Categories > Anime/Manga > Hunter x Hunter > Tomorrow Morning
When she was six, Asa wore a candy pink dress as bright as the cotton candy she now held. It had been her mother's choice more than her own as were most things.
It was neat under the huge canopy of the striped circus tent. Roomy. Asa's feet ponded quickly against the dirt floor in excitement. She was heedless of the sandy dirt streaking her white socks with grime.
Her mother noticed her frantic movement and cringed. She started to hurry towards her.
"Asa, stop. you'll drop your..."
Too late. The pink and baby blue cotton candy cone dropped to the ground with a muffled inaudible plop. Unfortunately, her mother had arrived too late.
Asa stared down at the ruined treat. A sob started to build in her throat. How could she eat it now?
"Oh, dear..."
A svelte man with bright green hair suddenly appeared at her side with a concerned face.
"Cheer up, little miss. Here, here's another."
The clown held up a fresh cotton candy that rode on its paper cone. Asa's face lit up when she gazed up into his face; she noticed that he was smiling too.
Clowns were so happy...
---
When she was ten, Asa found out later that she loved butterflies. It was a standard thing for a girl her age to love. However, for Asa, it quickly became an obsession. Obsessions naturally consumed her from time to time, or, rather often at times.
Butterflies entranced and teased her. She couldn't help but remember how she had laughed when one landed on her nose. It had been a black and pink swallowtail; a very fortunate find. Little Asa chased it all over and still wasn't able to catch it.
However, that became was less of a problem when she procured a net. And so, Asa became a butterfly hunter.
After her studies, Asa spent her time in the late afternoon reclining on her blanket in the grass to see if any butterflies would appear. If any failed to flutter by, she found other things such as shiny stones polished smooth by the rain and sun. She also marveled at the rainbow of bird feathers that adorned the top of her dresser. Red, blue, white, black, and even yellow. They were special because she had found them.
As time passed, her mother hid her jewelry when Asa began finding tiny rings and bracelets the maid had left behind. Eventually, she discovered her own birthdays presents. If it was desirable, she would find it. Anything.
The house endeavoured to quickly put a stop to it, especially when Asa was discovered in her closet with a bottle of cherry wine rather half-drunk. Not even alcohol was not off limits.
After that particular incident, Asa was banned from "searching." That worked for about a month.
If it was valuable, Asa would find it. When her grandfather argued that it would become a viable skill in life, her mother relented.
There was no stopping her.
---
When she was fifteen, Asa captured things another way. With a lens.
With the use of a camera, she could freeze a moment in time. A priceless irreplaceable movement in action. Asa preferred to captured her rare moment as it happened, even if the results were a bit blurry afterwards. One of her favorite methods was out of the window through the back seat of the car. She often captured people walking, birds in flight, and the sunrise or if it happened to be late, sunset.
She only shot moments of her choosing. It was all very spur of the moment. That was the type of person she was.
---
Her childhood had ended in a literal eye blink.
Asa Spiritus was eighteen years old when she reached her decision.
Languidly, she reached for the autumn leaf tea cup. The house was all ready for the fall. The wildflower and strawberry patterns had already been packed away for the leaf and harvest dish ware patterns. Like so many others, her family honored the tradition of changing seasons.
In spite of her mother's eyes on her, Asa went ahead and selected two sugar cubes and methodically drowned them in her tea.
Her mother scowled. Asa was sure that it wasn't the only decision her mother would disagree with. In her mother's opinion, she had too much sugar in her diet.
Asa knew that her mother's expression would remain sour as it was only the beginning.
"Mother, I've decided to be a hunter."
The silver spoon her mother held clattered to the table. Soon, she would need her smelling salts.
"No," was her mother's sole response. "You must go to school."
Asa thought about, but she really didn't want to study photography any more. She wanted to make discoveries. What would she really learn reading the words of others? The experiences of others?
Asa had expected this, and it took one hour and twenty-two minutes until she got her way.
She knew that she would eventually.
---
Asa sat near the stream. A slight smile graced her lips as she gazed at her wavering reflection in the water. She had her two number plates. Her number was 34, and the plate still rode high on her breast. In her hand, was plate 128. She had outsmarted her target and was still armed with her whip and butterfly net.
She didn't have to chase the butterflies here on Zevil Island. Here, they chased you. With a predators instinct, the hot pink Hemotropic butterfly sucked at a wound on her forearm. She smiled down at it.
Oh, yes This was a very exciting place indeed.
