At last, the three saw a solid structure through a grove of trees. A colossal wall made of brick, near the front of it figures that grew to human size the closer they got and they knew they had finally arrived at their destination. Most of the applicants were sitting or on their backs exhausted from the run, but at least they had made it to the next phase. Kurapika, Gon, and Sakura sped up; realizing that they needed to look for Leorio.
"Where's Hisoka?" Sakura asked, looking through the crowd "If we find him, we should find Leorio."
Gon and Kurapika looked around before Gon spotted him on the opposite side further from the crowd. It seemed Hisoka knew they were there for a while, he pointed a finger to his left. Following, they saw Leorio. His eyes were half-lidded and cheek looking like he was chewing a giant jawbreaker but other than that alive and well.
With one other problem…
Leorio touched the side of his injured and tender face wincing, "Man that stings, what happened?"
Realizing that Leorio had no recollection of the fight he had with Hisoka, Kurapika whispered that it was best they didn't tell him about it and they all agreed not to.
'If he sees his face in the mirror though, he'll recall.' Sakura crouched down beside Leorio. Digging into her bag she pulled out a small tub of cream and started dabbing some lightly on his cheek while sending chakra to heal his injury.
"What are you doing?" Leorio asked, flinching from the contact when pain shot through his face.
"Just stay still," Sakura ordered before she resumed healing Leorio, she controlled her chakra so that it would only appear at the tips of her fingers.
Removing her hand, Gon and Kurapika gasped when they saw Leorio's face completely healed of his previous injury. The swelling was gone and the bruise was barely a blotch on the skin.
Leorio touched his cheek again, his eyes widened in surprise, "That's some ointment, what brand is that?"
Sakura held out her arms in a shrug, playing coy "I'm not sure,"
This world was still a mystery to Sakura, but one thing she had thought of was the possibility that chakra didn't exist and until she knew more she felt it would be better to keep certain abilities to herself. Already she had been pestered by Gon and Killua about her speed and that was just physical ability. Instantly healing wounds was another thing. From observing Hisoka however, she had a feeling that things in this world weren't as simple as she thought either. But in situations where you weren't able to explain certain events, people often questioned it but weren't too persistent if they couldn't come up with a logical explanation themselves. The main idea was to make sure they did not know she wasn't from this world or that they were only words on a page in hers.
"Sakura. Gon."
Heads turned to see Killua walking up to them, his skateboard tucked underneath his arm.
"Killua." Gon waved at him,
"I can't believe you guys made it, I thought you were done for."
Sakura's crossed her arms, glaring at the boy, "You ran off into the forest without us; thanks a lot."
"I thought you were both right behind me. By the time I looked back, I couldn't see anything," Killua countered, it was obvious that he meant it but he didn't sound too concerned that they hadn't been behind him.
"How'd you find the place?"
"I just tracked Leorio's cologne," Gon explained to Killua, who seemed taken aback by his answer. It wasn't a surprise though, Sakura was skeptical herself when Gon said he could pick up Leorio's scent. However, she did read that he spent a lot of time in the wilderness so it must've helped sharpen his senses, including smell.
'Still; strange kid.'
Satotz's voice echoed, calling the applicants as he made the announcement. He stood in front of a large metal gate. He praised everyone who had made it and then continued, "Phase Two will appear here in the Biska Forest Park. So I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."
With that Satotz 'walked' away in long strides; at the same time, the gates began to open allowing the applicants to see what was beyond the walls. A straight path lead towards a warehouse, on either side of this path, were tables set on the grass along with some other equipment.
"All applicants who passed the First Phase please enter."
At the entrance of the building, sitting in a soft sofa chair was a woman. She had light turquoise-colored hair tied into five top knots, light green eyes, and wore a bikini top with a mesh skirt over and denim shorts.
"Welcome, I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner," she greeted, her leg crossed over the other, arms thrown over the couch. She appeared laxer than Satotz.
'Can't judge appearances though,' Sakura reminded herself, speaking of which sitting right behind Menchi was another figure-a large one. A man with dark hair and a large belly, he was big enough to outsize the sofa chair.
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner," he introduced smiling at the candidates.
'Have to admit, he makes Chouji look small.'
Suddenly there was a loud noise, rumbling of a sort that reached everyone's ears and they were all very familiar with it.
Menchi looked at Buhara, who was holding his stomach "You must be hungry."
