Running through the marsh, Kagero noticed the fog getting denser and looked around to survey her surroundings. She had to be careful of any foreign objects on the ground and such. Mushrooms and suspicious looking patches of grass were a given. Also something was annoying her, or rather someone.
You can clearly hear Leorio's grunting noises while he runs. He really has to learn to be more discrete. Kagero thought, frowning slightly.
She tapped Gon's shoulder to get his attention, "The fog's getting thicker..." Kagero mumbled to him.
"You're right!" Gon looked around to see that he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of himself.
"There's also an ominous atmosphere coming from that direction." Kagero nodded her head to the direction where it was coming from. It led to Hisoka and the people surrounding him. It was obvious that they were planning to take him out in the fog. They weren't exactly being discreet about the hateful glares they were sending him. They didn't think that Hisoka was suitable to be a hunter even though he was significantly stronger than all of them combined. Even Kagero thought he was stronger. Sure she had been trained since a young age, but she doubted she was stronger than him. Her body was built for speed, not power, though she could still break someone's bone if she put enough momentum into it.
"Yea, we should move up." Killua came in after looking behind him. He could feel the bloodlust coming from Hisoka.
"We don't want to lose sight of the examiner" Gon piped up.
"Staying close to Hisoka is dangerous. I can smell it in the air." She could sense something bad about him at the time, but she couldn't place what it was. She hadn't really felt blood lust before, other than bears and wolves, and the Kiriko from the mountain.
"Smell? I don't smell anything." Gon seriously tried to smell for something in the air. Though all he got was sweat, dirt and various other things. "Leorio, Kurapika! Killua and Mirage say we should move up!" He shouted, bringing some attention to their group of three. Kagero noticed Killua tense up.
Man, can't Gon feel the tension in the air?
"MORON!" Leorio yelled suddenly and the people around him flinched—one even tripped—at the sheer volume. Kurapika had enough forewarning to predict it and covered his ears. There was a pause, as if he was talking a deep breath in to yell even more, "If I had enough strength I'd already be there!" Even at the distance they were at Leorio's voice boomed throughout the marsh.
"Don't worry about us! Go on ahead!" Kurapika shouted, reassuring them. If those two got into any trouble surely Kurapika would be able to think of something, being the smarty pants that he was.
Gon pouted. "Ehhh"
"Let's go Gon, Kagero." Killua started running faster, Kagero followed wordlessly. She was trying to keep her breathing steady as to not waste energy.
"Ah! Wait!" Gon ran to catch up with the two.
The three were lucky they moved up in time, otherwise they would have gotten caught up in a bloodbath involving massive turtles and strawberries. Eh, it's the Hunter exam, crazy stuff man. You must expect the unexpected.
"I hear people screaming all around us." Gon's eyes were darting to each place he heard the screams come from. It was rather unnerving, the fog was unnaturally thick and they could feel the heavy moisture on their skin so you caught each breeze that went by.
"Just stay on your guard," Killua retorted. He was worried that Gon wasn't that alert at the time, well... because... Gon was Gon. Though back when he tracked the Kiriko he showed a high alertness—or so Kurapika told her.
"I wonder if Leorio and Kurapika are okay..." Gon looked behind himself and slowed to a stop, not likely for a breather, but because he was worried. Killua did the same, not wanting to lose Gon in the vast marsh. Then Killua looked alarmed, something was wrong. Very wrong. He felt vibrations from the ground beneath them. Was it an earthquake? Gon seemed to notice it too.
Killua's eyes widened as the ground below started to crumble, and was about to yell to Gon to move before the ground gave way beneath them.
"...WATCH OUT!" Kagero yelled for the first time in Killua's presence, her voice cracked to a high pitch, she bolted to try and push them out of the way. The shout startled the boys but it was too late, a giant frog came out of the ground and swallowed both Killua and Gon. Kagero immediately went to attack the frog no hesitation to harm the beast. They were her first friends, she wouldn't lose them. She could tell that her offence hurt the frog but it just brushed it off, walking away happily with its recent meal. She contemplated cutting it but decided against it, not wanting to accidentally harm Killua or Gon. She has an eureka moment and ran in front of the frog, surprising it by forcibly opening its mouth, standing on its lips hold it open.
