The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 11

Tanjiro blinked, then frowned slightly. "I...damn I think I got my terms wrong" Gon shook his head again. "No, you got it right. En is the one that lets you sense things. But, I didn't use it" His eyebrows raised slightly. "I find that hard to believe" Gon grinned, then let his hands rest behind his head again. "So, you know how each technique gives off a different scent?" this was something he and Tanjiro had figured out a while ago, although Gon couldn't smell the difference really. He nodded. "did you notice how you couldn't catch my scent at all during the fight?" Tanjiro's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, that's right. But...then how did you manage to evade every attack with your eyes closed?"

Gon smiled. "With Zetsu, it enhances your natural senses. Sight, hearing, smell, that kind of thing. I used the same trick on Gido at heavens arena." Gon turned his back as he activated Zetsu. "So, here's a quick difference. Hold up a number" Tanjiro shifted slightly, then Gon sensed a movement. "Your hand was raised" Gon dropped his hands and wiped some sweat off his brow from the spar. "With Zetsu, you can sense basic movements." Then he activated En. Gon counted the number. "Your holding up 3 fingers" Tanjiro lowered his hand, impressed by his posture. He turned again. "En allows you to sense exact movements. Exact locations, you can essentially see the outlines without having to look." Tanjiro rubbed the back of his head. "This stuff's kind of confusing"

After lunch, Gon spent the next 6 hours training. He was in the middle of doing handstand pushups when Tanjiro walked up to him. "Gon, you need to rest" he blinked, then leapt to his feet and wiped some sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Huh?" He frowned slightly. "You've been doing this all day, surely you must be exhausted?" Gon blinked a few more times. I mean...I guess I feel a little bit tired? "I've been doing this for the past week pretty much, it's not like I'm gonna be up all night or anything" He sighed. "If you say so" Gon smiled a little as he turned. He's finally getting that I know what I'm doing when it comes to this type of thing. "We're leaving in an hour and a half. I still recommend that rest though, at least for your body"

Tanjiro went back to the cabin, and Gon thought for a moment. I guess...it wouldn't hurt. I mean, I've been running around for the past 3 hours. Maybe I could work on my Ren or something. He grabbed his katana and his bag, then walked over to the cabin and set his items down leaning up against the wall. Gon sat down on his knees, closing his eyes and activating Ren.

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"Stop making so much noise!" Zenitsu hissed. Gon giggled, bouncing around ahead of the group. Night had fallen, they were looking for demons. He purposefully landed on brittle branches and crisp leaf piles. "But we're trying to get found by demons!" He said cheerily, glancing over his shoulder. Tanjiro looked like he was slowly regretting letting him do this, Zenitsu shot him a look. "No. we're supposed to be finding demons. Not having demons find us!"

Crackle crackle crunch- Gon activated Zetsu and hurtled up a tree, startling Zenitsu and Tanjiro. Insouke had stayed back at the cabin because he would just rush in instead of letting Gon be tested. I heard the sound of crunching leaves, but I stepped on a branch. It wasn't the two behind me, they weren't making any noise. Tanjiro froze, hand dropping to his sword. Zenitsu hid behind Tanjiro, and a demon with strange chameleon like skin shimmered into view 20 seconds later. "Hmmm..." As it sized up the situation, Gon made his move. He dropped down silently behind the demon, avoiding making any noise. Tanjiro's eyes widened slightly and he took approximately .4 Seconds to angle his sword correctly. He swung the blade and a split second before it hit he used Shu, causing the demon to attempt turning. "GAH!"

Gon beamed. "I'm getting better at that" The body disintegrated and Tanjiro looked kind of impressed. "I..." Zenitsu's eyes sparkled a little. "That was one of the smoothest kills I've ever seen!" He grinned. "That'd be number 4" Tanjiro's eyes widened in shock. "Number...4-" Zenitsu gasped. "Wait is that a kill count?" Gon rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle. "Well, during that week I encountered 3 demons. I didn't mention it in case you thought I was just saying that to get you to let me take the exam" Tanjiro thought for a moment. "Can you explain your slaying style? Or do you do it differently depending on the situation?" Gon beamed, slipping his sword in its sheath. "Well I hide first, then use Zetsu to get behind the demon. It takes me about half a second to line the sword up right. I always use Shu just in case as well, since I can't use one of those breathing style things"

Zenitsu rubbed the back of his head. "How did you know it was there that long before though? Neither me or Tanjiro could sense it and you weren't using En" Gon pointed to a pile of sticks on the ground. "I was jumping on sticks, but I heard someone step on a leaf pile. The only reason why you didn't hear it was because it was at the same time. Plus, you two were completely silent with your footsteps" The two older males were speechless. "Damn, how'd a kid 5 years younger than me hear something I didn't" Gon blinked, glancing over at Zenitsu. "5...years?" He'd assumed that Zenitsu was closer to his age, just a bit short. (Ok, I know my ages are wrong but this is my Au and the trio are older) Zenitsu sighed. "I'm 19" Gon looked over at Tanjiro and he saw the question in his eyes. "I'm 20, Insouke's 19 as well"

Gon tilted his head slightly to the side. "Interesting. You guys are all around the same age, I thought Zenitsu was closer to my age" He huffed. "Hey!" Gon giggled, then Tanjiro stiffened at the same time he caught another demon's scent. En went on, just as a demon with long black hair swung down from a tree and landed behind him. Before the other two could move, Gon turned and aimed a full force Ko punch directly at the head on instinct just as she tried to sink her fangs into him. The blow connected, blood splattered, the body fell and started to turn to ash. Gon blinked down at his bloody hands, then sighed. "Gon...why didn't you draw your sword?" Tanjiro asked slowly from beside him. He blinked over at his mildly shocked expression and huffed. "I told you, that takes time to line up the shot. There wouldn't have been enough time to draw and line it up. Plus, my instant reaction when I sense danger is to punch it in the face as hard as I can" he said, with an awkward laugh.

"A demon's skin is very hard to break without a sword. It takes some serious strength to bash it open with a rock" Tanjiro said. Gon blinked. "I can smash rocks with my bare hands" He looked like he wanted to believe Gon, but rational thinking and probability of it being true seemed to be making him doubt Gon's words. Zenitsu grabbed Tanjiro's sleeve. "Oh right! He can lift an entire tree in one hand!" Tanjiro looked startled. "A...tree?" Gon laughed, wiping the blood off on the grass as best he could. "It was a rotting tree that was mostly trunk" Tanjiro shook his head. "It should be impossible for someone your age to accomplish such a thing without a breathing technique." Gon stood back up and huffed, putting his hands behind his head as they started on their way back to the cabin.

"Well, one time when I was 12 my friend essentially got kidnapped and the door weighed two tons" Tanjiro's expression was shocked, Zenitsu had heard the story before and only looked a little jealous. "Leorio and Kurapika were there too. We had to wear vests that were 50Kgs and live in this one room for a month. Most of the stuff in that room weighed at least 10. the cups, doors, utensils, chairs, you name it" then he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I also had a uh...broken arm" Both of his companions looked worried. "How'd you break it?" Zenitsu asked. He sighed. "The last phase of the hunter's exam, my fight with Hanzo. This took place directly after that" Zenitsu seemed lost, Tanjiro only half got it. Gon shook his head to clear it, then ran a little faster. "C'mon guys! I'm gonna eat all the leftovers if your too slow!"

1502 words

To be continued...