Chapter Text
You were going to die.
Running desperately through the woods, tears staining your face, all you could feel was an impending and terrifying doom settle over you, a fear of losing your life so intense you were afraid it was you who was willing it into existence. It wasn't your imagination though. Whatever was happening, whoever it was - they were strong. You didn't need to be a skilled fighter to know that it was only a matter of time before you were found and killed.
Okaa-san... Obaa-san...
Bare feet padding along the cobbled road, you tried to ignore the screams of anguish and fury around you. You tried to ignore the metallic scent that hung heavily in the air. Worst of all, you tried to ignore the dead bodies on the ground, blood splattered everywhere, and black holes where eyes had once been.
Finally making it to your own home, you slammed open the already broken door, causing it to fall off the one measly hinge that it was still attached to.
"No.... No!"
You threw up. What had been your breakfast now splattered on the ground, you continued to dry heave and gag at the sight before you, the salt of your tears and the acidic taste of your bile on your tongue. It didn't do much for the already destroyed home, bodies strewn out across the house. Your sister and her friend. Your father. Even your grandmother. Nobody was spared from the massacre, everything painted a bright, sinister carnelian.
"[Y.../n].... is that.... you?"
The voice that called your name came out choked, and you whipped your head to the side to see an even more gruesome sight, causing you to sob even louder. Your mother was sitting up, back propped up against the wall and still alive. Barely. Even now you could tell she was on the brink of death, life fading out from her. She, like the rest of the room, was covered in a gooey red, and you were horrified to realize that most of it was probably her own. With her stomach torn open as if it had imploded, a pink trail of her organs hanging out, you cried even louder, not caring if you were found by your pursuant.
The worst part were her eyes - or lack-there-of. Probably assuming she was dead, they had taken her eyes from her.
"[Y/....n].... come..... ere...." Her voice came out broken, and you complied, crawling over and smearing blood all over your hands and clothes.
Now in front of her, she fumbled for a moment before grabbing your hands, and you felt a cool metal contrast against your mother's clammy skin.
Sighing, her head fell back against the wall weakly, her eyelids fluttering close. "Run... live.... my little... butter.... fly...."
Her hands dropped from yours and you continued to cry, calling out for a person who could no longer hear you. "Momma.... momma... noooo.... please wake up.... I need you! Please wake up! MOMMA!"
No matter how much you pleaded, she never woke up.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, you shakily stood up, your face a mess of dirt, tears, snot, and blood. In your hands was a pendant with a ruby tear drop, one you had never seen before but was beautiful if it weren't for the smears of blood on the gold chain. It wasn't a family heirloom. Did your mother perhaps grab this from one of the killers?
"Let's do one more sweep of the town. Not everybody's dead yet."
The voice that came out was fairly close, and you felt yourself freeze up at the thought of being found.
Run... Live...
Your mother's voice echoed in your brain, and your eyes, burning a red hue from all of the emotional distress, darted towards the shattered window opposite the door. Without a second thought, you lunged forward and dived out the window, glass shards tearing at your clothes and skin as you unceremoniously hit the ground with a loud thwunk. You heard a shout behind you, no doubt at the noise you made, but you didn't hesitate to look back as you broke into a sprint, vaguely aware that you had pursuers again.
Your legs were sore, muscles were screaming, and you knew they - whoever they were - were getting close. Up ahead, you saw a clearing. No, not a clearing. The rocky drop gave way to a cliff, and you skidded to a stop as you turned around, coming face to face with a guy barely taller than you, face covered with a bandana and clothes splattered with blood. In his hands was a sword, and you felt your heart beat wildly.
This was it. You were going to die.
The man's already narrowed eyes focused in on the pendant in your hands, and you had a feeling he was scowling underneath the bandanna. "That necklace. I own it," he said, accent unrecognizable and his words somewhat broken. You clutched onto it tighter, and out of fear, took a step back.
Mistake.
Even the mystery assailant had no time to react as you plummeted downwards towards rushing water, and you squinted your eyes shut, knowing this was the end. You were falling, falling, falling towards your death.
You screamed.
And you screamed.
Your voice was hoarse by the time you realized you had only been dreaming, your blankets thrown off the bed in a fit of your terror. Your pillow, unfortunately, had not been so lucky - sometime during your nightmare, fear must have caused you to activate your nen, and the pillow was already in ashes from being the unlucky victim. Your bed, as well, had a small dent where it had crumbled away.
You're okay. You're okay. Maybe if you repeated that like a mantra, it'd be true.
Slowly sitting up, you placed the back of your hand on your forehead, feeling how clammy and feverish it was from the intense nightmare. Although, was it really a nightmare? While your memories were scarce, in what you assumed was due to falling off a cliff, you were certain the repeating nightmare of five years now was really a relic of the past. You recalled your family in them. Sort of. Theoretically, you knew they were your family, but you never saw their appearances. Either that, or you just never remembered them when you woke up. The only face you remember was one of the people who had murdered your supposed family.
Subconsciously your hand came up to grasp the pendant you wore around your neck, the cool metal helping you calm down as you stood up on shaky legs and glanced back at the bed, grimacing at the mess. The hotel was going to have a field day with this one, it's a good thing you paid with cash instead of a card. Maybe you could get out of here before they noticed the damage.
Slowly, you grabbed a plastic cup the hotel had provided you and filled it with water from the bathroom, greedily drinking it in one gulp to help get rid of the nausea your nightmare had brought on.
You needed an aspirin. Reaching for the medicine cabinet you paused, taking a moment to glance at yourself in the mirror. Matted and tangled [h/c] hair that currently looked like you spent years in the wild. Eye bags so dark it made you seem sick, pale skin from your lack of sleep. Most noticeable were your eyes - while usually a clear [e/c], they were a bright, burning red, the emotions from your nightmare still strong.
"You look like a mess," you told your reflection sympathetically. She tiredly stared back in agreement.
Managing to take a couple pills for your headache, you glanced at the time and figured it was too late to go back to bed. The sun would be rising soon, and you had too many plans today to sleep in late on accident. Besides... You didn't want to risk another nightmare.
Brushing the mess that was your hair and getting dressed, you soon made yourself look presentable, smiling at yourself in the mirror in satisfaction. It was genuine, but you couldn't hide the tiredness in your features. Oh well. Perhaps people would underestimate you if they thought you were weakened from sleep - they would be sorely wrong.
Gathering your stuff, you left a quick, hastily written apology note on the desk before flitting out of the room, being careful to close your hotel room door quietly so you didn't accidentally wake anybody else up.
You only had a nightmare because you're starting the hunter exam today, you chided yourself, trying to get back into the groove of things as you grabbed a couple of fruits and waters from the hotel's continental breakfast to shove into your bag before setting off. Best be out of here before they get into your hotel room.
You immediately replied to your own thought wryly. Okay, what about the other nightmares from the past five years? Huh?
You didn't respond. You didn't need to.
Going into the building you were pointed to the day before and giving the waiter the secret pass code, you were soon led to the back in what looked to be a private dining room. You sat down, giving him your thanks before the room jolted and started to descend. Ah. It was an elevator.
The last remnants of your nightmare finally faded, the only thing you could do was clutch your ruby red pendant to alleviate your anxieties as the doors finally opened to an underground cavern, revealing the start of what was to be the 287th Hunter Exam.