Hunter x Hunter: The Truth is There

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Of course she wasn't going to make this easy. Recette took a breath, but no amount of breathing was going to make this easier.

"Well, you two have never been together off the island, and since you're my friend I want to make sure you two will be okay. That means we'll have to get involved with people who...aren't okay with the way you l-love your sister."

Clutching her hands together, she admitted, "I mean, I think I get it. Some of it. But, well...to be honest...I'm kind of...one of the people."

There. It was out. Recette had her eyes closed as she continued, "It's just...not what I expected, okay? I mean, you said you loved your sister and families loving each other is a thing but th-that kind of love is way different. I mean, would you be weirded out if I jumped on my dad like that?" Recette cringed at the thought.

Wiggling awkwardly, she said, "I know there's things you don't know, and if you find out more about what I mean later and still love your sister in that way then I can't argue but could you at least get a room?"
 
Kyoko looks down towards the ground. A single teardrop falls. "So, you want to be supportive, but you are disgusted by me."
 
"Kyoko, no!"

Starting to get a little mad, Recette continued, "Disgusted is way too strong a word. Yeah, it weirds me out, but that doesn't mean I'm going to...augh."

Running her hand over her forehead, she said, "You're not being fair. Even though I really don't get it I'm trying! But you know what, forget the incest thing for a minute. Couldn't at least not start making out with her and...the other things...right in front of other people? It's really awkward no matter who it is."
 
Tears start to flow, "I missed her. I missed her so much I couldn't stand it. I was so happy to see her, I stopped thinking. I didn't know... I... I... ..." Kyoko chokes up for a bit, finding herself unable to speak.
 
Recette felt her heart sink. She wasn't sure if she went too far or not yet but she definitely went far enough.

Daring to approach, she reached Kyoko before lightly pulling her into a hug. She opened her mouth, but hung up on her words. There did seem to be anything to say that would just make everything better...but all she could think of was things about Kyoko: what she should do or she should say.

I'm awful... Recette realized.

"I'm sorry...I overreacted. Maybe we both did?" Recette bit her lip. "I'm sorry..." she repeated.
 
Sullenly Kyoko rubs her eyes, trying to get the tears out of her eyes. Looking towards the door Kyoko speaks softly, "We should go, before Onee-chan starts to worry." Pushing out of Recette's hug, Kyoko walks out of the room by herself. Although she wanted to accept Recette's apology, she simply couldn't find it in her.
 
As Kyoko left, Recette frowned. Looking down to the floor, before raising her fist, smacking herself across the face a couple times. It didn't hurt for long, but...it didn't make Recette feel any better either.

A bit sheepishly, she poked her head out, finding clothes laying at the door for her. Scooping them in, she donned a short pair of jeans, the hem frayed as if it'd been cut, and a black and gray T-shirt of some cat...owl...thing. It fit pretty well, and was between the shower and the style of clothes she never really wore she almost felt fresh, but as she lingered on the door, an apprehension bubbled up in her, but she couldn't wait for long.

Stepping outside, she proclaimed, "Thanks for lending me the clothes." Looking back at the twins, she was a bit thankful for the differing fashion sense: Muyomi's black dress and Kyoko's typical anime shirt and skirt combo were easy to differentiate.

...
 
When Recette steps out of the bath, she finds Muyomi playing Oversight a team based first person shooter game made by Sandstorm. Kyoko watches her play it from the chair she had been sitting on when she entered the room. Kyoko still looks visibly upset, but she also looked comfortable with her body curled up on that chair watching her sister play. Muyomi seems quite invested in the game, using her microphone to communicate with the other players. She communicates vigorously and clearly to the other players in a supportive tone even though the game appears to be going poorly for her side.

Even in spite of her involvement in the game, Muyomi doesn't neglect Recette. Toggling off of her mic, she is able to keep playing the game even without looking at the screen. When Recette suddenly decides to leave just after changing clothes, Muyomi looks towards Recette with a curious expression on her face. Muyomi then nods before turning back to her game, "Well, it certainly beats the alternative of having you walk around in your bra and panties. The island doesn't have much, but walks can be a good way to think things out. I'll have some hot tea waiting for you when you get back." Muyomi toggles her microphone back on and is right back to where she left off.
 
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"I won't be too long," Recette insisted.

As she cleared the door and the array of nasty traps...traps that had been keeping Kyoko from her dear sister for so long. For...what purpose, exactly? Why any of this?

As Recette walked, a pair of sandals on her feet from one of the twins, she saw the plain island and wondered just how much she really knew about Kyoko's circumstances. This...all of this...

