Hunter X Hunter: Grounded

Chapter 78




Title: Different View...




….
Sub looks at Chrollo as he falls through the roof of the factory.



"Ugh…" Chrollo moans in pain, his body is bleeding all over. Suddenly the book in his hand moves to another page and a slug is summoned. And the Nen Beast slithers itself around Chrollo and starts healing him.



Gon and Killua observe this awkwardly, now knowing what to even do. But Sub has a smile on his face as he brings Machi closer to his body while whispering. "Seems like he got his ass beat."


Of course, due to the caliber of people in the place, everyone heard it. Their hearing is just too precise. Machi pinches him a little, she knows that he is doing this intentionally. 


Of course, this doesn't deter Sub at all. "What a loser, I bet he lost against some girl that is around a decade younger than him."


Once he says that, Machi looks at him and narrows her eyes. "You know something."


It wasn't a question, she can see that he knows something. But Sub acts all innocent. "What~ no way~ I would never lie to you."


"That is a lie right there." Refutes Machi, her calm look always on her face. Sub has lied to her more times than she can count… though his lies are mostly silly things most of the time. 'Also he isn't even hiding this and doesn't mind that I know that he is lying. He is probably playing another one of his schemes.'


Sub's smirk only widens as he sees Machi thinking. 'What a smart girl she is.'



*cough* *cough* *cough*



But Sub's moment is broken by Chrollo coughing out blood and coming back to his senses. He has a calm look on his face… until he smiles. "Hahahahaha… amazing!!"



"Hm? I haven't seen the boss so happy in a long time." Wonders Kortopi.



"What a pervert masochist." Sub of course ruins the atmosphere again and everyone looks at him. Gon uses his hand to keep in his laughter and Killua also helps him keep his chuckles in, they are in front of killers right now. Laughing would just be their end.



Machi elbows Sub but winces as she feels like she hit a metal object. She is annoyed at this a little, she knows that Sub's muscles don't have this natural hardness, so he intentionally hardened his muscles before impact.


Everyone in the room notices these unspoken interactions between the both of them and waits on awkwardly as Machi nurses her elbow and hardens the muscles and claws into her hand, attempting to give Sub a lesson. Sadly that doesn't work as none of her attacks even leave a scratch on him.


She just pouts at this and turns around, remembering a time when she was stronger than him and had to be careful to not overly injure her little brother figure. 

Sub's smile contains throughout the whole thing and in the end, he just pats her in the head lovingly. Which makes her give up and decide to lean against him.


Nobunaga looks at this awkwardly. 'Should I say something about this?'




Chrollo on the other hand feels nervous for another reason. He didn't expect Sub to be here and he did just fight with Karla if he learns of that. 'My death won't be quick if he learns of that.'


He isn't necessarily afraid of the man in front of him. True, Sub has an absolute advantage against him, but Nen isn't just about raw power. He has known for some years just how terrifyingly strong Sub had grown. 'I have countermeasures against him. My five Hatsu Ability combination is almost guaranteed to work even against a monster like him. But this environment isn't good at all to fight on.'


Of course, Sub only looks down on him with a knowing smile. "Seems like Karla did you in pretty good."



Immediately Chrollo's body freezes in place for a split second. 'He already knows?!!'


He instinctively entered fighting mode and so did the rest of the Troupe. They could guess what was going on now so they are preparing for a fight already.


Well, except Machi, since she just leans on Sub. If a fight does break out, she knows which side she will choose.


Sub looks at all of this happening and doesn't seem at all bothered by it. "Hahahaha, why are you all on guard for?"


Chrollo suddenly dispels his book and waves his hand casually. "Calm down everyone."



Instantly, they all breathe a sigh of relief internally. Though most of the Phantom Troupe like fighting, that doesn't mean that they are death seekers. Even if they are somehow able to defeat the monster in front of them, over half would still die in this foolish endeavor. Plus, Machi's loyalties are still unknown to the others and that makes all the difference.



The complexities of battle aren't simple, and even a small change could influx everything.


