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 17: Waiting Game Part Two

"Hey, guys, let's play a game," Gon suggested, abruptly capturing their attention.

Loerio grumbled. "Urgh, seriously? What more could we play?"

"This will be fun, I promise. And it will be the last," Gon pleaded.

Intrigued by the idea, Sam turned her head in Gon's direction. "What game?"

Gon's eyes sparkled with mischief. "How about a game where Sam tries to guess our appearances?"

Sam's face lit up with a smile. "Oooh, that sounds like fun! I'm in!"

Leorio considered for a moment. "That does sound like fun. Alright."

"Alright, Sam, here's how the game works," Gon explained. "You have to guess what each of us looks like just by asking questions."

Sam nodded enthusiastically; her excitement palpable. "Got it! I'm ready."

Gon gestured for Samara to begin.

"Okay, Gon," she began, eyes twinkling mischievously. "I bet you got blonde hair and freckles, like a little sun-kissed surfer boy."

Leorio and Kurapika exchanged amused glances, trying to stifle their laughter. But before they could say anything, a voice piped up from behind them.

"Blonde hair and freckles? Seriously?" Gon chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong if you tried!"

Sam blushed. "Well, it was just a guess," she mumbled, trying to save face.

Next, Sam turned her attention to Kurapika. "Hmm, I picture him with black hair, maybe wearing glasses," she pondered aloud.

Leorio burst into raucous laughter, unable to contain himself. Killua and Gon joined in, their chuckles echoing through the quiet room. Kurapika's eyes flashed with annoyance at Leorio's antics, but he remained silent, not wanting to encourage the teasing.

Now it was Killua's turn. Sam squinted at him, imagining vibrant red hair spiked in all directions. "There! That's how I imagine him!" she declared triumphantly.

Gon and Leorio erupted into boisterous laughter, unable to contain their amusement. Killua scowled, clearly not pleased with Sam's portrayal of him. "Red hair, seriously? Do I look like a firetruck to you?" he grumbled, crossing his arms.

Finally, Sam turned to Leorio, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'm thinking tall, with a face that looks like it's seen its fair share of life. Oh, and curly frizzy hair, topped off with some stylish shades," she teased.

Gon, Killua, and Kurapika burst into laughter, struggling to contain their amusement at Sam's vivid imagination. But Leorio's expression darkened, his annoyance bubbling to the surface. "Hey, watch it!" he snapped, his frustration evident in his voice. "You were right about the shades, but to tell you the truth, I don't look that old!"

Sam grinned sheepishly, realizing she might have pushed her luck a little too far. "Oops, sorry," she apologized.

"I don't get it. How can you imagine what things look like if you're blind? Blind people can't see, so they wouldn't know what objects look like," Tonpa chimed in, feeling like he could join the conversation.

Almost forgetting about the nosy member among them, the group replied together, "Because she hasn't been blind since birth," with Gon wearing his usual friendly smile while Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua regarded him with disinterest.

Realizing their response, the boys exchanged glances.

"You think so too?" Gon asked.

Leorio nodded. "When you described our appearances, it seemed like you had seen them before, which shouldn't be possible if you've been blind since birth."

Kurapika chimed in, "I realized it after playing the blindfold chess earlier, and the guessing game confirmed everything."

Sam burst into laughter. "Haha, you guys are right!"

"By the way, what caused it?" Killua suddenly asked.

Sam could hear Gon whispering Killua's name, as if he wanted to change the subject.

Sharing a bit of information couldn't hurt, right?

"Let's just say…" she began. "I got myself involved in something I shouldn't have and ended up making a big mistake. I was hit by a shovel. I even have a scar. Want to see?"

There was an uncomfortable silence after she spoke. She chuckled. "You guys got all serious all of a sudden."

"Is it okay if you tell us?" Gon asked, showing concern.

"It's fine," she replied, considering it was just a brief story. She started picking up the chess pieces and placing them back in the board to tidy up.

Not satisfied, Leorio decided to speak up next. "Wait, that's it? You're not going to tell us more?" He complained, echoing the sentiment of the other three who were expecting a bit more detail.

Sam looked tiredly at him. "Hey, I have a private life too, you know. Do you want me to describe in detail how the shovel was wielded before it hit my head and left me blind?"

"No, Sam. We understand if you don't want to share more, right guys?" Gon asked the three, particularly Leorio.

The remaining three agreed, knowing Sam to be a bit secretive about her past, but they hoped she would eventually open more.

With nothing else to do, the team turned off the lights and decided to get some sleep, assuming it was night.

17 hours remaining.

After waking up, everyone went about their activities. Gon and Killua continued their pillow fight with their recruit Sam, while Leorio and Tonpa engaged in a competition to see who could wake up first, complete with the added challenge of exposing their own stinking feet near their respective heads.

With 12 hours remaining, the team decided to have a workout session (without Tonpa). Gon and Killua did push-ups with their bodies upside down, Sam extended her legs against the wall and stretched, and Leorio and Kurapika opted for squats.