Why? Was being a Hunter really worth it? Was that even what this was all about?

Her feet took her towards a path with a few more plants than normal, decently kept. It didn't have the same, fresh, natural feeling as the mountains, but she was satisfied. Though instead of having no worries, she just had different ones.

One hand kept checking her pocket, where she'd transplanted her Hunter License, as if it might vanish. She wasn't armed: it probably wouldn't do her any good.

Watching the various plants, she stopped as she saw a bush that was a bit smaller than the others. Stopping down, she saw a spot on one of the leaves. She smiled as she noticed a ladybug, stooping down to give it a look.

It was not one ladybug, but two. The second one was underneath the first, which was standing on its shell, both seeming to face the same way, paired up.

Recette stood suddenly, before walking away. She flinched at herself. What is wrong with me...


---

...

Muyomi wasn't kidding. There was nothing. At the end of the path was a building she had no business entering. Beyond the bushes and trees there were just even more bland paths, fields of untamed grass probably full of all kinds of ticks and bugs, and annoyingly blue sky...

There didn't seem to be any people around. Were they just inside? Working in cubicles or something?

This soulless place was where Kyoko spent most of her life.

It wasn't right, but Kyoko and Muyomi found their happiness where they could get it. But while it wouldn't be wrong to say it disturbed Recette to a degree, to just come in and tear it apart would be...removing some of Kyoko's innocence. But was it wrong not too? And how would she even begin to explain any of these things to Kyoko?

Shielding her eyes and looking to the sun, one thing she knew for sure was that it sucked out here.

Turning back to Muyomi's room...she didn't go far.

How should she even act? Like nothing was wrong? Mopey and depressing for everyone else? Distant? Clingy? Or just act natural...which was another way to say painfully awkward.

But at the core of this...it would have to be...

---

Recette took a breath. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door to Muyomi's room. She'd come in if they let her in.
 
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On knocking on the door, Recette finds Muyomi on the other side in just about seven seconds. Kyoko looks like she fell asleep in the short time that Recette was gone. There is a white and gold tea set sitting on the end of Muyomi's ridiculously gargantuan desk. Muyomi holds a cup seemingly intended for Recette based on the way she was presenting it to her. The tea looks freshly brewed. Looking towards with the curiosity still swirling in her eyes, Muyomi speaks with a kind voice, "Did you find what you needed out there?" Muyomi gives a sweetheart smile as she serves Recette the tea.
 
Slightly relieved that Kyoko was taking a break (and then a tad worried, considering how much rest she got on the ride over), Recette gladly took the cup of tea as she entered. Still, Muyomi was a bit...well, it wasn't her fault she looked like Kyoko.

Stepping a bit deeper in, she decided to plop herself down on the floor, in view of the TV. Leaning over to the shelf, however, she saw Muyomi's collection...probably the closest she had to the outside world aside from her games. Taking a deep sip, she set her cup down before admitting, "I didn't really find much, but you were right, there wasn't much to see."

She wondered, "Are these all...from the same thing? They look alike..."
 
Muyomi takes a seat next to Recette, "I know. You'd think there would be more there, but sometimes it is better to see things for yourself than to take someone else's word for it." Curling up her legs, Muyomi lays her forehead on her knees, then responds with a sigh to Recette's question, "Nope, diverse as they can be. The only thing linking them together is art style, and even that only loosely. Besides, with that argument, I'd be basically the same as Kyoko since I look the same. Yet I think even you can tell how different we are."
 
Recette's mouth hung open for a moment, as she realized, "Ah, I guess I wasn't thinking..."

Taking another sip of tea, she wondered, "Er...your parents. I've heard a little from Kyoko, but what do you think about them?"
 
Muyomi picks her head up, looking Recette in the eyes, "The relationship I have with my parents is more like that which a scientist has to a research subject. I don't think they are bad people. They have never hurt me nor Kyoko, and they looked after our well being. Its just, I've never felt loved by them. As a small child, I never really even noticed. It was normal. I had no other basis of comparison. It actually wasn't until I started using the internet at age 9 that I really started to understand how strange my situation was. People wanted to comfort me, but I couldn't tell them I wasn't hurting. Is it strange, that someone could feel pain by not feeling anything at all? So, I've always wondered what a proper relationship with my parents would have given me, but I don't regret ending up the way I have."

Muyomi places a hand on Recette's shoulder, "But, you aren't really asking for me. You are worried about Kyoko, right?"
 
"No...well, kind of. I'm asking for both of you." Looking over at Muyomi, she explained, "I've heard...some things. Let's just say I don't really like your parents yet. If they say the wrong thing I could get really mad, but, well...I worried that Kyoko won't understand why if I get mad."

