Chapter 6: New x Secrets x Revealed

Gon followed Netero into a familiar looking room. It was empty, say for the door. Netero had discarded his robe and stood a few feet off the center on one leg, spinning the ball atop his finger. "Try to take the ball from me by any means," Netero explained the rules of the game. Netero originally planned to use one arm and one leg, but he knew from Jaymin that the boy already had access to Nen. No matter how competent or incompetent, Netero could not underestimate a Nen user to such a degree.

"Sounds fun!" Gon chirped. He let his aura flare to life as he prepared to leap.

Netero let loose a small bit of aura in response. Gon knew that the elderly man had much more than he exerted, but as far as he knew, the old man was facing a child. Gon had thought about asking Netero to hold the ball and tag it with Bungee Gum, but he knew that Netero wasn't stupid.

"Godspeed!" Gon shouted before dashing at blinding speeds, electricity coursing through his body. Netero pushed some aura into his arm as he moved the ball away from Gon's grasp. Gon managed to touch the ball with three of his fingers, but the ball didn't fall out of the chairman's hands.

Gon then activated Whirlwind, programming his nerves to react whenever a person moved withing a 10-meter radius, which was about the diameter of the circular room they were in. Gon knew that no one would disturb their game. Since Netero was tossing the ball around playfully and hopping on one leg as an attempt to taunt the boy, Whirlwind started to take effect immediately.

"Not bad, boy," Netero said as he dodged Gon's lightning fast attacks.

"Too bad you can't use your ability, Netero-san," Gon said as he made another swipe for the ball. Netero then made the mistake of tossing the ball to move it away from the boy's hand. Gon instantly deactivated Whirlwind and shot a pink tendril of Nen at the ball, causing it to stick. As Netero jumped up to grab it, Gon yanked his arm backwards, causing the ball to rocket towards him. Netero dashed for the boy, but the ball had already reached his hand. "Looks like I win."

"Looks like you did," Netero stopped mid-dash, sighing. He realized he had made a big mistake in underestimating the boy. "I would say you should already be qualified to get your license. Maybe I can get it for you now so we can have a rematch in a more… open area."

"Ah! That's very kind of you, but I'll pass." Gon chirped. "I want to spend more time with my friends here and the exam is really fun!"

"I see," Netero chuckled.

"I don't think that's the reason why you called me here, though," For the first time since he arrived in the past, Gon dropped his façade. His cheerful eyes now shone with cynicism.

"I guess you're right," Netero replied, noticing and adapting to the shift of tone coming from the boy. If the boy's current strength wasn't something that he didn't take seriously, his potential was. "One of my associates suspects that you have been to the Dark Continent."

"I'm glad you're cutting straight to the point," Gon sighed. "I have."

"The papers I received state that you're only twelve years old," Netero said. "Some of the most powerful nations have entered and barely made it out. May I ask how you survived there?"

"I guess there's no avoiding it," Gon sighed. He knew that Netero didn't care for the Dark Continent, but someone who can survive it, no matter how long, could have the potential to be a huge threat. "My name is Gon Freecs, and I am 56 years old."

-

"I see," Netero said. It had taken about an hour for Gon to recount the important details of his story. "That's quite the tale, boy."

"I'm quite aware," Gon said, a tick appearing on his forehead. He hated that Netero still called him "boy," but Netero was twice his age, so Gon really couldn't protest. "Shame I can't take your ability anymore."

"As much of a shame that would be, I would like to stay alive," Netero chuckled dryly. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"First, I need to teach Killua how to use Nen," Gon replied with a thoughtful look on his face. "Most of my abilities are locked, so I can't take on Beyond right now, so for now, I'm going to train. During this first year, I'm not going to deviate too far from the original timeline. It won't be bad to get some training."

"I see," Netero said as Gon turned to walk away. "Boy."

"Yes, Netero-san?" Gon stopped and turned his head so Netero can only see half of his face.

"I won't go so easy on you next time," Netero said, his signature smile plastered on his face.

"That's good to know," Gon said, smiling genuinely before turning to walk away.

-

As Gon closed the door behind him, Netero sat down on the floor. Time travel, huh? Netero chuckled to himself. One thing Netero learned in the Dark Continent is that anything goes. Netero then turned his thoughts to Beyond. Netero was way past his prime and his son was much more cunning than he was. If Netero tried to face Beyond head on, even with a plan, there's a significant chance that he would not survive the ordeal.

'I'm trusting you,' Gon, Netero closed his eyes and sighed. He really was falling behind. 'Please deal with my unruly son.'

-

Ging looked at the set of double doors and let out a shaky breath. He hadn't died too long after Cheadle did, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. There was probably something, anything that he could have done to save her. Cheadle was his best friend. She had been there for him so many times and the one time she needed him, he failed.

Ging sighed, and with a heavy heart, he opened the doors. What lay beyond was an empty conference room, say for Cheadle, who was cleaning up the large conference table, her back turned to Ging. "Hey, Little Pup," he said lazily, causing the future chairwoman to jump. "Sorry I'm late."

"Ging!" She turned around with speed that rivaled Killua's Godspeed. She looked annoyed at first, but when she looked at the man, her expression softened. "My god, you look like shit. What happened?"

"Yeah, a fuckton of alcohol can do that to you," Ging shrugged. He did look like shit. His clothes were full of rips and tears, his hat had several holes where his hair poked out, and there were cuts, bruises, and gashes all over his body. The hunter was annoyed at the amount of alcohol it took for him to get wasted. Even after that, his intoxication only lasted about an hour, the hangover hitting immediately after.

"Didn't you say you were investigating something important?" Cheadle asked, narrowing her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "That was only this afternoon."

