Hunters X and X Heroes

A X Brewing X Problem

The heavy metal gates opened slowly, rumbling the ground underneath it.

"Will everyone who passed the first phase please enter?"

The owner of the voice that beckoned them in was a pretty young lady, perhaps 20 or so years of age with bright turquoise hair and green eyes. Behind him, stood a very, very large man who was in need of a better-fitting shirt, well, arguably, Rukei thought Menchi needed a better-fitting shirt as well.

"Welcome," she greeted them, "I'm Menchi, the second phase examiner."

"And I'm Buhara," the man added, "the other examiner."

She took a moment to take in her surroundings. There seemed to be hundreds of clean stations for cooking. She glanced between the stations and her examiners.

Cooking. Their next phase would involve cooking judged by the gourmet Hunters in front of her. Seconds after she made her conclusion, a loud growl heard by every applicant caught their attention.

"W-what was that?"

"W-was that his stomach?"

Menchi tilted her head upwards to look at the giant man. "You must be hungry."

"I'm starving," he complained.

"So there you have it," Menchi stated cooly while getting off of the couch, "Phase two will involve... Cooking!"

She was right.

"Wait, cooking?!" A man in front of her exclaimed. Who was he again? She glanced at his number plate, 225. She remembered, Todo the Wrestler. "We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"

"That's right," Menchi continued, "Your challenge for the second phase is to create a dish that suits both our palates."

The same man glared at the two, "And why do we have to cook?"

The lady smiled proudly, as if she was waiting for this question. "That's because... We are gourmet Hunters!"

She was right on the mark.

Loud laughter and snickering followed shortly after causing her to glance around. She wondered what was so funny. Didn't they research the different kinds of Hunters before taking the exam? They would have come across the name before. Then again, in the back of her mind she knew that Gon barely knew a thing about Hunters and he was whizzing through the exam.

She also wondered why everyone was being so uncooperative.

All they had to do was follow the instructions and kept silent, they would probably have been fine. She wasn't so great a cook herself either but if they listened to the Examiner, they probably would be able to whip up something good enough to pass. Why can't they just follow orders?

She could see the irritation written all across Menchi's face, reporting to her bad news. With a mocking tone, one of the applicants, the same 225, asked, "And what will we cook gourmet Hunter-san?"

The young lady scowled, huffed, and sat back down on the couch. "Buhara."

"The main ingredient is pork!" The man announced, seemingly unaffected by the jeers.

"Pork? As in pig meant?"

Ignoring the obvious, hopefully rhetorical, question, Buhara went on, "You're free to use any species of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork and you only pass if we both find it delicious."

"And we will evaluate more than just taste," Menchi wrapped up the directions, lethargically waving a little sign marked with a 'X' and an 'O'. "Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking, got it? When we've both eaten our fill the Exam will end."