Okay now, Chapter 11 is here!
For the answer to the riddle….
Answer: Nothing!
Correct Guessers?
Jonica77
Liana
Emily3203
Lvu67
And…
ダークチャイルド / BlackChild
Thanks to the last person, who also happened to recommend an ANTHEM for Kaia. (Kaia loves you~) This is the song: Beggin for Thread by BANKS
Whatever we call it
❇ℭ❇
Kurisutaru's POV
"Congratulations, Tonpa-san." My body stiffened at the dark, malignant voice of the third examiner. Tension in the air burst in violent rays as I spun to face the three proctors. Over half of the examinees had already failed, so this was a surprise to even those who didn't know the proper course of events. But I knew, and this was far beyond wrong. If he passed, the exam may end right here with the rest of us failing.
The examinees crowded next to the elaborate wooden table, surveying Tonpa's meal. Too many people were taller than me, so I sunk my great sword into the ground and sat on the hilt to get a better look. Slices of meat about as thick as a cup's rim were layered across the white platter, slightly pink in the center of each piece. I sniffed the air. He had used vinegar to fry them. I was surprised he knew such a technique to increase the flavor and texture. …
Wait.
He couldn't possibly know something like that, why would he? I peered at his hands, noticing no indents from holding the knife as precariously as needed to cut that slim. If fact, there were no indications what so ever that he had even used any of the utensils. He hadn't cooked that. Someone else had.
"See?" Menchi gestured to the platter, her green eyes alight. "This is different from all of you. Your presentations were plain burnt pigs."
"Doesn't the examinee have to cook the food?" Kaia's bored voice interrupted the bitter retorts of those already failed and she stepped up to 'Tonpa's' meal.
"Of course! Why?" Menchi leaned forward casually on her elbows.
My sister's blue eyes flashed in mild annoyance and she spoke as though talking to someone stupid. "Um… He didn't cook this."
"Do you have proof of your claims?"
"...Here…" Kaia dropped a videotape recorder on the table and stood back. Menchi peered at the black object a second, then lifted it and viewed the content. Her face continued the same bland look throughout the entire play, though no one else saw what was on it. She looked back up at Kaia.
"Why were you in his tent?"
Tonpa paled and began inching away, but Kurapika casually cut him off by blocking his path. The stress in the air was so thick it was almost crackling, but it was directed toward both Tonpa and my sister.
"Well duh," Kaia set her hands on her hips and leaned to one side. "He's suspicious."
Menchi set her fingertips together and smiled. "I like you. You use your intuition." She turned to the sweating Tonpa, and a sudden wave of bloodlust surged out of her.
It was terrifying. Imagine every worst nightmare and put it in a single second. It was concentrated hatred. Pure and ugly. I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter as I felt the overwhelming urge flee.
Menchi stood out of her red seat and slammed her fists down on the table, producing a jagged split that sped down the side. Her eyes were fire as she glowered over Tonpa, and he shrunk under her flaming gaze. "You dare to use trickery involving this competition?" She stood taller, darker. "You dare to take the claim of someone else's food?"
A large hand clamped down on her shoulder, and her blazing eyes turned to meet Buhara's black ones. He shook his head. Menchi's shoulders went limp and she returned to her usual laid back posture.
"You fail." She turned to the cowering crowd. "Continue. I hope you all learn a lesson from this swine." She wasn't referring to the palate on the broken table. I glanced down at my white knuckles and delicately pried them away from the sword as I swung down. Landing on wobbly feet, I looked back up to see Menchi sitting down and continuing on with the testing. Nine examinees in line, also with perfect looking food, all made eye contact and simultaneously backed out. Whatever plan, that I was sure came from the Blue Rose, was thwarted.
I went back to my soup, if you could call it that anymore. Pulling out all that looked completely inedible, I sniffed the remaining black goop. Not something to do again. Well, it's not like I had somehow stuffed the entire pig into a tiny pot. I spun around, only to find myself facing Kurapika. My hand immediately went to his tabard wrapped around my neck. Was he here to ask for it back?
