Hunter X Hunter Esther

6) Your Father Is Still Alive

"The food is amazing Aunt Mito!" Gon happily shouts as he eats the dinner Mito made. I stare at him, observing how he eats. Then, I look at my hands and wonder to myself, 'Do we not use our hands to eat?' I then pick up the spoon and try to mimic him. The food falls all over my face.

"Oh my, having trouble eating my boy? Here, observe me," great grandmother motions with her spoon for me to follow her. Taking it slow, I move the spoon and slip it into my mouth. This time, I managed to eat without any of it spilling on me. My eyes begin to sparkle. It tastes so good! Then, I notice them staring behind me. I look at them, confused. Turning around, I see my tail wagging rapidly.

"Wow! It's wagging so fast!" Gon shouts. I swallow my food, grabbing my tail and tucking it underneath the table quickly. Gon panics. "Wait! It just surprised me is all! You don't have to stop it if you want to," I nod at him in response. Then, continue eating. I feel at bliss.

After dinner, Mito told me to take a bath. I just stared at her, confused. What's a bath? So, she had Gon show me where this 'bath' was. When we entered the bathroom, he told me what to do. "First, you gotta take off your clothes. Then, enter the bathtub. You use the water in that bowl thing to wipe off any dirt on your skin and hairs. We use the shampoo to make ourselves smell clean."

When he finished his explanation, I then started the bath. There was a slight problem though... Walking outside the bathroom, I completely missed the clothes that were placed in the bathroom for me to wear. So, I walked out, dripping wet and hugging my tail. When I entered the living room, Mito froze on sight.

"Esther! Where are your clothes?!" She shouts. I tilt my head at her, confused. She observed the many scars littering my body. A pained expression crosses her as quickly as I blinked. "Follow me, I left you clothes to wear in the bathroom. Did you not see it?" She asks.

I shake my head for a no. She sighs, leading me back into the bathroom. There, I spot the clothes laying on a small table. Walking up to it, my face scrunches up on itself. How do I put this on? I think Mito realizes that I don't know how to put it on since she does it for me. After all is done, I walk back to Gon's room. Making sure to keep the gloves on. It just feels right. I see Gon sitting on the bed. He grins.

"Hey Esther! Looks like you're done taking a bath. Want to come with me into the forest tomorrow? I kinda need help with something...," he asks while laughing nervously. I nod, he brightens. "Great! Thanks!" He shouts.

Walking up near his bed, I lay down on the floor. Gon stares at me, confused. "Why are you laying on the floor? You could sleep on the bed with me. There's enough room," he asks. I blink, then slowly get on the bed. Taking the wall side because it feels natural to me. We wait in silence, I'm still uncomfortable staying in a home.

"...Hey..." Gon speaks softly. "How did you make those gloves appear?" He asks, curious. I freeze up on that question. Debating if I could tell him. But then, I remember that a friend is someone you trust. So, should I trust him with my secret?

I sit up, grabbing the chalkboard that's sitting on the small table to the side of the bed. I scribble down my response. "...Perhaps I can tell you next time..." I say. "My secret has caused too many problems already. I think it's best if I wait to tell you what that power is..."

Gon stares at my response. He grins. "Well, ok then! I'll wait until you're comfortable to tell me." And with that, we sleep. "Goodnight."

_

"Hey Esther, get up! It's already morning," I can feel Gon nudging me to wake up. I open my eyes, and stare at him. He grins. "Quickly! Let's go outside!" Exiting the house, the sun hits me, waking me up much more. Gon leads me into the woods. There, I see some sort of bear laying on the ground. And a man with a hat, resting on a log far away.

"See that? That's a fox-bear. I need your help to bury it." Gon holds out a shovel towards me. I stare at it, then back at the fox-bear. I take the shovel while nodding. "Great! Let's start digging," he says. We start to dig a hole near the fox-bear. Making sure it's deep enough to bury it fully. Once done, we place the shovels down on the ground.

"Okay. Now let's push," Gon says. We begin to push it towards the hole. But it only moved slightly. The sounds of footsteps approaching us makes me perk up an ear. Before I could look, I saw hands push the fox-bear as well. It's the hat wearing man that was laying on the log.

"Come on, push harder," he commands. After burying the fox-bear, the man introduces himself.

"My name is Kite. I'm a hunter," he says. He doesn't seem much for talking. Wait, a hunter? I remember that fierce yellow eyed man saying that he also was one. I immediately hid behind Gon. If he is a hunter, doesn't that mean he'll try to sell me as well? "What is a hunter?" Gon asks. He doesn't even notice that I'm hiding behind him.

Kite begins to walk along the forest. We follow him, listening. "The world is filled with mysteries. A hunter is one who pursues such mysteries and things that are hard to obtain," he says. "Say, why did you come here?" Gon asks. Kite looks up to the sky, as if he sees something. "I am looking for my teacher."

"Your teacher?" Gon asks. "Yeah. The final test to make my teacher acknowledge me is to find him," Kite continues to walk. "It's more difficult than any other kind of hunting." Gon continues to ask Kite questions. I listen closely. The more he talks, the more curious I become. Until he turns to me. I tense up.

"So, who's this?" He asks. I can feel his eyes studying me deeply. "This is Esther. He's my friend!" Gon shouts happily. Kite and I both have a stare down. He looks away, not saying anything else. I relax somewhat around him, but I still feel tense.

After walking around the forest, we travel back to where the fox-bear is buried. Gon told me to carry flowers to place on the grave. Standing next to the grave, I place the flowers down. Gon puts his hands together. I mimic him, not sure of what he's doing. We wait in silence, until it's broken by Kite.

"Gon, you told me yesterday that your parents had passed away, didn't you?" Kite stares at Gon, as if he sees someone in him. "Yup," Gon responds, still looking at the grave. "Do you know anything about your father?" Kite asks.

At the word father, I tense up. A quick flash in my memory of him almost made me growl in rage. That man, no beast, was never satisfied. Why did he care more for money than his own family? He sickens me.

"Well, Aunt Mito won't tell me much about him," Gon says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I can smell Gon cooking up fish. Looks like I get to eat some after all. "I see..." Kite mumbles. Gon hands me some fish, but before I could eat it, I hear the leaves rustling. Turning to look, I see a baby fox-bear. It walks towards me, looking at the fish.

"What's his name?" Kite asks. I think he was referring to Gon's dad's name. "His name is Ging Freecss," Gon says, staring at the baby fox-bear eating my fish. The air around Kite shifts. I turn to him. Although he doesn't look surprised, I can feel it. "Gon...," Kite slowly sits up. Gon hands me another fish. "...Your father is still alive..."