Onihunter Yuna 2

98 The Assassination (Side Story)

"Tirr-kun. Marika-chan. Good evening." He stepped closer. "You two did a good job. The hunters have withdrawn."

Marika beamed all over her face. "We did it, Tirr-san."

"What now?" Tirr asked.

"Now we have to wait. If the oni realize that they are safe, they will eventually ask questions. Then I will tell them that you two have saved us from the hunters." His eyes slid through the cave, over the mattress, to the garbage heap and the manga books. "I'm certain you can come back then."

"That would be great, wouldn't it, Marika-chan?" Tirr looked around but couldn't see her. "Marika-chan?"

"Everything all right?" Kuro-sama tilted his black skull.

Confused, the giant searched the cave. "Marika-chan? Where are you?"

"I'm all right. I'm just exhausted," she whispered in his ear. "Yes... that's good news. I'm happy for you."

"For us," he corrected her.

"Yes... for us..."

"I'll go back then. I just wanted to let you know that you can stop hunting. I will contact you again if there is any news. The oni community owes you thanks."

"Thank you, Kuro-sama," Tirr replied and bowed his head. The leader smiled and left the cave. "Do you want to read manga, Marika-chan?" The giant waited for a moment. "Marika-chan?" He put another Takoyaki in his mouth. So this was the favorite meal of his lover. "What do you like about Takoyaki so much?" he asked before eating the next one. "Marika-chan?"

She had said that she was tired. Maybe she was sleeping? He wondered if a soul needed sleep at all.

Tirr dropped everything and left his cave. Suddenly something shot at him, which he swiftly dodged. On the wall behind him, the projectile shattered and ice shards swirled in all directions. He glanced at the pile of ice, when he heard another hissing sound. Tirr whirled around and smashed another projectile with his fist. He scented her.

"Yukiko-san!" he exclaimed into the forest.

She jumped down from a tree. Shortly before the ground she shot off a beam of ice, which created a small ramp on which she could slide down. She came to a halt on the forest floor, staring hatefully at him. "Tirr."

"What do you want here?" Forgetting the attacks he had just overcome, he approached her. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine once I killed you," she hissed angrily. Her whole body wrapped itself in a thick ice layer.

"What? But... wait." He raised his hands. "You can talk to her. Marika-chan, your mother is here."

Yukiko's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Marika-chan speaks to me. I can see her. She's with me." He looked around confused, as if looking for someone. "Marika-chan! Come on! Your mother is here." He squinted over to the ice oni.

"You are completely out of your mind. I should have killed you immediately." An ice lance appeared in her hand. "Well... a belated insight." With the raised lance she rushed toward the oni.

"Wait!" Tirr pushed himself off the ground and hurled himself meter by meter through the forest, before he landed in another place. "You have to believe me! Surely you can talk to your prisoners too."

She gritted her teeth. "I've never heard of that." She raised her lance again. "I will kill you. I don't care about anything else."

Angrily, Tirr snorted. "You will not separate us. Nobody will separate us!"

"On the contrary. I will kill you and take away her soul. She belongs to me. She's my child." She ran to him.

"I don't want to hurt you, Yukiko-san. Marika wouldn't want that."

"She didn't want to die either!" She rammed the tip of her lance into his chest, but it splintered into thousands of ice fragments on impact. Wide-eyed, the blue-haired woman stumbled against her adversary, who caught her. Panicking, she looked up at him.

"I really don't want to hurt you, Yukiko-san. It was an accident. I wanted to save her," Tirr explained.

"You killed her!" From her body shot several ice thorns that shattered on his body. "Just die, you freak!"

The oni hunched his shoulders. "I can't die. I want to be with her. Forever."

"You're insane!" Ice claws formed around Yukiko's hands. Wild-become she hit on the other oni, who didn't defend himself. Instead, he simply stared at her. "Just die," she wailed as the intensity of her blows subsided.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Tirr whispered.

Sobbing, the blue-haired woman dropped to her knees before him. "Why can't I kill you?" Small icicles formed under her eyes. "Why can't I avenge her death?"

The tall oni dropped to his knees beside her. "I would give my life immediately if she could return for it." For a moment, they looked at each other. "Marika-chan, now talk to us. Your mother is here."

"Stop that." The ice oni stared at him. "Stop pretending to talk to her!"

"Maybe that's my power."

"No! Just stop!"

Tirr rose again. "I can talk to her. I swear to you."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Angrily, she shot an ice blast at Tirr, who was thrown off.

Yowling, he rolled across the floor and held his left side. His eyes twitched with pain. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" he yelled as he looked at his frozen body side. "That hurts so much!" Groaning, he rolled around.

"So I can kill you after all." Filled with a new will to fight, Yukiko scrambled to her feet. She pointed her hand at her opponent and fired another shot of ice.

"Stop it!" The oni pushed off the ground and jumped to avoid the attack.

"I'll kill you!" More ice blasts followed, but Tirr dodged again and again. He sought cover behind a tree.

"Marika-chan, talk to me. Your mother wants to kill me. She wants to separate us. Say something," he babbled as the forest around him froze to death. "Marika-chan!"

"STOP SAYING HER NAME!" Yukiko roared. She ran to Tirr's flank and fired a shot of ice at him, but he escaped the attack again.

"Marika-chan. I... I have to kill her. She will not stop. Forgive me, please." He whirled around and kicked the tree between him and her. The wood creaked a bit, so he kicked again. "Too weak. I can't break the tree." He heard her footsteps crunching on the icy ground as she approached. Hastily he looked around.