"You know," He said, pointing to the 'soup', "You could just make it look better. Taste is insignificant."
I stood stock still, surprised. Then it sunk in. The taste? Insignificant? INSIGNIFICANT?! A cracking noise erupted behind me and I jumped forward reflexively, almost slamming into Kurapika had he not jumped back at the same time. I twisted to see what had caused the noise. Tch. Where my other hand had been, a chunk of the table was gone. The missing pieces were crumbling in my fist. I really needed to start paying attention to my own strength.
"Uhh, are you okay?" Kurapika took a step away from me, a wary expression on his face. "You just broke that."
"Yeah!" I replied, attempting to smile. "Perfectly fine." No, I'm not. I'm surrounded by people who don't care about the arts of cooking. I mean, they're men, but they could at least be serious if it's a test. I looked around. The only people who were in any way critical of it seemed to be Killua, Hisoka, Kaia, and-
"TARI!" Akihiko's whine finished my thoughts. "Save me!" I looked over at what he was doing. Burning his pig. At least he was asking for help.
"I'll go on ahead, then." Kurapika hefted his giant pig-salad-sandwich type thing and went to stand in line. I turned back to the wailing black haired kid. Yes, Kaia said it was purple, but it was black. Probably.
"Save me! I'm doing it wrong!" He poked the revolving pig over the fire.
"Yep, because you're doing it the same as everybody else." I lifted it off the pit. The smoke swirled around me, giving off a burning flesh stench that made me gag. "Try doing it over a stove or something. It increases your chances dramatically at cooking consistently."
"Oh I see!" He set the entire pig on the stove, just like that. People can't really be that stupid, can they? "Uhh, it's not working."
I twitched. "You have to take it apart first, cut it into slabs or something. What do you think the knives are for?"
"Oh!" He pulled out his own saw-swords and started cutting it. Well, that works too. "Thanks! You were always awesome at cooking."
"This doesn't take an expert, Akihiko, but you're welcome. You've tried my cooking?"
"Well duh! What else do you think I've eaten these past years in the exam? Bugs?" He continued sawing the meat. I pulled out my phone, switching it on. I had been working on unlocking that journal entry, but had little luck. I closed the screen when I heard footsteps approaching.
Kurapika came back, dragging his feet. "They said said I was no better than Leorio." He looked up, dazed. "How is this possible?"
"I could have told you that." I stared at his astonished face. "I mean, seriously, taste is insignificant? Why would someone eat something that tasted terrible? It was pretty obvious you overthought it, resulting in missing a crucial common sense requirement."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
Kaia suddenly appeared next to me. "She thought you were smarter."
"No," I countered. "I knew he was that dumb." My hands flew to my mouth. Oh. My. Gosh. I meant I already knew he was thinking that, according to the anime. Ahhh! Now he's going to hate me!
"I see…" His skin was even more pale than usual, and he stared off into the distance as if turned to stone.
"No! I meant…" What was I supposed to say? That I already knew his thoughts from a magical universe where we could watch them?
"Tari," Akihiko set his hand on my head. "You've been thinking we're all dumb this whole time, haven't you?"
I sniffled. Tears started clouding my vision. "I have!" I wailed. "But it isn't your fault, mostly. You guys are just uneducated!"
Kurapika looked back at me, his grey eyes murky. "You said my problem was common sense."
"...But you're not dumb! You actually figured out what to do, unlike everyone else."
"Ehh?" Akihiko grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Then what about me?"
"...Well, you knew you were doing something wrong and tried to fix it. So that counts as not-dumb, too, I guess." I blinked and he backed away, looking content.
"I know I'm not dumb!" Kaia interrupted. "See? Here!" She handed us each a small rectangle steak. Finely chopped bits of green herb was plastered to the surface, and I took a bite. The meat was slightly crispy on the outside, yet firm and flavorful inside.
