Me: I hope I'm still doing a good job with this. Are people OOC? Like Kurapika and Killua? Am I doing it right? PLEASE GIVE ME ENCOURAGEMENT PEOPLE!
Kurapika: Your writing is fine, don't worry.
Me: How do YOU know that!?
Kurapika: *le sigh*
To MidoriEmerald13:
Me: Chu has always been good at judging people. Though she's overly cautious and suspicious when meeting new people, as you've seen, she can tell whether she can trust them enough to at least be around them. Over time, her ability to judge people has grown into something more~ *winkwinknudgenudge* She just doesn't realise it!
Kurapika: *in the corner of the room, gloomy* Why did I drink that 'water' Leorio gave me?
Gon: You aren't the only one who did weird things during the omake, Kurapika. Don't feel too bad! :D
Me: Drunk Kurapika makes for good omakes XD (New headcannon – Sleepy/Sleep-deprived/Drunk Kurapika is very open and… non-Kurapika basically!)
Disclaimer: Hunter X Hunter and its 2011 adaptation belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. I only own my OCs, sub-plots and anything not included in the original series. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: No X More X Cooking
Previously:
"I'll look with you then."
He shrugged and walked off, muttering something along the lines of "Suit yourself". I followed him eagerly, scanning the area as we walked.
"Where are you guys?"
Killua and I were walking through the crowd silently, searching for Gon and the others. Killua looked bored, muttering things along the lines of "Idiots…" and "This test is so easy…" as we walked.
"Speak for yourself" I thought as we kept walking "This isn't exactly a cakewalk!"
"Leorio!"
Gon's voice was faint but there, ringing out through the crowd. Killua looked at me with a pointed look before walking in a direction. I followed him quietly, not about to argue.
"I wonder if I could track Gon-san and the others like I did for Satotz-san?" I asked myself as I kept walking but quickly dismissed the thought "I don't even know how I did that, what makes me think I can do that again?"
"There." Killua's voice sounded from next to me as he pointed in a direction. Following his gaze, I spotted a beaten up Leorio leaning against Leorio was Kurapika and Gon standing next to him. What had happened after we separated? Leorio's cheek looked so swollen it wasn't funny!
As we wandered over, Killua smiled and called out Gon's name. The three of them turned towards us, seemingly relieved.
"Killua! Chu!"
"I can't believe you actually got here… I thought you were done for." Killua responded to Gon's cry as we reached them, sounding a bit cocky.
"Did you run into any problems on your way here?" Kurapika asked me politely as Gon and Killua conversed. He was probably referring to Hisoka and any other applicants I might've run into.
"None. You?"
"Not at all."
I glanced over at Leorio and raised an eyebrow but Kurapika shook his head and put a finger to his lips before I could ask what happened. It was obviously something we weren't meant to discuss.
"Excellent work, everyone."
The five of us turned towards Satotz as he started talking to the crowd.
"Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."
Satotz strode away, leaving all of the contestants to wonder when the next phase would start. During his speech, Kurapika had put his tabard back on and Leorio had stood up and put his shirt on.
The large doors separating us from the exam's Second Phase started to slowly open. Everyone turned towards the door and prepared themselves for what might lie beyond.
Inside were a bunch of work stations, which I quickly discovered resembled mini kitchens, and a large white building. In front of the building was a big couch and sitting on said couch was a woman and behind her was a really big man. The woman smiled and called out "Will all applicants who passed the First Phase enter?"
Slowly, everyone piled into the area and came to a stop in front of the two people. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the woman had bright aqua hair in bunches and green eyes and was wearing a scanty outfit. The man wore a simple outfit and had a big grin on his face.
"Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner."
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner."
Everyone was taking in the two examiners in front of us. They looked like hunters but didn't look as professional as Satotz. I wondered briefly what kind of hunter they were.
A loud growling sound echoed throughout the area, causing everyone to tense up. Was there a monster nearby?
Menchi didn't look at all fazed and simply looked up at Buhara with that same smile.
"You must be hungry."
"I'm starvng…"
"Wait, that sound came from his stomach!?" I thought, feeling a bit concerned "That isn't normal…" [1]
Standing up, Menchi faced us and declared with a confident voice, "There you have it. Phase Two will involve…"
"Please don't tell me…"
"…cooking!"
