HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

The white tiger loosened its tail's grip, letting an invisible wind lift it, allowing it to land lightly above the lake's surface—without even a single hair touching the water.

The golden-haired young man, on the other hand, made a split-second decision midair. He released his fishing rod and, just as he was about to plunge into the water, crouched low. His hand touched the lake's surface first—instantly freezing the water beneath him.

He landed steadily on the newly formed ice and immediately looked up to locate the person he was following.

"Wahoo—!"

A cheerful voice rang out from not too far away.

Maro and Sora turned their heads in unison—only to see that, at some point, the white-haired boy had already perched himself on top of the massive blue fish. He gripped the fishing rod like reins, steering the fish as it swam.

And he was headed straight for them.

"Wait, my lord—" Maro started, but in the next second, the ice beneath him was shattered by the charging fish. He barely had time to reform another ice platform and jump to safety before hitting the water.

The moment he landed, he saw Cyr yank the fishing rod—sending the giant fish into another frenzy as it charged at him again.

"My lord—!" Maro turned and ran.

One ice platform after another formed beneath his feet, temporary landings as he desperately fled.

All the while, Cyr laughed carelessly, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Faster, faster!"

"If you slow down, you'll turn into a drowned rat!"

Run. Keep running.

By the time the lake was littered with shattered, yet-to-melt ice chunks, Maro was half-collapsed on one, his upper body draped over a broken slab while his lower half dangled in the water. He was so exhausted his vision blurred.

As for the massive blue fish—it was now floating belly-up, utterly drained.

"Ah, so weak." Cyr shook his head at the sight of both Maro and the fish completely spent. Then, he turned his gaze toward the white tiger curled up nearby. "Come down and play."

Sora shook its head furiously, every inch of its body screaming rejection.

Understandable—it was a feline, after all.

Cyr flopped onto the grass, hands behind his head, and stared at the sky, letting his mind drift into emptiness.

---

"So this is Whale Island."

"I'll take you to meet Aunt Mito—"

Gon and Killua had returned to Whale Island, greeted warmly by the villagers.

"Gon, you're back!"

"Yo, you little rascal—"

Gon nodded at everyone, waving, before grabbing Killua's hand and dashing off.

Right now, he just wanted to get home and see Aunt Mito.

After introducing Killua to Mito, the two wandered around the island.

"Hey, Gon, look." Killua pointed in a certain direction.

A few villagers, tools in hand, were running out of the forest in groups.

"Uncle—what's going on?" Gon stopped one of them to ask.

"Something's got the magical beast by the forest lake all riled up. It's been causing a huge commotion for over an hour. No idea what set it off." The man scratched the back of his head.

"A magical beast?" Gon's eyes showed confusion.

"Going berserk?!" Killua's voice, on the other hand, carried excitement.

"Let's go check it out." This time, Killua grabbed Gon and took off running.

However, the forest wasn't as chaotic as the villagers had described.

By the time they reached the lake, everything was calm.

No trace of a raging magical beast.

Well… that wasn't entirely true.

There was a magical beast—specifically, a white tiger lounging on the grass.

Killua's gaze swept over the tiger before settling on the white-haired boy beside it, lying down with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

"…The villagers weren't talking about you guys, were they…?"

After a brief pause, Cyr slowly opened his eyes, staring at them blankly before sluggishly responding.

"…What?"

"The islanders said there was a berserk magical beast making a huge scene over here. Besides you guys, was there anyone else?" Killua asked, sounding disappointed.

With this guy around, what magical beast would dare to go berserk? If anything, he was the real troublemaker.

"I was just playing a little..." The white-haired boy sat up lazily, leaning against the tiger, yawning as he spoke.

"Whale Island sure is small."

Small enough that any incident spread across the entire island in no time.

"'Just playing a little'..." Killua muttered, his gaze drifting over the lake—completely littered with chunks of broken ice.

The reflections off the ice chunks were almost blinding.

"Ah! The Master of the Swamp!" Gon suddenly shouted, pointing at the floating fish in the lake.

It was the same fish he had once caught and then released.

"What happened to it?" Gon stared at the fish, belly-up on the water's surface.

He could tell it wasn't dead, but… for some reason, it seemed to be radiating an emotion that could only be described as wishing it were dead.

Was it just his imagination?

"It just got tired from playing." Cyr explained nonchalantly.

The giant blue fish on the lake sluggishly flipped itself over and, utterly exhausted, swam toward the depths.

Humans. Hmph.

Never showing its face again.

"…Doesn't look like 'just tired' to me." Killua muttered, watching the fish float away, its spirit seemingly shattered.

What the hell had they been doing to get it in that state?

Wait—no. The real question here was—

"What are you guys doing on Whale Island?!" Killua's face screamed, Why is it you people again?!

When he got out of his family's interrogation room, he had heard that this guy had been living at his house for a whole month. Then, before he even had the chance to return, the guy had left.

Fine. Whatever.

But then, when he and Gon went to Heavens Arena—there he was again. As a contestant, no less.

And even that wasn't the worst part!

One time, Killua tried to place a bet at the arena's wagering counter, only to be stopped by the staff.

Some guy at the counter had pointed at him and said, "Don't think I won't recognize you just because you scrubbed off your tattoos, white-haired, blue-eyed brat. You're banned from betting!"

Killua had nearly lost it.

And then, as if fate were messing with him—

One day, he went to buy chocolate, only to be told that all of it had already been bought by some white-haired, blue-eyed contestant just moments before.

That was it.

He had put up with enough.

And now? Now he came all the way to Whale Island, only to run into this guy again?!

This was Gon's hometown! What the hell was he doing here?!

"Vacation, obviously. Didn't you know?" The white-haired boy looked at them like they were idiots.

"Hah?! Vacation?!" Killua looked completely unconvinced.

As the third son of the Zoldyck family, he knew there were way better vacation spots out there. Why would anyone come to some no-name island in the middle of nowhere?

"It's fun because it's a no-name place." Cyr said casually. "A vacation isn't about counting heads, you know."

"Anyway, we'll be staying here for a while. If you don't have anything important to say, don't come bothering us." Cyr waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing them away.

"You—!" Killua gritted his teeth.

Damn it.

Why was this guy so good at being infuriating?!

And what was worse—his tone, the way he spoke—it was just like…

Like himself.

…Wait.

Now that he thought about it, wasn't this exactly how he talked to other people?

His anger vanished instantly.

No way. Impossible.

He couldn't be annoying. That was absurd.

"Maro, are you done resting?" Cyr suddenly called toward the lake.

"Yes, my lord." The golden-haired young man stepped out of the water, dripping wet from head to toe.

"Here, change into this." Cyr reached into the curse's mouth, rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out a set of Maro's clothes and tossed them to him.

"Understood." Maro picked up the clothes, glanced briefly at the two unexpected guests, then walked off to a corner to change.

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel