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The third phase of the Hunter's Exam, Trick Tower.
Killua rolls his shoulders, watching Leorio complain about loosing time- being that man's fault by the way! -and then looking for his opponent. He hopes for a battle to the death, maybe. Something simple that he's used to.
As long as it isn't any complicated math.
The prisoners before his were all about time wasting. Assuming this one is the same, Killua's easiest way out is to kill the opponent instantly. He focuses back in when the prisoner's start looking nervous.
"Yikes, didn't think this kid would have to deal with him," The pink-haired girl whispers, squinting her eyes and putting a hand on her hip.
The blue guy nods a little too quickly. "Right, right. Poor kid!"
Killua would take more time to wonder or analyze, but the metal bridge shoots out. The other prisoner's part way soon enough, allowing someone to dance out from the darkness.
It's nothing like Killua is expecting.
Bone-white hair and scars lining half of his ghost-face. In his sockets, pure crimson with an odd pattern. The way he looks says old but the steady way he makes himself look clumsy tells Killua everything. A trained fighter- or dancer? Not a single sound came from his opponent, just the light swishing of the long canvas robe he wore.
"Aaaaaah!" The prisoner sighs, hands stretching above his head and his bones popping. "It's been too long since Tobi's been able to run! His hair's almost the color of yours!"
Killua just ends up staring. He... isn't serious, is he? A laugh works it's way out of him, until he's cackling at the prisoner, hands on his knees and tears in his eyes.
"At this point, man!" Killua giggles, "I'll be done so quickly we'll make up everything that old man lost!"
Leorio shouts something, but Killua's too focused on Tobi. The man shudders like he's giggling along. However, the flat grin and seething eyes are a dead giveaway to somebody like Killua.
He'll have to take this seriously.
"A battle then?" Tobi asks, "Boy! I'll have to whip out my secret techniques! When should we end? First blood? Oh- first contact? How about-"
"Death." Killua finishes for him, grinning lazily. "A fight to the death, for your stupid life in prison, yeah?"
Tobi rocks back on his heels, arms waving like he stumbled. "Woah-woah! Serious! I'll take you up on that!"
"Your time starts now," The man over the intercom speaks.
Killua wastes no time. He dashes, noticing the man flinch in slow motion.
Trained fighter as this man may be, Killua is a Zoldyck, and there's nobody who can recover from a beating heart in somebody else's palm-
"Was that supposed to do something, kiddo?"
Huh?
Killua freezes, mid-landing and nails still sharper than a knife. In his hand is nothing but a white, cartilage-like substance wrapped in canvas. The material melts from his hand, and he whips around to look at Tobi.
His opponent is in his face, unsettling eyes spinning and his grin far less fake. The hole in his chest spins with his pupils until it's no longer dripping, but instead holed like cheese.
Killua swallows air. Tobi's laughing at him, dancing back on light feet to the other side of the rock.
"Well! You wanna try another method then? My heart's been gone longer than I've cared to track." Tobi's hands cup his face and he sways like a child. "Woe is it, really! No bump-bump-bump in this ol' chest!"
Killua shakes, throwing the fabric and flexing both of his hands into something his father would be scared by. He rushes again, swiping at every open defense he sees, every fake-trip Tobi pulls.
Nothing lands.
If it gets close, then it's always a scrap of canvas or just air. Killua's nowhere near the weird skin, or the hole that's been slowly closing the entire time.
Tobi dances, and really that's the only thing Killua can call it. Spinning and flourishing; throwing his hands up and letting fabric fly. He's embarassing Killua and it makes him more and more angry by the second.
Every technique, the afterimage, the heart thing, his nails, intimidation, over and over. Nothing worked!
"Killua! You got this!" Gon shouts, interrupting his rhythm for less than a second and-
He's flat on his back.
Tobi is cross-legged ontop him. Killua breathes out, struggling for air for a few moments.
"You're a child soldier." Tobi says. It takes Killua a moment to process the changed voice, how much deeper it is.
"I'm an assassin, idiot!" Killua groans, "Get off of me! Do you have multiple personalities or something?! Move!"
He swipes at the man's side, who only frowns. "You won't make any progress on that side--!"
He cuts himself off before finishing the sentence, but Killua locks onto it with pure desperation. One deep gash in his side and the man moves off of him. Killua, grinning attacks more of the left side instead of right. Tobi seems to get more serious, frowning more and blocking rather than dodging.
Finally, something seems to snap and Tobi lands a hit right in Killua's stomach. He barely catches himself before falling, shrugging off dust while Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon yell after him.
Tobi makes eye contact with him, squinting. Killua is very certain he's covered in the rock's dirt by now, having had the worst fight outside of his family yet. The prisoner grimaces and looks up towards the ceiling. The air changes again, and once again Tobi's waving his hand all around like a child.
"Mister Proctor sir! Tobi's too tired to continue, I've been reaaaally roughed up, you know? I forfeit!"
Anger spikes through Killua. "You can't just-!"
"Killua!" Kurapika interrupts. He looks back at him, and the blonde shakes his head. "We've wasted enough time! Let him end it! We still need to pass!"
Tobi giggles, "Your leader there is right! Wouldn't want to spend any more than those 50 hours messing around, no?"
The proctor allows for a forfeit.
Tobi catches Killua by the shoulder before he can leave the platform. A card is slipped into his hand, disguised as a very extra handshake.
Later on, as they're waiting for the rest of their hours Leorio lost, Killua looks at it. It's nothing but a mess of lines and symbols, things he can barely recognize as old Japanese. The only few he recognizes, in the center, 'seal' and 'summon'.
He slides the small paper into a hidden pocket, alongside a dagger.