Chereads / Monster Girls of Omagi / Chapter 21 - Chapter 21 - Slice of Knife II

Chapter 21 - Chapter 21 - Slice of Knife II

This relief gives the Catgirl the strength to free herself from Danto's possession while the fuzziness clouding his single eye persists, she shimmies herself to twists her body until her chest coming up against the ground before using her legs to mount an escape. Sensing such a move, Danto collapses his arms to prevent her from pouncing however this is met with fierce kicks.

Danto: "Hyah!"

Her heals dig into his quadriceps, this forces his deep voice out from his throat. This booming wail is both a shock to Neko & his boss however Uroi is not able to help as he stands facing off this mysterious intruder.

Once Uroi's vision improves & the ground plain no longer dances in his periphery he now sees that this approaching meddler is running to him with great speed, the closer it gets the more details he picks up on. This is a female with glowing red horns, bleached blonde hair & yellow-green eyes with vertical slit pupils, unlike a mammalian predator such as cats these eyes lack any warmth & come off resembling the eyes of a reptile. Contradicting the lighter shades of her head, this outfit she brings to the event is devoid of colour & resembles the dark tactical suits of a ninja or a modern-day spy.

Seeing these Uroi makes the connection.

Uroi: "An Oni…"

He welcomes this attack with open arms by blitzing ahead like a ram, as she swings her katana, he tackles the threat with his smaller O Tanto blade. This leads to a continuous exchange of blows between the two, despite the shorter size of Uroi's weapon he still manages to hold his own against her brutal slashes.

Uroi: "You fight well, Oni-chan"

Her skill with the blade is appreciated by the gang leader who just about maintains his defence, every swing she makes is blocked by Uroi's blade which results in a satisfying smirk from the fearsome Catman. With every clash leaving him thrilled his gleeful attitude contrasts the vicious vibes of Haru as she keeps her hard stare on him with those hardened eyes.

Haru: "I'm shocked, a big fella like you looks odd packing a pitiful thing like that"

She subsequently opens her mouth to speak her mind by belittling her opponent's choice of weapon.

Haru: "You brought a kitchen knife to a sword fight"

She continues with her eloquent pronunciation combined with a tinge of anger towards the Feline menace who merely chuckles at what he preserves to be good banter between adversaries.

Uroi: "Hya hya actually your kitten over there brought the kitchen knife"

So quick to respond as he takes the opportunity to use his whit on the advancing Oni, this however has no effect on her ability to act with ferocity. The speed in which she swings remains consistent & close, she seals the gap between them until she was in breathing distance from Uroi.

Watching on from where she's standing several meters away, Neko's jaw drops slightly as she sees Haru's intense behaviour & skilful use of her katana. From a safe distance she can observe the power imbalance between the two, despite Uroi's muscular frame & stamina-filled prowess he's no match for Haru's magnificent swordplay as well as the strength which comes from being an Oni.

"Hyaru-san kyould easily win this nya…"

Neko: "Nyahh!"

As guard was down Neko finds herself restrained by the arms of an unlikely foe, during all the commotion Taku slips through everyone's detection & grapples the Catgirl with any strength he can muster. Nevertheless, this action is not without consequence since due to Neko's caterwaul Haru becomes alerted of what's going on & is able to respond accordingly. The Oni swiftly twists her head to catch the sleazebag wrestling against Neko in her view before thrusting her katana to repel Uroi, this gives her an opening to charge at the creep shacking Neko tightly to his body.

The bereaved eyes of the Catgirl watch as Haru rushes with her sword in hand, the Oni's jaw expands revealing the razor-sharp teeth that puts Taku's to shame. Her crimson horns point to her target & pierce the air like the horns of a raging bull seeing red which would be the colour staining Taku's leather jacket if the Oni's trajectory continues.

| ドッシドッシ | stomping

But out of the blue Haru gets thrown off her course as she is shoved to the side, now out of balance she loses grip of her reliable weapon before being pushed to the ground by what feels like a ton of bricks. Mere minutes ago, Neko was being cemented under the weight of the cyclops, just as he did with the Catgirl Danto applies pressure to Haru's legs preventing them from flailing around & uses his enormous forearms to press down onto the Oni's thinner wrists. He smirks as the sense of victory over this ogre woman sets in but just as he thinks he's won Haru's maleficent yellow-green eyes stare daggers into his piercing blue eye, that's when his cheeks drop. Haru flares her nostrils & seethes as she fights against Danto's strength, the power within her Oniblood kicks in & unleashes itself. She jolts her right arm to twist her wrist out of his grasp before clenching her fist & going for the strike.

| ゴッ | punch

Following this jab is her other arm pushing on the giant boulder of a Catman to drive him off, in just a few seconds Haru managed to turn the tides on the former Sumo wrestler & she escapes him with ease.