She could do this. She was really going to be a hunter.
Here, the little girl had finally turned into a woman.
It was neat under the huge canopy of the striped circus tent. Roomy. Asa's feet ponded quickly against the dirt floor in excitement. She was heedless of the sandy dirt streaking her white socks with grime.
Her mother noticed her frantic movement and cringed. She started to hurry towards her.
"Asa, stop. you'll drop your..."
Too late. The pink and baby blue cotton candy cone dropped to the ground with a muffled inaudible plop. Unfortunately, her mother had arrived too late.
Asa stared down at the ruined treat. A sob started to build in her throat. How could she eat it now?
"Oh, dear..."
A svelte man with bright green hair suddenly appeared at her side with a concerned face.
"Cheer up, little miss. Here, here's another."
The clown held up a fresh cotton candy that rode on its paper cone. Asa's face lit up when she gazed up into his face; she noticed that he was smiling too.
Clowns were so happy...
---
When she was ten, Asa found out later that she loved butterflies. It was a standard thing for a girl her age to love. However, for Asa, it quickly became an obsession. Obsessions naturally consumed her from time to time, or, rather often at times.
Butterflies entranced and teased her. She couldn't help but remember how she had laughed when one landed on her nose. It had been a black and pink swallowtail; a very fortunate find. Little Asa chased it all over and still wasn't able to catch it.
However, that became was less of a problem when she procured a net. And so, Asa became a butterfly hunter.
After her studies, Asa spent her time in the late afternoon reclining on her blanket in the grass to see if any butterflies would appear. If any failed to flutter by, she found other things such as shiny stones polished smooth by the rain and sun. She also marveled at the rainbow of bird feathers that adorned the top of her dresser. Red, blue, white, black, and even yellow. They were special because she had found them.
As time passed, her mother hid her jewelry when Asa began finding tiny rings and bracelets the maid had left behind. Eventually, she discovered her own birthdays presents. If it was desirable, she would find it. Anything.
The house endeavoured to quickly put a stop to it, especially when Asa was discovered in her closet with a bottle of cherry wine rather half-drunk. Not even alcohol was not off limits.
After that particular incident, Asa was banned from "searching." That worked for about a month.
If it was valuable, Asa would find it. When her grandfather argued that it would become a viable skill in life, her mother relented.
There was no stopping her.
---
When she was fifteen, Asa captured things another way. With a lens.
With the use of a camera, she could freeze a moment in time. A priceless irreplaceable movement in action. Asa preferred to captured her rare moment as it happened, even if the results were a bit blurry afterwards. One of her favorite methods was out of the window through the back seat of the car. She often captured people walking, birds in flight, and the sunrise or if it happened to be late, sunset.
She only shot moments of her choosing. It was all very spur of the moment. That was the type of person she was.
---
Her childhood had ended in a literal eye blink.
Asa Spiritus was eighteen years old when she reached her decision.
Languidly, she reached for the autumn leaf tea cup. The house was all ready for the fall. The wildflower and strawberry patterns had already been packed away for the leaf and harvest dish ware patterns. Like so many others, her family honored the tradition of changing seasons.
In spite of her mother's eyes on her, Asa went ahead and selected two sugar cubes and methodically drowned them in her tea.
Her mother scowled. Asa was sure that it wasn't the only decision her mother would disagree with. In her mother's opinion, she had too much sugar in her diet.
Asa knew that her mother's expression would remain sour as it was only the beginning.
"Mother, I've decided to be a hunter."
The silver spoon her mother held clattered to the table. Soon, she would need her smelling salts.
"No," was her mother's sole response. "You must go to school."
Asa thought about, but she really didn't want to study photography any more. She wanted to make discoveries. What would she really learn reading the words of others? The experiences of others?
Asa had expected this, and it took one hour and twenty-two minutes until she got her way.
She knew that she would eventually.
---
Asa sat near the stream. A slight smile graced her lips as she gazed at her wavering reflection in the water. She had her two number plates. Her number was 34, and the plate still rode high on her breast. In her hand, was plate 128. She had outsmarted her target and was still armed with her whip and butterfly net.
She didn't have to chase the butterflies here on Zevil Island. Here, they chased you. With a predators instinct, the hot pink Hemotropic butterfly sucked at a wound on her forearm. She smiled down at it.
Oh, yes This was a very exciting place indeed.
She could do this. She was really going to be a hunter.
Here, the little girl had finally turned into a woman.
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