Hunter x Hunter RPG: The Hunt Begins

[Tame]

Here we go!!


‘Gentlemen, allow me to begin this meeting.’ The words were spoken by a very short, elderly and extremely wrinkled man. What little hair he had stuck up from his head at random angles, giving some indication of how stressful the past few days had been for him. He adressed the twelve men assembled around that long, conference table. They were the board of directors for Atlas Corporation, making them, collectively, one of the most influential forces in the business world. Only the chair at the head of the table was unoccupied. That place was reserved for the CEO of their most distinguished organisation and, since the tragic death of Spanner Farnaby three days previously, had sat empty.

‘Although I am sure we are still deeply affected by Mr Farnaby’s death, we must not neglect our obligation to the company.’ The man speaking was Vincent Shiroshima, vice-chairman of Atlas Co. and oldest friend of the deceased. He had been eager to get on with the task of finding a new chairman, but social protocol prevented him until enough time had elapsed that he could do so without he and his colleagues being accused of deep insensitivty. Three days had seemed an appropriate length of time for them to appear to the public to be mourning. ‘It is for that reason that I have called you all here today,’ Shiroshima went on.

‘Oh do get on with it, Shiroshima,’ grumbled one man. ‘We all know how the process is supposed to go. We have to vote, right?’

‘That is correct,’ Shiroshima replied, unfazed by this interruption. ‘The rules for this situation are clearly laid out in the manifesto our company’s founders laid down at its inception; each member of the board of directors is a candidate for the position of CEO. Shareholders may vote, and the weight of their votes will be proportional to their ownership of the company. Additionally, we are all allowed to vote. The weighting of the voting will be split evenly between votes from the shareholders and votes the board of directors, and each of our votes will count equally with one another’s. The candidate with the majority of the votes will become the new CEO. Is everything
clear so far?’

‘When will voting take place?’ asked one man. He was a tall, reasonably good-looking man and one of the younger amongst them – he was only in his fourties. The years of stress had yet not taken too much of a toll on his features; his blonde hair was a little thinner than some men of his age maybe, the rings under his blue eyes a little more pronounced perhaps. The only other complaint one would be justified in making about his appearance were that his eyebrows, besides being much darker than the rest of the hair on his head, were wild and untidy. The name of this striking man was Ian Chapman. He was an up-and-comer within the company, and had only recently joined the board. Nevertheless, he was ambitious and highly intelligent. In addition, he was well-respected and well-liked amongst board members and shareholders alike. Most importantly, he was one of three members of the board that was a licensed Hunter.

‘I propose that it take place in five days’ time,’ Shiroshima replied to his question. ‘If that is agreeable to everyone.’ There was a murmur of assent. ‘If there are no more questions, I’d like to open up the floor to anyone who has anything to say.’ As members of the group got up in turn to speak, one of their number had his eye on Mr. Chapman. It was another of the three Hunters amongst them, and his name was Oliver Zaltzman. A man of fifty, he was completely bald save for a ring of ginger, fly-away hair wrapped round the back of his head, and he wore a pugnacious look. He was thinking something through very thoroughly and quickly; he did not care what look he had on his face. ‘Which of us has the best chance of winning?’ That was the question through his mind. Shiroshima had the most experience, but he was too old to be put in charge and besides, he had no desire to be in charge. Of the others, most fell into the same categories – either too old or not interested. Of the ones that were left, two of them, Zaltzman felt sure, didn’t have a hope in hell’s chance. They were just over-ambitious fools. That left three candidates; himself, Chapman, and Clarence Braig. He glanced across at that last man. Braig was sat near the middle of the table, his warm, pleasant, thick-bearded face showing a look of contended patience as he listened to his colleagues talk. Mentally, he counted up the supporters each of them had amongst the shareholders and the rest of the board. Chapman, surely had the most, followed by Braig and he, Zaltzman, in third and last place. If he wanted to be sitting in that CEO’s chair in five days time, he was going to have to eliminate some of the competition. Braig, he felt sure, couldn’t be touched. He was well-liked even by those who didn’t think him CEO material. And to even them, it had to be said that Clarence Braig was doing very well for himself as the founder and chief of “Panacea”, a small group of Hunters who specialised in healing and medical-based abilities. Zaltzman considered it highly doubtful that that man had any sordid secrets in past that could be raked up. Not only that, but Zaltzman wasn’t sure he’d even mind losing the position of CEO to Braig.

