The intro and opening song are not skipped.
Kurapika realises his mistake of tossing the remote to Alluka but ultimately decides he made the right choice if the alternative was to give Leorio control. The narrator and the opening song are surprisingly growing on him, despite the fact that things usually worsen the more one hears it repeated. Looking around, he sees that only Gon and Alluka are enjoying this as they turn the opening song into a mini karaoke session, using the disposable cups Mystery Voice-san provided on the table for drinks as microphones. Soon, the episode finally begins, and everyone's previous sanity levels seem to return.
It is night at Trick Tower.
"During the exam's Third Phase," the narrator recounts, "which requires applicants to reach Trick Tower's base within seventy-two hours, Gon and his friends have incurred a penalty of fifty hours. Meanwhile..."
In the circular waiting room of finished examinees, another one joins them.
"Geretta, applicant #384, is the fourth to pass. Total time, twelve hours and twenty-seven minutes."
Geretta takes a seat on the floor, "Eh. Not bad, I guess."
The episode switches back to the five trapped in the room.
Killua is showing off on his skateboard.
"Wow, he's so cool," Gon cheers, and Killua whacks him on the arm, hissing a "Shut up!"
"If you hesitate on the first step, you'll hurt yourself," he hands the skateboard to Gon.
"Wow, he's so caring," Leorio teases and receives a weak glare.
"Got it," Gon says.
"Hey, Kurapika," Leorio says, "Once we've spent fifty hours here..."
"Wanna go on a date," Alluka whispers to Killua, causing him to laugh.
"...we'll have fewer than ten hours, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Kurapika answers.
"That's way more than enough time!"
Tonpa sips his drink, "You're a fool."
"No u," Leorio grouchily quips.
"What's that?" Leorio on-screen asks.
"Phase Three lasts seventy-two hours. And each phase is designed to weed out half of the remaining candidates. So, on average, it's meant to take seventy-two hours. Just more proof that you're an idiot."
Leorio doesn't dignify Tonpa with a response.
"Well," Kurapika speculates, "Our chances of reaching the goal within ten hours will depend on the remaining trials."
"Yeah, that's true," Leorio mumbles.
"But when we've got a guy who's so down on his luck, he can't even win a simple game of rock-paper-scissors..." Tonpa taunts.
"It hurts to hear this from someone who's probably never won in his life," Ging mutters.
Kurapika, the only one who hears him, raises an eyebrow, 'Is he defending Leorio?'
"What was that?!"
"You deliberately lost a bet just to satiate your libido. Then you chose rock-paper-scissors, a contest you couldn't win."
"Shut up! You surrendered without even a fight!"
A flashback plays of Tonpa going, "I give!"
"Sure, I surrendered," Tonpa says, "But I only wasted a second of our time. You lost, squandering fifty of our remaining hours. Take some responsibility, huh? Besides, what kind of Hunter is so bad at gambling?"
"Jeez, what a pathetic waste of breath," Silva mutters, "There's absolutely nothing respectable about him at all."
Leorio, Gon, Alluka and Killua gape at him. Kurapika raises his other eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, there will always be people who want to drag others down," Silva continues, "These are the people who believe they have no worth. But once you have it set in your mind that you are nothing, when you refuse to work on yourself so that you will be something, that is when you truly become nothing. So keep believing in the value you hold as a person and always strive to be a better version of yourself."
"Tch, of course," Leorio responds, and then much more quietly, "Though, it's hard to believe you'll achieve anything when you're not the only one recalling your failures..."
"The more times you fail, the greater your success will be. Every time you get back up from the hole your failures have dragged you down, you prove to yourself that your aspirations are worth fighting for and that you yourself are worth fighting for."
Leorio thinks about his desire to help save people, people like Pietro, people like Kurapika and Gon and Killua and Alluka and all the people he doesn't know but still wants to reach somehow. How could he not fight for that?
"Thanks," he mumbles before following with a softer voice, "Thank you for believing in me."
Silva nods. "You are still young. It is my duty to guide and support you."
"What a heart-warming scene between a professional assassin and a budding doctor," Ging dryly comments to himself.
"Why couldn't he be like that with me..." Alluka mutters under her breath. Only Killua hears and he clenches his fists.
"Shut up!" Leorio stands up, fist clenched, "You don't even want to become a Hunter... You only care about ruining our chances."
Tonpa smirks and thinks, 'And now, you'll have the guilt eating at you for the rest of this exam phase.'
A skateboard comes flying at Tonpa's smug face, knocking him out entirely with great precision and speed.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Leorio yells at the children.
"Sorry about that," Gon rubs the back of his head.
"Don't skateboard inside this tiny room!"
"Aww..."
"Peak dad energy," Killua mock-angrily whispers, "I thought I would be able to skateboard wherever I wanted after leaving my family, but nooo, Leorio-san decided we can't try to amuse ourselves when we're trapped in a room for fifty hours. He's no fun."
