Blow for Blow

Slash.

Both swords whistled whilst being sliced through the air, grinding against each other in an attempt to overthrow the other. Eyes stern and focused, the two fighters tried to push each other away from their grasp on their weapons, wanting to be the victor of the coming battle. Neither was going to back down, deadlocked in their stances. They were neck and neck in swordplay, not one could top the other in this position.

One of the first fighters, equipped with a Nichirn blade which was rather thin in shape but had a triangular tip of a blade, was Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Pillar among the 9 Hashira. Her weapon had the phrase, 'evil demon', written in Japanese, engraved on it and on the right side it showed the words, 'destroy' Shinobu is a petite girl with pale skin and large, compound-looking eyes that do not possess pupils, only a haze of gradient purple, which makes her eyes appear similar to those of bugs. She has shoulder-length wavy hair that fades from black into dark purple, usually styled at the back of her head into a "yakai-maki" style and fastened with a white and purple butterfly ornament.

She has split ear-length bangs that rise a little away from her head before falling down to frame her face, with two thinner chin-length strands below them. Shinobu is rather short in height and has been described as having a small and weak-looking build, which she doesn't deny but simply states her lack of being able to decapitate a demon. Shinobu wears the standard Demon Slayer uniform with gold buttons, consisting of a dark-purple tinted straight-lined black jacket and hakama pants that are tucked into a butterfly pattern fabric around her lower legs. She also wears a white haori that previously belonged to her older sister, which has a butterfly wing pattern that fades into a turquoise then pink colour on the sleeves and bottom edges which are cuffed with a black and white dotted trim. She wears white sandals with purple straps for footwear.

Additionally, the other combatant was equipped with two burnished, silver katanas, edged in-lining from the handle to the blade, a crevasse. It was neat, must have been done by someone quite experienced for that precision. Currently, one was placed against the Insect Hashira's, powerful for just one of their weapons, sturdy and unmoveable from a spectators perspective. This user had long nails, sharp but uncared for, clutching the handle of their weapon to form minor scratches but they soon returned to normal, regenerated.

An inky-coloured blindfold covered their eyes, their bangs creating a fringe, unruly and uneven, and the rest of their hair reaching up to their shoulders. From the roots, their hair was an orchard blue, fading into a pitch-black which could blend into the night sky. Their smokey grey shirt was long-sleeved, skin-tight, revealing their muscular build, layered on top of each other. Finally, they wore simple, baggy pants which were matching to the piece covering their eyes, suited with white boots that went up to their ankles. They had a smirk engraved onto their face, a smug one; they were overconfident in their victory. Though, there was a strange feeling of resentment around them, overwhelmed by a sense of despair. This was no ordinary person, this 'person' was a pure-blooded demon.

Using their secondary weapon at hand, the demon built up the pressure, pushing both of their blades in an x-position to attempt to break the Hashira's stronghold. Using the tips of their toes, they managed to throw their feet off the ground, thrusting closer towards their opponent, arms upfront. Veins could be seen throughout their body: they were using their inner muscle strength for this one attack. This was way beyond clutching fists in rage, more like trying to break their inner bones only to hurt another person.

It worked.

Shinobu skid back, losing the once-steady grip she had on her sword, it dropping out of her hand. Her breath was heavy, exhausted from how swift her opponent's movements were. Knowing this, it was clear that the end of this fight would not look pretty. Quickly picking it back up, she couldn't correspond the next move in time, the demon charging at her once more with extreme speed to make a slit in her stomach, blood spilling out.

Laughter.

Merely, the creature could only laugh at the Demon Slayer shocked, confused and lost expression, considering them so weak compared to themselves. Using their heels, they lunged themselves backwards to the corner of the open space, regaining stamina for what they had planned next. Evil. Pure evil. That was the only words one could describe it as, how could someone be so quick on their feet to inflict pain onto someone?

With the demon slightly backed away from the blood puddle, they curled their tongue around the substance staining their blades, licking it off with the tip. That grin remained, cocky about their foretold win in this fight. Posture slanted and relaxed, they began to make an advance on the weakened warrior, the grip on their blades tightening. They were prepared for the final blow.

Not expecting that, she let herself lean back in a crouched position, hand supporting the scar in any way she could. With that, her head lowered, vision blurring. She was loosing too much blood. It was hard to even attempt to breathe, her organs were damaged from that one attack, an attack that not even she, the fastest of Demon Slayer could handle. Coughing more of the ichor, the Pillar continuously was leaking blood like a punctured hole, attempting to cover the wound with her haori to at least try to stop the blood.

Failure.

Blood wouldn't stop dripping from her open wound, vulnerable to any diseases or bugs lurking around the forest. The kept her composure, not panicking in any circumstance: that was the last thing she could do. Her lips were stained with the fluid, she wiping them politely despite her situation.

Trees were chopped in half from the events beforehand, animals and insects leaving in a scurry to avoid being involved or even killed. From the blood splattered on the ground, the ground had formed wet mud, giving off the rotten scent of flesh; disgusting. Canopies from the only standing treetops covered the area, keeping them in the shade even though it was night hours. Bushes were ruined, destroyed and were clearly unable to return to their once natural beauty. Entirely, the forest had sustained permanent damage. Permanent.

Before the demon could finish her off, shouts of other demon slayers could be heard approaching the battlegrounds. Clicking their tongue in annoyance, unsatisfied that the fight was cut off so soon. Furthermore, the demon put both of their blades in a cross shape that their holders were positioned on his back, him leaving the scene in an instant before he got caught.

She dropped to the ground, numb.