I would like to say a big thank you to SpadesPirates4Eva and Orange!
SpadesPirates4Eva – I'm glad to think you think I'm doing a wonderful job! Makes me smile.
Orange – So that's what you mean. Sadly I'm not a huge fan of that type of writing style, it drives me insane, so on this one occasion I will not be changing it. HOWEVER! In regards to your question about a flash back chapter, I have something in the works!

Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.

I made him mad…

I made my brother so mad, I hadn't seen him angry with me for a long time, years really. It was uncomfortable and I didn't know to do but avoid eye contact and fidget with my fingers. I guess I forgot what it felt like to have him mad at me because I was always a good girl and did what I was told. But I…I wanted to be brave, to prove I can be brave as well. I wanted to make sure Gon was OK. I got worried after I heard him shouting.

I didn't want my brother to not come back…

We could see people at the top of the hill as we came over the hill top. They all looked out of breathe, but it didn't look as if we missed the dead line. I tried looking for Leorio and even Killua, anything to get my out of the way of my brothers' anger towards me.
"Looks like we made it in time." Kurapika said as we slowed down to a walk upon reaching the big group.

Me, Kurapika and Gon started looking around for Leorio. I furrowed my brows, trying to spot the tall man with no shirt or suit jacket; but I couldn't spot him.
"Leorio…" Gon said until he stopped, making me bump into him. I rubbed my nose slightly as I had hit it on his back and looked towards where he was looking. Hisoka was leaning against a tree with a fox like grin on his face. He pointed towards another tree making me and Gon look over. We saw Leorio, who looked barely conscious and had a very swollen cheek.
"Leorio!" Gon said loudly as we began making our way over to him.

Gon placed Leorio's suitcase onto the ground next to him as he rubbed his swollen cheek. I stood in between Gon and Kurapika, but slightly closer to Gon than I normally would have.
"Man, that stings… Why am I all beat up?" Leorio questioned making me look at him oddly. I heard his scream, so he must have gotten beaten up by Hisoka, but he doesn't remember it and that made me wonder if he hit his head really hard. I looked at my brother and Gon who also looked as confused as me.
"My memory is kinda hazy." Leorio continued saying as Kurapika leaned in close to me and Gon, covering his mouth with the back of his hand so Leorio wouldn't see what he said. We both looked at my brother curiously.
"We probably shouldn't tell him what happened." Kurapika said as I nodded my head understanding.
"Yeah." Gon said in response to him.

"Gon. Mishka." We heard a familiar voice say and turned around to find Killua walking towards us with a smile on his face, his skateboard under his arm and hand in one pocket.
"Killua!" Both me and Gon said at the same time smiling widely back at the white haired boy.
"I can't believe you two actually got here… I thought you were done for." He said, raising an eyebrow slightly at the both of us. Gon walked over to Killua, I was about to do the same until I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at who it belonged to. Kurapika looked at me with a stern look making me lower my head slightly, furrowing my brows.
"I want a word." He said simply as I nodded my head and followed my brother to somewhere away from people.

I followed him away from the group, but not so much to make it seem we were quitting. I couldn't help but fidget under his gaze and look at everything but him. I heard him sigh, making me look at him slightly from the corner of my eyes. He stood sternly with his arms crossed over his chest, a stern look on his face and in his eyes.
"Mishka, what were you thinking? What if Hisoka was still there and he tried to kill you?" Kurapika asked me stern and scolding voice that only made me wince. I fidgeted some more with my hands behind my back and looked away once more.
"I…I wanted to help." I said to him, stuttering to get my words out.
"He could have killed you if he were there. I told you stay there." He said to me sternly once more. I looked up at him trying my best to glare at him, but that was failing; I couldn't do it. Kurapika's expression did soften somewhat though.
"What if he killed you and you never came back?" I retorted back at him, trying my hardest to continuously glare at him.

I watched as he sighed and placed a hand on top of my head and rubbed my head.
"I keep forgetting you're not that little anymore." He said back to me making me soften my failing glare and look away from him.
"I understand you want to help. But when it comes to Hisoka and I tell you to run can you do that?" He asked me as I looked back up to him again and nodded my head slightly. He smiled at me and removed his hand from the top of my head. I couldn't help but hug him, I was glad when I received one back.
"So you forgive me?" I asked him, my words being muffled into his clothing. I could feel him pat my back.
"Yeah." He said as I hugged him a little tighter before pulling away and smiling widely at him. He smiled back and rubbed the top of my head again before nodding in the direction of the others. I quickly followed him back to the others. Once there Kurapika pulled his tabard back over his head. Leorio was fully dressed once more.