As he dispels the stars of dizziness circling his head the cyclops get off the ground to face this Oni for another round, he sees that she sits in her stance with both arms up indicating her readiness for physical combat.

Haru: "So this is where the One-Eyed Danto lurks these days"

Danto: "Nya"

The cyclops cat responds to her dropping the nickname from his Sumo wrestling days with a miniscule meow then forms a battle stance of his own, commencing a leg pose by putting his hands on his thighs & lifts his left leg up before slamming his foot into the ground assembling in front of Haru a professional Sumo crouching pose.

Haru: "I never thought I would be on this side of your wrath, but someone has to teach you not to harm my kitten"

She watches this development with keen eyes & a grin to show off her sharp teeth, laughing as she assumes a similar stance.

| ゴロゴロ | lightning

Going unnoticed is a mini flicker of light flashing in the distance but what follows is a riotous snap sounding like the cracking of a mountain, the Felines shield their sensitive ears giving Haru an opportunity to run into Danto. She wraps her arms around him & pushes like a rugby player prompting him to adopt the defensive stance however only one of his arms is up.

Watching from a sideline is Neko who tries to break the hold Taku has on her by struggling with little success, she's still in a good position to view Haru's fight with Danto. Good enough of a position to notice something off, "Oh nyo he's reaching for syomething in his pyoket. I must warn Hyaru-san!"

Neko: "Hyaru-san! He's gyot a…"

Taku: "Shut up bitch!"

He flinches so heavily it rocks her enough to keep her quiet about the item Danto is pulling from the pocket of his tracksuit, with that bandage covered hand he clamps Neko's jaw to cover that unregulated mouth.

Taku: "Neow watch Danto do his work"

Neko: *sobbing*

She tries crying as loud as she can but under Taku's smelly palm her cries sound not dissimilar to a puny squeal & fall on deaf ears, even a few thrashings of her head aren't enough to shake this lanky bastard off.

Suddenly Danto pulls his hand from his pocket to unveil a Shō-Kunai, a short pointy blade sticking out of a thin handle wrapped in rope & a ring shaped pommel at the bottom. With Haru's arms grasping the Catman's ginormous body her belly is exposed to attacks since his hands remain under his waist but not for long as his right-hand plunge forward like a pouncing snake directed straight for the Oni's stomach.

Haru: "Hahhhhhhhh!!"

She lets out a painful scream into Danto's large ears causing him to curl his eyes & squint his eye, he brings his left leg close to his right as he stands taller but despite being somewhat shorter than Haru his arm has the length & force necessary to reach her face. Bringing the Kunai upwards in one fell swoop, the sharp edge of the short blade scrapes her cheek close enough to pierce through the skin, starting from the lower cheek on her left side the knife rapidly cruises up in a diagonal angle slitting both lips before curving down just avoiding her nose & exiting at a decent distance from her right eye. This only exacerbates the screaming.

Haru: "Hahhhhhhhhh hahhhhh!!!!"

The fighters push away from each other, the Cyclops Catman stands tall & brings the Kunai closer for inspection. Once his eye checks on the dark crimson blood dyeing a quarter of the black blade, he picks up sudden flicker being reflected on the red. This prompts him to peer upwards to see that for a moment the clouds space out to present the Moon displaying a waning gibbous face.

Danto: "Hya hya"

That deep voice of his makes a comeback in the form of a boisterous chuckle in conjunction with his curvy chest being pumped up the way a winner would celebrate, his infectious exuberance is caught by Taku who begins to menacingly grin as he turns his head to Uroi. The pair of them act like the battle is over when their boss steps forward carrying the Moonlight with him as his eyes glow white like small LEDs & his fur shift into a bright shade, this along with his tail splitting into is part of his transformation into a Nekomata.

Uroi: "You…you need to be better at picking your fights. Oni-chan"

He says with a boom to his resonating deep voice as if he's speech is coming out of a German subwoofer, he joins his comrades in amusement with an ominous smile of his own.

