Twelve was an age full of hope.
Because in this world, turning twelve meant you could set out on the path to becoming a Hunter. It was the starting point so many people dreamed of.
On a steep cliff face, a boy with a small basket on his back was gathering medicinal herbs.
"Kaya! How much do you have left? Jeya's cubs have been born. Let's go see them when you're done." Gon's voice came from above the cliff. He poked his head over the edge, looking down at Kaya halfway up.
Kaya quickly stuffed the herbs in his hand into his basket and answered, "I'm done. Help pull me up."
Three years had seen both boys grow considerably, but Kaya was still slightly shorter than Gon, much to his annoyance.
The two headed into the forest together. Jeya, once an orphan, had become the lord of the forest and now had a family.
Jeya's mate, however, kept her distance from the boys, seemingly wary of them.
Stroking the Little Fox Bear in his arms, Gon said glumly, "Registration for the Hunter Exam opens in a month."
Kaya pursed his lips and asked, "When are you planning to tell Aunt Mito?"
Ever since Kaya had stayed on Whale Island, Aunt Mito and Grandma's care had filled him with warmth. He had long since come to think of this place as home.
He had tentatively brought up taking the Hunter Exam before, but whenever the subject came up, the gentle Aunt Mito would turn serious and say no more.
So Kaya and Gon had tacitly agreed not to bring it up again. In private, however, they had spent three years preparing for the exam, sneaking into the mountains every day to train and greatly improving their strength.
"You're so sneaky! Why don't you tell her? Besides, isn't Aunt Mito usually a little nicer to you?" Gon tried to push the problem back onto Kaya.
"How about we tell Aunt Mito together?"
"Yeah! That's our only option now."
After dinner, Kaya busied himself in the little tavern downstairs as usual, while Aunt Mito attended to the customers nearby.
He glanced at Gon, who nodded back. They both took a deep breath, gathered their courage, and said in unison, "Aunt Mito, we want to take the Hunter Exam. We hope you'll sign the forms for us."
The moment they finished speaking, the entire tavern fell silent, then erupted into discussion.
"That's impressive."
"Those two little rascals have finally grown up."
"Mito, you'll agree, won't you?"
The customers were all villagers from nearby. Most knew Mito's family of four and had some idea of the boys' abilities.
But they knew even better how much Aunt Mito cared about those two children.
Besides, everyone in the world knew how dangerous the Hunter Exam was. How could she possibly let them venture into danger alone again?
Everyone was curious to see how Aunt Mito would respond to their request.
Mito set down the glass in her hand and deliberately ignored their eager gazes. Steeling her heart, she said, "No," then turned and left the tavern.
Seeing their disappointment, Grandma patted their heads and comforted them. "Don't lose heart. Mito just can't bear to let you go. I'll talk to her."
Those words rekindled their hope. After all, Aunt Mito always respected Grandma's wishes.
"Thank you, Grandma!"
Both boys happily hugged her.
They still hadn't seen Aunt Mito by closing time, so they went to a grassy clearing and roughhoused for a while before lying on their backs beneath the boundless starry sky.
Gon poked Kaya beside him, brimming with anticipation. "Once we both become Hunters, we can explore the world. What's your goal, Kaya?"
"If I had to name one, it'd be finding Kite and beating him up." Kaya asked in return, "What about you? Are you just doing it to find your dad?"
Gon nodded. "Before I met you, that really was my only goal. But now there's an even more important reason."
He sat up, his expression turning unusually serious. "Actually, ever since Kite left, I've had a feeling you'd definitely take the Hunter Exam."
"I don't want to be separated from you, so that's another reason I have to take it."
"And I'll go with you to find Kite. But I won't help you beat him up. I want to thank him."
Kaya asked curiously, "Why do you want to thank him?"
Gon looked straight at Kaya and said earnestly, "Because he's the reason I met you."
With a look of disgust, Kaya kicked him away. "Get lost. You're making me sick."
Beneath the stars, the two boys held their own dreams close, filled with boundless hope for the future.
Late that night, they climbed back into their room through the window one after the other, careful not to wake Aunt Mito.
Gon climbed in first, only to stop by the window as though he had been frozen in place.
"Move! Stop blocking the way and get inside! What are you doing?"
With his head lowered, Kaya kicked him from behind, urging him on.
???
Gon neither fought back nor answered. He simply stood there in a daze.
Kaya climbed into the room in confusion, only then discovering Aunt Mito standing inside.
"Uh..."
Kaya was just about to come up with an excuse when Mito cut him off. "Do you two really want to take the Hunter Exam that badly?"
