The Upper Ranks (KNY X HxH)

Chapter 15

There was a knock on the door. Gon, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu looked up. They were on chairs in the main room, eating breakfast. "Expecting anyone?" He asked, glancing over at Tanjiro. He shook his head, then blinked. "Wait, final selection was...two weeks ago" Gon brightened, then bounced out of his seat and opened the door. That means my daggers and stuff are here! There was a man in a red mask and four wooden boxes. He talked and talked, Gon only half followed. "Um sir?" He walked in and Gon trailed behind him, Tanjiro sighed. "He doesn't really listen to anybody, just don't break your Nichirin weapons or he might try to kill you" Gon blinked. Oh. He left the boxes and left, Gon sat down cross legged on the floor because Tanjiro did. "You never told me what your weapons were going to be" He said.

Zenitsu blinked over at them for a moment before sitting down next to Tanjiro. "Four? Why would you need four weapons?" He said in confusion. Gon set aside the small square shaped boxes, those would have the yoyo sheathes. Gon brought both rectangular ones into his lap and opened the first. "Ooooh" He said, picking up the knife by the sheath. It was definitely heavier than the katana he'd been carrying around, and it had a specialized leather sheath that would fit on his hip. "A...knife?" Zenitsu mumbled. Tanjiro blinked, then glanced down to Gon's pocket sheath. "It looks a lot like yours" He nodded, grinning. "It is, and I got two" He said, lifting the other out. Gon slipped on the sheaths so there was a knife on each hip, honestly he didn't like it very much. I'll just carry around one and my 20 KG knife in my pocket sheath.

As he lifted one of the knives out of its sheath, all three of them were entranced by the metal. Woah... "Is that even Nichirin?" Tanjiro asked. The blade was a pale greenish color as he removed it from the sheath, and it...sparkled slightly. "The ore was heavier than the others, it also gave off a strange scent and was slightly darker in color. I asked the guy who took measurements and he said it was Nichirin, but he didn't know why it was different" Gon paused as the metal started to change colors. "W-Wait, that only happens when you're a skilled swordsman." Tanjiro said in slight shock. Gon blinked. "I'm...not good with a sword though..." He trailed off as he watched the blade fade into a slightly more prominent pale green with swirls of greyish indigo and darker green hues. The sparkle was still there, both of the other demon slayers looked awed and confused.

"There's...three colors" Tanjiro muttered. Gon blinked. "Is that a bad thing?" Tanjiro shook his head, then paused. "Well...I honestly have no clue. The color of the sword is supposed to follow your breathing style, but not only do you not have one but it turned three colors. I've only ever seen two similar colors of the same hue on a Nichirin weapon" Oh. Maybe it's the Nen throwing it off? That was the only logical explanation he had for it. "Let's see what happens when you draw the other one" Zenitsu suggested. Gon shook his head. "No, it's not mine" Both of them were confused for about 2 seconds before Tanjiro sighed and rubbed the back of his head. This knife is Killua's, when I find him... Gon suddenly got a wave of emotion.

Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu stiffened, obviously sensing his quick shift in one way or another. Gon slid the Nichirin knife back into its sheath and packed both of them into the boxes. Gon kept the same sweet smile on his face he had the entire time. He stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm gonna go...do something" He said, then exited the cabin. Gon ran a few meters before hurling himself up into a tree, only then did he let the tears fall. D-Damn it. It had been a year. An entire damn year since Killua went missing. He settled back onto a particularly thick branch, looking up at the sky. Light was fading, it would be nightfall soon.

It had been weeks since he really thought about him, he'd been able to make himself forget and push the harsh truth out of his mind. Something happened to him. Deep down he always knew, although his stubborn mind had refused to believe it. He has separation anxiety, if he could get back to me he would. But that means... It meant that something must've gone wrong. Very wrong. Dark thoughts swirled around in his mind. Illumi could've caught him and put another needle in, the phantom troupe could've been hired to kill him, he might've gotten kidnapped by them, or tortured- Gon put a hand to his mouth, tears rolling down his cheeks. His right hand clenched the bark, fingers trembling slightly. There was a cooing noise. "Gon, you have been assigned your fi-" Via paused, then fluttered down to land on a branch next to his head.

Gon wiped his eyes quickly, breathing uneven as he tried to rein in his emotions. "H-Hey Via" He said, trying to sound emotionally stable. His messenger dove tilted her head, "You have your first mission from headquarters" She said. Via had a soft and calm voice, which she never raised. Tanjiro had remarked that she also had more of a personality, the messenger birds didn't usually talk to their demon slayers except for missions and summons from headquarters. "I...don't know if I'm ready to take it" He mumbled honestly, holding out a finger for Via to perch on. "Mission might take your mind off it" She cooed softly. Gon breathed for a moment, closing his eyes. "it's...been a whole year. I'm not any closer to finding him" He said shakily, fingers still trembling as they clutched at the bark. He'd spoken to Via quite a few times actually, she spoke almost like a human. "Missions might draw you closer"

Gon paused, thinking. A mission...would make me go somewhere. If I keep walking, and walking, and walking, eventually I'll find his scent right? His fingers stilled. "Your...right." Via flapped a little, "Are you ready to receive details?" He nodded, then held up a hand as she opened her beak. "Wait, I need to get Tanjiro and Zenitsu-" Suddenly he noticed how both of the two males were directly below his tree, looking up with worried expressions. "Oh..." Gon slid back down the tree, Via fluttered a little to land on his shoulder before speaking. "There's been a large number of disappearances in multiple towns. Around 15 people go missing in each one" Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu looked shocked, the usual number must be much smaller. "Whoever is responsible seems to be going on a route, the next village to be hit will be Nakudora Valeri"

Tanjiro bit his lip, "That's a good 3 hours away" Gon let Via flutter off, then shook his head. "1 and a half if we go fast. I'm guessing around midnight is when the demon strikes so we should be there at about 11:00, which means we should leave here by...9:00. that gives us about 30 minutes to rest" The both of them blinked at him in surprise. "You put that all together in less than 5 seconds" Tanjiro said. "I thought you weren't all that smart" Zenitsu added, rubbing the back of his head. Gon blinked. "I'm good at combat and strategy, not math and numbers." Zenitsu and Tanjiro both thought about that for a moment. "You know, that makes a lot more sense" Zenitsu muttered. "Like Insouke, except a bit smarter" Tanjiro added. Gon beamed, "Alright! Let's get ready! I gotta field test my new knife!" He said cheerily, before turning and bouncing back into the house. "C'mon guys!"

1318 words

To be continued...