Contrasting their cheerful gloats the Oni flails her arms as the pain pumps through her body, the intensity of having her face slit open prohibits any other feeling from being felt. All she has is the anguish of from that huge cut causing her fingers to coil into her distal palmer & the adrenaline in her veins coupled with the thought of escaping this agony by running. Which is what her legs end up doing on impulse, the Oni begins sprinting. Passed Danto to finish in the direction of Taku as he keeps a traumatised Neko at bay, "this was stupid nyah! Hyaru-san always keeps thinking she kyan do everything by herself" the Catgirl views on with tears staining her eye lids & running down her cheeks as the damaged Oni hastily approaches.

Taku: "Stay byack you beast!"

Taku's grin subsides upon seeing this threat charging to him, he orders her to cease as if he is ordering a rabid dog but this fails to slow her advance, the Oni keeps going.

| タタタタ | running

From their left another set of boots scrape the dirt, Taku turns to see that his mighty leader slides in between him & the oncoming Haru with the Oni's katana.

Taku: "Uroi-sama!"

He calls Uroi's name gleefully with an optimistic smile & glow overtaking his dark filled eyes, the opposite is true for Neko bawling more tears as her screams go unheard under Taku's sweaty palm. "He will kill her!"

Neko: *screams*

They anticipate her to gruesomely clash with the towering Nekomata however what they get instead is Haru swiftly sliding clear of Uroi, even doing her best to avoid the swing of that katana which was close enough to only just tap the tip of her right horn. The Oni successfully dodges Uroi's attempt to slow her down & continues her race to Taku, regardless of her being severely slashing in the face both her eyes narrow in on the sleazebag. She draws nearer & nearer & nearer until he has no other choice.

Taku: "Hyah!!"

He releases his arms to launch the Catgirl into the oncoming Oni in hopes that would bulldoze her advance however, with both arms she grabs Neko & shoves her to the side. Now there is nothing stopping her from reaching her prey, with blooding streaming down her face & neck she arrives at her destination.

She forcefully bops her head into his chest sending her horns into his nipples as if she were a wildebeest protecting her young causing him to fall to the ground with two holes in his leather jacket spewing with blood.

Taku: "Do you knyow heow much this fucking kyosts!?"

The Catboy exclaims with a rageful tone hiding the pain in his wounds & the fear overtaking his psyche as the Oni pins him down, dominating this lanky asshole by forcing her legs onto his & using her superior strength to prevent him from moving much like what Danto did to Neko earlier.

Now the tables have turned & a member of the Gangsters been confined to the ground getting his jacket stained in the brown as well as dark red from the blood, both from his wounds & the Oni's.

While Haru is busy with Taku, the Catgirl is left exposed to the other two. Both predators seeing this they begin to circle her, watching with eyes emanating an intense glow & deadpan expressions concealing what little slice of Humanity they had. Now they only appear to Neko as Monsters of the night, the ones that make the Humankind quiver in fear which contribute to the stigma she wishes would dissipate.

Uroi: "Trust me, she's wyon't harm my gyangster"

The leader approaches Neko with exposed pearly fangs, he stares into the Catgirl's soul with those sharp glowing eyes of his signalling malice intent. "Ah fish I hyave to worry abeowt him & the fat one" her ears twitching to both sides as she notes the severity of the position she's in, "Hyaru-san, get that sick fucker over with. Please!" She takes a few minor steps away from the two cats who are beginning to narrow in & close the gap between them, this brings with it a familiar sense that she's suffocating. Like being in a cramped room, these Feline Gangsters close in at a slow yet nervous pace caterwauling at her to increase discomfort.

Taku: "NYAHHHHH!!!"

Suddenly another scream from the lanky one erodes their yowls & virtually deafens the Catgirl, she raises her arms to cover her cat ears as she rapidly turns to see something just as brutal as anything she's seen tonight.

Taku: "Nyahh hyahh hyahh!!"

She sees Taku still pinned down with his mouth fully open like he's down a yawn however instead of relaxing his limbs they are whipping about like windsock, all except one. His right one, characterised by that bandage still tightly wrapped around his hand sticking up like he's calling for attention only this isn't by intention. It is Haru who lifts it up, all Neko's sees is that bandaged hand out & just below it the back of Haru's head blocking his forearm. "Wait, she's nyot…" Neko's disbelief causes her to question the evidence of her own eyes, "there's nyo way she would do that, right nya?" These thoughts are put to rest upon hearing the slight noise of meat separating is heard when the Oni pushes Taku's arm away from her mouth.

