Killer in Hunter x Hunter

10 reviews = bonus chapter

200 stones = bonus chapter

3 patreon subscriptions = 10 bonus chapters

Fully support the story at:

patreon.com/FanFictionPremium

***

Risotto's POV

The city of Masadora.

It was nearing evening. Risotto and the rest of his crew wandered leisurely through the city streets. There wasn't much to do, all the extra cards had been sold, the necessary ones had been bought, in general all the business had been done. Since there was no more work they just stood outside the map shop and chatted with each other.

- No, there's a card that can heal any wound, even lethal ones, - Formaggio shared his thoughts with the others about the various game cards, - I think it's called 'Archangel's Breath'. It's very valuable, but it's damn rare.

- We have Kurapika, and his Holy Chain can heal us just as well. Am I right?

- Yes, my chain does heal well, but not as well as this card can, unless what it says is true. I can't regrow a man's lost limbs, I can't heal diseases, after all I can't heal old wounds that have already healed themselves, otherwise I would have healed my eye a long time ago.

- Well, that does make sense... By the way, I've also heard there's an Alco-Fountain card. You know, a fountain of premium booze. I wish I could find one of those.

- Ah, I think there was something like that, - said Risotto, scratching the back of his head and remembering what cards he met, - Yes, that's right, once it fell into my hands. I sold it right away.

- What do you mean you sold it?! - Melone fell to his knees, 'Jesus, what for?!

- What a jerk, - said Prosciutto quietly, - Stop this circus, you oaf!

- I once heard about a card called 'Hormonal Cookie', - Pesci entered the conversation, - Like, when you eat one biscuit, you get a sex change.

- No way, there's even such a thing, - Formaggio was surprised, - I wonder how the appearance changes when you change sex?

- Heh, really interesting... - Illuso entered the conversation, - It seems to me that Melone and Kurapika won't change much. They'll just have their households fall off and in its place will be you-know-what.

- I don't get it now! - Kurapika was indignant, - Are you saying that I look like a woman?

- Well, actually.

- I don't even have tits!

- Well, some girls don't have tits either. And boobs aren't really the point.

- I--

- Oh, come on. Nobody said being effeminate was bad. And anyway.

- Guys... - Giaccio suddenly interrupted them, - Look over there...

Everyone looked in the direction Gyaccio was pointing and got a little shocked.

'Come on... Is this a joke?'

Almost half a hundred metres away from them, the very same anomaly appeared in the middle of the street. With surprised faces, they headed straight towards it.

- What the hell...? - Prosciutto asked quietly to himself, 'This is the same anomaly, and it appeared right in the middle of the city.

As they approached the anomaly, they cautiously examined it.

- Should we even be worried that it just appeared in the city? - Kurapika asked Risotto.

- Definitely,' said Risotto, looking around, 'What if a Stand user comes out of it in the middle of the city. Or even worse, if someone touches it and dies, or gets the Stand at all.

- True enough. But what can we do with her now?

- Well, I guess.

Before Risotto could say anything, something unusual began to happen to the anomaly. It began to shrink rapidly, gradually turning into a human figure.

Eventually something unusual appeared before him. It was a humanoid of medium height. But the most remarkable thing was that his body was completely shrouded in shadows, he was completely black. He wore a large hat with wide brim, the right side of the hat being wrapped up and overlapping the brim. He also wore a coat with three oval rings with a narrow opening on each shoulder, as well as a stylised belt and trousers.

- What the hell is this...? - Said a shocked Risotto to himself, -Is that a Stand? Looks like...

However, he was completely speechless when he looked at Stand's hand. He had an arrow in his hand. The shaft appeared to be made of ordinary wood, but the tip was made of a material that looked like gold. It was well sharpened and engraved with not particularly intricate but beautiful patterns.

'This... Unbelievable!... It's really her... That arrow! I can't believe it, it's really her!'

- It's her, the arrow! - Risotto could hardly find the strength to speak, 'Hurry up, we have to...

He was about to tell the others to hurry up and take the arrow away, but as soon as he turned around he saw that everyone else was falling unconscious one by one. The Mysterious Stand meanwhile came into motion and began to walk away rather slowly.

- What the... Why did you...''

Risotto wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Like everyone else he began to rapidly lose consciousness. There was no strength left to even utter a single word. Eventually he collapsed to the ground and passed out.

