Chapter 199 - My OC/SI Stash #99 - Hunter Hunter by thecosmicrondo (HunterXHunter) (1/2)
-Recommended by DaoistTwistLove~ A recently published OC SI HunterxHunter fic with the word count being at 110K already!
Sypnosis: ”Fearsome monsters.. Exotic creatures... Vast riches... Hidden treasures... Evil enclaves... The word ”unknown” holds magic. And some incredible people are drawn to that magic. They are known... as Hunters!” We all know those words...everyone except James Hartford. Trapped in a world he has no knowledge of, he fights to survive as he learns what it takes to be a Hunter! OC/SI
Rated: M
Words: 110K
Posted on: fanfiction.net/s/13471852/1/Hunter-Hunter (thecosmicrondo)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1
”One more week. One more week. Come on!” I slapped my face a few times as I stared at myself with my rear-view mirror. Its been three months of working twelve-hour overnight shifts. Six months of waking up in the afternoon rushing to eat food and finish my homework. Six months of struggling to pay the rent that my roommate had left me with when he decided to skip out right before my last semester. Six months of life slapping me in the face on account of no one answering my god damn roommate ads. Six god damn months of scrambling to find time to finish projects and meet my graduation requirements.
Six f_u_c_k_i_n_g months of hellish stress. Only one more week until my semester ended and I left this shitty job. Only one more f_u_c_k_i_n_g week.
For the past six months I had worked at a pizza factory doing twelve hour shifts every night. Well, it was a factory in everything but name. Our job was to make the pizza that you eat in those tiny little boxes that you take out of your freezer. It was nonstop work, and my job was to make sure the dough cutting machine kept on cutting.
The trouble came via the petty the management overseeing the factory. Now that I was on the out, things became far less straightforward. And way more difficult. Hauling heavy delivery crates from the trucks, mixing the dough in the huge vats, boxing the pizzas, flash freezing the pizzas, throwing away the pizzas, cleaning the pizza mess off the floors, clean the toilets with napkins. Whatever the f_u_c_k they could find me to do I did, and they assigned it as fast as their little heads could scream. I really f_u_c_k_e_d up when I trained my replacement in only a few days, after which the excellent management did everything in their power to make my life miserable.
I agree with the management that, during my interview, I stated I would, quote, ”Stay on board for maybe a year or two.” But the shit I've been going through this past week? They could go f_u_c_k themselves with a ten-foot pole.
Breaking away from my rumination, I rubbed my face one last time and summoned the courage to enter the warehouse. I left my car and made my way up the stairs to the warehouse. I greeted the regulars that managed to stay on working this grueling schedule for years. The turnover was high, meaning that the pay was ridiculously good. Especially when you could work seven days a week and get paid overtime. It wasn't unheard of for some of the workers to work twenty-four hours straight. Hell, one guy, I knew worked forty-eight straight hours because management 'couldn't find coverage'. Management was that desperate and that sc_u_mmy. The fact I didn't play ball with their abusive tactics was another reason they had it out for me.
I did that by avoiding my bosses' phone calls, like the brave hero I was.
”Evenin' Pedro. How's it going?” I said to one of the workers who had been employed for eight years. He was the one who worked forty-eight hours straight. I had no idea how he did it.
”Amigo!” He slapped me on the shoulder as I grabbed my apron, gloves, and hairnet. I smoothed down my short, black hair and put on the head wear, plopping a green baseball hat with a gold Hyrule symbol on the front on top of the hairnet. I used it to keep the hairnet from slipping off my head. It also helped to soak the sweat that collected on my head. This job was miserable, but I hadn't become so jaded that I wanted people to literally taste my misery.
”Everything is going well, I finally saved enough to pay for Tiana to go to college. She'll graduate from a good school like you, hijo.” Pedro said with a smile as he put on his equipment and stored his personal belongings away inside one of the tiny lockers the company gave us.
”Wait, isn't she twelve? That's a little too early to be thinking about college, isn't it?” Though I'm one to talk. I just was about to finish my bachelor's at 28, when most people would be finishing or be finished with their post-grad.
”Si, si, si! But you forget! You never should think too far ahead! You know this by now! Cuantas veces te he dicho! I have three daughters to get through college, Dios ayúdame!” He began as he rambled on about his daughters, before lecturing me on the importance of being your best and working in life. While he did this often, I didn't mind it too much; mostly because it felt nostalgic. I stared at the man who worked so hard for his family. Now I understood why he had it in him to work so hard.
He reminded me of my father.
He had never complained or caused issues with anyone and was always as warm and friendly as they come. He always had a spark of will, determination, and hope in his eyes. Of dreams. Just like Pedro.
I looked at my name badge. James Hartford. I was born and raised in Detroit. I was as white as a napkin and had never left this state or even the city. Yet Pedro Marquez, a man who couldn't be further from me in both personality and background, was the only person I could think of that looked out for me. Which was weird since I only knew him for six months. People just took a liking to me and I never knew why. I just had that effect on people for some reason, but most of the time it did more harm than good. Happily, this time it hadn't.
”Hijo, hijo. Listen,” he put a hand on my shoulder to pull my attention away from my musings, ”You know I worry about you. You came here six months ago and looked so confused. Like a scared little rabbit. You had no confidence! So I helped you and told you to try and get the dough cutter position, and you pushed yourself and got it in a month!”
