Chapter 9: A Fork In The Road THATWARD HO: Baka the Bakeneko chapter 9 by JollyJoe

Bettie rolled in. Headlights beamed in the dark. Dry overgrowth scratched the undercarriage. 

 

The Trans Am made an unpleasant grinding sound. It was a shame, because Casey knew how well Bettie could hum if she was well taken care of. JJ really needed to get it to a shop ASAP.  

 

Casey killed the engine. She looked back towards Baka and JJ. The bakaneko purred, cradling the witch’s head, running long sharp fingers through his black hair.

 

“Master sleepy.” She said with one voice, “He sees the truth that cuts like a knife.” she said with another.

 

“Well he'll have to wake up when we do this….” Casey stepped out of the vehicle and popped the trunk. JJ’s altar. 

 

As one would expect, it was something of a mess. Everything was scattered on a wool blanket; covered in knife marks, cigarette burns, wax drippings. 

 

Some items were mostly universal. Anchors to the elements. Ritual tools and ingredients. The works.

 

Some items were more personal. Poker cards, chips, dice. Brass knuckles if things got messy. Miscellaneous munitions if they got messier. A lucha mask for shadow work.

 

Whether or not it was part of the ensemble, or simply something tossed aside, Casey didn't want to know what the unmentionables were for. 

 

She made sure everything needed was in order, then sprinkled ammonia around the altar.

 

“Finger, love, you're going to have to do something for me.”

 

The pixie zipped to Casey. She hovered in her leopard dress, ready to fulfill any request. Worried. Exhausted. But not as much as her creator. “I think he can survive the night, but he'll be dead by noon tomorrow. Baka won't let me near him, her eyes warn me away, she swats if I come close. And her threats… Casey, can we perform an exorcism?”

 

“There's no hurry, hon. And no, we're not doing an exorcism. Did you find the bones earlier?”

 

Finger hesitated. She wanted the spirit gone, or at least the bond severed. They did not find the bones, and she said so with her silence.

 

“That's alright.” Casey said. “Baka will know. Do you know what I want from you?”

 

Finger's wings buzzed sharply. Her voice was nervous and unsure. “You want me to give him my strength. He needs to be the one to correct their bond. We can't do it for him.”

 

Casey smirked. Dimples on her freckled face. “Smart girl. He's running on fumes. Your essence is his. Push some back, just enough to get him up and running.”

 

“What about Baka?”

 

A leaf was raised. The very same from the pot that got them here to begin with. “Such a precious thing. She's not hard to handle.”

 

****

 

Baka purred from the backseat. “Tiny toy stays away. Master is Baka’s baka. Baka keeps him warm. Safe.” 

 

Her glowing green eyes narrowed at Finger, promising violence if the homunculus hovered too close.

 

Finger swallowed hard. Her tiny body trembled. She inched closer despite the warning. Baka stared at her with equal aggression and curiosity. 

 

Casey dangled the leaf like a treat, waving it under the bakeneko's nose. Baka’s ears perked. Pupils widened as she leaned in, sniffing greedily. 

 

The distraction worked just long enough.

 

Finger landed lightly on the palm of JJ’s withered hand. His skin was old parchment. She pressed her palms to the gap where his middle finger used to be. 

 

She was made of earth, of water, of air. More than anything, like her master, she was fire. And when she made contact with JJ’s severed digit, they both burned.  

 

His eyelids twitched. Finger fell over, her life drained. She wasn't dead, but she felt close to it.

 

JJ stirred. He took a deep breath. There was a minor block. He opened his eyes to see the massive cleavage of two pale pillows. “Baka.” He muttered, voice like gravel. “Get off, get out.”

 

One scrawny hand tossed Finger aside, the other shoved weakly at the soft, heavy titflesh. It barely moved. Baka only purred louder. Vibrations rolled straight down into his gut, stirring something he was too fucking tired to deal with.

 

Door opened for them. Casey leaned in, freckled arms crossed. “Rise and shine, trashman.”

