Her Ensemble (Hunter x Hunter fanfiction)

Chapter 4

After I had finished the letter, I had grabbed the folded piece of paper inside. It turns out it had the address to an internet cafe where I could fill out the online application for the Hunter Exam. It was easier to do it online because then I would have to mail it off to the Hunter's Association. 

I was feeling really overwhelmed at that moment. I didn't want to take the exam because there is no way I can pass it. I know how this year's exam goes and let's just say there is no way I am going to pass Phase 1. Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome to take the exam. But, I don't want to take the chance of dying. I am trying to get back home and I know I have to take it in order to even think of getting home, but if I fail the exam or die I can never get home.

I don't have enhanced agility, strength, endurance, and senses. That's a big disadvantage already. I also have exercise-induced asthma, which means I would most likely have an asthma attack halfway through. Wait a minute! I do have the one advantage that the mysterious person said would help me. I know everything that is going to happen. I can come up with a plan that will help me get past each phase. If I have any chance of going home, I am going to have to figure this out. I can do this!

I then grabbed all my things and threw them back into the satchel deciding to head off in search of a cell phone first. I started to head into the marketplace and locate a booth selling electronics. I finally found one and started to look through what they had. This doesn't quite make sense, but they have smart phones like us yet mine doesn't work. I guess it might have to do with the fact that they don't have the same providers, but I wish I could just reconnect mine to this world.

It took some time, but I finally settled on a nice smartphone that was a good size. I looked at the price, and I realized that I could read the language written. I was shocked. I can read it even though I never learned their language. This must be a perk the mysterious person was talking about. The only problem is can I speak the language and understand it if someone speaks to me. I decided to test this with the vendor.

I took a deep breath and said to him, "Hello! I was wondering if I can purchase this smartphone right here?"

"Of course ma'am! Would you like anything else?" he said. I kept a straight look on my face to hide my shock that I had somehow spoken Japanese to him and I could easily understand him. It was like my brain translated it to English in my head and my mouth just naturally spoke it out in Japanese.

"No thank you.That would be all I need." The words just rolled off my tongue naturally. I then handed him the money, and he handed me the phone in a bag. I took it out and started to set it up. I finished fairly quickly, since I didn't have anything to transfer. I went to the search engine and looked up the address to the internet cafe. I found it and started to follow the map to the place. As I was walking, I noticed I was being stared at by people. I didn't understand why people kept looking at me, but I just endured it till I got to the internet cafe.

When I arrived, I hurried inside and found a spot to sit at. I searched for the Hunter's Association and found the application on their website. I proceeded to fill it out quickly and just get it over with. Once I finished, I realized how tired I was. It was only two o clock, but my body craved sleep right now. I decided to look for a hotel because I needed somewhere to stay until the Hunter Exam starts anyways. I found a decent one for a good price and booked the reservation.

Now my next step is food. I am starving! I got up and left the internet cafe in search of a good restaurant. As I wandered the streets, I kept catching people looking at me weird. I mean I look like a normal person. Well, I hope I look like a normal person. I was getting agitated at this point and felt myself wanting to ask people why they kept staring at me. I then heard a laugh over to my right. I looked over and there was this young boy with his mother.

"Mama, why is this lady wearing pajamas during the daytime?" a young boy asked his mother innocently. I looked down and realization hit me. My face started to turn red and I started to walk away quickly, so that I didn't have to hear the answer his Mom gave him. I can't believe this whole time I was wearing pajamas and didn't notice. Pajamas weren't so bad in public, but when they had Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer all over them well let's just say I deserved those looks.

I definitely needed new clothes, so I found a booth and picked out a few outfits and accessories. I also grabbed a pair of brown combat boots that caught my eye because while the mysterious person did have the decency to put some shoes on before placing me here. The shoes they put on me were old ballet flats that were starting to give me blisters. I then bought a bunch of other items I would need for the next seven days, and that would be nice to have later on. Now it's time to change. I ran around looking for a place to change and found a restaurant that allowed me to use their restroom.

I looked into the mirror and flinched at my reflection. Yikes! No wonder I got looks. My hair was an absolute mess; I had severe bags under my eyes, and I looked like I hadn't slept in years. Combine this with Rudolph, and I must have looked like a cartoon character on crack. I hurried into the stall and changed quickly. I came out and started to make myself look decent.

