Time Traveling Hero

"Let's see, contestant number 36, please step forward!"

Ah, that's me. I got up from my seat and walked up to the podium. I stared at the huge crowd out in front of me before scratching my head.

"Allrighty then folks, then let the High Stakes Trivia game begin!"

Ugh, I really hate explaining myself, but let's cut back to noon today.

I yawned as I stretched my tired body, peeking at my phone for the time.

"Ugh, it's already 12?" I got out of bed and yawned again before putting on my slippers and making my way towards the bathroom.

It was now Saturday, two days after my encounter with that crazy boy. I ended up not going out at all yesterday, taking the chance to skip school and spend time with Luna. It was surprisingly uneventful after the events on Thursday, and I didn't have to deal with that crazy kid trying to track me down at least, thank God.

I finished up in the bathroom and made my way downstairs, yawning loudly once again. I stayed up way to late doing my experiments, let alone the anime I watched as well. Ah well, it's not like I have school or anything, and I already finished all my assignments that were due this and next week on Thursday, so I was already set.

Another toothy yawn erupted from my mouth as I reached the bottom of the stairs, and my sister peeked her head out from the living room, frowning at me.

"Big bro, how tired can you be? You woke up at noon."

I yawned again, and she shook her head before pointing towards the microwave. "Your breakfast is in there. I'm assuming you don't want lunch, so I won't make anything."

I nodded and yawned again, looking inside the microwave to see what food it was. Eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Yum.

I started up the microwave and grabbed some gr.a.p.e juice from the fridge and poured myself a cup. I set it down on the table and grabbed my now steaming food and set it down, while also grabbing ketchup from the fridge.

Yawning again, I clapped my hands together before silently saying our phrase and digging in.

"Can we order something for dinner today?" I nodded before freezing, remembering my predicament. During the Trial of the Present, I had used up nearly all my money doing things with the Prez, and only had a dollar left in my wallet along with a couple cents in my bank account.

I turned around towards my sister, who was staring at me intently. I shook my head and turned my pockets inside-out, showing I had no money.

"You're broke? Since when?"

I turned away and started to eat again, ignoring her question.

"It was last weekend, wasn't it?"

I shrugged and continued eating, enjoying the food she made me.

"Bro…" She appeared next to me, giving me her best puppy dog eyes. No, you have to endure. Even if I wanted to, which I did, I had no real way of making enough money for some food.

"There's a contest nearby. Supposedly if you win, you get 2 thousand dollars for winning."

I nearly choked on my food. 2 thousand? Who the hell is giving away that kind of money?

"There was a flyer in the mail you brought in the other day." She skipped away and brought it to me, a grin on her cute face.

I looked down at the flyer in shock. It was true. I sighed before bringing my hand up to my forehead.

"Please?"

"Argh! Fine, I'll do it. Stupid contest getting in my way of hanging out with my precious Luna!" I downed the rest of my food and looked at Luna and gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't you worry, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

Her face lit up in excitement. "Really!? Oh, thank you!" She embraced me tightly, thanking me over and over again. Yep, I am the best brother in the world, yes I am.

And that's how I managed to get myself into this Trivia Game. Honestly, if I had known there were going to be this many people here today, I would've at least changed into some decent clothes. I was so excited that I ran here in my pajamas. At least I read the flyer while sitting down earlier.

"You know the rules! If you get more correct answers than our reigning champion over here, you win the big prize! 2! THOUSAND! DOLLARS!"

The entire crowd went wild, as they all yelled and cheered for their favorite contestant.

"But, if you get a question wrong, you have to spin the Wheel of Punishment! Get three wrong answers, and you're outta the game!"

Well, this should be pretty easy, all things considering. If it really comes down to it, I can always, well, you know what I can do.

"Our reigning champion over here, contestant number 1, is the one who so generously offered the prize money today!"

"Please, it is no issue at all. After all, anyone who can beat me more than deserves at least this much!"

I looked over at the champion I was about to dethrone, looking him up and down. He had green hair, with green glasses to match. He pushed his glasses up, showcasing his gingerbread eyes off to me. He looked pretty normal, except for the fact that he was wearing a speedo and nothing else.

"Nice fashion sense," I murmured, and he nodded at me.

"Thank you, I always try to keep it interesting every day, so no more than 2 articles of clothing at any one time!"

"I-I see…" I said hesitantly. Okay, another weirdo. Well, maybe that's all he is, and doesn't have some trick like that crazy kid the other day.

"Hmm, we'll just have to see about that, won't we contestant 36."

"Oh, did I speak aloud just then? Sorry about that." I apologized.

"You did nothing of the sort. Now then, let us have an excellent match!"

