Chapter 5
The Dance of Death
"Here we go, maggots!" Royoko said. "365 divided by 5 is 73. Yes, I was ordered to kill two of you! Anyways, there are 73 doorways in this hallway. Chose one, and enter with your group. After a group enters a doorway, the door will lock, so only one team can enter any given doorway!
"Behind the doorway is a hallway, which then splits into tunnels. It's a maze. In order to reach the end, you need to get through everyone in your path, including other teams! Only the FIRST TEN TEAMS to reach the end will proceed to stage 2. That's right, sissies! At least 315 of you will FAIL! Now, go find a door. I'll blow the whistle to begin. The door's locked right now so don't try to open it!"
Ging's team found a doorway. The door was labeled 58. They stood around the locked door, just as the other teams did.
"You have twelve hours to reach the end! You'll be going through levels of basements, so expect a long journey. And....." She blew into her whistle. "Begin!"
All of the doors opened simultaneously. Ging's headstrong nature resulted him to be the first to charge into the doorway, with List, Wdwune, Scarecrow, and the mysterious girl at his heels.
• • •
The five had been walking in near silence for ten minutes. The maze was dim. None of them knew if they were going the right way, but Ging's confident stride persuaded the others that he knew what he was doing.
"Excuse me." Scarecrow asked the mysterious girl, "What's your name? I don't believe we've formally met."
She gave him a hard glare. "Tell me your names first. And don't lie about anything." Her eyes glowed purple. "I can tell when you lie."
Scarecrow's stride slowed down. His face was coated with astonishment and worry. He must know something we don't. The three boys thought. And they were right. List, Ging, and Wdwune could not sense the intimidating aura that the girl was giving off. However, Scarecrow, possessing superpowers himself, could sense her Nen clearly.
"M..my name is..." Scarecrow humbly removed his straw hat. "Fumito Takeshi. However, everyone just calls me Scarecrow."
The revelation from Scarecrow, combined with the fact that the girl did not call him out for lying, convinced the boys that there definitely was something going on. They continued to walk straight with their backs to the girl and Scarecrow to avoid suspicion.
This girl... List thought. Her intimidation alone forced Scarecrow to reveal his true name- something he wouldn't tell us. Scarecrow is a trusting person. I could tell he trusts us and not her, but he is more truthful with her than us. He must know that her threat has something behind it. But why does he know that? What can he feel that we cannot?
"Cool." she said. "What about you three?"
List closed his eyes. "My name is List Reagan."
"Ging Freecss." the reckless teenager said.
"... Wdwune." he said. "Pronounced D-w-u-n, spelled W-d-w-u-n-e." Wdwune walked quietly, covering his solemn face in the shadows that the dim maze generated.
Quiet. List thought. That is a first. Is he intimidated as well? Is this how he acts when faced with a serious situation? If so, why was he so scared with those giant fish, but so serious now?
"Hey," Ging said, "why does everyone feel so tense and down in the dumps?"
List looked up. Nothing. He realizes nothing. Is he not as smart as Wdwune, or is this saying something about Wdwune's true mental level?
The girl smirked. She must've known fully what the situation was. "Fine." she said. "My name's Hikaru. The secret's out."
As she finished her revelation, the five entered a bright room.
"Ah, what's this?" Scarecrow said. "I didn't see any blinding lights two meters ago."
"Greetings!" a voice said. The five looked around. They were within a large room, with what appeared to be a small circular arena in the center. The only exit to the room was the door behind five other figures on the other side of the room. Only exit- the one behind our heroes slammed shut behind them as they entered the bright room.
"Oi, what the hell's this?!" Wdwune shouted, regaining his previous obnoxious behavior.
"Just... An obstacle." The five people on the other side of the room began to advance. All five wore dark black hoods. Their faces were covered, but their body shapes were clear enough. There was one short and skinny individual. Another was skinnier, and a bit taller. The third was about the same width as the first, but was taller than the second one. The fourth and fifth were colossal, and extremely tall. Five was slightly taller than the fourth.
"We are criminals." the first, and shortest, one said. "We were sentenced to death or life in prison. The hunter's association bailed us out, at the cost that we act as obstacles in this exam. A place where we could easily die anyways. Heh... It wasn't an offer we could pass up." He removed his hood. The first criminal wore tattered clothing. He had a purple mohawk, and very large glasses.
