Chapter Text
Gon's POV:
The light autumn breeze nipped at Gon’s face as he walked through Shanha City. It was a rather quiet evening minus the usual bustle of the town, cars, people, etc. Gon had his eyes locked on the girl ahead of him, she was fairly young and pretty. The woman had long dark copper hair worn in a messy bun. She was wearing dark wash jeans and a sage zip-up hoodie. Gon’s gaze fell to the floor and he saw a small fabric wallet left just behind her. He hurried to pick it up and followed her until she turned a corner. Gon reached the corner and peered over, she was gone.
Gon blinked a few times and walked in the same direction, he saw a door swing shut and he decided to go into the building. He was immediately pressed against a large man’s chest, he looked up to see a security guard. ‘Jesus, he’s tall…’ He thought, stepping back and fumbling over his own feet.
“Excuse me sir!” Gon stammered tentatively, avoiding eye contact.
“Can I have your name and ID please?”
The security guard’s voice rang through the small space, it was a low rumble that made Gon jump a little. He blinked, slightly shocked. ‘Name and ID..? I guess this is what I got my Hunter License for…’ Gon searched his pockets for his own wallet and pulled out his Hunter License.
“May I ask, was there a lady with ginger hair that passed through here?”
Gon’s voice was soft compared to the man in front of him. He showed the security guard his Hunter License and hoped it would work.
The security guard upon seeing Gon’s license, let him in.
“Ah, yes Kasumi? She is here tonight.”
He dismissed Gon and pushed him through the entrance. The room expanded into a wide warmly lit arena. In the center of the scaled-down stadium was a small table with two people playing Konpira in the center. ‘Konpira..?’ Gon thought as he stepped further in. He glanced at the food stands surrounding the court and scanned the crowd for the ginger-haired lady.
‘Kasumi..’ the name echoed in his head as he searched for her. ‘She must be someone important if the security guard remembers her.’ Gon was suddenly shoved towards the entrance of the platform as the crowd erupted into cheers and boos from either side of the risers.
“H-Hey! I don’t-!”
Gon stammered as he was encouraged to participate. He scrambled towards the seat against a random competitor. It was an older woman who bowed as he sat down.
“It’s an honor to compete with you…”
He was incredibly confused and was unsure of what to do so he returned the formality, bowing so his forehead almost touched the kyōsoku between them.
“You as well..”
Gon replied with an underlying nervousness. He slowly lifted his head, observing the area. To the left of them was an older looking man holding a shamisan and in front of him sat a small score board. ‘He must be the judge too.’ He observed blandly
The tatami mat they sat on felt firm yet slightly springy. It was strangely rough for what it was. Gon adjusted himself so he sat more comfortably, waiting for the game to start. Suddenly a loud voice came over the speakers that surrounded the indoor stadium.
“Welcome all to the second Konpira match of the night! We have our previous competitor Chiyo! And it seems like a new competitor that we haven’t seen before is facing her!”
Gon winced slightly at how loud the speakers were but he focused on listening to what it was saying.
“To those of you who are new here, the rules of the game are simple! Each player alternates between touching the hakama to the rhythm of the song. While the hakama is on the table you must tap it with a flat hand, but if the hakama is picked up by the opponent you must knock on the table. Alternatively, you may only pick up the hakama three times in a row. The first person to hesitate or make the wrong hand gesture loses!”
Gon nodded slightly at the old woman, a small gesture letting her know she can go first. He pulled his hand up and rested his other hand on top of it in preparation, mimicking the lady’s stance. The music started to play, a slow melodic rhythm and the man playing the shamisan started singing the song, “Konpira fune fune oite ni hokakete”
Chiyo tapped a flat hand on the hakama and Gon did the same in turn. She picked up the hakama and Gon knocked on the table, she picked it up again and Gon repeated the same motion. Gon picked up the hakama this time and the lady knocked on the kyōsoku.
The song playing in the background restarted, a faster tempo this time. The pace of the game also increased. The two continued to play, alternating between hand motions as the game went on. ‘It’s kinda like rock paper scissors! Her muscles twitch before she picks up the hakama!’ He picked up the hakama and watched her place her hand flat. ‘Oh… That was quick.’ Gon rested in his hands in his lap and he bowed.
“You’re good at this game, young man.”
Chiyo bowed in response and stood up, leaving the mat. Before Gon knew it another person was sitting in front of him… Ginger hair, dark eyes, the same green hoodie. ‘It’s her!’ She was already in position to start the game, Gon mimicked her pose. The song started again. It was slow, but as the game progressed the tempo increased as well as the rhythm of the game. ‘Damn.. she’s good…’ He thought as he picked up the hakama two times.
Both of them were silent as the game continued, getting even faster. About nine minutes into the game Gon smirked as the lady knocked on the hakama. ‘I win again!’ The lady stood with a bow.
“W-Wait.. You dropped your wallet.”
She patted her pockets and looked at Gon to see her wallet being extended to her. She gently took hold of it and searched through it to make sure everything was there. She put it back into her pocket and smiled at Gon.
“O-Oh… Thank you.
“No problem!”
A large, childish grin played on his face as he stood as well, bowing. He looked up at her, her face held a profound sense of gratitude. She made a motion with her hand signaling for him to follow.
