The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 12

(Just as a disclaimer, I have not read the manga or watched the second demon slayer movie. I'm searching up facts on the wiki but if I get something wrong please don't attack me :'3 I'm not good at large scale fighting scenes and with my limited knowledge it makes things even more difficult)

Kokushibo, upper rank one, former demon slayer. Killua had spent the last few months gathering all the information and strength he could. He quickly scrolled through the mental list of information he had. Can sense and anticipate your movements even if you aren't in his line of vision, uses a sword of flesh, can use moon breathing, he's over 400 years old and can predict any fighting style with experience. All those things put together didn't seem very achievable. His tail flicked, ears twitching. Doma, upper rank two, enjoys injury, outwardly friendly, genuinely insane, uses fans to attack. He didn't find much on him other than his personality and weapons. Seems...more manageable. But then...

He thought about the next one. Akaza, upper rank 3, enjoys fighting strong opponents, hand to hand combat, immense speed, can predict movements. As the upper rank two, Doma should be more powerful than Akaza. Yet Akaza seems more powerful by what information I have. Killua thought on this for a long time, before coming to a decision. I will become an upper moon. The number will be decided when I get there. He got to his feet, then realized something. Master, can you hear me? He projected his thoughts outwards. Killua didn't know where the upper moons would be, and the only one he could ask- What is it you need? Killua's ears flicked. He honestly hadn't expected that to work, but it did and his path was clear. I wish to challenge an upper moon.

There was no response. Then, images flashed behind his eyes. Killua stumbled slightly, but kept himself standing as he realized what he was seeing. It was a memory, of the fortress that he'd been summoned to. The one he'd received Muzan's blood in. The infinity fortress. Killua exited his cave, and started running.

Killua managed to get himself to the fortress with the aid of the memories given to him in less than 5 hours. He stood outside of it, then heard the thrumming sound once more. A door opened, and he stepped inside. "Visitor? What's that supposed to mean?" a male voice echoed down the hallway. Killua kept walking, face falling into an emotionless monotone expression. "All the upper moons are here, who could we be missing?" this time, it was a female voice. Nearly there. "Only we're supposed to know of this place, who else would possibly-" Killua entered a wide, bright room. There were pillars all around, the ceiling was in a domelike shape. 9 figures stood in that room. Upper moons 1-6 were gathered in the middle of the dome, while Muzan sat in a thronelike chair near one of the edges. Beside him was the woman with long black hair and the instrument that allowed the fortress to shift.

"Is that...lower moon 6?" Upper 5 said, peering at him with his misplaced eyes. "Hold on, the lowers aren't supposed to know about this place" Upper 4 said, from his crouching position on the floor. Muzan shifted a little, eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you questioning my judgement?" They fell silent. Killua kept his head respectfully bowed, he was not given anything to do. "Wait a moment, I remember seeing you before" Akaza said, walking over to him. He lifted his head to look him in the eye, and the upper moon froze. The difference in power, it's shifted. It was no longer Akaza that outmatched him. It was Killua who had supremacy, and Akaza could sense it. "I have reason to believe this was an upper moon meeting." Kokushibo said. Killua's eyes drifted over to his form. "Plus, weren't the lower moons 'disbanded?' " the female upper 6 said, pulling her face into a slight frown.

Killua looked silently at each of the upper moons in turn, then made his decision. He turned to face Kokushibo, who gave him a cold and uninterested stare. "Upper 1" He said simply. There was a small confused silence amongst the upper ranks, but Muzan's lips cracked into a small cruel smile. "What about me?" Kokushibo said cooly. "Shiyajū challenges Kokushibo for his rank" There was a shocked silence for a moment. A thrumming sound echoed around, and the room shifted. He and Kokushibo were on a large wide rectangular area with white tiles. There was a platform above and to the side where the other upper moons watched from. On the opposite end, Muzan and the biwa woman stood on a smaller but otherwise identical one. Kokushibo put a hand on his sword, looking him in the eye. "Prove yourself worthy of this title, or die trying"

Killua's ears flicked, and he waited for some sort of start signal. There was silence for a while, then the biwa woman strummed her instrument in a single loud ringing note. Killua ducked under a sword slash as he moved lightning fast. Killua had to go on the defensive for a while, gradually catching on to the fact that he wouldn't win this fight unless he could do something about Kokushibo's sensing ability. Killua leapt backwards, ignoring the muttering and talking from the spectators as he concealed his presence. Kokushibo blinked, then Killua came forward and slashed a claw across his shoulder. His eyes widened slightly and leapt backwards, the wound closing up almost instantly along with the blood. Killua's eyes narrowed slightly. That might be an issue. "Why can't..." He aimed a barrage of slashes at Killua, who dodged them all. "Why can't I predict your movements!" he shouted.

Killua was silent, calculating his next move. "Answer me!" There was a whoosh, and Killua just barely avoided getting an arm sliced off by a serious of airborne crescent shaped projectiles. Killua darted around, slashing and switching up his form of attack every few goes. He'd landed multiple hits, but he kept healing. "That's kind of impressive" Doma said loudly, flapping his fan with a grin. His voice dripped with fakeness, but he couldn't focus on that. Kokushibo seemed to be getting more and more agitated, using more and more complex moves. Eventually he started using breathing styles, the woman with the biwa had to keep thrumming to repair the room when it got demolished. Killua slammed his tail into the ground, chunks of the hard white stone detached from the floor and he used them to create a sort of smoke screen with the dust.

He bolted for the other side of the room, behind his opponent. Kokushibo was much too focused on cutting all the rocks and making sure he wasn't behind one of them when Killua slammed into him from behind and dug his claws deep into his back after activating his blood demon art. "GAH!" Kokushibo struggled, slashing a deep wound into Killua's side with his blade. Then, his blood demon dart kicked in. there was a thud as the body hit the floor, completely motionless. All of a sudden the cold demeanor changed as he snarled, a desperate look in his eyes. "NO! I WILL NOT LOSE! NOT UNTIL-" Killua's tail snaked around his neck and over his mouth, quieting him. There was silence for a few moments from the upper moons. "You're supposed to just kill him now" Doma supplied, as if he didn't know what he was doing. Killua blinked. As an upper moon he should have...a lot of master's blood.

"What are you even doing? Just kill him alre-" Akaza was cut off as Killua dug his fangs into Kokushibo's shoulder, tearing the flesh and ingesting as much blood as he could. There was dead silence from the spectators as Kokushibo writhed, trying to yell and get free. Killua had him pinned, without the movement of his body he was helpless. Killua ate hurriedly, taking as much of the liquid strength he craved as he could. Killua had eaten both his arms by now, apparently his blood demon art halted regeneration because Kokushibo started to disintegrate soon after and his limbs didn't regrow. Killua felt a searing pain in both eyes, and he stood up as the pain faded. "W-What the...hell is wrong with you!" the male demon that shared the upper moon 6 title shouted.

Killua turned to the spectators, wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand. His face hadn't changed, it was still monotone and expressionless. "Welcome Shiyajū, to the upper ranks" Muzan said. He turned to face his master, bowing his head respectfully. "Now tell me, why do you feast on the flesh and blood of other demons?" His ears flicked, and he raised his head to speak. "Orders were to get stronger. Demons have your blood in them, which would be the most effective way" Silence. Muzan smiled cruelly once more, then snapped his fingers. He was impaled in the neck, falling to his knees as even more of Muzan's blood was injected into him than the last time.

1529 words

To be continued...