The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 10

Gon grabbed his katana and tried to hold it, it wasn't very good. "The only trouble I really have in training is swinging a sword. I can't learn to use it 'properly' in time. It's too big and light, my knife's what I usually use if I have any sort of weapon at all. Most of the time I go for hand to hand combat" Zenitsu nodded, standing up as well. "He's just worried about you, your young and inexperienced" Gon kept in a scoff. Is that what he really thinks? That was far from true. He'd experienced more danger and trauma than the average adult. But of course the others didn't know that, and he didn't feel like explaining either. "Your thoughts are kind of irritated" Zenitsu mumbled. Wait a minute, hold on. He can hear my thoughts? And emotions? It kind of reminded Gon of melody.

He looked away, retrieving his knife from the tree and slipping it into his pocket sheath. "it's just..." He needed to at least get the point across, even if he didn't explain why. "I'm not. I'm not a helpless kid. I can hold my own in a fight with someone with more power than me and I'm capable of handling danger" Gon took a breath, putting on his backpack and sliding his fishing rod back in the pocket it rested in. "You sound like you've been through some stuff" Zenitsu said slightly worriedly. Gon smiled brightly, turning to him with his hands behind his head. He'd taken to doing that just like Killua did, same with a few other things. By keeping small elements of his friend still in his life it made him worry less for some reason. "You learn the most when your back's up against the wall and you're not sure if you'll make it out alive"

At the last part Zenitsu's eyes widened in alarm and Gon started walking. "H-Hold on, how would you know that?" He said, running a little to catch up. Gon kept his bright smile on. "Nothing, don't worry about it" He said cheerfully, then started skipping a little. "We're pretty far away from Tanjiro's cabin, at the pace we're going it'll probably take a few hours" Zenitsu groaned. "I'm tired of walking, I don't think I'll be able to run for more than 10 minutes" Gon shrugged, then scooped him up bridal style. Zenitsu yelped, startled. "W-What are you-" Gon moved his hands so they were locked around his neck, so he wouldn't fall. "Hold on tight!" Then he bolted.

"Ahhhhh!" Zenitsu yelled. He did a quite a few times actually. Gon found it kind of funny so he started purposefully doing things like jumping over holes and down steep rock ledges. It only took about twenty minutes to get in sight of the cabin at that speed, when they did Tanjiro was outside and ran over to them as he heard Zenitsu yell again when Gon 'nearly' crashed into a tree. "Zenitsu! What's wro-" Tanjiro paused as Gon giggled, letting a slightly shivering Zenitsu down onto the ground. "You nearly killed us like ten times!" He cried. Gon laughed some more. "half of it was on purpose-" Zenitsu sputtered and then shot him a dirty look. "Meanie!" He snickered and then a wave of fatigue hit him. Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu's eyes both snapped over to him as he stumbled slightly, then shut his Ren off. "Gon? Are you alright?" Tanjiro worried.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead, grinning sheepishly. "I forgot to stop doing Ren, running that far at my top speed was fun but it took quite a bit out of me" Tanjiro blinked, seemingly sorting through what he remembered about Nen. Then Zenitsu coughed, getting both of their attention. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well I think that maybe...you should let Gon go at his own pace?" Tanjiro frowned slightly in contemplation and Gon snorted. "Wasn't planning on doing that again, I mean maybe I could use a bit more of the 'teaching' part but the physical training's just not enough" Tanjiro sighed. "I'm just worried. There's nothing I can do to stop you from going to the exams, but I can't use the same test I did to gauge if you're ready or not."

Gon shrugged. "I don't even need to interact with any demons, I could just stay out of detection the whole time and sleep during the day" he pointed out. Tanjiro blinked, but Gon set his jaw. "I want to fight a real demon tonight" He said. Zenitsu jumped slightly, Tanjiro seemed to be trying not to say no. I've already killed three but I have no proof to solidify it, it might just sound like I'm only saying that so he'd let me. "I still don't like that idea" Gon suddenly got a solution. "I've got the perfect way to solve this!" he said, then bounced a little on his feet. "You can come too, if I'm in any real danger or one of the powerful demons show up you can step in" Tanjiro looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to decide. Gon decided on one last thing, a final push. "I'm going to this exam, there's going to be demons there for sure. I need experience in order to develop a technique that works" Tanjiro sighed, finally giving in. "Alright"

Gon spent the rest of the morning training on his own. He made sure to stay within sight of the house as he did Ren, Ko, Shu, and katana training. Gon also worked on his physical strength as well, doing pushups and other exercises. Tanjiro watched him for a while every now and again, so at about noon Gon decided to show off a bit. It would display more of his strength, put less doubt in Tanjiro's mind.

Gon was currently sitting cross legged as he was working on his Ren, eyes closed. What should I do? He wouldn't go overboard, just a small bit of showing off. Hatsu was out of the question for sure, that'd be overkill. Hmmm... Oh! Perfect! Gon used En, pushing it out as far as he could go. Tanjiro was currently watching him from a few meters away, by his posture he was kind of worried still. Then he sensed Insouke running around nearby, headbutting trees. Gon 'watched' this for a moment. I...why? He'd run and jump, slamming his head into a tree trunk. Ah, doesn't matter. He stood up, opening his eyes and deactivating En. "Hey Insouke!" There was a grunt, and a thud. "What! I'm busy" Gon fake pouted, putting his hands behind his head and taking a step backwards. "Aw man, I was hoping to fight you again. I was gonna do it without my knife this time"

A rustle, then Insouke ran through a bush with a cackle. "A rematch! I'm gonna get you this time Nog!" Right...he can never pronounce names correctly. For some reason he could never seem to say it the right way, although it was usually easy to tell who he was talking about because it resembled the name in some way in length or letters. Gon's hands dropped, and he closed his eyes as he activated Zetsu. "Hah? With your eyes closed? Are you stupid?" Insouke said, before snickering and unwrapping his swords. Perfect. He could sense his relative movements as his natural senses heightened, then sidestepped to dodge Insouke's first swing with apparently minimal effort. "Gah! Your using one of those magic ability things. Fight me like a real man!" Gon chuckled, replacing his hands behind his head. "Use your breathing techniques if you want, that might make it more fair" Tanjiro stiffened, he could tell from the sharp intake of breath and a sudden movement.

"Now you're talking!" He yelled, leaping at Gon. "Beast breathing, Second Fang: Slice!" Suddenly Insouke's speed nearly doubled, Gon was taken by surprise and was forced into using most of his speed to dodge. Woah! It was much harder to dodge now, almost too hard to keep his eyes closed. He's like...really strong. Gon had never noticed this, but as the fight progressed he found himself panting a little as he grinned. He kept dodging, by now he was pretty sure Insouke revealed all his cards. Gon just had to wait for an opening. About 25 seconds passed, then he saw it. There. He feinted right, then dove left. Gon managed to get behind him for a split second, that second was all he needed.

"Gah!" Gon wrenched his arms behind his back, panting a little and with his eyes still closed. "Damn it, not again" Gon's eyes opened, he deactivated Zetsu. "Oh wow! That was awesome!" He said, letting Insouke go and bouncing a little on his feet. Insouke stood up and turned, confused by his posture. "But...you won" He giggled, "Well yeah, but you were so much stronger than I thought you were! Like, you actually got me a little" Gon gestured to a small graze on his arm. "That technique you were using, it was En right?" Tanjiro said, coming up beside them. Gon giggled, then shook his head. "I wasn't using En, it was Zetsu!"

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To be continued...