"I have so many questions." Midori looked down at her bowl.

"I'll answer everything you want," the undertaker assured her.

"I've heard that your kind can not have children. Is that true?"

Sizzling, several more noodles disappeared in Shinji's mouth. "That is correct. Because of our magical nature, we can not have children. Why?" He was curious to see if she would reveal herself.

"Pure curiosity." She poked around in her noodles without a pause. "So... Yuna-chan is really done with all this?"

"That's what she has expressed to us anyway, yes. Why do you mean?"

"Supposedly she sometimes sneaks out at night. Nobody knows what she's doing then. Her sister caught her and they argued about it. But suddenly it seems to be better."

"Hm." He ate some more noodles. "Maybe she's training."

"Training?" The nurse studied him.

"Yoshiro taught her how to fight. For self-defense. Maybe she sometimes practices when she can't sleep."

From his observation team, Shinji knew that Yuna had left the pension a few times at night and gone hunting. So far, they couldn't figure out why, because the high-school student said very clearly that she had no further interest in the oni hunt. Accordingly, he had to concede to his leader that it was right to keep the Masuda girl under surveillance.

"I understand. I hope nothing happens to her." A few noodles the black-haired ate, then she lay down her chopsticks. "Do you think I should do something?"

"In what way?"

"Because of these nocturnal excursions. I'm worried."

The undertaker raised his bowl to his mouth and drank it empty. He then put the bowl back. "I understand that, but I assure you that this girl is washed with all waters. You don't have to worry."

"I hear admiration from your voice," Midori remarked.

"As a matter of fact. Masuda-san is an impressive person. The way she manages all of this. I don't know if I could do that."

Slowly, the pregnant woman nodded. "But she is still so young. She shouldn't have to bear that burden."

"She sees it as her responsibility, as she is now the head of the family. And her top priority is the protection of her sister. Under all circumstances."

"Yes." Thoughtfully, she looked down at her noodles.

"Are you going to finish that, Omura-san?"

"Oh no. Please." She pushed her bowl over, which the oni gratefully accepted and continued to eat.

"Thank you very much."

In the next few minutes the undertaker's wooden sticks rattled as he devoured the rest of Midori's meal.

She sipped sporadically at her water, staring thoughtfully at the tabletop. Tirr had murdered Yuna's family. And Yoshiro. What kind of monster had he been?

Luckily he was no longer a threat. Also, that Yuna distanced herself from the oni, calmed the guardian a little. Her thoughts drifted to her child, whereupon she placed her left hand on her stomach. What kind of being grew up in her when oni couldn't father children? Was it a gift from God?

She squinted to her neighbor, who was relishing the bowl. Mostly, she trusted him, but she didn't want to confide this secret to him.

"Do you need something else, Omura-san?" the undertaker asked.

"No. I'm good."

"Do you have any further questions?" Shaking her head, the nurse said no. "May I take you home, Omura-san?"

She smiled slightly. "I guess you will not rest until I agree."

"That sounds almost like I'm imposing myself." He smirked grimly.

"I think that's just your understanding of decency."

"Thanks for seeing it like that." He got up and grabbed the two receipts. "The dinner is on me."

"Thank you." Shinji waited beside her until the black-haired rose. Then they went together to the checkout, where the oni paid for both of them.

When they left the restaurant, he said, "Just so it's clear. I consider my debt to you as not yet repaid."

"You are persistent, Shiba-san." She hooked in on his arm, which he had offered to her. Then they went for a walk.

"I know what I want."

"Do you think I should do something because of the girls?"

"Just be there for them. Listen to them when they need someone to listen to."

Midori laughed. "That sounds so easy."

"It's not. And you know that."

"Yes." The black-haired woman stopped and stared a few feet to the side. "Look. A squirrel."

The oni also stopped and looked at the animal sniffing around on the meadow.

"Can you talk to it?" the nurse wondered.

"Naturally."

Grinning, she looked at him. "Ask it what it's like to be a squirrel."

"Well, I can't have an actual conversation with it. But I understand what it wants and it understands me."

"I have no idea what I should imagine." Her green eyes caught his eye. "Please show it to me."

"Gladly." He released her arm and took a step towards the squirrel, which sat up in alarm, ears pricked up and staring at him. Its whiskers twitched quickly as it sensed him. "Hey, little friend. Nice evening, isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes slightly and focused on the rodent, whose chest rose and fell rapidly. "My companion would like to see you up close. Is that okay for you?"

The squirrel's movements calmed down until it tilted forward and hit all fours. It made one jump and then another, until it stopped in front of the oni and looked up at him. He bent down and offered his hand to the animal. It quickly crawled on it, then the undertaker rose and turned to the black-haired woman.