"I'm starving."
Standing up, Menchi placed her hands on her hips, "There you have it; your next test is….cooking!"
Murmurs echoed through the crowd, mainly questions about the next phase, Sakura had a few herself. It seemed very unusual that this would be part of the test, a written exam may. It was the wrestler Todo who addressed the examiners about the next phase.
"You want us to cook? We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"
"That's right," Menchi said "Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."
"Why do we have to cook?"
"That's because," Menchi kept her smile as she spoke her next words. "We are Gourmet Hunters."
The reaction from the applicants was astounding, they all started laughing, pointing out their disappointment. Sakura knew better than to do something like that. After all these two people were examiners and if the others didn't stop it could seriously affect the results of the whole group. Menchi already looked annoyed with the group.
"This is stupid," Killua muttered, "I don't know how to cook."
If Sakura was honest, she didn't know much about cooking herself. She hardly enjoyed enduring the life of a domestic, but her mother would give her chores. It was then she discovered she hated cleaning, doing laundry and as far as cooking goes, she's tried to but the results were all the same-painfully disappointing. She almost burned down the kitchen at one point. Lacking the general skills needed to take care of a home.
'But I have to pass this phase,' she thought, glancing over at Gon and the others. If she fails and gets booted from the exam, that meant she wouldn't be able to follow along with the story anymore and then what would she do?
'I don't have anywhere else to go,'
Buhara explained, "First, you'll prepare the dish I specify,"
Menchi continued, "Anyone who passes that can prepare the dish that I specify. That means if both of us says it's good, you pass,"
"The required ingredient is pork. You're free to use meat from any species of Biska forest pigs," said Buhara,
"Only those who manage to fill his order will be asked to prepare a dish of my choice after that. And you only pass the Second Phase if we both find the food you made delicious. And we don't' just evaluate taste." Menchi said, all the cheerfulness she had before in her voice was lost. "Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. When we've both eaten our fill, the exam will end."
In other words, when they are both full the exam will be over. So if they failed on their first attempt, they would be able to go back and try again, but there were two examiners this time and they had to satisfy one with their cooking just to have a chance to make the second dish and pass.
'Something like this will cut the applicants by more than half. At least it's better than being attacked by swamp creatures,' thought Sakura.
Hitting his belly, Buhara announced the beginning of the Second Phase, everyone rushed out of the estate and into the forest in search of their main ingredient. Little did they know of the consequence of having upset their examiner; even Sakura wouldn't know.
Killua, Gon, Kurapika, Sakura, and Leorio joined together to search for a pig; the other applicants were mostly staying together in one area while the five wandered away in hope of getting more luck with fewer people. Biska Forest was far more pleasant than Swindlers Swamp that was a given, there wasn't any blinding mist, giant man-eating frogs, or muddy grounds to run through. It seemed to relax the applicants.
"Find a pig and then cook it, this is way easier than the First Phase," Leorio said, his head darting around searching for a pig.
"I wouldn't be so quick to assume," Sakura told him, also looking around. "After all, the purpose for these phases is to weed out applicants, reducing them until there are only a few left. That's my experience at least."
"Experience? You mean you've taken the Hunter's exam before?" asked Kurapika,
Sakura shook her head, realizing that she might have mentioned something she shouldn't have. "No, I was just speaking in a general context."
The group started tracking up a hill to the other side of the forest. Sakura was still thinking that something was going on; something they were missing. In the chunin exams, the different parts of the exams only increased in difficulty to reduce the number of applicants, and hardly any of them were as straightforward as they seemed. In the written exam, for example, the questions were made hard to force applicants to cheat without getting caught information gathering. There was a hidden motive behind the actual test.
'And cooking…' For Sakura, a situation like the chunin exams might be just what she needed. After all, Naruto had passed the written exam without filling in a single question. He just never gave up.
Sakura's eyes hardened with determination, that's what she was going to do.
When they reached the top of the hill, Gon jumped down on the other side, sliding down. Followed by Killua, Leorio, Kurapika and Sakura. They had assumed, Gon slid down the hill for fun but when they all turned their heads, they realized the reason. Gon had found their ingredient.
'But,' Sakura thought looking at the humongous creatures, big enough to seat all of them on its back and their snouts-no; it was shape more like sharp horns were broad. 'That is not a pig, it's a pink rhinoceros!'
