When leaving Heavens Arena, Moses felt as if he had forgotten something.
But since he could forget it, it probably wasn't important.
So, he pushed it to the back of his mind and led Menchi and Shizuku into a taxi heading to the airport.
Originally, Moses had planned to go home alone...
But before setting off, he called Hawk. After asking about Menchi's well-being, Hawk directly demanded that Moses bring Menchi with him when he returned home.
There is a good reason for this request, that is, he wants to eat the food cooked by Menchi.
Moses couldn't refuse, so he asked Menchi for her opinion.
When Menchi heard this, she was so excited she almost jumped on the spot.
As for Shizuku, she had nowhere else she wanted to go and had grown accustomed to being around Moses and Menchi, so she decided to tag along.
"Silly Goose, that place is so remote even birds don't poop there. You really shouldn't come."
"Every night, there are terrifying howls coming from the mountaintop. If you go there, you'll definitely lose sleep from the noise."
"Water resources are scarce there. Forget about bathing, even brushing your teeth and washing your face is a problem!"
"Silly Goose, let me tell you..."
Despite Menchi's best efforts to dissuade her, Shizuku didn't change her mind. She clearly didn't care about the so-called drawbacks Menchi mentioned, or perhaps she was just too curious about the place where Moses had grown up.
And so, Moses brought Menchi and Shizuku aboard the airship heading home.
…
Some distance from the airport, atop a tall building, Kurapika stood looking up at the sky. The strong wind blew his hair and clothes as he watched the direction of the airship Moses was on.
He stood quietly on the rooftop, watching the airship ascend into the clouds until it disappeared from sight.
After a moment-
Kurapika lowered his gaze and pulled out his phone.
Buzz... Buzz...
The phone vibrated softly, emitting a faint sound.
Kurapika looked down at the screen, where the open chat window displayed various pieces of intelligence about the upcoming Yorknew City Auction.
In his quest to retrieve his people's eyes, he had already begun gathering information about the auction scheduled for September.
.....
Scenic Area, the Temple.
Hawk hummed a tune as he walked toward the kitchen.
To prepare ingredients for Menchi, he planned to grab a bamboo basket and head into the mountains to hunt for some game.
When he reached the kitchen, Hawk spotted the bamboo basket in a dusty corner. He immediately walked over and bent down to pick it up.
Click-
Just as Hawk bent over, a sharp sound came from his back.
"Huh?"
Hawk's face twitched slightly, and he quickly reached out to support his lower back. He leaned against the wall as he slowly sat down, with a pained expression on his face.
"My old back..."
His features twisted slightly, and he quickly controlled his breathing rate to relieve the pain.
Ever since the [King's Libra] incident, his outward appearance hadn't changed much, but his physical functions had been steadily deteriorating.
According to Cheadle, this wasn't due to physical injury or the aftereffects of his wounds, but rather the natural process of aging that all humans must face.
That is to say-
His time was running out.
It wouldn't be strange if he passed away quietly in his sleep one day.
"Sigh…"
Hawk took a deep breath, tilting his head back slightly.
He didn't know how much time he had left…
But in any case, he had no regrets.
Hawk stood up with some difficulty and picked up the bamboo basket next to him.
'That's not right. If I were to say I feel regretful, there is some truth to it.'
Hawk hung the bamboo basket on his shoulder, looked up at the sunlight outside, and thought, 'My only regret was that I would not be able to hold my grandchild.'
Thinking of this, Hawk raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, shook his head and sighed.
"That little bastard… He's so popular with women, but he doesn't know how to make a move. To this day, he doesn't even have a girlfriend."
Hawk muttered a complaint about Moses under his breath, then slowly walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the temple gate.
To welcome Moses home, he still had a lot to do.
But with his 'old bones', getting things done wasn't as easy as it used to be...
…
Two days later.
When Moses returned to the temple, he immediately saw the sign notifying that no visitors were allowed to enter hanging next to the vermilion gate.
Given Hawk's laid-back nature, it wasn't unusual for him to close the temple to tourists from time to time.
Moses walked up the steps and came to the gate, and was about to raise his hand to knock on the door.
However, Rat Jewel couldn't wait to show his true form. He ignored the 'battery' problem and directly opened a [Green Light Passage] on the gate.
"Chu chu!"
Rat Jewel waved its tiny hands, signaling everyone to enter the passage.
Seeing this, Moses shook his head and laughed.
Menchi, who is walking behind them, rolled her eyes and scolded with one hand on her hip, "It's just opening a door. Why use your ability? If you run out of power later, don't come running to me for a recharge."
"Chuu!"
Rat Jewel turned around, snorted at Menchi, then ran over with its short legs and hugged Shizuku's leg, as if to say: I'm not going to look for you!
Menchi wasn't annoyed by this. Instead, she curled her lips and said: "One's a blockhead, the other's a fool. You two are quite the pair."
"Who's the blockhead, and who's the fool?"
Shizuku looked at Menchi and asked curiously.
The corner of Menchi's mouth twitched and she was at a loss for words.
A moment later-
Everyone passed through the passage Rat Jewel had created with its Nen Ability, crossed most of the temple, and arrived directly at the backyard.
As soon as they stepped out of the passage, they saw Hawk dozing in a rocking chair, completely unaware of their arrival.
Moses looked at Hawk and keenly sensed something was wrong.
'Even if Hawk can't use his Nen Ability now, he shouldn't be this slow, right?'
Plop plop plop-
Rat Jewel ran over, its tiny feet making a series of soft sounds as they hit the ground.
The noise finally woke Hawk.
"Huh, you're back."
He opened his eyes, looked at Rat Jewel, who was running towards him, and then looked at Moses.
But his gaze stayed on Moses for less than a second, and then immediately shifted to Menchi, who was dressed elegantly, and Shizuku, who was brimming with youthfulness. His eyes immediately lit up.
'He brought another one back? Great!'
'Huh?'
'Why did I say 'another'?'
'Never mind, it's not important.'
Hawk grinned widely.
At this moment, Rat Jewel pounced on him.
Hawk was slightly startled and instinctively reached out to catch Rat Jewel, but he couldn't withstand the force of Rat Jewel's pounce, and he tumbled out of the rocking chair.
Rat Jewel didn't realize anything was wrong, and happily squirmed in Hawk's arms.
"Wait, wait... Rat, calm down... I... I think I'm about to break a bone..."
"Chu chu?"
Rat Jewel obediently settled down, but then its round eyes were filled with confusion.
Hawk couldn't explain to Rat Jewel at this moment, and he kept gasping for breath.
Moses watched from the side, frowning slightly.
'Indeed-'
'Something is wrong.'
He suppressed his doubts and introduced Shizuku to Hawk, then asked Menchi to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Hawk endured the pain and smiled.
…
That night.
After dinner, Moses excused himself to take a walk and went outside the temple to call Cheadle.
Over the course of the day, he had noticed more signs that something was wrong, so he wanted to ask Cheadle about it.
Cheadle, who was on another continent, saw that it was Moses calling and answered the call in a few seconds.
"What's wrong with Hawk?"
As soon as the call was connected, Moses got straight to the point.
Cheadle was silent for a moment after hearing this. She realized that Moses had noticed something off about Hawk. So she decided not to hide it and replied bluntly:
"He doesn't have much time left."
"What?!"