Hunter x Hunter.
The dusk in East Gorteau was always tinged with a rusty hue. Killua and Gon sat side by side on the grassy slope beside the abandoned railway. The light from the Celestial Screen cast shifting shadows on their faces.
"Hey, Killua." Gon stared unblinkingly at Firefly's hesitant expression on the Celestial Screen. "Why doesn't Firefly go with Stelle? She clearly yearns for Trailblaze so much. As long as she's willing, Miss Himeko and Mr. Welt would definitely agree."
Killua was playing with a pebble, deftly flipping it between his fingers. Upon hearing this, his movements paused and he clenched the small stone in his palm.
"…Probably some reason she can't say out loud?"
"Maybe she has a terminal illness and doesn't have long to live… Or she looks like an ordinary girl but is actually a wanted galactic thief. Or… she feels inferior and thinks she's not worthy of standing beside Stelle."
Killua somewhat stammered out his guesses.
Gon suddenly sat up straight, grass leaves rustling down from his hair. "Then Firefly should join the train even more! If she has a terminal illness, Stelle can take her across the galaxy to find a cure. If she's a wanted criminal… though that's unlikely, they can supervise her so she doesn't commit crimes anymore. If she feels inferior, Stelle will definitely help her overcome it!"
"Anyway, they're friends. Friends should work together to become better, right, Killua?"
Killua stared at him blankly.
This guy always made complicated things sound as simple as breaking bread — yet it was impossible to refute.
"You…" Killua chuckled lightly and reached out to pat the grass seeds off the back of his neck.
The scene on the distant Celestial Screen had already changed. Firefly and Stelle were running through the streets of Penacony, like two feathers caught in the wind, lightly skimming across the ocean of neon.
"…Friends should be like that. Gon, you're right."
——
[On the way to the secret base, Stelle suddenly saw something calling for help.]
[Upon approaching, she saw a cartoon character identical to Clockie shouting for help… No, it was Clockie himself!]
["Tick-tock! Help! Help! Someone's going to die! Help!"]
[Stelle politely asked what the other party was, but this made Clockie anxious. His bell rang loudly: "Hey! I'm a clock, not a thing!" But he quickly reacted. "Wait — you… can see me?"]
[Stelle looked at Firefly. Firefly looked back at her with a confused face: "…What's wrong?"]
["I see a… clock with hands and feet."]
["Could it be… you can really see me?" Clockie jumped up happily on the spot. "Tick-tock! Great, great! Misha is saved!"]
["My name is Clockie. I'm the big star of Dreamtown Penacony! Together with my friends, I protect the peace of this town — they are the Hanu Brothers, Mr. Soda, Origami Bird, Hamster Ball Knight… and Misha! Misha is in danger — tick-tock! Help! Help!"]
[Firefly had also come back to her senses at this moment: "…A clock with hands and feet? Clockie? You saw an animation character that doesn't exist in reality?"]
["You can't see him?"]
[Firefly looked around, her expression even more confused: "Uh… where? I can't see anything…"]
["Tick-tock! I guess only straightforward, pure, and childlike kids can see me — like this gray friend here!"]
[Stelle pointed at Clockie expressionlessly: "He says you're not straightforward, pure, or childlike enough."]
[Upon hearing this, Firefly looked wronged and innocent: "…Where am I not straightforward, pure, or childlike…!"]
——
New Eridu.
"Yay—!!!"
The receptionist in the first-floor administrative area trembled, accidentally spilling a few drops of coffee onto today's visitor registration form. The echo of Soukaku's cheer rang through the corridor, startling a flock of pigeons outside the window into flight.
"What's with Soukaku again…"
The intern shifted her gaze away from the Celestial Screen and looked toward the higher-level Aerial Defense Special Operations Department overhead. There, Soukaku was extremely excited, repeatedly cheering "Yay yay yay" for her own preserved childlike innocence.
"Soukaku can see him too! Sister Liu, can you see him?!" Soukaku excitedly scooted over to Liu's thigh.
"It seems we can all see him…" Asaba Harumasa narrowed his eyes and analyzed seriously. "There are so many people coming and going in Penacony on the Celestial Screen, yet none of them notice this lively cartoon character standing on the street… Do you remember? He mentioned Origami Bird. Firefly couldn't see that little bird either. Could it be that in all of Penacony, only Stelle is special?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi pushed up her glasses: "No, Misha can see him too, but he's just an ordinary bellhop in Penacony. What do they have in common? For example… both possessing a Stellaron?"
Harumasa couldn't help but laugh: "Having that kind of power and still working as a bellhop… what a waste of talent. If he really had a Stellaron inside him, H.A.N.D would be treating him like a treasure if he came to New Eridu. The Family shouldn't be that stupid. Besides, Star Cores aren't common street items."
"Then… could it be [Trailblaze]?"
"…That's even less likely."
Harumasa shook his head. "[Trailblaze] at least requires doing something unprecedented and unrepeatable, right? Trailblaze carries a certain spirit of adventure, but a bellhop… where could he 'Trailblaze' to? His life is always the same, with no connection to adventure at all."
"It can't be because Stelle really has a childlike heart, right?" Liu smiled helplessly. "If that's the case, I can understand it… After all, Stelle is just a 'child' who was born not long ago."
——
[Clockie said Misha was about to die. The matter was extremely urgent!]
["He says someone's about to die soon…"]
[Firefly was startled: "Eh? Is it that serious? Then do you want to go help this… uh, Clockie that only you can see first?" After speaking, Firefly waved her hand again. "I'm not doubting you. After all, anything can happen in dreams… The place I mentioned can wait until later…"]
[Stelle felt that the name Misha was too attention-grabbing, so she took Firefly and hurried over to see what exactly had happened.]
[Not far away, several burly men in black clothes had cornered Acheron and Misha against a wall. The atmosphere on site was extremely tense.]
[Misha looked up at the group of black-clothed men and tried to stop them: "Everyone, please calm down…"]
[However, these people acted as if they hadn't heard him at all. They completely ignored him and stared fixedly at Acheron, saying they were going to teach her a harsh lesson.]
[Acheron lowered her eyes and sighed helplessly: "How did it come to this…"]