Chapter 22: Mark x Mystery
Gon and Killua quickly ran to the location Wing told them about. It didn't take them that long to get there; the place wasn't far. Like Jett, they both stopped a building away from the address. Gon, being Gon, wanted to rush in, but Killua, being more careful, stopped him from rushing in.
"Why are you stopping me, Killua? Jett could be in danger. Let me go," Gon said.
"Calm down, Gon; we can't rush in without knowing anything. Jett is strong enough to take care of himself, trust him," Killua said. On the other hand, Gon couldn't help but think back to what Hisoka had told him about Jett.
"I can't wai..." An explosion cut off Gon.
Gon shrugs off Killua's hand, which is holding him, and rushes into the building. Killua has no choice but to follow him. They hide their Nen before they enter the building. Gon wants to rush to where they hear someone talking, but Killua convinces him to wait quietly and listen. They listen to the conversation in the next room over. They can hear Jett and someone else talking.
__
Jett couldn't help but think how it took someone else to tell him he was afraid of dying. If he had to be frank, he also felt it but subconsciously decided to avoid it. He had no idea why he wanted to avoid it; had he been that scared to lose his life?
He had two powerful Hatsu, and he managed to recreate a technique that allowed him to move at a high speed that no one else in the world had. He just killed someone like it was nothing using that same technique. Maybe the reason he never figured out that he was scared was that the people he had killed so far had all been weak. He felt like he was strong, so it subconsciously made him think that everything he was doing was just him being careful.
"Don't you want to know why I tried to get your attention?" the man said, bringing Jett back from his thoughts. The man had jumped up to the floor. Jett was in the dust, still lingering from the explosion, so the man's figure was hidden.
"Are you going to tell me now?" Jett said.
"Well, you have made my job much harder; you were searching for information about the symbol, right? I know about it, as soon as you saw me with the mark you were supposed to come after me because you wanted to know about it. Who knew you were going to ignore me and hire someone to capture me," the man said.
"Ha-ha, what a stupid idea. Why would I follow someone who just so happens to have the information I want? Was I supposed to believe that the tower of all the places I could be just happened to have someone who knew what I was searching for? It was a trap to lure me in," Jett said.
"Usually, it would work like that. People who want to find something so bad don't care; that is a trap as long as they get to know the information," the man said.
"Ah! Yes, that's how it works sometimes, but not with me because I don't care about that information. I wanted to know, but it was only because I was curious. Well? Will you tell me why you wanted to lure me in?" Jett asked.
"Someone wants to meet you; I'm assuming you're searching for information on that symbol because you have it somewhere in your body?" the man said.
"..." Jet said nothing.
"I was right; your silence said it all. I was sent after you because you're part of a clan of people, most already dead. My client is part of the same clan. He has been searching for his clan members so he can protect them. Your clan is in hiding because of the peculiarity of your body. If I'm not wrong, you can use two types of Nen separately from each other, right?" the man said.
"Interesting, your actions and what you say are completely different. Earlier, you used lethal force, but not enough to kill a Nen user. The force was enough to hinder me; you're trying to capture me. If they wanted to protect me, they would have contacted me discretely," Jett said; the man narrowed his eyes at Jett.
"Sometimes being too smart is bad, boy," the man said.
'Was that hard to figure out? The whole situation was him trying to capture me from the beginning,' Jett thought.
"Usually, things like this play out in one way: whoever sent you wants something from me, or there is something about me that threatens him, so which one is it?" Jett said. Killua and Gon, who were listening to the conversation, waited. They didn't understand what they were discussing but didn't care. All they knew was that the man Jett was facing wanted to capture him, so they had to be ready to fight alongside Jett.
(Sigh)
"Out of all the others, you're the first one who wasn't so gullible. I didn't come here without researching you. After monsters attacked your town, you moved to another island. Later, your grandmother died. I figure you were looking for a family after your grandmother died," the man said.
"What's that now, family? Why would you assume that? Is it because you thought of me as a lonely kid?" Jett asked.
'That would be true for most kids; it would have been true for the previous Jett who lost all his family. He is also not wrong about me. If it weren't for Gon or Killua, I would have felt lonely,' Jett thought.
"You are not wrong; maybe I would have been lonely after my grandmother died. It was a good thing I met two incredible people who occupied that lonely feeling in my heart. I didn't want to get them involved in something I didn't know anything about, but now that you made me realize my weakness, I should practice what I preach. I know they will rush to try and find me when they realize I'm gone. I need to apologize to them, next time I will also ask them for help because I know they will stand at my side when I need help the most" Jett said with a resolute look in his eyes. Gon, who was hiding next to Killua, smiled brightly. His anger from before was gone. Killua looked down, shadows covering his eyes, but a smile could be seen.
"Too bad you didn't do that this time. By the time they get here, you will be gone and never be seen again," the man said.
"You're underestimating me too much. I'm the one who thought my two best friends, Nen, and as you said before, I have two Nen types and two Hatsu, and they are both powerful. Be ready because even though I'm scared to die, I won't let go of that feeling because fear helps people survive," Jett said, taking a fighting stand.
"This has become too complicated; why couldn't you just be a stupid, lonely kid searching for a family? I was ordered to bring you half dead if it came to force." the man said.
"Oh? Now that's interesting; that would mean I have some value; the question is, what kind?" Jett said with a smile.
"If we're going by your logic on human behavior, if I kill you now, they will send people after me again and again until they get tired of waiting and come themselves. If whoever sent you is that arrogant, they would do it. They would also say something like, 'As always, I have to do it myself to do it right.' Typical boss mindset, right?" Jett said mockingly.
"..."