Uroi: "Taku!!"

The boss calls out the Catboy's as he rushes to save his subordinate, even his great speed isn't enough to generate the element of surprise he needs to deal an effective blow to the Oni who hears those blaring stomps coming & raises her left arm.

| ゴッ | punch

Uroi comes in only to concede a massive hit to his flat belly, this punch exceeding the force of a mantis shrimp knocks the air out of his lungs & pushes Uroi back several steps. Discomfort spreads across his body which wasn't prepared for such a hit.

Uroi: "Tch"

He looks to the Oni with disgust, someone like her nearly bested this mighty Nekomata with a single strike. This cannot compute in Uroi's mind, so he gets impatient.

Haru deliberately turns her head showing off the thick blood covering her lips & chin, the red of Taku's blood radiating against her incredibly pale skin creating the image of a menacingly beautiful woman's face echoing the look of a hardened tribal warrior with enemy blood serving as war paint. It's at this moment when she stares the cats down that she's given the time to show off her secret ability, her trick for winning this battle.

| ジュージュー | sizzling

A faint sizzling noise occurs as the gaping slit on her face begins to close, swiftly until new skin comes together. Now she looks as if that slash had never happened with her face made clear of wounds, not a single scare wrecking her beauty.

The same occurs on her belly which received a brutal stab from Danto's Shō-Kunai leaving a reddened hole that has now closed up, what remains is a large tear on her suit exposing her smooth pale skin sticking out against her black suit making it incredibly difficult for Uroi not to pay attention. Suddenly, he makes a dreadful discovery.

Uroi: "The Grand Magical Assembly"

He murmurs, eyes fixed on Haru's waist or specifically the buckle on her belt. That emerald, green circle with a red eight-pointed star in the middle, the head Gangster steps back upon making the connection & starts hyperventilating. His white glowing eyes flutter as for the first time in this night he has completely lost control of the situation & tide becomes chaotic.

Haru takes notice of this abrupt change in behaviour & peers down to see her buckle glistening in the light, it's there she makes a connection of her own.

Haru: "Hahahahaha"

Finding amusement in Uroi's reaction to her old buckle she lets out a ruthless laugh.

Haru: "What's the matter kitty? Afwaid of the little ministwy??"

She asks, putting on the façade of cuteness with large fluttering eye lashes & a child-like voice emphasizing innocence in a melodic way.

Haru: "I bet you are. You see, your kind thrive on chaos & turmoil"

She continues, now in her normal voice while raising her left hand to point directly at Uroi before compressing her eyebrows together forming an enraged glare.

Haru: "Your actions severely raise tensions between our World & the Human's, leaving those at the GMA to clean up your debris"

In the mists of Haru's hateful scolding the pink Catgirl crawls, sneakily bringing herself closer to the Oni while the Gangsters focus on her berating. "He's still staring at me with that gigyantic eye" she comes to this thought upon observing how Danto's eye traces her path however this is the only part of him moving. He watches her with the blank expression of a lifeless statue, not even his head moves as he is facing the disgruntled Feline.

While this goes on Haru persists in her furious taunting leading Neko to bring her attention to her housemate, "Dyoesn't this seem pyointless nya? Just kick them in the byalls & run away, Hyaru-san" with a concerned pout she considers this quick solution for their harrowing situation but without the courage to speak loudly she just views as Haru keeps this train going.

Haru: "I won't let you pests get my family caught in the crossfire"

She drops her arm before grappling the katana with both hands, as she takes into a guard position she begins to laugh.

Haru: "Hahahahaha!"

"Neow Hyaru-san is starting to skyare me" she reaches such a conclusion when Haru's unexpected burst of laughter grows in volume just as her now unblemished face becomes more unhinged.

Uroi: "You think this Yandere act will skyare us nya? we're the Feline Gyangsters!"

The gang leader interrupts Haru's laughing a booming voice & puffed-out chest displaying dominance alongside a strong moving finger pointing out the Oni's demeanour for what he sees it to be.

Uroi: "We own the streets here!"

The rage within him builds until he lets out this strong statement however the Oni merely scoffs at him & shrugs her shoulders.

