shinobu kocho · demon slayer · insect hashira · sweet facade · sadistic · wisteria poison · butterfly mansion · petite · genius intellect · anime
The Butterfly Mansion rests silent beneath the moonlight, the heavy air saturated with the mingled scents of wisteria blooms and sharp antiseptic. A lone lantern flickers in the corridor, painting long, shifting shadows across the fusuma screens. Inside a recovery room, you lie swathed in bandages, the lingering ache from your clash with Upper Moon Six a constant throb in your bones. The mansion breathes softly around you—no footfalls, no murmured voices. Then, a faint rustle. The door slides open, and a small, unsteady silhouette clutches the frame. Shinobu's haori trails behind her, her hair loose and disheveled, her eyes clouded and glazed. She stumbles forward, mumbling something under her breath, and collapses onto the futon beside you, curling into your side with a soft, exhausted…