Gon pats him on the shoulder, "There, there."
Kurapika smiles to himself. 'Of course Leorio decides to lecture them instead of realising Gon's "slip" was too precise. Although, it's interesting to see how quickly everyone's dynamic rubbed off on each other.'
Dawn is now rising at Trick Tower.
Tonpa and Leorio are seen sleeping, the latter snoring. Kurapika is sleeping with a fallen stack of books next to him. Gon has tossed his blanket off in his sleep. Killua is not asleep.
He looks at the time which reads 40:06.
Tonpa shifts in his sleep, his socked foot with a hole at the big toe landing near Leorio's face. Leorio faces away.
Leorio grumbles while Kurapika snorts at his misfortune.
"You don't like that foot content?" Killua teases, "You know, some people say it's spicier when only a little bit of skin is shown."
Leorio immediately sputters in disgust, "Wha- How dare you- I would never-! Fcking Tonpa-! Gross!!"
"Okay then, what if it was someone else's foot like-"
A snack from the table gets thrown at Killua and the boy merely snickers to himself.
Kurapika wakes in his sleep, his motherly senses tingling and he notes Killua's awake form.
"Can't sleep?"
"That's not it," Killua responds, "I can go two or three days without sleep."
"Ten hours have passed, huh..."
"There aren't any windows, so it's hard to tell. But it's probably morning."
"Wow, a win for the internal body clock," Leorio comments, "Must be nice to not rely on an alarm clock only for it to fail you each morning."
"Skill issue," Killua pokes his tongue out.
"Most likely," Kurapika agrees, sleep still evident in his voice.
Killua sits up, glancing at Gon, he grabs a pillow and giggles mischievously before throwing it at Gon's face.
Gon's hands automatically come up to shield himself from the attack, tossing the pillow back, a smile now on his face.
Killua is surprised slightly before grinning and throwing the pillow with more force. Gon immediately throws it back and now sits up, clearly awake.
The two toss the pillow back and forth, now standing and making "Heh" sounds.
"It's time to d-d-d-d-duel!!!" Killua declares and launches a cushion at Gon.
Gon leaps onto the snack table, putting a hand in the air and yells, "I call upon the almighty power of the Mystery Voice-san. AAAARRRGHHHH!!!!"
A pillow falls from the ceiling which Gon grabs and fires at Killua. Killua catches the pillow and picks up the one he launched earlier, spinning both in each hand.
"Oh no, he's dual-wielding!" Alluka calls, quickly pausing to watch the live-action version.
"Oi, what is wrong with you two?" Leorio demands.
"Pillow-chu, I choose you!" Gon shouts as another pillow falls from the ceiling.
"In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
"Nico Nico nii!!"
"Omae wa mou shinderu."
"ORA ORA ORA!!!"
"NARUTOOOO!!!"
"SASUKEEEE!!!"
"Eat this."
"You guys aren't even having a pillow duel," Leorio points out.
In the past minute or so, Gon and Killua just held their pillows, standing and staring each other down while shouting.
"We're just fighting so fast that you can't even see nor comprehend it," Killua says.
"Yeah, and I won!" Gon chirps.
"What?! No, you didn't!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Ha, gottem!"
"Eh? Noo, Killuaaa!!!"
"Ohhkayy, and back to the program, Alluka," Kurapika nods at the girl who unpauses the episode.
Kurapika pretends to have fallen back asleep and Leorio, still curled away from Tonpa, turns to face them and calls out, "Hey, pipe down."
The two kids pause in their pillow fight, Killua upside down with Gon pushing a pillow onto him, before bursting into laughter.
"Let me sleep some more..."
At this point, Tonpa's foot lands right in front of his face, a visible stench emanating from it.
"That stinks!" Leorio sits up abruptly as Gon and Killua laugh even harder. Even Kurapika is unable to contain his laughter in his feigned sleep.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Leorio complains, "That wasn't funny," he leans over Tonpa who lets out some snores, "Bastard, you'd better not be pretending to sleep."
As Leorio goes away, Tonpa opens an eye, smiling in his fake snore.
"Pfftt, that is funny," Killua says.
"Everyone hates me," Leorio grumbles, "I can't believe this. Silva's stupid speech doesn't mean anything."
Gon reaches over to pat Leorio on the shoulder. "There, there."
"You're laughing at my misery."
"Yeah."
"Damn, now I'm totally awake..." Leorio stands by the L-shaped table. Kurapika has also sat up, giving up on sleep himself. "And we still have forty hours left?"
It is now midday at Trick Tower.
Leorio seems to be taking a nap, Kurapika is reading, and Tonpa is clipping his toenails with his socks and a mug next to him.
"Hey, Tonpa's got that foot self-care," Killua jokes.
