I raised an eyebrow. "She's actually being polite", I commented as I followed the group towards a thin, blue haired woman who is lounging on a giant chair. I still felt woozy from the Hisoka incident, but after water and ice, I felt slightly better,

Gon turned to me. "Well…yes…why shouldn't she be polite?"

Killua sighed. "Gon", he began, "People where you're from might be polite. But in the real world, people are assholes and these people are examiners".

"And backstabbers", Kurapika jabbed with a pointed glare at me.

I stared at him. "I saved you from the"-"The tortoise wasn't near me. I remember it now," Kurapika snapped.

I smiled and shrugged. What else could I do? Kurapika's mood soured.

The blue haired woman introduced herself. "Welcome. I'm Menchi, your Second Phase Examiner."

I snickered and shot a glance at Leorio who was openly drooling at the amount of skin Menchi was baring er…barely covering.

"She appears to look like a porn star". Kurapika calmly glanced at Menchi, then around the room.

How are you so analytical?", I asked him.

Kurapika blinked. I have goals to achieve and no time for silliness".

"She's hot!", Leorio exclaimed. He shot me a wolfish grin which was warped by the swelling on the left side of his face, courtesy of Hisoka.

"And I'm Buhara. I'll also be your Second Phase examiner", the giant man behind Menchi said.

Killua's eyes widened. "How many times would you have to shoot him to take him down?" Killua muttered to himself.

Gon elbowed his friend in the side. "Killua! Why do you have such violent thoughts all the time?"

Killua gave Gon a sheepish grin and stared at the ground. I raised an eyebrow. Gon had a point. Killua's behavior was odd for a teen. Then again, Killua could be anything. I knew nothing about him, Leorio, or Kurapika. Killua was as evasive and defensive as Gon was clear and open about past, intentions, and future goals.

Something growled. I looked at the direction from where the sound originated. Buhara.

Menchi glanced behind her with a bored expression. "You must be hungry."

Buhara stared at Menchi,"I'm starving…"

I sighed. This almost seemed coordinated.

Menchi stood up and I glared at her. She was in really good shape and I was jealous.

"There you have it. Phase Two will involve…" she paused for a dramatic effect, "Cooking!"

Leorio jumped in shock, Killua's cat-like eyes grew even wider, Gon cocked his head to the side and groaned, Kurapika's face was blank, and I smiled.

Right. As if we would be tested on something so simple. Cooking.

"C-Cooking", a bald applicant stammered.

"Wait…cooking", a fat man with the top of his dark hair bleached exclaimed angrily, "We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"

I rolled my eyes and looked at Gon whose brow was furrowed in concentration.

"Right", I laughed, "We're only being tested on how well we cook? Please. There's a catch."

Gon looked at me," I didn't think of that Avi…but I…I can't cook! My Aunt Mito always cooked and whenever I tried I kept setting stuff on fire!"

Then I realized I could gain something from this. "Say Gon", I said while trying to hide my sly smile, "How about I prepare your food along with mine and you owe me one favor in the future. Any favor I choose".

Gon brightened. "Sur-"Gon", Killua interrupted and glared at me. "ANY favor. Do you know why ANY favor means?"

Gon smiled and looked at me, something seemed to glow in his oak brown eyes. "I know she said any favor. But I trust Avi."

I felt my face freeze. I couldn't use someone like Gon...could I?

"Very well", I said, "If I help you pass the Second Phase, you owe me any favor of my choosing that does not involve anything harmful to any of the parties involved."

Killua pursed his lips and looked at Gon who was staring at me. He was smiling. So trustful. "Done".

I nodded and turned back to Menchi.

"Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate", Menchi was saying.

"Why do we have to cook?" someone whined.

Menchi smirked. "She is definitely expecting this", I said in awe. This woman was something.

"That's because we are Gourmet Hunters", Menchi stated with her smirk still in place.

Bleach hair man in front of me blew a raspberry and began laughing.

"Gourmet Hunters!? Man, what a letdown…"

Kurapika glanced at me, poker face still in place. He was still suspicious of my knife 'conveniently' landing on his face when we were attacked by the tortoises.

I raised my eyebrows. "And why aren't you laughing?" I asked

Kurapika's eyes clouded with confusion. "Any professional deserves to be treated with respect, no matter the profession. If Menchi and Buhara were deemed reputable enough to examine applicants, then they deserve my deference". He turned around and focused on Menchi while I stared at his back.

I looked at Kurapika in a new light and admired what I saw. I saw a man who deserved admiration and my own respect. Was it right that he suffers so I can obtain his eyes? Was it right to do that to an upright individual such as Kurapika?

The laughing surrounding me slowly tittered away. "So Gourmet Hunters", bleached hair guy mockingly asked, "What are we supposed to make?"