Haru: "Kitty your reign is over if you think you have a shot against me"

Responding with an equal, if not stronger statement of her own. While doing so she exposes her attachment to calling to Uroi with such a weakened term directly referring to his Feline side, this only results in more frustration from him leading to both his tails frizzing like they're storing an awful lot of static charge. He lowers his chin & stiffens his eyebrows, even Danto now joins in to give this Oni a hard stare before stepping closer bit-by-bit.

Haru: "Now this ride has a few seats left, it is a bit intense but luckily you two exceed the height limit so have at it"

Seeing them both prepare to make the first move she facetiously declares with a gleeful smile & raised cheeks as she twiddles with her sword, her lips peal back exposing her razor-sharp teeth like a shark who just found prey only her foes are each twice her size. Uroi clenches his nose & stiffens his bottom lip in disgust at her willingness to deface Taku as she smears his blood across her skin for the first time in this night he has no control of the situation. His comrade lies bloodied & beaten by the Oni facing him who merely laughs off their attempts to frighten her.

Uroi: "You will pay for what you did to Taku, myark my words"

He lays out this final proclamation before walking in closer, this subtle pace swiftly turns into a sprint. The Nekomata heads straight for Haru with the O Tanto sword in his hand ready to clash with the Oni's greater katana, she grips it tightly as she anticipates combat that would make boxing look like a play fight.

Haru: "Bring it on"

She mutters as she watches Uroi speeding towards her like a Shinkansen, she tilts the blade of her sword up.

Before reaching the Oni Uroi leaps into the air swinging his blade, as he careens down, he goes for a sidehook punch with the O Tanto sword being held upside down.

| キンキン |

The two blades generate a mighty clang upon meeting one another separating as quickly as contacted, this is only the start of a series of bashes as Uroi moves in forcing Haru to step back & put up a defensive guard. Unlike before the Gang leader is in a loaded state with both his tails sticking up behind his back & puffed out like expanding balloons, even his now white hair sticks up as if he's incurred static charge from rubbing against polyester.

Uroi: "Hsss!"

He loudly hisses at Haru in a highly territorial matter, exposing his razor-sharp teeth slightly mirroring the smirking Oni with her knifelike fangs complementing her pointy crimson horns.

Haru: "Haha scary, I can barely hide how frightened I am"

She loudly puts on a false laugh in opposition of his display of power which only provokes him into engaging harder & dealing more brutal blasts.

To the side, the One-Eyed Danto circles the area to get a good view of Haru's side whilst she's fixated on Uroi's attack, but unbeknownst to him a mysterious figure stalks him from above. He crouches upon finding the right spot to wait for the right moment to strike, as the other two continue their fight this Cyclops moves his tail back & forth. Unaware that in the midnight sky a pair of faint orange dots watch over even his tiniest of twitches with intense precision however, these aren't the only eyes on Danto. From a short distance away Neko stands erect like a meerkat with her arms on both sides, hands fiercely grappling onto her pink jacket.

"He's gyoing to peownce if I dyon't do syomething nyah" she tells herself yet as the moment is nigh her legs in their refusal to move stay as motionless as tree stems, "I must do Help Hyaru-san". Once more she expresses the motive to act however this feeling cannot confront the fear within her, the fear that keeps her planted on that spot, the fear that relegates her to no more than a spectator of this ordeal, the fear that elevates her heart so much the beats can be felt in the middle of her neck.

Neko stays silent worried that sound would provoke the Cyclops to draw his attention away from the Oni & towards the pink Catgirl who miraculously escaped his grasp moments ago, his ears are perked up adapted to pick up any stray noise that could impede his future actions. Neko sees these pointy cat ears as an indication of his awareness that she could stall his upcoming advance, "he will hyave me if sees me kyoming" she concludes on that before turning her glance towards the fight to see that Haru is declining in her aptitude. "Oh nyo Hyaru is slowing down".

| コンコン | clanking

The two are still going at it with their blades prolonging the metal-on-metal bashing however, whereas Uroi maintains a consistent rate of battle Haru on the other hand loses her momentum & gradually grows exhausted. Her arms no longer swing with the same vitality as they did during the beginning & her jaw isn't quite so stiff, these subtle changes are reflected in her eyes which Neko perceives to have dimmed when compared to their vigour before. The Catgirl deduces that the Oni Homeowner is struggling to keep up with the gang leader who, through the power of his charged Nekomata form could perhaps best the Oni at any time.

