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"Kamine! Gon!" A familiar voice called as as the duo finally made it back to the exam site. The pair turned around to face a small white-haired boy jogging towards them with a relieved smile.
"I though you'd never make it!" He joked giving Gon a fist bump before facing the female, "And why did you run off like that huh?! Do you know how much trouble you caused me?!" He hissed poking the girl on the forehead as she frowned.
"I'm sorry, youn-..." She trailed off as she was cut off, the others not catching what she was about to say.
"Killua! Stop! She saved me!" Gon defended standing in front of the girl protectively as Killua's eyes widened.
"You...what?" His eyes widened as he stared at the girl, flabbergasted. It was the first time she had ever done something for someone else that he hadn't directly ordered.
He wasn't sure how he felt about it.
He couldn't help the look of displeasure on his face as the girl winced, avoiding eye contact.
"I'm sorry Killua! It was my fault for running off!" Gon interjected, covering for the girl as Killua backed away in shock.
"N-No! I wasn't-... I mean..." He trailed off, staring at the boy awkwardly. He couldn't just outright explain to Gon that he never ordered Kamine to save Gon without first explaining how Kamine was his butler, which he didn't feel like doing. "I'm not upset. You did well Kamine, thank you for helping Gon." The girl perked up at that as Gon looked at the two in confusion.
"Anyways I'm starving when is the next phase going to start?! Do they give us lunch in between?" Gon questioned innocently, skipping off before Kamine handed him a granola bar from her bag. His eyes lit up at the treat, "Thams Kamenm!" He spoke through chewing as he scarfed down the bar, completely unaware of the next phase already including food.
Gon took the liberty to check up on Kurapika and Leorio during the downtime, leaving Kamine and Killua alone once again, "So that's why you ran off huh." Killua commented as Kamine looked away awkwardly, "I'm surprised you even knew he was in danger, you were asleep when he ran away." His voice was laced with suspicion as he eyed the girl.
"Why did you do it?" Killua asked as the girl sighed, only walking forward as the boy stared her down. She paused before turning to face the boy, a rare look of sadness gracing her features.
The boys eyes trailed down to the girls shoes that were awkwardly drawing circles in the sand to ease the girl's nerves, "When you talked to Gon, you looked..." She paused.
"You looked so happy." She said genuinely, a deep sadness coating her eyes as she gave a soft smile.
"If he died... I wonder if you would ever smile again like that." She explained as she looked at the boy who was happily chatting away with Leorio who had just woken up from being unconscious.
The boy stared blankly at the girl processing her words. He never thought to much of it but the truth is, he had been enjoying himself, ever since he met Gon.
And then the realization dawned on him.
"Kamine." He said seriously, grabbing her hands as his eyes glistened in excitement, "I know what I want Kamine!" He gave a cheeky smile as the girl stared at him in wonder.
"I want to be friends with Gon." He declared to the girl as her eyes widened.
"Will you help me?" He pleaded as the girl's eyes widened, clearly not expecting that turn of response.
"Of course."
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Becoming friends with Gon was easier said than done, Killua realized. He had never made a friend before, he wasn't really sure how to behave or how to know when they officially become friends.
Killua looked at the boy from across the applicant pool who turned and greeted him with a smile and a wave, Killua just awkwardly waved back. He almost choked when he felt a gentle shove push him forward, Kamine facing him as she gestured for Killua to go talk to the boy.
"I can't do that!" He whispered, feeling incredibly shy as he fought the urge to hide behind the girl.
"You talked to him fine before, I'm sure you'll be fine again," Kamine commented simply as Killua groaned.
"Yeah but that was before like, I wanted to be friends with him. It's different now." Killua huffed, pouting as the girl rolled her eyes. She simply grabbed his arm before dragging him towards the boy.
"Kamine! What are you doing?! Stop!" He whispered and shouted as the two approached the trio.
"Oh. Hi Kamine! Hi Killua!" Gon smiled cheerfully as the two Kamine gave a quiet nod, Killua didn't respond.
