Notes

Kai began to pack what little belongings she had, food, clean water, and a knife she had made out of monster bones. The creatures on the Dark Continent were highly dangerous, but the desire to survive was strong in Kai, and she began adapting to fight back against the monsters. She had trained extensively to be able to do so, but it was all worth it in the end. She was able to obtain muse to cross, hopefully.
Kai began to pack what little belongings she had, food, clean water, and a knife she had made out of monster bones. The creatures on the Dark Continent were highly dangerous, but the desire to survive was strong in Kai, and she began adapting to fight back against the monsters. She had trained extensively to be able to do so, but it was all worth it in the end. She was able to obtain many pelts and bones, which she used to make weapons and tools. From there she started crafting a raft from the logs and branches she could find.
She knew this would be her one chance to escape and so she took it, getting on her little boat and setting sail across the ocean.
On her way, she faced many sea monsters which she easily defeated, and made it across in a mere day and a half. When she landed she saw a few animals which were tiny compared to some of the things she had faced before. Why was everything here so weak, did it not have to face monsters such as the Ai? It didn’t matter much now; this would only make her search that much easier. Kai sniffed the air before catching a familiar scent, it reminded her of before she got shipwrecked. She started to follow the scent, the closer she got the stronger it got. It enticed her towards it, causing her to increase her speed until a figure started to come into view. It was just barely the same height if not shorter than her. The figure was wearing a cream-colored hat and a green tunic.
The person in front of her suddenly turned around, they looked troubled, scared almost. Seeing this Kai began to slow down before walking out towards the person. Her kimono top had begun to slip off her shoulder as what was left of her shredded skirt hung close to her legs due to being wet. Now seeing it was only another human, the man calmed down and his shoulders relaxed. Though he was still on edge from her sudden appearance.
“Who are you, what do you want?” He asked, cautious to who this young woman might be. She looked familiar, but he still didn’t know who she might be or what she might want.
“I…*ahem*… I’m Kai Freecss, I am looking for my family. …I’ve been shipwrecked on a place called the Dark Continent since I was eight. When I had landed here I smelt what seems to be your scent, your scent is familiar,” she replied, her voice hoarse and cracking at every other word. Rarely having been used for the past decade or so.
The man in front of her seemed to freeze when he heard her name, almost as if he knew it, but as soon as she blinked his cold face returned.
“If you are who you say, prove to me you’re not lying?” The man responded, his eyes both curious and hostile. Kai just turned her head to the side, confused by what he meant. Why would she have lied to him, there was no logical reason to.
“I have no idea how I would be able to do that; I barely even remember what the people I’m looking for look like. If anything I should be the one not trusting you, I’ve introduced myself, yet you’ve done nothing but question me,” Kai said, starting to get annoyed by how this man was acting.
“Fine, I’ll believe you, now leave, and don’t go telling people you lived on the Dark Continent, they won’t believe you.” The man said pointing away from himself. Which also happened to be the town he had just come from, where Kai would start on her adventure. She nodded her thanks and began off in the direction the man pointed to, a sigh of relief had left his lips after she was gone. She was quite intimidating with that aura lurking around her, the man wasn’t even sure if she knew it was nen.
It took Kai a whole two days before she reached a city, it was large and filled with small stalls. None of the items interested her, but when she was walking she caught sight of a small restaurant next to a tower. Rushing inside she looked around before her eyes landed on a small poster behind the chef. It read,’ for anyone who can finish a 32oz. steak their entire meal will be free.’
“Hey mister, can I get one of those? Also, can it be medium-rare?” Kai asks while pointing at the poster behind the chef. The man looked both amazed and confused by her request.
“You sure Ms., it’s quite the difficult challenge?” The man responded, but Kai just nodded excitedly. Right after a young woman motioned for her to follow. Kai was led into a small room with a table before the door shut and she was left alone with her thoughts. Suddenly the floor began to lower, though Kai didn’t bother to react, she was too hungry to complain. It took about five minutes before the room stopped moving. Walking out once the doors opened she noticed just how many people were there, but none of them even seemed worth fighting for food with how little strength they had. It didn’t matter though; she was just hoping she might be able to get some food at some point or another. Once she had taken a few steps out almost everyone was staring at her before this small green man came and handed her a tag.
