Hello again! Did you forget about us? Well, you can't forget Kaia… Or Taru, I guess… Maybe… Anywho, this is another chapter. I just learned a new word, 'diminutive'. Taru just told me that I was being very 'Diminutive' to her character, Taru… That wasn't weird…
Alright! The answer to the last chapters Riddle is: A Book Keeper!
Correct guessers?: UpAllNight!
Oh, is that all?
Are you guys skipping out on the riddles? Or are they too hard… I'll make easier ones~
Anywho, get ready for a REALLY, REALLY long story~
Summary of the previous episode(s):
The septet of Kurapika, Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kurisutaru, Kaia, and Akihiko *Takes a deep breath to continue* finally made it out of the tunnels. Kaia has her first real scene with Hisoka, refusing to play his game with him. She, again, makes Taru go into partial demon mode, but Akihiko distracts Taru out of it. Neko, known as 'weird alien dog', happens to be scaring Akihiko, who has a fear of dogs. However, Neko is also scaring the rest of the group for his strange abilities to suddenly appear and to have everyone forget he exists. 'Runa' appears, taking over Kaia, and does various things that annoy people. Who is 'Runa'? We'll leave it for you to figure out. Taru is led astray by a fake Kurapika, but manages to sort-of-accidentally kill him. She then has to act as a temporary replacement of Gon, who arrived late for Hisoka. Meanwhile, Kaia and Killua have a lovely adventure with him being mean the whole time, and ends up probably getting Kaia sick. Might she get sick? I am Kaia and I have again hacked into the real world! (No, Kaia you haven't. Try not to die, though, it's lethal.) Is there something else between them? These are very useless questions, because you readers have all probably come up with them already. Everyone arrives not-dead at the end of 'Into the Mist', and Taru lets herself fall into the White World. She meets with the original, getting hints into her past and learning about why she is here. Her next mission: Crack the code on the phone. It may hold the secrets and information that can save -literally- the world. She wakes up to find out that there is someone in the exam that shouldn't be there. Not at all. Who is he?
Whatever we call it
❇ℭ❇
Unknown POV
The sky was an eerie grey, casting a sullen glow upon the broken bones strewn across the marsh's floor. I quickly glanced around to check that no one was looking, before slipping into the trees at the edge of the Swindler's swamp. The second exam hadn't quite started yet, and I had a little business to do beforehand. I cringed as my large feet crunched on skeletons, hoping the noise didn't reach the ears of the receding Hunter Examinees. I ventured deeper into the swamp, only stopping once I spotted blue marking tape wrapped around a drooping pale tree. I slightly jumped as a man in a black tux stepped out from behind it.
"Are you the one I contacted?" He asked, his hat turned low to cover his eyes.
"Yeah." I replied, weary. This guy was giving me the creeps. He called me here, without telling me why. Normally, I would have declined, but the man's domineering voice on the other end of the phone had changed my mind. "State your business, and be quick. I have others waiting for my return, and I'd rather not have them make a scene because I failed to show up."
The man smirked, seeing my uneasiness, and sweat broke out on my forehead. "My boss has offered you a deal." He said, rubbing his hands together. "All you have to do is prevent any… complications… that may put an end to our plans. Doing so would insure something you madly desire."
"Something I desire?" I felt my eyes brighten, and silently kicked myself for letting it show.
"It will go like this." The man began explaining the plan, but I rubbed my square nose doubtfully.
"I don't see what's in it for me." I growled, worried this was some kind of trick just to lure me out. "I'm the Rookie Crusher. No rookies means no crushing."
"What better way to crush rookies than to be one of the only few that pass? Isn't that what you desire?"
A slow grin spread across my face, and I looked away in an attempt to keep him from seeing.
"Well then," The man continued. "I'll take that as a yes to contributing. I'll see you in the exam."
I looked back, startled to find the man was no where in sight. He had vanished. A few moments later I heard the distinctive scream of that passed-out-bunny-fearer. She had awoken.
Kurisutaru's POV
I stared, frozen in place, at the man standing behind Menchi. Ice crawled into my veins, turning me into crystallized slush. I knew him. Somewhere. Not in my world. In this one. In this one.
His coal eyes crashed into mine, the corner of his lip curling up into a cruel smile. My heart stopped. Fear took it's place in pumping through my veins. I wanted to be anywhere but here. I needed to be anywhere but here. I couldn't scream. Couldn't yell. Couldn't utter a sound. Couldn't breath. His eyes bore deeper into mine, ripping apart any resolve I might have had. All I wanted to do was run. But I couldn't. I was frozen. He was dangerous. He was beyond dangerous. I had to get away.
His eyes left mine as he smugly stared at my sister. My innards collapsed into a pile of rubber. I couldn't save her. I didn't. She died. This is why I never told her anything. To save her from him. But he wasn't the boss. He wasn't the Blue Rose. That's right. He isn't the Blue Rose. And now I have a second chance. I am not the original. I was not born here. I did not grow up learning and preparing secretly for the Hunter Exam. That's why I'm different. That's why, this time, I will win.
I shakily stood up, causing his eyes to flicker back toward me. I faced him, head on, from the distance of only a few feet. And I just stared. Determined. Letting him know he had not won, not yet, not ever. He smirked before walking past, following a confused Menchi and Buhara. Round one: Taru winner.
