HUNTER'S HORIZON
On the coast of a merchant island, ships arrived and departed. One ship stood out due to its uniqueness: it wasn't a merchant vessel but carried people, or at least it was designed for it. The captain, a man in his sixties, stood on the right side of his ship, observing the passengers with great interest.
Meanwhile, a young boy with blond hair and brown eyes, wearing a blue tabard adorned with a red hem and a white undersuit, arrived at the port. Carrying only a small canvas bag over his left shoulder, he headed towards the ship. Standing in line, it was soon his turn to board. On the ship, the young boy had a hexastical expression, like that of an adventurer embarking on his first journey. He followed the sailors' instructions, stowing his bag in his assigned room in one of the ship's holds—a room with two bunk beds, making it a space for four people.
As the young boy ascended to the ship's deck, he was bumped into by a muscular young man with large brown eyes, black hair styled in spikes, and an outfit that distinguished him on the ship. The young man didn't bother to turn around, acting as if nothing had happened, and continued on his way to the holds. Instead of displaying a vexed expression, a smile appeared on the young boy's face as his eyes sparkled.
Continuing his journey, he reached the deck, where he could see that they had already set sail. His gaze then turned to the port side of the ship, where a young boy with long, spiky black hair, wearing a green jacket with reddish edges, short green shorts, and laced green boots, was peacefully gazing at the waters and the surrounding landscape.
"Isn't it beautiful?" asked the young man with blond hair, approaching his counterpart with spiky black hair.
"Indeed, it's truly beautiful," replied the seemingly unbothered black-haired boy.
The black-haired boy then turned towards the blond boy.
"Hi! I'm Gon. Nice to meet you!" he introduced himself abruptly, extending his right hand to the blond boy.
'Even though I approached you first, you're the one introducing yourself first,' thought the blond boy.
"Nice to meet you, Gon. I'm Kurapika," replied the blond boy, shaking hands with Gon.
"You want to be a Hunter too, I presume," Kurapika, the blond boy, asked Gon.
"That's right!" Gon's tone was all energetic as he answered the question.
Kurapika smiled and leaned on the ship's superstructure, gazing at the horizon.
"Why?" Kurapika asked again.
"Huh? What?" said Gon, puzzled.
"Why do you want to become a Hunter?" Kurapika rephrased.
Gon thought for a moment, then answered without hesitation, "It's to find my father and discover why he abandoned everything for this profession."
Gon's candid response brought a smile to Kurapika's face.
"Why are you smiling?" Gon inquired.
"I just thought you're quite an unusual guy for stating your intentions so sincerely to a perfect stranger," Kurapika said, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
"Well, that's because I know you're a good person," Gon said frankly.
To this, Kurapika turned around.
"Hmm, I won't go as far as saying I'm a good person, but you're not wrong to trust me," he declared. "Since you've given me your reasons, I'll also share mine."
Stopping there, Kurapika looked up at the clear, sunny sky.
"I want to go back home, and being a Hunter would allow me to do that," he continued, his face nostalgic.
"Fascinating," said Gon. "So being a Hunter enables such a thing?"
"Being a Hunter is like becoming a free electron," Kurapika replied. He then pointed towards the horizon. "See that horizon? That's how vast the possibilities of this profession are. You said you want to know why your father gave up everything for it, right? I firmly believe it's because through this profession, he discovered that he actually owned nothing."
Gon, remaining very attentive to Kurapika's words, ruminated on the idea, trying to understand.
"Own nothing?" he murmured, attempting to comprehend.
"If you succeed in becoming a Hunter, you'll have the answer," Kurapika smiled.
At that moment, a man's voice echoed throughout the ship, "Approaching storm!"
It was the captain of the ship, an older man with a short and stocky build. His captain's attire consisted of a hat adorned with a whale emblem, a jacket covering a V-neck top with a belt, trousers, and black rubber boots.
Upon this announcement, the entire ship's crew sprang into action to prepare the ship for the incoming storm.
Shortly after, the waters began to churn, causing the ship to sway quite nonchalantly. Then, the clouds darkened, intensifying the turmoil of the waters. In the cabins below, the passengers sought refuge, leaving the crew to handle the storm. However, unable to endure the persistent rocking of the ship, many began to feel dizzy, resulting in bouts of vomiting.
Although quite boisterous, the storm didn't last long. With the sea calmed, the captain descended into the holds to inspect the condition of his passengers. To his disappointment, he found everyone looking seasick. As he was about to label them all as "weak," he noticed three individuals who stood out among the rest: the tall man with black hair was sleeping soundly as if nothing happened, the young boy with spiky black hair was trying to help his cabin mates feel better, and the young blond boy was busy reading a book, having blocked his nose against the smell of vomit from his roommates.
The captain decided to approach the young boy with spiky black hair, finding him more approachable than the other two.
"My boy, didn't you struggle with this storm?" he asked teasingly.
"Grandpa, I went to the deck earlier. I think another storm is coming, and it seems to be more severe than this one." Ignoring the captain's previous question, the young boy replied.
These words from the boy increased the captain's esteem for him even more. Indeed, he and his crew had already noticed that another storm was approaching, which was normal since they deliberately entered a stormy area. However, the little boy in front of him had managed to figure it out so easily.
The captain then smiled. Calling two members of his crew, he ordered them to assess the approach of a second storm and to prepare the lifeboats for those who no longer wanted to continue the journey.
As expected, with the announcement made, everyone decided to take the lifeboats except for the three passengers who were not disturbed by the previous storm.
To that effect, the captain summoned all three of them to his quarters.
"What does this old man want from us?" grumbled the tall young man with black hair.
The three were escorted by a sailor.
"We are the only passengers who have decided to stay. Maybe he wants to know the reasons for our choice," Kurapika, the blond boy, intervened.
"What's it got to do with him? These are our lives," the tall man grumbled again.
Kurapika smiled at the latter's attitude and turned to Gon, the boy with spiky black hair.
"And you? Why do you think he called us?" he asked.
"I don't know. Why speculate since we'll find out soon enough," Gon said.
"Indeed," Kurapika replied with a smile.
After a short walk, they arrived at the captain's cabin, where he invited them to enter.
"Welcome, children," greeted the captain. "Please, take a seat," he invited them.
Gon and Kurapika accepted the offer without complaint, taking a seat on one of the chairs arranged in the room. The tall man, on the other hand, decided to remain standing, displaying a bored expression.
The captain looked at each of them in turn before asking, "Why do you want to become Hunters?"
Gon took the lead, responding first.
"I want to discover what's so extraordinary about this profession that made my father forget everything else."
At Gon's response, the captain stopped smoking his pipe.
"Hmm, looking at you more closely, you remind me of a Hunter I know," he said to Gon.
Upon this, the little boy's eyes sparkled.
"Is your father named Gin?" the captain asked next.
"Yes, yes, yes! Where did you meet him? What is he doing now? Did he talk about me? How is he?" Gon bombarded the captain with questions, apparently thrilled to meet someone who claimed to know his father.
The captain resumed smoking his pipe.
"My boy, all I can tell you is that all the answers will be given to you when you become a Hunter," the captain said, not bothering to answer the multitude of questions.
Gon nodded, firming his determination.
"And you?" the captain continued, now looking at the other two.