Me: I'm sorry I didn't update as fast as normal. Stuff happened, such as Christmas and a new baby entering the family, that sidetracked me. Sorry! Oh well, this is the first chapter for 2016! Woot!
To MidoriEmerald13:
Me: I needed a reason for Chu to not join the boys straight away, just so Tonpa could be the fifth person like he canonically is. So I thought, what would make Chu distance herself long enough for Tonpa to flip the trapdoor? Then it kinda spiralled into Tonpa paying a guy to make Chu doubt herself long enough for Tonpa to flip the door. And yeah, Tonpa annoys me SO much! I literally call him 'box-nose pig man' sometimes just for the fun of it. And Chu ISN'T interested in hentai! She saw it, got curious as to what it was, flipped through it, and Leorio just happened to take it the wrong way! Chu's not COMPLETELY innocent when it comes to that stuff but she isn't the kind of person to know what a hentai magazine is, y'know? Leorio, Killua and Tonpa on the other hand… Complete perverts. XD
To Arrow-chan3:
Me: Stuff happened in Chu's life that's made her an introvert and suspicious of everyone. I never intended for Chu to be emo or tsundere. XD Though I agree, she should stop being a tsun-tsun and admit that they're her friends already. Yeah, I wasn't as sleepy this time when I made the omake but regardless! XD And don't worry, Gonny will eventually get overloaded with apologies and hugs from Chu. Maybe later.
To BizzyLizy:
My omakes are aimed to please! And I know I don't have to, but its habit of mine. I prefer it this way too. It just seems cleaner to me? Either way, I prefer it like that. And I agree. That's the whole reason why I made that character. He doesn't even have a name. He's just there to make Chu's life extra hard. XD
Disclaimer: Hunter X Hunter and its 2011 adaptation belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. I only own my OCs, sub-plots and anything not included in the original series. Enjoy.
Chapter 5: Error X And X Exit
Previously:
Gon turned to Killua pouting, mumbling a small "Okay." as he and Killua got up to search the room. I made him upset.
"I'm trying not to hurt people and I end up making them upset! Goddammit…"
I sighed quietly and walked over to the bookshelf, looking through it.
May as well spend these fifty hours doing something.
Now:
Kurapika seemed to have the same idea as me, as he soon joined me in raiding the bookshelf. I got bored of the books quickly, considering they were mostly history books or books about various famous Hunters, but Kurapika continued to pick out books to read later. He must be into that stuff.
Tonpa refused to leave the kettle's side, making himself cups of tea every nice in awhile. I suppose it was to keep himself awake, that or he was addicted to it. Everyone simply ignored Tonpa.
Leorio had sat himself down on the couch next to Kurapika and the bookshelf. He hadn't really done much for the few hours we had been in here. He seemed to be spacing out.
Killua and Gon had been playing around with various things in the room, entertaining themselves with the limited movies and TV shows in the room. Currently, Killua was showing Gon how to do some skateboard trick. Gon didn't seem to be getting it.
I was currently going through every single drawer and shelf in the room. The bookshelf had been boring, but that didn't mean the rest of the room was. It kinda reminded me of a small hotel room, with less room service. I found various one jenny coins under the couches, which I ended up giving to Leorio. Any money is good money to him. I found one candy bar in another shelf, which Gon and Killua fought over. Killua ended up just stealing it, much to Gon's displeasure. I was currently on my hands and knees, rummaging underneath the couch Leorio was sitting on, the only one I hadn't been to. [1]
"Are you still snooping around?" Tonpa asked, looking at me weirdly as I pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper.
"It's not snooping. It's called satisfying my boredom." I responded in an obviously bored tone, looking at the paper before throwing it away. It was just a bunch of lines and scribbles anyways.
Killua passed Gon the skateboard after demonstrating the trick again. Gon smiled and took it. He must've finally got it.
Leorio looked over towards the bookshelf, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Kurapika. Once we've spent fifty hours here, we'll have fewer than ten hours, right?"
Kurapika put the book pile he had collected down and turned to Leorio as Tonpa made another tea and started to drink.
"Yes, that's correct."
