"Well there you have it, the second phase will be cooking!" And with that many of the applicants started complaining.
"Why do we have to be cooking?"
"Don't you know? It's because we're Gourmet Hunters!" Menchi said with pride, only for the reveal that the second phase examiners are Gourmet Hunters is met with the same ridicule Carlene remembers from the anime.
She shook her head with a sigh, the debate on whether or not she should put effort, the idea of standing out felt like a death sentence.
The two examiners then explained what the task was: each contestant needed to make a dish using the required ingredients, which would then be judged by the two of them. Only if both approved of it would the person be allowed to progress and with that everyone went into the forest to find a pig.
Menchi smirked at her large companion. "Only one species of pig lives in the forest."
Iqulla ran after Killua and Gon with Kurapika and Leorio hot on their heels, she walked in the same direction but as the reached the forest she changed directions at the sight of something big moving in the underbrush, her eyes gleaming at the sight of a familiar shade of orange.
Carefully and slowly she removed a small sack from her bag and when she saw that her target was distracted she pounced. Getting it in the bag and tying the bag shut with a harsh tug she held it up with a wide grin, it squirmed inside the bag violently trying to escape. A familiar clicking noise brought her attention away from her catch, Illumi who was currently Gittaracku looked at her with a tilted head.
Carlene attached the sack to her bag before quickly leaving, following where the others had gone and found them right on time.
One pig let out a screech and barreled towards Gon's group, inciting the others to stampede. Carlene ducked to avoid becoming targets then ran after the sea of monster pigs. Other test takers were trampled and shoved by enormous snouts.
She made her way up the tree she was hiding behind and waited for the perfect moment to drop onto a pig below. With its weak spot stricken, the pig slumped over.
When she looked up she saw that the others had figured out what to do and soon everyone had pig to take back.
As she entered through the gates to where all the cooking stations were, she saw Iquella intermingled with the main four. She huffed out a smile before making her way over to her cousin.
Dropping the still squirming back onto her prep station brought the group's attention onto her, Iquella's eyes automatically went to the bag.
"Big sis… what's in the bag…?" He questions and Carlene's smile grows sharp.
"Nothing important for now… I'll show it to you later." Killua and Gon's eyes shined as they looked at the bag while Iquella held a bad feeling about it.
"Anyway, who are your other friends…? I believe I've already been introduced to Gon and… Kurapika, was it?" She said pretending to not know anything, Killua and Leorio said their names and she nodded.
She decided to not roast the pig whole, but in order to not stand out too badly she decided to under season the food just so it would be bland. She carefully sliced into the meat, coated it in salt and pepper before placing it in the fire.
She waited for Iquella to give his plate before going up, Menchi's eyes brightened up at the sight of something that wasn't a whole pig, but was disappointed with the lack of flavor. With a shrug she walked back to the cooking station, cutting a small chunk from her left over pig and dropped it into her bag of surprises.
Buhara smacked his stomach and laughed. "That was so much food, I'm stuffed!"
"Yeah, I'm stuffed, too," Menchi added.
"Therefore, nobody passes! We're finished here!"
Everyone started to express their dissatisfaction toward this announcement, and Carlene glanced down to see Iquella's disappointed face. She ruffled his hair causing him to look up.
"Don't worry too much, besides, there are more important things to worry about."
"What's more important than everyone failing the Hunter Exam!?" Leorio shouted in disbelief.
Giving a simple smile she opened her mouth, "Whether or not you have a fear of heights, or if you're too much of a coward to jump off a cliff."
A crash drew all eyes to Todo, who had smashed the grill he was standing behind. "I won't accept it! I absolutely refuse to accept this!" he hollered.
"In the end, you've still failed," Menchi said, her lips pulling down into a sneer as she looked down her nose at him.
Todo's eyes twitched. "Stop screwing around! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-"
Menchi cut him off. "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, and just when I thought someone else actually tried, it was lacking. No one else attempted to emphasize the flavor. I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!" she berated, glowering down at all of them.
Gon was the only one who looked dejected. Killua just looked bored, Iquella was trying to figure out what to do next, Leorio was still confused by Carlene's statement, and Kurapika had his eyes closed.
"That said," a voice called down from the sky, "It would be excessive to fail all applicants."
They all looked up to see a hot air balloon floating across the sky above them.
Carlene had thrown an arm in front ofhier face to protect against the dirt that had been blown around during the impact.
Menchi stepped forward to meet the Chairman and introduced him for the crowd. "The Chairman of the Selection Committee. 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," the Chairman said. "So, Menchi…"
"Yes, sir," she answered, and her back straightened to her full height under the weight of his stare.
He looked at her with a seemingly kind smile and asked, "You failed them because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"
Menchi grimaced and shifted her weight slightly. "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!" she pleaded.
The Chairman's smile only grew larger, and he raised a hand to run along his beard as he regarded them all.
"I'm not sure we can find another examiner on such short notice." Netoro mused.
"My deepest apologies, Sir." Menchi said, bowing.
"How about this. You continue being an examiner, but you must participate with the applicants." The Chairman suggested.
"Very well." Menchi agreed.
"Then the next task will be boiled eggs! Chairman, since you have brought your airship, would you mind if you take us to Split Mountain?" She asked, pointing to his airship.
The Chairman smiled and laughed, "Split Mountain? Oh, I see. Yes of course!"
Before they knew it they all stood on the edge of a ravine. Everyone looked down at the bundles of eggs entwined in a network of webs.