After several minutes I finally looked like a decent human being. I stared at myself and realized for once I actually looked pretty. My outfit went perfectly with my features. I have a full head of really curly red hair, which went well with my navy blue long sleeve that I picked out. The long sleeve also brought out my sapphire eyes and the splash of freckles all over my cheeks and nose. I also picked out a pair of black form-fitting leggings that combined with the long sleeve accentuated my body. My physique was decent. I am slightly toned because I do exercise, but my body definitely wasn't jaw dropping. I am fairly tall standing at about 5'11", but the brown combat boots I picked out made me seem taller. Then just to touch things up a bit, I put on some small gold treble clef earrings that I just had to buy because music is life.

As I stood here, I realized clothes and effort can actually change a person dramatically. It's not that I didn't care about my looks. It was just more of why bother putting effort if I am going to seclude myself to my house every day. The outfit I chose was different from my normal go to look consisting of sweats and a baggy sweatshirt, but that was also because the booth didn't have any sweats nor sweatshirts. This outfit was going to work perfectly though for the Hunter Exam. The clothes won't constrict me if I am doing any athletic activity. They are breathable, and the shoes won't kill my feet when I do the running for Phase 1.

Now time to get some food and head to my hotel room. I walked back out of the bathroom and ordered some food to go. Once I received it, I located my hotel and checked in. I got my room key and headed to the elevator to go to the tenth floor. I found my room number and set my things down. I froze in shock at the giant window overlooking the city. I quickly ran over, shut the curtains and sat down on the bed. Many people would say the view was beautiful, but it made me so nervous. I was afraid of heights, and my heart was pounding now after walking over to close those blinds. I can't even remember when this fear started, but just thinking about it makes me feel queasy.

Now that I think about it, this is going to be a huge problem in the Hunter Exam for me. I need to start thinking of a game plan if I am ever going to pass this test. I have some advantages, but my disadvantages outweigh that. First I have to meet Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio because they are my best chance at succeeding. I am already so excited to actually meet them, and I feel so nervous. They are a part of the plan, but this is also a dream coming true to me. I am finally going to have friends, well hopefully they want to be friends. I am already nervous at the thought of approaching them, and I don't even know what I am going to say. I could offer them something then start a conversation, but then that reminds me of Tonpa. Oh no, I almost forgot about Tonpa! The rookie crusher! Well, I already know what he is going to do beforehand, so I'll just avoid him.

Actually there are a lot of people I need to avoid if I am going to pass this exam. I need to avoid Illumi, Hisoka, Tonpa, and pretty much everyone who I know are going to make it to the end. They can easily eliminate me and I can't die yet. All I need to do is not bring attention to myself and appear weak that way they don't even glance my way. I also need to be careful because I know all future events. I don't know what would happen if I accidentally prevented an event from happening or changed it in some way. This could change the whole storyline and then I would be screwed. I could say that I am clairvoyant, and that's why I seem to know what's going to happen next. That would work, but I will only say that if I get caught in a sticky situation and have to explain myself.

Now I need to figure out the rest of the plan. There is no way I can pass Phase 1. I don't have great stamina and the fact that when they reach the stairs they already ran around fifty miles. I can barely run two miles, and I will be needing my inhaler. Only professional athletes can do that yet alone me. I am going to have to do what Killua was doing. I need to ride on something to make it to that point and then once I reach the stairs I will have to just do my best. I know people aren't going to be happy, but what else do I do? I don't know how to ride a skateboard, but I do know how to rollerblade. The only problem is once I reach the stairs I have to change out of them quickly or I will fall behind. That is going to be my best bet because I can't take anything too heavy with me.

Okay, I can make the first part of the test, but what about the Swindler's Swamp. I am going to have to run on foot, and I need to stick with Gon otherwise I will get lost. Also, a bunch of problems happen during that time as well. I should be fine for that part as long as I am smart about it. I can't really prepare for all the others, but Phase 2 I can. I can cook and it may not be as good as the Gourmet Hunters, but I can pass this for sure. I have to pass because I don't think I can accomplish getting the Spider Eagle's egg. I will have to jump off a cliff from extremely high up and I don't think I have the guts to do it. Why did I have to be afraid of heights?

