Chapter Text
An unfamiliar sensation. I opened my eyes to a pitch-black void, and yet, there was an overflowing amount of water at my feet. ‘...How?’ The void was endless, whether it be from the ceiling, walls, if they even existed in this space, were nowhere to be seen. And yet, my feet were planted on a floor, and the cool water reached my knees.
“What the hell?!” I sputtered out as the realization of my situation settled in. My own voice echoed, and faded into hums as the sound traveled its distance. Silence. ‘Wait- This isn’t right– I am not home. Where am I?!’ I hastily looked around for any clue, but the void continued to gaze onto my helpless figure as my only response.
The silence was deafeningly loud. My ears began to ring as each second passed. 1,2,3-
“Y/n.” A gentle voice called out to me. And yet, I had no idea where it was coming from amid this weird, endless void.
The dark void faded into white. I could see a figure approaching me in the distance. The water splashed along their movement, it echoed and repeated through the air. As the figure approached me, I could distinctly recognize her features.
A female figure. Around my height- scratch that. She was exactly my height. Her uncanny resemblance to my own facial features forced a shiver up my spine. The same bone structure, nose shape. Although, her hair and eyes weren't the same shade of gray I had. She felt like me, but more…complete.
I felt her pupils fix themselves onto me. Her piercing gaze stared straight into my soul as I gulped nervously. If this went on, it wasn’t going to work. I needed to speak.
“Are you-- well, me?” I asked hesitantly. I watched dumbfounded as a smile graced her features. Her gaze softened, and she nodded.
“Yes.”
“Wait what the hell?!” ‘This isn’t what I was expecting but OKAY-’
“Hana.” I shot up in surprise, coming face to face with my caretaker: Runa Nameless. Her viridescent eyes filled with worry as she took in the disheveled mess of my form. Tucking stray strands of her chestnut-brown locks behind her ear, she hastily swatted off some dust she had on her white nightgown. She sighed, got up from the side of my bed, and opened up the curtains by the side, allowing the warm sunlight to show itself in my room. My eyes took a bit to adjust to the sudden brightness.
“Jeez- I’ve never seen you sleep in this late before.” She grumbled as I could only muster out a nervous chuckle.
“Ahaha- I’m sorry, Runa.”
She sighed. “Get ready now. You need to be on time today, Hana.”
I paused.
‘Huh. Hanako.’ Right– Runa told me that when she first took me in, amidst all the chaos in Meteor City, she had no idea what to name me for my official documents. Out of options, she took inspiration from the olden stereotypical placeholder name: “Hanako Yamada” or“Yamada Hanako” in certain countries around the world that place the surnames first. ‘Kinda bland, call it basic even, I know, but well– I don’t blame her, it’s hard to come up with names on the spot. Also, she’s such an airhead. Sometimes, I wonder how a person like her managed to become the first Mech Hunter.
“Hello? Earth to Hanako?” She snapped her fingers in front of my face, pulling me out of my train of thought. “Don’t you go spacing out now. Your Hunter exam is today.”
“Oh shit!” I hissed. I quickly pulled myself together and hopped off my bed. “Yeah sorry, I’ll get ready now.” ‘No time to think right now, let’s gogogo-’
Runa hummed in response. “Well alright, I’ll get breakfast ready. Go freshen up.”
I quickly tidied up my bed and sprinted to the bathroom to do my morning hygiene routine. ‘Splashing a handful of cold water goes a long way when I need to wake up, fast.’ I decided on my normal everyday outfit: an ivory-white sleeveless turtleneck, black cargo pants and comfortable black sneakers. As a change of pace, I decided to bring my old hoodie, hastily stuffing my wallet and my phone into my pockets.
I had packed my black leather satchel bag with some change of clothes, just in case I would get myself dirty. On the side, I added some first-aid supplies, and lastly, a small hand-held game console that would hopefully ease my boredom if I ever do find myself in such a situation. I paused for a moment and cogitated whether I should bring my weapons with me to the exam. It was my first time, after all. I would be considered a rookie and it was considered extremely unusual for a rookie to have any idea about ‘nen’.
Nen. The ultimate technique, centered around the life energy, aura, each individual is born with. Only selected individuals are to know or even use this technique. Call it sacred even, because its power is akin to magic.
