"Will you come to the cafe, Marika-chan?" Etsu asked her friend. The high-school student was a bit taller and bigger built than Marika and also had the more feminine forms. Her light brown hair was worn by her as a bob, while her gray eyes hid behind a chunky pair of glasses.
"I can't. I have plans. Sorry, Etsu-chan." Marika bowed quickly.
"Lately, you've got a lot of plans. Did you confess your love to Fuwa-senpai and are you going on a date now?" The tall girl raised her eyebrow. "Without telling me?"
"What?! No!" exclaimed the other high-school student in horror. If she thought about it, she had thought very little about Fuwa-senpai in the past few days. Someone more interesting had come into her life.
"What are you doing all the time? Did you join a club recently?"
"No." Marika thought of Tirr, whereupon her cheeks glowed.
"No..." Etsu looked at her friend from top to bottom in astonishment. "No no no. It's a boy!" Embarrassed, the small one avoided her with her eyes. "Spit it out! Who is it?"
"Nobody!" The brown-haired noticed immediately that she had answered too fast.
"Do I know him?" A head shake. "Come on, tell me something about him."
"I can't," moaned Marika.
Critically considered the bigger girl her friend. "Why not?"
"I'm not allowed to."
The gray eyes widened. "He's older than you." Marika winced. "Much older!"
"No. That's not it."
Yukiko's daughter ran her hands through her hair. Tirr looked older than she did, but technically he was younger, somehow. And anyway, what was Etsu talking about? Tirr wasn't her boyfriend or anything. She had to admit she was raving for him, but her mother would never let it turn into something. The thought struck her heart.
But today, her mother came home from work late, so she could spend some time with him. They could watch Dr. Slump, or read some manga. Since their trip together, she hadn't dared to ask him to go out, but she had already noticed that he went on and off independently. Probably her mother had also realized that she couldn't permanently lock up the oni.
"I really have to go now," the smaller one squirmed.
"Typical. As soon as a girl has a boyfriend, she forgets about her friends," snorted Etsu.
"Etsu-chan. It's not like that." Marika was searching for words, but she could only think of Tirr. "Don't worry. I'll call you later." She turned on her heel, then hesitated. "Greet Me-san from me."
"I'm not going to the cafe alone. Fine, this way I can save my pocket money." Challenging lifted the bigger girl her right index finger. "I expect you to have something to tell me after, midget."
"Don't call me a midget," the girl said with her light brown eyes.
"Would you prefer toddler?" A sugary smile flashed towards Marika.
"I'll call you."
As soon as Marika left the campus, she started running. She couldn't wait to see Tirr. For three days they had only briefly met for dinner. She didn't know if her mother had noticed or not. Maybe she just wanted to make sure her orders were upheld.
Nevertheless. When they were home alone three days ago, they had watched TV together. Marika had sat down on the pillows next to Tirr and watched with him Dr. Slump. They barely exchanged words, but that was fine with her. She just wanted to be near him. Even if it was only for a few minutes.
As Marika approached her apartment block, she could see Tirr standing on the sidewalk. Immediately her heart jumped. By now he had got ordinary clothes of his size, including shoes. He seemed to be talking to someone in a car. Maybe someone was asking for directions. This person probably asked the wrong man. The high-school student came within earshot.
"You have become strong, Tirr-kun. Thank you very much for your help," came a high female voice from the cabriolet.
"Thanks." Grinning, Tirr ran a hand through his hair. "No problem, Kira-san. Any time." Marika faltered. Who was he looking at with his beaming smile? Who was this Kira? With a dizzy feeling in her stomach, she moved closer, her heartbeat accelerating.
"I'll take you at your word, my dear." The woman at the wheel threw a glance at the schoolgirl, who was approaching, then looked at Tirr again. "Greet Yuki-chan, yes?"
"Of course, Kira-san. Good ride."
"See you."
She waved at him and drove off. Tirr raised his hand in farewell, then turned and saw Marika, who had stopped at the doorway, staring at him.
The high-school student looked at him questioningly. Who was this beautiful woman? What had she done with Tirr? Who should he greet? What was going on here?
"Hey, Marika-chan." He came up to her with a big smile.
