Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. I just own my OC, Hitomi.

Chapter 5: Creepy Clown x Sushi x Failure?

"It's getting foggy." Gon noticed, while they were running. Hitomi, Killua and him ahead Leorio and Kurapika.

"Let's move further to the front." Killua suggested.

Hitomi stared at him, seriously.

"Yup," Gon replied. "We'll be in trouble if we lose the proctor."

"He doesn't mean that, I think he's talking about Hisoka," Hitomi clarified. "He's itching for a kill. Psychos like him do that."

Gon looked surprised for a moment.

"He'll take the advantage of the fog to kill a quite few," Killua completed, before looking at him. "You seem to ask me 'Why do you know all that?' It's the smell."

"The smell?" he asked, confused.

"Now you are a dog?" she teased.

"I'm not!" he exclaimed, annoyed. "He and I are alike, that's why."

She looked at him, but didn't say anything.

"You don't seem like that, though," Gon said.

"That's because I've been acting all along like that monkey but I'm in the perfect disguise," Killua commented. "You'll find that out eventually."

But, Gon didn't seem to listen him.

"Kurapika! Leorio!" he shouted. "Killua said we'd better move to the front!"

"Stupid! I would've gone a long ago if I could!" Leorio yelled back.

"But you have to do it somehow!"

Hitomi, on the other hand, facepalmed at his action.

"He has to know what danger is, that idiot." she murmured.

"No sense of suspense," Killua agreed, sighing.

As time passed by, the fog got thicker and thicker, to the point to not be able to see behind them. Gon grew really nervous.

He couldn't stand it anymore, turned around and started running towards the back.

"Gon!" Killua exclaimed.

Hitomi clenched her teeth at the thought of Gon, Leorio and his brother facing that guy. All the scenarios of their tragic death blinded her mind.

Would they last even a second in front of him?

Would she last even a second in front of him?

No, but...

She slowed down and clenched her fist. Killua looked at her for a moment, waiting for her to say something.

"See you later!" Killua heard Hitomi mutter under her breath, before running on the opposite direction.

"Wait, Hitomi!" Killua exclaimed.

But he found himself alone, once again. He grabbed his skateboard and got up on it, like he lost all of his interest.

"They're both stupid children!" Hanzo said. "They have gone back to save the others."

The boy skated at his side, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, they are really stupid," he said.

After awhile, she finally found them. Not in the way she wanted, but the one she expected instead. Leorio was on the floor, Kurapika was in a fighting stance and Gon was held by his neck, Hisoka's courtesy.

She threw her dagger towards him, but he grabbed it easily. He looked at her and smiled.

"Oh my, Hitomi-chan." he said, still holding Gon. "How do you do?"

Hitomi didn't say anything. She just stood there, browsing another dagger in front of her.

Suddenly, she noticed someone standing at her side, he was Kurapika. He had his swords in front of him, ready to fight.

Hitomi looked at him for a couple of seconds, before nodding. She glared at Hisoka, determined.

Hisoka stared at all of them and smiled.

"Yup. You all pass," he said, letting Gon go. He left the dagger in the ground.

They all saw Hisoka making his way to Leorio. He put him over his shoulder, making them tense.

"Give Leorio back!" Gon shouted.

"If you want him back, catch up with me," he said.

With that, Hisoka started running and vanished in the fog. Hitomi, on the other hand, only sighed, going to recollect her knife.

"We have to find him," she said.

Gon nodded and told them to follow him, and so they did.

"Can you tell the way that clearly?" Kurapika asked.

"Yup. The cologne Leorio uses is very distinctive," he replied.

Both of the siblings stayed silent. They looked at each other, in confusion. Hitomi pointed his friend.

"Hey..." she said, soft enough only for her brother to hear, "Is he a dog?"

"I wonder..." he replied.

Gon didn't hear them, and continued. "Besides, animals lie dead on the ground as if to guide us. I suppose they were killed by Hisoka after they attacked."

The girl glanced at the dead animal bodies, seeing how right he was.

"But, it doesn't necessarily mean Hisoka is heading towards a goal," Kurapika commented.

"Yeah," Hitomi nodded in response. "He's evil. He maybe... no, surely let us free in order to kill us later. He seems enjoy the hunt."

"Still, I can't leave Leorio!" Gon said.

Neither of them said nothing for a while, before Gon broke the silence.

"Hisoka was saying that we had passed the test," he said. "What does he mean?"

"He said he was pretending to be a proctor," Kurapika analyzed. "In other words, he was judging us."