Taking a bit of tea to clear her head, her finger traced lines in the carpet as she said, "Your parents...are the reason you guys are like you are. And I like Kyoko. She's my friend. If she was different we might have never been friends and I might not be a Hunter. I'd probably be dead. And sure, I'm not fine with some of the things Kyoko says or does but that doesn't stop me from caring about her. It's just...even though I like Kyoko and she's the way she is because of her parents, that doesn't make the things they did okay. Do...you think Kyoko will get that?" Blinking she wondered, "Am I even making sense?"
 
Muyomi thinks on this for a moment. "Well, I think from my position at least, I don't know enough to say one way or the other. I don't know why they've chosen this path for us. But, I think me and Kyoko would both agree that we grew up to be happy and capable of doing what we wanted to do in life. In the grand scheme of things, that is a lot more than a lot of families can provide. Some families are so poor that the children have to make sacrifices in order to keep the family afloat. This accelerates their path to adulthood, but it isn't like you can give up your childhood without consequence to how you grow up."

Muyomi spells out her intentions, "How would you feel, if Kyoko resented your Dad for making you grow up in debt? How would it affect your friendship if she regretted how you ended up?"
 
"That's different," Recette said firmly. She'd almost raised her voice, but Kyoko was still sleeping. Recette explained, words hissing as she tried to speak quietly, "My dad didn't have a better choice. If he had he would have taken it. I wouldn't want anyone else to grow up the way I did. But...look at all this! Your parents didn't do this on accident, and the idea of someone else going through what Kyoko went through doesn't make me comfortable. And...the thing about science experiments and research projects is that they aren't only done once."
 
Muyomi's eyes soften, trying to restore empathy, "It is different. But it is similar enough for you to understand how Kyoko feels. That was what you said you wanted to understand. You wanted to know if Kyoko would understand why you were upset with her parents, and I'm telling you that she would feel exactly like you do right now. Nobody likes having the way they were raised challenged. Nobody likes the implication that some fault of how they were raised has poisoned them up until the present day. It calls into question the joy that they've experienced, their accomplishments, their self-esteem... Can't you understand that? Neither I nor Kyoko regrets our upbringing. When you get mad on our behalf without understanding anything at all, at best it looks selfish. But what makes Kyoko upset, is the worst case interpretation. Some part of her is afraid that maybe the only reason you became friends with her, was out of pity."
 
"...Pity?"

"Pity!?" Recette blurted with exasperation. Not wanting to raise her voice, she tried to contain herself, draining the last of her tea before putting her cup aside.

Taking a breath, she adjusted her sitting, turning to Muyomi. "Okay, I don't know what Kyoko told you about me, I'm going to tell you a bit about my 'accomplishments'."

She slipped the collar of her shirt and brastrap down, showing her shoulder. "This one was a dude with a stone axe. Not a metal axe: a stone axe. It was not that sharp and he got it in deep. This would be, like three times worse if Kyoko didn't heal it. And if she wasn't distracted fighting something else I wouldn't have even gotten hurt at all, since she could have torn through the guy like tissue paper."

She pointed at a stab wound on her arm. "This bitch stabbed me. We needed to collect rings, and I got one from her. We needed two. I got mine without Kyoko's help but then she showed up later with ten rings. We didn't need ten rings!"

"Then I was in a forest for two days stumbling around. I had help but it was still pretty miserable. Then for the last phase everyone else ended up doing most of the work for me. At one time before that Kyoko almost dislocated my arm pulling me out of danger. The whole Exam was just me crawling through the mud and watching Kyoko and a bunch of others blaze through like it was nothing. I could never pity Kyoko. I just...now that the Exam is over maybe I can help her like she helped me?"

"I mean, there was one time where I really did help her. The two of us had to go through 100 rooms with a bunch of crazy challenges, but the whole point was that we needed to learn how to know when to slow down and take a break. The idea of looking weak because she stopped or failed ruined her. This place trained her to pass the Hunter Exam and nothing else."

"I owe everything to Kyoko right now, and if I see something that only I can do to help then I'm going to want to do it. I'm not here to make you hate your parents. In fact, if I end up liking them despite what I've seen and heard, then great! But until then...I want to understand why all this was necessary. And if the answer isn't a good one...would you rather go on never knowing?"

Clenching her fists, she awaited an answer.
 
Muyomi smiles, "I think with an answer like that, Kyoko would understand. Good thing she was only pretending to be asleep."

Realizing her cover was blown, Kyoko arises from her seat with a guilty expression.
 
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