Chapter: 6

Author's notes:

Disclaimer: HxH belongs to Togashi.

... I know it has been a while since I updated, nearly a month really. Between sickness and other Real Life issues, I couldn't edit this chapter earlier even though it has been completed for a week now.

I'm not leaving any science fact checkers at this chapter due to how dark and depressing the nature of this chapter really is. What I will do instead is a political fact checker in the HxH world in this A/N:

The world of HxH has irrationally messed up politics in general, and the entirety of the Election Arc would have never played out as sugary sweet as it did if it were to happen in real life.

A prominent example of this would be the lack of global reaction to the usage of the Rose bomb, the HxH world equivalent of nuclear weapons. If something like this happened in real life, along with a sudden half a million losses in lives, the world would be in a frenzy, take it from someone living in the Middle East.

Another issue in the Election arc, is the lack of any sort of recognition to the ten parties that went into NGL prior Kite's team. No funeral, no nothing, and this counts for the ones that died in East Gortaeu. Simply unrealistic, there should have been an explanation for this.

The worst things post Election arc would be:

A- No one seriously bothered to investigate the disappearance of the 5000 cocoons? At least Paristion should have fabricated some sort of lie to make an excuse around this. How the hell is he keeping them fed and in check anyways?

B- No one seriously bothered to investigate the origin of the Chimera Ant Queen, or give acknowledgement to the fact that Kite may develop into a Chimera Ant Queen... Nuff said.

I'm going to address these issues along with many more starting this chapter, so many aspects of the Election arc, and post Election arc are going to be heavily altered and the Dark Continent are is going to take a different turn here. Starting from this chapter, the AU from post Chimera Ant arc truly begins.

WARNING: There is a suicide scene at the end of this chapter. If you are suicidal, or have constant suicidal thoughts, please, and I beg you please! Reconsider, trust me, the pain eases eventually no matter how awful it is. I was there in that situation, and I'm glad I chose not to end myself. So please do not consider death as an option!

This chapter rating is lifted to M for a suicide scene.

Mei's age has been changed from 11 to 12, the last chapter has the change edited.

Thursday 2:04 a.m

'All passengers to flight 213 please head over to terminal 7B'

Walking along a crowded mass has never felt so quiet and empty. Life around the world is just as it always has been save for one small region. People chattering, some to each other, and the others on their phones. Children are either laughing or complaining to their parents. So many ethnicity gathered in one gateway leading to a terminal past a checkpoint.

Horrors are witnessed by everyone at some point, everyone has their share of tragedy, loss, and drama. When does a situation, so alien, tend to bypass the very foundations of the human mindset?

The distraction that occupied him for a little over a week is over, Morel Mackernasey has to now face the reality that his psyche had pushed back in a desperate attempt to ignore what he's been through, what he's witnessed. But he simply can't stand and do nothing, not when his own heart is at a disagreement.

When someone is labeled dead, family and loved ones can cope. When someone is labeled injured, family and loved ones can cope. However, missing is a very tormenting label for someone to bear, for their family and loved ones will suffer until that person is announced to be either dead or alive.

Those families aren't going to be at rest. Morel was internally outraged upon hearing from Bean that the twenty three Hunters who died in NGL and the twelve that died in East Gortaeu were to be announced missing. Morel understands that this order was not issued by the HA itself, but it is still too much of a stretch to hide the facts from all Hunters who weren't involved in the Chimera Ant Extermination mission.

Only a selective number of Hunters know just how gruesome the mission truly was. The two who were in charge of the cleanup in the ant nest in NGL came back traumatized in spite of the fact that the Chimeras that chose to stay behind were benevolent to them, but then again, entering that chamber is nothing they can ever hope to recover from.

When the licenses of the twenty three hunters were retrieved with the help of a Chimera by the name of Panda, Morel was stunned when he checked the ID's of those Hunters. A friend of his who died at the hands of a Chimera Ant called Leol- as he learned of the name from the Chimera Ikalgo- had his apprentice Hunter die before him in NGL.

Unable to withstand the moral conflict of them being announced dead, Morel decides to visit Enmiraa*, an Azian country, where both fallen Hunters came from. Not wanting to rouse any suspicion, Morel paid for the flight and used his passport instead of relying on his Hunter license, after all, his move will be registered if he used it.

Two families will be informed. While Morel is somewhat relived that his friend was unmarried and had two brothers, thus making the news easier to his friend's living parents to cope with.. A quick search on online social media showed Morel that the other Hunter was one of two children to a small family in a town called Artadrel in the Tsiatsan mountain range.

It's disheartening to know that many young and inexperienced Hunters were sent to NGL to investigate. Something about that whole fiasco was sour, and Morel knows deep down that there's something missing to the whole story.

The airship is leaving very shortly. Morel hands over the ticket to be marked, and his passport was stamped.

Morel hopes that this isn't going to be too painful, both for the families and for himself.

Wednesday (Week 0): 12:19 a.m, Shinyoju Village.

The duo, Rojo and Azul, have made it back to the rented cottage after confirming their success less than five hours earlier. After spending nearly two days and nights awake, Rojo's phone began to ring after the duo have been asleep for no more than three hours.

It is more convenient for the duo to stay in this village due to the recent availability for cellular networks to work in densely populated areas in this district. Before Rojo managed to reach the phone, Azul picks up the phone and answers the call.

Upon hearing the voice of David Andrews, Azul's expression turns bitter.

** Hello? Ro-**

**Fuck you David! Do you have to call us now you fucktard!?**

"Azul. Hand me my phone now"

Azul hands over the phone, glaring at the screen while doing so, and mumbling something about lack of decency from David Andrew's behalf.

**Hello? David? Rojo here**

** Mission status**

Rojo sighed inwardly. The man, David Andrews is unbearably bleak most of the time.

**The Ant King is making significant progress in speech, social interactions, and recovery. The candidates took him in, he's currently staying at the Takada's household, sleeping in their living room**

**Anything else?**

**The girl by the name of Airi may have come in contact with Chimera Ants before**

**Is that a source of trouble?**

**The doctor Ryuga is unusually interested in the letter incident. This can arouse suspicion later on**

**I see... Anything else?**

Rojo bit his lips, keeping up with this man's pace has always been a nuisance.

** The Ant King is cure...**

** I take it you get my point now. Even though we've established a secure hidden network, you should have still asked if the line was secure. I am very disappointed Rojo, I thought you were a cautious man**

**...**

**Anyhow, the mission starts on Sunday, consider yourselves in week zero for now, come visit me a day prior week one. You are to be assigned as bodyguards for the health and college board inspectors so no suspicion is aroused by the Hunter that's been stationed in this district**

The call was terminated before Rojo could reply to David.

"So what did the dickhead say to make you look so pissed?"

Rojo sets his phone at the nightstand and rubs his tired eyes. David just made his night terrible, and he wonders if he can fall asleep before dawn tonight.

"I'm getting scolded by him, again" Rojo couldn't believe how awkward his own words sounded, it's unusual for a man at the age of twenty eight to say that he's been scolded, although David did have a valid point. One wrong word and both the HA and UMILS would come after them.

"The fuck for? Oi let me guess mate! You said too much despite the fact that we've established a hidden network five days ago. He's doing that to piss you off. Go back to sleep mate"

Sleep was something Rojo desperately needed. He tries to push any distractions off his mind as he lays on the mattress again, but fails.

"Azul" Rojo called for his partner.

"Yes mate?"

"There's a Hunter in this district alone. Then there are several others around, and if David referred to only that Hunter, that means there's something else going on. I don't think calling me out for not being careful was an offhand remark".

The younger tried to decipher what Rojo was trying to say.

"So... You're trying to say that a third party might be involved here?"

"Almost there"

"... He told you to zip it in way right?.. So, there might be a spy in our crew?"

"That's what he may have been trying to say I fear".

Azul paused for a little before asking the other "So, who do you think it might be?"

