Onihunter Yuna

07 Awakening

A rhythmic beep resounded in Yuna's ear. Blurry, she began to see. Dimly light illuminated the room sparse. She reached into her face and groped a thick bandage. The beeping went faster.

While gruesome memories haunted her tortured mind, she began to shake uncontrollably. The beeping became more intense. Finally, the machine at her side began to yell.

Within seconds the room lighted up. A nurse rushed in through the only door to Yuna's right.

"She's hyperventilating!", shouted the nurse and began to dig in a drawer next to the bed. Other nurses quickly entered the room to help subdue the girl. Hands clasped her and pressed her down on the mattress.

"NO! GO AWAY!!!", shouted the blue-haired panicked and tried to break free from the grips of the women. Her heart was racing, and she shook violently. She tried to fight, but the nurses could curb the high school student. "NO!"

The first nurse stuck a syringe into the access of the infusion system and pressed in the plunger. Once the drug took effect, the palpitations of the girl became slower again. Her resistance broke, and she sank back, exhausted. Her mind was sluggish and she fell asleep again.

Yuna woke up once more. Timid, she sat up. Disoriented, she looked around in the strange room. Her gaze stuck on the tube, which disappeared in the back of her hand.

She was in the hospital, but why? She tried to remember. The blue-haired felt that she shouldn't, but she had to understand what was going on here.

Strenuous, she searched her thoughts, when suddenly the terrible images crawled up from the farthest corners of her mind, to torture her again. The control of her body threatened to slowly slip away, while she was shaking strongly again.

The beeping went faster. The door opened and a nurse approached her quickly.

"Yuna-chan. Calm down." The nurse wanted to take Yuna's hand, but she twitched back tensely. Severely, the girl kept breathing. "Yuna-chan. You need to calm down. Concentrate on your breathing."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Try."

The beeping got a little slower, but accelerated again as Yuna stared at the fearsome machine.

Without hesitation, the nurse turned off the device and the nerve-racking beeping stopped.

"I'll help you. Inhale. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then breath out again." The nurse carefully stretched out her hand and patted Yuna's backhand.

The girl swallowed hard, then she held her breath.

"And now breathe out."

The air escaped from her lungs.

"Inhale ... and now exhale. You do that very well."

After a few controlled breaths, Yuna sank exhausted back into the pillow. She had regained control. For now. The evil thoughts were hiding somewhere in her mind, but for the moment she could calm down.

"Here." The nurse handed her a cup of water, which Yuna gratefully accepted, to drink it greedily at once. "Careful. Don't over do it, Yuna-chan."

"You know my name.", remarked the girl.

"Yes." The nurse took the cup from her and put it back on the nightstand.

"How?"

"From your medical record. Do you know where you are?"

The girl nodded. "In a hospital."

"Very good."

"Who are you?"

"I am sister Midori Omura." She hesitated a moment. "Can you remember anyth...?"

"I don't want to remember!", interrupted Yuna. Her eye was dilated from fear. The shadows crept closer again. "I don't want to remember ..."

"It's okay." The nurse stroked through Yuna's hair. "It's all right, okay?"

The blue-haired nodded gratefully.

"Try to rest, Yuna-chan."

"My eye ...?"

Worried, Midori looked at the girl. "You were lucky to survive the explosion."

"Explosion?"

The nurse shook her head. "I shouldn't talk to you about this. That is a matter for the police."

"There was no explosion. That was Tirr."

Pity crept into the eyes of the nurse. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "It's okay. Please, rest."

"It's not okay! He has murdered my family!", cried Yuna.

"Calm down, Yuna-chan."

"Stop telling me, that I should calm down!" Angrily, she pushed the woman's hand aside.

Soothing, sister Omura lifted her hands. "Okay."

Yuna's breathing had gotten a little faster again. Then she began to cry. "He has killed them in cold blood.", she sobbed.

Midori stepped closer to Yuna's bed, spread her arms around her and pulled her close. Slowly, she stroked the girl to comfort her. "You poor child."

Yuna buried her face in the embrace and let her tears flow. Her thoughts were hard to comprehend and just a gigantic mess. Her family was dead. Tirr had killed them all. Why did he spare her life?

Sometime later, the tears dried up and nurse Omura put Yuna gently back into her bed.

"Just what did you have to go through?", she asked, stroking Yuna again through the blue hair, before she left the room and let the girl sleep.

Yuna ran as fast as she could. Ventilation shafts whiz past on the right side of her, while she was running straight for the edge of the roof. With a great leap, she pushed away from the roof edge and sailed over the building gap to arrive on the next roof and ran on unrestrained.

She found her target in front of her and quickened her spurt even more. Another enormous jump brought her dangerously close to her prey.

With an animalistic shriek she flung herself on the other person and yanked her to the ground. She rolled on top of her and rammed her teeth into her throat. A strangled cry left the persons mouth, then she slumped back bleeding.

The high school student tossed restlessly in her bed. She kicked at the blanket, which was lying on top of her. Cold sweat gathered on her forehead. "No, not ..."

Everything was covered in blood. It spurted in all directions. Her whole face was smeared with blood. She fed more on her prey, only interrupted by suspicious glances to spy on her surroundings. She didn't want to share her prey.

The girl winced and gasped, while the nightmare tormented her. Suddenly, the blue-haired tore open her eye, heavily breathing. For a moment, she stared shivering at the ceiling. In the corner of her eye, she made out a silhouette. There was someone in her room.

"Hello, Yuna."