I’ve had to keep myself in low profile about these abilities while Runa ensured grueling, fearsome training for me to keep myself in line and not abuse these abilities for anything but my protection and safety. Sure, it was difficult, but 10 years of that had helped me come a long way since I was a child.
Pausing for a moment, I looked around my room. My bookshelf, its ochre shelves neat and tidy with classified books about controlling aura, nen abilities. Other books, such as graphic novels or novels of common interest were fit snugly into the cracks of the bottom shelves. My desk was decorated with a top of the line PC, as a low-shelf sat next to it, holding the memories of old gaming consoles I used to play with as a kid. Across the desk was my bed, disheveled and untidy since I had rushed to get out of bed this morning. My work desk was on the other unoccupied corner of the room, littered with small coin-shaped chips and tools, with fragments of metal and wire left as residue of my work. My magnum opus, Cyberchip Gamble. ‘Well, the name is still in the works,’ I cringed, and picked one up, letting it slide across my fingers, akin to a coin trick.
‘Cyberchip Gamble’ isn’t necessarily a gamble to me, but to any other person but me. These chips were designed to only go off if I were to input them with my aura thanks to my nen ability as a Transmuter, converting my aura to electronic data itself. Upon activation, it would either: send out a blinding light, or explode and render any technology that ran on electricity utterly useless. A flashbang and EMP, simply put. Only I would know which would go off. ‘Games really do give you the best idea for any offensive nen abilities.’ I reminisced about the times when I spent time playing these console games with Kil.
My friend from my past, with silver white hair and dazzling sapphire blue orbs. I met him since Runa brought me along to her temporary work at Kukuroo Mountain, when she was close friends with one of the family members there. I ended up going on playdates with the notorious assassin family: the Zoldycks. To be specific, the Zoldyck family’s two youngest children, Alluka and Killua. Well, mostly Alluka and sometimes, Nanika. On occasions where Alluka and Nanika fell sound asleep, she often lay her head in my lap as Killua and I often played console games, like Boxy-X and Train Station 3 on the TV. They were really sweet times.
Well, that was all I remembered about them. One night, Runa hastily woke me up in the middle of the night to leave. All she told me was, “We know too much.” That was all I needed for the 6-year-old me to figure out that I needed to move it, or die. We fled, but ended up not too far away, surprisingly enough. We found ourselves in a desolate forest in the Republic of Padokea, and to this day, Runa keeps it safe from any intruders with her droids.
The sunlight lit my room with warm yellow, as I took in the sight of my room before I left for the Hunter Exam. I took a moment, taking a deep breath. I slid my satchel over my shoulder and picked up a pole leaning on the doorframe. My weapon, an extendable pole, though I modified it and it has hidden blades on the ends. I huffed in pride, it was my favorite weapon I’ve ever made in the entire world. I passed over a small amount of aura and it collapsed into a small metallic cylinder. ‘Aura-activated too!’ I stuffed it into my waistband and left my room. The hallway was dimly lit by a window covered with translucent cloth curtains, as Runa’s room was placed on the other end of the hallway, and the stairway leading down to the bottom floor was on my right.
I walked over to the stairs and slid down the railing, turning the corner to enter the kitchen. Basking in the scrumptious smell of my favorite food, I silently praised Runa, and quickly hopped onto my seat in the dining room, struggling to hold back my smile. Looking over in the kitchen, I saw the droids, Runa’s little robot helpers, wobble out of the kitchen, holding plates and table mats to place on the table. I leaned over and gave one of them a little pat as the droid let out a small robotic giggle and scurried back to the kitchen to help Runa out. She soon exited the kitchen as well, wearing a simple green, frilly dress with a cream-colored apron tucked over it, it seems like she changed after I got ready. She giggled, glancing at my legs kicking under the table, while she held a plate full of the greatest cuisine in the entire planet.
“Well, I wouldn’t let you leave with just a normal breakfast,” Runa set down the plate and nodded. “Dig in, Hana.” Shoving spoonfuls of food in my mouth could only allow me to nod vigorously to respond to Runa’s comments.
“Home will be empty while you’re gone,” She sighed solemnly. “While I hyperfocus on my little mech projects, no one will come and bother me…”
I giggled, “Aw, Runa you’ll be fine. Besides, after I pass the exam I’ll be back in a jiffy!”