When I reached the two the examiner started talking again making the three of us look at him. I stood next to Gon this time so he was in the middle of me and Killua.
"Excellent work, everyone. Phase two of the exam with occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." Satotz said as he lowered his arms to his sides once more and looked over at all the applicants. He then proceeded to walk away from us just like how he walked us here. One leg up high with an arm up high, that really weird marching like walk.

The doors to the forest started opening making a loud noise as they did. The five of us looked in the direction of the doors, wondering what was going to happen. I wasn't exactly too sure what to expect. Behind the gates was a tall mansion like building with what looked like counters to the side. I looked at it questionably.
"It doesn't look like a forest…" I said as Killua looked at me oddly.
"Hmm, what does a forest look like to you?" He asked as I looked back at him and then away at the sky thinking to myself. I looked back at Killua smiling widely at the white haired boy.
"A place with lots of trees, bushes and grass and the odd bench or two." I said smiling widely at him. He gave me the same questioning look as before, this time lowering his eyelids slightly.
"Sounds more like a nature reserve." He said making me glare my best at him. Although my glares never were glares, just puffing out my cheeks and trying to look angry. He laughed at my face and poked my cheek making me blow out the air from my mouth and rub it slightly. He poked really hard. Gon looked over and smiled at mine and Killua's little glare contest before tapping both our shoulders. We looked in the direction he pointed at and saw everybody walking forwards entering the grounds.
"We're allowed to enter?" I questioned as Gon nodded his head smiling widely.
"You would have known if you were listening." I heard Kurapika say behind me making me turn my head slightly and scrunch up my nose, close my eyes tightly and poked my tongue out at him. I heard him chuckle after I turned my head around once more to watch where I was going.

When we reached the mansion like house there sat a woman on a sofa. Her hair was blue and tied into five different tight pony tails. She had wide eyes and wore a fish net top with a black bra and blue shorts that were really, really short. Plus odd looking heels. She reminded me of a star fish, her head did anyway. Behind her sat a huge guy! He had a big round belly and a big round face. His hair was short and black and he sat there smiling widely. His shirt was yellow and his trousers were a green grey colour; he didn't wear shoes. But he was huge! I looked at him in amazement; I hadn't seen anybody that big before! It amazed me how he was so big.
"Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner." The woman with the blue hair said smiling widely at all of us.
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." The huge man said as I continuously watched him in pure amazement.

Nobody else seemed as amazed as I did at Buhara but what caught all our attentions was a big growl from a stomach.
"Wh-what was that sound?" I heard someone say as I looked up at my brother before looking back at Buhara. Kurapika didn't look confused, but everybody else sure did. Menchi turned her head and looked at Buhara, smiling at him.
"You must be hungry." She said as Buhara closed his eyes and placed his hands onto his round stomach.
"I'm starving…" He said, making Menchi stand up and place her hands on her hips. She continued to smile at all of us as she began talking.
"There you have it. Phase two will involve…cooking!" She said, pointing at us. She said it with excitement; I wondered if she was hungry to. I knew I was, but I was one of the lucky few whos tummy's didn't make a noise when empty.

I fidgeted with my fingers and looked down furrowing my brows. I couldn't cook; Kurapika cooked for us most of the time, he let me help on occasions like chopping up vegetables or stirring things to make sure it didn't burn but that's as far as my skills in cooking ever went. So, as long as we were only stirring things or chopping things I would be OK.
"Wait! Cooking? We're here to take the Hunter exam!" The guy with the blonde ponytail said. I tried thinking of his name as I watched the back of his head before looking back at Menchi, wondered what she was going to say.
"That's quite right. Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate." She said, lowering one arm to dangle by her side as the other stayed attached to her hip. Menchi seemed quite calm about this all.
"Why do we have to cook?!" The blonde ponytail guy asked once again. Menchi placed her hand back onto her hip, shifted her weight slightly and closed her eyes.
"That's because we are Gourmet Hunters." She said seriously as she looked back at all of us again.

I heard people laughing and looked around slightly, furrowing my brows in confusion and question before looking back at my brother again. I tugged on his sleeve slightly making him look down at me with an eyebrow raised in question.
"Why is that funny?" I asked him as Kurapika shrugged his shoulders slightly. He was too sure himself; it made me sigh slightly before looking back towards Menchi and Buhara along with my brother. I looked at Gon and Killua, who both looked as lost as me. I looked forward once more. Menchi looked really mad, and folded her arms across her chest whilst closing her eyes. Buhara just looked confused as he looked from behind the annoyed looking Menchi.

