HOLY FREAKING COW! I AM SO SORRY! Ugh! I have no excuse for this, other than the fact that testing and projects and school... Sorry! I'll try harder.
****Sorry for any typos and such. I've tried my hardest to fix them, but :P
I don't know any betas so I don't know if I want to have one...
This goes for other previous chapters too! If you would like to beta, please PM me~ ^.^'****
Review
JokeLover123:
Silver: Kuri says-
Kuri: Let me take over!
Silver: *backs off* Okay, okay! Jeez.
Kuri: *clears throat.* Thank you, Joker-san! As for my Nen type, you'll have to guess~
Okay! I'm done now! Silver, you can talk again!
Silver: *rolls eyes* Thanks, Kuri.
Kuri: You're welcome!
Silver: *sighs and shakes head* Anyway, I've tried to update as soon as possible just for you!
Kuri and Silver: Thanks for reviewing!
"Ooh! Look! What's that? Cool!" Kuri ran around the room, looking out the window. Everyone was gathered one room on the airship.
"Hey, Neko-san!" Kuri waved at Netero. Netero turned to her and smiled back.
"Hai?"
Karsi sighed. "Netero. Say it with me. Ne-te-ro." Kuri blinked.
"Neko."
"Netero."
"Neko."
"Netero." Karsi glared at Kuri.
"It's Neko! It's much cuter and shorter!"
"Baka... Ne-te-ro. 3 syllables! IT'S NOT THAT HARD!" Kuri stubbornly turned her head.
"Hmph. It's Neko." Karsi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Stupid little sisters.
"You know what? I'm done. I don't care. Do whatever you want." She stalked off, steam coming out of her ears. Kuri looked after her innocently and waved, holding back a smile.
"Bye!" Jen and Teri facepalmed. They weren't surprised. Kuri usually did this to annoy someone. And, points to her for it actually working every time. The other applicants were as far away from the trio as possible. All but Gon and the gang, Hisoka, Illumi, and Netero. Netero cleared his throat.
"Now. Since that's over, we can continue. We are about to land. There, the next phase shall be explained."
"Uwah~ So this is Trick Tower~ How high up is it? Can we jump down? Will we survive? I wonder what'll happen if I-" Kuri was leaning dangerously close to the edge. Teri pulled Kuri. She chuckled nervously and made sure Kuri couldn't get out of her grip, slowly going as far away as possible from the edges.
"Well, since you don't know for sure, it's best not to try it."
"B-b-b-but!" Kuri struggled in Teri's hold to get back to the edge before noticing something.
"Where's Gon?" Kuri broke through Teri's hold and looked around frantically, calling Gon's name. Teri followed, also looking for the innocent boy.
"Gon! Gon! Where are you?" Then, Kuri accidentally stepped on a loose trapdoor. She fell through, landing very painfully on her back. "Ow!" Kuri yelped, rubbing her back. She looked around. The room was a little dark, with a few torches as the only source of light.
"Kuri?" Said girl heard Teri calling her name and yelled back.
"I'm fine! See you at the bottom!"
"Hi, Kuri-chan!" Kuri looked up to see Gon. She grinned in relief.
"Gon!" Kuri hopped up and hugged him. She the turned to the others. "Where are we?"
Kurapika stepped forward. "We seem to be in one of the paths to lead to the bottom."
"Yeah! We were waiting for another person to fall! Thank god you came down here!" Kuri's eyebrow twitched. She flicked Leorio on the nose. He yelped and glared at her, holding his nose.
"Don't use the Lord's name in vain!" Gon handed her a wristwatch.
"Here you go, Kuri-chan! Put that on!" Kuri took the watch and examined it. Finding nothing wrong with it, she shrugged and put it on. A door opened.
"Let's go!"
"Open!" 5 O's and one X appeared.
"Hey! Who pressed the X?" Kuri raised her hand cheerfully.
"I did!" Leorio looked at her incredulously.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to!" Leorio blinked.
"You're not supposed to press X."
"Why?"
"Because the directions say so."
"The directions don't say that!"
"Yes they do! O to open the door and X to keep it closed!" Kuri blinked.