 

“That's my character. I'm the trash man.” JJ replied, dragging himself out. “M-O-O-N. That spells my life for you.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing. Nevermind. It was a joke. You don't get it.”

 

Baka crawled out on all fours, moonlight on her white fur and pale skin. Smug smile with a single fang. She stood, three meters tall.

 

JJ grabbed some makeup from the glove compartment. He smeared it around his eyes and on his lips. He reached inside his jacket and retrieved a cigarette. Light, inhale, cough. Blood and bile. Hit his hand.

 

Casey rubbed the bakaneko’s thigh. “Baka, sweety, where did it happen?” 

 

Ears flattened. Purring stopped. Replaced with a growl. “No.”

 

“No?”

 

“No. Baka says no.” 

 

Casey held Baka's tail and pet “What do you mean, Baka? What's wrong honey?”

 

JJ grunted. “I know where they are.”

He walked to an area of where the weeds were thin. He flicked ash and kicked up dirt. “Here. There's no bones, been way too long. But this is where it happened.”

 

Casey went to look for herself, handing off the collar and comb. “There’s a vial of your blood, but it won't work, it needs to be fresh.”

 

“Nuh-uh. Never trust a witch that wants something from you. That's one of the basic rules of brujeria, um….” 

 

He didn't remember who the ginger was. Was it a dude or a chick? He looked Casey over. Probably a chick. Flat. But feminine enough. 

 

“Never trust a witch that charges. Never trust a witch that brags. NEVER trust a witch that wants something of yours. Second statement of conduct. But as you know, I'm not a witch. You're going to be doing all the work. I'm just here to make sure you do it right.”

 

JJ inhaled his cigarette. He took a few steps so as not to stumble from a spell of nausea. “I'm going to pull Bettie up a bit. Want my altar a bit closer.” he sniffed. “Ammonia. You're not supposed to do that.”

 

“Every witch knows you organize your area and clean the altar with ammonia before any ritual.”

 

“No ma’am. Rules and rituals may vary for every individual. They only channel intent and belief. First statement of nature.” JJ quoted, not at all trying to prove his own intelligence. 

 

Casey rolled her eyes. The brujo's biggest fault was how liberally applied the code. All orthodox, no orthoprax. The code contained two contradicting sets that were taught as two halves to a greater whole.

 

He rolled the car further. Candles lit. Incense. Everything needed was set neatly for him. JJ grabbed them.

 

Tecpatl used to slice his palm. Vial of oil, salt and litter, mixed in his molcajete. A circle spread around the locus delecti. Runes carved inside. 

 

The air thickened. Fast. The circle flared in a sickly green. Baka was about to act out, her tail lashed and she let out a quiet “mrrowl”. Casey gave her another leaf. The cat mulched thoughtlessly. It would keep her distracted for the first half. 

 

But that was the easy part.

 

JJ took a deep swig of moonshine before chanting. His speech was slurred.

 

“Por mi sangre…”

 

He smeared blood across the comb, the bell charm, the collar.

 

The circle flared brighter. Baka’s ears perked up. She dropped her leaf. “No. Master. Please. Baka good wife.”

 

Was it fear or sorrow in her voice?

 

The bond between them tightened hard. Chains glowed around neck and wrist. 

 

Baka staggered, yanked by the binding. 

 

It shattered. Both subjects cried in pain. Baka’s voice carried something else. 

 

They were panting. But it wasn't over yet.

 

JJ continued. “Te destierro a la oscuridad….”

 

Casey looked concerned at the pained cat. She didn't know what the brujo was saying, but she didn't like his tone.

 

Half blood-curdling yowl and half blood-curdling shriek, Baka screamed in dual unison. Her corporeal form started to fade. 

 

“José Santana-Cortés! You stop that, this instance!”

 

But it was too late. Baka was gone.

 

The air was thick enough to chew. JJ knelt in the circle before Bettie's trunk, palm bleeding. His mohawk was limp soaked in sweat. His breathing was heavy, but already he’d regained his strength.

