Midori stood up from the floor, still carrying the bag that her newly deceased kitten was in. Her eyes were filled with numerous emotions as they stared furiously at the murderer of her beloved Yasashii. They showed unbelievable shock, confusion, sadness, and most importantly, anger. She's always known that he was a monster. But now, she saw the creature's true colors. Uncle Ryuji continued grinning, his dark grey eyes showing more merciless taunting. "Is something the matter, dear niece?", he asked mockingly.
"Why?….Why!", Midori yelled, her eyes filled with more blazing anger. "Yasashii didn't deserve this! She did nothing to you! I thought you were supposed to be at work!—" Ryuji grabbed her arm, making her drop the bag and pulling her closer towards him. His smile disappeared, and his eyes now flashed sheer anger and irritation.
"Why, you say?", he replied slowly and venomously. "Allow me to correct you; you should be asking yourself why you send that disgusting critter to her doom. This is the price you pay for being so fucking foolish over some damn animal!". Ryuji threw Midori to the floor, making her land with a thud. He then kneeled down and pulled her by the ear, enjoying hearing her wince by the sharp pain. "As for the answer to your other question, I received a call from the boss, stating that work was canceled due to technical difficulties with the computer systems. And here I thought I was going to have a good day for once, until your ass was to come home. But once I came up here to use the bathroom, I kept hearing some kind of yelping sound from your room. And surprise, surprise….". Ryuji pinched Midori's ear harder. She let out another moan.
"Trying to figure out where the hell that sound was coming from, I came in here and immediately heard it from the closet. That's when I found the little fucker", Ryuji continued, glaring more. Midori flinched, more shock coming to her. 'Did Yasashii really made that much noise? She must have felt lonelier since I couldn't take her to school. This is all my fault…', she thought. More tears started shedding from her eyes. Ryuji pinched even harder.
"Don't you dare start more of your crying bullshit! You know what this nasty ass cat did as soon as I opened the bag? She jumped at me! The god damned cat sprung at my shirt, holding on to me with those damn sharp paws of hers! And those eyes…god, I hate those damn eyes! She kept staring at me with those so called innocent eyes of hers. But she ain't innocent at all! She just wouldn't let go! She wouldn't let go of my shirt!".
Ryuji stopped and leaned closer to Midori's ear. "This was why I had to teach your kitty a lesson. And I thought it was best to return her where I first found her…so you can come home and see what mess you left for me to deal with". Midori continued shaking, his diabolical explanation replaying in her head. She couldn't believe all of this was happening. Every precious thing that came into her life has vanished. And now Yasashii was one of those precious things that she'll never have again. It was because of the memory of her mother's beautiful eyes that she felt a unique bond with the cat. Midori now felt as if her mother left her a second time. She lowered her head, despite Ryuji still holding on to her ear. He raised his eyebrow. "Heh, what's the matter? Got nothing else to say? Maybe this will teach ya not to bring anymore fucking animals in the house".
"How…could you…", Midori finally whispered, regaining her voice back from the shock.
"Huh?", Ryuji asked.
Midori slowly looked up at the man, her emerald eyes still filled with the sadness, only this time…with a sudden spark of encouraging outburst. "The fact that you spitefully ended Yasashii's life like this…how was you able to still eat and not look at the mirror, seeing who—or what—was staring back at you?". Ryuji released her ear, growing more irritated.
"What the hell are you trying to say?", he snapped.
The spark in Midori's eyes blazed more, transforming her entire grieving attitude into pure rage. "I'M SAYING YOU'RE A MONSTER!", she screamed. "How fucking dare you kill Yasashii! How dare you kill the one thing that would make me happy around here in this hellhole! First my parents… then Aunt Shino…and now you killed my poor kitten! You cold-hearted bastard of a man, you!". Ryuji's eyes widened at the new outburst from the new reaction coming from the young girl. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a bit surprised. Never had he seen Midori snap in such a way. But he immediately regained his own sadistic anger. This time he pulled her by the school collar, their noses almost touching.
"Don't. You. Ever call me that! You stupid, ungrateful, imprudent little bitch!", he yelled, raising his hand and smacked her. But Midori quickly looked back at him, those fearless angry eyes never leaving. She almost seemed listless. Ryuji started breathing harder, his hand stinging from the hardest slap he'd ever done to her. "Who-who the fuck do you think you are! Talking to me like that! I am you uncle, god damn it! You are to obey me and honor me! I gave you everything for these past five years! I gave you clothes, food, a shelter, schooling—"
"FUCK YOU!", Midori screamed. She finally did the one thing she wanted to do a long time ago; she spat at Ryuji's face, causing him to release her and get up on his feet. He covered his eyes, trying to wipe the saliva off.
