Fearsome monsters... Exotic creatures... Vast riches... Hidden treasures... Evil enclaves... Unexplored lands... The world "unknown" holds magic. And some incredible people are drawn to that magic. They are known... as Hunters!
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As Ayami and Hisoka we're heading to the Phase Two sight, she took her time and wondered about Hisoka's full extant of his powers. He had obviously held back and she could tell his Nen wasn't even that high. She looked down and swung her arms around to shake off a weird feeling she couldn't describe. That's when she noticed the scattered small black dots formed in her skin. She panicked a little and that's when Hisoka turned around.
"What wrong, dove?" He asked curiously with the slightest hint of consern at her panicked state.
"I don't know... Let's just get there soon." She tried to ignore the dots though they were getting quite noticeable. Ayami breathed in as they approached the other applicants waiting by a large gate. Ayami walked to Gitta while Hisoka set Leorio down leaning on a tree. She looked at Gitta and simply raised her arms. He took one in his hand and looked at the dots then back at her. Ayami shrugged and he simply let her go and in a incomprehensible mutter of words told her to remain calm and that he'd do something later. She guessed being a twin of his made it a bit more tolerable to understand.
"Looks like we made it in time." Kurapika said as he and Gon ran into the crowd. They looked around for Leorio until Gon suddenly felt a strange feeling Turing around to see Hisoka smiling and pointing to a nearby tree where Leorio was resting. He then walked to Gitta and Ayami who were looking around to see who made it.
"Man that stings... Why am I all beat up?" The two were surprised at Leorio. "My memory is kinda hazy."
"We probably shouldn't tell him what happened." Kurapika whispered to Gon.
"Yeah..."
"Gon!"
"Killua!"
"I can't believe you actually got here... I thought you were done for." Killua said as they walked towards each other.
"I just tracked Leorio's cologne."
"Cologne!? That's how? You definitely are weird."
"Excellent work, everyone. Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." Satotz ended departing into the woods once again. A rumble came from with the walls making everyone turn around. The gates had automatically opened revealing the inside.
"Will all the applicants who passed Phase One please enter? Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner." The Blue haired lady sitting on the couch said.
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." The giant man gently greeted. Suddenly, a strange gurgling noise came from somewhere.
"What was that sound?"
"You must be hungry," Menchi said smirking at the man behind her.
"I'm starving..."
"There you have it. Phase Two will involve... cooking!" Menchi pointed to the surprised crowd.
"W-what?"
"Wait! Cooking? We're here to take the Hunter Exam."
"That's right! Your challenge of the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate." She stated.
"Why do we have to cook?"
"That's because we are the Gourmet Hunters." Menchi said proudly onto the crowd. The crowd however didn't have a good reaction. They starting laughing and calling them a joke which didn't sit well with Menchi.
The Gourmet Hunters Menchi and Buhara... Their selection as examiners could prove problematic. Only fifty applicants, no, it's possible that fewer than ten applicants will pass Phase Two. Satotz thought to himself as he sat in a tree on the outside observing them through binoculars.
"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" Someone in the crowd said while chuckling. Ayami had to admit that this sounded too easy and didn't get a good feeling of a nice outcome.
"Buhara."
"The needed ingredient is... pork!" He stomped on the ground.
"Pork?"
"As in pig meat?"
"Yes. You're free to use meat from any species of Biska Forrest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both find it delicious."
"And we'll evaluate more than just the taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When we've both eaten our fill of the food, the exam will end.
"We get it. We get it. Let's just start." A random man said confidently.
"Then let the exam's Second Phase begin now!" Hubara said slapping his stomach like a gong. Ayami began running with everyone towards the forest remaining close to Gitta and Hisoka. She observed the abnormally large pigs from the trees above. She stared down the animals chewing on bones and wondered how to kill it without drawing attention. She saw others being thrown into the air by their snouts making her laugh a bit. She could just take out one of the pins Illumi made her wear plus be more comfortable considering they were all over her body to shorten her. If I use the ones on my head, it might make my hair turn long again but I can't use the ones from my body because Kil would definitely recognize me then. She thought to herself about using her silver pins but the small pocket only had about five so she didn't want to waste them just yet. And she had also not tried her Nen on them since she got back so that plan could fail. She sighed in frustration until she noticed people jumping and hitting the pig's foreheads instantly killing them. She followed suit with the other applicants and with her small body, slowly hauled in the massive pig to the work stations. She knew the Gourmet Hunters, especially Menchi, would probably be more picky then just a roasted pig as everyone did. Ayami never really knew how to cook but tried to roast it slowly hopefully doing it right.
Many applicants that went up to present their dish were passed by Buhara but each failed by Menchi finding a fault with everything she saw not bothering to taste. Ayami brought hers up and Buhara passed her immediately. However things were extremely different with Menchi.
