Nen Feaster; Part 2: The Cat's Journey

Chapter 22: The Boy Grows Up

The next day, everyone made preparations for the peace discussion with the Hunters. The King, Eli, and the three elites were going to be involved. Pouf made sure Eli looked his best. He even managed to convince Eli to cut his hair short. Though, it did require a deal with someone else. Eli went over to Nef, dressed in a suit that Pouf had picked out. "How do I look?" Eli asked.

"Like a gentleman. Better than me at the least." Nef said.

"You look fine." Eli said.

"I look ridiculous."

"You have your same outfit as usual; you just have a bow on your tail." Eli said.

"Exactly my point!" Eli would only cut his hair short and wear a suit if Nef agreed to wear a bow on her tail.

"It looks cute." Eli said.

"I am an elite royal guard for the Chimera Ant King. I'm not supposed to look cute!" Nef complained.

"Still, I like it." That was enough for Nef to calm down, at least a little bit. Eli started thinking about something. "Nef... I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Well... there's a lot of things that need to be done again. Things you did back in the other timeline. All of those actions got reversed." Eli explained.

"Oh, I see..." Nef said.

"I'm going to be going back through and doing all of it again, making sure the good doesn't get undone."

"I understand..." Nef said, but she knew what was troubling him.

"I want you to come with me, of course." Nef didn't say anything. She looked over to the King in the distance. "I understand that you have your duties, and... I want you to know that if you decide to stay here, I will come back. I won't make you do anything you don't want to." Eli said. Nef smiled then hugged him.

"Thank you." She said.

"Of course." Eli said.

After that, they grouped back up with the others. "Is everything ready?" Nef asked Pouf.

"The meeting hall has been prepared, and Cheetu has been tasked with guarding Komugi. We're ready for the Hunters." Pouf said.

"Good..." Nef said, but everyone could notice her tension.

"Everything will be fine Nef. We'll just have a discussion, then we can move on with our lives." Eli said.

"I hope so." Nef said.

Youpi suddenly flew down and said, "They're here."

They all went to the front gate of the palace to meet with the Hunters. They came walking in, Chairman Netero in front of them all. The King walked towards them, Eli and the elites behind him. "You are the leader of the Hunters?" The King asked Netero.

"That's right." Netero said. The King bowed, and Netero did as well.

"We will discuss the terms of peace in the meeting hall, if you'll follow us." The King said.

"Lead the way." Netero said.

They all went to the meeting hall and took a seat. The Chimera Ants and Eli sat on one side, and the Hunters on the other. Eli ended up sitting directly across from Gon. He could still feel Gon's hatred coming off of him in waves. It seemed like he had learned nothing from the other timeline. "Your Highness, I must ask: Why did you suddenly decide on peace?" Netero asked.