Lamia x Lamia Chapter 10 + Vol 2 (Patreon)

Hunter x Hunter parody: Tier 1

Chapter 9  https://www.patreon.com/posts/lamia-x-lamia-9-27156001 

Chapter 10 Majority Rules

It seems their farewell was short-lived as the group ended up in the same room. No traps or tricks yet. The boys grinned, their journey together wasn’t ending just yet. The room they were in was sealed off with five watches with X and O buttons on the watch. The exit to said room was sealed off until all five watches were put on. “Does this mean we are trapped here until another person comes in?”

“Correct!” the four gasp as a voice came over the loudspeaker. After explaining the rules of their game, he wished them luck.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait.” Leorio sighed.

The examiner for this trial was Lippo. He had everyone monitored, and designed this tower, full of traps, encounters, and perils to challenge even some of the toughest of Hunters. He watched the show while eating crackers. Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua, were on a larger screen. “Those poor fools may have the worst luck, they are on the Path of Majority Rules!” Lippo had seen it time and again, how even some of the closest teams and perfect strangers alike fall prey to this path.

There were some who never even got started, not having enough members and were trapped until time ran out. Others allowed personal fear or selfishness to derail the group. This truly was the most difficult path in the whole tower. “I wonder how this lot will fair.” he chuckled.

This place was no ordinary tower, it was a prison with Lippo as the warden. The prisoners were handpicked by him and set out to test the examinees. Should they halt or defeat them they would get years taken off their individual sentences. “Let the games begin!”

-x-

Two hours had passed, and with only a limited time allotted for this part of the exam, it was making Leorio very nervous. “This is bad, what if there was no left? If everyone took a different path we are screwed!”

“Yelling about it will not change anything. Why don’t you find some way to relax.”

“Relax...we could lose this exam!? I can’t just sit around and...” he paused and looked to Gon. Leorio quickly slid over to Gon. “Say Gon, how about we have some fun while we wait, we could make this alone time more pleasurable.” e wiggled his brows.

“Oi!” Killua growled.

“Leorio!” Kurapika gasped.

Gon didn’t respond, his pointy ears twitching. “Shhh listen!” he pointed up. Someone was knocking about, the group was filled with joy only to have it crushed as Tonpa fell through the trap door. “Mr. Tonpa?” Gon was surprised.

Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio were not pleased to see him. He put on his watch and the exit was revealed.

“To open this door, select O to open, X not to open.” Gon read.

“Forcing us to use Majority Rule already. The answer should be obvious.” everyone pushes a button.

4 = O 1 = X

“Ehh?” the door opened. “Who pressed the X button?”

Tonpa laughed. “Sorry, that was me.” he rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “I pressed the wrong button by mistake.”

Leorio grabbed him clearly pissed. “Stop messing around, old man!” Tonpa began to sweat.

“As I said, it was an accident.” from the look on his face it clearly wasn’t.

“Who accidentally presses the wrong button, huh?!” Leorio shouted.

“Leorio, stop it doesn’t matter.” Gon pointed out, he was right as the door did open.

“No, it does matter!” he glared at Tonpa.

“It really doesn’t, with majority rules, as long as we keep picking the right answer we’ll still move forward.” Killua pointed out.

“He’s right, let’s just move on, time is wasting,” Kurapika added and they headed out. Tonpa had a shit-eating grin on his face. Gon patted Leorio on the back, Tonpa really rubbed him the wrong way.

Their next choice came right away, a choice of left or right. Three chose for Right and Two chose for Left. “Huh?” Leorio gasped. “In most situations isn’t left the right answer?”

“This is true, studies show than when people are lost, or faced with a fork in the road, most lean towards the left.”

“But then the numbers don’t add up!” Leorio said.

Kurapika and Killua chose the Right to throw off the examiner, as its more likely there would be more dangers and traps on the left side. Tonpa also chose Left but pretended he didn’t to stick it to Leorio and try to make him feel stupid.

“If the examiner knows people tend to go left more, then he’d have set more traps that way. Those who are simple-minded would have picked that path,” he said wagging his finger at Leorio.

“But Mr. Tonpa, I picked Right, so doesn’t that mean you picked the simple-minded path.” His finger bent, and he began to sweat bullets.

“I knew it!” Leorio began to shake him.

“Let’s move guys!” Kurapika called from ahead.

Their path led them to a vast chasm, where a fighting arena was placed in the middle of the room. Across the room stood five prisoners in chains and wearing hoods. The first one stepped forward and his handcuffs were removed.

