These memories spilled out in bits and pieces, spoken without conscious effort.
When she mentioned Gon and Killua, a spark suddenly lit up her eyes, and she snapped back to awareness.
She awoke with the memory intact.
Her once innocent, clear eyes now looked weathered and complex, far beyond what anyone would expect from a child barely five or six years old.
Along with her eyes, her entire demeanor shifted, becoming more in line with the Kite from Gon's memories.
Kite scanned her surroundings, taking in the faces around her, then glanced down at her own body.
She fully understood where she was and what had happened.
Turning to Gon, she saw the hopeful look in his eyes, which moved her slightly.
"Gon, Killua, I'm back," she said softly.
Seeing Kite truly regain her memory, Gon and Killua finally relaxed, letting out relieved breaths.
They had known it was her, but without her memories, something always felt off.
Kite sighed quietly.
"I never expected to become a Chimera Ant," she admitted.
This was the first time she had used her ability, [Absolute Death Resistance].
Before now, she never had a chance to activate it, so she didn't foresee being reborn this way.
Yet, she was grateful to be alive, becoming a Chimera Ant was certainly better than dying outright.
She then turned to Larry and bowed sincerely.
"Thank you for helping me recover my memory, Mr. Larry. Without your help, I might never have remembered who I really am. Without those memories, I wouldn't truly be Kite."
Larry waved off her thanks casually.
"No need to thank me, it was just a simple move."
Larry waved his hand, signaling Kite not to take it personally.
He wasn't surprised that she recognized him.
These days, it seemed like almost everyone knew who he was, not just hunters but ordinary people too.
He had grown used to it.
"Speaking of which, I owe a lot to my master," he said.
"If he hadn't given me advice, I never would have developed the ability [Absolute Death Resistance]."
This ability had been honed under the guidance of his master, Ging.
Ging always emphasized that for a hunter, survival skills were more important than offensive power.
"The foundation of everything is survival," Ging would say.
"If you can't even save your own life, there's no way you can harm your enemies."
Kite lifted her chin, reflecting on that advice.
She often made this gesture when she was deep in thought.
The more she considered it, the more she realized she needed to thank Ging personally.
After all, without his guidance, she might never have had this chance to talk with Larry now.
"Thank you, Ging..." she murmured.
Larry's expression shifted subtly, almost as if he didn't know how to respond.
After all, Ging had once mistaken Hina for Kite and had been cold and distant toward the real Kite.
If he knew about this gratitude, how would he react?
"Don't thank me just yet," Larry interrupted, "I want to show you a video first, then we can talk."
The others looked puzzled.
What video did Larry mean, and how was it related to Kite thanking Ging?
"Just play it on this TV," Larry said, pointing to a larger screen set up in the toy house specially decorated for Kite.
Now that they had a TV, Larry planned to use Porygon Z's unique ability to display images from his memory.
In other words, the footage would show what Larry had seen, from his perspective.
Before anyone could react, the dark screen suddenly shimmered with a layer of pure aura, signaling the start of the video.
Suddenly, an image appeared, glowing with bright strands of light.
One after another, pictures and sounds emerged, capturing the attention of everyone present.
The view seemed to be from Larry's perspective, showing a cave-like setting.
Standing beside him were Ging, several Chimera Ants, and the Queen Ant lying nearby.
Kite didn't know why, but her heart suddenly fluttered, and an uneasy feeling washed over her, a bad premonition she couldn't explain.
In the footage, Ging carefully looked over each Chimera Ant before finally stopping and speaking slowly.
"Kite, I'm your master. How could I not recognize you?" he said.
"Yes, you are Kite!"
Then, with sudden confidence, Ging pointed his finger at Hina, who looked utterly confused.
The Hina in the video immediately froze, startled by Ging's bold accusation.
It wasn't just Hina who was shocked, everyone watching the video was taken aback.
How could that possibly be Kite?
At first, Dwun was stunned, but then he slapped his thigh and burst out laughing so hard that his cigarette fell to the ground.
It was just the kind of thing Ging would say.
Along with Ging, who laughed the loudest, List, Killua, and even Gon joined in.
Everyone found Kite's outrageous claim hilarious.
Sure, the Chimera Ants all looked like girls, but there was no way you could mistake them for Kite.
Several people smiled, and even Gon's gloomy expression lifted.
But Kite didn't laugh.
Why wasn't she smiling?
Was it because she didn't find it funny?
Larry glanced at Kite, whose mouth twitched and whose face looked almost pained, yet a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Little Kite's chubby, round face was oddly cute when she looked troubled and speechless.
Kite's silence stood out sharply against the laughter around her, but the scene didn't end there; the footage kept playing, sparking more curiosity among Dwun and the others.
Was there something more interesting coming up?
"Hahaha, just kidding," Ging said in the video, scratching his head and laughing to brush off the moment.
"Did you really think that was Kite just now? Okay, no more guessing. Kite's just unlucky to have a master like me."
"Ging, why don't you come over and give your apprentice a pat on the back?" someone teased, prompting a clearing of throats and some light-hearted teasing as the scene faded.
In the picture, Ging "accidentally" took a half step back, coughed.
twice, and with a very serious expression said,
"I'm actually allergic to chimera ants."
Then, the image abruptly froze and disappeared.
At that moment, all the clips Larry wanted to show had been played.
Dwun and the others felt just like Morel and his group had that day, skeptical.
'You say you're allergic to chimera ants? Who's going to believe that?'
They burst out laughing.
Dwun laughed so hard he even had tears in his eyes.
Killua, laughing beside him, gained a deeper understanding of just how unreliable Gon's dad really was.
Not just unreliable, he was wildly unreliable.
"Alright, Kite, anything else you want to add?" Larry asked her with genuine interest.