Chapter 5: Second test

"Gon! Enma! Killua! Where were you? You are late!"

"Kurapika! After we separated, I found Killua and we came togheter. We only met Enma on the way here."

It was then that Leorio noticed Enma at the side.

"Wuhahah what the hell happened to you? You look like a beggar. Wow, the smell is even worse"

Enma could only scowl and, seeing Leorio swollen face, promptly replied.

"Damn boy! What are you hiding in that cheek? Did you get slapped by your boyfriend??"

"Shut up!....Do you remember that psycho magician earlier? Me Gon and Kurapika met him half way here, it wasn't a pleasant experience.."

"You met Hisoka? And are still alive?" Killua asked looking at Leorio first and then at Gon.

"Yeah…" Replied Gon with a downcast expression.

"Maybe Leorio scared him with his ugly mug" Enma said trying to lighten the mood.

"Well… he ended up punching that face, so in a way…" quipped Kurapika.

"What! That was not the reason..!"

"He let us go saying we passed his test…"

"That dude's creepy" Leorio was almost trembling remembering the brunt force of the killing intent.

…

Eventually Menchi and Buhara made their entrance.

The 2 gourmet hunters explained that, to pass the second phase, the examinees were required to cook for them and only if the meal satisfied their pallet, would they pass the test.

Buhara went first and requested roasted pork from any kind of pig in the forest preserve.

'Buhara…it'll be easy to please him. The problem is Menchi.'

While thinking at the girl he couldn't help but sigh.

'Ahhh… Sadly she is not as kind as she is good-looking…'

…

The 'Great stamp', the world's most ferocious pig, and the only species that lived in the forest.

Following Gon, Enma knew he would have been able to find a herd.

Everything played like in the canon events, from Gon finding the weak spot of the creatures' head, to an hungry Buhara who passed everyone's dishes.

In this way ended the first part of the test. From a total of 148 contestants, only 70 were left.

"For this second part of the test, my menu must be based on…Sushi!!"

"Sushi? What the hell is that?"

"Never heard of it before…"

"I've already prepared rice, which is essential for sushi. From all the existing types of sushi, I'll only accept nigiri! Let's start!"

"Nigiri sushi? Rice?"

"What the hell? How am I supposed to know what is it?"

The contestants were confused to say the least.

"Is it a dish entirely made of rice?" Gon tried to speculate.

"No, given this utensils, I deduct that we need other ingredients.." Said Killua almost certain.

…

'Hehe luuuuuuky! Who would have guessed that a dish from my country would be part of the test? Hihi'

Hanzo was completelty smug about it, and didn't even care to hid it, outright laughing in the face of the others around him.

"That bastard!"

"He must know something…!"

…

"Sushi eh? I can't understand what would the main ingredient be…"

"Leorio, if I'm not mistaken, the main ingredient is raw fish"

"Raw fish!!!! But Kurapika, we are in a forest! Were are we going to find it!"

"Shut the hell up! Do you want everybody here to know??"

But it was already too late, all the people around them had already heard the 2 loud bickering.

"Fish!!! Fish!!"

…

'Menchi is a one star gourmet hunter, well known over the world for her impeccable culinary skills. She is also really picky…'

'Well, passing this part is not even that important to be honest. In canon Netero makes an appearance and Menchi gives another, far easier test.'

'I can still try. I'm the one who know the dish better here after all, hehe. I can't even remember the amount of different nigiris I've ate in my past life…

Nigiri are almost always made with sea fish…but there is no sea here, so it's pretty clear to me that Menchi wants to be surprised with something new.

I think that she will only pass a contestant either if he innovate the recipe or if he nails the original perfectly.

I have a plan…'

…

"Fail!"

"Uneatable!"

"Fail!"

"The fish is still moving!"

"No!"

"Retry!"

"Better luck next time!"

One by one, Menchi failed everyone without exception.

Only 2 contestants remained. Enma and Hanzo.

Hanzo went first with his head held high and presented what looked like a textbook example of nigiri sushi.

"Finally! Let me taste it ... Nope, redo it"

"What did you say..? Nigiri sushi is that familiar style of sushi made up of an oval-shaped mound of rice with a slice of raw fish on top. Thus nigiri is a type of sushiwherethericeismoldedby handandthefishorothertopping pressedbyhandatoptherice.and it'sthestickinessof…...The taste of this stuff doesn't change depending on who prepares it!!!!"

"I understand now!"

"Ohh!! So that's what it was!"

"Of course! Now I remember!"

Hanzo looked around in disbelief.

'Crap!! I fucked it up! Now everybody knows..'

"How dare you!! An amateur can imitate the shape, but the taste will always change depending on the cook!!"

"If that's the case…"

"Try say something else…you will regret it!!"

"Tsk!!"

"Next!"

Menchi was fuming.

Enma made his way to the front.

'My turn! Be amazed!'

On the plate were a simple nigiri covered in fried Kataifi with mayonnaise on the side.

Menchi interest at the novelty was instantly piqued.

'Admire! The pinnacle of westernization!'

"Let me try…" She picked the nigiri, slowly dipped it in the sauce, and ate it whole.

"…"

Gulp!

"…the rice is not cooked very well…"

Enma face dropped.

"But…the fried stuff give it a nice crunchy feeling and the dressing itself has a delicate taste"

"The overall taste is a 6/10…pass!"

"What! He passed??"

"Impossible!"

"I can't believe it! That bitch passed him!"

"I bet is only because he is handsome!"

Hearing the discussion on the sides, veins started pulsing on Menchi's forehead.

"Shut up you all!! I'll only taste your food till I'm not hungry anymore! Don't waste my time and start cooking again if you want to pass!!"

Meanwhile Enma was stunned.

'Good! I would have never expectd it!'

"Boy! Come here! I don't want you to go around helping others"

"Yes miss Menchi!"

'You can use my face as a chair if you want….ehm…cough..'

When he was close enough, Menchi started grilling him about his dish.

"Tell me, what was that dressing that you did.."

"That? It's called Mayoneisse, basically…"

…

After that, everything went as excpected, meaning, Menchi failed everyone.

Shortly after, Netero dropped from the sky and she gave the boiled eggs test.

While the others were taking the new test, Enma took the chance to approach Netero.

'This man is so cool… My favorite character for sure'

"Chairman Netero!"

"Mmm? Oh? You are the only guy that passed? Not bad kid! That Menchi has always been picky since she was a brat!"

"Thank you sir. I was wandering…given that I was the only one that passed the original test…shouldn't I receive a bonus or something?"

Netero seemed doumbfonded by the sheer audacity, but nodded.

"Oh Oh! Indeed… Let's see…How about this, I'll exclude you from the next test. You will automatically pass that phase. Is this enough?"

"Wow! Yes sir! More than enough! Thank you!"

Netero than waved his hand and returned to watch the show.

'Nice! I can rest a bit more on the airship'

…

Eventually the test ended and 42 people passed.

Soon after everyone boarded the ship.