“Allow me to explain before you are a few of Trick Tower’s prisoners.” Lippo’s voice came over the speaker. “They have been hired by the association to test you, you will be fighting against the five of them.” The fights would be one on one, and each participant can only fight once. “You can fight any way you like, there will be no draws. One side would win based on the majority.”

“Seems pretty straight forward.” Killua preferred it that way.

“The fights wouldn’t be so simple, the majority of the prisoners were fighting their freedom, getting one year off for every hour they delay their opponent. So winning the fight isn’t their only objective, simply buying time is enough.”

“How sneaky, and since we only have 72 hours total to reach the goal, losing time can mean the difference between winning the battle but failing the exam.”

First up was Bendot, serving a 199-year sentence for robbery and murder. Tonpa decided to go first. “I’ll be the guinea pig to see what they have up their sleeves, consider this an apology for before.” bridges extended from the walls and connected the two sides to the arena.

The two stepped onto the arena. “Let’s set the terms of the fight, I propose a Death Match!” A battle to the death.

Gon’s side was a tad worried, while Tonpa was annoying, they didn’t believe he’d be able to survive such a fight. He agreed, and the two took a fighting stance. For all their postering the fight only lasted less than five seconds.

“Let the fight begin!” Bendot jumped at Tonpa who quickly dropped to his hands and knees and forfeited.

“I give!” he shouted. As per the rules of this room, one could yield any match regardless of the terms set for the actual fight. Everyone was speechless, even Bendot.

“What did you say?”

“I give...I surrender...you win if I submit right?” he laughed. “So I lose.”

Bendot couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, I’ll take this win.” One point was added to the prisoner team’s score board. “If we win two more rounds you guys lose. So for that, I won’t take your life for forfeiting a death match.”

Tonpa gulped. ‘I hadn’t thought about that.’

If they won the next two matches they’d be stuck here and their 72 hours would be wasted and the prisoners would get 72 years each off their sentences.

Tonpa may have survived, but he had to face Leorio’s wrath once he got back. “You bastard you just confirmed all my suspicions!” he grabbed him by the collar. “You’re just a piece of trash out to sabotage others!”

He dropped the nice guy act. “You’re correct.” It was what he did every year. “And I plan to continue to do so!” He was in the exam for the thrill of crushing rookies, no more, no less. “It gives me such pleasure to see their hopes and dreams crushed. I enjoy the look on their faces so much, I actively sabotage them. It excites me to know I had a hand in their dreams being crushed.”

“You scum!”

“I never plan on becoming a hunter, why would I when I can get all the thrills I want?” he chuckled. “I’ve had enough fun this year. So if I bow out now, I can take the rest of you with me!”

Leorio was about to punch him when Kurapika stopped him. “They want us to fight and waste time.”

“You know, if their goal was to waste time, then the old man may have made the right decision.” everyone looked to Killua. “I can tell, that guy is an ex-soldier or mercenary. Had you fought him, he would have started by crushing your throat, so you couldn’t say, I give up. Then he would have tortured you without killing you for the remaining hours.”

Tonpa’s face went a mix of pale and purple. As much as a scum bag he was he still valued his own life, so the fact he’d come so close not once but twice to death was really shaking him. “I t-totally took that into consideration.” he lied.

“My plan was disrupted,” Bendot said confirming his plan.

The next person up was Sedokan, serving a 149-year sentence for serial bombings. “No problem, if we defeat two of the remaining four, then we win.”

This guy had no idea who he was about to deal with. “Mr. Tonpa I believe I warned you what would happen if you messed with my friends.” It was never wise to piss off a lamia.

Tonpa looked Gon’s way, ready to make excuses, but he had confessed clear as day and was met with golden eyes. In a flash, his toxic mind was locked uptight. “Go stand in the corner!” Tonpa obeyed, drooling as he walked.

“Nice work Gon!” Leorio cheered.

“Impressive,” Killua said. His mother was a skilled hypnotist, and the family had defenses against hypnosis and mind control because of it. She could turn mostly anyone into a sleeper agent to carry out her assassins for her, and she loved the fame so she always confessed to it so at least the hypnotized people didn’t rot in jail. Still, Gon’s skills with hypnosis outclassed hers by far.

“Least now Tonpa will behave himself while we focus on our matches.” Kurapika pointed out.

He decided to go next. They had to win, but some of the prisoners had some dirty tricks up their sleeves. Can they win and still keep their time to pass the exam?

To be continued...Candles, Spiders, Bets, and Killers!