The Game Field was eerily silent when they arrived.
Kuroka's nose twitched the moment they crossed the ruined boundary — ears flicking in agitation as the lingering traces of broken magic and scorched earth flooded her senses.
Vali Lucifer lay sprawled across the cracked stone, unconscious, silver hair fanned around him like a halo tarnished by battle. His breathing was steady, but his aura flickered weakly — bruised, battered, but alive.
His team froze.
Arthur immediately knelt beside him, checking his pulse with clinical efficiency, eyes narrowing.
Bikou cursed under his breath, gripping his staff tighter.
Le Fay bit her lip, clearly torn between tears and frustration.
"How the hell did this happen…?" Bikou growled, glancing around like he expected the perpetrator to leap out from the shadows.
But Kuroka…
Kuroka didn't rush to Vali's side like the others.
No.
She stopped short — her entire body stiffening, her pupils dilating.
Because the moment they got close enough—
She smelled it.
Something delightful.
No—divine.
A scent so rich, so intoxicating, that it punched through every rational thought she had. It wasn't Vali himself — not entirely — but something woven into his energy, clinging to him like a lover's kiss.
A scent that stirred instincts she hadn't felt in her entire life.
Something primal.
Something absolute.
Something that screamed:
Mate.
Her tails twitched wildly, her claws flexing in and out as her body reacted before her mind caught up.
She needed to find the source.
Needed to see them.
Needed to—
Her head snapped toward the ground near Vali, her sharp gaze catching the faintest glimmer.
A single strand of hair.
Silver.
But not Vali's silver.
No, this shimmered slightly — kissed by faint hues of violet and green under the light.
Kuroka dropped into a crouch immediately, ignoring the frantic conversation the others were having behind her.
Sniff.
Soft.
Warm.
Powerful.
Hers.
Bikou noticed her sudden shift and frowned.
"Oi, Kuroka, where the hell are you going? We need to get Vali outta—"
She didn't even glance back.
She tucked the hair carefully into her sleeve, a slow, wicked smile spreading across her lips.
Her pupils thinned into vertical slits of pure, mischievous hunger.
It was time to hunt.
The others shouted after her, but she didn't care.
Let them take Vali.
Let them worry about the aftermath.
She had more important things to do.
Something more precious than loyalty or duty.
Something that sang in her blood.
The trail was fresh.
She darted off into the middle of the ruined Game Field following the fading but unmistakable trail of that scent — that power — with a hunter's grace.
Every beat of her heart whispered it louder:
Mine. Mine. Mine.
The traces of massive magic still stained the ground like old battle scars.
There, hovering in the fading energy, she caught it—the last portal Hespera had made.
Kuroka's eyes gleamed.
Jackpot.
She crouched low, ears twitching as she sniffed delicately around the residual ripples of dimensional magic. She extended her hand, shaping a tiny portal-undoing spell, something simple any decent magic user could do—
And—
Nothing.
The portal signature flickered mockingly at her fingers and refused to yield.
It was sealed beyond her reach.
Kuroka scowled, baring her sharp canines.
A low, frustrated growl rumbled in her throat.
Tch. Some weird damn portal magic. Not normal.
She stomped one foot lightly, tails bristling in irritation.
Fine.
If she couldn't reopen the portal, she would just sniff out the long way.
~☆~
She followed the thread through the streets of Kuoh, her keen senses leading her through alleyways, across rooftops, through quiet parks and abandoned crossroads, piecing together the faint echoes of where Hespera had been.
Her paws finally padded across the ancient, weathered stone of the outer boundary — and there it was.
A mansion.
Elegant. Looming. Vast.
The Eveningstar Estate.
Nestled just beyond Kuoh's formal boundaries, hidden in plain sight to all but those who knew how to feel for it.
Kuroka slowed.
She felt it instantly — the mansion's core.
An old, slumbering consciousness, like a massive, unseen eye cracking open to glance at her.
It sensed her presence.
It considered.
And then…
It did nothing.
No alarms.
No defensive barriers.
No magical retaliation.
For reasons Kuroka couldn't guess, the estate allowed her to pass. (Why? That was a mystery for another time — one that would shock and embarrass Kuroka when she finds out.)
A slow, predatory grin curled across her lips.
How generous~
---
Inside, the mansion was breathtaking.
Gothic arches. Soft, flickering starlight caught in massive crystal chandeliers.
Rich carpets that seemed to hum with residual dimensional magic under her bare feet.
But Kuroka wasn't here to admire the decor.
She was hunting.
Her nose twitched, leading her deeper into the heart of the estate.
Up wide, grand staircases.
Down long, vaulted corridors.
Until—
There.
Hespera's scent.
Thick. Recent. Perfect.
She followed it into a large, regal bedroom — walls draped in velvet and silver threads, a massive bed carved from dark wood and dressed in impossibly soft linens of dusky blue and twilight gold.
Kuroka froze for a moment at the threshold, heart pounding.
