"What?!" she breathed.
"Please sit down." Nodding, Yuna sank into a chair at his table. She couldn't stop staring at him.
"I'm going to die?"
"My gift is very volatile. Sometimes I dream of the future. Unfortunately, my predictions are not very reliable." Embarrassed, he stroked his head. "Nevertheless, I wanted to warn you, Masuda-sama."
Understanding, the girl nodded. "What did you see, Honda-san?"
"I saw you disappear lifeless in the dark."
The blue-haired girl moved around in her chair. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Your hair and clothes were wobbling. I believe that you will drown. It was very dark, maybe it's nighttime." He grinned crookedly. "Please forgive me that I can not make a better prediction."
The girl swallowed hard. "Do you know when it happens?"
"No, but you wore a blue and white school uniform in my vision. Probably the same one you usually wear when you come here."
Yuna stroked her forehead, whereupon small beads of sweat had formed. "Then it will be within the next two and a half years."
"Oh no. My visions are usually only a few weeks ahead. There are oni who can predict for decades, but my gift is very weak. I'm not a very strong oni," Ryota explained.
"So I'm going to die within the next few weeks?" Worried, the girl stared at the tabletop.
"Not necessarily. It could be that this prediction does not apply. Unfortunately, I find it very difficult to distinguish between dreams and visions."
"Hey, girl!"
"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" the blue-haired girl hissed furiously and slammed her hands on the table, which creaked under the force. Instantly, she blushed and stared at her hands. She looked at the oni again. "What is the probability that your vision is correct, Honda-san?"
He shrugged uneasily. "I would say about fifty percent. Maybe a little less."
Yuna took a deep breath. "There's a fifty percent chance, that I will die within the next few weeks..."
"I am very sorry, Masuda-sama. I was not sure if I should bother you with that, but I interpret our meeting today as a sign of fate. Maybe you can avert your death."
"And how? I don't even know where I could drown." She pondered hard. There was the pool in the school. Scattered lakes in the parks of the city. Further away the ocean. Damn, she could even drown in a bathtub, if she had very bad luck.
Yukiko came outside and took care of the young men, who complained to her about the other waitress. She apologized profusely and took the orders. She glanced at the blue-haired's back, then looked at the oni at the table. Suspicious, she frowned. Why was this girl sitting at the same table with the only oni present? And apparently they talked to each other, when the girl didn't take care of the guests.
She turned and walked back into the shop, looking at Me. He had said the girls were friends with him. Did they also belong to the oni? They both seemed to be human, how could that fit together? Or was there perhaps another connection?
"Hey, Me-kun. What can you tell me about the blue-haired?" she asked, after she had given him the new orders.
"Yuna-chan?"
"No idea what her name is."
"This is Yuna Masuda, if you mean the girl." He rummaged for some beer bottles from the fridge. "Shit, they're not cold yet," he cursed as he put them on the counter.
"No problem." Yukiko blew on the bottles, which were immediately covered by a fine layer of ice. "Spit it out."
The oni leaned forward and lowered his voice. "It was her, who had killed Tirr."
Surprised, the blue-haired woman opened her eyes. "What?" She turned and looked through the window at the girl. "Incredible."
"She's a tank."
Abruptly, Yukiko turned around. "What do you mean? She has a power?"
"Yes. I told you, that she is a Han'yō."
"Hey, Me-san. I need another pitcher of green tea for table three," Nisha said, standing next to Yukiko. She looked over and smiled at the oni.
She looked at her boss again. "And her?"
"This is Nisha Narusegawa, daughter of our leader Haruka Narusegawa."
"What happened to Sachiko?" the blue-haired woman wondered.
"Um... I'll explain that to you later, okay?" He turned away and prepared the green tea.
"Fine." The ice oni grabbed the beer bottles and marched away.
The cat girl looked after her, then turned to Me. "What was it about? Is Aizawa-san new to the city?"
"No. She lived here many years ago. She was gone a long time, but now she came back."
"I understand. She has certainly seen a lot of the world."
"I hope so." The oni put the pitcher with the green tea on the counter. "And off." Grinning, the girl took the vessel and moved away.
"I really did not want to worry you, Masuda-sama," Ryota assured her.
"It's all right. I'm glad you warned me. I'll be very careful, Honda-san."
He nodded hastily. "A wise decision. I'm not sure if you can change the future, but if someone can do it, it's you."
The blue-haired blushed. "I don't know..."
"I have complete confidence in your abilities, Masuda-sama. You've saved us all from Tirr."
Embarrassed, she stroked her hair. "I only did what was necessary."
"Your modesty only reinforces my thinking about you, Masuda-sama."
"You are really nice, Honda-san."
"Hey, cyclops. Can you give me a hand?" someone shouted from the side.
Yuna straightened in the chair and turned her head. She glared in the direction and saw Yukiko standing in the doorway. "What did you say?!"
"I'm just kidding, one-eye. I don't know your name, so come and help me."
The high-school student wanted to start a counterattack, but then she pulled herself together. She looked at her interlocutor. "Will you excuse me, Honda-san?"
"Naturally. I wanted to go anyway. Good day, Masuda-sama."
"You too, Honda-san." She left his table and walked over to Yukiko. "My name is Yuna, frostbite. Or Masuda-san for you."
The dark blue lips of the ice oni twisted into a smug grin. "You have a loose mouth, little one."
