A/N: This took me longer than I thought it's finally done. Yesh! \o/ Tomorrow I'll start working with the next chapter. I dunno will it be the Trick Tower yet or will I just put Sora chill down in the airship. The name of the chapter refers to the Spider Eagle Eggs. At first I planned it to be Murky Grey... Because of the swamp.
Chapter 3
Gold: Foggy, soggy swamp of fakes and swindlers
The marathon continued. And while the soggy marchland wasn't the easiest to run on, Sora still wasn't tired.
"Damn, Troll-Guide better keep his promise and not to make me a Mary-Sue…" The girl thought in irritation. Even though she was curious about her new abilities and such, overkill was still overkill. "Though in Hunter World overkill is pretty much impossible since everyone here are monsters… Even Gon."
Sora navigated a bit backwards so she could still see Satotz but didn't stick out like a sore thumb. After the attention from Hisoka just now, she didn't feel like any more. Okay, part of it was her own fault but she… Okay, better not try to make up any excuses…
A crow cawed above them. Sora glanced at it. It was the same one that would try to trick Amori brothers down a cliff. The bird looked quite comical with its mouth open as it flew.
The fog began thickening as they reached the edge of the forest. Sora could hear some muttering coming from a group of men running behind Hisoka. They were planning on ambushing him. The girl shook her head slightly. How in earth did they think they had any chances against the clown? Especially considering the dangerous intent oozing from him and making Sora's skin crawl even though she wasn't its target.
Killua noted the murderous aura too.
"Gon." The kid with the skateboard said.
"Huh?" The spiky-haired boy looked up.
"Let's move up."
"Okay. We don't want to lose sight of the examiner."
"I'm more concerned with the increasing distance between us and Hisoka. Staying too close to him is dangerous. I can smell it in the air."
"I noted that too." Sora slowed down even more until she was side by side with the two. "I bet he is planning something on those who are planning on ambushing him."
"Smell?" Gon repeated and sniffed the air. "Hmm… I don't think he smells… Leorio! Kurapika! Killua says that we should move up!" The boy called to his two friends who were running quite far on their right and behind.
"Hey… Can't you feel the tension surrounding us?" Killua questioned but the other boy didn't answer.
"Moron! If I had the strength, I'd already be there!" Leorio yelled back.
"Don't worry about us!" Kurapika added.
"What?" The green-clad kid pouted.
"Let's go, Gon." Killua told the boy and picked up speed.
"Ah, wait." Gon run after the white-head. Sora decided to tag along. After all Killua would find his way to the finish on his own just fine.
"I hear people screaming all around us." Gon commented after they'd run for a while. They had lost sight on the examiner a long time ago.
"Yeah… Satotz-san was right… We have to be alert all the time and doubt anything we see, hear or feel." Sora nodded.
"Let's just stay on our guard." Killua stated.
"I wonder if Leorio and Kurapika are okay…" Gon continued.
"They'll be fine as long as they don't run into Hisoka." Sora mused while internally snorting. They would run into Hisoka but would be fine. Mostly.
A strange feeling made the trio halt their speed and stop. Sora blinked once. Oh god, this was that… That frog! Frog-In-Waiting!
She jumped aside just when the ground sank beneath the feet of the two boys, and landed not so graciously on her stomach.
Swiiiiiiing… Bang!
The frog's mouth closed with a resounding snap that echoed loudly in the forest. Sora stared at the creature with wide eyes. It was freaking big!
The blonde rolled on her back and sat up slowly as the frog climbed up from its hole on the ground and began lugging heavily along the path the trio had been jogging along previously. The girl just watched it go before getting on her feet and dusting the knees of her pants and the front of her tunic. After a bit of waiting she decided to follow the frog as it wasn't hard when its steps echoed in the forest as much as closing its mouth.
It took five minutes or so until the frog finally stopped. Sora did so too and watched warily as the amphibious turned violet before puking Killua and Gon out along with the rest of its stomach contents. As the frog lugged away, the girl jogged a bit closer.
"Hey, guys… Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Gon grinned nervously. "Guess he didn't like the taste of us."
"It was this." Killua showed one of the juice cans he'd gotten from Tonpa. Apparently the man had his uses…
"That was from Tonpa-san! I guess he saved us." And yet another point to that man's trust bank. Sora didn't quite anime-fall at the remark.
"Well, I could have escaped." Killua tossed the can away.
