I know you already know this but then again, Hunter X Hunter is not mine. This wonderful anime story is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi
CHAPTER 13: Candles, Frankenstein, and Spiders
"Are you sure?" Leorio asked in a worry. His hands placed on his hips.
Another prisoner came forward and removed his cloak. It was a petite man with shoulder-length brown hair that hid one of his eyes.
"It's okay," Gon replied earnestly. "The next one doesn't seem mean."
Sam sighed at the naïve answer. He completely forgot the next opponent was still a criminal.
Kurapika's sweat dropped. "Well, he's still a child…" He muttered.
"Don't worry," Gon said, dismissing them. "He doesn't seem the fighting type." He went across the bridge and to the center, greeting his enemy eagerly.
It was pretty obvious though. The man was really thin. The bones were almost visible through the skin. He looked frail, like the type that'll easily be picked for bullying. It's like one light push is enough for him to drop down.
What crime did he commit?
"I'm Sedokan," the guy said. "As you can see, I'm not a fighter; running, combats… not my thing at all."
Gon just gave a nod. "I prefer the opposite," he replied sheepishly. "I'm not good with mind games."
"I thought so." Gon's opponent said. "So, I prepared an extremely simple game." He pulled two candles from behind his back. "Both of us will light a candle at the same time. The one whose light goes out first loses. Agree?"
There's a trick to this match. Like hell it would be that easy- especially coming from people who were imprisoned for heinous crimes. The prisoners looked eager to win as much as the team did.
Why, though?
Is it because the Exam committee asked them to? Or there's a motivating factor in exchange for defeating them?
"Yeah, that's easy!" Gon said in a relieved tone, obviously choosing to believe that his opponent was being virtuous. "That's okay for me!"
"Okay," the criminal replied, holding out two candles in plain sight. He exposed the bottom half of the candles, showing the other was short and the other was longer. "Which candle will you choose? O if you want the long one, X for the short."
"The long one is trapped for sure!" Leorio exclaimed.
Kurapika seemed more cautious. "Yes, it would be logical to think this." He said slowly. "but precisely because of this, it wouldn't be surprising if the short one is the trap."
"It's logical and psychological. Sedokan obviously planted something. There are possibilities. Thinking over it would be endless." Sam notified the group.
In the center of the arena, the criminal took a seat. "Don't rush with your decision," He advised.
"He's wasting our time!" Leorio growled, tapping his foot impatiently. "We should choose immediately."
"We can't possibly guess which candle has been tampered with," Killua informed. "Neither of the choices is obviously right or wrong."
"Exactly." Sam agreed.
"Wow, you got a dilemma over there." Tonpa made a side remark as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and was completely enjoying how things turned out.
"Shut your mouth!" Leorio snapped at him. The fat man just smirked in return.
"Hey, which one should I choose?" Gon queried his teammates.
Kurapika seemed to have an idea. "Gon you decide! We'll abide by your decision. Choose the one you think is best."
Sam wasn't pleasantly receptive to the idea, but it's not like they can generate a better solution. The team should come up with a decision already. It was best to simply let a single person decide, rather than have several people argue over the possibilities.
And who knows, Gon might be able to sniff out something since he's like a dog like nose.
"Are you sure? He never thinks anything through." Killua reminded them.
"Instead of wasting time fretting over what to do, let's rely on Gon's instincts," Kurapika answered.
The black-haired boy turned back to his opponent; smile still pasted on his lips. "Okay! Then I choose the longer one!" Was his immediate decision, while his friends were anticipating for a good reason for this.
'Did he sniff out something or what? Or find any difference with the composition of the candles?'
"Because a longer candle will burn a longer time." He said cheerfully.
There was a slight pause as everyone in the room digested Gon's words.
Sam ran a hand through her face. "Oh great..." She moaned. He wasn't thinking of the possibility of it being a trap.
Instincts, huh? Maybe it will be the first time Gon's instincts fail them.
"Er, he's just taking it a face value?" Leorio asked incredulously.
"I knew he wouldn't think this through." Killua just muttered, his hands on the back of his neck- with a face saying he already predicted this.
"Well, it's impossible to know which is which anyway," Kurapika said firmly.
They all voted for the long one.
Sedokan threw the long candle to Gon after their votes were displayed on the screen. They both walked to the edge of the platform where the torches were blazing with fire and lit the candles at the same time.
"In case nothing funny happens, waiting for the wax to all melt down might take long. You know, that right?" Sam stated.
"True. How long does it take before it goes out?" Leorio asked.
"Normally, it would take 5-6 hours," Kurapika answered.
From the bottom of the pit, a strong breeze finds its way up to the fighting area. If they're not careful enough, their candles will go out.
Gon stood, concentrating on his candle.
Everything was just running along smoothly until Gon's flame suddenly got big, engulfing the candle wax melt so fast.
Gon's chances are slowly going down a slope. His candle became so short that he could barely hold it because of the bright flame.
"I knew something was strange," Sam uttered anxiously.
At this point, they'll lose.
"He must have hidden gunpowder or some other highly flammable substance inside, to make the candle burn faster," Kurapika said.
"At this rate, his candle will only last another two or three minutes." Killua pointed out.
"He should've picked the short candle!" Leorio said, starting to panic.