"Gon, Killua! I'm holding its mouth open, can you two climb up?!" Kagero yelled into the frog. She got a muffled noise in return, and a few seconds later the boys came out.
"Thanks Kagero..." Killua said climbing up its throat and pulling Gon up. Killua frowned and grimaced at the slime on him, that would be very hard to get out. The frog escaped—or rather very slowly walked away from the three, not wanting anything to do with them anymore after what it just went through.
Gon slipped and slid a little because of the slick slime. He also made a face, a much more animated one compared to Killua's as he freaked out over the gross bodily fluid. "Eeeewwww." He took off his shirt and swung it in a circle to get the stuff off.
"Gon! Watch where you fling that stuff! Gross!" Kagero made a noise and cringed when a large slop of it hit her cheek. "Eww." She wiped her face slowly and whipped her hand to get the stuff off.
"Eheheh, sorry." He scratched his neck absently. "OH! Thanks a bunch! We would have been goners if you didn't save us!"
"I could have gotten out myself..." Killua's proud voice didn't match the sulk on his face.
"Oh?" Kagero crossed her arms and smirked at Killua.
"With what?" Gon was curious.
"This." He pulled out one of the canned drinks Tonpa gave him. Gon absently looked towards the direction where they just came from.
"Though wouldn't you rather not being covered in frog vomit?" Killua and Gon nodded, completely agreeing with Kagero's opinion on Killua's plan.
"Hmmm… I'm still worried about Leorio and Kurapika." Gon looked worried.
"Forget about them. Let's get a move on." Killua was as cold hearted as he usually was. He just wanted to finish the phase as fast as he could.
"Well I wouldn't say forget," she ran with Killua. "I'd rather say trust." She waved to Gon behind her back, telling to go if he wanted to. She wouldn't be able to stop him either way.
Not even a minute passed and Killua noticed that Gon wasn't there. Kagero's conversation distracted him from his observations of the area that he didn't notice that Gon wasn't there.
"He left to go help Kurapika and Leorio." Kagero answered the question he was about to ask. "Hmm... Though I think I should go to help too. If he runs into Hisoka he won't be able to handle it. He would at least need some backup." Kagero turned and ran towards the direction Gon ran to find a clearing.
"Oi! Kagero!" Killua sighed when she was already out of sight. "Man, they're both such a handful."
Running through the marsh, she decided that it would be better to jump through the trees. She didn't want anything to happen again like the frog incident, but there were also weird mushrooms everywhere, so the trees were the safest option she had at the moment.
Right out of nowhere there was a high pitched shriek next to her. She tensed up—almost screaming in fright herself after being startled—and lost her footing, almost falling out of the tree. If she didn't grab the branch that she had... Well, she would have been a carnivorous Venus Flytraps lunch. She looked to the bird and shot the annoying thing a death glare but it just screamed at her again. Her right ear was ringing because it was so loud and right next to her. Stupid bird. Why does it sound like a humans scream. Is it like a parrot? She thought as she and the bird had a stare down. Man, the birds screams were like the classic horror movie screams. Then the bird made a high pitched shrill noise, sending a chill down her spine. She really needed to kill that bird, it was following her.
Getting a move on, she saw the clearing. She looked through the leaves or the trees. Her breath hitched, and she went wide eyed before settling down into a quiet rage. If anyone could see her face, chills would go down their spines. Her face was emotionless other than her eyebrows that were knit down in fury. Though her eyes, they had no light in them. Dull and deadly.
The source was Hisoka, who was holding Gon by the neck. By his expression she could clearly see that he was enjoying Gon's pain while he struggled, turning blue from oxygen deprivation. Leorio was sprawled on the ground with a large swollen black eye and multiple bruises, certainly out for the count. Other than that he seemed fine.
After assessing the situation she jumped out of the trees to appear in front of Hisoka and Gon. Gon looked over to her, eyes wide in fear. He looked scared and surprised by her appearance. He tried to speak to warn her, to tell her to run away, worried what she would end up in the same positon as him—but his voice was too hoarse to. "Ka-ge…."
Hisoka just glanced to the side, amused.