"Sure you have." Sora chuckled after regaining her composure.
"I would!"
"Yeah… yeah…" It was fun to rile the boy up.
"I'm still worried about Leorio and Kurapika." Gon noted suddenly. Killua got up silently.
"Forget about them. Let's get a move on. We can still catch up to the examiner." Okay… That was immature. The boy began running and Gon followed him for a couple of steps before stopping. He seemed to be determined to go and find Kurapika and Leorio. Sora placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"If you are worried, go ahead." She told the boy. "I'll keep an eye on Killua then."
"Okay." The boy with a backpack and fishing pole run off while Sora ran after the other kid.
"Yosh. We've caught up to the main group, Gon." Killua stated once they could see a mass of people running past them. When he didn't hear a response from the boy he addressed to, he turned to look around. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
"Gon?" Sora repeated. "He went to find Kurapika-kun and Leorio…-kun." The girl grinned slightly. "Don't worry, he's strong and will surely make it to the end." Even though Hisoka will almost strangle him.
"You sure?"
"Yes. Why do you keep doubting me?"
"Because it's fun?"
The blonde sighed. "Fine, be my guest. Come on though. Let's catch up with those guys."
"Don't boss me around!" The boy retorted immediately, jogging after the older girl.
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are!"
"But I'm not."
"Are too."
"Stop being a kid and follow me." Sora finally snapped at Killua who stopped to stare at her.
"What…?"
"That's bossing. I gave you an example." She shrugged, not looking if the boy came along.
"Yep, be cute. Be a protagonist. Be a Zoldyck. Be super-deadly assassin. But if you think I'm starting to fangirl over you… you are wrong. Right now you are a kid among others."
They made it to the place where the Phase Two of the exam was supposed to be held. Killua noted immediately that Gon wasn't at the place yet. Sora in the other hand sat down on a fallen tree trunk. Her legs had started to feel sore a while back. But she still hadn't broken any sweat.
"Ahh… So nice to sit down…" The girl sighed contentedly. She ran a hand through her hair and tied her ponytail again. It was nice to be out of that swamp and even nicer was the fact the fog had faded.
Since there was some time left, Sora decided to go through her stuff once again and maybe find out something else about herself. One of those objects was her cellphone that she dug from her pocket. She scrolled through the messages she had sent recently but couldn't make to whom she'd sent them. They all seemed to be some sort of nicknames. But what caught the girl's attention was the most recent message that was sent was to…
"Nii-san?" Sora read aloud. She had a big brother? Who? Was it some canon character? Or some completely new and on the background? Or just an OC?
-Made it to the Exam. Hell of a headache. Literally. I'll text more later. She had written. Then there was the reply.
-Good luck, Sora. We all are waiting for the news when the Exam is over. I hope you have fun.
"'We all'… Who all does that mean?" The girl mumbled. The messages assured only one thing. She had people to wait for her but she had no idea who they were. And she was definitely not going to meet up with them without having at least inkling. Besides she didn't want to worry those people about her amnesia.
"I guess I have to figure this all during the time…" Sora pocketed her phone and while doing that, she fingers brushed something thin and metallic. Fishing the item out, the girl found a simple necklace. It was made of silver and had a small light blue stone hanging from it. Blue Topaz.
"Mine… I guess." She opened the lock and put the necklace around her neck. When she was withdrawing her hands, everything went white and fuzzy, like an old-fashioned film.
Sora was little. Very little. She was standing on a chair while someone brushed her hair. It felt nice. It felt safe. The house where was quite small but it didn't bother her. It was her home.
"Alright, Sora-chan. It's all done now." A female voice said behind her as she stopped brushing. Sora looked up and turned around a bit. The woman was beautiful and had similar hair than she did: blonde and slightly wavy. It was tied on a knot though with only few strands hanging on the sides of her face.
"Thank you, mama!" Little Sora smiled. "Ah, pretty!"
A little and chubby hand reached for the necklace the woman – her mother – was wearing. It was the same necklace she'd just put on.
"Do you want it?" The girl's mother asked with a gentle smile and Sora nodded eagerly. "Alright."
The necklace was put on and the little girl beamed. The woman was smiling too.
"Go play with your brother now."
"Okay." Sora hopped off the chair and run towards the front door which was open. "Nii-san!"
A boy, a bit older than her, looked up from something he'd been doing and grinned. "Sora!"