"So?" Leorio had a tick mark on his forehead.
"So, you don't press X!" Kuri tilted her head.
"Why? You deliberately pressed the wrong button, ARE YOU TRYING TO SABOTAGE US?!"
"Because." Gon chuckled nervously.
"Maa, maa... let's go, we can't waste time..."
Kuri nodded. She skipped off, humming to herself happily. "Let's go~"
Leorio grumbled under his breath, fuming as he followed. "Stupid brat. 'Why,' she says. Hmph."
"Right or left?" Leorio read. He looked around each of the directions, examining each closely.
"Press O for right and X for left." Kuri stroked the imaginary beard on her face and then grinned. They pressed the buttons and Leorio yelled in shock.
"Why would you choose to go right? Normally you go left!" His mouth was wide open, eyes blinking rapidly in shock.
"That is true," Kurapika admitted. "Studies have indicated that people who are lost or stuck at forks unconsciously tend to go left." Killua also held up a finger.
"I've heard of that before, too." Leorio snapped out of shock and glared.
"Wait! The numbers don't add up! Which button did you press?" He pointed at them. Killua and Kurapika simply walked forward. They answered one after the other.
"Right."
"Right."
"Y-you guys..." Kuri grinned at Leorio. Leorio warily stared back. He knew her little tricks and acts.
"Why did you choose to go right?" He grumbled, sighing. Kuri just laughed.
"Because I'm right handed!" Leorio gaped at her.
"... What?" He couldn't believe it. This girl had chosen to go right because she was right handed?!
"Yup." Leorio groaned.
'I am stuck with a bunch of idiots.' He thought. He looked at Gon, who was the only one left and stomped off.
"SO WE'RE JUST SIMPLE MINDED!" Gon just followed the ranting man.
"We?" He asked. They walked a little more before they came to a dead end. A cliff, to be exact. Kuri, not noticing the others had stopped, kept walking, until Leorio grabbed her collar.
"Baka! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kuri looked at him with unblinking eyes.
"Everyone dies someday. Whether I die now or later is completely irrelevant to the story. After all, it will still go on with you four." Leorio inhaled sharply in shock. That was surprisingly deep for her.
"B-b-brat... I didn't know you thought like-"
"Well, of course, you will die first, being the old man you are," Kuri taunted, dancing out of his grip. Leorio glared at her, all signs of pity gone.
"You little-" He pushed the thought of what she said to the back of his mind. He ignored the small part that pricked and prodded at him about that.
"Hehe~" Kuri laughed, distancing herself from the group. Her eyes flashed black for a moment and when she blinked, it was gone.
"Look over there," Killua said, looking at the other side. The room had a platform in the middle, along with another dead end at the other side. There were four cloaked people standing there. A voice came from one of them.
"The applicants have arrived. Remove the shackles." Only his shackles fell off, hitting the floor with loud clangs. Kuri raised an eyebrow. Only four people were visible. There were five of them...
"Jeez." The same one spoke. He rubbed his wrists, hands coming up to remove his hood. "I'm finally free." He walked forward into the light so they could see his features clearly. His head was scarred, badly. He was heavily muscled and his eyes had a dangerous gleam to them, lips curled into a smug smirk. Leorio gulped at the sight of him. Kuri blinked.
"Hey mister. You're bald. Are you that old?" The four people next to her fell over in shock.
"Kuri-chan..." Gon sweatdropped. The man on the other side chuckled darkly.
"You'll pay for that comment, brat. You'll be first." Kuri crossed her arms.
"First in what?"
"Allow me to explain, gentlemen... and ladies. Before you are some of Trick Tower's prisoners." The voice came from the speakers, this time.
"Prisoners?" Kurapika asked, looking at the bald man. Kuri opened her mouth.
"Oh! That's where I've seen you before, old man!" Heads snapped towards Kuri in shock.
"You've seen him before?" Leorio yelped, looking at her with wide eyes. Kuri nodded.
"He was in the news~ Something about robbery and murder..." The man's smirk grew wider.
"You're right, brat. 199 years in prison." Kuri whistled.