"So you're Kamine." A blonde-haired boy commented as he shot the girl a reassuring smile. She awkwardly smiled back, pondering his name.
"Oh, I guess you two haven't officially met!" Gon interjected as he faced the two, "Kamine, this is Kurapika. Kurpika, this is Kamine." He introduced the two to each other as the pair exchanged greetings.
Thank heavens for Gon, Kamine mentally relaxed as she realized she wouldn't have to introduce herself. Killua on the other hand was unable to calm down.
"Woah Killua. You don't look so good." Leorio commented simply before he gasped, "Wait don't tell me! Did you drink Tonpa's juice?!"
Killua looked up at the man bewildered before responding, "No! Well- yes... I did. But it doesn't matter." Killua explained as the man just looked at him in confusion.
"Well those kinds of things don't work on me." Killua said simply as Leorio just looked even more confused.
Kamine sighed, that seemed to have broken the ice.
She didn't know how she could manage to make Killua sociable when the idea of her socializing with other people gives her chills too.
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The second phase required everyone to catch and cook pork, however the only pigs in the forest were giant carnivorous monster pigs with a lust for blood. Thankfully they were quickly defeated by a jab to the head but they were still somewhat scary nonetheless.
Kamine was an experienced butler, so thankfully cooking and preparing pork was not something outside her skill range. She cut the pork into tiny cubes before deciding to create a stew with the pig, given their range of ingredients. The meat had a coarse texture so Kamine knew it would be difficult to chew through without either an overnight marinade or a slow roast. She opted for the latter due to her lack of time.
Applicants went up one by one and presented their pigs. Each one of them failed. Kamine winced, she was going to have to put some effort into this dish if she wanted it to pass.
Putting all the required ingredients inside she let the stew cook as she investigated what the others were doing. Gon had decorated his with a cute flower crown as he showed it to the girl.
She smiled, it was very cute. Although the pig seemed charred on the outside and raw in the interior. Kamine just hoped it was enough to pass.
As she was lost in thought the boy placed another crown on her head as she looked over at him in shock. "Haha it looks cute on you Kamine!" Gon smiled earnestly as Kurapika agreed, listening in on the conversation.
"I agree, you should wear more colors. Pink looks good on you." Kurapika stated simply before showcasing his masterpiece which seemed the most impressive. He had sliced the pig into what was almost like a hamburger before placing lettuce and vegetables in the middle. Kamine was impressed, the presentation was great but she hoped it would be enough to pass the overcooked pork.
Leorio had completely burnt his and Killua hadn't even cooked it.
"Killua." Kamine winced looking at the raw bloody meat as Killua prepared to serve it as is. "Are you... really serving that?"
Killua turned around before eyeing her head for a brief moment, "Did Gon make that for you?" He questioned gesturing to the crown before he looked away, a tinge of red coating his cheeks.
She didn't respond as she wearily looked at his dish, Killua giving an awkward laugh.
"Yeah well, I just thought, why bother it just has to be served right?" Killua laughed as Kamine frowned.
"I could cook it for you if you want. The judges seem pretty particular." Kamine volunteered but Killua rejected her, "Nah I don't need you to bail me out. It's fine. Besides if you cook mine, when are you going to find time to cook yours?" He questioned as the girl only frowned deeper. Little did the boy know hers was practically already finished and even if it wasn't, she could manage to make two unique dishes with the pork that was passible.
But she didn't fight the boy as she returned to her stew that had boiled nicely. The meat was tender and with a touch of salt, the broth would be just right. She watched as the other's presented their meals.
Leorio was an obvious fail.
Gon too, unsurprisingly failed.
Even Kurapika who had the strongest dish out of all the other applicants failed.
Then it was Killua's turn who served his pig raw.
"You didn't even cook it! C'mon isn't there any one here who knows how to cook a pig?!" The examiner, Menchi groaned yelling at the applicants as Killua just shrugged earning a laugh from Gon as he walked down the stage.