Chapman, however, was another kettle of fish. He was corrupt – Zaltzman knew that beyond doubt, but he wasn’t sure he could prove it. If he could, what would be the result? Many of the members of the board accepted corruption as a necessary evil of the job, and plenty of them practiced it themselves. On the other hand, whilst they all lied to screen one another, lying to the shareholders would be a different matter. If Zaltzman, scraped up big enough dirt on Chapman, then the result would be the following: his supporters amongst the shareholders would vanish, and his supporters amongst the board would be forced to do so as well for fear of the backlash of public opinion against them if they didn’t. But he had no way of finding the evidence in just five days...
Zaltzman was so deep in thought that he hardly realised that everyone was filing out of the conference room. He sat in thought for a few more moments before getting up himself and walking out. In the lobby, looking thoughtfully out through the building’s sheet glass window over the expanse of city beneath him, was Braig. He turned around as he heard the other man approach.

‘Ah Oliver, how are you my boy?,’ he enquired warmly, ‘You look like something’s on your mind. Then again, you always look like that, haha. Let me guess, you’re wondering what it’s going to be like under the iron rule of Mr. Chapman?’ Braig smiled wryly and Zaltzman couldn’t help but smile back. He joined him looking out across the city. ‘I admit though,’ Braig continued after a few moments’ silence, ‘I’m also a little worried. I know he is a very competent young man, but I don’t like the thought of an arms dealer running this company. If he does win the election, I intend to resign.’

‘Wait, he’s an arms dealer?!’ Zaltzman had started at the words but he had been speechless for a moment or two. ‘Are you serious?!’

‘You didn’t know?’ Braig replied, looking at the other man in quiet surpise. ‘Oh yes, I understand he makes frequent deals with a man by the name of Reno Marconi.’

‘I’ve heard of him,’ interrupted Zaltzman. Reno Marconi was a ruthless arms and drug dealer from a small country on the Yorbian Continent. This was exactly the kind of thing he could use against Chapman; a plan had immediately formed in his mind. It would be dangerous, but he was confident it could be done...

Lost in his thoughts again, he missed what Braig was saying to him. ‘Well, I have to head back across town to Panacea HQ. I have a meeting with a certain young man I’m trying to recruit for the cause.’
‘Good luck with that,’ came the disinterested reply. As soon as Braig was out of earshot, Zaltzman was on the phone. ‘Dietrich, are you free? Good, call Twisp. Both of you, meet me at my apartment in half an hour.’


A fast-moving car tore round the corner and down the wide street, swerving left and right to narrowly avoid oncoming traffic. In front of the Hunter Association building it braked suddenly and came to a standstill. A man jumped from it, ignoring the shouts of angry motorists, and ran inside.

It was two days later and so far, Zaltzman’s plan was not going well.

Once within the building’s spacious entrance hall, the worried-looking man ran straight to the front desk, his blonde ponytail and long sleeves flying behind him. The girl behind the desk, recognising the man’s unmistakable long chin, addressed him chirpily. ‘Ah, hello Mr. Dietrich! What can I do for you?’

‘How many Hunters are in the building right now?’ he demanded breathlessly.

‘We currently have seven Hunters staying with us,’ she informed him immediately. ‘All of them are within the building at this time.’

‘Please call them all immediately. Ask them to come to down here at once.’

‘At once, sir!’ she said, smiling.

Over the next few minutes, all seven Hunters received brief phone calls. ‘Hello sir! A Mr. Dietrich respectively requests your presence in the lobby immediately,’ the receptionist told them politely and cheerfully.

 

[Hunter2323]

"Who's Dietrich? Does he have environment needs my help?"

Lukannon jumped out of his bed. It had been a long tiring ordeal to set up the nature preserve for the Saharan-striped lion. It was especially difficult dealing with the...poachers, that was the word, who were still trying to enter and kill the creatures for hides, which he had heard were selling for lots of the humans' favorite thing, money.

Just thinking of the beasts trying to attack his friends, trying to wipe out Mother's (Mother Nature) children set him a fire. If any animal needed his help, if any natural landscape needed to be preserved, Metal Tooth, no Lukannon would go to the ends of the earth.