"Thank you. Likewise. For what do you need the help of a little girl, eh?"
"Follow me."
Yukiko led her through the shop, smiling briefly at Me, then they entered the kitchen and walked on to a walk-in refrigerator. She opened the door, went in and held it up to the girl. The high-school student followed her inside. Behind her, the door slammed shut.
Inside, the oni whirled around, grabbed the girl by her blouse, and thrust her back against a shelf. Startled, Yuna flinched, but as soon as she felt the cold in her back, her power activated, causing her pain in her stomach.
"W-what?" She breathed nervously.
"You killed Tirr?" The oni's gaze hardened.
"What?"
"Don't I speak clearly?! Did you kill Tirr?!" Yukiko repeated louder.
"Yes."
"Nonsense."
Furious, the girl pushed the waitress away from her. "Why do you care?!"
"He belonged to me!" Pointy thorns emerged through the bluish skin of the oni.
Amazed, the high-school student blinked. "Belonged to you?"
To calm herself, Yukiko huffed a couple of times and the ice thorns disappeared back into her body. "I should have killed him. Nobody else."
"Then you shouldn't have left."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" The oni slapped the girl in the face, but her hand stopped on the cheek.
"FUCK YOU!" Yuna lunged at her opponent and hit her as well. She pushed her against the other side of the cold room, with some stainless steel containers clattering to the floor.
"YOU BITCH!" Ice claws formed around the hands of the oni and she struck with them. The girl was torn forward as the weapons entangled on her top. Taking advantage of the momentum, she tore Yukiko to the ground and started punching her head. Instantly, a thick ice sheet formed on the skin of her opponent. The blue-skinned woman raised her hands. "Okay. You really are a tank."
Breathing heavily, the high-school student stared at her and stopped punching. "Huh?"
The whole ice formations disappeared and only a few seconds later the door was torn open. "What's going on?" Me snapped, but stopped, when he saw the two women on the floor.
Yuna looked up at him over her shoulder, then turned back to the oni, who hissed, "Nothing."
The girl crawled down from her. "Just a little disagreement."
The eye oni shook his head. "You are both such explosive personalities. Come on, get out." Blamed, Yuna slipped past him. He let her go, but he stood in the way of his co-worker. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Yukiko grumbled without looking at him.
"Yuki-chan. Tell me what's going on."
"Nothing! Get out of my way!"
All eyes narrowed. "Talk."
Annoyed, the blue-haired snorted. "I asked her about Tirr, and she got angry."
"Why did you do that?"
"He was my responsibility." She stared morosely at the floor. "I should have killed him."
"He did a really bad job on her."
She raised her eyes and glared at her boss. "He did to all of us."
"He murdered her whole family. And Yoshiro, who was her uncle."
"Is this supposed to be a damned contest, who was more humiliated by Tirr?! He also murdered my family!" She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "Doesn't matter. He's dead. My daughter's soul is free. That's all that matters."
"I agree. Marika has been avenged." Tears gathered on the eyelid of the oni. Small lumps of ice formed underneath. "Oh, Yuki..." Me pulled the blue-haired woman close. "It's okay."
"I let her down, Me. I let my daughter down," she sobbed.
"Shh. It's all right." He stroked her hair, reassuringly. "He would have killed you too. There was nothing that you could have done."
"I should have tried. I should have tried harder."
The eye oni breathed a kiss on her cold forehead. "You did what you could. Now it's over. Finally it's over. And you're back where you belong. You're back home." All his eyes were looking at her. "You're back with me."
Yukiko wiped the lumps of ice and tried to smile at him. "Yes. I'm back with you." They looked at each other, then kissed.
Yuna stamped angrily into the taproom, grabbed her shoulder bag, which she had deposited behind the counter, and slammed her apron on top of it. The class representative, who was serving, winced and followed with her gaze the off-storming girl. "Yuna-chan?" The blue-haired girl ignored her and went out the door. Nisha turned to her guests. "Excuse me, please." She ran to the door and stepped out.
"It's not Yuki," mumbled a group of men looking after the tall girl.
"Yuna-chan!" called the cat girl. "Yuna! Where are you going?!"
"Home. I have enough," Yuna retorted, without turning around.
Gloated, the gray-haired girl looked after her. What had happened to her friend?
"Can I have another beer?" asked one of the guests.
Nisha nodded. "Of course." She went back in and saw Me and Yukiko coming out of the kitchen smiling at each other. "Yuna-chan left. Did something happen?"
Embarrassed, Yukiko squinted aside. "We had a fight. It was my fault."
"Oh." The cat girl lowered her eyes uneasily to the ground.
"I'll go after her and apologize," suggested the ice oni.
In defense, the class representative raised her hands. "No. It's okay. She's not herself today. She isn't feeling so well. I'll tell her you're sorry, Aizawa-san, okay?"
The blue-haired woman looked at Me, then nodded, smiling. "Okay. That would be very nice of you, Nisha-chan."
"Hey. It is a little quieter now. Would you like your milk, kitten?" the eye oni asked. "By the way: That's a pretty dress. I have never seen you in anything else than your school uniform."
Nisha stroked her stomach and thighs. "Thank you. We went shopping today and we bought it." She took off her apron. "I really would like to drink a glass of milk." She sat down at the bar and explained to Yukiko which orders were still open.