Hunter X Hunter: Grounded

Chapter 47




….
I look in a certain direction and see a pink-haired girl. Yep… it's Machi, even her Nen feels the same. Though I should be careful, after all, there are many different Nen abilities nowadays. Changing someone's face and copying their Aura fluctuations doesn't seem something improbable when there exists an ability that can read the future. 


So I stay on guard like always and signal Karla to not do anything at first. Let's see if 'Machi' even recognizes us now. I know that this is me being just paranoid, but better be paranoid than dead. I have now seen so many Hatsu Abilities that it is crazy how creative some people can be. Except for Enhancers… I still haven't met one of them whose ability isn't pretty much just a strong punch strengthened by some conditions.



But Enhancers are not necessarily weaker because of that. It just makes them simpler, both for themselves and their enemies. There are some complicated abilities out there that require five or more conditions just to activate. Those pretty much f*ck their users… while also making them stronger due to those conditions.


Anyway, that is unimportant now, so I look around and see if I can find any familiar face. I see the juice guy walking around and offering poisoned juice to people. 


He comes to me. "Hey there, do you want some juice?"


My eyes turn cold so I look at him. "Fu*k off."


My Nen turns golden with whisks of dark in it. This seems like I am using it to intimidate the little guy below me, but I am trying to see who is a Nen user here.

Of course, I immediately notice that Machi is one of them and she looks at me with a surprised look on her face.


Then there is another… baby? No, it's just a doll. What the hell, that is definitely a Hatsu Ability, I should kill that person as soon as I can, just in case.



…
Still though, in the end, Machi decides to approach me even after my little fight with her boss. In the end, I and her go way back when we were kids.




…
-Machi POV-


I can't believe it, not even now. Sub, the kid who I always looked after and saw as someone I must protect has grown so much. Even Chrollo wasn't able to beat him, though the battle wasn't on fairgrounds. But what battle even is fair? One is most likely to have an advantage against another enemy due to terrain. 


Sub is the extreme version of that though, as he now has hundreds of competent Nen users with him. And even Uvogin wouldn't be able to take them on, no matter how much he likes to brag that as the Phantom Troupe's Vanguard fighter he could handle Sub's men easily… but we all know it's a lie. 


Uvogin is extremely weak against Manipulators and Conjurers. But especially the first, because they can put the most Nen in an object and pierce Uvogin's Aura and skin.


..
Still, when I get close to him I can feel the cold aura around him. He just looks at the puppet for a split second and I nod. I have already noticed that one is a Nen User. That kind of sucks, usually there are no Nen user participants in the Hunter Exams.



But this time there are four of them… well I have been kind of expecting Karla and Sub, so they aren't a surprise.


Honestly… Chrollo sucks. I wanted Sub to join us as part of the Phantom Troupe, he could have replaced that useless Number 4. That guy is trash, both weak and useless with his clone puppet things.


Still, Boss ended up fighting Sub… and lost horribly. Now he won't be able to join, because Chrollo now knows some things about Sub. First, he is strong as hell,  and second… he is charismatic as hell also.


He has hundreds of Nen users following him, and I know that he is unlikely to be a manipulator. Karla is, but she has that whole bandage thing going on and I doubt someone her age can have multiple Hatsu and amongst them have a coercive type Nen Ability that still allows those under control to use Nen also. 


But still, nothing is impossible. So I should keep that in mind too. 


"Hello, Sub." I greet him. 


He looks at me and smiles, he is a little taller than me. But that doesn't matter, what matters is the crazy muscles around his body. I can see it clearly… decade… a whole decade of training. I don't doubt that these muscles of his are as hard as steel.


"Yo, Machi." Greets back Sub with a smile on his face. He has always been very friendly, even as a kid. But now… he feels infinitely more dangerous than back then. "How have you been, I haven't seen you in a long while."


I am about to answer but I see Karla behind his back, looking at me with a dangerously look in her eyes. Damn, I guess she never got over her crush on Sub. Now she might be even more murderous due to her power… she could actually kill me.


"Oy~... You there Machi?" 


I am brought back of the stupor and see Sub just acting casual. 


"Y- Yeah… don't worry." I say calmly. "How about you Sub, how have you been?"



"Pretty good actually, I have been training most of the time though." Sub smiles gently like he always does. Well, this is a little awkward, now I should talk a little about myself, but there has really been no big things going on except when I was with the troupe… and killing people. 


…
-General POV-



Of course, Sub didn't really have any different adventure than Machi. He too has killed during his journey, but he knows how to rephrase things like that to make them sound better.


That is his so-called experience that comes with being older. Mentally he is over thirty now, just because he was reborn doesn't mean that he has mentally regressed and become dumb.


His mind has only sharpened and he became shrewder as he grew older. He has also learned how the human mind works even better. He now knows that everyone is greedy in their way, so that has taught him to never underestimate intelligent creatures… especially humans. They are something that Meruem or the Chimera Ants can't compare to. That is why he killed Azula who had the <Black Market> Hatsu Ability, someone like that had the potential to be the strongest human in the world… or more correctly, the strongest creature that Sub knew of. 

'Meruem was less dangerous than Azula.' Her ability to manifest anything that she saw was terrifying. Sub made a promise to himself to never allow something like that to develop beyond his control.


Still, Sub is calm as he contemplates this and in the end… he only smiles at Machi sweetly. While internally he wondered whether he should kill her in the future.


But he shakes his head at that, he truly notices his change. In the beginning, he was unsure when he was killed, now it has become his number one tool.