"But he only stared at me!" Gon said. "And Leorio fainted."

"Experience. You punched him before, didn't you?" Kurapika said, calmly. "His movements are beyond human, he is a genius. An experienced fighter can ascertain the ability of another the moment he has physical contact."

His sister nodded, in agreement.

"Hisoka could have sensed such things and perceived the same scent as his in all of us, including Leorio," she said.

"Same scent, huh?" he said, thinking about it.

Killua didn't take his eyes from the path. It was about time, and it seemed like they wouldn't make it.

"It's ironic. He went for a mummy and became one himself," Hanzo said. "They went to rescue their friends and missed the chance to pass."

The boy opened slightly his eyes at the sight of three silhouettes in the road ahead. It didn't last long until he realized that they were Kurapika, Hitomi and Gon.

"Gon, Hitomi," he murmured to himself, smiling.

The time ended just when they stepped at the place. The three looked for Leorio, but found Hisoka. He pointed at Leorio, who was leaning on a tree.

He opened his eyes when they got closer to him. Kurapika examined his arm.

"Umm..." he said. "Except the wound in his arm, he seems alright."

"Check my face!" he exclaimed, pointing to the huge bump in his cheek.

Kurapika looked at it, with a stoic expression. "You look the same as usual," he said.

"I would say you look better as usual," Hitomi teased. "It would distract the people who see you and don't look at your idiotic old face. Isn't that good?"

"You brat!" he said, annoyed. "Damn! What's going on?!"

Kurapika stood up, while Gon just asked. "Don't you remember?"

"Don't be rude to me!" he said. "I do remember stepping into the marsh and..."

Hitomi sighed.

"Don't you remember? Hiso-" a hand made her shut up. She struggled from her brother's grasp, but it was useless.

"It's nothing!" Gon laughed, nervously and Leorio just looked at them in wonder.

"We better not tell him," Kurapika whispered.

She gasped for air, before glaring at him. Kurapika sweatdropped.

"Whatever..." she murmured.

Then, she saw Killua. Gon noticed not long after, and they walked to him casually. Killua smirked when he saw them coming.

"You two did it," he said. "What kind of magic did you use? I thought you would never make it!"

"Actually..." Hitomi said, unsure of how to say it. "It was Gon's nose. He smelled Leorio's scent."

Killua chuckled and started laughing, before he got that they weren't joking.

He blinked one time... two times... before realizing the truth.

"You really followed Leorio's scent?!" he asked him, loudly.

"Yeah," he replied, grinning.

"You really are very different," Killua commented. "Frankly speaking, you're a dog, aren't you?"

"You think that too?" he laughed, nervously.

"You're a puppy," Hitomi said, poking him in the forehead.

Gon looked confused and opened his big chocolate eyes.

"Really?"

"You even have puppy eyes!" Killua exclaimed.

They laughed for a while, before Satotsu walked into the front.

"Congratulations. The people who made it here, passed the first exam," he said. "I wish all of you good luck on the second exam."

The clock marked twelve o'clock exactly and the doors of the house they were looking at opened. It revealed two people.

One of them wasn't big, he was enormous instead. The other one was really different. She was a girl, who looked like she was in her twenties, and had bright pink hair and blue eyes.

"Thank you for waiting." the woman said, before lifting her head to see the big man. "How is it? Buhara, are you getting hungry now?"

"I'm starving, Menchi," Buhara replied.

Hitomi didn't like how the events were deploying. She was afraid of her premonitions coming true.

"We, the Gourmet Hunters, are in a charge of evaluating Phase Two," Menchi announced.

The girl paled at the thought.

"That means the subject will be-" Hanzo said.

"Right! The subject for Phase Two is... cooking." she declared.

"Cooking?" all the examinee asked, at the same time.

It was expected for her. "Damn it."

At least, it looked like she wasn't the only one who didn't like that.

"Why the hell do I have to cook after reaching this far?!" The number 255, known as Todo, asked.

"You over there! If you want to complain, go to home," Menchi said, pointing at him. "Anyone else who has objections to the test can go home immediately."

The girl shuggered. "Sooner or later is the same, anyway."

Just like her, the others kept silent.

"Anyway, what kind of food do we have to cook?" Hanzo asked.

"First, you must cook a dish that I order," Buhara said.

"And only those of you who pass will be allowed to cook what I order next." Menchi continued. "In short, if both of us say the dish is 'delicious', you pass Phase Two."