He waved her closer and the little girl dashed to hug him. She could only see a glimpse of the messy blond hair and glinting green eyes, same than hers, but not the exact features of the face.
Sora drew a shuddering breath when she opened her eyes again. She was still sitting on the tree trunk. There was a bit more people around but otherwise nothing had changed. Nothing.
"Lie… That idyll was a lie…" The girl mumbled, tears appearing in her eyes. "She died a week later…"
She blinked, startled, and wiped the tears away hastily. What had made her feel like this? She didn't actually remember her mother dying… She just… She just knew it happening.
"Even a small piece of puzzle is important…"
Gon and Kurapika made it to the finish. They found Leorio sitting against a tree with his face beaten up but otherwise in a relatively good condition. The poor man didn't remember anything about his encounter with Hisoka though. It was good to him and the duo decided not to tell what happened either. Killua met up with the group and was quite surprised after finding out how Gon had followed the smell of Leorio's cologne.
"Excellent work, everyone." Satotz called from the giant gates. "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." And the examiner began marching back towards the swamp.
"To observe the next phase and them inform the chairman when Menchi violates the rules…" Sora thought as she got on her feet.
The giant gates slid to the sides, allowing the applicants to enter the large yard with multiple kitchen spots.
"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter?" Menchi called from her sofa which was placed in front of the house by the end of the yard, and her partner Buhara. "Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner." She introduced herself as the applicants made their way on the yard.
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." The large man sitting behind the sofa said. He must have looked quite intimidating since the examinees were looking at him and Menchi warily. Well, considering Satotz's challenge that at first had seemed very easy, they had a reason to. The moment however, was ruined by Buhara's stomach.
"You must be hungry." Menchi looked up at her partner.
"I'm starving…" The man whined.
"There you have it." The turquoise haired woman got on her feet. "Phase Two will involve cooking!"
People were ready to retort and question and even laugh at the challenge. It didn't exactly help their cause and Sora couldn't help but snort at their behavior. Well, the instruction were still given.
"The required ingredient is pork." Buhara told them. "You're free to use meat from any species of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both 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've both eaten our fill, the exam will end."
"Yeah, literally since she won't let anyone pass…" Sora deadpanned.
"Then, the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara slammed his palm against his stomach, making a sound like a cong. And they all were off.
The group scattered around to look for the required ingredient in the forest. Sora decided to stick close to the four main characters this time. Alone she had no means finding the pigs.
"No wait… I don't want to get stampeded." the girl stopped right when Gon jumped to slide down the grassy hill. The other three followed him. It looked fun. "Screw it…"
The blonde jumped after the quartet and slid quickly by them. Luckily she didn't bump into Kurapika but stopped next to Gon.
"What was that about, Gon?!" Killua asked the other boy angrily.
"Found them." The green-clad kid merely replied. They all turned to look at the huge pigs that were munching bones. Sora gulped nervously. The pigs were a bit too close to comfort.
"Uh… They're chewing bones." Leorio pointed out the obvious.
"Don't tell me…" Kurapika began. One of the pigs looked straight at them and the bone it was chewing, snapped in half. "They're carnivores?"
"I don't know about you guys but I'm out of here." Sora jumped on her feet right when the pig let out a 'toot' sound with smoke coming from its nostrils. Was that a battle cry? Most likely since the horde of pigs charged at the five of them. So they ran.
On the way they met with other applicants who got punched on the back by the pigs.
"These pigs are crazy!" Leorio yelled.
"Now you realized?!" Sora yelled back. She spared a glance behind them. Yep, the pigs were there. "This is getting nowhere…" The girl muttered as she noticed Todo and Hanzo powerless against the pigs. She took her staff and jumped to a nearest tree. From her position, hanging from a branch with her left hand while her staff was in the right hand, she could see how Gon defeated one of the pigs.
"Could their foreheads be their weak points?" Killua noted with a smile.
"At least I'm going with that one." The blonde girl mused jumping forward by pushing herself off the tree. One of the pigs was just running to her direction. The female twisted her body in the air until she faced the same direction than the pig and… "Hiyaaah!" Hit the carnivorous creature in the middle of its forehead. The mammal fainted immediately. "Hey, it works!" Sora yelled in glee, landing a top of her pig.
"And I learn all the time more about my abilities…" She thought with a smile. Other applicants got the trick too and the whole cattle was caught.
