AN: Hey, guys! I've never really dipped my toe into the Hunter X Hunter pool - only gobbled up other fanfics - so this is going to be a bit new for me. I don't really even know how active this fandom still is so this is going to be a bit of a trial. Review and follow/favorite if ya'll are still alive and if not... well, I guess I'll have to just delete it.

Chapter One

It was always the same.

I was hungry and cold - dried sweat chilling along my spine under the thin cotton of my hoodie from the sweltering day before. The sun-parched you out from morning until evening but after that, it was time for the chilled winds to tear you apart.

"Little girl." I flinched, drawing deeper into the side of the building, trying to hide in the shadows. I could smell sweat and dirt in the air. Unwashed skin and oil. These people were dirty. They made mud houses with metal running through like spikes - that's what mother had told me. I sniffled. What she had told me before she died. "She's scared."

I wiped away my tears, tugging Minoru closer to me, the dark blue of his fabric nearly blending into the shadows but the swirls of glittering red pulsing a beacon to the people trying to lure me out. He'll protect you when I'm gone, Ma had said. And he had. Minoru had been the first friend that I had ever made, a creature that lived just beside the small hut that we kept in the woods.

"We won't hurt you," the voices said. I didn't believe them. When I had wandered here after Ma had died people had told me that too. They said I could trust them. They said I was safe. And when I woke up my bag had been stolen, the fire cold. I had been wandering the city ever since, scrounging around in trash cans and under carts. "We're your friends."

They sound nice, Minoru murmured to me through our mental connection. The only ones that he had ever spoken to were Ma and me. Ma had told me that his kind were rare and loyal. Maybe we should trust them.

I had scowled not bothering to give him a reply. I wouldn't trust them. A hand reached out from the darkness, trying to grab onto my shoulder and I bit out, clenching down until I tasted metal. Minoru gave a murmur of disapproval.

"She bit me!" the voice shrieked, reeling back as I finally let go. Now you did it, Minoru sighed, his beady eyes moving to me. Normally he was in a hibernative state, barely lucid enough to do much but float around. He had remained my size for as long as I could remember, growing at a steady rate that matched my own. That in itself made it very difficult to keep him stuffed into the corner with me.

"Well, that's what you get for sticking your hands all over the place," another voice hissed, also male but a little bit younger. I scowled, crunching deeper into the little nook. "Doofus."

"Who are you callin' a doofus, you dumb goon?"

"Oh, rich," the other voice bickered back. "You're dumb enough to eat rocks."

"One time-" The squabbling went on long enough that I thought that they had forgotten about me until two sets of green eyes peeked from around the trash bin that I was behind. I reeled back, hissing like a rabid animal, Minoru tensing from his place squished up against my front.

"Wait, wait wait!" green eyes squicked, pulling back briefly as he saw my teeth widening to reach forward and bite off his nose. "Listen, I'm just gonna leave this food and juice right here and then we're gonna go. Promise. You can take it or leave it."

I paused, confused. They were leaving me food. Suspicious, I thought. Nice, Minoru argued. I sneered, eyeing the chicken wrapped up in parchment carefully. A small apple juice slid into view and my mouth watered. That's more food than I had seen in a while. I had been gorging myself on berries from the cities edge for days.

Still, I didn't move. That food was just out of reach, giving the three boys enough space to grab my nape or catch me, drag me out. I shivered, pressing my back more firmly to the wall. No way.

"You're just going to give her-"

"That's our-"

"I know." Green eyes voice was strong. I heard the shuffling of boots and then a deep sigh. "She needs it."

There was a brief pause before a disappointed sigh and then grumbling. Slowly, they made their way farther down the alley, their voices getting more and more distant until there was just the cities beat and nothing else. I peeked around the bend, seeing only dumpsters and overturned trash. My mouth watered. And the wrap.

Greedily, I grabbed it, shoving half into my mouth and the other half over to Minoru. He needed to eat a bit more but right now I just didn't know where to find anything. Minoru was almost completely dependant on me - and I suppose I was almost completely dependant on him as well.

"Should we move?" I whispered, taking another glance around the empty alley after polishing off the juice. The city had gone quiet, the sounds of clinking glasses and laughter distant from the cafes farther in town.

Minoru's eyes met mine, his stitched mouth pulling into a stiff smile. Do you think they'll come back?

I didn't answer him. Three boys barely older than I was - no they wouldn't come back to find me. I closed my eyes, curling into a tight ball in my little nook. Being in closed places like this made the wind less savage. They wouldn't come back. Still… it had been nice - the food.

