章 12: Chapter 12: The 200th Floor

After waking Machi up, Soren reminded her about her current condition as she was prepared to charge out of the room to look for the person who dared rob them, and when she noticed that she was still naked along with being covered in sticky fluids, she quickly ran off to the bathroom to clean herself up. After half an hour, Machi had come out from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, and seeing Soren standing there staring at her, she felt a bit embarrassed, but still decided to act as if it was natural as she let the towel fall as she began getting dressed in a set of casual clothes similar to Soren's. They both wore a white t-shirt, while Soren wore a pair of jeans while Machi wore some shorts. After being dressed in proper clothes, Machi began inquiring about the thief, but Soren explained it was a lie to get her up and out of the bed.

"So mean!... So what did you want me to get up for?": machi

"Right!... Machi, although this is in the wrong order, but seeing what happened last night, I wanted to bring this up now… Will you… Marry me?": soren

When Machi heard Soren bring up the contents of last night, she began to blush, but after hearing him propose to her, her heart began to sing as tears formed within her eyes, while butterflies flew around in her stomach.

"M-marry you?... YES! A million times, yes!": machi

Soren was happy to hear her accept, as he took her outstretched hand and placed a beautiful diamond ring on her ring finger.

"It's so beautiful!... I love it!": machi

"You don't want to know the price tag?": soren

"You can't put a price tag on love… It doesn't matter what this ring cost, it could cost 100 jenny or 100 million jenny and it would still be priceless in my eyes because it was given to me by you": machi

Upon hearing how honest and uncaring Machi was about the price of the ring, Soren felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, as it was obvious his choice was right when he chose Machi to be his wife.

"Thank you, Machi": soren

"Thank me? For what?": machi

"For being there… If you had chosen to stay with the other Troupe members that day, I don't think I would have ever gotten the chance to properly start a relationship with you": soren

After saying his peace, it was Machi's turn to tear up, as she got closer to Soren and gave him a kiss on the lips before backing away.

"I guess we should go prepare to reach the 200th floor today": machi

"Yeah… Speaking of the fights… I think I watched a fight yesterday between Killua and a big fat guy to decide who is going to the 120th floor, and Killua just gave up after walking on stage, dropping him to the 100th floor": soren

"Oh, it seems like Killua is playing the rules and just wants to hover in the 100's": machi

Soren could guess he was doing that in order to keep himself from going home, as well as using the weaker opponents to train himself so that strong opponent who are just barley weaker than him become ants in his eyes, thus keeping the status quo of the food chain where Killua continues to stand on top.

"Let's go get some food before they start calling our numbers": machi

Soren nodded in approval before they both made their way to the Heaven's Arena cafeteria, and upon loading up a tray with food, they swiped their room keys on a special panel before going back to their rooms with their food. After breakfast, Soren and Machi sat around training their Nen until their numbers were called. Soren's opponent was a middle aged martial artist who seemed to be proficient in the sword, but due to the rule of banning weapons, he has had to rely on his fists to get him this far.

"Hohohoh… You seem quite young, but you are definitely the strongest opponent I have met here… Care to spar with this senior for a bit?": martial master

Soren was a bit skeptical with how he should handle this opponent, so he decided to test him before the fight started.

"Tell me, what do you see?": soren

"What do I see?... Hmm, a cocky brat is all I see": martial master

After hearing the man's words, Soren released a sad sigh as he wouldn't get the chance to fight a master of Nen, and instead just waited for the referee to start the fight.

"Ready, begin!": ref

After the referee started the fight, Soren watched as the martial master seemed to disappear for the audience, but he secretly knew exactly where he was and was keeping track of him the entire time, as the old man reappeared behind Soren as he sent a punch out towards Soren, and surprisingly, the martial masters attacks seemed to carry a strong force, almost as if he was using Nen to enhance his attacks, so instead of ending the fight, Soren decided to play with the master as he disappeared from his spot as the master punched through an afterimage.

"You're quite special, old man… Are you sure you don't see anything when you look at me?... Perhaps you're just blind?": soren

"Who are you calling blind, brat!?... I'll teach you to respect your elders": martial master

The martial master then began to move once again, but this time it was a frontal barrage of attacks as Soren continued using a short distance form of En to see each attack and adjust his body just enough to dodge the attack, as each and every one of the martial masters attacks seemed to carry tremendous force behind them.

'This old man could crush boulders with such attacks, but he seems to be ignorant of Nen, and if he had awakened his Nen, he should be able to see my Ten… He doesn't even have a strong perceptive ability, as he would have at least sensed something was off with the battle… Seems this is just a useless fight and it's time to end it': soren

Just as the martial master was about to make a connection with Soren's face, he grabbed the master's fist, as the force was dispersed into the surroundings.

"What the hell!?... H-how is that possible!?... My attacks can shatter boulders, so how is it possible to catch it with his hand!": martial master

Just as Soren caught the martial master's fist, he noticed that the old man was getting such a force through manipulating certain muscles in his arm to become hard like steel, and without any further hesitation, Soren released his Ten as he chopped at the man's neck, sending him to sleep.

