Onihunter Yuna 2

58 A Dinner with Family Shimada 3 (Present)

Nervously, Wataru licked his lips. Granted, that's why she had originally caught his attention. When she had entered the living room and stared at him, he had at first thought that he was imagining Sakura. As he noticed the hair color, he realized that it was not an imagination. Still, the first shock had been enough to trigger something in him that eventually got him interested in Yuna.

And when he then assisted her with all her problems and got to know her better, he slowly fell for her. Probably their relationship had indeed been rushed, but he had hardly regretted it so far.

Yuna might be a demon hunter and a fighter, but she was also a girl, and sometimes someone like her needed someone to protect her. Wataru wanted to be that person for her.

"No. That's not why I fell in love with you, Yuna-chan," he answered truthfully.

"Why then?"

Smiling, he shrugged. "I don't know. Your likeness caught my interest in the beginning." He looked at the girl in the photo again. "But you are two completely different people. Although Sakura was condescending when she was upset, she was not nearly as fierce as you are." His dark brown eyes stared into her red eye. "She was actually a lovely girl. Not a fury like you." He grinned at her.

"You're such a goof." She poked him in the stomach with her right index finger. "Is there anything to drink here?"

"Sure." He took her by the hand and led his girlfriend down the stairs.

As they approached the kitchen, a male voice sounded from the room. "They have decided to move earlier."

"It's okay, Kano. The kids are all here. We can tell them tonight."

"I only worry about Kiri-chan. The boys will be alright."

Yuna squinted at her boyfriend, sensing how his hand tightened. He knocked on the door frame, whereupon the two adults in the kitchen turned to face them. "Hey, Dad," Wataru greeted his father.

"Hey, Wata. Good to see you, Son." The man was slightly taller than his wife, a little beefier, and had a graying, half-bald head. He came up to them. "My name's Kano Shimada," he introduced himself to the girl with a bow.

"I'm Yuna Masuda. Nice to meet you." She bowed slightly lower than he had, just as she had learned from Shinji.

"Nice to meet you, Yuna-chan." He looked at his son again. "How are you doing, Boy?"

"Okay. I guess." The singer shrugged. "Would be better, if I wouldn't have to work all day long to pay my rent."

"As soon as you pick up your studies again, I'll pay for your rent. You know that." Kano studied the blue-haired girl. "Are you sure you want to discuss this in front of your girl?"

"I don't keep secrets from her," Wataru said. "Though... could we speak Japanese, please? She's not that fluent in English."

The father tilted his head. "How can she get better when you don't teach her?"

"Dad, please."

"Okay." Kano turned to Yuna. "My boy wants you to understand everything. You must be important to him." He bowed to the high-school student. "Maybe you can persuade him to resume his studies. I don't care if he's studying music as long as he's graduating."

"Dad, leave her out," Wataru growled.

"Um..." She squinted at her boyfriend, helplessly. "I think he knows what he's doing."