Felix held his breathe and hunched over, holding Reta in his arms and listening to her sleep softly. It was a unique sight for him to see her this peaceful. Watching her rest like this as he stroked her cheek and parted her sky blue hair away from her almond eyes brought a glimmer of peace to his heart. The sight led him to remember the time they shared a bed together with KuliKuli, embracing each other through the night. A nightmare shook him awake and he sat up in bed, meaning to step out for a walk when a warm hand held him. It was her hand of course, but the feeling of her fingers grasping on his was a different experience. He loved KuliKuli dearly, but this was the first time someone held his hand with their own. Her paws were forever soft but lacked fingers, and so often it would be him holding her paws as she was unable to hold him back in the same way. 

She was partially awake that night, tilting her head with sleepy half-closed eyes before tugging him back to bed. He did so without restraint, and she enveloped his body with her arms cuddling him and planting a kiss on his neck. No words were exchanged between them, he wondered why that was. If it had been with KuliKuli, she would ask if he was okay or how he was feeling. With Reta, things were different. She understood his pain, and after what he learned about her past he figured it was because they both share that same burden of surviving. 

That night, he closed his eyes as her hands held him in a protective way, calming his anxious heart down enough that he could breathe again without a struggle. 

He kissed her forehead and sat upright as the door to their room was barged open and the sound of heavy boots marched in. No matter what happened, he would be there for her. He would be there for both of them, because until then he struggled to understand what he had to live for. 

But now he knew. 

He didn't struggle when they roughly pulled his hands back and fastened metal cuffs around his wrists, for it wasn't the first time he was introduced to such a feeling. 

"What about her, this one is sleeping?" 

There were five soldiers surveying the room, one of them pushed through the other two looking over Reta. It was a young man, Felix recognized him as the errand boy who stood beside the priest catching his hat and robe briefing him of any news. He appeared quite young judging by his freckled soft face, wavy dark hair and piercing green eyes. 

"Father knows this one, they've met recently. Carry her carefully, we don't want her harmed." He ordered, looking around. "Where are the rest?"

One of his men flipped the mattress over and shrugged. "Room is empty, just these two." 

The young man turned his head toward the open window and then back to Felix, noticing his eyes were looking in that direction. He stepped up to him and adjusted his tunic for him. "How long have they gone?"

Felix looked at him with a stern expression, his lips sealed tight much to their disappointment. 

"Cage." He ordered, running his gloved hand through his hair out of frustration. 

"Father isn't going to like this." One of the other men mentioned. "What now, Raz?" 

The one in charge named Raz peered out the window. "The plan stays, nothing changed. We report back to Father, let us hope Yohan's men and the Hunter share better fortune than us."

---

"Let go of my sister, NOW!" 

The Nekomata's demand echoed through the dark narrow passage, standing in opposition of the Hunter who had pursued them this far. In her escape, she caught on to the scent of her friend and sister. Only she discovered him first and now her mind was in a frenzy of panicked thoughts thinking the worst had befallen to Janette. She had hoped that her claws would be enough to intimidate him but he paid no attention to them, instead he sighed and dropped the tied bag holding her sister behind him. 

Her eyes flared as the bag hit the ground and settled down with no sign of any struggle inside.

He began to approach her calmly, moving his hand over his sword out of caution. His hood kept his face hidden emphasizing his sharp blue eyes locking onto her. KuliKuli's eyes widened as a brief image of him flashed through her mind, a figure stepping out from the dark and catching her by surprise from behind her. The memory was accompanied by the sound of her own scream, triggering a painful feedback as she held her head and fell on her knee. She groaned and tried shaking the pain away, the memories gave her a headache so awful that it felt like the sides of her head were pulsating. 

She looked up, expecting him to charge forward and take advantage but was met with the sight of him tilting his head instead. 

"A headache, now? Not a good way to start." He reacted with a look of intrigue, removing his hand from the handle of his weapon as he pulled his cloak back to reveal his belt. It held onto numerous utilities including vials, pouches and a small shovel dangling off the side. Fumbling through his items, he settled on a half-empty vial and bit the cork end to open it before placing the tip of a large syringe to suck up the violet liquid contents inside. "This will be easier than before." 

Thinking fast, KuliKuli rolled forward to close the gap between them and used her tails to whip the needle away, sending it crashing against the wall into tiny pieces. He stepped back and revealed his blade in time, clashing with her claws before they met his face. She hurried over to the bag when a black lasso wrapped around her neck and yanked her back. She growled and cut the rope as she got on her feet, the Hunter retracting the coil of rope back before tucking it away to his belt. 

