Leorio has volunteered for the fourth round. If he wins, the group's victory is assured. But can he win?
"Okay! I'll finish up the job," Leorio says confidently.
"You should just surrender and leave the wins to the rest of us," I mock him.
"Are you kidding?! You already lost, and if I lose then that only leaves him." He points at Killua.
I bite my tongue, and cross my arms. "I told you already, I'd rather leave my chances with him then you." I walk away to go sit down next to Kurapika. Would now be a bad time to ask him about it?
Leorio glares at me and calls out to the prisoners, "Toss that guy out, and send in your next competitor!"
"We can't do that," one of them calls back. It sounds like a woman's voice. "We can't move him yet, because his match hasn't been settled." She claims that Majitani is still alive, he's just been knocked unconscious, therefore leaving Kurapika's match with him unsettled on the grounds that it was a death match and the guy never actually surrendered. That damn surrender thing... it's so annoying.
"Tak... damned technicalities!" Leorio is obviously aggravated as well. "Hey Kurapika! Go finish off that worthless trash," he advocates.
"I refuse," Kurapika replies placidly.
"Huh? Why?!" Leorio stamps his foot at him in disbelief.
"The fight is over. He'd already lost his will to fight when I punched him. I will not fight someone who's lost."
"Screw that!" Leorio yells. "Then what do we do? They're claiming that the match hasn't ended!"
"Let him handle it. Once he wakes up, we'll have our answer."
"Hey, now... we only have so much time left. We can't afford to just sit and wait!"
"I have no intention of killing him!" Kurapika says firmly.
"Come on!"
"Hey..." Killua interrupts the arguing. "If you don't want to dirty your hands, I'll do it. You haven't ever killed anyone before, right? Are you scared?"
"I have never considered weather murder is frightening." Kurapika answers with his eyes closed. "But this is a one-on-one battle. You aren't permitted to interfere."
Leorio continues to complain. "Don't you understand you're screwing up our chances?"
"I'm sorry, but I won't change my mind." His voice remains resolute.
"You stubborn fool... fine! A majority decision..." Leorio decides. "O to kill him, and X to leave him alive. Ready and..." *Presses a button on his watch* Nothing comes up on the screen. "Why isn't it working?!"
"Maybe it's because we're asking the question?" Gon guesses.
"The watches only work for questions presented by the examiners," confirms Killua.
"I see... okay! Then we'll use a show of hands! Those who agree that he should be finished off... now!" Leorio is the only one to raise his hand.
"Just give it a rest and leave him alone already," I say glancing at Kurapika who still hasn't opened his eyes.
"Damn it! Fine! Do whatever you want!" Leorio goes off in the corner to sulk.
"Let's just leave him be," Killua goes to sit by the edge with his feet hanging over and Gon sits down beside him.
"Umm... Kurapika..." I ask unsure if he'd be willing to talk about it. He peeks open one eye to look at me. "What was that about before? I mean what's the deal with the Phantom Troupe? And... why did your eyes turn scarlet?" I take a seat next to him.
He sighs. "We Kurta are known for our unique scarlet eyes. When our emotions are heightened, our eyes turn scarlet, as though on fire." Kurta... so there are a lot of others like us then? "The eyes in that scarlet state are considered one of the seven most beautiful colors in the world. They command high prices on the black market."
"The black market? Does that have something to do with the Phantom Troupe?"
"Five years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals, the Phantom Troupe. They slaughtered them and took every single eye from my brethren's corpses."
"T-They're all dead?!" I ask completely taken aback. Killua and Gon turn to look at us. Kurapika clenches his fist and his eyes flash their red color. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"I will capture the Phantom Troupe and reclaim the eyes of my clan." I can sense the conviction in his voice. It's rather amazing the resolve he carries with him.
"I-is the Kurta Clan... are they the only people with the scarlet eyes?"
"Yes it's what we're known for." How do I tell him about me now? I can't actually be from his clan, can I? Five years ago I was still with Mito-san. There's no way. Kurapika looks off in the distance. "We reject no one, so take nothing from us," he says quietly.
"Humm... what's that?" I ask puzzled.
"It's the message they left behind after the massacre."
"We reject no one, so take nothing from us," I repeat his words. "Reject others maybe not, but they sure will take everything from someone else." I lean my head back and let out a sigh. "So you're absolutely sure you're the only one? No one else survived?"
His eyes grew distant with memories from the past. "I wasn't there when it happened. It's what I came back to... everyone I had ever known... everyone I had loved... they're all dead."