"Kaia, you're not going to turn it in, are you?" I looked up worriedly at her.
"I-" She was cut off by Menchi's call.
"Yeah, I'm stuffed too. The exam is over." She stood up, stretching. "Therefore, no one passes. We're done here!" She said it so enthusiastically...
"...NOOOOO!" Mass hordes of people crowded around the table shouting their disagreements, but Kaia was the loudest. She fell dramatically to the ground, banging her fists against her black tights. "I MADE THIS DELICIOUS MEAT JUST FOR YOU! WHY?!"
"Kaia! You know you can't turn this in!" I reprimanded.
"But… I prepared this!" She opened her red and black duffel bag, pulling out a plate… With a pig's head. "It's kinda strange; when I killed Daiki, he was a lot bigger… Now he's really small. The meat shrunk when it cooked…"
"Ah, the head would have been fine… Too late now."
"Buhara, don't interfere." Menchi's low, dark voice struck me as more dangerous than the shouts and bangs just beforehand. I looked up to find the wrestler applicant with the ponytail laying next to the doors, practically unconscious.
"But if I hadn't intervened," Buhara drew my attention back toward the examiners. "You'd have killed him, right?"
Menchi laughed. "Probably." She stood up, holding two large knives that came from seemingly nowhere. Stepping forward, she tsked. "Let me clarify this. We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients." Her two knives turned into four, and she began juggling them. Their metal flashed with each toss, creating beams of light that flickered over our faces. "Every Hunter knows some form of martial art. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment." All four knives landed in her left hand. "That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!"
There was a silence.
A glint of white caught the corner of my eye and I saw Hisoka lift a card.
"That said," A voice filtered through a megaphone called out, halting Hisoka. Everyone looked up at the blue and white blimp crossing the exam field. "It would be excessive to fail every single applicant."
All I saw was white as someone jumped from the ship. The Chairman. An explosion of dirt and rocks flew up as he landed, blooming into a fog that cut off vision. I coughed as it stuck in my throat. Only glimpses of color as the wind picked up proved that I wasn't the only one in this dust cloud. A wooden clicking sound could be heard as he walked forward, but the dirt in the air was so thick you could barely see his location, let alone anyone else's. It settled, and Menchi trained her eyes on the man as she straightened her back.
"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter exam… Chairman Netero."
The Chairman's white beard swayed as he opened his mouth. "Well, I work behind the scenes." He closed his small brown eyes, his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks. "I only take action when there's an issue, like now." He looked at Menchi. "So, you failed all the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"
"No, sir." She replied, ashamed. "I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters, and I made the exam harder than necessary."
"In other words," The Chairman continued, "You are aware that this exam was unacceptable."
"Yes, sir."
X-Time-X
I took a deep breath and moved my foot forward onto the metallic path leading to the magnificent airship… Next stop: Mt. Split-in-Half. A flash of green raced past me and I stared stunned, at Kaia, who was now at the doorway dancing around in circles. She was wearing an exact replica of Gon's outfit. Her golden brown hair flew through the air as she twirled around, staring at the mechanics. Her eyes met mine and her smile split across her entire face. I watched as she took a deep breath, preparing to say something. Everyone was silent and waiting for her words.
"LIFE IS DEADLY!"
~Kaia's POV~
WHOOO AIRSHIP! I AM IN AN AIRSHIP! And life is deadly, but who cares? I'M IN AN AIRSHIP!
"Oi! Kaia!" I stilled at the tough voice of a Leorio and frowned. Swiftly turning on one foot, I faced the man. He was still standing in the doorway to the magnificence and seemed perfectly content forcing others to wait.
"Yes Mr. Leonardo Dastupid?" I shifted my weight against a post that seemed a bit too close to falling… Oh, it was also orange~ Such a pretty orange…. Like, a dark reddish… Auburn! That's the color! "Leonardo DaStupid! Silence!" I ordered the whining man.