And their appearance wasn't what disturbed her the most; it was the fact that they were currently eating-bones. There were a few animal bones scattered on the floor around the pigs. Sakura watched as the pigs chewed on the bones, breaking through them with ease.
"Don't tell me…." Kurapika trailed, with wide eyes "They're carnivorous?"
"I don't I want to confirm it," Sakura said
The pig closest to the finally noticed the teenager's presence, its tiny eyes looked at them and it let out a loud squeal. For Gon and his friends; that was an indication to get up and start running. However, the pig that spotted them sounded an alarm with that squeal, in turn creating a stampede for the group to outrun.
The five ran through the forest, heading straight back from where they came but the stampede followed after them. The ground shook and it was possible to feel the vibrations because of their size.
"Wait, we're leading them to the other applicants!" Sakura exclaimed when she saw a few standing not too far from the direction they were running in. Upon seeing the huge pigs, they started to take off, unfortunately, they were not able to run at a pace that would keep them from harm and were the first to get battered by the pig's huge noses. Throwing them up into the air.
…While they weren't aware of this; these pigs were known as the Great Stamp and were the world's most ferocious pigs. They use their large noses to send their enemies flying. What the applicants were also unaware of was that Buhara and Menchi knew that this was the only kind of pig that lived in Biska Forest. The situation for the exam applicants was therefore a challenge for survival.
'Those freaking….' Sakura slammed the book shut as she kept on running beside the four boys. She had thought the book would give her a clue as to how they got these pigs. While Sakura didn't know the end of this story, she had determined that Gon and his friends do pass this exam. One way or another. The story revolved around the exam setting, so that had to be the case and the end of the story.
"How can you be reading at a time like this!?" Leorio asked, watching as the pinkette put the book away.
When they reached the other applicants, everyone split-including the five who lead the stampede to them. So they had in fact, brought the main ingredient to the others. The only problem was; how everyone was attempting to hunt the pigs. They hit the noses, but it turned out to be very durable.
Sakura ran further away from the group, with a single Great Stamp right behind her. Sakura turned around; keeping her feet planted firmly in place as the pig charged towards her. As it kept charging forward, Sakura jumped into the air raising her leg above her head, and then slammed it down onto the animal's forehead, cracking the skull.
"Well that's that," Sakura said wiping her hands.
Gathering the pig and hoisting it up, Sakura followed the commotion to find her way back to the others. However, she saw that the other applicants were capturing their pigs now. Be it punches, kicks, throwing-stars, skateboards, or fishing poles; everyone was hitting the same spot on the pig's heads.
"Hey, Sakura!" Gon waved at her a little ways from the others, his pig had a big red mark from where he had hit it just a few moments ago. "Their foreheads are their weak spots."
"I figured that out," Sakura said, walking over to Gon and dragging her pig along with it.
Killua walked over to the two, he took was casually dragging a Great Stamp behind him like it weighed nothing. "I've got my pig let's get going."
"Us too," Kurapika said coming up with Leorio.
When they returned to the estate, everyone went to a cooking station and began by piercing a spike through the pig and setting it over a fire on the grill, rolling it around effortlessly. That was; all except for Sakura. She looked around the cooking facilities carefully, there were vegetables, seasonings, spices, and other ingredients.
'What do they expect, a full course meal?' Sakura thought offhandedly. She wished that Chouji was here. He was close to an expert when it came to the 'delicacies' of cooking. It was his passion and he knew a lot about how to make a meal taste even better. He was also a bit of a radical when it came to examining the flavor of food.
"Oi, shouldn't you be getting started?" Killua asked; he was already roasting his pig over the fire.
Whenever Sakura tried making food, she had a habit of trying to create medicinal qualities with every dish. Seeing as medicine was mostly bitter, it wasn't hard to imagine how that went. Sakura grumbled, there wasn't much she could do now but start cooking. Placing the whole pig over the fire, she started rotating it, watching as the pink skin began to turn darker, tanning to a light brown. While she was busy, a few applicants were already finished and heading to Menchi and Buhara.
Buhara was the only one doing the tasting and no one bothered with seasoning and so on. They were all just handing him the pig whole and the man was cleaning the bones of every single one. Sakura had ended up burning hers a little but the gourmet hunter still finished everything, leaving a skeleton to add to the pile of bones.
After finishing the last applicant's meal, Buhara licked his lips declaring he was finally full.
