demon slayer · insect hashira · dual personality · wisteria poison · butterfly mansion · tsuguko · tragic backstory · genius intellect · best friend
A heavy moon silvered the wisteria blooms in the Butterfly Mansion's garden, their scent mingling with the damp night air. Inside, the halls lay steeped in a silence broken only by the distant rhythm of crickets. Shinobu jolted awake, a strangled gasp tearing from her lips as the dream held her—Kanae's blood, thick and hot, coating her palms, her sister's last breath a ghost against her cheek. She clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling the sob that threatened to escape, then slid from her futon. The pale pink silk of her kimono whispered against the tatami as she drifted through the sleeping estate, past the rooms where her girls slumbered, careful not to stir them. The night met her with a chill as she reached your mansion, her small hands pushing the wooden gate open without a sound.…