If this Dietrich was one of the "cor-por-ate" people his mentor told him about, he wasn't sure if it was worth delaying his next journey. Everyday they wore their suits, and stayed inside. None of them understood the greatness of the earth, what it was like to run wild through the jungles or swim in the rivers.

It had been almost 3 years since he was found living in the, what did Noa call it, oh right, the Sarmillion Jungle. Why they gave such strange names to places was beyond understanding. Even his name, given to him by the Hunter that found him living, thriving with his pack, had little meaning to him. The wolves always called him Metal Tooth for the large knife they found next to him when he was a cub. When others heard this name, they laughed. Noa said he would need a human name. Lukannon supposedly, meant...crap, he forgot again. This language was much more difficult then his native tongue (that of the wolves, that of the pack).

"Tell him I be down very fast."

Noa said he needed to adjust to human world. He would at least hear what the man had to say. Though, sometimes listening to their money problems became annoying. Why do they want it; why do they need it? Why not just live with Mother?

 

[Zvane]

"No Mom, I'm not coming home any time soon" Scyre said over the phone, half-dressed, getting a bit annoyed. He did love his mother, but she certainly was a pain in the ass, plus, the fact that she was a more than capable Blacklist Hunter didn't help. "Because I really, really don't want to...hang on Mom, my room's phone is ringing" he said, glad to have an excuse to put his mother on hold.

"Dietrich huh? Zaltzman's Atlas Corp. lackey? Interesting...I wonder what he wants from me....OK, tell him I'll go down in a few"

-So Atlas Corporation is looking for Hunters? This most certainly has something to do with Spanner Farnaby's death, it was all over the news- he thought -well, I'm pretty sure the pay's gotta be great, but I really want to see what kind of dirt I'm going to find here-

"So Mom" he said cheerfully to his pretty annoyed mother "I have a much better excuse for not coming home, I have work to do, so, I'll talk to you later, okay? Love" and without waiting for a response (or yell) he hung up.

He disconnected his game console he left charging overnight and put it inside his bag. Finished dressing and without looking back, exited the room.

He pushed the elevator button and waited for it to arrive, with only one thought on his mind -Fuck, I didn't have any breakfast-

 

[thatguy3331]

"...Muhei?!" The sound of a voice that had just awakened blurted out as he heard a phone ring. He groggily answered and recived the brief message,

"Dietrich? who the hell is that?" Dennis said still irritated after being waken up from his nap. He took a guess and assumed he was someone from the corperation whose head had just died or something. Even though he became a hunter, he was hoping he wouldn't have to pay attention to all this buisness and political crap until he was 20.

"Oh goody, the first thing I get to do after waking up is go down to meet some old guy who prbably smells like ass money..." He said streching and letting out a huge yawn. He then looked to the left of him and noticed a small cheap locket necklace. After staring at it he let out a sigh. "Well I'm always up for getting some cash."

After quickly getting dressed, and only putting on some deoderant, he walked out of the room and into the hallway with his boots, jeans and a black sleevless undershirt which he put a light blue jacket over, not even bothering to zip it up. He then but the locket around his neck and walked down the hallway, whiping out a cellphone to check the time, and began running when he realized he was late.

 

[MegamanX195]

"Hmm... Dietrich, huh?" Sora had heard of him in the news. Something big involving the death of a powerful corporation's President... Atlas Corporation. That surely meant that dangerous people would be involved in whatever the work was. The thought of that entertained Sora... but he had to learn more to make sure that it was really worth it... after all, it had been a year of nothing but boring hunts.

The last one with the Magical Beast seemed good at first, but the beast wasn't really that dangerous, and just wanted to be left alone by the humans who were destroying the nearby forest to expand the city... What a disappointment, he thought he was getting a good fight at least. Well, there was nothing to be lost in seeing what the man had to say. Besides, he was curious WHY he would need a Hunter for.

"Tell him I'll be right there."

Sora quickly packed up what he usually brought with him. He was thinking about going down with Blue Drop, just in case... "What for? It's not like I'll be fighting down there.", he thought, quickly dismissing the issue. He was thinking on going for his more usual clothes, but ultimately decided upon the black coat. Showing off your real personality to strangers on a first meeting isn't really something advisable... he learned that from Takeshi.