"… Cooking… This exam is picking all of my worst attributes and forcing me to face them isn't it? I'm not exactly the best cook…" [2]
I quickly came to the conclusion that these two were Gourmet Hunters. I couldn't think of any other type of Hunter that deals with food. If Gourmets were testing us, I was sure to fail this Phase.
Everyone seemed confused. I didn't really blame them. This was the Hunter Exam, not a cooking contest. The Phase did sound a bit off but I knew there had to be some trickiness to it. It wasn't going to be as simple as cooking.
"C-Cooking?"
"Wait! Cooking? We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"
"That's quite right. Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate." Menchi seemed quite calm, as if this was normal. People have probably complained about this before, during her field of work.
"Why do we have to cook?!"
"That's because we are Gourmet Hunters."
"I knew it."
Menchi and Buhara seemed quite proud of their status. The rest of the applicants just started laughing.
"Man, what a letdown."
"They're Gourmet Hunters…"
Our group didn't laugh and just watched as Menchi's smile quickly faded. This was going badly.
"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" the applicant from before, #255, asked mockingly. It was obvious Menchi wasn't taking this lightly.
"Buhara."
The man heaved himself onto his feet with a loud thump and faced the crowd with a big smile.
"The required ingredient is pork."
"That's making it worse for me! You have to get meat like pork and chicken perfect! Couldn't it have been sweets or something less tasking!?"
"Pork? As in pig meat?"
I felt like slapping the person. Was it really not that obvious that pork was pig meat?
"You're free to use meat from any species of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both find it delicious."
"And we will evaluate more than just taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When we've both eaten our fill, the exam will end."
"I'm so screwed."
"We get it. We get it." #255 waved his hand dismissively, clearly not taking this seriously, "Let's just start."
Menchi was obviously displeased. I could tell she was one second away from attacking the guy.
"Don't go irritating the examiner! You'll make the exam harder than it already is!" I chastised the guy mentally, forcing my face to stay blank. I didn't want anyone to know I was irritated nor did I want people to look at me if I started voicing my thoughts.
"Then, the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara called as he slapped his belly like a gong.
Everyone immediately ran in search of the Biska Forest pigs. We only had until they were full to find, kill and prepare the pigs. If I wasn't done by the time they were finished, I would be eliminated. Not only that but I needed to make it edible, which wasn't something I would be able to do easily. I needed to find those pigs now.
"Catch a pig and cook it. This is way easier than the First Phase."
I held back from chastising Leorio, he really shouldn't underestimate the exam. Kurapika seemed to be thinking similarly to me as he responded with "I hope it will be that simple…"
Gon seemed to spot something. The next thing I know, he's running off to a slope and sliding down it. Killua smiled and joined him, enjoying himself. Glancing at Leorio and Kurapika, who were glancing at me, I shrugged and raced after them, holding onto my hood as I slid down that same slope… only to realise that Gon had stopped himself part way.
Paling slightly, I dug my heels into the ground to try and stop myself from slamming into Killua, whom had just slammed into Gon. It didn't help much. As soon as I stopped, just before Killua, Leorio slammed into me and sent me tumbling forward into Killua. Kurapika joined us right after, forcing me even closer to the albino boy.
Killua was instantly yelling at Gon, getting irritated.
"What was that about, Gon?!"
Not looking at us, Gon continued to stare off to the side.
"Found them."
"Huh?"
"Pigs!"
The four of us turned to where Gon was looking and paled. The pigs were humongous and were snacking on bones.
"Uh… They're chewing on bones."
"Don't tell me… They're carnivores?"
I gulped as one of the pigs looked at us and instantly let out a loud roar. All of the pigs instantly turned on us, getting ready to attack.
"Time to repeat the First Phase guys!" I shouted, jumping up and nearly tripping over Leorio and Kurapika in my haste to run. The four boys joined me as we ran from the enraged, and probably hungry, pigs.
The other applicants soon saw us and joined us in running away. Going against huge, meat-eating pigs was not on anyone's agenda. A few got mowed down but most managed to run.
"These pigs are crazy!"
"Keep running Leorio-san! Talking wastes energy!"
"Oi, don't quote me!"
Everyone had quickly split off to capture a pig. Thanks to the efforts of Gon, his fishing rod and a bunch of apples, it became apparent that their foreheads were their weak points. The thing was… my pig wasn't letting me anywhere near its forehead.