"Kurisutaru?" Kurapika's soft, worried voice gently urged me out of my daze. I looked up into his dazzling silver eyes and pulled myself together.
"I'm fine. I just… I know him."
His eyes sparked. "Know him? From what I just saw, it must not have been a good experience."
I shuddered. "He… I think he works for the boss. My boss. A very bad man."
"Boss?"
"I'm sorry, I can't remember much more. Only that the boss was called the Blue Rose." I noticed Kaia's eyes flicker toward me, and they held an expression of subtle recognition. Had she heard of the Blue Rose too? I took a step forward, but missed my footing, and stumbled. Kurapika reached out and caught my good arm, easily steadying me. "Thanks…" For some odd reason, I was really happy that he steadied me. Really happy that he could support me. What was with that? Baka, you like him! Kaia? Yes. I kidnapped your mind. Farewell, because this actually hurts my head, you know, doing this…. WAIT KAIA HOW ARE YOU…..
A blob in the distance caught my attention, and I watched as Tonpa crawled out of the forest swamp. He looked around, caught my gaze, and smiled. I didn't like that smile. I looked at the other examinees, noticing something else that worried me. I leaned in toward Kaia, whispering.
"A lot of examinees that would have passed were knocked unconscious after the tomato incident, and ended up not passing, right?"
"Yep!" She replied. "They had… difficulties…"
"So why is there still 148 remaining applicants, same as there would have been before?"
She stood still, drawing her eyes around her as she counted. "It was magic." She began messing with a string of yarn, bouncing it up and down. It's red fabric flowed gracefully through the air like a wisp of memory, seeming so close yet so hard to touch.
"Everyone," Satotz called out. "Excellent work. Phase Two of the Exam with occur here, in the Visca Forest Reserve. So, I will take my leave, best of luck to all of you." He walked away, in his robotic stride. We turned as Menchi cleared her throat, seeing her with Buhara and the man in black. Another shiver went down my spine.
"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter the grounds?" We walked through the gates, many of us gasping at the beauty around us. I frowned slightly as Kaia glared intently at a small rock, and finally, after a moment of silence, the rock slid back. Like, literally slid away into the deep forest. Kaia smiled to herself and nodded before following the rest of the group…
"Kaia!" I whispered, leaning toward her. "How did you do that?"
"Do what? Oh, the spy? I just told it to go away~" She answered happily, doing a little dance. She's starting to scare me. A giant white building stood triumphant behind the examiners, while beautifully crafted trees grew pleasantly around it. Akihiko, especially, found the trees fascinating. He couldn't peel his face away from them, and he seemed to be glowing. "Welcome!" The turquoise haired Gourmet Hunter continued. "I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner." Akihiko didn't even look at her.
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner."
"My name is none of your concern," The man in black announced. "But I'm the third, and final, examiner." My blood froze. Examiner?
"I don't like you." Her voice was simple, light, yet had a trace of evil hidden in it's darker tones. The brown haired sister beside me faced the man in black with a nearly blank face, the only emotion shown was minor annoyance.
"Hoho? And why would that be?" The man's voice trailed off sweetly, as if he were attempting to butter poisonous bread. Kaia pointed at his hair accusingly with her left hand. her right held Neko… When did she pick him up?
"You hair looks ridiculous!" Well, what she said held truth, and many of the examinees agreeingly laughed. The man's black hair looped around the top of his head, resembling a black bow. He smiled cruelly and turned his head from Kaia and me, laughing to himself.
A huge growling noise echoed throughout the walls, and many examinees were set on edge. It was soon realized the sound came from Buhara's stomach.
"There you have it." Menchi began. "Phase Two will involve…...Cooking!" Protesters rose up, but Menchi put them in their place immediately. Buhara stood.
"The required ingredient is pork. You're free to use meat from any species of Visca Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we examiners find it delicious."
"And," Menchi spoke up. "We will evaluate more than just the taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When us three have eaten our fill, the exam will end."
"I think many of you will find this exam difficult," The man in black smirked. "Perhaps more than you can handle." I felt a strange energy, and I looked behind me at Tonpa. He had a wicked grin on his face, giving me chills. Kurapika cast a worried glance in my direction, so I silently shook my head in assurance. Akihiko caught the movement and appeared at my side, in between me and Kurapika. They both glared intensely at each other.
"WAIT!" Kaia shouted out, startling almost everyone there. Neko, now sitting at her feet, wagged his black tail lightly. "We are free to use any of the plants out in the forest as well, right?" The brown haired girl glanced around. "You never said anything against it…"
"Oh?" Menchi started, smiling gently. Apparently she was glad someone was being creative. "Yes. You may use anything you find in the forest, provided you know how to use it."
"Then, the exam's Second Phase," Buhara slammed his hand against his huge stomach. "Begins NOW!" Everyone immediately turned and ran toward the forest. Shouts and angry barks were heard everywhere in the confusion of flailing arms and stumbling legs. A large powerful arm rammed into my back and I fell to the ground. My fingers sunk into the dry earth and I squeezed, crumbling small chunks into dust. Akihiko reached down and slid his fingers around my arm, smiling encouragingly at me to get up. It's not like I was going to stay there anyway.
"Stupid idiots!" I grumbled as I stood, mad at the raging group of examinees.