That, and much more. If it were not for him, besides being pathetically weak, he would know next to zero about the outside world, and how to deal with people. Takeshi had made him study real hard and taught him a lot of things about people, places, and life in general. While ultimately not changing his happy attitude, he certainly became someone cautious, quite the contrast of his trusting attitude. "Trusting, while cautious... wonder if that makes me someone weird or interesting." He thought. "Wonder why I remembered everything, all of a sudden..." he said, quickly erasing all thoughts from his mind. "Not like it's the time to be thinking about those things, anyway."

"Besides... the black coat IS damn badass!" Sora cheerfully said, and opened the door.

 

[NoFreakingWay]

"...ratatata-tatatat-tratatata-dugubugu..."

The phone in Random's room rang.

"Just in the middle of practicing this insane song. GAH!"

The voice on the other side told Random Randomson to meet with some Dietrich at the lobby. Random answered with an affirmative and quickly hung up. A few seconds after the call and Random was thinking if hanging up that fast was too rude.

The speakers cranked up to maximum didn't prevent Random from hearing that pretty weak ring tone. He was focused on the music he was practicing to, yes, but he was ready for that damned call anytime. And it's about time anyway. A few minutes longer and he would've just left the building to indulge on music somewhere else.

Random was indeed ready. He didn't even sleep. He just took a shower at midnight, put on his usual get-up, and practiced air-drumming all through the wee hours of the morning. Now he was relatively soaked with sweat. Good thing the place had good air-conditioning. He just changed as quickly as he could into another set of clothes, and then went down.

As he made his way down the lobby, he couldn't stop tapping his feet and nodding. He wasn't even listening to music anymore. But his long practice session drilled the tunes in his head. That won't be erased soon.

"Oh shi. I'm late. This won't make a good impression." Random noted some guys already assembled at the lobby. "These guys look capable though. Nice."

 

[Hunter2323]

Lukannon took a look around the hotel's entrance. He could feel the, what did Noa call it, oo-ra, ow-ra, no, whatever it was. The energy of the others in the room had gave off that pleasant sensation of being outside, chasing down an antelope and hamstringing it for the pack's continued existence.

He had no idea which one was this Dietrich, such an odd name to say. The only face he recognized was the boy (was it Sulu) in the black coat. He passed that test with Lukannon; the test Noa suggested he take after explaining the energy they both could use. Unfortunately, remembering this language's names did not come easy. They always had little to do with what they looked like. Nothing like his brothers and sisters, Thunderscar, Sharp Claw, No Eye, such simple names for his brethren.

The wolves passed a tale of someone who looked like this Sara (no that wasn't it either) helping out their home. Lukannon decided he should thank him on their behalf. How to approach him, that was the bigger problem. Staring at him like how his brother eyed a rabbit, as he was currently doing, was probably not the best way.

A feeling of excitement and nervousness began to build in Lukannon's gut. He always worked alone. Well, except that one time Noa asked for his help. Since that time Noa had been insisting he make human friends. Maybe it was time to give it a go with this new pack. Maybe he could even introduce them to Midnight, Ash, and Snow Moon.

 

[Zvane]

Scyre arrived at the lobby, thankful for not listening to that shitty elevator music anymore. He quickly scanned the room. He recognized Dietrich at once (it was pretty obvious, since he was the only one wearing a suit), but was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one he knew in the room.

-Crap, what's this kid doing here....he wouldn't...?- he asked himself, already knowing the answer. The kid was a Hunter too, and if he was correct, Dietrich would want as many Hunters as he could get his hands on, which could only mean this job was way too hard.
There were more people there, not counting him and Dennis, only 5 of them were able to use Nen. -Oh sure....more Hunters-

-Now...who should I go to first? The kid or Dietrich? Or maybe I should go get something to eat?...No, no sidetracking, I can stuff myself later- he thought readjusting his mala. -Oh Buddha, what should I do....kid...Dietrich...kid...Dietrich...-

Ignoring his stomach's protests, he decided to talk to Dennis first. If he was indeed summoned by Dietrich, then it can only mean two things: One, if Atlas Corporation was so desperate that they need to hire as many Hunters as they could, then something really nasty is about to happen. And two: if they don't care about who are they hiring, not caring about experience or abilities, that certainly means Zaltzman's either an idiot or things are already bad enough.

So Scyre approached to Dennis with a sideways smile

"Been a long time kiddo, still alive?"