The laughing started to die down after a while. It seemed like everybody got it out of their system.
"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" The blonde haired pony tail guy asked, sounding a little bit too full of himself. Menchi opened her eyes for a split second, the annoyed look still on her face and then closed them again.
"Buhara." She said simply, making the large man behind her stand up. The floor shook when his feet hit the surface; I stared at him in amazement once more. I still wanted to know how did he get that big, I mean wouldn't he have exploded by now if he was normal? Maybe that was it and he wasn't normal, but if he wasn't normal what was he? I thought about my answer for a second and snapped out of my thoughts once he started speaking.
"The required ingredient is pork." Buhara said smiling widely.

Everybody looked at him in confusion. Where were we going to get pork from around here? I didn't see any pigs, and I wasn't going to go back into the swamp again no way!
"Pork? As in pig meat?" Someone from the crowd asked.
"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." Buhara said with a wide smile. Well, that was me out. Without having the ability to cook, and I doubt they would let us pair up, I was certainly out of this. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at who it belonged to. Kurapika was smiling kindly at me.
"You'll be fine." He whispered back so that he wouldn't disturb any of the other applicants. I couldn't help but smile back slightly and nodded my head, looking to the front once more.
"And we will evaluate more than just the taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it?" Menchi said, opening her eyes slightly and looking at us all annoyed. Maybe I stood some sort of chance, I could make things look pretty, but it didn't hide the taste.
"When we've both eaten our fill, the exam will end." Menchi said. The blonde haired ponytail guy waved his hand slightly, dismissing Menchi as if she wasn't even an examiner.
"We got it, we got it. Let's just start." He said, the confidence in his voice once more as he looked back at Menchi.
"Then the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara said smiling at us still. He slammed his hand onto his belly, making it sound like a bell. His stomach rippled after his hand clapped down onto it, I couldn't help but stare in amazement again.

Every one of us ran out towards the forest. I stayed closely behind Kurapika so I didn't get trampled on in everyone's rush. Once we made it to the forest we slowed to a walk. I walked beside Kurapika and Gon, looking around for any signs of pig. Leorio had taken his jacket off at some point and flung it over his shoulder.
"Catch a pig and cook it. This is way easier than the First Phase." Leorio said as we all stopped to look around. Me, Gon and Killua stood in front of the two older guys and looked around. Killua looked bored whilst Gon looked anxious, he held onto his back pack straps tightly and slightly moved forward to look around.
"I hope it will be that simple…" Kurapika said as I looked at him furrowing my brows slightly.
"But I haven't seen or heard any pigs." I said to him as I saw Gon jump down somewhere out of the corner of my eye. Killua moved forward himself making me look to see what he was going. I suddenly felt myself being pushed. I couldn't help but yelp slightly in surprise as I slid down the hill on my butt. I could hear Killua behind me cheering, before sounding more shocked. I slammed into Gon's back, this time without hitting my nose. Killua slammed into the back of me, and then Leorio into the back of Killua and Kurapika into the back of Leorio.
"What was that about, Gon?!" Killua said angrily at him as I turned my head slightly to try and face Killua.
"Why'd you push me?!" I yelled back at him as he looked at me angrily next.
"You were being slow!" He yelled back making us glare at each other again.

We both looked at Gon when he finally spoke.
"Found them." He said calmly and shuffled slightly.
"Huh?" Killua said as we both turned our heads in the direction Gon was looking at.
"Pigs!" Leorio said as we watched the massive pink animals gnaw on bones of whatever animal it used to be. Maybe another pig. I pulled a face slightly hearing the crunching and covered my ears slightly.
"That crunching sounds gross!" I said shaking my head a little to try and get the crunching noise out.
"They're chewing on bones…" Leorio said through his swollen cheek.
"Don't tell me… They're carnivores?" Kurapika questioned as one of the pigs chewing on the bones broke it into shattered little pieces with its jaw. That sound sent a shiver up my spin and made me press my hands against my ears harder so I wouldn't have to hear it. The pigs spotted us and roared loudly. The five of us quickly got up and began running from the beast, Leorio was screaming which probably didn't help the matter.