"This is taking too long. Everyone's heading inside!" I complained, dodging another ram from the pig. The creature had thrown me around, rammed into me, but never let me get close to its head. Jumping above it resulted in it running out of the way and making me hit the ground instead. The other boys had offered to help me but I had refused. This was my pig, my chance at passing the Phase, my job! I didn't want anyone's help, not even my newfound acquaintances'.
"This is ridiculous!" I growled, charging towards the pig and jumping. The pig didn't dodge this time but instead opened its mouth. I couldn't dodge with my momentum and ended up jumping ito the pig's mouth.
"It did that on purpose…" I was beyond irritated, my anger showing for once, as I clawed the pig's chin. I was not letting myself get swallowed fully.
"You need help there?" I heard Killua call nonchalantly as he carried his pig with ease.
"I'm good!" I called back, ignoring the concerned glances from the rest of the boys.
"You sure!?" Gon abandoned his pig and started walking towards me. I wasn't having any of that.
"Just leave me alone!" I shouted at him, kicking around as I slowly lost my grip and was slowly getting engulfed.
"I knew I would have trouble with the pork, but I didn't mean like this!"
Losing my grip completely, I was completely eaten up by the pig. Deciding to use a last resort to stay alive, I gripped onto the pig's tongue and tugged with all my might, hoping to either stay where I was or to be spat back out. The pig squealed and flailed its tongue around, starting to stampede with its mouth open. It was trying to shake me off of its tongue.
The boys had dropped their pigs and had headed towards my position to get me out of there. They quickly turned and started running as I chased them with my pig.
"What are you doing, idiot!?" Killua shouted as they ran.
"I'm not doing anything!" I retorted, tugging the tongue in a different direction. The pig continued to roar and turned in that direction, stampeding elsewhere.
"I'm controlling this thing!?" I thought as I forced it into another turn, applicants staring at me as I panicked.
"That's it! This way and… INTO THE WALL!" I shouted, slamming the pig into the walls surrounding the cooking area, making sure its forehead was the prime target. Just as planned, the pig slumped to the ground, defeated. Crawling out of the mouth, I stood up and attempted to wipe of the sticky pig saliva to no avail. Looking up, I spotted everyone staring at me, some carrying their pigs, some having dropped theirs in shock.
"That was amazing, Chu!" Gon was the first to break the tense silence, running over with his pig. He was smiling widely.
"It… was?" was all I could make out. I was shocked with myself. I had just killed a pig by tugging on its tongue!
"Yeah!" he responded, laughing and smiling innocently, "Do you need any help carrying it in?"
I couldn't help but let relief wash over my face. I wasn't quite smiling, but it was definitely different from my regular blank face. I picked my pig and simply shook my head politely at Gon.
"No thank you. I can handle it myself. You just carry yours."
Gon nodded and started walking with me as we carrying our pigs towards the other three boys, "Just ask us if you need anything!"
"I'm sure I won't need to ask for help, Gon-san."
"I need to ask for help." I thought, pale and shaking. Cooking was definitely not my forte, neither was running. I didn't know whether the pork was done or not. It was a really dark brown but when I had last checked the inside, which was a few minutes ago, it was still pink inside. Was only the outside getting cooked?
I had turned up the heat in order to get the inside. Even if the outside was darker than needed, it wasn't charred or anything. And as long as the inside taste good, that's all that mattered right? I could easily add tomatoes and other additional ingredients to make it look appeasing after the inside was done.
Easier said than done.
Ten minutes after turning the flames up, I turned to start cutting up vegetables and other things for the decorations. Smelling smoke, I turned to double-check my pork only to find that it was starting to burn. I immediately reached for the temperature to turn it down, only to accidentally turn it up too much. My pig caught on fire and I panicked, turning the entire thing off and grabbing a towel to put out the fire. Other contestants had burnt theirs, but not to this extent. People were starting to look.
"Out of all the contestants, I'm the only one that set their pig on fire…" I thought sadly, struggling but managing to put the fire out. Waving my towel to frantically clear the smoke while coughing lightly, I was horrified to see what was left of my pig.
It had retained its pig shape but was gradually crumbling in on itself, burnt to the crisp and DEFINITELY not edible.
"Are you okay? You weren't burnt, were you?" I heard Kurapika's voice come from my left.
I turned to see Kurapika, Gon and Leorio walking over, looking a bit concerned.
"I'm fine. I can't say the same about my chances of passing." I replied, turning to my failure and sighing.
"You could always go and catch another pig?" Gon offered, but it was obvious it was a long shot. Glancing over at the irritated Menchi, I shook my head hopelessly.
