Chapter Text
"Yo! Did you see Togashi's latest tweet? Chapter 430 is ready, man! They're finally gonna start the release from 411 on Shonen Jump! Man, I can't wait to see what they do with the martial law and stuff. It's gonna be sick!"
A young woman said excitedly as she walked up to a young man, who had clearly been waiting for her by a bus stop. They both seemed to be in their mid twenties. The man turned to her with a slight frown.
"Yeah, but if they touch Fugetsu any more, I'll fly to Japan and strangle Togashi myself."
"Woah, relax! Why do you always get so hostile when the fictional kids get in trouble, man? You're like, an overprotective mother or something."
He grabbed her by the collar, shaking her back and forth.
"OVERPROTECTIVE? Did you SEE what all of them went through? And they KILLED Kacho! And Momoze! We saw her for like 2 panels total!"
He was about to let her go, when he suddenly shoved her to the side. Neither of them could even get a word out before a truck came barreling down.
He had heard before, that time would slow down in his moment of death. That one would see flashes of their life, reliving every waking moment as their life escaped their grasp. If it happened, he had missed it. Fortunately, it had seemed that he also missed the pain, and that the truck had missed his friend.
The man was looking at her for one second, and then just nothing the next. If he was still alive, perhaps the sudden change would have felt jarring. But he did not feel so.
In fact, he did not feel much of anything at all.
Perhaps, in life, he had an idea of what death would be like. This, however, was like nothing he could have ever imagined. He could not see, not even darkness. He could not hear, not even silence. He could not smell, he could not hear, he could not taste. He could not feel, not gravity, nor the feeling of weightlessness he had felt when he had been in water, or when he had been on a rollercoaster. He was not awake, nor was he asleep. Yet he knew that he was.
And that he was not dead. Not really.
He had no concept of time, but time passed. As it did, he felt a change. A small, uneven pressure. He could not even tell where he was feeling it. Did he have a body? He was sure he did not, but was he? Did he even have the capacity to know what it is like to 'be sure' anymore?
Then, more changes occurred. He suddenly heard, when he never could before. Touched, when he never felt before. The sounds were faint, like it came from a few rooms over. The touches were even fainter, like being poked through layers of clothing. But he felt, he heard.
And he lived.
The pressure around him grew stronger and stronger, enough for him to feel even more. To feel uncomfortable. He tried to move, bit by bit, just once in a while. His legs, if he had them. His arms, if they still existed. He tried to turn, but he could not. Then the pressure increased. He kicked, he twisted, he pushed. He was uncomfortable, and he needed out.
And out she came.
She heard before she saw. The voices. Someone was shouting. Someone said something to another in a rushed tone. She heard clanking of metal, the sloshing of water, the sound of plastic on more plastic. Then came the light. It was bright, and it hurt her eyes as she adjusted. Her vision was blurry, and she could barely make out any discernable figures. She smelled iron, and tasted it too. As more came to her, she started making sense of her surroundings. She felt something supporting her, keeping her upright by her butt and and back. What ever it was, she needed it, as she quickly realised that she would definitely not be able to keep herself from falling if the support disappeared. Whatever that truck did, it fucked her up. She felt an off vibration coming from her chest, at infrequent, short intervals. She could hear a little clearer. The people around her spoke in a language she did not understand. Some of them sounded concerned, but most of them now sounded rather happy. What about she did not know, but she did know that there was this really annoying, high pitched noise that she kept hearing. It seemed to come out whenever she felt the surge of vibrations in the chest.
Ah. She was the one making the noise.
She was crying.
Upon the realisation, she cried even harder, this time a little more wittingly.
What could you remember when you were 5 years old?
It was not like Teresa had amnesia. She knew things. Mrs. Baker was the one ran the orphanage, and Teresa also knew most of the other kids by name. She remembered that last week, Jimmy had pushed her onto the floor, intentionally, and they had gotten into a fight, which got them both in trouble. She remembered how to say a lot of different words, and she was aware that a lot of words needed to be said in a particular order, or they would sound weird. She remembered the whole alphabet, as well as the tune it was always paired with. She remembered how to do laundry, and how to sweep the floor, as well as wipe the tables. She had remembered that it was a Wednesday, and that was the 'Wed" on the calendar. She could remember a whole lot, but there was still a lot more that she could not.
For example, her parents. She did not know their names, how old they were, what they sounded like, nor what they looked like. She knows some of the older children around would sometimes say that they missed their parents, but Teresa did not. She never knew them, after all. Teresa also could not remember how she got here. To her, she had been living in the orphanage her whole life. Or at least, her current life.