"That's the end for the first part of the second phase, seventy applicants have passed," called Menchi.
The passing applicants weren't taking much time to celebrate and were more fixated on figuring out how Buhara, despite being a man of his stature, could finish seventy whole roasted pigs.
"How do you eat more than your body weight?" Sakura muttered.
"I was wondering the same thing," said Kurapika.
"Don't stress about it so much," Leorio advised and they followed since there was still a second part to this phase of the exam.
Menchi stepped forward, "Alright then, it's time for the next part of this phase. Be warned, I'm not going to be as easy as Buhara. My judgment is strict. For the second half of the exam, my menu is….sushi,"
"Sushi?"
What Menchi wanted to eat wasn't as surprising as the reaction of the other applicants that were thrown off in clear uncertainty, from their tone of voice to their posture and expressions. Everyone was baffled and it wasn't difficult to realize why. No one knew what sushi was.
Menchi held her chin, grinning at the applicants, "Confused? Well, it's no wonder. After all, it's a cultural dish from a small island country. For a hint, go inside and take a look at your workstations,"
The warehouse had been filled, wooden stations with sinks and space with few kitchen supplies available, a bucket of rice for the sushi was also present. Sakura also found that there were other ingredients for sushi, aside from the fish.
"You're going to cook here. We've already provided the tools and few ingredients here as well as the rice for making sushi. And for the biggest hint, I'll only be accepting hand-molded nigiri sushi. The exam ends when I'm full, until then you can make as many as you want!"
At her station, Sakura began to rummage to see if there was a chance that the fish for the sushi was also stocked. There were none. Everyone else was still trying to decipher how to prepare their current ingredients. Gon was fiddling the rice with a shamoji, while Killua was flipping through the knives.
"Do we just make it with rice?" asked Gon.
Killua examined the sharp edge of the nakiri, "Judging by the tools I'm guessing not,"
"I have an idea of the general shape, but I still don't know what the ingredients are," Leorio held his chin in thought.
Sakura chided in softly to the four, "I know what sushi is. It's a popular dish where I'm from,"
"Seriously?" The pinkette nodded at Leorio.
Kurapika then added, "I've read a documentary on the dish, I don't know the specifics but it said it's a dish mixed with rice, vinegar and seasonings and then fresh fish meat I think,"
"That right but there's a small problem-
Without considering the severity of his tone, Leorio's voice carried throughout the warehouse, "Of course there is, we need fish!! But we're in the middle of the forest!"
The shamoji bounced off Leorio's forehead, "You're too loud! There's fish in ponds and rivers you know!?"
It was another stampede caused by the applicants rushing out of the warehouse to find a water source that would contain their ingredients for this dish. Including, Leorio, Gon, Kurapika, and Killua who didn't want to get left behind in the running.
"Damn I can't believe people were eavesdropping,"
Sakura glared at Leorio, "You know that implies attempting to attain private information. What you did was advertise. But we have a much bigger problem than that,"
Kurapika looked to her next to him, "What is it?"
"Well sushi's usually made with tuna, salmon, crab, prawn and I'm sure none of those species of fish are freshwater,"
"Wait so why the hell would the examiner tell us to make it then?" Leorio chided. "I say we just get whatever fish we can find in the river,"
"I agree," said Kurapika, "This test might not be what it seems; in other words, the examiner likely had a reason for telling us to prepare this dish,"
Sakura didn't argue. After all, they were told to prepare pork for Buhara and the only pig species was as big a bear and could turn its pursuers into their food. Perhaps there were some horrid fish species here that would be suitable for sushi?
'Well, there's one way I might find out,' Digging into her waist bag, to find the book.
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Menchi was certainly different from Buhara, though they were both gourmet hunters. After reading Sakura discovered a critical fact about this test; that one of the reasons Menchi chose it was because she was tired of eating regular sushi toppings and wanted to experience something new, hence having the applicants use freshwater fish as their toppings. It was easy to find different types of fish and catching them was hardly a problem, but preparing it was another matter.
Sakura was already aware of what nigiri sushi looked like but she was uncertain about the choice of topping.
It wasn't long before everyone else had started on their 'sushi' but despite having all the ingredients they weren't entirely certain of how to serve it to Menchi who was waiting on the sofa, chopsticks in hand, and soy sauce on the side.
