Onihunter Yuna 2

93 Shadows on the Horizon (Side Story)

"Will you come to the cafe, Marika-chan?" Etsu asked her friend. The high-school student was a bit taller and bigger built than Marika and also had the more feminine forms. Her light brown hair was worn by her as a bob, while her gray eyes hid behind a chunky pair of glasses.

"I can't. I have plans. Sorry, Etsu-chan." Marika bowed quickly.

"Lately, you've got a lot of plans. Did you confess your love to Fuwa-senpai and are you going on a date now?" The tall girl raised her eyebrow. "Without telling me?"

"What?! No!" exclaimed the other high-school student in horror. If she thought about it, she had thought very little about Fuwa-senpai in the past few days. Someone more interesting had come into her life.

"What are you doing all the time? Did you join a club recently?"

"No." Marika thought of Tirr, whereupon her cheeks glowed.

"No..." Etsu looked at her friend from top to bottom in astonishment. "No no no. It's a boy!" Embarrassed, the small one avoided her with her eyes. "Spit it out! Who is it?"

"Nobody!" The brown-haired noticed immediately that she had answered too fast.

"Do I know him?" A head shake. "Come on, tell me something about him."

"I can't," moaned Marika.

Critically considered the bigger girl her friend. "Why not?"

"I'm not allowed to."

The gray eyes widened. "He's older than you." Marika winced. "Much older!"

"No. That's not it."

Yukiko's daughter ran her hands through her hair. Tirr looked older than she did, but technically he was younger, somehow. And anyway, what was Etsu talking about? Tirr wasn't her boyfriend or anything. She had to admit she was raving for him, but her mother would never let it turn into something. The thought struck her heart.

But today, her mother came home from work late, so she could spend some time with him. They could watch Dr. Slump, or read some manga. Since their trip together, she hadn't dared to ask him to go out, but she had already noticed that he went on and off independently. Probably her mother had also realized that she couldn't permanently lock up the oni.

"I really have to go now," the smaller one squirmed.

"Typical. As soon as a girl has a boyfriend, she forgets about her friends," snorted Etsu.

"Etsu-chan. It's not like that." Marika was searching for words, but she could only think of Tirr. "Don't worry. I'll call you later." She turned on her heel, then hesitated. "Greet Me-san from me."

"I'm not going to the cafe alone. Fine, this way I can save my pocket money." Challenging lifted the bigger girl her right index finger. "I expect you to have something to tell me after, midget."

"Don't call me a midget," the girl said with her light brown eyes.

"Would you prefer toddler?" A sugary smile flashed towards Marika.

"I'll call you."

As soon as Marika left the campus, she started running. She couldn't wait to see Tirr. For three days they had only briefly met for dinner. She didn't know if her mother had noticed or not. Maybe she just wanted to make sure her orders were upheld.

Nevertheless. When they were home alone three days ago, they had watched TV together. Marika had sat down on the pillows next to Tirr and watched with him Dr. Slump. They barely exchanged words, but that was fine with her. She just wanted to be near him. Even if it was only for a few minutes.