10 hours left.
The moment had come.
Without discussing a sleeping arrangement, the group had naturally split into two teams. One to keep an eye on the sinister red eye whilst the other slept. The team that were formed with no trouble (and would've formed anyways) were Team 'no sleep' (aka Gon and Killua), and team 'The adults who actually enjoyed sleeping when it was night-time.'
With a gentle nudge from Killua, Kiri woke immediately. If it wasn't for this special occasion, she would probably woke up groggy and grumpy from her slumber but this time only, she was alert and ready to go. She confirmed the red eye was asleep. Quickly evaluating the current situation, Kiri noted that the boys were the only ones awake. The lights were off and the only illumination came from the blue screen of the television. Luckily, Kiri's superb night-time vision came into use. The bright-eyed Gon had already jumped over to removed the air vent. Kiri watched as he tossed the grenade down the passageway, making loud echoing bangs as it bounced its way to the end. Upon hearing this noise, Kurapika sat up immediately and was greeted with mumbled protests as he shook Leorio awake. Kiri was surprised he had managed to fall asleep in the first place, usually he would be on edge. I guess the events had really worn him out, huh, she thought.
Well aware that she had about 50 seconds left, Kiri wasted no time and ran towards to the vent. She built up speed and jumped. Mid-air, she morphed and landed square into the centre of the passage-way with accuracy and began pelting at full-speed. The passage way was made of bricks and dusty, barely even fitting Kiri in herself. It had a musty smell which tickled Kiri's nose. Being down this passageway once already, she knew it was short and she would reach the end soon. 30 seconds left. At the opposite end, the air vent grid was rusty and loose due to years of neglect. Locating the grenade and picking it up with her teeth, which had hit the exit and rolled back a bit, she added a final spurt of energy and dashed into the air vent grid. It clattered noisily upon making impact with the floor and Kiri landed gently on all fours next to it.
10 seconds left.
Without sparing another moment she pulled out the pin, and sprung a few metres away, praying for the others to have some sense to stay away from the wall and waited.
And she waited.
How long did a grenade usually take to denote? Kiri had no idea. She had never used one before.
5 seconds left.
Still, no explosion. Did she not pull the pin out properly? No, she definitely had. She felt a chill as she realised. Shit, it was a dummy. She leapt back up into the passage way but she could see the room's lights flickering back on. There was no more time. The camera must have resumed function. A sharp shrill ring of alarm bells pierced the silence. She sped back down as fast as she could but poles from the ceiling fell down, impeding her entrance.
"Kiri!" Kiri heard Leorio's shout and hissed angrily. She was blocked.
The phase three leader, amused by his entertainment, linked his fingers together and rested his head on top.
"Now, then, what will you do, little kitten?"
"Kiri! Take this pickaxe and hack at it from the outside!"
"Idiot Leorio, how are you going to fit the pickaxe through the gaps of those bars?"
"I don't know but we must do something! I don't hear you thinking of a better idea!"
Kiri could hear Killua and Leorio squabbling.
"I don't hear you using your brain."
"Are you picking a fight with me?"
"I don't think you can do much fighting either so that wouldn't end well."
"You little -"
Kurapika broke them up. "Stop!" He gave them both a warning look before stepping back. "Let's rethink our options."
"Right now, we are barred in our room. Only Kiri is outside. We don't know what the examiners have planned for us but they haven't started anything, at least, not yet." He examined the metal bars had secured them around the whole perimeter of the room, rendering them prisoners. Well, they were prisoners before but now it seemed more like a leave-them-to-die-in-cell sentence rather than a temporary punishment. "Kiri, is there anything you can do outside?"
Kiri shook her head and mewed in response. "The grenade was a fake."
"Why couldn't we just use the grenade in here?"asked Gon.
"Dummy, do you want to blow us all up?" Said Killua.
"It's like we are real prisoners now," howled Leorio, clutching the bars. "I don't want to die here!"
"I have an idea."
Only Kurapika and Killua could understand what she was saying so they translated.
"Give me another grenade. If I hold it through the bars in this vent and you guys stand at the opposite end of the room, I don't think the impact will be as large." She knocked the passage way walls. "These are made of bricks like the outside walls and are weak and old, it would be easily broken down. A hole big enough can be made to let you guys crawl out."
"Are you stupid Kiri, you want to sacrifice yourself for this?" Shouted the enraged Leorio.
"Kiri, we can still think of another plan," said Kurapika. "There is no need for that."
"Don't worry about me, I can take it. I won't die."
Leorio started to protest, "you think you can survive a grenade, do you really think you are a cat with nine lives?! ARE YOU STU-"
"I don't want you using that ability, Kiri."
Everyone turned to look at Killua who now had a grave look on his face.
"What do you mean, Killua?" Said Gon, looking worried now.
Killua looked away, his fists clenched.
"I'll be okay," reassured Kiri.
"I said I don't want you to use it."
