, just need to enter the necessary data into the report and that's it for today.

***

Whew, we're finally done. Now I can lie on the couch in the resident's lounge and ponder the eternal. I'd talk to Leorio some more, but he's on his way out.

- Listen, Doctor,' Leorio said to me before he left. - I almost forgot to warn you that I won't be able to come to your practice for a while.

- Huh? Why's that?

- Well... the thing is, I've got some important things to do that can't be postponed.

-Oh, that's a shame. How long will you be gone?

- I don't really know. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks. It's complicated.

- Yeah? All right, well, go if you have to, I don't mind.

- Thanks Doctor! See you soon. - said Leorio and left the room.

Ah Leorio-Leorio... you're a good bloke. I admire your hard work, I can see that you really want to be a doctor. I really want to believe that your noble dream will come true. However... you're getting involved in a very dangerous game. In your desire to help your friends, you're taking huge risks. Ehhh... you were wrong to go for it, very wrong. You shouldn't be part of this madness. You don't belong there. However, I know very well how stubborn you are, and alas... but it's not something I can stand against. But still... I beg you... be careful.

***

It's been dark for a while now, and I should really go home, but... I don't feel like it. Screw it, I'll sleep here! As always...

Suddenly there was the sound of approaching footsteps in the corridor. Who is it? Is Leorio coming back? No, I don't think so. The cleaning lady? Perhaps. Although... the sound is still a little different.

A few seconds later, the door opened and another one of my students, whom I haven't seen in a while, entered the resident's room. Well, he's a very tentative pupil.

- Hello Doctor, long time no see. How are you? - he asks with a smile on his face and optimism in his voice.

This is one of the lieutenants of the notorious criminal organisation Passione, Formaggio. He asked to be my student in order to become a veterinarian, but something lately rarely goes to classes.

- Hello Formaggio. I haven't seen you in a fortnight. Have you changed your mind about studying with me?

- No way, Doctor! I'd love to keep coming to your classes, but the fact is, the situation in the organisation is very difficult at the moment. And you must realise that yourself.

- Mm-hm. I understand. It's a shame. It's a real shame.

- Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it.

- I understand. So, why are you visiting me now?

- I just wanted to see how it was going. You know what I'm talking about.

Hmm... regarding those questions... it's been a while since I've been asked that. Must be a month. Is the hour of judgement approaching?

- Oh, that... As for the serum, it's a work in progress. Creating something that can save you from THAT kind of contagion... that's pretty hard, even for me.

- But it's still possible?

- Well... yes, in principle.

- Well, that's good. You're the only one who can do it. What about the other one?

- What else could there be? No-one so far. Zero.

- Hmm, that's how it is... Well, it won't be for long anyway. There's a war coming, and there'll be plenty of casualties, including our candidates.

- That's true... But you realise...

- Yes, I realise. We're all slaves to fate. And now goodbye, Doctor.

Without another word, Formaggio left the office and headed for the exit. And you could clearly hear the optimism in his voice was gone. Although, given what he was about to be involved in, that was not surprising.

I understand. I understand perfectly.

***

The hands on the universal clock are getting closer and closer to the appointed hour. And the master of the clock is looking forward to it all. He's waiting for the climax of his great game and then the epilogue. Ah, that huge giant that so adores playing with his toys. Though one has to ask, is it really all just a game? Or is it more serious than that? Is it all in the name of a greater cause? Ah, how could we, mere toys, understand the plans of its greatness.

But it's not that simple, even for us. Even for me.

By opening my consciousness, to understand the great, I was still able to let a piece of understanding into my mind and my body. I opened myself to the entire universe. In an attempt to achieve maximum synchronisation with the cosmic waves, I was still able to do it. Maybe not completely, but I was able to do it. The cosmos flows through my veins, filling me with its energy and power. The cosmos is one with me, and I am one with the cosmos.

Soon...soon enough will be the moment when the stars will come into great resonance with each other. Four constellations are moving towards each other, and which one will prove to be stronger and more majestic... an unfathomable mystery even to me.