BUTTERFLY : SHINOBU KOCHO (PART ONE)

Part 1: Chapter 7; The Kari

"So, let's have a talk, miss backup."

Shinobu was sitting before Sakusa now that they had returned to their inn room, now wearing a different shirt after realizing she had put on the wrong one, with her hair tied back up. The crimson-tipped teen had his back against the wall with his leg bent and his arm wrapped around it, looking oh so uninterested as always, something that the butterfly girl sitting so formally grew irritated with.

Sakusa himself, however, also refused to put on another shirt, which Shinobu couldn't help but grow slightly flustered at. She still hadn't forgotten about her bandages, but at this point, she was more intrigued with what the crimson-haired boy was about to tell her.

"So," Shinobu replied, "You were going to talk to me a little bit about the Kari?"

"That's right."

Shinobu nodded in understanding.

If she was to be honest with herself, she was genuinely curious to learn about Sakusa's family, as well as learn just what that immense pressure and thumping could have been.

She had several theories, like a Blood Demon Art modified for human use, a different breathing style he had learned alongside the Breath of Rage, or maybe even an ability granted to him by his weapons.

The answer Shinobu received, however, was something completely different.

"So. Let's start." Sakusa sat up and put his arm on the table, palm towards the ceiling, and said, "I want you to watch my arm, got it?"

"Right, Kari-san." Shinobu nodded. She was already admittedly staring at his arms slightly to begin with, so this wasn't a difficult task for her. The butterfly girl watched closely at the many veins popping across his skin, and as Sakusa began to take deep, long breaths, her eyes shot open in surprise and awe.

Little by little, the man's skin began to tint a slight shade of red, and red arteries began to pop out beneath, forming bright red streaks like vines across his skin.

This is what his entire body looked like back in the forest....amazing, I can feel his body heat increase from here.....

Not only did his arm change, but Shinobu began to hear it once again, the rapid thumping like that of a heavy drum in an orchestra, only much faster.

But, for the slow speed these changes gradually accumulated to, they faded away surprisingly fast, only seconds after Sakusa audibly regulated his breathing, returning back to Full Concentration, the breathing method he was born with. The arteries faded away, back into his chest, and the red tint and thumping decreased in an instant.

"Wow....."

Sakusa let out a sigh, and flopped his back against the wall again, and returned to his casual way of sitting. "What do you think that was, washboard?"

Oh, for the love of- my chest isn't even that flat, you ass....

"Erm, I'm not sure, Kari-san~" Shinobu replied beneath her false smile.

"Tch, you really are a moron then." Sakusa groaned.

"What you just heard was the Kari family's hereditary ability, the ability to control our heartrates and bloodflow at will."

"It's different from how normal people simply regulate their heartbeat by taking deep breaths, standing still, calming down, and all of that shit. While someone like you would need a minute or so to calm your heart when it races, I can do it instantly."

Shinobu was visibly taken by surprise.

"Really? The Kari can do that?"

"We've been able to do that for decades." Sakusa replied, "Almost every Kari family member inherits this ability, and it's convenient not just for killing demons, but for everyday life as well."