Gladiator [K.Zoldyck X fem!Reader] (HxH)

14-People like you...

↜(Y/N) Pov↝

"See? He's just fine." I said, feeling the anger rise. That stupid- I knew he would quit! "Alright. I win this round." said the prisoner, the number over their entryway changing to 1.

"If we win three more rounds, you lose. You won't be able to advance or turn back. You'll be stuck here until the 72 hours are up. Should that come to pass, our sentences will be reduced by 72 years." he said, laughing as he left to go back to his teammates.

"Man, that was a disgrace... He looked a lot stronger up close..." trailed Tonpa off, causing me to glare at him. Leorio grabbed him by his collar, saying: "Bastard... You just confirmed all my suspicions! You're a worthless piece of trash, who's only good for sabotaging other applicants!"

Tonpa grinned, saying: "Exactly. What's what I do every year. And I plan to continue the tradition. I'm not looking to pass the Hunter Exam. I'm only in it for the thrills." I tightened my hands into fists, having to restrain myself from doing anything.

He continued: "The Hunter Exam is a trial meant to crush confident young people's dreams. The moment of despair, when ambition and hope give way, gives me a sense of exquisite pleasure. Especially when I'm actively shattering these rookie's dreams. I don't plan on becoming a Hunter. I've already had enough fun this year. It's time for me to bow out-"

"People like you..." I started, cutting him off. "People who don't respect someone's dreams, someone's want for freedom or their ambitions... People like you... get on my nerves." I said in a lower tone, watching as his eyes went wide in surprise.

I stepped closer to him, but Killua quickly held his arm out in front of me, saying: "Don't. It'll only waste our time." I looked into his cold, blue eyes, starting to calm down immediately. It just feels so... natural to be with him. So calming and reassuring.

Nodding, I said: "Alright. Sorry, I almost lost it." Gon smiled at me, saying: "It's fine." I returned his smile as Killua said: "If the prisoners' goal is to buy time, then the old man made the correct choice. That bald guy is probably a former soldier or mercenary. Had you fought him, he would have started by crushing your throat, so you couldn't have given up."

I smiled a little, seeing the shocked look on Tonpa's face. That's what you get, you foul person! "Then he would have tortured you, without killing you, for the rest of the remaining time..." stated Killua, as smooth as always.

"Th-That was one of the possibilities I took into consideration..." trailed Tonpa off, clearly scared. Kurapika said: "Regardless, we need to win four rounds and advance." "Who's next?" I asked, to which Gon quickly held his hand up, saying: "Me! I'll go!"

"Are you sure?" asked Leorio. "Uh-huh!" "The next opponent doesn't look too strong." noted Killua. Leorio said: "But you can't let your guard down. He's still a criminal." "Uh-huh, I know." said Gon, taking his backpack off.

He handed it to me, saying: "Can you hold onto this for me, (Y/N)?" "Of course. Good luck, Gon!" I replied, smiling at him as I slipped his backpack on. "Thanks!" he said, starting to walk towards the center of the arena.

↜3rd Person Pov↝

"We each light a candle at the same time. The one whose candle goes out first is the loser. What do you think?" asked the second prisoner, holding two candles up. Gon smiled, saying: "Yeah! That's easy to understand. Let's go with that!"

"Okay. In that case... decide which candle you want to use." said the prisoner, reviling that the two candles were of different sizes. "Press O for the long one, or X for the short one. This will be determined by majority rule."

Leorio asked: "We have to choose one? This is a trap! Normally, you'd choose the long one, so he must have done something to the long one!" "That would be the safe assumption." agreed Kurapika.

"What if he's tricking us and tampered with the short one?" asked (Y/N), looking up at the two of them. "When you put it like that..." trailed Leorio off. Kurapika sighed, saying: "Yes, there is no end..."

"You've got a real dilemma there." noted Tonpa, to which (Y/N) turned around, saying: "You shut up or I'll make you." He held his hands up in surrender, not saying anything.

Thinking about the possibilities, Kurapika said: "When presented with a clearly uneven choice, people become suspicious and hesitate before deciding. Yes, this is a real dilemma. What's worse, if you make the wrong choice, the resulting mental anguish would be much greater than if the problem had offered two fair options."

"Take your time. This may be a majority decision, but you're free to discuss it. We have plenty of time." said the prisoner, sitting down. Gon turned to face his friends, asking: "Hey, which one should I choose?"

"Damn... Which one should we take?" repeated Leorio, all of them thinking hard about it. "It's Gon's game. Can't he decide?" asked (Y/N), looking up at Kurapika. He thought for a moment, then said: "Gon, you decide! We'll abide by your decision. Choose the one you think is best."

"Are you sure about this? He never thinks anything through." noted Killua. "Instead of wasting time fretting over what to do, let's rely on Gon's instincts." "Yeah, he's got some pretty good ones." stated (Y/N), nodding.

Gon asked: "I get to choose? Okay! Then I choose the long one!" "You want the long candle?" repeated the prisoner. Gon nodded, adding: "Because a longer candle will burn a longer time!"

(Y/N) began laughing as Leorio asked. "Er, he's just taking it at face value?" "I knew he wouldn't think this through." said Killua, to which (Y/N) said: "It'll be fine! I would have chosen the long one, too." "Why?" "Why not?" "Because... You're an idiot."

"Well, that's that." said Kurapika, pressing the button on his watch. Leorio said: "It's not like we can figure out which one is the trap." After everyone pressed the button, the screen in the middle showed O6, X0.

"Okay. You get the long candle. I'll take the short one." said the prisoner, throwing the longer candle towards Gon, who easily caught it. Walking over to a source of fire, the Prisoner said: "Now, we light it." Gon walked to the one next to it, and they both lit it at the same time.