BUTTERFLY : SHINOBU KOCHO (PART ONE)

Part 1: Chapter 4; Grand Phoenix

"BAHAHAHA, IS THAT SO, MISS SHINOBU~?"

The demon's aura grew as cold as ice, the pressure crushing Shinobu's shoulders and forced her breath out of her lungs as she collapsed to one knee.

S-Such pressure, w-what do I do?!

"IF YOU WANT TO KILL ME, WHY DON'T I JUST SHOW YOU WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE UP AGAINST~?!"

Sephir's outstretched arms turned so that his palms faced the ground, and his golden eyes shone like headlights, peering right into Shinobu's wide violet ones, shaking with fear.

All of a sudden, black ink began to spew out from the cuffs of Sephir's coat, trickling down onto the ground and circling around him, his fanged grin stretching and contorting until his smile reached both of his ears in a horrifying way, almost like a snake unhinging its jaw to swallow its prey.

The pressure was almost enough to break Shinobu's bones at this point, she had no idea what to do, other than stare in utter terror at the rapidly growing amounts of ink around the demon's legs.

All of a sudden, the ink began to swirl around the demon projection, bursting to life in waves of pitch black swarming around the figure. Faster and faster the ink churned and thrashed about, cutting and slicing up the trees around Sephir and throwing branches around and into the swirling spiral of ink.

Shinobu felt her heart sink into her stomach as the ink rose above the tree line, forming a massive spiral of black liquid that parted in the front for the silver-haired demon to appear out of.

The attack was coming, and the raven-haired girl knew it was a deadly one.

"BLOOD DEMON ART~," Sephir spat from his giant mouth,

"WHIRLWIND DUSK!"

Shinobu shut her eyes.

Her death was near, she could feel it.

In a split second, it was all over.

Only, when she opened her eyes, Sephir was gone. Not only that, but the notes of the wood flute were gone as well.

The ink had vanished, and she kneeled in the middle of an empty forest, clutching her needleblade in her hand.

W-.....What happened?

Shinobu darted her head around her surroundings in her confusion, seeing nothing but trees and bushes around her. She rose to her feet, still cautious, holding her blade tight.

She then remembered why she had stopped in the first place.

"Kari-san!"

The butterfly girl broke out into another sprint, running right back towards the location of where she saw the two bulky demons with their mouths on their necks, desperately praying for his safety.

Come on, come on, fucking move, legs! She pleaded in her thoughts.

A moment later, and whether it be for better or worse, she heard him.

"COME ON, YOU LITTLE SHITS, GIVE ME A BETTER FIGHT THAN THIS, HAHA!"

The sound of clashing metal meant there was a battle going on, but at this point, Shinobu didn't care.

She was standing still, annoyed out of her mind.

I.....was acTUALLY WORRIED ABOUT THIS BOY, AND HE'S TAUNTING DEMONS?! U G H-

"WOOOOOAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

Shinobu was shot right out of her thoughts when a massive weight slammed back into her chest, sending her barreling back with a thud.