"By the time I kill another pig and attempt to cook it, the exam would already be over. Menchi-sa looks like she's at her limits." I stated before turning to the three fully, examining them, "Shouldn't you three be focusing on your own dishes?"
Their faces fell, Leorio speaking up.
"We've already been evaluated…"
"And…?"
"All three of us failed."
I sighed and turned towards the burnt pig once again, "There's just no chance is there?"
"You still have a chance, I'm sure of it!" Gon tried to cheer me up, "You haven't gone up to Menchi-san yet, you don't know for sure-!"
"She'll turn this away just from the sight of it."
"Not if we make it look appealing!" he cheered. Grabbing some pink flowers from his dish and the ingredients I had prepared earlier, he started decorating the poor excuse of a pig, plating it up. Turning to us with a smile, he gestured to my pig and nodded, "See? You have a chance!"
"No offense, Gon, Chu…" Leorio poked one of the flowers with a disgusted face, "…these don't help at all."
I sighed and Gon's face fell. He quickly gained a determined face and grabbed a knife and fork.
"We can't give up! We haven't seen how it tastes yet!"
"Gon…" Kurapika spoke with a warning voice, obviously against trying it, as Gon offered him cutlery. He glanced at me and I must've looked pathetic, with a defeated look and a smoke-covered face, because he sighed and accepted the cutlery, "It can't be that bad…"
Leorio grumbled about food poisoning while accepting his cutlery.
"You guys don't have to…" I muttered as they cut off small bits of the pork and tried it with bits of pineapple, tomato and other bits of decorations (excluding Gon's flowers obviously). I honestly didn't mind if they ate it, it wasn't like I was going to offer it to the examiners, but I was worried about food poisoning and other issues that might occur because of my food.
They ignored me and ate small bits. I saw their eyes lit up but before I could ask for their opinion, I heard the examiners.
"That was so much food, I'm stuffed!"
"Yeah, I'm stuffed, too." Menchi looked really angry by this point. Standing up, she faced the crowd with an angry look, "Therefore, no one passes. We're finished here!"
"It's over?"
"What the hell?"
The boys finished their bites and looked at me sympathetically as I grit my teeth.
"It's okay."
"There's always next year, Chu-san."
"Don't be brought down!"
"I failed the exam because I couldn't cook!? That's a lousy reason! I understand that they're Gourmets, but I expected to lose because of a fight or something typically that Hunters do! Just because I lack the skill to make pork is not a real reason to fail everyone let alone myself!"
"Zero people passed?"
"Are you serious?"
"Does she really mean it?"
"The exam is over?"
"This isn't funny!" a crash resounded throughout the area as #255 broken his work bench "I won't accept it… I absolutely refuse to accept this!"
"In the end, you've still failed."
"Stop screwing around! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-"
"I said to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious… None of you made anything remotely delicious. You all did almost the same thing. There was no effort made…" Everyone was looking down in defeat. #255 was getting more riled up.
"Just when I thought someone actually tried, they only changed the appearance." I saw Kurapika flinch, had that been him?
"No one attempted to emphasize the flavour. I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!"
My eye twitched. I was getting just as frustrated as everyone else.
"I had taken it seriously! I got covered in pig saliva just to catch the damn thing! And I tried my hardest to cook it! I made only one mistake!"
"Pork dishes are all the same…" I heard #294 mutter to himself. Menchi didn't take that lightly, grabbing the guy by his red scarf thing and holding him up.
"Just say that once more. Any more crap from you, and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out! Don't mess with me… I don't want any lip from a bunch of amateurs who can't even roast a pig! Hey! What did you just say? Why don't you repeat it to my face?!" she ranted, getting angrier and angrier. I couldn't help but shrink back slightly.
Dropping the poor guy, she sat back down on her seat composed and continued talking to the rest of the applicants.
"In other words, you people don't have the guts to try anything new."
"Shut up!" #255 started up again "I'm not trying to be a cook or a gourmet… I want to be a hunter!"
Everyone started rising up. I could tell Menchi was about to lose it more than she already had.
"My goal is to become a Blacklist Hunter. I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!"
"'Mere Gourmet Hunter' is taking it too far…" I thought. I was mad but even I was against #255's words, "Gourmet Hunters probably have to go through dangerous situations just like Blacklist ones, they are Hunters for a reason. It really was unfair to test us like that but riling her up like this is only going to make it worse!"