"She's unharmed if that's what has you furious. He wants you alive, I thought you would remember that." He remarked, keeping his sword raised. "You don't want this fight, it didn't end well for you before. Just bring yourself in and you won't get hurt, make this easier for all of us." 

She glared back at him when her ear twitched and she looked down at her paws, seeing them restrained in metal cuffs. She gasped and jumped back, realizing her arms were fine and her body devoid of the numerous lacerations she saw before. The sound of boots walking forward grabbed her attention, raising her head back to see the man raise a small crossbow aimed to her head. The bolt wasn't ordinary as she caught a glimpse of the tip doused in green. 

With a twitch of his finger, he fired a bolt but not before lowering his arm in a flash. The bolt was aimed to her thigh but she was quick enough to slice the bolt away, ricocheting off her claws and against the wall to the ground. 

He dashed forward and moved his sword across her chest, clashing with her claws in a struggle between them as their eyes met just above the blade. Her eye was twitching and her arms trembling, but his gaze was calm and focus without an ounce of fear in him. She caught movement of his hand dipping into his belt and swiping across her chest as she jumped back, the tip of his dagger narrowly missing the navel of her stomach, but before she could adjust herself he stepped in and kicked her chest, sending her rolling back. The Nekomata yelped and rubbed the bruise on her chest, watching him step in and gently place the bag behind him once more. 

"Damn it!" She slammed her paw down on the ground, cursing as she got back up. She had the chance to cut the bag open, take her sister and run. But now he's guarding her again, and she found herself struggling with herself just to maintain her stance. 

Even he started to take notice, placing his dagger away as he watched her limbs quiver and her tails shake behind her. "You're afraid."

"I'm not!" She yelled out, knowing he was right. Looking down at herself, she was beginning to question this reaction. When she discovered him, she was fueled with anger as she cut him off to confront him. The idea was to intimidate him and if that failed then to face him head on, but now that she was here things were playing differently. Her body was shaking profusely and she was busy fighting against the instincts flaring under her skin, the sudden thoughts erupting in her mind as she recalled vivid images of whips, collars and pain. 

Run away. 

Run far away. 

It's not safe, it's not safe.

Run. 

"S~Stop it, just shut up!" She screamed before launching forward, swiping her claws at him left and right. 

Clank! Clank! Clank! 

Sparks emerged from the impact her claws had whenever they met his blade. He stepped aside and shoved the butt of his handle into her gut, knocking the wind out of air as she fell on her knees and held herself. Watching her wheeze and gasp, hanging her head as her long flowing white hair fell over her face brought him a feeling of pity as he walked around her and sighed. 

"He really did a number on you, Nityri."

"My name... is KuliKuli." She managed to say under her breathe, her knees trembling as she gathered herself and looked back at the bag holding her sister. Her cat eyes grew in size as the reminder of what was happening revived the anger she felt inside. "I don't know who you are but you are not taking away my sister!" 

He raised his eyebrow when he was met with the cat girl swiping her arm across his chest, shredding a piece of his cloak. Stepping back, he raised his sword and felt the claw marks imprinted across his metal breastplate. With a whistle, he held his sword with both hands and laughed nervously. "Au contraire, we've met before. We've caught you before, but after the raid you made your escape. Had you at my grasp again when you jumped off a cliff. I thought for sure that you perished, yet here we are now by a different name."

The description did sound familiar to her, that was how she could tell he wasn't lying. 

"I've been a Hunter all my life and still I forget not to underestimate a Nekomata. Your kind are full of surprises, I should know better by now." He adjusted the collar of his robe, loosening it and raising his sword in front of him. "You know we're in an alley, I can just shout for help and people would spot you. Get the entire city looking for you, then what?"

"They'll capture me, maybe even kill me." She answered for him, narrowing her eyes. "I know. So do it then Leone."

"Hm?" He lowered his sword as she repeated her words. 

"I said do it. Cry for help, see how that plays. It won't look well for you."

This was met with a scoff. "I don't think you understand your position, you're the Monster here. I'm just a Hunter fulfilling his contract."

"What happens after that?" She asked, looking at the bag behind him. 

"When one contract is done, I go out in search of another. A Hunter's job is never finished until his life is brought to an end." 

"Not even when you're old?"

He chuckled. "I'll answer that when I see it happen. Old age isn't guaranteed in this work after all."

"How sad, that doesn't trouble you?" 

"I-" He sighed and rubbed his head. "Why am I talking to you? This isn't a greeting, it's a capture."