"Who was that?" the girl inquired.
Tirr glanced over his shoulder, then looked at the brown-haired one. "A friend."
"You have friends?" She played uncertainly with the strap of her backpack.
The oni laughed. "Is that so unlikely?"
"No."
He had the impression that something was depressing the daughter of his hostess. "Is everything all right, Marika-chan?"
She spun around. "Sure. What could be wrong?" She felt again heat rising in her cheeks.
"Did you know, that I can hear a person's heartbeat?" the oni asked with a grin.
Dappled, the girl jumped. Her hands were wet and she tried to lower her heartbeat. "Oh."
"Your pulse is just a bit fast. Did you run home?" He walked past her and pulled the door open. For a moment, the high-school student was expecting, that he would tear the door off its hinges, but by now he had a pretty good grip. He politely held out the door for her. "After you."
The brown-haired girl nodded in thanks and scurried past the oni into the house. She climbed the stairs faster than she liked, while his footsteps sounded leisurely behind her. At the front door she struggled with her backpack as his key slid into the lock and he opened the door. Once again she nodded in thanks.
"Are you all right, Marika-chan?" The concern in his voice was sincere.
"Yes." She turned around and grinned at him. "It's just girls stuff, don't worry."
He chuckled. "I really don't get that."
"Of course not," she thought as she turned and entered the apartment. After removing her shoes, she hurried to her room.
"Hey." The girl tensed up. "Do you want to watch Dr. Slump?" asked the oni.
Embarrassed, she looked over her shoulder, grinning. "Um... yeah, sure. I'll be right back."
"Okay." He put his shoes aside and walked into the living room.
Marika reached her room and dumped the backpack on the floor next to her desk. What did she do? The sight of the beautiful woman talking to Tirr had immediately elicited a deep sense of jealousy in her. Was that... his girlfriend? When did he meet other people? And who was this Yuki, whom he should greet? Perhaps... her mother? Immediately, connections began to form in her brain. Was this woman also an oni?
"It starts," Tirr called from the living room. The girl breathed a few times, then she went into the living room. Without a word she sank down on her knees next to Tirr, who was lounging on the pile of upholstery, looking at the television. She squinted over to Tirr, who was humming along in amusement with the theme tune. A smile stole onto her face as she listened to him. It was something else that she liked so much about him. He was innocent.
"Hey... can I ask you something?" the brown-haired mumbled.
"Sure." He looked further into the screen.
There could be no harm in asking. "Was this woman an oni?"
"Which woman?"
At first the high-school student was pondering around, but then she clarified her question, "The one in the car. The one you talked to earlier."
"You mean Kira-san? Yes, she's an oni."
"For real? Is she your friend?"
He looked over. "Yes, I said so."
A shiver went through Marika. "So... you know... so... and this Yuki-chan?"
"Yes, sure. I already have some friends. By the way, she meant your mother," he said.
"She knows my mother?!"
Tirr grunted. "Almost all oni in this city know each other, as far as I understand correctly."
"Really?" marveled the brown-haired.
"They are like a group. I'm still learning how it works."
"I see." She looked at the TV, where Arale was doing something stupid. "Do you like her?"
He looked over again. "Who?"
"Kira-san."
"I guess so," he replied with a shrug. "She's nice, when she doesn't talk like a waterfall." Marika chuckled lightly as her stomach turned and her heart ran amok. "Hey... sure you're okay? Your heart is beating like crazy."
Marika flushed and nodded quickly. "Yes, yes." She continued to look at him from the side. "Is there someone you especially like?"
The oni looked at her again. "You're kind of strange today."
"I-I'm sorry. You don't need to answer."
"Hm... I especially like your mother. She found me." He looked at the high-school student. "I also like you more than the others."
"I think you don't understand me correctly," confessed the girl.
"How so?"
"It's nothing really." She decided to shut up and watch the show in peace.
At dinner Tirr told about what he had been doing all day. Apparently Kira had phoned here and ordered him to pack some heavy stuff for her.
Silently, Marika poked around in her food and listened halfheartedly. Her mother noticed the absence of her daughter and wanted to talk to her later. Before that, there was other news. She cleared her throat.