Sorry for the delay. My schoolwork has tendency to kill me…
Me: I own HunterXHunter.
Disclaimer: No, you don't
Me: I do.
Disclaimer: You don't. You can ask them. *point at Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio and Hisoka.*
Me(sigh in defeat) Yes yes, I don't own HunterXHunter, though I did in my daydreaming life.
Disclaimer: Very well. Now, have a nice read you guys, forget her.
Me: I don't get it. Why can't I own HunterxHunter? (continued to mumble)
Disclaimer: As I said, just forget her.
Task 6: Cooking X Failure?
A/N: I do enjoy writing this chapter, haha. Though I don't know it will be good or bad. And I will follow 2011 series, so I won't have sushi part. Hell, I know how to make sushi…
English isn't my born language, so please dismiss grammar and vocabulary problems.
…..
As they reached the site, Kurapika commented:
"It seems we made it in time."
Lyra nodded. There were a lot of examinees here, but not as much as the first exam. Gon turned around, mumbled:
"Leorio…" The boy startled, feeling something strange. He instantly turned his head back, only to see a grinning Hisoka, who was pointing at something.
Lyra slapped her forehead, muttered: "The more I see his face, the more I hate him…"
Following his finger, they saw a beaten Leorio, who seemed to recover already, leaning against a tree. Gon exclaimed, running towards the man:
"Leorio!"
Kurapika and Lyra followed him. Gon put Leorio's bag down as the man complained about his swollen face:
"Man, that stings… Why am I all beat up?"
Lyra snorted slightly, pretending to be surprised. Kurapika and Gon exchanged their glance. The Kuruta boy whispered to Lyra and Gon:
"We probaly shouldn't tell him what happened."
Gon nodded, but Lyra said softly, which Kurapika barely heard her:
"Too bad. I want to tell him to be grateful that he hasn't been killed yet."
Kurapika looked at her, trying to hold back his laughter. But it didn't fool her. Lyra snapped:
"What is so funny?"
Kurapika lost his battle not to laugh, which puzzled Gon and Leorio. Wiping his tears, he said:
"It just… haha… Lyra, you are pouting."
"What?" She asked in pure disbelief. "No way! How can I…"
"How can't you? I have to admit… your face is same color as your hair now." With that, he continued to laugh.
"Stop that, Kurapika!" She hissed. Feeling danger, he stopped immediately. The girl was planning to find a way to shut his mouth with her daggers. But before she could do that, someone voiced out:
"Hey, Gon!"
They all turned to see Killua, except Leorio, of course. Gon said cheerfully as his face brightened:
"Killua!"
"I can't believe that you actually got here." The white hair boy said as he walked over to them, still holding his skateboard. "I thought you were done for."
Gon explained:
"I just tracked Leorio's cologne."
Killua looked surprised.
"Cologne? That was how…" Killua eyed Gon as if the green boy were alien. "You are weird." Finally, he commented. Lyra bet that Killua had same thoughts as she early. Gon sounded like a dog. None of them intended to insult Gon, they just couldn't help it.
Satotsu's voice made them pay attention to him. Truthfully, Lyra doubted that he actually had superhuman ability.
"Excellent work, everyone." He clapped his hands, speaking in his smooth voice. "The Second Exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park." She mentally groaned. Didn't they have a break? They had just arrived ! "So, I will take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."
Then he walked into the forest without looking back. Watching his retreating form, Lyra startled as the door behind her began to open. All examinees were nervous. Behind that door was beautiful white house and large yard. Standing in front of the house was two Hunters, or at least, Lyra believed they were. One of which was a girl with green hair, who was sitting comfortable in a couch. The other… Lyra grimaced. He was hu… no, enormous guy.
They heard the teenager girl ask:
"Will all applicants who passed the First Exam please enter? Welcome. I'm the Second Exam's examiner, Menchi."
The only things Lyra could think of now was: Menchi was nothing to compare to this guy standing behind her. Though he didn't look so clever, this gigantic guy made the former assassin shiver for some reason.
Please don't tell me…
He introduced himself:
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner."
He was a examiner, too? Lyra found it hard to believe. She shook her head. They were Hunters, maybe they were a bit strange, but their power was undeniable. She shouldn't underestimate their ability.