Yes. Teresa could remember that she had lived another life before.
Though that was all she could remember.
She could not recall who she was. Her name, her age, what she looked like, what she did. All she can briefly remember was a book, or some sort of a show that she was talking about to someone right before... Right before... Something.
It was a fact she kept to herself. It had simply felt like something she should not randomly disclose to anyone. Not even her friends. Not even Mrs. Baker. It did not matter much, anyways. It was unlikely for anyone to believe her. Mrs. Baker did not even believe her when she told her that Jimmy was the one who started the fight. Or did she say that 'she didn't care'?
Teresa could not remember.
She was too busy to be trying to remember things, anyways. She was helping prepare dinner, and her task was to wash the rice. She scooped the rice into a cup, then meticulously flattened its top, making sure that the container was perfectly filled to the brim, before pouring the contents into the pot. The older sisters, who were cutting and peeling vegetables, were chatting.
"I want to be a singer when I leave the orphanage! Did you listen to Crystal M's new single? It was so good! And she looked so pretty on the cover! God I wish I could be just like her!" A brown haired girl said excitedly.
"Ehhh... I've heard you sing in the shower, you've got a long ways to go, Layla!" A blonde girl replied playfully, poking the first at the side with her free hand.
The first girl turned and poked her tongue out at the blonde, before both of them broke out into a bunch of giggles. Teresa scooped her second cup of rice, adding a pinch more on top to fully fill the cup.
"What about you? Any aspirations?"
"Eh... I think I'll try to marry into money, you know? Get a rich, handsome husband whom I can mooch off of forever, hehehe..."
"Huh? Rich and handsome? Why would anyone like that even marry you?"
"Oh come on, I'm so pretty!"
She twirled her skirt left and right as she said that, and once again, the two girls giggled. Once they stopped, the blonde girl's face changed to one more solemn.
"Then maybe I can get my husband to donate some money to this orphanage. Then maybe the kids like her will be able to lead a better life than us."
The blonde girl nodded towards Teresa, who was busy measuring another cup of rice.
"Patricia..."
Layla rubbed her companion's hand, looking her in the eyes.
"You sound so old..."
It was clear that she was simply trying to lighten the mood. Patricia looked at her and smiled before Layla continued.
"What would your... spouse, even need to do in order to be rich enough? You know... to be able to afford you, the orphanage, and our- I mean, your, kids..."
Layla looked down bashfully. Patricia let out a slight chuckle.
"Well, a doctor, lawyer or hunter would definitely be able to earn enough money. But maybe..."
Patricia laid her hand atop Layla's. Leaning in, she spoke, barely louder than a whisper.
"A singer would suffice."
Not even a fraction of a second had passed before another voice interrupted them.
"What is a 'hunter'? Why would a hunter be able to earn a lot of money?"
Teresa asked, too young to be able to read the room. The word 'hunter' had lit up several alarms in her head, although she could not figure out what the reason was. She was really curious, since she could feel that this 'hunter' is somewhat related to a memory she could not properly recall.
Patricia looked away. Teresa noticed that her ears looked a little red. Layla looked a little angry, which rather baffled Teresa. She did not think she had done anything bad.
"Teresa, you..."
Layla sighed, resigned.
"Hunters are special people who have passed the Hunter Exam. They work for the hunter association, and apparently they earn a lot of money." She answered.
Patricia turned back, looking a little more composed. She smiled at Teresa.
"Apparently if you sell the license you get from the Hunter Exam, you'd have enough money for the rest of your life!" She added.
"What do they do? What is hunting? What's a lice-n? What's a a-soul-ci-son? Why do you need to be special? What makes you special?"
The two older girls looked at each other, both realising that the little girl was more than they could handle.
"Teresa, you'll have to learn more about it when you're older, ok? More importantly, have you washed the rice yet?" Layla deflected.
"Ah, I haven't!"
With a new distraction, Teresa got to work. The two girls sighed, then looked at each other and smiled.
Later, in order to learn more about it, Teresa went and spent 2 whole years getting older.
"Hey! I got the new 'GAME ON' magazine! Let's take a look at what new games are out!"
Jimmy ran into the room, waving around a magazine. Teresa and a few of other kids had been taking turns on the new Joy Station that was donated to the orphanage recently. All of theirs eyes lit up, and the lot of them quickly surrounded Jimmy, who, just as as excitedly, flipped open the magazine.
