Onihunter Yuna 2

118 Unreal Discoveries (Present)

Pain. Incredible pain. And this pressure. A burning went through her whole body. Every cell screamed. She jerked and flailed. Her eyelids flickered until they were torn open. While gasping for breath, Yuna choked again, then turned to vomit a splash of water. She rolled over again. It was so cold. Her whole body trembled. With short breaths she sucked air into her lungs, whereupon her spirits slowly returned. Her phalanges cracked as they had become so cramped. Yuna forced herself to keep her eyes open. She lay on the shore of the pond. All the muscles in her throat screamed as she turned her head to the water. Still a huge ice floe floated on top.

How?

Between the fingers of her left hand she noticed a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded it and examined it. It must have been torn from a notebook because one side was frayed. The paper was white, but had fine red lines to write on. She turned the scraps of paper and read.

Stay away from Yukiko or your sister dies.

For a moment she looked at the characters. Who saved her? Where was Yukiko? Frantically, Yuna looked around, but she seemed to be all alone. Her head dropped to the ground again and she stared into the air.

What should I do?

When she felt strong enough, Yuna struggled off the ground and headed home. She was wet and dirty, but inexplicably she was still alive. First she moved towards the school, but then she changed her mind. In this look, she definitely didn't want to be seen.

Apart from a few oblique glances from other people, she returned to the pension without causing any excitement. At the entrance, she realized that she was apparently the only one present. Her dirty shoes, she dragged upstairs to the washroom. She made a brief stopover in her room to get some fresh clothes, then moved on. In the washroom, she stuffed her school uniform and shoes into the washing machine to clean them. Quickly she changed into her other clothes and went back to her room so she could collect her washing utensils for the badly needed bath.

My phone is still in the school. How should I let Yui and the others know that I'm fine?

A deep sigh escaped her. She could do nothing, so she went to the bathroom. There she enjoyed a long bath. When she then stomped back to her room, she met Nakamura-san, who just stepped out of the washroom.

"Good evening. Are you washing, Masuda-san?"

"Good evening. Yes." She nodded for confirmation.

"Do you have more laundry? I really wanted to wash now."

"No. Only the school uniform. You can wash after that." She walked past her bedroom door.

"You look tired, Masuda-san. Should I hang up your uniform when the machine is done? Then you can go to sleep."

So far, Yuna had never noticed that Nakamura-san was nice. Probably because they rarely had exchanged more than a greeting. "That would you do?"

"I used to wash my children's uniforms. It's been a few years, but I still remember how it works."

"Well... I can't turn down such an offer. Thank you." She bowed briefly and wished him a nice evening before retiring to her room. There she rolled out her futon and lay down.

Just come home, Yui.

She pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared at the ceiling.

"We need to talk."

When her oni didn't respond, she sighed deeply, closed her eyes and concentrated on the access to their soul world.