"Alright, there will be 20 questions you'll have to answer. You can buzz in at any point in the question, but you must answer within 15 seconds of buzzing. You two get it?" We both nodded, and the announcer grinned at the both of us.

"Good! I would like to remind everybody that our champion has never gotten an answer wrong in all the time we've been hosting this event!"

Wait, seriously!? That would've been good to know!

The announcer walked towards the center of the stage, where she stopped and got handed some cards.

"First Question! What is the plastic at the end of a shoestring called?"

Oh, that's an easy one. And right when I was about to press it, the champion pressed it before me.

"An Aglet!"

"Correct, as usual! One point towards our champion."

"You'll have to be faster than that number 36!" The champion taunted me, and I felt a bit ticked off at that.

You want fast, then I'll give you fast. I clutched my key with my left hand, and the buzzer with the other.

"Second Question! What does 'HTTP' stand for?"

Got it. And I pressed it just barely before the champion, who looked at me curiously.

"HyperText Transfer Protocol."

"Correct! Number 36 on the board now! Could our champion have finally met a suitable match!?"

"I went a bit faster," I said as I unclutched my key.

"So, I see. Looks like this'll be interesting." He posed while pointing at me. "Now, let us continue number 36!"

That pose looked familiar. "I plan on winning and taking that champions' seat for myself."

"Third Question! What's the scientific name for a wolf?"

Seriously, what type of Trivia is this? I sighed as I gave the point over to the champion. Canis lupus huh? I won't forget that anytime soon.

"Fourth Question! What Shipwreck inspired Moby D.i.c.k?"

Just as I was about to buzz in, the champion swooped in once again.

"The Ess.e.x."

"Correct! One more point for the champion!"

Something feels off here. I glanced at the announcer and the champion. He's just always barely beating me, but it feels…

"I'm not doing it on purpose, but I guess I'm just remembering faster than you or something, number 36."

I managed to mask the confusion on my face. "Weird coincidence, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but you're a smart cookie, so you might figure something out. If not, no money for you!"

Am I really that easy to read? It would be one thing if he was able to do what he's been doing, and guess what I'm thinking, but is his perceptiveness so high that he's able to know the answer just from looking at me?

I shook my head. That's ridiculous. But, let's try something.

"Oh, you have a plan?"

"Why don't you wait and find out, Champion?"

"Fifth Question! How many earths could fit inside the sun?"

I simply stared at the champion, and he frowned as he looked at me.

"Go on, this question is all yours, or do you not know the question, Champion?"

"Not bad, but this means you don't know it either."

"You wanna bet money on that? I'll bet a thousand of cash I'll win at the end of the game."

Everybody got quiet, and the announcer just look bewildered. The champion laughed. "Alright, then go for it then."

And right as I was about to click the buzzer, he clicked it before me.

"1,300."

The announcer looked stunned. She quickly caught herself and cleared her throat. "That's incorrect! Number 36, do you know the answer?"

"It's approximately 1.3 million." I said, grinning.

"Correct! Number 36 is now at 2 points, while the Champion is at 3 points! And, the reigning champ now has to spin the Wheel of Punishment!"

What's even on this wheel anyway? I watched as he begrudgingly spun it, and it stopped at a pie to the face. Other options were no buzzer for 3 rounds, no hands, blindfolded, doing 50 pushups while the game is still going, and reciting the alphabet forwards and backwards once among other things. Some were damn brutal to be honest.

"Now that the champ has gotten pied in the face, let's continue!"

"How could I be off by so much?" He asked, l.i.c.k.i.n.g the pie off his face.

"Maybe you can't read me as much as you like?"

"Hmm, you are smart!" He finished l.i.c.k.i.n.g himself clean, and his eyes suddenly gleamed with a dangerous intensity. "But, let me show you why I'm the champ, number 36."

"Sixth Question!"

"The answer is three!"

"Uh, correct!"

I couldn't help but let my mouth drop. He pushed his hair back, and he smiled menacingly at me.

"Hope you enjoyed that, 36."

I couldn't help but feel a chill race down my back. That was insane. Did he read the announcers face to get the answer? But how the hell is he doing it?

"Oi, this is just plain unfair now."

"Giving up?"

"Heh, sorry, but giving up isn't my style. Honestly, who would've thought that I would've met someone like you here? What a pain in the a.s.s."

His expression suddenly shifted as he narrowed his eyes at me. "You're not worried."

"Of course not. I just thought this was going to be a breeze, but life can never be that easy, can it?" I met his gaze with one of my own and yawned before continuing. "After all, this is all to make my poor lil' sis happy."

"Seventh Question!"

"Aromatherapy."

"Eh! Um, that's also correct! Number 36 has 3, while the Champ has 4!"