Menchi was attempting to stay composed, turning away from him slightly a responding with a snarky "Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiner… Better luck next year?"
"Why, you… Don't mock me!" #255 lunged at Menchi only to get knocked back by a punch from Buhara. I watched in shock as the guy rammed against one of the towers lining the doors and feel to the ground. I would be surprised if he survived that.
"Buhara, don't interfere."
"Well… If I hadn't intervened, you'd have killed him, right?"
It was true. Menchi had grabbed two sharp kitchen knives and would've probably finished the guy off had he actually gotten closer.
Walking forward and stepping down the stairs, she addressed the crowd with a deadly tone to her voice.
"Let me clarify this… We frequently ventures into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art." At this point, Menchi had started juggling her kitchen knives. "You lack focus and willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!" She stopped juggling and held out the knives, ponting at us. She did have a point but it seemed a bit harsh.
"That said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant." a voice boomed from above. Looking upwards, a blimp was looming over the test area.
"That's the symbol of the Hunters Association!"
"Is it someone from the Selection Committee?"
A barely had time to see the person jump out of the blimp before they landed in front of Menchi, raising a giant dust cloud. Once the cloud raised, I could see an old man in a traditional-looking outfit standing in front of the examiners.
"Wh-Who's that geezer?"
"The Chairman of the Selection Committee." Menchi responded, walking forward. She seemed calmer now. "He's in charge of the Hunter Exam… Chairman Netero."
"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi-kun…"
"Yes, sir."
"You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance-" I felt my eye twitch as I saw where his eyes drifted down to. Menchi was wearing a revealing shirt, but he had the choice not to look down. We had a pervert running the Exam. "-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. 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." Netero reasoned. Menchi bowed slightly out of guiltiness and respect, "I apologise…"
"Very well. How about this? I'd like 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 to accept their results."
Menchi seemed relieved and even started smiling.
"That's true…Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!"
I sighed in relief. Though I wasn't a good cook, I was certain I could at least prepare some eggs.
"How are we going to get the eggs though?"
"Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?"
"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can."
"Mt. Split-in-Half?" I wondered, as the blimp descended and we all moved to board, "I have a bad feeling about this…"
Everyone peered over the edge, staring down the gorge in the mountain.
"No wonder it's called Mt. Split-in-Half…" I gulped, not liking where this was going.
"Now, everyone… Look down there."
"Wh-What is that?"
There was a large spider web constructed from one side of the gorge o the other. A giant spider web must mean a giant spider, right?
"Don't tell me we're going against spiders…" I thought, glancing at Kurapika, "I fear spiders just like the next person, but Kurapika-san…"
"A Spider Eagle's web."
"They build webs down there?" Gon asked innocently.
"I hope we don't cross one of these Spider Eagles…"
A gust of wind burst up for a couple of seconds. Once the draft died down, Menchi started speaking again.
"Look below the web."
"Those are…" Gon trailed off. Looking below the web, I spotted clusters of white eggs.
"Those are Spider Eagle eggs."
"And that's what we're boiling?"
"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines, to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. The eggs are also known as dream eggs." Netero filled in, walking up behind the crowd.
"W-Wait a minute…" #255 stuttered, glancing over at Netero, "You don't mean we…"
"I sure do." Menchi sounded excited.
"W-What!?"
Menchi abruptly jumped off the side of the cliff, dropping down and grabbing onto a bit of web. The five of us looked down, wondering what she was going to do next.
"Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio asked, no response was given.
Everyone waited, watching Menchi as she hung on. Then she abruptly dropped. Reaching out, she snatched an egg as she fell. Murmurings rang through the applicants as we all wondered how she was going to not only survive but get back up.
"Hey… She jumped down! Is she trying to kill herself!?" Leorio was panicking. Kurapika continued to gaze down, responding with a calm "No, she's not". It seems he's figured it out.
Glancing from the boys back to the web, I frowned slightly. What Kurapika figured out, I wasn't seeing. That was until I felt the slightest of breeze from down below. Then it clicked.
"She's going to use the draft!"
A split second after I felt that faint breeze, the heavy draft from before shot up, sending Menchi and her egg flying up with it. She gazed at us with a confident smile, holding her egg as she hovered over the ravine. Everyone watching was beyond intrigued.
"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up to the web." Netero explained. Menchi floated away from the draft and jumped onto the ground next to Netero, holding her egg up triumphantly.