"Killua, you are perfect punting size and I won't hesitate bitch."
Killua holds the hook of Gon's fishing rod in his hand. "Oh, I thought you just had to stick bait on a hook, and you could fish."
"Yeah," Gon holds his fishing rod, "You have to think like a fish."
"Think like a fish?"
"That's a problem, Killua can't think period," Leorio quips.
"Oi, oi, oi, I can think better than you!"
"Oh, yeah? Prove it."
"Huh?"
"Ha, you've already lost."
"Yep! How would a fish feel if it saw bait dangling in front of it? Give me that."
Killua places the hook into Gon's hand.
Gon focuses and with practised ease, lands the hook in the mug next to Tonpa.
"Wow!" Killua exclaims, "Let me try."
Gon retrieves the hook and Killua is given the fishing rod, focusing as he tries to copy what Gon did.
"Like this?"
The hook lands on the floor, not in the mug.
"You missed," Gon laughs.
"Just watch." Killua yanks the rod and the hook catches onto the hem of Leorio's pants, tugging his leg forward and waking him up.
"H-Hey! What are you doing? Hey!"
"Just as planned!" Killua grins.
"Nice!" Gon smiles.
"Hey, you'll tear my pants. Stop it..."
The hook flies off and Killua catches it. "See? I caught him."
"Yep," Gon nods.
Leorio stands up, "What's that supposed to mean? I'm a fish now?!"
"You don't have to get so mad," Killua says, "It's not like I'm gonna grill and eat you."
"Don't mess with me, fool! Man, I can't even take a nap."
Everyone laughs at the scene.
"Gon, we should go fishing again!" Killua says.
"Yeah! Mystery Voice-san, I summon-"
"No, no, no, you're not fcking fishing in here. You already had your pillow fight!" Leorio says.
"Alluka! You haven't fished before, right? I can teach you too," Gon says, ignoring Leorio.
"Ah, that'll be so fun!!" Alluka excitedly bounces in her seat, "I want to catch the same fish as onii-chan!"
"Wait, what?!" Leorio shouts.
Kurapika snorts, "Leorio, my favourite fish."
Tonpa looks like he's regretting trying to sabotage this group of idiots.
Gon and Killua look at each other with wide grins, snickering.
Tonpa suddenly smiles.
Leorio notices. "What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing, really."
"You must be up to something again."
"Of course not. I just want to spend the rest of my time here peacefully."
"How about the rest of your life there, peacefully," Leorio retorts.
"Liar! I don't trust you, got it?" Leorio goes back to his couch.
'The feeling's mutual,' Tonpa thinks to himself.
The sun is now setting at Trick Tower.
Meals have been brought out for the examinees in the circular waiting room. Hisoka has practically already finished his dinner when two doors open, drawing his attention as well as the others', Hanzo in the middle of chewing and Gittarackur-
"What is wrong with my son?"
"I can't believe Hisoka is eating like a normal person," Leorio gapes.
"Omg, we're related to him," Killua whispers in horror to Alluka.
Hisoka peers at the screen. "I think that's hot."
Gittarackur, how tf do I explain this, eats like idfk, a beaver? A paper shredder? But not as cute nor useful. Ahh... actually usefulness is debatable. If he could kill my examiners, I wouldn't need to shred my exams. His nails and eyebrows are damn fine though.
Pokkle comes through the door. "Yes, the goal!"
Another examinee with shoulder-length hair and a Fu Manchu moustache enters from the other door.
"Pokkle, applicant #53. Goz, applicant #371. Both arrived simultaneously. Total time, thirty hours and four minutes."
"Damn, old timer..." Pokkle addresses Goz, "In a tie, the applicant with the lower number wins."
Goz merely smiles in acknowledgement as Pokkle leaves.
'These guys must be very skilled...' Geretta thinks.
Gittarackur is still eating like a- a- a fricking madman.
Everyone else is eating normally.
Apologies if you eat like Gittarackur. I- Just... Why? What do you accomplish? Full respect for completely confounding me.
'...I would love to fight them eventually,' Geretta thinks.
"Dude, cut your losses," Killua gestures to Gittarackur on the screen, "You want to fight someone who eats like that? He's basically holding a neon sign screaming PSYCHOPATH."
"I can't look at him," Silva's voice is pained.
It is night at Trick Tower.
The weird creatures who ate that poor rock climber are circling the tower.
Gon and Killua are sleeping, facing each other as if they had been talking before.
Kurapika has fallen asleep in the middle of reading.
Tonpa is sleeping.
Leorio, Mr Stop-Waking-Me-Up-All-The-Time, is not sleeping. A blanket is wrapped around him as he watches something on the TV monitor. He yawns.
"Oh my god, that is such a Dad yawn," Killua says.
"What? What even is a Dad yawn?" Leorio questions.
"Fathers just yawn differently from other people."