"Yeah," Ging said, looking wistfully at the night sky through the windowed back wall. "Did you know I have a son?"

"You? A son?" Cheadle scoffed. "Who's next? Netero-dono?"

"Too soon," Ging sighed, causing Cheadle's eyes to widen in shock. The man decided it was a good idea to cut Cheadle off before she could say anything. "That's besides the point. Shortly after he was born, a certain man came after me, killing his mother in the process. I barely escaped with my son and my life. I dropped him off at my sister's place so he would stay safe."

"Wait," Cheadle held her hands up in a time out position. "First of all, you're stating that there is someone strong enough to make you run for your life? I didn't know that was possible."

"You really don't want to know," Ging said, a scowl forming on his face. "It's just… I feel like a shitty father. Even when I found out that he wasn't after me anymore, I was still too scared to see him."

"That's nice and all," Ging theorized that Cheadle didn't intend to come off as mean as she did, but genuinely didn't know what to say. "But why are you telling me all this?"

"I was recently able to get into contact with him," Ging said, shifting his gaze so he was looking at his tattered shoes, feeling insecure for the first time in decades. "I don't know what to do."

-

Killua was staring out at the night sky from a window. He was happy to have met Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika, but he felt something off about the boy. There were brief moments were Gon's eyes would change. They would be cheerful and happy, but every now and then, his eyes would flicker with pain and sorrow. Killua knew those eyes. He saw them every day when he looked in a mirror. He learned how to hide off his pain at a fairly young age, but when he was alone, he would let himself relax, allowing those pained eyes of his show themselves.

"Killua!" Killua jumped around, the bones on his fingers extending. He looked like he was about attack at a moment's notice, but eased up when he saw that the person who called him was Gon.

"Jeez, Gon," Killua chuckled, the killer intent fading from his eyes. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Killua, you shouldn't use that language," Gon said innocently. "Anyways, do you want me to teach you that really cool thing?"

"Sure," Killua shoved his hands in his pockets. "We have two hours, I think."

"That's enough time," Gon said, thinking back to when Wing had first taught the two how to use Nen. "Can we go to your room?"

"Sure," Killua turned and led Gon to his room. He flipped on the lights and closed the door. "What is this cool thing?"

"It's called Nen!" Gon chirped in his usual chipper tone. "It's the ability to harness your life force!"

"Why would I need that?" Killua asked. He was a trained assassin. He didn't need some stupid life force trick.

Gon walked over and grabbed a tissue from a tissue box, channeling his aura into it. He threw it at the wall, causing it to cut itself partially through the wall, similar to Wing's demonstration.

"Woah!" Killua exclaimed. He had to admit, turning a piece of tissue paper into a bladed weapon would be useful, if not just plain cool. "What else can you do with this Nen thing?"

"Ano…" Gon thought for a short while. "Well, there was this one girl who can predict the future without fail and… oh! I think Xeno-san once made a huge dragon!"

"Xeno-san? You met my grandfather?" Killua asked, slightly shocked.

"No, but I was close by when he made the dragon," Gon said, internally chastising himself for opening his big mouth again. "Anyways, do you want me to teach you?"

"Yes!" Killua said. Making a huge dragon sounded awesome!

"Alright," Gon said, placin a finger on Killua's forehead. They have only known each other for a day, technically. Gon reasoned that Killua might get the wrong idea. The boy suppressed a chuckle. Killua tended to jump to conclusions. "You ready?"

Killua nodded. Gon heaved a sigh and sent a small amount of his aura into Killua, opening his aura nodes. In a bright flash of white, Killua's aura flared to life. "Woah!" He looked at himself and the newfound aura seeping out of him. "This is so cool!"

"Right now, your life force is literally flowing out of your body," Gon explained, causing Killua's eyes to widen comically. "Try to concentrate. Your aura is an extension of yourself. Try to pull it back and concentrate the output into sort of a bubble around you."

Killua nodded and closed his eyes. Slowly but surely, his aura began to mold into the familiar form of Ten.

"Good!" Gon chirped and Killua opened his eyes. "How does it feel?"

"It feels like wearing an invisible set of clothes," Killua responded.

"That is Ten," Gon explained. "Your aura covers your body, kind of like a protective barrier."

"That's useful," Killua mused to himself.

"Now," Gon chirped, his own aura flaring to life. "Let's spend the next two hours practicing Ten!"

-

"For the last time, you need to take a shower!" Cheadle yelled. The triple star hunter practically dragged Ging back to her place when he said he would just go to a bar that night.

"Little Pup, I told you I'm fine," Ging waved his hand dismissively. "I shouldn't even be here."

"Ugh, I can't believe you, you insufferable mother-" Ging took the buzzing in his pocket to tune out his friend. He looked at the phone to see who it was. He tapped the phone, accepting the call.

"Ging, I need you to report to the Hunter Exams," Netero's voice started.

"And now you're ignoring me?!" Cheadle roared. "Listen here-"

"Yeah, yeah, give me a sec," Ging said, putting Netero on speaker. "What did you want, Jiji?"

"Ging, this is about your son," Netero said. "Please report to the Hunter Exams immediately."

That shut Cheadle up. More of the fact that Netero had called in the first place. The old man knew that Ging would usually just tell him off, so he never bothered to call unless it was important.

"What about him?" Ging asked. If it were his past self, he wouldn't have given two shits about the boy, but Ging was a different person now. "Is he hurt?"

"Quite the opposite," Netero chuckled dryly. "I challenged him to a game, and he won."

Ging and Cheadle looked at each other, dumbfounded. Netero only played one type of game with Hunter Exam Participants. The next phrase that came out of their mouths was uttered in complete unsion.

"What the fuck."