"Ne, ne, nee-chan!" Kaia cried out while slapping on my arm repeatedly.
"Yes?" I asked when she refused to give me insight on what she wanted. Kaia's grin stretched and morphed across her face.
"The pickles feel like dancing." She tossed a leaf at Akihiko's head. He stared at me, confused.
"Ah, she means that everyone is running into each other in a rush to get to the pigs…"
"AND!" She interrupted me. "AND AND AND! Racecars fly!" I stared at the sky for a moment before sighing and looking at Akihiko's dumbfounded face once more.
"She meant that someone- Oh, see?" I pointed at an older buff man as he hefted a smaller, more agile participant into the air. The poor kid did a few unintentional flips before landing in a tree… I looked back at Akihiko as he stared wide eyed at the missing form of Kaia. Oh yay, now where had she disappeared to? Akihiko started talking about sap, which held no interest for me, and I zoned out searching for Kaia. Ah, there she was. Ordering Kurapika to give her back her nonexistent ice cream. Really Kaia, really? Leorio, who just seconds before was standing next to them, appeared next to us.
"REALLY?" He exclaimed, staring at Akihiko. "The trees back there are known for healing bruises?"
Akihiko looked stunned for a moment, before brightening. "Yeah! But it's only a theory, no scientific studies have come out positive." They continued chatting and, once again, I zoned out.
Scratching my jaw, I realized some kind of gozz was attached to it. I tugged it off, wincing as the tape was ripped away from my skin.
The ground in front of me was churned from hundreds of scrambling contestants. I stepped over newly made holes and dropped the gozz into a close trashcan before dragging my feet over to Kurapika and Kaia, ditching the two sap fanatics. "Kaia, just ask Mr. Wind for some ice cream."
"But I want my nonexistent ice cream. Not anyone else's!"
"For the last time, I don't have your ice cream." Kurapika clenched his jaw.
"Just ignore her. She'll eventually move on to another target." I patted my sister on the head.
"I will too! But not right now. Right now I really want my ice cream. KURAPIKA! GIVE IT BACK!"
The blonde turned his head from her and scanned the surrounding forest, which was now becoming thicker with stickery weeds. Strands of dark curly moss was dripping from the red-tinted trees and brushed our heads as we went by. Gon, who was a few yards ahead of us, was having fun swiping at them with his fishing pole. One batch got tangled in the hook and he had to pick it out with his fingertips. Killua laughed and dropped a chunk on Gon's head, who in turn dumped some on Killua's. I sidestepped a flying moss ball as their competition intensified. Kaia appeared before the mass of struggling preteens, hands on hips and an angry look on her face. Both boys froze and stared at her. After another moment, Kaia smothered their mouths with green moss and laughed maliciously.
"So," I asked Kurapika, "How has your day been?"
He stared at me, eyebrows raised, with the look of 'Are you seriously asking me such an overused opening question?'
"You can still answer, you know." I nudged him in the side playfully. He turned back toward the path in front of us.
"Fine, probably."
"What happened after we got separated?"
"Not much. We… Miscalculated where Gon was, and were attacked by strawberry dinosaurs of some sort. After we left, Leorio found Hisoka. Akihiko was useless pretty much the whole time. I am, however, interested in what happened to you."
I stared down at the small, multicolored rocks that peppered the pale, dry earth beneath me. Reds and blues slowly sped by as I stepped past them, their shimmering surfaces replaced by dust. Flashing images of my blue sword sliding through Kurapika sickened my mind. Cold suddenly stiffened my body, and I shivered.
"Here."
I looked up, surprised. I hadn't even answered his question yet. Kurapika was facing away, holding out his neatly folded tabard. A faint smile touched my lips as I took it, wrapping it around my neck and shoulders like a scarf. His scent was sweet, like lilac, with something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Wait, lilac? I squinted my eyes as I peered up at him, momentarily wondering if he really was a girl. Internally laughing at my own thoughts, I snuggled closer to the fabric before speaking.
"One of those apes took your place without me noticing, and I got off track. I caught on, eventually, that he wasn't you." I stared ahead, rigid. "I killed him."
Kurapika's eyes widened as he looked at me. Then, they softened. "It wasn't a human."
"Does it really matter?" I replied. "We're risking our lives to be here, and we're also risking our sanity. We have to be prepared to kill our opponents, whether they're human or not. It still hurts."
He stared at me a for moment, while I could see his own thoughts whirling in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kaia jumped between us.
"NEE-CHAN!" She hurriedly exclaimed, but then frowned. "Why are you wearing that?" I looked down at the tabard caressing my shoulders and felt my face go hot.
"Never mind that, what do you need me for?"
"Oh! It itches!"
"...What are you talking about?"
"I think there's something inside of my shirt!"
I looked at her, annoyed. She interrupted Kurapika and I over something so simple? "Then get it out."
"Nee-chan, it's in my bra."
Kurapika jerked away. "Uhhh…"
A certain perverted old man named Leorio appeared next to us, bending slightly toward Kaia. "Let me get it for you!" He reached out a hand, but was suddenly thrown back as Kurapika's fist implanted itself into his face. "I was just joking! Geez Kurapika!" The blonde calmly set his fist back at his side, watching with content as Leorio's cheek swelled into a dark purple. The other three members of our group turned toward us.