"I don't know"

"This sucks..."

"..."

"Get some sleep mate, we have a hell a lot to do tomorrow"

The older remembered something important from the other day. "Azul, I have something important to tell you on Thursday" He remembered that he wanted to punch Azul in the face for his conduct while they were shadowing the Ant King in the forest.

"Okay, sure. Goodnight"

"..."

Rojo hopes that he can rest well this night.

Thursday(Week 0) 5:52 a.m. Flight 213:

Morel wasn't bothered by the heavy and thick clothing he was wearing, it's going to be below the freezing point in the Tsiatsan mountain range at night. Wearing a wooly hat was a good addition, his outfit overall is doing well to make him feel obscured from his surroundings. No one is going to come up to a man that concealed.

The view outside the airship helped Morel ease out some of his tension, but it did little to put his mind at rest. What is he going to say to them? He knows that he can't say anything about how they died, and only vaguely why, and that's going to sound upsetting to them.

It's enough what he had to go through a day after the election was over. Palm confessed to him that she filed a request for a direct conformation to the Ant King's death, as long as the corpse wasn't to be incinerated as the majority appealed for.

A world renounced medical and pharmaceutical technology corporation took it upon them to remove the bodies, and bury them in an isolated area. The Hunters assigned there confirmed the death of the Ant King, and Palm got her request by retrieving the bodies of the Royal Ant Guard, and burying them.

The first pictures taken of the Ant King's body had left the parties involved, himself included, speechless. The Ant King was locked in the embrace of the deceased fourteen years and eleven month old world Guangi champion. It was only then that Morel truly believed that the Ant King had a close mutual relationship with the human girl.

Only nine Hunters have seen those images, Morel himself, his apprentices, Knov, and his apprentice, Chairman Secretary Beans, and three Hunters assigned in East Gortaeu. The staff that confirmed the death were the very same team of medical staff that were sent to NGL per the Chimera Colt's desperate appeal. And finally, there's the removal team which were composed of five different professionals.

The Chimeras Meleoron and Ikalgo refused to look at those pictures, Meleoron in particular refused to acknowledge what he has heard. Palm Siberia also gave everyone who knew a hard time herself, she refrained from saying what went on between the both Ant King and the human called Komugi. All she told them was that she prefers to let their last memories remain untainted, which led to an argument with Meleoron.

The bodies were finally buried on Friday last week, and the ruckus died out now that the Extermination mission is officially over. It was a pyrrhic victory at best. Over half a million innocent civilians of both NGL and East Gortaeu died. An entire race of sentient species, the Human-like Chimeras, can now be considered one of the most endangered species alive. And the main kicker is the lack of any available information on the five thousand cocoons... Until he received word that they were incinerated.

This is how things ended. Half a million humans dead, and a species of Sentient beings were born to be hunted again to the brink of extinction. Only forty two Chimeras now have been confirmed living, and all must comply to never leave the borders of NGL without both permission and surveillance.

Mass senseless slaughter on both sides behalf is what Morel calls it. Two races competing to live, and in the end, the older race have won by any means necessary, even if it means resorting to genocide themselves.

It was their only option, they had no other choice. If the Chimera Ants had won, humanity would be in jeopardy. Numbers, that was the only thing that Morel kept on trying to assure himself with. Humans dramatically outnumbered the Chimera Ants, and humans are his kind, which always comes first.

That would have been a good argument to keep him at ease... And yet, Morel has been stuck in a seemingly endless spiral of guilt upon hearing the mass extermination of the five thousand Chimera Ant cocoons.

The Hunter's association's greatest fear was that the ants will wipe out humanity, and here they are fulfilling that themselves onto the Chimeras. The mission was as successful as he hoped to be... And then they went on to exterminate the Chimeras that never had to do with anything, and keep the remaining Chimeras under watch.

What is the difference? Morel believed that he was doing his duty as a Single Star Hunter to serve humanity, but genocide was never anything he wanted to take part in. He doesn't want the Triple Star status, nor participation in the elections. What for? So he can take praise for walking out of that madness alive?

"Would you like anything to drink sir?"

"Humph?"

Morel snapped out of his thoughts to look at the flight attendant addressing him.

"One beer... And could you please fill the cup with ice?.. Thank you"

The flight attendant fills the cup, and gives him the half filled can. Morel sets it on his passenger seat tray, and wastes no time to begin sipping the cold beer.

Morel has been drinking extensively after the he dared to ask Beans what happened to the cocoons on the very same day the licenses of the fallen Hunters were retrieved. All he can do is attempt to drown out his grief before he knows for sure that Knov will force him to stop drinking.

He's alive... Both him and his two apprentices, because the enemy refused to kill them. The enemy didn't kill his apprentice Knuckle later, and Knov's apprentice wasn't killed or violated by the enemy as they had speculated.

Would she have been incinerated as well had she not hatched early?

Morel groans as he cusps his forehead in his right hand. He's been hardly sleeping or eating lately, with constant headaches to keep him from resting. Before that dreaded day he was doing well in terms of recovering, but the truth of what was done after the end has left him depressed.

The innocents have died on both sides, and the killers have survived on both sides. And now, Morel is going to try the only thing he can do to make the situation somewhat bearable for two families by telling them the truth.

Had things been different. Had he knew of what was going to happen afterwards, he would have protested. It's too late though, what is done is done, and there's nothing that he or anyone else can do to change that.

He still has some unfinished business to do. Morel knows that there's a something missing. As much as he doesn't want to believe it, Morel is sure that the HA wouldn't just send Hunters who haven't completed a single D+ rank to a mission with an unknown status.

A Chimera Ant Queen, conveniently humanoid, conveniently has human level intellect, has conveniently found her way into NGL, the most convenient place in the world for a colony of sentient Chimera Ants to thrive. That cannot have possibly happened by pure chance, and he has been thinking of ways around it for over a week now with no possible outcome of it all happening by chance.

As soon as this trip is over, Morel will begin investigating in this matter. But for now, there are visits to make.

Wednesday(week0) 9:10 a.m. Takada's Household.

... "Urph'... "Mnnah"...

"Y...Ke"

...?

"Are you awake?"

His eyes slowly began to crack open. He doesn't want to leave this comfortable setting, it's been a welcoming change to the damp and dark earth he was buried in.

That would have made him ignore Haruka san and allow himself to sleep a little longer, but he's hungry and wants to eat something, so he has to get up to go hunting in the meadow again.

"Hawuka san?" He's also in need for something essential as well.

"Yes there?"

"Wa-water?"

He can hear Haruka san giggle before telling him 'Sure there!'... Is 'sure' a confirmation word? Perhaps, perhaps not... He'll ask Mei, she knows everything apparently.

He watched Haruka san as she opened a wooden... cubic door thing at above the sink, and took hold of one of those glass cups. For some reason, he knows what glass is, along with many concepts like fire, and metal. What he doesn't know is how they are made and obtained.

Haruka san went to a giant 'bottle' filled with water. She placed the cup below a blue strapped piece, and she pushed the piece. This somehow caused the water to flow down into the cup. He needs to know where the water in 'sink', 'bottle', and 'toilet' come from.

She comes to him with filled cup, and he sits on the setting more properly and accepts the cup being offered to him by Haruka san.

"Th-th-thank you, Hawuka san"

The woman in question smiles warmly and pats his shelled helmet. He begins to drink from the cup patiently, not wanting to drink too fast.

Upon drinking the water, Haruka san took the cup from him and went to wash it in the sink. He should tell her now that he's going to hunt, but not before asking for Mei first. He doesn't know what he should hunt out here after all.

"Hawuka san?"

"Yes there?"

"Whee is Mei?"

"She's with her father at the clinic. Why do you need her for something?"

"Y-yes. Mei nd I go look for food to kill"

Haruka san bit her lips for a moment before speaking. "Your wounds need to be checked, and cleaned first".