 

“JJ, what did you do?”

 

“What I needed to, to survive.”

 

Casey pulled the brujo to his feet and slapped him across the face. “Bring Baka back, now!” 

 

“She's gone. Weren't like she was supposed to exist at all. Ghost an’ all. Thems are abominations. Sides, figger it was only right to pay her back for what she did to me.”

 

“What? What did she do to deserve that fate? What did you do to her?”

 

“Relax. She's fine. I put her soul to rest. Resquiciat in pace, Baka. Good fucking riddance.”

 

But whatever the brujo intended, it wasn't what happened. Where Baka had once been, something else had taken her place.

 

And it was a little bit larger than three meters tall. A lot larger.

 

The ground trembled as the new form solidified. A vengeful mountain of fur and fury. Her body had ballooned into a true giantess, hips and ass so massive they could crush a small house. Breasts like a full moon each. Fluffy white paws the size of a small car. Claws unsheathed. 

 

White hair flowed, black smoke trailed. Eyes glowed with a new eldritch green. And their gaze was fierce. 

 

JJ studied the giant ass carefully. Two tails. Long, fluffy, with tips of spectral fire. This was no longer the playful housecat or the neglected housewife. Baka had evolved into a new creature entirely.

 

“Well, shit.” 

 

Dual voices boomed, one silky and possessive, the other a guttural yowl. “Master bad master.” She stepped forward, the earth cracked. “Master bad husband.” One massive paw slammed down inches from JJ and Casey. They fell on their rears. 

 

 

Baka's twin tails curled around each of their waists like burning ropes. It yanked them skyward. JJ's mohawk flopped upside down, blood dripped from his palm. Casey kicked and cursed, her freckles faded into her furiously red face. They were carried toward Baka’s dripping, furred sex. “Master bad master. Bad husband. Bad baka. Baka’s baka needs to be punished.”

 

Hanging upside down, JJ was laughing like a maniac.

 

“What the fuck is so funny, trash man?!” screamed Casey.

 

“This fucking garbage fire! The big fire, my life for you!” he said in a joyous delirium. 

 

“The fuck are you on about?!”

 

“No soy un faro de luz, pero puedes contar conmigo.”

 

“JJ, I don't speak Spanish!”

 

“I wasn't talking to you!” he cackled. “But place your bets baby, don't bet on me, don't bet on me!”

 

Great. JJ was going crazy. 

 

Baka tilted her head. “Master tried to throw Baka away!” she growled angrily. Her massive furred pussy glistened inches from their faces. The scent hit JJ low in the gut. Filth and loneliness. It was like smelling a mirror. His cocked twitched in his black bell bottoms. 

 

He laughed harder.

 

Casey screamed, “This isn’t funny, you degenerate! We're about to be used as human fucking sex toys!”

 

“It won't be the first time for me, won't hardly be the last.”

 

Baka thrust the brujo in. JJ landed face-first between her colossal thighs. His nose brushed her hot dripping folds. One paw pressed his back. 

 

Casey dangled beside him, yelling obscenities. Baka’s other tail flicked her up, rubbing the ginger against a massive nipple the size of a car door.

 

“Baka, baby, mmph! Baka! It's me, auntie Case–mmph!”

 

Baka pushed Casey in with a paw. Casey's face was inserted into the orifice. “Red-hair naughty. Red-hair help master betray Baka. Now red-hair help master satisfy Baka.”

 

JJ twisted. His blood-slick hand grabbed a fistful of fur. His other reached into his jacket and grabbed his najava. He jammed the blade into her sensitive inner wall and dragged it sideways. 

 

Baka yowled. The sound rang across the entire state of California. Her walls clenched so hard he thought his ribs would crack, but she bucked and shot him out in a slick flood. He hit the dirt rolling. He was soaked head to toe in ghostly cat cum.

 

Her free tail caught him across the chest, sending JJ flying into Bettie’s side. JJ slid down, smearing the door he hit.

