Sachiko stood at the window, her claws folded in front of her chest, and looked out into the yard. For days a blizzard raged in the middle of June. She knew what was behind this unnatural phenomenon, but the meteorologists overbid each other with ludicrous theses. After Yukiko's daughter died at Tirr's hand, the ice oni had lost control over her powers. In the beginning, she only froze herself, but within hours, the cold wave spread until it even affected the weather.
The oni leaders had to pull all registers to downplay the tragedy at Yukiko's apartment. Thanks to the cold snap, the media had more interesting news to share.
Behind her, the tatami mats rustled as someone came to her.
"I was able to heal her wounds. The physical, anyway." Kira stood next to Sachiko and looked out the window. "I can't do anything for her heart."
"Thank you, Kira-chan. You've certainly done your best." The mantis' voice sounded exhausted.
"Absolutely." The healer appeared in a bleak shade of green. For a few minutes they stood silently together as the snowflakes danced from the sky and lay down on the ground. "That's why I and Yoshiro don't want to adopt a child," confessed the green-skinned.
"I feel the same. I probably couldn't handle the loss. Even now it hurts. When I think of Yuki-chan. I didn't know her daughter personally because she wanted to keep her away from us." She sighed. "Now I'm sorry that I didn't try harder to get to know her."
A paper wall was pushed aside and a yellow-skinned oni with small horns on the forehead and smoothly combed hair entered the room. He nodded to the women before coming over to them.
"Yoshiro-san," Sachiko greeted the newcomer.
"Sachiko-san. Darling." Kira gave him an intense look before she turned away and left the room. He also looked out the window. "Her work, I suppose?" The leader nodded. "I looked at her. She has completely withdrawn into herself. If we don't find a way to control her powers, we have to kill her." Sachiko nodded again. He looked over at her from the side. It wasn't easy to talk to her, because any facial expressions were lost through her mask, but then he himself was very reserved and never showed any emotions. "What about the search for Tirr-san?"
"Shi takes care of it."
"I could help him with that. I'm faster than anyone else."
She looked over at him. "That's not your style. And what would you do, if you find him? Appeal to his conscience to surrender to us?"
"That was my intention, yes."
Her shoulders twitched as she snorted. "You are a fool. He would kill you too." She looked down. "We misjudged him. He was a monster."
"Nobody could foresee this," the teleporter said.
"But we are responsible. I'm to blame for Yuki-chan's suffering."
The yellow-skinned oni pressed his lips together. "Self-blame doesn't help anyone. I'll try to figure out how we can help Yukiko-san."
"Do that." He nodded, bowed, and then hurried out of the room. Sachiko sighed and continued to look out into the blizzard.
***
Tirr's stomach growled loudly. He was leaning against the ice cold wall of a cave he had discovered in the great forest. He hadn't moved since he had fled. He felt dull, deaf and empty. He had the girl's life on his conscience. He had caused her death. How could he live on like this? Once more he hid his face between his hands and trembled.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Tirr-san." Unbelieving, he looked up and saw Marika standing in front of him. She wore her school uniform, held her hands behind her back, and looked at him sadly. "You are in a bad shape, Tirr-san," she stated.
"Marika-chan... you're dead..." he stuttered.
"I know. I died in your arms."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to die."
She smiled at him and came closer. "I know."
"How can I ever make it up to you?" Hoping for an answer, he stared at her.
She crouched down in front of him and looked him in the face. "You don't need to. I'm now a part of you. For all eternity, we can be together."
"I don't understand..." He shook his head. "You are dead. Gone away. Forever."
She took his face in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. "My soul is with you. But we can only be together if you live on."
"How am I supposed to live without you?" he wailed.
"Silly. Don't you want to understand? When I died, my soul came to you. I'm inside of you and make you stronger." Her light brown eyes beamed at him. "We will be together forever, but only if you survive, Tirr-san."
"Survive..."
She nodded. "Yes. The other oni will want to kill you. They don't understand what happened. You must not let that happen, do you understand me?" He blinked at her in confusion. "That's really important, Tirr-san. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"What should I do?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"We have to flee from here." The girl looked up. Slowly she turned her head and looked to the cave entrance. "Someone is here, Tirr-san. Someone comes to get you." With wide eyes he looked at the high-school student. "You have to fight, Tirr-san. You have to survive, so we can be together forever." He nodded, and she disappeared before his eyes. For a moment he stared at the spot she was at, then his gaze fell on two red-glowing dots that glared at him.
