Ayumi rolled over and opened her eyes. Hadn't she just heard something? She listened sleepily for a moment, then heard another scream. It came out of the next room. Worried, she jumped out of her bed, scrambled to the room door, and stepped out into the hall. In front of Yuna's room door sat Wataru, leaning against the wall and held a rag under his nose.
"Are you alright?" she asked cautiously.
The singer looked surprised at her, but immediately turned his gaze away as he recognized her light clothing. "Can't you get dressed?" he hissed.
"Sorry."
The redhead went back to her room, pulled out her bathrobe and slipped it on. Again, a scream pushed through the wall. Nervously, the young woman tensed up. What was going on? She left her room once more and joined Wataru.
"What's happening?"
The young man turned the rag so that some blood stains could be seen. "She has nightmares."
Ayumi glanced at the room door. "I can hear that. Why don't you wake her up?"
"I've tried. She is punching everything around herself wildly." Only now did the older one recognize the bruises in Wataru's face.
"Did she beat you up?"
"Yes. She's extremely strong. I didn't expect her to be this strong." He chuckled a little. Yuna screamed again.
"She's going to wake up Nakamura-san if this goes on. We have to do something."
He shook his head. "I'm not going back in there."
"Hm." Ayumi stepped in front of the room door and grabbed the door knob.
"Think about this carefully."
"She needs us." Determined, the redhead pressed the latch down and pushed open the door.
Her blue-haired roommate rolled around in her futon restlessly. She cried and muttered in her sleep. Ayumi looked at the girl worried. She couldn't imagine in the least what this poor child had to go through in the last days.
After Yuna had returned from her fight with Tirr, she had bathed extensively, while she and Wataru had cooked. After the sumptuous meal, which the high-school girl had completely devoured, they chatted a little, but the girl told nothing of her experiences.
Apparently, she knew that her uncle was dead. And she knew that the Oni had been looking for her. And she had mentioned that it was over and she had killed Tirr. But obviously much more was going on, which she kept secret.
Another shriek made Ayumi twitch. "GO AWAY!"
"Yuna-chan ..."
The blue-haired rolled over again. "Leave me alone!" She shook her head and hit the ground with her fists. "Get lost!"
The redhead knelt beside the girl and looked at her. Sweat beads had gathered on the forehead of the huntress, and tears still glided over her cheek. Timid, Ayumi held out her hand and stroked Yuna's forehead. "Hush ... relax, Yuna-chan."
The girl jerked away and sniffed. "Go away." The older one kept on stroking her.
Apparently, the girl calmed down a little bit, since her breathing became slower. "I'm so sorry, uncle," Yuna whispered.
"It's all right, Yuna-chan."
"I didn't want that." She sobbed again, "I didn't want that."
"Shh ..." Ayumi lay down beside Yuna and pulled her slowly to her body. "It's all right."
"No. No." The high-school girl tried to push her roommate away. "Go away, you monster!"
"I'm not going to harm you, Yuna-chan." She gently stroked the girl.
"I am the one who hurts everyone."
Ayumi paused. "What do you mean?"
Yuna sobbed. "I killed you."
"Yuna-chan. Wake up." The redhead tried to embrace the girl once more. This time she didn't fight her and cuddled to the older woman. "That's my girl. Relax, Yuna-chan."
"I'm afraid I'll kill the others too," the blue-haired whimpered. "He's in me, Yoshiro. He's become a part of me."
"Don't worry." Ayumi pressed her young friend to herself. "It'll be all right."
"No. Nothing will be good. I have to protect Yui. I have to protect Ayumi and Wataru. Why didn't you let me help you? Why did you let me down?"
"I'm sorry, Yuna-chan."
Suddenly the girl became quiet. Her rattling breath calmed down from one blow to the other, and she opened her eyes. Ayumi stared at the blue-haired girl. What was wrong with her right eye?
"Yuna-chan?" the redhead asked. The girl blinked a few times. "Yuna-chan?"
"What's going on here?" The high-school girl inquired with a lower voice than usual.
"You have nightmares."
Yuna looked thoughtfully at the older one. "I understand. She's just sleeping."
"I beg your pardon?"
The blue-haired smiled. "It's all right." Her voice had gotten brighter.