She does have a point. He waits for her to gather the... Healing things... One of them is a bottle containing a liquid with a very sharp odor, he doesn't want to drink that thing, it stung when it was applied to his tail and shoulder yesterday.

Once she unwraps the dressings at his shoulder they both noticed that wound has healed completely. She then removed the dressings around his tail, and she looked shocked to see that most of the wounds have been remodeled with the eight segment mostly regenerated.

"Oh... That's.. Quite something"

"I heel!" He smiled at the fact, fully pleased to know that the pain is almost gone, and that there's little to worry about his wounds now. What's left of it.

The woman gave him a pat, and then continued to tend to his wounds. The sharp smelling liquid no longer hurts his tail when applied, but he still doesn't want to drink it.

"Hawuka San?"

"Yes there?"

"Aiwi?"

"... She went to her home earlier today, she said she needs to pack her things before moving in here. Her semester starts next month"

He's confused, she said too many new words at once. 'Earlier' 'Pack' 'Semester' 'Next' and 'Month' are all very new words to him, and he can't figure out the meaning of any of them.

"I don undastan ewliea, pack, s-s-sem-mesta nd next"

"Hmm... Earlier is for something that happened a little ago. Pack is to put things away in a containment... Semester... Semester is too complicated for you to understand. Next is for something that comes after, and Month is... Still complicated for you'.

There's so much that he still needs to learn, and it doesn't look like he'll understand everything anytime soon.

He should get to Mei now, he's hungry and he wants her to be his guide around to see the best hunting spots available. He hopes she can help him find something that's worth the meat.

"Mei? Wanna go with Mei"

"Wait just a bit" Haruka san said that and went to an object that's placed on a small 'Table'. There's a long line stemming from that object that ends in a port, one like many that are found throughout the house on many walls. There are many things he doesn't understand, like how humans can create light for an instance.

'?' What is Haruka san doing he wonders. She picked up a charcoal colored object with a line stemming from the end of it reaching to the main object, and now she's pressing pebble like structures that are making an audible noise upon being pressed... Now the object is making a 'duurrr' sound repeatedly.

"Hello? Shiori? Is Mei here... Can I talk to her?"

What just happened!? How!? Just how is that possible!?

"Hello Mei... Mei can you come over?... It's him, he wants you to help him out... Okay I'll be waiting for you"

... Haruka san just spoke to Shiori and Mei... Who are both in a completely different location... How is that even possible? What are humans!?

"Hawuka san!" That came out a little nervous, and she caught on to the uneasy tune of his voice.

"What's the matter there?"

"How you spoke with Mei nd Iori!?"

"Oh! That's because I was using a telephone" He blinked twice, what's a 'Telephone' and how does it grant someone the ability to speak with someone else from such a distance... Maybe he can contact other members of his species that way!... But he doesn't know which sequence to press... Haruka san managed to contact Shiori because she pressed a sequence that allowed her to contact Shiori, and he doesn't know any sequence to contact anyone with.

"Hawuka san.. I'm just the one of my otha... Are there otha?"

She paused, and drew closer. She placed her right hand on his right shoulder, and her right hand behind his back. He felt himself being drawn close to her. He appreciates the warm gesture, but he knows that Haruka san is avoiding the question.

Will he ever find any other members of his own kind? Or did the people the doctor told him about killed them all? Is he all that's left?... And then what? What will he do if he turned out to be the only one left? Is his kind doomed?

He likes these welcoming people, he'll stay with them at least until he's learned enough to manage things on his own. Only then he can set out to find more of his own kind.

"!"

He's suddenly startled by the knocking sounds on the front door. Mei is here. Haruka san pries herself from the embrace, and goes to open the door for her daughter. Mei must have ran all the way here.

Haruka san barely managed to open the door, for Mei decided to storm in to the house irritating her mother a little in the process. Mei is panting and her face is red. She stood before him and clasped her knees for a few seconds as she began to catch her breath.

"Mei-Mei!" He announced while ruffling her short raven hair. Her hair is a little sweaty, but it doesn't matter since he's going to wash himself once he comes back from hunting both for himself and his current caretakers.

Mei let out a giggle and raised her hand to poke his chest.

"So green boy! What do you want me for?"

"Mei, you nd I go look for food to kill nd eat-" "-Awesome!"

Mei took hold of his left wrist before exclaiming "C'mon, let's go! I know the right place!"

It's been about half an hour since they went into the forest, and he's very hungry now, is Mei really sure about what she's doing? As much as he wants to ditch this idea and look for something else to hunt, he decides to give Mei's plan a try.

He started a conversation with her earlier and asked her about other species that can talk, she told him that only humans and some magical beasts do, and that he might be a species of magical beasts.

One thing he's glad about, is that Mei didn't go to the sheer drop. He wouldn't know what to say if she saw the rotting carcass of one of her kind that he's responsible for the death of. Sure, he was on the verge of starvation, but he might have reacted differently if he had known about humans, or would he not? It's impossible to tell, he was in a daze after he dug himself from his grave, so he most likely would have ate that human either way.

At least, that human wasn't part of this group of humans, or even someone they might know. That way he won't feel too much about it, although it raises another question. Where did he come from and where did he live? Is it possible that he has never seen a human before now?

"Ok, from this point, I'll wait here and you kill the roe dear who should be near the water by now"

Right, the plan. Mei told him that a 'Roe dear' is very big and meaty, and that he should carry it back close to her house, and cleave multiple sections of its body. Mei told him that humans have created something to prevent food from spoilage, and that Haruka san will store the meat in that 'Device' called 'Freezer'.

Mei can stay here, there's nothing dangerous here at this time of the day...

... He halted, and took a few moments to let the thought that just crossed his mind sink in... Mei might not be safe surrounded by shrubs and trees. If he could eat a human, then others of his species most certainly can.

What if others of his kind are hiding in the forest, both lost and hungry? They'll kill and eat her before she can even register what's going on! He should tell her to stay in an open area where she can see any signs of movements in the shrubs.. No, that's too far, he'll never reach her in time that way.

"Mei, stay with me" This caused her to be a little confused.

"What!? Why? We'd lower our chances of capturing it that way!"

"Mei, bad things in forest!"

"There's nothing dangerous at this time of the d-"

"There is danja in fores-"

"-Well yeah? Like what-"

"-Like Me!"

'!' He shouldn't have said that!

"... I don't understand?" What should he tell her now?

"Care to elaborate?" She's going to be afraid of him if she finds out won't she?

"Hello?" He has no choice but to tell her why his dangerous, he will leave out details, but she'll get the gist of it. He silently wishes that she won't hate him afterwards.

"... Mei.." "Yes greenie?"

"My kind can eat euman" "That's a speculation, you don't remember anyth-"

"Mei!" "..."

"Aiwi talk that otha my kind kill her motha" "She could have mea-"

"Mei... I know she spoke bout my kind" "..."

"My kind don know human talk nd think... I think to my kind, euman don talk or think, my kind don know euman long ago... My kind only know euman now".

"... What?" The word came out like a whisper and he knows she won't like what she's going to hear next. If she acts out in fear, then he'll leave for good and never come back again.

"Mei..." "...Yes?"

"Two day ago..." "... Waiting"

"I...I... I..." "Just say what you want to say alrea-"

"-I kill and ate a euman Mei! I killed a euman!"

... If time can stop, then it would have as soon as he said those words. The young girl, Mei Takada stood there like a statue with a shaken expression. She neither moved nor spoke, and even her very own breath seemed to have come to a halt...

After what seemed to be a moment eternally frozen in time, the girl broke the dreadful silence, and he was apprehensive about what she'll say. This is it he told himself, he ruined everything.

"... But... Why?" "..."

"... Why?" He wanted to face the ground, but that would be cowardice, so he looked her in the eyes and said:

"I was go die from no food for many days... All nimals go way, woo danja at night... Euman was there... So I kill the euman..."

"..."

"I unestan" He admits in defeat before adding "I'm goin way..." Then he used a word he learned last night "Bye Mei".

