Episode 21: Yandere Stigmata

8:54 a.m., Pumpkin House— A steamy pot of miso soup lay boiling on the stove as Blair the Cat prepared breakfast. Humming a happy tune while she deep-fried some pork cutlets, Blair seemed as peppy as ever despite yesterday's events. But then again, her perky demeanor would often falter whenever she looked at her dear Okami's door…

Yesterday— after Kid was knocked out, her Okami was finally able to calm down and fall asleep. However, when she was carried back to the Pumpkin House, she woke up and immediately kicked the cat out of the bedroom and locked herself in.

Throughout the whole night, the cat waited patiently by her door. She constantly fought herself to endure the agonizing feeling of helplessness as she could hear strange noises and the sound of her crying Okami and yet be unable to do anything about it.

"Okami-sama," she sighed, "No! I shouldn't be thinking bad thoughts," she said to herself. As she carefully placed the pork cutlets on rice and poured some curry sauce, the mouthwatering aroma filled her senses.

"Nyah!" she squealed in delight. After her Okami got a taste of her delicious cooking, she was sure to go back to her happy self. She set them on a silver platter and hurried to her Okami.

"Pumpumkin-Pumkin," she chanted and this unlocked the door.

SLAM!

She kicked the door open and greeted, "Wake-y, wake-y, nya— Ara?" she stopped, surprised to find a cold room devoid of light. "Okami-sama?" she called out to the void, but there was no reply. So, she reached into the darkness until she was able to find the switch. After flipping it on, the light revealed nothing but carnage.

The beautiful queen-sized bed was turned over with the mattress all torn up. The mahogany armoire that kept her clothes was ruined with many of its precious contents plastered unto the window to keep the sun at bay. It was such a shame that even the vanity table which was bought just recently wasn't spared from the destruction as shards of the mirror were scattered on the floor.

Just to make things a bit more…odd, disturbing messages such as "I'M FILTHY, I'M SICK, MURDER, DEATH, and KILL," were written in blood all over the walls, the ceiling, the floor—just about every possible surface was stained with the beautiful color of life.

With that much blood lost, the cat couldn't help but fear for her owner's wellbeing. Since she wasn't here, the only place left unchecked was the bathroom. So, she set the silver platter aside and hurried to the door.

"Okami-sama!" she gasped upon seeing her. Blood was smeared on the floor and on the sink, indicating that she staggered to the bathtub.

She rushed to her side and found her soaking in her own blood. There were severe bruises on her arms and body. She was bleeding quite profusely as the outer layer of her skin had been peeled off. The bloody steel wool in her hand indicated that she tried cleaning herself to the bone.

It was very difficult for the cat to see such gore. She immediately took the steel wool from her hand to prevent her owner from causing further harm to herself.

"Okami-sama, you're hurt! We have to go to the hospital, nyah!" she tried to help her up whilst carefully trying to avoid touching her wounds. Unfortunately, the girl was in shock. She could not stand on her own feet and she ended up slipping back into the water.

So no matter how hard the cat tried to help her, she lacked neither the strength nor the stamina to fully support her owner. Alternatively, she tried calling Shibusen for help using the bathroom mirror. However, unbeknownst to her, ever since the witches appeared in the city, all incoming and outgoing mirror-calls have been blocked.

"Please snap out of it, nyah!" cried the cat, sensing the situation grow ever more dire with each passing moment. "Snap out of it, nyah!" she repeated, looking deep into her soulless yellow eyes trying to find some sign of her when… "He saw me," she muttered, surprising the cat.

"Okami-sama! You're alright!" she smiled, "I-It's me, nyah!"

But sadly, her hopes were soon dashed even further as Blair was still in a world of her own. It wasn't long before she began muttering the same words she had written in the bedroom.

"He saw me…my past… he knows how filthy I am…" Then, she began moving her hands in a scrubbing motion. "I have to clean myself…or else he'll—"

"Okami-sama, stop this!" The cat didn't understand what was going on, but she had to do something and fast.

SLAP!

The sound echoed throughout the room followed by an eerie silence. The cat stood, teary-eyed—her hand shaking after delivering such a blow to her beloved Okami. She couldn't believe what she had just done.

At the same time, Blair was awe struck. With eyes wide open, she looked upon her pet with utter disbelief. At this point, it wasn't clear whether she'd suddenly freak out and attack her in a maniacal rage or break down crying.

Then, with growing resolve and blatant disregard for common sense, the cat dared fate even further by trying to talk some sense into her unstable owner. "Snap out of it! Kid isn't worth it. He doesn't even love you, nya-"

"SHUT UP!" Blair lunged at her. It all happened so fast that even with her sharp reflexes, the cat realized it was too late only after feeling Blair's fingers wrapping themselves securely around her neck. She lost balance and they fell on the floor.

"YOU LIAR! KID LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME!" she shrieked, squeezing her throat.

The cat tried to kick, scream, and fight back all in a desperate bid to free herself. However, the supposedly injured Blair proved far too strong for her. Her vice-like grip could not be undone by any means.

So, it was only a matter of time before she stopped moving. The enraged image of her dear okami was the last thing she saw before everything went dark. Just as she was about to draw her last breath…

POOF!

In a surprising turn of events, she suddenly turned into her feline form. Blair was taken aback at first. In that instant, the cat wasted no time recovering and quickly ran for safety.

She slipped through the door and into the bedroom. Taking care not to step on the sharp debris, she jumped over the pieces of broken wood from the armoire and ran full speed towards the exit. Just as she was about to leave, she dared to look back and…

"GOTCHA!" Blair grabbed her by the tail and yanked her up. She hissed and spat angrily, lashing out before reverting back into her human form and falling squarely on her back. Blair immediately got on top of her and pinned her down.

"Okami-sama, stop this!" she pleaded one last time, but Blair would hear nothing of it. She choked her with one hand to shut her up whilst reaching for a weapon with the other. Unfortunately for the cat, shards from the broken mirror were the closest at hand.

"DIE!" she shrieked as she raised the shard of glass before bringing it down on her crying cat.