Part 8: Truth X Or X Dare

SECCO RASVIN

When we opened the door, a tiny room welcomed us. It was like a normal room you always see in most of the houses and a timer at the middle that starts at 50 hours, the hours that we gambled in one of the matches.

"Gon, let's find some entertainment," Killua suggested again with a wide smirk on his face.

"Okay. Let's go!" Gon shouted and they all rushed on every corner of the room. Leorio just sat on the sofa while Kurapika went to a bookshelf and picked a random book to read.

While I am just standing there, watching them doing something with a warm smile on my face.

"Secco!" I heard Gon shouted my name so I turned around to see him. "Join us!"

"Kay!~" I shouted back and ran towards their direction. We found some toys to play with and other stuff. We've already finished exploring the whole room and there's nothing to do right now.

"Guys, let's play Truth or Dare!" Gon recommended to all of us inside the room, grabbing all of their attention and was interested in playing the game. Quite the opposite, I was warned by myself to not play that game, or it will reveal the hidden pieces of my past.

"Oh! That's a good idea! Let me join!" Leorio accepted the suggestion.

"I think It's worth the time." Kurapika agreed with a smile.

"I-I think I'll pass, Gon.~" I spoke, raising my hand to show that I'm not interested. I gave them all a fake smile, hoping to accept my declination.

"Eh?!", Gon pouted, waiting for my answer. "Come on, Secco! Play with us!"

"S-Sorry.~" I answered with a peace sign. Gon keep insisting me to join the game while I keep rejecting his offer.

"Why?", Killua finally said a word, getting all of our attention. "Are you hiding something from us?"

His questions triggered me like it was a door towards Hell, and I have to face the consequences because I entered the wrong path. I gulped to swallow my saliva and opened my mouth.

"A-Alright then, I'll join."

"Yay!" Gon exclaimed, giving me a bear hug and went back to his previous seat. We all sat in a circle, facing each other.

"I'm first.", Gon grabbed a glass bottle he just found in the corner of the room and displayed it in the center of the circle.

After that, he spun it like a clock hand running loose, cannot seem to determine which hour and time are the correct ones. Until it stops, with its head pointing at... Killua.

"It's Killua!", Gon shouted and turned around to see him. "Killua, truth, or dare?"

"Hmm... truth. I'm lazy to do some work," he said with his cool voice.

"Then... what is your favorite food?" he asked him which made us all shocked.

"Gon! What kind of question is that!!" Leorio complained between his laughs, as I just laughed with him. Kurapika just chuckled.

"My favorite food? Hmm... chocolate of course. Especially, chocorobos!" he said proudly with his arms folded, maybe imagining himself eating a bunch of that choco-something.

We spent the time playing truth or dare. When it was my turn, the bottle pointed at Kurapika. He chose to dare unexpectedly, I thought that he will choose truth like Killua. I made him laugh as loud as he can and found out that we all started laughing.

"Next, it's my turn," Killua said with a cat smile and spun the bottle.

I hid my other hand and secretly finger-crossed it, hoping that the bottle won't point at me. I know what will Killua do, and I'm pretty sure to ask about my arm or my past.

Unfortunately, the bottle's head stopped right in front of me, making me the next victim. Sweat drops on my face and raised my head to see Killua, who was giving me a wide grin.

"I'll ask you, moron... truth or dare?"

I couldn't afford to finalize my answer since it's a very hard decision for me. If I choose either of them, it still ended up of me telling about my past. I'll just pray to hope that Killua won't ask me anything related to my arm.

"...D-Dare!"

"Then..." he stopped for a second and raised his hand, pointing his index finger towards my bandaged arm. "... Tell us about what you're hiding behind those bandages."

I looked at my left side and stared at what he's pointing for a few seconds until I turned my eyes to him. How did they know about this? I kept it hidden! Maybe when the time that I lost unconscious earlier, I also felt my bandage loosed but I didn't have the strength to tie it back. I was planning to tell them about my arm but I wasn't ready yet and I didn't expect that it will be this time.

"T-This is nothing..." I said in my cracking voice.

"How can that be nothing? It looked suspicious to me." Killua answered as he looking at it with his innocent eyes, but to me, those eyes were trying to say 'I win!' or something along those lines.

Even Gon and the others started to stare at me, ready to listen to what I'm going to say in front of them. I didn't speak for minutes, still covering my arms and keep away from them.

This decision is very hard for me. What happened if I've told them? Will they abandon me, or will we stay like this?

I let out a very deep sigh.

"Sorry, everyone, but I'm not gonna show you this arm, nor to tell you about it." I apologized with matching bows at them.

"It's unfair." I heard Killua said cooly with his voice. I raised my head to see his emotionless face. "Everyone here did a dare... and you won't."

"Eh?"

I was spaced out after what he said, not saying any word, speechless. I couldn't think of an explanation for that.

"Killua, please stop it! It must be hard for her to tell us, give her some time." Gon backed me up by begging Killua while the other two were just sitting there, listening.

"Sorry, Gon. But I'm not as kind as you. I gave her some time to have the courage to tell us... since at the airship." he explained, which made me feel more guilt because I couldn't say a word.

"But Kil-"

"It's okay, Gon." I interrupted Gon's words and faced Killua with serious eyes. "Fine. I'll tell you a little about my arm."

"I wasn't the captain's daughter, actually. I was born in Yorknew City. No one knows about this arm, they didn't have single information about it. Doctors, even experts.", I told them my story as they all lend their ears to me. "The people there hated this arm, treating me like a monster. Like I'm sort of a creature came from another dimension, and show disgust to me."

"That's all I can say," I said and Killua got up and walked away from us.