He turned to leave. That's it, he destroyed his only chance at having some sense of his existence, and it's all because of how different he and humans are. His kind is composed of dangerous predators, while humans live in more enclosed, less violent lifestyle. The two species just can't mix he sadly accepts.

"WAIT!"

"!"

"DON'T GO!"

Mei ran up to him and stood dangerously close to him. Doesn't she get it? He's a source of danger both to her and her family she shouldn't draw that near to him, especially after he told her that he preyed on one of her species.

"Look at me now!"

Reluctantly, he obeys.

"I kind of saw this coming..." '!?'

"You see... My father is very skeptic.. As in someone who always thinks about why something happens all the time, and tries to falsify it to see if it is real or not"

"When the geno- mass killings happened, a strange person came up and sent writings to a station that gives out information to people about daily happenings, it's called news channels and news stations. You're with me so far? Okay"

"The writings state that there might be non human talking creatures who arrived here shortly before the mass killings, and that these creatures come from a land called NGL. You see, the humans that live in NGL are too basic, and live a very wild and un-smart lifestyle that made them too weak and low in intellect"

"Today at dawn, I snuck into a certain room in the clinic to hear what Yuta and my father have to say without them seeing me. I was surprised to hear that they are sure that you came from NGL, and that your kind had little to no actual civi- talk with humans before"

"Now I believe that your kind may have often hunted humans in NGL, and because of how basic humans there are, contact and talk between both kinds was never made until your kind came here. This led to a lot humans dying from your kind, and a lot of your kind dying from humans"

"Fortunately, a powerful group called the Hunters Association put down the very un-friendly beasts, and classified the friendly ones as magical beasts under protection, which means under safety"

"This means that all of you kind, both the friendly and the un-friendly have eaten humans before knowing that humans are also smart. The fact that you are warning me proves that you are not among the dangerous ones that continued to cause damage after knowing what humans really are".

... This is a lot to take in at once. From what Mei was trying to tell him, he understood the following; The Doctor was in a way curious yet unsure about something a strange person sent to a 'news station' where humans share information.

These 'writings' the stranger sent state that his kind came from a place called NGL where humans are not advanced, and from the way she says it, the advanced humans have never heard of his kind because the humans from NGL are poor in intellect and therefore don't know how to share information far away like Haruka san did this morning using something called a 'Telephone' if he recalls correctly.

Both the Doctor and Yuta had suspicions about the likelihood of him being from the land that goes by the name 'NGL' and that his kind never bothered to attempt a talk with the humans there, and the reverse is true.

If the humans there are too basic, then their primary reaction to seeing one of his kind is to run away or scream. His kind must have treated them as prey following that logic, just like how he treated the very first human he met after he dug himself out of his grave.

He dreadfully thinks about it for a moment, and draws a grim conclusion. Humans live in groups of many, and they are very helpless without designed tools like the artificial light the Doctor used to startle the wolves with. Does this. Could this mean that.. His kind often raided human gathering groups and abducted several humans to eat?

The idea does make a lot of sense as disturbing as it is. Humans are weak and slow, and they have very rich and tender meat... Catching them is easy, so his kind must have hunted them during times where rich meaty animals are scarce.

Possibly the reason why humans from NGL never left that land is either fear of being completely wiped out by his kind along the path in mountains or forests, or that they might have thought that what's waiting for them outside is even worse.

This calls for another question. If the humans in NGL were too scared and isolated to leave, then what about humans who wanted to venture in NGL? Were they all eaten like the human from two nights ago? That would explain why his kind wasn't discovered until recently, after all, if all the humans going there never come back, then why should anyone bother going there.

... But then... How did his kind get discovered?

Mei mentioned something about a group of very powerful humans called 'Hunters Association'. Could they have survived his kind's hungry raids on humans? How? He killed five wolves while he was on the verge of starvation after being buried for days, he was too weak at the time and he still managed to kill them. What kind of humans are the 'Hunters Association' to survive against creatures like him at full strength?

Even that isn't a sufficient explanation. The whole picture is incomplete, there's still something he doesn't understand. If his kind came from NGL, then how did he and many of his kind even got here in the first place?

Suppose that he and his family somehow got here, that still wouldn't explain how he and his family died unless... The group called the 'Hunters Association' came here and started to look for his own kind in order to kill them. But then why would they protect some of his kind and kill others?

If he was one of the very violent ones, why bother giving him a proper burial? This would have been nonsensical to him, but a thought crossed his mind. What if the humans called the 'Hunters Association' never knew that his own kind was smart like humans, and they resorted to killing them out of fear before knowing the full truth.

If that is the case, then who is responsible for the mass killings? His kind couldn't have hunted too many people at once, and the 'Hunters Association' wasn't killing his kind by over thousands. The land would be full of corpses of his species and there would be also many of his species around that way.

There's a missing piece to this enigma that he just cannot grasp. He'll talk to Mei about this once he learns enough words to communicate with her properly. If Mei trusts him with her secrets, then he will trust her with his. He won't tell the Doctor or Yuta about this for now. He's going to wait and see what conclusion they might come up with.

If his conclusion is right, then it's sad. He likes humans now that he got to know them. he can't begin to fathom how he used to hunt them down and take them away from their families to eat them when prey was scarce.

He understands that his kind wants to survive, but still he can relate to why the powerful group of humans attacked his kind. He almost shuddered at the thought of Mei being torn away from Haruka san's arms and being taken to be served as a meal for very hungry members of his kind.

How many humans were eaten by him and his family in the past? Did his parents bring him humans to eat whenever food was scarce? Or worse yet, his parents could have been teaching him how to raid human houses and steal members of them to be eaten...

This time he shuddered, and Mei took notice of that shudder.

"So? What do you have to say about this greenie?"

He folded his arms around his chest, head facing the ground, and shook his head "I don know how to tell you, I don know words".

"Say it the best way you can"

A long and tired sigh escaped his throat as he rested his right palm on his forehead "Mei" He began "My kind ate euman when little food. I wememba euman meat... I ate many euman, me nd my kind"

Now facing away from Mei, he continues. "I think powefa euman kill my family, my kind like euman meat nd don know euman smart nd talk, nd euman don know my kind smart nd talk, so euman nd my kind kill both otha"

"Euman in NGL no smart, my kind think them no people, so my kind eat euman much... Yestay... Aiwi say I a monsta.. Monsta kill nd eat euman wight Mei?"

The young girl shook her head "You're not a monster stupid. This whole ordeal is just one big misunderstanding from both sides" He doesn't know what 'Ordeal' means, but he believes it may refer to an outcome of something as he easily understands 'Misunderstanding'.

"What you said brings many mysteries- not know things... I'll tell you what. Kill the roe deer now, and I'll teach you from around five till ten this evening. In a few days I'll teach you about letters and numbers. Once you understand enough, we are going to have a very long talk"

"Mei.." "Yes greenie?"

"This talk is me nd you. No otha people" "My thoughts greenie"

He began to shudder again, this time he clasped his shoulders to try to ease the tremors "Mei...I don want to eat euman... Don want to... don want to" He's shaking now, all of this is too much for him to cope with at once.

This is what he is? A monster that abducts humans from their families to eat them? Is this what being the strongest predator is like!? He hates this. All because of the fact that he and his family are this kind of creatures, his family was killed for being a creature that preyed on human flesh... And he actually enjoyed it.

The tremors kept on increasing, and he's not caring that Mei is trying to shake him out of it. He's scared, no, he's terrified. He's terrified of the powerful humans that are killing his kind, he's terrified that he made life for many humans terrifying... This is all wrong, too wrong.

"Snap out of it! Greenie! Snap out of it! It's going to be okay now! No one's going to hurt you and you don't have to hurt anybody!"

He can't, he can't go back to Mei's house, he can't "Please greenie!"

