A low, muffled growl rolled from deep in Yaha's throat.
Air ground over vocal cords constricted to their limit, rough as scraping rust.
"Stay back."
He forced the words through clenched teeth. His head hung low, tangled black hair hiding half his face, while the dark purple cursed markings on his jaw crept down his neck.
Shinobu Kocho paused for half a second.
"Get the hell away."
The second command came harder. The force of it split his lip, and a thread of black blood dripped from his chin, splashing dark spots onto the rubble.
Shinobu Kocho rose from the ground.
Still half-kneeling behind her, Tengen Uzui had barely begun to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw her step forward.
She did not retreat. She walked straight toward the monster whose sanity was about to collapse.
Her steps were slow, but each landed firmly. The faint crunch of her military boots over loose stones rang unusually clear through the deathly silent ruins.
Yaha raised his head.
There was no trace of humanity left in those eyes. His pupils had narrowed into vertical slits, and blood vessels had stained the whites entirely pink.
He stared at the approaching woman with nothing left in his gaze but a predator's focus on its prey.
"I said, get lost."
His voice had changed completely. Hoarse. Harsh. Half a second of ragged panting separated each word.
Shinobu Kocho stopped. Fewer than two steps separated them.
Moonlight pouring through a breach in the ruins lit half her face a snowy white.
The gentle smile that always rested on her lips had vanished completely. There was no fear, not even a flicker of unnecessary expression.
She slowly raised her right hand to the first button on the front of her uniform.
Click.
The metal button