"This should be easy." I muttered. The others had hightailed it into the Visca Forest to find the only pig the Visca Forest had. I moved quickly up through the trees to avoid getting trampled by the Stamp Nose. As soon as I found them, however, I noticed they were chasing the other examinees. Some were already being trampled and eaten. I waited until the last one began to pass me, and jumped down onto it's soft forehead, killing it, and spirited it back to the exam site. Once I managed to get my pig to my table, I started the process of skinning and gutting the beast. I listened as the female examiner, Menchi continued to lecture the others. I continued my preparations, making sure the food would turn out great, hissing every time the oil popped.

I looked down at the huge plates, hoping that it turned out well. I hefted the huge plates, ignoring the jeers of the other participants. I set the plates down in front of my judges. "Stamp Nose pork chops cooked with a savory and spicy rub, with a side of bacon wrapped asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes with pork blood brown gravy. Enjoy." I kept my back straight, watching them stare at their meals in shock. The large man, Buhara, dove in first. He passed me, but my concern was Menchi.

She stared at the food for a moment and then took a small bite. She sampled everything, then looked up at me. "You know your way around a kitchen, don't you?" She was smirking. I shrugged. I noticed that her eyes kept focusing on one eye over the other. I quickly sifted my bangs over my eye to help her concentrate.

"I was taught to cook whatever my parents brought home. Nothing special."

"Hmm..." Menchi continued to eat, looking contemplative. "The chops are juicy, not too spicy. The asparagus is tender and the bacon is the perfect combination of chewy and crisp. The mashed potatoes are creamy, and I like that you left on the skin for texture. The gravy is delectable. Honestly, the only good food I've had today. You pass."

I blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks." I mumbled. I quickly shuffled back to my table.

Across from me, Gittarackur clacked in an annoyed fashion. "Well. I'm stuffed." Buhara sighed happily.

"Yeah, me too." Menchi grumbled. That was when she addressed the rest of us. "That means you all fail. Except her." She jabbed her finger in my direction. I folded my arms and kept an unaffected expression on my face. Most of the others turned to glare at me.

"Looks we have a problem here." A voice from above spoke up. All of us tried to identify the source of the voice to see a huge aircraft. An old man used a rope to slide down, leaving the two proctors a bit sheepish. "You know you can't just pass one participant."

"But chairman! They refuse to even try! I can't just pass someone who doesn't try! They wouldn't try anything new." Menchi complained.

"Is that what this is about?" Chairman Netero, as he had been identified, began eyeing her ample bosom. "They didn't try something new?"

"...No. They made fun of cooking like it's not a big deal, so I made the exam harder than necessary. I just can't help it when it comes to cooking." Menchi admitted.

"So you realize that this exam is unacceptable?" Netero looked up at Menchi's face.

"Yes. I apologize. I'll step down as examiner, and you can redo this part of the exam." I felt bad as I watched her kind of deflate.

"You don't need to step down. It would take too much time to find your replacement. So how about you find something else to use as your exam and participate with them. Does that sound acceptable?" Netero bargained.

"Yeah... And I have the perfect test. Boiled eggs!" Menchi brightened again. "Chairman, since you're already here, could we use Your airship?"

"Sure. Just where did you have in mind?" Netero answered.

"Mt. Split-In-Half!" Menchi declared.

"Hmm? I think I know what you have in mind." Netero smirked.

I stared down at the chasm below. The mountain sure was accurately named... I listened as Menchi explained that we were to jump down and get a Spider Eagle egg, also known as dream eggs. She jumped down onto one of the webs. She must have noticed the wind coming, because she let go. The others were in uproar as they watch what they thought would be her death. When she landed, unharmed, they all looked at her with amazement. I stared down and waited for a breeze to come by. But I noticed the others already jumping.

"Hm? Hey. 313, You don't have to do this one. You already passed." Menchi called to me.

"Ah. But I am hungry. So I think I'll go down too. Just not right now. One more person, and that web will snap." I observed. A few of the examinees let go, only to fall to their deaths. "Stupid mistake." I clucked absently.

I felt the beginnings of a nice gust approaching, so I jumped, Aiming for an egg. Instead of snagging an egg though, I accidentally took the entire nest with me. The gust blew me and the others back up to the top, and I landed on my back with the nest on top of me. I blinked for a few moments as I realized what happened. I sat up, and carried the whole thing to Menchi. "I may have overdid it." I rubbed my neck in embarrassment.

"Ha! That's great! Hey, Buhara, Chairman, you hungry?" Menchi called out. The other two nodded in acquiescence. Menchi took my nest to boil, laughing all the way.

"That was awesome, big sis!" I turned to see Gon crying out to me.

"Really? It was just an accident." I admitted.

"Do things like this happen often, big sis?" Killua asked.

"This week has been full of accidents, actually." I laughed. " I've fallen down flights of stairs, tripped into people, fallen off of ledges... This one time a waitress tripped on my arm as I was reaching for my spoon that dropped onto the floor, and the whole pot of top coffee landed on my head. This is the first time something good has come of it."