"Tough, because I just figured something out. You're just a man, you and the others chasing me around like I'm just an animal. I am neither cat nor girl, I'm a Nekomata! And I'm not running this time, I'm going to stand my ground and I won't back down!" She declared proudly, finding a sense of comfort that calmed her nerves as she managed to push her fears aside for now. 

Cutting their conversation short, he retrieved a frisbee and hesitated, his eyes scanning the narrow passage around them before he opted against this weapon. KuliKuli spotted a familiar black ball strapped to his belt, recalling in her hidden memory of seeing him throw it as it detonated into a cloud of smoke. An idea began to form in her head, and soon she ran toward him in all fours like a cat would, running head first toward him. He planted his feet wide apart and was about to strike her head when he hesitated, recalling that the objective was to capture without lethal injury. To her surprise, he pulled out a brown piece of cloth and shouted a Latin incantation as it extended into a large net. She burst into a ball of white energy, shrinking down into her cat form and scurrying between his legs before reverting back into her normal form as she cut through the smoke grenade. 

"Et merde~" He whispered through a startled gaze as they briefly locked eyes, only to be surrounded in a cloud of thick gray smoke.

---

"Gyah~!"

Yohan choked as a tail wrapped around his forearm and neck. He meant to stab at the cat girls navel when she turned around, but it seemed that she had anticipated his attack. Larson was folded over behind her, whimpering with dozens of cuts around his exposed waist, joints and calf. His clumsy coordination of swinging balled up fists left and right were easy for her to read, his larger size playing to her benefit as it made it easier for her to maneuver around him and cut where his armor didn't protect. 

Now she bent Yohan's arm behind him and with her tail on his neck she swung him in front of her, glaring at poor William as he raised his crossbow with trembling arms. 

"D~Don't! Don't shoot!" Yohan spat out, struggling to pull her tail coiled around his neck. 

William tried moving to the left and right but Emyri would sway Yohan and keep him in front effortlessly. 

Yohan's eyes grew wide when she placed her paw on his back, pushing him forward as he tried to resist her by keeping his feet steady. 

"Walk with me dear." She whispered, emphasized by the tight squeeze around his throat. He kept his dagger squeezed in his hand, refusing to let go as he reluctantly walked with her toward William. William backed away until he was pressed against the balcony rail, his forehead shining with sweat as he patted around his waist before snatching a dagger out from its sheath. 

"I~I am ordering you to stop!" He shouted, swallowing as they drew closer until they were a few feet away. 

"It's not so easy pushing someone who can bite back, is it?" Emyri said, raising her voice so that they could hear her. She glanced behind her, noticing Larson as he began to recover. "You think you can kick us around and do as you please because of the banner you wear and the weapons you have. But you forget who we are. We are cats, we are hunters, and we are very territorial." 

"J-Just take the shot." Yohan coughed, struggling to breathe under the adrenaline accompanied by asphyxiation. 

"S-Sir?"

"Take it!" 

A malicious grin formed on her face once she saw a pair of arms approach her from behind. She released Yohan and waited as Larson grabbed her from behind, only to transform and shrink in size. His hands spun around in a frantic attempt to grab her, but she slipped from under his legs. William fired his bolt, grazing Yohan's cheek and bouncing off Larson's breastplate as it flew upwards when a brown cat snatched it between her teeth. Growing back into size, Emyri fell on top of Larson, dropping the bolt into her tail before planting it through his neck. 

"Gyuh~" He looked up with wide eyes, falling head first as Yohan landed and spun around in time to see him fall. 

"Bastard!" Yohan staggered back to his feet, retreated toward his friend as William hurried to load in another bolt. 

But she wouldn't allow it, her form became a brown blur of motion as she pounced to their left. Yohan aimlessly swung his dagger in her direction, an icy chill coursing through his body neck first as he realized too late that she already moved past him. Reaching upward, he tried to apply pressure to his neck but the pool of red dripping down his breastplate robbed him of any hope he had for victory. Still, he kept that digger with a death grip as he turned around to strike one last time. 

"No~" William jabbed across himself, keeping against the rail as the fatal feline stood between them. 

"Right here." She said, tilting her head to expose her neck. 

He sucked in his breathe and moved for the kill, planting the dagger in his fist where she suggested him to do. But in her stead was a puzzled Yohan as he sunk his own blade through William's stomach just beneath his shorter chest plate. They were duped into attacking each other, dooming one another as Emyri stood by and wiped her paws away. 

Janette watched with wide eyes as the two fell to the ground as lifeless husks, joining their friend in the afterlife. 

Emyri brushed her hair back and turned to her before offering a faint smile. "A mother knows when to get her hands dirty. My daughter's in trouble, let's go."