Onihunter Yuna

78 Panic & Pain

"Maybe the kiss somehow turned off your power.", conjectured the Oni.

"Then why does it hurt so much?" The blue-haired gritted her teeth in pain.

"Like I said, just because you don't feel the pain, doesn't mean that it's not there."

Tormented she stared at him. "Just help me!"

"I don't know how."

Yuna grabbed him by the shirt collar and shook him. "DO SOMETHING! Call your stupid friends, or whatever!"

The Oni took her hands and broke them away from his shirt. "I don't know what to do."

Sorrowful she shook her head, causing her braid to whip back and forth behind her body. "You always know what to do!"

"I'm not omniscient, Yuna."

She sobbed as she writhed again and groaned. "Please ... you're the only one who can help me! I'm begging you!"

"What do you expect from me? Should I perform a miracle?"

"Yes, damn it!" Furious, she beat her fists on the concrete floor.

"Okay. I'll try something."

He pulled the huntress up on her shoulder, swung out and slapped Yuna hard in the face. Her head moved to the side. Slowly she turned back at him and stared at her mentor with her mouth wide open.

"I'm sorry.", confessed Yoshiro with an uncomfortable grin. Yuna nodded speechless. "Better?"

She nodded on and sat down. Heavily breathing, she stared at the floor. With her left hand she wiped the tears from her face.

"Okay. The kiss has somehow short-circuited your power. At the beginning, you could only feel the positive feelings coming from the kiss. But then the negative ones pushed through, probably because they are much more numerous and intense at the moment."

Apathetic, she looked at the gray floor. "I don't understand."

"This is the pain of losing your family. The pain of your injuries. All the fear and loneliness."

"Then I'd rather feel nothing than that.", growled the girl.

Yoshiro rose. "I'll make you some tea."

The girl nodded absently. She wrapped her arms around her knees and stared around the room. Worried, Yoshiro looked at his protege. He had already guessed that the whole grief would be latent dormant somewhere inside of her. He only had no idea how he could bring it up, until now.

He came back with a mug of tea and put it next to Yuna on the floor. Then he sat down beside her.

"You know, I felt something similar.", he explained. She looked at him, but said nothing. "It hurts so much, when I think of your family. I miss them." The blue-haired nodded. "Maybe that's a good thing. We understand your power better and will be able to find out how you can control it."

"I don't want to control it. I don't want to feel pain.", wailed the blue-haired.

Yoshiro scratched his head. "Pain is part of life."

"Not to me. I felt almost nothing for the last couple weeks."

He sighed. "Yuna. The pain is there. It was simply suppressed."

"And it should remain that way." She took the steaming tea and drank it in one single gulp.

"Don't you think that your family deserves that the pain is felt?"

Warily, she glanced over at her "uncle". "What do you want to say?"

"Perhaps it's time that you prove enormous courage."

Yuna frowned. "Speak clearly to me."

"I want you to feel the pain. I think you hid long enough behind your power."

For a moment she thought about his words. "You want to see me suffer."

"No. I don't want that. To see you suffer will be cruel for me. But I believe that you can get rid of the pain that way. That it will allow you to process and overcome it."

She shook her head. "I can't do this."

"Of course you can."

Again, she looked at the floor and whispered: "I'm scared."

"I know. That's fine." The Oni stood up. He stretched his hand to the girl. She looked up at his eyes, which shone from warmth and care. "I'm here for you."

Hesitantly, she took his hand and got pulled up by him. He led her to his sofa and sat down. The huntress seated herself next to him.

"And now?", she asked.

"Come into my arms."

He spread his arms. Yuna remembered the moment with Wataru on the bridge and recoiled. He had looked almost exactly the same. Slowly she leaned against the Oni. Yoshiro closed his arms around her. He patted her shoulder.

"Relax.", he whispered. Yuna sniffed. "Search for peace and quiet inside you."

"That's so stupid.", sneered the girl.

"No, it's not."

She tried to relax. She pulled her legs up on the sofa, and snuggled closer to Yoshiro. On his shoulder she buried her face. He started to stroke her hair.

"It will be okay.", he soothed.

She nodded slowly. There was a throbbing pain in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she reached inside her mind for it. She immediately tensed up and began to tremble.

"Shh. It's all right. I'm here." He continued to stroke her. Yuna sobbed as the pain flowed into her body. Tears came to her eye and she swallowed hard. "I'm here for you." Yoshiro's voice trembled.

Then the dam broke. The tidal wave of pain choked Yuna completely. Her parents were dead. So were Mai and Ayu. Yui was in a coma. She had almost died a couple of times. For the first time she realized on an emotional level what had really happened to her. She was no longer human, but a hideous creature.

The knowledge let her tremble harder and she clung tightly to her "uncle". The blue-haired tried to pull herself together, but she finally lost the battle. Hot tears left her eye and were absorbed by Yoshiro's shirt. She shivered and began to cry.

"It's okay." The Oni also had tears in his eyes. It broke his heart to see her like this, but he was convinced that it was for her best.

The girl shuddered and clung more tightly to him. "Why?", she sobbed.

"I don't know, but it will be fine."

She cried on, while Yoshiro continued to stroke her cautiously and whispered soothing words to her. The blue-haired alternated between plaintive cries during which she beat on Yoshiro, soft sobbing to catch her breath, and heart-rending wail.

Silent tears ran down Yoshiro's cheeks, but he had to be strong. For both of them. For his friend Kensuke. For the only family he had ever had.

After some time Yuna fell asleep. She had literally cried herself to sleep. The Oni held her all night long in his arms.