Chapter 3 Trick Tower: Asa Edition

~~Asa's POV~~

"How are people leaving the tower's top...The sides are obviously out seeing I saw someone get eaten by those weird creatures..." I muttered walking around "Asa, you find anything?" Jake asked walking towards me "Nope." I said shrugging my shoulders. Someone ran into me and I fell on my butt...however, I ended up falling into the ground. I could hear my name being shouted, before the lid of the trap door disappeared. I couldn't hear what was going on above the trap door, but I'm sure Jake could...hopefully.

I took in a deep breathe "JAKE, I'M GOING ON AHEAD! DO YOUR BEST ON YOUR OWN!" I screamed hoping he could hear me. I sighed and I looked around to see what I had to do. I quickly took notice of the stopwatch on a small podium. I grabbed it, placing it on my wrist. One of the walls started moving. Actually the wall was moving to reveal a door "I guess the only way out is to move forward..." I muttered heading for the door.

There was a long corridor and I just walked until I reached the end. There wasn't much of a difference in the corridor, it was just a straight line, but I noticed there was a slight slope to the corridor. Now that I reached the end, it was a fork in the road with two choices. I looked left and then right. I had a choice between the two paths. I moved towards the left one, staring at the wall before looking at the right one.

I had a bad feeling about going left so I went left. I turned on my heel and I walked towards the right path after pressing the circle. the bars started moving upwards and I quickly walked down another long corridor, it took only a few minutes until I reached a door. I touched my hand against the door, it didn't feel warm so it should be safe. I opened the door and I took notice of the three males waiting for me by a poker table.

All of them were dressed in plain brown pants and shirts, they were triplets and the only way to tell them apart was their hair color. The one on the right has red hair, the middle one has dark green, and the last one has blonde hair "Yo, what's a little girl doing in the Hunter Exam?" the redhead asked grinning at me.

"Who the fu** are you?" I asked glaring at them "You should know that the ones in front of you are prisoners. They were hired to prevent anyone taking the exam from moving on." I heard "Great..." I said walking towards the large poker table "We're not the types to harm a girl so we'll make it simple. You just have to beat two of us in a game of poker." Blondie said shuffling a deck of cards.

"I bet it's a different type of poker with each of you..." I said sitting down in the chair "Of course. You can play as many times as you like, but each time you lose an out of three matches you lose five hours." Blondie said "Fine. What's first?" I asked bored "We'll go with the simple game of five card draw."

~~Ten minutes later~~

"Bye-bye!" I said walking towards the door "Damn it! How the hell did she beat us so quickly?!" Blondie shouted "I'm sure I gave her the bad cards! What the hell just happened?!" the green one shouted "Damn it!" the redhead shouted annoyed. I stuck my tongue out, several cards falling out my sleeves once I was far away enough.

'Don't expect me to play fair when you don't.' I thought with a sly smirk. I flicked my wrist, several more cards falling out. I hummed a bit when I came across some stairs, one leading up the other leading down "X for down, O for up..." I said staring at the sign. I looked at both paths, I shut my eyes, the shadows around me dancing about. I pressed the O and the bars began to go up.

~~Five hours later~~

So far, I managed to avoid most danger by choosing the right path that didn't involve fighting. I finally came across a crossroad that could either kill me...or require me to kill. The sign said that both paths were dangerous and it was fine for me to kill "Now...which one should I choose?" I muttered staring at the two 'I don't want to die, so I'll go with the least dangerous one.' I thought pressing the X. I sighed seeing this path had led me to being surrounded by dozens of men in a huge room.

"Oh, they let a little girl enter?" I heard "This is unfair, if a girl was going to be here she should at least be older with a sexier body!" I heard another say. The rest joined in the laugher and I tied my hair up into a ponytail. I slowly pulled my arm out of a man's abdomen, my arm covered in blood.

When the body fell, one by one the men fell silent. I flicked my wrist, blood hitting the ground "If you want to play then come at me. If not, get out of my way." I said stepping away from the body "You little bit**!" I heard. The men didn't hesitate to jump at me, ready to kill me. The bandages on my hands ripped...rather were torn off.

I spun in a circle the men who were hit had fallen backwards, blood spilling from the cuts I produced. My hands were still the same, but the markings I had had left my skin and were now moving along my hands as if my hand was the wood that helped it burn "Do you still wish to continue?" I asked increasing the size of the markings off my skin.