"Well, how strong was she?" Sub asks, taking a cup of tea from nowhere. Even Machi who was next to him was confused about where that came from. 


"She is quite strong." Is all Chrollo says without going into much detail. 


Sub smirks. "Strong enough to beat your ass."


 "Apparently so." Chrollo shrugs. 'True, she is strong, and even though I never did attempt to go for the full-out kill against her… well, it wouldn't have changed too much. The environment wasn't beneficial at all, plus that girl is scarily strong with all those good Nen users around her.'




Fwish!


Suddenly Sub disappears from his previous place. Instantly appearing at the entrance of the building casually. "Anyway, see ya all around."


Just like that he walks off. Chrollo sighs at this. 'Faster than expected, but still within the realm that I can deal with.'


'What a showoff.' Machi on the other hand is not impressed by this.



'Uhhh… Sensei, I think you kinda forgot about us!' Killua on the other hand was a little more desperate than usual.

'So cool.' And Gon like usual couldn't comprehend quite the full situation and didn't think of the future. 



…
As Chrollo watches Greed walk away, he can't help but think deeply about this. Sub knows of his activities. 


'So he probably knows what I am up to also… why did he let it happen?' This bewilders Chrollo. 'Is it to test Karla's strength? No, that is too simple, he could have tested her another way except putting her life in danger. Plus he has known her for so long that he probably knows how strong she is better than she knows herself.'




Also, Sub is showing clearly how strong he is… or is he? Chrollo can't be sure about this.

He knows Sub is a scheming man, he tells ten lies in a sentence, that is the kind of guy he is. Also, he is the cautious kind. So in Chrollo's eyes, everything points towards Sub hiding his strength.


'But with that speed of movement… can he go even faster? That will be hard to deal with in case of a fight.' This makes Chrollo even more worried. With his intelligence, he came up with a lot of theories that could be true.


Also, there is Machi, everyone else in the Troupe is confused about where her loyalties are. But Chrollo knows for sure, she would kill them all in the beat of a heart if it was between Sub and the Troupe. 

While others might think that Machi and Sub are just flirting jokingly and since they act more like siblings that nothing is going on between them. Only Chrollo knows 100% what kind of relationship they have. To her, the Troupe is a group of friends, but Sub is family.


*sigh* 'I should stop thinking of stray thoughts like this.' Concludes Chrollo. 

He knows that the chances of him fighting Sub are low, but at the same time, he won't let Chrollo's attack on Karla slide. 

Even if at the time Chrollo didn't know that Fortune Reader was under Sub's authority. But he already knew that it was happening and didn't interfere, so there is a chance that we can let bygones be bygones… if Chrollo gives him a gift of course.


'What does he like? Benz Knife? No, he already has plenty of those.' The Phantom Troupe boss wonders how he can settle this thing. Sub is a smart man so he won't pursue a needless grudge that gives him no benefits, but Chrollo would still give him a gift… just to be sure… one can't know what another is really thinking.


But suddenly his eyes land on a nonchalant Machi playing an app game on her phone, he gets a realization. 

"Machi, what does Greed like?" Asks Chrollo curiously.


"Hm?" Machi looks at him and thinks for a little bit. "Well, he likes delicious food, mostly steaks, and other fancy stuff. But he also likes orange juice and tea… and sometimes combines them."

She scrunches her face in disgust as she says that last part.


"No, I am talking about things that I could offer him to stop him from suddenly attacking us." Clarifies Chrollo.


"Hmmm… I guess ancient stuff with Nen or things from the Dark Continent or information of the place." Answers Machi casually going back to her phone games. 'Sub really knows how to have fun.'


They were playing a farming simulator, Sub also plays it sometimes and they are married in the game. He got her into games a couple of years ago and she now plays whenever she has the time. 'He hasn't logged in for quite a while. Tch, he is always just power levels from me. He isn't like a husband, more like a leech.' 



While Machi was complaining about Sub's in-game actions, Chrollo finally remembered something that he can give to Sub. "Oh, I know just the thing!"





….
A/N: As we can see from Chrollo's view, the MC is planning something and his behavior seems strange to Chrollo.