Chapter 5: Republic of Padokea

When Machi heard Soren's obvious excuse to get her to leave him alone and keep her from following him, her immediate choice was to follow him so that she could annoy him as much as possible.

"I have no problems with that… So, when are we leaving?": machi

Soren only shook his head in exasperation, as he truly had no direction in this trip and would be leaving to train himself, and now it seemed that Machi was in for the ride.

"Hais… I guess we can leave later today, that way you can pack what you need": soren

Machi only gave Soren a smile as he winked at him while saying in a cute tone.

"Don't leave me, now… Kay?": machi

Immediately after saying these words, Machi went back to her room before packing some light clothes as well as some cash for any monetary purposes, and after leaving with her backpack filled, she could see Soren waiting for her by the door.

"You ready to go?": soren

"Yeah, I got some clothes, and about 5 million jenny for any purchases we need to make": machi

Soren looked at her with a deadpan expression, and upon receiving this look, Machi couldn't help but ask in her defense.

"Why are you looking at me as if I'm an idiot!?": machi

"Machi… We are thieves and bandits… Why would we need jenny when we can take what we want?... Although I don't mind the idea of spending jenny as that's what its purpose is for, but if we really needed anything we would just need to take it": soren

Over the course of the last 5 years, Soren had also become desensitized to robbing and killing people to get what he wanted, and he still refused to harm innocents, but the problem was that there were no innocent people in Meteor City, and the truly innocent ones are the ones who can't rise above poverty and they tend to die on their own.

"Yeah, I know that… But if we are going to leave Meteor City, then wouldn't it be best to keep a low profile?": machi

Soren thought about this for a moment before giving way, as Machi stuck her tongue out in victory, while Soren sighed in defeat as the two of them left the hideout together. Meteor City was a small country of its own that some say was created due to the trash and junk that piled up from other countries, but it was obviously all lies, as not all of Meteor City was filled with junk, and there was a beautiful city that rests at the center of the entirety of it all, so to leave Meteor City, you have to take an airship to either the Republic of Padokea, or the Kakin Port City.

"How do you plan we get on the airship without buying tickets?": machi

"Simple, we just walk aboard and let them fly us to our destination": soren

Seeing the port security checking tickets, Soren used Zetsu, and realizing that she could no longer perceive Soren by his Nen, Machi also used Zetsu, and as long as they stuck to the crowd, nobody would be able to perceive them, and they would be able to pass by as if they had been ghosts.

"See… Now that wasn't so hard, right?": soren

"I guess you're right… Maybe being rich isn't worth as much as knowing Nen… Yeah, you can buy almost anything with enough money, but having unmatched power can be more beneficial in the long run… And it's also a hell of a lot cooler… Hey, I wonder where this airship's destination is set": machi

"That's the whole point of going wherever the wind takes you… You don't know where a ride might take you, and once you get there, you don't know what awaits you… You simply just- live in the moment": soren

"That sounds kind of stupid to me": machi

"Well I told you that you might not be interested in what I was doing, but you insisted on following along, so now you're here for the ride": soren

Machi could only puff her cheeks out as everything Soren said was right, it was her choice to follow him even knowing that his plans seemed boring, but the idea of visiting a new place was still exciting, so for the next 6 hours, both Soren and Machi spent their time either sleeping or practicing their Nen while waiting for the airship to reach its destination.

{Attention all passengers, we will be arriving at our destination to the Republic of Podokea port in 15 minutes… Please take all of your carry on's with you upon disembarking, and thank you for riding Meteor City Transport}

Because of how small Meteor City was, it wasn't common to get daily tourists, so Meteor City had its own airline in which it would make trips about once a week where it would take residence out of Meteor City as well as sell tickets towards Meteor City. After the Phantom Troupe began to scare the rich groups of Meteor City, they began outsourcing for Hunters who felt it was easy money and came to take the job, but were killed in the end.

"Seems like we have arrived": soren

Soren shook his shoulder while speaking so that Machi would wake up and remove her head from his shoulder.

"Wha- Ha?... What's happening?": machi

Machi sat up with a bit of saliva leaking from the side of her mouth as she began looking around, while Soren just wiped off his shoulder as the puddle of drool soaked into his shirt.

"First off… Disgusting… Second… We've arrived, so let's get our stuff and go": soren

Machi was a bit embarrassed to see that she had been drooling in her sleep as her cheeks began to gain a tinge of red, and with a quick slap to Soren's shoulder she spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Y-You should be happy!... It's not every day that a beautiful woman such as myself would actively donate my saliva to another person, let alone a man!": machi

Soren could only roll his eyes as he got up from his seat and began stretching before walking towards the exit along with the other passengers, and upon seeing that she was about to be left behind, Machi began chasing after him while shouting.

"Wait! You're leaving me behind!": machi

"Sorry, can't help it… The wind, it's pushing me, so keep up": soren

When Machi heard this, her annoyance turned to anger as she shouted.

"You damn liar!... I'll make sure to smack you good, later!": machi

Soon after departing, Soren found a newspaper that talked about simple daily things, while the most prominent was about the frequent assassination's being made around Padokea.

'So I did hear correctly… This is the Republic of Podokea, and also the home to the most deadly family of assassins, the Zoldyck's': soren

After reading the paper, Soren tossed it away and began strolling around the port city, and after an hour of exploring what was never really shown in the show, both Soren and Machi felt a tail, as Machi spoke in a whisper to Soren.