***

The faint smell of alcohol hit his nose, the sound of pouring liquid into a glass, the sound of rain outside the window, and a nearby radio playing something by The Rolling Stones. Risotto didn't even need to open his eyes to realise where he was, and when he did he was convinced. It was the same old bar.

Somewhere in the corner on a stool sat the old bartender silently leafing through a newspaper. And of course Scolippi, quietly sipping his apple juice and reading the same newspaper the bartender was reading.

'It's been a long time since I've been here.'

- Long time no see Scolippi. - Risotto said hello and took a seat at the bar.

- Well, hello there.

- Am I dead?

- Heh-heh, not yet.

Sighing heavily, Risotto turned to the bartender:

- Wine for me, please.

In response, the barman silently got up from his stool, took a bottle of red semi-sweet from the shelf and poured Risotto into a glass, and left the bottle on the counter.

- Why did you suddenly decide to drink wine? - Scolippi was a little surprised, 'You don't really like alcohol.

- That's true, but... There's been so much shit going on in my life lately that I can't do without it.

- I see. Just don't get too heavy.

Sipping his wine slowly and occasionally glancing out the window, which was still dark, Risotto sat silently and thought about life.

'Why did all this happen? I ask myself this question for the umpteenth time, even though I guess what the answer is. It is my destiny to wander down a broken path without respite, in an eternal struggle. Will there ever be an end to it? How long do I have to walk and how far do I have to go? Unfortunately, I do not know, but I do know that I will not be able to wear a laurel wreath for a long time.'

Risotto was suddenly pulled from his musings by a loud noise behind him. It felt as if something had fallen behind him. Something heavy. Slowly he turned around and saw a large black circular stone two metres away from him, with the sign '凶' carved on it.

- So it's happened after all...' Scolippi said a little sadly, 'But it's not what you'd expect. It's only a matter of time.

- What is it? - Risotto asked with both fear and curiosity in his voice.

- I called it [the Rolling Stones]. It's a stone of ill omen. It comes to someone who is about to die.

- Wait a minute. What do you mean death? You mean that he... That I... - Risotto's breathing became noticeably quicker, which spoke of his fear.

- Yes, I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm saying. If anything, I don't control him in any way. He chooses the man who is to die. And there's no way to avoid it.

- No. No, wait. Wait a minute. I'm supposed to die?! No... I can't accept that fate! It can't happen! I... - Risotto quickly calmed down, but now he was beginning to be overcome by despair, - It turns out... I lost the battle with fate...?

- As I said, there's no escaping it. No one can escape their destiny. However.

- ...

- This stone has something else. If someone who is destined to die touches it, they will die a quick and painless death.

- But he'll still die.

'How could it be like this...? Have I really lost? Is there really nothing that can be changed?'

***

Slowly, Risotto began to regain consciousness. The bright rays of the sun, which could be felt even through his closed eyes, helped him to wake up quickly. This raised a legitimate question in his mind:

'Why is the sun shining so brightly? It's evening.'

Opening his right eye, he rose to his feet, and was surprised to look up at the sky. The sun in the sky was already in the east.

'What the hell!!! Is it morning now? But how...? Have we really been out for so long? And something else is bothering me... Why can't I open my left eye?'

No matter how hard Risotto tried, he couldn't open his left eye. But he was quite surprised when he touched it. There was a patch over his left eye, and the scar on his face felt good when he touched it.

'What the hell? I don't wear a patch, do I? I don't have any scars on my face, either.'

Looking at the sleeves of his clothes, he noticed that they too had changed, just like the rest of his clothes.

'What the...'

He touched his head. Besides the fact that his hood was gone, his hair had changed as well.

'What the fuck...? My hair isn't this long. Wait a minute. The eye patch, the different clothes, the hair... It all fits!'

- Shit, my head is cracking... - Suddenly a suspiciously familiar voice sounded behind Risotto.

When he turned around, he was shocked, and his suspicions were confirmed. Right in front of him he saw his own body rising to its feet.

'It all makes sense now. We've all switched bodies! If I'm in Kurapika's body now, then Kurapika is in mine!'

- You're finally awake,' Risotto said to Kurapika. His voice was naturally the same as Kurapika's, -Good morning.

When Kurapika finally noticed Risotto in his body he went into a shock that made him unable to even say anything. With his mouth half-open he examined himself, then switched to Risotto, and then to the others who were also starting to wake up.

