Avar rode ontop Danberu in his phoenix tiger form. They surveyed Ichi's rampage from above. Neither was quick to leap down to the cat's aid. Danberu had witnessed Ichi's magical power three times now. Certainly the son of someone as foul as Danzaburo. Going forward, Danberu would have to tread lightly.

Avar thought Ichi's behavior was strange. After talking to Danberu, Avar believed the bakeneko that kneeled before him would survive. And yet Ichi had run off. Avar made a mistake assuming that Ichi was Danberu's soldier. Going forward, Avar wanted to know more about this powerful opponent.

Avar's right eye under his eyepatch tingled in the wind. He took off the white eyepatch revealing a dull golden colored iris. It tracked Ichi's movements carefully. The landscape, the corpses and how they were cut, and a suspicious black stick entered his view.

"Memorized." Avar said under his breath.

He replaced the white eyepatch on his head, brushing it over one of his tall grey blue ears. The wind buffeted him as he looked toward Danberu's fortress in the distance. A smile covered his face. The sun began to set over the horizon, covering the land in burnt orange.

His first flight, and it was on the back of a Tanuki Lord. Avar thought it might easily be his last. Using himself as bait so that he could save as many bakeneko as possible was his idea. Avar looked down at Ichi slashing down cats to his heart's content.

That lust for battle excited him. Perhaps he'd ask for a match? A serious one, this time.

Before the sun set Danberu landed in the center of his fortress. Another strange human with a long dark blue dress and grey hair waited next to what appeared to be a massive black statue. Avar jumped off landing on two paws as Danberu changed back into tanuki form.

Fubuki walked up to Avar and bowed.

"Come with me."

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Despite her servile bow her tone was strict. Danberu backed off immediately, acting like he had better things to do. That maid looked like a lump of trouble to him. However, on the other hand, Avar-

"Alright."

Quietly accepted as his heart pounded in excitement. To anyone looking at Avar they would see a stern appearance and nothing more. Meanwhile, Avar couldn't wait for what was next. Fubuki lead him into the statue.

Danberu slunk off to the kitchens. He hoped that Avar would show himself tomorrow. He wouldn't be surprised if his entire force had abandoned the place and were now knee deep in bakeneko, fighting their hearts out, only to come home moaning about how many there were. This must be yet another cog in Ichi's master plan. Danberu sighed.

In the forest at the foot of Danberu's fortress night fell, shrouding the trees. Ichi slew another herd of bakeneko within minutes, but he could still smell more and more. The scrapes covering his body from the cats who managed to damage him with magic or bows cut through his clothes.

Despite his black energy shield, it wasn't as easy as he thought to maintain it against so many opponents. A strange white energy had appeared the more cats he killed, but instead of being able to control it, it interfered with his usage of the black energy.

He sat down hard on a tree stump he fashioned during the fight. Ichi pushed away a dead cat with a spear, giving himself some more space. The cats wore him down. Granted, Ichi had taken their lives. If they hadn't at least injured him this much it would be an insult to their memory. Ichi looked at their corpses, thinking that it was a shame they couldn't win.

The screams of "Monster! Monster!" and "The Demon has come! Shoot him! Shoot him!" damaged his spirit as well. He began to think of the bakeneko as more human the more he killed. Mostly because they weren't that much different.

But, they were spirits! That's what he told himself as he continued. Plus, he told Rikya he'd get it done. It was weighing on his mind, like they were married and he promised to take out the trash for her.

Ichi began to think this wasn't that great an idea after all. After all, isn't this mass murder? There had to be a better way. Ichi had skipped out on Avar and Danberu's conversation so he had no idea that there was a better way. During his rest, a group of enterprising cats ambushed him.

Arrows peppered into his back, meeting white energy covering his shirt head on. The arrows stayed glued to Ichi's back, unable to penetrate. Ichi swiveled around, completely unaware of what just happened to his back.

He rose with his sword and got back to work.