And then—
She pounced.
Without hesitation, Kuroka leapt onto the bed with a graceful spring, her twin tails flicking joyfully.
She rolled.
She stretched.
She dug her claws lightly into the covers (careful not to tear — she wasn't a savage, after all).
She marked everything.
The pillows.
The headboard.
The blankets.
The faintly-scented clothes folded neatly on a nearby chair.
She rubbed her cheeks, shoulders, and tails against the fabrics, saturating the place with her own natural, territorial scent.
By the time she was done, the room practically purred with her signature.
Satisfied — for now — she hopped down, smoothing her hair back into place with a pleased hum.
Now she'll have no choice but to notice me~
Scent trailing strong now, Kuroka padded lightly through the mansion's long corridors until she found herself in a grand, elegant dining hall.
The long table gleamed under soft lighting, polished and spotless — but it wasn't the furniture that caught her attention.
No.
It was the scent of another portal.
Lingering just faintly in the air, coiling like mist.
Her ears twitched, and she grinned wider, golden eyes gleaming.
She was close.
Found you again, nya~.
The portal residue shimmered faintly near the dining hall, like the last breath of a song almost forgotten.
Kuroka didn't hesitate.
Didn't think.
Didn't care.
The moment she inhaled and felt the scent—so close, so real—her heart practically exploded with excitement.
Found her, found her, found her!
Tails whipping wildly, Kuroka sprinted.
She tore through the portal rip and into the Gremory estate like a comet, leaving startled maids, guards, and even a few stunned members of the Gremory family blinking in her wake.
Grayfia barely had time to flinch as a black blur shot past her.
Sirzechs opened his mouth to shout—
but by the time he gathered a coherent thought, Kuroka was already gone, leaving only a puff of disturbed air and a faint, delighted nyan~! echoing behind her.
"...Was that a cat?" Zeoticus asked blankly, blinking at the suddenly swirling papers knocked off the table.
"She's going to regret that," muttered Ophis, sipping her tea again without even glancing up.
---
Kuroka followed the scent like a guided missile, her body weaving through grand halls, marble columns, and enchanted doorways until—
BAM.
She shoved through a massive ornate door—
—and skidded to a halt on smooth stone.
Her sharp pupils dilated as she took in the scene:
A massive bathing pool, steaming gently beneath a glass dome ceiling painted with constellations.
Silver and gold mist curled lazily across the water's surface.
And there—half-submerged in the glimmering pool, surrounded by floating lotus blossoms and shimmering light—
Was Hespera.
Her long hair floated around her like a halo, tendrils drifting across the surface.
Her skin gleamed under the floating candles, droplets clinging to her curves in a way that would have felled armies if they dared look too long.
Hespera had her arms stretched back along the edge of the pool, her eyes half-lidded in rare relaxation.
She hadn't even noticed the wild nekomata crashing into her orbit yet.
Until she did.
Kuroka howled with delight, practically vibrating from the sheer joy of being this close to the source of her obsession.
With a single, unerring leap, she tackled Hespera into the water with a splash that shook the whole room.
"Nyaaa~! Found you!" Kuroka practically sang, purring so loudly it echoed off the crystal walls.
Hespera blinked, stunned as the soaking wet nekomata clung to her naked, glistening body like an oversized, overexcited kitten.
Kuroka wrapped her arms and legs around her, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Hespera's throat and collarbone, her tail curling around Hespera's thigh like it belonged there.
She purred.
She vibrated.
She all but melted against her, absolutely shameless.
Hespera looked down at the black-haired cat girl now aggressively cuddling her with what could only be described as divine resignation.
A low, amused chuckle slipped from her lips.
She leaned back a little, one hand casually brushing Kuroka's damp hair back from her forehead, examining her like one might a particularly adorable and unexpected gift.
And with a soft, playful smile, she murmured:
"Oh my~ I think I caught a kitty."
---
At the doorway, peeking in, Grayfia, Sirzechs, and half the staff stood frozen in absolute horror and confusion.
"...Should we... do something?" whispered a young maid.
Sirzechs, face blank and shell-shocked, slowly shook his head.
"No," Grayfia said grimly, pulling him away by the sleeve.
"No one interrupts her bath. Not even the Primordials."
The door gently swung shut again, locking with a soft but very final click.
---
Back inside, Kuroka finally lifted her head, emerald eyes wide and adoring, cheeks flushed.
"Mine~" she whispered happily, rubbing her head against Hespera's bare shoulder with relentless, possessive glee.
Hespera laughed softly — a low, velvet sound — and tilted the nekomata's chin up with one wet fingertip.
"Oh, little kitten…" "You have no idea what you just did."
Her smile sharpened.
Predatory.
Wicked.
Absolutely delighted.
~☆~☆~×
For those who were curious about why Hespera didn't just kill Zeus, well that would be too easy. Instant gratification is not really her thing, you know. Expect a long gruesome suffering for Zeus. Azazel but suffering 10X 🤭