Because of the revelation of my past, my other friends left the scene and went back to their previous activities. It was only me and Gon left on the floor.

I just sat there without moving an inch, grabbing my skirt with my both hands tightly because of my range that I can't resist anymore, and also to keep my tears stay in my eyes for long.

I know someday they will ask about it. But I never thought it was too soon, not even gave me some time to prepare myself. I wonder if they still think of me as their friend now.

"Secco." Gon called my name as he tucked my shoulder. I raised my head to see him completely. He has this worrisome look on his face and then smiled at me. "Don't worry. You're still my friend!"

I gave him a pleasing smile as a return. "Gon."

He gave me a hug and we all decided to sleep during the rest of the hours. At last, it was only one minute left before the time runs out.

"Let's go!", Gon shouted at the same time the timer moves to zero and the closed door finally opened. On the other side of the room, a dark corridor with torches stuck in the wall served as our light source.

We all rushed outside and continued our journey towards the bottom of the tower. We've passed some obstacles that require majority rule and arguments are always there to destroy the trusts of two people with each other. I guess that's what this third phase was testing at.

We ended up in a wide room, with different types of large and deadly weapons displayed and stuck in the walls. Is this a fighting arena or something? There are two doors in the middle of the wall, one door marks with an 'X', and one with an 'O'. It looks like it resembles the buttons on our watches.

Killua went closer to the writings on the wall and read it.

"...This will be the last decision by the majority rule. Are you ready? Press O..."

We all pressed the 'O' button on our wristwatches and a voice can be heard, echoing inside the room and it turns out that it came from the speaker between the two doors. "The 'O' path lets you all five to pass, but it's long and difficult. The other path lets only three of you, but it's short and fast. The other two will be put in handcuffs and makes sure that they won't move until the three entered the door."

Because of this difficult decision between five people who gave their trust to one another, we all argued again inside the room.

"You and Leorio will be left here," Killua said as he pointed towards me and then to Leorio. An irk mark shown on my face as I keep shouting Killua in anger.

"It was just a joke," he said to me.

Leorio suddenly picked up a huge weapon from the walls and smashed the part of the wall with it when he swings it no sweats. "I've come this far. I won't hold back!" he shouted at us and started to strike, first at me.

"Stop it, Leorio! This is what the examiner wanted us to do!" I shouted at him but he didn't listen and just keep attacking us, somehow that makes me sad. I wonder if he treated us as friends in the past hours that we are all together.

"Guys, I have an idea!" Gon shouted and his magical words brought the fight into an end. Leorio put back the weapon he used on the walls and we all stand near Gon to listen to his plan.

"It might work," Killua said in his low voice as his chin rests on his two fingers.

"Yeah, it might! Gon, you're amazing!~" I shouted at Gon, again with my eyes full of amazement and my hands formed a fist, raised in the level of my chest. It was a brilliant idea!

Gon's plan was for all of us to choose the long path and once it opens, we will break the walls leading us to the other path using the weapons they provided for us. We all started to grab some weapons on the walls, they all quite large, and heavy. I removed a weapon away from the wall and it immediately dropped on the floor.

"Hey, Secco," Leorio shouted at me. I looked over to him with his weapon rested on his shoulders, like it was nothing. "You don't have to dig. These weapons are heavy for you."

Is he looking down on me? I grabbed the weapon that I dropped on the floor and raised it with my poker face like it was nothing. "Don't worry. Lifting heavy cargos is my life, so this weapon is just a piece of cake.~" I said as I smile and sweat dropped on his forehead.

We all started to break on the wall as fast as we can. It took some minutes and it was finally opened. When we entered the short path, it turns out to be a slide after all. That's why it's fast. Well, they could make it a water slide though. I'm sure it will be fun!

We all stand on the slide as I looked at Killua, who was still carrying his skateboard. Staring at him is enough for me to be reminded of what happened during the fifty hours we stayed in that room, with me revealing my past.

"Ready...go!" Gon shouted and we all started to run as fast as we can all the way through the slide.

We all ended up with dust and dirt all over our body as we finally see the door to our goal, a circular wide room with so many doors. And it looks like some of the applicants are also here, doing something to get away from boredom, glared at us, and then ignore. Yikes! Even Hisoka is here!

"Kurapika, applicant 404, Killua, applicant 99, Gon, applicant 405, and Secco, applicant 406 passed as the 24th applicant, arrived in 71 hours and 59 minutes.", a voice starts speaking from out of nowhere. We all turned our heads on the room to see who are the people that just got here. Even the creepy needle man was here, playing cards with Hisoka, even the ninja guy, I also saw two females passed. Thank god! Now that the applicants have been reduced, I knew that there are also some females here!

We saw Leorio breathing heavily to our back.

"Leorio, applicant 403 passed as the 25th applicant, arrived in 71 hours and 59 minutes."

Gon gave me a high-five for making this far.

"Yay! We passed!~" I said as I raised both of my arms in the air and jumped for joy. "All thanks to you, Gon!~"

"Hehe." when I said to him that, he flattered a bit and rubbed his nape.

Leorio approached me in his sad face and bowed at me. "I-I'm sorry for attempting to hurt you earlier, I'm sorry..." when he said that to me, I kinda looked surprised of what he did. Then, he turned around to our other friends and apologized because he is the one who let us stuck for 50 hours in the room.

I made a shocked look and pointed at him, with widened eyes. "T-The... the old man is apologizing! It's a miracle!~" I shouted as loud as I can.

"Shut up! I also have a heart, you know! And don't call me an old man!", he shouted back and I just laughed at him.

"It's alright!~" I said to him and put my hands on my waist, giving him a smirk. "You're not the only one who's at fault."