Strange sound snapped Lyra out of her trance. She looked at Kurapika, he looked confused, too.
What was that sound?
To answer their question, Menchi looked at her company:
"You must be hungry." The female's statement made Lyra feel worse.
Buhara responded in a bored tone:
"I'm starving…"
"No…" Lyra murmured under her breath as she self-conscious came closer Kurapika, grabbing his left arm. That Second Exam might be her worst nightmare.
Menchi stood up, explained with a smile:
"There you have it. The Second Exam will involve…" The nervous atmosphere fell down them. "… cooking!" Menchi exclaimed. Lyra turned pale.
"Cooking…" She repeated. Her voice sounded cracked.
No way in hell! She screamed in panic.
Other examinees seemed to be surprised too: "Cooking?"
"What?"
"Wait! We are here to take the Hunter Exam."
Menchi explained:
"That is quite right. Your challenge for the Second Exam is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."
"Why do we have to cook?" Lyra heard a random applicant ask.
"That's because…" Menchi suddenly raised her voice in amusement. "We are Gourmet Hunters." . Lyra knew there was many kinds of Hunters, but she just didn't expect this situation.
But the many examinees started laughing. Someone stated:
"Man, what a letdown."
"They are Gourmet Hunters…"
Menchi's emerald eyes narrowed in annoyance. A fat applicant, who Lyra believed named Todo, asked sarcastically:
"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?"
Menchi didn't bother to answer the question. She simply said:
"Buhara."
The enormous man stepped forward, announced:
"The required ingredient is pork."
"Pork?" More questions appeared. "As in pig meat?"
Buhara continued as if he never be interrupted by those questions: "You are free to use meat from any kinds of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if both of us find it delicious."
"And we will evaluate more than just the taste." Menchi added. "Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When we have both eaten our fill, the exam will end."
Lyra sighed in relief. Only pork… only pork… It sounded like she was just trying to convince herself.
Todo waved his hand:
"We get it. We get it. Let's just start."
"Then…" Buhara slapped his stomach, which make a sound like a ring. "The Second Exam begins!"
The second he said that, all of examinees ran as fast as possible. Lyra said, forced her sound to be normal:
"We only have to catch a pig and cook it, right?"
"Yes. But why are you so nervous?" In her mind, Lyra slapped herself. He caught her. No way could she tell him. She cleared her throat awkwardly, said:
"Unexpected."
Kurapika still eyed her doubtfully, but didn't say anything else.
Not knowing about their conversation, Leorio commented: "Catch a pig and cook it. This is way easier than the First Exam."
Killua murmured: "I hope it will be that simple."
Lyra almost forgot Killua. He knew. He knew that she didn't know cooking. Fate must be kidding her…
All of sudden, Gon slid down the green grass. Killua opened his mouth in an "O" shape, finding it interesting and decided follow Gon. Unfortunately for him, because Gon had stopped, Killua bumped into his friend's back. Same as Leorio and Kurapika.
Lyra shook her head:
"Boys…"
Killua asked Gon in an angry, yet accused tone:
"What was that about, Gon?"
The said boy answered: "Found them."
"Huh?" Killua looked quzzled. Leorio exclaimed:
"Pigs!"
Exactly, pink pigs were chewing on bones of an animal that they didn't know about. Pigs ate bones… Leorio asked:
"Eh? They are…"
"Don't tell me…" Kurapika grimaced as he realized in terror. "They are carnivores?"
One of those pigs finished its bones then started roaring furiously. All of them ran as fast as possible for their dear lives. The furious pigs followed them. On their way, they met other examinees, who ran as they saw those pigs. But they were unlucky. The pigs easily defeated them, sending them flying few meters away.
Leorio still had ability to yell:
"Those pigs are crazy!"
"What are they, Mr I-know-all?" Lyra asked. Maybe Kurapika's knowledge would help her deal with those crazy pigs.
Being annoyed by her nicknames for him, but Kurapika still responded:
"The Great Stamp, the world's most ferocious pigs. They use their large, stout noses to send their enemies flying." (A/N: I know Kurapika didn't explain those things, but I couldn't help it. Please bear with me, ok?)
"Did you say those things are their noses?"
"I believe."
"They are creepy!"
