Hunter X Hunter: Grounded

Chapter 63



Title: Weird...




….
After that whole ordeal, Sub meets up with Karla and they go to the deck of the airship. He takes a sight of the ocean below him and smiles happily. "Ah~ enjoying simple things in life is good too."


"Huh?" Karla is confused by this. Even suspecting Sub of being replaced by someone else. 


But he then points at the ocean. "Just imagine, training at the depths of the sea. With tons of pressure on me, my muscles regenerating constantly to keep up with the strain on them. This is amazing!"


Karla sighs at this. 'Well, this is the Sub I know. Getting excited at the new idea of training. Only he would do something like that.'


"How much do you think this body can handle? How deep do you think I can go?" Sub asks her, wanting to know her answer and then he will bet against her, in a higher number to try and push his limits further.


"I dunno, maybe a couple of kilometers underwater?" Says Karla, unsure of this.


"Yes! Then I will try 3 kilometers underwater. I wonder if this is deep enough, welp, one way to find out." He then jumps off the ship and straight into the sea. Karla looks at this as if it is an everyday action and there is nothing strange about him.


'I wonder how many days this will last?' Wonders Karla as she too dives and goes underwater. 


Sub had already developed his organs to be able to breathe underwater. It is a hidden aspect of the virus that has infected him, though he has now beaten it to submission and already has used his human knowledge to become something out of human perception. He has also gone beyond what even the grotesque deer, the original body of the virus could do. 




….
-Sub POV-



I dive deep underwater, my legs start fusing forming the lower body of a fish and I start swimming faster. Also, gills appear to the sides of my neck so I can breathe underwater, learning the human and fish anatomy to do this was a b*tch and a half. 

I should try learning how to dive into a volcano and be able to live inside it without burning my skin. Though what creatures live inside a volcano? I don't think any normal one can since no cell can handle it. But there was that dragon in the Dark Continent who could. Maybe if I have a part of him brought here, and have some scientists figure out how it works, then I can copy that act. 

Also now I am technically still a Transmuter. But the centipede inside of me is like a Nen Beast and it has its category, it is a Specialist, also I kinda whipped it into shape and his power is now mine. 


As I go down to three kilometers underwater, I frown.


It was easier than expected, I can feel the pressure, but not anything special. I don't even need to use Nen to protect myself. Well, this has been a waste of time. 


I then morph my hard Nen into propellers to the bottom of my feet. I swim up so fast that I am up to the surface in less than two seconds. That is when I see Karla jumping straight at me.


She notices this and is surprised for a split second before she tries to act innocent and spreads her arms in a hug. "Sub~ save me~"




Pow!


I just grab her by the face. 

"C'mon now Sub~ don't be so cruel~" Pouts Karla. She uses her bandages to right herself and lands in the water next to me. She then takes off her bandages, showing that she is just wearing a purple sailor school uniform.


"Aren't you kinda too old to wear that now?" 


"Sub~ don't be insensitive. I might be a psycho, but I am a girl too."


"Recognizing your problems is the 1st step to fixing them."I answer without missing a beat.




She then playfully splashes some water at my face. I don't dodge or even flinch as she does so.


"Heh, now your eyes will feel hot due to the salt." She says smugly. "But I know that you won't hurt me because-"


I just push her head underwater and hold it there. "1, 2, 3, 4…" And I start counting.


….
About thirty seconds later, Karla's body had gone slack. Her lungs had filled with water due to me suddenly lugging her face in the water while she was talking.


I pull her head up, I see that she is not breathing.


Pow!


I hit her back lightly, sending a shockwave to her lungs.

*cough* *cough* She coughs out the eater inside her lungs and breathes heavily. She then looks at me with annoyance. "Hey! That is not how you treat a lady. I was just being cute and playful… though… I kinda liked it… can you try drowning me once more…"


She has the decency to blush as she asks me the last part. I just look at her calmly, she is just too honest to me. Can't she try to be a little more secretive, I mean I don't like people who keep secrets from me. But… this is a whole level of honesty to me.


"Also, you should try and do CPR on me the next time." Adds Karla, her face full of excitement.


I only sigh, unsure of how to exactly handle this situation. I have never dealt with a weirdo like her. But I can improvise quite well.


"I think Menchi is quite hot." I say, immediately Karla's excitement turns into pure bloodlust directed at the fleeting airship. Even she can't catch up to it now.


I feel some fish around immediately flee from Karla's bloodlust.


Well, at least now she has forgotten about the weird stuff. Really should find a better conversation changer than this.


"I am just joking~ no need to be so tense~" I pat her head, getting her to calm down. This is my technique, make her angry and then calm her down with simple gestures.


She calms down but pouts at me. "Sub, don't tease me like that."



I pat her in the head, not answering her, after all, I wouldn't like to promise her something that I won't keep. Karla should try and find some girls her age, maybe then she can learn about some girly things. I think that her development like this will lead her into a girl who only knows how to fight. 


She must be versatile, I also don't know just how to fight… I know… uhhh… construction? Things that have to do with my ability.


That is when I have a realization, Karla is totally like a female version of me. She is just so concentrated on her fighting ability that hasn't even thought about such things. Also, she doesn't have previous life experiences like me, I at least know how to cook instant ramen and some other easy foods. 


Hmmm… am I worrying too much about this? I feel like I am just an older sibling worrying about useless things. 



…
…
Time passes and the rest of the Hunter Examinees enter the 3rd stage of the exam in the Trick Tower. Hisoka enters a door and it just leads directly to a chamber. The clown has already healed up his face… well he has put everything in place and used <Texture Surprise> to make his face seem normal. It is still mangled and even has some stitches in it now. It would have normally taken at least a month to heal to this stage, but Illumi's acupuncture helped a lot in the healing process.



'Aha, I see what is going on now~' Thinks Hisoka as he sees the man that the Hunter he had injured during the last exam is here.


He looked at Hisoka with maliciousness in his eyes. "You fu*king clown!! I hate you!!"


"Hm~ hate is such a strong word in this situation." Says Hisoka, his smirk never leaving his face, he would have licked his lips, but his jaw would probably break down again if he did something like that. His face was caved in just hours ago, and even walking straight was a problem at first.


That is when Hisoka notices the man that he would have called nothing special trash and sees him release a dark Aura. His Nen also feels refined like a skilled Nen user.


"Well, I guess this won't be so boring after all~" Says Hisoka, using Bungee Gum in his face to keep his jaw and head in line.




….
A/N: Though we usually just see the cold exterior, the MC is still human and sometimes has some silly and useless thoughts.