Sam shook her head. "I doubt it. He could've tampered with both and he had a spare of both that he could discreetly switch. Choosing the long candle is a better pick."
Kurapika nodded. "She's right. No matter what Gon chooses, the results will probably be the same."
Just as everyone thought it might be over in a few minutes, Gon looked at the candle before his face illuminating a big triumphant smile to his enemy. "If the fire is stronger," He then placed the candle carefully on the floor. "then a little breeze won't extinguish it." The boy bolted a run towards the prisoner and blew out his candle, which caught him by surprise. "I win!" Gon declared happily
Gon moved fast. He took advantage of the situation he was in. "Oh, Gon won?" Sam asked. She smiled. "Nice one, Gon!"
"Good job Gon! Once Kurapika, Sam, and I win, we can advance!" Leorio said.
'Er, how about Killua?'
Sam flinched at that statement. Out of all of them, Killua had a bigger chance of earning them a point.
'Lucky for us we had him on our side.'
"So, who's next?" Leorio asked.
This queued Kurapika to step forward, "I'll go next."
His opponent's name was Majitani, given a 108-year sentence due to multiple crimes including fraud and blackmailing. He took off his cloak.
He made an all-out cry, followed by a strange evil laugh. "I'm next!"
"What a freaky body…" Leorio trailed off, eyes wide."
"And face…" Killua added.
"Can somebody describe it to me?" Sam asked.
Leorio described a muscular body with a strange blue skin tone. His face looked distorted like he underwent a cheap plastic surgery. His left eye has no eyelids and is open. His right eye is narrowed and circled with the color purple- or black eyes… He has a stitch in his face, is noseless, and only has six teeth. Nineteen tattooed hearts are drawn on his chest.
"Really? Damn… I could imagine an ugly version of Frankenstein."
Leorio and Killua looked at her weirdly.
"Frankenstein was never good-looking to begin with," Leorio said, looking at her like she had gone mad.
"I know. What I meant is he's uglier than Frankenstein." She said a matter of factly.
"Well, they both have a closer appearance," Killua stated. "You might be right."
"Look here!" The blue man pointed to his left chest, where his tattoos were located. "I've killed nineteen people, but it bugs me that nineteen is such an uneven number." He grinned. "I'm so glad I've gotten to meet number 20."
They can't see Kurapika's reaction. He stood still and his body didn't even look stiff. His posture looks calm.
"Now we have a serial killer." Leorio grimaced.
"I insist that we put our lives on the line. I won't accept some half-assessed contest." Majitani notified. "Blood! Entrails! Agony!" He laughed like a madman.
"Very well. You can decide how we settle this contest. I'll agree to your choice." Kurapika coolly said. He removed his outer clothing and set it aside.
"In that case, I also propose a death match. However, don't expect me to stop when you surrender and beg for your life!" And he went on laughing again with his own statement.
And this blue guy… He's trying so hard to look frightening. Laughing like some evil overlord maniac which doesn't give him the appeal at all.
"Very well. I accept." Kurapika still looked unfazed. He removed his tabard and threw it to the side.
Because of the blonde's response, his laugh paused, looking bewildered at how cool-headed his opponent was.
'That was awkward. He got actually snobbed. Seen zoned. No effect. Nada. Zero.'
"Okay." He took out his bokken swords under his shirt and tossed them near his tribal clothes. "Now, can we start?"
"Is Kurapika gonna be okay? This guy looks dangerous." Leorio worriedly asked.
"You don't need to worry," Gon said getting everyone's attention. "Because when I look at him, I don't get chills."
The blue freak jumped to attack Kurapika. Majitani let out a battle cry as he lifted his arm to aim a heavy punch. As his fist collided with the floor, the cemented floor was destroyed. The blonde jumped backward.
As soon as Kurapika raised his head, the man's bare back faced him. A spider tattoo with twelve legs printed on his bare back.
"Can anybody tell me what's happening?" Sam demanded. All she heard was someone's bones cracking against the shattered floor.
"A tattoo of a spider with twelve legs…" Leorio trailed surprise in his face. "That's…"
"Yeah, I recognize it. Anyone aspiring to become a Hunter has heard of it. That's the symbol worn by members of that notorious band of evil thieves, the Phantom Troupe!" For once, Tonpa is with Leorio. His fat face paled and alarmed.
"Really?" Gon asked.
"Yeah, they're famous. I heard about them straight from Kurapika." Leorio answered.
"What? I thought they were hard to catch. How did a member of such a group end up here?" Sam asked cautiously.
"That's what I want to know as well."
Sam is concerned about Kurapika. He must've been so shocked seeing one of his clan's killers. Heck, he might be the one killed his mom or a close friend. Who knows?
Kurapika remained still in his position- on his one knee and face shadowed with his blonde locks. Until he pushed himself to stand up slowly.
He chuckled. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" He taunted. "I'm Majitani, one of the Phantom Troupe's four kings! Considerer that first strike my way of saying hello. This is your last chance to surrender. I'm still willing to…"
In an instant, the air around Kurapika changed. There's malice and deep hatred. An aura that's ready to kill.
Sam got chills. Like there's a beast nearby.
She sensed Kurapika differently. She could feel his sudden rage.
Just then, Kurapika instantly disappeared from Majitani's sight…