Hunter X Hunter: Grounded

Chapter 45




….
There is one thing that has been irking Chrollo recently. Sub, the very troublesome fourteen-year-old. He can't help but analyze one thing about the kid, he is too alert. 


So he looks at the twenty-story high luxurious building that he is about to enter. He sighs at this, he can sense hundreds of Nen users inside. You would need an army to deal with the people inside the building. But still, the kid was cautious enough to not meet up with Chrollo on the man's terms. 

'At least he is smart.' Concludes Chrollo, a smirk appears on his face as he looks up and sees a teen with a very muscular body looking at him from above, he is not wearing a shirt at all, only some black sports pants.


Chrollo narrows his eyes as he sees the kid say something. He obviously can't hear him but by reading his lips he knows what he said.


 ~I have the high ground ~  Says Sub, and after that, he smirks and goes back to the building.

Chrollo sighs and walks forward entering the building. As he does so he can sense dozens of assassins hidden in the shadows looking at him with cold looks in their eyes. 


'I would undoubtedly die if I fought in this building.' Analyzes Chrollo, even though the Phantom Troupe isn't too far away and is observing the situation. They wouldn't be able to save them. Plus even if they came, he isn't sure they would win. After all, he knows from Machi that Karla and Sub are not to be judged by their ages. Especially the latter, his Aura was good enough that she issued a warning about him. The girl didn't display too much, but she is assumed to be dangerous too.



…
He gets on the elevator and a smiling pretty girl wearing skimpy clothes leads him to one of the top floors. The woman used her body to cover the numbers on the elevator, obscuring his view of which floor she is taking him to.


'Okay… he is VERY paranoid.' Concludes Chrollo, even he is a little tired of the shenanigans already. Though he doesn't express any of that on the outside as he still has a calm look on his face.


As he looks forward he sees Sub wearing a black suit with a black tie. Karla is leaning on his shoulder, she is wearing hot pants with bandages wrapping her like socks up to her thigh.


She leans on Sub and stands on the tip of her fingers to whisper something in his ear. He smiles and pats her head. He then looks at Chrollo with the same amused look on his face.



"Chrollo… I heard a lot about you." Says Sub as he goes towards the big meeting table in the middle of the room and sits down on one of the chairs.


"Good things I hope." Replies Chrollo, an amused smirk on his face. Normally he wouldn't come here alone but… he isn't necessarily alone… of course Sub doesn't need to know that.


"Not so good actually." Says Sub, a strange look in his eyes. "I heard that you massacred the Kurta Clan and plucked out their eyes. Even the children and all that."


Once he hears that Chrollo gets a dangerous look in his eyes while looking at Sub. "So?"


Sub only smiles. "Nothing, nothing. I am not gonna fight you about it. I don't care that you killed them. But it shows the type of person you are… not the one that is good for business. Ya know… you are the dumb reckless type."


"Hehehehe…" Chrollo only laughs at that. 


"Hahahaha…" Sub laughs with him. "You can fu*k off now."


Chrollo turns around and starts walking away. But suddenly he stops and turns back. "If we fought, who do you think would win?"


"I would." Says Sub, not needing to even think too much about it. 'No way I am giving you a legitimate answer. I am not that dumb.'



Sub knows that Nen battles are more complicated than that. He can beat Chrollo in every aspect of raw power. Speed, Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Nen Capacity… everything he is better than Chrollo. But a Nen battle is not decided in raw power. Well, Meruem is the exception in that case in Sub's mind.


Chrollo shrugs and turns back an amused smile on his face.


Fwish!


Immediately he charges at Sub, and Karla doesn't even flinch as she pulls out her bandages, immediately trying to entrap Chrollo who pulls out a three-pronged knife.


Sub has a calm look on his face, even as Chrollo gets within arms range.


*fwish* He throws the knife he has at Sub's face, the latter just tilts his head to the side. Chrollo pulls out his book and a red Nen hue surrounds his other fist.


"[BIG BANG IMPACT!!]" Yells out Chrollo. Sub's eyes widen at this in slight surprise, but he just concentrates all of his Nen on the sole of his foot. 

BOOOM!