"They sneeze differently too!" Gon pipes in.
"Wha-What are you guys talking about? Who are you even basing this off?" Leorio looks at Ging and Silva in particular who surely could not be the standards for what a "Dad yawn" is.
As if on cue, Ging lets out a loud yawn, exactly the same as Leorio's.
'How do they know what a Dad yawn and sneeze sound like?' Kurapika thinks, 'Ging was absent from Gon's life and Silva basically was also absent... Maybe Dad yawns and sneezes are just so powerful that they can be heard from the gas station on the other side of the universe.'
Leorio turns the TV off with a remote.
"Wow, the only time Leorio gets the remote," Killua snickers.
Leorio suddenly makes a lunge for the remote, sitting by Alluka's side.
"Oh no, Alluka keep the remote away!" Gon yells as he leaps up as if to block Leorio's attack.
The young girl panics and throws the remote across the room.
Somehow, it headshots Hisoka. The clown lies knocked out in his little prison, having taken too many head bonks.
"What the heck, Alluka!" Killua complains, "You could have just given it to me!"
"Ahh, whoops," Alluka nervously giggles.
There is a moment of silence.
"Is no one getting the remote?" Silva voices.
Leorio backtracks to his seat. "I'll take the remote next episode."
"Well, if he's not taking it, then it's fine," Killua flippantly waves a hand.
Alluka nods, "Yeah, and I've already had my turn on the remote! It's okay if Hisoka takes it now."
There is another pause.
"Well, we've missed a bit because you all decided to play fight," Silva points out, "And the person with the remote is unable to rewind right now."
The five on the couch look at each other. Before a decision can be made (Gon preparing to prove his courage), a sigh is heard from Mystery Voice-san. Hisoka suddenly wakes and he looks at the screen then the remote that had actually been stuck to his head, thanks to his bungee gum which he prepared on instinct. (How did he still get knocked out? Uhh, Alluka is just cracked. The author also realised that he shouldn't be able to use bungee gum in this space so this was all just pointless but also, bungee gum transcends good, consistent writing so, yeah.)
He pulls the remote off his forehead as Mystery Voice speaks, "Please rewind a few seconds."
Hisoka smirks, "Oh, so am I in charge of the remote now?" He does as Mystery Voice instructed and does nothing else, but the grin that lingers on his face and the fingers that curl around the remote evoke an unease in everyone as they realise, 'Oh no, we shouldn't have let Hisoka have the remote.'
Kurapika wakes up and sees Leorio finally lying down on his couch to sleep. Leorio glances at the time left.
22:06.
He stares up at the ceiling.
'You lost,' Tonpa's voice echoes in his mind, 'Squandering fifty of our remaining hours. Take some responsibility, huh?'
Leorio closes his eyes.
Kurapika squeezes Leorio's hand. 'At least it not's squandering your remaining clan.'
It is dawn. At Trick Tower.
Gon and Killua are having another pillow fight. Leorio is suffering in his sleep again due to Tonpa's foot. However this time, Leorio has retaliated by shoving his foot next to Tonpa's face.
"That's some kinky footplay," Killua whispers, just loud enough for Leorio to hear.
Leorio jumps up from his seat and sends a powerful kick that tears through space and time (his Nen ability is somehow able to work like Hisoka's bungee gum because Nen now only works in this space for comedic reasons but not plot reasons because there is no plot), sending Killua spinning into the air.
The time left ticks from 12:07 to 12:06.
Gon and Killua are doing handstand pushups. Leorio is doing squats with his shirt off.
Kurapika blushes slightly at the muscles, despite having seen them many times before.
08:44 turns into 08:43.
The five are having a meal with Gon and Killua trying to steal each other's food.
A glance at Gon and Killua (who has been returned from the stratosphere) shows the two also trying to steal each other's food (but much less rowdily), with Gon seeming to have given himself the virtuous duty of preventing Killua from becoming a gremlin only able to depend on chocolate. Alluka sits calmly between them, chewing on mochi.
06:29 becomes 06:28.
Kurapika is seen reading through different books. Leorio reads a book. His eyes shift to the time left.
03:26. 03:25.
Killua and Gon play a hand-clapping game. Killua wins and laughs. He flicks Gon's forehead causing the boy to whine in pain at the red mark. "Ow!"
Offscreen, Killua flicks Gon's head. The green-haired boy pouts.
Tonpa lets out an obnoxious yawn as he stretches.
"That's not a Dad yawn, by the way," Killua says.
"What is a Dad yawn?!" Leorio despairs.
01:00.
00:59.
"One more hour..." Leorio says.
In the circular waiting room, an examinee lifts his arm to display his wristwatch, reading 10:05:24. The waiting examinees are preparing for the next Phase, adjusting their clothes, cleaning their tools and even warming themselves up.
"Pfft, look at those dweebs," Killua jokes.
