Okay, so sorry for not updating in so long, I was tired and had major writer's block for ages! Actually, this chapter is short because I found the perfect stopping point. And so, your next chapter will be uploaded when I feel like it. So basically in a decade. Jk, jk. I'll update in a few months. Maybe less if I get to it.

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NeKo19-94: Here ya go!

Vi

The six of us froze as the examiner's voice came on the speakers once again. Ebony looked up in annoyance.

"What now?!" The examiner chuckled omnimously.

"Well, I don't believe that this is fair. You have six people in this game of Majority rules. How does that work? You would have a tie. That's not right."

Leorio growled. "What the hell? You can't do this!"

"Yeah!" Gon agreed. "You designed this tower, didn't you? It's your fault!" The examiner sputtered.

"Wha-wha- …So? I'm examiner. I get to decide whether you pass or fail." Ebony blinked tiredly and to my and I'm sure everyone's surprise, she started crying. Like legit, tears were falling. She quickly wiped them away.

"Ebony? Are you crying?" I asked incredulously. Ebony quickly shook her head.

"N-no! That's not-" I stiffened at the sudden killer intent oozing out of Killua. He looked murderous and his claws were out. Kurapika's eyes were blood red as he got up and put a hand on his weapons. Ebony sniffled and tugged at Kurapika's arm.

"I'm not crying! I'm just having a-"

"It's okay, Ebony. There's nothing to be embarrassed about," I said, patting her shoulder. Poor girl, bursting out in tears in front of us. She must be so embarrassed. Although I have no idea what she's thinking, I'm frustrated too. Damn Lippo.

"No! That's not it!"

"Ebony, it's okay," Leorio reassured her.

"Guys, I'm not-" She sneezed.

And then sneezed again.

And again.

And again.

"Crying. It's an allergic reaction." She wiped away more tears and sneezed once more. Kurapika eyed her, but slowly his red eyes turned back into his usual grey. Killua also reluctantly reigned in his killer intent, but decided to scoot closer.

I frowned. "What is here that you're allergic to?" I asked. Ebony shrugged before sneezing again. "You haven't reacted at all this entire time." Ebony rubbed her face as she groaned.

"Ah, you must be allergic to the pollen of the Cerbara Lily." The examiner said, surprised. "What an uncommon allergy. Well, I guess then that you won't be able to pass the next part of the task." He seemed slightly apologetic, but not very. Glee seemed to seep out of the speakers as he announced that there was no longer any problem.

A door appeared in the wall next to Leorio. Along with the familiar writing of 'press X to open and O to not'. He jumped in surprise and suddenly a sickeningly sweet scent wafted through the air. Ebony's sneezes started up again along with coughing fits and she grimaced, clutching at her throat.

"Ebony!" Leorio knelt next to her. "Is it hard to breathe?" Ebony only wheezed in response. Kurapika also knelt beside her.

"Ebony. Are you going to be able to make it with us?" Ebony shook her head.

"Go-" she coughed, "without me." I glared at her.

"Absolutely not! Don't be fudging ridiculous! You've made it this far- you fell off of a cliff for god's sake! And you're going to back down now because of a stupid allergy?!" I shouted, waving m hands around to prove my point. Ebony gave me a look. She took off her bracelet and handed it to me. I snorted and refused to take it. Ebony's cheeks became splotchy as she also started to get angry.

"You think I want to be left behind?! I want to go too!" Cough. "But there's no way I'm surviving that."

"Well, one of you would have had to stay behind anyways! Majority rules, after all!" Lippo said happily. I glared at the speakers. I swear if there was a way to get to him, I would…

Looking around, I could see that everyone else felt the same way, judging from the glares. Ebony sat up and took in a deep breath.

"I'll try to catch up later." She looked at us. She grabbed my wrist and snapped the band on. "Go!" And with a speed I didn't think she was capable of, she pressed X for all of us and shoved us through the door. The door shut behind us.

Ebony

I sighed and slumped against the wall. My face felt swollen and my throat burned from my coughing and sneezing. The door disappeared after they left and with it, the smell was gone as well. I probably was going to fail here. What kind of main character was I? Failing at the third to last Phase. Well, Killua failed right before the end, but he still made it farther than I did! I didn't even make it half way through the third phrase!

Not only that, but Monk decided to be a douche and not give me all of my memories so now I only remember up to the end of the Zoldyck arc. 'I'll give the rest to you later when I have the chance,' he said. 'The hard drive crashed,' he said. As if my memories were nothing but mere files.