We saw some of the applicants as we ran towards them. They too, began running away; however they were caught by the pigs and flung into the air. Or, that's what it sounded like by the thuds made after something hit the ground; I didn't dare to look in case I ran slower. I was running next to my brother so I was running pretty fast at the moment.
"Those pigs are crazy!" Leorio shouted as we continued running. Gon had gone to take on one of the pigs by himself making us all stop. I stayed behind Kurapika as he drew his weapons and stood defensively. I heard Killua make a noise and looked over to see where he was looking at. Kurapika moved slightly himself, smiling over at Gon.
"Could their foreheads be their weak points?" Killua asked in amazement.
"So the pigs evolved large, strong noses in order to protect their soft foreheads." Kurapika said as everybody looked over to him.

I watched as Killua slammed his skateboard into one pig's forehead, Kurapika slammed his weapon ends into another. I heard something coming from behind me and looked behind in time to see a pig running towards me. Panicky I rummaged through my bag trying to find my weapon that had managed to slip to the bottom; or did I put it there? It was only a few hours ago and I couldn't remember. I felt myself get slammed into a tree and gasped in shock as I slid down to the floor again. My back hurt making me wince as I stood up again to see the pig getting ready to charge again.
"Mishka move out of the way!" I heard Kurapika shout as he came running over. I quickly rummaged through my bag again and found out I was looking for. Looking back at the pig I was slammed back into the tree again making me gasp again as I held onto the dagger like weapon hilt tighter. I threw only one of my weapons towards its forehead; the only indication I knew that I hit it was that I dropped to the ground again and could breathe better. The pig fell onto its side as I took a deep breath to try and get my lungs filled with air again. I crawled over on my hands and knees and picked up the weapon, only to be over looked by a shadow. I looked up and saw Kurapika, who looked mad at me again. I furrowed my brows slightly as I placed my weapon back into my bag again, although this was done stiffly and with a lot of "ows".

Everyone that caught a pig carried it to the mansion grounds again. It seemed like we all had caught one. I dragged mine more than anything and it wasn't easy doing so as my ribs and lungs hurt a lot as well as my back. What wasn't easier was explaining to my brother why I had the weapons in the first place. I told him it was so I didn't have to rely on him always having to protect me and his gaze softened at that. I received a rub on the head with a nod and he walked away after helping me skewer it. I wondered if I had disappointed him and knew I would need to ask him later.

All of us seemed to have cooked the pig the same way and that was turning it on the fire. I, Kurapika, Leorio and Gon had been watching what was going on slightly off to the side so we could get a good view. I burnt my pig to a crisp; it was literally flaking off everywhere. Leorio had rolled up his sleeves as me and Gon wore an apron to keep our cloths clean. I stood next to Gon whilst slightly behind Kurapika. Leorio's pig sat in front of him after being roasted.
"No one's passed yet…" Leorio said disappointedly.
"And Menchi hasn't even taken a bite…" Kurapika said annoyed as he placed his hands on his hips. Menchi sat up front with Buhara and waved her stick around whilst Buhara sat in front of a pile of skeletons. I pulled a face again as a chill went up my spin, and then flinched from the chill as I was very sore practically everywhere.
"He's worse than the pig." I said quietly as Gon nodded his head in agreement and kept his eyes closed with his own hands on his hips.
"Hey! Can't anyone out there satisfy me?" She said as she continuously waved her stick with Buhara eating happily next to her. Now I understood how he got so huge and it wasn't that impressive anymore; just gross and creepy. Kurapika clicked his fingers; I looked up at him with excitement; that meant he had figured something out.
"That's it! This phase of the exam is a cooking test, but they're judging us on originality and powers of observation." Kurapika said as we all placed our finger and thumb onto our chins. Gon closed his eyes and chuckled slightly as I nodded slightly with Leorio smirking.
"I see…" He said confidentially.

Leorio went up first. He had roasted his pig and stuck a flag with the Hunter mark into its back. He had a hand on his hip and the other pointing to the pig. Buhara looked amazed as Menchi looked annoyed. He had something, but I couldn't hear as we weren't close enough. Menchi threw the dish above her head with her arms high in the air.
"Is this supposed to be a kiddy meal?!" She yelled angrily making me flinch and look at my creation. I had covered the entire thing with lettuce to try and hide it being burnt. I looked back up nervously to see Gon had taken his up. His had a flower crown on its back and a flower ring around it with pink bows on its ears.
"That's pretty." I said quietly making Kurapika nod in agreement. Gon had his hands behind his back and stood proudly and confidently. Menchi threw it to the side angrily once more.
"It's basically the same thing!" She shouted as angrily as she did before. Buhara had caught it in mid-air before the dead animal fell to the ground.