Leorio was the first to go up, but he made several mistakes; the first he realized was not asking one of the two people who knew what sushi was and what it looked like. Instead in his hype, he pressed his ingredients together and took it to Menchi; lifting the metal cloche revealing his creation. And in a second after observing the fishes gasping mouths and flicking fins trying to swing its way out of the rice, she knew it to the side and told everyone that she wasn't going to try it if it didn't at least have the proper shape.
'The shape would've been the least of her problems if she tried a dish like that,' Sakura shivered and joked with Leorio when he came back slumped forehead, head down.
"You could have at least scraped off the scales and maybe removed the head. No one wants to eat when their food's looking back at them,"
Leorio glared at the pinkette, "You!"
Giggling, Sakura held out her hand, "Before going back, maybe you want to take some advice from someone who knows what nigiri sushi looks like?"
Wide mouth Leorio grinned "OF COURSE YOU CAN-
Swiftly, Sakura smacked her hand over Leorio's mouth, "Provided you don't blab it to everyone here!"
Gon was also about to walk away with his tray when Sakura grabbed his collar and dragged him back. She lifted the cloche before he could ask and saw something similar to what Leorio had made, only instead of three fish it was only one with a blanket of rice wrapped around his midsection.
"Yeah, you're not going anywhere either,"
Leorio, Kurapika, Gon, and Killua were gathered around Sakura's table, letting the pinkette explain to them how nigiri sushi was typically made. Although Sakura admitted that she was still concerned since the fish they were using for sushi wasn't in the original dish.
"Alright, so basically, mix the vinegar into the rice and then press it like this," Taking a small amount of rice in her slightly wet palm, Sakura molded it into a rectangle and put it aside on the board. "Then slice your fish, and put a bit of wasabi on the part the area that will meet the rice and then just put them together,"
Sakura held up her plate with a complete piece of nigiri sushi.
Killlua glanced over it a few times, "So that's what it's supposed to look like you guys were way off,"
Gon and Leorio looked away, "Well back to work,"
"Thanks, Sakura,"
"Well then, wish me luck," Taking a breath, Sakura took her plate to be judged.
She wasn't the only one in the line by now, Menchi was rejecting every applicant that came up to her thus far. No one else knew what sushi was supposed to look like and the clues they were given were not easy to decipher.
'I should have this down,' Sakura assured herself. As she neared Menchi she was becoming more aware of her presence and its strength.
"Next!"
Putting her plate down, she removed the cloche, "Here you are,"
Menchi's eyes lit up, as she observed the sushi piece, "Finally something worth trying,"
"What no way, someone else knew!?" Glancing behind, there was a young man, his badge labeled no 294. His most distinguishing features were his feather eyebrows and bald head.
'So he also knew…..' He was probably from that country Menchi mentioned or at least tried sushi before.
Menchi had popped the sushi into her mouth, Sakura waited patiently and was somewhat anxious. This exam didn't make sense to her. The first phase had to do with physical and mental endurance, but she wasn't certain what this one was testing them for. Following instruction? Analytical skills? If that was true then the taste of the sushi shouldn't matter since there weren't any traditional fish to use for the sushi, but Menchi wanted a new flavor. So what was the point of this test exactly?
Sighing, Menchi handed the plate back to Sakura, "It's not good. Do it again,"
"What?"
"I said it doesn't taste right, go and do it again,"
"How can you tell? Sushi isn't even made with freshwater fish!"
"Are you arguing with me kid!?"
Taking the plate rather abruptly, Sakura went to return to her station, she wasn't quite at her boiling point with this authority, but if this continued, along with the odd specifications of this exam phase Sakura wasn't sure when she would be set off.
'I was this close to punching her,'
She tried another applicant, who also appeared to have known how to make sushi, and she thought that perhaps he had used a specific kind of fish however he was sent back with similar results as hers. But unlike Sakura, his overconfidence in the dish had him reach a limit.
"To make nigiri sushi, you just need to press rice into a rectangular shape and make it into a mouthful size. On that you put wasabi and sliced fish meat, it's not complicated! It tastes the same no matter who makes it, so how can you say it doesn't taste right!?" He raved.
"Another big mouth," Sakura shook her head. Now all the applicants were busying themselves at their stations and exiting the existing line to follow applicant 294 precise directions.