I got up and stretched. "Hey, Lippo! Is there another way I can leave?"

"How do you know my name?" I shrugged, knowing he could see me.

"Well, it's your fault that I'm stuck here. You're the one who messed up your own Majority rules by adding another player. So let me out."

"Hmmmmm…" He seemed to think about it for a second. "You see, that would only be fair, but I'm supposed to narrow down the number of participants. If I let you out, then I'm not doing my job. Also, I don't want to."

"Well, this is unfair." Lippo snorted. I heard the munching of a cracker.

"As cliche as it is to say... life's not fair." I groaned.

"How would I be able to convince you to let me out?"

"You could go the way that was opened when you technically won," Lippo pointed out in a rare moment of kindness. I looked at the open doorway. Through the very scary prisoners. No thank you.

"But isn't that a part of the Majority Rules? I don't have my bracelet." Lippo hummed.

"I'll do this, then."

And I was suddenly going down a slide.

"GAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, clutching my staff for dear life. I was deposited in a hallway in front of a very confused Tonpa.

I looked at him and groaned. Why me? Tonpa recovered and looked at me. I blinked. Why was he looking at me like that?

"What does that mean?" Oh… didn't mean to say that out loud. I smiled at him sweetly. Well, I at least tried. I'm pretty sure judging by the look on his face that I just looked constipated.

"Nothing. I just got hurt by the landing." Why was I being nice to him? I don't know. But maybe it'll help me in the long run.

Tonpa gave me a fake smile. "Hi there! You're #20! I saw you at the fake examiner incident! The name's Tonpa. I've taken this Exam thirty-five times." I faked astonishment.

"Wow, Tonpa! You must be really bad at this!" Oh crud. I didn't mean to say that out loud. Dang it mouth, why must you do this?! Tonpa narrowed his eyes at me.

"That just means that I'll be even better every time I take it!" He said with faux cheer. I just looked at him. We stood there in silence for a while before I looked at my watch and frowned. 45 hours left. I bowed at Tonpa.

"It was nice meeting you, Tonpa!"

"Wait! I don't know your name!" I ignored him and raced off, looking for an exit. Seeing none, I slowed my pace and decided to look for traps instead. Still nothing. I'm very suspicious now.

Oh wait.

There was a door up ahead with writing on it.

.

.

.

And I couldn't read it. Really?! Couldn't there be like an English translation? Or at least a read out loud? I could wait for Tonpa, but I have a feeling that he'll read the wrong thing to me. Oh well. Plan B time!

"Lippo! Can you read me what's on this door?" I called out. There was no response. I tried again. "Lippo! Lipster! The Lip-man! Lippy!"

"Ugh. Never call me any of those names." Lippo groaned. I smirked. Success!

"I won't if you read me what's on this door!"

"... you can't read?"

"... not this language." Lippo was silent for a bit. I think I may have convinced him...

"Well isn't that your problem?" He asked amusedly. Or not.

I grumbled to myself.

"Come on! Just this once?"

"No. That's something you'll have to overcome." I twitched. Monk would be able to help. But Lippo would be able to see him. What do I do?

Tonpa finally caught up to me, huffing. "You run fast, kid." I looked at him.

"I'm stuck at this door." Hopefully he would read it out loud.

"What is one plus one?" He read. He gave me a weird look. I grinned at him sheepishly.

"Oh yeah! It's two!" The door opened and I walked in, only to trip and fall down another slide.

"Seeerrriiiiooouuussslllyyyyy?" I screamed. I was suddenly airborne, not touching the slide. I looked around in panic. Tonpa wasn't next to me; we split off in the slide, but why am I flying? Oh, nope. Falling now.

'I'm going to die now. I'll become a splat on the floor. Just like a bug. I don't like bugs.' I held my staff in my hands, desperately wishing to fly.

"Please fly, staff. Fly, fly, FLY!" Of course, because I'm not a perfect anime character, it didn't work. Of course it doesn't. Why would my staff help me? I can't use Nen.

I miraculously landed on a soft, squishy object. Much like jello.

There was a pained grunt and I realized that I had landed on Tonpa. Guess he fell faster than I did because of his heavier weight. I hopped off of him and looked around.

We were stuck in a small room with five different doors. Of course, all of them were closed and locked and there were signs on them. Signs that I couldn't read.

"Now, applicants! There are five doors here, as you can see. They all lead to different paths! Read the description and decide which door you want to open. Keep in mind that only one person can go through each door!"

