Chapter 1
The sun shone down on the two of you, cool breeze softening the burning rays. It was a very pleasant day for Whale Island; perfect weather for capturing the Master of the Swamp.
Gon was going to succeed today, you just knew it.
As if reading your thoughts, the line from his fishing rod began to bob up and down. Holding your breath in anticipation, you watched silently as it tugged on the line.
You two have been waiting for the past few hours, a few comments here and there breaking the silence for a brief moment. You understood Gon needed to concentrate, but this whole ordeal made you antsy and there was no conversation to serve as a distraction. You wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible.
If Gon doesn’t catch the Master of the Swamp today then you wouldn’t know what you’d do. This is one of your only chances to get off Whale Island. Yes, you loved Gon’s hometown, it was amazing and had so many areas to explore with him, but it’s been more than a decade since you’ve left. You missed the outside world dearly and desperately wanted to be a part of it again. Though you believed in Gon, the what-if’s still scared you.
After a few agonizing moments, the creature splashed in the water, shocking you of your thoughts as it swam around frantically.
Quickly zoning back into the events transpiring, you cheered for your kid as he pulled on the fishing rod. Gon looked at you with excitement, thrilled at how close he was to his goal.
You laughed and clapped your hands together. “C’mon Gon, you can do it!”
He gave you a smile and then pulled the string up with all his strength. Realizing that wouldn’t be enough, he hopped around the tree and swung down, the force of his weight causing the creature trapped on his hook to finally break through the water’s surface.
There it was - the Master of the Swamp!
”[Name], I did it! Now Mito-san has to let me take the Exams.”
You jumped up and down, nodding your head. “You’re right! Oh, this is so exciting. Hurry and bring him into town.”
A sheepish look settled on Gon’s face as he looked up at you from the base of the tree. “Right, I forgot we had to do that.”
Your jumping came to a stop and you sighed in exasperation, though a fond smile appeared on your lips. “You’re hopeless.”
The sheepish look changed into a grin, his face lighting up brighter than the sun, and he threw a thumbs up. “That’s why I have you here with me!”
A puff of air left your lips and you shook your head. Gon could be so ridiculous at times.
After subduing the Master of the Swamp, you two quickly made your way to town. Gon dragged the aquatic monster to the square; he coasted along at a steady pace because of its massive size while you scouted ahead to see if his aunt was still in the market or had already gone home.
It seems the two of you were in luck. You spotted Mito talking with her friends while working. That was a relief, the town square was closer than home and you didn’t want Gon to be forced to carry the monster for longer than necessary.
Instead of immediately running back to your charge, you stayed in your spot a tad longer, a small blush on your cheeks. Watching the orange-haired woman discuss the drawbacks of being the town seamstress with another woman nodding along in sympathy, you let out a sigh full of longing and wistfulness, resting your head on a nearby pole.
You wouldn’t lie, his aunt Mito had an amazing personality - caring, sweet, and strong willed. She was also very pretty.
Who could really blame you for getting a crush on her? It was bound to happen, considering you’ve lived with her for so long. And it’s not like you were the only one.
Mito, a young beautiful lady with no husband, had many suitors vying for her attention. She never took any of them as her own, instead focusing all her attention on raising Gon and helping her grandmother. It’s one of the main reasons you liked her in the first place; the dedication and love Mito held for those dear to her eclipsed her flaws.
There could never be anything between the two of you, but one can still dream.
You really are glad Gon is much too dense to realize you have a crush on her, though you have a feeling he’s getting suspicious. Hopefully, he’ll never find out, it could get awkward if he knew you were crushing on his aunt.
With that thought in your mind, you twirled around and rushed back to Gon, reporting your findings.