"That's way more than enough time!" It was good that Leorio seemed happier now. He was obviously bummed out about the penalty before. I preferred annoying Leorio to mopey Leorio.
"You're a fool."
Oh, here we go.
"What's that?"
"Don't drag his confidence down even more, Tonpa-san. It's obvious he's already feeling bad about before." I thought, sighing quietly as I stuck my hand back under the couch.
"Phase Three last seventy-two hours. And each phase is designed to weed out half of the remaining candidates. So, on average, it's meant to take seventy-two hours. Just more proof that you're an idiot."
"I get it. You're trying to throw Leorio off by making him feel guilty. Just like what you did with me and the other applicant before." My eye twitched as I listened to him ramble. I knew he wasn't lying, but did have to say it in such a way to make Leorio feel insecure? I wasn't going to let it stand.
"Well, our chances of reaching the goal within ten hours will depend on the remaining trials." Kurapika seemed to be thinking the same as me, trying to reassure Leorio without lying or exaggerating.
"Don't get your hopes down." I added in, using my free hand to send Leorio a thumbs up.
"Yeah, that's true."
Tonpa took another sip and continued to talk, smirking.
"But when we've got a guy who's so down on his luck, he can't even win a simple game of rock-paper-scissors…"
"What was that!?" Leorio got angrier.
"You deliberately lost a bet, just to satiate your libido. Then you chose rock-paper-scissors, a contest you couldn't win."
"Shut up! You surrendered without even a fight!"
Tonpa was telling the truth, but I hated the fact that he was wording it so that he could rub it in Leorio's face. At least Kurapika and I tried to reassure him.
"Sure, I surrendered. But I only wasted a second of our time. You lost, squandering fifty of our remaining hours. Take some responsibility, huh? Besides, what kind of Hunter is so bad at gambling?"
"Tonpa-san…" My voice was warning. Leorio jumped out of his chair, yelling at Tonpa to shut up while glaring.
"You don't even want to become a Hunter… You only care about ruining our chances."
Before Leorio could yell some more, Killua's skateboard whizzed past our heads and hit the wall.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Leorio instantly chastised Gon, who straightened himself out and instantly apologised.
I sighed and continued to rummage under the couch as Gon complained about not being able to skateboard anymore.
"This is going to be a long fifty hours, isn't it?"
Ten hours had passed since we arrived.
I bolted up from sleep, abruptly waking up from my nightmare gasping. I could hear Tonpa and Leorio snoring. Killua and Kurapika were talking quietly to each other as well.
"There aren't any windows, so it's hard to tell. But it's probably morning."
"Most likely."
"It's the same nightmare every time too." I thought as I quickly calmed myself, making sure my hood hadn't fallen off like last time.
My waking up must've been loud as both boys stopped talking and glanced at me from where they laid.
"Are you alright? You seem distressed." Kurapika asked softly, his voice low so he didn't disturb the others.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." I replied politely, just barely keeping my calm composure. Deciding to switch the subject, I gestured to the remaining sleeping boys.
"How they can sleep fine is beyond me. This place isn't exactly the most comfortable. Plus the snoring."
"Must be heavy sleepers." Killua responded, sitting up and grabbing one of the many pillows he and Gon shared, "It just makes it easier for me."
Kurapika and I didn't get to ask what he meant before he pelted the pillow at Gon, which should've hit and woken up the boy. However, it didn't. Gon raised a hand and deflected the pillow back towards Killua, not even the slightest reaction adorning his face.
Killua caught the pillow, looking surprised. Smirking, he tried again. This time, Gon opened his eyes when he threw it back, revealing that he had been awake all along. This resulted in a pillow fight between the boys, peals of laughter coming from them both.
Kurapika closed his eyes again, probably going to sleep again. Though I knew that he wasn't going to get any, considering the noise the younger boys were making. I didn't even attempt to sleep; I just watched the pillow fight mould into a wrestling match as I double checked that I looked okay. I didn't want them to know my gender or that I had just had a nightmare. I knew I'd just have another nightmare if I fell back asleep as well.
Eventually the snoring from Leorio stopped and he started complaining, "Hey, pipe down."
