Save X Yourself

Totally x Normal

I woke up to loud noises around me and... was I moving?
I rubbed the tiredness from my eyes as I looked at the bright lights coming all around me.

Right, the hunter exam.
I checked my phone- 9:45

I stretched and yawned loudly.

Kurapika chuckles next to me as I look over.
"Good morning Kurapika!" I felt strangely excited this morning, usually I would be grumpy.

He smiled.
"Good morning y/n."
"Where's everyone else?"
"Leorio and Killua went to explore again, I'm not sure where Gon is." He sounded worried when he said the last part but brushed it off.

I reached into my back to grab the granola bars stored in there and grabbed a few.

I opened one and stuffed it in my mouth.
Then I reached over and handed one to Kurapika. He seemed rather surprised by the offer but he didn't turn it down, we sat and continued to eat in silence before the announcement came on telling us to head out.
_______________________________________
Beans cleared his throat.
"Everyone, this is the third phase. Welcome to trick tower. To pass you must reach the base alive. The time limit is 72 hours. Good luck!"

Considering how fast the main group got through this phase, 72 hours was a long time.
I moved away from Gon and Killua not wanting to mess up the main plot. I started walking around stepping harder on some tiles than others.
Suddenly I fell through a hole. Right on my face.

I peeled myself off the floor hoping no one saw that.

I looked up and saw a giant pin cushion.
Oh wait, it was just Illumi, or rather his fake name which I forgot.
I stood up straight embarrassed.

The door dinged and opened.
Looks like it's just us.

We walked into the next room in silence, could he talk in his disguise?
The door slams shut behind us and locks. Great.

There was a sign on the other end of the room:
'escape this room alive'

Very helpful.

I looked over to Illumi but he was already reading the first clue.
'Find the keys you need and the door shall be open to possibilities'
The lock on the door needed three keys and no it couldn't be broken, illumi had already tried that.

Only then did I notice the room was filled with cabinets and boxes, although that was probably a diversion, the key was probably in the wall or something. Then again I suppose it could be surface level.

Thinking this task was going too easily, there was a loud steam-like noise. Then the room began to fill with water, hot water.
Great, now they were cooking us.

Illumi was already searching draw to drawer for keys, not as frantically as I was.
Hell, Zoldycks could probably hold their breath for hours so what would he have to worry about.

In less than three minutes the water was to my ankles.
I discovered two keys together within a small box and illumi found the other just lying in a corner..

However they weren't the right keys. They didn't open anything.
'Find the right keys'
So we had to find every key in the room and try them on the door. We didn't have that kind of time!

I began to curse under my breath. Illumi had searched all the cabnets on the right while I had finished all of them on the left, finding a total of 23 keys but only one of them worked.
I began to stress. Shoot. Would I die like this? The worst way to die is to drown! Why me!

"Where did you find that key?"
Illumi asked.
Right, it was my key.
That was the first thing he's said since the water has risen to our waist, or rather my waist, illumi still had some inches on me.