"There. Now I just need to boil the egg."
"Y-You must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there…" #255 was obviously not pleased. It was obvious that we were going to have to copy her in just a moment. Truth be told, I wasn't that enthusiastic either. But the draft bit did seem a bit fun…
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon shouted excitedly. What surprised me was when Gon and the other boys jumped down into the ravine. Everyone else looked just as surprised as me. The surprise quickly turned into adrenaline though.
"Okay! Count me in!" #294 shouted and ran towards the ravine edge. Everone joined him until gradually the cliff edge was nearly empty. I stared down at the web, watching everyone hold onto the web just as Menchi did. I made no move to join in, feeling a bit scared.
"Getting the egg and flying up isn't the problem… Getting to courage to jump into an abyss is the problem!"
"Chu! You coming!?" Gon shouted excitedly, the four boys looking up at me expectantly. There was a space on the web in between Kurapika and Killua…
Gulping, I backed away from the edge slightly and took a deep breath, calming myself.
"C'mon! This is your second chance! Take it or you'll fail! Gon-san and the others are all waiting!" I chastised myself, gaining confidence. I heard a yell from below but I ignored it. One man's bad luck didn't mean mine.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and sped towards the edge of the ravine. Jumping off the side, I opened my eyes and reached out for the web with one hand, the other holding my hood down. Now that I was off the side, there was no turning back. Any fear I felt now didn't matter.
Reaching out, the boys watched as my hand aimed for the web… and missed.
My eyes widened as I began to fall past the web, my hand still outstretched. There was no updraft, if I fell now…
Kurapika must've noticed my slip because he took one of his hands off the web and grabbed my outstretched arm instantly. The part of the web he was holding onto dipped down slightly.
"Chu, you alright?" Gon asked as we all hung there.
"Am I dead yet?" I asked, my normally quiet and calm voice holding a bit of fear and cheekiness. I had just scared myself but was attempting to hide it.
"Guess not. Bummer." Killua responded with a cold voice, but I could tell by the faint smirk on his face that he was kidding just like me.
Kurapika's grip on my hand and the web was bruise-inducing. He wasn't daring to let go of either. He sent a faint smile my way, reassuring me. He knew I was afraid. Turning away from his gaze, I focused on the eggs instead. There was a bunch right below where we were, dropping and grabbing them would be easy.
"When's the next one?" Leorio asked. He seemed to be losing his cool. Honestly, I was too. Near death experiences were expected from the Hunter Exam but not wanted.
"Wait."
We all looked to Gon, who seemed to be focusing hard. He was waiting for that faint warning breeze.
The web dipped more, slacking. Everyone seemed to start panicking.
"W-What?" Leorio yelled, looking up frantically.
"The web won't hold us all!" Kurapika stated, we were dipping the most out of everyone.
"If he wasn't holding on to me, he wouldn't be in as much danger…" For the first time in awhile, guilt started to run through me. Normally, I kept my emotions locked, keeping a neutral face. But during this Exam, I had felt emotions I hadn't felt in awhile. Unfortunately, fear and guilt were some of them.
My fear and guilt only increased when our part of the web jerked and dipped violently, causing Kurapika's grip on both me and the web to falter and loosen. I was bound to fall.
"Gon, not yet?" Killua seemed pretty calm as he turned to Gon. The boy didn't respond, keeping his eyes closed and his nose twitching. He was concentrating really hard.
The web loosened more. Everyone was on edge.
"Maybe if we had listened to Menchi's full explanation, we wouldn't be in this mess." I thought, my grip on Kurapika faltering more, "We shouldn't have dropped all at once."
"Damn, I can't wait for an updraft!" I heard an applicant yell as some dropped down, grabbing eggs and falling into the abyss.
The web grew thinner, Leorio confirming or fears by shouting "It's gonna snap!"
The part Kurapika was holding looking weaker than the rest and was bound to snap first.
"It's either me or the both of us…" I thought. Kurapika's hold on me was loose as it was.
"I'm sorry…" I muttered. Kurapika looked down at me curiously, only to be stunned as I twisted my hand out of his own and dropped, holding my hood down. I heard him and Leorio yell my name in fear.
Twisting my body, I grabbed an egg with my free hand and fell below. If I was going down, I was at least going to drag down one of the little suckers with me.
I was going to die in style.
Or that was what I thought until I felt the breeze hit my face. Maybe I could hit the draft!
