Onihunter Yuna 2

122 Hikari's Conflict (Present)

Minoru came up and over, whereupon the other two released her. He raised his hands in front of him and pushed her down.

"Ow!" she hissed and rubbed her butt. Then she jumped up, lifted her fist and slapped him. Immediately he howled loudly and held his nose.

"Stop it now, kids!" yelled a woman who hurried over. The boys jumped up and ran off, whereupon the blue-haired girl cried even louder.

The woman grabbed Hikari by her T-shirt, as she wanted to chase after the boys. "Hikari. Stop it now!"

"But Mom!"

"I said: stop!"

"They took her hair clip with them," the black-haired girl said, pointing to the crying girl.

"That's not your problem. You shouldn't fight. Violence is not a solution."

"Mama..." Blamed, Hikari kicked away a stone that was lying on the ground. She looked at the crying girl.

Her mother squatted next to the blue-haired girl. "It's all right. Don't cry."

"They have my hair clip!" the girl sobbed.

"It's all right. You will surely get another one." The mother looked at her daughter. "Give her yours, Hikari-chan."

The black-haired girl put her hands on her hair clip. "But... it's mine..."

"I'm sure she'll stop crying if you give her yours." The mother turned to the other girl. "Right?"

Winking away the tears, the blue-haired girl looked up. "But it's not Mama's."

"You can tell her that you traded it with a friend. She will certainly be pleased."

"All right," the girl agreed. Hikari pressed her lips together, but then she removed the clasp from her black hair and handed it to her mother.

"What's your name, little one?" she asked and took the hair clip from her child.

The girl looked at the hair clip, then up and said, "Yuna. Yuna Masuda."

"Very pleased, Yuna-chan. I am Ruriko Wada," the woman introduced herself, while she fastened the gem to the blue hair, "and this is my daughter Hikari." The girl raised her hand in greeting. "You can play together, and when the boys come back, you call for me to talk to them, okay?"

The two girls eyed each other suspiciously, but then Yuna nodded. "Okay."

"Very good." Ruriko pointed to a bench where another woman was sitting. "I'm over there if you need me." Then she got up and walked over.

Yuna looked at the other girl. "And what now?"

"Let's get your hair clip back. I know where Minoru lives."

"But..."

Abruptly Hikari cut her off. "You want it back, don't you?" The blue-haired girl nodded timidly. "See. Come along."

The girls walked through the neighborhood together. Hikari had often had trouble with Minoru and once she had followed him because she wanted to take some of his toys away. That's how she knew where he lived.

When they reached the garden gate of his house, Hikari raised her finger to her mouth. "Shh." Yuna nodded eagerly, then they sneaked inside. They could already hear the boys fighting together. The girl peered around the corner and discovered Minoru how he just romped around with one of the other two boys on the ground while the third boy was watching them.