Gon lowered his head. "It's my dream."
"But your father abandoned you to become a Hunter, didn't he?"
Mito grew agitated as she spoke. Her usual gentleness and easygoing manner gave way to urgency and emotion.
"But if someone would leave their own child behind just to pursue being a Hunter..."
At that, Gon suddenly raised his head and looked Mito straight in the eye, his gaze firm. "Doesn't that prove what an incredible profession it is?"
That look left Mito dazed. Trembling, she took a few steps back and murmured, "You... really are his son."
Swallowing back a sob, Mito turned to Kaya. "And you, Kaya?"
"I want to find Kite."
Gon's words had deeply moved Kaya too, but he knew Mito was hurting and didn't want to say anything more. He simply voiced his most honest wish.
Their firm resolve finally made Mito stop resisting.
Composing herself, Mito finally agreed. "If you're both determined to go, I have one condition."
"What condition?"
Their voices were no longer subdued, regaining their usual youthful energy.
"Gon, you must catch the Swamp Lord with a fishing rod to prove you're capable of taking the exam. And Kaya, you must tame the lord of the forest. You have seven days. How does that sound?"
Kaya could barely keep himself from grinning. Wasn't the lord of the forest just Jeya? Taking Jeya for a stroll through the village and putting on a little act would be a piece of cake!
"No problem. I agree!" Kaya was the first to answer.
"No problem for me either." Gon agreed just as readily.
Before noon on the first day, Kaya rode Jeya on a leisurely circuit of the village.
To make his "taming the lord of the forest" performance more convincing, he even had the normally docile Jeya let out deafening roars, drawing gasps of amazement from the villagers.
Gon wasn't so lucky. For three straight days, he didn't get a single bite.
On the fourth day, he finally hooked his quarry, but a fishing rod made from an ordinary branch had no hope of bearing the Swamp Lord's enormous weight. It snapped before he could even pull.
Sitting beneath a tree, Kaya waved the weapon in his hand as he chewed on a stalk of straw. "Why don't we just get in the water and catch him together?" he asked lazily.
Gon shook his head immediately. "No. Aunt Mito said I had to reel him in, not catch him by hand."
Kaya brushed that aside. "You're so stubborn. Aunt Mito didn't say you couldn't catch him by hand, either."
Gon remained adamant. "No. I'm keeping my promise."
Kaya knew him well. He was a stubborn blockhead who would never change his mind once he had decided on something.
Seeing how determined Gon was, Kaya shrugged helplessly and stood up. "Fine, then. If you're going to be that stubborn, get yourself a better rod and keep fishing. I'm going to gather some Thundergrass. Grandma's rheumatism seems to be acting up again."
Because the various countries in this world kept their cutting-edge technology under strict secrecy, technological development varied wildly from region to region.
Prosperous areas had advanced technology and highly developed modern civilizations.
Meanwhile, places like Whale Island, where life resembled that of the Middle Ages, lagged far behind in both medical care and technology. The disparity was immense.
Most villagers were fishermen, and Whale Island was extremely damp, so people often developed rheumatism as they grew older.
Kaya's repeated experiments, along with Doctor Parker's clinical treatments at the harbor clinic, had shown Thundergrass to be highly effective against rheumatism.
This discovery had relieved the chronic aches in many villagers' legs, earning Kaya a modest reputation on Whale Island.
Over his three years on Whale Island, Kaya had learned nearly all the uses of its native fruits, herbs, and flowers, carefully recording them in his notes.
Looks like I really do have a talent for being a Botanical Hunter, Kaya thought smugly.
Before sunset, Kaya returned home carrying a large bag of Thundergrass. As soon as he arrived, he began grinding the herbs on the second-floor terrace.
Before long, he saw Gon return in low spirits.
"What? Failed again?" Kaya gave his dejected face a light pat.
Gon was thoroughly discouraged. "Yeah. An ordinary rod can't reel him in."
Mito came out of the house just then and handed Gon an exquisite fishing rod. "This is the rod your father used to use. If you still can't catch him with this, you'll have to give up."
Gon's gloomy expression immediately brightened, and he broke into a smile. "Thank you, Aunt Mito."
The next morning, Kaya was still asleep when a commotion woke him. He got up and looked out the window.
Gon had dropped an enormous monstrous fish outside the house and was shouting, "Aunt Mito, I'm back! Can you sign the registration form now, like you promised?"
Mito nodded in acceptance. With the villagers gathered around watching, she took the registration card and signed her name.
"Kaya! Look!" Gon waved the registration card at Kaya by the window, his face beaming with joy.
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