HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

"We're all guys here. What's the big deal about changing clothes?" Killua smirked mischievously, watching as Maro hid in the corner to change.

"Wait… don't tell me you're interested in watching guys change?" Cyr gave him a weird look.

Watching another guy strip right in front of you—how was that not an eyesore?

Unless, of course… you were into that sort of thing.

Cyr almost blurted out, Bro, you're not actually gay, are you?

After all, the original manga had a whole fandom obsessed with the Killua & Gon Early Romance Theory or whatever. Even the lyrics from the old anime's theme song were… kinda suspicious.

To some fangirls, Killua wasn't just Killua. He was Killua Zoldyck, the hopeless romantic who fell in love at first sight and immediately lost himself to it.

"As if!" Killua shuddered and took two steps back, instinctively raising his hands in defense.

He was just messing with Maro! Why the hell would he be interested in watching guys change?!

"Relax, it was just a joke." Cyr waved a hand dismissively.

That's just how shounen manga worked—super deep friendships, unbreakable bonds, all that nonsense.

And that, right there, was probably why he could never be the protagonist of a shounen series. He didn't do bonds or friendships.

And if he looked at his current setup—an overly devoted follower, a badass pet, and an extravagant lifestyle—yeah, he was definitely giving off villain energy.

By the time they finished talking, Maro had already changed.

"Let's go." Cyr swung himself onto the white tiger's back.

With that, the two boys and one tiger disappeared leisurely into the depths of the forest.

Killua clicked his tongue and turned to Gon. "Hey, is there anything else fun to do around here?"

Gon's eyes lit up. "Let me think… oh! I got it!"

Without another word, he took off running. Halfway through, he turned back and shouted, "Killua, hurry up!"

"Coming!" Killua sprinted after him.

---

One Month Later – Whale Island

Killua had been searching the forest for ages before he finally found his target.

"Hey, wanna play a game? Two versus two." He strolled over with one hand in his pocket.

The white-haired boy lying lazily on the grass, basking in the sun with his giant white cat, didn't even twitch.

He looked asleep, but…

The grass and leaves around him were completely still. There wasn't even the sound of birds chirping. It was like the entire area had become a windless void.

Even before stepping closer, Killua could feel the pressure. A formless force, like an invisible storm, had built a wall around the boy's resting place.

He narrowed his eyes and used Gyo to enhance his vision. What he saw made his brows furrow.

The aura emanating from Cyr stretched out nearly a hundred meters in every direction, blanketing the entire area.

That explained the eerie silence. Not a single beast or animal dared to come near.

As for the source of this suppressive force?

Cyr, the eye of the storm, remained peacefully asleep—his expression unusually serene.

Killua barely spared a glance at the blond guy. Maro didn't matter. As long as Cyr agreed, that guy would follow without question.

Right now, the priority was convincing this guy.

Urgent! Need a gaming partner for a 2v2 match!

A whole month had passed, and in that time, they'd naturally ended up as gaming buddies. Sometimes, when things got heated over a win or a loss, they'd settle it with a bit of hand-to-hand combat…

Though, every single time, Killua ended up eating dirt and being forced to admit defeat.

"You guys suck at games. Not playing with you." Cyr's voice was indifferent. He didn't even bother opening his eyes.

"…" Killua opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

Then, unexpectedly—

"By the way, we're planning to leave soon. You two wanna come with us?" Cyr finally opened his eyes, leaning lazily against the white tiger as he casually extended an invitation.

Killua hesitated. "…Where to?"

"Haven't decided yet."

Cyr's answer was crisp and to the point.

"Maybe you'd prefer exploring ten thousand meters under the sea or ten thousand meters up in the sky?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Now that he thought about it, the ocean around here was pretty deep. Whether it was actually ten thousand meters, he wasn't sure. But the number of sea monsters? Yeah, definitely a lot.

"…We'd die." Killua gave him a blank look.

Talking about ten-thousand-meter depths like it was a casual trip—if they actually went, there was a good chance they'd never make it back.

"I was exaggerating. It's not actually ten thousand meters deep. I was actually thinking about a ruin…" Cyr yawned, looking a little drowsy.

He'd sensed something when he was fishing up earlier, but at the time, he'd been too focused on catching fish to bother.

Then, after getting the fish, he just… completely forgot about it.

"A ruin? An underwater one?" Killua's eyes lit up. "I'll go ask Gon!"

And with that, he took off running.

"Gon! Gon!" He started shouting before he even reached the house.

"Cyr wants to know if we wanna check out an underwater ruin!" He burst into the room, yelling.

"An underwater ruin?" Gon looked troubled. "But do we even have time?"

They'd recently discovered that Greed Island might hold clues about Gon's dad. But the game was ridiculously expensive, and so far, no one seemed to be selling a copy.

If they used their Hunter Licenses at home to log into the website, there was a risk of being tracked. That meant they had to go to an internet café off Whale Island instead.

"Greed Island, huh…" Gon sighed, staring at the ring on his finger.

"Wait!" Killua's eyes suddenly widened. "That guy probably knows about the game!"

He was strong, became a Hunter before them, and was even a One-Star Hunter. The game was only sold to Hunters, so Cyr definitely had more information than they did.

"…That makes sense." Gon nodded, thinking it over.

Now that he considered it, Cyr had to know something.

"Let's go ask him directly." Killua grabbed Gon and sprinted back into the forest.

---

Fifteen Minutes Later

"Greed Island? Yeah, I know it. Why?" Cyr lazily nodded as he looked at the two boys in front of him.

"You have the game? Can we play it?! Or do you know any Hunters selling a copy?" Gon asked eagerly.

"I don't own it, but I was invited to play." Cyr pushed Gon back slightly, overwhelmed by his puppy-like enthusiasm.

"Who? Who invited you? Can we join?!" Gon's eyes sparkled.

Cyr rubbed his chin, thinking.

Now that he thought about it… how did these two get into the game in the original story?

"Some rich guy invited me. Apparently, he gathered a whole bunch of people just to clear the game. Supposedly, anything obtained inside Greed Island can be brought into the real world."

"The guy's probably after those items."

"If you two get a bit stronger, you could probably join. There's going to be a public recruitment event anyway." Cyr shrugged.

Since it was a public recruitment, as long as they were strong or smart enough, they could get in.

And knowing these two? As main characters, they'd definitely find a way.

"When? Where?" Gon looked ready to sprint there right now.

"…It's still early. At the very least, not until September." Cyr's lips twitched. "The guy said some of the game consoles haven't even arrived yet."

"Greed Island will be at the Yorknew City auction in September."

"You could always buy it yourselves. The price for one full set is about… 10 billion Jenny?"

He smirked, his eyes filled with blatant schadenfreude.

"You guys got that kind of cash?"

The two boys, whose combined total assets barely reached 800 million Jenny:

"…"

°°°

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

Link: Patreon/Moziel