Shi Kuro had found him. Ignoring the weakness and coldness in his limbs, Tirr pushed himself up against the wall and stared at his opponent. The other oni regarded him silently as he approached. Tirr clenched his fists, ready for combat. Could he take on Kuro-sama, or would he die? Why did his first exam have to be this tough? Was this the punishment for his failure to save Marika?
Uncertainly he stared at the black skull.
"I must confess that you surprised me, Tirr-kun," Shi opened the conversation. His posture was completely relaxed - his arms were loosely hanging down the sides. Tirr didn't know what to say, so he just stared at him. "Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you. At least not when it's up to me." A gloomy laugh followed the statement.
"Why are you here then, Kuro-sama?" asked the young oni.
"I already thought that you would swallow that crap of coexisting with humans. How you settled in with Yukiko-chan, disgusting. But then you go and kill her daughter. Her one and all." Again, Shi laughed cheerfully. "You have balls, little one."
"I didn't want to kill her!" Tirr screamed desperately.
The older one looked at him with his head tilted. "That doesn't matter now. The story is written. They want your death."
"I deserve death!" sobbed Tirr.
"It's good, Tirr-san. He wants to help us," Marika's voice sounded. He believed that for a moment he could smell her scent and feel the tender touch of her hand on his cheek.
"In the eyes of the others." Shi crossed his arms behind his back and took a few steps. "Do you know how many oni have died by the hands of humans since we live in this city?"
"No."
"243. I felt every single death - a side effect of my gift." Shi whirled around. "We rule over this city and yet the hunters keep coming back and killing our people." He clenched his fist. "I'm sick. Again and again we offer our hand in friendship to the humans, but they spit in our faces and kill more oni." Silently Tirr listened to him. "My wife and her soft-hearted friends just accept that. They hide behind their false identities. They prefer to flee than to stand up to the hunters. But you... you have shown that you are different. That you think like me."
"Why don't you tell the others how you think about the matter?"
The oni with the black skull laughed out loud. "Sure. They know what I'm capable of. They would probably rather kill me than the humans."
"You can't know that," Tirr insisted.
"He's right, Tirr-san," Marika whispered.
The oni looked away. "No! It's wrong!" Surprised, Shi tilted his head and studied the young oni.
"The hunters are our enemies too, Tirr-san."
"We've never had anything to do with the hunters. Marika-chan, you are human. You can't possibly agree that we kill people," Tirr raged.
"If they want our death, they are our enemies." The girl blew a kiss on his cheek. "We must not let them separate us."
The young oni squinted over to Kuro-sama, who watched him with interest. "But..."
"Do you want to be with me, Tirr-san? You love me, don't you, Tirr-san? We will be together forever, right?"
"Yes... yes, of course, Marika-chan."
She pleaded, "You promise me, right, Tirr-san? You promise me, we'll be together forever."
Nervously, Tirr licked his teeth. "I promise."
Shi grinned. He wasn't sure what had happened to the youngling, but apparently he was talking to someone. Wasn't the name of Yukiko's daughter Marika? Had the young oni lost his mind? Actually, he didn't care, as long as Tirr did what he wanted.
"Then listen to Kuro-sama. He helps us, so we can be together forever." In the corner of his eye, Tirr thought he saw her face, which now turned to Kuro-sama.
"What should I do, Kuro-sama?" Tirr asked.
"I want you to hunt the hunters. They have their little nests all over the city. I can't act against them, but you are an outlaw. You can do whatever you want."
"What's in it for me?" Tirr hissed. "I'm hated even more by the others then."
Shi shrugged and tilted his head from left to right. "That's true, but through the souls of the hunters, you become stronger. That's how you ensure your survival."
"Who says I care?" Tirr clenched his fists. "Who says I want to live?"
Kuro-sama came quickly closer, until they almost touched each other. "If you survive, you can be with her forever, Tirr-kun," he whispered to the young oni. "If no one can kill you, you'll live forever." Shi squinted past Tirr's widened eyes, as if he was looking at someone standing next to him. "Then Marika-chan will be with you forever."
Tirr squinted to the right, where he saw the girl's smiling face in the corner of his eye. She looked at him from the side and her smile widened. "That's what we want, Tirr-san. We'll both be together forever." The youngling nodded, mouth open.
"I'll support you, Tirr-kun. So the two of you can make your love blossom." Shi was very brash, just as he was talking to the young oni, but apparently he had lost his mind and believed everything as long as it looked like the girl wished for it.
Marika beamed. "He's our friend, Tirr-san. He helps us so that we can be together forever."
After a moment's hesitation, Tirr nodded. "Okay... okay, Kuro-sama. I will destroy the hunters."
"We will destroy the hunters," the girl breathed in his ear.