Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter.
CHAPTER 13
A lot of the people, mostly the men, started mocking the examiners and their choice of test. They all felt that cooking was a woman's job at home and that it didn't even qualify as a category for the Hunter Exam.
Menchi looked extremely pissed about this but she kept an expressionless façade.
"The goal is to satisfy us with your own dish. If we both say it's good, you pass. If you fail, you can keep trying until you pass. The test will end when we say that we're full. You can also use the tools and equipments provided for you here in your stations." she explained, gesturing towards the tables.
"Alright Epicure Hunters, what will you have us do?" one of the examinees, Todo, mocked her.
The woman's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but still she didn't retort. "Buhara." she simply said.
"The key ingredient is pork. You can use any type of pig as long as you catch it in the Biska Forest Park." he said, his smile unwavering.
Killua noticed that he was slightly drooling and grimaced. It reminded him too much of his pig-like brother and he felt sick to the stomach.
"With that said, you can start." Menchi smirked, while Buhara hit his stomach like a gong.
There was a slight confusion among the crowd as they dispersed to hunt for their meat.
Gon smiled excitedly at Renée for they will run around in the woods again. It reminded him of home and he knew that she would share his sentiment.
"How are we supposed to find pigs?" Leorio asked.
Renée smirked mischievously at him which caused him to put his guard up. "We have Gon." she stated simply.
He sighed in relief and Kurapika looked at him weirdly while they continued running after the island boy.
"What's wrong Leorio?"
"I thought she was going to attack me. Her eyes, they changed all of a sudden."
"She's probably just caught up in hunting game. Don't worry."
They slid down the hill right after Renée did and were surprised to bump into her painfully, causing them to stop.
"What was that for Gon!?" Killua yelled angrily.
"Pigs."
The other four looked at where he was pointing and saw enormous pigs that had large snouts covering their faces.
It was a Great Stamp.
They barely missed the fact that those animals were chewing on bones.
Barely.
"Are those bones!?" Leorio half yelled, half whispered.
"Don't tell me they're carnivores?" Kurapika whispered urgently.
Since they weren't entirely quiet, one of the pigs looked their way and snorted angrily, alerting its brethren. They all snorted in return and started stampeding towards them.
Panicking, the five quickly ran back.
They met some of the examinees along the way that were still searching. However, those guys were immediately trampled on by the beasts.
"How do we stop them!?" Leorio spat out.
Renée swiftly turned a sharp left, narrowly missing the Great Stamp's charging snout. It skidded to a halt and turned to her, eyes crazed. The pig was preparing to charge at her once more and this time, she jumped onto its back. It bucked and kicked, trying to shake her off but she held on. Renée drew her sword and accidentally whacked it on the head with the hilt because the pig suddenly kicked.
"Whoops."
Almost in an instant, the beast fell dead. "Oh. I guess that worked." she said to herself in mild surprise.
The red-head got off and sheathed her sword. Kurapika saw her and called out to her, telling her that they should go back.
With some effort, she managed to carry the pig and haul it back to her station.
"Hm. They caught a lot." Menchi said. 'I'll have to judge by taste then.'
"Hmm. How do we cook the pig." Gon wondered aloud he was watching Renée gut her pig and cut it up but he did not dare ask her for help. If he did, then he would feel that he didn't truly pass the test.
He sounds confident that she would pass because Renée is a really good cook. She's helped Aunt Mito cook their meals for as long as he can remember and she has gotten extremely good at it.
'Maybe she can become an Epicure Hunter someday.' he mused.
"Hey Gon."
The boy blinked, bringing himself back to the present and found himself face to face with a curious Killua. The others have turned to look at him too.
"What's wrong?" he smiled at them.
"Huh? You're the one that spaced out! You haven't even done anything to your pig yet and the hag had already started to fail some people."
Gon looked at the judges' table and saw that it was true.
Buhara passed every pig that came his way but Menchi failed them, saying that it was undercooked, too tough, or tastes horrible.
"She's a tough one." one of the examinees complained.
"Hey! Remember, presentation is also important!" the woman screeched angrily after throwing yet another roasted pig.
'Presentation.' Gon roasted his pig, at a loss of what to do. When he was done, he put the pig on a plate and decorated it. Proud of what he has accomplished, he walked up to the examiners and showed them his creation.
