"Kuro, could you bring me foxgloves?"
Asahi had a charming smile plastered on his face, but Kuro could smell everything from miles away. Deciphering the evilness, it didn't move even an inch.
"I will give you a freshly dead human."
The ears of the cat perked up. It turned its head towards its master, observing the human closely. He was a flawed human, still young, making irrational decisions yet somehow having managed to severely injure Nezu.
'Is he worth my help?'
Most definitely not; he was far too weak and not in a potent state, unlike the girl they had saved. She was the perfect one, but since he had a revenge to fulfill, he would have to use this human as his pawn.
"I will be expecting two," Kuro clicked its tongue while wiggling its tail and lower back.
"One and no more."
Kuro rolled his eyes and jumped into the air. Suddenly a black circle-like portal opened, and he jumped into it, transitioning to a darker valley where the sun had not yet risen. The air was as cold as a breath of ice, and the hills surrounded the entire place.
Kuro was still in its cat form and at the base of the valley. Its cosmos-like eyes turned, searching for the foxglove. Its eyes started to turn red as its night vision activated. Taking a glance at each flower and a whiff of the flowers, it continued to walk the narrow footpath.
The entire base of the valley was filled with toxic and poisonous plants and flowers. There plants thrived there, growing out in the wild, and any person stepping a foot in there would have an immediate death, and yet Kuro walked through as if he were on a night market stroll.
The gale of wind passed by, making a few rustic brown leaves rise above. The strong smell of the plants mixed in the air, and Kuro sharply turned towards the right side. It could see the endless field of flowers, and among them was the foxglove.
Leisurely, Kuro walked towards the flower. It first crossed the small section of lily of the valley and then, after, was a mix of belladonna and oleander. The flowers gave a tempting fragrance, tempting enough to have a bite of the ripping flower. But Kuro was far too old for that. It simply got in front of the foxglove and bit its stem. Kuro plucked the plant and sent it off to Asahi's location.
While its red eyes continued to glow, Kuro raised its head to look at the dark sky above. The only thing that every person shared on Earth was the sky and the land. A reminder that despite every wealth, every kind of greediness, all the baggages of life, and all the emotions, they shall all mean nothing in the end.
'And yet, even us gods are driven by revenge.' Kuro thought while raising its paw to reach for the moon. Revenge that required thousands of years of confinement. The revenge, which started from hell.
Suddenly the breath of wind rose, and a tornado of lilies passed by Kuro. The wind was cold, and once the flowers settled on the ground, it appeared a man. He had a rotting smell. His entire face was covered in white bandage, and yet he stood in his place.
"It must have been you. You reprobate Neko."
The man claimed while raising his hands to form the magic encirclement.
"Now now, such crude words don't suit you, Nezu."
Kuro gave a humbling smile, claiming its innocence while its eyes were as dangerous as the devil himself. This made the mouse zodiac furious. The cat, which had returned from hell, had, as always, planted the poison inside him, and even his warnings were coming off as kids played.
Nezu snarled and gripped his five fingers to form a fist.
"Shut up"
The clouds started to get darker and covered up the entire sky. The moon stopped lighting up the sky, and the air got heavier all of a sudden. As both the opposing zodiac gods faced each other, even the heavens played their role.
The once clear sky started to thunder in an instant, and Kuro had a grumpy look on his face.
"Eh? Seems like your voice degraded along with your appearance."
Kuro was not merciful at all with its words. With an apparent smirk on its face, it walked towards the degrading body of Nezu. Kuro couldn't suppress its expressions, not when he had dreams of this scene for the last thousands of years.
"Still better than being stuck in an animal form."
Nezu rolled its eyes and walked towards the black cat. Nezu could tell that the cat had awakened for quite some time, as it had already gained a third of its powers. More so, the child in the North Star mansion carried a minuscule part of the cat.
"Let's leave for that to be decided by fate."
Those were the last words both of them exchanged as Kuro jumped from the ground, flying ten times its height, and quickly used its claw to rip off the bandages. The strong arms of Nezu caught Kuro right when it was about to leave after injuring his face.
Nezu started to instantly choke the delicate neck of Kuro.
"Turn me back to normal."
Nezu threatened while still brutally holding the cat's delicate neck. Despite the cruse, the Yokai had the strength enough to take on the heavenly guards. Meanwhile, Kuro tried its best to shake off the rotting hands on its clean fur.
"Ne-NEVER~"
The cat could barely speak. After all, how could he amend the body of Nezu when it took Kuro such a long time in the underworld to create the perfect curse for Nezu?
Kuro used its sharp paws to claw on the skin and maneuvered its body position, making a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn that made Nezu twist his arm as well, resulting in a loose grip. Taking advantage of that, Kuro used its tail, and a flux of burning fire hit Nezu's arms, thus making Kuro escape.
Kuro jumped out of Nezu's arms and opened the portal.
"St-stop-rig-na-" Nezu's body collapsed on the ground filled with toxicity, while Kuro gave a slight peak before turning his focus on returning home. After all, there was a parade he couldn't miss.