𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 | kny x hxh

Chapter 25: Respectful Matches

That's when he realized it.

"Hey! You're not the least bit tired," Kurapika shouted, taking a step back. Genya lowered his arms to stare right back.

"Heh, not half bad," Genya chuckled, taking a step forward. He could tell by Kurapika's breathing that the blonde was beginning to tire himself out by trying to analyze his breath. Even if he did figure out that his breathing had something to do with his fighting style, he knew that his opponent would never stand a chance at replicating it during battle. After all, it caused the user to expand their lungs in a way that would actually make it more suffocating to breathe. Only initially of course.

"You're definitely stronger than me," Kurapika announced, "But it would be insulting if I lost without having gotten to fight you for real."

Genya nodded his head, understanding his opponents words well.

"You're not bad yourself, you've got more potential than I did."

He suddenly launched himself towards Kurapika, using the total concentration breathing: constant specifically in his legs. The two exchanged blows towards one another, resulting in some of those watching to be amazed by the two's techniques. Finally, Genya managed to land a strong punch to Kurapika's gut, a move he had seen his brother pull off during some of his dueling sessions. He sent the poor boy flying into one of the walls, causing an indent.

Kurapika coughed, a slight dribble of blood dripped down his lip. He slowly got up, shaking his head.

"I surrender."

Genya walked over to Kurapika, extending his hand. The two of them shook hands, both with grins on their faces.

"You need to win to stay with the group, right?" Kurapika whispered, "Since I'm the more selfish one here, it's only right that you win."

"Huh? You knew?" Genya replied, "I mean, I guess it's not that hard to see."

Kurapika nodded, walking past him towards Leorio and Gon. Genya turned to his friends, only to see them all smiling in his direction.

"You did it, Genya!" Tanjiro smiled, giving him a thumbs up. Inosuke laughed and pointed right at his friend.

"HAHA you didn't lose to Kupicaca!"

"Inosuke!" Zenitsu scolded, bonking his boar-headed friend on the head, "You do not call others that-- especially not the one you just called Kurapika!"

Nezuko went up to Genya, giving him a head pat of hers while Kanao gave him a small nod of approval. The two of them had just passed, now it was time for the next round.

"Our next contestants! If you could please come up to the center, Pokkle and Zenitsu."

Zenitsu took a deep breath, eyes suddenly growing more serious as he walked towards the center. He watched Pokkle pull out his bow and load an arrow with his other hand. Zenitsu unsheathed his sword in response.

"Go!"

Pokkle quickly jumped in the air, loading his bow in the process and firing it all within the same second. Zenitsu instinctively blocked the arrow, until he noticed something peculiar about it. There was a liquid, almost transparent with a slight black tint to it. And it was dripping off the head of the arrow.

Thunder Breathing, First Form Thunder Clap and Flash: Sixfold!

Within the next split second, Zenitsu sliced through every part of the arrow, rendering it useless. Along with that, the power of his swings sent a ripple of wind that sent the dark liquid away from him.

That earned a few curious glances from some of the applicants in the audience. It seemed this weak looking blonde kid actually had some punch hidden behind his incessant cries.

Pokkle's eyebrows visibly raised as he witnessed his opponent's deflection. He was sure that he could attack him, wounding him even the slightest, and the poison would do its job. It wouldn't kill him, but it would render him paralyzed from battle.

"Oi, you were trying to do that dirty trick.." Zenitsu commented dryly, "Being poisoned really isn't fun."

The archer's breath hitched as he quickly reloaded his bow.

"H-how did you know there was poison?"

"AIEE! So it was poison??!" Zenitsu quickly did a 180, "I was just guessing! Are you serious?!"

Pokkle just deadpanned, "Of course, we're allowed to do anything besides killing our partner to make them submit!"

"HOW DARE YOU?! BEING POISONED IS ABSOLUTELY THE WORST! THE WORST! YOU HEAR ME?!" Zenitsu began to shout, pointing a finger at his dumbstruck opponent.

"You can get turned into a spider, and your limbs feel all tingly, and the spiders start crawling towards you! And-- and to add to that, I almost got poisoned by some snakes! Snakes!! The next thing you tell me is that some ants start walking like humans and attacking us!"

Pokkle just gazed at his opponent, unsure if he should be attacking or letting the blonde finish his rant.

"Uh.. are you good?" he replied confusedly, "Do you need.. therapy?"

Zenitsu paused his rant, turning to face Pokkle.

".."

"..."

"...What's therapy?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I surrender."

"..."

"Hey.. you didn't answer my question!--"

Pokkle looked almost pitifully at the confused blonde boy. Clearly his opponent was a broken person, no wonder he cried over everything during this exam. It almost made him feel guilty for trying to poison a boy who had already been poisoned so many times.

Plus, his secret weapon was the poison, so now he had to come up with another method to take down his next opponent.

"I suddenly don't feel like fighting anymore, I'm taking a break," Pokkle replied, excusing the match.

"Oi! Where are you going? What is therapy?! Answer the question!" Zenitsu shouted after him, before being restrained by Tanjiro.

"H-hey! You won! You won!"

"T-tanjiro! But what is therapy? I need to know!" Zenitsu grumbled, before glancing over to see who was next, "Oh, it's your turn next Tanjiro."

"Ah.. I guess it is."

"Welcoming to our stage, Leorio and Tanjiro! Please make your way up to the front for our next battle!"