As expected, Buhara passed him and Menchi didn't even taste it saying that it looked like a kiddie meal, failing him.
Dejected, he went back to his station, passing Kurapika who had finished his dish. The blonde offered it confidently. Menchi actually took a bite out of it as it resembled somewhat a hamburger, meaning the appearance changed for once. She regretted tasting it because it didn't even have any flavor. In short, it was disgusting.
"You're as bad as #403!" she screamed.
Kurapika's face fell and he literally looked as if the life had been sucked out of him.
"Hey! What's so bad about that!?" Leorio asked him.
"Don't worry Kurapika. You're not as bad as that monkey." Renée reassured him.
The dark-haired man's nostrils flared and he whacked her on the head.
"Ow! That's it! You're not getting a taste out of my dish!" she yelled.
"Hey Ren, what IS your dish?" Gon asked her finally, taking a big sniff of what's in her pot. Before she knew it, they had already crowded her station, mouths watering.
"I'll let you guys taste after. Now I have to have it judged first." she patted her brother's head affectionately before walking up to the examiners. She carried a tray with two bowls, one was larger than the other, and placed it in front of the examiners.
Catching a whiff of the dish, Menchi immediately took a spoon and thoroughly inspected the bowl.
Everyone was watching the exchange, intrigued by the she-demon's sudden interest.
"It's Pork Pastel. The dish consists of pork, sausages, water chestnuts, mushrooms, carrots, and bell peppers in a creamy sauce. It's actually a home recipe." Renée explained.
Buhara had already devoured the bowl's contents, immediately passing her. Menchi took a bite.
And another.
And another.
She cleared her throat, readying her judgement. "Sorry but the pork is still a bit stiff. If you had cooked it more over a low flame, it would be perfect." she deadpanned, holding up an x.
"Huh? But she followed everything that was on the criteria and-"
"Buhara." Menchi looked at him menacingly.
The man only sighed, shrugging at the girl. The red-head clicked her tongue, but went back to her station anyway.
"What the- so that dish wasn't worth a pass?" one of the examiners uttered.
Renée only sighed, once reaching her friends. "Guess it was no good." she laughed half-heartedly.
"Eh but, this tastes really good Ren!"
She looked up to see that Gon and the others had already helped themselves to bowls of her creation.
Gon grinned toothily at her while Killua smirked. "A dunce can do such a thing, I'm impressed."
"Indeed, this is very delicious Renée." Kurapika said, patting her head.
"Good job kid." Leorio gave her a thumbs-up, still munching on the chestnuts.
"You guys. Did you even leave some for me!?" she asked them. Hurriedly, she peeked into the pot only to find it scraped clean. "Ah! It's gone."
When they noticed that Renée had started to tear up, they panicked.
"We sorta forgot, sorry Ren." Killua scratched the back of his neck.
"This is our second serving, I don't know why it slipped our minds." Kurapika admitted sheepishly.
The red-head glared at them which caused them to flinch. Her gaze landed on Leorio who was happily feeding himself. She stomped towards him and pointed an accusing finger at his face.
"You! I thought I told you that you can't have any! That's my food!"
"I was hungry!" he said defensively, keeping the bowl out of reach. If it weren't for her deadly glare, he would've laughed at how futilely short she is.
"And you!" this time she looked pointedly at Killua. "I'm still mad at you for separating Gon and I! How dare you eat my food!"
"Can't we get past that already? He's fine anyway." the silver-haired boy pleaded.
"What if he wasn't fine, huh!?" she yelled, her voice rising quickly.
"C'mon Ren, we can share!" Gon said, prying her away from the two. "Look, I still have plenty!" he encouraged her.
Renée greedily munched her food, much to everyone's amusement.
In the end, they all laughed at their silliness.
"Sorry, I'm full!"
"Yeah me too."
Everyone stared at the two examiners, unsure of what to make of their statements
"Then does that mean.." Gon pondered.
"The test is over, 0 applicants passed! Come back next year!" Menchi announced rather cheerily.
The crowd started to mutter in disbelief. Some applicants like Todo exclaimed angrily and started to react violently.
"That can't be. How do I find dad?"
