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Ging had been dreading meeting his son for years. Years. He'd been punched in the face for his troubles, when the kid had been hospitalized. Honestly, he didn't care. Everyone he knew had been on and off calling him to tell that they had met 'his kid' for years. It's not like he had a beloved little boy he up and left one day, he hadn't even met the kid! And, well, if he knew how it would go, he wouldn't have resisted so much.
Ging had been on a hunting mission through a coarse forest, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He almost jumped out of his own skin, given he hadn't heard a single leaf crack or a felt nen approach. He grabbed the wrist of his attacker as he twisted back, ready to let his nen out when the person let go of their weight and slipped through his legs, basically somersaulting the both of them
"It's me, Ging." says the man.
"I'm Ging." he replies, just to be annoying.
"I know that, I'm Gon." replies the man patiently.
At that, Going's thoughts come to a halt as he faces the young man in front of him. Doing the math in his head, he figures Gon is supposed to be sixteen. Gon doesn't look as much as him as everyone had promised, and… he's relieved. The young man in front of him is tan and gangly, standing tall - a bit taller than Ging - with his long legs. His eyes were truly alike Ging's, but only the pupils; in their completeness they were kind and patient - and lacked the dark circles -.
Just as Ging starts to weigh the merits of actually running away, Gon grabs him by the shoulders and light blinds his eyes. He's still blinking when he sees Gon admiring the phone. In there, there's a photo of a charming young man with a cheerful smile holding a disgruntled looking Ging who had only one eye open. Damn. He feels himself being let go, and watches Gon do something on his phone like a cowed animal.
"Yeah! Can you believe it? — Don't be like that, Killua. You know why. Come on, I made it in time for my birthday! We can celebrate!" at that, Ging is putting his hand up to say 'no fucking way', but Gon high fives him and starts walking away, back into the forest "I know, I know. Well, I said that you could! I knew I'd find him. No, I really want it, Killu. Can't you just buy me an ice cream cake anyway?"
Ging stays there, bewildered. If he knew all the damned kid wanted was high five and a picture, he wouldn't have to be called 'that guy that was punched in the face because he's a bad father' or hear 'oh, you're Gon's terrible dad' from a couple of kirikos when he was on a excursion. He longs to go back to being called 'fucking Ging' or 'that senseless asshole' again.
He hears an excited "I knew you'd do it." and that's the last of Gon.
✧
Being roped in to be an examiner in the Hunter Exam is a bit of Hunter rite of passage. So, he reasoned, there's no reason for him to do it again. Except, a few years back there has been the whole murderous insect thing which killed or turned plain unusable a bunch of Netero's personal favorites that were a staple on the rotation. How Pariston liked to choose was a mystery, but apparently he needed a few more names on the list, because Ging was on it. Pariston didn't even like Ging. But, then again, maybe that asshole summoned him because he knew that Ging didn't want to do it.
Well, there Ging was, thinking about a stupid test. He doesn't care for the betterment of hunterkind or not wiping everyone out, he just doesn't want to be known as that weak examiner that no one respects. He grudgingly turned in his plans to Pariston, who praised them profusely, making Ging want to redo the whole thing and maybe puke.
When time comes and it's the day of the exam, he's bored out of his mind. Pariston left his test as the second to last one, probably to trap him there indefinitely. He looks around the waiting room and notes down his colleagues: Ninja guy, Clown, the Chef Hunters, a suited friend of Pariston who wasn't very interesting. They were all huddled together watching the current exam on a TV screen. He walked up to stand behind the sofa they were all in.
On the screen, he saw a bunch of candidates. Man, he hoped that there were way less people when it was his turn. He saw that the unknown examiner had set up two boxing rings. The newbies were all collectively shaking in anxiety. As always, there were a few that were shaking in excitement.
Suddenly, the examiner appeared. Or rather, the examiners. Ging never really understood the examiner teams, like, he obviously did on a technical level, but he didn't do well on teams. The Greed Island thing was a one time thing, and he was annoyed enough by that for a lifetime.
The camera zoomed in - the show of it all was draw enough for some examiners, who are the only ones who can watch - the faces of the examiners. First it focused on a lean twenty something with completely white hair who carried himself like someone who's dangerous if they care enough to be. Then it went on to reveal dark hair and amber eyes- Gon? It had been some years since the last time, around five, he thinks.
The white haired announces that whomever wants to fight Gon must get a green number and whomever wants to fight him must get a purple number from the table. Just like that people are fighting for colored badges as if the world is going to end. People are desperate for the purple numbers, probably because they haven't yet gotten the memo that it doesn't mean much that Gon is wide and looks strong and his friend is lean and wry. Not all hunters are strong, sure, but any examiner who asks for a fight is. He doesn't get people, really.