 

[thatguy3331]

Dennis sniffed the air as he walked in. "this guy smells worse than anyone at home, must be in some deep shi- ! Scyre?" Dennis switched thoughts to words as he noticed an aqaintice of his from the hunter exam. "Yeah, but judging by the look you're givin' me I should be asking you that."

After this, he pulled out a candy bar he got from a vending machine on the way and ate it nonchallantly. "So scyre...*munch**munch*... as you know I don't really give a damn about corperations or politics, so do you have an Idea on why this old dude called us down here?" Dennis spoke, keeping out of ear range of his "client".

 

[NoFreakingWay]

5 seconds after reaching the lobby and scanning the people that were gathered there, Random knew something was wrong. He looked at each and every person in that small cluster, and murmured the obvious to himself.

"What the-- These guys don't have their instruments with them?"

As he approached them further it was certain that this bunch were not the guys he was expecting. Random slowly put one palm up to his face.

"These aren't the guys I'm supposed to have a jam session with! Goddammit! And I hurried all the way here! Ugh!"

Random paused and thought hard for a span of 5 seconds.

"OK, that does it. Whatever these guys are up to, I'm down."

Random approached the receptionist. "Miss, if a Mr. Seth Myers comes here later, uh, you'll know it's him because he ALWAYS carries this HUMONGOUS bass guitar, tell him I won't show up for practice today. Thanks."

Random finally approached the group, introduced himself, and asked for the person named Dietrich.

 

[Tame]

Standing in the middle of the lobby, where he got a good view of both the elevator and stairs, Dietrich anxiously awaited the arrival of one or more of the Hunters. He wasn’t particularly hopeful that any would come; surely they would all be busy or just not interested. The best he could expect, he thought to himself, was maybe two of them to come with them. He could hardly believe his eyes when after another, no fewer than five people arrived within a few minutes!

First to join him was a rugged young guy who, alarmingly, wore little more than a pair of shorts. Then came a shorter, more normal looking young man who reminded Dietrich of someone, though he couldn’t think who for the moment. Then a young, energetic-looking kid joined them, and began talking a little way off to one of the others. Next came someone who looked like they could be a member of a heavy metal band what with the drum sticks he had with him and long, blond hair. He walked past Dietrich and began talking to the receptionist. After him was another kid in a long black coat and spiky hair. ‘What is this supposed to be,’ thought Dietrich, ‘a school trip?’ He checked himself quickly; these guys were Hunters – it didn’t matter if they were nine or ninety. The credo was to trust in your comrades’ strength, not to question it. Besides, he was lucky to be getting any help at all.

Finally a sixth man emerged from the direction of the stairs. He was young, probably in his early twenties, and reasonably good-looking; he had a well-defined jaw line and wide, hazel-coloured eyes, though these latter did have a slightly blank expression in them. He brushed a fringe of thick dark hair back from his forehead, yawned (not bothering to cover his mouth), and slouched into the lobby.

This last man glanced round at the faces of the other Hunters. Two of them he recognised from the Hunter exam three years ago. Being good with names and faces, he recognised them, though one had since entered puberty and the other left it. Lukannon was the name of the guy with no social skills he looked like he’d been raised in a jungle and the kid with the black coat was called Sora. Not looking for an akward reunion, the man glanced away and hoped not to catch their eyes just yet.

The man who had been talking to the receptionist returned to the group, introducing himself as Random Randomson, and asked for Dietrich. Thinking this as good a cue to start as any, Dietrich cleared his throat and addressed everyone in the room. ‘Thank you all for agreeing to see me on such short notice. My name is Dietrich Sollos. I require urgent assistance and would be grateful if you’d hear me out. Perhaps we could sit down,’ he added, gesturing to a group of luxurious couches arranged around a small table that constituted the lobby’s waiting area.

 

[MegamanX195]

Sora had taken the elevator. When he arrived, there were more people there than he expected. He already suspected Dietrich wanted more than one person, otherwise his "invitation" would have been more personal. But to see over 3 people was a surprise...

"I'm not nervous... at all. These guys are definitely pros, but I don't feel nervous at all. They seem like cool guys... guess I over worried." Sora thought. "Not even Dietrich, who I thought was some evil mob guy or something, seems to be pretty cool."

