I loved February weather. The town was quieter than usual in the late winter weeks. Not that it was usually loud, the atmosphere just happened to be more calm with everyone shut inside their homes due to the cold.
I loved the afternoons the best: the scent of rosemary, the chilly air, the silence that fell upon a small village, all of these highlighted by the walk down from the plaza. I liked looking at my home on the side of the hill. It was such a familiar and comfortable sight. Nostalgia waved through me as I strolled along the dirt path leading towards the little house awkwardly built into a hillside. I was finally home.
Eagerly, I knocked on the wooden door of the small house. After a few moments the door opened slightly, revealing a black-haired woman poking her head through the crack. Her facial expression dropped upon seeing me before she swung the door open fully and engulfed me in a tight embrace. "Lady (Y/N)! You're home!" The woman held me closely.
I giggled as I returned the comforting hug of the dark haired maid who I missed dearly. "Hey, Kotori. I'm back."
The older girl led me inside, helping me take off my shawl and belt, putting them aside so that I was more comfortable. "How was the exam? Did you pass?" Kotori asked. I smiled in triumph as I pulled out a Hunter license, showing it off proudly. The maid stared in astonishment as she clapped her hands excitedly, "Enri is going to be so happy to see you passed! She was worried sick the entire time you were gone."
My heart throbbed at the mention of my sister. I needed to see her. Kotori walked me to the room of the sick girl, stopping outside her door before knocking lightly. "Enri," Kotori said quietly. "(Y/N)'s here."
Almost immediately after she said those words I heard a soft voice from behind the door plead for us to enter. I walked into the dimly lit room, noticing that the bedroom was simple and plain- exactly how it was when I left a month ago. And in the corner of the small room was a girl, sitting up in a mess of blankets on her bed. Her unkempt (H/C) hair so long that it reached down to the bed. She wore a desperate look on her face, her eyes filled with worry. The girl mumbled my name as she stared at me longingly.
My legs moved on their own when they leaped across the room towards the young girl so I could pull her into a hug. I buried my face in her shoulder, taking in the sweet scent which was so similar to our late mother's. "I've missed you." I whispered to my sister.
The frail girl tightened her grip on me, whispering back "I missed you too."
Pulling away suddenly, Enri began gasping for air as she coughed violently into her hands. I backed away while Kotori gave her some medicine and a glass of water. Her condition hadn't improved. She was still as sick as ever. I frowned.
Enri took a breath and looked at me. "I'm okay, really." She reassured after seeing my down face. "What about the exam, are you a Hunter now?"
Just like I did with Kotori, I showed my younger sister the little card which stated my new title as a Hunter. She squealed, exclaiming how happy she was. "Tell me about it. Tell me about the exam. I want to know everything."
I ruffled her hair and nodded at her request. I sat on her bed and patted the space beside me. "Sit with us, Kotori. I know you want to know too." Said girl smiled and sat with me.
So, finally after so many weeks, I sat with the two and told them every detail of my story.
~
"And I took this picture when I was with Killua after we had some time left during the fourth phase." I showed the photograph to the two girls either side of me.
"Wahhh, he looks so focused in his thoughts! Did he even notice you took it?" Enri stared at the pale boy in the photo in awe.
I huffed and nodded my head. "Duh, he's a trained assassin, of course he noticed. He tried to get me to delete the picture immediately after but I held the camera over my head so he couldn't reach. He gave up, luckily, and allowed me to keep this beautiful picture." I smiled at the memory.
It was nice, sitting with the two girls during the late afternoon and showing them all the pictures I took after explaining the story to them. They were both really interested in the exam, how we got to see Killua again, and about how we're planning to meet up once more in September.
Kotori looked through all the photographs which were sorted into a pile on the bed. She stopped shuffling through the small pile when she came across a particular photo. "Who is who in this one? I know the one with the white hair is Killua since you just showed us a picture of him, what about the others?"
She handed me the picture. It was the one I took before we said our finale goodbyes. I liked this one the most, the five of us smiling brightly while squished together to fit everyone in the frame. I was crushed inbetween Kurapika and Leorio, holding up a peace sign while Leorio aimed finger guns at the camera and Kurapika just showed a simple smile. I laughed lightly at both Gon and Killua who were poking each other, smiling as they pinched the other's cheeks. "This one is Gon. That's Leorio. And this is Kurapika."
