"Well? Let's hear it! What's the next wager gonna be, huh? Or did you lose your nerve when I saw through your little scam?" Leorio asks.
The female prisoner's handcuffs then fall to the ground, freeing her hands. She then takes off her cloak, revealing a woman with puffy pink hair tied in two high pigtails with purple eyes.
"Damn, she's really cute!" Leorio gushes, a creepy look on his face. (Y/N) reels back, hiding behind Kurapika, who was nearest to her. He shields her, sending a glare towards Leorio.
"What a pervert. I hear his heartbeat from here," Killua comments.
"I don't like where this is heading," adds Kurapika.
"Alright. What do you say we place bets on wether I'm a man or a woman," the female prisoner suggests, making it fairly obvious she was trying to play Leorio's hormones. "What's the matter? That isn't a problem is it?"
"Uh, no!" Leorio replies. "Fine I accept. But what if I bet you're a man. How exactly are you gonna prove you're not?"
"Oh right! I promise to let you examine every square inch of my body. Now, will that satisfy you?"
"He's already chosen. He'll bet she's a man," Kurapika states, further shielding (Y/N) who had sunk farther behind him. She didn't like the nasty look on Leorio's face as his eyes trailed down the woman's body.
"Yeah," Killua nods.
"Huh, why?" Gon asks innocently.
"I've made up my mind. And I'll wager ten hours that you're actually a man!" Leorio shouts, pointing at the woman. She smirks in return.
"I knew it," Kurapika grits his teeth.
"Dirty stinkin' old man," Killua scoffs.
"But, how did you know?" Gon wonders. Killua was quick to explain it to Gon.
"Do you get it now?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Okay! Reveal the answer!" Leorio demands.
"That's too bad. I'm really a woman."
"Oh you are huh?" Leorio feigns surprise.
"Well, wanna check for yourself?"
"Well, don't mind if I do, just to be fair of course!" Leorio goes wild. Now he only has ten hours to wager left.
"It is physically painful to watch this," Kurapika facepalms. (Y/N) nods dejectedly, having not enjoyed the little show.
"He's gonna lose," Tonpa speaks up. "No question. She can already see right through his strategy. He's betting safe, it's obvious. Hedging his bets to minimize the damage. He's the kind of gambler to try and avoid losing instead of trying to win. That kind of betting never takes home the prize. Sorry to say it guys, but Leorio just doesn't have what it takes."
"Well, your turn to pick what we bet on next," says the female prisoner. "So what do you wanna wager?"
"Leorio has no room for error. Loosing the next bet would tie the score up with two to two. And then, we loose 50 hours, leaving very little time to clear the tower," Kurapika explains.
"Kay what to bet on...I can't afford to lose but I can't think of a surefire win. Hey I got it! We'll bet on wether or not I'm a real man or just a woman in disguise! No, that's never gonna work, gotta think of something else..." Leorio thinks aloud.
"Keep it to yourself old man. Thinking out loud isn't how you plan a strategy," Killua inputs.
"I know. Leorio!" Gon calls. "How about you bet on wether or not you're a teenager!"
"Gimme a break Gon! There's no way I look that old and you all know it! I'm clearly a teenager!"
The female prisoner was surprised by that.
"Alright, I know what we're betting on!" Leorio exclaims. "Let's bet on who will win rock paper scissors!"
The prisoner giggles. "Why not."
"Is he serious? Why did he have to pick such a difficult wager?" Kurapika asks.
"Wait, what's so hard about rock paper scissors?" Gon questions.
"Let's see, so for my wager, I've got 80 hours that say I'll win, okay?"
"D-did you just say 80?!" Leorio repeats.
"That's not a problem is it? I'm free to bet however much I want."
"I guess there's no rule against it..." Leorio trails off.
"Perfect. And if you lose, I can only take ten from you since that's all you have left, so don't worry."
"While the rules of rock paper scissors are simple, the game itself can be incredibly complex. From a perspective of probability, you only stand a one in three chance of losing any given round. But if your opponent can predict your reasoning and control your actions, your chance of losing increases dramatically," Kurapika explains.
"In short, this is a game of wits," Killua reiterates. "Leorio is pretty lacking in that department."
"I see," Gon says.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Leorio hypes to himself.
The woman walks up to Leorio, laughing slightly.
"Hey, what's so funny?" He asks.
"It's just I can already tell what you're going to use! I'm something of a mind reader you see."
"That is a lie! You can bluff all you want but it'll take a lot more than that to scare me!" Leorio shouts, pointing an accusing finger in the woman's face.
"You'll believe it soon~!" She sings.
"Leorio will use rock," Kurapika predicts.
"You ready? And rock, paper, scissors!" The two both put out rock. Leorio sighs a breath of relief.
"You were right! Good guess Kurapika!" Gon exclaims.
"Leorio was nervous, leading him to avoid any actions that involved opening up. She's good. She's doing everything she can to make him uncomfortable and less likely to use paper."