"Actually, I'm a nerd," Hisoka says.
"No, you're a fool," Kurapika quips.
A door opens and a monkey steps through.
"Sommy, applicant #118, is the thirteenth to pass. Total time, sixty-one hours and fifty-four minutes."
A man enters and picks up his monkey.
"Only thirteen people?" Ging raises an eyebrow.
"Don't forget the monkey," Silva dryly remarks.
"Well, I don't see you there," Leorio retorts.
"Wait, he's right," Killua says, "What a loser."
"At this point in the show, you aren't there either," Hisoka points out. He is ignored.
"Man, still ten hours left?" Pokkle lies on the ground, "I finished too early."
Hisoka is engrossed in making a card house.
Kurapika walks over to Hisoka's cell and whispers, "Do you actually enjoy that or is it just for the aesthetic? Don't lie, bitch."
"I enjoy it because it's for the aesthetic," Hisoka withers slightly at Kurapika's raised eyebrow, "And I can subtly flex my Bungee Gum. Card houses are so easy when there's a little stickiness."
Kurapika immediately wrinkles his nose. Before returning to his seat, he attempts to swipe the remote back. Hisoka leans back, further into his cage and smiles, "You can join me~-"
Kurapika makes a tactical retreat.
Gon stretches before looking forward, determined, "Okay... Ready to go!"
The time left reads 00:02.
The time left is 00:01.
The five are waiting at the door.
"One more minute," Kurapika says.
Leorio sighs, "This is one long minute."
Hisoka pauses the episode.
"Wha- Why did you do that?! We were so close," Leorio says.
"You said it's a long minute. I'm making the experience as vicarious as possible."
"You're shitting me."
"This could be worse," Gon says.
"He's trying to make us stay stuck with him for even longer," Killua deadpans.
"He could have paused on a close-up of one of us and started making comments."
"Ohh?~"
Killua makes incomprehensible and disbelieved noises at Gon who sheepishly smiles, "Whoops."
After a long minute, Hisoka unpauses.
The red light at the locked door turns green with a buzz and it opens.
Immediately Gon dashes forward.
"Ah!" Leorio shouts, "Wait up, Gon!"
Gon smiles, ready to go indeed.
Hisoka pauses the episode again. "My, what a bright smile you have-"
A helmet falls from the ceiling, strapping itself to Hisoka's head. Then a wooden stick materialises and bonks him on the head. The episode resumes.
The commercial break plays with Killua and the word Bored.
There is the sound of ticking and panting as the five are looking at a centre platform with its extended bridges, similar to where they had been standing fifty hours before.
"Thirty minutes of running, just to end up where we started," Leorio growls.
"We should have taken those stairs down," Killua says.
"Shut up!" Leorio's head enlarges, filling the screen, "We all agreed on this route!"
The five are shown flying off broken rail tracks in a minecart, trying not to fall off paths with crumbling tiles, being chased by a giant ball which eventually crashes into a brick wall as they make it to a corner.
"Wait, this is erasure. I can't believe they're skipping over the pain we went through," Leorio says.
"Oh, you want to watch your suffering a bit more? I gotchu." Hisoka rewinds the scene a bit and slows it down.
"Wha- You can change the speed?" Alluka asks.
"Never mind, stop the suffering, please."
"Man, I'm covered in dust," Killua complains.
"H-Hurry up," Leorio heaves, looking at his wristwatch, "We only have an hour left..."
Eventually, they reach a dead end where a majority vote is required.
"We're supposed to vote on whether to open the door?" Leorio mutters, "We need to move on. So obviously, we want to open the door."
Everyone goes to select the option they want on their watches.
The monitor displays 4 Os and 1 X.
A tick mark appears on Leorio's face and he grabs Tonpa's shirt. "I've had enough of your crap."
"Wait, I pressed O," Tonpa protests.
"Don't lie! You specialise in ruining other people's chances!"
"Sorry, Leorio," Gon calls.
"Eh?"
"I accidentally pressed the wrong button."
"Honestly, Gon, that is such an L for you," Killua says.
"How did you manage that?" Ging asked.
"Ehh? Both Killua and my dad are dragging me!" Gon pouts, "I'm just not good at maths!"
"Gon, they're just Xs and Os..." Kurapika says.
"Yeah, geography! That's hard!"
"...Geometry..."
"What?" Leorio lets Tonpa go, "Oh, I see."
"Wait," Tonpa says.
"Huh?"
"You owe me an apology. I can't let that slide."
"...It's your own fault, for doing things to make me distrust you. I don't owe you anything."
"You make it sound like I'm to blame for everything that's gone wrong."
"What?"
"Have you forgotten who cost us those fifty hours? You're the one who made a critical mistake."
"Eh?!"
"Hey, Leorio..." Kurapika touches Leorio's elbow, trying to placate him.