Next was Kurapika. He had made his into burger a giant layered burger. He stood in front of Menchi with his arms either side presenting what he had made. Menchi looked at it with an eyebrow raised as she twirled her stick around between her fingers. They were exchanging words. Menchi took a bite which surprised me even more and made me watch closely. She then threw it into the air.
"Yuck!" She shouted as Buhara grabbed it once more in the air.
"You're no better than number 403!" I heard Menchi yell and looked over. It was Leorio's number. Kurapika wasn't going to be happy about that. Kurapika walked back over to us and Leorio laughed to himself.
"Too bad!" Leorio said cheerfully as Kurapika looked down at the ground with his eyes close in defeat.
"No better than number 403…" He said and walked over to the counter.

Next was my turn. I took my dish up and placed it in front of Menchi and Buhara. The pig was covered with just lettuce, I had quickly added some tomatoes around the sides to try and make it look prettier.
"P-please enjoy my creation!" I said keeping my hands in front of me and closing my eyes tightly as I stuttered out my words. I was nervous, I was being judged there and then. I opened my eyes to look at her; she had moved some lettuce out of the way with her fork. I smiled at her timidly before she threw mine into the air as well.
"It's the same as the second kids!" She shouted as Buhara grabbed it in mid-air once more. I couldn't help but yelp and run back towards the group and slipped in behind Kurapika, who was sulking against the counter; he had his arms propped up against the counter. I held tightly onto his tabard as I hide behind him and sighed to myself, flinching a little bit afterwards.
"She's really scary." I said to myself.

Buhara sat in the front rubbing his stomach proudly with a satisfied smile on his face.
"That was so much food, I'm stuffed." He said happily patting his giant stomach a couple of times. He sat in front of the pile of skeletons him and only he alone had made after eating everyone's dish, including my burnt one which surprised me.
"Yeah, I'm stuffed, too. Therefore, no one passes. We're finished here!" Menchi said as she stood up and placed her hands onto her hips. She looked at us all annoyed. I couldn't help but gasp at her announcement, none of us passed; but she only took a bite out of Kurapika's and said it was yuck and he was no better than Leorio so how could she be stuffed?! Everyone began whispering to each other in disbelief.
"That's not fair!" I said furrowing my brows looking up to her. Kurapika had finished his sulking and stood next to me as he watched the blue star fished haired lady.

Everybody started walking towards Menchi and Buhara. They were all angry, bitter and most of all upset that no one passed.
"Zero people passed? Are you serious?" Someone questioned her as Menchi stood firmly and sternly on top of the stone platform in front of the couch looking at everyone. I looked around at everybody to see them moving closer, all apart from me, my brother who was next to me, Leorio, Gon who held a frying pan and Killua who had his hand still on the handle of the giant skewer. Me and Gon still wore our aprons so that we wouldn't get our clothes dirty, I don't know how Killua could be so confident in not doing the same. But then again, he was cocky most of the time. We heard something being smashed and turned her heads towards the noise source. It was the blonde haired ponytail guy who had smashed his counter top. All that was left was water sprouting from the broken pipe.
"I won't accept it… I absolutely refuse to accept this!" He said angrily up to Menchi. She turned to face his with her hands on her hips.
"In the end, you've still failed." She said to him, only making the blonde guy even angrier.
"Stop screwing around! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-" he began saying but was cut off by Menchi speaking once more.
"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." Menchi said raising her voice at him. Buhara stood there with a blank expression as Menchi talked.
"Just when I thought someone actually tried, they only changed the appearance. No one attempted to emphasise the flavour. I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!" She said to us.

I couldn't help but look away slightly. I took cooking very seriously, I just couldn't cook. That's why Kurapika did the cooking and let me help if I asked to. He even tried teaching me at one point and I nearly burnt down our camp site for the night. It was then he decided to take it slower again and just let me help.
"Pork dishes are all the same…" I heard someone say and looked over to see the guy who thought he was a ninja being grabbed by his red scarf by a very angry looking Menchi. If looks could kill then I think the ninja guy would be dead.
"Just say that once more. Any more crap from you, and I'll shove my arm up your arse and knock your teeth out! Don't you mess with me! I don't want any lip from a bunch of amateurs who can't even roast a pig!" Menchi said as she shook the guy up and down by his scarf. I couldn't help but step behind my brother and grabbed a hold of his tabard tightly as she mentioned the "can't roast pig" part. I didn't want to be shaken like that; I was already sore and hurting from being slammed into a tree by the pig, let alone being shaken up and down. Buhara watched her with one of his little eyes closed.
"Hey what did you just say?! Why don't you repeat it to my face?!" She screamed at him some more.