When the others came to their senses, they too went into shock and began to look round and look at each other.

- What the fuck?! What the fuck?! - Shouted someone in Melone's body. From the look on his face and the way he spoke, I could tell it was Gyaccio.

- Whoa! I have no neck! - Shouted someone in Pesci's body, - And a pineapple for a head! It's Pesci's body!

Risotto was well aware of his friends' speech patterns and the facial expressions they made when they were shocked. By comparing these and a few other factors, he deduced who had exchanged bodies with whom.

Risotto <-> Kurapika.

Gyaccio <-> Melone

Formaggio <-> Pesci

Prosciutto <-> Illuso

- Everybody calm down and listen to me! - Risotto shouted at everyone, which instantly made everyone calm down and listen to his words, - As you have all realised, we have switched bodies. Obviously, this is the work of that strange Stand. And as I realised, our Stands have moved with our souls, - Everyone started to check their Stands, and indeed, they stayed with them, - But we don't have time to stand here and come to our senses. We have to catch up with that Stand and take the arrow from it!

- But Risotto, are you sure it was her? - Kurapika asked him.

- It was definitely her, there's no other way. We can't waste a second! Let's go after that Stand!

Without wasting a second, they set off in pursuit of their target. Luckily, the Stand had left faint footprints, but they were enough to tell where it was headed. And judging by the footprints, he was headed somewhere out of town.

***

About fifteen minutes had passed since they had gone in search of Stand with the arrow. They had long since left the city and were now approaching the exit of the forest, beyond which was a small green steppe. As they ran, Risotto stumbled and crashed into a tree more than once as he was not used to navigating with one eye, while Kurapika was constantly banging his head against branches as he was not used to being so tall.

As they ran, however, Risotto was far more worried not about the arrow, but about what had happened in his dream.

'Is it really true? Is the battle with fate already lost, all my efforts are in vain, and I'm about to die...? No... I don't want to..... I don't want to believe it! Maybe it's not true after all? Maybe it's just a dream?'

- Are you gloomy? What's wrong with you? - Kurapika asked Risotto, 'Are you thinking about something bad again?

- Nothing important.

At last they ran out of the forest and into the steppe, and as soon as they did so the black Stand with an arrow in his hand appeared half a hundred metres away from them. He was still walking in an unknown direction, paying no attention to anything.

Risotto signalled for the others to stay behind him, except for Kurapika, who was to walk at his side. As Stand was still walking slowly they quickly caught up with him. Risotto walked on his left side, Kurapika on his right.

- He doesn't react to us,' said Kurapika, 'But I don't think it will be easy to get the arrow.

- Maybe you're right, but we have to make some kind of move. Let's see what happens if we try to take it.

'The arrow must contain at least some iron, so I can just draw it to me.'

Risotto concentrated and tried to pull the arrow to himself, and it did start to twitch. It seemed like it was about to break free of Stand's grip, but the next instant Risotto was pierced by a terrible pain in his throat.

- What... For... Ueeeehhh.

Collapsing to his knees, he threw up a pool of blood on the ground with a pile of iron razors.

- Hurry up and use the Holy Chain! - Shouted Kurapika to him.

However, as soon as Risotto wanted to do what Kurapika told him to do, a problem arose. He had no idea how to use even one of the chains. He hesitated for a long time trying to figure out how to use these abilities, and after a little while he managed to summon the Holy Chain, and after a little more hesitation he was able to heal his throat.

It was a path and not a big problem at the moment. Stand is the embodiment of a soul, and it makes sense that he moved with his soul into another body. But with Nan, the situation is different. Nan is the energy of the body, and when the soul moves, Nan still remains in the original body. This was what created a bit of a problem. For Stand users, Nan only served as a supplement to their basic abilities. But now that everyone had switched bodies, there was a conflict between Nan and the Stands, as Nan's body type and features didn't match the Stands with which they were interacting. This was what caused Risotto to have trouble applying the chain, and he quickly realised it.

- What the hell was that! - Giaccio marvelled, standing somewhere behind and looking at what had happened.

- What happened Risotto? - Asked Kurapika.

- That's what it turns out to be... That complicates things.

- What? Did you realise something?

- Yes, I realised. It's useless to attack it because it's turning our Stands against us.

- What?! Everyone behind me exclaimed.

- I tried to take the arrow using my magnetism, but he turned it against me, and made razors inside me.