Mei saying the word 'Please' caused him to look at her directly, she can see the pain and panic in his eyes that he can't. She places a hand on his shoulder and pulls him "It's okay greenie, there's nothing that's going to hurt you or anyone else now" She began rubbing his back and his tremors began to ease down a little.

"C'mon there buddy. Relax... There, breath deeper...Good"

...He just... He just cannot take in that revelation at once so easily, there's still something he has to ask Mei for. Maybe she can help him understand just exactly what was going on in the isolated land called NGL, and how the powerful humans managed to survive hi-

"You know this complicates a lot of things about what the cons- writings stated" What is she talking about? Mei is mumbling to herself "If the anonymous was saying the truth... Then you folks were involved somehow, but there weren't many of you I think. There's no way your kind could have exceeded two thousand" Mei is confusing him.

"If all the letters were true, then Burondo is also one of the creatures from NGL... But how? That guy looks obviously human" Mei isn't talking to him, she's rambling to herself "And yet... One thing remains strange. Burondo did cross from the site of the bomb upon it's detonation to the mass gathering without dying" This isn't something he likes anymore.

"-Mei... What you spoke? I don undestan..."

She huffed and then said "There's no way that you're going to understand anything I might tell you now. You have a lot to learn greenie. Now would you please just kill the roe deer?"

... She didn't answer his question, but he's going to trust her judgment. He's getting very hungry, and he feels like killing the roe deer now.

He informs Mei that she must stay close to him in case others of his human eating species are still somewhere in this forest, and she obliges by mentioning something about not wanting to be eaten.

... His existence is a mess.

Friday (week 0) 12:04 p.m. Artadrel Town.

It's a calm and pleasant town here, no one looks anywhere near upset. The fresh scent of the earth after the rainfall has made the air more lively. The chimneys are emitting smoke, and some town folks are selling firewood and charcoal.

Two children sprinted by, laughing and giggling as they run on the stone paved street to a brick house ahead surrounded by herbal garden plants just like most of the houses in this small town. A woman waved to the two children and they returned her gesture by saying 'Barev!' which stands for hello.

The door to the house ahead opened and the children were greeted by whom looks like to be their older brother. The duo giggled at their brother's expression as they went into their house, the door closing behind them. There's a school break this week he remembers as he heard from a bystander at the train station late last night.

Morel is currently looking for where the deceased Hunter's home is located, but this task is a little difficult due to the towns infrastructure. The town itself is located on a mountain slope, so it's streets are constant ups and downs. Not to mention the heavy plantations between each house adds to the difficulty of locating landmarks, sure this serves to make this town look attractive, but it isn't helping his current situation.

Maybe he should ask this woman for directions.

"Nerets'yek' induz karotum" He tries his best not to sound like a foreigner, but it's obviously not going to work, and his tanned skin is an obvious giveaway either ways.

"Ayo?"

"Duk' gitek' vortegh Jorj mwkhanik?"

"-Inch'u yek' uzum tesnal nran?" He asked her of the mechanic named Jorj, and she immediately responded with why he wants to see him. Her cheerfulness has dropped and was replaced by sternness.

"... Yes aystegh yem matuts'yel norut'yunner..." Morel flatly said that he's here to deliver news, and the woman looked grim in response. She has a hunch that something terrible has happened, or maybe it's his own worn out face and lifeless voice that gave it out.

"Yeresun metr depi dzakh e Baze hushardzani" So thirty meters to the left of the Falcon monument. That's close by the town's largest cathedral, he won't have much difficulty looking for it, it's tall enough to be seen from here.

Morel was about to thank the woman for her corporation, but she looked at him accusingly and said "Spasets'in yerku amsov". They waited for two months she said.

Morel can do nothing but nod and tell her that he's sorry. The woman bid him goodbye and left him without saying anything else. The towns folk are truly upset about the Hunter then, he has been missing for two months as he and the remaining Hunters sent to NGL and East Gorteau were falsely stated to be. They are all dead, and only his deceased friend's family knows the truth so far.

As soon as the election ended, letters were sent to the families of the Hunters that they went missing. No additional information was added, that's all they received, that they are simply 'missing'. All they said was the date of when they went missing, and that's about it. Those families, the ones he can't risk informing, are going to wait forever or come in terms with the fact that their missing relatives are never coming back.

He should go look for the Jorj, the Hunter's uncle whom he lived with. Morel hopes that this confession doesn't cause more damage than that that's already been done.

Thursday(Week 0) 7:19 p.m The Clinic.

Finally, I get to start some sort of examination on this boy. He's in a much healthier state now than he was two days ago. Still I find it hard to believe how he managed to carry the dead weight of a some forty five kilogram roe deer at a distance of two kilometers from the nearest stream in the forest to the back of my house with little effort.

He did spend about four hours cleaving the animal's body and Mei was placing the meat in zipper bags and placed them in both the fridge and the freezer. Twenty four kilograms of meat was obtained from the deer he killed yesterday, twelve for him and nine for us, and the other three were given to the staff members.

"For the last time kid, stand straight!" Shiori is having a hard time making him listen to her, he deliberately ignores her for some reason... And there he goes again, shrugging his shoulder in refusal.

"Greenie, c'mon now, she only wants to see how tall you are" He looked at Mei for a few seconds, then stood up, back straight. Shiori told him to keep standing like that as she began to set the measuring tape.

Meanwhile the boy looks a little overwhelmed, and I find that to be funny in a way, it's like he wants to ask many questions but he knows Shiori is going to tell him to stand straight again.

"..." Shiroi stood up and rolled the measuring tape "You're a hundred and sixty two centimeters tall. A little short" I know he doesn't understand what she meant by centimeters, but his tail curled and he pouted at being called short.

Now we'll have to measure his weight. I ask him to step on the weight scale, and he hesitantly does so. He yelped when his bare feet touched the cold metal, Mei laughed at that. Thankfully he stood as instructed while looking at the numbers in puzzlement.

"... Fifty four kilos... You're underweight" How long did he stay malnourished? His weight should be at least fifty nine at his height... Malnourishment is a serious problem in this country, but still I thought he'd be somewhat better in shape.

"Unda wait?" "You should keep on eating like the way you do, then you'd get better. Right now you are in a bad state" Thanks for the clarification Mei. I supposed that he should have accumulated some weight in the past four days, but I have to remind myself that most of the energy he consumed went into his recovery.

"Kid" I call for him. "Yes Docta?" "Lay down on that bed" I tell him to sit on the examination bed, now I can visually study his physical characteristics a little better. As soon as he lays down I turn on the light placed above the neck of the bed where his head is resting.

"Open your mouth kid... A little more than that... Good"

Despite the fact that he has human level developed facial muscles and jaw motion, I find it quite perplexing to see that he can speak as well, not to mention having a chin which mystifies me to no end. Do his species have languages like humans? It must be so, otherwise it'd be impossible for him to pick up a language like that. The problem is that he picked up on a human language, so does that mean that his kind communicate on a similar frequency to that of humans?

I began to trace his jaw, his jaw angle is expanded like a human's, and the jaw joint is located above the plane of the molars, again, just like a human's. I notice how small his mouth opening is in comparison to his head, which is strange for a creature that kills large animals and eats large quantities of raw meat.

Slowly, I survey his teeth, and I can say that I am truly astounded by what I'm looking at. While his incisors are broad and flattened, and his molars are flattened with nodular cusps, his canines are both sharp and curved. Most interesting aspect of his teeth, is the small sprouting teeth at the gums... He has rows of teeth ready to replace the old ones if broken.

So I take it that while his canines are sharp and curved, his jaw isn't made for supporting strong fangs like true carnivores and bears. The rows of teeth are indicators that his kind often lose their teeth in hunting prey and eating, so they need replacement teeth in order to survive.

I hold his right hand up. His nails flattened like humans... However his hand and forearm... The whole arm really, why is it segmented? The fingers begin with a segmentation at the MCP joint, then there's another segmentation at the root of the carpal bones.. If he even has them, or perhaps he has them but they look different.