“Come, let me get you some dinner as a reward.”
'get me some dinner?' Gon shook his head and followed her out of the building to a small restaurant down the road. She got them a table for two to sit at. Gon sat himself in the seat across from the woman. She opened her mouth to speak,
“What’s your name?”
“Gon, Gon Freecss… And your name is..?”
“Kasumi Lumin. But you can just call me Kasu. It’s nice to meet you Gon.”
She smiled at him, outstretching a hand to shake. Gon happily met her hand giving it a gentle tug. She pulled her hand back and rested it gently on the table before speaking again.
“How did you come across the Yonaka Fune Tournament?”
Gon stared blankly, blinking a few times. The confusion was evident in his features as he gawked at Kasumi. ‘Yonaka Fune Tournament?’
“Well, I was just walking down the street and I saw that you dropped your wallet so I followed you to give it back… And well, I guess I got caught up in that competition..”
Gon chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. The waiter walked up to the table to take their orders. Gon ordered a soda and some fries while Kasumi ordered some kind of slider, –Gon didn’t quite hear what it was– and an alcoholic drink.
“Wait, how old are you, Kasu?”
“I’m twenty two, how old are you, Gon?”
“Oh, I’m only nineteen..”
Gon chuckled as he took a sip of his soda, trying to hide his embarrassment. ‘Huh, She's not that much older than me...’ He thought as he looked around at the interior of the restaurant. It was a cozy building, it kind of looked like a bar but it was only a simple restraunt.
“How’d you get so good at Konpira?”
The question snapped Gon out of his mini-trance and he looked back towards Kasumi. He blinked a few times before responding,
“Well, my aunt and I used to play that game all the time when I was younger so I guess I got some practice back then.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Kasumi sat for a moment, her face morphing into something of careful consideration as she observed Gon. Gon quietly took a sip of his drink as the food was set in front of them. Gon smiled and immediately started eating his fries while Kasumi took a small bite from a slider. She swallowed before refocusing her attention on Gon.
“Y’know, I think you could get pretty far in that tournament if you pursue it.”
Gon blinked as he shoved a few more fries into his mouth. ‘If I pursue it…’ He mentally repeated to himself as he swallowed his own food and took another sip of his soda.
“Maybe I will. Are there prizes or anything?”
“In later levels, yes.”
“Levels?”
Gon echoed the words, a little confused. ‘Is this like Heaven’s Arena?’ He made the silent analogy as Kasumi took another bite of her slider.
“Yeah, there are three levels in all, and you got in because you’re a hunter, yes? Well, the third level you are allowed to use nen, thus you get paid the further you advance. It’s a good way to get money if you know how to use nen.”
Gon listened to her speak, nodding to what she was saying.
“So you’re a nen user?”
“Sure am!”
She took another bite of her slider. The two continued to eat until they finished their meals, bonding over miscellaneous things like nen, the konpira competition, and so on. Eventually Kasumi paid for their meal and led Gon back to the building that held the Konpira tournament. She opened the door for him and flashed the security guard her own Hunter License and she led Gon through the doorway towards a small stand with a few people forming a line.
“Let’s get you registered, eh?”
.
.
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Killua’s POV:
Killua popped his head through the door of Milluki’s room, immediately taking in the sight of the dimly lit space and the surplus of figures lined up on the wall. His gaze landed on his brother who was casually munching on a bag of potato chips and working on his computer. 'hehe, fatty...' It seemed like he was hacking into some kind of website but Killua didn’t question it.
“Man, it reeks in here. When was the last time you showered?!”
Killua chirped, attempting to provoke Milluki. He simply wanted to ask Milluki for a favor, though the entrance he made for himself most likely wouldn’t come off that way. He expected Milluki to ask for some kind of outrageous thing in return for his favor.
“What do you want, brat?”
Milluki spun around in his chair, spitting out crumbs as he snapped at his younger brother. He definitely didn’t want to see Killua, his annoyed expression only furthered that conclusion. Killua just grinned at Milluki and stepped in, avoiding all the junk that was scattered on the ground.
“I hope you aren’t too busy, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Milluki’s face twisted into an expression of disgust, a small bit of red sinking into the bridge of his nose but his features softened into defeat. He turned back around, waving Killua over. Killua hastily padded over, silent on his feet as he waved through the trash on the ground. He peered over Milluki’s shoulder to the unnecessary amount of computer screens that lay before him.
“What’s this favor you’re talking about? You do know you don’t do this kinda thing for free.”
“I’m fully aware. Now, can you search up Gon Freecss’ name in your system? I want to know what he’s been up to.”
Milluki glared at Killua through the corner of his eye and huffed an exaggerated sigh, redirecting his focus to the screens in front of him. He quickly began typing the name into various different websites.
“Why do you need me to do this? You can’t just text him yourself like you always do?”
“Nah, that’s boring. I want to see what he's doing using your methods.”
Killua looked up at the screens, taking hold of the mouse. There was a website that listed different names that were registered into different competitions and tournaments. He clicked on it, scrolling through the options and mentally cataloging everything he saw. ‘Fishing competition… Hunter Exam… Heavens Arena… Greed Island… Yonaka Fune? What is that?’