Onihunter Yuna 2

60 An Eventful Evening (Present)

They were passing the entrance to a park, when they heard a shrill cry. Both stopped cramped on the spot. They looked at each other questioningly.

"What was that?" the young man wondered.

"A woman." Yuna released his hand and approached the park as she pricked her ears. "She's running. She flees from something."

"You can hear her?!" The blue-haired girl nodded and moved on. "I'll call the police immediately." Wataru pulled out his cell phone.

She stuck her nose in the air and sniffed. "No. It's an oni. I'll take care of it."

"You have no weapon. And you quit." He let his shoulders hang.

"I need its soul energy." She reached for a plank of the wooden fence that lined the park. With a strong jerk she tore the piece away. "I'll do it." She sprinted and vanished in the thicket within seconds.

"Yuna-chan!" He looked around helplessly, spotting other pedestrians approaching the park. Among other things, a policeman from the next Kōban. "Fuck." The singer followed his girlfriend into the park. "Yuna-chan!"

The frightened woman ran as fast as she could. On the way she had lost her shoes and now fled in her stockings. Some wild beast had attacked her, injuring her with its claws on her left forearm. She could smash her bag against the skull and then ran off screaming, but now it was hot on her heels. She didn't have the courage to look behind her, but ran headlong into the trees.

She heard a rustle from one side, then a dull thud, and a surprised squeak, before she ran into a young man and tore him to the ground.

"HELP ME!" she screamed as she rolled to one side.

"Calm down. Everything will be fine." Wataru peered in the direction the woman had come from, but he couldn't see his girlfriend anywhere.

"We have to get out of here! There's a wild animal or something!" The woman scrambled to her feet and looked around in fright.

"Relax. Everything is fine," the singer assured her as he rose from the ground.

The woman took a deep breath and yelled, "HELP!"

"Lady..." Placating, he raised his hands. "Calm down."

"Police! Lie down on the floor!"

Taking a few steps toward the officer, the woman shouted, "Thank goodness!"

Wataru also turned to the newcomer, who was accompanied by more people. "Good evening."

The policeman held his baton in his hand. "I said on the floor!"

The singer blinked in confusion. "Do you mean me?"

"Who else, you pervert?"

"Wait a minute... I didn't do anything. She ran into me."

"I said, on the floor!"

Lifting his hands, Wataru explained, "This woman ran into me. Damn, you've just seen me entering the park. I wanted to help." He looked to the rescued. "Tell him!"

"I was attacked by an animal," the woman said, nodding. "He didn't do anything."

"Thank you." The young man dropped his hands.

"Where is the animal?" the police officer asked.

"It was behind me before." The woman pointed in the direction from which she had come. "Somewhere over there."

"I call for reinforcement. Everybody leave the park." He lifted his radio to the mouth and said, "Unit three at headquarters. Do you hear me?"

"Central here. I said with strawberry flavor, Aki."