"Shut up, Kurapika!" Leorio nudges his hand off as he puts his briefcase down and gets into a fighting stance. Tonpa does the same.
"Stop this, guys," Gon pleads, "It's my fault for pressing the wrong button."
"Stupid," Killua says, "I'm moving on." He opens the door and leaves.
"Killua, you really just went I'm outta here," Leorio remarks, "Zero loyalty."
Killua sticks his tongue out.
"Wait, Killua!"
Killua comes back, "Hey, Gon! We're getting close to the goal."
"One loyalty," Kurapika corrects, "To Gon."
"Umm, no!" Killua protests, "I'm loyal to Alluka as well."
"Yay! I'm winning!" Alluka cheers.
"Let's go!!" Gon whoops.
"What? Really?"
Everyone brightens slightly.
A statue of a woman from her waist up protrudes from the wall, a red dot on her forehead. Next to her are two doors, one with an X and one with an O in red paint.
"Let's see..." Killua reads the message on the wall, "This will be the last decision made by majority rule. Are you ready? Choose O or X. That's it."
"Am I ready?" Leorio repeats, "You bet."
The monitor displays 4 Os and 1 X.
"Bastard..." Leorio turns to Tonpa.
"Stop!" Kurapika demands, "We don't have time to argue about this!"
The red dot on the woman's forehead blinks.
"Please select a path," Lippo announces, "There are two choices. One path allows five to pass but is long and difficult. The other path allows only three, but is short and easy." Everyone's individual faces are shown as Lippo continues, "Incidentally, the long and difficult path requires a minimum of forty-five hours. The short and easy path leads to the goal in approximately three minutes. Press O for the long and difficult path, and X for the short and easy path. If X is selected, two people must be secured to the wall with handcuffs, before the door will open. The two chained members will be unable to move until the time limit expires."
A wall with shiny weapons is shown.
"The examiners were very prepared," Killua notes, "I think they have every weapon under the sun here."
"That's... so brutal," Alluka whispers.
"That is not every weapon," Ging says.
"Ok, nerd," Killua quips.
"The disrespect to his elder" Kurapika shakes his head, smiling slightly.
"Two out of five..." Kurapika mutters, "So we're supposed to fight, to decide the three who pass?"
"Let me make this clear," Leorio declares, "I'm going to press X. But I have no intention of staying behind. I'll do whatever it takes to be one of the three..."
"You're shameless," Tonpa jeers, "Had you not wasted fifty hours, we could have taken the long path. Shouldn't you take responsibility and stay behind?"
"What?!"
"I'm sure everyone else agrees! Have I said anything inaccurate?"
Kurapika and Killua simply regard the conversation with indifference.
"Hold on," Gon draws their attention, "I'm going to press O. We made it all the way here together. I want us all to pass together."
"Gon..." Kurapika says.
"Even if it's a big risk, I want to give it a shot!"
"Come on..." Killua says, "You can't really call this a risk. We have less than an hour. Gon, there's only one choice if you want to pass this exam."
"There you have it," Leorio agrees.
"Now we have to decide how to choose which three pass. Well, I'm planning on two of them being you and me," Killua tells Gon.
"Wait that's cute," Leorio says.
"Shut up."
'Heh, I've made it this far,' Tonpa thinks, 'I won't fail now. Whoever makes the first move wins.' He steps back, prepared to pounce.
"Look at this dude," Killua jeers, "Not him saying the protagonist line "I won't fail now." Man's delulu."
'Must we really fight amongst ourselves?' Kurapika internally questions.
An axe suddenly comes swinging down, narrowly missing Leorio who leaps out of the way just in time.
"Tonpa, that was dirty!"
Tonpa lifts the axe from the ground, "In a fight, there's no such thing as dirty!"
"Well, you're in the fight and you stink. Take a bath, dude," Leorio sneers.
He launched towards Leorio who once again leaps out of the way. Leorio grabs a weapon himself, yelling "Bastard!"
"Stop this, you two!" Kurapika yells although he has his hands at his bokken, ready to join the fighting himself if needed.
"Come on... Let's do it together," Gon tries to convince them.
"Before we start fighting," Leorio clashes weapon with Tonpa, "We have to choose O or X!"
"It's too late for that!" Tonpa yells.
Tonpa swings, his weapon accidentally hitting the wall, chipping a part of it off. Gon notices this.
"Time to put you in your place!"
"Right back at you."
"Seems our only choice is to fight," Killua observes Leorio and Tonpa, sharpening his fingernails.
'What should I do?' Kurapika wonders.
Gon backs up to the wall behind him, his arm feeling the weapon within his reach. His hand wraps around the handle.
"No! Gon, don't do it!" Alluka shouts.
"Three minutes remain," Lippo's voice announces as Hisoka looks at his wristwatch, back in the waiting room.
