Yoshiro couldn't remember that he ever had lost all his composure for once in his life. That simply was not part of his serene nature. But at this moment, swamped by all the memories, he was completely lost. He couldn't stop staring at the nurse.
She had picked up his dumped teacup, shook it empty and put her own into it. Slightly worried she looked at the man, who was standing opposite of her and from whose face all color had faded.
"You remember," she noticed. Yoshiro nodded absently. He was completely distraught. "You should sit down. Come." Again he nodded. Midori put her hand on his shoulder and led him to a nearby park bench. He sat down on it, and stared at the ground. "That's better."
He had placed the crying, lost, helpless girl in the next crowded area and disappeared before her eyes, while she begged him not to go. And after that he never again thought about her. The guilt was too much for him to handle.
The irony of this situation reached his awareness just now. He turned his gaze back to the nurse, who stood before him. Pure warmth radiated from her green eyes down at him.
"Everything okay?" asked Midori caring. "You look as if you had seen a ghost."
"It... I..." He could barely think straight.
"Here." She handed him the teacup. "Drink." He took it and gulped down the tea. "That's better, right?"
"Yeah. Thank you."
The black-haired sat down beside him on the park bench. For a while they didn't speak, but watched the birds, the other park visitors and the few clouds in the sky. Over and over again, the wind tugged at her hair and swung loose cherry blossoms through the air.
"I... I'm so sorry," stammered the Oni finally.
Her green eyes squinted over at him. "What do you mean?"
"Your parents. What's happened to you. The..." He broke off.
"I was lucky." He turned his head and looked at her puzzling. His face was covered in all shades of confusion. The nurse smiled. "Yes, you heard right. I was lucky."
The Oni shook his head. "I don't understand."
"I had a guardian angel."
Frowning, he asked, "... a guardian angel?"
She gave him her warmest, loveliest smile. "You had saved me. You had protected me from the monsters. You had descended like an angel from heaven and destroyed evil." Yoshiro stared at her speechless. "You had brought me to safety."
"But... your parents...," stuttered the teleporter.
"They died, yes." Thoughtful nodded Midori, before she looked back at him. "But without your help, I wouldn't be sitting here today. You are an angel."
Ashamed Yoshiro turned his gaze to the grass at his feet. "I'm no angel. I'm a monster. Just like the other monsters."
The nurse looked at him from the side, while she searched for her next words. "I don't know you very well, but when I see what you do for other people, then I know that you are a good man. Even better than a man. You must be an angel."
Yoshiro stayed silent and thought about these words. Midori looked at him as if she could learn what was going on in his mind. She noticed the scars on his neck, which reminded her of long forgotten believed pictures of her wounded savior. Finally, she turned her gaze back to the sky.
She sighed. "I'm sorry. I see that you are very upset right now. I just wanted to thank you." Once again she tamed her ponytail, at which the wind tugged. "Considering that you have saved my life. Thanks to you, I myself can do good in this world. Help other people, that have experienced terrible things. You have inspired me and given my life a meaning." The Oni covered his eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks. A soft sobbing rang. Midori looked at him in dismay. "Please forgive me! I didn't mean to...," she stammered quickly.
The Oni sniffed. "You can't imagine how good it is to hear such words. That someone really thinks that I'm not a monster."
"You're no monster," assured the black-haired. "That's why I'm convinced that it is best if you take care of Yuna."
He swallowed hard. "It's difficult."
"I'm willing to help you. I myself am an orphan. I have undergone the same as Yuna." Encouragingly shone her smile.
"I don't know what to say."
Midori handed him her business card. After some hesitation, the Oni took it and regarded it carefully. The address on the card was from a block of flats nearby. It was not her business, but her private calling card.
"Think about what you want to say. I would like to invite you to dinner and tell you about the people I could help, thanks to you." The nurse pushed a rebellious hair strand off her face. "You look like you could use a few... happy endings."
"That sounds nice." Yoshiro clawed out his wallet and tucked the card carefully in it.
"As you said at that time 'It will be fine.'" Midori smiled at him.
With a deep sigh he gained relief. "I doubt that."
"It doesn't matter if we lose hope somewhere on the way. Just as long as we never give up," she assured the man at her side.
Snorting replied the teleporter, "I always thought that hope dies last."
"The people who say that never were without hope." Despite the calm sound of her voice, he thought that he heard tremendous pain from these words.
The monster looked at the woman. Her fair skin was the color typical of a person who rarely got to see the daylight. Her narrow nose gave her features an elegant touch. The green eyes were swung beautifully almond shaped. As a small blemish her left blade tooth was slightly tilted and protruded.
He guessed her to be in her early thirties. How could anyone be so wise at this age?
The black-haired looked at her watch. "Well. My break is over and you should check after Yuna."
Nodding, the Oni said, "Yes. You're right." They got up from the park bench.
"One moment."
Midori fished a handkerchief from her blouse. Carefully she wiped the tear tracks from Yoshiro's face. He stood still and let her. Embarrassed, she looked away, as he stared at her during her activities and their eyes met.
After, she tucked the cloth back into her breast pocket. "That's better. You don't want Yuna to lose respect for you."
A fleeting smile appeared for a fraction of a second on his lips. "I'm afraid she hasn't any."
The nurse laughed. "Yeah, she's hard to handle."
"You have no idea."
They walked in silence back to the main building, entered the hospital, crossed the lobby on their way to the elevators and drove up together. The nurse pushed the buttons for the third and fourth floor. Yoshiro left on the third floor.
"Call me," the black-haired said goodbye.
With his back to her, he promised, "I will, Omura-san."
"Please. Call me Midori."
The Oni turned around so he could look at her again. "Then I insist that you call me Yoshiro."
"Agreed, Yoshiro-san. Have a nice day." Another smile followed.
"Thank you. You too, Midori-san."
The elevator doors slid shut. The Oni stood before the closed doors and stared at the point where Midori's face just was. A truly remarkable woman.
When he entered Yui's room, Yuna leaned her forehead against the bed frame and dozed. The book had fallen to the ground. Yui lay there unchanged. He stepped to the other side of the bed and stroked the patient through the blonde hair.
"Hey, little brain. How are you? Do you dream something nice?"
The huntress woke up. "Yoshiro..."
Sassy, he grinned at the girl. "Slept well?"
"I was just resting my eye!" protested the blue-haired and picked up the book.
He laughed. "Do you want to stay longer?"
Yuna looked at her sister for a moment. "No. But I want to come back soon."
"Okay. Then let's go."
The older girl put a bookmark in the book and deposited it on the nightstand. She kissed Yui on the forehead. "Until then, sis. Wake up soon."
Once they had left the room, Yuna asked, "What did Omura-san want from you?"
Yoshiro shrugged. "Well, we chatted a bit."
Hesitating she frowned. "About what?"
"We know each other from the past."
"Because of this Takagi stuff?" mused the huntress.
"Yeah."
She rolled her eyes. "Boring..."
---
I entered the german "Times Award" contest with the german version of "Onihunter Yuna". To participate, the contestants need to gain votes on their chapter in the contest book. It would mean a lot to me, if my english readers also would give me their vote, so I might enter the finals. Link in the comments. Thanks for your assistance. ^^