"Goodnight, old guy… Maybe you would be a challenge if you learn Nen in the future": soren

The referee checked the martial masters pulse before announcing Soren as the winner as he printed up a ticket that sends Soren to the 190th floor, and after waiting for a few minutes, Soren could see Machi walking out of the elevator, and upon her walking up to him, he spoke.

"What took you so long?... You were called before I was… Did you have a troublesome opponent?": soren

"No… It's just that during my fight, I began feeling really sore in my crotch since I mainly fight using my legs since I don't like getting close to those ugly and smelly guys": machi

Soren understood her problem as he spoke in a teasing tone.

"I see… So I'm ugly and smelly?": soren

Hearing Soren give off a fake sob, Machi began to feel flustered as she spoke.

"Not you!... You are the least ugly and smelly person I have ever met! That's why I love you!": machi

Soren looked towards Machi with a sly smile as he stuck his tongue out towards her.

"Oi!... Don't tease me!... I rip that tongue out of your mouth!": machi

"Oh?... Well if you do that, then I can't use it later when we're alone": soren

Machi's face became red as she turned away from Soren and began walking over to the counter with her ticket in hand.

"Hey!... Where're you going?... I was just teasing you": soren

Seeing that Machi wasn't speaking with him, Soren chased after him while trying to get her to speak to him.

"Hey, I was just playing around… Don't take it so seriously… Come on, don't give me the cold shoulder!": soren

Soren caught up with Machi, as he noticed that her embarrassed red face was replaced with her normal one, but it was more cold.

"Hey, are you mad at me?": soren

Soren tried to get her to speak, but Machi didn't even look in his direction.

"Hey, if you don't answer me, I'm going to jump from the window and plummet to the ground": soren

After hearing his threat, Machi paid more attention, but she was calling his bluff as she continued to ignore Soren.

"Alright, so I guess you no longer love me… Goodbye": soren

Soren then walked over to the viewing window before opening it as he began leaning out, and the only response was from the staff.

"Sir!... Please return your body inside and close the window! Should I call the authorities for help": staff member

Soren didn't listen to the staff members as he sat on the window ledge while leaning back, willing to fall at any minute, and seeing Machi look at him, but refusing to speak, Soren decided to play the game of chicken as he spoke.

"I guess this is goodbye… 3… 2…": soren

"...": machi

"... 1…": soren

Soren released his grip on the window as his body began falling backwards, and in a flash, Machi shot over to the window, but it was too late as she could only see Soren start plummeting, and without a second thought, Machi used her Nen threads like a lasso and caught Soren by his right arm as the sudden stop made the threads act as blades as they began cutting into his arm.

"Soren!... Don't worry, I'll get you back up here!": machi

After hearing Machi speak, Soren's face began to grow a smile as he used his weight to swing over to the outside wall of the tower, and with a bit of force, he pulled on the threads as he began running up the side of the tower, and soon entered the tower through the window as he loosened the threads and began pulling the flesh embedded threads out from his arm.

"You idiot!... Why did you do that!": machi

While Machi was berating Soren, the staff members came over and closed the window before calmly leaving the scene while keeping their eyes on the crazy one.

"I told you, I would jump if you didn't love me, so why did you save me?": soren

"Because I love you, you big idiot!": machi

"Then next time don't play a game of chicken with the master at the game": soren

Machi could only sigh as she didn't like how stressful the situation had become, as she only focused on Soren's arm.

"You're still hurt, let me help you fix it… I can make it so there won't even me a scar": machi

Hearing that Machi wanted to fix his arm, Soren felt happy, but he denied her help.

"No, I'll let it heal naturally… The scars will remind me of your love… And it's not like this was the first scar I've gotten": soren

Machi could only give up, as Soren began walking over to the receptionist as he turned in his ticket slip as he had the money deposited into his account, as Machi followed his lead and turned in her slip. The two of them had soon returned to their room before waiting to be called for their next matches, and only after an hour were they finally called as they both made their way to their respective stages, and after two short matches, they both had passed onto the 200th floor.

"I guess that's the elevator leading to the 200th floor… Oh, look!... It's Killua, and he seems to be fighting a young martial artist with glasses… I wonder who will win": machi

Soren's attention was brought to the screen as Soren watched Killua face off against Wing, as Soren thought his presence made Wing drag behind, thus putting him in the same bracket as Killua, and upon watching the fight, he knew Killua would lose, and it was proven true after a 30 minute fight, pushing Killua out of the 100's.

"Let's go… Nothing else to see here… We should go register before midnight": soren

Machi nodded as they both entered the elevator leading to the 200th floor, and after exiting into a small hallway, they began looking for the receptionist as Soren felt eyes watching them.

'So they think it will be some easy pickings as we are fresh blood': soren