Yuna winced, pulled up and stared at a ... her eye widened in terror. A monster was in her room! Hastily she looked after the patients bell to get help. Panicked, she pressed the button over and over, while she didn't let the monster out of her sight. It sat there relaxed on a chair opposite of her and looked at her.
"I turned off the bell and disconnected all the instruments from you. Your reaction confirms my guess."
The voice sounded familiar to her, but not this face. Pointy teeth lined up in the mouth and glowing red eyes looked at her. Two small horns protruded from its forehead, like a goat. Wild tousled hair covered the entire head. The skin was yellowish and leathery. The monster was wearing ordinary clothes.
"You killed one of the beasts, right?"
She remembered that she lay on her back in the garden. A beast was on top of her, tried to bite her and ... indeed, it was impaled on the sword that Yuna held strenuously.
"Yes.", said Yuna.
"Oh my god ..."
"Who are you?"
"Come on, monster. Do I look that strange?"
"Yoshiro-san?!" The monster rose from the chair and took a step closer. "Stay where you are!", shouted Yuna agitated.
"Really?"
"How should I know that you're not lying?"
"Your father was Kensuke Masuda. Your mother was named Kaori. You had three sisters: Yui, Mai and Ayu. Your birthday is the 9th of October."
"That's not enough!"
He sighed. "Really? Well ... last year to your 15th birthday, we conducted a tea ceremony. You were complaining the whole time how boring it was. Is that enough?"
Yuna looked at "Yoshiro" open-mouthed. As she stared at him, his features slowly turned human. It was really Yoshiro.
"That's a trick!"
"It's your trick.", said Yoshiro.
"My trick?!"
"It's hard to explain. And this is the wrong place for it. Your house was blown up. For the authorities is a broken gas line responsible. Case closed."
"That's not true!"
"I know."
"What's going on here? Why ... why do you look so strange?"
"As I said: This is the wrong place. In short, when you had killed the beast, you were transformed ..."
"TRANSFORMED?!"
"... Let me finish, please. We have little time."
Yuna nodded.
"First ..." Yoshiro came over to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Yuna."
The girl returned the hug gently. Somehow she felt that it was really Yoshiro. "Tell me more, uncle."
Yoshiro nodded, let go of her and took some distance to the blue-haired again. He had already made up a story, that the girl could bare. He hoped so.
"The transformation has left you with new abilities. It ensures that you can see the Oni."
"See the Oni? Demons?"
"Yes. They walk among the people. That's not the point now." Yoshiro sighed.
"Then what is?"
"A dutiful nurse has entered in her report, that you blame a person named Tirr as the murderer of your family."
Yuna suppressed the emerging memories of the monster. "Yes."
"So you will be asked soon by the police. You are severely traumatized, but both your mind and body heal faster now. They don't know that. For them it will be the story of a confused girl that somehow tries to explain why her parents and siblings are dead in one single night."
"So?"
"Stick to this story. They will hand it to your vivid imagination. Surely, a therapist is going to work with you."
"Sounds great.", remarked Yuna dryly.
"Furthermore: Yui is still alive."
"Really?!" Yuna could use some good news.
"She can't be addressed, but she survived. She's also in this hospital."
"I need to see her!" Yuna threw back the blanket and tried to jump out of the bed.
"Lay down again!"
Yuna stopped.
"You can't simply walk around the area now. That will have to wait."
"Do you have the slightest idea what I've been through?!", asked Yuna angrily.
"No. I don't."
"Then don't tell me what I'm supposed to do!"
"I want to help you. But you have to do as I say."
Yuna bit her lower lip. She lay back down and pulled the blanket up defiantly.
"And what should I do?", she asked.
"For starters, you should stay here and rest. Behave normally."
"Should I hang around and watch TV?"
"That's not what I meant. Just lay low. Act like a normal girl in your situation. Let your wounds heal."
Yuna pointed to her right eye. "Will this heal?"
"That depends ...", hemmed and hawed Yoshiro.
"On what?"
"Whether you have had the injury when you transformed."
"Damn it ..."
Compassionate, Yoshiro looked in her unharmed eye. "That was Tirr, right?", he asked cautiously.
"Yes."
"That miserable bastard."
"I will kill him."
"Just recover for now. We'll take care of Tirr later."
"I will kill him. I swear on my life."
"Yuna ..."
"Will you help me?"
Yuna stared at her "uncle" with a steady gaze. For a moment he looked at her and ordered his thoughts.
"Let's talk about that later. I have to take care of a few things, but as soon as I'm done, I'll be back with you."
"What's more important than this, "uncle"?! What is more important than the fact, that a disturbed psychopath butchered my family in front of my eyes?! WHAT IS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT!!!", screamed Yuna, trembling.
"You can't talk to me like that, Yuna."
"Oh yeah?!"
The blue-haired tore the vein catheter out, struggled out of bed and stomped up to Yoshiro. With her right hand she gave him a hard slap and stared at him with a furious look.
"Help me! Or fuck off!" Yuna was seething. She wanted to flip his neck.
Yoshiro grabbed her by the shoulders. "Do you think you're the only one who has lost someone?! I loved your family, Yuna! Like my own! It breaks my heart that I will never again pick up Ayu. That I'll never see, how she and Mai begin their first day at school. Or how they will get married someday. That I will never again hang out with your father, or eat your mother's delicious rice cakes. And the worst part is that it's my fault!"
Goosebumps overcame Yuna. "WHAT?!"