I lay my head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I won't ask about it anymore," I whisper softly. Now's not the time.
~~~~~
"Is something wrong, Gon?" Killua asks him.
"Uh-huh." He points at the unconscious blue figure lying on the ground.
"I get it..." Killua walks over to a resting Leorio. "Hey... "
"Huh?" He looks up at him.
"It's been several hours, and he hasn't moved an inch."
Leorio gets up to see if he can make anything out from the unmoving body. "Damn... it's too far away for us to tell." He yells across the platform, "Hey! We want to check his body!"
"What's that?" The woman's voice calls back.
"He could already be dead."
She's unmoved. "I already told you, he's only unconscious."
"How many hours has it been? I can't just take your word for it!"
"Then let's make a bet," she sounds amused.
"A bet? On what?"
"On whether he's dead or alive." The woman challenges Leorio to play a gambling game, betting with time. They each start out with 50 hours, only betting in 10 hour increments. Leroute, 112-year sentence, endangered species trafficking and illegal gambling.
Leorio accepts betting 10 hours that Majitani is alive. He walks over to the body to check the blue guy's pulse and he wins the wager. For the next bet Leroute gambles 20 hours stating that Majitani is definitely unconscious. To settle the matter Leorio brings Majitani to the edge and threatens to throw him off. I wonder where he got that idea from. The female prisoner then changes her bet to 40 hours saying that Majitani is actually conscious. Majitani finally moves, scrabbling to avoid falling off the arena, thus surrendering and giving Kurapika the win. This puts us in a 2-1 lead. But we are left with only 20 hours to gamble.
"Now... it's your turn! What do you want to bet on?" Leorio asks Leroute.
"Very well." The woman removes her hood. She's not bad looking... not like the last guy anyway. She has pink hair and pink eyes to match.
"That old guy's probably dancing on the inside," Killua says flatly.
"I have a bad felling about this..." Kurapika anticipates.
Leroute announces, "Then let's bet on whether I'm a man or a woman."
"Huh?" Leorio looks confused.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" She asks innocently.
"No." Leorio thinks for a while before replying. "That's fine, but how will you prove if I'm wrong?"
"Oh, right... I'll let you examine every part of my body, until you're fully satisfied," she says in a rather charming manor.
"Seriously?" He looks a little too happy. I'm pretty sure he's drooling. That pervert.
"Leorio, if you bet that she's a man I will pulverize you!" I yell angrily at him. I don't think he's actually heard a word I said.
"Leorio will bet she's a man," Kurapika states matter-of-factly.
"Yup," agrees Killua.
Gon's confused, "Huh, why?"
"Because he's a pervert," I answer bitterly.
"Okay, I've decided. I bet ten hours that you're a man!" Leorio says knowing full well he's going to get it wrong.
"I knew it," Kurapika face palms.
Killua's pissed. "Dirty old man..."
"But how did you know?" questions Gon.
Killua leans in to whisper in his ear. After a few moments pass he says, "There you have it."
Gon comes to a realization, "Oh, I get it now."
I wonder how Killua explained that. "Damn it Leorio, Gon's too innocent for this! You're going to corrupt my brother!" I shout at him.
"Too bad... I'm a woman," Leroute smirks. She knew this would happen. She was counting on it.
"R-Really?" Leorio asks happily as if he didn't already know.
"Would you like to check?" The pink haired woman asks sweetly.
Leorio brings his grubby hands closer to her. "B-B-But of course!"
Thank goodness Killua puts his hands over my eyes. I cover Gon's and Kurapika covers Killua's. Too bad for Kurapika, he sounds nauseated, "Just watching hurts..."
"Now it's your turn to pick a gamble. What do you want to bet on?" Leroute asks Leorio.
He contemplates his next move. "I got it! We can bet on whether I'm a man or a woman." He shakes his head. "No, that would never work." He glances at Kurapika who shudders, looking uneasy.
"Why is he looking at me?" His face turns a slight blueish color.
"Hey, old man... you're thinking aloud," Killua shouts at him.
Gon calls out an idea, "I know. Leorio! How about whether or not you're still in your teens?"
"Come on, Gon! I don't look that old... I'm clearly a teenager!" *Leroute falls over sideways.* I don't think she was thinking that at all.
Leorio finally decides to go with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Leroute plays her little mind games to freak him out. She tells him she can read minds and on the first try they both tie with rock. On the next one Leorio loses, despite Gon telling him to choose scissors. He chooses rock again, which was beat by her paper.
"Now the score is 2-2. Worse yet we have to give up the 50 hours he lost," Kurapika shakes his head in disapproval.
