It started with an old tv 📺 (reborn in hxh)

Clowns x and x Magic

A/N: SPECIAL THANKS TO @StarGalaxyGamer FOR CREATING THIS AWESOME FANART OF AKI!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! <3

My eyes widened as I stared at the person standing on the other side of the room. He crossed his arms as he stared at me with those unnervingly icy eyes of his.

"The clown bastard?! What are you doing here?" I sputtered. He grinned and flicked out a card in his hand, fiddling with it. "I could ask you the same thing, little Ace. And please, my name is Hisoka." I frowned. "Little... Ace?"

The card disappeared and and he began walking towards me. I tensed and instinctively raised my arms to protect myself. After all, I knew how fast Hisoka was. And how much of a creep he was. Well, he's only attracted to power, so I should be fine... right? I shuddered. I think he's also obsessed with potential though...

Suddenly, the speakers came on, and he stopped midway, glancing up at the source of the voice. "Applicant 44 and 1. You are the first two to reach the White Room. In this room, the first two applicants who enter will engage in battle. The victor will leave the room through a hidden staircase that leads to the next stage."

I almost snorted. The white room is called the White Room? My, how creative. I quickly shifted my gaze to Hisoka, keeping my expression neutral. Besides that, I seriously have to fight him? I'm gonna die!

"Just a reminder that killing your opponent in this room is strictly prohibited. If you do so, you will automatically fail the Hunter Exam. The loser will be forced to stay in this room until there are only ten hours left in the Third Phase, making it nearly impossible to still pass. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made out of a special material that absorbs all types of impact and regenerates immediately after damage is inflicted upon it, so it is perfect for battle."

At least killing wasn't allowed... Wait, hold on- so we have to fight each other, and the winner gets to move on to the next stage as the loser is forced to stay behind until there are only ten hours left...

I'm dead.

I wanted to groan and pull my hair out. The clown bastard was obviously gonna win. He'll obliterate me! I don't stand a chance! Agh, I'm so unlucky...

"This should be fun," he said, a grin appearing on his face. No, it won't be fun, because I'll be unconscious in two seconds!

"You have as much time as you need until the Third Phase ends. The battle starts... NOW!"

Hisoka immediately took out a handful of cards and held them towards me as if they were knifes.

I instinctively jumped back as far as I could, keeping an eye on his movements. Then, all of a sudden, a shock went through my body, and I slowly stopped, turning around. Why? I didn't know. I couldn't even explain it myself. I just got this sudden urge, almost like I wasn't even controlling my own body. But at the same time, I was. I know, I know, it made no sense.

And again, the same thing from before was happening... Everything around me was black and white, with the exception of myself. Why now? Why not before, when I was trying to make the thing work again? I was kind of surprised by how calm I was. Maybe I was getting used to it. Or maybe breathing Hunter x Hunter air has made me accustomed to madness.

Multiple cards were headed in my direction, but at a super slow speed. I made a split second decision and reached out, knocking them out of the air with my hand. Without their speed, they were harmless (as long as I didn't touch the edges). I'd already learned my lesson from before. If I caught all of those, my hand might seriously get cut off or horribly bruised from the force. So changing the direction of the force was a safer option.

How was I doing this? It's like it only happened when those scary cards were involved. Maybe... maybe if I could keep this black and white thing up, I could actually dodge the clown bastard's physical attacks. I shook my head and sighed. But to pass, I had to defeat him, and I definitely didn't have the strength for that. Yeah, so I could dodge his murderous cards and maybe his other attacks, but I wouldn't be able to land a decent hit on him in a million years.

Hisoka raised his eyebrows and then started to run towards me. Everything was still slow, so I could see him moving clearly. He closed in with his arm raised, and without a second thought, I flipped over his body and landed a few feet behind him. I'd never even done a flip before in my life because I was too scared that I'd break my neck or some other bone.

I didn't have time to congratulate myself, because he immediately turned around with a freaky grin on his face, this time with his leg raised in a kicking position. I instinctively raised my arm up to block it since I didn't have time to do anything else. Even though time was slowed down, he was freakishly fast.

I was blown back a few meters, and he was already headed for me again. Ow... Is it broken? Or bruised? I can't tell. I cradled my arm gently, wincing. "That hurt, you clown bastard!" I yelled, and he paused. Wait... no, he didn't pause, he just... got even slower? Please don't tell me that the keyword for activating this ability is "clown bastard" or something... That would be so embarrassing.

A realization struck me. I was reincarnated into this world, the world of Hunter x Hunter... a world of magic and mystery. Is it possible that this black and white time thing... is that my so-called magic ability? "How cool! That totally makes up for this broken arm!" Is what I'd like to say, but I can't even control it.

What was it called here again? Uh... not magic or chakra... Damn, I can't remember. But still, this is amazing. My legs almost gave out at the thought. Haha, there's no way... But on the other hand, what else could this time-slowing thing be? Wow... I feel like I cheated my way through and took a shortcut. Am I a basic isekai protagonist now? Or an overpowered fanfiction protagonist?

I pursed my lips and prepared myself. I approached the slowed Hisoka and hesitantly forming a fist, closing in on his solar plexus- a spot on the torso. Please be right. Please be right. My life kind of depends on it.

For a scary second, nothing happened. Then, I heard a sound like air being sucked out, and the clown bastard disappeared from in front of me. I blinked. No, he didn't disappear- he was about 20 or so feet away from me now (within an instant), hunched over just a tiny bit. As I looked closer, I saw a vague mark on his torso, like the impact of a punch.

I took a step back and almost fell down. Did I just do that? Was it really me? My hands lowered and I saw that they were shaking. I was too shocked to move. I only stared as Hisoka straightened up, chuckling at the small injury on his torso. "You really are a strange one, little Ace... Why are you surprised by your own strength?"

Hold on... in the midst of this whole thing, I hadn't even realized, but... everything was in color. Which meant... the clown bastard was moving normally again. Unfortunately. Agh, what do I do now? That psycho's gonna whip out his murder cards again!

I paled as he stepped forwards. I'm done for.