She stared at the rodent, then looked at Shinji. "Wow. This is fantastic."

"That's nothing worth mentioning." The squirrel stared intently at Midori, who carefully raised her hand in greeting. "You can stroke it too."

"Oh no. That's good. Thank you."

"Okay." Shinji leaned down, whereupon the little animal hopped from his hand. When he straightened up and turned back to the woman, the squirrel stormed away as fast as it could and disappeared into a bush.

"Wow. It was in a hurry," Midori wondered.

"Seems like that." Shinji took out his handkerchief and wiped the hand that had touched the squirrel.

"Thank you for showing me that."

"No problem." He folded the cloth and put it back in his breast pocket. "Are you ready to leave?"

"How is that? Being..." She looked around for a moment. "To be an oni? Are you different from a human?"

"I don't know what it's like to be a human," confessed the undertaker. "But I suspect we aren't too different. We just don't die by age and have a gift. But otherwise we are just like humans."

"Yoshiro called himself a monster."

"I guess everyone takes it differently. He sometimes quarreled with the things he had to do. But I can promise you that I don't know anybody more human than Yoshiro Takagi."

The green-eyed woman smiled slightly. "I agree with you. He was really special."

"Well... I'll take you home now. Is that okay for you?"

"Yes."

***

"I was busy, okay? Just relax, damn it." Yuna rolled on her back in Wataru's futon and sighed.

"Nisha took her time," the girl on the phone reproached.

"Then make her your best friend."

The blue-haired girl squinted. She'd talked to Nisha just before school, when she'd passed on the apology from Yukiko Aizawa, and then, when she told her she wasn't coming to Hikari. The class representative wanted to pull through the delivery of homework ironly, but Yuna really didn't feel like wasting her time like this.

Today she went to school for the first time without her eye patch and as she had expected, she was constantly stared at, because of her eyes. Rin had even asked her if the left eye was actually injured. But it wasn't easy to explain.

"Sometimes you really get on my ovaries," Yuna groaned.

"Sorry. I'm just so bored. And I miss you so bad," Hikari replied. "Hey, have you already checked out rebellion?"

"What's that?"

"The third Madoka movie."

"Didn't know it existed."

"Totally. I missed it too. I mean, the first two films were just a summary of the series, but the third has a new story."

"I have to see, if I can find it. Would be exciting."

Hikari chuckled. "We could watch it together. Like we used to. Or do an Hetalia marathon."

Yuna didn't answer, but remembered how much time she had used to spent with Hikari. They had been inseparable for years, but these days it didn't fit anymore. The often childish and unpredictable behavior of her best friend increasingly annoyed her.

Am I becoming a buzzkill?

"Wow. You keep quiet while we talk on the phone," Hikari said.

"Sorry... was just thinking."

"Nisha gave me the schedule for the school festival. A cafe, how lame."

The blue-haired laughed. "Yes. There are several haunted houses and cafes, but somehow people are so uncreative."

"Totally. What did you suggest?"

"Nothing. I really didn't have time to take care of it."

"At least they could have made a maid cafe, or something. Or a butler cafe, all right. I would certainly look good in a suit. Or a cosplay cafe!"

Yuna gritted her teeth. "It's great that you have so many ideas now, where everything is already decided and organized."

"It's not my fault that I'm home. Man, my dad has yelled at me."

"It was your fault," Yuna thought, but she didn't want to risk Hikari loosing it again. "He didn't know?"

"My raven mother must have told him. That's why he came home from his business trip. He even threatened that he would put me in a psychiatric clinic, if I didn't pull myself together." She snorted. "Fuck, those stupid assholes. I would love to run away."

The blue-haired girl rolled to the side. "That is no solution."

"That would be something. You and I take off. We go somewhere and live together, happily ever after."

The door opened and Wataru dragged his guitar case in. "Hey, babe."

"I have to go now, Hikari-chan. Ayumi wants something from me. Bye."

"Oh... okay. See you tomorrow?"

Since Yuna had already taken the phone from her ear, she didn't hear the last sentence anymore. She sat down on her lower legs and looked at her boyfriend. "How was the rehearsal?"

"Shit." He deposited the suitcase and his backpack beside his table. "I just can't get the damn solo right."

"Just keep practicing. You'll be fine," the blue-haired girl assured him.

"I wish I had your confidence."

"Says the one who keeps telling me, I shouldn't go crazy about my death, which was prophesied."

"Yeah." With a big grin, he came over and knelt beside her. "How was your day?"

"Normal. I would like to get used to that."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Then do that."

Between two kisses she whispered with a smile, "Is this part of normal too?"

"I hope so."

"I could really get used to that." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down.