"Excuse me? Are you dissing da Vinci?" My sister pushed past Leorio and glared at me. OOOOH I LIKE HER GLOVE! HER PRETTY SPARKLY LEFT HANDED GLOVE THAT SHE NEVER PUT THERE! YAYAYAYAYA IMA TAKE IT!
"Um, no, because I am awesome~" I casually walked toward her. My steps barely made a tapping noise against the cold metallic floor… I was gonna have to fix that…
"Kaia! If not, then you're using him to diss! He was a master of all sorts of arts- Wait," Her eyes grew wide. "Are you saying Leorio is a master at the art of stupid? That's brilliant!" Suddenly, her expression turned to one of confusion as she realized that there was a glove on her hand. Well, this was a good a time as any~ TO THE GLOVE!
"PEACE MAH CHILDRENS!" I cried out while snatching the glove from Taru's hand. She yelped in protest, but by the time she had reacted I had already latched onto Gon and Killua and raced away. Both boys floated behind me, extremely similar to ragdolls...
"Ah, Kaia, could you…" Gon began talking, but I had found myself at a dead end hall and had spun around to run the other way. After hitting a few more blank spots, I decided the boys deserved to not be dragged around. Sighing, I dropped them and faced them, slender hands on my hips and my pig-tailed brown hair over my shoulders.
"...Kaia… Where did you get those?" Killua took in my appearance, frowning. I grabbed Gon, standing next to the confused boy.
"Haha, made them! Stole… Erh… Borrowed the idea from an awesome person's fashion choice!"
"...Oh…" Snowy shoved his hands inside his pockets and looked away.
"Nyaha, are you children up for a challenge?" I bent forward and tipped my mouth into a smirk. Killua glared at me and stretched his arm, trying to seem nonchalant, but he couldn't hide the interest in his eyes~
"What type of challenge?" I faced the boy who spoke, Gon, and stood back up, tossing one side of my pigtail over my shoulder. Both boys seemed generally intrigued by my 'challenge'.
"...Nah, you guys couldn't handle it." I stated. I would play this out perfectly, so I began walking away, seemingly disinterested. "Sorry for the bother, but I think that Kurapika would actually be able to handle it." I kept on walking, feeling their annoyance at the idea that I didn't think they could do something. Ha, let them be willing to prove their worth!
"WAIT! Kaia! What is it?" Gon complained, running after me.
"Yeah, you can't just leave us wondering about it…" Killua popped up on my other side. Oooh, this is going better than planned.
"Ahh, let me think... " I paused, tapping my finger to my chin. "Uh, no." I put a slight bounce in my step as I walked back toward the group.
"Kaia!" Gon drawled, attempting to block me. I didn't stop moving. "Tell us!" He then pulled the 'sad puppy' face. Killua caught the hint and widened his childish eyes in a mimic of Gon. OHMYGOODNESS I REALLY NEED TARU'S CAMERA! Instead, I took a mental picture and tried to fight their persuasion… Oh, their interest is strong… Too strong… Fine! I shall grant them their desire!
"Allright!" I pretended to cave while holding in a snicker. Both boys visibly brightened at my 'cave'. "Do you believe…" I began, debating whether or not I should actually do this. "In…" Killua leaned forward, his white hair falling in front of his eyes, and I took a deep breath. He. Was. Beautiful~ Anyway, this could change the plotline… But I was planning to disrupt it anyway… Besides, with him being here, as well as Taru and I, the plot was already messed up. So, as such, whatever I did couldn't be too bad… I think… "Intuition?" I finished, holding my finger up in front of me. Killua glared. Do you believe in intuition? Well, it's not like I could just say 'whoo, do you believe in the ability to tell the future, because there is someone who is not supposed to be here just as much as I am not supposed to be here, so, lets spy?' Yeah, that wouldn't go so well. I know. That's why I'm going with this~
"What does that have to do with a challenge? I think she's just messing with us…" My white haired miracle turned to Gon dismissively. Ok, now he's being mean~
"...Kaia?" Gon asked tentatively.
