Fina, Taking Care Of Shinobu
I was at home when the bearphone started to ring. The one calling was, of course, Yuna-oneesan. Of all things, I was asked to take care of a person who abruptly fainted in front of the door that could take you anywhere, which was located in Yuna-oneesanâs house. I hurried to Yuna-oneesanâs house. I couldnât understand the situation. I tried to get some further explanation, but Yuna-oneesanâs voice sounded like she was in a hurry, and I couldnât understand why.
I arrived at Yuna-oneesanâs bear-shaped house. I caught my breath and opened the door. I thought I heard Yuna-onesaan saying that there is a person in front of the door that can take you anywhere. I went to the room where the door was located. When I opened the door, I saw a woman wearing clothes I had never seen before lying on the floor.
I rushed over to her. Thereâs blood on her clothes. And the left shoulder area looked bad. Thereâs a cut mark on the clothes.
What should I do!? Should I call a doctor? But Yuna-oneesan said that only people she has permitted to enter her house. She said there was such magic. No one can go to call them either. I have no choice but to watch over her.
I took a deep breath and rolled up the torn clothes on her left shoulder, where the blood was concentrated the most. Underneath the clothes, I found a garment made of knitted iron. Was she wearing something this heavy? I looked underneath the iron weaving. There should have been bleeding, but it wasnât. I remembered what Yuna-oneesan said.
Yuna-oneesan did say that there was blood on her clothes but no injuries. Sheâs just unconscious. Thank goodness. It looks like I donât need to call for a doctor. But sheâs indeed unconscious. In the meantime, I need to do something about this woman.
I want to carry her to the bed, but I canât do it myself. Still, I canât leave her like this.
I left the room and brought a pillow for head support, a tub of water, and a towel to wipe her dirty face.
Iâm borrowing this, Yuna-oneesan. Iâll properly wash it before returning it to you. I put a pillow under the womanâs head to have her relax. The woman looked like she was suffering slightly.
I loosened the womanâs clothes. I want to take off this iron weaving, but it seems impossible. But still, I have never seen these clothes before. Where did she come from?
When I loosened the clothes, there were abrasions, blood, dirt, and grime on various parts of her body.
I wet the towel I brought with me with water and wiped her face, arms, and hands. I was surprised to find her clothes in tatters and had blood stains on them, but I was glad the wounds were not too severe. There were only minor bruises and small scratches.
After wiping her body and face, I covered her with a blanket. Iâm starting to wonder what happened to her. Was Yuna-oneesan with this woman? This woman was in such a sorry state may mean that Yuna-oneesan was also in danger. I know that Yuna-oneesan was strong, but this womanâs condition made me uneasy.
I want to contact her now.
But when I saw how panicked Yuna-oneesan was when I received her call and the condition of the unconscious woman, I donât think I could easily contact her.
If sheâs fighting something dangerous right now, my attempts to contact her will only be getting in the way.
âU~u, Sakura-sama......â (Shinobu)
The woman looked like she was having a nightmare. Sweat appeared on her forehead.
I wet the towel with water and placed it on her forehead.
Yuna-oneesan, youâre doing fine, right?
Then time passed without knowing what to do. Occasionally, the womanâs body moves.
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âUgh, where am I?â (Shinobu)
The woman woke up. Then she tried to get up.
âYou might want to stay in bed a little longer.â (Fina)
When I called out to her, she stood up abruptly and adopted a fighting stance at a distance from me. She was swift.
âEtto, who might you be, Missy?â (Shinobu)
The woman was looking at the room without taking her eyes off of me.
âI am Fina. Yuna-oneesan asked me to watch over you.â (Fina)
The woman looked at the place where she was laying earlier. I prepared a blanket, a pillow, and a tub of water.
âDo you know Yuna?â (Shinobu)
âYesâ (Fina)
When I said that, she relaxed her posture. Iâm glad she believed me.
âSo where is Yuna? Where is this place?â (Shinobu)
âThis is Yuna-oneesanâs house. I donât know where she is, though.â (Fina)
âYunaâs house?â(Shinobu)
Ummm, should I? Could I tell her about the door? The door that can take you anywhere is a secret. But the woman is looking at the door.