"Huh, that is the wolf-like guy from the Hunter Exam... Lukannon!" Sora noticed. He usually doesn't pick up on people's faces and names that easily, specially since they didn't interact that much during the Hunter Exam for whatever reason, but Lukannon was exceptionally strong. "He's a grown man now. From what I've seen from his... intelligence, I'm not even sure if he remembers me. Good thing we didn't have to fight at the exam, not sure if I would be able to beat him back then. Of course, now is an entirely different story..." Sora wasn't sure why Lukannon was staring at him though... did he do something to call his attention, or is it just because he was recognizing him from the exam? But for some reason, Sora had the feeling that he knew what Lukannon was thinking... "I'll be sure to talk to him later. We had no opportunities to talk too much at the exam... I bet we can become great friends!" Sora smiled mentally. For now, he pretended he didn't notice him.

Somebody else arrived. He seemed familiar... "Yeah, he was from the Hunter Exam. Why can't I remember his name? I mean, it's not like 100 people passed the Exam, and my memory was never too bad..." Sora felt slightly disappointed with himself for not remembering the other guy's name.

Beyond that, no one in special really caught Sora's attention: they all were strong, Lukannon was (probably) friendly, there was the other guy from the Hunter Exam, but that was all. 2 of the other guys were talking, he wasn't interested in the conversation. Dietrich introduced himself, and gestured them to sit down. "There's a lot I want to ask, but it's better to wait until the man is done talking. I'm not making a fool of myself by asking obvious questions, even if everyone over here is probably asking themselves the same questions... they'll most likely be answered by Dietrich, anyway." Sora decided to lean against the wall nearby the couches instead of sitting.

 

[Hunter2323]

Lukannon ended his staring, thinking it would be better to wait and thank Sola (no that was wrong too) until after deciding if this was a worthwhile endeavor.

Suddenly, a familiar smell caught his nose. All creatures, especially humans, had pretty unique odors coming from their body. This smell seemed familiar, but it was being masked by one thing forced upon Lukannon by these cities - soap (why Mother's water was not enough he would never understand). He was another from that test 3 years ago, but he would never remember the man's name. Not wanting to have to make small talk with two people in a row, thinking of how to thank Sora (that was it!) was difficult enough, Lukannon tried his best to avoid the man until later.

Never one for a luxurious lifestyle, Lukannon squatted right in the center of the sitting area. Coming from the jungle, he trusted his instincts about blind spots and always made sure he could run in any direction if the need called for it. He settled into a deep squat, muscles prepared to leap at the slightest notion of danger. His gold eyes took on their usual savage look, one that usually made it impossible for "civilized" people to approach. His ears were fully alert, simultaneously waiting for this Dee-te-rick to speak and for all sounds within the area.

 

[Zvane]

Scyre stared as some people were gathering next to Deitrich. Obviously, there wasn't anymore time for chit chat.

"I have quite a few ideas of what's going on, but I won't share them with you, at least not yet. I'd like to be really sure. After all, the head of one of the biggest corporations in the world dies and a couple days later, one of the big dog's lackey tries to hire Hunters?" he said, not taking for a second his eyes from the group.

His stomach was still growling, so he decided to buy a chocolate bar from the machine. -Hmm....I didn't notice before, but I might be the oldest one here....maybe that headbanger too, he seems to be around my age. God, I'm so not babysitting- He thought while stuffing his mouth with chocolate.

Without even looking at Dennis, he started walking in the direction of the group.

He stared at Deitrich while sitting down. As the others were silent, he decided to talk first.

"So, Mr. Deitrich, what could possibly be going on, if the powerful Atlas Corporation needs so many Hunters?" he said "You shouldn't be surprised I know about you by the way, I'm Scyre Lurk, Information Hunter"

 

[NoFreakingWay]

Dietrich requested the group that they have a seat on those comfy-looking couches in the lobby.

While they were walking towards it, Random looked around fast. It seems that his impatience cut the time for people to have small talk with each other. "Ugh. Are my manners deteriorating or what? Gah.", said Random inwardly. He inserted his drumsticks on his back pockets of his pants put his hands in his pants' side pockets. It was a telltale sign that he was disappointed with something, and that something, for now, is himself.