"What's going on?" Killua asked.
"...It's moving, Nee-chan." Kaia paled.
"Oh, that's fantastic." I felt my eyebrow twitch. "It's alive."
"What is?" Gon looked between Kaia and I.
"All of you," I sighed, "Turn away. There is lady business going on now."
"What?" Akihiko, Gon, and Killua simultaneously asked. Kurapika explained.
"Kaia has something in her…" His eyes swivelled to a nearby tree. "Shirt."
"Bra." Leorio corrected, smiling at my sister. Kurapika, apparently as enraged as I was, gripped Leorio by the back of the neck and shoved his head to the ground. I did not try to hide my satisfied laugh.
"Oh?" Killua smirked, turning toward Kaia. "You're wearing a bra? Why? You don't have anything."
"Killua…" Kaia, heartbroken, turned her sad eyes to him. "I didn't know you liked big-breasted women. Are you after my sister?" Everyone froze.
"Eh?!" The white haired teen shrieked. Kurapika glared at him.
"Killua?!" Gon looked amazed at his new best friend. "You like Taru?"
"EHHH?" The ex-assassin looked horrified. I'm officially offended.
"Nee-chan, I hate you!" My sister's angry eyes bore into mine with contempt and jealousy.
"EHHHHHHHH?" I stepped back as if I had been slapped.
"I'm joking, I'll just kill you in your sleep, slowly."
"I don't know what's worse. That I'm actually worried you might, or that you might do that to someone else."
"Well, It's not like that time with Kurapika."
"...What time with Kurapika?"
"Oh no it itches! So much!" Wow. What a fake scared voice.
"Kaia!"
"Nya! Help me! It itches!" She paused. "I think it's biting me!"
"Ok, all of you," I gestured to the others. "Turn away." I will be interviewing her about this 'time with Kurapika' later. She better not think that is just going to slide. Killua turned away last, mumbling 'Kaia baka. I don't… BAKA.' the whole time. I turned back toward my sister as she pulled up her shirt in an attempt to get whatever it was. I jumped back. "AH! It's crawling! Stop it stop it stop it! HURRY!"
"I'M TRYING!" She wailed, grabbing at the insect. "NEE-CHAN! IT'S BITING ME!"
"Is it poisonous?" I began to be worried. "STUPID SPIDER!" The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to gobble them back in. Shoot.
Kurapika swivelled around, eyes flashing a momentary red. "Spider?" There was silence, then the blonde was thrown back as a cyan boot hit him full in the face. It came from me.
"SO SORRY!" I yelped, appalled. I hadn't meant to hit him so hard. Kaia got the spider, and I barely had time to stop her from squishing it between her fingers in disgust. Gon had to see if it was deadly first. She put down her shirt, and was now safe to be seen. Momentary confusion flashed across my face as I noticed a small black device wrapped around Kaia's first finger. She began twiddling with it, frowning, smiling, and laughing maniacally…Ummm...
Kurapika slowly got up from the ground, his hands covering his face. "Ah, it's okay. I deserved it." He spoke through his palms. "Do you want your boot back?" He removed his hands and lifted my boot, tossing it back in my direction. The boot slid easily back on, but I was focussed on his appearance. A giant imprint was molded into half his face. "What?" He asked, noticing my open jaw.
"Um, I may have damaged your skin."
"Ha!" Akihiko patted Kurapika's head, much to the blonde's evident displeasure. "She's never done that to me!"
"Really?" Kurapika easily replied. "Then I must be special."
Akihiko frowned, glared, then turned to me. "Tari! Throw your boot at my face!"
"What?!" I jumped back. "Eww! No! Gross!"
Kaia's POV:
"George" I smiled evilly at Kurapika. He ignored me. ~not for long, though~ "GEORGE!" The blonde twitched.
"Are you talking about Gon?" He didn't even look at me.
"George of the jungle!" I began skipping happily.
"I'm not Gon." He informed me.
"Watch out for that tree~" I sang out, smiling.
"Like I would run into a tr-" Oh, he did. Then he slowly peeled off of the trunk, angrily twitching his eye. "That. Never. Happened."
"What never happened?" I responded easily. He smiled lightly at me.
"Good."
"Oh, you mean you running into a tree? I have it on video." I twirled the video camera I had been secretly holding in my hand for the past 30 minutes.
"KAIA!" He suddenly lunged toward me and desperately clambered for the device. Ah ah, my little Kurapika child, no video cameras for you.
"Kaia, what are you doing?" Taru popped her head around my shoulder.
"KURISUTARU! Help me please!" The blond boy looked at the blond girl with pleading eyes. She turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I smiled.
"I have a video of him running into a tree~" I smiled as she held up her camera.
"I have a picture, send me the video." We grinned casually at each other while I dodged Kurapika's poor attempts at gathering my video camera.
"...Kurisutaru… help…. Me… Please!" The blond boy shouted, apparently he didn't understand what Taru had said.
"No." I guess she did, though. She actually began snapping more pictures of his failed attempts… I AM HUNGRY YOU THIEF OF THE ICE CREAM! Oh, look, Gon seems to have jumped down a hill… I must follow!