"It tastes slightly overcooked and there's no flavor or seasoning! You fail." She said looking at the dish making Ayami feel how the others that had gone before her felt. She felt the littlest of bloodlust release from her out of frustration as she went back next to Gitta. This caught the examiners and some applicants by surprise getting such a negative feeling from her putting some on guard. Hisoka smirked and licked his lips saying "amazing" under his breath when he felt the small release. Gitta on the other hand just looked down at her small frame and patted her roughly on her head pushing down pins she had forgotten about.
"Ow. Stop it!" She said trying to swat away his hands.
"That was so much food. I'm stuffed!" Buhara rubbed his stomach in delight.
"Yeah. I'm stuffed, too. Therefore, no one passes. We're finished here!" Menchi said onto the silent crowd.
"It's over?"
"What the hell!" People started making a commotion of the rising problematic situation. As I expected, she's lapsed back into her old bad habits. Satotz said to himself before calling the chairman.
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"What should we do, Chairman?" A little green man asked him. He was on call with Satotz who had noticed him what was currently happening.
"I suppose I have no choice then. Fine, I'll have to go in person." He said standing up. Netero looked down from the window of the giant airship flying over.
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"Zero people passed?"
"Are you serious?"
"Does she really mean it?"
"The Exam is over?"
"This isn't funny..."
One of the applicants, Todo, smashed the working table catching the attention of the others. "I won't except it... I absolutely refuse to accept this!"
"In the end, you've still failed." Menchi said.
"Stop screwing around. You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-"He was suddenly interrupt by a Menchi speaking again.
"I said to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious... none of you made anything remotely delicious. You all almost did the same thing. Their was no effort made... Just when I thought somebody had actually tried, they only changed the appearance. No one tried to emphasize the taste. I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!"
"Pork dishes are all the same..." Hanzo muttered in defeat
"Just say that once more. Any more crap from you, and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out." She said with anger and resentment towards all the applicants.
"There's Menchi's bad habit again... After all, only a handful of chefs in the entire world can satisfy Menchi" Buhara thought looking down at the arguing woman.
"Don't you mess with me! I don't want any lip from a bunch of amateurs who can't even roast a pig! Hey! What did you just say? Why don't you repeat it to my face?! In other word, you people don't have the guts to try anything new." She said yelling and sitting down.
"Shut up! I'm not trying to become a cook or a gourmet... I want to be a Hunter!" Todo, the big blonde haired guy, yelled making other applicants agree in unison. "My goal is to become a Black-List Hunter, and I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!"
"Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiner... Better luck next year?" She said in a childish tone.
"Why you..." Todo became red with anger and embarrassment. He tried swinging at her. "Don't mock me!"
Trying to hit her, Buhara suddenly got in the way and knocked him all the way to the furthest wall while Menchi looked on. "Buhara, don't interfere."
"Well... If I hadn't intervened, you'd have killed him then, right?"
"Probably." She stood up holding knives in her hands. "Let me clarify this... We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art. You lack focus and and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!"
Menchi explained while she juggled the knives was enough to silence the crowd of applicants. Ayami held resentment but a bit of respect for Menchi however it didn't change the fact they still failed. She glanced at Hisoka who only smirked and held up a card prepared to throw it at Menchi but he booming voice coming from the airship stopped him.
"That said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant."
"That's the symbol of the Hunter's Association! Is it someone from the selection committee?" Someone from the crowd yelled. Netero fell from the great heights of the airship to the ground surprising some people.
"Who's that old geezer?"
"The Chairman of the the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter's Exam... Chairman Netero." Menchi explained with adoration of the powerful man.
"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So Menchi-kun..."
"Yes, sir."
"You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" Ayami noted that the old man had been looking at her chest making any first impressions worth noted and quite frankly disappointing. No different than Hisoka. Gross.
"No sir... I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary." She addmitted defeatedly.
"In other words, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable.
"Yes sir. When cooking is involved, I lose control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as examiner, so please redo the Second Phase!"
Netero hummed in agreement. "But it would be difficult to find another examiner in such short notice."
"I apologize..."
"Very well. How about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner. But you must also participate in the new test you propose. Is that acceptable? Im certain that will help the applicants to accept the results."
"That's true...Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!"The crowd started to murmur amongst each other making sure this was real. "Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" She said pointing up.
"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can." Everyone got on the airship and waited for it to arrive at its destination. Ayami took the liberty to try to activate the dark Nen but there was no use in trying. When she trie door the third time in an hour, Gitta who had been watching her the whole time, chuckled at her failed attempt and ended up getting glared at by Ayami. She looked down and heard her labored breathing in the quiet empty room they had chosen to stay in. She looked at the marks on her arms starting to resemble a shape. All of the marks made perfect circles. Four out of the five circles were filled in while the fifth one was empty. She got irritated and looked around to see if there was anything to cover them with. She settled with some wrapping bandages she found in the cabinet of the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror of the ridiculous outfit she had to wear to "blend in". Her first plan was to find her old clothes. She hadn't been giving much time to be with her family in the mansion but she could tell there was an off atmosphere. Though they were quite welcoming when she returned, her family's character changed. Hell, she even thought her own twin changed. He had become less emotional yet more attached. She sat down next to him laying her head on his lap while he read a book. He put his hand on her head as she closed her eyes to not look at him in his freaky form of a man.