The boys didn't respond and simply began laughing louder. Leorio rolled over fully, still wrapped up in his blanket cocoon as he continued to complain.
"Let me sleep some more…"
He didn't get his wish as Tonpa placed his sock-covered foot near Leorio's face, causing the male to bolt up, grimacing and yelling "That stinks!"
Gon and Killua continued to laugh, Kurapika even joined in with a few giggles.
"What's wrong with you guys? That wasn't funny."
"It was." I stated, barely holding in my own amusement. Leorio leaned over Tonpa and started muttering angry threats.
Kurapika sat up; probably deciding sleep wasn't going to come to him. Killua and Gon had stopped laughing and had settled down. Leorio stood up fully and walked over to the tea machine, grumbling about how he was completely awake now. It was obvious no one was going to get sleep, with maybe the exception of Tonpa.
Deciding to wake up Tonpa, I grabbed my pillow and pelted it at him. He sat up and looked around the room, irritated. I kept my face blank and innocent as he looked at me accusingly. Grabbing his pillow plus my own, he stood up and started making his way over to me, "It's on now."
Gon and Killua picked up their own pillows, getting ready to defend themselves. I stole Kurapika's pillow and got ready as well.
"Payback's horrible, Tonpa-san."
Leorio and Kurapika only sighed as the pillow war began again, both of them ending up being roped into it.
No one was safe.
Leorio ended up taking a nap later in the day anyways. He seemed really tired.
Kurapika was reading, going through his gradually decreasing pile of unread books. The books must've been more interesting than I thought. That, or maybe Kurapika was just so bored he didn't care what he read.
Tonpa was clipping his toenails with a pair of clippers I had found during my scavenger hunt earlier. He was so bored he resorted to this to entertain himself.
Gon was teaching Killua how to use his fishing rod. I was simply watching their lesson, also interested. That and it distracted me from the now throbbing bruises that had formed after my fall yesterday.
"Oh, I thought you just had to stick bait on a hook, and you could fish."
"Yeah. You have to think like a fish."
Killua's face was full of disbelief, "Think like a fish?"
"Yep! How would a fish feel if it saw bait dangling in front of it? Give me that."
Killua passed Gon the hook. Gon held it in front of his face before flicking his wrist, sending the fishing line flying. The hook fell into the empty tea cup next to Tonpa, who looked up from clipping his nails in surprise.
"Wow! Let me try." Killua took the pole from Gon and held it just like Gon did. Flicking his wrist, Killua sent the line flying over to Leorio's couch, the hook landing just behind his foot.
"Like this?"
"You missed."
"Just watch." Killua pulled back the rod. The hook flew back towards Killua but not before hooking onto Leorio's pants leg. I almost snorted from amusement as Killua continued to try and reel in Leorio's leg.
Leorio quickly woke up from his nap and quickly tried to get the hook out of his pants.
"H-Hey… What are you doing? Hey…"
"Just as planned?" I asked Killua, amusement twinkling in my eyes. [2]
"Just as planned!" was his cheerful reply. Gon even added a "Nice." to it.
"Hey, you'll tear my pants. Stop it." Leorio complained, finally unhooking the fishing hook and fixing up his pants. Killua reeled in the hook, obviously very amused.
"See? I caught him."
"Yup."
Leorio didn't take it well. After fixing up his pants, he jumped up and started yelling at the two boys.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm a fish now!?"
Killua pouted and responded with "You don't have to get so mad. It's not like I'm gonna grill and eat you."
"Don't mess with me, fool!"
The two boys simply turned to each other and laughed, having fun. I was having fun just watching them, though I didn't show it. It was good that they were enjoying themselves, despite our circumstances. Deciding to join in the fun, I scooted closer to the younger boys and held out a hand.
"Do you mind if I try?"
The boys glanced over at me curiously, still smiling.
"You want a go?" Gon asked, tilting his head.
"Mmm. I will teach you a game I know in return, if you wish?"
"A game!?" Gon replied, both of them getting excited at the thought of something to do. It was very boring in here. Killua very quickly handed me the fishing pole, smirking.