Unfortunately for the other applicant, he had also set Menchi off with his brash statement. She grabbed him harshly by his red scarf and started shouting, "YOU BALD IDIOT. IT'S SAID YOU NEED AT LEAST 10 YEARS OF TRAINING TO MAKE PROPER SUSHI. EVEN IF YOUR AMETURES CAN MAKE THE SHAPE LOOK SIMILAR YOU CAN'T REPLICATE THE DELICATE FLAVOR,"
"Then don't make it the topic of the test!" He argued validly, but Menchi wasn't listening.
"Shut up! Anymore crap out of you and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out!"
Sakura quickly returned to her station after deciding against arguing with Menchi about this test, though it did seem completely irrational now that she's made her intentions clear.
"I thought you had this down?" said Killua, ready with his dish.
Sakura shrugged, "Yeah, except I didn't account for one major factor,"
"What's that?" Gon asked, walking up with his plate.
"Our examiner may be psychotic,"
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Piece after piece, Menchi tasted all of the applicant's dishes now that they knew what it was meant to look like, unfortunately, she hadn't passed anyone. And she never failed to find a new way to criticize each dish offered. The rice is pressed too hard, the rice is pressed too lightly, the fish wasn't sliced thin enough, the fish wasn't sliced thick enough the sushi was made too slowly and the fish absorbed body heat. It was incredible in its own right.
Then finally Menchi poured herself a cup of tea and said to the applicants, "I'm full. Therefore no one passes. We're done here!"
Sakura gasped, while everyone else started voicing their disbelief. All of them had just been disqualified from the Hunter Exam, in the Second Phase no less.
'Was this supposed to happen?' Sakura thought in disbelief, she was going to check the book again but there was a loud noise that caught her attention; along with everyone else. It was applicant 255 Todo, he had destroyed his cooking facility with one punch and then turned to the examiners with a furious face.
"I won't accept it….I refuse to accept this!" Todo yelled, "I'm not here to be a cook, but a hunter!"
Most of the other applicants joined in as if banning together in this manner would make a difference. But Sakura could tell from the expression on Menchi's face that she was far from impressed. She only appeared more irritated and when Todo continued to taunt the women, saying how he would not allow a mere Gourmet Hunter to decide his fate. She simply responded with her own snide remark, about how it was too bad he had a 'mere' Gourmet Hunter as his examiner and then wished him good luck for next year. That was what pushed him over the edge, Todo's face turned red before he charged towards Menchi. He was going to attack when Buhara threw his hand out and sent him flying out of the building, landing on the other side of the lawn.
"That's probably really painful," Sakura commented.
"Yeah well he should have kept his mouth shut," Killua shrugged.
Menchi stood up from her seat. "Let me clarify this. We often venture into the dens of ferocious beasts searching for ingredients," drawing her hands behind her, Menchi produced four blades. With two in each hand, she threw them into the air. They spun around like silver fans as Menchi juggled them, her eyes closed.
"Every Hunter knows some form of martial arts. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment." Letting the knives fall together in perfect sync, she caught them with one hand and pointed them out in front of her. "That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!"
Sakura frowned, something had to have gone wrong. There was a purpose behind this test, but it hardly seemed fair; given that Menchi proved to be a particular kind of person to please when it came to cooking. Therefore they were already at a disadvantage because she would've wanted the dishes in a very particular way, yet she contradicts by saying that they were unwilling to experiment and try new things. It would be nearly impossible with someone like her examining them.
"That said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant."
Everyone's heads craned, attempting to detect the source of the voice that had echoed through the area before realizing it was coming from outside and rushed through the open doors of the building. An airship hovered right above them, with an oval-shaped body and wings, it was painted to resemble perhaps a shark? Sakura wasn't sure, but it had two large X's standing next to each other, XX with red-colored in the middle of the two making a diamond.
"That's the symbol of the Hunters Association!"
"Is it someone from the selection committee?"
From the bottom of the airship, something started falling from the sky, zipping down fast and landing right in the middle of the applicant's and examiner's circle. Everyone covered their eyes on impact when a huge cloud of dust spread. There was a clicking sound heard on the ground, like wood hitting stone. As the dust cleared, they saw an old man, he was bald aside from the long white ponytail on his head, his earlobes were unusually large, and sported two pairs of earrings in each, he had a beard with a patch of brown at the bottom and wore nearly an all-white full bodysuit.
"Who is that geezer?"
Menchi stepped forward, "The Chairmen of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter exam…Chairman Netero."
