She was viciously being dragged against the cold wet, muddy floor of the thick forest ground by the hair.


Miles away you could hear the girls screams of protest and pain, as the two figures ventured through the greenery none stop.


The woman dragging her held a cold and emotionless expression, as she pulled along the 6 year old girl through the dark of the night.


They went on like that for hours, the woman allowing the girl to scream while keeping her composure. Until a distinct stench reached both their nostrils, causing the woman's eyes water slightly. Open it entering her noes the lady picked up the pace, causing louder screams to erupt from the young girls throat, as her hair was nearly ripped from her scalp.


From a distance the young woman could now see the start to piles upon piles of trash, and buildings that looked older then Buddha himself, causing a weak, and drained smile to barely stretch across her worn out features.


Once they had both reached two silver poles that stood a few feet apart from each other indicating that, that was the entrance, she stopped walking, allowing her bare feet to sink into probably the only clean soil to be part of the City. She looked down at the resistant girl who was clawing and scratching at her Mothers arms to let her hair free, not feeling an once of remorse for the insolent child, and threw her towards the entrance, causing scratches and bruises to form on the young girls very pale arms and legs, as she glided against the rocky ground until she promptly came to halt.


Without a second more, the Woman turned her back to the girl, and slowly made her way back into the forest.


The young girl quickly stood up, her feet shaking, lips trembling, eyes watering. She tightly clenched her hand beside her.


The girl had never shown any sign of anger or hate towards her mother who barely took care of her, and down right abused her, until then. She thought the woman was cowardice and lost all respect for he watching her retreating back. The girl gulped down some spit.


"You're gonna leave me here?!.......You're own daughter?"


No response.


"You can't.....Y-you can't do this to me! Why....W-why.....Please....don't l-leave me here." The girl paused, and took a deep breath noticing he mother had stopped walking. Each word that left her mouth came out short breathed, making her sound pitiful.


"I promise...I won't get in your way anymore....I just don't....w-want to be alone...I just want to be taken care of." The girl whispered the last part, tears falling down carelessly against her plump cheeks.


"I'm only a child...I don't want to d-die here." The girl whispered, She looked up seeing her mother had vanished already into the forest, with widen eyes. 6 year old Yuko drop to the ground on her knees going numb to feeling.


"Mommy..?" She whispered.



Meteor city

A city shrouded in utter mystery, rumored to be at least 500 years old and believed to be founded by a dictator who wanted to segregate the human race. Since then it has quite literally become a dumping ground for other countries, neighboring and far and wide.

The city is said to have one of the most diverse and ethnic backgrounds and it's population estimated to an unfortunate ten million people. Even with the immense amount of people inhabiting the run down city the denizens where said to share a bond described as "thinner than water, and yet thicker than blood" it couldn't be closer to the truth.

A city that birthed all different kinds of people, people like the phantom troupe, Kikyo Zoldyke, or our main protagonist Yuko. A girl left to rot by her deranged mother, at the age of 6, just one girl amongst million others.


It was as simple as that, one day she was just there, surrounded by poverty, filth, garbage, and people with absolute zero remorse of her upbringing. Which she surprisingly was thankful for, she wasn't too happy with her upbringing herself. Her mother didn't care for her, didn't treat her well, didn't even name her and had clear mental issues she should've dealt with before having the poor girl, and well now she was here, probably the best thing the women ever did , she could've sold her into slavery or something, but at least she had the decency to give her a chance at survival.

Yea, her story wasn't too thrilling.

Any normal girl in Yukos Situation would most likely not know how what to do or how to feel anything other than loneliness, anger especially at that age. But Yuko , she decided to see it as a win for herself. She was away from her mother, she could start a new life she could give herself a reason to live somehow, and in that house there was no chance of that.

Yuko even decided the first thing she'd do was name herself, something her mother never did. Yuko had found a book of names in the dump and went straight to the Y's finding she hadn't met anyone with a name starting with a 'Y'. When she saw the name Yuko, she nearly laughed. The meaning didn't fit her, at least at the time she didn't think it did. But something drew her to it anyways and so she decided.

Yuko the 'tender child' it was.