"Now!" I heard Gon's yell faintly. Abruptly, I felt the draft blast against me, shooting me upwards. Holding my hood down tightly, I held the egg against my chest protectively as I shot up and over the abyss. Landing in front of them with my egg Menchi, Netero and Buhara looked at me, all smiling. I had survived.
The other applicants quickly joined me, holding eggs of their own. Landing in front of me, the boys quickly surrounded me smiling.
"We did it Chu!" Gon cheered, holding up his egg triumphantly.
"I am glad you are alright." Kurapika smiled warmly at me, holding his own egg. I could tell by the way he was smiling that he had felt horrible and probably felt it was his fault I had fallen prematurely.
Though I refused to show it, I was genuinely happy that we had done it.
Menchi turned to the applicants that hadn't jumped, a cheeky smile directed towards #255.
"And the rest of you? I guess you quit."
"It takes courage to concede, too."
"I can see why they're called dream eggs." Kurapika remarked as we all ate our boiled eggs. It was the tastiest egg we'd ever tasted.
"Hey, Todo-san. Would you like a bite?" Gon offered his egg to #255, smiling. The boy was just too pure for this world.
Turning to my own egg, I bit into it again. I was feeling very satisfied that, out of the 40 or so applicants that passed this phase, I was one of them despite the near death experiences.
Speaking of which, I turned to Kurapika and nudged him. Not only was I satisfied, but I was grateful. If Kurapika hadn't of caught me, I would've fallen way too early. Though I still fell prematurely, I still managed to catch the draft. I had to thank the Kurta boy for that.
He turned to look at me with a curious look.
"Thank you, for helping me. In this Phase and the last one. I don't think I would've passed without you." Which was true! He saved me from falling too early in this round and last time he helped me keep running despite being really tired and over everything. Plus the Hisoka incident, I couldn't thank him enough. Though, it did bother me, having to thank someone. It was echnically letting Kurapika in, which I didn't want at this point. But it was the polite thing to do.
Kurapika looked a bit shocked. Turning and looking back at his egg, he responded quickly.
"I still let go of you in the end. And I was only helping you because you needed me to. I don't deserve any thanks."
"Ah, that's what it's about. You're still blaming yourself?" I asked. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, not understanding me. "I noticed you looking upset earlier. I figured you would've gotten over that."
Reaching up, I pat Kurapika on the head, silently telling him it wasn't his fault. He gently pushed my hand away, but I could tell he understood my message.
"Either way, I purposely let myself go. It was either me or the both of us. You didn't drop me at all, so don't worry too much."
I didn't want any of the boys to get too attached to me. I didn't want anyone to worry.
Kurapika smiled again and continued eating his egg, getting the hint. He seemed less regretful now.
"He seemed genuinely worried. Does he actually care or is it obligation? Or maybe he's considering me as his friend. I hope that isn't the case."
Omake:
"Either way, I purposely let myself go. It was either me or the both of us. You didn't drop me at all, so don't worry too much."
I didn't want any of the boys to get too attached to me. I didn't want anyone to worry.
Kurapika smiled again and continued eating his egg, getting the hint. He seemed less regretful now.
"Oh, and by the way? I poisoned your egg."
His eyes widened but otherwise he didn't react. Swallowing his bite, he turned to me and shrugged.
"So I wasn't the only one?"
I paled and glanced down at my egg briefly before looking up at him weakly.
"W-What do you mean…?"
"I poisoned your egg."
I was confused and hurt. The poison kicked in and I dropped to my knees, coughing.
"I-I was kidding-!" I coughed out, about to pass out.
"Oh? Well I wasn't."
I felt my life drain away as Kurapika nonchalantly continued to eat his egg.
"I'm not being paired up with any OCs, I'm ending this story right here."
[1] – Maybe he should see Doctor Leorio? Huehuehue-*shot*
[2] – I have a thing that Chu can't cook or do housewife/feminine activities. Like the fanciest thing she can serve is toast with a mini flag on it (kinda like Leorio's pork). I also have a headcannon that Kurapika can clean and do other housewife/feminine activities perfectly that Chu can't but is even worse at cooking than Chu. Like he always burns his toast or something. Just funny headcannons I have. X3 That's also why I added in the poisoned egg in the omake!
Me: I think Chu nearly died twice in this chapter… Goddamn, it's only the third chapter! Causing a fire and dropping into an abyss isn't exactly the best thing she could've done! XD