Not all of the kids could read that well, especially since some of them were a little younger, so Jimmy was reading aloud for everyone to hear. He read through quite a few games. Some new titles, some from existing IPs, and a few sequels that made some of the kids really giddy.
"RockPerson ZX! Wow, too bad it's a little expensive! Huh, what's this, a new release? 'Greed Island, a hunting game for hunters'. Eh~ I wonder what it's about... Woah! The price is..."
Teresa had not heard anything else that Jimmy said. She was busy digesting this new piece of information that really did not want to go down her stomach easy. What was it, what was making her so... disoriented? What was causing this bloated feeling, and this ringing in her ears? Why did the words 'Greed Island' sound so familiar? What did it have to do with her?
Then it clicked. And it all came rushing.
Hunter x Hunter!
She remembered.
And at once, she realised that that was now her world.
Teresa retreated to a different room, one where she could be alone to collect her thoughts.
She still had no idea who she was in her past life. However, she was able to remember the piece of media that she had held very close to her heart. Close enough, anyways, that her final thoughts were about the manga. Yes, it was a manga, and it had an anime adaptation or two. She tried to recall its contents. The Hunter Association. How did she not realise? Not only were their logo plastered on several different places, Teresa had seen the word in quite a few books or newspapers. The characters- Gon, Killua, Kurapika Leorio... A sudden surge of emotions swelled within her. She had wanted to help, to protect the children present in the story! Story beats flooded into her mind: Killua's despair against the Chimera Ants while he still had Illumi's needle embedded in his skull; Gon's intense self-blame for Kite's death; Killua's desperate tears as he asked Palm to help save Gon; Gon's final despair, as he sacrificed all he had... Then Kurapika's lament that he was swallowed by revenge, 12th Prince Momoze's assassination, the death of the 10th Prince Kacho, and the suffering of the 11th Prince Fugetsu...
A new flame burned in Teresa's heart, a vestige of herself from a past life. She now had a goal in life. A grand ambition.
I'm going to save them all.
And I'm going to make them all happy.
First, she needed a plan.
Teresa quickly realised that recalling this memory did not make her anymore intelligent than she already was. In fact, she realised she was not even able to recall the events of the manga that well. She started with the Hunter Exam. She had no idea in which city the exam took place in, when it took place, nor what was the requirements to enter. She then realised that she did not even know what years the story happened in, which caused her a little bit of panic. For all she knew, she was born years after the succession war was over, and her silent declaration earlier was all for naught.
Wait! Greed Island!
Ging brought Gon there as a baby, right? Was it before or after the game was finished? No, that doesn't matter... Does it? Would Gon have remembered if he was only like, 1 years old? I don't remember anything from when I was one, so... How old was Gon when he caught the... what was it, 'King of the Lake'? Wasn't he 10? I thought he went to the exam at 11? Or was he 10...
Teresa pulled at her hair from the roots.
What was the point of remembering if I don't remember any important details??
Wait, I know! I'll just go to the exam every single year! I think Hisoka shows up and kills an examiner just the year before, right? Was it kill or injure? Anyways, if I see him at the exam venue, then I'll know that the next year will be the one where the story starts! Oh, but shouldn't I also get a Hunter License? It'll probably help a lot... Oh, I should just get it the year when Hisoka fails! If I tried the year with all of the main cast, there's a chance either I could fail because of them, or some of them might fail because of me!
Then, a different problem hit her. How was she going to pass the Hunter Exam? Gon was incredibly fit, no doubt attributed to the time he spent in the wilderness, and Killua was a trained assassin. Leorio was... and Kurapika was a member of the Kurta clan, and he probably trained a lot for his vengeance as well. What could she do in order to gain the capabilities needed to pass the exam?
Her eyes lit up, and she hurried to the kitchen and found herself a glass of water. She placed a leaf on top of it, placed her hands to the side, and focused.
That's right, nen! I can use nen in order to gain an edge over everyone! I'll have started training before anyone else! HAHAHAHA!
The laughter in her head died down as she saw that nothing happened to the leaf nor water. Confused, she stared blankly at the cup in front of her.
Ah! The taste must have changed! I must be a transmuter!
She eagerly took a sip of the water. Then another. Then another. She stopped as the cup became half emptied.
No matter how she spun it, it just tasted like plain water.
It took her quite some time to realise that her aura nodes were yet to be opened, and that she needed to learn at least Ren before she could even do the water divination test.