Apex Predator

Lammergeier I

In front of them was a large cherry blossom tree, petals falling away from it with each breeze. Underneath the tree sat a man with his back turned toward them. He was fishing into the lake that surrounded them.

Miwa thought it odd that the man's energy core was so different from Gon's. Gon was a deep pond. Clean, pure, and innocent at the top but dark and consuming underneath. The man's core reminded Miwa more of a field. Wide, open, and oddly lonely.

"G-Ging," whispered Gon as he took a step forward.

The man noticed them. He dropped his fishing pole, and before it even hit the ground he had smacked all three of them away.

Miwa landed beside Killua, surprised Gon's father had done that. He hadn't hit them hard, nor did she even sense malice in his chakra. Her eyes were wide, and she hesitated in what to do next. She didn't think it would be a good idea to attack Gon's father, but—

The man raised his right hand and a small clown-like figure appeared. In a squeaky voice it said, "I got a slot machine in my mouth! It goes from 1 to 9. Each number summons a different weapon. This is my Crazy Slots! Give me something good. Grrrrrrrrr—4!"

Something long and black pushed itself out of the clown's mouth.

"Shit, bad luck," muttered the man as he accepted the weird thing.

'What is that?' thought Miwa, tilting her head. 'Wait, did he say weapon?'

Killua had already gotten up, dashing to Gon and shoving him out of the way as a bunch of small pellets shot themselves out of the weapon.

'Oh! That's a gun!' Miwa realized, standing up. She had seen a few of them before, but they were much smaller than the one the man had.

The man was shooting at where Gon once was, but he did not follow where Killua had tackled Gon out of the way. It looked like Gon hadn't been his intended target, rather her friend was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. That would explain his lack of malice toward them.

The man lowered the gun, approaching the trio. He pulled off his blue cloak and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"Huh...?" Gon's face fell upon seeing the man.

He was a tall, spindly man, with long white hair, and a sharp face. There was tiredness in his eyes that could only be accumulated from years of lack of sleep, or years of persistent worry. Miwa was surprised to see how kind he looked.

Maybe she had gotten too used to: Chrollo's poker-face, Feitan's sneers, Kikyo's mania, Kalluto need to hide, and Shalnark's toxic smile. Nobunaga could be kind, but that kindness was reserved for children, and there was always a hidden level of cruel callousness.

The man before them lacked any type of hidden darkness.

He was an open field.

Gentle, nurturing, and oddly lonely.

'What an odd core.'

What do you mean?

'I didn't know any adult could have such a... purity to them,' thought Miwa, wondering if the man was secretly a child. Purity didn't seem like the correct word, but she had no other way to describe his core's natural sincerity. She only saw that kind of unconditional kindness in children.

Gon murmured, "That's not Ging."

Killua's eyes widened at Gon's disappointed expression. He snapped his head around to glare at the man. "Hey, explain yourself. First you push us down, then you fire at us. Enough fooling around."