"Yasumi, applicant 166, is the fifteenth applicant to pass. Total time, thirty-three hours and fifty-five minutes."
You carefully covered your eyes from the brightness after emerging from that extremely dark tunnel. Blinking, you withdrew your hand and quickly analyzed who was already there.
Of course, the one directly opposite you was Hisoka who had smirked as you made eye contact him. There was around 14 people there, all who were resting or simply sitting against the wall- well except that one ninja guy who was doing a series of push-ups and crunches.
Your eye twitched, the only sign of your annoyance, at the sight of only one other females present, who was a rather stylish female marksman.
But you simply walked over to a empty section against the wall and took to relaxing your body. You hadn't sustained any injuries however the path you continued on, a trickster's tricks, was well-.. really tricky.
« 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕- 𝒕𝒆𝒏? 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅, 𝒎𝒊𝒅-𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅, 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆.
𝑰𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒆.
𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒙, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒚𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎. 𝑨𝒏 𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅, "My name is Até, and to pass through to the end of the tower , you must answer all 99 of my riddles. " »
And obviously that had taken a while, around twenty hours, you hadn't gotten all of the riddles correct and for each wrong answer then you were forced to enter different sections of the tower with all sorts of challenges and once you passed, then you'd just return back to the sphinx. And whatever progress you made with answering the riddles would be reset after you returned, so you were just mentally drained at this point.
You stretched for a moment before fully relaxing against the wall, your thoughts running towards Akaki. You were slightly worried for her, yes she was just forced to wait in a room for fifty hours but who knows what could happen with Akaki involved.
You'd been separated from her for around twenty hours seeing as you left her when thirteen hours had been depleted from the seventy-two hour time limit.
You distantly wondered if she's killed Tonpa already.
But as you leaned your head back, you calmed your thoughts and attempted to rest. Your worries would have to wait until after your nap.
<--------------------------->
(twenty hours ago)
Akaki sent one last glance at your retreating figure, sighing at the fact you hadn't turned back but she shook her head and followed the rest inside the room.
Instantly Akaki noticed the problem of how small the room was, and she wasn't usually claustrophobic but seriously? How could this Lippo guy think six people could stay here for fifty hours.
Did he want her to kill someone?
Leorio tsked, moving to rest on the couch, " We seriously have to spend fifty hours in here?"
Akaki groaned, following Leorio and sitting down next to him as she widely man-spread her legs which sent Leorio scooting off the seat.
He sent a glare towards her, but she stayed ignorant as Kurapika questioned Killua.
" Killua, could you tell me how that technique works?"
"Technique?" Killua questioned.
Kurapika explained, "The one you used to remove his heart."
Akaki loudly exclaimed, "He means your kitty claws brat."
Killua sent a glare towards her, demonstrating his sharpened nails towards her as a threat but Akaki just stuck her tongue at him.
Killua showed his nails towards Kurapika, "This isn't really a technique, I just ripped it out."
He explained, "I just manipulate my body a bit"
Gon and Leorio both had expressions of surprise on their face, one more worried and the other more amazed.
Killua manipulated his nails back to normal, "Murderers are only amateurs. I used to be a professional but my old man could've done better. When he removes a heart, there's barely a speck of blood."
Leorio muttered, "How reassuring.." He sent a glance towards Akaki before promptly attempting to move Akaki's legs to gain back some seating but shortly gave up with a huff.
Killua loudly announced, "Well we have more than two days."
Gon turned to Killua, "What should we do-" However he was interrupted by Akaki loudly screeching.
"Two days?! Wait fifty hours is two days worth?! I'm spending two days without Yasumi in this hellhole!?"
Akaki threw herself off the couch, which was a relief for Leorio who was finally able to sit properly, as she sobbed.
Gon attempted to calm down Akaki, but before he could, Kurapika suddenly questioned Akaki.
"Akaki, how did you meet Yasumi? Since you had been friends with her before you met us, we don't know anything about you two."
Akaki stopped sobbing, curiously looking up at Kurapika, "You really wanna know? It's a long story and Yasumi would be better at explaining it... But if you want then I could!" She grinned.
Gon grinned alongside her, "Yes please! I love listening to stories and we have alot of time." He looked towards Killua who was actually looking curious to know too.
Akaki sat back on the couch, nearly knocking off Leorio again who had screeched at her to stop but she just ignored him.
