Hey there! It's Yoshida Megumi-chan on charge! It's been two months after I updated, so I pray it isn't too late!
Vio: It is, actually. You know why? Because you haven't updated for TWO MONTHS!
Megu: How about you try to update the story while another four people are sitting on the computer?
Vio: Well… But it's not like they are on the computer non-stop…
Megu: Okay, try to write while you are without a computer for three weeks! Not to mention that the stupid Writer's Block bit me hard, and then my idea was eaten from my dearest Idea-Eating Monster.
Vio: Okay, touché. On with the story!
Cliff Jumping X Eggs X Training
Mana's POV:
"There is simply no way I'm gonna do it!" I yelled. We were on mountain Split in Half – I know, how original – and the examiner for the Second Phrase, Menchi, decided to make us jump from a cliff to get some eggs. Simple, right? And I must be thankful, because we are remaking the Phrase because that insane dude that fell from the sky was actually the Chairman of the Hunter Association and he helped us? (A/N: Yes, Mana usually speaks with long sentences when she's angry.) Well you guessed wrong, buddy. I have this little problem with heights. Yes, how lame, the main character is afraid of looking down from insanely high places without a good reason, right? But that's the reality, bear with it. (A/N: That was rude… Mana: Oh, shush you.)
"You're gonna do it." Arisu argued with me. Beside us, the other contestants were sweatdropping, Kurapika was facepalming, Leorio was dumbfounded, Killua was bored, and Gon was grinning like a complete idiot.
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"I'm not!"
"No, you are- oh, you know, I give up" Nee-chan said. "If ya don't want to go there like a good girl" she placed her hands on my tummy "I'm gonna bring you there by force!" and she pushed me off the cliff. MY SISTER PUSHED ME FROM A CLIFF! I mean, WE WERE STANDING ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF?! SINCE WHEN?! Yeah, I'm sorta dumb when it comes to positions. But, back at the point…
"Are you sane?!" I screamed, falling down. Stupid gravity… in the next moment, someone caught my hand. Okay, it wasn't someone, it was Gon. I guess he jumped right after me, if that could be counted as a jump, and caught the spider web he was hanging from now, and then caught me. God, I have to be thankful that I'm so thin and light, or else I would have fallen like a rock down the river. I eyed him. "T-Thank you." I murmured quietly. I guess Gon heard me because he widened his grin.
"You are welcome!" Then he pulled me closer to him to the point he was practically hugging me. I was flushed. Again. The boy looked at me with his big, brown eyes. I didn't know it was normal for friends to jump off a cliff to save you. It was, right? Right? No. Fuck, big sis was right. In the end, we know nothing about bonds and such. Gon was staring at me intensively and I was becoming redder and redder by every second.
"Mana-san, are you okay?" he asked. "You are red. Are you ill?" I shook my head furiously. Then someone chuckled beside us.
"She is ill, Gon" Arisu-nee said. Oh, no, please, no! I just had to catch an illness when I'm taking the Hunter Exam! Such a misfortune! "But it isn't my job to tell you from what. She will tell you… sooner or later…" and then click! I heard a camera and turned around only to see her, hanging on a spider web with one hand, phone in the other. "Gonna save this pic!" she commented. I felt my face burn from embarrassment.
"I'm going to make you beg for forgiveness!" I shouted, embarrassed. Okay, I think I have a mental problem here. No normal person would shout that in their sister's I was always stranger than the others.
And, I don't think I could be related to this girl. I mean, she is totally different from me. We don't have almost anything in common (excluding the hair and sense of boredom). And she was good at acting, too. No one but me could notice she was on edge because of how Hisoka's looking at Gon. I shivered with disgust; a shota-liking pedo-clown!
I looked at Arisu, she was raising an eyebrow at me. Did I skip something?
"You okay? It's rare for you to space out like that." She asked.
"Yeah, just thinking."
"About what?"
"About you begging me for forgiveness. And then about a certain shota-liking pedo-clown."
"Oh. Okay then." Arisu answered. I sighed.