Menchi sighed in annoyance. "Buhara".

The giant stepped forward. "The required ingredient is pork."

"Pork", someone exclaimed, "As in pig meat?"

I couldn't help but shout out, "No. As in dandelion leaves!"

Leorio glanced at me and muttered, "You couldn't control yourself…could you?"

I shrugged one shoulder and attempted to justify my actions. "Well it was a dumb question".

"You are free to use meat from any species of Biska Forest Pigs", Buhara continued, "You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both find it delicious."

Menchi butted in, arms crossed, "And we will evaluate more than just the taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When we've both eaten our fill, the Exam will end".

"We got it. We got it", bleached hair man said with a condescending tone, "Let's just start."

"Then the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara said. He hit his stomach and I swore I could see the sound waves traveling through the air.

Applicants scattered everywhere. Now was my time to vanish and steal someone else's pork.

I jumped behind a random applicant as I saw Leorio turn towards me. "Hey Avi-", he began. But I was gone.

A wise decision was made today. My idea to steal someone else's pork worked. I figured the Second Phase wouldn't be as easy as simply killing a pig, putting its corpse on the spit, cooking it, and giving food to Menchi and Buhara.

I glanced at the examiners. Menchi was stick thin so she probably didn't want something greasy and large.

I stared at the strips of pork roasting over my flame.

"Hey", the bald applicant shouted, "Who took a chunk out of my pig?"

I snickered. The bald man really believed himself to be invincible. Well, that's what he got for letting his guard down.

It was all too easy. He turned away from his pig for one moment and I was right there, cutting a chunk out and running back to my station.

"Avi", Kurapika said, "You stole part of Hanzo's pig…didn't you?"

I smirked. "Well, I could've convinced Gon to give me half of his because look, Menchi wants taste AND appearance. Why are you idiots giving her just a roasted pig?"

Kurapika's eyebrow raised an inch. "Your flame was too strong", Menchi screamed at Hanzo,"It's overcooked on the outside and raw on the inside!" I stared at my flame and lowered it a little.

"Wait", I said to Kurapika. I picked up one of the knives. "We've been using the fire and spit…so why were we given lettuce, apples, spices, and other stuff?"

Kurapika stiffened. "This tests isn't just a cooking test. It's a test of our originality and powers of observation".

"And you get a gold star", I sarcastically said to Kurapika.

He threw me a sideways smile and I felt my heart skip a beat.

Yes, I was physically attracted to Kurapika, I finally admitted to myself.

I quickly turned to Gon who was at the station next to me.

"Gon", I said once I noticed Gon was over-cooking the pig, "Your pig has been over the flame for too short of a time. Why are you roasting the entire thing!? Why not roast sections like I'm doing, that way if you fuck up cooking the pig then you can try again?"

Gon blinked.

"That makes sense", Killua butted in. He stared at me with critical light blue eyes. "Were you a cook before you decided to take the Hunter Exam, Avi?" he asked.

I glanced at Gon's almost raw pig and pondered how I should address Killua's question.

I didn't want Kurapika to figure out who my family is, or who I am. Because he would kill them all, including me, because my family worked with a supplier to sell both the black and regular markets with scarlet eyes. We cut a deal with the supplier, whoever it was, I don't know.

"I have a brother and a sister", I truthfully answered, and "My parents were gone most of the time". I let a small smile slip over my face, "And my brother is a picky eater". My grin grew at the memories.

"So you don't get along with your parents?" Leorio assumed.

My smile died. "No. We always got along. We still keep in touch. They just had…unavoidable business trips". Which, on one hand was true, my parents were always making connections and searching for better markets, consumers, and new products. On the other, they were fighting against other merchant families for those same consumers. So they could never be at one of our homes for too long as we didn't want the other families to know exactly where our home base is. It decreased assassination attempts.

Leorio hummed and returned to burning his pig. "Leorio", I said while trying to contain my laughter, "You burnt your entire pig. Menchi's not going to even touch that."

Leorio huffed. "Gon", I said, "Your pig?" Gon stared at me and said," I think I can handle it myself. But thanks though!" With that, he turned and appeared to be really focused on staring at his pig overcook.

I blinked. "What about our deal?"

Gon shrugged but didn't meet my eyes...Killua. Killua talked him out of it.

I glanced over his shoulder at Killua. The teen's ice blue eyes seemed to stare through me. He didn't trust me whatsoever. Not that I blamed him.

"I am next", Kurapika said as he placed his pork meal in front of Menchi, "Please judge my creation".

Menchi was still leaning backwards in annoyance. "Finally, something that resembles an actual dish", she said in a dry tone. Menchi reached forward and took a piece of the pork.

Behind Kurapika, I laughed. He had fucked up his pig too. I love how all these men thought it was fine to burn the entire fucking pig and try to hide the burn marks with sauce, or in Kurapika's case, layers with lettuce, herb sauce, and apples.