“This is your number; 400 you must wear the tag in a visible place to participate in the Hunter Exam.” The bean-like man said. Kai just looked at the tag for a moment before placing it on her kimono top. Not long after she made her way to an empty portion of the wall and sat down. It was another couple of minutes when a small group of people came out of the elevator, one was a boy in green, another was a blonde, and the third was in a suit. They caught her interest for a second before a scream was let out in the hall. Looking over Kai saw a man with fuchsia hair standing above a man with no arms.
“No mirrors and strings here folks,” the man said before turning away. He seemed familiar to Kai, so she made her way over, taking a small sniff once she was close enough, his scent was familiar too. Did she know him?
Tapping his shoulder she watched as he slowly turned around to face her. A small smirk playing on his lips as they made eye contact. His eyes were a golden yellow which almost glowed, but compared to her icy aqua eyes they were barely visible.
“Do I know you?” Kai asked leaning closer, curiosity blazing despite her cold look. She was honestly confused by both this man’s scent and looks, they seemed so familiar, yet she couldn’t place whether she had met him before.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before, and I assure you I would remember such a pretty face,” the fuchsia haired man replied. Shrugging her shoulders Kai held out her hand, a small smile adorning her face.
“Well then nice to meet you, I’m…” before she could finish her introduction she was interrupted by a man with purple hair and a mustache.
“Sorry I was late, I am Satotz one of your proctors, we will now begin the first phase of the Hunter exam,” With closer examination, Kai noticed the man had no mouth, yet he had a mustache. Before she could fully process her question Satotz began to walk away, speeding up the further he went, until he was fully running. This, of course, wasn’t very fast for Kai, seeing that on the dark continent she had to hunt for her food, adaptation was necessary.
It then dawned on her; she might be able to ask this man some questions about what this ‘Hunter Exam’ was. Casually jogging over Kai turned around so she was now running backward. Though to everyone else it looked as if she was skipping with how fast her legs were moving.
“Hello Mr. Satotz, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me?” Kai asked, a small smile on her face as the man raised a brow. This woman in front of him was extremely fast, and the ren she was giving off was comparable to Netero’s, but more importantly what was she going to ask him?
“Ask away, it’s not often someone so powerful comes to take the Hunter Exam, usually people of your level are already hunters,” Satotz responded.
“About that, what is the Hunter Exam, I just wanted to order that 32oz steak, but then that woman led me here?” Kai said, her eyes once more showing curiosity.
Stotz almost fell from sheer shock alone, she didn’t even know what the Hunter Exam was, yet here she is running faster than him up the stairs. Not even hesitating as she practically hopped from one to another. Who was she, and how much did she train to be able to do this with such ease?
“The Hunter Exam is a test to become a hunter, which pays well and grants many privileges to those who have it. By the way, who are you, I’ve met very few people who are as strong as you?” Satotz explained.
“My name is Kai, Kai Freecss, I used to live on an island with a lot of strong monsters, I had been shipwrecked for about twelve years before I escaped.” She responded, her face showing little to no emotion. She hated that place, just the thought of it made her see red. Suddenly she noticed there was sunlight around her, they must have come to the end of the tunnel. Before Kai could turn around to fully take in her surroundings two children jumped onto her, causing them all to fall.
When Kai opened her eyes she noticed two boys were laying on top of her before they got up. One was about half her height with brown to green spiky hair, golden brown eyes, and he wore a green jacket, black shirt, and a pair of green shorts. The other was the same height except he had white hair, blue eyes and was wearing a long blue sleeved shirt, with a white top over it.
“Sorry miss, we were racing and sort of fell on top of you, I hope you can forgive us.” The boy in green said, his hands clasped together, and his eyes closed. Taking a quick sniff to check if she knew him, he smelled similar to that man from before, the one who she had met in the forest.
“It’s fine, but have we met before?” Kai responded, her eyes still that cold aqua as her black and white hair waved in the wind. The white-haired boy slowly shook his head as a sudden picture popped up in his mind, but she was dead. This woman before him looked slightly similar, yet his niece had bright silver hair with green tips.
“It’s fine, by the way, my name if Kai, what’s yours?” She asked, her eyes hinting at her curiosity. A slight flame had lit within them as both boys stared for a second. It took a second before the boy in green snapped out of his trance and answered her question.
“My name is Gon, Gon Freecss, and I’m taking the hunter exam so I can be like my father.” At this Kai’s eyes widened before a small smile graced her face. She began to laugh this soft and musical sound as she crouched down to Gon’s level, placing her hand on his head.