"Well then!" I placed my hand over my heart as a sign that I was hurt. "It's because I want to find out some stuff about someone. I don't really trust the guy~" I kicked at a nearby wall, squashing the robotic bug placed there. ….Why did you do that? Just said! It was a robot! It's spying on us spyers!
"Ehhh…? Who is it?" Gon cocked his head to the side and I smiled at him, turning to Killua… He got it, right?
"Gon… Kaia," Killua turned from the greenie to me, eyes serious. "You aren't just playing around, right?" I held his gaze and nodded stiffly. He wanted to trust me, but I still needed to trust me.
"...What I want done is not a game… Probably not in any way shape or form safe, either, but I can't simply wait until it is." I leaned against the pinkish wall and tapped my fingers,seemingly in a random pattern. But it's not… Right you are, Runa~ One, two… Oh, ok! I get it. Good for you! Do you think those children will? ...Wow. You never surprise me… Anyway, I think the pale one understands, but I'm not sure about the other.
"Ehhhh….? Kaia, you're gonna chip your nails…" Gon pointed at my hand so I played along. He got it.
"Really? Oh! Oops!" I laughed 'nervously' and checked my fingernails for chips. Killua was already weary so I poked his face. "No need to look so glum, it's not like I broke up with you or anything!" He glared at me and loosened up, his shoulders relaxing.
"I don't think you even have the mental capacity to date in the first place." He deadpanned as we began walking. I whined.
"Ehhh? Well! Let me tell you that my mental capacity is wider than yours… Ooops…" I frowned, backing a step away from him. Whitey twitched.
"What?"
"I forgot… You don't have a mind, so, no mental capacity at all."
Killua smirked. "I really think you need to check your memory. I'm not the one without a mind." At that, Gon frowned.
"Guys, don't be mean!"
"Sorry Gon, we didn't mean to talk about you like that. It just slipped." Gon's mouth resembled an 'o' and he pushed me into Killua playfully.
"Oh, sorry Kaia, didn't see you there..." I stopped moving and made my mouth wobble a bit.
"Ehh?" Both boys stopped with me as I collapsed to the ground. "So… Now I'm invisible?" Gon immediately ran to my side, kneeling, with Killua. Snow White pat my back softly.
"It's ok, Kaia, it's not the first time!" When I glared at him he threw his hands up in the air for surrender. Suddenly, a fearsome power fired behind us like an explosion and we all jerked around. It felt… Like someone… Wanted to kill us…
Fun.
...Like, really fun. My heart is beating so fast my fingers are starting to shake! Is this what Hisoka feels? This is… Amazing! Oh, the fear! It's terrifying! Thrilling! I want to… I want to… I…
I think I'm going to die.
"Well well well… What are you three doing way out here?" The voice was dark, delirious. Delicious.
Just kidding! It's disgusting.
The shadow of a man walked toward us, slowly, precisely. Beside me, Killua and Gon shivered. Both of their faces were stock still and I could imagine their minds twirling in a fearful mass. Like, a bunch of bubbling purple goop spinning and getting stuck inside a cotton candy making machine! Yeah… I want to eat cotton candy… Anywho! Me, on the other hand, latched onto that fear and began dancing a dangerous number with it.
"Well, well, well. Well. Well. ~Well well well~" I began singing, a sick smile sliding across my features. The evil man in front of me just widened his dark eyes for a fraction of a moment, then let off another wave of bloodlust. "~There once was a well with a wild wolf inside. He wailed and wallowed without widened eyes.~" The tune was completely random, but it helped Gon and Killua push out of their terrified state. I waved my hand at the man in front of us, but he failed to stop moving. He walked all the way up to us and towered over me, maliciously grinning.
"Ah, I see someone here is a jokester!" He chucked to himself but I shook my head, giving off the most innocent look I could muster.
