Stu didn't answer as his hands were busy turning to pull and roll Cenora's hair so that Cenora was pulled back without him bothering to drag Cenora closer.
And just as the strand of hair in Stu's hand had reached the root of her hair, the other hand grabbed her and gripped Cenora's neck tightly.
'I've withstood the disturbance of ghosts and nations like you all this time. I've lost a lot. My parents and my happy childhood. But now, when I've met the person who may have been my childhood friend, should I die for a lowly nation like you? Not. I don't want to!' Cenora couldn't help but cry and scream inwardly as her strangled neck made it hard for her to breathe.
'I don't want to die… Help me…' Cenora groaned in her heart, 'Someone help me…' she continued groaning.
With her eyes closed together with tears in her eyes, Cenora took the time to mention the name of the person she remembered at once.
"Ichigo… help me…" Cenora muttered in fear.
Instantly a strong wind blew around the two of them. Snowflakes were blown here and there. Cenora who closed her eyes in fear now opened her eyes and saw a flabbergasted Stu in another direction.
And when Cenora followed Stu's gaze, Cenora immediately gasped to see who was there. Precisely on the branch of a large tree that shaded them.
"Ichigo..." Cenora said quietly.
"You do remember me, don't you? I was even anxious waiting for you to wake up and remember me back!" Ichigo grumbled, "Didn't I tell you, one day I'll be back? You bastard!" he continued grumbling.
"Hey, lowly stealth! Let her go now or you'll regret it!" said Ichigo who now turned to Stu.
"Calling me a lowly demon, who the hell are you?! You are also a lowly demon!" Stu retorted angrily and tightened his grip on Cenora's neck even more.
Sraatt!
A flick of Ichigo's approaching hand with long sharp nails, which hadn't even been seen before suddenly hit Stu's body and sent Stu flying away from Cenora.
Ichigo walked over to Cenora and caressed Cenora's bleeding cheek.
The gentle look in his eyes along with a charming smile made Cenora close her eyes and be touched.
"Don't cry like this. They will laugh at you and keep bothering you because you seem weak in front of them!" Ichigo muttered as he wiped the blood that seemed to be flowing down Cenora's lips.
It was seen by Cenora that the long nails on Ichigo's fingers had miraculously shortened.
Ichigo let go of his hand on Cenora's face and clenched her blood-stained hand furiously.
'Cenora, are you all right? Don't cry like that because they really enjoy your crying! They really like it when you're sad,'
The words of her childhood friend once again echoed in Cenora's mind at this time with almost the same sentence.
'Are you really my childhood friend, Ichigo? Is that you?' Cenora thought questioningly.
Ichigo turned to face Stu who was trying to get up. One free hand is seen extending his fingernails again.
"How dare you hurt and try to snatch my future wife, huh? You lowly selfless fox demon!" Ichigo cursed furiously.
"You keep calling me a lowly demon but you're also a lowly demon yourself! Tch! You really are disgusting!" Stu cursed Ichigo while spitting green blood that came out of Stu's nose down to his lips, "And what did you say? Future wife? Nonsense! All the demon nations know that only the clan leaders of their respective demons have the right to have a wife! A lowly tiger demon like you is too arrogant and selfless!" continued Stu mocking Ichigo casually.
"Cenora is indeed my future wife. Soon she will be my bride! But never mind… why would I explain to a lowly demon like you?" Ichigo said with a grin.
'Cenora, one day I will return to you. Because you are…my bride!'
The sentence that had been stuck for a while and Cenora couldn't remember what the connection was, was now perfectly connected.
"I am the bride? What bride?" mumbled Cenora confused.
"How are you going to understand what I'm telling you? We are of different caste. You are in the lowest place in your clan, while I am in the highest place in mine. All you see is my tiger claws because you only deserve to see my form like this! But…"
Ichigo stopped his sentence for a moment and spread his arms in front of Stu.