“It seems we have the same last name, it’s quite curious, though from how long I was shipwrecked it wouldn’t surprise me if we were related at all. To explain, my full name is Kai Freecss, and I recently was able to sail back to this land after being shipwrecked for about twelve years. Currently, I’m trying to find my family, though it’s been so long that I can’t remember their names.” She says while ruffling his hair and standing up, the boy has a bright smile as he suddenly jumped up.
“Well even if we aren’t related by blood I wouldn’t mind being your brother!” Gon says with a giant close eyed smile. Killua, on the other hand, was giving Kai a suspicious look, her story seemed too convenient.
“How would we know if you’re telling us the truth, you could just be saying this to get us to trust you?” He asked her, almost immediately afterward Gon started scolding Killua for being rude.
“Why would I lie to you? I wouldn’t gain anything from it, I’ve been living on my own for the last twelve years. Any human contact at all is a blessing, so lying to you would only ruin that, plus I’ve learned to not make enemies if possible. It makes life difficult.” Kai responds to her face once more devoid of emotion. It gave Killua the chills, yet it confirmed for him that she was indeed not lying. No one would be able to say something like that without so much as a hesitation.
Not long after the gate on the tunnel closed right in front of a man about to leave. Everyone who Kai believed to have any potential at all was standing around with the few lucky participants who were able to keep up. Before many of them had any time to rest Satotz stated they were going to move onto the second portion of the first phase.
“Stay right behind me and don’t stray too far. This is the Swindler’s Swamp, known for its trickery and deceit.” Satotz stated, turning to face the path.
As they were all about to move on, this man came out from the side of the building claiming he was the examiner and that Satotz was a Man Faced Ape. He then pulled out an actual Man Faced Ape and told us it was dead. They looked similar, Satotz and the ape, but their scents were completely different. Sighing Kai walked over to the imposter and kicked him, sending the two into the sky and out of sight within milliseconds.
“Now let’s go, I’m still starving. Plus if you hadn’t realized yet, Satotz is quite obviously stronger than those things.” Kai practically growled out while stalking towards the path. Many of the participants staring at her, but three gazes stayed on her for a few seconds longer than the rest.
Coughing Satotz began jogging towards the second phase, Kai walking beside him still ticked off. She could feel the stares of some of the hidden examiners and it was annoying that they didn’t even consider giving her something to eat. It didn’t take long after that for Kai to notice Gon’s scent drifting away from her. Which could only mean he either got lost or had been attacked by something.
Running after his scent Kai disappeared before both Satotz and the other participants' eyes. Within a few seconds, Kai had found her brother, hidden in the trees about to attack the fuchsia haired man who was attacking a friend of Gon’s. A dark look came across her face as she hopped down from the tree she had been watching from.
“Yo, would you mind letting go of this kid, you and I both know that he won’t be able to fight much longer,” Kai calls out as she walks into the middle of the clearing, both of the men were staring at her. One with both fear and hope, the other with something similar to that of lust and curiosity.
“Hmm, I suppose he’s passed, but I still feel like fighting. How about it, we’ve still got time before the second phase?” The fuchsia haired man asked, a smirk plastered to his face.
“Sure I guess, though I never got your name,” Kai said, Her hands still by her sides despite the man who was now charging at her.
“My name is Hisoka, and what about you my dear?” Hisoka responded punching, kicking and throwing cards at the mysterious woman before him. Watching as she easily evaded every attack he made, it was exciting for him to see someone with such raw power.
“It’s Kai Freecss, also you’re not very fast Hisoka, I’m barely moving at all.” This seemed to slightly annoy Hisoka, seeing as he has never met someone at such a level of power. At the same time, this fight only added to his excitement. Before he could finish his thoughts, a small fishing lure hit him in the face.
“Get away from my big sister; Kai are you alright?” Gon yelled before hopping down from his tree and running over to his sister.
“Yeah, now let’s go, the second phase is about to begin,” Kai says picking up Gon’s friend who was now unconscious. Just as they were about to leave the blonde teen who was also traveling with Gon came out and joined them.
“It’s very impressive that you were able to dodge Hisoka so easily. I doubt many people could have done that for so long. By the way, my name is Kurapika, and the man you’re holding is Leorio.” The blonde said, jogging along with Gon to keep up with Kai. It didn’t take much longer until the three made it back and set Leorio on the ground next to a tree.