"Agh! You bitch!", he yelled while adjusting his sight. Midori stood up as well in the middle of the room, watching him getting rid of the spit on his face.
"I'll tell you what you gave me…", she started. "You gave me nothing but five years of pure hell and misery! It was all Aunt Shino who gave me those things! After Mom and Dad, she was the one who replaced all that love and support! She was the one who welcomed me into this house with open arms. Not you, you miserably horrible mother fucker! And ever since Aunt Shino died last year, my life has been to the point where I almost want to kill myself because of you! And you don't even care, not even the slightest bit! I can't believe all the hell you put Aunt Shino through! She never deserved a man like you! You are nothing but a worthless, despicable excuse for a human as well as an uncle! Do you hear me?". Midori then stopped and took something out of her uniform pocket. The black voodoo doll was in her hands, ready for her to take action. "And now…you're finally gonna pay. This is for all the evil deed you've done to everybody. See ya in hell, 'Uncle Dearest' ".
Just then, Ryuji dangerously leaped at her like a wild animal, pinning her to the floor with him on top. His rough hands found their way to her small fragile neck, trying to tighten every wind pipe. Midori struggled furiously from his grasp, one hand over his fists while the other one holding onto the voodoo doll. She almost couldn't speak. "L-let…go!", she rasped out.
Ryuji's eyes blazed with pure evil and insanity. "I'll kill you…I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! ", he shrieked. "This is it! Say good bye, you pathetic little girl. Give a kiss to those whores who made my life hell for meeting ya, Yasashii and Shino! Hahahahahaha!". With that, Midori found whatever remaining strength in her to lift the doll in front of Ryuji's psychotic face. She managed to pull the scarlet thread from the doll's neck, and closed her eyes.
Then everything went silent.
Midori reopened her eyes and stood up, finding herself alone in the room and no one on top of her. She huffed and rubbed her neck to catch her breath. She looked around, seeing that Ryuji disappeared out of sight. She looked down at her hand and found that the voodoo doll had also disappeared. "The doll is gone…", she said. "Where…where did he go? Did it worked?". She got up and walked to the window, looking around outside. Nothing happened either.
She sat back down on the floor, cuddling her legs against her chest while staring back at the bag of her dead cat. Midori picked up Yasashii and hugged her, not caring about her severed corpse. "Oh Yasashii…". She found herself crying again. Only this time, it was out of some sort of happy realization that Ryuji was gone forever. "Is it really over? Is he gone for good?", she asked herself alone in the room.
"Your Grievance Shall Be Avenged…."
Ryuji opened his eyes and sat up, finding himself lying on the dark grass. He scratched his head and looked around, seeing that he was in the middle of an isolated forest. The sky showed that it was already sunset, making the woods become darker. Ryuji got up, not sure how he slipped into unconsciousness. "What the fuck?", he asked while looking around. "How the hell did I get here? Wasn't I in the house just now?—"
Before he could think of anything else, the cold wind swept in, bringing a creepier chill. The leaves of the trees rattled and danced, making whispering echoes around him. Glaring, Ryuji huffed and hugged himself from the cold air. "That bitch…just wait til I get my hands on her. Well, better start walking". As soon as he took a step, another unexpected surprise caught his eye as a familiar cat came out of the bushes. It was a cat that he knew very well—and thought he killed.
Yasashii, being the pure white and adorable lively kitten that she once was, looked up at Ryuji with that same friendly smile that she gave Midori when they first met. She sat on her hind legs and continued staring at him calmly.
"Meow", she squeaked.
Ryuji was shocked, backing away a little from the kitten. "Wha—what the fuck? I just killed you!", he said confusedly. "How the hell can you still be alive? I'd cut all four of your legs!". Yasashii, still in her composed manner, continued staring at him.
"Meow", she replied.
Growing more aggravated, Ryuji looked down on the ground and found a little rock next to him. He picked it up and aimed it at Yasashii. "I don't care how or why you're still alive, but you ain't gettin' back in my house! You hear me, you little fucker!". He then threw the rock at the kitten—only it flew right pass its small transparent body. Ryuji's dark eyes widened more, not believing how the rock went pass the cat. "No way…how…how the hell did you do that?". Once he blinked, Yasashii suddenly disappeared, leaving him alone in the woods.