"So, she sticks to rock, ensuring either a win or a draw," Killua concludes.
"Like I said, rock paper scissors is actually a mind game."
"Now I see."
"Hang on, we both used rock so that was a draw, wasn't it?" Leorio asks.
"So what if it was?"
"Aha! I knew it! You were lying about being able to read my mind! If you were really a psychic then you would've beaten me, right?!"
The prisoner laughs at that.
"What are you laughing at??"
"I gave you that tie on purpose, you're welcome."
"Quit lying!"
"Have you forgotten already? We're trying to stall you here for as long as possible. If I really wanted to, I could force a series of draws that would last indefinitely. But why? I'm sure that wouldn't be half as fun as toying with you. But I'll end it after this. Well? What'll you use next? Come on, think hard," she laughed.
"Dammit!" Leorio shouted, holding his head in between his hands.
"Worrying, fretting, whenever someones confidence is shattered they begin to crave reassurance, see? That's obviously what's happening to Leorio. He'll use the same play or something stronger to regain his confidence," Kurapika points out.
"I see what she's doing. She's trying to get Leorio to choose either rock or paper," Killua says.
"Correct. Using paper means she's certain not to lose."
"Then Leorio's gotta stay one step ahead!" Gon exclaims.
"Indeed, and if he were calmer he might actually be able to."
"Leorio!" Gon calls.
"Now what?!"
"Listen! If you wanna win you gotta play scissors!"
"Scissors, what?!"
The prisoner laughs. "Go ahead, try."
Leorio thinks for a moment before screeching, having overthought it.
"Here we go! Here comes the draw!!" The female prisoner shouts, putting out paper. Leorio puts out rock.
"I win, yay!!" She cheers.
"Amazing. This game's really hard," Gon breathes out.
"Now the score's 2-2," Killua speaks.
"Even worse, we have far less time now that we lost the 50 hours he gambled with," Kurapika adds.
"Sorry, I thought I was a rock paper scissors pro," Leorio apologizes.
"Heh, pretty pathetic showing," Tonpa scoffs.
"What did you say?? Yeah, I guess I can't argue with you there..." Leorio trails off.
It was finally (Y/N)'s time to fight. Out walks her opponent, who had just been freed of his shackles.
"Finally get to stretch my arms, eh?" The man speaks to himself, stretching. He then takes off his cloak, revealing a man with long black hair and a menacing face.
"That's-!" Leorio cuts himself off.
"(Y/N), be careful!!" Kurapika warns.
"W-wait, are we sure we should let her be doing this?! I mean, she's just a girl!" Leorio tries to argue, but (Y/N) walks forward anyways, disregarding him.
"Hang on, who is that guy?" Gon asks.
"Wait seriously you don't know him?" Killua responds nonchalantly.
"Nope, not at all!"
"He's the infamous demon slayer, the one who killed over a hundred demons!" Leorio says. Gon's eyes widen.
"Then that means (Y/N) could be in danger!" Gon shouts.
"Not likely. The only way to kill a demon is with a special blade. The prisoners most likely aren't allowed to have weapons on them, so (Y/N) should be safe," Killua reassures, even though he was worried as well.
"Yeah but still! This guy took out tons of her kind! That means he's super strong so she might have a hard time handling him!" Leorio argues.
"Would you calm down Leorio?! We're all worried here, but for now we just have to have faith in (Y/N)," Kurapika snaps back.
(Y/N) walks to the middle platform, eyes narrowed on the demon slayer. He wasn't there at her clan's massacre, therefore why he was still alive. She had heard of him and how he went rogue, slaughtering normal people as well as demons. That's how he ended up in prison. The other prisoners smirk, confident that the demon slayer would win the fight.
"The last demon...I'll have a fun time torturing you since I can't kill you here and now. I'll end you just like I ended all those other demons!" He shouts.
(Y/N) growls, her eyes and nails becoming sharper and more demon-like. Without warning, she charges at the man, kicking his head off.
His head falls off the platform, falling into the abyss below. His body goes limp, signaling that he was dead.
Everyone's eyes widen at the display of the girl's strength.
'I didn't even need to use nen on him. But perhaps that's because I was just too angry to keep my emotions in check,' (Y/N) thinks to herself.
"Wow...she really did that," Leorio breaths out, gulping slightly.
"Woohoo! That was awesome (Y/N)!" Gon cheers, Killua soon joining in. Kurapika remains quiet, admiring (Y/N) in silence.
(Y/N) walks back to the platform, her normal cheery self returning. She smiles as Gon pats her head, Killua smiling at her also.
"So the final round is upon us," Kurapika speaks after (Y/N)'s fight.
"I guess that means I'm up," Killua sighs out.
"Huh? Wait Killua?!" Leorio shouts.
"What does that mean?" Killua asks.
"Damn this sucks. I really needed to win that round, it's all my fault!" Leorio cries.