“Hey, Gon! Where were you?” Killua calls as he walks over, a small smile accompanying him.
“I found Leorio fighting Hisoka, then big sis Kai jumped in and kept him busy until I used my fishing rod to knock him down.” Gon said as Killua eyed the woman once again. The amount of power she seemed to hold was concerning him, yet she saved Gon and Leorio despite only knowing them for a few hours.
Suddenly the doors to the building in front of them opened and the crowd began to file into the area, Leorio who had woken up just before was using Kai as a crutch on her request to let him rest.
“Welcome to the second phase, I am Menchi and this is Burahara, we are gourmet hunters. Your task for this phase is to cook us a dish that satisfies both of our pallets. It will need to be both visually appealing and taste good.” A young woman who looked to be twenty-five yelled. The man behind her smiling as his stomach growled, everyone had been slightly off-put and annoyed by the task assigned. Everyone except Kai that is, she was ecstatic as she handed Leorio over to Kurapika and ran to the front of the crowd.
“Does that mean I can finally eat something!?!” Kai yelled with large sparkles in her eyes, as she stared at Menchi hopefully.
“I suppose if you make enough for yourself and us then you can, the main ingredient must be any type of boar in this forest. You all have two hours to complete this!” Menchi yelled many of the other participants began to complain while Kai once again disappeared in a cloud of dust. Rushing through the forest until she found a small group of about a hundred boars, they were all eating the remains of some sort of animal. Though compared to the Dark Continent where everything was carnivorous this was once again nothing.
Quickly Kai flew through the air, bouncing from surface to surface as she killed two of the largest boars and cut them up with her currently clawed fingers. It was one of the few things she remembered how to do from her childhood. Heading back to the meetup area Kai set down her boars by a cooking station and began to cut them up into strips. Taking out salt and pepper she added some along with some herbs and butter which she had found. She then placed these items into a small pan and added a red liquid, which smelled nice, to the pan. Despite having been stranded for twelve years, Kai had the nose, knife skills, and need to learn how to cook as well as any professional chef. Most of the monsters on the Dark Continent were extremely poisonous or just tasted plain disgusting. Surprisingly there were plenty of herbs, spices, and monsters that supplied her with decent flavors.
So with a few sniffs and experience, the substitution of ingredients began, Kai was planning to take a few of the boar meat on a roll made from potatoes which she had found in a cabinet. With a bit of yeast, butter, oil, and water kai had formed three medium loaves before placing them on a pan and baking them in the oven. She then set to work with the meat which had absorbed most of the scent and liquid from the pan. Cutting up a bit of the fattier portion of the boar she set it to simmer in more of the liquid, some nuts and peppers she had found, and added some butter before covering it and setting to work on her meat which now was ready to be added to the rolls which had just come out. Taking out three medium plates Kai places the potato roll in the center of each plate before adding the slices of boar. Not long after she uncovered the fattier portion of the pig and added that to the center of each of the pork slices before rolling it up and adding the liquid in the pan, which was now a sauce, to the top of each.
With the three plates in hand, she walked over to the judges, both of whom had tasted at least twenty roasted boars already.
“Menchi, Burahara, I present to you my dish. It is a portion of boar over a potato roll. The herbs and spices aren’t too important. Now let’s eat.” Kai says as she sets down the two plates in front of the judges. Burahara looked happy as he began to cut into the dish, just as he was about to take a bite Menchi stopped him and slowly cut part for herself and placed it in her mouth. Her eyes closed as she was suddenly hit with strong yet warm flavors. Each one could have been acceptable on its own, but together they melded into a new flavor of pure bliss. By the time Menchi had opened her eyes, she noticed two things. She had eaten all of the dishes, and that she had been crying.
“That dish was amazing; how long have you been cooking to have perfected such flavor?” Menchi asked, wiping away her tears.
“Oh, well I started cooking with herbs and stuff about seven years ago. I had finally gotten tired of the bland flavor most of the monsters had so I decided to find scents that would reduce it. Compared to the herbs and spices I’m used to; these are sort of bland, so I had to compensate for that with the boar fat and some peppers.” Kai responded shrugging. Continuing to eat her meal as if the flavor wasn’t one of the best things she had tasted. Menchi mas amazed, this woman sitting next to her was able to cook so well despite having only seven years of experience. Most professionals she knew had trained twice as long and their food couldn’t even compare to this.