"I kyannyot afford to just let this hyappen when Hyaru-san came here to save me, I'm gyoing to help her" with one quick thought Neko discards her fear & floods her mind with courage. She takes a single step away from her position, though it's small it is a start to tackling these Monsters, to save Haru & a clear sign that she's no longer paralysed by fright. It is here she decides what move to take, "the two keep shifting syo it's hyard to strike on Uroi when they're both myoving" this fact is clear, so she speculates other options. "Nyo matter what I do Danto is there syo I must eliminate him first but heow? I need my knife" the question she arose in her head was answered as soon as she could conjure the question, seeing that his hands are empty as he crouches Neko's begin scanning the surface to find the glistening blade of that kitchen knife she brought with her.

"It's on the other side nyah" upon spotting the knife she rolls her eyes, frustrated that it's sitting on the other side of the fighting ring she no choice but to make drastic movements to retrieve it. "I'd hyave to run around these two syo I kyan grap that knife" accepting that this is the only path to take she bolts, scraping the dirt with her shoes as she leaps like a frog. Setting off to retrieve that tiny saber, she passes the two fighters but due to her speed as well as their unalloying concentration on battling one another the Catgirl slips passed unnoticed by them. "Gyo gyo gyo gyo!".

But regardless of her speed, this move was noticed by the third character in the vicinity, sitting in solitude to watch the commotion with his single piercing eye is Danto. Having the privilege to see everything going on he was able to trace Neko's path as she was taking it, even at the rate she was sprinting he recognised her intentions. Tracking her trajectory, he sees the speck of light flash which can only mean one thing.

Danto: "_"

His eye widens at the realisation, upon impulse he bounced from his crouch to intercept but as he makes his first step the Catgirl has already reached the knife however while he focuses on Neko he misses the oranges dots above gradually getting larger like the external lights of an aeroplane approaching from the sky.

"There's the knyife! Get the knyife!" She vaults ahead & lands on her right leg, bending it to stretch her left thigh as forms a squat to cushion her grounding. "That's it Neko!" her inner voice cheers her on as she throws her right arm out to grab the knife sitting on the rough ground, her spiritless face releases some radiant energy as her fingers wrap its handle. Finally, the knife is in her hand, so she brings it to her person & pulls it in with a swift snap as if her forearm had the recoil of a spring. "I've gyot the knyife!" She salutes herself.

| ズル |

The moment the knife entered her procession her ear picks up the noise of falling gravel, the crashing noise that spreads because of an avalanche. She hops out of this tilted squat to face whatever caused this great blast, she sticks out the newly reclaimed blade only to be met with a small could of dust taking up her view.

Neko: *coughing*

Her right wrist is brought to her mouth as she relentlessly coughs while her left takes the place of the right to wave away the incoming particles, "what kyould this be nya?" She questions this sudden development with her eyes completely shut leading to her vision becoming nothing but outright darkness. This flat void takes the place of a slightly lit dirt plain coated in a pebble grey fog accompanied by a dull wind glancing proceeding around her cat ears, as that smothers the grinding of stones & the tapping of small pebbles another batch of gravel tips onto the turf.

| ズル |

Wrinkled from being held shut Neko briefly squints open her eyes leading to the scene of another wave of dust racing towards her, "nyot again" she thought & if the cloud wasn't so dense she would be sighing as opposed to coughing but instead the whole area gets blanketed in a thick haze blinding her to her surroundings. In response, she keeps her eyes shut & even drops her cat ears to prevent dust from clogging up her auditory canal.

A short moment later, as the smoke clears Neko can open her ears only to receive.

???: "Hah! Hoshi-san why did you do that?"

The raucous shouting puts Neko on edge with her ears poking up & shoulders tensed, "wait, that's only Hyaru-san" she's able to confirm once registering the strident mentioning of the Solar Esper. "She is the only person I kneow who kyalls her that" she adds to herself, this thought brings with it a slim yet significant level of comfort & the will to peal back her eye lids. Slowly awakening to see that the smoke had just about dissipated from the scene, this leaves in its wake two figures standing off against each other. With a noticeable amount of grey mist lingering in the air Neko can't pick up many details on who they are, yet it is clear enough to make out who these two are judging by their articles of clothing & their heights.