"What the hell?" I jumped as a voice came from the corner where three more applicants stood. All three were people that I had never seen before. One seemed to be a young musician of sorts with a flute in his hands. Really skinny, tan, and long messy hair that covered his eyes. I don't know what his flute does, but if he's made it that far with that thing, it's got to be strong. The other two looked to be twins. Both with pitch black hair and brown eyes, although one had two pistols and the other two daggers.

"So, who gets first pick?" One of the twins asked. The musician looked at me.

"We should give the child first pick. To up her chances." I gulped. I can't read the signs… what do I do? I should make that a wish of mine.

"No! That's not fair! If she's made it this far, she's definitely not a child!" Pistol twin protested. Dagger twin knit his brows.

"Still, she has a disadvantage. In a fight against one of us, she's most likely to lose." I pouted at that. It's true, but he didn't have to say it!

"That's why the strong live and the weak die," Pistol twin said sardonically. I raised an eyebrow. Well, someone's bitter.

"Still! It's common courtesy!" The musician said. I blinked. Maybe I should say something?

"Um…" I began.

"See? She even has the voice a child!" The magician proclaimed, gesturing at me. I blinked again. I seem to be blinking a lot this Phase.

"Ano…" I tried again.

"So? That doesn't matter! It could be an act!" Pistol argued.

"We're wasting time…" I grumbled. Like who cares? Just pick. Although… I'll probably get stuck with a bad path…

Of course, no one listened to me. Dagger gasped. "We're losing time!" The musician stopped arguing with Pistol. My jaw dropped. Are you kidding me?

Musician looked at his watch and his eyes widened.

"We are!" I smacked my head. Why me? The musician turned and smiled at me.

"Hey, sweetie. How old are you?" I raised an eyebrow. I was tempted to say 'Stranger danger' cheekily, but seeing how he was one of the only nice people here, I held my tongue.

"...12," I mumbled. The musician didn't look surprised as he smiled at me.

"Take your pick, sweetie." He gestured to the doors. I shuffled my feet awkwardly.

"Look! She doesn't even want to choose!" Pistol butted in rudely. "Let me!" The musician glared at him and turned to me with a mildly irritated look.

"Come on, pick!" I swallowed. I guess coming clean might be better than picking randomly.

"... I can't read." The men all looked at me incredulously.

"You can't read?" They echoed. I nodded nervously. Pistol waved a finger in my face.

"How did you get this far then?!" I shrugged.

"Others read it for me." Dagger sighed.

"I'll-"

"No! If she can't read, she'll have to get the last one left!" Pistol declared. I mean, I guess that was only fair... maybe I'll get lucky and get a good path!

Dagger scowled at his twin.

"Brother! That's rude! She's just a kid!" Pistol opened his mouth to retort when I burst out in tears.

"I never went to school!" I sobbed. Everyone gave me an odd look. "I didn't learn how to read because mommy and daddy died!" I grabbed the musician's shirt and fell to my knees dramatically. Maybe I was overdoing it, but it seemed to be working. "I need to pass this exam and get money to feed my little siblings!" Of course, this is all bull, but if it works…

Tonpa gave me a suspicious look. Maybe he caught my lie? Probably. It takes a liar to know a liar.

The musician gave me a pitying pat on the head. "That's alright sweetie, but this is dangerous. It won't be easy to pass." I sniffled. Hopefully it was a convincing sniffle. By the pitying look in his eyes, I could tell the story worked. I guess all those years of throwing tantrums and faking crying to Cyan payed off after all.

"The first door says that it leads out immediately. Take that door." He pointed to the door on the far right. Pistol protested in the background.

I frowned. Now I felt bad. This musician was nice. And so was Dagger, albeit a bit cowardly. Pistol could go kiss my foot. I felt like I was taking advantage of them. Because I totally was. Oh well. His choice.

I sniffled again and smiled a teary smile.

"Thank you, mister! My name is Ebony! I won't forget your kindness!" The musician ruffled my hair. Great, now it's tangled and messy.

"No problem, kid. And don't call me Mister. My name is Riley." I grinned at him and skipped away to the door. I put my hand on the handle. Looks like it's unlocked now. I opened the door and immediately fell into a slide. I screamed in surprise and suddenly I was airborne once again.

I sighed. Not again. Why am I always in the air? I was momentarily blinded by sudden light—it was very dark in that tower—and when I could see again, I was in someone's arms. I vaguely registered the speaker announcing that I was like the twentieth person out.