"Everything okay?"
"Yes. Don't worry," she said, as she pulled away from Ayumi and sat up, slowly glancing around the room. Wataru was looking through the door and their gazes met.
"Hey, Yuna-chan ..."
"Hey ..." The girl rose.
"What are you doing?" Ayumi inquired.
"I want to go outside."
"I beg your pardon?!"
"Hm ..." The huntress thoughtfully grimaced.
The other two stared at her, irritated. "Are you all right, Yuna-chan?"
The blue-haired closed her right eye, flinched, and looked around in confusion. "Where am I?"
"In your room," Ayumi said as she raised from the futon.
Yuna looked at her boyfriend, who was standing in the doorway. She spotted the blood on his T-shirt and the rag in his hand. "Was that me?!" Instantly she blanched.
"Don't worry."
"Please forgive me," she pleaded.
"It's okay. You had a nightmare."
The girl stroked the sweaty hair from her face. "Yes ..."
"What are they about?" the redhead asked.
"Tirr. He ... torments me in my dreams."
Ayumi nodded understandingly. "You spoke to Yoshiro. You said, that you're sorry." Once again the high-school girl shuddered. Her right hand rose in front of her mouth, to suppress a sob. More tears left her left eye. "Yuna-chan?"
The huntress shook her head and wiped her eye. "I'm fine." Her voice was hard to hear.
"Hey. What's going on?" asked Ayumi, as she pressed the girl to herself. "Yuna-chan?"
"I killed him ..." she whispered to Ayumi's shoulder.
"Oh dear ..." The redhead gently stroked the back of her roommate as she thought about the words. Did Yuna really mean that?
"What did she say?" Wataru wanted to know.
"She's missing him." She spoke to the girl in her arms again. "Are you going back to sleep?" Yuna swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. Lay down."
The blue-haired let go and sank down on her futon. She looked back at her boyfriend. "Please forgive me. I didn't want to hurt you, Wata-kun."
"It's alright, Yuna-chan."
"Accept her damn apology, you idiot!" Ayumi hissed.
"Okay. I accept your apology."
"And now go clean up. You will not get into her bed like this."
Wataru looked sheepishly and wiped his nose again. "Um ..."
"It's fine. Sleep in your room. I don't want to hurt you again, Wataru-kun."
"What? He's gonna comfort you when you're feeling so bad," the redhead nagged.
"It's good. I'm too dangerous if I lose control." Yuna tried to smile, but with her tearful eye and the reddened nose, it looked little convincing.
"Then I'll stay with you."
"No, Ayumi-san. I don't want to hurt you either."
"You're not going to do anything to me, Yuna-chan. I trust you."
The girl stared into her eyes and said, "But I don't trust myself."
The older one didn't know what to reply. Thoughtfully, she ran through her hair as she looked at her young friend. "Can we do anything for you?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Sleep well, Yuna-chan," Wataru said, then disappeared from the doorway.
"You too."
Ayumi sat down on her knees beside Yuna. "How did you mean that before?" she whispered.
"What?"
"About your uncle."
The high-school girl swallowed hard again. "It was me. I killed him."
Disbelievingly, the redhead shook her head. "You would never do that."
"But I did. I stabbed my own uncle. I've killed him."
The grownup looked at the blue-haired woman a little bewildered. First she had murdered this Daiki, then Tirr and now also Yoshiro? She wondered seriously if Yuna didn't slowly lose control when she had murdered so many people. So far, she had only killed Oni, supposedly, but her own uncle? That was something quite different. What if she couldn't stop and continued to kill?
"But you stop now, don't you?" the redhead reassured herself.
"Yes. I don't want that anymore. I want it to stop."
"Okay. Try to sleep now, okay?" The girl nodded and lay down. "Sleep well, Yuna-chan." Ayumi stroked her again, then she rose and left the room.
The hostess lay in her bed and heard the crying of her roommate through the wall. She wished so much that she could help her, but through this nightmare the girl had to go alone. At least her life would now be back in normal ways and if the nightmares would become a stubborn problem, Yuna could still go to a therapist and talk about it.
The most important thing was that her roommate had safely come home. And that she would kill no more.