"Put. Him. Down." Kagero's tone was dark. You couldn't tell by her body language, but her voice said it all. She was pissed off. Nobody liked an angry Kagero... Oh they wouldn't—though Hisoka was different. She couldn't even remember the last time she was so angry, or rather the last time she was looking to maim someone. Kagero just felt an overwhelming need to beat the man who was harming her friend to a bloody pulp.
"And If I don't?" Hisoka questioned with a smirk, gripping Gon's neck harder and he choked, squirming to get air. The air around Kagero got darker. Hisoka's eyebrows raised a notch, "Oh?"
Kagero propelled herself into the air, launching into a fast flip flinging her leg out to do a drop kick to Hisoka's arm, forcing it to bend from his elbow. His grip loosened and she grabbed his wrist, prying it of Gon's throat. He fell to the ground before she could catch him.
Hisoka was surprised—surprised by the intensity and ferocity that she attacked him with. Her movement was fast, though he thought it could be faster with further training. The anger fueled her as her speed was toned up a few notches. Kagero could feel herself in the zone. The warm feeling that she could sometimes harness flowed around her body, strengthening her body.
"Ooh, not bad." He smiled even wider. Kagero was already in motion for when he reappeared behind her, an after image still in front of her. She didn't know how but she could sense when he moved behind her. She moved instantaneously as he disappeared and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back.
"Don't try anything funny." No pun intended—she would have laughed at that if the situation was different. She glared at Hisoka with all her hatred at the moment. He turned his head to see her eyes from the shade of her hood glowing slightly. He found this amusing. Highly amusing.
I think I just found a new toy. Mmmm.
"I surrender." He raised his hands, somehow getting his arm out from her grip. By now Gon was just getting up from the ground, but he saw everything and was surprised by Kagero's strength. She was almost on par with Hisoka in ability, but somehow she lacked something compared to him.
"Gon, are you okay?" Kagero bent down to help him up.
"Y-yea." He coughed, his throat raw, and dusted off his shorts.
Hisoka walked up to Gon. Gon tensed along with Kagero. "Do not fear. I will not kill you or your friends." He smirked and looked to Kagero. "You all pass." He laughed creepily. His laughter was cut off when he got a call from a walkie-talkie, his voice and demeanor went from creepy to serious while talking with the unknown caller. While Hisoka was talking he tossed Leorio over his shoulder like a rag doll.
"You can find your way back, right?" He asked, hanging up after ending the call. Gon nodded. Then Hisoka looked over to Kagero.
"I'll be fine." She snapped a reply. Hisoka walked off after getting Kagero's response. She took multiple deep breaths before she calmed down. Though she was still mad at what Hisoka did to Gon and Leorio, though she would try not to hold a grudge.
"Gon! Are you alright?" Kurapika came running from the forest into the clearing. He checked the two over before they continued to their destination.
Running down the pathway, Gon was currently being a tracking dog and was following Leorio's cologne. How he did it? They had no clue.
"Hey Mirage, how did you get Hisoka to let go of Gon like that?" Kurapika questioned.
"...I just kicked his arm and made it buckle," she stretched, "No biggie." Kurapika and Gon were both surprised. Well of course they were, she fought Hisoka head on and survived.
"Neh, what did Hisoka mean when he said that we passed?"
"He was acting as the judge in his own way, he proved us worthy of passing and so he didn't kill us." Kurapika explained to Gon. "Perhaps he sensed that you were kindred spirits. It's quite common that those possessing special talents are drawn to others with unique gifts. Perhaps Hisoka's experience told him that you had the skill and potential to become hunters."
He says perhaps a lot...
"Perhaps he thought killing us would be a waste." Kagero added in teasing Kurapika a bit, "Though if he ever tried again..." An evil chuckle came from her mouth, getting them to sweat drop and also sending a chill down their spines. She would have sworn to grant him pain. In the future, she wasn't strong enough at the moment.
"Hmm…" The two boys looked to Kagero, waiting for her to say something. Usually when someone 'hmmed' they wanted to voice something, "What do you think Killua's doing? Do you think he made it to the meeting place?"
"He's probably made it there already."
"Yeah! And he would be looking for us!"
"He might be thinking 'hey, why's Hisoka carrying Leorio?'"