Killua took a single glance at what Gon was doing before full heartedly leaping after him with unmatched enthusiasm. Akihiko walked over to the edge of the dip and frowned, oblivious to the oncoming me. Grinning, I slammed into him and giggled as he went (sloppily, mind you…) sliding down the hill after the two boys. He kinda looked like a really big fish on the sand… A fish with human arms and body and legs and a human head. And a fish without scales or gills or huge creepy eyes… Wait, no, I take that back. He has creepy eyes. Especially if you put makeup on them! Anyway, I wasn't going to be left behind, so I fell after them. Not on my seat, mind you, but on my feet. Kinda like I was snowboarding down a hill. Oh wow, this is hard, but it works.
Pushing more pressure on my right foot, I narrowly dodged a stray branch. My hands were flung out beside me for balance as I skated down the grassy slope. I began leaning forward, smiling as the wind swept past my face and tugged at my light brown hair… MY HAIR IS NOT BLONDE! Finally, I caught up to an Akihiko, one who had finally steadied himself and was screaming in fear. Woo, go girly manly screams! Looking behind me I saw Kurapika, my sister, and Leorio. Oh, that seems fun. At the rate we were going, the order of impact would be 'Gon, Killua, Akihiko, Me, Kurisutaru, Kurapika, and Leorio.' NOOOOOOOO!
"AKIHIKO YOU CRUEL OLD MAN! I WANTED TO GO AFTER KILLUA!" I screamed out, desperately attempting to move ahead of the purple haired teen. Said teen glared at me and stretched his body so he would move faster as well…. Is it just me, or is this hill a little longer than normal?
"YOU pushed ME!" The purple boy began inching away, and I called upon the powers of the wind to aid me in this vital quest of life and love.
"GOOOO MR. WIND!" I yelled out, staring at the sky and laughing like a creeper. My speed increased and I passed the child near me easily. On the passing, I looked at the boy, and Akihiko's face was so stunned his jaw began dragging on the ground… Not really, but yeah. Way to go awesomeness! I crouched down and wrapped my arms around Killua as we impacted. Oh, Killua's body is warm… Nice and warm… I grinned cheekily at him as his face turned to look at the person who had crashed into him. It was a beautiful moment, all slow motion and dramatic… Before some purple haired idiot crashed into me and flicked me in the forehead.
Let the drama begin! Or… Not…. Oh, Taru just landed next to the Akihiko… Then comes the Kurapika child… And then Leorio. Ah, I dislike that one…. Severely… I wonder what he'd do if his hair caught fire...
And now begins the pig hunt!
"AHHHH!" Everyone decided to scream as the carnivorous (so kindly pointed out by Kurapika) piggies charged at us. Since they were all running and yelling, I felt like I should as well.
"WHYYYYY ARRREEEEE WEEEEEEE SCREEEAAAAMMMIIIIIIIINNG?" My hands were pointed straight up in the sky as I stared at Akihiko, but apparently he didn't understand me. His girly squeals were pretty loud. Ok, fine then. Turning around, I faced a huge piggy, which had a striking resemblance to Tonpa… Oh wait, it was Tonpa.
"Oh, Kaia-chan-"
"Call me 'chan' and I'll slice open your stomach, throw you back down that hill, tie your toes to a big tree and leave you hanging by them, just barely out of these piggies reach. Then, I will cut the rope." I crossed my arms and leaned on my hip, watching Tonpa tremble in fear. Suddenly, he scuttled away like the rat he was and I laughed. I laughed maniacally… I do that a lot, don't I? Then I turned around.
Ohh, what a pretty monster. The huge beast huffed a few feet away from me. In proportion, I was about the size of it's eye. Apparently my awesomeness had attracted the biggest piggy of the bunch. I stared at it for a moment before looking away and watching everyone else.
"Could you wait a minute, I want an audience." I informed the Piggy. Oooh, Ima name it! "Piggy, you are now called, 'Daiki'. It means 'Great, large, valuable, and noble.' Your welcome!" Daiki snorted but held still, waiting for everyone else to finish their battles. Akihiko faced off against another large male, but it was only about half the size of Daiki. Akihiko's piggy charged at him and Akihiko dodged before pulling out two long saw-like swords. He smiled at his pig and began sawing at a nearby tree. Everything disappeared as the wood shavings went flying, and when the dust finally cleared, I saw Akihiko's work. A beautiful wooden carving stood where the tree once did. Its design was one of a dragon. The thing twisted and curled up, it's fearsome head snarling in the direction of the pig. Thousands of sharp scales trailed along the dragon's side, and long, pointed spikes shot out of it's spine. Honestly, the thing was beautiful. Akihiko leaned against his creation and pointed one of his swords at the pig.
"Ok, you're next!" He stated happily. The pig eyed the dragon for a moment, but after it realized that it wasn't going to move, it charged. Now, by this time, Gon had told everyone the secret to killing the beasts, so Akihiko jumped above the pig and slid his sword through its skull. Well, that amusement was over.
"He's not that bad, and his strategy was good. You know, for frightening your friend, but I don't think your friend noticed…" I informed Daiki, who simply nodded his huge head in agreement. "Next up: Kurisutaru! Oh wait, she's already done…. Erh, Leorio? No one cares… Ok, everyone's done." I looked back at Daiki and he stamped his foot, signalling that he was ready.
