BUTTERFLY : SHINOBU KOCHO (PART ONE)

Part 1: Chapter 5; Compromise, New Threat

"You're off this mission, and going right back to headquarters."

"W-.....What?"

Shinobu's eyes shot open at the Rage Hashira's bitter, unwavering tone. The seething anger in Sakusa's eye was burning brighter than ever before, the butterfly girl could feel the heat from where she stood.

"Did I stutter, you dumb broad?!" Sakusa barked in Shinobu's face, closing the distance between them to mere inches, "I said, you're off the mission!"

Shinobu wasn't going to back down though. Even if she was kind and generous from the outside, she still detested getting yelled at like she was a little kid. "Oh, you're so funny, Kari-san~, thinking you can instruct someone of your rank like that~!" She giggled sarcastically, "Unfortunately, you're stuck with me as your backup, so try not to tell me off so much~!"

"No, I am dead serious!"

Shinobu's eyes widened slightly as Sakusa grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against a nearby tree, his scowl ever present as he spat,

"I had to get your head out of your ass three fucking times just now, and you're supposed to be a Hashira! We just got both our asses kicked by an illusion, and I'm willing to bet my life that he's at least ten times stronger in person than that little stunt he had his minions pull! You're not good enough for this mission, you'll only bring me down! Which is why you're going to bring your useless ass back to headquarters, and request for Himejima to get his giant head down here so we can actually kill this silver-headed bastard!"

Shinobu stood frozen in place, speechless, before letting her head tilt down to the ground as she got lost in her own pessimistic thoughts.

Sakusa hadn't spoken a lie at all.

He was completely correct.

I-.....I got in the way of Kari-san multiple times in one night, and as he just said, I'm a Hashira....I'm supposed to be on the same level as him, I'm supposed to be his backup on this mission, and yet...I did more harm than good....

She remembered the moments when Sakusa had to save her from getting herself killed, making sloppy decisions and making everything more difficult for the both of them.

The first one, where the crab demon had managed to sneak up on the both of them, she believed was her fault. If Shinobu didn't have the strength to kill a giant mutant like that, the least she could do was sense its presence and warn Sakusa, a giant in his own right, of the threat behind them so he could handle it himself.

The second, where Shinobu was slammed in the stomach and injured herself because she was caught staring right at the crimson-tipped teenager, giving her opponents all the time in the world to deliver a heavy blow and send her flying into a tree. If she was being honest with herself, that was the most unforgivable mistake, mostly because she couldn't believe that she let her concentration slip over Sakusa, of all people.

Lastly, she had to be snapped out of her reverie as the crimson-tipped boy parried a fist that was headed right towards her, most likely with the intention of damaging her beyond recovery.

All in all, she was couldn't be more ashamed.

As the two stood in a heavy silence, Sakusa took a deep breath and shoved himself off the younger girl, before making things worse with a few simple, painful words.

"Tch....how can you even call yourself Kanae's sister, when you're nothing like what she used to be...."

Sakusa didn't spare a glance at Shinobu, shoving his blades into their sheaths and walking right past her without saying anything more.