The men slowly backed off as I walked towards the exit. The markings returned to my skin, my hands were mostly covered in it 'Ah...it's growing faster now that I'm using it.' I thought frowning. I pulled out a new roll of bandages and I quickly used them to hide the markings. I came across a bathroom and I entered it.

I only came in to see the progress of the markings. I took notice of the fact it was starting to spread to my legs. I changed from my shorts to a pair of jeans. I pulled my hood up, the rabbit ears rested on my shoulders '...I should hurry and get to the end.' I thought leaving the bathroom. The next room was just like the rest, I ended up facing a bunch of prisoners.

'I wonder...can I escape my fate?' I thought walking out the room, blood was splattered on the walls and ceiling with the rest pooling on the ground. It was a one-sided massacre and it was all my doing. My coat had some blood splattered on it but mostly on the sleeves "...What a disgusting feeling." I said with a small chuckle.

~~Later~~

"So I wasn't first that sucks." I said walking out the door "Asa, number 156, is the fourth to pass. Total time is 14 hours and 45 minutes." I heard "So Jake didn't make it anyways..." I muttered only seeing three men "H-How the hell did you get through?" number 294 asked pointing at me.

I just tilted my head to the side and I lifted one of my bloody hands "I killed the ones in my way, obviously. I got into way too many fights and I'm tired. Is there anywhere I can shower?" I asked looking around. Number 294 slowly backed away while Hisoka pointed to his far left where a corridor was located "The bathroom is that way, they have a shower as well." He replied with a smile.

"Thank you." I said walking towards the corridor. I found a bathroom with a shower quickly. I didn't hesitate to lock the door behind me before showering. The bandages were tossed in the sink for later use, the ones that weren't bloody 'Finally, I can shower. I hate the fact the blood is starting to crust.' I thought rinsing my arms off first.

I then began to furiously scrub at my arms, I wanted to get rid of the smell and sight of blood as quickly as possible. I was fine with killing people who deserve to die, but not those who did not deserve it. I suppose I was one of the types who deserves to die but that doesn't mean I'll let it go that easily.

~~After the shower~~

"Wah, I feel so alive." I said now dressed in jeans, long sleeved black shirt, and white high collared coat. I returned where the other applicants were at and I took a seat away from the others "You're Asa-chan, right? How did you kill or did you just get injured?" number 294 asked staring at my bandages.

"These aren't injuries I obtained in there, I don't have a single scratch on me. Also, why should I tell you how I fight, you could use it to your advantage if we were to fight one another." I said lying on the ground "Come on, I'm just being friendly. I'm impressed you got here so quickly." Number 294 said "Don't care. I'm going to sleep, if you don't leave me alone...I'll carve a hole in your stomach." I said shutting my eyes.

"Tch, brat." I heard "I heard that." I said causing the man yelp. He probably didn't mean to have me hear that but my hearing was sharper than a normal person's. I opened one eye and I looked at one of the doors 'How long until you get here, Jake?' I thought frowning. I closed my eye and I pretended to sleep.

I wasn't so stupid as to actually fall asleep with two who hold the same smell as me. Now if there were more people I wouldn't mind, but just these three here makes it hard for me to even want to sleep. I thought back to that one room I entered, the one that held someone from my village.

-Flashback-

"How much longer...?" I muttered clutching my arm. The smell and feel of blood was starting to bother me. I had stopped trying to bandage my arms after the last room. This room...it held a familiar smell "What the-Why is a member of the Delacroix family here?" I heard getting ready to fight again.

The person leaning against the wall near me was a tall male with short blond hair and green eyes. I noticed the markings similar to my own on his right arm "Don't tell me, you actually have a full body marking? Wow, that's rare." The man said grinning "...You're part of the Faure family...I think..." I said staring at his blond hair.

"No, no, no! I'm part of the Leblanc family. Geez, how did you get us mixed up?" the man asked frowning "I haven't been in our village since I was five." I said "Eh...Did you run away from home or something?" the man asked "No, are we going to do something or do I have to force my way through?" I asked.

The man frowned, rubbing at his chin "I have two years left until my sentence ends. Mind if you spend two hours with me?" he asked "...No." I said my markings coming off my skin "Oi, oi, oi! I don't want to fight you. I'll let you through if you let me stall you for that amount of time without a fight. You look like you can use a break." The man said holding his hands up.

