N. E. N. [ H U N T E R X H U N T E R ]

Chapter 2 - ゾルドック家

((Music just for fun))

I walked away from the door, ignoring the shouting coming from the other side, probably coming from the gatekeeper.

"Who's there?", it said

"Dammit, probably an invisibility nen user..." He then muttered

A man in his forties, I think he was. His hair was scattered with white patches, showing his long life he had lived. No need to waste it by killing him, it's better to run away.

I silently ran into the forest before he could spot me. The man opened the gate, his gaze examining the area.

"I'm freaking out. It was probably Illumi coming back from a mission, I just didn't notice him..." The person seemed to try to convince himself.

I sighed in relief that he didn't acknowledge me and I walked away, carefully keeping my Zetsu on as I silently stepped into the Zoldyck estate.

Soon enough, I arrived at a fence with a small gateway, on which stood or rather lay a fairly large puppy.

Intrigued by the gigantic creature, I walked to it and placed my hand in front of me. Nen, pretty powerful for an animal, flowed through him.

Yes, nen isn't only a human thing. Plants and animals can also wield it, even if it isn't the same kind of power so it's impossible to perceive for a normal human being.

Soon enough, his big, wet snout made contact with my palm, making a shiver run up my spine as it was colder than I anticipated.

"Good puppy..." I affectionately patted the dog's cheek, as the top of his head was still out of my reach.

I closed my eyes and neared more the beast until I hugged the muzzle.

"You're a good boy..." I continued to tell loving words to my beloved dog -that's how I considered him- until I felt a presence.

I still had Zetsu on, so the person didn't know I was here. I hid behind the large body while asking, not louder than a whisper, "Don't let them know I'm here."

I think he kind of nodded even though he didn't move the rest of his body.

"Let's see how Mike is doing," A manly voice reached my four years old ears

"There shouldn't have been any problem, after all, that beast can kill anything," Another voice replied, an old one this time.

Curious, I peeked, careful not to be noticed, and saw two silver-haired persons coming my way. One of them had a large size while the other one, practically the opposite, had a normal, adult, human height, and largeness.

I examined them carefully, memorizing their walk, their speech pattern, and their attention to the surroundings. By doing that, I learned that they were probably the hosts of the house, assassins, since they had their guard up and they were walking silently and steadily.

The way they speak, it gave a lot about how they are, too. I studied that by myself while I judged opponents I encountered.

If they are loud, they are usually overconfident, honest or simple-minded. If they are silent, they are either calm, suspicious, shy or sneaky. Sneaky as in murderer.

There is more stuff to look out for, so we don't fail in our analyzation and get overconfident. For example, there's the way they speak, their vocabulary, ...

These guys weren't nothing. Definitely strong.

They continued to ramble about Mike while I decided whether I should come out or not. There were many things to consider: If they'd accept my presence or if they'd immediately kill me, if they'd put the fault on Mike or on me, if...