“Confident, huh? I’m proud of you.” She sighed as a nostalgic, pained smile overtook her features. “My little missus grew up so fast…”
“Jeez, I’m not that old! I just entered adolescence, Runa. I’m 12, nearly 13 by the way, for god’s sake.”
“I know, I know, but still, take care okay? Always remember, when in doubt-”
“Get the fuck out.” I finished, letting out a little giggle. “I’ll be fine, the 10 years of hunter training hell you put me through is gonna pay off. I was a little kid who barely learned how to walk and you started training me.”
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t help it, the Hunter Exam differs from year to year, and it’s always handy even if you’re going to be an average Joe. You might as well dabble in everything at this point.” She leaned over, and patted my head. “You were an amazing student, I know you’ll do well. Just… Avoid the creeps. They’re always there.”
I hummed, “Mhm, I know, I know.” I looked over at my plate and saw it was empty. I shrugged and went to the kitchen to place it in the sink, watching a small droid sitting by the sink, reaching up for my plate.
“Oh! Don’t worry about the dishes, the droids will handle ‘em for you.” I heard Runa call out from the dining room. I hummed, passing the used plate and silverware over to the little droid, allowing it to set off and do its work.
As I dozed off watching the cute droids clunk around to do the chores, my dream came to me, out of the blue. As I thought about it, I let the name slip through my lips. “Y/n…” ‘I should ask Runa.’ I returned to the dining room.
I sat myself down, and glanced over at Runa. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to ask anyway. “Runa, have you heard of…Y/n?” Runa froze. ‘Shit, I revealed something I probably shouldn't have known-’ “What?” I snapped out of my thoughts and hastily turned to look at her. Her face was drained of its color, her eyes fixated on me.
My feet shuffled nervously as her intent gaze lingered on me. “Yeah? Uh– Was I not supposed to know that-”
Runa shook her head, “No, you should know. Although, it is a long story… But, I’ll be honest with you.” She took a deep breath as her gaze wavered. “It’s your name. Your real name.”
I paused, “Huh?” She opened her mouth to speak but I quickly cut her off with my question. “Wait, why? Shouldn’t I have just kept my name from the start? Why didn’t you tell me?” I paused for a moment to think. “Also is it like Y/n Yamada? Hanako Y/n? Runa help–” She started giggling.
“Nono, hahaha–” She bent over, clutching her belly as she fought for her life over her giggles. I stood there dumbfounded. It took half a minute for her to catch her breath. “O-Okay. You’re Y/n Nameless.”
“Wait, so…I’m your daughter?”
“Yes, but…I had my reasons for keeping it from you. You were a kid.” She paused. “Well, I think…It’s better for you to use it now. It’s been well over 6 years now and I doubt they’d keep looking. But,” She grinned and pulled out her pinky out in front of her, and I returned the gesture, hooking my pinky with hers. “I promise I’ll tell you after you return from your exam,” She looked away. “We kinda don’t have the time and energy for it right now. I think you know why. And you need time to think about it.”
“Woah, that’s a lot to take in. I had a pretty metal past, huh.”
“Well, it’s mainly because I explored different types of jobs, before settling down as a Hunter. I had you pretty early on during my adventurous phase. Jeez, I was like- 22? Yeah, when I had you.” She sighed. “I didn’t mean to put you in danger, but I did. Hence, all the hellish training you’ve been complaining about. To protect yourself.”
“Oh. Wow– Well yeah I know– But, uh, I’m glad you’re my mom. If I ever found out my biological mom was someone else or was a dirtbag I would-”
“I’m not a dirtbag-”
“Wasn’t implying you were.” I looked away, seeming guilty. Runa started laughing at my expression.
“I know, well, it’ll take some time getting used to, Y/n.”
I felt my heart tingle. ‘It’s a small change, but I feel more like me. It makes me happier than I thought it would.’ I didn’t know I was making an expression until Runa sighed in relief.
“I’m glad you like it. I’ve always wanted to name my own daughter that, but– I had to stop 6 years ago, and I think you’re strong enough to protect yourself now. If you ever find a guy that looks like he lacks a soul, run. Or fight. It’s ambiguous right now, but your gut will tell you.” She pointed at my stomach. I felt a shiver up my spine.
“Jeez, but okay. I will.” I looked over at the clock. ‘Shit!’
“Runa- no.” I smiled, “Mom, I’ll be going now. I need to be on time for the flight.”
