The Swimming Butterfly (Giyushino Fanfic)

Chapter 17

𝙺𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞

Crouching silently in the brush, I watched as the fight unfolded. The demon was obviously quite skilled in a multitude of martial arts, which combined with his enhanced strength to make him a formidable opponent. Tomioka and the demon took a stance, neither making move, instead choosing to stare each other down. Other than the occasional breeze that rustled the leaves, the forest was quiet as death himself. 

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 𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚘𝚔𝚊 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞

The demon made the first move, digging his feet into the soft earth. Building up strength in his legs, he launched himself at me. Raising his right fist, he extended it in a blink of an eye. I swerved my head to the left before feeling an enormous amount of force exerted on my back. Flying forward, I quickly caught myself, landing on my feet without too much difficulty. Pushing myself off of a tree, I flew at the demon, aiming for his neck. Sixth Form: Whirlpool. Rotating my body counterclockwise, trying to build up enough momentum to slice off the pest's head. 

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𝙺𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞

Although Tomioka created enough speed to make his blade barely visible to the human eye, the demon easily evaded his attack. He bent backwards, creating an L with his body before returning a blow which sent Tomioka flying.

 "I'll never understand humans like you. I've been eating humans for hundreds of years now, so how many people do you sought to kill me out of revenge? Hundreds upon hundreds have come after me, but I'm still alive after all this time. Why do you believe so?"

He walked up to Tomioka who was lying on the floor. Kicking his sword out of his hand, he lifted Tomioka up by his hair. He crouched down and held Tomioka's face to his. "Humans are fundamentally weak. Lovers, friends, family... they have all come after to avenge their loved ones. What makes you different? You're slightly stronger than the average human, but someone of your caliber can not defeat me."

Tomioka didn't respond, instead choosing to stare right at the demon. Scoffing, the demon shoved his face onto the floor and stepped on top of it. "I really thought that you would put up better of a fight." He covered his face with a hand and laughed. "Was it seven years ago? Or was it 15? Well, the year doesn't matter. You were that boy, weren't you? The one who was saved by that ugly, skinny girl? I guess you have grown a lot. Your sister would have been proud of you."

Pushing down harder on Tomioka's head, he began to laugh hysterically. "Oh man, I really should have saved her so that she could see how pathetic you are. She didn't even taste that good. Her flesh was too stringy and have no flavor. There wasn't even much of it to eat." He instantly looked in my direction and smiled maliciously. "But that girl over there on the trees. She looks like she'll be tasty to eat." 

Using my thumb to silently unsheathe my blade from its scabbard. Making sure the poison coated the sword, I readied myself to paralyze the demon with it. 'He doesn't seem to know about my ability. If I can get a single attack off, I can take Tomioka and run away while his nervous system is overloaded.'

Taking his foot off of Tomioka, he dug his feet into the dirt once again to take off. However, by doing so, he made a fatal mistake. Tomioka got a grasp on one of his ankles and threw him onto the floor, creating a huge reverberation throughout the forest. Tomioka mounted the demon, holding him down. "You don't even have your special blade? How can you dream of defeating me? Do you want that petite girl in the trees to finish me off? Will you really be getting revenge for your sister this way." 

Keeping calm, he responded with a cool tone. "For a demon of your caliber, I don't even need my katana to defeat you." I dug my nails into my palm, hard enough to draw out blood. 'Dammit Tomioka. He's trying to get on your nerves. I know how you feel, but you need to think rationally. I understand your longing, no, your need for revenge, but it's all over if you die here.' I sighed as I readied to kill the demon while he was incapacitated. Just as I was about to leap off of the branch, another huge reverberation echoed throughout the forest. I looked in shock and horror as I watched Tomioka raise his fists in the air before bringing them down on the demon's head. 

The demon's body convulsed, clawing and scratching Tomioka's body as to free itself, but he never faltered. He raised his fists in the air again before slamming them down. After repeating this process several times, the demon stopped moving, lying limp on the floor. His skull was completely crushed, blood oozing out of the barely intact head. Even after the complete demolition of the demon's head, he continued to pound and crush the skill until the sun rose. 

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𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚘𝚔𝚊 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞

Blinded by anger and rage, my fists mindlessly beat down on the ground, no longer having an actual target to fight or direct my anger at. Even after my knuckles went numb and turned purple, I beat at the pulp of the demon until the sun rose. Eventually, the corpse of the demon turned into dust, littering the air with a dirty shade of gray. 

I looked down, the purple of my bruised knuckles standing out from the dried blood coating my hands. All of my nails were chipped and broken, adding to the pain from my broken hands. 'I really am pathetic, aren't I? I couldn't protect you back then, so I longed for this day to come... the day where I could kill the demon who ended your life.' I fell backwards onto my knees, the sun irritating my eyes. 'Killing him wouldn't bring you back. I knew that, yet I still longed for this day to come. I lived my life for this day, putting up a stoic facade so that no one could take this away from me.' 

I brought one hand to my chest, clutching the haori that meant the world to me. 'Then why do I feel so empty?'

Thank you all for reading as always! I know it's the same old, but school has somehow gotten ever more hectic. I'm only one percent off of a 4.0, so I think things are looking good. I know I have said this multiple times, but I genuinely think that I'll make a new chapter next weekend????? I have several days off, so if I don't play too much Genshin Impact or Valorant, I think I should be good. Once again, I'm sorry for the short and delayed chapter, but I'm so grateful for all of you guys. Next chapter should be coming out next Saturday or Sunday. I promise. Maybe. Hopefully.