”Yeah Pedro…” I closed my eyes and sighed, resigning myself for another lecture from a guy who took it upon himself to be my pizza factory mentor.
”'Ey! None of this! You have to have confidence in yourself! Look at you! You're tall, healthy, young! Most of all you're smart! Very, very smart! But shy and lazy! Muy, muy perezoso!” I sighed.
”But”, his voice suddenly softened, ”you've had a tough life. So now it's your turn to take some life. You shouldn't be working here. You should be in an office, a nice office, not busting you're balls making pizzas for these f_u_c_k_i_n_g people! Just...just believe in yourself some more, ok? You have so much potential! I wish I had a boy like you, but these balls only shoot out girls!”, I chuckled at his crude joke, ” I won't be there to keep you're head straight or push you, you know?” He smiled as he reached up and patted me on the cheek. I couldn't help but smile as well.
”Fine, fine. At least I won't have to hear you lecture me anymore! And you're spanglish! You couldn't be more stereotypical unless you had a sombrero and pancho! ” I said as I walked over to the mirror to view myself.
He waved his arms at me in good humor, a smile on his face as he walked away out of the locker room.”Faaah, typical gringo! You get a little full of yourselves and you think you know everything! You'll miss my lectures, hijo! Ah! Don't forget to punch in, you forgot last time. Also, Rosalita cooked some extra food for me to give to you, so listen.” He stopped walking and turned around, his voice became low and paternal, like how I imagine he spoke to his own daughters, ”I know you've been taking some of the boxes of pizza. Stop, ok? You know yourself how petty these people are, don't stoop to their level.”
I flinched at his words. I had stolen several frozen pizza boxes throughout the week. It wasn't from spite. Well, not completely from spite, I was saving up money to move out of Detroit. If taking frozen pizza helped save me some money I'd take it, but if Pedro found out it wouldn't take long for management to catch me.
I could only nod shamefully at Pedro's word. He was right and as the only person who gave a damn about me in, well, a long time, his words held a lot of weight.
My Mexican friend's frown turned into a small smile as he accepted my weak apology. He waved off as he headed off to the factory floor. I glared at myself in the mirror, tired black eyes looking back. I was tall at 6'1. My body was all skin, bones, and muscle; and not in a good way. I used to be pretty strong and athletic in high school, but the years of studying, working and eating nothing but ramen, tuna and water had eaten away my frame. I barely weighed a hundred and forty pounds fully clothed.
I sighed and headed onto the floor. When I opened the door, it sounded like a bomb went off. It was the first thing I heard, but it wasn't the last thing I heard.
The last thing I heard was a loud sound like a meaty smack and then screaming.
The last thing I remember was falling.
A giant, beautiful field with a perfect hill. On top of that hill was a woman sitting against a titanic tree, framed against a perfect blue sky. This was the scene that was laid upon me when my eyes opened.
I was in awe. It was exactly how I imagined heaven to look like. A peaceful paradise that was free of danger or worry. It certainly felt like I was in heaven: my mind and body only knew euphoria, serenity, and peace. I don't know how long I stared at this pure image, but I was snapped out of my reverie by something softly pawing my leg. I looked down to see a pure white rabbit staring up at me.
It sat on its hind legs as it patted my right leg, like a pet demanding attention. I decided to pet it, only for it to hop off towards the tree where the woman was. I kept gawking. The rabbit stopped, turned around, and stared intently at me; somehow I knew it wanted me to follow.
My feet barely made a sound as they trod against the soft grass. Before I knew it, I was sitting down on the grass in front of a beautiful Asian woman. No, that was wrong...it felt like I was suddenly there. As if I traveled instantaneously with no build-up or anything. We were both sitting on a blanket with a brilliantly white tea set in-between us. I was confused. I had no recollection of the time between my first few steps towards the rabbit and my arrival to this woman. No, I had a memory of following the rabbit...but nothing in between. Wait, was there a rabbit? Yes, there was a rabbit. God, it was like I was in a dream.
”Yes. My home does this to those unprepared.” The voice was high and bubbly, like a schoolgirl's.
I c_o_c_ked my head as I was suddenly staring at the woman. She was drinking tea from a porcelain cup. I don't remember her picking it up. My eyes narrowed in confusion. I remember putting a hand in front of my face, no I did that, or am I doing that now? It felt like I was high. Like the first time I tried weed: I ate two entire brownies and time itself stopped working properly. Sequential events played out of order. Moments would be skipped entirely like removing scenes from a movie. You know things are bad when you remember being on the floor in pool of your own puke, then your standing clean as whistle and no one remembers you vomiting. THEN you vomit. That was a hell of a night.
Unfortunately, this experience felt even worse.
”Hohoho! That is quite funny!” She said with a tilt of her head. Her long hair swaying like fine silk.
”Uh, what's so funny?” I said (or was saying, or going to say? F_u_c_k.) before sipping my tea. My eyes lit up from the sheer taste of this tea. The tea was amazing!
”Thank you!”, she said with genuine happiness and a clap of her hands ”Tea is a hobby of mine. Discovering and trying out new recipes is a treat for me. This was a-” Wait.
”Hmm?”
Ar-are you reading my mind?
”Whoops! I forget mortals don't like that. I'm so scatterbrained some times” She stuck her tongue out and winked. She wasn't even hiding she was lying.