The cleaner climbed out of the trash and returned to where he'd been. He said no more and went back to work. 👌💀
The cleaner climbed out of the trash and returned to where he'd been. He said no more and went back to work. 👌💀
He didn't seem angry, either. It was as if, deep down, he simply accepted the rule that the strong made the rules.
As long as you were strong enough, you could do whatever you wanted.
Su Wu slowly carried the baby back to District 12. He didn't dare use Cang. With his current physical strength, using it would leave him a little injured. And with the baby's body being so frail...
If he used Cang, the child would probably be dead by the time they reached the Church in District 12.
"I hate kids..." Su Wu frowned, gazing at the baby in his arms with a mixture of disgust and apprehension. The little thing wasn't exactly cute—in fact, he looked a bit like an ugly, hairless monkey.
So weak and fragile.
Even back in his old life, whenever relatives asked him to hold their kids during holidays, he'd gone out of his way to avoid them.
Just then, his eyes lit up. He spotted a group of children walking by and rushed straight over. He shoved the baby into one of their arms, tossed out a quick instruction, and immediately pulled his hands back.
"Take him away. Quickly."
The child who'd been abruptly handed a baby looked only five or six years old. He held the infant with practiced ease, but still took care to be gentle.
"Sid! Another baby's been brought in!" Several children hurried into the Church, shouting as they ran. This clearly wasn't the first time it had happened.
Now that he'd passed off the burden, Su Wu leisurely followed them into the Church. A large group of children were still training in the open space.
Another group sat off to the side, drenched in sweat as they rested and played.
"Take the baby to the Nursery." The brown-haired, brown-eyed man looked more like a boxer than a priest. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he merely opened his eyes at the sound and calmly glanced toward the passage beside him.
The Church had a dedicated Nursery, with over a hundred babies inside.
The older children lived in empty houses outside the Church.
As long as they were in District 12, there was no need to worry about the children getting hurt.
"Okay!" The children cheerfully carried the baby off to the Nursery.
To them, it just meant they'd gained another brother or sister.
"So cleaning up trash just means sorting it? How boring." Su Wu stood in front of Sid, eyeing the muscles visible beneath his clothes. Curious, he reached out and gave them a feel.
"Your body's in great shape." He patted Sid here and there, then complimented him.
Enhancement-type, too? His aura was pretty impressive as well.
Maybe if he took a direct hit from Cang, he'd only be knocked back a bit without getting hurt?
Hunter World really was dangerous. Meteor City was full of hidden talent.
"...Are you done touching me?" Sid asked through clenched teeth, his brows knitted into a frown.
What a kid with no sense of boundaries.
Were they close enough for him to touch Sid whenever he wanted?
"I'm just touching. You're so stingy." Su Wu pulled his hand back and tossed out the complaint lightly.
If Sid had the body of a handsome muscle god, he should learn from other muscle gods. He ought to stand around and let people touch him whenever they wanted.
Sid's breathing hitched with irritation at the boy's shameless attitude.
How many years had it been since he'd run into such an obnoxious kid?
A cheerful greeting suddenly came from outside the door.
"Hey, Sid! Playing with your kids again?"
A Blonde youth walked into the Church alongside a tall, burly man with a scar on his face. Two figures carrying large bundles followed behind them.
"You're back. Helping everyone out with supplies again? How long are you staying this time? Don't tell me you'll be leaving again tomorrow." Sid seemed to know the two well and greeted them warmly.
Su Wu also made himself at home, immediately rummaging through the supplies they'd brought.
Candy—he grabbed a handful.
Milk—he downed a bottle.
Apples—he ate one.
Bananas—he took two.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sid spotted the white-haired kid acting like a bandit. His teeth started to itch.
Couldn't he wait until the two outsiders had left? He was making it look like the Church didn't feed him!
→
"Hill, stop eating." Sid tried not to let his face twist into an expression of exasperation.
"Who are they?" Su Wu paid no attention to Sid's warning. Instead, he asked while munching on an apple.
A blonde, green-eyed youth in a martial arts uniform, and a scar-faced giant standing two and a half meters tall, with hair like a hedgehog...
They seemed familiar. Though the two-dimensional characters looked a little different as lifelike people, their distinctive features were still enough for him to recognize them.
"Shalnark and Uvogin. They're members of the biggest organization funding District 12. They usually only show up in Meteor City once a year, and they never stay more than a couple of days. You just happened to run into them this time." Sid looked away, focusing on Shalnark and Uvogin as he introduced them.
"Ah, the organization funding District 12..." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy nodded calmly.
The biggest organization behind District 12 was actually the Phantom Troupe?!
The Phantom Troupe, also known as the Spiders, had spider tattoos on their bodies. Their thirteen members would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. They killed, robbed, and pillaged without restraint. Every one of them was an A-Class Fugitive.
And this band of A-Class Fugitives secretly did charity work and raised children?
He really must not have read enough manga. That was why he was so surprised.
And Shalnark was a Manipulation-type, if he remembered right. In that case...
The Nen ability surrounding the two people following Shalnark and Uvogin inside with the supplies must belong to Shalnark.
So they hadn't volunteered to carry the stuff after all.
"Could this be...?" Shalnark asked, seeming to address Su Wu, but looking at Sid.
"Hill Devil. A kid who just joined the Church. He's the one who caused that commotion yesterday." Sid introduced him calmly, not sounding the least bit impressed by yesterday's disturbance.
"Such a young Nen user... Are you even twelve?" Shalnark's smile was bright and sunny, and his appearance was deeply misleading.
Anyone who didn't know better would easily be fooled by his looks.
But Su Wu knew what he was really like.
"Besides your height, you don't look much older than me, Golden-haired Dollface." Su Wu shot back casually.
"Ahem." Sid cleared his throat and gave Su Wu a pointed look.
They were District 12's sponsors. He should show a little respect.
"I'll take that as a compliment about looking young." Shalnark replied without a blush or a hint of anger.
"I heard Vulture was chasing you yesterday. What a shame I didn't get to see you fight back. We don't get along with Vulture's people either." Shalnark lied through his teeth.
They hadn't had any dealings with Vulture's people at all. And the other side wouldn't be foolish enough to pick a fight with a Phantom Troupe member.
"I'm not a clown who performs for people. If you want to watch a show, go to the circus." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy spoke with disdain, acting like nothing could get through to him.
He was hard to approach and thoroughly unlikeable.
Shalnark privately made a preliminary assessment of the boy's personality.
And yet, the very boy who barely paid him any attention took the initiative to approach the silent Uvogin.
"Your muscles say you must be great at hand-to-hand combat..." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy casually reached out and rubbed Uvogin's arm.
"Fight me!" he said, as if the idea had suddenly struck him.
"I don't play with kids," Uvogin replied in a low voice.
"What's the harm? Just have a match with Hill." Shalnark smiled like a good-natured mediator as he patted Uvogin on the arm.
One was two and a half meters tall, the other one-eighty. Putting an arm around the other's shoulder would be a bit of a stretch.
Uvogin glanced at him. Their troupe's strategist was smiling, giving nothing away, but he was sure Shalnark had his reasons.
I'm not trying to whitewash the Troupe, and I'm not joining them.
It's just that the story about the Troupe as kids mentioned that they sometimes did charity work, and that they even funded Meteor City's weapons. So I don't think it's that odd for them to support Meteor City's children, either.
All of this is my headcanon, my headcanon. Any OOC is on me.
Before you continue