Gon sat down infront of the couch, looking up excitedly at Akaki, and Killua hesitantly joined him.
Akaki hummed, holding onto her chin," I guess I should first explain where I first started. But I come a clan, well a dead clan now."
Kurapika stiffened up at her words, before joining Gon and Killua in sitting on the floor. Even Leorio was now leaning in from beside Akaki in curiosity.
And of course, Tonpa was forgotten as he sat degectedly against the wall.
Akaki blushed in embarrassment at all the attention on her before continuing on, "I come from the Socota clan, a very small clan but we were known for-"
"-For your skill with the sword and so called blessing of the Typhon dragon."
Everyone stared at Kurapika, who had interrupted Akaki.
Akaki especially stared mouth agape, "You know of us? Of Typhon?"
Kurapika hesitated but ultimately shook his head, "I don't know much, but I too come from a clan and I had heard of yours just in rumors."
Gon looked at Akaki with pure amazement in his eyes, "Whats this Typhon dragon?"
Akaki grinned, excited to explain, "My clan is-well was small but we date back centuries ago. And my people were said to be blessed by the great Typhon dragon, and we were blessed with the ability to manipulate pure flames."
Gon oohed in amazement but both Killua and Leorio looked sceptical.
Leorio questioned her, words dripping with sarcasm," So you can control fire? "
Akaki chuckled, "Of course not dummy, Typhon has for a long time been defeated. And with him went our blessings, but instead of disappearing, it has just been slowly fading away. And my clan ends with me, simply being immune to fire, no control of it or anything."
Leorio hummed, nodding his head but he obviously wasn't falling for it.
Killua lazily drawled out,"And what does that have to do with you first meeting Yasumi?"
Gon hushed Killua, shushing him as he waited for Akaki to continue. Killua looked extremely offended at the fact he had been shushed.
Akaki grinned at the sight before continuing a somber tone to her words , "Well a clan believed to control fire is well, beneficial to some. My clan was massacred by a man named Kenichi Yokohime who had thought us useless because my clan couldn't control fire."
Silence spread over the room, concerned glances being sent towards Akaki but she continued.
"As I said, over time our blessing had faded out. So back then I was the only one who was fully immune to flames. And because of that, I had been the only one kept alive because I was deemed useful. After that, my memory is really faded out because of the control and manipulation Kenichi kept over me. There was speculation of it also being a drug induced haze so there's that. "
An even somber ambience controlled the room until Akaki grinned as she concluded up her story.
"But then I met Yasumi. Apparently I was ordered kill her because her family wasn't partnering up with Kenichi's corporation and Kenichi wanted Yasumi dead as revenge. But obviously I failed to kill her and instead, she saved me and brought me to Yokaru island."
Leorio screeched at her last words," Yasumi is from Yokaru island!? "
Like a quick snap, the awkward somber air disappeared at the switch of the topic.
Gon curiously wondered aloud,"What's so special about this Yokaru island?"
Leorio screeched even louder at the confusion on Gon's, Killua's and even Kurapika's face, "YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW?"
Akaki couldn't help it as she fell back while laughing hysterically.
Leorio explained, pulling at his hair in the process, "Yokaru island is only the most exclusive place in the world! It was only around fifteen years ago that it was opened for tourists but the boats to get there are ridiculously expensive because the history on Yokaru island dates back centuries ago! Not to mention the dangerous and famous Homare family living on the island! "
Akaki smirked at the mention of the Homare family, proud it was her best friend Leorio was talking about. It was a shame she couldn't say Yasumi belonged to the Homare family since she wanted to keep that a secret.
Kurapika's eyes lit up with slight recognition, "I think I recognize the name Homare but nothings coming to mind."
Gon nodded, "I don't know anything about them but the island sounds interesting."
Killua shrugged, "I don't care about it."
Leorio only slumped back into the couch in despair, " You guys are unbelievable. Whatever, I'm taking a well deserved nap after everything that happened."
Gon and Killua looked at each other before shrugging and wondering around to explore the room.
Meanwhile Kurapika took to exploring the small bookshelf in the room.
Akaki watched everything before following Leorio's idea of taking a nap.
Maybe it was the talk of the night she met Yasumi but Akaki dreamt of a past she'd rather forget.
« 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓, 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑶𝒉 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆. 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊'𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆.
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑫𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅.
𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓.
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔.
𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒑.
𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆.
𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆?
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓...
𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆.
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒚.
𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇.
𝑼𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕. »
Akaki's dream was interrupted by the shock running through her body, her hand instantly grabbing at the object that was thrown at her as her body was placed on guard.
However she calmed down at the sight of Gon and Killua staring wide eyed at her, scattered pillows surrounding them. In the midst of Akaki's confusion, Killua threw a pillow at Gon while he was distracted.
Akaki chuckled at the sight, throwing the pillow the she caught back into the scuffle Gon and Killua were having.
She rubbed at her eyes as she realized she had slept through half the day as it was already 'night time. ' Well at least it should be night time seeing as the lights were off.
Akaki smiled at the blanket covering her, someone having placed it over her.
Her smile turned to a laugh as Leorio moved around due to Gon's and Killua's commotion and he ended up getting a good wiff of Tonpa's disgusting feet seeing as Leorio immediately shot up and blew his hand at his nose as he glared at Tonpa. "That stinks!"
Gon and Killua were sent into a laughing fit, even Kurapika was chuckling.
Akaki smiled at the sight.
She has more friends now.
It felt nice.
Leorio leaned over Tonpa, angrily muttering "You better not be pretending to be asleep."
Sadly Leorio didn't see Tonpa opening one eye as he got up.
Leorio stretched for a moment, "Dammit, now I'm awake. And we still have fourth hours left? Dammit!"
Akaki grinned, leaning back into her seat as she held her blanket close to her.
<--------------------------->
You weren't sure how exactly it happened, but eventually you found yourself playing card games with Ponzu, a bow user with the name Pokkle and the ninja dude who's name was Hanzo.
It was fun, conversation was light and easy as you guys conversed on various topics with most of it being speculation of the next phase and complaints of previous phases and the specific path they went through in the tower.
You found out Pokkle was a bit of a sore loser, Ponzu was a really logical person and had this mom vibe and that Hanzo could say the most obsurd things at random.
Overall, you really enjoyed their company. It really made you forget your worries concerning Akaki.
Well- almost.
<--------------------------->
Akaki was sitting degectedly infront of the open mini-fridge, having gotten hot within the claustrophobic space.
Kurapika had been reading, Leorio taking a nap, Tonpa cutting his toenails which was extremely disgusting and Gon and Killua were playing around with Gon's fishing rod.
Akaki wasn't paying attention, more so focusing on pouting as she finished the small assortment of soda cans in the fridge, the now empty cans laying next to her.
She barely paid attention to the commotion behind her, recognizing Leorio's voice as he complained but when was he not.
Akaki only paid attention to her surroundings as a fish hook carefully swung in her direction, catching into the small hole in one of the soda can's tabs. The can flew in the air as the rod was jerked back, however another sudden jerk sent the can crashing straight into Akaki's forehead.
Akaki clutched at her forehead, pouting as she turned to stare at the perpetrator. Except both Gon and Killua held onto the fishing rod, both staring apologetically at her, well Killua less so.
Akaki in turn, grabbed one of the cans and promptly chucked it at the two.
Killua held his hand up to catch it, except there was still soda inside so when he caught it then it splashed over his face.
Akaki laughed at the sight, Leorio joining her at the fact he also got revenge.
Gon chuckled too but hurried to get a towel to dry Killua off, who was glaring at Akaki.
Akaki just smirked and pulled at her eye as she stuck her tounge out which caused the long and boisterous argument between her and the brat.
<--------------------------->
You carefully chewed at the food you guys were given, awfully plain and tasteless. Most likely to avoid any allergie problems or maybe the budget was all spent on the blimp food or something.
Ponzu, who had been sitting next to you, quickly finished her food. "I hope we aren't going to be getting this every time. I would prefer to go back to the start of the tower."
Pokkle confusedly stared at her, having happily been eating his food, "What do you mean? The foods delicious!"
You and Ponzu made eye contact, coming to the same thought, which caused Pokkle to try and defend himself.
Hanzo had been calmly mediating, even during Pokkle's slight commotion.
<--------------------------->
As much as Akaki tried to deny it, the fifty hours passed by in a blur. It had its boring moments but also its funny and exciting moments.
During the last half hour before the fifty hours would be finished, everyone took to stretching to prepare themselves for whatever the tower would throw at them.