I held the pole carefully, mimicking the stance the two boys had done. Scanning the room, I very quickly spotted my target, an idea popping into my head. Kurapika was so absorbed in his reading that he wasn't paying attention to us at all. So if I just…
Flicking the stick, I sent the line flying over to where the Kurta sat. Unfortunately, I overdid my aim and ended up sending the hook flying directly within his vision. Within seconds he grabbed the hook and inspected it, wondering why a hook had disrupted his reading. Glancing upwards, his eyes landed on me and he raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly.
"What exactly do you think you are doing? Why did you send this over here?"
Killua and Gon watched me curious, not knowing what my plan was. I simply shrugged and flicked the rod again. This slight detour in my plan wouldn't stop me from getting my target. The hook flew from Kurapika's fingers and landed on his tabard. Flicking the rod so that the line headed back towards me, the hook hooked onto Kurapika's tag and brought it back with it.
"This is what I wanted." I stated, holding up his tag as I passed the rod back to Gon. The two younger boys were laughing and smiling, enjoying the show.
"Why would you want my tag?" Kurapika seemed confused. I shrugged again, showing that there was no clear reason. Sighing and placing his book down, the blond walked over and held out his hand, politely and silently asking for his tag. Letting a rare smile slip through, I hid the tag behind my back and responded with a cheeky "Error 404, Kurapika's tag could not be found!" [3]
Killua and Gon lost it at this point, not being able to contain their amusement. The joke was too good.
Kurapika knelt in front of me so that we were face to face and smiled, tilting his head.
"This is the first time I have seen you smile. I must say you look better with it." [4]
The compliment threw me off, shock completely erasing my smile. I couldn't put my blank façade back up; the random out of place comment had completely ruined my composure. By the time my shock had worn off Kurapika had already walked back over to his spot and had sat down, still smiling. Looking over at me, he held up his tag and spoke with an obviously amused, victorious tone, "By the way, my tag could be found. You were just using the wrong web server." [5]
"He had used that moment of shock to get his tag back!" I thought, stunned, "He had used that compliment against me!"
Kurapika had seemed to be the polite, reserved type when I met him. It seemed as though he had a mischievous side as well, a side he rarely let out. Deciding that I shouldn't get mad over it, I ran with the joke and smiled again.
"Well played, Kurapika-san. Well played."
The last few hours went by like a blur.
As soon as they were awake Killua and Gon were at it again, throwing pillows at each other and wrestling again. Leorio and Tonpa had a contest to see who could annoy the other the most, sticking their feet in each other's faces and stinking each other out with their socks. Kurapika mowed through the remaining books. I ended up getting into a quiet conversation with him over what books we both liked and even got into a heated discussion over a book series we both enjoyed. He stated that he enjoyed reading 'the outside''s books and learning about different cultures. I didn't exactly know what he meant by 'the outside' but I just agreed and silently listened, not interrupting him while he talked. [6]
A few hours later Leorio ended up doing some working out, taking off his shirt and doing sit ups and presses. I ended up teaching Gon and Killua that game I had mentioned the day before. It was basically a game of patty cake to the tune of Yankee Doodle [7]; I used to play it with my sister all the time. Neither of the two could beat me and after a couple of rounds Killua gave up and suggested that he and Gon joined Leorio. The two ended up doing a mixture between push ups and headstands. They didn't take the workout as serious as Leorio though and they ended up just turning it into a fun contest between them.
Gon and Killua ended up starting a food fight during brunch, throwing their food around. I don't even remember how it started; I think Gon stole one of Killua's bars or something. Me and Kurapika just hid behind the couch, drinking our tea and conversing as the other two older males were dragged into the fight. [8]
By the 6 hours left mark, Leorio had ended up stealing a book off of Kurapika and had joined him in reading. Kurapika didn't seem to mind, it must've been a book he had already finished. Tonpa simply napped. Killua ended up demanding a rematch, wanting to beat me at my own game. Gon decided to just watch this time, being the referee. Killua once again continued to lose. I did try to make him feel better by saying that I had been playing this version of patty cake since I was a child and that with practice he could beat me. He didn't take my reassurement and just sulked for awhile.
