Under the Cherry Tree

Chapter 7: Coward.

You stepped into the cold, empty village. Your shoes stepping on the cobblestone path was the only thing that could be heard as you walked through the deserted streets. There was no sign of any humans not even a single sound.

The silence was deafening, you continued your journey, feeling as if you were the last person on earth. It didn't help that it was night time, so you could only hear the wind breeze through your ears.

It wasn't until you saw a little kid, you felt a glimpse of hope and walked towards the kid, although you knew that you didn't wanna scare them away.

You got down on your knees to be at the kid's level, giving them a soft smile, asking, "Hey there, everything alright?" The kid flinched, before taking a deep breath and responding, "M-monsters...they took my parents. Bad monsters took my parents."

The kid then started to grip tightly on your haori, sniffing as they pointed towards the house. "M-Monster...over there," she cried out. You looked at the kid with sympathy, knowing that they were too young and innocent to experience this.

You nodded, attempting to reassure the kid with a confident and witty tone. "Stay here. I'll save mama and papa from the monster, ok?" You smiled, as the kid nodded, "O-Ok..."

You took out your spear, walking towards the minka. You felt an intense arua coming from the house, but you kept your cool and slid open the door.

Your eyes widened in shock and disgust as you beheld the sight before you: a house with multiple green cocoons suspended from the ceiling. The cocoons were transparent, allowing you to see the humans inside, peacefully sleeping. You felt a wave of revulsion wash over you, and without hesitation you grabbed your spear and hurled it at the cocoon, freeing the woman trapped inside.

You caught the woman just before she hit the ground, and with a quick check of her pulse you were relieved to find that she was still alive - barely. It's a shame that she was in such a state, but it's a good thing you were able to free her.

"Ohhh~ Why you look at that! One of little prey came to my nest~"

The sight of the demon emerging from the shadows was a repulsive one. Her butterfly wings, green skin stained with blood, and antennas were an abomination to behold. It looks like she's a combination of multiple insects. She also wore a dark green kimono, splattered with blood, her beautiful illuminating green eyes looked at you with mischief, smirking.

You quickly set the woman down and got into defense mode, but the demon only laughed sadistically, as if she was mocking you. "My my, you have a cute little face~ It would be nice to keep you all warm up by my cocoons!" she said with a sinister smirk. Green strings started to appear and launch themselves towards you, but you slashed through them easily.

The demon let out a deep sigh, her smirk fading away. "Why do you have to make this so difficult?" she asked. "Perhaps you want to be wrapped up in all of my cocoons, right?" she continued, her smirk returning. You, however, were not amused. You gave her a stern look, not wasting any time to engage in idle chatter. It was clear that you were not interested in her offer.

You inhaled deeply, murmuring the words of the 'Sakura Breathing Sixth Form, Birth of a Sakura'. In a flash, you had lunged towards the demon, severing her hands and catching her off guard. She flew away with her wings, her voice dripping with disdain as she spat, "Hmph...I see... you're just like these adults... pathetic and worthless!"

Suddenly she disappeared from your sight, causing you a slight panic, 'Shit...she disappeared...wait.' With your senses tingling, you jumped out of the way, and luckily dodged in time .