My sis was good at reading anyone but me. And it was irritating her, maybe. Or I was too observing. Like when I saw Hisoka licking his lips, looking at Gon – creepy much? I'm betting all my red apples that the clown is a shota. And not to forget that Needle-Man, it gives me creeps! Anyway, I think we will have problems with these guys.
"So, How will you do it?" Arisu teased. I smirked and shifted my eyes to Killua, who was hanging beside my sister.
"I'm going to lock you and Killua up in a small room, with no way out, for two whole days." I explained. Their eyes widened in shock.
"Why are you punishing me, too!" Killua whined. "I didn't do anything!"
"Sorry, buddy, gotta take my revenge" I answered. One silver haired idiot glared at me. The male. I think the female was thinking how to torture me enough just for saying it out loud.
"I think you just created your most powerful enemy." Kurapika commented, sweatdropping.
"You won't dare!" Arisu yelled at me. Then we heard a snap and the web we were hanging started tearing apart.
"Uh-Oh" I gulped. I may be with Gon, but I am a scaredy cat when it comes to these things.
"Gon, when do we jump?" Kurapika asked.
"Just a little bit" Gon answered. I decided to believe in him. Then someone jumped and we heard his scream and then a quiet *thud* which signaled his death. My head started spinning and I just barely stopped myself from puking. Just, I don't like the thought of someone falling and then dying.
"You really are a scaredy cat." Nee-san suddenly said.
"Huh?" I asked, not really understanding what she meant. I mean, my sister never, absolutely never would tell me something like this.
"You heard me. You really are a scaredy cat." She repeated. Gon and the others looked at her as if she was insane. "You can't even stand your irrational fear from high places, what a waste of air." My eyes widened. Irrational fear? "The way you are now, you couldn't stand a chance even to the lowest level guard. And you want to save them? Don't make me laugh! You need much more trainings than the one we did there. First lesson: don't let the fear take you over. This is the simplest thing even possible. Now, show me if you really are that strong as you claim to be."
I clenched my fists. Nee-san was right. If I couldn't understand the simplest rule we were taught there, I'm not qualified to be a hunter. My eyes narrowed. I felt the wind under me and loosened Gon's grip without him noticing.
"NOW!" Gon suddenly yelled, and I got out of his hands, falling from the net. Quickly I grabbed one of the eggs and waited for the wind. It came just the right moment and we were sent flying in the air, now above the ground. I easily jumped from the air and landed on my two feet without any problem.
"Was it so bad?" My sister walked up to me with an egg in hand. I shook my head.
"It was so exciting!" I answered, with sparkles around me. "I've never had this kind of fun before! If it wasn't The Hunters Exam, I would do it one more time!"
"It's very obvious you liked it thought…" Arisu looked at me. "Cause you were smiling all the time."
"Me? Smiling?" I touched the corners of my lips – yes, I really was smiling.
"I think you caught a very rare disease, it's called 'idiot's grin' and Gon is ill from that too." Arisu shot me an amused look while the question marks above Gon's head continued to appear.
"While I agree with you, I think you just insulted Gon and the other idiots around the world who are grinning without reason. Including me." I glared at sis. She just stuck out her tongue to me. A tick-mark appeared on my head. That childish, blue-loving, spicy-eating, dumb silver head! Menchi called us and we boiled our eggs. I instantly ate mine. So yummy!
Arisu's POV:
I was looking at the sky, keeping my now boiled egg in my hands.
"Hey, Nee-chan" Mana looked at my hands. "You know we will eat the eggs we caught, right?"
"What?" I threw my egg a disgusted glare. "There is no way I'm gonna eat this trash."
I held the egg maximally away from me, not even glancing at it. Suddenly, a bulb appeared above my head. I clicked with tongue, not exactly liking the idea. Oh, well. Better than being with the egg even a second more, that's for sure.
"Hey, Old Gramps!" I yelled and Killua turned his head in my way.
I closed the distance between us and ruffled his, surprisingly soft for a boy hair, while balancing on my toes to keep us even. Why the only thing that differed between us was the height?
"Good boy, you finally learned your name!" I praised him, grinning stupidly wide. OMG, me grinning? Aliens are coming this way now!
Killua's cheeks reddened and he 'hmp'ed slightly. I continued patting his head and he pushed my hand away.