The forearm is its own segment, and so is the arm, and the shoulder. Each is a segment. I inspect his torso, which is smooth like human skin, but thick and tough. His head and neck are not segmented exterior like his entire limbs I notice.

So if he has an endoskeleton, what evolutionary does having thick tough skin and segmentation serve a purpose for? How, and what circumstances have led for this boy's species to evolve in such manner? He's so human, and yet very different.

The texture of his... Skin.. Is odd. On his torso, neck and face, the skin is smooth and the muscles can be traced. The skin on his limbs is tough and very thick, and there are parts of his body that lack skin, instead these spots are cold and case-like.

Curiously, I chip at it with my nails, and to my surprise it doesn't even make the boy respond to scratching, it's like the layer is too thick without nerve receptors on, or right underneath the surface. I should analyze a sample of this.

And what about the extensions that start a little above his ears and end just below his neck? I should try giving it a little pinch at the end...

"Stop it"

I immediately comply, and give him a small apology. Sorry kid, but I really couldn't help it, it's odd and it's just... There.

Just what are those extensions? What purpose do they serve? If that wasn't the only strange thing, the fact that he's also completely hairless counts. More bizarre is his supposed tail, both his testes and his urethra, and bladder are most likely located there inside of his 'tail'.

What in the world is he? His tail and limbs are segmented, and yet he has similar physiological makeup to that of a hominid. His lack of hair is odd, the shells on his body are more so... I did have one suggestion cross my mind earlier, but it's ridiculous...

... Could the shells be.. Composed of chitin- No.. But.. Segmentation, the so called tail, the haemocyanic blood, and then there's the extensions. No, it wouldn't make sense, arthropods and fish evolved separately from each other.. He doesn't have any scales either, so...

I'm trying my best to stay in denial, but if I'm going to listen to my thoughts, then he somehow has arthropod-like characteristics. It still is impossible, this boy is impossible. There's no way that an animal can evolve to look like this. If he looked like anything other than human then I would have been able to draw some lines.

I should ask him some questions.

"Kid" "Yes docta?"

"Do you remember some things that had to do with how you lived with your own kind?"

"... Kid?" He looks tense.

"Dad don't you think that's enough examinations for today? You all look tired!" Why did Mei interrupt me?

"Mei? Wanna go... Aiwi there.. Will Aiwi hewrt me gain?" It's amazing really, how he keeps on picking up on the language so quickly.

"Relax kid, I won't let her do anything to you. Stay away from her, and she won't yell at you either"

"Docta" "Yes kid?"

"Can I stay with Mei?" "Pardon?... I don't understand what you just said"

"Sleep in Mei room?"

What did he just say!? "Why" I try my best not to sound irritated. My daughter is twelve, and he looks just about the age of a fifteen year old human adolescent, and given how similar he is to a human. This is very concerning.

"Dad let him st-" "-I asked him a question, he should answer me now!"

"... I like Mei. Wanna talk with Mei before sleep" "Excuse me!?"

Damn it, I know he most likely doesn't have any perverted thoughts towards my daughter, but that's always the case with young adolescents. They get curious eventually, and try to act on their curiosity towards their bodies. I do not want that to happen.

"I don't care whatever your reason may be! You're not a young boy, and she's not a small child anymore! You cannot sleep in the same room with a girl like Mei! Either you'll touch her or she'll touch you-" "-Ryuga!"

"Let me finish Shiori!"

"Look kid! You can talk to Mei all day, you can play and stay alone with Mei all day. But you cannot sleep in my daughter's room, or sleep in the same room with her altogether! I don't want you two to make any stupid mistakes that will lead to serious consequences! Do you understand me young man!?"

"... Yes docta. I undastan. You don want me and Mei to stay at night. You think me and Mei mate at night alone..."

So he finally gets it- wait. From where did he learn the word 'mate'?

"Kid! How do you know the word mate!?" I want to hear what he has to say now.

"Mei say I kill roe deer yesterday. I kill deer and look at deer. Deer look not like in book at head, and Mei say deer shed antla and grow antla before mating season"

... Alright, that's a valid respond. Not wanting this lecture to escalate further, I pat his head and he nods in response. He's a good kid, and I believe that he won't try to do anything with my daughter, but I have to lecture him, because he is a good kid and I know he'll listen.

"Docta" "Yes kid?"

"Thank you for talking me that"

"You won't touch my daughter-" "-Dad!-" "No Docta"

"And the reason for that?" "So Mei and I don mate when me or Mei don think"

"Good" He understands what I told him alright. At least this leaves something less to worry about. I knew that I would have to go through something similar for Mei someday, but I did not expect it to happen so soon.

"Come on kid, get up, we're going home" "Yes Docta!"

Taking care of two adolescents, one who happens to be non-human, and a twelve year old all at once is going to be handful. Especially since one of them is a boy which might cause some early interactions between those kids, and the other is a girl who's social skills need some serious improvements.

I hope this week ends well...

Friday (Week 0) 4:14 p.m. Artadrel towm.

Morel had found Jorj's mechanical shop over two and a half hours ago, but did not make a move to approach the man. Instead of giving the man the news abruptly, Morel waits for the man to close up shop and go back to his house, then he'll deliver the news formally to the entire family. Given how today is Friday, shops are going to close earlier, and Morel is already following the weary man to his house.

The air is chilling, and the temperatures might drop low enough to snow this night. Morel remarks on how early nightfall has arrived, it is the month of December which makes it understandable, but Morel didn't travel north often, especially on mountain ranges. Perhaps he never cared to notice before, he's a seaman, not a hiker, he doesn't notice the transitions in seasons as much as land explorers do.

Despite how empty this path is, it's quite full of sounds. The booming winds coming from the thick pine mountain forests, and then there's the sound of the unforgiving cold rainfall. Those are sounds Morel is all familiar with, with the exception of the rustling of the tree branches.

Morel fastens his scarf more tightly around his nose, and his wooly hat is barely keeping his ears from going numb from the cold. He probably looks ridiculous with the sunglasses that he's still wearing in this inappropriate time and weather, but he doesn't want to walk around without dark glasses. He should have gotten a more appropriate pair of glasses designed for harsh winter environments, but he had forgotten to buy them.

Looking ahead is getting more difficult now, and by that regard, so is keeping track of Jorj. The light of the street lamps does little to help Morel see well amidst this heavy rainfall and dark sky. Morel ponders the idea of removing his glasses for a few seconds, but then dismissed the idea. It's not worth the sight.

There's a faint light ahead, it must be Jorj's house which resides on the high outskirts of this town. Only a little more distance left, and the freezing rain now feels colder than ever as Morel dreads what's to come next. How will they react to seeing a strange looking man at their doorstep telling them that the boy they spent so many years raising has been dead for two months?

Jorj has went inside the house just now, and Morel is close to the house as lights of the house become more and more clear as he closes the distance. Each step feels heavier now, the reluctance is so overpowering by now that he almost stopped walking altogether. But he must continue, he cannot go back now.

Standing before the front door, Morel raises his hand to knock at the door, only to hesitate. Seconds pass as Morel stands affixed in that stance, his mind a complete blank. No matter how hard he tries to think of what to say, his mind simply refuses to give him optional replies.

Finally gathering the courage, Morel knocks the door with a series of heavy knocks and waits for a reply. It doesn't take long for the door to be opened, and Morel was greeted by the sight of a woman who looks to be around her late thirties with very light brown hair and hazel eyes.

The woman is a little startled by the sudden and unexplained appearance of a large and heavily coated stranger. Morel understands her reaction and politely greets, and tells the woman that he is looking for Jorj Arev.

The woman calls for her husband while keeping her gaze on Morel unchanged. Either she's wary of him, or the reason he's here. In a way, it's possibly the combination of both. Jorj is coming his way, and he can see from the corner of a room ahead the head and shoulder of a peering boy with the same hair color as his mother. This boy must be the deceased Hunter's younger cousin.