After she let the poor ninja guy go and slumped back into the couch once more, closed her eyes and placed one leg on top of the other quiet highly.
"In other words, you people don't have the guys to try anything new." She said as she looked down to the ground, confident in her words. The blonde ponytail guy pointed at her, obviously annoyed by the way she was acting.
"Shut up! I'm not trying to become a cook or a gourmet… I want to be a Hunter!" He said, raising his arm into the air. Most of the applicants had followed suit and raised their fists into the air as well, agreeing with the large ponytailed man.
"My goal is to become a Black List Hunter. I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!" He said as I looked at him oddly. Kurapika, and ultimately myself, were trying to become Black List Hunters as well; but we didn't have his attitude, at least I didn't think we did. I could only hope not.
"Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiner… Better luck next year?" She said to him, almost mockingly.

This made the man go red in the face as he held his fists up.
"Damn you. Don't mock me!" He shouted as he ran towards Menchi. It was at that moment that Buhara raised his arm up and slammed it into the guys face, sending him into the air. I watched as the ponytailed man flew high, hit one of the walls and then landed on the floor with a thud, making me wince slightly at the sound.
"Buhara, don't interfere." Menchi said to her large friend calmly. He looked at her, only turning slightly.
"Well, if I hadn't intervened, you'd have killed him, right?" He said as Menchi stood up, wielding two large and sharp butcher knives.
"Probably." She said as she began walking towards the applicants, her heels lightly clicking against the stone steps as she walked down.
"Let me clarify this… We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art." She said as she threw her blades into the air and juggled them, revealing not two like I had originally thought but six instead. I looked at her in pure amazement, surely she would cut herself from doing that, but here she was; juggling as if they weren't sharp at all. She even had her eyes closed.
"You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!" She said, catching three knives in each hand and holding them out to her side, a serious expression never leaving her face.

We all looked at her in disbelief. I continued to hide behind my brother and couldn't help myself to look down in defeat. I guess she was right, I didn't experiment and I had already set myself out to fail. I didn't deserve to become a Hunter and was even thinking of quitting like I had promised to do many years ago if things got too hard. I shook my head though and pressed my forehead against my brothers back slightly, trying to regain my thoughts. I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, flinching slightly with every second.
"That said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant." A voice boomed from above. I removed my head from my brothers back and looked up with him trying to locate the voice. Above the mansion was a blimp. A big blue blimp, I could only assume the voice was coming from the inside of it. Looking closely, I could see the Hunter association mark meaning it was an official Hunter blimp. I couldn't help but smile a little to myself.

Shortly afterwards, something fell out and landed heavily on the ground creating a lot of smoke. I buried my head into my brothers back to stop the dirt going into my eyes as I felt him lift an arm to protect his own. The smoke cleared to reveal a man with a long white robe, wooden shoes with one block of wood right in the middle of them, long earlobes and a pony tail that sat on top of his head. He had a long white beard; the tip of it though was brown. He looked elderly, which hopefully meant he had been a Hunter for many years. He stopped and looked at us bored with his small, tired looking eyes.
"Wh-who's that geezer?" Someone questioned in the crowd. Menchi began walking forward, calming down from her angrier episode earlier on.
"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter exam… Chairmen Netero." Menchi said, introducing the old man.

I looked at him in surprise and slightly shock after bringing my head out from my brothers back again. He was the chairman, that meant he could fix everything right?
"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now." He said, closing his eyes and looking down slightly, as if disappointed with something. He opened his eyes again and looked at Menchi.
"So, Menchi. You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" He asked, his eyes flicking to her chest before looking up once more. I looked at him questionably and looked down myself wondering what the big deal was. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question before looking up at the examiner and chairman once more. I guess I'd have to ask Kurapika later why the chairman did that.
"No, sir… I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary." Menchi said, closing her eyes and looking down.
I looked at her in shock; she made it harder on purpose. I looked up at my brother and tugged slightly at his tabard to grab his attention, smiling widely. He looked at me questionably.
"This means you're not on the same level as Leorio after all." I whispered to him so that it wouldn't draw attention from the other candidates, more importantly from Leorio. Kurapika smiled at me and nodded his head, looking back at the chairman as I did the same.
"In other words, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable." The chairman said to her. Menchi kept her now cool exterior as she answered the Chairman's statement.
"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!" Menchi said opening her eyes and bringing her head up high. I couldn't help but stare, she admitted to losing control and she was resigning as well. I couldn't help but feel somewhat bad for her though, surely she didn't have to resign from being examiner, couldn't they just put her into a time out corner or something and wait for her to cool off before letting her be examiner again? I didn't know how things worked, so my solution seemed unlucky.