Todo lifted up a stone, yelled: "Take that!" And using his strength to throw the stone at a pig, which easily blocked the attack with its nose. Same as Hanzo, his kunais were useless. Thanks to his speed, Hanzo could live. Gon shouted, swing his pole, but being countered by a pig. The green boy jumped, and the pig crased into the tree. The moment the pig turned to attack Gon again, fruits from the tree fell down, hitting its forehead. With that, Gon realized something… Jumping and swing his pole, Gon used all of his strength to hit the animal's forehead. The pig roared and… fainted.
Lyra stared at Gon in awe. Killua smiled:
"Could their forehead be their weak points."
"Obvious." Lyra nodded.
Kurapika analysed intelligently:
"So, the pigs evolved large, strong noses in order to protect their soft foreheads." Did he notice that every one was listening to them?
Knowing their weak points, it became easier to beat them.
Killua suddenly grinned at her: "Sis, now it's your turn to cook."
"What?" Lyra twitched. That mischievous kid… "Killua, you'll pay for that comment. Anyways, we should come back." She dragged the pig with her.
It didn't take her long time to grill that pig. It was easy. In her mind, Lyra hoped that was enough. If there was another cooking test, she would be doomed. There wasn't any rules tell her that assassin had to know cooking.
Lyra Lilian didn't know cooking.
When Todo finished his pig, he said (well, Lyra didn't see if he was different from a pig):
"Now, eat the pig and send me to the next test!"
Menchi responded in a bored tone: "Okay, it's evaluation time. Taste testing."
All Lyra saw was: Buhara was eating as if he hadn't eaten before.
"Taste good." He stated. Todo nodded in approval.
But Menchi didn't go easy on Todo, she showed her displeasant:
"It's overcooked. The tough texture ruins the flavour of the meat."
"What?" Todo yelled at her "You haven't tried it yet."
"It's plain as a day." She snapped. Despite of that fact, Buhara still devoured the meat.
Hanzo gave his meat to two examiners confidently as he proudly stated:
"OK! Dive in!"
"Taste good." Buhara said, it seemed the previous pig was nothing to his stomach. Menchi shook her head, raised up the "Fail" sign.
"Why?" Hanzo shouted in disbelief.
"Charred on the outside, uncooked inside." She didn't bother to look at the stunned ninja. "Your fire was too strong."
Gradually, Buhara always said it tasted good, then Menchi disagreed. One by one. Kurapika observed:
"No one has passed yet… and Menchi haven't taken a bite."
Menchi yelled: "Can't anyone out there satisfy me?"
"That's is!" Kurapika snapped his fingers excitedly. "This phase of the exam is a cooking test, but they are just judging us on originality and power of observation."
"I see…" Leorio and Gon nodded knowingly.
"Intelligent." Lyra muttered.
It was Leorio turned. He looked overconfident when he asked:
"How do you like my cooking?"
Menchi angrily overthrew his cooking and yelled, even more furiously:
"Is this supposed to be a kidding meal?"
"I'm next!" Gon went on. His meat was decorated with flower. But Menchi mercilessly overthrew it… again. She growled:
"It's basically the same thing!"
Kurapika confidently stepped forward. "I'm next. Please judge my creation." His cooking looked good. Very good.
With a frown still on her face, Menchi mumbled:
"Finally, something that resembles an actual dish." She took a bite… and threw it, which Buhara caught and continued to eat. Kurapika looked shocked. Menchi lectured him. "Appearance is important but only if it also tastes good. You're no better than number 403."
"Too bad!" Leorio laughed.
"You are no more." Lyra said to him.
"Said to the one who even couldn't cook the pig properly." Leorio countered smoothly. Lyra twitched. Fortunately for him, she was taking part in Hunter Exam and no longer an assassin of that organization.
"Yeah, whatever." Lyra admitted defeat as she remembered that moment. Menchi was scary when it came to cooking…
Buhara looked contented: "I'm stuffed." He must be a monster, he even ate Lyra's terrible cooking with a happy face.
Menchi said ironically: "Yeah! I'm stuffed too." She stood up, announced in annoyance. "Therefore, no one passed."
With that, everyone started panicing.
"It's over!"
"What's the hell!"
Lyra stuttered:
"W-What did she say?" Failed?
They all startled as Todo furiously punched his cooking range. He yelled angrily:
"I won't accept it. I absolutely refuse to accept it!"