"Wow. You must have stolen and killed very important things." The prisoner nodded. He opened his mouth to state what they were, when the voice in the speakers interrupted.
"Ahem. The Hunter Exam Committee has also officially hired them as examiners." Kuri scratched her head.
"Prisoners as examiners? Wow. You guys aren't the brightest, huh." Lippo went on, ignoring her comment.
"You will be fighting against the five of them." Kuri looked at them with raised brows.
"Oh, there's the last one!" There was one final person, sitting in the back, covered by the others.
"The fights will be one on one. Each person may only fight once. You're free to use any method you like." Behind the scenes, Lippo smirked, cookie in hand and glasses glinting maliciously. "There will be no draws. A win is declared when the opponent admits defeat."
"You may pick your order," The prisoner said. "It's a majority rule. So, secure three wins, and you may pass. The rules are simple." Leorio grimace.
"Majority rule again?" Kuri shrugged.
"This path is called majority rule." Killua smirked.
"Well, I prefer straightforward rules." Lippo smirked.
"However, the actual fights will not be quite so simple. The prisoners' sentences will be reduced by a year for every hour they delay you. In other words, their goal is also to buy time."
"I understand," Kurapika said. "And we must reach the goal within seventy-two hours. So time will be critical during these fights." The prisoner held up a hand.
"Okay, I'm up first. This time I will choose. The girl's going first." Kuri smiled.
"Wh-what? That's cheating! You can't do that!" Leorio sputtered. Kuri waved him off.
"Eh. I can do it. We have no choice after all." A bridge came out from each cliff, connecting with the middle. Kuri walked across, stopping as she reached the middle of the platform, the other doing the same.
"Will that brat be okay?" Leorio asked, staring after Kuri. Killua nodded and sat down, Gon following his example.
"I think we should believe in Kuri-chan!" He grinned, only his eyes showing his worry.
"That's all we can do." Kurapika sat down, Leorio was the only one still standing.
"Now, let us determine the method of combat. I propose a death match." Kuri stiffened.
"A death match?" Gon echoed.
"They fight until one dies?" Leorio whispered, half in shock.
"No..." Kurapika said. "Don't let him provoke you!"
"Well?" Bendot asked. Kuri shook her head.
"How about... just a normal, if one gets knocked off the platform, the other wins?" Kuri grinned. Bendot smirked.
"Fine. You die if you fall, anyway." He rushed forward, fist out, ready to hit. Kuri grabbed his fist and used it to propel herself over him. Never letting go of his fist, the momentum and her weight combined, made him fall backwards, landing flat on his back. Kuri hopped out of reach, moving until her heels hung just over the edge, as he shot back up and charged at her again. Kuri stayed still this time, just standing there as he grew closer and closer.
"Hey! Brat! Get out of the way!" Kuri ignored Leorio's yelling and narrowed her eyes. Her eyes flashed purple before she jumped, avoiding her throat getting crushed, but getting hit in the stomach instead. There was a sickening crack as her ribs snapped under his fist.
Gon and the others flinched at the noise.
When she fell off the platform, she grabbed his fist, bringing him down to his knees.
The people at each side tensed as they witnessed Kuri dangling over the edge, only held up by Bendot's fist.
He used his other hand to grab her neck, bringing her up. Kuri grimaced as she lost her ability to breathe. She kicked his stomach with all her strength, which wasn't much at that moment, only to have him chuckle.
"So, do you surrender," he asked mockingly. Kuri's vision slowly started blackening at the edges as her body began to fail. Her arms fell to her sides as she closed her eyes. Bendot smirked and released her, only to have her eyes snap back open and grab his shoulder. She twisted herself so she landed on the platform and Bendot was the one hanging off the edge. His weight was too much for her as she let go of him, collapsing on the platform. Bendot's eyes widened as he fell, screaming. Kuri slowly got up shakily to her feet, coughing out a bit of blood.
"I... win..." She rasped, limping back to her side.
Well, that wasn't dark at all! Hehe... Whoops. Oh well, I apologize for the delay... Um... hope you enjoyed this bad chapter...