"Gosh, stop already!" I pouted and he rolled his eyes. "So, what do you want?"
"Can you do me a favor?" I pleaded with puppy face.
"NO!"
"I was going to ask you if you want to eat my egg…" I fake-sighed.
"Why? You know that poisons don't affect me."
"Baka, of course I know. I just despise eggs."
"But there is Mana, and then Gon, not to forget Kurapika and Leorio… why me?"
"Coz I don't want to spoil my baby sister, I'm not in mood to give anything to the pervert, and Kurapika will gain weight if he eats another one. And Gon… well… Oh, just take the freaking egg and no more questions!"
"Not before I hear why you won't give it to Gon. I understood for everyone but Gon. Well, I kinda don't understand what is with Kurapika and gaining weight, but who cares. Just tell me why." Killua glared at me and I rolled my eyes.
"Dense idiot. Is it only you and Gon, or the rest of the men are like that, too? It's obvious that if I give an egg to Gon, Mana would be jealous."
"But that does not answer my question! And in the first place, why should Mana be jealous from you giving an egg to Gon? It doesn't have any- Oh, I see now. You're playing a matchmaker, right?"
"No shit, Sherlock. And I'm going damn well!"
"So the reason you pushed Mana off the cliff…"
"It's a rare moment for me to do something and not have hidden plans for it."
"A rough way to keep them together, but a way nonetheless. Good job."
"Oh, the Mighty Killua praised my good-for-nothing self! My heart is going to burst from happiness~!" I sang and Killua rolled his eyes.
"So, care to tell me why you hate eggs so much?" he asked. I sighed.
"No way out of this now, eh?" she sighed again. "When I was little, I loved eggs, no matter which. I was a walking encyclopedia for eggs. Then some kids asked me 'What does a snake's egg taste like?' and I, like the first idiot on earth, decided to eat a snake egg. When I finally got to see a snake's egg, there was a bonus – the two meters pissed off mommy Cobra I failed to see coming." I shivered from the memory and Killua started laughing. I glared at him. "Yes, yes, I'm dying from laughter. Now, will you eat the stupid egg already?"
Killua nodded, trying to control his laughing fit. Snatching the egg from my hand, he glanced at me as if searching for permission. I nodded.
"You lose." In an instant, the egg was gone and Killua was licking his lips. "Thank you for the food!"
"You're welcome." I answered.
Spacing out, I barely missed the part when the examiners said we must be on that airplane to reach the Third Phase. I felt someone pulling me to the ship. I rubbed my eyes, yawned, and looked at Killua's hand, which was on mine.
"Need something?" I asked.
"We are to catch that plane or we won't be able to participate in the Third Phase."
"Oh, I heard that."
"Then why are you here?"
"Speeches are making me sleepy."
"Let's go, silver idiot." He pulled me towards the airship.
"Look who's talking…"
We were on the ship and it was already dark. Me, Mana, Gon and Killua were exploring the ship while the others were sleeping. Lazy old men. We were kicked off the kitchen when we tried to eat. Well, everyone but Mana was kicked off. The cook didn't know I was a girl. Right now, we were seating near the windows, watching the city below.
"Wow!" Gon muttered. "It's so beautiful!"
"I agree with you." Mana added and I nodded.
"Is it your first time on a ship?" Killua asked. I shook my head.
"It's my first!" Gon answered.
"Mine too!" Mana chipped happily.
"You were on a ship before?"
"Yeah, on one of my missions." I answered.
"Mission?" Killua questioned.
"Killua-san, do you have a family?" My sis asked, trying to change the subject.
"Huh? Of course I have." Oh God, you two are so easily distracted!
"What do they do?" Gon asked.
"Assassins."
"Both of them?" he asked again. Killua started laughing.
"You really got me going! That's the first time someone listened to me seriously and asked me that afterwards!"
"Why? It's true, isn't it?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Nothing, really."
"Hm… people say it's my charm that they can never guess if I'm serious or not."
I blocked out the rest until I felt someone poking my arm. I looked at Killua, who had an annoyed expression.
"What?" I asked.
