The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 3

So. I reached 250 followers and wanted to do something to celebrate -3- I decided I was going to post today as well, although it's still going to be every other day in the future.

Killua and Enmu were dropped somewhere, then he saw a flash. A demon slayer with a pair of earrings and crimson hair running through a forest. Killua took note of his clothing, his face, his eyes, the scar on his forehead, every aspect of him. His mind instantly drew conclusions. Young and somewhat inexperienced, determined and not likely to give up. He had kind eyes as well. Not soft, but kind. There was a difference between softness and kindness. "It's like a dream" Enmu murmured. Killua stood up, tail flicking. The upper ranks haven't changed for a hundred years... that was it, how he could get stronger.

Killua would become an upper moon.

He'd met upper moon 3 once, and felt the difference in power as soon as he looked into his eyes. Things were different now, he had some of Muzan's blood. But I'm not ready yet. He needed more power first, he couldn't die without reaching his goal first. He also needed time before finding this human, if he was held at a higher standard than the hashira then he must have strength. So Killua set off, it was midnight. He ate 10 humans a night for weeks, as well as any demon that came within 10 meters. Killua no longer heard Muzan's voice, but it didn't matter. He would keep feeding for another 5 months while gathering information and then challenge one of the upper moons for their place. Hmm...15 a night. That should do the trick.

Gon coughed, the scent of smoke was filling his nose. It was too strong, he was forced to retreat. Damn it. He'd been camping in these woods for a while, and somehow a branch fell half into his fire pit and burned his entire camp. Damn it. There wasn't much a 14 year old could do on his own in the middle of a forest at midnight however. Well, if he was normal. Gon had been in these woods for a few months, and he'd seen...creatures. He'd used Zetsu and scaled trees to avoid them, he didn't know what they were capable of. All he knew, was that they ate people. Gon had been reminded of the Chimera ants, but these were different. These creatures could only be killed by crushing their head or sunlight. He'd seen two of them fight before, one demon cut off limbs but still lived. Apparently they could regenerate too, he'd watched a wound close before.

So he waited until the fire burned out, then went back and inspected his camp. "Damn it" He groaned, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. The only thing left were the clothes on his back, his bag, fishing rod, and 20 KG knife. The knife didn't get burned by the fire, and the rest were on him. But I lost all my food, my tent, and all the pictures I made! Gon had been drawing pictures of Killua because he wanted to put them up on towns as missing posters. He gritted his teeth and walked away. Killua had been missing for months, and he just couldn't seem to find him anywhere. The last time he'd seen him was when they parted ways when Gon went to go climb the world tree. Then when Gon just woke up in the middle of a forest, he'd just started camping. It was hard to go on, anything could have happened.

Which was why he had to keep going. At the very least, he needed to find out what had happened. Gon had managed to regain his Nen through questionable means, however he wasn't as strong as he had been before the war with the Chimera ants. That won't stop me though, I will get him back somehow. But...it still hurt. Gon heard footsteps and hurled himself up a tree, knife drawn. Fuck- "What was that noise?" Someone yelped, Gon activated Zetsu and peeked out from the leaves. That sounded like a person. He hadn't seen any people in a while, he'd assumed they were all hiding from the creatures. "Shut up Sonitzu!" Another voice said, then he saw three figures. One had yellow hair, another had a boar head, and a third had red hair. Gon stiffened. "I'm sure it was nothing" The red haired one said, before resting a hand on his sword sheath.

Are they...human? Because some of the creatures were very human like, but always had a characteristic that defined them. One had the head of a boar, the other had a strange redish mark on his forehead. Markings were common, many of those creatures had them. The yellow haired one though...he was definitely human. They eat humans, maybe they are too? But... The red haired one froze, then took a deep breath. "Tanjiro?" The yellow haired one asked. 'Tanjiro' glanced around. "I smell the scent of a person, but it just disappears" The other two looked around as well. "I don't see or hear anybody" The yellow haired one mumbled. Gon bit his lip. If...they are those creatures, maybe some of them are good? Like the ants? If he was wrong...Then I'll run, but I have to make sure their human first. "I smell smoke as well-"

"H-Hey" All three of them froze, taking attack stances and drawing blades. Well, two of them did. The yellow haired one darted behind the red haired one. Gon didn't think that was a bad sign though, it was natural to go on edge when you couldn't see a possible enemy. "Come out and fight me!" The boar headed one yelled, but the one named Tanjiro put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, that sounded like a kid." His eyes scanned the trees. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Gon was silent for a moment. "Yes" Then he darted a few trees down, the others seemed to have pinpointed where his voice was coming from and walked over to that tree. "Where are you? Come down so we can see you" Tanjiro said, looking up into the tree as he ran a hand on the bark. Gon gritted his teeth, "Show me proof that your human"

Tanjiro's eyes widened slightly, his eyes following his voice. "What do you mean by that?" Gon moved trees again. "You have unnatural features, you could be one of those creatures" Tanjiro turned, looking to his voice once more. "demons? We aren't demons" He responded. The one with the boar head brandished a sword. "We kill demons!" Kill...demons? Is that why they have swords? "T-Tanjiro the voice keeps moving! He's probably a demon trying to eat us!" The yellow haired one cried. Gon moved trees once more. "How about this, demons burn in sunlight. Dawn is in about an hour, if we wait here until sunrise that should be proof enough" They burn? I just thought they didn't come out during the day. Gon thought on that for a moment. "Sure"

Gon waited for about an hour and twenty minutes, then he saw the sun rise over the peak of the mountain. Tanjiro stood up, he had been resting on the ground. The other two were still sitting, and Gon let out a sigh of relief. He then deactivated Zetsu, almost as soon as he did both Tanjiro and Zenitsu looked in his direction. He'd figured out Zenitsu and Insouke's names just by listening to them talk. He slid down the tree, and both of them looked slightly surprised. "You look so...young. What's a kid like you doing out in the middle of the forest at night?" Gon sighed, putting his knife back into his pocket sheath. "My campsite got burned down, as soon as I heard footsteps I climbed a tree in case it was one of those demon things" Zenitsu frowned slightly. "Campsite? Wait, you said it burned. Did whoever you were with die in the fire?" He shook his head, "No, I wasn't with anybody."

"Wait a minute, how long have you been out here by yourself?" Gon blinked. "A few months?" They looked enormously alarmed. "How haven't you been eaten yet?" Zenitsu said. Tanjiro shot him a look and Gon pointed upwards. "I can scale a tree in less than a second, I've seen a few of those demons before. I could smell their scent before they could see or hear me, so I just bolted the moment I did" Zenitsu glanced over at Tanjiro. "Tanjiro has a good sense of smell as well" He then rubbed the back of his head, "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Gon!" Tanjiro smiled, "How old are you Gon?" he blinked. "14" Insouke suddenly came over and growled a little as he stared at him. "Insouke he's just a kid, don't-", "Fight me!" Gon's eyes gleamed. "Ok!"

1436 words

To be continued...