"Of course not! I'm just a Joker. Or an Ace… Well, since Hisoka threw the Ace of Hearts at me, I'm an ace…. Maybe…" I placed my hand on my chin thoughtfully. Was I an ace? Or a Joker? Ah, both seem fun~ Maybe I'll just become both! Yesh!
"Soka…" The man bent down, looking at me in the face. I turned my head to the side. He was still doing it. Giving off that terrible aura. My insides turned, but luckily for me, when stressed my mind does not go blank… No, it overloads… That could be a good and bad problem~ Oh well~ Killua had already taken a step back, but no more than that… It must be a storm inside of his mind… And Gon was sweating profusely. Ew. He would totally start stinking… I WILL FORCE HIM TO TAKE A SHOWER!
"Ne…" I began, leaning on my hand and smiling brightly. I forced aside every single unneeded thought I could, like 'I'm so dead,' and 'I WANTED COTTON CANDY!', centralizing and focusing on one single subject. 'Stop him.' "Could you please stop doing that?" I asked. The man smiled, his dark hair slipping to the side.
"Of course!" He replied, releasing his hold on us. Immediately Killua and Gon brought their hands in front of them, prepared to fight. Mr. Evil laughed. "So… Will you answer my question?" Uhhh, no. I can, however, answer a different question!
"Sure! My favorite color is orange!" I grinned and rocked back and forth on my rear end, my legs still crossed. The man frowned.
"...I never asked you that question…" He stated, turning his gaze to Killua, and when the white haired boy made no move to speak, he looked at Gon.
"We're just following her." Gon answered, pointing at me. Way to go Gon, shoot this at me… Well, whatever, it works~
"Nihi, could you repeat your question? You were just ~so~ terrifying, I could hardly think!" I asked, staring brightly at the man. His hair was still in that stupid bow shape… Makes me want to cut it…
"Certainly!" Mr. Not-so-real-Examiner responded, clapping his hands together. "Why are you three way over here and not with everyone else?"
"...I still think your hair looks stupid." I replied curtly. He frowned. At least a few things were going my way~ 1! Gon and Killua were leaving this to me! 2! This guy has no idea what he's dealing with! Well, neither do I, but who cares? You can never win if you don't take risks, right?
"Answer me."
"Why?"
"Because I asked." Oooh, someone has controlling issues~
"So?"
"I can disqualify you." He threatened and I darkened my smile, letting off my own version of an evil aura… And since I have yet to learn nen, this would have to do.
"Do you want to try?" My voice was sly, almost… Well, no propefr words, I had practiced the voice for this type of moment, so in short, it was what one could say, erh, slimy. Mr. Examiner nearly growled… Wow, someone really needs to watch his temper!
"You-"
"Oi! Mikio! Stop bothering the examinees!" Menchi's voice broke the tension and my little group of… Would it be considered four because I counted myself? Or three? I think three… Cool, thanks. My little group of three all looked at the turquoise haired beauty. The evil dude… Ha, Mikio. It means 'Tree trunk man~!'And he thinks he's cool~ Anyway, he stood up and brushed off invisible dust.
"I was just simply asking them a que-" Menchi held up a hand, cutting him off.
"We're not supposed to mess with them until the next exam starts. Now, Buhara was looking for you." She pointed back down the hall and after a series of exchanged glares, he went.
"~Menchi-san~" I switched my voice to a very annoying whine, crawling away from Gon and Killua and to the pretty gal who totally just saved my skin. She raised an eyebrow.
"Noni?"
"You never got to try my meat! I cooked it just for you~" I reached inside my duffel bag and pulled out a little platter of thin, delicious looking steaks. "I was originally going to give you the head, but it didn't fit that well inside my bag…" Menchi glared at me.
"Even if it's good, I will not pass you. I've changed the exam." She stated it so calmly I almost got chills… JUST KIDDING.
"I'm well aware of the change in schedule," I explained very teacher-like, my pointer finger in the air, then I fell to my knees and began begging. "But I really want to know if you like it!"
