ghostgirl

B1

"Nen? What's that?" Aster asked, sitting herself down on a comfortable padded chair parked beside Reniku's hospital bed.

"It's something Hunters can't survive without. It's also a very special technique, that only select people can obtain," the doctor explained, "an arcane lesson."

"W-Wait, so if we learn Nen, we will have the skills of a Hunter?" Reniku asked. Her mind started to wander with how she could ace the next Hunter Exam with this new Nen technique.

"It's a skill, that you can only master after many months of training," the doctor said, sensing the excitement in Reniku, which started to die down. "But if you want to become a good Hunter, Nen is a basic skill you must have."

"Oh..." Reniku beamed. "How do we learn it?"

"Nen can be taught by any experienced Hunter who knows it, like me," hearing this, Aster whistled, before leaning in and folding her arms. "Hm, how do we know that you're not bluffing us?"

"I can show you," the doctor said, standing straight up. Reniku and Aster observed as he held out his hand to a flower vase, and couldn't believe what happened next. The vase and flowers both floated elegantly across the room as the doctor shifted his hand to bring the vase to the direction he wanted, and placed it onto the table. Both girls stared in shock at the unbelievable action that had just taken place right in front of them. They were undeniably impressed.

"Magic," Reniku said, since she couldn't think of any other explanation for it. "Is that the arcane lesson that Hunters need?"

The doctor laughed light-heartedly. "No, it's not magic. What you have just seen is the skill of my manipulation of other objects using Nen."

"Wait, so we can do that too, if we learn Nen?"

"It depends on the type of Nen user you are," the doctor said, clasping his hands together. "Now, the real questions–do you now believe that I'm not pulling any strings against you, and do you want to learn Nen?"

Aster and Reniku look at each other. "Are you a teacher?"

"Yes, I'm currently teaching one student," he said," but I demand no such thing as fees. The only three things you have to promise me, if you become my student, is that, one–you try your hardest and do your very best, two–do not recklessly share your knowledge to non-Hunters or strangers, and three–never misuse Nen after learning it."

-

"Ha!" Reniku yelled, standing in a straight stance like the doctor, Dr Yanago, who had demonstrated to them. "Keep your mind blank, and focus solely on your life force. That is your aura–where Nen lies in."

When Dr Yanago had demonstrated to them, she felt his strong aura, shaped to become a spear, that could pierce through his enemies. However, the intent she felt was soft, and genuine, like he wasn't lying to us about the whole Nen thing.

Reniku closed her eyes to concentrate. She closed off all her other senses– sight, touch, hearing and taste. Now, she could only just feel her flickering aura. It was oddly familiar–like she'd been using it all along.

"Reniku, good job! You managed to do it," Dr Yanago praised. Reniku opened her eyes, and immediately the feeling ceased. Suddenly, she recalled the pre-exam phase, the entire thing, and her secret garden. She just couldn't place her finger on the one moment she was trying to recall.

"Odd..." Reniku mumbled, as she subconsciously held a dumbfounded expression.

Aster was still trying, closing her eyes and making a concentrated expression. She clenched her fists together, but gave up as her eyes opened, and she started to pant heavily.