By the 3 hour mark, Killua had introduced Gon and I to a hand game that he was the master of. It was simple, throw your hand down in a karate chop like action and if Killua caught your hand, he got to flick your forehead. Gon and I both realised that we couldn't win and within seconds both of our foreheads were red. Killua had gotten his revenge. It was around this moment that Tonpa woke up from his nap.
Kurapika had ended up blazing through the entire bookshelf, finishing every book by the 30 minute mark. I once again conversed with him about it. I ended up regretting not reading as well, not all of the books had been history ones, some of them actually seemed interesting. Kurapika cheered me up by picking out his favourite of the books and passing it to me, saying that I had half an hour left to read. And that was exactly what I did.
"Ready to go!" Gon cheered when the clock displayed that there was two minutes left. Everyone had gotten up and prepared themselves, standing by the door excitedly.
"Chu, get up. We need to head off soon." Killua complained, nudging my leg with his foot. I had lost track of time and hadn't gotten ready like the rest of them, getting really involved in my reading. I could definitely see why Kurapika picked this one as his favourite. [9]
"Aww, but I'm not done yet." I muttered, closing the book and getting up, "Apparently this is the first in a series too. I wanna read more."
"You and Kurapika are total nerds." was the albino's response as I put the book back on the shelf, "Would you rather read than pass the Exam?"
"I never said that." I stated, putting my bag on and joining the boys by the door. Kurapika put on a thinking face but whatever he had been contemplating he had dismissed almost instantly as his thinking face melted away.
As soon as the last two minutes were up, Gon bolted out of the door excitedly. Leorio quickly yelled at him to wait up as he chased after him, Killua casually following the two. Tonpa strode out of the room, muttering "Good riddance" as he went. Kurapika and I followed the four, Kurapika sighing and mumbling something along the lines of "Irresponsible" and "They should be more careful…"
Honestly I was just glad we were actually getting places now. I needed to pass this Exam.
After awhile, I quickly realised I actually wouldn't have minded if I had just read instead of tried to pass the Exam. We ran around in circles for thirty minutes, rode a mine cart, ran through a room full of falling tiles and fled from a rolling boulder. By this time, we only had an hour left. I mean, I wanted and needed to pass the Exam, but I would've rather spent the past nine or so hours reading that book series.
"I'm just surprised no one has noticed I'm a girl yet." I thought as I brushed dust off of my coat "I've been yelling and screaming the entire time. I only just barely managed to keep my hood up as well."
After escaping the boulder we came up to the next Majority Rules choice.
"We're supposed to vote on whether to open the door?" Leorio asked as we all approached said door, "We need to move on. So obviously, we want to open the door."
I watched everyone lift their wrists and press buttons on their watches. I felt a bit cheated, I don't get a say in this.
I mean, I would've picked to open the door, but still…
The score showed four of us had picked O and one had picked X. Leorio instantly jumped on Tonpa, blaming him.
"I've had enough of your crap."
"Wait, I pressed O." Tonpa reasoned defensively.
"Don't lie… You specialise in ruining other people's chances!"
I sighed, glancing at the now opened door. Did it really matter if Tonpa had pressed the wrong button? The door opened either way.
"Sorry, Leorio."
"Eh?"
"I accidentally pressed the wrong button."
Gon's honesty was touching as he jumped to defend Tonpa. I had to barely keep the smile off of my face.
"What? Oh, I see." Leorio dropped Tonpa and turned to walk through the door.
"Wait."
"Oh come on! Can't we just leave!?" I began to grow irritated at both of these grown men. The door was open! Let's just move on! We only have an hour left!
"Huh?"
"You owe me an apology. I can't let that slide."
"It's your own fault, for doing things to make me distrust you."
"But still, you shouldn't have jumped to the conclusion Tonpa-san did it. Now can we please just move on?" I asked, getting irritated. Both men ignored me while the other three gave me understanding looks. We needed to go.
"I don't owe you anything."
"You make it sound like I'm to blame for everything that's gone wrong." Tonpa fired back, riling up Leorio further.
"What?"
"Have you forgotten who cost us those fifty hours? You're the one who made a critical mistake."
Kurapika jumped in, reaching out and putting a hand on Leorio to try and calm him down "Hey, Leorio…"
"Shut up Kurapika!" Kurapika's hand was immediately brushed off. The pain was very clear on his face. All of us just wanted this to end.
