Chapter 33: Plan X Purpose
April 11th, 200th Floor
Sinbad yawned and awkwardly stretched, feeling the loss of sleep from the early morning conversation and the hurtful sleeping arrangement. Holding onto his lower back, he leaned forward, desperate to alleviate the pain stored in that section.
He waited for his name to be called for the Floor Master inside of the fighter's waiting room.
Finished with his temporary stretch but still feeling the discomfort in his back, he straightened to full height and evaluated himself in the mirror. He appreciated his fabulous looks starting from the top, he kept the same style for his long luscious hair. A thick strand of hair hooked over her forehead and the rest remained behind in a pony tail. Dazzling gold hoop earrings caught the overhead lights as they hung from his earlobes.
For his Floor Master victory, Sinbad switched up his attire. Changing out of the purple undershirt and blue sailors jacket with a dark red undershirt and a black sailors jacket, his trousers were white and loose. At his feet were blood red shoes to match with the undershirt.
Sinbad was happy for this part of the Contest of Kings to soon be over, he already grew bored of the soulless metal spire that was the Heavens Arena. The uninspiring competition and barbaric point system on the 200th Floor begged for mediocrity and favored the development of boring Nen Abilities.
Most of the competition usually didn't have an understanding of Nen prior to the 200th Floor and once they did become aware of it and alongside of the point system which decided the winners and losers of fights, fighters' frameworks when developing their Nen Abilities were tailor to this system. Their minds and imagination were capped by the location as well, the limitations of the cement square tile hindered potential.
As Sinbad's curiosity and passion grew for Nen, he was greatly disappointed in the product of the Heavens Arena. This is what he believed the purpose for King David on making this a requirement, here we would absolutely learn Nen regardless if they skipped the Hunter Exam and becoming Nen Users would have been a byproduct of becoming Hunters. So, the Heaven's Arena would be their initiation to Nen and the mechanics of a Nen fight.
In this regard, Sinbad was severely disappointed and thus finally happy to reach this point of tallying up ten victories and earning his right to challenge a Floor Master. More important to Sinbad, his revenge against Hisoka.
After making sure he had all of his items, Sinbad retrieved his blue ornate curved sword, placed it by his hip and stepped out into the tunnel. The closer he got to the multicolor flashing lights at the end of the tunnel, he felt the overwhelming crowd pounding at his heart and ears.
…
Hisoka Morrow was absorbed in darkness. After shutting the lights off in his waiting room, he sat on the lone bench at the center of the room. He was hunched over, calmly shuffling the playing cards in his hands.
His mind simulated victory over and over, his undeniable pleasure satisfied in each scenario. With every victory, his smile stretched larger and larger. The insurmountable joy flooded his body as he remembered when he first saw Sinbad in the first phase of the Hunter Exams, he knew the boy to be special.
He remembered his aching body as he watched Sinbad leap down into the chasm and the strength he demonstrated. The skill of Sinbad's blade, the speed of his movements, and the adaptive intellect he possessed, all of these traits Hisoka couldn't wait to destroy and be rendered useless against him.
Hisoka reimagined the time they shared at the end of the Third Hunter Exams, confirming their intertwined Fates. And Hisoka saw the same conclusion in the boy's eyes, he realized that they were the same hedonistic creature, constantly seeking out the strongest opponents and challenges to overcome, simply because they could.
Hisoka jumped to his feet, no longer able to restrain himself from sitting still, he paced around the metal bench. His mind and body recollected their first fight on Zevil's Island. Oh, the promise Sinbad displayed but the boy was still too raw and inexperienced then. He licked his lips for he savored the smell of a sweet candy that he was forbidden himself from tasting until the time was right.
Hisoka exited the dark waiting room, stepping out into the stone tunnel and headed toward the flashing lights at the end of the tunnel.
As he stood, Hisoka's conversation with Machi resurfaced. The confident look in her eyes as she said that he would be killed.
'Sinbad, I can't wait to get my hands on you,' Hisoka thought, biting the corners of his lips. 'Let us dance and play till one of us is dead.'