They all shared a laugh before it quieted down for the rest of the way. After a good ten minutes they reached the sight and many applicants looked as if they were about to pass out.
"Looks like we made it in time." Kurapika said as he looked around for Leorio.
"Oh, he's over there," Kagero pointed and walked over to a tree. She looked behind her to see if they were coming when she saw Hisoka. Kagero gave a glare towards Hisoka, she was still mad about that incident in the clearing.
"What are you glaring at Mirage?" Kurapika and Gon asked.
"Hisoka... I'm still mad at him." She huffed and looked away.
"Hmm," Gon looked around. "I don't see him." Gon followed Kagero who was beckoning him to follow.
"Yo, Leorio." Kagero went up beside him and pat him lightly on the head before climbing up the large tree he was leaning on. Kurapika raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was doing that.
Leorio looked up from his daze, "Man that stings...Why am I all beat up?"
"Huh?" Did he not remember what just happened?
"My memory is kinda hazy." Leorio seemed groggy.
Kurapika side commented to Gon. "We probably shouldn't tell him what happened." Gon laughed lightly and was called by someone.
"Gon!" That someone walked up to them, hands in pockets and lax atmosphere.
"Killua!"
"I can't believe you actually got here... I thought you two were goners." Killua taunted. "Wait… where's Kagero? Don't tell me—did he get killed?"
"Gon tracked Leorio's cologne." Kagero poked out of the all the leaves so they could see her. She was standing on a nick in the tree and leaning away from the tree, holding onto a branch so she wouldn't fall. "And Killua, I take that offensively. Do you doubt me?"
"You guys definitely are weird..." Killua was interrupted by Satotz's voice.
"Excellent work, everyone. Phase two will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave." He started jogging away in his usual animalistic way, those long strides were definitely not normal by any means.
"See ya later Satotz!" Kagero waved and jumped down from the tree, stumbling from the height. Satotz smiled—or she thought he did—at her and continued his journey all the way back to Zaban city. Or so they thought.
The doors started to open and all applicants turned to the two people on the inside.
"Will all applicants who passes the first phase please enter? I'm Menchi, the Second Phase Examiner."
Another examiner started talking, the huge man behind her—he was quite hard to not notice. "And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." There was a silence until there was a loud growling noise. Buhara looked uncomfortable... Was that his stomach?
"You must be hungry." Menchi looked at the applicants, "There you have it. Phase two will involve... Cooking!" The majority of the applicants were in complete and utter shock. You can easily tell what was going through their minds, 'Cooking? Were here to take the Hunter Exam! Don't look down on us!' That type of thing.
One of the applicants decided to be brave—or stupid, it depended on the way you looked at it—and picked a fight with the examiners. He laughed at their hunter status, it got so far that Buhara had to punch the sumo wrestler to the outside of the wall, slamming against one of the pillars. It crumbled and he fell to the ground. Everyone went quiet and they took the chance to explain the phase.
"The required ingredient is pork. You're free to use any meat from any species of Biska Forest pigs." Menchi came in and explained how the food would be judged. Buhara used his stomach as a gong and signaled the start of the phase. Everyone ran out to get the pigs.
Kagero simply stood there and went to her cooking station. The only thing there was an old fashioned tool you used to cook meat, a rotary. She then looked to the counter and looked at the supply they had set out.
"The phase already started." The blue haired woman said.
Kagero looked up to them, "Oh, I know. Thanks though." With that Kagero ran off leaving a surprised Menchi, Buhara and Satotz who was in the shadows of a tree.
Kagero ran through the forest as fast as she could and found a heard of pigs, she hid her presence and sneaked around to one and gave it a lethal blow to its head. She picked up the pig with some struggle and looked up to see Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio slide down a hill. She gave a salute holding the pig up with the other single arm and jumped over them and ran off, leaving the group astonished. Thank goodness they came along. If they didn't she would have taken the long way back.
Kagero was the first to get back and she put the pig on the roaster, she cut out the eyes and gutted the pig. Taking the blood of the pig and put it in a bowl, she added sugar and spices to it and let it sit aside. The judges simply watched her. She grabbed the lettuce and tomato, but stopped. If she got the garnish ready now the lettuce would get soggy. So she would wait until her pig's almost done. She turned her burner on medium; she knew that she had enough time to cook it all the way through with how fast she caught the pig. She wiped sweat from her forehead. The hunter's exam was harsh, though she had confidence in her cooking. After all, she was the one that had to prepare the meals at home after hunting.