I sniffed, twitching at the glare of the sun along with my bodies call for food. Against my ear, Minoru's tummy gave a growl of hunger. Another day - my bones popped as I turned, stretching… and caught sight of the neatly wrapped biscuit with jam and another apple juice. Sitting next to it was a worn red beanie.

I would wake up like that for the next couple of days, my nose always telling me that there was food sitting by the edge of my little hiding place before I even cracked an eye to check.

Nice, Minori chirped. And I could tell by the sly glint of his eyes that he was telling me that he was right. On the third day, I grew irritated. They were feeding me yet I could never catch them - never saw them come and deliver the food and drinks. That first night they had been so noisy and now they were silent.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I stayed up all night. I bit down on my lip to keep myself awake while Minoru slept soundly beside me.

"Maaaaaannnnnn - that was hard to get, Imori~" I blinked, sitting up straighter as the sound of sneakers crunching along the street met my ears. Even though I knew they were coming, it still made me nervous. Did I really want to talk to them? What would that get me?

"She needs it more than we do," a gentle voice replied and then the crunching was right around the corner and I was sinking back, shutting my mouth tightly - I couldn't talk. I was scared - I was -

"THANK YOU!" The words yelped from my lips before I could think, making Minoru jolt awake and the boys jump back. I had screamed it. My cheeks burned. Blindly, I babbled out to the darkness - the sun still barely yawning it's way over the horizon, casting the area in shadows. "I wanted to thank you. You've helped me. Even though I bit you - even though I yelled at you - I just… thank you. I don't know how I'll -"

"Do you want to come home with us?" I blinked, the words sudden and jarring. Home? They wanted me to come home with them? I frowned, suddenly suspicious again.

"Ah, you sound like a creep-" one of the other voices drawled, earning a sharp slap. I peeked out, catching sight of the three boys who had been feeding me for the last few days as they brawled, kicking up dirt. They cursed foully at each other, one with a yellow tank top and a backward baseball cap on his head leaning against the wall watching the other two - a boy wearing a red shirt and another wearing blue. All of them had hats on and wore beat up shoes and shorts.

"Hey." I flinched back, the yellow-shirted guy catching sight of me and tipping his chin in my direction when his brothers stopped punching at each other. Three pairs of eyes settled on where I half-hid.

"She's young," the red-shirted boy mumbled, looking sad. I scowled. I was as old as them. I hated being called young. Ma had called me that whenever I had done something she didn't like. Beside me, Minoru remained still and silent. He didn't like being noticed by other people.

The blue-shirted boy stepped away from red, his striped cap drooping down over his eyes and his clothes ruffled from the scuffle. He was the one who had given me food that first night, I realized, catching sight of those green eyes.

"You sounded older," yellow shirt said matter-of-factly. He was taller and beefier than the other two, I realized, catching sight of his size as he straightened from the wall.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" the blue-shirted boy asked suddenly, his eyes intent as he took a step nearer to me. He must have been the nice one - the one with the gentle voice - Imori, I think they called him.

I bit my lip, glancing at Minoru. Should I tell them? What would it matter? Minoru questioned. They wouldn't be able to find the house in the woods and they probably already know that you don't have anywhere to go. If they wanted to be mean, then they would have done it a long time ago.

"My ma died," finally said, my voice rough from misuse. I blinked back a sudden rush of tears. Alone, I realized. I was all alone. "She - she was my only family. I - I thought if - When our supplies ran out I had to come to the city. I thought I would be able to get - get some food but… they all wanted little metal circles…"

"Jennys?" redshirt questioned, his expression incredulous. I nodded vehemently. All the adults had shooed me away when I tried to talk to them - they hadn't liked when I had asked for food. They had gotten angry. When I had gone up to one of those steaming carts that smelled so good, they had asked me for that - jenny, they had said. No jenny, no service, they had bellowed at me, swatting at my rump with a ladle until I went scampering away.

"You don't know what jennys are?" Yellow shirt blinked, clearly surprised.

"We - ma caught everything for us," I began, my voice wobbling as I glanced uncertainly at Mironu. "When she died…"

I trailed off, suddenly seeing that morning so clearly. Walking into her room, my feet cold against the wood floors, sweeping aside the satchels of dried herbs and meat. Ma had told me that today we would play hide and go seek. When she played this game with me, I was supposed to hide, squeeze myself into a cranny or nook and wait. Bottle up all that energy around you, she had chortled but her eyes were serious. She was always saying things like that. Things that confused me. She told me that I had too much stuff around - too much to see. I was too present in this world.

