Asahi had the girl gently curled in his arms. His face was sweaty, and his breath panted. The yokai and ghost were following him. He could hear them constantly say, "Take us back!".
They pleaded to return to Kakurio, the hidden realm, but extracting a young girl's power was against the rules.
"Bastards," Asahi grinned. He had a poison in his pocket, which was plenty enough to paralyze the yokai, but it could affect the girl's health too, as she breathed the same air as them.
"KURO!" he called out his black cat, and that very instant, cold air squalled, and he tightly clutched the girl. Looking at the sky, he could see a substantial black body shaped like a four-legged animal. Its large body blocked away the view of the full moon while the light shimmered on its dark black fur.
"Master," Kuro mumbled but landed right behind Asahi. Immediately it started to attack the hounding ghosts and Ayakashi. Meanwhile, Asahi dashed to the other side and found an empty bench, which was farthest from the festival.
~
'Tsk, such a shame I have to use this form.' Kuro clicked its tongue in dissatisfaction while taking hold of the Abura akago's neck. The little cat Yokai whined under the chokehold of the ferocious Kuro.
As the little cat screamed for its life, Kuro simply tore off its head, discarding the Abura Akago.
From behind, a pair of clawed hands grabbed Kuro's behind.
"Huh? DON'T TOUCH MY FUR YOU FOOLISH BRUTE!" Kuro shouted at the top of his lungs as he used his large and long tail to slap off those clawed hands. The sturdy tail broke off the two ring fingers of the claws and, from a dusty gray cloud, immersed the face of those hands; Akashi ta.
"Aiya!" the Akashita showed its red tongue and its hairy face. It had no body, and its blue face started to go red in anger and pain. In the meantime, Kuro had leapt towards the next pair of ghosts who had been on earth for generations.
"Sa-sa-stay AWAY FROM US! STAY AWAY!" The ghosts started to run.
"No use running, you fools," Kuro simply licked his paw while the ghosts started to scatter. The moonlight was bright, and there was no place for them to hide; after all, night was his. Like a predator enjoying the torment of its prey, Kuro walked on the ground slowly, heading towards the ghost that lurked behind the Akateko tree.
"Um, you both need to go to hell," Kuro verdict. All of a sudden his footsteps were as light as a feather, and in the very second, Slash! Black, shadow-like smoke cut the tree in half. A hypnotically beautiful woman and a ghost appeared to be running.
Slash, they were cut into halves. Their pelvis separated from their heads. As they cried for help, their spirits started to vanish until not even a single fragment was left behind on earth.
Similarly, most of the ghosts and Yokai started to run or hide. Either way, Kuro leisurely halved their body parts until they slowly were taken to hell.
~
"Master" Kuro obediently stood in front of Asahi and the little girl. His body had turned back to its original size, but Kuro seemed to have turned darker than before.
"You smell" Asahi blatantly commented and started to place another healing talisman on the girl's body. She had talismans on her head, throat, heart, and navel.
Kuro rolled its eye at Asahi's remark. Brutal as always, and it's not like the stench would go away in a single night.
"When is she going to regain her consciousness?" Kuro curiously glanced at the delicious human girl. She had even more spiritual power than Asahi. Kuro couldn't help but lick its lips.
"Once you seal her powers."
"...."
"It's for her good," he commented while writing another healing talisman.
"Since when were you such a kind human? Anyway, give me a fresh human body in return, and I will."
"Okay," he agreed to Kuro's demand while attaching the very last talisman. Slowly, he squirmed away from the bench and placed her head on the wood instead of his lap.
Meanwhile, Kuro had a smirk on its face. It started to chant some spells in the language Asahi was unfamiliar with. The body of the girl started to levitate in the air. Black smoke started to form around the places the talismans were placed.
The air started to feel dense, and when Asahi tore his gaze away from the girl and peeked at Kuro, although his body seemed the same, there was a slight image of a big black cat with its mouth sealed with a big roll of spells.
'Am I hallucinating?' Asahi couldn't help but question as he gazed away. In that vision, Kuro was filled in a land filled with Miasama, but as he looked a second glance, he could only see a tiny kitten that grated its teeth.
After the next two minutes, each smoke around the organs where the talisman was kept started to face away. At the very end, the smoke around her heart faded, and her body was placed back on the bench. Kuro's eyes and marks around its forehead glowed scarlet red and exhausted; its body collapsed into the mud.
"You did good." He got on his knees and patted the cat. He gently carried the cat and placed it on the bench. Then after, he carried the little girl and went to the festival. The lively atmosphere continued to be, and as the clock struck 11 p.m., the people started to beat the drums even harder.
He gazed from side to side; his tall stature made it easier to navigate among the crowd, and at last, he saw the family of three that were near the station.
"Excuse me," Asahi ran towards them while the girl lay unconscious in his arms.
"Eh? ASA! MY ASA!" The mother immediately ran to get her daughter, and her older daughter too ran after while the father continued to stay at the station.
Asahi gave the daughter into the hands of the mother. Even amongst the liveliness and smell of a variety of food and sweat of people, the mother drowned in her own emotions as she hugged her daughter and started to search for any signs of injuries.
As the mother raised her head to thank the young man, he was long gone. Like a spirit warrior.
~
"And that's what happened today." The man with blue and golden eyes with white hair bowed his head. The room was dimly lit, and the smell of lotus loomed around the air.
"I see." was all the deity answered. She had a fox mask on her face and her red kimono neatly tucked while her smirking lips were visible.
"Is something the matter? Goddess Inari?" The man asked. He raised his head and straightened his back.
"Nothing much. That reminds me I have promised to meet my friend Tsukuyomi, right? Send her the letter that I shall be coming over soon." The goddess Inari had a sly smile on her face, and the fox man nodded and left the chambers of his goddess.