Renée looked at her friend in sympathy and held his hand. She couldn't provide him with what he wanted but at least she can reassure him for now. The dark-haired boy smiled at her, no trace of sadness can be seen in his eyes.
The two were interrupted when a loud bang resounded from the vicinity.
They looked to see that Todo had been swatted towards the wall by Buhara.
"Buhara, don't interfere." Menchi said monotonously.
"But if I didn't, you would've killed him right?"
At that, the woman smirked and revealed some sharp knives that she was hiding. "Maybe."
She stood up and started juggling the knives without breaking eye contact with the crowd, occasionally adding more.
"Hunters, no matter what kind, must know at least one form of martial art. They use this to their advantage. We Gourmet Hunters go into dens of ferocious beasts and willingly put ourselves in grave danger just to be able to find a new ingredient and share it to the world. Your lack of interest on venturing the unknown immediately disqualifies you from becoming a Hunter!" she declared as she caught all of the knives and pointed it towards them.
This left all of them speechless, even Todo who was busy massaging his poor back.
"That may be so, but isn't failing all of them too harsh?" a loud voice boomed from above, surprising everyone.
They looked up to see an airship with a symbol on its side hovering over the park. "That's the Hunter Association's symbol!" one of the examinees exclaimed.
"What's that?" Killua asked, pointing at a tiny speck coming from the vessel.
They all stared at it as the speck became bigger and bigger until it landed right in front of them, leaving a small crater on the ground and quite an amount of dust that shrouded their vision.
Once it cleared, they saw that the speck was actually a person. It was an old man in white robes paired with wooden sandals.
Menchi's face paled incredibly. "Chairman Netero. The one in charge of the Exams." she stuttered, still in shock.
The examinees gawked at Netero, some in awe while some in curiosity.
"He must be someone amazing huh?" Renée whispered to Killua.
"Probably." he said in a bored tone.
"You're so cocky." she scolded him, to which he shrugged.
They looked back at the chairman when they heard him laugh in full amusement. "I only work behind the scenes and appear when there are problems, such as now. Well Menchi? You failed them all because they didn't want to try something new?" the old man said in a playful tone still.
"No sir! I failed them because some of them started to mock cooking so I made the test harder than necessary. I started judging by taste and when it comes to food I sometimes lose it. They all did the same thing and that angered me. One guy changed the appearance but then he didn't concentrate on the flavor at all!"
"What about that one girl? She cooked a superb dish did she not?" Netero cut her off mid-rant.
At this, everyone stared at Renée, even Menchi.
"She did sir. #402 made a dish that greatly satisfied my palate, but I felt a twinge of jealousy so I failed her instead." the woman admitted sheepishly, giving the redhead an apologetic look.
Renée furrowed her brows slightly, digesting her confession. "That makes me mad." she muttered.
Gon put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.
"At least you know you would've passed." Killua said indifferently.
"I'm so sorry! I'm not fit to be an examiner! Please repeat the second phase." Menchi bowed low to the chairman.
"It'll be difficult to find an examiner now on such short notice. So how about this, everyone gets a chance to redo the second phase but on one condition: you will take the Exam with them so that they can accept the results better. How's that Menchi?" the chairman smiled kindly, the light of mischief never leaving his eyes.
"Okay then! The redo of the second phase shall be boiled eggs!" Menchi said with renewed optimism. "Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half?" she asked pointing to a plateau-like mountain in the distance.
"I see. Well I guess that's doable. Everyone get on the airship!"
Menchi and Buhara facilitated the boarding of the examinees so as not to lose anyone.
Gon excitedly ran up the ship. "Race you!" he shouted at the two twelve year olds behind him.
It took a moment before what he said registered in their heads. They sprinted after him angrily. "Not fair!"
"Those kids are too energetic." Leorio complained to Kurapika.
"That's what makes this fun." he said simply, smiling
END OF 13.
A/N: And that's it! Those are all the chapters stored in my phone so I'm sorry but starting from now on updates would be slower. I would also like to apologize if I won't be posting this week because I have my midterms. I will, however, try to post at least one or two next week. With that said, please review!
Renaglory: Do you mind telling me what type of fluff you wanna see? I'm no good at thinking about it, I'm sorry.