It was his turn to be shocked. "How did you?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me. Or, we can do this normally."

"Um, I hate to ask this, but you guys aren't cheating, right?"

We both looked at the announcer, who was staring at both of us nervously, before chuckling.

"Sorry, we'll at least let you finish your questions from now on."

"I can agree to that."

"That doesn't really answer my question, but okay. Eighth Question!"

How is he doing it?

We were on the 19th question now, and we were both tied, 9 to 9. He managed to catch up, even after enduring the ice bath penalty on the 10th question.

He looked bored now, picking his nails with his free hand and yawning loudly. What little shock he had at the beginning of the match was now gone and was instead replaced with an almost insurmountable amount of confidence.

"You seem rather c.o.c.ky for someone in the middle of a tie."

"Yep, I'll just get the next two."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly ready to hand over my title just yet."

"Nineteenth Question! What are the folds of skin on a cat's ears called?"

"Henry's Pockets or cutaneous marginal pouches if you want the scientific term for it."

"Correct!"

"I thought you said you were going to get the next two points?"

"Well, I don't have a cat, so how would I know either of those terms. I'll tie it up and get the win, don't worry Champion."

"Final Question! What is the space between wind-!"

"Interfernestration."

"Wow, that's correct! You're both pretty smart you know!"

I readjusted my glasses and cracked my neck. "You answered before she finished."

"She didn't say we couldn't. And I never promised that I would always let her finish. I knew the answer, so I answered." He yawned. "You got a problem with that?"

It was so quick; I didn't even have time to let my brain process what happened. Damn, this'll be a close one.

"Let's see, there's never actually been a tie before, so I have peek at the rulebook for a bit!

"Alright, I'm gonna win three thousand dollars today!"

"If you beat me, I'll triple it."

36's jaw dropped so far I didn't think it would come back up. "Tr-triple? Are you sure?"

"You won't win, so it doesn't matter to me." This should throw him off his game now.

"Alright, I'm fine with this."

That confidence, where is it coming from? Does he know something I don't?

"Okay, according to the rules, if there's a tie, we take a user submitted question from the audience that people submitted at before the game started. If there aren't any user submissions, then I get to ask a question! Do we even have any user submissions?"

"Just one."

"Ah man, I had a really good question prepared too!" The announcer took a deep breath and gave us her best smile.

"It was an honor being able to see such an awesome match! This is for all the marbles! Will the Champion reign supreme, or will the underdog come out on top!?"

"Go on number 36, you got this!"

"Bring 'em hell Champ!"

The screams of the audience roared to new heights, and I looked back towards number 36, who had an even bigger grin on his face.

"All right, Bonus Question!"

I've got this. After all, I win for a reason.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Hand, Bad Company, and Earth Wind and Fire are-!"

"The answer is bands!" I roared out, confident about my answer.

"Incorrect! Number 36, do you want me to finish the question?"

"I would appreciate it; nice and loudly from the top please."

Wh-what? How is that possible? Those are all the names of bands!

"Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Hand, Bad Company, and Earth Wind and Fire are all the names of powers in what anime?"

"JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable."

"Correct! And with that, our High Stakes Trivia game is over, with the new Champ being number 36!"

I slumped down onto the ground, defeated. I heard footsteps approach me, and I looked up to see that yawning face peering down at me.

"Cash or Check?"

"… How did you know the answer to that question?"

"I submitted it, why else?"

Huh? He did what? He's not lying either, meaning that he's…

"Telling the truth. I thought it was interesting that no one submitted any questions, so I decided to write one. Looks like it paid off huh?"

"You're telling me, from the beginning, you planned all this out!?"

"Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. So, I'll take cash if possible."

"Alright, tell everybody what you call yourself!" The announcer yelled out, holding my hand.

"Hiro. You can call me Hiro."

She raised up my hand, signifying my win. "The new Champion of the High Stakes Trivia Game is called Hiro! Remember him well, as he has finally dethroned the 10-year Champion!"

The entire crowd went wild, and I say two briefcases being brought towards me.

"Cash, as you wanted." The announcer smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

"Great, well I'm outta here. Off to the bank I go!"

I went backstage and was about to leave out the back, when I saw speedo man waiting near the door.

"Sore loser?" I asked curiously.

"I didn't realize you were him. Who would've thought something like this would've happened?" He looked up, and his eyes had changed to a sparkling green instead of the brown on stage.

"You may have beaten me today, but I won't lose next time. See you later, Hero."

I felt chills race down my body as he said my nickname. Although, it felt more as if he was talking about my title…

I didn't even realize that was one of the closest encounters with death I had, not until long after I met up with him numerous times after…

And thus, his Tribulation of Intelligence was completed, with a single one left to overcome…