Onihunter Yuna 2

12 First Contact (Present)

Kenji Tanaka stopped the motorcycle in front of the abandoned amusement park. He turned off the engine, put up the side stand, and took off his helmet. His gaze wandered over the entrance gate, or what was left of it. Had it been damaged for some time?

He dismounted his machine and stepped over, then he carefully inspected the gate. Apparently, it had been broken since the metal rod was destroyed and the ground was strewn with metal pieces. He also noticed that the whole ground was wet, although it hadn't rained for days. Thoughtfully, he frowned and stepped through the hole. The metal splinters crunched under the soles of his biker boots.

"What the hell has happened here?"

He once oversaw the whole scene in his field of vision. He discovered the former park, which was overgrown by the vegetation. Some branches were shattered on the ground, presumably as a result of the century's storm, which had raged on the day of Tirr's death.

The Oni sucked the air into his nose. He could smell some beasts. He opened his leather jacket and pulled out a machine gun. With one click, he turned the safety. Better safe than sorry.

Carefully, he followed the sidewalk and took in all the information of the environment. As he approached a group of trees, he discovered a strangely shimmering coating on a tree trunk. He stepped closer and sniffled on it. Subsequently, he put his unclothed hand on it to confirm his suspicion. Indeed, it was ice. He drew back his hand and wrinkled his nose. How was that possible in the middle of summer?

"Well ..."

He was a Pyromant, and had often to deal with Oni, who commanded the other elements. Obviously, it was an Ice-Oni. But who was it? He knew Kiyoshi Sasabuchi, who had fought with Tirr at the Oni assembly. But he couldn't imagine what Kiyoshi would be looking for at this place.

Perhaps another beast had become humanoid and wandered lost through the park. Possibly he could recruit a new member for the community. It would be the first time for him, since he usually didn't bother about hunting. Kenji preferred to enjoy his life by following his job as a doorman, getting drunk in the Pitstop and getting pretty women laid.

"Well ... I wanted to be the sheriff. Now I have to shoulder the responsibility."

He marched from the tree group further into the center of the park, where he actually found more signs of fighting. Smashed ice blocks lay around and slowly melted in the warmth of the night. There was a trace, which he could easily follow.

On his way, he passed a signboard for the fairy-tale castle. Yuna had mentioned in her report that Tirr used this building as his shelter, but it was partially destroyed during their fight. Now he would probably have an opportunity to look at the place, something he had planned to do, but hadn't yet found the time to get it done.

He strolled comfortably on with his drawn machine gun.

The path led to a tree-lined avenue that marked the way to the castle. He peered at the castle gates and could make out more ice blocks there. Outside the gates stood a person with long, blue hair, who apparently looked at the building. Was that Yuna?

"Hey, Yuna-chan!" Kenji shouted in surprise and walked a bit faster. After her dismissive attitude before, he had really not expected that he would see her so quickly. Obviously, it was not as easy for her to stop hunting as she had said.