I stared at my dish. While it was similar to Kurapika's, I knew it was much better. After cutting my meat into thin strips, so I could quickly cook the dish and see how fast the meat was cooking, I had drenched the meat in herb sauce which I had made after grinding sage, thyme, rosemary, and other herbs. I placed apple slices covered in brown sugar around the pork. For good measure, I held the dish over the flame again, just to make sure everything meshed together.

I shifted nervously from one foot to another.

"Disgusting!" Menchi dramatically shoved the dish away from her, "Appearance is important", lectured Menchi, "But only if it tastes good! You're no better than #403!"

I began laughing hysterically at Kurapika's shocked expression. I couldn't wait to tell him 'I told you so'! What did he think the bowl, spoons, mortar and pestle were for…show? Ha. As if anything was for show here. Menchi and Buhara had a specific idea in mind and they wanted to see if any of us were clever enough to figure it out.

I smiled brightly at Menchi as I placed my dish on the table in front of her. Menchi poked it with a fork and gave me a skeptical glance.

"Hmmm", she said, "Looks good, smells good…but…" Menchi looked up at me and carelessly shrugged. "Sorry, I'm full".

I couldn't believe it. "What the fuck!" I growled in anger. "You approve of the appearance and smell but you're…"

Menchi flopped backwards on her chair. "Look girl", she said with the slightest hint of irritation," I said the exam ends WHEN WE'RE BOTH FULL".

I flicked my switchblade into my left wrist and began throwing it from left to right in irritation. It was a bad habit of mine.

Menchi ignored me and stood up. She knew I wasn't planning on killing her.

"We're finished here", she called out. I had taken too long to prepare my dish. I stared down at it, shrugged and began eating lunch.

I walked back to where Leorio, Kurapika, Killua, and Gon were sitting.

"She didn't like yours either?" questioned Kurapika.

"She didn't try it", I said as I licked some herb sauce off my lip. I saw Kurapika's eyes dart down to stare at my mouth. His eyes immediately glanced at mine to see if I saw-of course, I smirked knowingly. Kurapika physically turned himself into the other direction.

"It's over?" someone shouted. "What the hell?" "Zero people passed!?" "Are you serious" "Does she really mean it?"

Various applicants began grabbing knives and aggressively approaching Buhara and Menchi.

Of course I realized,"Hey", I said while poking Leorio,"More weapons!"

Leorio gave me a glance and raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes I wonder what kind of household you grew up in".

I shrugged and threw more knives into my backpack. More weapons for me!

Something crashed. Bleached hair man had punched the spit closest to the examiners. "I won't accept it…I absolutely refuse to accept this!"

"In the end you still fail", Menchi coolly responded.

"Stop fucking around", the man shouted angrily, "You asked for pork and we've risked our lives to-"

"I said to prepare pork in a manner we both found delicious. None of you made anything remotely delicious!"

I stared at my pork, which I was still eating and shrugged. Tasted fine to me. It's not like she could fail every applicant...

Menchi continued to rant. "You all did almost the same thing! There was no effort made; just when I thought someone actually tried, they only changed the appearance! No one attempted to emphasize the flavor! I'm positive that none of you take cooking seriously!"

She flopped back onto her chair. "In other words you people don't have the guts to try anything new."

Bleached hair snapped. "Shut up", he roared, "I'm not trying to become a chef or a Gourmet Hunter. I want to be a Hunter! My goal is to become a Black List Hunter. I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!"

Menchi's eye twitched. "Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter for an examiner", she retorted. She was obviously attempting to restrain her temper.

The man lost it. He flew at Menchi in a rage, attempting to slap her. But Buhara interfered.

Menchi gave Buhara a glare and unsheathed her knives. She slowly stepped down the stairs to face the angry mob of applicants. "Let me clarify this, we frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial arts."

She began tossing her multiple knives in the air. I watched Killua's eyes track her every movement, Gon's jaw drop, and Kurapika's face remain in its usual blank look.

Menchi continued, "You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from being Hunters!"

There was a pregnant pause until a voice from above shouted, "That said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant".

A blur dropped from the blimp above our heads and suddenly, the ground exploded.

An elderly man walked towards Menchi and Buhara.

"So Menchi", he said in a calm tone, "You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"

"No sir", Menchi said in a tiny voice," I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary".

She closed her green eyes in shame.

"So you're aware that this exam was unacceptable?" continued Netero.

"Yes sir", Menchi respectfully responded, "When cooking is involved, I lose control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as examiner. So please redo the Second Phase!"

"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice", countered Netero,"But how about this? I'd like for you to continue 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 accept the results."

Menchi smiled. "That's true. Then the new challenge will be…boiled eggs!"