Well nevermind that now I should relax for a bit and finish eating the food I bought. I started to eat and used a notepad the hotel had in the room to start writing down a list of items I would need to enact my plan. I will go tomorrow to get the items I need and start practicing the dish I am going to make for Phase 2. For some strange reason I feel like I am missing something that seems very important, but I can't seem to figure out what it is. It will come to me eventually, so I won't stress over what it was.

I finished my list and decided to go shower. I really needed to relax now and put my mind off of everything that happened today. After a very long shower, I sat down on my bed and turned on the TV. I sat there watching the news for a little bit not knowing what else to do in the meantime. It was around seven thirty now and I was exhausted. I guess I should go to bed that way, I am fully rested for tomorrow. I got up and went to turn off the light. I noticed my violin in the corner, and I realized I totally forgot about my nightly ritual. I wanted to do it, but at the same time I was so tired and the bed was calling my name. I can always do it tomorrow, so I turned off the light and snuggled under the covers falling into a deep sleep.

When I woke up that next morning, I went to go buy the items. I bought my roller skates first because I wanted to practice skating all over town and get used to it. I had bought a backpack because I needed more room for my stuff and the satchel I had was way too small. I then went to buy all my items I needed to practice the dish I was going to make for Phase 2. I decided to make pork chops for Menchi and Buhara. If I wanted to pass, I would have to go beyond just pork chops because it may be step up from a whole pig, but if it isn't flavorful Menchi will not like it at all. I had a yummy sauce that was perfect for pork chops, and I decided I should do mashed potatoes as a side to add more to my dish.

I got my items for the pork chops, but I still needed the pork itself. I also didn't know what part of the pig that pork chops came from, so I visited the local butcher. The butcher was super helpful regarding how to cut the pig into certain parts. He seemed happy that someone was interested in his line of work and even showed me the proper way to cut the loin for pork chops. I bought the meat from him and thanked him so much for the help. I then headed back to the hotel to practice my dish. The hotel room came equipped with a kitchen, so I took advantage of that. After completing the dish, I realized that I needed to fix some things to make it work better. I decided that each day I will make it better and better till I get it perfect or almost perfect because the Hunter Exam starts in a month.

I went back out of the hotel in search of a trail I could roller skate on to see how long I can go skating. I found a sidewalk trail that went around a giant pond in the middle of town. I practiced going around it for about an hour then I went in search of a weapon. I thought about it while I was skating. I know I will need to get some type of weapon for the exam because you never know when it may come handy. I will only have a month to practice, but I have a lot of time to work on it.

I went to the market in search of a weapon that was suitable for me. The daggers were small and were perfect for concealment, but it will only really help me for short range fighting, which was definitely not my strong suit. I want to avoid close combat at all costs because I didn't know how to fight. The bow and arrow I found were very nice, but it would take me a great deal of time to learn how to use and actually have great aim, so that was out of the question. Then I found something that would be perfect. A whip! I could use it long range and I could grab items with it. I picked out a black bullwhip and got a whip holster for it. It was the perfect weapon for me, and it was easy to carry it due to the holster.

I found a spot in the forest on the edge of town to practice my bullwhip. The person who sold me the whip gave me this book on how to use it and a set of tricks to learn. For the next couple of hours, I practiced learning how to use it. By the end of the day, I was able to crack it across the ground and hit items I threw in the air. I was always a quick learner, but I was very surprised with the progress I was making. After that I headed back to the hotel to go get ready for bed. As I was walking back it all of a sudden came to me. I can't believe I forgot! I know about Nen already. This is what I was forgetting earlier that I knew was important. This is a huge advantage for me. No one else knows about Nen right now except for Hisoka, Illumi, and the examiners. If I can learn Nen and practice it, this will help me get stronger and help me survive the exam.

The only problem is I need to figure out how to open up my aura nodes. I don't know anyone who can do Initiation for me, except for Wing. I could go to Wing, but I don't know if he will teach me or if he is there right now because I think he arrives around the time Gon and Killua do. I guess all I can do for now is meditate. Meditate for hours on end till my aura nodes open up fully. I can also practice doing the Nen of the Flame, which is what Wing made Gon and Killua do. It will help me be more natural with using Nen especially if I combine it with practicing the four basic principles. I will need to focus on learning Ten and Zetsu before the Hunter Exam starts otherwise I'm dead meat. I can do this, but I will need to work very hard and basically take no leisure time at all. I only have one month, so let's get started.