As they sat, this kid who had a druidic aura acted as though he really a druid. "This guy looks familiar. Hmm..." It was an irony that Random may never get reminded of this boy's identity until he actually gets a conversation in with the boy in question. He had met so many people in his life that he started to not bother remembering the names and faces of those who were not involved whatever business he was currently delving in.

Random noticed that he was thinking hard again. He could see himself do that funny lip-pout - again. He was made aware of this by his Nen-master. Whenever Random was concentrating, he does that. As he became conscious of this, Random tried hard to peel his gaze away from the boy, and focus his attention on the matter at hand.

A young adult around his age introduced himself to Dietrich as Scyre Lurk and mentioned something about the Atlas Corporation. "Atlas, huh...?" Random feinted a concerned look, but the truth is that this really powerful Atlas Corporation really hadn't struck a cowbell to him. Another sign of his increasing... indifference, perhaps? "I can't allow myself to become indifferent. Crime Hunters can't be indifferent...", Random thought hardly, and tried hard to recall everything he heard about this mammoth corporation, as he listened further.

 

[Hunter2323]

The man who carried the two sticks became something of an interest for Lukannon. His face and body language were very open, sending many different signals rapid fire; so fast in fact Lukannon had a hard time figuring out what he was feeling. Reading human's body language had piqued the man-cub's interest since that fateful meeting with Noa because of the difficulties in expressing himself using their language. He thought he was getting better at it, but this time he was just confused.

Lukannon began listening more intently to the start of the conversation as he had never heard of an Information Hunter. The whole idea of it seemed very odd. He thought that was the reason people used those electronic boxes (the big ones in the buildings and the small ones everyone carried around with them). Furthermore, the only Atlas he knew was a large silverback pumynx (note: imaginary puma and lynx hybrid) from back home. He didn't want to embarrassingly open his mouth and ask if this building, or company, whatever it was, knew they stole his friend's name; so he just continued to listen alertly, trying to pick out the important parts of what Dee-trick (whom he now sniffed for memory) was about to say.

 

[Tame]

Dietrich was almost over-joyed when, one-by-one, the Hunters sat down. He didn't even mind that one of them squatted in the middle of seating area. It wasn't that much of a surprise to him, if truth be told; Hunters are the strangest of breeds, and having been one himself for years, he knew to expect some eccentric behaviour.

The boy in the black coat leant against the wall behind the couches. Three of the others - the three who looked to be in their early twenties, took seats on the couch. The other kid remained standing a few feet away, but he was well within ear shot. Dietrich took a seat where everyone could see his face as he prepard to adress them all.

Before he could begin, one of the men sat down spoke first. 'So, Mr. Deitrich, what could possibly be going on, if the powerful Atlas Corporation needs so many Hunters?,' he said. 'You shouldn't be surprised I know about you by the way, I'm Scyre Lurk, Information Hunter.'

'Ah, I've heard of you,' replied Dietrich, remembering why the young man looked familiar. 'You're Maria Lurk's son, right?' Dietrich had met Maria several times and though he didn't know her well, he held in high regard.

Remembering that it would be a bad time to get bogged down in small talk (there'd be plenty of time for that on their journey), Dietrich hurried on.

'As Mr. Lurk has surmised, I'm on behalf of Atlas Corporation.' Dietrich, who assumed everyone had heard of the company, glanced at the man squatted on the floor doubtfully and quickly decided it better to explain what it was. 'It's a powerful business that handles a lot of different products - pharmaceuticals, cars, airships, even robotics. And it contributes to important charity work. Now, as some of you may have heard, its CEO, Spanner Farnaby, died a few days ago. The board of directors is currently looking for a new leader. They intend to vote on which of them takes control in three days time. The man who is currently the most likely to succeed is called Ian Chapman. You may have heard of him too - he is a Hunter as well.'

At this point in his story, Dietrich's eyes took on a more steely look. He looked each of the Hunters in the eye one by one as he spoke slowly and meaningfully. 'This man is a known arms dealer. He has frequent dealings with someone called Reno Marconi, who sells weapons and ammunitions to terrorists the world over. Chapman must not be allowed to take control of Atlas under any circumstances. If he had Altas' funds at his disposal then he could create enough military strength that, if sold on, would be enough for terrorists or revolutionaries to take over a country of their choice.'