All participants started to complain once again. Hitomi just shook her head, while Menchi clapped her hands, to shut them up.

"Look. As I said a minute ago, if you don't want to take the test, you're free to go home. Go on, goodbye."

"No kidding! How can I go back after coming this far?!" Leorio shouted.

"Yeah, for an old man like you, running is really tiring," Hitomi teased, deadpan.

"You little demon!" He shouted, annoyed.

Fuss started once again, since nearly everyone was concerned about the rules and other people just wanted them to shut up.

"Umm..." Gon made them calm down a little bit. "Can you continue with what you were saying?"

Menchi looked at him and closed her eyes, in resignation.

"In short, if you can make both of us say 'delicious' you pass," she said. "The test will be over when we're both full!"

"Or when they are both poisoned, more likely," Hitomi thought, grimly.

"Damn! I've never cooked in my life," Leorio said.

"I never expected this," Kurapika commented.

"I have," Gon said, happily.

All four looked at him, surprised.

"What can you cook?" the girl asked.

"Many things," he replied. "But my speciality is a bowl of rice with a raw egg on the top!"

Hitomi flinched, remembering the last time she made that dish. Kurapika glared at her by the corner of his eye and she sweatdropped. Then, he looked back to Gon.

"Uh, I guess that can be described as cooking, but..." he stated.

On the other side, Killua turned to the girl and eyed her curiously. She, annoyed, raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Your face says that you've cooked that dish before, haven't you?" he teased her.

She flinched once again and notice the other three looking at her. "He is a smart one..."

"You did?" Gon asked, eagerly.

"Umm... yeah," she replied, unsure of what to say. "Kind of."

Killua raised an eyebrow.

"That day-" she began.

"She nearly killed me," Kurapika completed for her. "It wasn't a beautiful thing to remember."

She glared at him.

They kept silent for a while, before Leorio broke on laughter.

"It was expected!" he laughed. "Some stupid midget like you would never accomplish something like that!"

"Shut up, at least I tried!" she said, annoyed and embarrassed, "You didn't even try. I bet you are worst than me!"

They both looked away, and the others sweatdropped. They paid Buhara attention, once he started talking.

"Well, then..." he said. "My order is... a whole roast pig!"

"A whole roast pig?" Hanzo asked, cluelessly.

"My favourite," he said, drooling. "Using the most dangerous pig in the world living in this forest. The Great Stamp!"

Before anyone could even say something, they realized that something was coming their way. Hitomi and Killua jumped out the way, Kurapika, Gon, Leorio and other more participants started to run for it, and the rest got hit by the big crowd of wild animals.

"I'd be an idiot if I didn't realized that they are The Great Stamp," Hitomi said, before running up to one of them.

"Good luck!" Killua teased. "You'll need it."

"Actually, you'll be the one needing it, because I'm going to kill you!" she said and he smirked.

"Good luck with that too!"

With that, they splitted up.

The found one and jumped. She kicked its head and it fell on the ground. She saw the place in where they were supposed to cook it and sighed.

"The toughest part begins..."

Hitomi started to kick it and made it roll, in order to take it there.

The pigs were all eaten, and all delicious to Buhara.

"I don't get it..." Hitomi murmured.

"I don't either," Kurapika said. "Clearly the volume he ate is much more than his whole body!"

"It's not what I mean..." she replied softly. "But you're right in a way..."

The thing she didn't understand was that Buhara seemed to be fine, and he'd eat the pig she had cooked. She was positive she had burnt it.

She didn't need to be a genius to see that, it was completely black after all.

"I'm not like Buhara. I won't be easy! I will judge very harshly," Menchi said. "The second half of Phase Two! I'm going to order... Sushi."

What. The. Hell?

That's when Hitomi realized she was so dead.

"You guys look very troubled," Menchi said, grinning slightly. "Well, I don't blame you for not knowing it. It's the ethnic cuisine of a small island nation."

The girl's eyebrow twitched. How was she supposed to do that?

"I'll give you a hint!" she said, pointing inside the place. "Take a good look inside here."

They all entered there, just to see a lot of knives and bowls, all full of white rice. She told them that the tools were the bare minimum they would need.

"All right, you may start!" she said. "When I'm full, the test will be over!"

Gon got closer to the rice and examined it carefully. "Do we make it with only rice?" he asked.

Killua just looked at the knives with a lot of attention. "Looking at the tools, it seems we need to use more than that."

