Onihunter Yuna 2

32 The Cremation (Past)

They followed the corridors to the crematorium, where the men put the coffin on a steel stretcher. Yuna stopped and watched them. To her left was Haruka, who was flanked by Shinji, while Chigusa-san stood right of the high-school girl.

One man opened the head of the coffin, straightened Yoshior's hair, and placed his gloved hand on his forehead. Then he seemed to mutter something to himself, but neither his colleague nor Shinji appeared to take action and just waited.

Yuna stared at the scene, but didn't dare to say anything.

Kazuki smirked. "Interesting people you have working for you, Shiba-san." The oni squinted briefly, but said nothing.

The other man looked at his boss, who nodded. He pressed a button, which pushed the stretcher with Yoshiro's corpse into the oven. Those present watched without a comment.

Haruka lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. Shinji looked timidly at her. Carefully he put his right hand on her left shoulder and looked at her further. With her left hand she took his hand while she looked at him. Her eyes moistened, so that a single tear was squeezed out the next blink.

Yuna had been keeping an eye on her, but she turned back and stared at the fire. The coffin had disappeared and was swallowed up by a sea of ​​flames. For a moment, she remembered how she had been roasted by Kenji. Every hair on her body stood up.

Kazuki sighed. "Farewell, my friend." The others looked at him.

"Until then, Uncle," murmured the high-school girl. The two oni looked at each other, but remained silent.

"How about a bite? I don't really want to be around here for two hours," Kazuki admitted.

The mayoress glanced at him, shaking her head. "You are unbelievable, Chigusa-san."

The man in the suit grinned. "Well, listen, Narusegawa-sama, I'm here at my own expense."

"Put it on the tab of the heirs," the oni replied.

"Oh no. That was not what my client wanted when he had written his will." Kazuki looked at Yuna. "He wanted you and your sister to get everything." The girl looked at him, then nodded expressionless. "You have no idea what amount it is, right?"

"No."

"Must it be now, Chigusa-san? Don't desecrate this ceremony," growled Shinji, who stepped forward.

"Yoshiro hated wasting. Do you really think he had wanted such a costly ceremony?"

The two men glared at each other. For the first time, Yuna saw that Shinji was not polite. Apparently, he was very much concerned with the correct course of this event.

"Shinji-kun, please," Haruka interjected, while she again took out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

Yuna wondered about that behavior. Why did she act like this? Why was she crying all the time? Did she really like Yoshiro so much?

The undertaker cleared his throat. "Chigusa-san. Would you please excuse us?" Kazuki glanced at Haruka, who nodded, then left the room.

"What's the matter, Shinji-kun?" asked the mayoress as soon as the human was gone.

"You should be ashamed, Masuda-san," he hissed. Irritated Yuna opened her eye and looked at him speechless. "I don't know why you hate Haruka so much, but to think that she didn't care about Yoshiro is a bottomless impertinence!"

The oni raised her hands and turned to the undertaker. "Shinji-kun."

He stared at Haruka for a moment. "No." He looked again at Yuna. "You just don't understand it, Masuda-san. You are not one of us." He spoke louder as he raged on. "You hate us oni just because you've had a bad experience." The girl shrank down and tried to make herself smaller while her cheeks glowed hot. Stunned, she stared at the oni.