4 ..... and recollections of the past.

It is the year 1997. My books have sold well. Some even had movie adaptations in the works. Through all of this I have managed to keep my identity hidden by using my father as an intermediary. He even quit his job as a cover. How nice! Though the millions of jenny deposited in my account per month certainly played a role in that.

In other news. I have a brother now. He is five years old and he is so gosh darn adorable. I haven't trained as hard as I once did since he was born. My mother died in childbirth and thus the responsibility for raising him fell on me.

And I must say, it is fucking hard to raise a baby. Like fuck. It feeds all day long like a bloody goat, cries all night and then has the audacity to giggle quietly and innocently when you come over like it didn't just fucking ruin your day with a hiroshima sized stinker in it's pants.

Fucking ingrate. Though I did quite like him now that he was all grown up and independent. Well.... as independent as a 5 year old can be.

And once again I was back to my training.

My muscles now looked chiseled by the gods, my toned lean arms hiding explosive force, my legs bursting with energy. I could be mistaken for a supermodel if not for my aggressively average looks. And I liked it. I didn't want to stand out. That was one of my OG nightmares and it still is. My goal right now is to be the little gray man. Forgotten, unnoticed, hiding in plain sight. Get it? Plain sight!

Ha! I just came up with that one.

My sense of humor too has become an exceptionally pun-itive issue.

Okay sorry. Last one. Won't do it again.

Carrying on....

It was time. I had been scouring the Heaven's Arena webpage for any info on Kastro and finally it had paid off. On the front page, in their rising stars section, I first spotted it.

An article featuring him.

"Kastro the Tiger, wins third match straight. Will he continue this streak? Or will his fall be as fast as his meteoric rise?"

And I knew. It was finally time for my real training to begin.

I went up to my father in the kitchen and asked him.

"Papa, can we go to the Heaven's Arena for Sabal's birthday? You know how much he likes watching it! He'd be soo happy to meet his favourite stars in person." I said expectantly.

"He barely even understands words, much less martial arts. You force him to watch it, else why would he even look for it. Just say what you mean. If you want to go to Heaven's Arena, just say so. Don't use your brother as a cover."

"N-no. I don't want to go there. I don't even like it."

"Really?" He said with a mischievous smirk.

"Really." I nodded.

"Then we won't go there. We'll just go to an amusement park like always. Unless... you admit that you are the one that wants to go there!"

Dang it. I hate exposing my thoughts to others. I have always hated doing that. I like it when others don't know what my goals or desires are. And that tendency has led me to speaking in obliques and vagueries. It's a bad habits and I've been trying to get better at it but gues what they say is true. Bad habits die hard. But today, now, for the sake of my goals, I had to say it loud and say it true. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I was only going to do this once, so I might as well go all the way.

"Pa,... I have a dream." I said.

"Oh? You really won't give me a straight answer huh? Are you sure you don't want to go see a shrink? I hear they can help you with your .... issues." He asked.

"No! I am not weak. I am NOT broken. I am NOT a nutjob. I DON'T need to see anyone." I cried out angrily.

"It's not just for the criminally insane, Naaz. Even strong people can sometimes need help with their mental health. It's not a matter of shame."

"NO! Just listen. Just listen to me..... I want to become a hunter. I want to be stronger, smarter ..... better. I want to see the world, know all there is to know in the whole wide world. And for that I have to be a hunter. The Hunter license grants to it's holders many perks. Free access to public utilities, exemptions from military service, contacts with any institutions of authority that they desire, visa free travel and most of all nearly nulled criminal convictions. Occupational immunity. A community of like minded seekers that make up the peak forces of humanity. It will give me a chance at shaping the world in a tangible way. A meaning and purpose in life. I ... want that. All of it. I need to have it. And for that I'll need a lot of things... need to do a lot of things.... things I can't explain in full to you Pa. Please. Please understand. I have been planning this since I was a boy. This is my dream." I said looking at him with determined eyes, huffing out a long breath.

My father smiled and caressed my head.

"I figured it was something like that!" He chuckled.

"Wha..what?!" I fumbled.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't notice how hard you train, the way you devour books whole in hours, how you peruse through the Hunter magazine. You have a whole decade's worth of them in your room. Even an idiot can figure it out!"

"Then why didn't you say anything till now?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to hear it from you. And I'm happy you trusted me enough to say it." He said hugging me.

"Then....?"

"Yes. We'll go to Heaven's Arena for Sabal's birthday. I'm sure they have something even he can enjoy. I saw how they opened a small play center for kids last year."

"Huh?"

"What? I take interest in what you do. You're my children after all. I care about you. It's only natural that I know what you like and dislike." He said.

"I don't even know what to say."

I truly didn't. I was living with my adult mindset this whole time. I hadn't been thinking about anyone other than me. Their thoughts, their lives. They were just background characters to my new life. But this was a wake up call. I had to improve myself. I had to be better.

If he can see what I was up to then I'm not as stealthy as I thought I was. I need to redouble my efforts. I need to be the little gray man. Unknown, unseen, invisible.

What? You thought I was gonna consider other people's feeling and be a goody two shoes about it?

Fuck no! Anyone who's not me is a threat to my life. The world is full of enemies and soon to be enemies. I'll only be safe when I cannot be harmed any longer. When I am immortal. When I am the most powerful, untouchable, inviolable person alive or dead.

[A/N : You guys posted so many "I dont like how he's a good guy" and "Is he just a hero?" comments on my other fanfic so here's the paranoid murderhobo for all y'all psychos to nut to! Like it yet?

This is an alternate timeline of the other fanfic.

Ps. He's not a good guy in the other series either but that's the twist ending so wait for it to happen. Its real good I tells ya! Or maybe not. Who am I to judge?]