Ryuji twirled around, not finding a trace of where the cat went. He started backing away some more. But something else made his legs stop moving. Ryuji looked down and true terror formed in his eyes. A dozen of animated sharp claws erupted from the earth, the dirty claws of felines. Ryuji fell back down on the ground as the claws pulled him harder into the earth. "No! Nooooo! S-somebody help me!", he shouted. He continued struggling for dear life, hoping someone would arrive in the forest and see him.
But he then stopped as he saw shapes of glowing red eyes on the tree branches, shining down at him everywhere. Ryuji felt his entire body, even his heart, tremble where he was stuck at. The glowing eyes glistened more brightly, narrowing at him venomously. Hissing echoes clouded around the woods. "N-no… this isn't real….GO AWAY!", Ryuji yelled. He then covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the mocking laughs of the cats' hissings and demonic eyes.
A few seconds later, Ryuji opened his eyes and saw that the forest returned to normal. He looked down and saw his legs free. Without hesitation, he forced his shaken legs to move and run. "I have to get the fuck out of here!". Ryuji kept running, not caring what direction he was taking. "There's gotta be a way that'll lead me out of this fucking woods!", he said. But while in the middle of running, large scratch marks on the tree trunks appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Ryuji stopped and looked at the three streak marks. He turned and looked around frantically. "H-hello! Anyone here! Sh-show yourself!", he cried.
But that was something he surely regretted saying.
The ground then shook like an earthquake, forming some kind of animated shape. Ryuji watched in terror as the shape from the earth formed into a vicious panther, its brown color from the dirt magically turning into pure black. But it was the demonic red eyes that delivered another shock into Ryuji's soul. The horrible man no longer felt his legs, not noticing how they were shaking again. He didn't even realize that he fell on his butt, only captivated by the deadly stare of the panther. The enormous feline growled hungrily with its narrowing glowing eyes.
Ryuji backed away until his back touched the tree trunk. Suddenly, the branches animatedly wrapped around Ryuji, tying him closer to the tree. Ryuji was truly heading to the point of insanity. "No…no…they're everywhere! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! STAY AWAY!". The panther approached closer, its lustful hunger growing stronger. Ryuji frantically struggled from the branches, closing his eyes and shaking his head wildly. "No! Don't! Don't do this! Stay away! Somebody! Somebody help me!", he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Ahh…so I take it that 'Uncle Dearest' has learned his lesson?", said another male voice. Ryuji opened his shaken eyes and looked around. He gasped when he saw the panther stop where it stood, but still glaring at him. He was relieved that the cat didn't come any closer.
"Who's there? Somebody get me the fuck out of here!", he cried.
"Honestly now, don't be so hasty of leaving", echoed an elder man's voice in the forest.
"Especially since you seem to have a 'puuurrrfect' time torturing other cats", added a sultry female voice. Ryuji looked around, completely confused.
"What-what the fuck do you mean?", he yelled. "Where is everybody? Get me the fuck out of here! Please!"
"And why should we?", asked the first male voice, finally revealing himself. Ryuji picked up where the voice came from, looking up over his head and seeing an enormous teal eyeball looking down at him on the tree trunk.
"Aaaaaagggghhh!", Ryuji shrieked, immediately backing away from the tree once the branches released him. "You-what the hell are you?"
"Don't act like you're the victim here, Ryuji Moeruhi", stated the woman behind him. Ryuji turned around and found the woman next to the frightening panther and petting it care freely, as if it was her own pet. Her outfit was that of a beautiful geisha, with her maturely curved body hidden underneath a light blue kimono, her big chest revealing a sexy cleavage, and her long raven hair pinned into an elegant bun. Ryuji stood up and stared at the woman and panther, but caught the elder man appearing next to him on his right. He looked like an innocent humble man, wearing an old fashioned brown kimono and brown hat. Ryuji didn't know what to do, whether to run away from the three mysterious strangers or pray that they help.
"I believe we all want to know if you learned how to treat your poor little niece much better, 'Uncle Ryuji' ", Wanyudo said, tilting his hat. Ryuji's eyes grew wide again. 'How the fuck do these people know about Midori and how I treat her? Do she know these people?', he thought. Ren, now in his teenage appearance from the tree, giggled behind Ryuji, making him jump.
"You seem surprised that we know what kind of man you are, though this is something we're good at every day", Ren smirked.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about…", Ryuji stuttered. "I-I've always did the best I could for Midori. She knows it! I'm her one and only family after all, and—"
"So treating her horribly and murdering her beloved pet is a way of showing your love as an uncle?", Hone asked, still petting the panther. "I'm sorry, but that's unacceptable". Ryuji grew more nervous.