"Gon was calling you at least five times! Stop spacing out!" Killua scolded me.
"Oh, sorry. So, Gon, what do you need?"
"Do you have a family?" Gon asked. I blinked once, then one more time.
"Of course we have." Me and Mana answered in sync.
"What do they do? I mean, you mentioned something like being an ex-assassin…" Killua asked.
"Oh, that. Well, I don't know. Mom was killed a day after we were born." Mana answered.
"Huh?"
"And then dad said that he will have revenge no matter what, so he trained us." I added.
"Trained?" Gon repeated.
"Yes. Like an assassin training, but we didn't kill for money. Dad was telling us to kill only mafia and whatnot. It was a boring profession."
"If you didn't kill for money, then…" Gon trailed.
"We were killing because dad was telling us to. We tortured some of them if dad said that it was necessary. But no, we didn't get any money, only if dad said that we are free to steal the victim's money." Mana explained. I nodded.
"So, your father was…" Killua trailed.
"Yeah, he was like: 'Justice will be a winner! I will revenge my wife's death with our two children who I will train to be assassins and then I will just sit in my armchair, watching how my beloved daughters kill people for me and spend their childhood, while I'm going nothing! Justice is eternal!' or something similar." Mana rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her words.
"I had enough one day and ran from the place. It seems I wasn't the only one." I shot my little sister a look and she stuck out her tongue to me.
"Oh." Gon said.
I yawned, closing my eyes for a second. Okay, maybe, just maybe I could have fallen asleep. I sighed inwardly. What? It was a long day. I had to run at least 100 kilometers, then I had to cook! Who wouldn't be tired? I'm created for sprints, not marathons. And I just sucked at cooking. Then I felt someone shaking me and I opened my eyes in a flash.
"What?" I asked. Gon, Killua and that Old Man- oops, Chairman were next to me.
"Netero-san is asking us to play with him." Mana explained.
"With the Old Man? No way, we're so losing this game." I turned to Netero. "Do you have a sparring room? Mana and I want to warm up a bit."
"Yes, I'll bring you there."
"WOW, this place is big!" Mana commented. I rolled my eyes, looking around. (A/N: It's the same as the room Gon, Killua and Netero are in.)
"Of course it is, it's a sparring room." I took off my hood, revealing the black barrette which was hiding my hair.
"Okay, what should we do now?" She asked, stretching herself.
"Who knows, but no Nen." I took off the hat, letting my insanely long hair free. I really need to cut it…
"Eh? But I wanted to practice Ten!" Mana did a puppy face.
"No way, lil' sis, we don't want anybody here knows we know it." I turned away from her, unzipping my blue sweater.
"Buuut~!" She continued, undressing her oversized black sweater, showing her black tank top.
"Stop whining, it's annoying. Just let's practice hand to hand combat." I took the sweater off, revealing a white tank top.
"Huuu~ Okay." Mana undid the ribbon around her head, letting it slip from her fingers to the floor.
"No pouting!" I scolded her, throwing the blue cloth across the room, resting next to her clothes.
"Whyyyyyy~! – OUCH!" I smacked her across the back of her head, a tick mark resting on my head.
"Didn't I say no whining?" I sat on the floor, taking off the deep blue short boots I was wearing.
"But that doesn't mean you can hit me!" Mana complained, taking off her knee length black boots and red socks.
"Why not? You will hit me hundred times over when we spar, so it's not a big deal." I stood up, yawning.
"It's no good to sleep when we train. Remember the time Dad pushed you from the window because you were sleeping in his 'train time'?" She did air quotes. "In the end, you ended in the garden fountain, with a broken arm and a sprained ankle. Even now I can't get how you hurt yourself in places like this after falling from the third floor. It's practically impossible, I think? At least without breaking your neck."
She got into a fighting stance, parted legs, folded knees, her right arm folded too, in front of her chest, with a good forty centimeters distance between her front and arm, the other one folded, on her side, as if hanging in the air.
"I'm a unique one when it comes to injures. Not that it matters anymore. I didn't sleep again in his classes, right?" I mirrored her stance, but the positions of the arms were switched.
"I'm going to see what did you learn from there, yes?" Mana's muscles tightened.
