Who Says A God Can't Be A Hunter Too?

Chapter 11

                  

I heaved a heavy sigh, hanging my head in shame.

'I can't believe I called him for help, out of all people. Maybe I should have just used that instead...' I thought bitterly, following after the fickle magician. Most of the applicants were ahead of us, already at their cooking stations, but we did come upon one applicant still trudging along, carrying a smaller pig.

"Whoops~!" I heard Hisoka say, before the man suddenly went flying. Hisoka had kicked the man from behind, effectively disposing of him and catching the smaller sow. He carried that one as well as the other with ease, and before I could open my mouth and chew him out about unprovoked violence, he turned his head slightly to the side and smiled at me. "This one's for you, little fruit."

I felt heat flare up in my cheeks as I looked away, murmuring a polite thank you as I followed after him. The other applicants already had their grills fired up and the pigs roasting, and as Hisoka and I each claimed our own, I followed suit. I was careful in watching the hog roast, knowing full well what I menace I was in the kitchen. I had burned water and started numerous fires just by heating things up on the stove, and the elders knew full well to keep me away from the kitchen. This was the hardest part of the Hunter's Exam as of yet, at least for me personally.

I could see applicants already lined up in front of Menchi and Buhara, their pigs set on giant platters waiting to be sampled. Everyone's looked the same – charred, full size pigs. Thinking back, this was never how pork was served back in the village. We always had roasted pigs during the celebration, and while the pigs were still full, the meat was usually finely diced for easy to grab pieces, and the pig was usually decorated with fruit and had the traditional apple stuck in its mouth. Grandmother Mimi used to serve it on a bed of lettuce, and had picks of pineapples with cherries stuck in the rings stuck into the meat. I suddenly doubted whether or not this round of the exam was going to go very well.

Todo, the wrestler, was the first to take his pig up for the test.

"All right," he started as he set down the platter on the table in front of the Gourmet Hunters. He spread his arms wide, a cocky smirk on his face, "Eat the pig and pass me!"

Menchi, looking quite bored spoke out, "Okay, it's evaluation time! Taste testing –..."

Buhara happily dug in, stuffing his mouth with the cooked pork. Barely glancing up from his meal and still eating heartily, he held up a response stick with a red O. "Taste good!"

Todo nodded, the smug expression still plastered to his face.

A buzzer went off.

Menchi held up a response stick with a blue X, not looking very apologetic. "It's overcooked."

I winced at her words, quickly turning the fire off on mine.

"The tough texture ruins the flavor of the meat."

"What? You haven't even tried it!" Todo shouted, his face turning red.

"It's plain as day!" Menchi shouted back, pointing her stick at him and Buhara continued to greedily devour the pig.

I already knew this wasn't going to end well for anyone, not with the mood Menchi was obviously in. I gave a defeated sigh, turning my back on my cooked pig and crossing my arms over my chest as I looked up at the clear blue sky.

'Mimi, if only you had agreed to give me cooking lessons...'

I didn't have to watch the others take up their pigs to know everyone was failing. The intense whispering among the applicants was enough to know clear as day. I heard the voices of Gon's friends not too far off, no doubt discussing the situation.