Cenora who is behind Ichigo can clearly see the two black points of light on Ichigo's back and slowly release black bird feathers that form large wings, almost as big as the thick trees above them.
"Actually you don't deserve this level of my power. But now I think this is necessary as a warning to you and the little demons here not to keep bothering my bride again!"
Whoosh!
In one flick, the large black feathered wings made the wind blow hard at once. Not only Cenora who stuttered in the wind but also Stu who fell back to the ground.
"Y-you are a Hybrid!" said Stu with an astonished face looking at Ichigo's big black wings.
"Have you seen how a demon like you I despise with one glance? How can you make fun of me when you don't even have your own body to survive? You trash!" Ichigo spoke in a calm tone but Stu could see the golden eyes of a tiger demon ready to pounce on him alive.
"Don't, sir! Please don't destroy me! Don't do that, sir!" Stu pleaded with difficulty creeping back to get away from Ichigo who was walking towards him, "Miss, please forgive me! Please tell Mister Hybrid not to kill me, Miss! I beg of you!" continued Stu pleading with his terrified screams at Cenora who was behind Ichigo's black wings.
Cenora did not understand what was happening at this moment. All she felt now was fear seeing Ichigo's figure turn horrific.
"Didn't you look at me earlier? Didn't you make fun of me earlier? Then now you're apologizing by whining at my bride? Hahaha… Trash is trash!" Ichigo said angrily.
He extended his hand in front of Stu. Instantly Stu's body lifted and flew towards Ichigo and… Tap! Stu's neck was already in Ichigo's grip for a moment.
Cenora gasped and even squealed in fear, but Ichigo's smile instead stretched mocking Stu who was writhing in pain begging for mercy.
"My goodness, Master! I apologize. Don't kill me, Master!" said Stu who was struggling to beg for forgiveness.
"Do you think that by apologizing like this you will let me go? Certainly not!" Ichigo replied in an angry tone and gripped Stu's neck tighter and lifted the body high.
Along with a scream of pain from Stu, a thick collection of black smoke came out of Stu's eye sockets, ears, nose and mouth. And when the black smoke could no longer be seen coming out of every hole in Stu's head, the body that had initially stretched was now limp helplessly with his mouth hanging open.
Stu's body lay on the ground with a pale face after Ichigo let go of his hand. Then Ichigo turned to face Cenora as the large black wings shrunk down his back.
"Don't worry about that man. Later he too will realize. I've brought out a demon who uses his body to approach you, and when the demon is out of his body, then his own soul will return to occupy that body and he can come back to his senses!" Ichigo explains to Cenora who looks worried about Stu.
"Rather than that, you'd better worry about that cut on your face! You look a mess and will be troubled if other people see your bloody face like this!" Ichigo then touched Cenora's face and noticed the wound on Cenora's cheek.
"Just leave it alone, I'll treat it at the clinic later!" refused Cenora who was awkward to be treated so intensely by Ichigo.
"If there's my tongue as the medicine, why do you have to go to the clinic, huh?" Ichigo said with a teasing grin.
"What?! You are crazy!" Cenora suddenly snapped at Ichigo with a loud voice.
"Haish… keep your voice down or everyone will come here and watch you do something to that guy!" Ichigo said casually while pulling his earlobe which had buzzed because of Cenora's loud voice.
"How can I not yell at you when you say your tongue can heal my wounds?! You just want to take advantage of my helplessness, don't you?! Admit that you only want to do perverted things to me, Ichigo!" Cenora protested again.
Ichigo smiled.
"Then why? You are my bride, I will do anything with you," Ichigo replied, who kept smiling.
And then, the movement of Ichigo's index finger towards Cenora made Cenora's body which had taken a distance, even closer to Ichigo without her will.
"Ahh! Let me go!" Cenora shrieked as Ichigo pulled and hugged Cenora's immobile body to put up a fight.
"Shhh, lower your voice, or someone else will come. Calm down and take a deep breath," Ichigo said as he brought his face close to Cenora's cheek and... slurp...