"Barev" Morel greeted the man who now exchanged a wary glance with his wife before looking at Morel again.

"Karogh yem ognel dzez voch'nch'ov?"

Morel let out a drained exhale. It's best if he goes straight to the point instead of confusing those folks any further than that. This is going to be one of the worst hours of his life, and it hasn't even begun yet. Not wanting to mull over it again, Morel announces what he is.

"Yes Hunter, yev ka mi ban, vor yes petk' e asem dzez bolor"

Their reaction was the most dreadful silence he has ever been unfortunate enough to bear witness to. Even though Morel merely said that he is a Hunter and there is something he must tell them all, the graveness in his voice gave it away.

Taking in a deep inhale, Morel prepares himself to say the worst. This family will have to be faced with the bitter truth, and Morel for a moment regretted coming all the way here. Now that he's here however, he can't walk out the door without saying anything. It's too late to turn back now.

"Dzer zarmiky mahats'yel e yerku amis arraj, yes ts'avum yem".

There, he said it. Their nephew had died two months ago.

Morel felt his heart clench as the woman let out a broken wail. Jorj, her husband took action to support her from collapsing right away. The woman wailed again, calling the deceased boy's name at the top her lungs. As she broke down in a fit of wails and tears, the young boy who was hiding behind the wall of the room ahead revealed himself.

The boy drew near Morel, dragging himself like a broken ragdoll. The boy's pair of vacuous chestnut eyes glowered straight ahead, and Morel wasn't sure if he was looking at him, or at nothingness.

Morel didn't know what to do or say at that moment, all he could do is give the family some time to adjust to the news, but he knows that there is something deeply troubling about this boy's reaction to the news of his older cousin's death. Sadness and anger are common reactions, but this ghastly silence is something Morel is yet to bear witness to, and Morel knows that it cannot be a sign of something good at all.

The woman pried herself from her husband's hold and went up to Morel and roughly grabbed the his scruffily scarf. Her eyes are already red from her weeping, and the colors have been drained from her face. Morel can see the two most common response he have witnessed in sudden traumas like this, desolation and rage.

"inch' yek' anel, vorpeszi nran!" Morel couldn't reply, he cannot tell her what happened to the boy.

"Inch'u yek' t'vogh mahana!?" Morel is helpless to reply, he cannot tell her why he died either.

She kept on yanking at his scarf, demanding to know what happened to the boy all the while. Again, Morel couldn't do or say anything to the woman. Despite making this decision on his own, Morel knows that exposing the truth of what happened during the deceased Hunter's last mission will only cause unwanted chaos. Not that she wants to know that the boy was butchered and eaten by giant part human arthropods, that would undoubtedly ruin her mentality forever.

"Dadarets'nel ayn Sally!"

Jorj took it upon him to stop his wife Sally from further assaulting the Hunter named Morel. She began weeping again, and Jorj tried his best to reassure her by stroking her back. During this painful period, Morel felt a tug on his thick coat. Looking to his left, Morel found the couple's son blankly staring at him as he holds the wooly tip of the coat.

"... Inch'u?"

Morel could only lower his head in mourning. No matter how hard he tried, he can't think of a valid answer to why that young Hunter died exactly. He cannot say if it's to feed a giant humanoid Chimera Ant queen, to be the subject of curiosity to high ranking Chimera Ants, or even irresponsibility on the behalf of the Hunter's Association itself. The truth is all those three, or maybe that's not even the real truth. Morel knows that there's more than one enigma in the whole ordeal, and he promises himself to find the answers to those enigmas.

"Why did he die?"

This grabbed Morel's attention. The boy is bilingual it seems. Perhaps he caught on the language from his deceased older cousin when he was studying the language requirements needed for applying for the Hunter's exams.

"I wish I had the correct answer to that question kid" Morel replied to the boy, his voice sounds more gravely than ever before.

"But... He told me he's going to look for new beasts..."

"I know kid..."

"... He told me he'll be back on Christmas..."

"I'm sorr-"

"He promised me.. He promised me. He never breaks a promise... He can't be dead.. He promised me"

"Why?... Why did you take him somewhere dangerous? They told him it's easy"

Morel was muddled by this, what is this boy talking about!?

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that he received news of an expedition and investigation mission in an isolated country by e-mail. He didn't tell me many details, but he told me the mission is a rank D- as the e-mail told him".

This is unexpected. This is very strange, Morel never heard of anything that has to do with a pre-rating to the first expedition mission to NGL. However, something about what this boy said, and the experience level of the eleven expeditions teams that went there, save for one of them, is pretty troubling.

"Did he tell you anything else in the e-mail he sent you?"

The boy shook his head in denial "All he told me after that is that he's hunting for new species of beasts, that's all".

True to the boy's words, there was a flier for Beast Hunters to go to the investigate in NGL, nine of the twenty three Hunters that died were Beast Hunters. The specific choice of inexperienced hunters, combined with a faux pre-planned rating is what's deeply troubling Morel. He needs to contact Loupe Highland in the following week.

4:44 p.m. Arev household:

Morel had given the family some time to adjust to the situation at hand. Sally, Jorj's wife and the deceased boy's aunt from his mother's side as her son had told him is a little calmed now, at least she's no longer wailing, but her eyes are still weeping and her face is reddened. Jorj, the deceased boy's uncle from his father's side as Morel learned from their son again, is taking things better than both his wife and son.

The deceased boy's uncle began to speak after a long silence, he seems to be bilingual as well, maybe the whole family is.

"Eleven years. That's how long we've took it upon ourselves to take care of him" Morel nods in understanding. The boy was an orphan, and he was raised by his aunt and uncle instead. His parents died when he was about four years old then.

"It was due to the terrorist attack that occurred in Darbas eleven years ago. Twenty thousand people were killed by the Rose that day, and five thousand and three hundred and forty two more in the following day"

"He was only one of a hundred and seventy one people that survived after being rushed to intensive care after being exposed to very small concentrations... The doctors thought he was dead at first, and so he was sent to the morgue where he stayed for only eight hours before he suddenly started coughing"

"The doctors rushed him to the intensive care unit where he stayed for another three days before they told us that he was in the clear... Sally and I were... Relived to know that... Our nephew... Was alive"

Saying the last phrases has brought fresh new tears to Sally's face who has started crying again, her head lowered and her shoulders bobbing up and down.

Between teary eyes and a chocked throat, Jorj forced himself to continue talking "Sally and I took custody of him, and he grew up with our son Alan who was only an infant at the time"

"The years went by, and my nephew started to take a liking for machinery, so I let him help in the summer time. He was ten years old then, and Alan began obsessing with Hunters after his cousin read him a book about them. I remember Alan running around town, pretending to be a Hunter, and his cousin would play along with him"

A bittersweet smile formed on Jorj's face as he remembered the much simpler and happy times that have forever went away with his nephew. Alan meanwhile remains as silent and still as a statue as his father spoke.

Jorj's bittersweet smile faded as he remembers something grim "In the month following, a protest broke out in Dabras participating against the bill to keep the Rose Bombs and demanding that the bombs should be dismantled. The protests themselves were a worldwide phenomena at the time"

"My nephew decided to go join the protests in Dabras, Alan nagged to go with him and my nephew decided against it. Little did we all know, Alan followed him to Debras by taking a bus ride by himself there"

From the corner of his eyes, Morel could see what looked like guilt in Alan's eyes. Jorj continues to speak "The protests were safe at first, but then... A crackdown was made against the protesters, and they were attacked by water pumps from fire truck hoses"

"My son Alan, who followed his cousin there, was hit by the blast, and his right leg as result was crushed along with a fractured pelvis. His cousin found him amongst the injured and called us immediately to come down to Dabras city"

Alan's shoulders are shaking a little "After six months, Alan has recovered. However, while he can walk and run on soft surfaces for several minutes, he can never run on hard surfaces, or participate in any activity that may put strain on his legs"

"Alan became depressed, constantly saying that his dreams are gone forever. It was then that my nephew announced that he is going to train himself and participate in the Hunter's exam. At first I thought that he was just an overly optimistic eleven year old saying that, and Sally told him not to give Alan false promises"

"But then he went to learn several hunting sports within two years. During those years, he came in contact with the brothers of a Hunter who live in a village nearby Dabras. They helped him study for the exam during the final six months before the Hunters Exams"

"He left to take the exam at age thirteen, and he failed. But that didn't stop him from training even more, and he promised Alan that next year he'll come home with the Hunter's license... And he did"

"He then left with the Hunter that originates from the village near Dabras and took Alan there with him for five months. He said something about very secret training, and Alan told us it's the ultimate secret" Jorj said the last part with a sad chuckle. Morel knows that the secret training refers to Nen.