My irritation was at breaking point, I was about to lose it.
Leorio and Tonpa got into a fighting stance. Gon quickly stood next to Kurapika, holding his hands out, "Stop this, guys. It's my fault for pressing the wrong button."
"The door's also unlocked, you know. We can move on now." I pressed on, irritation and anger seeping through my words. It was very hard to keep my blank face on when I so desperately wanted to knock these two into the wall.
"Stupid. I'm moving on." Killua stated, slipping through the unlocked door. Gon instantly shouted "Wait, Killua!" as he turned to the door. Killua popped his head back through, a smile on his face.
"Hey, Gon… We're getting close to the goal."
"What? Really?" Everyone turned to Killua in surprise and relief.
Gon instantly raced after Killua. Tonpa and Leorio gave each other one last glare before following the two boys as if they weren't just about to maul each other. Kurapika mouthed the words "Are you alright?" as the two of us followed the rest of them. I nodded, trying my best not to let anymore irritation out. Kurapika nodded, ending our silent exchange with a small smile.
Everyone gathered in front of the two doors. Killua decided to be the one to read out the last challenge.
"Let's see… 'This will be the last decision made by majority rule. Are you ready? Choose O or X.' That's it."
"Am I ready? You bet." Leorio stated as everyone apart from me voted. Once again, it was four O's and one X.
"Bastard…" before Leorio could jump on Tonpa again; Kurapika very quickly cut him off with a loud "Stop! We don't have time to argue about this!"
Beeps rang out as the statue's forehead dot blinked red before permanently staying red. The Examiner's voice rang out throughout the room.
"Please select a path. There are two choices. One path allows five-six to pass, but is long and difficult. The other path allows only three, but is short and easy. Incidentally, the long and difficult path requires a minimum of forty-five hours. The short and easy path leads to the goal in approximately three minutes. Press O for the long and difficult path, and X for the short and easy path. If X is selected, two people must be secured to the wall with handcuffs, before the door will open. The two chained members will be unable to move until the time limit expires."
Everyone glanced around the room, tense. We all knew what this meant.
"With the addition of applicant #355, there is no longer the right amount of restraints on the wall. Should X be chosen, the third person to be left behind will be free to move around. The door will only open when this third person has consented to not move. This could be achieved many ways."
"Kill or knock out the third applicant, basically." I thought bitterly.
"The examiners were very prepared." Killua commented, examining the weapons, "I think they have every weapon under the sun here."
"Three out of six…" Kurapika muttered, "So we're supposed to fight, to decide the three who pass?"
"Let me make this clear. I'm going to press X. But I have no intention of staying behind. I'll do whatever it takes to be one of the three…" Leorio warned, looking at us with a threatening look. Tonpa was instantly at his throat, "You're shameless. Had you not wasted fifty hours, we could have taken the long path. Shouldn't you take responsibility and stay behind?"
"What!?"
"I'm sure everyone else agrees! Have I said anything inaccurate?" Tonpa asked, glancing at the rest of us. The room remained tense and silent, no one agreeing or disagreeing.
"Hold on." Gon cut in, drawing everyone's attention to him, "I'm going to press O. We made it all the way here together. I want us all to pass together."
"Gon…" Kurapika started, probably about to lecture him.
"Even if it's a big risk, I want to give it a shot!"
"Come on… You can't really call this a risk. We have less than an hour. Gon, there's only one choice if you want to pass this exam."
"There you have it." Leorio finished it off.
"I don't even get a say in the matter…" I complained, glancing at everyone's watches, "I agree with Gon-san, but I can't even vote if I wanted to…"
Gon looked at me sympathetically. He didn't want to fight just as much as I didn't. I did agree that pressing X and fighting was the only way to pass, but I didn't want to hurt anyone. I may have been suspicious at first, but I knew that these people, with maybe the exception of Tonpa, were kind-natured and respectable. I didn't want to fight my new acquaintances.
"I have to though. I need to pass this exam, for them…"
"Now we have to decide how to choose which three pass." Killua stated, "Well, I'm planning on two of them being you and me."