She paused when she heard a huge noise from the forest. "About time," She stretched, popping some joints and went back to turning the pig. When the applicants came back they simply put there pig on the stick, put it to full heat and rotated away. Kagero frowned. There would be a lot of wasted pig by the way they were going. They were already burning the skin and it smelt horrible.
"Woah, you're almost done already!" Gon said surprised."...Mirage?" No answer. Kagero had her headphones in as she was working, so she couldn't hear him.
"He's so focused." Leorio commented, impressed by her concentration. He just didn't notice the headphones.
Kagero was almost done and bunch of applicants had gotten judged already with their charred pigs—all getting failing grades. Kagero lathered the sauce she made on the outside of the pig and let it soak in for a few seconds on the heat. She turned off the burner and took the pig off of the stick to set it on the counter. She cut equal thick slices and charred a little on the burner like a steak, the juice was now sealed in the meat. She put a single slice on one plate for Menchi since it seemed like she wouldn't eat the whole damn pig.
She got the lettuce and tomato out of the fridge and reached to grab a knife from the holder on the countertop. She noticed the others looking at her. She smirked and grabbed the knife, skillfully twirling it around for a second before cutting the lettuce into thin strips along with cutting chunky tomatoes.
Leorio's complexion paled a bit at the way she played with the knife. It was scary.
She placed the paper-thin lettuce and tomato on the side and put some more sauce on the steak. She put the rest of the lettuce inside the pig. Kagero grabbed the plate and the pig and walked up the stairs.
"Last applicant," Menchi declared. She was feeling sick after trying some of the applicant's food. That's why she started failing people from what she could see that was wrong rather than tasting.
Kagero put the plate in front of Menchi and gave Buhara the pig. Buhara ate it in one bite. Wow much.
"This is… actually quite well done. Nice presentation..." Menchi cut the steak and the juices flowed out. She examined how well done the pig was and reluctantly took a bite. She looked happy. It wasn't up to her standard, but certainly much better than the others. "You Pass!"
"What! That's the first person to pass!" An applicant complained.
"Yes, and the rest of you fail."
"Isn't that a bit unfair?" Kagero questioned quietly. "I know Hisoka's on your nerves but that's nothing to fail everyone for." Since she still hadn't forgiven the clown, she had been keeping an eye on him. He seemed to be challenging Menchi constantly, though at least he wasn't going after them at the moment.
Menchi was speechless. He could tell? His perception's impressive! Menchi recovered and stated her reason. "All the applicants simply put the pig over a flame. There was no effort to make it pleasurable. Almost all of the pigs were charred on the outside but raw on the inside, you can die from eating raw meat." Menchi explained that Hunters need to be creative put simply.
There was a loud noise overhead and a huge blimp came into view. A screeching noise came through a speaker on the blimp before a voice came on through a megaphone. "That said it would be excessive to fail every single applicant."
"That's the symbol of the Hunters Association!" A random applicant stated the obvious.
A person jumped from the blimp and landed in the center of the area. There was a huge dust cloud and the ground caved in around him. When the dust started to clear you could see the figure of an older man. He was wearing a type of kimono and had a weird hairstyle with excessively long eyebrows and a long beard with a grey tip to it. To top that weirdness off he had large earlobes with piercings. He didn't seem like a naturally serious man.
"He's in charge of the Hunter Exam...Chairman Netero." Menchi explained who the person was.
"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi-kun. You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"
"No sir... I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary."
"In other words, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable."
"Yes, sir. When cooking is involved, I lose control."
"Excuse me..." Kagero intervened getting Menchi and Netero to look at her. She was standing right beside them since Menchi was still talking to her before Netero joined the party. "She didn't fail everyone..." Everyone's eyes were now on Kagero and she was feeling a little uncomfortable.
"Menchi-kun didn't fail you?" Netero asked.
"No Sir."
Netero looked to Menchi, with an amused eyebrow, "Why did you only pass this young lad here?" He eyed Kagero.