Her face held a pained expression, yet it was so full of relief. She smiled, “One sec.” She gazed at my outfit, humming a sound of approval. “Mm. You’re ready. Hana- no, Y/n, remember. Don’t fuck around or you’ll find out.”
I rolled my eyes, “I don’t think this is 12 year-old language but okay jeez, you don’t have to tell me twice.” She pulled me into a tight hug and paused.
“Oh wait! Hold on for a sec!” She excitedly scurried over to the garage, where her workshop was. All of a sudden, I heard heavy metal slam into the floor.
Silence stood for about 2 beats, before she emerged from the doorway with a lopsided smile on her face.
‘I can never get used to this.’ I sighed as she walked over to me with a small hair clip in her hand. It appeared to be a normal hair clip, aside from the small droid face pin decorating the end of the hair clip. It had a red light flashing in its pupils every few beats, at a constant, readied pace.
“Take it, if you ever need help just press either of its eyes in the middle and a little droid will pop out and help you.” She paused, carefully leaning over and clipping a side of my bangs with it. “Or, press it when you’re ever lonely, but you’ll probably be fine. For the most part. Well-” As she started rambling a smile couldn’t help but tug at my lips as I gave her one more big hug.
“Jeez, thank you. I love you…mom.”
“Mhm. I…love you too, sweetie. Go kick their asses.” She pinched my cheek as I whined, before I recollected myself and grinned.
“Aight, bet.” Offering her a half-hearted salute, I sprinted out the door, and made my way to the nearby airport. Runa and I lived in the rural forest areas on the outskirts of the Republic of Padokea so it always took us two to four hours by car, but if we sprinted at full speed it would take us an hour, or two. It wasn’t as bad as the 250km, well 500km in total, back-and-forth runs through the forest that Runa forced me to do, and I always ended up begrudgingly following through. Though, I do admit that it is convenient now.
I went through the usual airport biz, checking in, grabbing my ticket, and boarding the airship towards Zaban City in the Kukan'yu Kingdom. It was a short flight from the Republic of Padokea to the Hunter Exam location, however, I ended up nearly losing my shit over the turbulence. ‘I’m never flying on cheap tickets by the “Chee Pasheet Airlines”- Should’ve known from their sketchy ass name.’
I looked over the cabin, gawking at all of the other passengers who had passed out from smashing their heads in from the turbulence. ‘Jesus,’ I crouched over one of the victims and sighed. ‘Looks like another applicant. I’m not the only one flying to the exam, huh... But like- why are they so fragile? The Hunter Exam is much worse than a simple turbulent airship.’ I almost fell off my feet as the turbulence striked again, however I quickly gained my balance. ‘Okay, I should probably sit and strap myself down. It’ll be one hell of a flight…’
As the turbulence died down, I finally sighed in relief. I took a quick glance over to the pilot, and realized she was perfectly fine, although I probably needed to inform her about the situation at hand. I gently tapped her shoulder, and cleared my throat. “Excuse me ma’am, but the other passengers are kinda…out.” Her head quickly snapped, realizing that there was someone at her shoulder. She paused for a moment, and looked over the shoulder to see all the passengers unconscious, her eyes unbothered and tranquil.
The pilot looked to be a calm, serious lady, with raven-black hair tied up into a low messy bun and rounded glasses that sat snugly on her nose bridge, in front of her sharp, sapphire blue pupils. Her attire was a simple aviator uniform, and wore heeled boots to compliment her outfit.
“Oh.” She finally spoke, her tone calm and calculated. ‘That’s odd, if she was flying like that anyone would just pass out.’ Her gaze turned to me, and I felt her eyes bore holes into my own self. “How about you, young lady? Are you well?”
I grinned, “Yes, ma’am.” I paused to think for a moment. “Aside from a bit of brain damage, I think I’m good.” I joked and gestured with finger guns towards her to hopefully ease the tense atmosphere. She returned a small chuckle.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting a viable candidate in this flight,” She turned to look at the horizon, carefully steering the ship to a normal cruising altitude, and flipped a switch. ‘I’m guessing that’s autopilot. But wait, what does she mean by candidate? Was this a test? Part of the Hunter Exam?’, I wondered, as she got up from her seat. She leaned over and reached out her hand. “However… What’s your name, young lady?”