The figure to her right is short in stature than the one on the left however this child looking figure is situated on a pile of gravel allowing them to tower over the other, said other has the full triangular body of an adult woman with a pair of spherical F cups. Her bust aside, the most striking features of this woman are the protruding crimson horns dimming their glow until they're as devoid of light as the surrounding reservoir. "This is Hyaru-san, my hero".

With the two Gangsters nowhere to be seen, Neko sighs abruptly allowing the anxiety to ooze out from her soul, the relaxing sensation that remains causes her to become somewhat light-headed while she just stands on the spot, planting her legs & being still like a tree. Just watching her rescuers bicker as she settles into the notion that the Gangsters have been defeated.

Haru: "I was so close to a good strike, I could have had him on his knees begging for mercy!"

The Oni yells her frustration while frantically waving around her katana like a spoilt little girl having a deafening tantrum, even matching the energy of one with her rageful groans. Such energy she had built up to take on Uroi however, now that such a prospect has been taken away from her there is no outlet besides swinging her sword through the air, causing vortex spirals made visible by the remain dust particles.

Hoshi: "Haru-san, thou were losing grind at apace, nay thou couldst sustain yond brawl"

The Esper responds disapprovingly while brushes dirt off her skirt, she raises her chin as she looks down on the woman who's meant to fit the role of her superior. Nevertheless, despite looking like the adult of the group Haru shakes her head & puffs her cheeks like an immature angsty teenager arguing with this child who takes on the persona of a wise crone.

Haru: "No way! He was about to fold; I saw the limitations of his techniques & knew I could exploit them"

The Oni Homeowner stood before Hoshi defending herself, this time with words. She puts her craving for violence away, shown visually by unbuttoning the cover of the red sheath hooked to her belt before she drives her grimy reddened blade into it.

Haru: "His hubris would have been his downfall"

She adds, dimming the fiery passion in her voice until all that remains is a slight murmur while she drops her chin & furrows her eyebrows.

Hoshi: "Yond wast truer for thou than twast for him"

She calmly replies with a fair sigh before taking flight, lifting her feet off the pile to hover over what was once an arena of battle. Drifting smoothly like a drone until she descends onto the same ground Haru stands on, as she cascades her glowing orange eyes continue to stare at the Oni. She sees that the frenzy which once took hold of her dear chaperon had vanished leaving an almost dark husk behind.

Hoshi: "The racketeers art unconscious but still living underneath the rubble, I shall seeth to those Catfolk while thou reassure Neko-san"

Upon touchdown, she whispers this observation to Haru then follows that with a directive to which Neko is the key. The Oni's face brightens as soon as she hears the Catgirl's name, this causes her bottom lip to uncontrollable wobble & eyes to grow deeper. She turns right to see that Neko appears frozen in place with a tight grasp of the kitchen knife, her once spotless pink jacket now torn & riddled with stains from the battle, even her youthful beauty now impeded with grimy marks strained across her cheeks.

Coupling this with the memory of what just happened the Oni holds her breath, hesitating to move she not only faces Neko in the physical realm but also the mask she worked so hard to maintain become shattered in front of the Esper she looks up to & the young Feline she swore to take. Haru remembers pledging to be her guardian but on this night & several nights before she had failed, failed to keep Neko away from danger, failed to make her feel comfortable with who she is. When that fact sinks in Haru could barely stick to the high ground anymore, she gradually steps down from that dune & walks to Neko. This coincides with the miniscule slope she traverses to reach the Catgirl's level, she brings out her arms to embrace her.

Haru: "Neko, it's ok now. Nothing can hurt you"

She says in a soft comforting voice as she gets closer.

"Do I gyo in for the hug nya? Nyah what am I thinking, it's Hyaru. She wouldn't hurt me nya?" Conflicted, Neko just stands there hardly moving while gripping the knife, drawing in her canvas of memory with permanent ink is the image of Haru's deformed face after being slit with that blade then to the bloodthirsty ogre who wouldn't think twice about drinking the blood of her enemy. Seeing how quickly she snapped when faced against the Gangsters & her maniacal laughter at the thought of slaughtering them filled Neko with unignorable discomfort.

However, she tries to put that aside for now & accepts Haru's offer.

| カン |

She lets go of the knife & spreads her arms too, grabbing onto her guardian with the force of a jaguar but like a Javanese house cat she nestles herself into Haru's worm embrace & begins uncontrollably purring.

"Is it over nya?"

 

"Are they gyone for gyood?"