"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice." Chairman Netero stated his hands by his side as he continued to look at Menchi. Menchi bowed slightly to him and stood up straight once more.
"I apologise…" Menchi said to him apologetically. Netero thought for a moment before lifting up a finger.
"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?" Chairman Netero asked her as he placed his hand down to his side once more.
"I'm certain that it will help the applicants to accept the results." He continued and finished. Everyone watched with great interest, wondering what her answer would be. I looked as well, hoping she would accept it. If she did, I could have another chance at becoming a Hunter without having to wait until next year.
"That's true… Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!" Menchi said looking at us all with a smile on her face.
"Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" Menchi asked, pointing to the airship above. I shivered at the name, it sounded like we were all going to be split in half; just to make boiled eggs. I didn't like the sound of that one bit but knew I had to face it if I wanted to become a Hunter this year.
"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can." Chairman Netero said.

We all piled into the airship, I clung closely to my brother afraid to lose him in the mass of people. Gon and Killua stayed near us as well as the ship took off from the ground and towards a mountain. It was huge and it looked like it was literally split in half. So maybe that meant we wouldn't be split in half trying to make boiled eggs. It didn't take the ship long to land and everybody piled out with me once again clinging to the tabard that swung from my brothers' shoulders. Curiosity got the better of me and I wondered over with Gon and Killua, standing next to Killua. We got onto our hands and knees and looked down the giant gap in amazement.
"Now, everyone… Look down there." In the inside of the mountain were white outlines of squares. I looked at it questionably wondering what squares were doing there. Everybody else seemed just as confused by them as I did.
"They're Spider Eagle's web." Menchi said as we continued to look down.
"They built webs down there?" Gon questioned. Suddenly a strong gust of wind came up, blowing back my hair and fringe from my hair. The adults had moved away whilst me, Gon and Killua stayed on our hands and knees looking down at the gap.
"Look below the web." Menchi said as we began taking a closer look below the webs, or at least trying to. I squinted my eyes and spotted what looked like eggs.
"They look like eggs." I said squinting harder.
"Those are…" Gon began saying as Menchi stepped in.
"Those are Spider Eagle eggs." Menchi said, pure excitement in her voice.

The three of us continued looking down as the two Hunters took turned explaining about the eggs.
"Spider Eagle built 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." Chairman Netero explained as we continued to look down. I swallowed hard and felt a shiver run down my spine as I looked down the gap. I wasn't afraid of heights, far from that, I was afraid of falling. It was the fall that scarred me, and I had the feeling the only way we'd get those eggs were if we fell inside the ravine. Menchi began walking forward and then suddenly she jumped off the cliff. She fell head first towards the webs and grabbed onto one of them. When it sprung her back into the air she grabbed it again, lifted her legs and let them fall once more. She made it seem like she had been doing this or gymnastics for years; and she probably had. I watched in amazement with Gon and Killua at what Menchi was doing, everyone else gasped in sheer panic thinking she would fall.

I watched as Menchi sighed and heard footsteps coming closer. Kurapika stood behind me with a hand on his knee as he leaned over to get a closer look. Leorio stood with both his hands on his knees as he looked as well.
"Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio questioned. I thought about that myself. She didn't have extra limbs like spiders, or wings like eagles; so what was she going to do now. I watched her even more closely; if I tried getting any closer to look I would have tumbled off the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, Menchi let go of the web, making me jump slightly. She grabbed an egg and continued falling towards the bottom. I closed my eyes tightly, thinking that was the end of her.
"Hey…she jumped down! Is she trying to kill herself?" Leorio questioned.
"No, she isn't." Kurapika said making me open my eyes and look up to him for his explanation. My brother looked at me and nodded his head back down towards the gap again. I looked back down again, no longer able to see Menchi.

A gust of wind hit my face making me, Gon and Killua move back from the cliff edge and sit on her legs. Menchi flew up, holding the egg. The three of us couldn't help but look at her in amazement. Gon smiled widely at her.
"That looks fun…" Killua said making me shake my head quickly.
"No way!" I said to him, watching Menchi in my own amazement and amusement. It didn't look fun to me, not one bit.
"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up to the web." Chairman Netero said as Menchi landed behind us. We all looked at her, shock and amazement on our face as she held the egg proudly in her hand, her other hand on her hip.
"There. Now I just need to boil the egg." She said proudly. The ponytail guy backed away from her in shock as he stuttered with his words.
"Y-You must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there…" He said shaking his head. I turned my attention to Gon as he began speaking and stood up with me and Killua following behind him. I felt Kurapika grab my hand and looked at him questionably, only receiving a smile in return.
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon said as all four of them with me being dragged behind jumped off the edge of the cliff. I heard Leorio screaming in joy as we all plummeted down towards the webs. I held my brothers hand tightly and kept my skirt down with the other as we fell. I was scared, but the wind from falling did feel good on my face.