"For one, it was actually cooked properly." Menchi emphasized 'properly', "He actually put effort to make the food taste good, and tried new things, like using the pig's blood, and passed my expectations. That's the reason I passed him."
"I know that Menchi-san failed everyone else. I can see why... no offense." She added after getting hateful looks, "But there should be a re-examination."
"What about it Menchi-kun?" Netero went along with the re-examination idea. "But you will have to participate in the new test. Is that acceptable?"
Menchi was thinking before she had a eureka moment, "Then the new challenge will be… boiled eggs! Chairman, can you take up to that mountain in your airship?"
"Hmm, I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can."
The airship arrived at the mountain—Mt. Split-in-Half was its name. Kagero took the time to meditate so she could regain some energy while they were flying to their destination. The others wanted to talk to her but decided to leave her alone when they saw her meditating or napping. They couldn't tell—but secretly she actually fell asleep.
Everyone was now looking over the edge of the cliff. Huh, exciting. It sure lives up to its name.
"Now, everyone...Look down there." There was what seemed to be a web in the crevice of the gorge. "A Spider Eagle's web."
"So they make their webs there!" Gon peeked over the edge, that's when an unexpected updraft of air came up. Some contestants cringed and either walked away or fell backwards in fright. The few that were already scared were praying that they didn't have to do what they thought that they would have to do.
Menchi explained that the eggs were hanging from the web and that we simply had to get them and get back up. Menchi did a demonstration. She jumped down and grabbed the web. She let go and grabbed an egg and fell, but was lifted by the updraft that came soon after.
"There. Now I just need to boil the egg." Menchi said simply, as if what she had just done was normal.
"No reasonable person would jump down there." A contestant was panicking. It was exactly what he feared that he would have to do.
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon jumped off excitedly with the others. Kagero didn't jump off though after all she already passed, but she was hungry and really wanted to try this so called heavenly egg. Everyone else followed. Menchi was panicking because she didn't have the chance to explain how to get the eggs.
Everyone grabbed on to the web and some people mindlessly let got and fell to their deaths. Leorio wanted to jump off, eager to get an egg, but Gon yelled "Don't!" Every single person went quiet, sensing that Gon knew the correct timing to get them out alive. Though the web's strands started to break and people chickened out and fell thinking that they would fall anyways. The web was about to snap when Gon said "Now!" and everybody let go. Kagero was surprised that they all trusted Gon's judgement.
"Neh, Mirage why didn't you jump?" Gon asked.
"I was wondering too." Killua added.
Kagero sighed, "You know... I did already pass... Also, I'm too heavy. The web would have broken right away with me and everyone on there. It already broke enough with you guys.
Menchi over heard this and walked over. "What do you mean?"
"I have training weights and they could easily break the web with all the other people on it." Menchi and the group let out an 'Ah.' "So I'll be going down now."
"Didn't you say you already passed?" Leorio asked, confused.
"…I want to eat an egg..." She said simply, getting some people that were eavesdropping to anime fall.
"But the up draft wouldn't be able to lift you up all the way now would it?" Kurapika was worried.
"Don't worry." Kagero grinned to herself and walked towards the edge of the ravine. "I have a plan." A few other people walked over too, wanting to watch what she would do; Hisoka, the creepy pin guy, as she called him, Menchi, Hanzo, Netero and the gang.
She looked down and looked to see which of the lower webbings would be able to hold her. When she chose one Kagero looked beside her to the group and gave a nod, she jumped. She grabbed the first web, bending her arms to lessen the strain on the web. Then let go down to the next one, then the next and she reached the last web with the eggs on it. If she just jumped down and grabbed the last web the web would have snapped from the shock and she would have fallen. So she jumped down slowly to gradually lessen the impact. She slid herself down one of the lines connected to a bunch of eggs and grabbed one with one hand, slipping it into her hood, secured in by her scarf and held the other. Her other hand was on the string keeping her from falling. Kagero pulled herself up and jumped onto the web to walk across the tightrope with ease—she was proud of her balance. The people above were curious of what she would do. Then she jumped towards the wall of the ravine and propelled herself off of it successfully getting her up to the next web. Once she reached the top web Kagero noticed that the same method would not help her here. There was way too much of a gap to wall jump her way up to the ledge. She thought of an idea, and walked to the middle of the web.