"...Erh… Fine, but only because you begged!" Menchi reached her slim fingers down and grabbed the plate, pulling a single pork chop off of it. I stared, starry eyed, at her every move. She delicately placed the meat in her mouth, chewed, then her eyes brightened severely. "Good job!" She praised.
"YOSH!" I shouted, throwing my fists in the air triumphantly. "Nyaha! Now~ For my other quests…" My nose crinkled and I waved Menchi goodbye after grabbing Gon and Killua once more.
"Ehh? What now?" Gon pestered. I frowned, then released both boys.
"Oh, I forgot… My challenge has been completed, you both pass! I have some other stuff to do, you guys can do whatever~" Now, to find Hisoka…
Taru's POV
Kaia. Kaia. Kaia.
Where is Kaia?
I twisted through the clog of people centered near the doors, searching for her brown hair. We'd be arriving soon, and I wanted to find out what that glove was for. And how it got on my hand without my notice. I ducked under an arm, sidestepped a pushed body, then got a facefull of pale blue as I crashed into someone I hadn't detected was there. Backing up, I gasped. Hisoka stood twirling a jack of spades.
"I AM SO SORRY!" I just bumped into Hisoka.
His golden eyes slithered toward mine. "Quite alright. What is a pretty little girl like you doing all alone~?"
My eye twitched. "I'm not little…" Wait, did he just call me pretty?
"Hmm?" He leaned down until his face was inches from mine. Hot tingles spread down my neck. "You're little compared to me~" His slim finger traced my jaw, lighting my skin on fire. He chuckled. "If you get any redder, I might have to take action~" He inched closer. I breathed in his spicy scent, my heart pounding.
"Kurisutaru! Are you alright?" Someone grabbed my shoulder and shoved themselves between Hisoka and I. "Hisoka! Get away from her!" I know that voice… Vaguely, I noted the character had blonde hair. Kurapika?
Hisoka laughed, leaning back. His sly golden eyes swiveled to me. "See you later," The card twirled in his hand. "T-a-r-u-chan~"
Kurapika grabbed my hand and dragged me away. "Leorio is waiting for us on the bench."
"Hisoka~" Ah, I was so happy. I took my hand from Kurapika and brought it to my burning face, but paused when it brushed some fabric. Oh yeah, Kurapika's tabard. "Here. I don't need it anymore." Unwrapping it from around my neck, I handed it back to its owner. Kurapika took it, but animated arrows shot into his heart and he staggered to the ground. The arrows dissipated, leaving him twitching. ...He was okay, right?
"I lost…to a joker..." He swayed to his feet, pulling the tabard back on. Umm… Okay…
"Oh yeah!" I grabbed his arm, bringing him to a halt. "I wanted to properly apologize for earlier; it was rude and inappropriate. However, I am interested in your thought process dealing with that exam. Would you care to explain?"
He stared at me, a bit stunned. "Uh, sure." He cleared his throat. "The objective was to use what we could to create a meal, and I believed it was for the appearance. In accordance, I focused on the image instead of the taste. The bad flavor resulted from my incompetence to incorporate a better taste." He looked away as he said it, but then cast his gaze to me.
My eyes drew to the cream floor. "Even if Kaia hadn't messed with the soup, I probably would've become cocky and overconfident in my abilities when I compared it to others. Menchi would've given me similar results." I looked back up at him, then playfully nudged him in the arm.
Kurapika smiled at me, his silver eyes dancing. Something brown and green shot past his shoulder, grabbing my immediate attention. Kaia! I took a step in her direction, but stopped when I saw who she stood next to. Hisoka. She shoved her hand into her pocket, pulling out a deck of cards. After a short exchange of words, the magician accepted them. Kurapika drew his swords immediately, preparing himself for potential battle, but Hisoka heard the sound and looked up in our direction. He smiled.
"Kaia-chan," Hisoka raised his voice, purposely sending his words our way. "Tell your sister that if kisses were snowflakes, I'd send her a blizzard~"
I turned toward Kurapika, hiding my flaming cheeks with my arm. His face was pale.