- But how...? How do you fight against him then? - Asked Kurapika looking at the dark Stand, who didn't get particularly far.

- It's not that simple. You have to think.

They approached the Stand again and followed it leisurely while trying to figure out how to defeat it.

'What to do? An opponent that can't be attacked... This is the first time I've seen such a thing. But there must be something. There's no such thing as invincible Stands, and this one must have a weakness. I wonder why it doesn't have a master. Of course, there are times when the Stand gets out of control, or just unique cases. This one... It's all dark like a shadow cast by a human. No, he's much darker than a shadow. Shadow... Shadow... Shadow?'

Suddenly, Risotto looked at the ground and saw that there was something wrong with Stand's shadow. It was positioned slightly wrong.

'The shadow... What's wrong with it? The sun is shining on it from the east, but its shadow falls thirty degrees to the left than it should.'

Risotto moved a little to the right, and Stand's shadow moved exactly according to how he was standing now, but not how the sun was positioned.

- I think I've figured out his secret! - Kurapika, tell me, how is his shadow positioned?

- His shadow? - Kurapika looked at Stand and was surprised, - It's strange... I'm looking at him now with my back turned to the west, but his shadow is positioned as if the sun is not in the east, but behind my back.

- And how do you see his shadow? - Risotto turned to the others.

- Strange indeed. - Said Prosciutto, -I see his shadow as if the sun were at my back.

'Exactly! Now I'm sure I've figured out his secret!'

- Kurapika, have you figured out his secret too? If not, then think carefully.

Kurapika stood silently for a few seconds then it dawned on him:

- That's right! Now I know how to defeat him!

- Then do it! Destroy him!

Kurapika summoned his [Speed King] and struck towards the enemy Stand, but no sooner had the strike reached its target than he immediately redirected the attack behind his back. As soon as he did so, something behind his back was destroyed and the dark Stand let out a slightly eerie scream and began to vaporise. In turn, the souls of Risotto and everyone else left their bodies and returned to their places.

- Unbelievable... - Risotto rejoiced as he returned to his body, - We won!

- You had a nice body,' Kurapika complimented him, 'It was fun to be able to see in both eyes again.

- Heh-heh-heh-heh,' Risotto laughed a little, 'I didn't enjoy being a pirate. But it was fun. All right! Let's get the arrow!

Risotto went to the arrow lying on the ground, but as soon as he reached for it, it flew up into the air, shone with a bright golden glow, and just disappeared.

- What?! - He was so shocked by this that he collapsed to his knees, - No... No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! No!!! How is this possible?!!! - This kind of thing really rarely happened. Risotto was overwhelmed with emotion. He was simultaneously furious, scared, and lost, - Shit! That was so close! I already reached out and almost grabbed it! What the fuck is that?!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down. - Kurapika started to calm him down. I understand. It's frustrating to lose your target when it was so close. But you have to calm down. Think about it. It's probably not that simple.

Risotto took a deep breath then exhaled, then rose to his feet, stared off into the distance for a moment before turning his attention back to Kurapika and speaking:

- Ugh... You're right. We need to calm down. You can't let your emotions get the better of you like this. That kind of outburst of emotion leads to defeat, and I know that very well, but I let it come out anyway.

- It's okay. It's okay now. We need to think about what happened and what we're gonna do next.

- Yeah. You're right.

- Hey, guys! - Suddenly Melone shouted to everyone, 'There's something here!

Everyone came up to Melone. He was standing there looking at the spot where the Dark Stand had been defeated. When everyone else looked there they were surprised.

There was a dark spot about half a metre in diameter where the Stand had disappeared, and on it was something resembling a code or coordinates or something like that. But the problem was that these symbols were very hard to see, like they were covered in a layer of soap.

- Could this be the next step to getting the arrow? - Illuso speculated.

- It could be. Can anyone make anything out? - Asked Risotto.

- Nope.' said Kurapika. He tried to remove the layer of obscure substance that prevented him from seeing the symbols, but it was useless. The substance was harder than diamond, - Damn, nothing works. Maybe we should do something special.

- Hmm, maybe...

They stood in a circle around this black spot. Scratching the back of his head, Risotto tried to figure out what else he needed to do to get to the next step in finding the arrow. But as they stood there pondering, a voice came from behind them:

- So that's how it turned out... What a shame. However, we are all slaves to fate.