They all made their way back to the cooking point and the grills were set on fire… Not quite. About everyone just began roasting the pig just like that. Sora in the other hand…
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this? I've never prepared a pig or any other animal since the beginning. Well, I know how to gut a fish but that's all!" She stared at the meaty animal that she was supposed to prepare.
"Maybe I should just do what the others have done… Fail. And then I could try my best in the redo Second Phase…" She muttered quietly so no one could hear. The girl impaled the pig and put it on fire. She had turned it over and over only a few times when…
"Wha-?" Sora ducked and turned her back on her grill while covering her ears.
Booom!
The whole contradiction was almost blown up. At least the flames consumed her pig completely for a second before dying down. And when Sora dared to peek, there was nothing left on the pig.
"Hee? Why I got the faulty grill?" She could only ask. The girl could feel people staring at her. Which irked her a lot. "Stop staring at me! It wasn't my fault!"
The other applicants began presenting their dishes to Menchi and Buhara. The man accepted them immediately while the young woman mercilessly made everyone fail. Including Sora who couldn't find a new pig from the forest.
"No dish, no pass." Mechi simply shrugged before the girl could even say anything.
"I kind of figured that…" The blonde gritted her teeth as the other applicants rose to protest Menchi's decision to let absolutely zero people pass. The loudest one to protest was Todo, the wrestler who wanted to be a Black-List Hunter. He destroyed part of his kitchen point and got into a proper spat with Menchi. Sora followed it all in a slight boredom and sat down to lean against the remnants of her grill while hiding a yawn behind her hand. All she could do was to wait for Netero to arrive and hope she'd do better at the Mountain Split-in-Half.
Todo flew through the air and hit one of the towers of the gate of the yard.
"Buhara, don't interfere." Menchi sighed.
"Well… If I hadn't intervened, you'd have killed him, right?" The large man responded.
"Probably." The turquoise haired female hunter got up from her sofa, two pairs of cooking knives in her hands. "Let me clarify this." She began as she ascended the stairs down to the yard and approached the applicants. "We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art." The knives flew in the air and the woman began juggling them skillfully while explaining. "You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!"
The announcement was met with a stunned silence. Hisoka readied a playing card, Jack of Hearts, with the intent to kill.
"That said it would be excessive to fail every single applicant." Chairman Netero's amplified voice said above their heads. Everyone, including Sora, turned their gaze skywards. An airship bearing the logo of the Hunters' Association was floating above them. People barely managed to make a connection between the logo and the fact it was someone from the association had just spoken when the old man already landed on the ground, making dust and pieces of rock fly everywhere. Sora took cover behind her grill.
The dust settled down and the Chairman of the Hunters' Association walked towards Menchi in his geta-shoes. Clack, clack, clack…
"The Chairman of the Selection Committee." Menchi answered the applicants' inquires about the old man's identity. "He's in charge of the Hunter Exam… Netero-kaichou."
"Well, I work behind the scenes." Netero smiled. "I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi-kun…"
"Yes, sir."
"You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"
"Dirty old man… Staring at Menchi's chest…" Sora glared briefly as she finally got on her feet.
"No, sir… I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary."
"Plus Hisoka's killing aura made her skittish…"
"In other words, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable." Netero stated.
"Yes, sir. When cooking is involved, I lose control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I'll resign as an examiner so please redo the Second Phase!" Menchi announced.
"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice." The old man mused.
"I apologize…"
"Very well. How about this? I'd like you to continued serving as an examiner but you must also participate in the new test you propose. Is that acceptable? I'm certain that will help the applicants to accept the results."
"I see what you did there, Netero…" Sora smirked smugly, crossing her arms on her chest. "Making Menchi show us what she actually does for work and thus making us accept the Gourmet Hunters as 'real' Hunters…"
"That's true…" Apparently Menchi got it too. "Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!"
Doubtful murmuring arose once again but this time the female Gourmet Hunter ignored it.
"Chairman, can you take us to Mountain Split-in-Half in your airship?"
"Mountain Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly I can."
They made it to the mountain which indeed had a canyon running through it neatly in the middle, making it look like it had been cut in half with a kitchen knife. The applicants gathered near the edge behind Menchi and looked down below.
"Now, everyone… Look down there."
"Wh-What it that?" Someone, probably Hanzo, asked as they saw a criss-crossing strings about ten meters below them.
"A Spider Eagle's web."