I blinked. I saw the faces of surprised applicants around me. I made it out! Why do they look so surprised? Ha! I bet they thought that I couldn't do it! However… they all looked very nervous and fearful. Huh… I wonder why…

I looked up to see who caught me.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

It was Hisoka. I paled. Why would Hisoka catch me? He smiled at me very pleasantly and gently set me down.

"You should be more careful next time~" I nodded, still stupefied. However, not wanting my arms to turn into flowers, I was quick to thank him.

"Thanks, mister!" I took out a pack of gum from my pocket. Bungee gum. Hisoka's smile became wider and in a blink of an eye, the pack was gone. Hisoka sauntered away, opening a wrapper and popping the piece of gum in his mouth. I sighed. That was lucky. I don't know where that gum came from though. Or how I knew it was there. I contemplated it for a bit before I shrugged it off and left it as the wonder of anime.

I went to a corner and sat there, glancing at my watch. Twenty hours left. Twenty hours left and I had nothing to do. I let out a pained groan. My worst enemy was here. Boredom.

Earth Life

Ebony and Vi sat, stunned at the turn of events.

"You!" Vi shrieked, pointing at Ebony. Ebony cocked her head.

"Me?"

"You! You! Why are you favored by Hisoka?" She yelled. Ebony grimaced.

"Uh? I give him gum?" Vi hmphed, turning away with her arms crossed.

"Not fair… and what happened to me? Where am I?" She melodramatically collapsed on the bed with a hand to her forehead. Ebony shrugged.

"Probably in the next episode." Vi popped back up and snatched the remote from Ebony and pressed play.

"...I was going to do that!"

"You weren't fast enough."

Vi

After Ebony pushed us through the gate, the door magically closed and disappeared. I felt a bit guilty, but most of me was elated that I got to spend more time with Kurapika. That makes me a bad sister, but Ebony will be fine. Right? She's a main character so she won't die. Because that's not the type of anime this is. She. Won't. Die.

Killua also had his eyebrows knit as he glanced back at where the door used to be. I smirked inwardly. Aw, he's worried. My ship will sail! I will make sure of it! Kurapika had a very worried look on his face. He was staring at the door where we came from and Leorio literally dragged him the first few feet away.

'No fair Ebony!' I wailed in my head. Why does she get all of his attention even when she's not here? I sulked. Leorio ignored all of us and bulldozed through all of the plants, hacking away at branches with his briefcase.

There was a sickly sweet scent in the air as we walked through the foliage.

'Good thing that Ebony didn't come with us,' I thought. She would have died with all of this pollen and stuff in here. I can't believe that she was allergic to something that didn't even exist in our world. It must be a side effect from coming here. Am I allergic to something?

"Vi! Watch out!" Kurapika, my knight, leapt in and slashed a vine away from my feet. I swooned. My prince in shining tabard wielding bokken. If Ebony was here, she would laugh at me. I heard snickering and my head whipped around only to see Killua snickering at me. Disappointment welled up in me and I looked away. I wish there was a way to communicate with her…

A flash of light suddenly blinded me. Monk was there in all his glory, floating in front of me.

"Your wish will be granted."

Mwahahaha! That's all folks! Drop a review as you leave! Thank you! Just kidding~ Here's an omake~ Hehe...

I miraculously landed on a soft, squishy object. Much like jello.

There was a pained grunt and I realized that I had landed on Tonpa. Guess he fell faster than I did because of his heavier weight.

I hopped off of him and looked around. Huh. Black. Can't see a thing. I groped around in the darkness, hoping to find some sort of switch or something. My hand hit something soft and furry.

"Meow." I shrieked as I fell back and crawled away from the monster. Cats. I despise those snotty felines. Tonpa gave a surprised yell as I pushed past him and ran in a random direction. I let out a squeal as I bumped into another meowing thing. And the chorus of meows only grew louder and more and more cats made their presence known. Tonpa looked around in confusion.

"What is this animal?" I managed to push down my terror long enough to give him a deadpan look.

"You don't know what a cat is?"

"... a cat?" I stared at him blankly. How could he not know what those monsters were?

"You know? The furry monsters that have triangles for ears, glowing eyes, and sharp pointy teeth? The meowing furballs of hell?" Tonpa blinked. "Have you heard of a tiger?" He shook his head. I looked at him incredulously. Huh, Tonpa has a striped background. Must be anime effects. The background growled. I paled.

"Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttt!"

Now it's the end! Bye!