"Why not." I said confidently. Then I felt a sickeningly close blood lust. Was it Hisoka? Needle Man? Killua? I felt another blood lust, but it was farthest, and it as sure as hell wasn't a pedo-like like the one behind the door. 'So, either Hisoka or Needle Man? Oh, what a problem.' I felt Mana tense a little, but none of us showed it.
'Just go away, go away, go away!' I thought.
Mana ran to me, her punch targeting my face. I quickly stepped on my left (Mana's right), avoiding her attack. She twisted her body and her left leg was about to hit the top part of my head. I blocked it by crossing my arms in front of my head, catching her leg and threw her behind me. Mana landed on her back and got up instantly. She grabbed my right arm and pulled me to her, kneeling me in the stomach.
I knew what exactly she was trying to do. It was a combination that used speed and it was going like that: knee in the stomach, going behind the target, kicking it in the back, going on the side of the target, kicking its stomach, and then catching a hip and a shoulder, pressing it as closely as possible, breaking the target's spine. (Tiger Combo)
It was a surprise attack, and it was one of the first Mana came up with, so it was easy to counter. Of course, easy for me :P!
I just squatted down when she appeared behind me, avoiding her right leg. It was risky to dodge – if I was late even a millisecond, the strength Mana was putting in her kick would most likely break my head. But now was the easier part.
I tripped her and she started falling backwards. I stood up and caught her chin, as well as her left foot. Pressing down, I hit Mana's head on the floor, and then pressed her feet on the floor. (Head Hunter Combo)
If I pressed a little further, or if she moved, her neck would be broken. And she knew it too well. I have killed people with this combo, after all.
"M-My loss." She murmured, obviously irritated. I released her, and she stood up immediately. "Why did you use 'Head Hunter Combo' on me? WOW, I feel dirty after saying such a lame name."
"Why did you use 'Tiger Combo' on me? You're right, it really sounds lame. I regret showing it to Dad. He just had to name them like that." I shivered.
"Well, it's not like we had better ideas."
"True story. Now, let's go to bed." I yawned and lay on the floor. Mana shot me a surprised look.
"We are going to bed already? Aren't we going to practice a little more?" she asked. I nodded.
"Well, I would be glad to train a little more, but" I raised my voice a little, "I can't concentrate when a certain pedo shota-liking clown is watching me from behind that door and is challenging me, as well as thinking to maybe, hm, you know, rape me if I sleep near him?" I was practically yelling near the end of the sentence and Mana winced from the volume.
A very pedo-like Hisoka with a very pervy-pedo-like grin tried to enter the room. Keyword: tried. He stopped when he noticed the small silver needle that was pinning him to the door. He shot us a curious look.
"I advise you not to move." Mana said, her eyes narrowed, emitting bloodlust. "If you do a thing to provoke us – you will die. I will conjure the next needle straight in your head."
"Oh, so you are a Conjurer" Hisoka confirmed.
"Yeah, so what?" Mana shot back. "Just to tell you, I'm not going to fight with you no matter what you do. So better give up before you die."
"Now, now, calm down." Hisoka said with a closed-eye smile. I could see he was trembling – I did not want to know from fear, from restraining himself, or from something else that I certainly did not want to know. "We will fight someday, that's for sure."
"I agree, this time." I nodded. "But if you come closer than we want, you will pay." Mana hissed and Hisoka exited the room.
"Good night." I yawned, slipping on my sweater and hat. Hm, sweater and hat… "MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!" I yelled, standing up instantly.
"What now? Didn't you want to sleep?"
"Oh fuck. Hisoka saw my face."
"No point about whining now, right? Just hurry up and go to sleep."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
I closed my eyes and instantly fell asleep.
DOOOONE~! It was the longest chapter I have written ever! Here are the replies:
xXKirikaXx: I'm happy you like it! Here is the next chapter, hope you like it!
TsukinoX: Here is the update – sorry for stopping there, but I really didn't have any time. I barely published chapter 4 and I was without net for a week.
Guest(Guest): Here is the update, thank you for rating it!
I'll try to update more frequently, but this school year is very important for me. See you later!