"In the end, you have still failed." Menchi said with bored expression. She didn't bother to look at him.
"Shut up! We asked for fork, so we risked our lives-…"
The female examiner raised her voice, shutting his mouth: "I said to prepare the fork in a manner we both found delicious. None of you made anything remotely delicious. Not mention to the one who doesn't know of cooking." Lyra sighed. Was it her fault that she didn't know of cooking?. "You all did the same thing. There was no effort made. Just when I thought someone actually tried, they just changed the appearance. No one attempted to emphasize the flavour." And now she was yelling at all examinees. "I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously."
Lyra said in quiet voice:
"If you don't know it, how can you take it seriously?" Honestly, she was annoyed now. She would fail the exam because of a cooking test? No way.
Ninja Hanzo shrugged:
"Pork dishes are all the same…."
Now Menchi snapped. She grabbed his collar with a demonic expression on her face as she shouted at the poor young male:
"Just say that once more, any more crap from you and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out! Don't mess with me! I don't want any lip from a bunch of amatures who can't even roast a pig!" She shook Hanzo violently, making the ninja sweat nervously. "Repeat it to my face again, you jerk!" Finally, she came back to her seat, cross-legged. "In other words, you people don't have the guts to try anything new." She didn't change her decision.
Wrestler Todo pointed his finger at the woman, declared angrily:
"Shut up! I'm not trying to become a cook or a gourmet. I want to be a Hunter!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Lyra heard many people argeeing. But it would be unwise if they picked up a fight with two examiners. She didn't know anything about their ability.
"My goal is to be a Black list Hunter." Todo added. Menchi's eyebrow twitched as he continued. "I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!"
Each time Menchi responded him, she never bothered to open her eyes to look at the fat man. Same as this time as she calmly shot back:
"Too bad that you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiners. Better luck next years?" She suggested.
His face turned to red because of wrath. He lunged towards Menchi:
"Don't mock me!"
But not a second laters, Buhara had already hit him, sending the guy flying off.
Menchi said in unnaturally soft voice:
"Buhara, don't interfere."
"Why? If I hadn't intervened, you would have killed him, right?" He asked her as people noticed that Menchi had already drawn her knives.
"Probably." The said woman stood up, slowly walking down to the yard, facing the examinees. "Let me clarify this… We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious monsters, searching for igredients." She spinned her knives around. "Every Hunters knows some form of martial arts. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!"
Hisoka smirked, drew his cards, ready to challenge. Lyra was ready to pull the trigger, despite not knowing she should shoot Hisoka or Menchi. But a voice interrupted them from above:
"That said…" Everyone looked up at the sky, seeing an airship with the sign of the Hunter Assosiation. "It would be excessive to fail every single applicant."
Much to their surprise, a figure jumped off the airship, causing a crater in the ground. When the dust cleared, they could see an old man in white and blue outfit standing there. His clogs noisily went to Menchi's direction. Leorio uttered:
"Who… Who is that old geezer?"
Menchi answered:
"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He is in charge of Hunter Exam, Chairman Netero."
Lyra couldn't help but stare at him in awe. The old man known as Netero spoke in quite playful voice:
"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take actions when there is an issue, like now. Menchi." With his appearance, the former assassin started to hope up.
"Yes?" replied Menchi.
"You failed all applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?
"No, sir." Menchi started to feel nervous as she tried to find an explanation. "I lost my cool when one of candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters." Finally, she decided to apologize. "And I made the exam harder than necessary."
"In other words, you are aware that this accept was unacceptable."
"Yes, sir." The female avoided the eye contact with the Chairman. "When cooking is involved, I lose my cool.I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as examiner, so please redo the Second Exam."
"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice."
"I'm sorry." Menchi bowed. But Netero just laughed and said:
"Very well, how about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner. But you must also partcipate in the new test you propose." Menchi's eyes widened. "Is that acceptable?I'm certain that will help the applicants to accept the results."
Lyra flinched. Cooking again? Cooking was definitely not her type.
Menchi smiled:
"That's true. Then the new challenge will be..." She announced. "boiled eggs."
Everyone gasped: "Boiled eggs?"
"Chairman, can you take us to Mt Split-in-a-Half in your airship?" Menchi asked Netero, gestured towards a mountain that could be seen from there.
