Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The sky gradually darkened, and the various scenes in the forest gradually emerged.

By deep night, inside the cave, Law slowly opened his eyes. What he saw was pitch black, but he vaguely felt that someone was looking at him.

"Sanbica?"

Law called out tentatively.

"Mhm."

A faint whisper, barely louder than a mosquito's hum, responded from directly in front of him.

Both of them made sounds, and even though they couldn't see each other, they could determine each other's location based on the sound.

Law was on the left and Sanbica was on the right. Both of them were lying on their sides, facing each other. The space between them was barely the width of two palms.

"Well…"

Law shifted slightly, feeling a bit awkward, trying to put more space between them.

Sanbica couldn't see what he was doing, but from the rustling sounds, she could probably imagine it well enough.

"Where is this?" Sanbica pinched the coat covering her body and did not mention a word about the matter. Instead, she asked about their current location.

Law paused his movements, and the rustling sound disappeared. The only sound left in the entire cave was the breathing of the two people.

"A temporary cave I dug out." Law replied.

Upon hearing this, Sanbica glanced around the darkness, but could not find any source of light. All she could feel was the faint breeze drifting in from some unknown direction.

As if noticing Sanbica's movement of looking around, Law explained, "I have sealed the entrance."

Sanbica fell silent upon hearing this.

Seeing that Sanbica didn't say anything, Law didn't know what to say either.

'At least she didn't bring up the whole clothes thing…'

Law thought to himself.

But just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard Sanbica's voice, "Did you apply medicine to me?"

"…"

They couldn't see each other in the dark, but both were now acutely aware of the gaze between them.

Law could feel her eyes on him, but it didn't feel strange at all, just like her tone, which was extremely calm.

His gaze was fixed on where he knew she lay in the darkness, facing him on her side.

Faced with this question, the scene of Sanbica with only her underwear suddenly emerged in Law's mind.

There'd still been a bit of light at the time, enough for him to see clearly.

'I had seen everything clearly enough, but it wasn't like I'd gone too far.'

That was what Law told himself as he quietly replied, "Yeah."

In the darkness, Sanbica's face flushed slightly. On her pale skin, the blush stood out sharply… though unfortunately, Law couldn't see it.

The fact that he had only applied medicine to her lower back wasn't a big deal in itself, but after removing her outer garment, the remaining clothes were rather thin.

Sanbica gripped the edge of the coat with a bit more strength, then murmured sincerely, "Thank you."

She knew how far the distance was between the Hunter Association's Headquarters and Demon Island, and she also knew how dangerous Demon Island was.

If someone landed on the island without proper authorization, they'd be labeled a top-level fugitive the moment they were discovered.

Law had made it in time, which could only mean he had sneaked in rather than gone through legal procedures, because the approval process was far too complicated and time-consuming.

If he'd waited for a permit by the rules, he never would have made it in time me.

She supposed she should feel grateful. The moment she picked up her phone, the first person that came to mind was Law, and the first person she sent the message to was also Law.

It wasn't even a question. Of all the people she knew, only Law would cross land and sea to come save her. To help her.

It must also be known that it was just a short message that didn't fully explain her current situation…

It was because of Law that she survived. If not for him, once the effects of her Pandora's Box Ability had worn off, she would've had no chance of escape.

Hearing Sanbica's words of thanks, Law's eyelids lowered slightly, and he smiled in the darkness. He then reached a hand forward, placing it gently on her cheek.

Sanbica's body trembled slightly, but she didn't resist like she might have before. Instead, she quietly let Law's hand rest against her face.

"It's enough that you're okay." Law said softly.

At this, Sanbica's face turned even redder.

But the next second, she suddenly thought of something important and said quickly, "I need to report what happened here to the Association right away. Law, can I borrow your phone?"

The intimate atmosphere crumbled instantly, just like during a romantic candlelight dinner, one of them received a call from the company and started talking about business.

Law wisely pulled his hand back and took out his phone.

He was about to help find Netero's number for Sanbica when the screen of his phone lit up, casting a faint glow.

It wasn't a strong light, but it was enough to let them see each other's faces.

The two of them were not far apart, staring at each other.

With the dim light from the phone, Law could see Sanbica's face clearly.

The soft light was just enough to mask the bluish veins beneath her skin. Without those imperfections, and at such close range, what Law saw was striking beauty.

There's a huge difference between seeing her with her eyes open and closed!

Law stared at Sanbica, stunned for a moment, and just held the phone in his hand without taking any further action.

It was hard to describe what he was feeling. Maybe it was because Sanbica'd always worn a mask. Maybe it was because she looked so much more breathtaking with her eyes open than closed. Whatever it was, the contrast hit him hard.

In that moment, Law felt certain: Sanbica shouldn't be wearing that mask at all.

Of course, he conveniently ignored the fact that those veins were still there, just hidden by the lighting.

Being stared at by Law like this, Sanbica's gaze began to dart around nervously, and her pupils shifted off to one side, avoiding his eyes.

She knew that her face had thin and obvious blood vessels, so she thought Law's reaction was too exaggerated.

What she didn't realize was that the lighting had hidden all those flaws and truly revealed the foundation of her appearance.

"Law!"

Being stared at like this for a long time, Sanbica finally couldn't help but call out Law's name.

"Ah… oh!"

Law snapped out of it, gave an awkward smile, then handed her the phone, and asked: "You're calling Chairman Netero, right?"

"Yeah." Sanbica nodded.

Law said: "I already pulled up his number for you."

Sanbica took the phone and immediately dialed Netero's number.

Law just watched quietly from the side. He did not tell Sambica that Netero was already aware of much of what had happened, after all, the perspective would be different, and they might gain more details that way.

Besides, he'd been meaning to ask Sanbica about what she'd gone through, but now, he didn't need to ask and could just listen in.