After living there for a few months she quickly adjusted. There was a certain routine for denizens in meteor city, you don't really talk or become close buddies, but you help each other as if you where. So despite the utter mystery meteor city reeked, it still brought in unsuspecting tourist, environmentalists etc. It turned into a pack a wolves attacking a lone moose. There was a system here, an unspoken system most of the people didn't even realize existed.

Nonetheless it was very much present.

And even though becoming friends wasn't a common thing among the inhabitants of meteor city it wasn't unheard of, especially for Yuko. Around the first week she was there she met a boy named Kho, they weren't friends instantly. It took Yuko a lot of pestering and begging for her to win him over, but eventually he gave in. Even though he accepted her offer, there wasn't much he expected from their sudden "alliance", But it became clear after a few months how close they had become so fast. They did basically everything together, they stole together, they played together, they even slept on the same pile of trash. they shared everything they earned, and would always be on each others sides no matter the circumstances.

Kho didn't know his real age since he knew he was left here as baby, and taken care of by anyone who happened to see him, no permanent or official "parents" though, just the......well city. Yuko however just assumed he was her age he looked it at least, with his pale white plump skin, black shaved hair and grey round eyes that screamed innocence, he was the embodiment of a 6 year old in her opinion. although he didn't act like a 6 year old, then again she didn't either. Even so they decided that both of their birthdays would be the first day of spring, only because that was the best year for meteor city, wasn't scorching hot, and wasn't bitter cold. It was also the time when less disease and sicknesses would spread. It was a season of hope.

As time went on and they had established boundaries and where 100% comfortable with each other, everything seemed normal for Yuko. She no longer had the sense of vulnerability, and to be honest she felt like she belonged. It was weird for her to think that living here in a dump would actually be sorta fun, more fun then she could've ever had living in that apartment with her mother. It was fun to play kick the can with the other kids in the city, it was fun to steal from tourists, it was fun to be with Kho, he always found something stupid for them to do, and she could never think of a time they where bored.

it was weird to feel safe in a place that wasn't, but she was, she was comfortable with her life.

They both even found a way to protect themselves. Yuko one day after snatching someone's bag right of their body from a foreigner. found inside the bag a book on Chi blocking. a martial arts that renders the victim's muscles useless and temporarily paralyzes them. It was apparently a common practice among assassins, and turned out to be very useful for them too. They spent years perfecting their technique which came in even more handy when robbing. It was apart of their lives, and they used it frequently, even to play around with each other.

It seemed like her life was at an all time high, even Kho's.

Well it only seemed that way, because despite all the good things happening in her life she felt something was lacking, and she didn't understand why she was feeling that way, especially after all the fortunes that where seemingly being handed to her on a silver platter. She was incoherent to the fact that there was still an empty whole inside of her, something she didn't think she could even talk to Kho about, she didn't think he'd understand.

However, after one day when she was walking around the city looking for another target, she heard a conversation between two rough looking men, who obviously seemed to have their own fair share of issues, talking about a Hunter Exam. For some reason it had caught her attention and she couldn't help but listen in.


"Did ya hear that the hunter exam this year would take place in Zaban City" one of the guys grumbled.

"that shit hole, where'd you hear that?"

"One of my buddies, Tanner is there right now staying in a hotel before the Exam starts, which he said was in three days."

"No way, you're shittin' me, our little Tanner?"

Yuko hearing enough of their conversation ran straight back to the pile of garbage she called home, where she would no doubt find Kho hanging around.


When she was running around objects and people, she felt an overflow of joy, she couldn't understand where this random excitement came from. It was almost like she was waiting for news like this, and excuse to leave meteor city. She brushed those thoughts away fast and quickly started climbing garbage until she made it to the top where Kho was laying.

"Kho!" she yelled, he yelped in return and instantly scowled at her.

"What!" he yelled back in irritation, Yuko who would normally pick a fight just because of his tone, ignored it being blindly excited by the news she had to give him.

"We should do the hunter exam!"
she scooted over to him and took a seat after seeing his confused and annoyed face.

"No way in hell"

Yuko frowned

"What? but I haven't even told you what it was yet"

"No need to I already know what it is, and there is no way we're doing it" he said while scratching his head nonchalantly, Yuko started glaring at him.

