The sound of laughter filled the forest as a little girl ran towards the exit of the Kurta Clan territory.

"Kura~kun!" The girl giggled and waved as she bounded over to the blonde haired boy who was getting ready to leave.

The boy looked over at the young girl and chuckled lightly before picking her up. He spun her around once before setting her back down.

"Don't worry, Zepheena. I'll be back soon. Be good and help your parents," Kurapika said as he hugged the eleven year old. "Take care of Pairo for me as well."

Zepheena hugged him tight before letting go. "I will! Be safe!" She waved to the boy that babysat her almost every day.

She saw Kurapika as an older brother and while she was excited for him to go explore the world, she already couldn't wait for him to come home.

She waited with everyone who had come to see Kurapika off, staying until she could no longer see him at all.

Zepheena then went back home for dinner, helping her parents just like Kurapika had told her to.

As the weeks passed, Zepheena began to miss the older boy a lot, wanting to play with him and Pairo in the woods like they always did.

She was younger than the boys, but she still had fun with them. She played with Pairo, but it just wasn't the same without thr blonde around.

One night, Zepheena couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling. She decided to go out into the woods to clear her mind.

She looked back into her room as she sat on the windowsill. She knew she would get in trouble, but only if her parents caught her.

She slipped out of her room and ran into the woods, giggling as the warm night breeze blew through her hair.

She came to a clearing and lied down, looking up at the shimmering moon.

The stars littered the sky and she was mesmerized by their serene beauty, getting lost in them as she found many different constellations.

With Zephi's mind finally at ease, she slipped into a peaceful slumber on the forest floor.

However, the peace was broken by the sound of a scream piercing through the calm forest.

Zepheena woke up and saw smoke coming from the direction her village was located.

Gasping, the little girl dashed back home, only to see the houses in flames and people running, only to be cut down by a man in all black. She could see a huge beast-like man killing people left and right. Another man with a sword killed some children while people hung from the trees on a seemingly invisible string.

There was a woman that had long black hair who was collecting eyes from the corpses of some of the Kurta.

Zepheena trembled. Her home was in ruins. It was chaos.

Then she saw the man in black going towards a couple.

Zephi's eyes widened when she saw that it was her parents.

With the swing of the man's hand, both her parents' heads flew off, blood spilling all over the ground.

"Hmm, some more with the scarlet eyes," the short man spoke before he grabbed their heads.

Zepheena watched in pure horror as the man gouged out the eyes of both her parents, putting their eyes into a satchel.

He then turned, sensing her presence. He locked eyes with her and made a dash towards her.

That was when her previously frozen body moved.

Zepheena turned immediately and began to run, only looking back once.

She gained distance between her and the spider only due to the fact that she knew the forest like the back of her hand and was able to get into the trees.

The black haired spider seemed to have gotten a call to come back so he left, giving up on the chase.

Tears streamed down her face as the image of her mother and father's severed heads lying on the ground appeared in her mind.

Her legs took her as fast as humanly possible, not having a destination in mind. She knew there was nothing she could do. Everyone she loved was dead, and she had no way of finding Kurapika.

She was completely alone and scared.

Eventually, she tripped on a root and fell, scraping up her knees and palms.

She looked at the blood trickling down her legs from her knees and screamed. Not from physical pain, but from the emotional agony.

"I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!" She cried out as she glared at the sky.

Wandering the world for the next few months, Zepheena found that no one seemed to want her.

She was living on the streets, until one day a man approached her, pushing her into an alleyway.

"Hey, kid. I need you to do something for me. As long as you don't mind getting your hands dirty," the man said with a grin.

"What do you want?" She spat angrily.

"I need you to steal something for me. You're just a kid. No one would suspect a thing." The guy started to laugh, but Zephi growled and swung her fist.

The man saw it coming and caught her hand. "Nice try, little girl. You're weak."

Instead of feeling fear, Zephi felt numb as the man glared at her.

Just then, the man was thrown back into the wall of the alley.

"She's a young child, you bastard," a new man said as he stood between the first guy and Zepheena.

"And what do you have to do with this? I was talking to her!" The first guy yelled at the man who honestly looked like a homeless guy.

"Well you're not anymore! Scram before I ruin your day completely!" The homeless looking guy threw a hard punch, throwing the other guy out of the alley.

Zepheena looked at the vagabond in shock and approached him from behind.

"Thank you, sir," the eleven year old spoke quietly as she had an idea.

The man turned to look down at her. "Not a problem. Where are your parents?"

Zepheena turned her gaze to the ground. "I'm all alone."

Then it hit her, she needed to get stronger if she was going to take on the people who killed her clan... the man who killed her parents.

"Alright, kid. I'm gonna-"

"Teach me."

The guy was taken aback as he took a step back. "What?"

"Teach me how to fight. I'm weak and I just wanna have enough power to defend myself and become strong," Zepheena explained as she looked at him desparately.

"Look, kid, I'm not really qualified to teach you nen," the guy protested as he waved his hands in front of himself.

"Nen? Look, I just want to get stronger! I don't care about whatever this nen is! I just need to learn how to fight! I'll figure out the rest on my own! Just teach me! Give me six months!" Zephi begged as tears pooled in her eyes which were now glowing red, her fists clenched tight and trembling at her sides.

The guy noticed her eyes burning a beautiful scarlet and his own eyes went wide. "Six months, you say?"

"Yes. Just six months. Then you never have to see me again. I'll find a way to pay you back. I promise," Zephi replied as she gazed up at him with hope, her scarlet eyes fading back to their natural chocolate hue.

"You can repay me by listening and not being annoying," the man replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Zephi nodded quickly as she quietly agreed to his terms.

"What's your name, kid?" The guy asked, taking an interest in this young girl.

"Zepheena," she introduced herself calmly. "What's your name, sir?"

"My name is Ging Freecss."