"Maybe meat or something, and we have to cut through it," Hitomi completed the thought. "Damn it, the information is nowhere close to complete!"

She grimaced. What the hell was that 'sushi' thing?

"You're so loud! You can find fish in the river or the pond!" she heard her brother yell.

Along all the other participants, Hitomi's head turned quickly to the duo. Leorio and Kurapika looked around, just to realize what had they done.

And all participants ran to the river.

"Thanks brother!" she said to him.

He sighed, irritated.

Leorio was the first to offer Menchi his dish. She looked at it for a second and threw it away.

"Like I'd eat that!" she exclaimed.

Next to him, was Gon. He presented his own 'sushi', but it was the same result as Leorio.

"It's no different from Number 403!" she shouted.

Gon sighed, looking down all of sudden, hurt by the comment. "I'm at the same level as Leorio..." he murmured.

"I sympathize with you, Gon." Kurapika put a hand on his shoulder.

"Be positive. You two are not the same," Hitomi said. "At least you aren't as old as him."

"What did you two said?" Leorio asked, angry.

The time passed, and Menchi didn't eat any dish that was made. In a way, it was convenient. The test wouldn't end if she didn't get full.

Killua put the dish in front the examiner and smirked. He revealed it, it was somehow different from the others.

"Shrimp cocktail, marinated trout with mustard sauce and rice," he explained. "It's sushi in Bourgogne style."

Menchi looked troubled for a bit, but recovered quickly.

"That's gross!" she threw his plate too.

"Damn," Killua murmured, before getting out the place.

"To be expected," Hitomi thought, smirking. "That idiot."

But, then...

BOOM!

Every person in the place looked at the way of the sound, shocked. They could see bright and huge flames surrounding the place, where was only fish and rice.

"What happened?" Gon asked, shocked.

Kurapika shook his head. It was expected.

"Well, my sushi burst... into flames..." the girl murmured, without taking her gaze out of the fire.

"How did you manage to do that?!" Killua shouted, pointing at it. "It was only rice and fish!"

"Don't ask me that!" she yelled back. "I don't know!"

"Geez! You're useless!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Whitey," she teased. "I'm not that wise, it comes with age."

"Huh?!" he asked, annoyed. "Whitey?!"

"I bet you are older than Leorio!" she said, successfully turning the fire off. "See you hoary hair if you don't believe me."

The others just stepped back, not wanting to be involved into the fight.

"Damn!" Killua said. "You're annoying!"

"Thanks," she sheepishly smiled. "Annoy people is one of my specialities, indeed."

"I can see that!"

"Good."

Killua was about to say anything else, when Menchi sighed.

"Stop you two!" she shouted, before pointing at Hitomi. "And you, start over again!"

"Yeah, yeah," she murmured.

Hitomi leaned in a wall, listening to music to calm herself. She looked at her surroundings, trying to get a clue about that sushi thing.

She noticed Kurapika walking towards her and took an earphone out of her ear.

"Did you give up yet?" he asked.

"No, I'm just trying to get any clue," she said.

"And you're having any luck?"

"Well, as long as I remember Menchi said that the shape was important and it's name... pressed sushi..." she thought. "I can guess that it's a typical shape, like a croquet or hamburger steak."

"Yeah," he agreed, "Also the item she has, and the plate with seasoning in it... If she holds the sushi with that and dips it in the liquid, the size is similar to an egg, maybe smaller. And if we add fresh meat to it... I got it!"

"Huh?" she asked, surprised at his sudden outburst. "W-Wait a min-!"

It was already late. Kurapika placed a plate in front of Menchi, confident. However, she rejected it like all others.

"You're at the same level as the first guy!"

"I told him to wait..." Hitomi facepalmed.

Being compared to Leorio hit him hard. All colour drained from his face and stood there, motionless.

His sister put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, you'll get over with it," she murmured.

"Yeah!" Leorio yelled, angry, "Such a shock!"

Menchi anger seemed to grow, as she received more and more wrong dishes. Then, Hanzo approached her and placed his plate in front of her.

"Finally something that looks normal," she said.

She ate it, but returned it as soon as she chewed it.

"No, it's not tasty. Do it again," she told him.

"What?!" Hanzo yelled in disbelief, "Sushi is nothing but rice molded tightly with a thin layer of raw fish on top! No matter who makes it, it won't make much difference in taste!"

They all looked at him and grinned. Menchi, on the other hand, grabbed Hanzo by his collar, angry at him.

"Damn you, bastard! They say it takes at least ten years of training to be able to make a proper sushi!" she yelled.