"...Why should I let you? I think I prefer it if you're not out of the world so quickly." I said "Come on, I'll talk to you about anything you want." He said with a smirk "How do I know you won't trick me?" I asked "If you press O we'll just talk and I won't harm you within two hours, if you press X we can fight to the death." The man said grinning.

"Is that fair?" I asked turning towards a nearby camera "It is. If he attempts to harm you in any way then his sentence shall increase tenfold." I heard "...I'll go with O then." I said already pressing the button "That's great. I can get out of here as soon as possible and you don't have to fight. The name is Alan, currently 24. I've been here for four years. My sentence was originally fifty years." Adam said sitting on the ground.

"What are you in here for?" I asked sitting across from him "Ah, I accidently killed a bunch of people and was mistaken for a member of this gang or whatever." Adam replied still grinning "...Do you know the way back to the village?" I asked "...I do." Adam replied watching me carefully "...Can you tell me how to return? I have to get my...marks under control." I said.

Adam whistled "How unfortunate, why'd you leave before they could seal most of your markings? It's dangerous to have a full body mark without keeping it in check constantly." He said "I was abandoned outside of the village before it could be sealed." I said shrugging my shoulders. Adam frowned and he opened his hand out.

I raised a brow "I need paper and a pen. Outsiders like them shouldn't know where our village is located." Adam said nodding towards the camera. I obeyed and I handed him the paper and pen. I watched him carefully draw on it out of view from the camera. He folded it up three times before handing it to me.

I stuffed it into my backpack to look at later when I'm sure I'm alone "So, who is your mother and father little girl?" Adam asked "I'm a boy." I said rested my chin on my bloody fist "No way! Then you must be hi-" Adam started but I was quick to glare at him stopping him before he could say anymore.

Adam was smart enough to know to stop "I don't care about my parents right now. I only wish to be a Hunter." I said crossing my arms "Okay, okay...Do you want me to teach you a small trick to control your marks?" Adam asked smiling "...What is it?" I asked interested.

"You weren't given proper training, but you're using your markings quite well for someone your age. This is the basic trick to manipulate your markings. Picture what you want clearly in your mind. It'll take time to get it down quickly but with enough practice you can get it. You cannot manipulate your markings without practice. The better you get at manipulating your markings, the faster you can get the image you want." Adam explained.

I lifted a hand up and I thought of a sharp blade. The markings just moved off my skin and just moved like flames. I thought about a blade again and I narrowed my eyes trying to force it to take the shape I wanted. I yelped when my own markings hit me in the face. Adam began snickering and I turned my gaze to him, a fierce glare directed towards him.

"Y-You can't just force it to take whatever shape you want! You're still a beginner." Adam said laughing wildly "What the hell do you mean?" I asked frowning "The markings are a part of yourself, you cannot force it into complex shapes without experience. I bet you thought of a sharp weapon, right?" Adam asked grinning.

I looked away, embarrassed he caught on so quickly "Thought so. At most you can only strengthen parts of your body. Maybe you can only sharpen your markings when they're not on your skin." Adam said taking my hand "Don't touch me." I said swiping at his hand with my hand and markings. Adam quickly moved his hand out the way, the floor underneath where his hand was at had a few scratch marks.

Adam ran his hand along the scratches "It's definably the latter. Here, let's practice by strengthening parts of your body. Start with your hands since it seems you use your hands more than anything else." Adam said "...Fine." I said. The two of us spent the first hour making me control my markings until I could properly strengthen my hands to the point I would be able to create a small crater in the ground without feeling any pain

The next hour was spent trying to create random shapes with my markings. I left once the two hours were up and Adam ruffled my hair "You're a good kid, Delacroix." He said "The name is Asa! See you around, I guess..." I muttered leaving him.

-End of Flashback-

"...I wonder if he is a good person or not..." I muttered thinking about Adam. Another person had arrived and I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. I'll wait for two more people before I really fall asleep. Even if I do sleep, if someone tries to harm me, my markings will immediately attack that person.

Me: Asa, you're turning into a badass

Asa: -puffs out chests- Obviously. I am a man after all

Me: I think you're too girly to be a badass but you are anyways

Asa:...that line pisses me off for some reason

Me: Shush or I'll do something bad to Jake in the next chapter. Anyways the next chapter will be around Jake and it'll be more interesting than this one, hopefully

Asa: Cat-san!

Me: This is the end of this little chat. Thanks for reading and I hope to see a review~!