"It's finally over..." Umori, one of the Amori brothers, says.
"Yeah, that took forever," Imori agrees.
A door behind them opens.
An examinee stands in its shadow, heaving heavily, "Made it in time..." As he slowly limps out into the light of the circular room, his wounds are shown. He ends up collapsing, face-first.
Imori checks his pulse, "He's dead."
"The fool," Umori remarks, "Better to live and try again, than to pass and die."
"One minute remains," Lippo states.
"Looks like it'll just be the nineteen here," Imori comments.
The screen zooms in on Hisoka's face, his eyes closed in contemplation. There is a flash of flamed torches. His lips curve a little.
Another door opens.
All the other examinees turn to stare at it.
The screen shows only Kurapika, Killua and Gon stepping forward.
"Ehh?" Alluka gasps, confused, "I thought you guys all made it out together?"
"Kurapika, applicant #404, is the twentieth to pass. Killua, applicant #99, is the twenty-first to pass. Gon, applicant #405, is the twenty-second to pass," Lippo notifies, "Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."
"My butt hurts..." Killua complains, "I didn't expect a slide for the short and easy path."
"You're just weak," Leorio teases.
Hisoka is listening in like a creep.
'Three of them...' he thinks.
"Thirty seconds remain," Lippo declares.
"That was really close," Gon tells Kurapika.
"My hands are covered with blisters," Kurapika says.
"Same here," Leorio's voice calls out.
"Leorio-san!" Alluka cheers.
"Whoo..." Leorio responds, not as cheerfully.
"Leorio, applicant #403, is the twenty-third to pass." Leorio and Tonpa are seen shoving each other as they make it out into the circular room. "Tonpa, applicant #16, is the twenty-fourth to pass. Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."
"My hands are blistered," Leorio shows his hands, swollen and dirty, "But all five of us cleared the tower together. All thanks to Gon!" He gives said boy a good head pat.
Gon smiles cheerfully.
"More Gon is dog theory," Killua notes.
"Eh? I'm not a dog!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Killua says, patting Gon's head. A wagging tail appears behind Gon for a brief moment before disappearing.
The screen blurs to a flashback.
A monitor displays 5 Os and 0 Xs. The door to the long path opens. Then the five are seen swinging at the wall with the provided weapons, chipping away at the brick.
"Ohh~ That's so smart," Hisoka says, "Subarasheeeesh!"
"Please don't talk again," Kurapika murmurs.
"That's a hunter right there," Ging grins, then in a softer tone, "I knew you could do it, Gon. Anything - you always push through and make it."
Gon beams, "Hehe, it's thanks to everyone I've met as well. I wanted us all to pass because Leorio, Kurapika and Kilua are so fun to be around! And wait until you see all the other cool things I did! So much has happened, and I don't even have to tell you about it - you can just watch!"
Ging no longer holds a trace of boredom on his face. While he attempts to smooth his expression back to a neutral one, a small smile remains, proud of the achievements his son made without him being there.
"We entered the long and difficult path," Kurapika recalls, "Then cut a hole in the wall to sneak into the short and easy path."
"Man, I can't believe you actually came up with that idea on the spot," Leorio says.
"I realised that we could break the walls," Gon explains, "Using the weapons," The scene of Tonpa's weapon chipping the wall from before replays," But it took over fifty minutes."
'In an extreme situation,' Kurapika thinks, 'You were able to calmly evaluate our two options and circumvent them. That's what makes you special.'
"Aww, thank you, Kurapika!" Gon smiles, just as brightly as he is on-screen.
Kurapika blushes slightly as he tries to pass it off nonchalantly, "Of course, Gon. How could I not compliment your fast thinking?"
A beep resounds in the room, indicating the end of the Third Phase.
"The Third Phase of the exam is over," Lippo says, "Twenty-five applicants have passed. One has died."
Another door opens, revealing a bright light.
"Though the team members had their differences," the narrator says, "Gon was able to bring them together, to overcome the trial. However, a friend today may become a foe tomorrow. Gon doesn't know that before long, they'll be pitted against each other, in brutal, individual battles."
"Wow, how poetic, Narrator-san," Killua remarks.
"He's not even here to defend himself," Kurapika says.
"Of course you'd defend him, Kurapika," Leorio quips, "You speak just as dramatically."
"I do not speak in such a way!"
The ending song plays. Then it slows down every time Gon appears on screen.
"Hisoka, what the fck?" Killua demands.
"Eh? Hisoka, stop slowing down the ending song. I want to sing it!" Gon says, Alluka nodding enthusiastically with her "microphone" ready, said microphone having upgraded throughout the episode from a cup to two cups stuck together.
"You're adaptable, Gon," Hisoka says, "You can sing along to this remix. Go on, sing! Sing for me!"