…
Cocco vibrated in her seat. Yes, she was more than ready to finally announce and call another Floor Master fight, but she was constantly shifting in her seat out of her own free will.
The whole arena seemed to buzz and shake from the anticipation and excitement, thousands of people were in attendance to witness this fight between Sinbad and Hisoka. Hisoka had earned a fair reputation in the arena, spectators enjoyed the wonderful spectacle of his fights that resembled the other 200th Floor fighter, Magician. But, they lacked the whimsy and playfulness that naturally came from the Magician.
Where he lacked in that arena, he overcompensated with brutality. Every one of Hisoka's victories ended with the opponent dying, for the more blood craving fans of the Heavens Arena quickly became huge fans of the clown.
Then there was Sinbad and his charm. The Sinbad Fan Alliance, its head diplomat, Serenity recently announced an amicable union between the rivaled factions, the Sinbad Purple Cheer Squad and the Sinbad Future Queens Cabinet.
Next to Cocco, Gilgamesh grumbled. "Annoying lady, announce the fighters already. My wine is losing its taste without my entertainment."
'Annoying?' Cocco sighed at the Floor Master's words. "I apologize for the inconvenience but there has been an issue."
"Is there any way to speed things up?" A cold hardened voice asked on the opposite side of Cocco, Silva's large stature overwhelmed his chair.
'I'm just the announcer, I have no power in this regard. Why are they getting mad at me?' Cocco sulked.
"I don't have–" Cocco started to speak but was interrupted by someone speaking into her earpiece, giving her the okay to announce the fighters. She took a deep breath and pressed the button to turn on her microphone.
"Everyone, I apologize for the delay. We had reached full capacity but the Sinbad Fan Alliance refused to comply with the rules and demanded that we make room for all of them but we have silenced the problem," Cocco explained the reason for the ten minute delay on the Floor Master fight. The hundreds of women and the four men in the Sinbad Fan Alliance snapped their heads toward Cocco and boo'd her. "What a rowdy bunch! Anyways, shall we get on with the main event!"
The Heavens Arena boomed in agreement, shaking the establishment.
Next to Cocco, she heard a disturbance. Turning her head, she saw the blonde assistant that is always next to Gilgamesh, she was offering the white haired scary man a glass of red wine.
"His Majesty would love to spare an ounce of his gratitude and offer you a glass of wine to pair with tonight's event?" Imane offered Silva a glass of red wine.
The threatening muscular man didn't hesitate to pick with the round glass of wine. "My pleasure, complement Your Majesty with the finest regard."
Right before taking a sip of the wine, his eyes snapped onto the onlooking Cocco. "What are you pausing for?"
Cocco restrained herself from screaming at the man because he was the one obviously distracting her and disturbing her work. 'How do you guys keep trespassing in here? I've changed the locks and added more security.'
Cocco bit the inside of her cheek to calm her anger. "It's time to introduce the challenger of tonight's Floor Master fight! The man is on an unbeaten win streak, he dominated the 200th Floor with a current record of ten wins and zero losses, Sinbad!"
…
Pokkle put on baby headphones on Rain's ears to protect him from the high pitch explosion of screams that set off from Sinbad's name being uttered. Once he entered into the crowd's vision, a second eruption of screams boomed for the fighter. A few girls of Sinbad Fan Alliance foamed from the mouth and had a seizure from his appearance alone, stunned by Sinbad's new look.
Pokkle locked onto Sinbad's charming smile as he strided onto the fighting arena. He couldn't help himself from shaking his head because of Sinbad's constant desire for attention and working the crowd. Sinbad waved at the audience, flashed his elegant smile, and unsheathed his silver blade thrusting it into the air.
"So, what's Sinbad's gameplan?" Zushi asked, his fingers pressing into his own ears, turning to look left at Killua and Pokkle. On Zushi's right was Baygor and then Wing. Interested, Baygor glanced to his left, waiting to hear the answer.
Pokkle slouched forward. "He loves his mystery, not wanting to reveal his final trick to the awaiting crowd."