Kamine bit her lip. She was sure if she served her food as is it would have a chance of actually passing. But if she did, she would be separated from Killua as he and the others would fail as she would've moved on.
Kamine sighed, she always hated wasting precious food.
Taking the salt container she poured the rest of the container in, wincing at how bitter the taste had become before she served it.
It didn't matter if she passed or failed anyways, as long as she got to stay by Killua's side.
"A stew?!" Minchi gasped looking at the dish, "It actually looks good! The stew would break down the coarseness of the meat and allow it to absorb the flavors of the broth!" Minchi smiled finally taking a bite as she aggressively gagged, hacking as she ran to get water.
"WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS. THAT." She screamed as Kamine winced, plugging her ears. The examiner had flung into another fit of coughs as her eyes begin to water, "What the hell did you do?! Pour the whole damn salt container into the pot?!" Menchi cried as she dumped the forbidden broth into the grass. The monstrosity wasn't even worth Buhara eating.
Kamine had to resist the soft smile that threaten to fall upon her face. In fact, that was exactly what she did, but she wasn't going to let Menchi know that.
"FAIL!" Menchi yelled as the girl turned away. Even Buhara failed her as she walked down the steps.
"Oof, harsh." Leorio winced as Gon patted her on the back.
"It's okay Kamine, I'm sure you tried your best." Kurapika reassured as Killua just eyed the girl curiously. Kamine was sure he realized she threw the test but opted out of saying anything.
"So after all that, all of you fail!" Menchi declared as the examinees sighed.
"That's bullshit!" An examinee yelled through the crowd.
"We all failed because you didn't like our pig?!" Another complained as the crowd flung into a ruckus.
Soon the crowd was silenced by the arrival of a blimp.
"Chairman Netero!" Menchi bowed as she greeted the man.
Some of the applicants looked wearily at the older man but Kamine frowned at his presence. She wasn't sure why but she could feel unusual power radiating from the man. She mad eye contact with a particular red-haired clown from across the field, apparently she wasn't the only one that noticed.
"Everyone, this is Chairman Netero. He's in charge of the exam committee." Menchi introduced as Gon's eyes widened in shock.
"Wow! He must be really strong!" Gon commented honestly as Kamine just glanced at him. She frowned at his words, he was much stronger than the boy could even imagine. It appears he couldn't sense the intense presence waning off the man even with his superhuman abilities.
"Failing every applicant is a little extreme is it not?" He commented, his voice unnaturally goofy for his age. "I understand that your job as examiner is to assess the applicants abilities and resourcefulness but you still have to make the exam passible."
"I'm sorry sir. I just-... they said degrading things about Gourmet Hunters, and I get so emotional when it comes to food." Menchi explained as the man nodded.
"I understand Menchi, but this conduct was still extremely unbefitting of an examiner, you understand that correct?" Netero explained as the girl gave a grim nod, "Well normally I'd bring someone else in for a situation like this, but we're a little short on examiners so I'll give you a second chance." Netero questioned as the girl looked up in shock.
"Create another test for these applicants, but this time I want you to demonstrate to the rest of the applicants how to pass." Netero decided as Menchi glanced over, deep in thought.
"Oh I know! Chairmen Netero! Can you take us to split-in-half mountain?" Menchi smiled while pointing to the blimp.
"Split-in-half mountain huh... I don't see why not." He smiled as he allowed the group to board the blimp.
Kamine frowned as she stepped on board, for some reason she wasn't getting a good feeling about this.
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-* notes *-
#23 - Gon's flower crown was the first time Kamine had ever received a gift-- even if it was small.
#24 - Kamine wondered if she would look nicer wearing more pink things like the flower crown Gon gave her.
#25 - Killua's nervousness towards Gon and the others was very short-lived, unfortunately it isn't in the albino boy's nature to be shy. Kamine was extremely relieved.
#26 - Killua noticed a small abrasion across Hisoka's cheek when he returned with Leorio, he was curious on how the ominous jester received such an injury.
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