The man said nothing, it wasn't the first time he went after people, their way of thinking was always the same. All he had to do was play to their weaknesses; they all thought alike. If they had something they valued, all he had to do was exploit it, and they would fall into a trap. While he faced others who weren't fooled like the kid, they would always fall for something else. He also used people they cherished to capture his target; they always gave up, but the kid in front of him was an orphan, and his two friends were also Nen users; capturing them would've been challenging and attracted a lot of attention.
While he plotted against the kid with the hunter and got his Nen sealed, he was well aware of the condition of the kid's body and how he could use two Nen types individually. He wanted to use the condition of the boy's body to lure him and trap him, but he didn't know what the reason for his body being like that was; he was never told. He had found others like him, he had verified that they too had that mark on their body. When he finished delivering the people to his employer, he never saw them again.
He didn't care what happened to those people; now he was wondering if he should discover the mystery of those people's disappearance because every time he was in the presence of his employer, he had become stronger again, all within a single day. He was also tempted by that power, even today he thought of finding out what made the people with that mark special. If he followed his boss after he delivered the kid, he could discover the secret and take that power for himself.
He focused his eyes back on the boy before him as he saw him take a stance. If he wanted to know the truth behind the secret of his boss's power, he needed to capture this boy.
He thought back to a few moments ago. He had to be careful. The boy showed him that he could move extremely fast. With his Hatsu, he didn't have to worry about the boy appearing in front of him; his Hatsu couldn't hurt him.
"Enough said, either way, no hard feelings for the loser, like you said fear helps people survive I will also fight with my life on the line," the man said.
"What's your name?" Jett asked.
"Holt," the man said.
Jett didn't say anything; he tensed the muscle on his legs and flashed. Holt widened his eyes with a burst of nen; he moved to the side, avoiding Jett's trust to his chest where his heart would be. With the same speed, the man attacked Jett, trying to touch him, but this time, Jett noticed something: he didn't attack a part of his body but the clothes he was wearing. Jett thought back to when he attacked him the first time; he was sure he had touched the hunter's body.
Jett started forming an idea of the man's Hatsu, but he still needed more information. Dodging the man's hand, he attacked with his foot straight to the face. The man kept trying to grab him only to make him jump back every time, in the whole situation he could have used Flash Step, but Flash Step was more of a fast-paced fighting move or a way to sneak attack. His trajectory was challenging to change when using it; it was hard, but it wasn't impossible. He wanted to figure out what the man's Hatsu could do.
Gon and Killua had moved near the door to watch for an opportunity to attack and help Jett. They also saw how Jett avoided being grabbed by the man he was fighting. Nothing else happens aside from them trading blows. They only knew they had to avoid being touched by the man if they attacked. Killua nodded at Gon; they would wait for the perfect chance. Gon on the other hand had another idea in his head, while he saw Jett attack the guy, as soon as he turned around with his back facing him he rushed out.
'That idiot!' Killua inwardly screamed.
Jett saw Gon rush out from the doorway. He could see him clearly since he was facing the doorway. He didn't react, but he noticed the man was still aware because his eyes shifted to the right quickly as if seeing something behind him.
"Get out of the way, Gon!" Jett moved his body to perform a Flash Step, but Killua beat him. The man reacted just as fast. Killua managed to push Gon out, but the man brushed Killua's shirt. He could see that Killua's shirt began to shrink to a point. Too late for a warning, Jett flashed to Killua's side, and with a pull, Killua's shirt was off his body, throwing it to the man named Holt. Jett used (Ken) without missing a beat and rushed into the explosion.
Jett couldn't help but notice that the explosion was as big as the one that the body of the hunter had made. 'So is it not about the side of the object used?' Jett thought as the explosion rattled his body.
Through the smoke, Jett jumped and landed a roundhouse kick on the man's chest. The man had no time to touch Jett because he had been covering his eyes to protect himself from the smoke. Jett's eyes were also stinging; the smoke had gotten into his eyes, but he endured it to land a kick on the guy. He heard a crunch as the guy was sent flying, crashing through the wall into the other room.
"Be careful, from what I was able to gather. He is somehow able to use non-living organic matter to create explosions. At first, I thought the size of the explosion was relative to the size of the object he used. Earlier he used the body of the hunter to create the same size explosion to attack me, but this time he used Killua's shirt the explosion was the same although a bit smaller in comparison, also, before he used a few rocks to attack me from a distance the explosions were smaller." Jett informed Gon and Killua.
"Is that his Hatsu?" Gon asked.
"Yeah," Jett replied.
"Maybe is the distance, from what you said, the only difference between the two attacks was the distance," Killua also deduced.
Jett almost got whiplash as he turned his head too fast to look at Killua, giving him a smile that said we got him. "Yes! that's it!" Jett exclaimed.
"What a bunch of scary kids, to be able to figure out my Hatsu in those few moments. When I have yet to know what your Hatsu is." Holt came walking out of the hole, wiping a slight trace of blood from his mouth.
"I was going to use it as soon as I figured out your Hatsu; now that my friends showed up, I would keep it a secret, but I changed my mind. I'm teaching them Nen, so I need them to see how useful a Hatsu is in a Nen fight. I must also show them how to use it at the right moment. For instance, now that I know your Hatsu and the conditions, I can go all out, so I will show you it, and you will die in one move," Jett said.
"Don't be an arrogant kid; it is going to take more than one move to kill me," Holt said.
'The hunter sealed my Gemini Bond Hatsu. I can still activate Unlimited, but I will also be forced into a state of Zetsu after the time is up. I had to be careful. I couldn't activate it without knowing the conditions for this guy's Hatsu. If he had some way of attacking after my time was up, I would be dead, but with Gon and Killua at my side, I don't have to worry,' Jett thought.
"Unlimited," Jett whispered.