HunterxHunter is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. The anime adaption this is based off of was produced by Madhouse Studios.
Halo 3 was made by Bungie. Halo is currently owned and operated by 343 Industries and Microsoft.
AU.
"Please select your next challenger." The hooded figure requested politely. Master Chief's heavy footsteps echoed around the silent room. He stood across the island from the younger-looking man, who smiled beneath his cloak. His shackles were unlocked and when gravity took hold, they fell to the ground with a clunk. The man didn't bother rubbing his wrists; instead pulling off his hood immediately. He was a relatively weak-looking man, and combined with a pale complexion, it was obvious that he hadn't ventured outdoors much. He smiled at the Spartan, and from their respective distances, he was able to smile without looking up.
"I suppose you enjoy physical activities." He said, nonchalantly. He was obviously going somewhere with the question. Chief nodded but didn't otherwise verbally indicate an agreement, so the man continued. "As I thought. I don't. I suppose you don't particularly enjoy mental exercises?" He raised an eyebrow at him, expecting an answer this time.
"I don't mind it. Is that our contest?" Master Chief asked, to the man's surprise.
"No, in fact, it's not. I actually enjoy them myself, but I had a contest in mind that would be simple enough for even two simpletons to play." The prisoner said, smiling again. He held out two candles; a long one and a short one. "We'll light candles."
"Whoever lights their candle first?" Chief asked, and the man shook his head.
"No, no. Whoever's candle goes out first loses." The man said, gesturing with the candles. "You understand?"
"Perfectly." Master Chief said. He then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Cortana, which one did he rig?" Before she could answer, he saw that the other four were whispering to each other. "I accept your challenge." He said it loudly, to distract from his previous "silence" in which he had been speaking with Cortana.
"I don't know, Chief. This is one where your gut instinct may be best." She said quietly.
"Chief!" Kurapika shouted, and Chief turned to look at him. "We'll let you decide." Master Chief nodded and turned back. The man was sitting down now, with the candles behind him.
"Go ahead. Take all the time you nee-" "I'll take the long one." Chief said, pointing. "It'll burn longer." Even if it's rigged, it'll last longer than a short rigged one. He added mentally. Kurapika facepalmed, and Cortana quietly scolded Master Chief. Chief seemed silent and unmoving, and soon, Cortana became silent as well as he explained his plan. The prisoner stood up and tossed the longer one to him, which he caught. He came close to asking how long he had practiced that throw, but he abstained.
"When do we start?" He asked politely. The man smiled at him.
"When we light our candles." He responded. "We'll light at the same time." Chief nodded, and the two walked towards the closest light source: A torch. Their were four torches providing light for the room, and they lowered for their convenience. The man smiled and nodded, and the two dipped their candles in together. The two walked back towards where they had started at the same pace and faced each other. A gust of wind blew up and both flames flicked about wildly, but neither went out. Master Chief put a hand around it, protecting it as though it were his life. He waited, knowing that it was likely that there was another set of candles. It was also likely that he was holding a rigged one. If it wasn't, he would simply have to wait for the other man's candle to dissipate. If it was rigged, he was prepared.. The man giggled, and Chief looked up from the flame at him.
"What are you laughing about?" He asked. The man's smile widened.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing yet." He smirked. That confirmed it was the latter. In that instant, his flame began to roar. The height of the flame seemed equivalent to when a flare was first started and he knew the candle would last minutes; not hours. His team gasped in shock; they were surprised it was rigged. He guessed they'd think he was screwed, and that was fine by him. Master Chief began laughing. It was a cold, harsh laugh, and the prisoner felt chills running up and down his spine at a flabbergasting pace.
"And what are you laughing at?" The prisoner barely mustered up the courage to ask. But when he did, he did so with confidence. Chief didn't answer verbally, and instead set down his candle. He moved slightly to his left and when he had a clear angle that wouldn't injure the prisoner, he drew his magnum before the man could react. The prisoner gasped and reflexively cringed away from the candle. The Demon's shot was true; the wick was only grazed where the flame lay, and the fire was shot off the candle. The flame, now without fuel, perished on the tip of the bullet, which continued another thirty feet before hitting the wall. The man dropped his now-unlit candle, which shattered on impact. The man looked down at its remains shock, before whipping towards Master Chief's still blazing candle. His mouth was agape.
"That." Chief finally answered verbally. "You wasted seven minutes of my time. Thank you for the victory." He said, before reloading the magnum in the blink of an eye and returning it to its holster. He thundered back across the bridge back towards his comrades. Sure, there were more creative ways to do it, but this seemed like the most shocking. Hopefully, it would affect the next person negatively, and make them become more unsure of themselves. He saw a prisoner with thick blue arms doing his best to quell his shaking before taking measured steps across the bridge. Looks like it worked.
And indeed, so it has. But his next opponent may not be so simple to undermine as this one was.
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