The old man then spoke, "Well I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue like now." He then looked up at the young examiner "So Menchi-kun,"
Standing up straight, Menchi nodded her head "Yes sir"
"You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" he asked her, though Sakura swore she saw his eyes trail downward.
"No sir," Menchi replied, she seemed to straighten herself, "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 is unacceptable?"
After Netero asked that question, Sakura felt a breath of relief leave her mouth. If that was the case then they still had hope.
"Yes sir," Menchi replied without hesitance, although she had the appearance similar to that of a child being caught doing something wrong. "When cooking is involved I lose control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as an examiner, so please redo the Second Phase!"
Everyone watched silently, hoping that there was a sliver of a chance for them to redo this phase.
"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice," Netero said as he bowed his head in thought,
"I apologize."
Holding up his hand, Netero suggested, "How about this, I'd like you to continue as an examiner but you must also participate in the new test you propose. Is that acceptable?"
Menchi smiled, an idea came to her immediately "Very well, then the new challenge will be…boiled eggs!"
It seemed like a simpler task at first and because of that, none of the applicants were complaining this time, not even Todo. Menchi then asked the chairman to take them to Mt. Split-in-Half. Just like that, Sakura got the feeling that this test wasn't going to be as simple as it appeared. However, this was a second chance and no one wanted to risk losing it. And with the change in dishes; she might be able to pass the phase this time.
When the applicants arrived at their destination, they finally understood where the name 'Split-in-Half' came from for this specific mountain. The upper base was practically flat on top, but right in the middle of the mountain, there was a line running through, giving it a split appearance that aligned with a river flowing through the forest area. And when nearing the applicants saw that the mountain was split in half. In an abnormally straight cut line.
Menchi lead them to the edge of one of the split sides, the drop was a far one, so far that you weren't able to see the bottom. She told them to look down; when the mist around the bottom cleared, they saw that in between the crack there were lines of thick, white threads connecting both sides, in a strange pattern. There was the first layer and then a second at the bottom, where several large white sacks hung from the strands.
"What are those?" Sakura asked,
"A Spider eagles web."
The way Menchi said it, was obviously in a way that implied Sakura would know what she was talking about. However this was where being from another world was a handicap; the knowledge of the other world, from its history, to its people, to its different civilizations and cultures, to its flora and fauna. A wind blew across up towards them, rustling Sakura, Killua, and Gon's hair as the three were leaning over the edge with little worry of falling.
"Look below the web," Menchi instructed.
They saw the second layer where the large sacks hung, inside were oval-shaped objects clumped together.
"Those are Spider Eagle Eggs."
Netero then spoke, "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."
Immediately everyone seemed to figure out what the next challenge was going to be, and it seemed that some would've preferred going back into the forest to search for another Great Stamp because they backed away from the edge in fear.
Menchi then leaped off the edge with no hesitance, she grasped one of the thick Eagle Spider web threads and then just hung on for a little while. Then Menchi let go of the web, from the way she held her body, limbs spread out, and still, it was easy to see that she wasn't panicking. When she came to a nest, she reached out and grabbed a single egg before falling deeper into the ravine, disappearing into the white mist.
"Is she trying to kill herself?" Leorio asked, his hand on his head.
"No," Kurapika said.
A large gust of wind blew upwards and along with it came Menchi, she reached the top with the egg before jumping back onto the ground. Unharmed.
"Updrafts," Sakura realized, that was what had kept Menchi up in the air like that. Killua commented on how much fun it looked and Gon just stared in awe, though he seemed quite impressed.
Netero then explained that the updrafts were what helped the young chicks fly up to the web.
"There, now I just need to boil the egg," Menchi said with a big smile on her face.
Todo backed away in shock and fear, shaking his head "Y-You must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there…."
Sakura scoffed softly, it wasn't of arrogance. She just thought back to everything that had happened and reasonable was kind of an ironic term in her situation right now.
"I've been waiting for this!" Gon said, before taking the plunge. Shortly followed by Sakura, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika. Then the other applicants who weren't terrified of heights or dared to overcome the fear joined them. Ignoring Menchi's calls who claimed she still had a few things to explain. However, by the time she got the words out of her mouth, all of the applicants determined to pass this phase were already hanging onto the web.
It was surprisingly soft, despite its thickness, though it was also firm in terms of strength. Although no one had counted for what might happen if there was too much weight holding onto one section of the web.