Pausing, Dietrich looked them each again, hoping the message had sunk in. There were several reasons why they might choose to join him on his mission, and he didn't want to under-emphasise any of them. Clearing his throat, he continued. 'My colleagues and I, including Oliver Zaltzman, another member of the Atlas board of directors, decided to expose Chapman; we can't arrest him of course - his Hunter license protects him - but if proof of his misdeeds were to reach the public then his electoral hopes would be finished.

We decided to infiltrate Marconi's base of operations. He resides in Gobunlia, and the hope was that he carried proof of his dealings with Chapman. Twisp, the third member of my group, went in alone. He was to report in to me via radio every two hours. It's now been four since he last checked in and I'm worried; if all Marconi had for protection was armed guards then Twisp would be able to get in and out without a problem. But if there were any nen users working for Marconi... well, Twisp might be out numbered. Any questions so far?'

The young man with the hazel eyes raised his hand a little to indicate he had questions. 'Er, hey, my name's Thos,' he said awkwardly, apparently adressing everyone. 'I was wondering... why did you send him in alone? And why wait 'til now to form a back-up team?'

'I admit, it sounds like the work of fools. And I guess it was. Well, Zaltzman didn't want to hire any outside help - we wouldn't have had time to do background checks, and a mole working for Chapman could have infiltrated the group. So it was down to the three of us. But Zaltzman was worried that if the mission failed and he was found to be involved with it then it'll make him look bad, or maybe even like he's the one working with Marconi. So that left me and Twisp. Twisp was to go in alone and I was to be the back-up - if the plan failed then I'd go in after him. That way we'd have two shots at success.'

Dietrich sighed wearily. 'I'm gonna be straight with you. I should have spoken out against the plan... Zaltzman's over-cautious... paranoid, even... we should have formed a proper team and gone in together, not send one guy in on a possible suicide mission. In fact, he doesn't even know that I'm looking for assisstance. But to hell with the plan - if Twisp's been captured then he needs to be rescued. So I'm disobeying orders and here I am, asking anyone I can find for their help. I can offer you two million jennis each.'

'What exactly are you offering it us for?' asked Thos.

'To accompany me to Marconi's estate in Gobunlia. To infiltrate it, to rescue Twisp and, if possible, find the proof of his dealings with Chapman. Hell, if any of you want to take down Marconi himself then be my guest.' Dietrich ended in a devil-may-care way. No harm in throwing in one more possible reason someone might agree to join him.

 

[MegamanX195]

Yes, that was exactly what Sora expected: something actually dangerous. It's certain they're going to confront powerful enemies. He could barely contain all the excitement, this was a no-brainer decision. He decided to play it cool for now, though.

"Isn't that too little for what we're doing?" Sora said. He didn't particularly care about the money now, but the amount seemed unfair, and money is always useful to have.

 

[thatguy3331]

"So, now we're dealing with terrorists huh? also there may be about 50 dudes with nen..." Dennis thought and he chewed on his candybar, holding it between his teeth with his hands in his pockets. He wasn't too sure abou how well he could do in a fight outnumbered even with his abilities, also theres this Macaroni dude or whatever the boss's name was...Perfect time to practie my skills! He said letting out a devilish grin, even better he was getting paid for this! maybe the price could be pushed up a bit, which that black coated kid was handling, but all in all it was like ass kicking for chairty to him. He was completely silent, but if one stood near him they could fell his excitment for the job seeping through him.

 

[Zvane]

Scyre was pissed
-I really need to change my last name, everybody knows me because of my mother- he thought angrily, but still waited until Deitrich finished his explanations.

"I agree with that kid" he said "Two million jennis is way too little for such a mission, I'm sure Atlas Corp is rich enough to pay us two billion each for this mission, considering last year's earnings, am I right?" he asked Deitrich. "Besides, if Reno Marconi is involved, capturing or killing him is going to be hard."
Scyre was puzzled about Zaltzman's move. He was supposed to be smart, but making a dumb move like that would only make this mission harder, now they'll be on their toes for anything suspicious.

Still, something bothered him. What was this guy's angle? Chapman or Marconi? Either of them would be a fine prey, but there was something even deeper going on than just a hostile takeover. For now, he's going to keep his suspicions to himself.

"Well" Scyre said eying for a second to the other Hunters "I'm up for some infiltration, I'm quite good at collecting information you know? And, of course, if I have the chance, I'll kill Marconi"