"Are you gonna explain why, like you can't just say no and expect me to be ok with that"


"Yea I know, you're a stubborn mule, I was gonna get to it." He sighed and then continued "Yuko I just don't think it's a good idea, I hear it's really dangerous so dangerous in fact you could die. And for what? A stupid title? it just sounds like a waste of time and a good way to throw away your life, I mean for once we're thriving here, I don't want to lose that." He said with a genuine tone, even though that's what he told her he left out the part where he was afraid. Not of the exam itself, but of leaving a familiar place. He didn't know anything outside of meteor city, unlike Yuko. It felt like there wasn't anything outside of meteor city, and I guess that was the compelling thing about this city, it made you forget about everything but it.


Yuko was puzzled. weren't the risks just the same as living here everyday. living here was giving less then the Hunter exam, at least there you got a license, but here? There was nothing, just the satisfaction of knowing you survived another day, Yuko respected this city for everything it gave her before living here. But now it was just taking from her. She realized after hearing those men speak about that exam, she realized a spark went off inside her. it was drawing her way from this place, and she understood what she lacked was freedom.


She felt bound to this City because of everything it gave her in the beginning she thought the least she could give back was her presence, but now she knew that's just not how she would live her life .


Yuko looked at Kho with seriousness. not expecting the sudden change in expression Kho looked shocked.

"I have to be honest with you Kho, I don't think i can bare to be here anymore. I know it may be different for you because this is all you've ever known, but i have seen what's outside of here, and I-I miss it. I think we need this, I need this. I don't care if the Hunter exam is dangerous, I need to remember how it feels to not just survive."

Kho looked at her and then looked down at his legs, he knew what she would say next.


"Please come with me"


He cringed, now he had to turn her down. He knew he couldn't leave this place. even if he wanted to it just wouldn't feel right. The hunter exam just was too much, it was way out of his reach and that's where he liked it. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe, he wanted her to stay. but he knew that would hurt her more then anything. he sighed and grabbed her hand tightly in his.


"I really can't Yuko, I'm sorry." he glanced at her widened eyes and then looked down feeling ashamed.


"But Kho we, I thought we where supposed to protect each other. How am I supposed to do that if we don't do this together."


"Yuko please don't make this harder than it already is, I know what we said, But I don't want to hold you back and I'm sure you wouldn't want to put me in a situation I'm not comfortable in. God this really sucks....geez." Kho sighed "But maybe this is the best way we protect each other."

"So you're not going to come with me, and your not gonna try to stop me?" Yuko was taken back, it felt almost out of character to be so ok with what was going on. he would always protect when they where younger, before eh realized she was capable of handling herself he would often do most of the robbing. he was like a big brother, and now he was fine with just sending her off.


"Yuko I...I just..well I saw this coming. I didn't know when but I knew you would want to leave someday, and honestly I don't know what kind of jackass I'd have to be from stopping you from being happy."


"But what will you do?"


"I'll stay here and hold down the fort until you come back, and you have to promise me you'll come back, at least just to visit, and you have to promise to come back alive." It was almost as if he rehearsed these lines, because there wasn't a stutter in his voice, which surprised Yuko usually sappy stuff like this would make him shy but he was confident in saying those words.

"Promise me Yuko"

Yuko snapped out of her thoughts and smiled.

"I-I promise, but are you sure you're ok with this?"

Kho sighed and chuckled.

"You would leave anyways so what's it mat-" before he could finish his sentence Yuko was hugging him close to her, his eyes where wide. Yuko and Kho where always very close but they wouldn't really hug very much. But it felt good, he felt good hugging her and most likely holding her for the last time. He breathed her in and smiled.

"You smell so bad"

Yuko let go of him and pressure pointed in his chest making his whole upper body fall limp.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk you where doing so good, and then you had to go and say that, you're truly an idiot"

Kho laid their with an expressionless face

"Come on really, that was unnecessary"

"Yea and so was you saying I smell!"


yay end of chapter one, plz comment down below any suggestions for me as well as theories of what you think will happen in the future. i hope you enjoyed and i hope you will keep coming back for more, i promise my writing gets better as time goes on, and i also promise to make it to the chimera ant arc! I SHA'LL FINISH THIS STORY EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DOOOOO. I've gotta pee really bad so imma go so yea bye y'all!! :) (i'll also answer any questions you have in the comments as long as it's not a spoiler)