"Let's go!" said Leorio
"Not yet," Gon replied.
"Why not?"
"There's no wind," Killua stated as if Leorio would understand by those three words.
A few applicants, who were brave enough to jump down, did it with little consideration for the updrafts, almost immediately letting go of the web to grab an egg. Expecting to rise with the heavy winds but disappeared down into the fog instead, their screams growing silent.
"We have to wait for an updraft," Sakura stated.
"Well, how are we supposed to know when the next one's coming?" Leorio asked.
"Wait." Gon told him, closing his eyes, everyone looked in Gon's direction. They realized that they were waiting for the boy to give them the go. Dangling by the threads of a web, all had unknowingly left their results for this phase, in the hands of a twelve-year-old.
The webs structure started to grow slack, everyone gasped when they shifted down with their weight. It was then that everyone realized it wasn't such a great idea to jump down all at once because the web wasn't going to support all of them for much longer.
Sakura's eyes followed the thread to where the webs ended and saw that it was becoming thin. "That's not good."
"What's happening?" asked Leorio in a panicked voice.
"The web won't hold us all!" Kurapika said.
Killua looked at Gon, who was remaining still and calm. "Gon, not yet?"
The boy didn't respond, he seemed in deep meditation from the neck up while the rest of his body dangled over the canyon.
At the noise of the web stretching further, straining; a few other applicants who had allowed their current fear to cloud their judgment and forget about the updraft, they let go. Falling with a nest of eggs. The corner of the webs grew thinner, like a loose thread on a piece of clothing, unable to hold with the shape of the design.
"It's gonna snap!" Leorio cried.
'We let go now, we fall and if an updraft takes any longer to arrive we'll fall.' Sakura thought. She could always just swing to the wall before that happened and climb up. 'But what about the rest of them?'
Gon then called "NOW"
Sakura, let go of the web, falling alongside everyone else who followed Gon. The other applicants around the web did the same and everyone dropped. Their aim now is to fall in the direction of a nest and grab an egg.
Sakura kept her eyes wide open as she came into view of a nest, with both of her arms extended, she waited until she was near the center of the nest before grabbing an egg; she may be used to falling from high places. She then fell into the unknown with everyone else.
White had surrounded her for a few seconds, she could feel herself falling. Before a cool breeze blew onto her skin, causing goosebumps. The wind grew strong, some particles hit her face before she felt herself being lifted by the updraft.
Gon, Sakura, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika were the first to emerge from the drop, all of them holding the eggs in their hands as they cheered happily when the sun hit them.
"I can't believe I enjoyed that." Sakura untied her headband, attempting to smooth the hair that the updraft had styled into standing up in a gravity-defying manner. It didn't help with her hair being so choppy already.
"It was fun!" Gon said, throwing his arms up.
"Yeah!" Killua nodded. "A lot better than having to roast a pig or make some dish we've never heard of; good news for you huh Sakura?"
"Shut up!"
"It was better than running through that swamp," Leorio nodded.
"I'll say." Kurapika added, smiling.
The sunset painted the sky in light orange and purple tinge, signaling the end of a tiring day. After building a big fire and placing a large pot of water over, the applicants only had to wait a few minutes for their eggs to be boiled and now they were ready to eat.
Sakura eyed the egg carefully, she hasn't ever eaten an egg this big before and that wasn't even her main concern. She turned to the others in their little circle of five. They had taken the shells off and waiting for the other to take a bite.
"Well?" Leorio asked, "Anyone going to eat?"
"How about you go first?" Killua offered,
"I'll go." Gon said taking a bit bite of the top half. He chewed for a little white, his cheeks puffed before he swallowed. "It's good!"
Everyone followed the boy's example and took a bite; Sakura took a tiny nibble off the top because she was still a little cautious-this was the egg of a creature she hasn't seen or heard of before. However, after the first bite, Sakura took an even bigger one, forgetting whatever table manners she had. The egg had a rich and creamy texture, unlike anything she had ever eaten before. There was no comparison between a spider eagle egg and a normal chicken egg.
"I can see why they're called dream eggs," Kurapika said taking another bite out of his egg.
Scanning the faces of the other applicants, Sakura saw the grins on their faces. Not just because of the egg but because they knew, they had just passed the Second Phase of the Hunter exam.
'I wonder how many more chapter's I have to go; before I get to the end?'