Now that I have a little bit of time: let me talk about something I've noticed about Machi.
Kirimori Valley brainrot #1: How long Machi stayed out for her nen training?
Ok, so in chapter 397 Renko tells Machi how to find her, right? Which led us to believe Renko herself -- or someone else there -- will teach Machi the ability to embalm bodies: nen.
There are two little details about Machi that made me think she probably went to Kirimori soon after their encounter and were only back to Meteor City by the time the Phantom Troupe was officially founded.
1) Her hair.
This is her hair when she was a kid:
And this is her hair as an adult:
Pretty consistent, right?
But this is her hair when the Troupe was founded:
This alone doesn't mean much, but when we're back to chapter 114, we can catch a glimpse of her thoughts about Chrollo during his foundation speech.
2) Machi's thoughts on Chrollo
This little thing:
I've always considered the possibility of Machi not knowing Chrollo for long before the PT and being surprised with his speech because of it. Now that it's a canon fact that she knew him since they were little kids, my interpretation of it is: she's shocked with how the sweet innocent boy he was turned out after these years she's been away.
So, from what I gather (and this is just a wild guess so I might be wrong):
Machi went to Kirimori when she was still a kid, and there, maybe as a part of their habits, or the education/training she received, she had to look more composed/neat, hence the well groomed hair. In this sense, I believe this is when Machi learned how to be a tad more feminine, after being raised by Uvo and mimicking his speech and manners, in Kirimori she probably got a more "feminine" influence, which changed her speech as an adult, as well as her manners (being more collected and cold), and her choice for a kunoichi attire when "working". But it doesn't mean she let go of who she was before: her hair got back again to its messy cut, her casual clothes are "boyish" and she still talks like Uvo when she's angry.
She returned to Meteor City when she got a little older, and was probably surprised with how much everyone had also grown, but most of all, with Chrollo's leadership, charisma and detachment. Maybe when she haven't really raised her hand before, she was doubting a boy like Chrollo could be a good leader.