A few hours had passed in comfortable silence until an announcement said they had arrived. They got up and out and saw Hisoka so they joined him. Ayami jumped onto him with her small form like a little sister would do to annoy a big brother. Hisoka simply laughed while onlookers looked disturbed at the weird emotions the three showed around each other. This made many people want to avoid them even more.
"Now everyone. Look down there." Menchi guided everyone to a nearby cliff.
"What is that?" Someone said.
"A Spider Eagle's web."
"They build webs down there?" Gon asked. A gust of wind blew towards the people and some stepped back out of fear.
"Look below the web. Those are Spider Eagle eggs."
"Spider Eagles build there webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. The eggs are also known as dream eggs." Netero exlained further.
"W-wait a minute... you don't mean?" Todo stuttered as he looked up to Menchi.
"I sure do." With that said she ran and jumped off the cliff scaring and surprising some applicants who watched her fall until she took ahold of one of the strings and swung to maintain balance. Ayami noticed that people standing further back than from the crowd watching her were most likely to not try. This made her happy since the more people try what she's doing the more tension the web would be under could cause it to snap.
"Even if she grabs some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio wondered out loud. Menchi let go of the string making people gasp and Todo cover his eyes in fear. She kept going and got hold of one egg while falling.
"Hey... She jumped down! Is she trying to kill herself?" Yelled Leorio as the crowd saw her vanish.
"No, she's not." Kurapika pointed out. A strong gust of wind came from the cliff blowing Menchi back up to he crowd.
"That looks... fun!" Killua said along with Gon. Ayami smiled nostalgically when she heard him and was glad he still had a sense of adventure since she was gone. She saw how happy he was and thought of home. Home after she'd left changed him, but Gon was changing him too. He almost seemed normal which Ayami knew wasn't okey with their family but honestly wanted a better life for him. She saw him with the potential to become a powerful and great assassin but she also saw the light and spark of a child wanting adventure which conflicted her about Gon. She just hoped that nothing bad would happen to her family.
"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up to the web." Netero said interrupting Ayami's thoughts.
"There. Now I just need to boil the egg." Menchi said holding up the egg showing the crowd.
"Y-you must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there..." Todo said with a shaky voice.
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon said while he, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio jumped off falling down.
"Okay. Count me in!" Hanzo said running off of the cliff followed by more applicants.
"Wait! I haven't finished explaining everything!" Menchi yelled after them.Many of the applicants were holding onto the web. Some started to let go but something was off.
"Let's go!" Leorio said after the first applicant let go.
"Not yet." Gon yelled.
"Why?" Leorio retorted.
"There's no wind. There isn't always an updraft." Killua explained as the other man fell to his death.
"Then when's the next one?"
"Wait." Everyone's focus went to Gon as he closed his eyes and fell silent only the wind being heard. The web starting to loosen scaring some people.
"The web won't hold us all!" Kurapika yelled to everyone.
"Gon, not yet?" Killua asked but never getting an answer.
"Damn, I can't wait for an updraft." One applicant said letting go. Some others let go but plummeted to there death.
"It's gonna snap!"
"Now!" Shouted Gon. Everyone took ahold of an egg as they fell letting the draft carry them back up. Ayami looked at the people still waiting by the ship while they were in the air. I guess they fail.
Everyone who had passed waited and got to eat the delicious boiled eggs. Ayami was especially surprised by the flavor. "This is damned good!"
"Much better than the eggs you buy at the store!" Hanzo said with a mouthful of egg.
"I can see why they're called dream eggs" Kurapika said looking at his friends. The other applicants who had not gone and failed looked at the eating crowd.
"Hey Todo-San. Would you like a bite?" Gon asked holding up his egg to him. He took a bit out of it and was filled with emotion.
"It's... So good..."
"Now you've experienced the joy of discovering how good something can taste. We're risking our lives for that joy." Menchi said walking up to them.
"I was completely outclassed this year. I'll be back next year!" To do respectfully said bowing to Menchi.
While Ayami was eating her egg and part of Gitta since she enjoyed it so much she noticed the interaction that Gon had. What a strange kid. She smiled as she looked back and saw the opportunity to steal Hisoka's egg which he laughed at her attempts to reach for it when he lifted it high above his head.
The applicants have learned that, whether your a Black-List Hunter or Gourmets Hunter, calling yourself a Hunter requires an enormous amount of determination. Only 42 applicants remain.
I hope you like this chapter and remember to comment and vote:)