"How does she always know what's going to happen…" Iquella muttered to himself as they explained why the eagles built their nests in such a way and the applicants' task of getting an egg.
She swung on a web like a trapeze artist then let herself fall, snatching an egg on her way down into the mist below. Everyone peeked over the side with dumbfounded expressions.
The next moment, Menchi came soaring back up on a gust of air. There were several comments from the group about how that seemed fun as Menchi landed with an egg.
But before any more explanation could be had, Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio jumped off and grabbed onto the stringy structures. A hoard of people followed, Carlene found herself being dragged by Iquella over the cliff. The two of them were situated on a spot above the four boys. One man didn't stop, only fell with his egg to certain death.
"All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put him together again." Carlene commented as Iquella snickered.
The webs shifted and cries of fear rang out as the adhesive edges began to snap under the weight, some of them couldn't wait any longer and fell too early. Carlene and Iquella kept an eye on the sniffing Gon with bated breath. When he let go, so did the other examinees.
The updraft caught them and they were propelled triumphantly into the air. The ones who didn't jump stood somberly to the side as those with eggs landed.
"That was so much fun! Big sis, we should do that again!" Iquella cheers as he held his egg up. Carlene took the egg from his hands and dropped it in the boiling water then moved over to where she left her bag before they jumped.
Her attention was drawn when Menchi yelled about the eggs being done, she watched in amusement as everyone ran forward in order to grab theirs. Iquella ran towards her excitedly with two eggs in hand.
She could feel her brows slowly furrow in confusion as she watched the others come to rest and eat their eggs with her and Iquella, Gon had gone off to share his egg with the wrestler.
Unsurprisingly, Killua was the one who broke the comfortable silence, "So, how'd you know this would happen?" He shot her a glare.
"Yeah! You mentioned it before the Chairman even showed up!" Leorio shouted out.
"Let's just say it was a gut feeling…" she shrugged and the males in front of her shared a look in disbelief.
"A gut feeling…?" Kurapika said with a raised brow.
"My gut feelings have yet to be wrong, even when I wish that it was."
"Is that how you knew where the Hunters Exam was?" Iquella asked. Gon, who had just made it back to the group, looked amazed by that.
"You knew where the Exam was taking place? That's amazing!" He cheered.
"Yeah! She could have been the first person to get there and everything! Even Tonpa noticed her waiting!" Iquella bragged about her. Carlene let him do what he wanted. Feeling her lips twitch in a smile.
Everyone was silent as they listened as the Chairman, Netero and his secretary, Beans introduced themselves to us. Doing a rough count again, the applicants have gone down to about 50. A very small amount, indeed. And it's only past the second phase of the exam. The air was tense and the chairman didn't let go of the opportunity to comment on it.
''Dinner is in the dinner hall. You may also get some rest. We will arrive at our destination at 8 am tomorrow. Until that time, you may do whatever you wish.''
''Alright, Gon! Iquella! Let's explore the airship!'' Killua suggests.
"I will join you guys in a sec, I want to talk with my sister about something important really quick!" Gon and Killua looked at each other and shrugged.
"Alright! We'll wait for you then!" Gon replied and waved as the two of them walked away from the group. Carlene fought the need to shiver as Kurapika watched them walk away with an unreadable expression.
Once they were away from the prying ears and eyes of the group did they talk.
"Kurapika is a Kurta… isn't he?" Iquella asked in their native language, in order to keep their words between them.
"Yes, he is. You probably don't remember it, but he left the Clan after passing the test a few weeks before we made our escape-" Carlene started.
"Then why haven't we done anything to look for him!? You knew that he was out there but you didn't do anything!" Iquella questioned, and she couldn't look him in the eyes, not while she knew that they were turning a bright red under the dark contacts.
"Because I didn't know what to do." She answered honestly, "I only knew of the possibility of him being out there.I didn't know if he had been killed by the Phantom Troupe like our people before they reached our homeland.I didn't know where to start looking for him and I decided that protecting you was the most important thing at that moment, and I will always think that putting you first was the best option Iquella."
He was quiet at that, he turned his head to stare at where Kurapika was standing with the others before turning back towards her, "We need to tell him."
"And we will, now just isn't the time or place. He doesn't need a distraction in the middle of the Hunters Exam, we will talk to him after."
"Okay, after."
Leaning against the wall she ignored the looks she was being given, wanting to rest her eyes before the next phase.
"Okay, I'll bite. What's in the bag?" Leorio's voice asked out, she smiled and opened a single eye.
"I can show you two if you're so curious, but you'll have to keep it a secret from the other three. We don't want to spoil the surprise after all."
Leorio and Kurapika sat in front of Carlene as she carefully settled the bag down in the middle. Untying the sack slowly and carefully she opened it up, a flash of orange and brown shot out of the bag and in the direction of Leorio's face. He shouted in surprise and Carlene grabbed the creature midair before it could make contact.
"W-what the hell is that!?" Leorio screeched and Kurapika backed himself up, not wanting to be too close to the creature in Carlene's hands.
"Don't be a baby, she's quite young so her venom isn't too potent yet." A large centipede the size of her forearm snapped its large jaws as it tried to lunge out, a scorpion-like stinger made an odd rattle sound as it squirmed in Carlene's grasp, its long body wrapping around her arm before it stopped struggling.
"That's a good girl~ look how docile she's being! What a good girl!" Carlene cooed as the males shared a look and gulped, finally understanding what Iquella seemed nervous when she first appeared with the moving bag during the second phase.