The Swimming Butterfly (Giyushino Fanfic)

Chapter 7

𝙺𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞

Panting, I looked around to assess our situation. We had been fighting for hours, hordes of demons pouring out from all sides of the forest. Although the demons were quite weak, what they lacked in strength was compensated with their numbers. Fatigue had quickly caught up to us, causing our grips to loosen and movements to become sluggish.

"Crap, there's no end to them. There's got to be a demon controlling them all," I managed to wheeze through my ragged breaths. 'Due to my unusual way of killing demons, it's much more strenuous for me to kill hordes of demons than other Pillars.' My reactions began to dull, the demons' flimsy attacks getting closer to reaching me.

I glanced over to Tomioka, only to see him doing slightly better than me. Sweat dripped down from his face, soaking his haori and uniform.

"It's easier for me to fight multiple demons at once than you. Go find the demon behind these puppets. I'll hold them off." He narrowly dodged two simultaneous attacks before gracefully slicing the demons' heads. I nodded, jumping onto the branches of a tree to find a better vantage point.

From the tree, I noticed an area far to the edge of the forest. Equipped with the illumination from the moonlight, I could barely make out a minuscule figure sitting down on the floor. 'That must be the demon.' Making haste, I quickly hopped from tree to tree, eventually reaching the demon I spotted earlier.

Even though I hadn't rustled a single leaf or snapped a twig, the demon turned his head towards me. I hopped off of the branch I was residing on, landing only a few feet away from the grotesque being. He smiled at me, beginning to speak. "I see you were one of the two bugs killing off my pawns." He broke eye contact, looking off to the side. "It saddens me to see my brethren die."

Nothing about him signified any signs of sadness, not even the slightest change in tone. "I didn't know demons had a sense of camaraderie." Sneering, I stepped closer, gripping my nichirin blade tightly, turning my knuckles white from the strain. "But if you do, it doesn't change the fact that you're going to die."

Unfazed, he simply stood up, brushing the dirt off of his knees and the back of his legs. Once again, he smiled at me, showcasing his razor-sharp teeth. "It's amazing how fate allowed us to meet. What a grandiose coincidence... my older brother had the privilege of killing your older sister and now I'm greeted with the privilege to kill you. It's a shame he didn't get to eat her, but he told me about how great her blood tasted and smelled."

Bile began to rise in the back of my throat. "Oh my, why is a lowly demon talking so highly of himself? Mere scum like you should simply allow themself to kneel over and die to my poison. Let me send you to hell painfully." I tried to keep my voice steady, but my blood was boiling. I was scarcely keeping myself from screaming and throwing myself at him already. Always keep calm Shinobu. It's never good to rush into things. 'Remember the words Kanae told me before. I shouldn't rush into fights recklessly.'

"I already know all about you, Insect Pillar." Taking a martial arts stance, he locked his feet into the floor and raised his hands. "You're too weak to decapitate a demon so you compensate with poison. Isn't that the reason why your sister died?" He motioned me to come forth with his hands, a blank expression residing on his face, taking place of the grin that he had on before.

Taking the bait, I rushed in. "Butterfly Dance: Caprice." I leaped forward, targetting all of his vital points with poison. Without moving his feet, he expertly dodged all of my thrusts, using the backside of his hand to deflect my blade. After six failed jabs, I jumped back several feet to ready myself for another attack. Not giving me any time to retreat, he lunged forward, kicking me in the stomach with inhuman strength. I flew back into a tree, a large cracking sound emitted upon impact.

Quickly, I found myself incapacitated, unable to breathe or utilize my breathing technique. "Crap, he must have targeted my solar plexus. I need to get away quickly or he'll attack again." Mustering all of the strength I had into my legs, I jumped onto a branch above me, desperately trying to catch a breath.

"Oho, you're actually pretty strong despite your build. Most people would have died from the initial shock of the kick or the impact with the tree." He tilted his head 40 degrees, cracking his neck as he approached the tree I was on. Similarly to before, he got into his martial arts stance, breathing deeply before kicking down the tree. Groaning, the tree quickly toppled over, leaving me on the floor again. With the time he used to walk towards the tree and kicked it down, I was able to overcome the pain from my solar plexus and breathe again.

Learning from my mistake, I quickly rushed backwards making sure there was enough distance between the two of us. "Where's all the tough talk from earlier now? I'm pretty sure you called me a mere demon. Let me educate you on who's the real scum here." As he got into the martial arts stance again, I braced myself for the attack. 'When he comes to kick me, I'll dodge and stab him in the neck.'

Leaping towards me once more, he extended his leg, aiming for my solar plexus again. Narrowly dodging the kick with the aid of my experience and memory, I aimed my katana at his exposed neck. Just as the blade was about to enter one of his jugular veins, his right arm came up to take the blow.

I pulled my sword out, leaping back to avoid the consequences of my partially failed attack. 'At least I was able to inject the poison into his arm. If I stall for long enough, the wisteria compounds should travel throughout his body, eventually killing him.' Breathing a sigh of relief, I readied myself once more for an attack.

"What are you doing looking so relieved over there?" The demon smirked, standing with his right arm ripped off of his body. "Did you think I would let the poison travel throughout my body? You must really be a fool to think that!" He took a martial arts stance once again, his right arm already regenerated. The poisoned arm was discarded on the floor, disintegrating as it sat on the cold, brown dirt.

'Crap. I underestimated his physical strength and intelligence, but there's still a way for me to kill him. When he comes in for his next attack, I'll pull out my knife and stab him in the neck. If this fails, I will surely die.'

Holding onto my nichirin blade in one hand, I located the hidden knife I kept latched onto my side. As expected he lunged once more, this time not extending his leg immediately. I watched closely to his movements to guess which leg he would kick with. 'His right leg seems to be positioned in a way to attack me. Once I dodge the kick, this fight will be over.' According to my predictions, his right leg shot out with lightning-fast speed. Dodging it with an inch to spare, I pulled out my knife.

"Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon." Stabbing him successfully in the neck with my knife, I got my nichirin blade ready, preparing myself for his next attack.

"It seems that I got too cocky... this is a quite brilliant poison. I will die without a question, but I will take you down to hell with me." Not bothering to take out the knife from his neck, he sprinted towards me, fists raised and ready to attack. He was slightly slower than before, but the minuscule decrease in speed gave me some leeway to dodge. As he went in for a punch, I tried to leap back, only to find my feet rooted into the ground.

'Fuck, this bastard spawned his pawns to clamp onto my legs. If he even punches with 1/4 of the power of his kick, I will surely die from a broken neck.' I closed my eyes and flexed the muscles in my neck, hoping I could reduce the damage I would take.

As I felt the wind from his fist fly past my ears, the punch never connected. Instead, a loud cracking noise came in front of me. Tomioka Giyu stood in front of me, his right arm completely limp, probably broken from the punch.

"You saved me..." I managed to croak out, the pain in my solar plexus soaring up. Not responding, he gripped his blade in his left hand, raising it above his head. The only thing I noticed before passing out was his black hair, looking more majestic than ever. 

Sorry for the late update. I still have to finish my summer homework. If there are any grammtical errors, please tell me because I only proofread this once  T_T