"Gon, your buddy here is pissing me off!" Killua points an accusing finger at Leorio.
"Take it easy...!" Gon tries to diffuse the tension.
"Don't throw in the towel. We don't even know what the next contest is yet. But if it's something like doing math in your head I'm totally surrendering..." Killua trails off.
"Hey you're right! If the next opponent is a weakling we might still have a chance!" Leorio exclaims.
Out walks Killua's opponent. The man takes off his hood, revealing a blonde man.
"It's that guy...!" Leorio says, surprised.
"You know him?" Asks Gon.
"We should just take the loss. Killua, you can't fight this guy!" Leorio orders.
"Why not?"
"Johness the dissector. The worst mass murderer in Zaban's history. He chose his victims at random. It was all over the news. 146 people. Men, women, young, old, all slaughtered. Each of the victims had one thing in common, he murdered every single one of them with his bare hands. His grip was infamous. The raw power in his fingers alone, it was unreal," Leorio explains.
"It's been ages since I last touched human flesh," says Johness.
"He's a complete psychopath. You don't have to fight him!" Leorio shouts. "There's always next year, right?"
Killua doesn't answer, instead walking forward onto the middle platform.
"Hey, Killua!" Leorio calls, but Killua keeps walking. "Killua! What the hell?! Wasn't he listening to a word I just said?!"
"Let him go Leorio! He might have a plan we don't know about," Kurapika replies.
(Y/N) looks at Killua with a determined gaze, having faith that he will pull through.
"How do you wanna do this?" Killua asks with a small smile.
"Do this? You have the wrong idea. See you're about to be on the wrong side of a one-sided massacre. I don't care about the exam or reducing my sentence. All I want is to hear you scream."
"Really? Fine, we'll just keep fighting until one of us dies."
"That's right. A battle to the death. Soon, I'll tear your body apart with just my bare hands, you got it?"
Killua walks forward, passing by Johness in a quick motion. Johness stops, his eyes widening. Everyone lets out gasps as they realize what had just happened. Killua had torn out Johness' heart.
"What...happened...? Why...am I so cold...?"
Killua turns around, showcasing Johness' heart wrapped up in a small cloth.
"That's mine...it belongs to me...! Give it back...give it to me...!" Johness shakily walks towards Killua, only to fall to the ground as his heart takes its final beat. Killua sets the heart down in Johness' upward facing palm just as the team's win counter goes up to 4.
"So, that's four wins for us. We move on, right?" Killua asks, looking towards the prisoner who defeated Tonpa.
"That's right! Yeah you guys win," the prisoner replies, sweating.
"By the way, you must be itching for some action. You didn't get to fight. How 'bout it, wanna take me on?" Killua says, a devilish look on his face.
"Thanks but no thanks."
"Suit yourself," Killua shrugs, turning around and walking back to the platform.
"Woah, who is this kid anyway?" Leorio wonders.
"That's right, you guys don't know," Gon speaks up.
"Wait, know what?"
"Killua's family, he says they're a bunch of elite assassins." (Y/N) nods in agreement, signaling she too knew about Killua's family.
"Huh?! Did you say elite assassins?!"
"I'm back!" Killua announces. Leorio reels back in slight fear. "What?"
"Oh! Just...good work out there!"
A door then opens, a walkway appearing on the adjacent side of the middle platform.
"Please cross the bridge. On the other side you'll find a small room. That's where you'll be spending the fifty hours you gambled away," Lippo instructed over the loudspeaker.
"Well, come on!" Killua exclaims, Gon and (Y/N) following along. The other three follow close behind. As soon as they walk in, a door locks shut, meaning they were locked in the room for the next 50 hours. A timer appears on a screen, counting down.
"Come on, gimme a break! I can't believe we've just gotta sit around here for fifty hours," Leorio complains.
"Killua, can you tell me how that technique works?" Kurapika asks.
"What do you mean technique?"
"The one that you used to instantly remove his heart."
"Oh, that one. Well it wasn't a technique really. I just ripped it out."
"That's all??"
"To be honest, I did manipulate my body some, made it a lot easier," Killua says, elongating his nails. (Y/N) and Gon's eyes widen.
"Woah, it's just like (Y/N)!!" Gon shouts.
"Mass murderers talk big, but they're still just amateurs. I used to be a professional. But, my old man would have done a lot better. When he takes a heart, there's not even a drop of blood."
Leorio laughs nervously. "That's good to know, thanks kid...."
'At least he's on our side,' thinks Kurapika.
"Alright then, we've got two days," Killua speaks.
"So what do you wanna do?" Gon wonders.
"Gotta do something! First lets search the room and see if there's anything to play with!" Killua suggests.
"Okay!"
"Hm!" (Y/N) nods with an excited hum, joining the two in their search.
"Kids, not a care in the world, huh?" Leorio scoffs.
Kurapika and Tonpa sink into their seats as Gon, Killua, and (Y/N) all search for things to do. And so their fifty hours begin.