"My nickname is 'Tango." he said. "The rules here are that we fight one-on-one battles, until one team accumulates three points. Who will fight first?"
"Oi! Why don't we just smash all of your faces in at once at together, short stop?!" Wdwune yelled.
"Sure, we would be defeated," Tango said, "But the only exit surely would not open. We're worth more to you alive than dead. Only we can signal for the opening of the doors. And don't try torture- there's more people in this room than you can see." Tango began to snicker.
"Let us just do it." List said.
"Yeah." Ging said. "Kick his ass at his own game."
"Let me go first." Scarecrow said. "I'm one of the strongest here, I bet. If I can secure a first victory, we'll have a good foothold."
Scarecrow stepped up onto the circular arena. The rest of the opposing team stepped off. The only ones on the platform were Tango and Scarecrow.
"List, at your leisure." Scarecrow said.
"Of course." List said. "Three! Two! One! Begin!!!!"
Without missing a beat, Tango shot forward with a punch. Scarecrow dodged sideways, pushing the extended arm to throw Tango off balance and he sliced sideways. However, Tango's balance was not upset at all. He continued to charge Scarecrow, and Scarecrow's small tactics could not compare to Tango's physical feats at all. Scarecrow couldn't sneak in a counter attack anywhere, either. All he could do was dodge, and Tango's bare feet cut past inches from his face.
"What are you doing, hay head?!" Wdwune yelled. "Hit him! Hit him!"
"He can't, you idiot." Hikaru said. "That Tango guy's strong. If Scarecrow's attack doesn't throw his off, then he'll be an open target for an easy blow. Tango could take his out in a single hit. Although..." She watched Wdwune's eyes, "I'm surprised you can follow their movements with your eyes. Aren't they moving too fast. Besides you don't even have Ne-"
"Are you saying something?" Wdwune said, confused.
Moron. Hikaru thought. He's like a blind man- he cuts off other senses so one sense of his gets amplified. He cut off his hearing to see better, and follow their extremely speedy movements. That would be an extremely useful tool in a Nen fight, but too bad he doesn't have Nen. Hikaru looked at Ging and List. List is smart, but neither of those two can follow Scarecrow's or Tango's movements.
"Hahaha!!" Tango yelled. "What are you gonna do, hillbilly? You can't lay a finger on me!"
"Not a finger." Scarecrow said, as he flicked something from his finger at Tango. The projectile poked into his stomach, drawing a bit of blood from the new small hole.
"Ow! Uh.. Was that supposed to do significant damage?" Tango laughed. "What was that? A pebble?! Haha!! You stand no chance!"
"A pebble." Scarecrow echoed. "Sure. Let's go with that." As he spoke those words, a plant sprung out of Tango's chest.
"Ahh!! What the- was that a plant?! You are your dirty tricks! But I can sense how much Nen you put into the plant." Tango said. "You barely put in enough to break my skin. This crop, sticking out of my chest, is now useless to you. On top of that, I know your power! Fool!" Tango began to laugh.
Scarecrow glared. A powerful aura surrounded his body.
"Woah..." said Hikaru. Tango was clearly surprised by Scarecrow's Ren. List, Wdwune, and Ging were awfully confused.
"Oh, I see. You have some power. But not enough!" Tango then began to dance.
His body moved with unbelievable speed and fluidness. His limbs extended and covered a half-dome around himself. It was as if he created a force field out of his body. Get too close, and you'll get kicked.
"Dance of Death!!!" Tango yelled. It was the name of his technique. "This is why they call me Tango!"
"He won't win." Hikaru said. "He's holding back too much."
Scarecrow reached into his pocket, and pulled out several small seeds. He scattered them around Tango's dome of attacks.
"Whatcha doin', Scarecrow?" Ging said. "Spreading your seed?"
Scarecrow ignored Ging's vulgar comments. He glared at Tango, who replied with a worried expression. Suddenly, each of the seeds exploded into giant vines and plants, that grew, constricted, and shot through the air liked bladed harpoons.
"Dance, fucker." Scarecrow said. Within moments, Tango was reduced to nothing more than a bloody doll on a 30-meter long shish kabob.
Team Ging: 1. Criminals: 0.
__________________________
Next time: Enter Shadow, the next of the five criminals!