 

He tasted it in his mouth. He spat what he could out, then grinned. “Vale. Bailemos.”

 

JJ got to his feet, then shrugged his jacket. The ground rumbled. 

 

“Ugh. Ain't no way.”

 

Hands burst from the ground. Dead hands, and lots of them. JJ ran to the altar. “Ain't buying it. Ain't any bodies buried round here.” He picked through the munitions and whistled. “Finger. Time to get up.” 

 

The pixie stirred. She pushed herself up, then fluttered to the trunk. She saw the dead rising. Then she saw Baka playing with Casey.

 

“JJ! Banishing a bakeneko requires a funeral!”

 

“There'll be a funeral enough for the lot of them. We need to get the collar and bell around Baka.” JJ was loading a Super 38. “And what's with the attitude? Look around, tell me this don't look fun.”

 

Both tails wrapped around his ankles. “Mierda!” His body was yanked back, his face slammed against the car. Then the dirt. He was yanked up in the air. “Yuuujuu!” he screamed, taking careless shots at the ground. A few stray bullets hit the rising dead. But they were nothing more than a byproduct of Baka's fury. They served her no purpose.

 

JJ was hanging upside down again, face to eye with Baka. His legs were spread. And they burned something terrible.

 

The giant nekomata’s dual tails tightened, His pants were on fire. The denim smoked. Baka brought him close to her maw. Her breath was a furnace.

 

“Master bad. Tried to send Baka away. Now Baka keeps master forever. Inside.” Two voices layered. Silk and steel. 

 

Baka threw Casey like a discarded toy. The ginger landed in a soft bush, gasping. 

 

JJ pointed the gun at Baka’s nose. “Ah-ah. Bad Baka.” He pulled the trigger. 

 

It was not a bullet, but a large water mist that shot from the barrel. Far larger than he could possibly manage with just his hand.

 

“MMMmrrreeOW!” Baka fell on her back, dropping JJ on her belly. The world shook. She covered her nose on mewled. The brujo ran up her naked body, and put the collar to her neck. It was way too small. 

 

“Finger, now!” JJ yelled, tossing the bell charm at a zipping light.

 

Finger caught the bell. She drew ribbon from the air and swiftly wrapped it around the charm and one of Baka's tails. 

 

“Por mi sangre, por tu nombre. Te ató, Baka!”

 

Baka thrashed, dual tails lashed. The ethereal chains re-forged, extending the collar around her neck. 

 

Baka’s yowl peaked into a shattering orgasm that lit up the field with fire and lightning that just as soon vanished, taking with it the souls from hell. 

 

Her massive body shuddered. 

 

Then, she shrank. To her normal three meters. Cradling JJ. He looked up at her with a smile. She returned it, purring. He felt fine. Fantastic actually. Entirely bruised, soaked in cum, and very aroused. 

 

JJ tilted his head to glimpse Baka's ass. Two tails. Fire out. For now.

 

She nuzzled his mohawk, kissing the top half of his face with her rough tongue. One tail curled around his waist, the other around his groin.

 

He whimpered in pain.

 

Casey approached carefully. As did Finger. The ginger spoke up.

“Well, on one hand, she won't drain him anymore. On the other, she's way more dangerous than before.”

 

She looked at the pained JJ and grinned. “Still the sub.”

 

He tried to protest, but the tail around his crack and balls tightened. The only thing that left his mouth was a weak squeak. 

 

Finger giggled. So did Baka. “He gets what he deserves.” Said the homonculus.

 

“Baka's baka.” Affirmed the newly-made nekomata. 

 

Casey sighed. “Well at least you share the power. With a familiar like her….or a familiar to her, either way, a nekomata will make you pretty damn powerful.”

 

She pinched JJ’s cheek as Baka was licking it. The cat looked up and growled. She pinched Baka's cheek too. “You too are adorable. I hope you know next time we see each other, you two will both be in big trouble.”