Chapter 22: I Hate Sodas

"Haven't seen you guys around before."

I look up and see a fat guy with the number 16. Wonder how long he's been here.

Gon: "You can tell that we're new?"

"More or less."

He jumps off, I step back.

Gon: "What's wrong?"

Esther: "Nothing, just… I'm gonna look around for a bit. Be right back!"

I run off. I can just smell the sodas he carries. I don't like sodas, it tastes funny.

Walking around, I see weird looking people all over. I bump into someone by accident and apologize before running off. Glancing back, he has the number 44. He gives off a dangerous vibe. Looking around for a bit longer, I spot a kid with the number 99. He looks almost the same age as me and Gon. Settling near a wall with few people, I pull out my notebook and start checking off people.

You must be wondering how the whole 'checking' thing works. I simply look at someone and try to see if I remember seeing them on that day. Of course, I could ask around but it's highly unlikely they've heard of cage. A shadow covers me, I look up and see the kid.

"Wow, what's with all the names and numbers? Looking for someone?"

Esther: "…not someone, more like, a lead."

"A lead for what?"

Esther: "To find my home."

"What's your home called?"

Esther: "cage."

"Cage? Never heard of that."

Esther: "Didn't expect you to."

I hear a cry coming from where I walked from. Looking there, I see a person's arms disappear. Number 44 says that he should apologize when bumping into someone. He turns to me and smiles, it sends a shiver down my spine. Could that have happened to me?

"He's dangerous."

Esther: "I've noticed."

"Oh, wait. Be right back."

The kid runs off, he walks up to the fat man for another can of soda. He gives the kid the soda with a forced smile, should I intervene? I walk up to the kid and grab the can. I quickly drink it before he could ask me why I did that. I throw the can to the ground, now no-one will suffer.

Esther: "That tasted disgusting. No wonder I hate sodas. Hey mister, it's best to check your soda cans. I think they're expired."

"Oh, sure. No problem. Sorry about that."

I grab the kids arm and pull him away.

"You knew it was bad, didn't you. Why did you drink it?"

Esther: "So that you wouldn't drink it. Don't worry, I've gone through many different types of poisons. This won't hurt me."

All for creating poisons, I needed to understand it better. And I thought going through it slowly would help. Turns out, after doing it for a long time, you become immune to it. Sitting back at my wall, I put up my book and turn to him.

Esther: "What's your name? My name is Esther."

"Well I'm Killua."