I could see their shocked, and disconcerted faces and sweatdropped as I realized they felt bad for me. "It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise. Barely any cuts or bruises." I waved my hands frantically, only to upset the cloak I wore and cause it to fall the ground. It exposed my black and dark blue knee high stockings and sky blue dress that went down to just above my knees, and puffed out at the skirts, due to the petticoats underneath. The neckline was round, but had a second layer that was black with a high neck collar, and the sleeves were french. If it wasn't for my generous curves, I would have been mistaken for a child. Both boys blushed a bit. "What?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Ahem... Your cloak fell." Killua looked away, a bit flustered. I looked down to see that my cloak had indeed fallen off.

"Oh. Okay. Just a moment." I tugged it back on, adjusting the clip so that it wouldn't unclip again. I checked one of the pockets that held my special tea jar and found it unharmed. Good. Don't want this to break. Or lost.

It had been a few hours since we had begun our flight to the next part of our exam, and I had been enjoying a leisurely stroll throughout the airship. I was staring out into the darkening horizon, when a strange feeling in my psyche alerted me. It was like a tension filled rubber band had snapped, causing a new awareness I never knew existed. I felt panic bubble up in me as I went through my pockets, to find them void of my special tea jar. I immediately went running around the airship to find whoever could be drinking the tea.

Oh, no. Nonononononononono. I'm bonded to somebody here! Fuck me! I'm practically married in the eyes of my village, and I don't even know who it is! What manner of karma is this!? I ran into one of the last rooms I had visited, to find Hisoka drinking what looked like tea. FUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKK! I felt my soul leave my body.

"Hello there, little mouse~!" He sounded very amused. I felt like I was choking on air. "Something the matter?"

"Th-that tea..." I stuttered.

"Hmm? Yes, I got it from the dining hall." He smiled. "Very good." I almost collapsed with relief.

"Oh. Have you seen a jar of tea lying around?" I asked, switching from foot to foot.

"Ah, yes. I think Gittarackur took it to make some." I felt a cold sweat run down my body.

"It is quite good. Is it yours?" Gittarackur's distorted voice sounded from behind me. I turned to see him holding the jar out to me. I stared at it, face pale.

"Y-yes. It's a special tea in my village. Called Sun and Moon tea. It's a ceremonial tea that is supposed to be drank on special occasions only." I sighed.

"I apologize. I didn't know." He tilted his head.

"Oh well. No use crying over drank tea, I guess." I frowned as I stashed it away in my cloak.

"If you don't mind my asking..." Hisoka piped up. "What kind of special occasion?" I sighed again.

"My marriage." I looked over to the magician. "Every member of my village has their own tea batch that was gathered the very day they were born. Women in the village get a special jar of tea though, to brew for the man or woman they are to marry. It's considered a sacred brew when designated to women, but the regular batches are considered an honor bestowed upon people not of the village very infrequently." My eyes glowed eerily for a moment as I looked at Hisoka.

"My, my." He continued to build his card house. "No wonder you were looking for it."

"Yes... Without this tea, I can never marry. Or return to my village." I turned back to Gittarackur and smiled. "Thank you for finding it." I carefully edged around him and continued to walk away. I suddenly felt the need to kill something. My left hand began to shake uncontrollably.

I continued to walk down the hall when some random examinee stopped me in my path with a smirk. "Hey sweetheart."

I felt the urge take over and darted forward, left hand extended to grab his throat. It was over in the blink of an eye, the hall coated with blood, gristle and entrails. The only thing to identify him was the tag on the floor. My person was still spotless though, as I walked away. I guess the only good thing that can come of this is that he won't be able to kill me. And it's not like I have to tell him. The tea only ensured a link for me to know he is alive and well. It isn't going to hurt me or anything. It does nothing against the people who are unfaithful, so it won't hurt him or me should he get married to someone else. I'll just never be able to get married. And that's okay, I guess. I can live without marrying. I can live without kids. It'll be fine. I'll be... okay...

"Big is, are you okay?" Killua's face entered my field of vision. "You're crying."

Shocked, I touched my cheek to find it wet. "I'm fine, Killua." I whispered. "Just another accident is all." I smiled at him.

"Don't lie. What's wrong." The white haired boy frowned.

"I..." I sighed tiredly. "Oh, Killua. Life never goes the way we expect. I just got accidentally married."

"EHHHHH?!" Killua shouted.

"In my village there is a special tea that is given to every female to safeguard that is specially brewed toward her, so that when she is ready to marry, she brews the tea for her significant other. When they drink the tea, a link is formed. I will always be distantly aware of his well being and emotional state. And I will always know if he is nearby. And we cannot kill or harm one another. But I dropped my tea, and one of the other participants made tea from it and drank it. In my village, that is marriage. And these effects are for life. It doesn't help that we will both be infertile to anyone but one another. So I can never have children. I was really looking forward to being a mother someday..." I sniffled. Killua patted my back.

"It's gonna be okay, big sis. Promise." He murmured.

I hope you're right.