"Annoying," Killua added. Frustrated, he threw a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "That's what he is."
"He revealed nothing of his strategy to the two of you?" Baygor inquired for more information, especially from the two people Sinbad seemed to trust the most.
Pokkle swatted Killua's hand as he tried to give Rain a popcorn. "He left us with a saying, like riding a wave in a storm."
"Is that supposed to be easy?" Baygor asked.
"I think he means, 'stealing candy from a baby'," corrected Zushi.
"Whatever, doesn't matter," Killua answered. "Because his opponent is no push over."
As Killua said this, Cocco announced the reigning Floor Master, Hisoka. All of their eyes locked onto the tall and slender clown, he was wearing his usual makeup and attire. He raised a singular fist to add wind to the growing flame of excitement, the crowd roared approving of this gesture.
"I recall he mentioned they had a previous altercation in the Hunter Exams. How did that end?" Wing asked Killua and Pokkle.
Pokkle shook his head. "I remember seeing Sinbad the morning after his fight with Hisoka, it had a great impact on him. I think this is something he has been waiting a long time for."
Wing and Baygor shared a glance and nodded.
"Knowing what I know about Sinbad," Wing said, shouting over the roaring crowd. "I think he will be just fine."
"Why sensei?" Zushi looked across Baygor to look at his sensei. "I don't think a Floor Master would allow Sinbad to make a command on the arena."
"I don't know much about this Hisoka individual…" Wing said, switching his attention from Hisoka to Sinbad. "But, I'm confident in Sinbad's plan."
Somewhere in the audience, Machi clutched a soda beverage, waiting patiently for the match to begin. She was still confident in Sinbad's inevitable victory, the 'how' he would win was still a complete mystery.
'Is there a way to speed up the process of taking over the arena? Would he be able to stand there long enough before Hisoka interrupts him?' Machi analyzed the possible scenarios of the fight. As she kept pooling as much information as possible of Sinbad and his fighting habits, her eyes widened and her body jolted forward as she reached a conclusive idea.
She figured out Sinbad's gameplan. 'There was a purpose for everything…'
Somewhere in the crowd, the Magician adjusted his crystal monocle as he folded one leg over the other. He leaned onto his knee for comfortability. A lovely and fascinating grin split his face. 'Show me what it means to be a King, Sinbad.'
"This is the Clown's first Floor Master defending fight, let's give it up for Hisoka vs Sinbad!!!"
…
Back in the fighting arena, Sinbad sheathed his blade as the referee joined them. After parading around the square tile, Sinbad kept his eyes locked on Hisoka. He was focusing his Nen into his eyes, using an advanced Nen application called Gyo, to make sure he didn't use Bungee Gum before the fight.
Hisoka rested his right elbow on his left arm that crossed his body. "I've waited a long time for this."
"So have I," Sinbad agreed, placing a hand on his left breast pocket. "What will it be, Floor Master? How should our long awaited fight be decided?"
"To the death," announced Hisoka.
"We got a deathmatch, folks!" Cocco shouted with excitement. The rumbling crowd roared and cheered for the two fighters, encouraging them to give it their all. "Hisoka and Sinbad agree to mortal combat rules! The victor will be crowned by the other's death!!"
The referee stepped in between the two of them but kept a safe distance. "The use of weapons is allowed. For your pride and honor, let's fight!"
He instructed the two fighters to begin fighting to the death, waving his hands.
"Now, how will Sinbad fare against the Floor Master? Will he play it safe like the last three matches and not rush to the center of the square?" Cocco asked. These same questions ran through the minds of the people familiar with Sinbad's fighting style and the conditions of his ability.
Sinbad activated his Nen Ability, King's Crown. A golden crown conjured by Nen appeared on Sinbad's head.
Hisoka flicked a playing card into his right hand, shifting into a stance to intercept Sinbad's actions. "What a lovely crown."
Sinbad lifted his left hand, activating a second Nen Ability. "King's Court! The properties of rubber and gum are forbidden!"