The Love of the Powerful

Illumi X Is X Kinda X Mean

Gittarackur and Hisoka were upset. It was obvious for the two that cooking wasn't their very best skill, but who wanted to be lumped into the same category as those weak barbarians?

Along with the visibly agitated duo, Cain was also disappointed, but for a complete other reason.

According to Menchi, he had barely passed her test of high expectations and picky tastes. Meeting the minimum equated to failure in the ambitious viewpoint of the Reesvalt's, but there is no chance he would be allowed to try again.

Fortunately for the moping trio, nobody had passed in the test (well, except for Cain but he's a special case), so the examination area was mostly full of angry, sweaty, and complaining scruffy young men who knew nothing about the beauty of culinary. Some even tried attacking the examiners, those were complete nutcases in Cain's eyes, they were defeated within a blink.

"M-my dish was like theirs? Impossible, they don't even think, am I really that-"

"It's alright, a fail doesn't mean an instant disqualify." Cain looked over at the moping blond who continued to spew curses towards his left, where a small group of people were situated.

"I suppose those are who you're talking about?"
"Complete no-brainers I must say. However, you don't seem like anyone here."

"Yeah I'm definitely better off working at a brothel..."

Both blonds chuckled at the bland joke thrown into the tense atmosphere. "The name's Kurapika, I suppose you should say yours?"
"Cain. And I hope your cooking gets better." Kurapika laughed and stretched out his hand, which Cain took and shook violently, like how totally normal people do.

----

Unfortunately for Cain, he wasn't the only one who passed the test.

A while after Kurapika's visit, a familiar old man who introduced himself as Netero took the crowd up to his airship for an 'easier' culinary examination. Which included people jumping off cliffs and grabbing onto weak spider webs for their lives.

Luckily for him though, he didn't have to do it as he had already passed the test, but Cain soon became jealous as the smell of the rich egg soaked into the air.

"Damn I wish I didn't have a fear of heights."
Hisoka's laugh rumbled through Cain's ears. "You know, you could have just asked me for some."

"B-but that's counted as an indirect kiss, and who knows where your mouth has been!" Cain rolled his eyes and stomped on the clown's foot, causing the taller man to whine and throw cards at his hair flamboyantly, as apparently Hisoka gets really defensive about his public image.

When the crowd separated into losses  and passes, the latter group was escorted back onto the airship for... approximately eight hours. Cain sighed in boredom and having short attention span from the excitement and anticipation to the next phase, he could barely make do with watching Hisoka building towers with his limited edition poker cards (which he proudly exclaimed was bought for 15,000 jenny  at his favourite toy store).

So in amidst of his emptiness, the boy decided to secretly follow Gittarackur around the airship to quell his jitters. There was something about the man that calmed him like how his mother had, but it wasn't a sort of love but more like he felt safe and secure within the man's arms.

"You know, it's rude to follow someone around then space out when they notice you." He looked up to a tall man with long black hair, feline-like eyes and a tiredly attractive voice, "Illumi.".

"Um what? Excuse me?"

"Name is Illumi, and remember that, squirrel."

Cain huffed, he had never been referred to as a squirrel and had actually wanted to keep that streak.

"And I suggest you should wear longer pants, you see, we don't want another incident to happen again, do we?"

"Wait, how did you know about that?"

----

ahhh i am back from wallowing in my exams
actually i still am, i just didn't study 😌💅