You feel that warmth around you, she would ask when she made me sit in the evenings with her, silent for hours and hours. Like liquid - warm tea all around you? I had giggled thinking about swimming in tea but quickly stopped when she slapped my wrist. You're going to have to control that, panda.

She had been teaching me how to hide all that before… I blinked, bile rising up in my throat. The blankets had been rumpled up all around her and her eyes had been closed. I had thought-

I blubbered out a breath, big, fat tears sliding hotly down my cheeks. I wanted my ma. I wanted my ma.

"Hey, hey," a voice whispered and I didn't pull away as my head bumped against a bony chest in blue. I didn't want any of them to see this but the tears were already coming and I couldn't stop them. "Sssshhh."

The supplies had ran out so quickly in the house and ma had told me I was too young to learn how to hunt or fish. I wasn't patient or quiet enough for that. All I could do was forage for fruits and vegetables. Even then, I was clumsy and I could only eat them raw or burnt up on a stick. Miruno needed more than that. He needed meat to survive. So I had gone into the town that ma had sometimes taken me to to get things like yarn and milk that we weren't able to get on our own. It had always seemed so nice - so warm.

I gave a sniffle, the tears growing slower and slower the more Imori held me. He smelled dirty. I sneezed.

"My names Imori," he suddenly whispered, pulling back so I had enough room to look up at him. He smiled, small and reassuring. Slowly, his brothers straightened from their slouches on either side of us.

"Umori," the yellow-shirted boy said, nodding.

"Amori," the red shirted one said.

"We can help you," Imori grinned, squeezing my shoulder. "If you want to stay here, we can teach you how to steal and fight."

I blinked. Steal? Wasn't that bad? Definitely bad, Minuro murmured, sounding a bit scared.

I'm hungry, I murmured back, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. The people of this town hadn't helped me… why should I feel bad for stealing from them?

"You can repay us for the food by workin' with us," Amori said. "Four people stealin' is better than three."

"And people always go easier on the girls," Umori assured, winking.

I glanced around at the trio. They had fed me when they hadn't needed to and now they were willing to give me a place to stay.

"Where are your parents?" I blurted out, regretting it immediately when their faces dropped.

"Orphans," Amori finally said after a long pause, bitterness licking along the word. Imori looked away, his eyes pained. Beside him, Umori stared down the alley, his jaw tight. "Folks 'round town call us the Amori brothers - we stick together."

"You can be a part of that," Imori said, his eyes gleaming hopefully. "Nobody else wants kids like us so we have to survive somehow right?"

I glanced between the three. They had been kind to me. My ma had told me a lot about debts - life debts. I would have starved to death if it wasn't for them and I owed them a debt.

Are you sure? Minoru questioned. He would go wherever I would in the end but he still sounded a bit weary. All he knew was the hut and ma. Creatures like him were solitary, even from their parents. After they were able to fly and gather berries, the mother and father left the baby. Puff puffs are very particular creatures, mother had once told me.

"Thank you," I finally whispered, dragging myself to my feet and Minoru along with me. He was hard to carry with his massive size. Most of the time, he would have let me get on his back and we would have just walked like that. But… people in town didn't look like they did things like that.

"Whoa, big teddy bear," Amori muttered, his eyes going wide as he took a step back.

"It's not-" Don't tell them, Minoru warned, sharply cutting me off. My eyes widened, flicking to his. Just in case.

"He's my teddy," I finished lamely, squeezing onto him.

"What's your name anyway?" Amori whistled, clasping his hands behind his head as we made our way slowly toward town.

"My ma called me panda," I said, blinking up into the burning sun. It was always so bright here. There weren't any trees to give shade in these big cities.

"Panda?" Umori scoffed.

"Oh, that won't work at all," Imori snipped and I blinked. They're going to change your name, Mironu gripped, sounding a bit miffed. Ma had said his name meant bear in some language. My panda and bear, she used to giggle.

"We'll figure it out," Amori sniffed and I couldn't help feeling like a little part of me was being severed.

Okay! I hoped someone out there likes this and if you did please, please, please leave a review or follow/favorite. I would have made this chapter longer but I was kind of unsure if Hunter X Hunter wanted any new stories - I kind of ran through the other ones really quickly and I was so frustrated that I just had to post. But if I don't get any activity I guess I'll just have to take it down - either way, I hope you enjoyed it!