The stretching was slightly interrupted by the game of tag that started which very shortly ended after Killua threw himself at Gon which sent him launching at Akaki who was doing a handstand which then shot her into Leorio who was doing some shoulder rolls.
And sadly the fun ended there with a scolding from Leorio, which did make the last fifteen minutes less boring as Leorio was constantly interrupted by Gon and Killua making jokes.
With the last minute on the clock, everyone stood infront of the locked door, everyone prepared to finally get back to completing the tower.
Finally the light on the door lit green and it opened, Gon and Killua immediately shooting forward and through the door with everyone following them.
<--------------------------->
Ponzu sat huddled up next to Pokkle as he explained the different poisons he uses with his arrows, the two becoming close to each other even though they should've been more guarded seeing as there was a chance the information could be used against Pokkle.
But that seemed unlikely as Ponzu listened in genuine interest, speaking of her own information.
You smiled at the sight but Hanzo stole your attention at his shout. "Don't lose focus Yasumi! Losing focus means losing the mental battle against yourself and once that happens then your morals would be lost!"
You grinned, "Of course sensei!"
You had joined Hanzo in his exercises, the both of you currently doing a series of difficult push-ups. Well difficult to others but for you and Hanzo, it had been fun.
<--------------------------->
Akaki was quickly growing tired of the twists and turns they had been encountering.
They would think they were finally making progress only to end up back in familiar areas.
And the traps were extremely boring at this point, a deathy large ball rolling down the corridor, spiked floors and pressure plates with all sorts of traps below them.
Akaki just wanted to get back to Yasumi. Nice and simple.
So why was this not simple?
They all stood inside a room, decorated with all sorts of weapons. Akaki couldn't help eyeing this one sword with a curved blade but focused more on the growing tension in the room.
Right, they would have to choose three out of the six to continue the phase and the rest would be chained against the wall.
The tension growing became too much, Tonpa being the first to attack which caused everything to go haywire.
That is until, Gon came up with a solution.
<--------------------------->
You has separated yourself from the small group of Pokkle, Ponzu and Hanzo, your nerves becoming too much to handle.
Time was ticking, literally as the time reached five hours left to two hours left to one hour left to thirty minutes left to literally five minutes left.
You were anxiously rocking on your feet, hand scratching at your left arm.
You were full on panicking, your breaths becoming shorter as the time reached one minute left.
It wasn't until the door lifted up, dust covering who has just arrived.
"Kurapika, applicant 404, is the twenty-second to pass.
Killua, applicant 99, is the twenty-third to pass.
Gon, applicant 405 is the twenty-fourth to pass.
Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."
You stopped and stared, heart leaping to your throat as you noticed Akaki wasn't there. That was until-
A figure flew out the opening, landing roughly on the floor as another two figures struggled to fit through the door and as they tried to exit at the same time.
You grinned, making eye contact with Akaki who shakily got up from the ground as she sent you a thumbs up.
"Akaki, applicant 165, is the twenty-fifth to pass.
Leorio, applicant 404, is the twenty-sixth to pass.
Tonpa, applicant 16, is the twenty-seventh to pass.
Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."
You walked up to them, Leorio thanking Gon for his brilliant idea," We passed all thanks to Gon!"
You grinned, speaking up, "Sounds like you guys went through some rough things."
They all sent glances towards each other before laughing, Akaki wrapping her arm around you, "You wouldn't know the end of it."
A loud buzzing filled the air, the speaker being the cause of it, " The third phase has officially ended. Twenty eight applicants have passed."
A section of the wall opened up, sunlight washing through the room from the entrance.
The third phase has ended but the fourth phase has now begun.
____________[fact/s num X]_____________
[Yasumi did indeed struggle with the riddles during her path, a tricksters tricks, as she's more a logical person but the answers to most of the riddles were considered dumb by her.]
[Akaki enjoys the company of friends.]
[Akaki doesn't mind talking about her past, but she hates that afterwards she has dreams about it.]
[Yasumi believes Pokkle and Ponzu got close too quickly for it to be to just be friendly.]
[Hanzo is the best person to go to the gym with but once he starts giving a speech on a person's determination and never giving up then be prepared to never get the chance to leave.]
______________________________
Word count = 3865
I was just a little bit lazy when writing the switching of povs.
Maybe if I were to ever go on a rewrite or full story edit then I would definitely add more scenes.
Also kudos to myself for finally reaching double digits in the chapter's number.