As you can tell, these past few chapters were me giving poor attempts at setting up romance hahaha ;;;
It actually pertains the story I promise! Keeping in contact with them is a good thing!
Instead of calling a meeting, Kurapika had made a decision to just tell Shalnark, Kortopi and Machi about his plan, which had been approved beforehand by Chrollo, which apparently the Kurta had ran the idea by him as soon as he had woken up.
Machi wasn't fond of the plan. She had seen better and more expertly directed plans than the one she was sent to deliver, but this one guaranteed everyone's safety, and she couldn't deny that they needed it. What with Uvogin still not being completely recovered and with the added addition of taking their former enemy with them, she knew it was the right choice. She just had this feeling that the group was going to split up, a hunch of hers. The same one that made her clench her fists slightly and make her feel off balance. Those ones. But she said nothing, because nothing about the hunch indicated something bad, just that it would happen.
Machi sighed. She wish she had said something. After delivering her news to Phinks and Feitan, she ended up before Chrollo's door, wondering if she was supposed to deliver the news to him. She shrugged, opening the door to find him and Uvogin still talking.
"Man, I never heard that story, but it sounds hilarious! No wonder Kurapika didn't let Shal tell us!" Uvogin said rather loudly, causing Machi to wince, the two men looking at her when she did.
"Oi, Machi, listen to this. Nobuhide told Chrollo about how when Kurapika was tiny that he would try to follow Shalnark and Nobuhide everywhere, but when they weren't in the same room or together he'd get really torn about who to follow and would start crying!"
"That's hilarious?" Machi asked, raising an eyebrow at the larger man. He flushed a bit before turning his head to the wall.
"Okay, not hilarious, just really endearing. Remember when he used to be that small? I can only imagine how cute that would've been. Kind of sad he stopped that before he met us though."
"Wait, how young was he when he met you guys?" Chrollo asked, sitting up straighter in his bed. Machi wanted to deny him the information, seeing as they had just been messaged by Nobuhide about him being Kurapika potential suitor, but when Machi made eye contact with Uvogin, he only smiled.
"Well he was probably around four-ish? Maybe five?" Uvogin answered, getting up from the bed and stretching. "But! I won't tell you anymore!"
"What?"
"I think anymore info you get should be from Kurapika himself. I feel like I'm betrayin' him for this anyway, ya know what I mean?" he asked, smiling just the same.
Chrollo was slow to pick up where the conversation was going but eventually nodded, having the gall to look disappointed, as if he had more questions.
"Right, of course. I have just recently come back from the opposing side, so I suppose it's only natural."
"Aww, don't put it that way Chrollo! I'm just saying you shouldn't hear it from a secondary source! It's not my story to tell!" Uvogin said, walking to the door and tugging Machi with him. "Anyway, Machi, earlier you said you needed to talk to me about something?"
Machi played along, instead turning around with him to walk out the door.
"Yeah, took you forever." she accused, walking away in a direction she hadn't gone in yet. "Besides how long you took, Kurapika wanted me to tell you about the plan we're gonna be doing tonight. He decided to cancel all heists except for this one, which, when you hear it, will be understandable why.
"We're going to be using the heist as a cover to get into the underground system that Mammon's forces are using. We'll allow a few of them to escape in order to chase them in, but after that we'll pull back and go at our own pace to figure things out. Since we don't know the layout, going slowly will be better for us and worse for them, since ambushes will be kind of useless if we're all on guard."
Uvogin grunted in agreement, crossing his arms in thought.
"But why are we going in tonight? Wouldn't it be better to give it some time before we attack?"
"I would like to think so too, but the faster we try to nip this in the bud, the easier it will be on us to take them down. If what Chrollo had claimed was true about them still taking children, they're probably being manipulated to be in this army as well." Machi said, grimacing. "I hate fighting children."
"You don't even like children." Uvogin pointed out, and she gave him a pointed look.
"Exactly."
"Hey Machi! Kortopi said that he told everyone else the message so we're done!" Shalnark called out to her, waving his hands as he did.
Nobunaga forced the excited blonde's arms down, but Shalnark was still grinning.
"It's been so long since we've had an invasion, especially going into it knowing people will fight back! Oh, this will be so much fun!"
"Quit it already, we know!" Nobunaga said, poking Shalnark on his shoulder.
Machi let out a sigh. His enthusiasm was contagious, and she had a reputation to keep up, so she glared at him as well, but Uvogin went along with it.
"I know right? Can't wait! This will be the most fun we've had in months!"
"You always say that!" Shalnark said, lightly punching at the broader man. "But anyway, weren't you just talking to Chrollo? What took so long?"
"Oh, well he was recounting some of the stories he got told by Nobuhide! A lot of them were about Kurapika though, not that I minded! He must of been so cute before we met him!"
"Yeah, he really was! Shy but adventurous you know! Wait a second… why were you talking about that anyway?" Shalnark asked, giving a suspicious look to Uvogin. Machi felt her hands go cold. She glanced at Nobunaga who she could tell also wasn't sure what to do. Do they tell him or not?
"Well, I asked him what he and Nobuhide had talked about-"
"But why, he already told us during the meeting."
"I… maybe it'd be easier to show you…" Uvogin said, starting to pull out the map when Nobunaga stepped forward and pushed it back.
"Or I can tell him, and you guys, what my father just told me."
"You called Nobuhide just now?" Machi asked, surprised at how quickly he had done it.
"Yes, and, well, he meant exactly what we thought he meant, but with an odd reason that related to him and my mom meeting."
"So he thinks Chrollo-"
"Was like him when he went searching for my mom? Yes." Nobunaga said sighing, running a hand over his face. "Honestly I don't want to believe it but-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you guys talking about? You gotta tell me, you can't keep this forever!" Shalnark said, interrupting what they were discussing.
Nobunaga and Uvogin looked at Machi, and she sighed. She didn't want to do this, but it looked like she had no choice.
"It seems that we have reason to believe that Chrollo might fall in love with Kurapika."