"What are you doing Kagero?! We're over here!" Leorio yelled, flailing his arms around and thus annoying the people beside him. Kagero ignored him—she needed to focus on the task at hand.
She took a deep breath in, sensing that the breeze would be coming soon and bolted across the web to the opposite side the ravine. Kagero jumped and was about to crash into the wall, Leorio cringed for impact; but she wall-jumped off the wall as hard as she could and flew across half of the ravine. Then, the updraft came. The force from her jump and the updraft gave her the distance she needed to get across with plenty of distance to spare. She landed effortlessly leaving a dent in the ground like Netero from before. She didn't remember to distribute her weight properly.
Gon, and Killua ran to her. Kurapika and Leorio followed, including the other people who were watching closely.
"That was amazing!" Gon ran up and hugged her. "I'm glad you didn't fall!" Kagero was flustered by the sudden hug. She lifted her arms up on impact so the eggs wouldn't get damaged. Her hood fell down, and so did the egg in her hood. Her reflexes caught the egg before it got anywhere close to the ground. The people around her were the only ones to see her face. The majority of them were staring at her since throughout the whole exam they weren't able to see her face. Though people like Hisoka didn't pay attention. Just the applicants that didn't really have a significance stared.
"What are you guys looking at?" Kagero didn't even notice that her hood was down. Then she felt a breeze and her hair started moving. "..." She tried to put her hood back up but Gon pestered her that she should keep it down. She didn't like the stares, but she liked the breeze.
"Why do you have two eggs Mirage?" Kurapika asked. "I didn't see you grab the other in the first place."
"I put one in my hood." She scratched her head. "I thought that the people who didn't jump would like to try some." She smiled sheepishly. The others went quiet. "...What?"
"N-nothing... We're still getting used to you... you know... opening up..." Leorio blushed slightly, "Never thought you would be so, um... kind." Kagero blushed furiously.
"I'm glad you're opening up!" Gon was extremely happy. "You should smile more!" She did smile, but they just couldn't see it because of her scarf and hoof. Kagero got awkward from the further embarrassment, furious blush still engaged. The others burst out laughing. Killua included.
"You too Killua!" Then it was Killua's turn to blush, also because of Gon.
"Everyone time to boil the eggs!" Menchi yelled, getting everyone's attention. Gon, Leorio and Kurapika left them. Kagero and Killua looked to each other and smiled timidly. The reason why? The bringers of the awkwardness had left.
There was a hulking cauldron, the eggs were put in and there was about a fifteen minute wait. Kagero absently thought of Macbeth and the witches because of the huge cauldron. She decided to walk around while waiting. She bumped into Hisoka.
"Nice job, boya." He walked off.
Well...That was, weird... Kagero blinked as she plopped herself on the ground. She sprawled out, and enjoyed the breeze. The others joined her. It was so peaceful. Killua ended up staring at Kagero, mainly because of her unique hair and eye colour. The peacefulness was interrupted when Menchi called everyone.
People lined up anxious to get there eggs. Kagero was last in line so she could grab her second egg. Everyone started eating; they were surprised by how good it was. Gon even shared his with someone else. Kagero didn't eat hers yet, she wanted to let the others have her second egg. After she was done, almost everyone had finished their eggs.
"You didn't eat your egg yet?" Killua walked up to Kagero.
"I was just about to eat it. It's still warm." She held it up to her face effectively warming her cheek up. She hadn't even peeled the shell off yet.
"Mirage! It's time to go!" Gon yelled from the doorway of the airship. "Killua too! Come on!" He shivered, "It's cold!"
(Omake)
Hisoka was jogging to the area for the next phase, Leorio in tow over his shoulder. He was relishing in his thoughts while remembering what just happened in the clearing.
Oh, Gon-kun has so much potential, but there's also Kagero-kun. He doesn't know what he was using, if he knew how to use it… Hisoka groaned, "I don't know who to pick!" Then he thought of something, "Well why not both?"
If anyone else was nearby—or if Leorio was awake—they would have been frozen to the core in terror from the pedophilic expression he had on his face.
(Omake End)