"There's no hiding it, we know what's truly in your heart", Ren commented, leaning against a tree and folding his arms. "Dude, you're obviously a douchbag who treats others with such hatefulness. But when it comes down to it, you don't have the balls to stand up and face your own fears, now do you?" Ryuji began feeling more furious at Ren's words, almost clenching his teeth.
"And that poor child has struggled each day, trying to fight for your love and support. She's gone through so much. And all she really wanted was a pet that would make her happy in her unpleasant home. But you just couldn't be happier taking that away from her as well, couldn't you?", Hone said. That's when Ryuji clenched his teeth while lowering his head, balling his fist.
"Repent for all the horrible deeds you have done to that poor girl", Wanyudo suggested. "Repent for all the abuse and unhappiness you put her through".
"What I put her through?...", Ryuji asked slowly. "What I put her through, you say? You should be saying the exact opposite!", he yelled. "This ain't my damn fault, god damn it! I never even wanted Midori in the first place! It was because of my fucking wife that she lived with! I never asked for this! I never wanted this responsibility! I hate children! I hate that bitch for bringing the little brat into our home and adopting her! It's all Midori's fault! After everything I've done from last year, she turned out to be nothing but an ungrateful, stupid, miserable little bitch! IT'S ALL HER FAULT!". Ryuji huffed loudly after letting all his confessions out, the same insanity and hatefulness returning in his eyes.
Wanyudo, Ren, and Hone stood there in silence for a moment, comprehending the man's answer of redemption. That was no other choice. "Well. There you have it, Miss", Hone said, looking down at the composed panther.
Ryuji blinked once more, and found the three strangers vanished but him and the panther. They were the only two alone in the forest. Ryuji backed away again, sensing the panther's approaching attack. "No…no, wait! Come back! Don't leave me here!", he shouted in the wind. Before his very eyes, the panther transformed into a dangerously beautiful girl. Her raven hair flowed gently behind her back. She now wore a black kimono with moving colorful flower designs, the flowers of death. Her piercing crimson orbs shined radiantly at Ryuji, the same manner as the panther's. Ryuji soon realized the same thing, becoming more frightened of the petite young girl. "Wha-what the fuck…", his shaking voice trailed.
"Oh pitiful shadow, lost in the darkness", Ai chanted, her eyes never leaving her stare at the doomed man. "Bringing torment and pain to others. Oh damned soul wallowing in your sin….", She paused and lifted her right extended kimono sleeve. "Perhaps….it is time to die". As soon as she said that last sentence, she covered her face with the kimono and shaped back to the deadly devil panther. Ai let out a hideous growl, getting into position to leap at Ryuji. He felt that his heart was about to burst from inside of his chest.
"No….no….NOOOOO!". He turned around and started running. But his left foot ended up chopped off with a swipe of the panther's powerful paw. "Ohhh!", he fell on the floor, seeing his own blood pouring out from his body, flowing on the ground. Ryuji gripped his left leg, scooting himself on the ground to get away. Ai next chopped off the right foot with her gruesome fangs, taking it in her mouth and swallowed. She was now on top of him, her bloodied mouth dripping on his face. Ryuji's head shook constantly, losing consciousness from the amount of lost blood. "No, don't please….". Ai licked her mouth one last time, and then went in for the kill to take off his head. Ryuji closed his eyes. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Ryuji opened his eyes and found himself lying on a small boat. He sat up and looked around. He then saw Ai Enma rowing the small boat with her paddle, not bothering to look back at him. They were in the middle of a misty river, riding somewhere. He shook his head. "Was…was that all a dream?", he asked. He then looked back at Ai. "Oi…Oi! I need to get out of here! This is only a dream, right? So you can get me out of here!". Ai said nothing but continued rowing the boat. Ryuji grew aggravated, angry that he was being ignored.
"Oi! I know you hear me, you little brat bitch! Where the fuck do you think you taking me? I need to get back home and teach Midori a lesson! Oi—" Suddenly, a swam of black cats erupted from the water, climbing in the boat and jumping all over Ryuji. Their glowing red and yellow eyes glistened down at him, mocking him with their hissing laughs and painful scratches. "Oh god, nooooo! Make it stop! Make them stop staring at me! Please!"
Ai kept looking straight ahead. "This is vengeance. So I am to ferry you to hell". Nothing could hear Ryuji's horrifying cries except the eerie silence as the boat rowed him towards eternity of damnation.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"