Give Life a Chance

Chapter 26 - A Pillar Crumbles

With Shinobu

"*CAW* *CAW*."

Shinobu woke up slowly to the call of a crow. She didn't hear the message it carried, but reluctantly awoke to its cawing.

"A mission?" She asked out loud, her fatigue clear in her voice.

She turned and looked outside and noticed the sun had only just risen.

"This early?" She said, getting out of bed slowly.

She reluctantly opened the window of her room and saw the crow sitting and waiting for her.

"Please repeat your message." She said annoyed. She still hadn't woken up properly and was not happy with having a rare moment of peace disturbed.

"*CAW* WATER PILLAR TOMIOKA GIYUU HAS SUSTAINED POTENTIALLY FATAL INJURIES AND IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. KAKUSHI ARE TRANSPORTING HIM TO THE BUTTERFLY ESTATE IMMEDIATELY." The crow said.

Shinobu's blood ran cold, and she completely froze. Her heart stopped beating momentarily and her eyes widened.

"What?" She asked, her voice weak and lacking its usual sweetness.

With Giyuu Some Time Earlier

Giyuu was running at top speed, the world around him seeming like a blur. He had been running nonstop and had made his way to the edge of the forest. He listened and looked for signs of fighting and heard the scream of a boy. He began to sprint towards it, having to dodge and duck under stray branches.

"AOI?" He yelled. He wasn't sure if she was here, but with the information he was given he wasn't going to take any chances.

Another scream erupted form a nearby area and Giyuu quickly changed his course. He drew his sword and arrived at the source. He arrived and saw only an expertly painted porcelain vase.

"What?" He said out loud confused.

He took off from the clearing, getting back to top speed quickly.

"AOI?" He yelled again.

"Giyuu-sama?" He heard a voice call out.

Giyuu immediately stopped and moved towards the voice, it's there that his fears were realised.

Aoi was laying against a rock, scratches and blood marked her face and arms and there was a tear in her Haori. Giyuu's eyes widened, and his heart rate accelerated. He quickly moved to her and knelt down.

"What happened?" Giyuu asked, panic clearly in his voice.

He took out some antiseptic wipes and began to clean the girls' wounds.

"There was a group of demons..." Aoi said, her breathing staggered.

"There was... 4 of us. We killed them... But there's another. So much stronger." Aoi said, beginning to cry.

"Please try to calm down. Get control of your breathing." Giyuu said.

Aoi took a few deep breaths and began to calm down.

"Where are the rest of you?" Giyuu asked.

"I don't know. It attacked me but a girl pushed me out of the way, it disappeared, and I ran." Aoi said.

"It's okay, you're okay now." Giyuu said, bringing the girl into a hug.

Giyuu heard the sounds of something hitting the ground behind him. He quickly turned and drew his sword. He saw a fish-like creature emerging from the vase. The creature was pale white and grotesque. It's torso was long and scaly, it had a muscular upper body with no arms with several, small infant-like hands emerging from the sides of its body. Its body trailed into the vase, resembling a genie. The face of the creature was somehow even more disturbing. Two green mouths sat where one would expect eyes to be, its actual eyes sat vertically across from each other. A vertical slit in its forehead held a large orange eye and another was found in its constantly open third mouth, which sat where a mouth would usually be found.