"What's going on?"
Killua looked at Kurapika and made a 'che' noise. "Kiri has this...strange ability."
"As I explained before, Kiri is artifically made. She is a real human. A princess from some small island who Illumi stole from the cot soon after birth. But there is more to it. To be honest, Illumi thought this idea was foolish right from the start. He didn't want Mother to go ahead with it. All the abductions that she sent him on, he had actually secretly assassinated them instead. That was his primary reason for agreeing to do the abductions." Kurapika inhaled softly. "When he went to this island, Kiri was meant to be the 23rd target. He was going to kill her anyways but just as he tried to...He couldn't do it.'
"What do you mean? As in he was soft-hearted?" Questioned Gon.
"Hah, no. Illumi is never soft-hearted. He went in for the kill but physically couldn't do it. There was almost like...an obstruction. From Illumi's description there was a soft blue light that emitted from her when he tried to kill her, it made him weak temporarily but he could do nothing about it. It was like she was protected by this light. Even after the light had faded he found himself physically not able to attack her." Killua paused to shake his head. "We don't understand this phenomenon at all. When Kiri was a few years old, Mother really doted on her. So much that Milluki tried to kill her for taking all the attention. The same thing happened but apparently this time the light was a bit brighter. Milluki was in a coma for weeks and even now he's scared of Kiri. The third time it happened was Mother. This wasn't too long ago. They thought...She was hindering my growth. They wanted to get rid of her. So Mother tried to personally kill her. She couldn't do it either. We call this the First, Second and Third Incident."
"Is it like...A skill that you activate?" Said Kurapika, directing his question to the feline.
Kiri shook her head again. "No, it just happens of its own accord. I can't do anything about it. It's like it's preventing me from dying until the time is right."
"Or it is just a ticking time bomb," said Killua through gritted teeth.
"Just let me do this," urged Kiri. "I will be fine, trust me. This ability...Somehow, I can feel its aura around me."
"No."
"The girl even says so herself that she will be fine!" Said Leorio, throwing his hands up in the air. "Let her help!"
"Shut up idiot Leorio, what would you know about being a brother?!" Killua shot him a glare. "Do you want me to kill you here right now?"
A dangerous aura was starting to emit from Killua. The atmosphere was turning dark.
"Guys! This is what they want! They want us to argue!" Said the distressed Gon, stepping in between them. "I don't want anything to happen to Kiri, as much as you don't, Killua. But...Something also tells me it's dodgy but...Also that I believe she will be fine." He looked at Killua straight in the eye. Killua could see the seriousness in it. "Let's trust her on this one, okay?"
Killua held the look for a few more seconds before slumping his shoulders. Wordlessly he strided over to the weaponry and picked up another grenade. Tossing it in his hand to test the weight, he muttered 'this is authenic' and threw it to Kiri who caught it through the bars in her mouth. The rest of the group exchanged looks and took their place at the far end of the room.
When everyone was ready, Kiri nodded. Holding the body of the grenade in her mouth, she used her front paws to pull out the pin. She closed her eyes and counted. 3...2...1...
She couldn't hear the explosion. She couldn't see anything but blue. But she knew it was happening.
"Leader, they're escaping!"
He watched the screen as he saw the now smouldering brick wall crumbling, as the applicants climbed out.
His pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Prepare for the traps."
The black and silver haired boys high-fived each other. Killua turned to Kiri. "Did it...?"
Kiri, now back in her other form, grinned and gave everyone a thumbs up. "Yea. Don't worry about me! It saved me, I told you it would work."
Killua grimaced. "That's the fourth time."
Kurapika approached Kiri and picked a piece of rock away that had lodged itself in her hair and asked a "You sure you okay?" To which Kiri smiled reassuringly.
"And now we have more time to complete the tower!" cheered Gon, punching the air. "Let's go!"
"Thanks Kiri, you really saved our bacon," said Leorio gratefully, brushing debris from his suit. "With all this ruckus though, won't they have something special to punish us with. I mean, I had a feeling they wanted us to lock us up in there for life for trying to cheat the system in the first place."
An overhead speaker crackled as it came to life.
"Yes, you are right."
Everyone looked up.
"Uh-oh," voiced Gon and Leorio simultaneously.
"I was just joking about that, you don't have to you know -"started Leorio.
"For completely defying my orders for staying in the allocated area until your time has been completed, we have prepared something nice for you."
Kiri stole a glance at Kurapika who in comparison with Leorio, looked as calm and composed as ever.
The speaker continued, "Please enjoy."
A low rumbling began to sound as the floor began shaking.
"E-E-Earthquake?" said the now panicking Leorio.
Kurapika glanced below him. "It's coming from below."
At that moment, a crack formed on the ground, right between Gon's legs.