I clasped my hand in hers, giving her a firm handshake. I paused, “Y/n.” ‘Should I tell her I’m here for the Hunter Exam?’ The corners of her lips turned up for a soft smile.
“You’re here for the Hunter Exam, correct?” She asked, her gaze examining every part of my being as I shifted uncomfortably.
“Well, yeah.” I returned her gaze, meeting her eyes. I pointed over my shoulder to the rest of the passengers. “Was it obvious? And uh…was this part of the exam?”
She curtly nodded, “Yes.” and paused. “No ordinary folk would be fine from all the turbulence.” She fell silent to think.
I sighed, “I thought so.” She simply smiled in response.
“Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?” I was caught off guard by the sudden question, although I did kind of see it coming. I pondered for a few moments.
“Well, it’s difficult to say, but…” I smiled at the thought of Runa. “The most important person in the world to me, is a Hunter. She’s an amazing person, took care of me and stuff. And…I want to be a Hunter and see why she fought for such a title.” I paused for a moment. “It’s also because she told me that I could be anything I want to be, so if there’s anything I want to be…I want to be as amazing as she is.” I laughed nervously at the words that somehow came out from my own mouth. “Uh– I’m sorry, that was kinda cheesy.”
She shook her head and smiled gently. “Don’t be, that’s an admirable purpose.” Slowly turning her gaze towards the horizon, she added, “Never let go of your sense of purpose. We hunters chase after something, and no matter what it is, we will achieve it, one way or another.” She returned to look at me. “I am able to see that in you.”
Seeing her put faith in my abilities gave me a surge of confidence, I had to stop myself before I got overconfident. I grinned at her and hurriedly bowed, “Thank you so much, Ms… uh…”
“Nissa. Nissa Schaeffer. I don’t mind skipping the formalities, Ms. Y/n.”
“Oh! You could just call me Y/n. People don’t really call me Ms. Y/n because of my caretaker, so you could call me Ms. Nameless instead. Or just call me Y/n, really.” I quickly added. She froze for a few moments as her glasses slowly descended on her nose bridge in her state of shock. She pushed it back to its original position and hastily recollected herself.
“Pardon me, did you say, Nameless?” I nodded.
“Yes, the person I was talking about is Runa Nameless.” She paused yet again, then sighed and let out a nervous chuckle. Nissa tilted her head upwards and massaged her temples. She grimaced, mumbling under her breath, “I never thought her daughter would be taking this year’s exam.”
“Hm?” I hummed in confusion. “Could you repeat that?” ‘I heard her, loud and clear. But, for formalities I’ll act like I didn’t.’
Nissa shook her head, “No, forget it.” She looked over at the front window of the airship. “We’ll be landing in roughly half an hour,” Turning to me, she reassured me, “Don’t worry, it’ll be a smooth ride from now on. Congratulations, Y/n. You have passed my portion of the Hunter Exam.”
“Yay!” I cheered, before bowing in gratitude. “Thank you so much Ms. Nissa!”
I spent the rest of my flight on small conversations with Nissa, ranging from topics to my experience in the outskirts of the Republic of Padokea, to her experience taking the Hunter Exam 15 years ago. It was enjoyable, and I’m glad to have made an acquaintance with my preliminary examiner. As soon as Nissa landed the airship, she paused. “Do you mind helping me out with all these… casualties? We’ll have to load them onto a truck to the infirmary.”
I shook my head, “Not at all.” I followed through her request, and she escorted me to the gate.
Nissa’s voice faded into a soft whisper, “Y/n, on your way,” She pointed to a giant clock tower by a town square. “Head over there.”
“Okay!” I quickly bowed, “Thank you so much Ms. Nissa! I am extremely grateful.”
Nissa laughed and shook her head, “It’s quite alright, you’ve been lovely. Good luck on the exam, I hope to see you again sometime.” I grinned and nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure we will meet again. Until then, I will pass the exam.”
I was brimming with confidence as I said that, as Nissa hummed in agreement. “Go on, quickly now. I sent word I was sending someone but they should be starting soon.”
I nodded and waved goodbye. “Thank you again Ms. Nissa, see ya!” She smiled tenderly as she returned the wave.
I inhaled, taking a deep breath before stepping out into the city. As I looked across the vast land of Zaban City, I knew, my journey had already begun.