"Hisoka," Silva addresses, "As someone who's been in the professional field for a long time, I think you should reconsider the tribulations of working in the music industry. You have the drive and skills for a clown, so I advise you to stick with that path. And if you ever decide to pursue opera, I'd rather you take Illumi as your Christine than anyone else."
"Oh my god, Dad hates Illumi," Killua whispers.
The preview plays, although familiar scenes pop up of Leorio eating a sour green apple, Kurapika reading a book on a hammock, Tonpa evilly smirking, Hanzo looking like he's boasting, and all of the examiners.
"Next time: Letter x From x Gon!" Gon's voice exclaims.
Hisoka appears as well as Netero, then Killua, then Gon.
"Now I'm worried," a voice sounding like Aunt Mito says.
"Because of me?"
A letter half shoved into a red mailbox is displayed, then the episode ends.
"Eh, hold up, why does the next episode seem like it's showing stuff we've already watched?" Leorio asks.
"Oh? I don't recall some of those scenes?" Hisoka says.
"Right, not everyone was here at the beginning," Gon realises.
"Even so, it seems like a recap video," Kurapika remarks, "Most of us have already seen the events that played out, and for those who haven't, I doubt there is anything of value to watch. It would be wiser to skip this episode, I believe."
"I agree," Killua says, "If we skip this episode, we'll spend twenty minutes less here than if we did watch the episode."
"No complaints," Ging voices.
Everyone else nods in agreement.
"Okay, then let's go to episode 14!"
A/N: I'M SOOO SORRRYYYYY!!!! I gave myself so much time and for what?! >n< I need to just write and post and not care about how low-quality my writing is. Seeing everyone's support made me really want to give you an entertaining read but my humour is so unfunny because I don't really branch out in the content I consume nowadays. Another thing that made this update slower than it should have been is the fact that I wanted to give you a double upload to make up for the long hiatus. But then I found out that Hunter x Hunter on Crunchyroll is now locked behind a subscription fee that I don't really want to pay for because I don't watch enough anime these days to fully make use of it.
Anyway, thank you for waiting, please expect another update before the end of this month (or don't, probably better that you don't actually given my track record) and also HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope everyone's 2024 will be full of amazing experiences and that you are able to accomplish your goals (even if it's something small like touching grass a bit more than you did last year or going to a place you've never been before or finishing a book/series). Give yourself time to indulge in the things you like and focus on the type of person you aim to be. Whatever challenges you may face this year, I absolutely believe you'll be able to push through!
(here's to hopefully more updates heehee)
((^ me when I'm delulu))
(((also, you may have noticed I've started writing uncensored swears)))
((((if that bothers anyone, please tell me and I'll go back to censoring!))))
Oh, also, I won't be writing a reaction for episode 13 (I was considering doing an omake of it but-)
Omake:
Everyone reacting to episode 13: Oh, wowee: electric boogaloo
Mito: *appears on screen*
Ging: Wow, she looks just as dumb as she did back when we were kids.
Mito: *leaps out of the screen* YOU BASTARD!!! *combo attacks Ging and absolutely destroys him*
The End.
Never mind, there's your omake.
Also, Pitou will show up either next episode or the episode after! It depends on the story lol.
Kinda unrelated, this is just me rambling so you can ignore (tbf you can ignore all of my author's note) but I'm considering collecting the HxH manga? I got gifted the first two volumes for xmas (which, Merry Belated Christmas for anyone who celebrates it) and ahhh, it's so much better having a hardcopy than squinting on my phone. This is kinda what's preventing me from catching up with the manga - I read online and it's kinda painful because phone screen is so small. But also, it's soo expensive to buy every volume... :( I might just buy the ones I haven't read yet. And maybe one day, when I'm in retirement, I'll get the entire series.
By the way, what are your thoughts on the way I've been writing the characters? I want to try tone down the shipping and make them a little less one-dimensional (they're at least 2D!). It's kinda hard though, especially for Ging and Silva. I actually read a few other hxh fanfics to try understand Ging better. As for Silva, I have made this discovery of the potential the dynamic he could have with Leorio. This is an old, experienced assassin and a young, still learning about the world medical student/doctor. Bonus points: the assassin is currently incapable of being a good father while the student has unintentionally adopted his kids. (also, for clarification, this is by no means romantic.) But do you guys see my vision? It's such a good dynamic, right? I just need to write it well which I can't but someone else surely can (and if such a fanfic exists already, please share to me).
I'm also thinking of switching Nanika in but I'm not sure when I should do it. On one hand, I love Alluka, on the other hand, I love Nanika. Unfortunately, I cannot use both hands at the same time.
Okay, that's enough thoughts from me for now. Thank you once again and have a wonderful year!! Stay safe wherever you and all the best wishes for the future! ^o^
(I'm not going to proof-read my author's note, or triple read the entire chapter, I just need to publish, no thoughts, head empty, ok, here we go-)