Enri let out another gasp, "Ehhh!? I did not expect Kurapika to look like that!" I looked at the young girl in confusion, what did she mean by that? Kotori only agreed with her.
"It's the way you described him, I thought he was going to be built bigger and more masculine. You said he knocked out that killer with a single punch, I was sure that he was going to be really strong." The dark haired woman laughed.
"Yeah, he's pretty feminine in some aspects but don't underestimate him because he's super strong. A real smartass too." I smirked as I boasted about my friend.
Enri giggled. I tilted my head, asking why she was laughing. "I like how you describe these people who you just met as if you've known them for years. You get too easily attached to people."
Her tone didn't make it sound like she was insulting me, if anything Enri sounded almost kind of glad that I grew comfortable with strangers with ease. But I didn't entirely understand what made her think that. Instead I just continued showing off the photographs to the two.
~
"Are you going somewhere, Lady (Y/N)?" Kotori asked as she placed the dirty dishes from breakfast into the sink.
I stopped in the middle of putting on my shoes and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to go see someone. Don't worry, I'll be home soon." I said to the maid. She nodded and continued on cleaning as I left the cottage.
It was my second day back in my town. I had fallen asleep next to Enri soon after talking for hours about the exam. She was still asleep when I woke up that morning so instead I ate breakfast with Kotori and left to complete my task.
I wanted to go see someone. The woman who trained me for years, the one I told Kurapika about. She wasn't my actual grandmother, my only real family was Enri, but I referred to her as Obachan since all the other kids did. That's right, I wasn't her only student. It was common in the village that children should know basic fighting techniques and Obachan was someone who taught them. She may look like a weak old lady but she was known to be the strongest person in the village, she was a Hunter after all.
Humming as I walked down from the hill, I made my way to a more isolated part of the town. There were less houses more further down along the paths, Obachan's home was in the quieter parts of the village. I turned a few corners before finally arriving at the large, round hut. The area smelt like pine, most likely because it was closer to the forest. I could hear the muffled sounds of students yelling inside of the building.
Pushing open the light wooden doors, I entered and made my way to the main area. The hall of roughly sixteen students filled with silence when I entered, probably because of Obachan's booming voice when I interrupted her class. "(Y/N)-chan! Is that you?" A short old woman ran up to me, wiping her round glasses with a cloth to make sure she was seeing correctly.
"It's me. It's nice to see you again, Obachan." I greeted my teacher.
She smiled and outstretched her arm to me. I thought she was going to pat my head but I was proven wrong when she smacked me across my head. "Stupid girl! You left to take the Hunter exam and didn't even tell me! I found out from Kotori after you had left, I was worried sick about you!"
I only giggled as I held my throbbing head, I expected this. "Sorry, Obachan. I knew you wouldn't let me go if I told you." The stout woman pushed her glasses up as she shook her head in dissapointment.
"You're back so confidentially, I assume that means you passed?" I nodded my head, earning a smile from my teacher. I noticed all the other students staring at me. What confused me was they way they were all positioned; they sat in a row with glasses of water in front of them, what made it even more odd were the leaves in each glass of water.
I asked Obachan what they were doing, she sighed and said: "Well, while you were away, your classmates continued learning my teachings here. I taught them Nen."
I had never heard of it. "Nen? What's that?"
The woman before me only smirked. "My, my, (Y/N)-Chan. You have a lot to learn. How long do you plan on staying in this village?" I told her I planned to leave when September came. "Well then, you better brace yourself because you're about to go through some hard training over the next few months, you stupid girl."
~
The characters I introduced are my own that I just made up. I'm sorry if the names are kind of ugly, I wasn't entirely sure on what to call them. I want you readers to grow attatched to these two, they won't appear much after the next chapter, however, they'll play an important role in strengthening the relationship between Kurapika and the reader ;)
Just for reference here are the ages of the characters:
Enri- 12
(Y/N)- 16-17
Kotori- 22
That is all. Thank you.