The Otonari's Last (Hunter X Hunter Fanfic) [Indefinite Hiatus]

VI - the Start of the Third Phase

The second man steps forward, tossing his cloak on the ground. He walks toward me calmly and I follow suit, eyeing his every movement. His hand twitches, giving away his move. Before he can pull back his hand for a punch, my leg shoots upward and hits him directly under the chin. The man stumbles back, clutching his face.

"Oh, did I break your jaw?" I ask, truly apologetic. "My bad."

The man must have taken my comment offensively. His eyes grow furious and he runs back at me. Momentarily stunned by his speed, I listen to my instincts and duck under his arm in record speed. I grab his forearm and throw him over my shoulder. His head smacks into the concrete floor, knocking him unconscious.

I plop down on the floor to catch my breath and take a drink from one of the water bottles in my backpack. "Hey, Mr. Lippo," I say to catch the examiner's attention. "Aren't those two out of the three members of that group that destroyed an entire city? They killed everyone before blowing it up, right?"

Lippo chuckles. "Yes, that is them."

The stone door that the men were guarding rumbles open. I sigh, putting my water bottle away and standing up before heading through it. As I walk down the hallway to the next room, I check my watch - '71:19:02.'

I sigh, dropping my wrist back down to my side.

This is going to be a long three days.

***

After making my way through several more rooms, I find myself walking down a hallway longer than the ones I passed through before. Using the opportunity to take a small break, I crouch down and pull my water out of my bag along with a pack of dried banana slices. I pop them open and munch on them. I turn my wrist to glance at my remaining time and I'm unbothered by the three hours that have passed since the start of this phase.

"Let's see..." I think back to all of the rooms I've passed through. Not all of them ended up being one-on-one physical battles like I thought. I had one room that was a strategy puzzle - that room took me an hour by itself - and in another room, I had to fight one of the prisoners in what she called an "intelligence battle." The other three rooms I'd made my way through were straightforward fights.

After finishing the banana chips, I repack my bag and swing it back over my shoulders before continuing on down the hallway. When I reach the end, my eyebrows furrow. I can clearly see the outline of the stone door blocking my path, but it isn't raising so I can pass through.

"Uh, Mr. Lippo..." I call, glancing up at the camera in the corner and pointing to the blocked doorway. "Why can't I go through?"

"Ah, you see," he starts simply, "In a moment, you will be joining another group of participants for a single challenge. They are in the middle of a match right now, so you will be required to wait until it is settled. Feel free to relax until they are done."

"Alright," I huff, leaning against the wall. From what Lippo said, the match should only take a few more minutes at the most.

That doesn't change the fact that it's frustrating to wait for someone else when my time is on the line.

The door slides open a minute later, revealing a large room with a square pedestal of concrete in the middle of a plummeting chasm. Confused, I stand in the doorway until a bridge begins to extend toward the concrete island, at which point I step onto it and allow it to carry me to the pedestal in the center. The door rumbles closed behind me.

"Ara!" I turn to my left to see Gon, Kurapika, Killua, Leorio, and Tonpa standing in a rectangular pocket in the wall.

"Guys?" I question, stepping onto the island and walking to the edge closest to them. "What's going on?"

"It's just as I said," Lippo reminds me, speaking again through the intercom system. "You are joining another group of applicants for a single challenge. Afterward, you will leave this room and continue through your path."

"Okay, so what's the challenge?" I ask, sharing confused looks with my friends.

"You must make a decision," Lippo explains. "Either fight one prisoner that the other prisoners choose for you...or fight all five of the other applicants standing before you." My eyebrows shoot into my hairline and my eyes widen into saucers.

"Are you serious?" I exclaim.

"Oh, he's completely serious," a prisoner behind me states. I turn to see a tan, bald man with scars wrapped around his head. He's muscular - there's no doubting that - and he gave off the vibe of former military experience. I gaze at him for a moment before he continues, "And trust me, sweetcheeks, the guy we got in mind for you?" He shakes his head. "Not a very nice man."

I turn back to the boys to see them all with surprised looks on their faces.

"And the gentlemen, in correspondence with their own path, must choose whether to accept or deny your decision," Lippo adds. I sigh in the direction of the ceiling, completely done with this phase of the Hunter Exam.

"Ara, think this through," Leorio tells me, a sympathetic look on his face. "Obviously we all want to pass, but you could get killed! Just choose us - we'll forfeit or something!"

"Ah, Leorio," I whine, a light smile on my face. "I'm a little offended. You don't think I can handle myself?"

"Yeah!" Gon states, an excited look in his eyes. "I mean, Ara's made it this far, right? She has to be pretty great!"

Killua makes a sound of agreement. "She disappeared into the tower almost immediately, meaning she's been in here for three hours already."

"I agree. Ara's more than capable of making her own decision and we should vote in favor of it no matter what she chooses." Kurapika nods as he continues, "And think about it. We haven't seen her fight before." Gon, Leorio, and Killua pause for a moment, thinking back.

"You're right!" Gon and Killua shout at the same time.

"I still don't like the look of this," Leorio mutters. "It's dangerous, especially since they are the ones choosing."

"Well, you can count on me voting not to fight her." Tonpa turns away from us slightly, adding under his breath, "She'd kill me if she got the chance."

I won't argue with that.

"Mr. Lippo, I've made my decision," I announce.