"Woah!" Gon exclaimed, as he sprung to one side of the crack, bumping into Killua who in turn, almost bumped into Leorio. The crack widened at an alarming rate leaving Kurapika and Kiri to be the only ones on the other side. Within a split second, the ground below Kiri and Kurapika's feet gave away and they found themselves falling through mid-air.
"Kurapika! Kiri!" shouted Gon. He fell to his knees and peered down the gaping hole where his friends had stood only one second ago.
"I think we should worry about ourselves first," Killua commented, pointing up above them.
Gon looked up to see a flock of what looked like, carnivorous birds of prey zooming down on them.
"Uh-oh."
Kiri landed with a loud splash into the water. She recovered from the surprise and pushed herself up to the surface for breath.
"Kurapika?"
In response, she saw the blonde soaked Kurta emerged from the water next to her.
"It seems like we're in a well," he spectulated, brushing of his hair away from his eyes. Kiri watched as he dived back down under the water. Looking ahead, it seemed like they have fallen quite a way down. The walls were lined with slime and seemed impossible to climb. The opening from which they fell through was so far it seemed like the size of a penny.
Kurapika broke the surface of the water again. "There's a small passageway near the bottom, alongside the side," he explained. "There seems to be light at the other end. I'm not sure how far it stretches for, do you think you can make it?"
Not wanting to mention that swimming was her weak point, Kiri nodded in response.
"The passageway is quite small. I'll go ahead whilst you stay behind me," Kurapika said. "We'll get out of here soon," he added with a small smile, before diving underneath again.
Quite frankly, Kiri had had enough of passageways and narrow spaces but she followed suit and plunged after him. There was little light and Kiri could barely make out the outline of Kurapika swimming ahead. Was he trying to comfort me? Kiri thought to herself. He was being extra nice. She shook her head. Get a grip Kiri! And concentration on not drowning!
She followed the older boy into the passage way. He was right, it was tight. She only just about had enough room to breaststroke through. Luckily I don't have claustrophobia, she thought.
Kurapika swam easily. For him, swimming was not a problem. He quickly glanced back and checked Kiri was following him before continuing. We're split up from Gon and them, he thought. I hope they're okay. The fact that they didn't hear voices calling down to them from above, and the others did not jump down as well, confirmed to Kurapika that Gon and the rest of the crew may be in a spot of trouble themselves.
Let's just concentrate on one problem at a time, he thought. He was rapidly approaching the square of light. With one final powerful stroke, he broke through to the other side. He kicked off the wall of the opening to push himself to the surface. Kurapika gasped and took in a huge breath. It almost tasted sweet. He had almost reached his limit and his head felt slightly light.
Expecting Kiri to pop up any moment, Kurapika waited. When a few seconds had passed and she still hadn't, Kurapika's face whitened.
Kiri's chest tightened. She was reaching her limit. In normal circumstances, she could hold her breath for a reasonable amount of time but alongside swimming, which she was not very good at anyways, her lung capacity was reduced. She could see the exit drawing nearer but the distance between her and Kurapika was widening with every stroke. Just….a little bit more, she encouraged herself. A few air bubbles escaped from her mouth unintentionally. She watched as Kurapika reached the end and disappeared from sight. With her last ounce of strength, she reached the mouth of the exit. Clutching on the side of the exit, she tried to pull herself out but her vision was blackening. Stars started to dance in front of her eyes. I can't…her grip loosened and she felt herself sinking. Struggling to keep conscious, she let herself fall. Just before her eyes completely closed, in the distance she made out an approaching figure. The figure looked almost celestial-like. His hair light-coloured and flowing in the water creating an almost halo-like imagery.
Kurapika….
Kiri blacked out.
Kurapika laid Kiri gently on the floor. He shook her shoulders. No response. He placed an ear over her chest to check for breathing. None. He checked her pulse. None. He had not anticipated for this. Placing his right hand over his left and interlocking the fingers, he pressed down on her chest quickly in evenly spaced intervals. "Come back to me Kiri…"he whispered to himself.
He placed his head on her chest again. No breathing.
He would have to perform CPR. This may be the only way to save her.
Without a moment's hesitation, he inhaled deeply, pinched the top her nose closed and leaned in. He repeated this step, knotted his fingers together and began pressing down hard on her chest in an attempt to restart her heart.
C'mon Kiri...C'mon on!
It was a futile effort, Kiri didn't stir at all. Kurapika gave up the procedure and began thumping down hard with his fist. "You. Can't. Die. Here!" With each word he brought his fist down a little harder.
At first Kurapika thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he squinted and sure enough, he saw a blue light. It was in her chest, or rather, it was emitting from her chest. A soft, blue glow. Killua had described it as a weak light but Kurapika disagreed. It was a rather obvious glow. Or had it just been getting brighter? Whatever it was, it began to pulsate and then momentarily flashed, blinding Kurapika for a brief second.
"Mmmrh...Nnngh!"
Her ability was real, Kurapika had now confirmed it with his own eyes. Kiri had been revived.