Remember. Smile. [Hunter x Hunter FF]

1. Hunter Exam is Today~

"Uhggg...." The girl groaned, reclining in a makeshift hammock she'd rigged up in a random alleyway the night before. 

"This is so boring," she whined, swinging her legs restlessly. After a few minutes of complaining and venting her frustrations on the empty air with punches and kicks, she lost her balance. The hammock flipped upside down, sending her boots flying and her back crashing onto the unforgiving granite ground.

She quickly jumped up, regaining her balance, and made her way to her boots while rubbed her back.

"Owwie, that hurts." She pouted, before her signature grin made it back onto her face. On her side, a fox gave an exasperated sigh at its owner — if that's even possible for a fox to do— and shook its head at her antics.

With her boots securely on, the girl approached the fox, her grin wide enough to spell trouble.

The fox, resigned to its fate, offered a silent prayer for its continued existence before locking eyes with the girl's bright, golden gaze.

"Welp, might as well pack up for today!" she exclaimed, her enthusiasm undiminished. "What do you say, Nef?" The fox, known as Nef, nodded and hopped off her bag, where he had slept throughout the night.

The girl immediately set to work, packing up her belongings and diligently cleaning up the remnants of her breakfast, disposing of any waste in the nearby dumpster. She cast a fleeting glance at the hammock, conveniently strung between two poles, before deftly undoing the knots and stuffing it into her backpack. With Nef in her arms, she skipped onto the bustling Main Street, ready for whatever the day had in store.

"Hunter Exam is today~" she sang while skipping, "Or was it the Hunter's Exam?"

Nef, her ever-critical companion, couldn't help but feel she was far too cheerful about an event that demanded risking one's life.

"Either way, the Hunter Exam sounded cooler, dontcha' think? Nef?"

Nef, wise beyond his fox-like appearance and having long since resigned himself to her eccentricities, simply blinked up at her. He had ultimately decided to believe it was normal to act like this, he wouldn't know, after all, she was the only human he ever had contact with and he had grown accustomed to the quirks of his unique human companion.

She continued her cheerful skipping until they reached the nearest train station. Upon arriving at the station entrance, she made a point of stuffing Nef into her bag, disregarding the soft protests that escaped from the fox.

Every visit to a crowded place like this brought with it a familiar chorus of reactions: "Oh, it's so cute!" or "Can I get a photo?" or, occasionally, "Get that thing away from me! I'm going to call the cops!"

It got quite repetitive after a while. 

It wasn't hard to understand why Nef garnered such a variety of reactions from people. After all, he was a rather unconventional traveling companion. 

Indeed, in the bustling city, a fox was an unusual sight, and Nef's presence certainly turned heads. City dwellers were more accustomed to pigeons, stray cats, and the occasional urban squirrel. A fox, with its fiery-red coat and bushy tail, was a rarity that demanded attention.

Nef, however, took it a step further. He seemed to have a knack for choosing the most public places to display his foxly charm. Whether it was a busy street corner, a crowded park, or even a bustling subway station, Nef had an uncanny ability to seek out the most curious and bemused bystanders.