"... After he completed his training, he took Alan with him along a couple of missions that he referred to as easy. Both him and Alan would bring back souvenirs from the places they visited. And there was a third time that my nephew took Alan along with him, but Alan had to stay in a hotel during that expedition"

"My nephew took on three missions that were considered too dangerous for Alan to come along, but Alan was okay with that, and Alan even promised that he wants to become a Zoologist when he grows up, so he can be the one to do all the research and direct his cousin's missions"

Jorj's took in a deep intake of air, and fell silent for a few seconds. Jorj's face looks more much more worn down after these few seconds. Jorj looks directly at Morel and began to speak again.

"Then one day, we received an email from my nephew stating that he's going on a D- ranked mission... We haven't received any word of him for seven weeks... And just last week, we received a letter from the Hunter's Association saying that my nephew went missing... That's a lie" Jorj's look became more accusing "Why did they lie?"

Morel felt a lump in his throat, one that he can't clear or swallow, and stood there suspended, choking him. Morel cannot find any way to answer that question.

"My nephew wasn't the only Hunter to go missing... Or dead.. His mentor was reported missing on the same day my nephew did... His mentor was a single star Hunter... And I take it he's dead as well" The wince that Morel expressed confirmed Jorj's intuition.

Jorj resumes to talk accusingly "If a single star Hunter died on the same mission my nephew died in.. Then there was something not right about the mission's rating... Was the Hunter's Association careless enough to send my nephew on a lethal mission? Or did they failed to do their proper research?"

"And for the life of me! I don't know what was so horrid about what happened that you had to lie to everyone! Why couldn't you just tell us the truth from the very beginning!? Why lie!?" Jorj is shouting at Morel now.

Morel admits to himself that this has to be one of the worst days of his life. He just learned the story of the deceased Hunter's life, and it's a heartbreaking one. Some sick and twisted world it is, it just had to be the Rose that's being mentioned right before him. The worst thing humanity came up with.. To kill and annihilate each other with..

This man cannot know the truth of what happened to his nephew. But at the very least, he can tell him some insight about the situation at that time, even if it means lying a little.

"Your nephew was sent to mission we considered to be for an average Hunter. But the situation turned sour during the mission, and it went from a rank D- to what the Hunter's Association is now debating to be around B+" Hearing the last sentence drained the life from Sally's face, and Jorj paled as well.

"I too was sent there after things became too awry... And I barely managed to stay alive. The mission was so dangerous and controversial, that only very few know of the details about it after it was completed" Morel admits part of the truth, but kept the majority hidden from the family.

The family remained silent. Morel reached for his right pocket, and retrieved his wallet. Inside the wallet was the deceased Hunter's license. Morel went up to Alan, crouched down and embraced the child. "I'm sorry Alan" was all he could say as he slipped the deceased boy's license in Alan's pocket.

Morel felt two tears escape his eyes from beneath his sunglasses. What did these good people ever do to deserve any of this? No matter how many times Morel have asked himself this question before, he could never find the answer. But this situation is much worse than any other that he's been through.

The nightmare of that mission just doesn't seem to end, it just keeps on going every day. And with the new information he obtained, Morel knows that the nightmare isn't ending anytime soon. Holding Alan more tightly, Morel silently prays for both boys.

Why did this all happen? Why do the innocents always suffer?

Morel only wishes if none of this has ever happened, and that the young Hunter would be with Alan on Christmas as promised. But that's not going to happen anymore, and it's all because of one major misinformation that was spread on behalf of the Hunter's Association itself.

Saturday 2:34 a.m (week0) Alan's Room:

The Hunter that told him that his dear cousin is dead has left at around nine at night. The Hunter was gentle and kind, and he was thankful that the Hunter bothered to come all the way here to tell his family of what happened to his dear and precious cousin.

Alan has sent that Hunter via e-mails all the e-mails he has ever received from his cousin since he became a Hunter, that along with pictures, maps, findings, and details of the last year and a half of his cousin's life.

Now that he has done all of that, there's nothing left for him to do anymore, ever. His cousin is now gone somewhere far out of his reach, and he can't do anything about it because he's a useless cripple. Alan hates himself, he is of no use for his parents... He's a burden, unlike his cousin.

It's all his fault Alan reminds himself. Had he not been so stupid and careless when he was younger, his cousin would be here with him right now. Alan had loved the thought of being a Hunter all of his life, but now he's not so sure anymore. Again it's his fault, and the Hunters fault as well. Had he not nagged about his dreams when he was crippled, his cousin would still be here. Had the Hunter's Association not been stupid, his cousin would still be here.

What is he going to do now? He's not going to sell his cousin's license, he told his parents that he wants to bury it, and his parents has agreed to bury it along with his cousin's clothing. He can't try to investigate what happened to his cousin, he's too weak. He can't become a Hunter himself and try to find what happened to his cousin, he's too weak. He doesn't want to study Zoology anymore, since his cousin is no longer alive, it's pointless.

More so, he's completely useless to his own parents. He can't learn how to be mechanic, he can't learn agriculture, he can't learn anything that involves labor. What is he going to do with his life? Be stuck at some pathetic office job while pondering what could have been all his life?

Alan looks at his cousin's license that's currently lying on his desk. His parents are going to bury it tomorrow... And that's not what he only wants his parents to bury. He wants to be buried with his cousin's spirit as well.

Alan holds the very flexible and sturdy license. It's very sharp on the bottom, like a card key. Without any further thinking, Alan sets his right forearm on the table, palm facing the ceiling.

With the license in his left hand, he points it to the start of his right wrist parallel to his ring finger, and begins to cut in his wrist, not caring in the least about what's going to happen from the choice that he just made.

Blood began to ooze and flow away from his wrist. A human adult has around five liters of blood, and Alan knows he has less due to being only eleven years old. He's going to die shortly now, he's going to be with his older cousin, and they're going to play together.. Forever.

Alan looked at the barely visible framed picture of both him and his cousin. Alan smiled between tears. He's already starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss, and the desk now has a puddle of blood on its surface, and blood is starting to drip onto the floor.

Alan cradles the framed picture, and looks at his cousin's beaming and happy smile. Alan bent down and kissed the head of his cousin's picture as though kissing his forehead. He cares for him so dearly, he was the only person he lived for.

Hugging the picture to his chest now, he begins to feel consciousness slip away as he's about to leave life. Alan never imagined that dying would be like falling asleep.

Before passing away, Alan utters his last words.

"I'll be... seeing you soon... Pokkle..."

... It's terrible and depressing, I know...

Anyhow... I wanted to give more insight on Pokkle's life, and who he was, so I gave him a back story. Stuff like this happen every day in real life.

Enmiraa: Armenia rearranged. And yes, the characters there were speaking Armani.

About the scene with Takada being paranoid about both Mei and Meruem, Meruem will have nothing going on romantically at all. This is just realistic parenting as opposed to the apathetic parental portrayal in modern day anime.

... This A/N has gone on long enough. No drawings for this chapter, next chapter there will be plenty, and one of the 5000 ants will make an appearance in one of UMILS's facilities..

Till next chapter then. See ya.