Gon frowned still, not liking Killua's idea. Kurapika looked really pained, he didn't want to fight but knew he had to.
I didn't realise Tonpa had moved and grabbed an axe before I felt the wind blast next to me.
"Leorio-san!" I panicked; grabbing Leorio's arm and pulling us back as the two of us just barely avoided Tonpa's swing, the axe embedding itself in the floor.
"Tonpa, that was dirty!" Leorio shouted. Kurapika pulled out his bokken. Everyone seemed tense and ready to defend themselves.
"In a fight, there's no such thing as dirty!" Tonpa shouted as he continued to swing at Leorio. Leorio grabbed a weapon for himself, shouting out curses.
"Stop this, you two!" Kurapika shouted warningly, hands on his bokken ready to defend.
"Come on… Let's do it together." Gon looked really distressed, I couldn't blame him. I felt pressured as well.
"Before we start fighting, we have to choose O or X!" Leorio yelled as he defended himself.
"It's too late for that!" was Tonpa's response. I watched the axe hit the wall, leaving a large crack. I glanced at the dent in the floor as well.
"The weapons can break the walls and floors…"
A plan quickly formed in my head at this realisation. Glancing over at Gon, I realised he probably had the same idea.
"Time to put you in your place."
"Right back at you."
Killua sighed quietly as the two men yelled insults and curses, "Seems our only choice is to fight."
I winced as he pulled out his claws. I'd only seen them once before but they still surprised me. And what's worse is that I knew exactly what he wanted to do with them.
Kurapika looked conflicted, not wanting to fight and not knowing if he should. I nudged his side and shook my head, indicating that he shouldn't. He gave me an unconvinced look but regardless didn't jump in straight away. Kneeling down next to Gon, I started whispering to him.
"You have the same idea I do, don't you?"
Glancing at the dents, he nodded. I flashed him a barely noticeable smile.
"Get their attention. I'll back you up."
I stood up and straightened myself out as Gon nodded in understanding, backing up and grabbing a weapon. I did the same. Kurapika gave me a confused look, hadn't I just told him not to fight? I flashed him the same reassuring smile as I did Gon, silently telling him to trust me.
"Guys, Chu and I have a plan! Stop fighting!" Gon shouted, trying to get their attention.
"Why should we!? What's the point!?" Leorio shouted back, clashing weapons with Tonpa. I huffed and stalked towards them, my irritation finally breaking free. Slamming my weapon down, I pinned the other weapons to the ground, creating a giant crater. Both men struggled to free their weapons, glaring at me.
"If you would stop bickering like goddamn children for two seconds, I'll explain!" I growled, giving them both warning glares. Both men paused, still glaring at me but knowing better than to fight back. Compared to the usual, quiet, blank-faced me, my angry self was very violent and very intimidating.
Pointing to the crater we had just formed, I decided to treat them like the children they were.
"What's that?"
"A crater." Leorio muttered.
"What caused the crater?"
"Our weapons." Tonpa responded angrily.
"What does this mean?"
"That our weapons can break the floors!" Tonpa growled, "Stop treating us like we're babies!"
"I'm treating you like that because that's how you're acting!" I yelled back before continuing my lesson, "What else can our weapons break?"
"The walls." Killua offered, putting his claws away. He and Kurapika were getting it instantly.
"What's the point of this?" Leorio snapped.
I sighed and pulled my weapon away, letting the two men free their weapons.
"Press O."
"Why!?"
"Just do it!" I refused to elaborate further. If they didn't get it by now, I wasn't going to bother explaining it. I was far too irritated with the two.
"Please, just trust us." Gon asked, coming up behind me and holding my hand, silently telling me that it would be alright.
I heard buttons being pressed as Kurapika and Killua come up to our side, both of them relaxed and relieved. Gon pressed his button as well.
Leorio and Tonpa looked at us unconvinced before realising that it wouldn't matter, considering that the majority had pressed O. Both of them gave up and pressed their own buttons.
Five O, no X.
The O door slid open. Keeping my weapon, I strode through the door. Gon came with me of course, smiling and holding my hand. He was really glad that he didn't have to fight.