"Then don't pick such a thing as the test subject!" Hanzo replied.

"Shut up! Got a problem?! Want to die?!"

After the fight, she released Hanzo. Menchi looked at all the participants who had overheard, and sighed.

Even the girl who had burnt the fish accomplished the task.

"It looks like I'll have to judge by the taste."

She ate several sushi, but no one were approved.

After that, Menchi took a sip from the tea and let out a relaxed sight escape from her lips.

"Sorry! I'm full," she said.

The air suddenly tensed at that statement.

"Just as I told you at the beginning, it means no one passed," she waved, grinning. "Come again!"

No one like that statement, not even a bit.

Hitomi looked at the moss that Menchi brought. She could see that it was dangerous and all this stuff, but...

"Yeah, I understand why you're a Hunter," she spoke, "But, what does sushi have to do with this?"

Menchi just glared at her.

"Listen, girl, I won't change my opinion," she said, irritated, "Just go home and return next year."

Hitomi glared her back.

"I won't come back!" Todo shouted. "I'm going to grab your necks and drag you to the Exam Committee to tell them that Gourmet Hunters are not qualified to be proctors!"

"Do as you please," she said, nonchalantly.

"Why you...!"

He tried to attack her, but Buhara was faster. He hit him, throwing him to collide with the wall. Todo winced in pain but stood up.

"Don't interfere, Buhara," Menchi said.

Todo tried to tackle her but she avoided the hit. She just kicked him, arms still crossed. The boy fell into the floor.

"You're aspiring to become a Blacklist Hunter with that ability? Don't make me laugh!" she shouted, "It doesn't matter what kind of Hunter you want to be. If you are a Hunter, you must be skilled in fighting. That's something you'll learn as a Hunter, whether you like it or not!"

That was when Hitomi realized that someone was outside the house, overhearing their conversation. He was Satotsu.

"Menchi-san, that's enough," he said.

Todo fell unconscious into the ground.

"At this point, no one dares to doubt your ability as a proctor," Satosu continued, "How should I put it? It's not my business to say anything about Phase Two, but-"

"Then keep your mouth shut!" she yelled, "No matter what anyone says, I have no intention of changing the test results. Look! What I looked for in this test was not simply physical strength! What I was testing in this Exam was whether you had guts to confront something unknown to you!"

"Still, Menchi-san," a voice said, which made all of them jump in surprise, "Don't you think it's too harsh that no one passed?"

They looked at the window, just to see a ship with the Hunter Association logo. All of them ran outside the place.

Someone jumped out the ship and landed into the ground, leaving a huge crater on it. The old man looked at Menchi.

She flinched.

"P-President," she stuttered. "It's been awhile, President Netero.

Netero just nodded. Satotsu took a couple of steps closer to the scene.

"The president of the Exam Committee," he explained. "He's the most important person in charge for the Hunter exam."

"Well, I'm the president, but I stay behind the scenes and acts as a troubleshooter at times like this," he admitted, "Anyway, Menchi-san..."

"Y-Yes."

It took a while, but Netero made Menchi understand the whole situation. She realized she wasn't being fair at all.

"When it involves cooking, I tend to lose myself," she admitted, bowing slightly. "I am not fit to be a proctor. I'm sorry."

Netero, however, started to laugh.

"You are an honest young woman. Certainly, as a proctor, I see some problems." he said, "But it's understandable, you being a Gourmet Hunter with the title of Single Star Hunter. It's proof of your passion for cooking."

She looked at him, surprised.

"Let me propose this. We'll administer another test and I want Menchi-san to continue to be in charge of the evaluations," he suggested. "However, in this retest I want you to participate by giving a demonstration. How about it?"

Hitomi then released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I was really worried about what was going to happen to us," Leorio said.

"But we're still going to be tested by our cooking ability," Kurapika said. "We can't take it too easy."

"We're going to have another test!" Gon exclaimed.

"Yeah," Hitomi and Killua said in unison.

They glared to each other because of this. Kurapika shook his head at their actions.

"All right. The subject is... boiled egg," Menchi declared.

She stopped glaring at Killua and looked at Menchi. Her face fell.

Kurapika put a hand over her shoulder.

"At least I'm not the one eating your egg," he chuckled.

"Shut up!" she yelled.

Thanks to SoulXHunter, Arrow-chan3, SlightlyYandereMelissa and A for leaving a review! Each one of them made me really happy :)

Well, that's all for today. See you another day!