"Number one!" screams Gon. Everyone stops like deers in the headlights. It seems that no one thought if the numbers meant something. Number one was desperate for a trade, and when a few cocky competitors wanted to change with him, white haired guy clapped so loud that some shielded their ears.
"You can use or do anything as long as it gets me out of the ring." Said Gon, obviously in synch with his partner.
They each get to their rings and Ging can't force himself to watch it, after a few mindless fights that obviously didn't take anything from either examiner. He doesn't care enough about Gon's friend to watch his testing too closely, but he chuckles when the newbies see that they were misguided in making a beeline for the lean guy. He karate-chops a bunch of people to unconsciousness and steadily accumulates a pile of people just outside his ring.
Many try to fight Gon. He good naturedly dances around like he's entertaining puppies and letting them get a few harmless swipes in. Some see he doesn't attack back and try to out right push him, to no avail. Some have guns and other assorted weapons, to which Ging first sees Gon's nen. He hadn't even thought about the implication that the boy is a full on Hunter, and finds himself curious for his special abilities.
Finally, someone seems to see the point of the test. It's quite obvious none of them had quite what was necessary to blast Gon out of the ring, so it had to be a test. A group comes up to the ring.
"Which one of you is coming up?" asks Gon knowingly.
"All of us." One of them confidently answers "You said we could bring anything to the ring."
"And you can." says Gon with a teacherly smile.
They end up getting other people to join and crowd the ring so much Gon has no space to be in. He sees that Gon slacks his knees and allows himself to be pushed, but it quite isn't the point.
Interesting kid.
He turns back to Gon's friend, figuring that seeing that there's a trick on Gon's testing would make the other examinees try to figure out white haired guy's test. He is correct, of course.
A tiny child, filled to the brim with excitement, stands parallel to Gon's friend.
"What's your terms?" asks the child.
"My terms?" the examiner questions.
"He said his examinees had to push him out of the ring. You didn't."
"You need to take me out of the ring, like he said." the examiner shrugs.
"Could you please do it, Mr. Killua?" asks the child in a earnest, excited voice.
Killua laughs a full bodied laugh, the kind of one you find yourself looking for a clock to time. Eventually, he simply jumps back to outside the ring.
"Pass. God, you're just like him."
"Who?" The kid cocks his head curiously.
"Forget it, kid."
Then, when the other test taker comes up.
"Uh- Please-"
"You don't have the charisma. Think your own thing."
Ging could see himself liking this guy.
✧
Ging had stayed at the after party. He could admit to himself he was curious about the boy, as every one of his friends refused to say anything about him other than 'he's strong' - "meet him, then" Dwun had said -. He felt strangely safe now that he saw that to Gon, this then years long chase had just been a long game of tag. At twenty one, he didn't seem to have become much more interested in Ging. Overall curious, but not enough - the kind of curious you are when you see a bird really near you but then realize it's a pretty common type -.
He can peripherally see Gon be approached by Clown Man.
"Married, huh?" the Clown asks, and Going thinks a incredule 'no' immediately, absorbing the gossip. His son has knocked someone up, like him.
"You know why you weren't invited, Hisoka." says Gon gently but unyieldingly, like one does when addressing a particularly naughty child.
"Thought I'd whisk the bride away?" Going hears that sardonic voice say. Ging wonders, the way all gossip lovers do - which he won't admit to being -, if Gon's wife is particularly attractive or particularly… slutty. There seems to be something there nonetheless, marrying at twenty one.
"I thought I had gotten too old for you, Hisoka." jokes Gon good naturally, the way people do when it's an inside joke, but it didn't seem to be shared with the Clown.
"You can still get more powerful, you know. I don't want to kill you yet, when you have so much potential."
"You won't, or at least Killua won't let you go too far." says Gon "And you know why he didn't want you there."
'He' didn't want someone on Gon's wedding?
"Illumi." agrees Hisoka "Those brothers are a vision, so much time I've seen Killua, tough. How is he?" asks the man, in a perfectly Paristony disgustingly polite way.
"Too old for you, Hisoka." answers a white haired newcomer, Killua, draping himself over Gon. Oh, Ging thinks, that's were the joke comes from. "I was more worried you'd provoke the bride 'till he punched you in the middle of the ceremony."
He remembers vaguely that Killua seemed to be Gon's friend, all those years ago. Probably a terrific best man.
"Killua." greets Hisoka, like that reaction is precisely what he was waiting for. "Are we not possessive, then? I could play nice."
"We aren't playing anytime, clown." says Killua, a hint of his very menacing hatsu poking through.
"For me, it can only ever be Killua." says Gon lovingly, hooking his index finger on the white haired man's chin and planting a chaste kiss straight on his lips.
Oh, he repeats to himself. He really… he really did miss that one. At least Gon didn't get anyone pregnant.