"Let's just hope this works." I thought bitterly as we all faced the wall leading to the short path. On the way out, Kurapika and Killua had grabbed weapons of their own.
"What's the point in this?" Leorio asked as I let go of Gon's hand and braced myself.
"We break through."
It seemed to finally click in their heads. All of us raised our weapons and swung, hitting the wall with all of our might. Slowly but surely, we continued to break our way through the wall.
"Hey, Chu?" Leorio cut through the silence that had formed between us as the wall grew thinner and thinner, "I'm sorry for irritating you. You were right, I was acting like a child."
He seemed disappointed with himself. By now, my blank façade had returned as I had calmed down enough. I simply shook my head and kept swinging, "It's fine. I was acting rude and impulsive as well. I suppose the Exam has got us all on edge. It's not your fault."
Leorio looked like he wanted to argue but only sighed, continuing to work on the wall. Tonpa snorted, not wanting to admit his brashness. I honestly didn't care at this point. I just wanted this to be over.
Eventually, the wall finally crumbled after fifty five minutes. "We did it!" Gon cheered, dropping his weapon. All of us were dusty and covered in sweat and blisters.
"Let's finish this phase." I said determinedly, "Together!"
Everyone nodded, smiles starting to peak through. We were all in a much better mood.
Dropping my weapon, I took a step through the hole and into the darkness that lay beyond…
… only to scream and slide down yet another slide.
"NOT AGAAAAAIINN!"
Omake:
"If you would stop bickering like goddamn children for two seconds, I'll explain!" I growled, giving them both warning glares. Both men paused, still glaring at me but knowing better than to fight back. Compared to the usual, quiet, blank-faced me, my angry self was very violent and very intimidating.
Pointing to the crater we had just formed, I decided to treat them like the children they were.
"What's that?"
I was very surprised when Leorio actually started emitting baby noises, sucking on his thumb and gurgling. Tonpa dropped to the floor and started flailing, wailing and hitting the floor angrily.
I glanced back at the other three, praying that I wasn't the only sane one left in this omake. All of three of them were sweatdropping.
"Glad I'm not alone in this one."
Killua glanced at the two men-turned-babies and shrugged, dropping to the ground and throwing his fist around.
"May as well join them I guess. NOW GET ME MY CANDY!"
"That looks like fun!" Gon smiled before jumping onto Kurapika's back "Mama! Killua wants his candy!"
Kurapika and I exchanged exasperated glances.
"I suppose I'm the mother then?" was his response, sounding irritated.
"Should I start calling you Mamapika?" [10]
"Please don't."
I laughed at his misfortune, only for the realisation to hit me.
"WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME!? THEIR DAD!?"
[1] – This is literally the first thing I do when I go to a hotel. Snoop. Usually there are lost coins or candy!
[2] – She's actually showing emotion!? XD
[3] – That was a horrible joke Chu and you should not be ashamed.
[4] – Smooth Kurapika is smooth. Also, yes, Chu finally smiled. You're welcome.
[5] – That was a horrible joke Pika and you should not be ashamed.
[6] – The Kurta/Kuruta/however you prefer to spell it clan were separated from the rest of the world, which they called 'the outside'. Chu doesn't know much about the Kurta and therefore doesn't understand that Kurapika treats what she thinks is just one world as two separate worlds, his forest home world and the outside world.
[7] – I actually took this from a video game I play, Project DIVA F 2nd. It's a mini game where you flick the PS3 controller sticks to the tune of Yankee Doodle while the character on screen does patty cake hand motions. Just look up 'Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd Yankee Doodle' and you should find it.
[8] – I imagined them with moustaches and tea, talking all formal with British accents. "Care for more tea, Chu?" "Don't mind if I do, good sir!" XD
[9] – I wonder what book series it is? I kinda wanna read it now…
[10] – Heh, Mamapika… XD
Me: This is somewhat more of a filler, considering how much of the chapter was just chapter development and Chu being bipolar. Oh well! It's done now! Also, the chapter name refers to the Error 404 joke and the excess sliding in order to exit the tower. Aren't I just creative with titles? XD
Gon: We hope you enjoyed the chapter! Bye bye!