After her friends had left, Yui stood uncertainly in front of her room door. Should she knock, to not surprise her sister, or leave her alone? She actually wanted to do her homework, and her books were in the room, but she didn't want to annoy Yuna.
On the previous day and also this morning she had noticed how tense her sister was. There was something putting a lot of pressure on her, but Yui didn't know if she could help her with that.
The blonde was about to knock on the door as Wataru stepped out of his room.
"Is she still in there?" he asked.
The middle-school girl nodded. "Yes."
"Are you afraid to go in?" A crooked grin accompanied the question.
The purple eyes closed for a few seconds. "I don't want to disturb and even more annoy her."
The young musician stepped beside her. "Don't worry about that."
"I just don't get her. Before the disaster we blindly understood each other, but now she has become so inaccessible. It's like she's a completely different person."
"Hm ..." Wataru was silent for a moment, thinking about these words. He remembered the instructions Yuna had given him and Ayumi when it became clear that Yui was going to move in.
"Please, sit down." Yuna pointed to the chairs in her room.
Ayumi and Wataru looked at each other, then the young man asked, "Where do you sit?"
The roommate looked attentively at her young friend. The high-school girl had a thick eye ring, and she looked sick and tired. "Blue, have you ever slept in the last days? You look terrifying." The redhead had an expression of deep concern on her face.
"I'm fine. I'm just stressed." The blue-haired looked at her boyfriend. "I stand. Sit down, Wata. You too, Ayumi-san." The two followed her request and sat down at the table. Then they turned their attention to the girl.
Yuna plucked at her eye patch, as she was trying to get used to it. Although it was handy because it could be put on and taken off quickly, she was sometimes worried that the patch would slip and one could see her eye.
In the meantime the oni-eye had grown even more and filled almost the whole eye socket. She had consulted Kitsune about this, but he couldn't really help her. In his opinion, she should ignore it as long as it didn't bother her. Under certain circumstances this eye could even completely replace her old one. Already, she could perceive blurry images.
The girl cleared her throat. "Well ... as you know my sister will be released in a few weeks." Both listeners nodded. "I'd like to let her live here. With me."
"This is not an issue," said Wataru.
Ayumi gave him a warning look. "I wouldn't be so sure. I think that according to the house rules only one inhabitant per room would be allowed, and we have no free rooms anymore."
"Come on. Are you serious?" The young man looked at her incredulously.
"I didn't make the rules. I'm not quite sure either." The hostess squinted to her neighbor. "You should check this out."
"I'll take care of it," Yuna decided. "I wanted to talk about something else with you."
"What's on your mind, Blue?"
The girl sighed. "I want to keep my sister away from the Oni. I have already negotiated with their leader. They will stay away from the pension and Yui."
"I thought you're getting along well with the Oni." Irritated, Wataru blinked.
"This life is difficult, okay? I just don't want Yui's power to awaken, should she have one. She's supposed to lead a very ordinary life without any monsters lurking everywhere. I want her to have it easier than I do."
"Of course, Yuna-chan," Ayumi confirmed. The musician agreed.
"Dr. Yamada has done a very good job and has convinced her that her dreams were just crazy fantasies. At first she was convinced that the beasts were in our house, and I would have killed Tirr."
"Well ... it's true, isn't it?" Wataru said.
"Man, don't you get it?" Ayumi glanced across the table, shaking her head.
"I do. I just wanted to lighten the mood."
The blue-haired gave a deep sigh. "In any case, you must never lose a word about Tirr or the Oni. We really have to shield her completely from them, so that she remains safe. I've already talked about this with Nisha. She's also part of it."
"Good. We will not lose a word about it," Wataru agreed.
"Even more. If she has any strange ideas, then we can also redirect her. We'll be Yui's shield against the Oni." The red-head's green eyes sparkled adventurously.
Yuna smiled contentedly. "I thank you. You are really the best."
"Come on, Blue. We are like a family."
"And you're my girl. I would do anything for you." The singer grinned broadly. The high-school girl looked nodding at the ground.
His brown eyes looked in Yui's. "Well ... you both have experienced terrible things. This is not something that can be left behind without leaving any traces."
"I know. I also believe that she is still traumatized. That's why she reacts so aggressively towards you. But what can I do? How can I help my sister?" She eyed the young man in front of her.
"I don't know. Just be there for her, like all of us. If she needs help, she has to come by herself. We can't force her." He raised his hand and put it on the latch.
The blonde looked at him, glanced briefly at the door latch and then back at him. "Are you sure?"
"What can happen?"
Grinning, he opened the door and entered the dark room. In the glow of the light from the hallway they could see Yuna, who was lying sideways on her futon and curled. The other two exchanged a look and entered.
"Darling," whispered Wataru as he approached her.
"Go away. Leave me alone."
"What's going on?" Carefully he went down to his knees beside her and stretched out his arm, but then hesitated.
Yuna snorted. "I've got my damn days and stomachaches. Just leave me alone."
"Can I do anything for you?" He put his hand on her shoulder tenderly, which she vigorously shook.
"Yes. Just leave me alone, damn!"
Wataru glanced over his shoulder at Yui, who was still standing in the doorway. "Your sister wants to do her homework."
"Then she shall. I don't care. I just want to lie here alone." A cramp shook the blue-haired and she groaned softly.
"Do you have any drugs?" the younger girl asked.
"No. It was never this bad."
"We can get you something," Wataru offered, sitting on his heels.
"I'm all right. I'm going to sleep early, then I'll be just fine."
"Yui-chan, can you make her a cup of tea?" The young man looked back over his shoulder to the middle-school girl.
"Sure." She nodded, turned around and left the room.
The singer waited a moment, then whispered, "Why don't you use your power?"
"I want to get along without this monster. How can I live normally if I constantly use my power?"
"I get it, but suffering is not a solution." His hand wandered to her shoulder and he stroked her carefully.
The girl gritted her teeth. "It's not your fucking problem, okay?" She shook him off again, but the movement brought a new wave of pain over her, whereupon she caught the air sharply.
"Sweetie ... please ... let us help you."
Yuna turned her head and looked up at him. Angrily she glanced at him. "Just leave me alone!" She noticed his sad face expression and looked embarrassed. "Sorry ..."
Wataru sighed. "Yui is very worried about you. Me and Ayumi too."
"You don't need to. I'll be fine soon." Her ankles cracked as she clenched her hands in fists while her abdomen pulsed painfully.
"Can you sleep at least?" he inquired.
"Yes. My nightmares are over."
"Okay. You really look better. A few weeks ago you looked like you were a corpse."
The blue-haired snorted. "Shouldn't you say nice things to me? I'm your girlfriend."
His teeth appeared. "You're the most wonderful girl I've ever met."
A smile flashed on the face of the high-school girl. "You're such a dork."
"I give my best."
She looked back at him. "Can you cuddle with me a little?"
"Of course." Wataru lay down beside her and spread his arms around her.
Yuna rolled around and snuggled up to him. She let her head rest on his upper arm. "I'm sorry I've been so rough to you lately." With her pointing finger, she ran circles on his chest.
"If I did something wrong, you have to tell me." He looked at her urgently.
"It's not you. Something happened."
"What?" He looked at her face.
"I ... I can't talk about it yet. I have to deal with it myself."
With his free hand he brushed her hair. "Is it because of your eye?"
Quickly she shook her head. "No. Maybe I can explain it to you one day."
"Okay."
The young man looked around the room. So far, nothing had changed, but soon Yui would probably leave her mark. The times when he and Yuna slept together in this room were definitely over.
The truth was that they hadn't shared the bed for quite a while. He thought of the last time.