âThis door. Could it be that Iâve been sent here?â (Shinobu)
âDo you know about that door?â (Fina)
The woman nodded.
âI canât tell you the details because I made a contract with Yuna, but from the way you talk, you know about it too, right?â (Shinobu)
âYuna-oneesan called me and told me that a woman is lying in front of the door and that I should take a look at her.â (Fina)
In my words, the woman touched herself as if she remembered something.
âU~u, it hurts a little, but I donât have any injury.â (Shinobu)
The woman looked at her left shoulder and her blood-stained clothing.
âWhat happened to this?â (Shinobu)
âI donât know. You were in that state when I found you.â (Fina)
Maybe it was Yuna-oneesan. The woman put on her clothes that were dirty with blood and dirt.
âDid Yuna mention what happened to Sakura-sama, and Kagali-sama?â (Shinobu)
âNo, I donât know whatâs happening.â (Fina)
I shook my head. This was the first time I had heard those names.
âI see. You said your name was Fina, right? Can you open this door, Fina?â (Shinobu)
âI canât.â (Fina)
Only Yuna-oneesan can open the door.
âIâd like to make one more confirmation. You said that Yuna contacted you earlier, right? If thatâs the case, that means you can contact her too, right? Can you get in touch with Yuna?â (Shinobu)
She asked in a roundabout way. If she knew about the door, shouldnât she also know about the bearphone?
âThatâs......â (Fina)
What should I do?
âI beg you, please. Please get in touch with Yuna. I have to go back immediately.â (Shinobu)
The woman sat upright, hands on the floor, head bowed deeply.
âIâm begging you.â (Shinobu)n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âEh, please raise your head.â (Fina)
The woman didnât raise her head. Sheâs serious. This woman seems to have a reason to go back even if sheâs injured. Yuna-oneesan also said I could contact her if I needed anything.
âI understand. I will contact her.â (Fina)
âAh, thank you.â (Shinobu)
The woman raised her head once and then lowered it again.
âEtto, may I ask your name?â (Fina)
âIâm Shinobu.â (Shinobu)
âThen, Shinobu-san. Please drink some water and wait for me here.â (Fina)
I pointed at the jug and the glass filled with water.
âThat helps a lot.â (Shinobu)
âIâm going to talk to Yuna-oneesan. Please do not leave this room.â (Fina)
I donât know how much I could tell her, so I asked her not to leave the room.
Shinobu-san said, âAll right,â and started drinking water. She was so thirsty that she filled a glass of water and drank it in one gulp. I walked out of the room and took out my bearphone. Then, holding the bearphone and thinking of Yuna-oneesan, I poured magic into it.
Yuna-oneesan, Yuna-oneesan......
After a while, a voice from the bearphone said, âHello?â I can clearly hear the other side. Itâs the voice of Yuna-oneesan.
âItâs Fina.â
âFina? Whatâs wrong?â
A bright, carefree voice came from the bearphone. Did she perhaps forget about Shinobu?
âWell, the woman named Shinobu-san woke up.â
â......Ah.â
She just said, âAhâ.
She definitely forgot about it. I feel like an idiot for worrying about her. But Iâm glad to hear that nothing happened to her.
âSo, is Shinobu okay?â
âYes, she seems to be okay. She wants to go back there, Yuna-oneesan.â
âAh~, yeah. Got it. Iâll open the door in a bit, so inform her to wait a bit longer.â
âUnderstood.â
I put away my bearphone and return to the room where Shinobu-san is.
âHow did it go?â (Shinobu)
She asked as soon as I entered the room.
âShe said she would open the door in a little while.â (Fina)
âIs that so? I am glad to hear that. Did Yuna say anything?â (Shinobu)
âShe didnât say anything.â (Fina)
I will keep quiet about the fact that she forgot Shinobu-san.
When I looked at the jug, it was empty inside. It looks like she drank it all.
âI guess we still have some time left, so Iâll go get some more water.â (Fina)
Shinobu-san also drank all the water I had just brought.
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Authorâs Note:
It was Fina and Shinobuâs story.
5/23 The 7th episode of the comicalization will be published. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.