"We have a tail… Should we kill them?": machi

Soren thought for a moment before using En to create a form of observing circle, and as he spread it out to about 20 meters, he was able to make out a small child around the age of 4. The child was standing near a juice vending machine sipping on a can of juice, something that could be considered a normal occurrence, but both Soren and Machi could tell that the young boy had a set of cold and emotionless eyes as he looked at the two as they continued walking, and upon discerning that the child was harmless to them, Soren whispered back.

"No need to kill him, he's just a child… Let's just keep walking as if we didn't notice anything, as the child's guardian is watching us from afar… I can feel a pair of cold and ruthless eyes staring a hole into the back of my head": soren

Machi nodded without making any sort of action to survey the area, because if Soren said it was better left alone, then it was best to leave it alone. While Soren and Machi continued exploring the city, the boy who was tailing them stopped, as the figure of a muscular man with long wild white hair and electric blue eyes had appeared near the young boy with similar characteristics as the older figure spoke.

"You were caught, Kill": silva

"What!?... How do you know? They didn't even look back a single time, and continued walking without even looking at me!... Should I have killed them to prove it?": killua

Upon hearing his son's erratic tone, Silva could only sigh, as he had a long way to go before he could be made into a proper assassin.

"There's a lot you need to learn, Kill… But did you notice that man with the red hair?": silva

"Yeah, what about him?... In my opinion, he looked quite weak": killua

"Hahaha… Yes, weak compared to our family, but I have no doubt from the way he carries himself that he could be one of the top 100 best assassins in the world, but I've never heard of him before… He knows shadow step as well": silva

Killua couldn't accept that Soren was strong, as he began comparing himself to Soren as he spoke.

"That's nothing special, dad… I learned the shadow step just last year, and it's not that high up on the difficulty scale… I bet if I fought him I could take him": killua

Silva could only sign as he listened to his son brag, as there was more to this world than just assassination techniques.

"Hais… It's really not that simple, Kill… You'll understand when you're older": silva

Killua was getting annoyed with the back and forth as he dropped the conversation and began walking back home, meanwhile, Silva was looking towards the direction that both Soren and Machi went off in before following his son as they went home. Soren and Machi were both looking for a hotel to stay in for the night as they finally used some of the jenny that Machi brought, and seeing as her idea to bring cash was indeed smart, she began gloating about it while Soren said.

"It was still unneeded… I could have slept outside, but I know you hate sleeping outside, so we came here": machi

When Machi heard Soren's quip she quickly responded while shouting.

"Fine!... Then sleep outside!... This is my jenny anyway, meaning this is my room!": machi

Soren only shrugged as he went over to the window and opened it, and with a series of acrobatic moves, Soren disappeared from the open window making Machi believe he jumped out, but upon looking out of the window towards the ground, she didn't see him, as her next guess was that he was on the roof. Machi then closed the window before laying down in one of the two beds in the room, as the original plan was to get a double so they could spend less than renting two separate rooms, and while she lay in the bed, she began to trash talk behind Soren's back.

"You cold blockhead… You didn't even try to deescalate the situation and just accepted the outcome… I really wanted to share a room with you, but you're just so dense that you couldn't figure it out… But it's also my fault… I was just so flustered, and I was quick to say things that I didn't mean… In reality, I really just like being around him, and I feel different when I'm around him… I feel- less cold… Is this what they call love?... Do I love him? Can I love him?... Can I even express the emotion that it 'love'?": machi

As Machi whispered herself to sleep, Soren was secretly listening in on her conversation with herself, as a few thoughts ran through his mind as he began whispering to himself.

"She loves me?... I knew she was always more open to me than with the others, but for the ever cruel and cold Machi to love someone, let alone me… I do like her, but I also don't want to be tied down, and I don't want to take her heart only to break it by sleeping with other women… If she would be okay with the idea of a harem, then I would gladly accept her and give her all the attention she needs, but she would have to share… In fact, how many women will fall for me like this? How many hearts will I break?... I don't even want to think about all of that, as I first need to become stronger, and the first stop is Kukuroo Mountain… Although I won't be going there to meet any of the Zoldyck's, but the testing gate will definitely be a fun exercise": soren

Soon, Soren fell asleep being embraced by the warm summer night, and after the sun began to rise in the early morning, Soren had woken up and used a piece of paper and a pencil to write a quick note and placed it in Machi's room before leaving. After reincarnating into the Hunter x Hunter world, Soren had spent 2 weeks learning how to read and write with the language used in the Hunter world, and with his talent and potential it came easy to him and he could now read and write like a native, and the note basically told Machi that he would be out joining a tour bus of the city, and that he would have woken her, but it sounded like a pig was somewhere in the room, and he was afraid of pigs, so he had to drop the note and run.

'Hehe… She's gonna be pissed': soren

Soren joined a tour bus just like he said, and as the bus began driving around the city, the tour lady began speaking over a pa system as she introduced each and every spot they passed through.

"And if you look to your right, you have the Kukuroo Mountain, said to be home of a family of world famous assassins- The Zoldyck Family": tour lady

As the bus came to the front gate and stopped, people began to disembark from the bus as photos began to be taken as the tour lady continued to explain the elusive background of the Zoldyck's.