"KAIA! What is taking you so long? Hurry up!" I looked at the person who spoke, frowning. Taru had her hands on her hips and was staring disapprovingly at me for not killing Daiki fast enough. Gon tried to calm her down, stating things like 'that's the biggest one...' That offends me. Does he think I can't do it? Staring at the other faces, it seemed like no one believed in me except Kurisutaru and Killua. Or maybe not, but I think he does. His face was blank, other than a single eyebrow raised, waiting for my move. Well, since I had my audience, I guess I should begin.
"Ok, Daiki, you ready?" I stared at the pig and upholstered my silver handled pistol from my left leg, then pulled out my long, thin sword from my right hip, facing the beast in front of me. "I think we both know who we think will win this fight." Daiki snorted and charged, uncaring of my weapons. I easily dodged the beast and aimed my gun at it's forehead as it passed. At the speed Daiki was moving at, I'd have less than a second to shoot.
So I did.
I didn't miss, oh, certainly not, but since this was the biggest boar, I guess it had the strongest forehead. Instead of ripping through it's brain, the bullet bounced off, only leaving a slight dent, and I lost sight of my target as Daiki's big snout faced me again. Oh, apparently it's mad… Hmmm… It's charging… Plain shooting doesn't work… But it did dent it's head, so it does do damage…. What to dooooo…..
Spinning lightly on one foot, I jumped, reaching for an upper branch of a conveniently placed fur tree. Since both of my hands were taken, I twisted my body and caught the branch with the top of my foot, tensing my leg so that it served as a hook. I used my body weight as momentum and spiraled around the branch, only then releasing the tension in my leg and thundering down toward Daiki. Pulling my sword back, I pointed it's tip at the same spot I shot at earlier and leveled my body so that my sword would make contact with it. Finally, I aimed my gun once more at the dent in Daiki's head, and fired. Daiki flinched as my bullet made contact, this time staying put in his head. I twisted my sword once more, catching the light, then pushed it forward when it plunged into Daiki's skull.
I left my weapon there and jumped off of the great beast, landing softly on a bed of moss. Daiki eyed me and twitched, then, slowly, he leaned to one side and fell. His legs straightened out and he heaved a huge sigh. His dying breath. I stepped up toward him and looked into his dark brown eyes. He accepted death. I bestowed it. My next bullet went through his brain.
"Why did you take so long?" Leorio questioned loudly, oblivious to my solemn silence. I didn't even turn to look at him, instead pointing my gun at where he would stand. I heard him shriek. BAKA WHY WASN'T HE SILENT!
"I am trying to grieve here, you big baka!" I informed him. Now, since the excitement of the battle was over, people began dragging their prizes back to the cooking stations. They had no respect for the things they'd just killed. Gon just heaved his over his head and went huffing away… Ok, well, he still has respect for the animal, but I'm gonna do mine differently. Will anyone else be smart? Well, maybe Taru would…
I looked over at her and found her mercilessly yanking on her boar's snout, dragging it away. Well then. Pulling my sword from Daiki's head, I walked over to a nearby stream and washed off my sword… My sword needs a name… I stared at it, curious. It already had a name, I just needed to figure out what it was…
Black and white vines spread across the hilt of the weapon, vines that had thorns. A single black jewel rested at its rain guard. It had millions of tiny blue flecks in it, like a galaxy. Narrowing my eyes, I furiously searched my memory for the name of the gem…. Nuummite. That was it, it was Nuummite. Nuumite was typically a pitchy black jem with other random bits of rock pressed into it, as well as hundreds of cuts, catching the light and making it seem like there were blue sparkles. It was said to be a sorcerers stone, releasing the ancient energies of earth. A stone of personal magic, extending luck, clairvoyance and intuition. Honestly, the stone is awesome. It supposedly lets you see your inner self, allowing self healing and self mastery, and it also is supposed to bring out your inner power. ~Just the gem I'm looking for~ Smiling, I held the weapon out and snickered. I had its name. To me, the Nuummite resembled a promise. And the thorny vines were what held it together. Therefore, my sword would be called 'Black Promise.' And, for short, I will call it 'Promise'.
Resheathing Promise, I walked back to my kill. Since my boar was absolutely huge, it'd take a while to gut it out. Sighing, I reached inside my duffel bag and searched for my gutting knife, because I do, in fact, carry those around. Let's see…. There, it is…
Warning to Readers: Gory writing ahead. You may skip this part and I will inform you when it is over, and the basics of what happened.
Taru's POV:
I had forgotten. I had completely and utterly forgotten one of the most important things. All around me, idiots with great masses of meat shot sticks through the beast and propped it up over fire pits. There was one idiot missing, and I realized I was one of the biggest idiots of them all. The advantages of growing up in a family that hunts is that you know how to deal with meat. I never joined the hunt, it never intrigued me. But there was a person who did, who enjoyed it so much she knew everything inside and out. Literally. And that person was the one who was missing. Kaia.
A groan escaped me as I glanced back at the beast laying on the ground beside me. Luckily, I hadn't done anything to it yet. Careful not to get the attention of the other examinees, I set the boar on my head and slipped out of the cooking zone.
"Kaia? Kaia where are you?" I came around a bush an froze. Her massive pig was on the ground, but she was no where in sight. "Kaia?"
