Paths: Changes×Chances

chapter 10

The two would most of the time have awkward interactions, and it was pretty hard for them to stay around each other

They didn't hate each other, they were still best friends and they were both sure of it, however, both of them had a weight on their hearts that they didn't have the strength to push away

Kite didn't stay with the group much. He was always following species of reptiles around the lake, and that day was no exception

He spent some time looking for evidence of poachers going in to take away some animals but couldn't find anything

From the first day Kite had been mapping every spot in the cave that could have served as a way in or out that wasn't the main building, he thought he had found something during the third day of stay but discovered it was just another dead end

Whoever it was that was getting the animals out without leaving traces was very good at it

Kite even suspected the said poachers to actually be a group of hunters, considering they were able to go in and out of the facility without being discovered

After all the higher-ups of the association, I did know about the place, but Kite didn't know anyone with a relevant position in the association that could have an interest in the reserve

Kite didn't understand why some poachers would be so dedicated to getting these species out of the place

Sure, someone could think that since these animals were almost extinct, they would be worth millions on the black market. However, it didn't seem like it

The entire facility had been kept secret to almost all the governments for decades, the only people with enough power to hire poachers or mercenaries capable enough to enter the facility without being discovered were a handful of people that had known about the reserve for decades and that had swore to never reveal the secret of the reserve hidden below Maiadel

Gon had theory that it was some members of the founding family or an employee that wanted to make money through seeling the animals at the black market

However, Kite told him that it was unlikely, he had met the founding family himself and inspected every employee

It had to be someone from the outside

As Gon thought all of this, his body relaxed, Gon decided to lay down a little, but then...

Boom

He immediately got up at the sudden sound

"Wait... this...it can't be a..." The sound was strong and metallic. It only happened once, and it was very far away, but it stood out so much from the sounds the other animals made it had to come from something else

Something Gon knew far too well: a gun

It was far away and faint, but he was sure of it

Gon ran out of the curtain, forgetting about Leorio, who was still sleeping, and he ran towards the direction he felt the sound came from

Eva started following him, but Gon wasn't thinking about his surroundings, he didn't think immediately that it might have been the poachers Kite had been talking about, he didn't think about the fact that he couldn't use nen

He ran at full speed in the forest, leaving Eva behind in the dust and surpassing many animals that were scared by his unnatural speed

Despite his recklessness, Gon managed to keep his steps silent and stopped when he heard two voices

When he did, he jumped on top of a tree as fast as possible and waited there

Two men, black uniforms and rifles, were in their hands, despite the fact that they were keeping their voice as silent as possible. Gon could still hear them