"Okay!" Kaia swung her body in my direction. "TARU! HISOKA SAYS 'IF KISSES WERE SNOWFLAKES HE'D SEND YOU A BLIZZARD'!"
I ducked my head behind the blonde next to me.
Peaking over his shoulder at the cause of my embarrassment, I gasped in surprise. Hisoka's hand was covering his face, an unmistakable shade of pink beneath.
~Time Skip~
~Kaia's POV~
I blinked as Menchi leapt off of the cliff side and flew down to her anti-death… Yeah… Then she came back up with one of those fancy dream eggs or whatever… Ha!
"Yosh!" Gon shouted and leapt off into the darkness, followed by Snow White, Kurisutaru, Kurapika, Leorio, and Akihiko. I stayed at the edge of the cliff, looking down and watching a bunch of others jump to their doom. Since this would take a while, I'd sit down and wait.
"Are you giving up?" Menchi's voice behind me made me turn. I grinned.
"Eh? Of course not. I'm waiting!" Menchi sat down next to me and watched the others with a silly grin on her face.
"Ah. So, you're number 402, right?" I nodded and kicked my feet back and forth. Ah, this would be a fun life… Being all awesome and whatnot….
"Ne~ How'd you get to become an examiner?" I asked, curious. When Menchi began to glare I rephrased my question… Dying didn't sound too good. "Like, what did you have to do?" The pretty turquoise haired Gourmet hunter smiled and looked back down at the other examinees who were currently freaking out about their predicament.
"You see, I just showed off my awesome skills and one day the Chairman asked me to be an examiner for the year. Of course I gratefully accepted." She finished, leaning back.
"Kaia." Taru called.
I glanced down at my sister, who was looking boredly down toward the gaping hole. "What?"
"I made a bad decision."
"Oh?" My eyes lit up. Purple is blue and icecream. "So you finally agree that Killua is better than Kurapika?"
She didn't flinch or get mad. That was strange. I feel like eating icecream… And cotton candy… Her gaze slowly, sadly, slid toward mine. "I grabbed the wrong string." The web she was on snapped, dropping her and four other examinees. The other four started shrieking, but she stayed silent, staring at me as she fell. Unlike the many fanfictions we both read, no one caught her. Akihiko and Kurapika gasped and reached out, but missed her fingertips by centimeters. She plummeted down to the unknown, never screaming. Her figure went out of sight as the mist swallowed her up.
"HOW DID YOU TIME THAT SO WELL?" I shouted after her. When there was no reply, I frowned, looking at Gon. "Gon? Is the gust coming yet?"
"...No."
"Oh, so those other people are gonna die?" I ignored the cruel stare directed at me by Leorio, and I looked at Kurapika and Akihiko. Both of them hung by one hand, stunned at Taru's disappearance. I looked back down the abyss and frowned, waiting for something to happen… I could always call upon the powers of the wind again, but that would be hard to cover up… And it would ruin the awesome moment about to happen~
Akihiko looked shocked, all pale in the face. His grey eyes met mine, and he smiled. A smile he meant to be reassuring, but instead brought dread. "Aki-" I tried to stop him, but was too late. He let go of his string and plummeted, following nii-chan.
"YOU SUICIDAL IDIOT! NOW WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT?!" I screamed out after him. Then I smiled.
No one spoke for a few seconds, but a certain ex-assassin interrupted the silence. "Why would he…" Killua started, confused. I looked over at the others. All their faces were pale too, Leorio refusing to look down toward where they disappeared. Great. Now I'm hungry. Stupid poison face.
~Completion~
Ok, so that concludes Insanity is a Lie part 1. Part two will be up soon. Thank you, everyone, for the reviews! I'm going to try to start messaging back to whoever sends them as personal thanks. Also, if you have any random questions, I'll try to answer them without revealing too much of the plot.
For the next riddle:
What goes down but never comes up?
Please review!