"Sorry. I was pretty confident in my rock-paper-scissors ability," Leorio says flustered about his loss. I hit him upside the head. "W‑what the hell was that for?" He asks, rubbing his cheek.
"I told you not to do it! You could've bet 20 on her being a woman! You're such a pervert!" I cross my arms looking away from him.
Kurapika just sighs, "It's finally time for the last round."
"Guess I'm off." Killua makes his way center stage.
"What? Killua?" Leorio says in surprise.
Killua glares at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Damn it! I really needed to win my round..." Leorio face palms.
"Gon... this guy is totally pissing me off!" Killua tries to take a swing at him but Gon stands between them.
"Now, now," He tries to calm his friend. Well if he won't do it I will. I hit Leorio in the back of his head again. What? I did warn him.
"Hey!" He glares at me only to see me sticking my tongue out at him. He's lucky that's all I did.
"Don't give up before we know what the contest is." Killua says. "Well if it's something like mental math, I'm surrendering," he mutters sticking his hands in his pockets.
The sound of rocks crumbling echoes through the room. It's the next opponent crushing the wall with his bare hands.
"That guy..." Leorio looks terrified.
"You know him?" Gon asks.
Leorio says frightfully, "We should take the loss. Killua! Don't fight him."
"Why not?"
Johness, 968-year sentence, mass murder. "Johness... the dissector. He's the worst serial killer in Zaban's history. He chose his victims randomly. It was a famous case... 146 people, young and old, men and women, met with brutal deaths by his hand. The victims had one thing in common. He murdered all of them with his bare hands. He was known for his iron grip, the power of his fingers."
As if to confirm everything Leorio was saying, Johness speaks, "It's been a long time since I touched human flesh."
"You don't have to face that psychotic killer... there's always next year." Killua ignores him and walks to the ring to face his opponent. "Hey, Killua... Killua! Damn it, was he even listening to me?!"
"We should let him go. He could have a plan," Kurapika advises.
Once face to face with the mass murder, Killua calmly asks the guy, "How are we settling this contest?"
"Contest? I believe you're confused." Johness looks at him with murderous intent, barely able to hold back his twitching fingers. "This will be a one-sided massacre. I have no interest in the exam or any offer of amnesty. I just want to hear you scream."
I know Killua can win. I saw what he did to those two guys on the airship. They didn't even know what hit them. Even so, I hate hearing Johness talk to him like that. I grab hold of Gon's arm resting my chin on his shoulder.
Killua's unaffected by the mass murderer's rantings. "Really? Okay. Then the loser is the one who dies."
Johness is a little surprised at his boldness. "Yeah, that's right. I'll tear your body apart." He crushes a rock with his bare hands to prove his point.
Killua moves so fast I almost miss what happens. He's standing on the other side of the platform, holding something wrapped in a piece of cloth. It's stained with blood, and appears to be beating.
"What? I'm so cold." Johness looks down realizing a piece of him is missing. "That's... mine. Give it back." He inches his way towards Killua reaching for his stolen heart. He falls to the floor dead before he even gets close. Killua places the guy's heart in his outstretched hand.
Killua looks over to our competitors. "Okay. That's three wins, two losses. We pass, right?"
Bendotto is the one to answer him. "Yeah, you win." He looks a little uneasy.
"By the way," Killua gives him a death glare. "You seemed to be enjoying it earlier. Want to play with me?"
Bendotto replies nervously, "I'll abstain."
Killua looks disappointed but replies simply, "Oh, okay."
"Who is he?" Leorio sweat drops.
Gon looks at Kurapika and Leorio. "That's right. You guys don't know."
"Don't know what?"
"Killua comes from an elite family of assassins," He says casually.
"An elite family of assassins?!" Leorio is flabbergasted.
"I'm back," Killua says returning to the less murderous side of him. Leorio looks at him as if he wants to run and hide. "What?" Killua asks innocently.
"Uh, well, good work!" Leorio recovers from the shock and also probably regrets making fun of him before.
"Awesome! Way to save time. You did that in well under a minute." I smile at him and we high-five.
To the side of the room, a door opens up and Lippo talks through the speaker, "Across the bridge, you'll find a small room. You must spend the 50 hours you gambled away there."
"Well let's go," Killua leads the way to the small room.
"Yeah." Gon agrees happily going along with his friend. Leorio is hesitant but follows after anyway.
The team of five has passed the trail, with three wins and two losses. However, they must spend the 50 hour penalty in a small room. They're running out of time.