The corpse jiggled. I shrieked as a bloody hand burst out of the stomach of the fallen beast, my own pig slipping from my grasp. The belly split open in a spraying explosion as a huge, slimy, pinkish white blob slid out of the beast. The mass lay on the ground, steaming, a few feet away from the carcass. I stared, horrified. A moment later, the jelly like thing convulsed. The bloody hand from before showed itself again, this time from under the mass. A human like body emerged, dripping wet and red. It stood shakily and turned to faced me. I flinched, then realized that I recognized the bright blue eyes staring back at me. I looked into the grinning face of a demon in her home. Kaia.
My horror turned into confusion. "Did you climb in through its mouth?!"
"Of course not!" She flicked the dripping knife held in her hand, splaying flecks of blood across the ground. "The skin was unimaginably hard to cut. Well, rephrased, the hide was too thick. My knife didn't even touch the membrane of its gut sac, so I took my time to cut a nice hole through here…" She gestured to a spot on the animal, but I didn't bother looking. "And then I cut it from the inside! Man, I held my breath the whole time! Do you realize how hard that is? It's incredibly difficult, but I did it~ Anywho, what did you want?" Halfway through her story she had begun rolling the 'gut sac' away. Now she stood in front of the animal again, peeling its skin from its body, barely glancing at me from time to time. I could barely breathe. She was still covered in that… Yuck…
"Kaia…" I started, gulping away my horror. "You realize that you are covered in blood, right?" The girl didn't even look at me, too busy with breaking the front left knee of the pig.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'll wash off after I'm done. If you're wondering, my weapons are by the river." She had cut off the leg of the beast and was now carrying it to where the guts lay. She stared at the gigantic blob for a moment before tossing the leg there. Then she returned to the animal and started on its back left leg.
"...When you're done with that… Can you show me how to clean mine?" I questioned, slightly worried she would refuse because she had so much to do. Instead of staring at me incredulously, she grinned and yanked back a thick amount of skin from her animal's neck.
"Yeah! Sure, where's your animal? I can show you what to do while still doing mine." She placed the hide on the ground behind her pig, laying the part with fur down. Then she took hold of its front left leg again and began cutting it off the body.
"... My pig is right here..." I informed her, hoping she would notice how thoughtful I was.
"Baaaakaaaa." Kaia drawled, then sighed, jumping down from the pig. She carried its shoulder with both hands and marched over to me, dropping it into a gigantic wheelbarrow that magically appeared out of nowhere… Like always… Kaia then proceeded to take out a white cloth, unfolding it into a large square, then opened it. It was a bag of some sort.
"...What?" I wondered aloud when she handed me one side.
"Hold it." Kaia answered, and when I took hold of the end, she smirked like a mad man and placed the aforementioned shoulder in the bag. Then she took it back from me and tied the top together, ending her charade with placing the now blood soaked container in the wheelbarrow. "Thanks!" She offered, skipping back to her animal.
"...So are you going to help me or not?" I really didn't understand.
"Hm? Oh, yeah," She turned away from her task and trotted over to me, holding out her bloody knife. I stared at it before daintily gripping it with the tips of my fingers. She snickered, reaching inside her right pocket and pulling out another knife. Just how many does she have? Kaia bent down and pointed at a bit of skin on my boar's hide.
"You want to push your knife through the skin here…" She looked back to make sure I was watching. "Then you want to use the little hook on the back of the knife to slice through the hide up to right about here…" She motioned with her weapon and stepped back. "Begin!"
Sighing, I tentatively grabbed onto a part of the boar and ferociously drew back my arm, ready to hack it off. Kaia shoved me aside. Her knife was immediately taken from my hands and Kaia stood above me, glaring.
"What?" I asked, confused. I had done what she wanted.
"...Baaakaaaa. You can't do it like that, were you even listening to me?"
Ok, Readers, that concludes our gruesome part. Summing up what happened, Taru hauled her boar around looking for Kaia, and after she found her, Taru asked Kaia to help gut the animal. You may begin reading once more.
Still Taru's POV
"What's wrong? Are you not confident in cooking? It's not complicated." Kurapika awkwardly set a hand on my shoulder.
I gave off another shudder as more tears lept out of my eyes. I had just spent all that tactic acting dumb so that Kaia would gut the pig for me, and then came back to everyone else being dumb.
"No," Kaia answered in my place. "She just thinks you're all idiots." Maddened laughter tinted my choking sob, drawing Kurapika out of his anger toward Kaia. Everyone was burning their food, and Kurapika thought cooking was easy?!
"Say it again, Kaia, say it again!" I sputtered, shaking. Kaia smiled before complying.
"They're all idiots!"
"Again, AGAIN!"
"They're all idiots! All of them!" She hunched over and curled her fingers menacingly. "EVERY LAST ONE!"
"Yes!" I looked up, a psychotic smile spread across my face. Sometimes, to keep composure, you have to let off a little madness."Yes! They're all idiots. ALL OF THEM!" I laughed, clenching my fists to keep my sanity.
Kaia's POV
Hello? Helloooooooo~ Who are you talking too? You, obviously! ...Why? What do you want? A life. or a brain. Taru told me I 'lost it.' …. You certainly have… Oh, ok. Anyway~ I was wondering if you could help me with a little problem.. …. What? I can't help you find your mind. I already know where my mind is! It's right at home, next to my common sense! ...Yeah… Again, anyway, I have a deck of cards, and I want to give them to Hisoka. ….DO YOU WANT TO DIE? Uh, no, not really. But I want to give these to Hisoka. I need a really interesting way to do so, you know, that way he is all like 'ohmygoodness Kaia thanks so much I totally love these and Ima go kill some people with them thanks' and then I will be all like 'oh yeah, whatever, you go do that you creepy joker dude' and then I don't die! You realize that will never happen, right? Of course! They why are you asking me? You seem bored. Oh well, goodbye!
