(Flip Nekotonezumi story)
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The night air was cool on his skin as he raced through the thicket, ignoring the sting as leaves and branches sliced the exposed skin of his face. His familiar demon laughed wildly beside him, racing alongside in an arcing slash of electricity.
"'No problem', hmm? 'Just a little cat', huh? I told you this one was a she-beast!"
"Shut up." The man slowed at the edge of a clearing that led to the sea. The vegetation slowly dwindled here until sea grass and sand were the only things in sight. A trail of pawprints lay before them as they reached the water, and he bent to squint down the beach.
"She ran down the strand."
"No, really. I thought she went for a swim." The being paused to take on his more human form. He had pale skin and a normal human body for the most part. His golden hair, however, curled up from the back of his head in a most unnatural way. A soft green wrapping with depictions of storm clouds covered his waist, leaving his tattooed upper body bare except for two silver cuffs on his wrists. Curls of colored, roiling clouds and lightning tapered down his shoulders and down his arms, while on his back were depicted a curious pattern of circular drums. "You want me to ...?" He turned around, his green eyes questioning. The spiraled pupils seemed to spin as he regarded the human.
"No." The man stood, grimacing as his knees popped. In contrast to the demon at his side he was rather unremarkable looking, pale, with a scruffy days' worth of stubble always on his face and a half moon scar under his right eye. His long black hair was tied back with a rawhide thong in a messy ponytail that accentuated his worn features. He wore a black hakama with baggy gray pants underneath and an open chested robe, but he was not equipped like a samurai and carried only a simple bag. "We can track her, Hizashi. Let her wear herself out before we reach her. Then she will be easier to catch."
"You're far more evil than we are, Aizawa Shota."
"So you say." He pointed at the long run ahead of them. "Let's go."
They reached her as she sped up the beach to a small cemetery near an old, broken down village. The nekomata spun about, her lavender pupils dissolving into an unnatural white glow as she hissed a warning. Her double-tipped tail slashed wildly through the air as she set her paws firmly in the dirt.
Aizawa stopped to catch his breath. "You're coming with me one way or another, cat."
She growled ominously, backing away from him and flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth in warning.
"That would be far more intimidating if you were larger, you realize." Hizashi stood some distance away, leaning on one of the larger gravestones. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head and glanced over at Aizawa. "Call me if you need me, you pathetic piece of shit."
"I won't need you for a job small as this, windbag."
Her eyes narrowed as he spoke. She glanced back over her shoulder at the cemetery. "Don't come any closer. I'll bring up an entire army!"
"Will you?" He calmly reached into his bag and pulled something out that glinted coldly under the light of the moon. "Try."
She shook herself, then jumped at him, transforming along the way into a much more frightening spectacle of fur, fangs and razor-sharp, three inch claws. She slashed at the air in front of him, but he stepped quickly back. His gray eyes suddenly glowed bright red, tracking her as she leapt again. She yowled in confusion as her form shrank down to normal cat size, and Aizawa easily caught her. He snapped what he held around her neck - a silver collar wrought with inscriptions meant to hold her in check. The demon screamed, an eerily human sound, and fell onto the ground before him, writhing in agony.
He blinked. The feline was now a pale, trembling woman with short, dark purple hair, cat ears and a tail. She pounded her leg with a fist and screamed again in fury.
"Hizashi."
"Yeah?" He cracked an eyelid open.
"She can change form, too."
The thunder demon whistled appreciatively. "Whoo, you're not kidding, boss. I didn't know cats could do that."
"So kill me already," she demanded, staring up at her captor. "That's what you humans want, isn't it? Get it over with!"
Aizawa raised an eyebrow as she thrust her bare chest defiantly at him. "You know I probably can't."
"Yes. But you'll try." Her ears laid back and she suddenly flinched away from the ocean nearby. He bent to help her up but she wrenched her arm out of his hand. "Don't touch me!"
"You're going to need clothing."
"Not going to kill me right away? There's only one reason for that I can think of." She rolled to her feet and backed away from him. "If you try to lay with me, you filth, I'll bite it off!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, sighing wearily. "I'm not depraved enough to try and sleep with a monster."
"You're the monster!" She took a few more steps.
"I wouldn't get too far from him, if I were you," Hizashi called out. She ignored him and spun about as if to run. Aizawa folded his hands into his sleeves and waited calmly. She didn't get far before the collar glowed red and she gasped, falling once more in a crumpled heap.
"You're bound, demon." The dark haired man walked over to her and stood staring blandly down into her agonized eyes. "You can't escape me; if you walk further than ten paces away the collar will cause you incredible pain."
Hizashi picked her up, stroking a fall of hair away from her cheek. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you with him?!"
"Oh, I'm bound, too." Hizashi tapped the wristlets he wore, then pointed at her collar. "Same way you are, sweetheart."
"Damn it! Do you think it's your right to enslave us, human?"
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