"Mr Spilt-In-a-Half? I see what you are doing. Certainly, I can."
~~Later~~
Where they landed was top of mountain with a deep canyon split it. It could explain about its name. Everyone eyed the deep canyon. Someone was excited, someone was nervous and scared. Lyra stood beside Killua, seeing his expression. He was very amused and focused.
"Wh… What is that?" A random applicant asked.
"A Spider Eagle's web." Menchi replied.
Gon questioned: "They build webs down there?"
Suddenly, a cold and strong wind blew up from beneath the canyon. Todo was taken back while Gon and Killua looked curious.
"Look below the webs." Menchi said. "Those are Spider Eagle eggs." From there, they could see white objects hanging in the webs.
Chairman Netero explained:
"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of most difficult ingrediants to obtain. The eggs are also known as dream eggs."
Todo spluttered: "Wai…Wait a minute, you don't mean that us…"
"I sure do." Menchi cut in. And she jumped down the canyon without hesitation. Everyone gasped in pure disbelief.
Lyra said: "So… we only need to get those eggs to boil?"
"Yes." Kurapika nodded. Leorio mocked her:
"Are you sure that you know how to boil an eggs?"
"I know, thank you for corcerning." She shot back.
From above, they could see the female examiner swinging on the webs.
"How will she climb back up?" Leorio looked down at Menchi.
Suddenly, Menchi jumped down and took an egg in process. Todo hurriedly covered his eyes with his hands, Leorio asked: "Is she killing herself?"
"No, she is not." Was Kurapika's response. Intelligent as always. The very strong wind appeared again, this time with Menchi. Gon and Killua stared in awe.
"That looks fun…" The white hair boy commented.
Netero said: "The ravine has updrafts that helped the hatched chick fly up to the web."
Along his explanation, Menchi landed safely with the egg.
"There, now I just need to boil the egg."
"You must be joking." Todo looked at her incredulously. "No reasonale person would jump down there."
Gon exclaimed:
"I have been waiting for this!" With that, he jumped and Killua, Kurapika and Leorio followed suit. Lyra face palmed:
"Oh boy, they are energetic…Yes, it is better than cooking!" She tied up her hair and jumped too.
"Okay, count me in!" Hanzo said. "I can't lose to a girl!"
Menchi called after them: "Wait! I haven't finished explained everything!"
"Catch you later." A random guy said and jump down. He successfully got the egg. Leorio smiled:
"Let's go."
"Not yet." Gon said.
"Why not?"
Killua narrowed his eyes, gazing the one who had jumped down.
"There is now wind. There isn't always an updraft."
"When is the next one?" Leorio's patien was running low.
"Wait." Gon said, closing his eyes. He was trying to sense the nature. His nose twitched.
The web started tearing. Leorio yelled: "Oh my god!"
"The web can't hold all of us." Kurapika said.
"Not yet, Gon?" Killua turned to ask his friends.
Some people couldn't wait for the wind, recklessly jumped down and never came back. Lyra mumbled:
"People die because of their stupidty, too?"
Leorio yelled as he looked at the web:
"It's gonna snap!"
Gon opened his eyes: "NOW!"
They didn't need to be told twice. Everyone jumped off the webs and took their eggs. The wind blew again, drifting them up. Lyra Lilian never experienced that feelings before… As she thought that, perhaps becoming Lyra Lilian was a good idea.
They heard Netero laughing.
"And the rest of you?" Menchi smirked. "I guess you quit."
They began boiling the eggs until they were properly cooked. Never had she ever tasted something so delicious like that. This made her have a thought of becoming Gourmet Hunter someday, before she remembered that she didn't know of remarked:
"This is damned good. Much better than the eggs you buy in a store."
Kurapika nodded.
"I can see why they are called dream eggs." Kurapika nodded while Killua was eating happily. Out of the corner of her eyes, the red hair girl saw Gon offering an egg to Todo. Lyra tried to force herself, but her lips didn't move a bit. Well, perhaps this wasn't enough. She looked at the horizon. The red sunset reflected her red hair.
By the end of the second phase, only 43 examinees remained.
A/N: Done! And now you can judge, hehe…Again, please dismiss my grammar problem and my terrible errors in vocabulary.