I placed the next thick steak in the fryingpan in front of me, and after I heard the satisfying sizzle I put in another. All around me, people were setting fire to their meat. Well, they were all going to fail~ I had a variety of plants out in front of me, some I'd never even seen before, but they smelled good, so they must taste good!
"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" A puppy dog whine went off next to me and I smiled at the source of noise. Taru was dragging her feet through the ground, obviously angry with the idea that she had to ruin the food. Well, if she was having problems, what type of sister was I to not help? What are you planning now? Oh, only something nice~
"Nee-chan!" I called out, turning down my oven and skipping over to her. She stared at me, bleary eyed.
"...What?" She then proceeded to sniff a few times. Kurapika was now headed toward us.
"Oh, nothing, just… Kurapika's Watching." I pointed at her hair, which suddenly had a lot of moss in it, then pointed in the opposite direction of Kurapika. She caught the hint and gently touched her hair. Then she stiffened, color draining away from her already pale face.
"MY HAIR!" Taru leapt up, covered her head with the cape I just handed to her, and charged away from me, toward Kurapika. Nyaha. I made her run that way~ Kurapika stopped and was prepared to catch Taru as she headed toward their collision path, but Tary seemed to realize who she was running toward a moment early. "NO! DON'T LOOK AT ME!" She cried out, spinning around and running in another direction. Well, that solves that problem!
Kurapika's POV
Kurisutaru's cries were getting further away and I stood awkwardly where I was. Should I go after her? She didn't want me to see her… Why was she even upset? It must have been Kaia.
"Kaia…" I trailed off when I saw where she was. She stood over Kurisutaru's pot of food and was tossing in multiple inedible items… Moss, tree bark, shaving cream, beetles, animal teeth… Were those fish skeletons? By the time I reached the kid, she had finished whatever she was doing.
"Yesh Mr. I'mnotbuff?" She asked, turning to me. I glared.
Kaia's POV
"Why are you sabotaging your sister's food?" The annoying blonde questioned.
"When did this become an interrogation?" I responded, skipping away. Suddenly, an urge to sing about my situation flashed through me. "Mayday mayday, this ship is slowly sinking~" I began. The song was 'My Demons' by Starset. Oh, how I love this song~ So dark~ Kurapika followed me and attempted to intercept my path.
"Kaia…"
"~They think I'm crazy, but they don't know the feeling~" And in response to this line, I began throwing extra moss at everyone around me.
"Oi! Kid, what do you think you're doing?" Someone, no, it was Leorio, yelled out.
"~They're all around me, circling like vultures~" And there came Taru back, angrier than ever… "~They wanna break me and wash away my colors~" I sang out.
"Kaia! Get down from there!" Taru yelled out, storming toward me. No thanks, I plan on staying on top of this post. Oooh, I need a dramatic pose…
"~TAKE ME HIGH AND I'LL SING~" Then, pointing to Killua, "~OH YOU MAKE EVERYTHING OKAY OKAY OKAY~" Killua blinked. Ok, I need more 'umph!' MUST BE LOUDER AND MORE DRAMATIC! "~WE ARE ONE AND THE SAME, OH~" I opened my eyes and bore them intently into my white haired lovely's blue. "~You make everything okay, okay, okay~" He sighed. Then began walking toward me. I reached out for him. "~Save me, if I become, my demons!~" I finished it off with leaping off of my post and landing on Killua.
WHY WAS HE THROWING ME OFF OF HIM! WHYYYYY? Oooh, I should probably jump before he destroys my beautiful face… Ok, farewell my beloved~
"Hey! Why are you cooking like this?" Leorio questioned… Oh, he wanted me to show him how I did it, right? Nyaha-no. NEVER! I bounced toward him happily, dodging my sister's outstretched claws.
"NuhaHAHAHAHHAHA!" Taru was officially insane. WE NEED AKIHIKO!
"Oi! Akihiko! You need to take care of mah sister~ Please~" I puppy dog eyed him and he looked confused for a moment.
"Wha….. OH! Ok!" And then he began speaking the calming words to her. I don't know what they are, and I don't care. TO MY FOOD!
"Ok, Mr. Leario~" I began, flipping my steaks.
"IT'S LEORIO!" He shouted, then persuaded himself to calm down. "How… How did you cook this?" He pestered. #Nevahgonnahappen.
"Uh, oh look, wha-"
"Congratulations! You pass!" Menchi's voice intercepted mine and stilled everyone in the area. No one was supposed to pass.
I narrowed my eyes in time with Taru's and faced the spectator. The person in front of her was the fat box nosed slug. Tonpa.
DONE! YOUR WELCOME MY CHILDRENS!
Now, for our riddle~
Poor People Have It, Rich People Need It, and If You Eat It, You Die.
What is it?
Also, thanks for all the comments so far, but it never hurts to keep them coming! Tell us what you think of the new 'examiner'.