"They build webs down there?" Gon asked. A strong gust of wind blew upwards, right at their faces. Todo backed down immediately, falling on his butt. Sora glanced at him. Did he have a fear of heights or something?
"Look below the web." Menchi continued instructing.
"Those are…"
"Those are Spider Eagle eggs."
"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from predators." Netero continued the explanation. "This make their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. The eggs are also known as 'Dream Eggs'."
"W-Wait a minute…" Todo began protesting. "You don't mean we…"
"I sure do." Menchi told the man and walked to the edge of the canyon. She jumped down elegantly and grabbed one of the web strings. She spun around it two times, slowing down her speed, before stopping and looking down. She was about directly above one of the egg nests.
Everyone was peering down. Sora was on her knees right next to Killua and Kurapika. She could see the examiner's shoulders relaxing slightly as the woman began waiting for the next gust of wind.
"Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio was once again voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Wait for it, Leorio-kun… There's gotta be some trick…" Sora told the 'teen'. "There was a trick with the pigs so there's gotta be a trick with these eggs too…"
Menchi let go. Todo recoiled even further from the edge. The woman fell down and down, grabbed one of the eggs and continued falling into the mist at the bottom of the canyon.
"Is she trying to kill herself?" Leorio exclaimed. Sora's way of addressing him had completely gone past his ears.
"No, she's not." Kurapika stated.
"Just wait for it…" Sora smiled. And right on cue the wind blew up again, carrying Menchi back to the level of her audience.
"Whoa!" Gon smiled widely.
"That looks fun…" Killua mused.
"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up to the web." Netero told them all. Menchi landed elegantly behind them.
"There. Now I just need to boil the egg." She told the applicants.
"Y-You must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there…" Todo stuttered. Yep, definitely a fear of heights.
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon announced, leaving his backpack on the edge. He, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio jumped down.
"Ah, wait!" Sora shouted. Too late though… "Idiots…"
The girl sighed and took of her bag too, leaving only her staff on her back. She jumped after them as did several other applicants. But unlike them, she grabbed the string of the web above the other one.
"You realize that the next updraft won't come for a while!" She called down below at them.
"How'd you know that?!" Leorio yelled back as one of the applicants grew impatient and fell to his death. Only Gon's words had stopped the future doctor from following the poor and idiotic man.
"It's called common sense." The girl rolled her eyes.
"When's the next one?" Leorio asked Gon and others then.
"Wait." The spiky-haired boy closed his eyes and began listening and feeling the air around them.
Scriiintch
The web lurched downwards.
"What?"
"The web won't hold us all!" Kurapika realized.
"And that's also something called common sense…" Sora muttered.
"Gon, not yet?" Killua asked calmly. The other boy remained quiet and concentrated. The web string stretched more. More people let go and fell to their deaths.
"It's gonna snap!" Leorio yelled. It was Sora's cue. She let go a fraction of a second before Gon yelled:
"Now!"
Everyone let go. Everyone got their eggs. Everyone fell into the mist. The updraft came just in time to carry everyone back up. Netero laughed merrily at their joyful expressions while Menchi enquired the applicants who'd stayed up if they wanted a try too. They didn't.
The eggs were boiled in a large pot of water. When Sora got her egg, she carefully took a bite and immediately froze. It tasted heavenly! The girl took another bite. Yes, a wonderful taste. No words were enough to describe it. The yolk of the eggs was pure gold!
"Delicious…" She whispered with a gentle look on her face and turned to look at the sunset far behind her. The girl sat on the edge of the canyon and continued eating slowly.
"Mum… Dad… I hope your lives are favorable to you. I'll try my best here too and find Simon too. But before that I'm going to find out my past here. I think as an Information Hunter I'll have better shots in it… And of course this time I'll remember to smile too…"
A/N: Alright, here it was. I hope you liked it. :) Sora got a first flashback conserning her past and I can tell you, there'll be more of those. And as usual, I'll be open to hear your guesses for her past and suggestions for a possible pairing. (dunno if I'll ever actually write it though...)
Replies to reviews:
-TheNewBlueMoon:
Ch1. Thank you very much. I'm glad you like this... and the way Sara's family died.
Ch2. Alright, but if you have anything in mind, I'll gladly listen.
-Akiko42:
Thank you :)
-fishy7073:
Here we are. The next chapter came!
()
The next chapter will come... During this week. Depends on how much time I have to actually write. But until then, bye! \o