The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 9

Gon whipped his katana out, severing the head of a demon who had intruded on his makeshift campsite in the middle of the night. As the body disintegrated he smiled, holding the katana a little bit closer. It was so easy, like the ants. Sure some are powerful and unpredictable but those are rare and you can tell by looking at their eyes. Gon didn't pay all that much attention when Tanjiro was teaching him about demons and behaviors and status, he just remembered that bit. It was the last night of his week, he'd killed three demons. Tanjiro made it sound so hard, but it's just chopping off a head. The sword was unwieldy though, it still felt kind of awkward in his hands and was difficult to use. Gon had to line up his blade before slashing, making sure he infused it with Shu and aimed correctly.

I'll get a dagger. No, two daggers. When I find Killua he should have one. It wasn't an 'if' anymore, he couldn't think like that. Gon will find Killua, rescue him if needed, and then bring him back home. He'd spent the past week doing Ren until he dropped during the day, practicing his slashes at the same time usually. He hadn't quite perfected the art of swinging the sword sharp edge first, but the time needed decreased from 2 seconds to .5 seconds. Progress. Gon had needed results, tangible results that you could see as days went by, and he finally got it. The way Gon would slay was by concealing himself in or behind a tree and then line up his slash. Once he did that, he would aim a clean Shu enhanced slice at the neck from behind.

Gon had tried to be smart about the approaching exams, and due to the Ren training he had a lot of time to think. If he was ever in a situation where he couldn't use his sword effectively, he could just smash the demon's head open using Ko. Gon had actually gone looking for a demon to test this strategy on a few nights ago, it worked quite well. Gon settled back down near a tree, he'd made a replica of the contraption that Bisky used to keep them aware while sleeping during greed island on it. Gon grabbed the rope and hoisted the rock over his head, it was only around 35 KGs because he couldn't find a better rock for it or a tree that would support the weight and give him the result he needed. Gon rested his sword and knife near his other hand, then closed his eyes as he leaned on the tree.

Rustle rustle- THUNK. Gon grabbed and threw his knife a few inches from the noise before he even opened his eyes. "AHH!" Gon jumped slightly, eyes snapping open. Zenitsu was cowering next to a tree, looking terrified. "Zenitsu?" He said in confusion, "Why'd you try to kill me! Weren't you sleeping?" He said the last part as more of an afterthought, like he just noticed. Gon blinked. "Sorry, I heard a noise and threw the knife. You could've been a demon" Zenitsu's eyes widened. "You could've killed me! How would you even know who your stabbing?" Gon shook his head, "Notice how the knife is about 5 inches from you" Zenitsu blinked in confusion, then glanced up to where the knife was and sure enough it was approximately 5 inches away.

He looked back over at Gon as he rested his hand on the katana, the rope still in his other hand. "I was presumably dead asleep, that would give me enough time to become completely aware and grab my katana. Anyone would've reacted with some sort of shock, even a demon" demons showed human emotions to some extent. After all, they used to be humans too. Zenitsu stopped cowering and then rubbed the back of his head. "Your pretty smart for a kid" I wouldn't say that- Gon was an idiot and he knew it. However, strategy and combat he was good at. Gon sighed, then let the rope down slowly. "What's that fo-" Zenitsu was cut off by a shocked noise as the huge rock that he had been keeping over his head came into view. It was 5 feet in diameter and there was a decent thud as he stood up and dropped it where he had been sitting.

"What- how-" Gon beamed, then grabbed the rope again and held the rock elevated. "When I was 12 Bisky made us do this for training. The rock's about 35KGs and directly above my head." He let it fall, then rubbed the back of his head with a laugh. "When we first started it was lighter, I got hit like 20 times. It's supposed to help train sleep awareness" Then he fished a basket of nuts and berries he'd collected yesterday out of a hole in the trunk. As he did so, he activated Ren and then gestured for Zenitsu to come sit beside him. "Why did you come out here anyways?" He asked curiously. Zenitsu sat down next to him. "Tanjiro started to get worried and told me to come looking for you, my hearing's really good" Oh. Gon popped a few berries into his mouth, and Zenitsu looked slightly confused for a moment. Gon blinked. "Something wrong?"

He shook his head, "It's just...your breathing changed" Gon frowned slightly, confused. "When?" He gestured to the hole in the tree where he got the basket from. "When you took the basket out" That's when I activated Ren, I didn't know it changed your breathing. Gon smiled. "I activated my Ren, I can hold it for about 3 and a half hours before fainting of exhaustion" Zenitsu's eyes widened. "Why would you faint?" Gon blinked. "Well Nen is like your life energy " he tried to explain, munching on a few more berries. "Ren summons a whole lot of it, practicing Ren improves most other techniques" Gon decided that since Zenitsu was here, it wouldn't hurt to share some of his training schedule. He decided against using his Hatsu though, it was destructive and he usually went pretty far to test it out.

"So...what have you been doing out here?" He asked curiously. Gon finished eating and stood up, then stretched. "a bunch of things, but most of its Nen training and lifting things" Zenitsu looked thoughtful. "I've always wondered how much you could lift, you're really strong for your age" Gon grinned, then slipped off his shirt. Zenitsu's jaw dropped when his eyes landed on his 6 pack. "Holy crap! How do you have so many muscles?" Gon untied the rope from the 35KG rock and lifted it with one hand, then started tossing it a few meters in the air and catching it again with alternating hands. "when I was 12, my friend got kidnapped essentially and the door to get in was 2 tons." it wasn't exactly the truth, but it explained it the best without having to talk about Killua's awful family.

Zenitsu looked startled. "Y-You...can lift that much weight?" Gon shrugged. "Had a 50KG vest on for about a month. Everything was super heavy when we trained. The cups, slippers, chairs" Gon hummed for a moment, then walked over to a fallen tree. It was kind of rotting and mostly trunk, the other branches he'd used for kindle for a fire. "Ah, here we go" Gon put his fingers under it and lifted upwards, Zenitsu's eyes widened in awe as he watched Gon shift the weight to a single hand and hold it directly above his head at arm's length. "That must be why you were so frustrated with Tanjiro's training, why you always found it so easy" Gon set the tree down and sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I know he's trying his hardest, but he's not compensating for Nen or my other training"

1324 words

To be continued...