𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 | ᴋɪᴍᴇᴛsᴜ ɴᴏ ʏᴀɪʙᴀ

VII: Onēsan

    It was at the six month mark when Sabito finally came by. Recently turned 12 year old Hanako was walking back to Urokodaki-san's home after her trip to her secluded spot.

Guilt-suspicion-disbelief-worry-anger-curiosity. Hanako lunges forward, barely missing a hard hit to her back. She squeaks slightly as she falls over herself, overestimating her balance.

  "Wh-what? Who–" Hanako uses her hands to spring off of the ground, avoiding a bamboo sword to her stomach. It makes a small crater in the ground from the force.

  "Are you crazy?! That could have killed me!" Hanako exclaims, jumping away from the bamboo sword.

  "Shut up! How are you going to survive Final Selection if you can't take a hit?" A 19 year old man with incredibly curly peach colored hair, lavender eyes, and fair skin with a pink scar on his left cheek brings back the bamboo sword before charging at Hanako. She tried to jump away, but the man was quicker, slamming the bamboo sword into her stomach.

  Hanako throws up from the force and holds her stomach, barely able to stand on her feet. She coughs wetly, cringing at the sudden taste of bile in her mouth.

  "Who are you?" Hanako asks with a rough voice, wiping her mouth. The man charges again and Hanako jumps back before flipping over him.

  She tries to use his back as a springboard, but he grabs her ankle and throws her into a tree. "Fight back! Did you learn nothing?!"

  Hanako growls slightly and uses the tree as a crutch. She unsheathes her sword, barely managing to block a hit to her chest. She is forced back into the tree, making it crack under the pressure.

  "He's so much stronger than me even with a bamboo sword…" Hanako snarls and pulls back her head.

  "I told you to fight ba–" Hanako loosens her sword to bring the man closer before slamming her head into his nose. She feels the disgusting crunch of his nose breaking before he quickly jumps back with a frustrated shout.

  "Motherf–"

  "You wanted me to fight back!" The black haired girl interrupts him as she charges forward. She kicks off the ground to avoid a swipe to her legs and tries slicing at the man. He takes his hand away from his nose with a snarl.

  "Use your sword! A headbutt won't kill a demon!" Hanako feels her body go slack from the pain when he slams the hilt of his bamboo sword into the back of her neck. Her breath is punched out of her when she lands on the ground with a thud.

  "Get up. Hanako, get up!" The black haired girl feels her limbs shake heavily, pain searing through her entire body. She slowly sits up before raising to one of her feet.

  A bamboo sword slams into her chest, making her slide back with a wheeze. Hanako keeps a tight grip on her sword, her vision going in and out.

  "How will you be able to help your siblings if you can't get up and fight? Where's your fighting spirit? You're not meant for demon slaying! You're weak!" The man scolds harshly. Hanako growls heavily and tries to get back up again. She manages to block another hit to her chest, grunting as she is forced back again.

  "Shut up… I–I'm getting stronger," Hanako thinks with a scowl. She struggles to stand up fully.

  "I'm–I know I'm–I'm weak. Stop stating f-facts ev'ryone knows." Hanako's speech slurs slightly as she raises her head to give the peach haired man a glare. She takes in a deep breath, focusing on her frustration, and charges forward.

  She bends backwards, dodging another hit to her chest, and flips the sword in her hands. The dull side of the blade slams into the young man's legs, forcing him back a couple steps with a small curse.