The whole floor collapses and the apartment building falls due to the destruction caused by the punch. It was as if an earthquake had internally hit the building.


As the wreckage settles, a tied-up Chrollo appears with one of his hands completely wrecked and twisted in a weird angle. Bandages have been wrapped around both his remaining hand, shutting it, causing the {Bandits Secret} to close. This makes Chrollo unable to use any of his Hatsu.


Chrollo still has a smirk on his face as he looks at Sub. Who is completely fine and the teen has a nonchalant look on his face.


"Does this show who is stronger?" Asks Sub mockingly. 


Chrollo doesn't answer that, he wanted to get a clear look at Sub's Hatsu Ability. But it has something with hardness. 


'It's either Enhancement, Conjuration or Specialization.' Concluded Chrollo, he felt as if he hit something tremendously hard so his best guess would be Enhancement. But again, Sub's personality doesn't suit the usual Enhancer at all. 'Damn, wasn't able to figure out anything about him.'


*crack* That is when Chrollo's smile falters a little as he feels his hand being crushed by the bandages. He looks at the girl next to Sub and sees her look straight at him with cold eyes.


"Should we kill him?" Asks Karla, tightening her bandages around Chrollo almost crushing his ribcage. The hidden question that only Sub could hear as if they should put him under his control.



Chrollo winces at this slightly. 'The girl is strong too, these bandages of hers have a tremendous amount of Nen in them.'


Sub shakes his head. "Nah, or his friend would be angry. Right guys?" He turns back and looks at the Phantom Troupe members all coldly looking at him.


He smiles and makes a peace sign. "Next time you pull something like this I will hunt you all down."



Uvogin smiles at this, veins popping in his forehead. He was angry, but  Nobunaga put a hand on his shoulder. 


"Uvogin, calm down." Says the swordsman, this causes the brute Enhancer to calm down and take a deep breath.


"Sub right?" Asks Uvogin. Sub nods with an amused smirk on his face. Wondering if the brute would attack. "I will one day bash your teeth in!... but that day is not today."


"Well, you can try today too." Incites Sub.


Fwish!


Suddenly over one hundred Nen users wearing black suits with ties and sunglasses appeared all around them. The Nen users were of different ages, genders, and builds. 


'No matter how strong the Phantom Troupe is… I have a high chance of beating them if we fight today.' Concludes Sub, this is his field and every single one of his people here has different Hatsu Abilities. While the troupe has quality, he has quantity… plus he and Karla are not easy targets either. Also, Sub has a secret weapon on how to deal with the Phantom Troupe members if a fight breaks out.



"Heh…" Chrollo smiles and gets up, his hands still tied up. "No need to fight guys. Fighting right now isn't in our best interest. Right?"

He looks at Sub as he says the last part. Sub only shrugs at this, he doesn't want a fight either. Finding this many people for Karla to put under her control is hard too, not a lot of Nen users can be good enough to even be able to hurt someone like Uvogin… Nen Users are rare in general too, and good ones are even rarer.


He wouldn't get anything from this, so in the end, Sub just sighs. "Sure, sure… you can go." Then a murderous Aura surrounds him. "But if there is a next time… I will kill you all…"

Some of the troupe members get a chill down their spines at this… and some others like Uvogin get a sense of excitement. 

'This guy is the real deal.' Contemplates Uvogin, wanting to fight Sub, it takes every ounce of will that he has to hold himself back. Someone can rarely take his Big Bang Attack, even if the attack power was around 40% due to Chrollo being the one using it.


Chrollo has already returned Uvogin's ability now. When Chrollo walks close to the Phantom Troupe, he has his hands tied up by Karla's bandages.


Fwish!


Nobunaga uses his sword to cut them, releasing Chrollo from the restrictions. 


…
After that the Phantom Troupe walks off, Sub has a knowing smile on his face. But internally he had a whole other thought process. 'What the hell did they even want from me?'



Still, he didn't go all out against Chrollo either. He didn't use his <Heavy Load> Hatsu Ability. 


That ability allows him to put an invisible restricting force around the enemy's body the more he knows about them. But that is not all that there is to it… it has its own loopholes… even more that meets the eye.



...
A/N: Trying to make the chaps longer.😉👍