As time ticked down to 8 hours remaining, food was served in the room. Unsure if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, all they knew was they were hungry. Gon and Killua, in their mischievous ways, decided to play with their food by stealing each other's share. Then, they conspired to steal Sam's food, successfully doing so, only to regret it when they took a bite and felt the intense spiciness burn their tongues and lips. Sam loved spicy food, another item added to the list of 'things about Sam'.

"Aack! It's so spicy!" Killua cried out, his tongue sticking out as he reached for the water container and gulped it down.

"My lips are burning!" Water welled up in Gon's eyes as he ended up fanning his lips with his hand.

Sam calmly took another bite as if nothing had happened. "What? Was it spicy? Well, maybe next time, try not to mess with my food before it messes with you."

With 6 hours left, Kurapika buried his face once again in books, adding more piles in front of him, until Sam requested to play chess with him, which was the only thing that could pull him away. They suspected he was planning to finish the entire shelf before leaving the place.

And guess what? Kurapika won again.

With only 3 hours left, the four decided to play the King's Order game. Since there were no cards available, they improvised by cutting five pieces of paper and scribbling down 'subjects 1-4' and the 'mark of the king'. Killua and Leorio often picked the King, resulting in Gon and Sam having to do funny tasks. Kurapika occasionally won but only dared the loser to do simple tasks, which Killua and Leorio found boring. It turned out they discovered that Sam sucked at the game, not because she was blind, but because she naturally wasn't good at it.

With just 1 minute remaining, they readied their things and stood anxiously in front of the door that connected to the other side where they would resume their main goal of reaching the bottom of the tower.

"Only one more minute," Kurapika started.

"This minute feels like an eternity," Leorio muttered, sweat forming on his temples as he watched the timer anxiously.

Sam smiled. "Well, when you're expecting something, time really slows down."

The door made a buzzing sound, and the red light turned green, indicating it was finally unlocked. The metal door opened. It might not have been the gentle breeze of nature, but it was better than the stagnant air inside the room.

Gon eagerly bolted out of the room, followed by his team.

The tower's obstacles had their way of thwarting their hopes. The team was panting, each catching their breath as they reached where their marathon had ended. Thirty minutes of running (just after they left the room) and they found themselves back where they had fought with the prisoners. Not only had they wasted their time, but all the energy they had built up for enduring 50 hours (about 2 days) was depleted. And it had only been running for thirty minutes!

They went the other way, and their majority vote became more frantic. As soon as the door revealed the other side, a swirling breeze welcomed the candidates.

"Why is it so dark?" Gon wondered, a question that echoed in the minds of the rest of his team.

On cue, the lights flickered to life, illuminating the entire cavern. Before them lay a vast chasm, with a railway stretching out and a wagon cart parked on it. A wooden board beside the wagon bore a message.

"What does it say?" Gon asked eagerly.

"It says, 'Feel the joy of the roller coaster ride. Press O to board the wagon or X to decline the ride,'" Kurapika read aloud.

Excitement flashed through Gon's eyes. "This looks like fun!"

"No. It. Is. NOT!" Samara strongly objected. "If I had known the warden placed trials like this, I would have preferred to contaminate this place with puke rather than accept the medicine! And please tell me if it has seat belts? It must have one, right?" Sam exclaimed, growing increasingly hysterical.

"Nope."

"Of course it doesn't have one."

"Don't worry, Sam. The cart looks safe!" Gon insisted.

"Come on, we're wasting more time here," Killua complained.

After a moment's thought, Kurapika spoke up. "I have a plan, but there may be consequences."

Their eyes locked for a second, then they spared Samara a side glance, reaching a silent understanding.

Without hesitation, Killua gave Tonpa a silent warning, making him nervously gulp. He felt satisfied as the fat man nodded, glad he was catching on.

After a few seconds, all five of them pressed the O button.

"What are you—hey!" Leorio suddenly grabbed the girl, while Gon and Kurapika locked her arms and legs to prevent her from kicking or punching. "Let me go!" Killua reached for Samara's wrist and pressed the O button on her watch without her consent. "Damn you! This is completely against my rights!"

As the nearest, Leorio bore the brunt of her blows. "Ouch! Gon, Kurapika! Hold her still!" Leorio demanded.

"Is this really necessary?! There are five of you against me!" Samara protested, struggling like a cornered animal.

"Yeah, but are you going to join the ride willingly?" Leorio asked.

"No!"

"Then this is necessary!" Leorio climbed into the cart still carrying Sam. The wagon shook a little due to Sam's protests.

"Sam, if you keep moving like that, the wooden columns supporting the railway will collapse, and we'll all fall. You don't want to fall twenty feet from above, right?" Kurapika warned, exploiting her weakness to scare her into compliance.

Finally realizing she was already settled inside the wagon, Samara stilled, clinging to the sideboard for dear life, not caring which of them she was holding onto.

With everyone settled, the wagon cart began to slowly move forward. Like any other coaster ride, it had tight turns, steep slopes, and of course, inversions.

"WOOOOOOOOH!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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