We grabbed a hold of the web. Kurapika had let go of my hand once he placed it on the web and curled my fingers around it. I looked at him and then looked down and gaped at the gap with my mouth wide open. I dangled between Kurapika, Killua and certain death if I let go. One guy had let go, going down towards the bottom to grab on egg.
"Let's go!" Leorio said wanting to catch up to the guy that fell.
"Not yet." Gon said with a determined look on his face.
"Why not?" Leorio questioned, turning his head to look at Gon questionably.
"There's no wind." Killua said simply, looking down at the gap with a bored expression across his very pale face.
"There isn't always an updraft." Kurapika said as we watched the man continue falling. I brought my legs up slightly when I heard him scream all the way down to the bottom. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to go back up again. This is why I clung to my brother for dear life when the Kiriko's were flying us to the exam site. I didn't want to fall. I let my legs dangle back down again once I felt comfortable to do so.
"When's the next one?" Leorio asked as he looked down at the bottomless gap as well.
"Wait." Gon said again making us all look at him. Everyone in the exam was looking at Gon, waiting on his single, I wondered if he even knew that.

We continued to wait. Gon closed his eyes and began sniffing the air with his bloodhound like nose. We jolted down making me snap my head up at the end of the web. It was beginning to come off.
"What?" Leorio said as Kurapika looked up as well.
"The web won't hold us all!" He said as I shook my head quickly and closed my eyes and brought my legs up closer to me again; as if thinking it would someone stop me falling.
"I don't want to fall!" I said as I opened my eyes and looked down in horror whilst keeping my legs up.
"Gon, not yet?" Killua asked calmly making me look at him as if he was a complete nut job. I looked at Gon hoping for once that we could drop soon so that the wind could catch us and bring us up once more. The web continued to break making some people let go to try and grab an egg and hope for the best. I heard them scream to the bottom taking with them a few eggs.

The web began snapping even more, I watched between Gon and the egg, keeping my legs as close to me as possible. My brows furrowed as I waited on Gon, hoping for that updraft.
"It's gonna snap!" Leorio announced, only adding to my fear of dying. Gon snapped open his eyes a second after Leorio's announcement.
"Now!" He yelled letting go first. I let go at the same time as Killua with Kurapika and Leorio doing so shortly afterwards. I turned so that my body was lying flat against the falling allowing me to hopefully grab an egg and float back up to the top. We all grabbed an egg and continued falling towards the bottom of the cliff. I couldn't help but cling the egg close to me as we continued falling thinking this was it. The updraft came sending us all flying into the air again. I looked around as we reached the exit of the cliff and saw the bright sky and fresher air. I couldn't help but smile widely, glad to be out of that. If I had to be honest with myself, going up was the fun part; not the falling.

We waited around a giant pot for the eggs to boil. Once they were done we were all handed one to eat ourselves. I ate mine happily, grinning to myself as I did and held the egg between my hands.
"I can see why they're called dream eggs." Kurapika said as I nodded my head with Killua.
"It's really good!" I said taking another bite. I was so hungry, I was glad to eat something; but this egg was the best thing I had ever eaten. Killua looked at me smirking slightly after swallowing his bit of egg.
"And you said that wouldn't be fun." He mocked making me glare my best at him before turning my head away and taking another bite of my egg doing my best to ignore him. I could hear him laugh making me turn my head and scrounge up my face at him.
"It was fun flying up OK?" I said turning my head away again and biting into my egg again. I heard him laugh to himself.
"I know." Killua said as he went back to eating his egg again.

It was fun flying up, I'll admit that. But now my body felt even sorer from being tackled twice by that pig. It was becoming difficult to eat my dinner, which annoyed me as I was actually looking forward to eating something. I was thinking to myself as I watched Gon give his egg to the blonde ponytailed guy to try. I wanted to ask my brother if he was annoyed at me for earlier about the weapons I had and never told him about. The sun was setting though, so it was going to get dark soon. I decided, it'd be better to ask later when we weren't so tired, or if I could catch him alone later tonight.